Tuesday Beat: Zamina aka Waka Waka

Cause I'm African like that I give you the original version of the sing and Shakira's remake [which is more fun imho].

Cooking Channel

I am seriously stuck on the Cooking Channel. No I'm not talking about the Food Network. I am talking about Cooking Channel. The programming reminds me of old school Food Network where it was about the food and cooking it. It just has a fresher and simplified look to it. No super productions and several awesome British shows.

Basic French cooking ... check. Indian made easy ... check [don't pretend like you don't want to know how to make a wicked curry masala]. Chinese food made easy ... check [moo goo gai pan anyone?]

Nigella Lawson is a woman after my own heart. Her show Nigella Express is totally kick ass in that she cooks like I do. As few pots as possible, as much flavor as you can pack in and have fun while doing it. Did I mention that her dishes are sinful. The woman just goes for it.

I can now make a pizza from scratch as well as flavorful moist burgers in a pan on the stove [secret seems to be handling the meat as little as possible]. I tried the burger recipe out on my roomie and he thought it was decent. I will test out the pizza recipe on the roomies once I perfect it. Dough making definitely requires more practice since I am used to cooking by feel and taste not actual precise measurements.

If your cable provider has it definitely check it out if you like food shows.

Weekly Rundown and World Cup 2010 randomness

• Ke nako! It is indeed time for the World Cup. ESPN3 is streaming the games live in case you want to watch the game while in the office.
• This weekend is definitely looking to be one of my fav weekends. Soccer, F1 racing, friends graduating and graduation parties.
• We have the librarian edition this week. I ran into her while she was out running a few days ago. I go walking where she runs. Suffice it to say it was a nice surprise and we had a nice chat the following day. She actually lives 2 train stops from where I do. We have finally made it to the we should hang out sometime conversation.
• As someone who's worked in tech support I got quite a kick out of the clip of a woman who called tech support to ask how she could disable Google Pacman. You have to admire the tech support guy for keeping his cool.

World Cup randomness

• RSA 1 - Mexico 1 in my humble opinion Mexico won this one. France 0 - Uruguay 0; France should have done better. My brackets are still intact so no harm done.
• Who caught the kickoff concert? Awesome performances all around with a special shout out to Hugh Masekela and Shakira. That woman's hips do not lie... neither do her abs.
• Brenda Fassie is turning in her grave. The Alicia Keys / blk jks rendition of Too Late For Mama was a crime against humanity. I would have given them both red cards for the infraction.
• The concert is done, the teams are asleep, tonight as we lay down, we pray the good Lord our brackets will keep. - Well our brackets and the health of the players.
• Desmond Tutu was seriously stoked about the games. Ain't never seen a retired archbishop that happy. Looked like he would take off & fly at any moment.
• And condolences to Madiba's family on the loss of the man's great grand daughter.

Tuesday Beat: Toni Braxton - Let It Flow

Taking it back a little.

Weekly Rundown

• One week until the World Cup kicks off! I am beside myself with anticipation. I have my apps on my phone set up so that I have real time info on all the games as well as the behind the scenes gossip. I want to put a vuvuzela over my desk for the duration of the World Cup... yes I am that much of a soccer fan.
• No proper librarian edition this week. I had a meeting during my regularly scheduled library time. She did however recommend a book that she loves that is out of my general reading realm and she figured I'd either like it or hate it. The jury is still out on it as it has Spanish sprinkled liberally throughout it and my Spanish only exists within the boundaries of soccer commentary.
• For those who have never watched the movie La Cucina, I highly recommend it. It revolves around 2 conversations about relationships that take place in the kitchens of the participants. The conversations are thought provoking so don't watch it if you just want to veg out. I've watched it a couple of times and each time I catch something new. Speaking of movies, I finally came around to watching Vicky Christina Barcelona and found it quite entertaining.
• I am hoping to travel out east either next Thursday or the following Friday. I miss my little princess and also need to head back to OH to visit family.
• I am crossing items off my to do list at a rate that I am proud of. I completed my RC Reserve Corp training today and was on the team that won the little challenges [they weren't that big of a deal but we wanted the little pins]. This is another thing that I've wanted to do for a while so I am very proud of myself. I used to wonder why I got myself up at 6am on a Saturday in the middle of Winter to go to a class or simulation exercise and now I am beginning to understand why that was important. It was not required of me but I went and now I appreciate the foundation that was laid down during those weekends along with the discipline that it instilled in me.
• I still need to get my stuff together on the job front. Come August I need to not only be employed full time, I also need to be making enough to help my sister with her tuition.
• Chi Summer Dance kicks off next week and I can't wait. I love dancing in the park. I am no longer as self conscious as I used to be. I have no problem with laughing at myself when I do the steps wrong with a crowd watching. It's all about having fun!
• Have a good weekend folks!

Image taken from http://www.zorowski.com/churchmice/archives/0001.htm