Post a Secret

AH sent me on this site earlier on and I have to say i quite like it...

PostSecret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Calendars...what next?

We all know you can pick up calendars for pretty much anything... There's ones featuring pics of fluffy kittens...pop stars...actors...and even a Daniel O'Donnell one.

There's even one featuring priests.

Today, I stumbled across a Farmers Calendar...which features, and I quote,

a rare peak at that dying species - the british farmer in it natural habitat

(the grammar is theirs, not mine)

It comes in both men's and women's editions:





And costs all of STG£5.99



Now with the Ploughing Championships currently on in Tullamore, it's time for some entrepreneur to get on down there, camera in hand, and start recruiting some models for an Irish edition!

Free newspaper

Did anyone else open their front door this morning to a complimentary copy of the Sunday Tribune?

There seemed to be a copy outside all the houses in my area...

Nice idea, but it seems a bit pointless giving away a free newspaper a day late.

Unless this is a new way for the Tribune to cut down on their own waste charges.

Restaurant-Speak

I happened to be out for Sunday lunch today with my parents. Good son that I am, I invited them out while I was home in the Marble City for the weekend. Mammy Snazzy picked the venue...The Kilkenny River Court Hotel which sits right beside the River Nore and has great views of Kilkenny Castle.



Sunday Lunch there is in their Riverside Restaurant and costs €29.95 per head for the set three-course menu with tea or coffee.


All was going fine and dandy until I studied the menu. I was immediately reminded of a link from Damien Mulley's blog where he pointed out an article from Radar magazine. It was about Anthony Bourdain (you may have seen him on UKTV Food) complaining about chefs who over-write menus.

For example, Daddy Snazzy had the Caesar Salad to start from the lunch menu. Now usually, on a menu this dish will be listed as Caesar Salad. Or the chef may have added an item such as chargrilled chicken. In the Rivercourt, it was listed as follows:

Crisp Cos Leaf Salad of roasted Garlic Croutons and Bacon Lardons bound in a creamy Caesar Dressing topped with a fine Parmesan Dust

Now I've never come across the word "lardon" before. I thought only books were bound and I'd prefer not to have dust on my salad please.

For mains, Daddy Snazzy has the 'traditional' Sunday Roast Beef dinner. Described as follows:

Whole Sirloin of Mature Celtic Beef Roasted with Garlic Cloves and a Rosemary Oil carved on a Baby Leek and Seed Mustard Potato Mash, Red Wine Glaze

Erm...what is Celtic Beef? Does it support the hoops when it comes to the 'old-firm derby' or does it mean that it could be Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Manx, Cornish or Breton beef?

Mammy Snazzy and I both had the deep-fried brie to start. Not overly-complicated on the menu and nicely presented on the plate.

For mains, Mammy Snazzy had:

Supreme of Corn Fed Chicken stuffed with a Mature Cheddar, Sun Dried Vine Tomato and Sage Shallot Farce, pan roasted and pared with a Homemade Orchard Stone Fruit Chutney.

I'm not quite sure what bit of it the Farce is supposed to be, but it looked tasty and didn't last long on the plate.

I had a fillet of Cod which was vastly over-described on the menu, and came complete with a crescent moon shaped piece of puff pastry on top. Not sure exactly why, but it added nothing to what was a perfectly cooked piece of fresh fish.

You had to order your desert as you ordered the starter and main. Personally, this annoys me. I do have a sweet tooth, but would prefer to pick from the desert list after I've devoured the first two courses. That way, I know how full my belly is and what I'll be in the mood for.

The deserts were just as complicated sounding on the menu for what was ice cream, cheesecake, profiteroles, mousse and Creme Brulee.

Now don't get me wrong. The setting and service at the River Court Hotel are very good. The view and food is excellent...but please, someone re-write the menu. Simplify it. You really should not have to contend with a thesis of a menu for something as simple as Sunday Lunch.

As we were leaving, rather satisfied and full, Daddy Snazzy picked up a leaflet for their Christmas menu and this item caught my eye:

Escalope of "Tuskar Rock" Atlantic Codling, rolled in a Brioche Crumb, infused with scents and flavours or Christmas, golden backed on a Chiffonade of Winter Greens and a Citrus Choron Hollandaise Dressing

Need I say more...

Axis Of Evil World Tour

Am currently working my way through a book I picked up on Amazon a few weeks ago. I just happened to be browsing the books section and stumbled across this one.

Pretty novel idea (no pun intended)...basically the American author, Scott Fisher, managed to work his way around the three countries that George Bush listed as being the Axis Of Evil:

North Korea




Iraq




Iran




The Iraq section is not great as he is not allowed to venture outside the American Army controlled camp all that often, but it does give a good insight into the conditions of the people that have to work/serve there. One thing that was new to me was the fact that the road to Baghdad Airport, often referred to as the most dangerous road in the world, is known as Route Irish He has to travel this road to buy alcohol. If you ever find yourself in Baghdad and fancy some beer, the only place you can buy alcohol is at the Airport.

He gets to travel through Iran with relative ease, albeit with an "official" guide. The reactions of the locals is interesting, with most hating George Bush as opposed to tarring all Americans with the one brush. There also seems to be initial surprise that there is an American in their country for a holiday. The surprise is soon replaced with a warm welcome and then an interest in how the world perceives their country and people. They do seem a very warm and welcoming people, ready to invite visitors into their homes...Far from the image that is painted in most media outlets of what goes on inside the Islamic Republic. Also, despite economic sanctions, he finds the latest computers running Windows Vista in the local internet cafe.

North Korea is perhaps the most intriguing part of the book. Again, here has an "official" guide, but he is on a much tighter lease. Almost everyone he meets seems to be brainwashed into saying great things about North Korea and it's leader Kim Jong-il. Anyone he does meet that doesn't seem to be following the party-line seems to afraid to speak openly about it.

In fact, some of the people he meets react with disgust when he tells them of life in South Korea and how it is doing economically. Most not believing that anywhere could possibly be better off than the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

It really is an interesting read (once you get over some references to how great America is!) and you can see some excerpts, photographs and his route map on his website.

And just for good measure, here is the finale from the North Korean Mass Games of 2001, where 100,000 (or so) performers celebrate the great things that Kim Jong-il and his predessor and dad, Kim Il-sung have done for their people!

The Mid-Week Rant (but a day late cause I'm still jet-lagged and have a cold)

I like to travel. Enjoy it quite a lot actually. Seeing new places. Meeting new people. Experiencing new foods, ways of life and cultures. It's all good.

I even enjoy flying. Not so keen on boats. Airports can be fun too. Expensive, but good for people-watching.

What does get on my goat is the security check-point.



Now don't get me wrong. I'm delighted that there is security keeping me safe as I fly in a metal tube thousands of feet in the air.

What does get me stressed is the muppets that walk through the metal detectors thinking it's ok to leave their belt on or keys in their pockets.

With the advent of cheaper air travel, we all pass through airports on a more regular basis and you would think that we should be more au-fait with the workings of the security screening areas? But no, it seems that some muppets think that the loose change in their pockets will not set off the detector even though the 50 people in front of them have tipped the contents of their pockets into one of those trays.




At Dublin Airport, they have even installed TV screens as you walk through the queue explaining what to do...remove all metal items from your pockets and place them in the tray provided. Remove Laptop from your bag and place on the belt...and so on.

Look, you even actually pay for the privilege of going through the metal detector.
Here's a list of the charges (taxes) that I paid on a recent trip to the USA:

U.S. Immigration User Fee: 5.33
U.S. APHIS User Fee: 3.81
U.S. Federal Transportation Tax: 23.00
Ireland Airport Security Charge: 3.50
U.S. Security Service Fee: 1.91
U.S. Passenger Facility Charge: 3.43
Ireland Passenger Service Charge: 11.50
Ireland Pre-inspection Charge: 1.35
U.S. Customs User Fee: 3.81

See that one there in bold. €3.50 is what it cost me to watch the muppet in front of me pass through the metal detector three times because he had not removed his loose change and mobile phone from his pockets. What a hoot!



Muppets...please, it's not getting funny anymore. Take off your belt, remove those sunglasses from your head and put your keys, wallet, mobile phone and loose change in the tray.

It makes the queue go faster, you can get to the pub/duty free quicker and most importantly, you don't stress me out before I jet away on my holidays.

God help me if i ever get stuck behind this woman...




Next week, we tackle the waste of time that is Aer Lingus Self-Service check in and why they don't give you free sucky-sweets anymore to stop your ears popping.