Cracker-ass Crackers

I received this recently from my work wife. It's funny stuff. Here is the origination of the list.

(wow. three posts in one day. Perhaps it's because my work wife isn't at work today. What's a work wife? It's someone who nags you at work, just like your wife. It is actually a term of endearment. I like my work wife. She's cool.)

STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE
* #115 Promising to Learn a New Language
* #114 America
* #113 Halloween
* #112 Hummus
* #111 Pea Coats
* #110 Frisbee Sports
* #109 The Onion
* #108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
* #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
* #106 Facebook
* #105 Unpaid Internships
* #104 Girls with Bangs
* #103 Sweaters
* #102 Children’s Games as Adults
* #101 Being Offended
* #100 Bumper Stickers
* #99 Grammar
* #98 The Ivy League
* #97 Scarves
* #96 New Balance Shoes
* #95 Rugby
* #94 Free Healthcare
* #93 Music Piracy
* #92 Book Deals
* #91 San Francisco
* #90 Dinner Parties
* #89 St. Patrick’s Day
* #88 Having Gay Friends
* #87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
* #86 Shorts
* #85 The Wire
* #84 T-Shirts
* #83 Bad Memories of High School
* #82 Hating Corporations
* #81 Graduate School
* #80 The Idea of Soccer
* #79 Modern Furniture
* #78 Multilingual Children
* #77 Musical Comedy
* #76 Bottles of Water
* #75 Threatening to Move to Canada
* #74 Oscar Parties
* #73 Gentrification
* #72 Study Abroad
* #71 Being the only white person around
* #70 Difficult Breakups
* #69 Mos Def
* #68 Michel Gondry
* #67 Standing Still at Concerts
* #66 Divorce
* #65 Co-Ed Sports
* #64 Recycling
* #63 Expensive Sandwiches
* #62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
* #61 Bicycles
* #60 Toyota Prius
* #59 Natural Medicine
* #58 Japan
* #57 Juno
* #56 Lawyers
* #55 Apologies
* #54 Kitchen Gadgets
* #53 Dogs
* #52 Sarah Silverman
* #51 Living by the Water
* #50 Irony
* #49 Vintage
* #48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
* #47 Arts Degrees
* #46 The Sunday New York Times
* #45 Asian Fusion Food
* #44 Public Radio
* #43 Plays
* #42 Sushi
* #41 Indie Music
* #40 Apple Products
* #39 Netflix
* #38 Arrested Development
* #37 Renovations
* #36 Breakfast Places
* #35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
* #34 Architecture
* #33 Marijuana
* #32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
* #31 Snowboarding
* #30 Wrigley Field
* #29 80s Night
* #28 Not having a TV
* #27 Marathons
* #26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
* #25 David Sedaris
* #24 Wine
* #23 Microbreweries
* #22 Having Two Last Names
* #21 Writers Workshops
* #20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
* #19 Traveling
* #18 Awareness
* #17 Hating their Parents
* #16 Gifted Children
* #15 Yoga
* #14 Having Black Friends
* #13 Tea
* #12 Non-Profit Organizations
* #11 Asian Girls
* #10 Wes Anderson Movies
* #9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
* #8 Barack Obama
* #7 Diversity
* #6 Organic Food
* #5 Farmer’s Markets
* #4 Assists
* #3 Film Festivals
* #2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
* #1 Coffee

New Links

I've added a couple new links recently.
First, Doc Talk is authored by Dr. Ben Wedro, a board certified emergency physician who practices in Wisconsin. His blog is very topical and often revolves around the world of athletics. It's very informative and good reading.
Second, if you live in Reno or have any interest in The Biggest Little City, you should check out Mr. Jerz. He is the preeminent Reno blogger.

The Holiday Spirit

This is kind of ridiculous on a lot of different levels.

The Prince of L.A.

For those who missed it on "60 Minutes," this is a great look at USC football coach Pete Carroll. Another great testament to the power of athletics.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Jack's

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. I eat breakfast for breakfast. I like breakfast for lunch. Had breakfast for dinner just the other night. Breakfast is good. It is the most important meal of the deal, especially when you eat it multiple times a day.
There is plenty of quality breakfast grub in Reno. Peg's has received national attention, having been called The Best Breakfast in America. Reno also got another treat recently when The Squeeze In, a longtime Truckee favorite, opened a location in northwest Reno. The casinos do a fairly decent job, starting with the 99-cent Ham-n-Eggs at the Cal-Neva to an old college haunt, the Purple Parrot in the Atlantis, to the new buffet at the Eldorado.
But there are plenty of lesser-known greasy spoons worth mentioning and this week's Tuesday Lunch went to one of them -- Jack's, an old-time favorite on Victorian Ave. in Sparks. There are a couple things you need to know about Jack's. First, it's old and the decor is straight out of the 1970s. Second, it's gone through some ownership changes in recent years and even closed for a stretch. Third, the service isn't stellar -- my order was messed up this week -- but the food gets there quick and its hot and tasty.
Five of us went there this week, with three suckers ordering lunch and the Angry Pirate and I getting breakfast. None of us were disappointed at all, though I ordered the chorizo omelet and received the chili-cheese omelet. Momentarily annoyed, I dug in and was pleased with mix-up. The point is that you can't go wrong with Jack's. The weekend wait is noticeable, but nothing like that at Peg's. And on a weekday, you can get in and out in a half-hour.
Side note -- At one point recently, there was as an ownership/management relationship between Jack's and the Hometown Cafe out in Lemmon Valley. That's not the case anymore, according to our waitress at Jack's. Regardless, both eateries are solid choices and if you go to the Hometown Cafe, I highly reccommend the Two Eggs and the Whole Hog with Biscuits and Gravy on the side. It is a pure gut bomb, but one of the heartiest breakfasts I've ever had. They also do Joe's Special very well there, better than Peg's even. But not better than the redninja. Never had better Joe's Special than when the redninja used to make it in college.

Without putting too much thought into it, here are my quick rankings of best breakfasts in Reno:
1. Peg's. This is a no-brainer.
2. The Squeeze In. Pricey but tasty.
3. Hometown Cafe. Best-kept secret because of Lemmon Valley location.
4. Jack's. Plenty of options.
5. Archie's. Nothing special, but I've never had a bad breakfast here.

Two others of note:
The Stonehouse Cafe. This uppity joint on Plumb gets rave reviews from friends. I've been there a couple times and just haven't been overly impressed, both with quality of food and the service. Will give it another shot.
PJ and Co. I've heard good things about this place on Wells but have never been. Keep meaning to get down there sometime. Hopefully soon...

Is this the real doggystyle?

OK, this is just funny stuff.

Unreal

This has to be one of the saddest things I've read about lately...

Woman swept to sea during proposal on Oregon coast

Thu Dec 4, 6:43 pm ET

NESKOWIN, Ore. – A romantic marriage proposal on the Oregon coast turned deadly for the bride-to-be when a wave swept her out to sea. Scott Napper had taken 22-year-old Leafil Alforque to Proposal Rock near Neskowin Beach to pop the question at a place that got its name from couples ready to marry. Napper and Alforque had been dating since they met on the Internet in 2005.

But Alforque had arrived in Oregon on a visa from the Philippines just three days before the fateful trip to the coast.

Napper said the tide had receded around Proposal Rock on Saturday when the couple began to walk to it. He planned to propose and give her the ring he carried in his pocket.

About 10 feet from the rock, a wave about 3 feet high suddenly came toward them.

"I turned into it to keep from getting pulled under it," Napper said.

By the time he turned to find Alforque, only 4-foot-11 and 93 pounds, she had been caught by the receding waters.

"She was about 30 feet away, getting swept away," Napper said.

The 45-year-old Silverton man tore off his jacket to get rid of any extra weight, and when he looked up again she was gone.

"That's the last I saw of her," he said in an interview Wednesday, breaking into tears.

Emergency personnel called by a someone on the beach arrived within minutes. His own phone no longer worked after being exposed to the water.

Along with rescuers, he searched for any sign of Alforque.

"I yelled for her," he said. "I was praying to God."

At one point, he saw someone wearing red — the color of her jacket — on the shore signaling for him. But he quickly realized it was a rescuer.

Thick fog and dangerous water conditions hampered the rescue efforts before the search was suspended on Monday.

Full story can be found here.

A21

The Tuesday Lunch was moved to Thursday this week because one of the primary members was traveling. The rest of us went to the Lil Wal (Little Waldorf Saloon) for lunch on Tuesday and it absolutely sucked. I had high hopes for the Wal when the folks from the terrific Red's 395 Grill took it over a year or two ago and initially was not disappointed. But since the Wal re-opened, the service has gone downhill considerably and the number of solid options on the menu seems to be shrinking. However, the Wal continues to be the top choice around the University of Nevada campus community for happy hour specials and other night-time shenanigans.
Enough about that. The Tuesday Lunch officially took place on Thursday this week for the group's second visit to Amendment 21 in the south downtown area. And we were all impressed again with the quality grub. Ryan went with the Tri-Tip Dip and is still licking his lips. Double-A had a weird salad with apples and nuts involved. He seemed happy.
The new addition to the Lunch went with the grilled chicken sandwich and we all enjoyed eating her french fries. Yours truly had a turkey pesto wrap with a house salad and it also turned out to be a solid choice. All in all, a good meal and we all agree that A-21 is officially on the lunch rotation now. The menu is diverse and has some traditional bar fare with some other great options. The Melt 21 stands alongside some of the great sandwiches in Reno and the pizza is a solid option as well -- I'll personally vouch for the "Man's Best Friend Pizza."
Downside to today's visit was the fact that the place was out of soda. Really? How do you run out of Pepsi? And if you do run out of Pepsi, we aren't you taking 40 bucks to the nearest grocery store for some 2-liters until you get Pepsi again from the distributor? Seriously.
Overall, however, another solid option for lunch in the downtown area. And the nightlife at A-21 is usually very good with a diverse crowd. It will be one of the main stops on the upcoming Santa Crawl.

Johnny Blue's Top 25

On the surface, it appears as though this is coming out a few weeks late. Yes, college hoops started a couple weeks ago. But preseason rankings mean little. Everybody has a half-dozen games or so under their belts now. We can start to make opinions and judgments. So here is the first installment of the Johnny Blue College Hoops Top 25 (we'll update it monthly).

Top 25 (December)
1. North Carolina. Even if these guys stumble and lose a game or two, it's because they wanted to just for the fun of it.
2. Connecticut. Hasheem Thabeet might be my favorite college hoops name since Svein Dyrkolbotn.
3. Duke. Mike Krzyzewski can coach. He even got Carmelo Anthony to play defense in the Olympics. Amazing.
4. Oklahoma. This just in: Blake Griffin is good. Damn good.
5. Pittsburgh. I'm giving them some love for now because they've won everything by double digits so far. But they will take some lumps later this year.
6. Purdue. Only loss so far was in OT to Oklahoma. Looking forward to tonight's showdown with the Dookies.
7. Gonzaga. The Zags will put up a 28-win season, win the WCC and will be out of the tournament before the Sweet 16.
8. Tennessee. Do you think Bruce Pearl gets a discount at Alimony's?
9. Texas. At least these Longhorns have a chance to play for the national title, unlike the football team that just got screwed over by the BCS.
10. Syracuse. The Orange just beat Florida and Kansas to win some long-named tournament last week.
11. UCLA. Darren Collison is the best college basketball player whose name isn't Hansbrough.
12. Notre Dame. I think Luke Harangody is a nice player, but he is not an All-American and he is not a guy who will carry a team deep into the tournament.
13. Michigan State. Tom Izzo is a good coach. It's that simple.
14. Xavier. They'll be even better when Terrell Holloway gets back from a foot injury.
15. Louisville. Samardo Samuels is going to be a star.
16. Davidson. Yes, Stephen Curry looks like he's 12 years old. But he is the best scorer in the country.
17. Arizona State. James Harden is a hell of a player, but there isn't much around him.
18. Kansas. The defending champs lost a ton of talent. But I've seen them play a couple times and the cupboard is hardly bare. Plus, everyone is probably eligible this season.
19. Memphis. I'm not a big John Calipari fan, but he always has a ton of great athletes to help him choke at the end.
20. Georgetown. These absolutely spanked Maryland the other day.
21. Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons might be good. They might not. One thing for sure -- their non-conference schedule sucks.
22. Villanova. Another Big East team that will build up wins now and struggle later.
23. Wisconsin. Badgers don't have a ton of stars but they have talent. Only loss so far is to UConn.
24. Miami. It would be nice to see Jack McClinton get some love as a first-team All-American. He is the total package.
25. Dayton. Good win for the Flyers last week over Marquette.

Closure

Those in Northern Nevada received great news this morning with the arrest of a suspect in Brianna Denison case. Local law enforcement laid out some impressive stuff this morning in a press conference. Obviously, we hope this helps the families of those involved get some closure with what they have gone through.

This case has received a ton of local and national media attention and clearly that attention paid off to some degree in the arrest of a suspect. My question is this (and in no way shape or form is any disrespect meant): Why doesn't every case of this type get the same type of attention? Rape and murder (in addition to child abuse) are the most heinous crimes a person could commit. Why wouldn't there be significant media coverage and/or community outrage every time such a crime is committed? Of course, those are rhetorical questions because the answers are ones that nobody wants to admit.
This crime was committed against a pretty, petite white girl from an affluent family. What happens if you change some of those descriptions? What if it was a poor ugly black girl? Or Mexican? Would she be "Reno's Daughter?" Would there be rewards offered and websites dedicated to the cause? Would there be a Dr. Phil appearance or a Dateline NBC crew in town?
What happened to Brianna Denison is absolutely horrific. As a father, thinking about an event like this brings out thoughts of a primal nature as to what I would do to the bastard if that happened to my daughters. I trust the law enforcement on this that they have the person who did this and that there can be closure.
But this type of case happens on far too often a basis in this country, in this world. And shame on us for not reacting the same way every time.

Uncle Vinny Sure Knows How To Make Pizza

The Tuesday Lunch was without one of its primary members this week, but the Tuesday Lunch is not about one man, so it went on as scheduled.
This week's stop was a new place in town, Uncle Vinny's Pizza over in Sparks. This place just opened the doors last week and the grand opening is slated for next week (once they get the liquor license and all that jazz). But its clear that this place knows what it is doing, at least for the lunch crowd.
Having sampled all of the area pizza buffets in town, Uncle Vinny's immediately goes to the top of the list. They had four pies available at all times, along with streak fries and some of the cheesiest, greasiest (translation = best) garlic bread I've ever had. The salad bar was solid -- it's my kind of salad bar when, instead of the fake processed bacon bits, there is actually a tub of real bacon pieces.
Vanilla Gold especially like the Hawaiian Pizza at Vinny's. There was another pie there that had chicken on it and what seemed to be ranch dressing as the sauce. Not sure what it was, but it was solid.
And the price is right -- $6.99 for the all-you-can-eat.
I have to wonder about the location, however. Uncle Vinny's is going to draw a nice lunch crowd from the area businesses but it is lacking proximity to any real residential area. I hope it works out for them because I think they have a fine operation. I feel the same way for Big Guy's Pizza way out on Red Rock Road off 395. Those guys might just have the best pizza in Reno, but can they survive out there? They've been around for nearly a year now, so hopefully that is a good sign.
So that brings up a question. Who has the best pie in town? I have to put Big Guy's up there alongside the longtime favorite J.J.'s Pie Company. Uncle Vinny's debuts in the top five, along with Pub-n-Sub and the Sicilian pie at Nu Yalk Pizza. I think I still have J.J.'s in the top spot right now but I reconsider that with every trip to Big Guy's. Those are the clear-cut top two, in the humble opinion of Johnny Blue.

Madness

The fine folks behind The Wiz of Odds have launched a college hoops version. Check out The March To Madness. Good stuff there.

The Imperial ... not just for boozing

A buddy recently moved to Reno and for the past few weeks, the Tuesday Lunch has been spent getting him acquainted with Reno eats. Some of the stops have been my normal haunts but we have also tried some places new to both of us. (I'll try to catch up on previous stops, but let's stay current for now)
This week's Tuesday Lunch was the Imperial Bar & Lounge, off downtown on Arlington by the river.
My only previous trips to Imperial had been purely nighttime social stops. It has built a nice rep for being a hot spot on the downtown bar scene and usually draws a pretty interesting range of people. So I was pretty surprised when I found out that they there was a lunch menu or even a kitchen. Perhaps that says something about the time of day that I am at Imperial.
The menu was not long but had some diverse options outside of the pizza section. My buddy Ryan went with the pizza (pepperoni, sausage, onions and black olives) and was impressed. I had a grilled chicken panini sandwich with goat cheese, bacon, pesto, tomato and a basil salsa. Great stuff. Service was fine and the atmosphere was cool. There was some good music going and the Imperial is always a good place to people-watch with the huge windows on the front.
The only drawback was that, even on a Tuesday afternoon, the place still smelled like a bar. And not the smokey smell, but more like somebody forgot to wipe down the tables and chairs and then mop the floor kind of smell. Not very appealing when you are sitting down for a meal and you have the feeling that someone might have recently puked within about 15 feet of where you are sitting.
Overall, however, I'll go back. Meal was reasonably priced and the menu, while not large, certainly had some other items (meatball sliders, fish tacos, baked mac and cheese, etc) that I want to try. And Johnny Blue is committed to supporting deserving downtown businesses first.

Veterans Day

For the bulk of my life, Veterans' Day meant very little to me. It was a day off from school, a day off from work and sometimes a day to actually go to work and actually get stuff done because nobody else was there and the phone wouldn't ring and the emails wouldn't pile up.
I did not grow up in or around military life. My father, despite holding a terrible draft number, was not drafted for Vietnam and instead went to college. Like the rest of my generation (that would be Generation X, or the Reactive Generation, depending on which social theories you subscribe to), I was reared during the latter part of the Cold War. The only "war" that we went through during our formative years was the first Gulf War and that played out seemingly more like a video game on TV than anything "real."
It wasn't until finally getting around to Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation" that I finally started to truly appreciate the sacrifices that our military personnel make. It made me curious about my grandfather and his time in the Army during World War II.
My family is not exactly known for its communication skills and my grandfather's military background was rarely spoken of. I knew only that he served in Europe, mostly in France, and that he was awarded a Purple Heart. The only story that anyone in my extended family ever told of that time was a funny one. My grandfather grew up as Glen Anderson but he was always known as "Andy" and, later on, he was was Grandpa Andy to us. Upon enlisting in the Army and see his birth certificate for the first time, he came to find out that his first name was actually spelled Glenn, this after naming his firstborn Glen Jr.
During a trip back to the midwest about seven or eight years ago, I summoned enough courage to ask my grandfather about that time in his life. It took a lot to even get a question out. But we were alone for a rare moment, watching a baseball game in his always frigid, air-conditioned living room with the humidity outside so nasty that you could almost see the moisture in the muggy air.
"Grandpa, what do you remember about being in the Army?" I asked.
My grandfather never took his eyes off the television. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he replied in his normal gruff tone, "These damn Cubs will never win anything."
For a brief moment, I recalled that story about 5:30 this morning when I checked my email and read a message from my mom, saying that my grandfather had a fall yesterday and was in the hospital for X-rays and tests. When I got to work this morning and saw the empty parking garage, it took me a moment to remember that today is Veterans' Day and I thought of my grandfather again. And it made me think a little bit more about what this day should be about.
About an hour ago, my dad called. Somehow, I knew the absolute split-second that I saw the caller ID.
Rest in peace, Grandpa Andy. I'll miss you.

Schadenfreude

I've seen the word schadenfreude defined a handful of different ways but the one I prefer is the notion of taking delight in the misfortune of others. I was thinking about this the other day after the election knowing there is certainly a percentage of the left who were excited not so much because Obama won, but because the Republicans lost.
Instead of "Yay, we finally have charismatic, thoughtful leader whose victory has been felt the world over," there is more the feeling of "Fuck those guys and I hope Karl Rove has his colon removed with a dull butter knife and no anesthetic."
Why take joy in them losing instead of you winning? It's a notion that carries over to sports as well. And it is kind of a ridiculous character trait to have. But I realized this morning that I have it as well, hopefully to a lesser degree than most.
I listen to National Public Radio while in the car, mostly because music is best left for the iPhone/iPod and sports talk radio is mindless crap. NPR, I've found, provides an insightful look into the news and gives you the off-the-beaten-path stuff that is kinda cool.
In Reno, there are two choices for NPR -- the local KUNR station, which includes some local programming, and Sacramento station, which you can pick up throughout most of the area here. Some of the programming is the same, but I find myself listening to the Sac feed most of the time. And I've never really figured out the reason for that until this morning. While on my seven-mile, 11-minute commute (12 minutes if I miss the light on McCarran), I caught myself smiling when NPR was giving the lengthy traffic report in Sacramento.

Obama-nation

The Onion: Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress

The great thing about satire, or humor in general, is that the joke is already rooted in truth. The mainstream message last night about the election was the "historic event" and the "momentous victory" that is Barack Obama becoming the 44th president. That's the story that we (well, 52 percent of us, anyway) apparently wanted to hear. That's the story that was supposed to make us feel all warm inside, like we just gulped a cup of hot chocolate (no pun intended).
But what is the reality? The economy, nationally and globally, is in ruins. We are fighting two wars and neither has a true end in sight. The healthcare system is a wreck and our educational system is always in need of an overhaul.
Every vote that was cast for Obama had a reason behind it -- straight-ticket Democrat, McCain/Palin scares the shit out of me, The Bush/Rove Republicans screwed it up so give the Dems a chance, minorites voting for an African-American, I meant to vote for someone else but I am too stupid to read the ballot properly, or even the idealistic Change We Can Believe In. Or maybe bits and pieces of some or all of the above. Or maybe, for a certain percentage of the population, it just came down to this: "Everything is fucked. We might as well give the black guy a chance."