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BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
Perhaps it’s the arctic weather or maybe I’m going through a midlife masochistic phase, but for the past couple of months, I’ve had an insatiable appetite for hot wings. Now normally, I’m a wimpy-palated mild wings gal – anything spicier is a belly bomb with a very short fuse – but such is my newfound fervor that even the pleasantly piquant punch of medium wings makes taste buds scoff derisively.
So I set out to find the towering inferno of hot wing recipes and in doing so, stumbled upon a shindig that takes place the first weekend in Albuquerque called the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show (http://www.fiery-foods.com). After perusing a dossier of dishes that sounded more like a punk band lineup – Scorned Woman, Widow Maker and Hot … er, “female dog” at the Beach, among others – I decided maybe I don’t have a Teflon tongue after all.
Wondering just what other questionable concoctions people are willing to toss down their gullets, I turned my deep-fried dreams into a fest quest, a foray to find freaky food fiestas across the country. What I discovered was … well, let’s just say that if the adage, “You are what you eat,” is true, the folks who frequent these far-out festivals are buggy, gritty and just plain nuts.
Here’s a smorgasbord of strange snack celebrations sure to surprise, shock, satisfy … or sicken:
Rattlesnake Round-Up – Sweetwater, Texas
http://www.rattlesnakeroundup.net
March 11-14
The dish du jour is fried Western Diamondback rattlesnake, which I hear has a real bite to it. Events include the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant, snake-handling shows and a snake meat-eating contest, which I’ll bet is hiss-terical to watch.
The World Grits Festival – April 16-18, St. George, S.C.
http://www.worldgritsfestival.com
Inspired by the 1985 discovery that the residents of St. George consumed more grits per capita than any other place in the world, the fest is highlighted by a rolling-in the-grits contest. I reckon that’s one way to sow your wild oats.
SPAM Jam – April 24, Waikiki, Hawaii
http://www.spamjamhawaii.com
A yearly block party so big it shuts down the city’s main drag, SPAM Jam has spawned such creative cuisine as SPAM Cabbage and Garlic Spaghettine, SPAM Nachos and Guava Mango BBQ SPAM Sliders. Personally, I’d rather sacrifice the canned, jellied meat (it IS meat, right?) to the volcano gods.
RoadKill Cook-off – Sept. 25, Marlinton, W.Va.
http://www.pccocwv.com/festival.htm
Dishes don’t have to be made from actual roadkill, they’re merely required to include critters commonly found dead on the side of the road as their main ingredient. There’s also the crowning of Miss WV Roadkill, who I hear was so nervous last year, she froze like a deer in headlights.
Bugfest – Sept. 25, Raleigh, N.C.
http://www.bugfest.org
You can literally rustle up some grub(s) at Bugfest, where the delicacies include Ant-Chiladas and chocolate chirp cookies made with crickets.
Turkey Testicle Festival – Near Thanksgiving, Huntley, Ill.
http://www.huntleyturkeytesticlefestival.com
As if Tom Turkey didn’t have enough to worry about. I’ll stick to the parts of the bird that flap or trot, thank you!
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
(SAYS ‘I LOVE YOU’ ALL YEAR ROUND)
Valentine’s Day … oh, the images those two words evoke! Lovers gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes, heart-shaped boxes brimming with chocolaty goodness, long-stemmed roses and the trill of love in the air!
For some, however, ‘tis a day of dread, a reminder that the only person gazing in their eyes is the one in the mirror as they mourn a lost or not-yet-found love. Cheer up, mopey - being single on Valentine's Day isn't the end of the world. If it were, Cupid would have fallen on his own arrow by now!
For those single by choice, it’s like Independence Day, a celebration of the freedom to gaze openly at whomever they want without having to sleep on the couch later! For those who view marriage as an institution to which they never want to be committed, it’s apt that Valentine’s Day is named after a guy who was imprisoned and sentenced to death.
Whatever their reasons for being uncoupled, singletons have one thing in common: Being overlooked on Valentine’s Day, even on the airwaves, where they’re subjected to Lionel Richie promising his endless love and Sting vowing, in stalker fashion, that every breath you take, he’ll be watching you.
Paul McCartney had it all wrong – some people HAVE had enough of silly love songs. If you fall into that category, here’s a bouquet of lovelorn laments and caustic kiss-offs for your commiseration or celebration:
1. “All I Want From You (Is Away)” – Loretta Lynn
2. “Anti Love Song” – Lenny Kravitz
3. “Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” - Mötley Crüe
4. “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart” - Johnny Cash
5. “Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth ('Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye)” - Ray Stevens
6. “Hate Everything About You” - Ugly Kid Joe
7. “Have a Nice Rest of Your Life” – Randy Travis
8. “Heartbreak Hotel” - Elvis Presley
9. “I Don’t Want You Back” – Eamon (Explicit lyrics)
10. “If The Phone Don't Ring, It's Me” - Jimmy Buffett
11. “If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?” - Mayday Parade
12. “I’m Gonna Forget About You” – Sam Cooke
13. “Kiss This” - Aaron Tippin
14. “Love Bites – Def Leppard
15. “Love Don't Live Here Anymore” - Rose Royce
16. “Love is a Losing Game – Amy Winehouse
17. “Love Stinks” - J. Geils Band
18. “Not Tonight (I Have a Heartache)” - George Thorogood
19. “Since You've Been Gone” - Weird Al Yankovic (“It couldn't hurt any more if you shoved a red-hot cactus up my nose!”)
20. “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed” - Barbara Mandrell
21. “Song For the Dumped” - Ben Folds Five
22. “Tainted Love” - Soft Cell
23. “Take Your Love and Shove it”- Joe Pesci (Yes, THAT Joe Pesci.)
24. “Thank God and Greyhound She's Gone” - Roy Clark
25. “The Last Word in Lonesome is Me” - Roger Miller
26. “What Part of ‘No’ Don't You Understand?” - Lorrie Morgan
27. “Where Did Our Love Go? ” – The Supremes
28. “Without You” - Nilsson
29. “You Hurt Me (And I Hate You)” – Eurythmics
30. “You've Lost That Loving Feeling” - Righteous Brothers
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
Bill Cosby said it in 2004: “People with their hat on backwards, pants down around the crack. Isn’t that a sign of something or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up?”
Four years later, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama put it in more straightforward terms: “Brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What’s wrong with that? Come on.”
On Jan. 13, “General” Larry Platt turned the admonishment into a chant: “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground!” Many laughed at the 62-year-old civil rights and community activist’s audition on “American Idol,” but the response he is getting is no joke.
“Pants on the Ground,” a rhythmic, atonal fashion critique, has already spawned several cover versions and is being called the Internet's first viral hit of the new decade. Simon Cowell may not have given Platt the green light, but in less than a week, more than 2 million Facebook and YouTube fans certainly did.
Now it’s my turn to throw my hat in the ring with a ditty of my own. Set to the tune of the children’s song “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” – more recently popularized by Young Jibbs’ as “Does Your Chain Hang Low?” – I give you, “Do Your Pants Hang Low?”
Do your pants hang low?
Do they let your undies show?
Do they make you trip and fall?
Do they make you shuffle slow?
Can you throw 'em o'er your back
Like a giant knapsack?
Do your pants hang low?
Do your pants hang loose?
Do they expose your caboose?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a noose?
If you tuck 'em in your boots
Will they float like parachutes?
Do your pants hang loose?
Do your pants hang down?
Make you look like such a clown?
Is your backside bared
Like a sideways frown?
With one hand you grope
Lookin' like a major dope
Do your pants hang down?
Do your blue jeans sag?
All along the floor they drag
Do they flap in the wind?
Can you fly 'em like a flag?
With your pants below your waist
You're the picture of bad taste!
Do your blue jeans sag?
Are your slacks too slack?
Too revealing in the back?
Do you give new meaning to
SAY "NO" TO CRACK?
Do you even own a belt
Leather, cloth or made of felt?
Are your slacks too slack?
Pull your pants up, please!
Stop 'em flappin' in the breeze!
Do you think you're really cool
Showing off your BVD's?
No one wants to be privy
To the sight of your new skivvies
Pull your pants up, please!
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
As the clock struck midnight two weeks ago, legions of self-improvers crushed out their last smokes, took a final swig of champagne, and with gimlet-eyed determination, resolved to leave their vices behind. Others pledged to lose weight, spend more time with loved ones, get out of debt, and made countless other resolutions to upgrade themselves to New And Improved Human 2.0.
Not this girl. As I lay on my sofa, eating chips, watching the ball drop in Times Square on the big-screen television Santa (translation: my mom) gave me, and texting a friend who was laying on her sofa, eating chips and vicariously partying in Times Square with me, I resolved to do three things: Grab a blanket, snag some salsa for my chips, and channel-surf.
I kept my resolutions, but I know several people who have torn their vows asunder just 15 days into the new year. The secret to my success? Anti-resolutions. By declaring the endeavors I refuse to undertake in the next 12 months (unless doctor- or court-ordered), I’m guaranteed victory. So, in 2010, I resolve NOT to:
* Quit drinking. I don’t drink that much to begin with, so what's a glass or two? Every half hour. And the glass is shaped like a bottle.
* Quit smoking. Nobody likes a quitter and besides, I'm good at it. So don't be surprised if you see me simultaneously smoking a cigarette, a cigar and a ham or two.
* Tell the truth about my age. Actually, I plan to say I'm older than I am, so people will gush, "Wow, you look great!"
* Floss more. I already do it religiously – every Easter and Christmas.
* Watch any movie described by friends and/or family as "hilarious, the funniest thing I've ever seen!" I'm talking to you, "The Hangover." You were sporadically chuckle-worthy (just my opinion), but I laughed harder at the Portuguese translation of your title: "When You Drink, Don't Get Married."
* Spend an entire Saturday in my pj’s in front of the computer. After all, that new big-screen TV ain’t gonna watch itself.
* Keep using the same lame excuses for missing work, skipping the weddings of people I don't want to buy gifts, forgetting birthdays, etc. Instead, I'll think of new excuses.
* Be put on hold. When the person on the other end of the phone asks, "Will you hold, please?" he/she is clearly stating that I have a choice in the matter.
And since we're talking about phone etiquette, I resolve never again to sit through windy telemarketers' sales pitches, unable to get a word in edgewise, only to tell them in the end, "Thanks, not interested." Henceforth, I will interrupt the hucksters mid-spiel and ask for THEIR numbers so I can call back when it's most inconvenient for THEM.
Some of these resolutions are in jest; others are as serious as a German film festival. My philosophy is: Why write about stuff I'm going to do, then not do it when I can do stuff, then write about it?
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
It’s a brand-new year, full of hope, promise and resolutions that will be shattered by sundown. What better time to reminisce about the previous year in entertainment, to recall the faux pas, foibles and fumbles of some of Tinseltown’s finest – or in some cases, foolhardiest? After all, old acquaintance should not be forgot and never brought to mind!
To the tune of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
It’s a most nostalgic time of the year!
When we visit once more all those who heretofore
Made us smile, scoff or sneer!
It’s a most nostalgic time of the year!
I’m recap-capping the season’s headlines!
Of the stars’ highs and lows, of their wins and their woes
For inquiring minds!
I’m recap-capping the season’s headlines!
Jon and Kate dominated, by year’s end we hated
To see them wherever we turned!
With their schemin’ and plottin’, their kids all but forgotten
No surprise that their show crashed and burned!
Kanye West hijacked the spotlight last year!
Interrupted Ms. Swift and left everyone miffed
And the poor girl in tears!
But Beyoncé saved the show, amid cheers!
Young Chris Brown showed his true stripes by taking a few swipes
Rihanna he battered and cussed!
But she rallied quicker and emerged the victor
And left that chump eating her dust!
Many stars were overexposed this past year!
Spence and Heidi, take note: You’ve been shoved down our throats,
Would you please disappear?
Many stars were overexposed this past year!
Carrie Prejean lost her crown, gave gay-marriage thumbs down
And drew much backlash from Perez!
Photographs in the near-buff, if that wasn’t enough
A sex tape compounded the mess!
Speaking of Perez, ‘twas not his best year!
He was put in his place by a fist in the face
Well-deserved, so we hear!
Perhaps he’ll keep his big mouth shut this year!
Late-night talk bade adieu to Jay Leno in June
Conan filled his big shoes in the fall
“ER” made history – 15 years on TV!
“Guiding Light” made its last curtain call
And we lost many bright stars through the year:
From the 70’s era, an angel named Farrah
Many held her so dear!
Yes, we lost many bright stars through the year
On the same day, a big shock shook the world of pop-rock
When Michael took his final bow
And Walter Cronkite said his final goodnight
Swayze danced his way up to the clouds
Here’s to more headlines throughout the new year!
‘Cos it’s guaran-dang-teed, stars will booze, brawl and breed
Or screw up their careers!
And give us more entertainment this year!
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
For 26 years, PNC Wealth Management of Pittsburgh has entertained and educated bankers, brokers, students and shoppers alike with its annual "Christmas Price Index,” a cost assessment of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" if purchased at current prices. According to the latest tabulation, the whole kit and caboodle would run you $87,403 – up $800 from last year.
If you’re like me (translation: as broke as a sailor after three days ashore), there’s no way you could finance even a fraction of that figure, and besides, where ya gonna find a single maid a-milking, let alone eight? And unless those hens are wearing tiny berets and clucking “Frère Jacques,” how can you really be sure they’re French?
There are many less expensive, easier-to-obtain alternatives to the presents listed in the holiday tune. Compare the costs of these substitute gifts to the price tags on their traditional counterparts, and if your true love isn’t overjoyed by your offerings, your wallet will be.
* Traditional gift: A partridge in a pear tree - $159.99
* Cheaper alternative: Green parakeet - $21.99 at Petsmart, plus two pounds of juicy pear Jelly Belly beans from Amazon.com - $15. (Feeding Jelly Bellies to parakeet not recommended.)
* Traditional: Two turtle doves - $55.98
* Alternative: Two Dove Chocolate turtle martinis – After tossing back a couple of these, you won’t care about the cost.
* Traditional: Three French hens - $45
* Alternative: Three French hams - $27 (IdealCheese.com). Let’s face it, those hens are destined for the soup pot, anyway, so why not buy your food already dead?
* Traditional: Four calling birds - $599.96
* Alternative: Four bird callers - $13.48 (Amazon.com). Not for use during wabbit-huntin’ season.
* Traditional: Five golden rings - $499.95
* Alternative: Five rolls of Butter Rum Lifesavers – Candyfavorites.com offers a 20-roll box for $17.41.
* Traditional: Six geese a-laying - $150
* Alternative: “The Harlem Globetrotters: Six Decades of Magic” on VHS. Features early ‘trotter Reese "Goose" Tatum, possibly doing lay-ups, $1.99 (Amazon.com)
* Traditional: Seven swans a-swimming - $52.50
* Alternative: Seven scoops of Schwan's ice cream a-swimming in the syrup of your choice - $5 to $6 per half-gallon at various stores. Bonus: It’s easier to clean up than swan poop.
* Traditional: Eight maids a-milking - $58
* Alternative: “Watersing” by The Singing Milkmaids, $15 at CDBaby.com. Who can forget such hits as “My Johnny was a Shoemaker” and “Cheese and Curds and Whey”?
* Traditional: Nine ladies dancing - $5,473.07
* Alternative: Numerous ladies dancing at assorted “adult” establishments around town – Cover charge plus dollar bills for G-string-stuffing.
* Traditional: Ten lords a-leaping - $4,413.61
* Alternative: “The Michael Flatley Collection,” three two-sided DVDs featuring “The Lord of the Dance” for the low, low price of $18.99 at Amazon.com.
* Traditional: Eleven pipers piping - $2,284.80
* Alternative: Amazon’s entire stock of Zamfir's "Pipe Dreams" - $75.90. Hey, somebody’s gotta buy ‘em.
* Traditional: Twelve drummers drumming - $2,475.20
* Alternative: One out-of-work garage-band drummer – Fifty bucks, all the eggnog he can drink, plus he gets to crash on your couch for two weeks.
BY BELINDA M. PASCHAL
In this age of cookie-cutter programming, with hundreds of channels spewing no-resemblance-to-reality shows, Very Special Episodes and so-you-think-you-can-marry-a-dancing-millionaire-cougar contests, there’s little to nothing groundbreaking on the tube.
Shhh! Don’t tell The Powers That Be at CBS, who think they’ve mined comedy gold with the idea to base a show on the popular Twitter account of an out-of-work California writer.
After unemployment forced him to move in with his parents, Justin Halpern created the site to chronicle his 73-year-old father’s insults, tirades and pontifications. Example: “Oh, please, you practically invented lazy. People should have to call you and ask for the rights to lazy before they use it.”
Be warned before you Google the Twitter page: The elder Halpern’s proclamations aren’t usually as tame as the above quote; most are generously laced with profanity. In fact, the title of Halpern’s site includes a four-letter synonym for bodily waste that’s not fit for this family publication. Let’s just call it “Stuff My Dad Says” – “SMDS” for short.
In a victory for basement-dwellers everywhere, Halpern has become an Internet sensation, garnering 700,000 (and counting) followers, scoring a book deal with HarperCollins, and then landing an offer to co-write a sitcom inspired by “SMDS.”
CBS execs are twitterpated over this “new” idea, but they can’t slap a fresh coat of paint on a rundown shack and convince me it’s the Taj Mahal.
The concept of a crotchety geezer who berates and belittles everyone and everything under the sun? Gosh, I loved this show when I was 8 and it was called “All in the Family.”
Long before social networks, TV networks deluged us with dour, disgruntled dads. Here’s a half-dozen of my personal faves:
Archie Bunker, “All in the Family”
Family: Wife Edith, “little girl” Gloria, son-in-law Mike Stivic
Trademarks: Shabby armchair; penchant for slandering and stereotyping those of races, ethnicities, religions, etc., other than his own – and somehow, he made it funny.
Quotes: “Aw, geez!” “Dingbat!” “You are a Meathead!” “Shut … up … you!”
Fred Sanford, “Sanford and Son”
Family: Son Lamont; sister-in-law Aunt Esther, best friends Grady and Bubba
Trademarks: Junkyard; raggedy pickup; ratty beard; suspenders and plaid shirt
Quotes: “Shut up, dummy!” “It’s The Big One! I’m comin’ to join you, Elizabeth!”
Red Forman, “That '70s Show”
Family: Wife Kitty, daughter Laurie, son Eric
Trademarks: Permanently furrowed brow; narrow-eyed scowl
Quote: “Dumbass!”
Martin Crane, “Frasier”
Family: Sons Frasier and Niles, both psychologists; live-in physical therapist Daphne Moon
Trademarks: Threadbare armchair; cane; Jack Russell terrier named Eddie
Quote: “I did … then we had Niles.” – In response to Frasier asking if he believed in second chances.
Frank Costanza, “Seinfeld”
Family: Wife Estelle, son George
Trademarks: Incessant bellowing; man-boobs
Quotes: “You want a piece of me? YOU GOT IT!” “My George isn't clever enough to hatch a scheme like this.”
Al Bundy, “Married … with Children”
Family: Wife Peggy, daughter Kelly, Son Bud
Trademarks: Beleaguered expression; Sans-a-Belt trousers with hand in waistband
Quote: “Peg, kids, get ready to torture me – I'm home.”
