Stephen Colbert and Daft Punk

Why yes, that IS Bryan Cranston...as if we need more reasons to love that guy.

I was catching up on some articles this weekend after getting back from a two week vacation in Hawaii (more on that later), and this was easily the best thing I've seen in awhile:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade :P

For more info on the circumstances leading up to this amazing Colbert creation, read here.

New Thor movie trailer

The new Thor: The Dark World trailer looks fantastic:

Anniversary Pie & Dinner at T.W. Food

So what you have here is a low-quality picture of the remnants of our "anniversary apple pie" T picked up in celebration our four years of marriage. We both love pie and she similarly picked up a "birthday pie" back in April for me as well (Sorry cake, I'm just not that into you). What can I say, I have an amazing wife!

Luckily, we were able to have a belated anniversary dinner less than a week later, where we left Jacob with a babysitter for the first time ever. It turned out great, and I'm happy to safe we have an option when we want to go out on a date in the future!

Back to the anniversary dinner: I made a reservation at T.W. Food (377 Walden St., Cambridge, MA), a restaurant I've been wanting to check out for awhile. Although restaurant outings have been non-exisitent since the baby came along, the Mrs. and I really enjoy tasting menus, especially for our inaugural visit to a restaurant, where we really get a better idea of the chef's culinary POV. Here's the menu:

Here are the highlights:

• First off, the tasting menu had a great variety of unique flavors, each course left us eagerly awaiting the next
• Some very creative offerings here. T was really impressed with the borscht and how well the salmon roe and bacon served as bursts of flavor in the soup. This is coming from a person who doesn't like cold soups.
• I thoroughly enjoyed the creme brûlée foie gras which came with some delicious toasted brioche. You had to crack the top of the creme brûlée, just like the dessert version!
• The surf & turf had the best scallop T has every tasted. We were both a bit puzzled by how the sauerkraut fit in...but we finished every last bit on the plate.
• Early grey is probably my favorite tea (shout out to all the Next Generation fans out there) and in parfait form, it was a light, refreshing way to finish our meal!

I've also heard good things about the brunch at T.W. Food, and can't wait for our next chance to visit!

Chairman...approves!

Food and Media

I've got to share a few food in media finds I've stumbled upon in the past month:



On the Table w/ Eric Ripert: A series found on YouTube, I really enjoy the banter Ripert has with his guests and as an established chef and food celebrity, he'll have some big name friends show up like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali. The show is typically 22 minutes or so, so keep in mind that its not your normal bite-sized YouTube video.

The Alton Browncast:You guys, I am so happy that this podcast exists. As a big fan of his former show Good Eats, I've really missed Alton Brown's unique and geeky take on all things culinary. Here's a description of the podcast from his webpage:

"TV Host and Foodist Alton Brown reviews recent food news, chats with celebrities about their culinary passions, takes calls from listeners, and basically does whatever he flippin’ wants for 45 minutes."

Seriously though, I eagerly await the new episode each week, check it out if you're the least bit interested.

(Summer) Tuesday's Tunes: Daft Punk

There are certain bands I only listen to in certain seasons. For the summer, nothing beats an upbeat pop song, or a high energy tune to rock out to, especially when combined with an afternoon drive.

It took a week or two to grow on me, but I've been playing Daft Punk's Random Access Memories almost daily during the work week. Since I basically just let the album play from start to finish, I figured I'd share the playlist via Spotify:



Just a great upbeat album for the summer. What's on your summer playlist?

Getting back into video games

Since marriage, I've played way more board games than video games. Since the baby was born, I've played a whole lot of...nothing. With the little guy not needing a feeding every hour, T and I have had more time to watch TV and relax a bit in the evenings, and while we do try and get out of the house on weekends, we rarely plan anything during the actual week.

So it should be no surprise I was bitten by the video game bug after hearing some great recommendations on The Indoor Kids podcast (a recent find) and realized this was something I could definitely fit in on quieter evenings. so the research commenced, I downloaded some new games on my iPad, I located, dusted off, and charged my Nintendo DS, and was ready to dive back into my long dormant hobby.

Here's what stuck:

I installed and enjoying League of Legends, a popular computer game in a genre I had heard a lot about, but had no first hand knowledge of. Although it has a steep learning curve, with the help of some experienced friends, and even some friends to play with, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. If you play or decide to try it out, feel free to add me as a friend at "IamBluesteel".

Also, I'll be sure to share what other games that really stick out, and it'll probably be a mixed bag of casual games, like Candy Crush, which I have a love/hate relationship with, and more substantial games like the aforementioned League of Legends.

Tuesday's Tunes: Closer, by Tegan and Sara

Closer
By: Tegan & Sara

This song is so catchy, been playing this one daily for the past few weeks.

Mega Man 2 Lullabies

Guess what my son will be listening to when its time for bed tonight?!?

MEGA MAN 2 LULLABIES!

These sweet piano renditions from select Mega Man 2 songs are a free download, so fans should definitely grab the free tunes!

Speechless

Ok, finding the time to blog as a new Dad has been quite the challenge, and it was a pretty lofty goal when I thought I could set out to make regular posts since there's a biiiiiit of a learning curve in this whole taking-care-of-a-little-life business, but I will try when I can.

I'm happy to share that we have been able to make it back to church for two weeks now with Jacob in tow. Unfortunately, I've only been able to participate in said-services for only a small fraction of the time, but hey, its progress, and I'll take what I can get. In general, we are learning what we need to bring and what we need to do when bringing the little guy out, namely, bring more diapers than we think we need, and multiple changes of clothes for the baby.

Along with that, I am relearning how to interact with other adults. Now at work its pretty easy since you have a framework already set up, whether its talking about TPS reports or engaging in light chit chat (by which I mean talking about The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Community, etc.), but when faced with questions a bit more opened ended like "How have you been?" or "How is being a new parent?" this has been my response...

...but hey, its not that I don't appreciate human interaction, I'm just not the most thrilling conversationalist at this point and time, so thank you in advance for your understanding.

A Song For Mama

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Here's an old school tune "A Song For Mama" by Boyz 2 Men in honor of you:

Saturday Morning Lamentations

A bit of old news for those in the know, but I am super-bummed that both Young Justice and Green Lantern the Animated Series are NOT being renewed on Cartoon Network...

Young Justice featured the teenage sidekicks of some iconic super-heroes in the Justice League, that really saw the characters grow AND have an engaging (and often angsty) plot, while Green Lantern really pulled off what became an epic cosmic space adventure...

My consolation prize is a whole slew of great selections from Cartoon Network have been added to Netflix, including the entire Justice League series, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Also making my way through the Ultimate Spider-man cartoon, which is classic Saturday morning fun, filled with fun sight gags such as...

and...

*sigh* I do love my animation.

April Update

Just a quick check-in as I relearn how to construct sentences:

• Welcomed my son Jacob into the world on April 1st at 11:15am! Many future blog posts to feature the little guy, who is healthy and doing the things a newborn should do...namely eat, sleep, and poop...sometimes all at once.
• Recovery for the wife has been more challenging, but we've been seeing improvement each week. Overwhelmed by the love, help, and support we've received from friends and family.
• Boston Marathon bombings: in short, it was shocking but just incredible to see the city (especially the police) rally together for a single purpose.
• My Mom is with us for two weeks and has been a huge blessing...and our place has never been so clean and well stocked with food.
• Survived my first week back to the office, which wouldn't have been possible without the bullet above.

Thank you and good night...

Sharing a song for Good Friday

It is Good Friday, and I was blessed earlier this week  to have Nichole Nordeman's rendition of How Deep the Father's Love For Us come up on my playlist. The powerful lyrics accompanied by her soft, almost wounded voice, do a great job in cutting right to the heart:

   

May this Easter weekend be a time of deep reflection, as well as a joyful time with friends and family!

Street Fighter X Mega Man

You must go download the FREE retro-loving game Street Fighter X Mega Man now! Here's the game trailer if you need some convincing:

Goats yelling like humans and babies eating wasabi

And now for some silly videos. First up, we have a good 'ol compilation of goats yelling like humans:


And then, Chinese parents giving their baby a glob of wasabi...

   

Happy Friday!

New Amazing Spider-Man 2 costume

I'm digging the new costume for the Amazing Spider-Man 2 because it looks closer to the comic book version, and is an improvement on the yellow eyed costume used in the first ASM:

And now a quick comparison with a recent comic cover by artist Humberto Ramos::

It's too bad a lot of people didn't give the new Spidey movie a try, since a casual viewer can only take so much retelling of an origin story (I don't blame you), but casting is top notch and worth a viewing if you're in the mood for some fun super-hero antics. For those psyched for Amazing Spider-Man 2, here's a few photos that popped up recently.

Preparations

An adorable hat the Mrs. knit this weekend

Once it felt like Baby Hsieh's due date would never come, that it was months and months away...and now, with roughly a month to go,  I find myself physically and mentally scrambling to get ready for the his arrival! Granted, I'm not expecting to truly feel 100% "ready" before his arrival, but there are a few tasks that I'd really like to wrap up in the next few weekends:

• Purchase the crib and dresser/changing table at IKEA
• Assemble said crib and dresser
• Purchase the stroller
• Install the car seat

A few of these tasks requires me asking for help, which I seriously struggle with, but something I know I will need to be doing more in the near future. Blame it on a combination of stubbornness and macho/delusional pride.

It also seems like the remaining weekends are going to fly by. A quick glance at the calendar reveals daylight savings time coming up (the bad one where we lose an hour), and in two weekends I'm expecting a wonderful visit from my sister and cousins, who are making the trek from New York to visit us up in Boston...on St. Patrick's Day weekend (an unplanned coincidence). Following that, we've got Palm Sunday and Easter, which I look forward to every year as time of celebration and gratitude. After that, there may be a sliiight decrease in the frequency of blog posts ;)

Batman and Twinkies

I don't think this is the same "League of Assassins" we know today from the Animated Series or the Nolan movies...

This is just one of the many super-hero Hostess ads I recently discovered on this page, back when Batman, Spider-Man, more would get into some crazy hijinks involving snack cakes as the answer.

RIP Hostess.

Recent viewings

Although I haven't really been listening to much music as of late (hence the lack of "Tuesday's Tunes" posts), I can share some quick bits about what I've been watching:

MOVIES
 
Hobbit 3D: It was a fun movie, but I'm reserving giving this any rating until all three parts are released. A nice bit of fantasy to escape into, especially if you're secretly wanting to live in a luxurious Hobbit hole or go on an adventure!

Ted: I might not have been in the right mood to watch this one, but I thought it was kind overhyped and awkward. I love a fart joke as much as the next guy, but I was only lukewarm to this one.

Crazy, Stupid, Love: I enjoy a good rom-com now and then, but this one had some depth and substance to it. Sure this one's from two years ago, but I'm glad I was finally able to watch it.

Moonrise Kingdom: I really enjoyed this one, and this was T's first Wes Anderson movie. Luckily, it was probably the most accessible too, and she enjoyed it as well!


TV

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: I'm really bummed they cancelled this one after only two seasons, but man, they crammed it full of Marvel's C and D-list characters, I was in geek heaven. I would never think that I would see an animated version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but then again, they ARE going to get their own movie at some point in 2014.

Shark Tank: I can't get enough of it, multiple friends have been recommending it to me for awhile, and I finally got hooked after I caught an episode last week while I was staying at the hotel.

Community: Two episodes in from it's return...and its very "meh" but I will stick with this one out of loyalty...and the fact that its coming to a close.

Pity Cyclops

"Jeaaaaaaaaan!"

Talk radio and aging with grace

I've gotten back to listening to podcasts on my daily commute. In no particular order, here's what I've been subscribing to:

• This American Life
• Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
• Radiolab
• The Moth
• Comic Dorks
• Fatman on Batman (with Kevin Smith)

In what is probably related news, I had some (slightly younger) friends mention a few songs and musicians that they've been listening to...and I had never heard of the artists before. I then promptly went home and created playlists on Spotify of Frank Ocean and A$Ap Rocky to help ease the pain and humiliation. Guys...this is totally happening:

I'm alive!

Happy Valentine's Day readers! I just got wrapped up my busiest season of work, a five day postgraduate course we put on annually the first full week of February. This usually means a very busy, rapid-paced January, but everything shaped up in the end, despite a big 'ol blizzard hitting Boston on the last day of the course.

Anyhow, that explains the lack of posts in in January, I should be posting more regularly in the coming weeks, but in the mean time, I leave you with the following song that's been stuck in my head since the weekend:


Can't wait for the new album to drop in March!

Tuesday's Tunes: Do You Hear the People Sing?

Friends, the following song has been stuck in my head, on and off, for the past two weeks, and I might have been asked by a friend to lead us in this song at a New Year's party...

Link: The hipster food glossary

While I've been trying to reign in my disdain for hipster culture, I stumbled upon this intriguing article highlighting some UK hipster food slang from The Guardian: The hipster food glossary: from French dip to burnt ends. Some terms included were sliders, kimchi, mac'n'cheese, and bubble tea. My initial thoughts:

• There are a lot of Asian culinary references...does that make Asians automatically food-hipsters?
• My God, I was already familiar with all the listed terms in the glossary, so there may be some truth to the statement above.
• Interesting to see what American food trends makes it "across the pond"...mostly of the unhealthy but delicious variety it would seem

Since we're on the topic of hipsters, I also want to recommend some of the un-ironically awesome food pictures at the Hipsterfood tumblr, feast your eyes on this (*WARNING* The bloggers are vegans, so no animal noms on the blog):

Happy New Year!

Ok, so I dropped the ball on having some content ready while I was on vacation for the holidays. Let me make it up to you by sharing this video, a very Mega Man Xmas:


   

A very Happy 2013 to you!