Dear Food Network

Dear Food Network,

I used to love your channel. I loved finding recipes that "NORMAL" people could make. You know before you kicked off Paula Deen and then made your channel all about competitions.

Oh and while we're at it...can you keep the lives of your current food network stars out of their shows.  I really don't care about Ree Drummond's family or what Giada's up to in Italy. I want recipes that I can make.

How about a show about making good food in a small kitchen on a budget. Not everyone can afford the fancy ingredients that the likes of Bobby, Giada etc use. A cooking show for real people would be awesome.

Oh and while we're at it. What the hell is up with has been tv stars getting cooking shows these days.

Sincerely,

Someone that would just like some good recipes

Political Rant

I'm so sick of everyone saying that Obama has destroyed this country in his two  terms in office. That's basically depends on whose side you are on.

No president is perfect because no person is perfect, but I really hate that everything gets blamed on him, especially after the last bozo who held office.

If we really want to talk about who destroyed this country, let's talk about Sarah Palin and her tea party cronies. If it weren't for McCain's lack of vetting when it came to his VP candidate, she could have gone quietly away.

Instead we have this whack job who divided the republican party and then joined them making them ultra conservative and ultra Christian and ultra hate filled.

Before the tea party the two parties could sometimes work together. I'm not saying they were best buddies, but it was possible for them to work together, which is something that hasn't happened at all since Sarah's tea party loonies came to bed.

There has been more hatred and division in the last few years than ever before and the blame seems to be misguidedly placed.

Now if only we could deport Sarah to Russia, which she can apparently see from her house.

Food Network Annoys Me

I used to love Food Network. There were so many great cooking shows that made food that I would love to eat.

Then reality creeped in, along with some really obnoxious and pretentious cooks, Ree Drummond, I'm looking at you.

I loved shows like Unwrapped. Those were fun and we learned something about some of our favorite eats. Oh and Good Eats. Alton Brown was the Bill Nye of cooking. I'd never cook things his way, but I felt like I learned something after watching.

Heck, I even tolerated Rachael Ray and her freaking EVOO.

And can I just say, I miss Paula Deen. I loved her and her food, however fattening.

Good food has never been healthy, I tell you.

Ever since her scandal, Food Network has been trying to replace her, and they are failing miserably. Paula never came across as show offy. The Pioneer Woman sure does, and she laughs at her own jokes which is doubly annoying.

Oh and Food Network? Unless the family is cooking with the host...I don't want to know about their family or what they are doing. That goes for Ree, Giada, Bobby and anyone else.

And these stupid challenges.

I'm sick of CHOPPED....Cupcake Wars....etc.

I want to find new recipes, not watch people try to win a fast buck.

And while I'm ranting, please put Guy Fierie out to pasture. He is obnoxious and so are all of his shows.

The only show I kind of like on the channel these days is The Kitchen, which is a dumbed down version of The Chew, but with less obnoxious hosts. I love Katie Joel, Jeff Mauro and Sunny Anderson.

Anyone else want to rant with me?

The Sad Sad Ebook Library

I love ebooks and I love the fact that our library is online, but there are so many things about ebooks and lending that annoy me.

Allow me to rant about the whole sad sorry ebook mess.

1. You are almost always on a waiting list for books because there's just not enough selection.

2. No renewing your ebook lending period. If you don't finish in 14 days, jump back in the queue.

3. I've heard through the grapevine that the lending thing with most libraries isn't too friendly with Kindle, which makes me glad I own a Nook for once.

4. Poor categorization at the elibrary. I want wider genres for searching.

All in all, ebook libraries are nice, but they are lacking. It seems like they have all the books by certain authors, and none by others, and you'll seldom get any surprises which really takes away the joy of looking for books.

Now Here's An Idea

Have you noticed that with some movies, they give you a file that can be used on your tablets etc? Amazon even offers a free streaming for so many days on certain movie purchases, for those of us that aren't patient enough to wait for the darn thing to come in the mail.

But what about music?

What if you are one of those people, like me, that likes to own the CD, but doesn't want to wait for the hard copy to arrive.

Why not offer the album on the Cloud for those that buy them, or give a digital download with the album purchase.

I think I'd buy more music if this were something offered. Mostly because download files will always be available and if something happened to the disc, I'd still have my music.

Plus, it would just be nice...

Thanks Papa Nez

I'm so totally annoyed that The Monkees are touring this year.

Yes, you read that right, The Monkees are touring.

Micky, Peter and Mike.

Nice, Mike. After Davy dies, you jump on The Monkees bandwagon. Something you didn't do much when the band toured many times over the last 30 years.

In 1986, I would have tossed all my money (which wasn't much as I was only in grade school) to see the prefab four together, but that wasn't to be.

Was Nez present any of the other times I saw The Monkees?

Nope, cos I wasn't lucky enough to live in the UK.

Are you in that much need of money that you'll do this, Mike? Cos I hate to say this...The Monkees without Mike were good...the Monkees without Davy? Not worth the bother if you ask me.

I Think I'm Evil

I have to admit. I giggled when I heard Michael Phelps didn't win the gold. I laughed even harder when I saw he almost didn't qualify.

Why?

Because I'm so sick of these over exposed athletes and the Olympics in general.

I just can't get excited about it.

Plus swimming? Who watching swimming?

Ho hum!

I think that's the problem with most Olympic sports.

They are boring!

Plus the games that are actually worth watching are dominated by professional athletes.

WTF is up with that.

I remember a time when pros couldn't take part in the games.

Does that make me sound old?

Who cares!

The Olympics are just a shadow of themselves anymore. Its all about money...BAH

Breaking The Unbroken

I'm attempted to use the new blogger interface, AGAIN.

I tried it when they first introduced it a few months ago, and I have to say, it sucks.

It messes up posts, it argues with me and it generally makes me swear a lot.

I don't know what it is about companies that feel the need to upgrade services that aren't broken. Facebook does it all the time. I hate Facebook. I'm about done with it.

Why did they have to change blogger?

Now it does freaky things to my template. Things that make me want to beat the living crap out of the computer, and it isn't even the computer's fault.

I understand the need to update things, but why change them completely when the system is working?

Sometimes Change Is Bad

If you are on Facebook, you know that change is bad. Every time Facebook implements something new, it is met with cries of "Stop! Change it back!" Take for instance, the new Timeline. It sucks, I'll admit it. But it isn't worth bitching about, because Facebook does not care about its users. (Much the same way, Zynga doesn't care about the 80 million people that want to go ape shit over the number of goals their games send their way daily)

But back to change. Blogger has made some very white changes lately.

I don't usually bitch about stuff like this, but today I am.

Blech!

Thank god there is an option to keep the old blogger interface, because I think I would have cried otherwise. I will give Blogger kudos for letting us keep our old interface. Perhaps deep down they know that the new one sucks!

TV Gripe

Two of my favorite shows annoyed the hell out of me last night.

Two Broke Girls had Max and Caroline doing taxes and rushing to get to the post office to get them done. Uh, I'm pretty sure the chickies have a computer. Why are they mailing them? Actually how in the hell has Max managed to not file and not have the IRS come down on her ass?

SRSLY!

Yeah...that was so wrong and stupid. If it weren't for Sofia and Oleg, last night's epi would have sucked!

Next up, Mike and Molly.

OK, so Molly is turning into bridezilla. Her dress doesn't fit, she's getting super obnoxious and she kicks off a side mirror from some skinny bitch's BMW, and get's arrested.

Everything is happy in the end. What I want to know is when will she get in trouble at work. Cos I'm sure the school district doesn't want a teacher that goes around assaulting people.

I know sitcoms aren't about reality, but sometimes I wish they weren't so far out there, because this really got on my nerves last night.  Surly the writers could have come up with something better than this.

Thoughts About Amazon Reviews

I hate posting reviews to Amazon. That's why I have blogs. That's why I have an account with goodreads. Amazon is so full of drama. Right of the bat you can tell that most people posting reviews there aren't doing it for the love of the product, be it a CD, book, movie...etc. They are doing it for attention.

Reviews aren't meant to be directed at other reviews.

I hate when I see the first line as, I don't know what all the other 5 star reviewers saw in this...etc.

Uh. No. That isn't how a review should be done.

That's called picking fights with other users on the site, and that's a crappy thing to do.

Amazon is not a social network, it is a store. Reviews are supposed to help people decide what to buy, not start fights.

Too Many Novellas Out There

I love a good book. I also love to discover new authors. Thanks to book blogging I've found quite a few great new writers in many genres that I absolutely adore.

What I can't stand about self publishing is that so many of the stories out there are novellas. W

Hmmm

I wonder how much that stupid Nanowrimo has to do with it? The word count of Nano is less than most Harlequin romances, m'kay and they are usually only about 180 pages.

Alot of the novellas out there have to be the results of Nanowrimo.

I despise Nanowrimo.

Ebooks are entirely too expensive when it comes to novellas.

$3.99 for 100 pages?

I don't fucking hardly think so.

Now I know many writers get on the discount train for Amazon and Barnes and Noble...so that the books cost is taken down to about a buck, but still, it leaves me feeling I didn't get my moneys worth.

How apt are you to buy a novella in print form or ebook form?

A Wenches Rant About The Penn State Abuse Scandal

Dear PSU students,

How can you possibly be sad about the firing of JoPa? Yes, he was a fabulous coach, but the man hid the fact that Sandusky was abusing children from the authorities. HE DID NOTHING!! That is wrong. That is what cost him his job.

What annoys me is that other asshat that saw it happen, that only went to him with the allegation, when he WITNESSED the abuse! The fact that that little asshat is only on administrative leave sickens me.

Actually the whole thing sickens me. Why is football placed higher than the lives and well-being of children?

I guess it is the whole issue that sports come before education. Is it any wonder that we are failing as a nation?

PSU students....you can love your former coach, but please think of kids that were harmed because that beloved man, did nothing to stop the harm...

Sincerely,

A rattled wench

This Country Is Full Of Too Much Hate

Let me get this straight...People won't be watching Dancing With The Stars because of Chaz Bono? Because Chastity is now a Chaz? Because they are afraid of a transgender person? Because that is somehow the work of Satan?

That is seriously fucked up.

I'm so sick of people using God as an excuse for their hatred. There is no where in the Bible that preaches hatred. I don't care what your pastor says. It is wrong.

And for those that are getting huffy about it..I suggest you open your Bibles to the Romans and read the passages that say:

" Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."

"The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

 

"Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law."

Now leave Chaz Bono alone, you idjits!

Things I Don't Understand

1. Republicans: I don't think I have to explain this to you, right? I am a bleeding heart liberal!

2. The people leaving their porch lights on for Caylee Anthony! Uh...erm? Why? I understand the feeling of hopelessness that a murderer got to walk because of a lousy case, but the little girl is dead, leaving your porch light on isn't going to do anything to help her.

3. People that dislike Obama but can't come up with a viable reason why...Uh...my guess is the color of his skin. I'm also guessing if he were a white man, he wouldn't be getting half the shit he's getting in office right now.

4. What is the big fuss about Duchess Catherine wearing jeans 3 days in a row? GAH! Get a grip. The big fuss should be that she looks too freaking thin. Feed the duchess a CHEESEBURGER!

5. Ebook pricing! You only save when you purchase a brand new ebook or a classic. Anything else and you might as well buy the paperback.

I Hate This Term

I want to know who coined the phrase baby bump?

There's just something about it that makes me want to gag.

The woman is simply pregnant. It is a baby, m'kay.

I don't know why we must sugar coat things.

And while I'm on the pregnancy subject, why do women feel the need to pose nude when they are pregnant? Personally I don't understand the desire to get naked for any camera, but naked and pregnant? No thank you.

I'm not a huge fan of nudity period...so I'm not just saying this to be nasty to pregnant women. I'm saying this to the whole world.


KEEP YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON.

OK....enough of my pregnancy rants...go forth and have your babies.

Food For Thought

People are up in arms about Ronald McDonald promoting junk food and cartoon characters being used to promote sugary breakfast cereals, but what about those new Dairy Queen commercials? You know the ones that say that they blow bubbles with kittens in them?

Hey! That promotes kitten loving children to want high fat milk shakes and burgers and dogs.

Why is it that one is ok and not the other?

How is it that I've lived 36 years without being hyperactive as a result of eating Super Sugar Crisp. Yeah that's what it was called in the 80s.

There was no food entering our house that my mother didn't buy. And even if I cried and whined for it, I didn't necessarily get it. So for the love of god, stop targeting these things as if they were the culprits of why Americans are fat. That isn't the case.

Ronald McDonald didn't drag me in to eat a Big Mac.

I wonder when they'll realize that the internet has kept millions of Americans on their asses for years and years...

Hmmmm

Maybe I should keep that tidbit to myself.

Celebrity Gossip Sites Breed Hatred

I love to read gossip just as much as anyone else. I love to know the crazy stuff that millionaires are up to, but what I can't stand about sites like Popeater.com are the comments to the posts.

Most of the time they make my head want to explode!

There are always a handful of people wishing someone dead. Bashing someone or calling them fat or ugly.

Crikey.

Jealous much?

Granted I don't find artists like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus supremely talented, but some people cross the line.  Sure you can state an opinion, even with a little snark, but some of the comments are really nasty.

If you don't like someone, why comment on the article? Why would you even read it.

It is even worse on News websites for anything political. I swear Obama is more hated than Bush...and jeeze...I don't think he's done anything to deserve it.

Goes to prove what a bunch of racist, hate filled individuals live in this country.

ARGH

Random News Related Thoughts

~ A Chicago school banned kids from bringing their lunches. OMG! I'm getting sick of this country telling us what to eat. Apparently freedom isn't really what this country is all about. All I can say is they better make damn good lunches in that school and they better have options to cater to all the food allergies out there.

~ The republicans running for president in 2012. Pardon me while I overuse OMG, but OMG!!!! And Donald Trump? Please no! He'd fire us all and sell us to the Chinese to pay off the debt.

~ The nuclear disaster in Japan: Again OMG do they not realize how many cancer deaths there are going to be in the next 50 years as a result of this. Why can't we come up with ways of living that actually help us. But then again that is a republican thing...make more money...who gives a shit about people and the environment.

Do I sound like a bleeding heart liberal? Maybe it is because I am.

Concert T-Shirts = Evil

I've been to my share of concerts and I've shelled out hundreds of dollars in merchandise too. What pisses me off is how poorly made some of the shirts are, and we all know how much those puppies cost at a show, right?

Some cost $30.00 or more. For a fucking t-shirt!!

Well I was going through my cabinets and I found my Elvis Costello shirt from The Delivery Man Tour. "The Monkey speaks his mind!"

Guess what?

There was a hole in the shirt.

WTF!

There are no moths in my bedroom dresser drawers. I've only worn the shirt once or twice. WTF! A hole!

I know this shirt cost a small fortune too, because:

1. Its a ladies baby doll shirt.

2. All the shirts at the show were ridiculously priced.

I have shirts from The Monkees' 20th Anniversary tour that don't have holes in them and they are over 20 years old! (And were worn EVERYWHERE!)

I'm seriously angry about this. And its not as if Elvis Costello is one of the overpriced concerts coming to the Burgh this summer.