Author: Paul

  • The Occasional Recipe Review

    I’m starting a new thing up on the blog here: a review of new recipes–or at least recipes that are new to me and my family. Let me explain. You see, I’m easily bored of the same old routine, so I spend some time every week on a few cooking sites clipping recipes with the…

  • The Occasional Movie Review

    The Occasional Movie Review

    There are remarkable films out there that do wonderful things with a very simple story, like this one: an Indian immigrant and his family make their way to France where they open a restaurant and he becomes one of the most celebrated chefs in Paris, but he finds fame lacking. But that is basically the plot…

  • The Restaurant Review – Ward 6

    It’s birthday dinner night for my amazing wife, Jenni. So, I gave her a list of restaurants we haven’t been to yet and she chose one. That choice was Ward 6 on Payne Avenue on the east side of St. Paul. I’ve read reviews that have spoken highly of the place. And what’s so great about…

  • Mid-Season Checkup

    Who’da thunk that at the All Star break, our beloved hometown nine would be within shouting distance of first place in the division? And who would have even dreamt that the Twins would be in the top tier of teams in the entire league this year? And who would dare to even say out loud…

  • Gluten Free Failings

    When Jenni made the switch to a gluten free diet, I knew that a big part of it would be trial and error to find good substitutes for the wheat-based foods that she ate. And that’s held true: some things have been great hits, others, not so much. The good stuff has mostly come in…

  • Profiles in Somethin’ – The Trump that Donalds and the Political Fringe

    Yes, I’m aware I’ve used that picture up there already, but it fits, so I’m going with it. Just because the 2016 presidential campaign could use another rich white weirdo, the Republicans have (kind of) welcomed Donald Trump into the fold. And let’s face it, he’s got what it takes to be a politician (notice…

  • Throwback Thursday

    Throwback Thursday

    My kids have never really been into the whole fireworks thing. We’ve gone to some big shows, staged some much smaller ones on our own, and even skipped a 4th of July show because of lack of interest. As such, the 4th is really just a chance to get together with family and enjoy a…

  • Web Crawling

    Web Crawling

    (Does anyone else remember WebCrawler, one of the much lesser known (and used) search engines out there? According to Wikipedia, it started in 1994 and oddly enough, is still going.) This post isn’t about WebCrawler. Though it is about the interesting things you can come across when you’re just wandering around the great World Wide…

  • The Right’s Wrong Mindset

    It is a remarkably amazing thing about our internet age that within minutes of something happening, people are commenting on the event, commenting on those comments, and commenting on the comments of the comments. It is exactly what some in our world would hope to prevent–substantive talk about important (and sometimes non-important–issues of society. So…

  • The Occasional Restaurant Review – The Lowry

    Jenni and I like to try to go to new restaurants–or at least restaurants we haven’t been to yet. Instead of going back to some of the same old places, it gets us into places that maybe I’ve heard of, or we’ve driven by or something. I took the day off yesterday, and we had…

  • Strategery

    As the officially announced candidate field on the Republican side threatens to top four figures and one mop of hair this week, I was struck by some interesting points: the Republican party believes in gang warfare. Now, I understand the whole concept of playing to your base in the primary campaign, and let’s face it,…

  • The Occasional TV Review

    The Occasional TV Review

    The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is comedy, but it’s a brand of comedy that I’m not sure could play on network television, which is why it ended up on Netflix–it was shopped to NBC who ordered 13 episodes and then passed on it. But while it might not play well on network TV, it’s exactly the…

  • 2016 Quick Candidate Profile – Mike Huckabee

    As the never-ending parade of Republican candidates continues its inexorable march toward futility, we drop in to check on Mike Huckabee, who this week is discovering that when you’re running for president, your past can come back to haunt you, even if your name is not Hillary Clinton. We speak, of course, of Huckabee’s stupid…

  • 2016 Quick Candidate Profile – Lincoln Chafee

    Finally, we’ve got a one-time Republican to counter the looks and general tone of Bernie Sanders (who I’m actually falling in love with, by the way). I mean, just look at that hairdo! Enjoy this one, folks. Everything about this run is funny, so we’ll give it the tone it deserves. Presented for your consideration, we…

  • The Occasional TV Review

    The Occasional TV Review

    I was cleaning up in the kitchen tonight, and as I often do, the TV was on in the background, just to keep me occupied. And after Wheel of Fortune ended for the evening, the CBS prime-time slate kicked in with the reality show The Briefcase. Ordinarily, I avoid reality television like the plague. At…