Happy Halloween!

With Halloween comes the deluge of copius amounts of candy, and I have no problem with that. Dessert is great, but sometimes candy is all you need. I'm a big fan of the underdog candies unlike Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, and Reese's. I'll take a sleeve of Rolos or a Special Dark bar. Dark chocolate is in my wheelhouse no matter how you use it. I even spotted a Reese's dark chocolate peanut butter cup for the first time recently, and I'm still waiting for a report back from my mom on that one.

Chocolates are good for me when kind of hungry and wanting something sweet. I generally go towards a Snickers Almond since it has unofficially become the replacement for my all-time favorite the Mars bar. Overall, I'm a fan of candies. I love Red Vines red licorice, Dots, Ju ju bees, and tootsie pops especially. I now have officially become old enough to miss my favorite candies growing up. Who else used to love going to the grocery store to hit the Pick-A-Mix bins from Brachs. Count me in for the nougats, Royals, and filled chocolates. Butterscotch discs and root beer barrels rounded out my bag.

I still remember going to the smoke shop, liquor store, or other small shops and picking out five to fifteen cent candies like jolly ranchers that came in a strip, circus peanuts, and Chuckles. I recently found my old friend Chuckles at a specialty candy store for a mere $1.25. Are you kidding me? Dude, it's five overgrown gum drops, and I don't even eat the licorice flavored one. No matter what your favorite Halloween candy is, I hope you enjoy it on Saturday without guilt for at least one day. My suggestion is to get yourself a bag of Child's Play and go to town on all Tootsie related products.

Restaurant Recap

I'm going to go region specific on this one to a budding chain in the far northwest suburban market known as Country Donuts. It's not a knockoff brand or some generic donut. These are serious homemade donuts that cater to the cake dough and fluffy dough donut lovers. I personally suggest the blueberry, cherry, or any of the classic glazed cake donut flavors.

Bands Reunited Part 1

I'm guessing that I'm one of a classroom-sized number of people that not only watched but still remember the show Bands Reunited on VH-1. Yes, VH-1 did stand for video hits one, and they did care about making musical related shows at one point in time. I didn't always have a rooting interest in seeing the band reunite, but it was fun to watch New Kids turn it down only to come back a few years later when more desperate. It was also entertaining to find out that even one person on earth gave a damn that Squeeze and Berlin both came back together for one off shows. Does anyone really need to hear Take My Breath Away again that bad?

Nonetheless, I'm pilfering this early 2000s idea for a monthly or so thought about bands that I'd like to see reunite. Maybe some of these are still possible, and others may require some fill-ins based on the pulses or lack thereof of some of the original members. I'm getting this kickstarted with Soundgarden. All the members are alive and only one of them actually has a job currently. Matt Cameron is currently on tour smacking sticks for Pearl Jam as a full fledged member at this point. After the Backspacer tour runs dry this year or next, it would be a nice time for these boys to hit the tour circuit again while they still have something left. If Alice can find a new singer, Weiland can get sober for twenty minutes, then Cornell and Thayil can pick separate rooms for a few last shows.

Why would they do it? They probably wouldn't unless they need money, but maybe they could decide that a new generation deserves to hear some stone cold rock and roll music. Not genre related, just rock and roll. All the heavier stuff from the early days like Rusty Cage and Fell on Black Days with some Jesus Christ Pose to the big time hits like Spoonman, Blackhole Sun, and Pretty Noose. I'd like them to blow up the outside world one last time. Come on Chris, prove you didn't really mean to go solo again, kill two great bands in the process, and team up with Timbaland. You're better than that.

Digital Ditty

I'll keep with the old school Seattle rockers for this Tuesday's twofer to deliver the new Alice in Chains track Check My Brain. It gets catchier every day, and I hear the new album is great. I'm still not yet on that bandwagon, but when I finally jump, you'll be sure to read about it. On a total random note, I'm going to also select the last recording from another nineties rock favorite of mine. I doubt you have it in your old school collection, so go ahead and add All in the Suit that You Wear from Stone Temple Pilots. It can be found on the greatest hits album Thank You. And as always I thank you for partaking in this week's music segment.

Jam Session

NBA Jam or Space Jam? Either option certainly ensures unbridled mid nineties entertainment especially if you have the big heads code or you're a closet Quad City DJs fan. It also takes us back to a time when the NBA was mainstream and relevant. Let's face it, most people are more interested about what stupid shit Charles Barkley is going to say and what color suit Craig Sager is wearing during an NBA telecast. Quick quiz, which teams are Rick Carlisle, Flip Saunders, and Rick Adelmen currently coaching? Indiana, Minnesota, and Portland would be all wrong answers. I actually don't know the right ones, but I'm pretty sure they all have jobs. Hell George Karl and Mike Dunleavy do. Throw in Jerry Sloan still sticking it out in Salt Lake, and all we have to do is get Pat Riley out of the management box and locate Paul Westphal to have a Michael Jordan beat my ass in the Finals marathon.

How does the NBA not have a huge corporate deal with recycling? They do it better than a crew of naked hippies at Bonnaroo. While other sports long to produce the best version of their craft at the professional level, the NBA actually tries to make their version worse on purpose. Let's get rid of travelling, certain kinds of defense, and make everything a foul. You can keep that trash and I'll take a Big Ten game in the thirties. The kids can't shoot worth a damn, but they know how to play defense and run a motion offense. More than I can say for the halfwits who took 9 hours of pottery and child rearing to stay eligible for their only season on campus. How's that working out for you so far Greg Oden?

On the lighter side of the start of the NBA season, the young guard play throughout the league should continue to improve. We've got kids like Roy, Deron, and Gordon out west, and Rose, Rondo, and D.Wade in the east. You've got to enjoy watching the evolution of the swing man as Durant and Granger are the future of the game. I can't lie, I don't even remember who the #1 pick in the draft was let alone who the break out rookies will be. I just know that central Indiana got themselves another white boy. I also know that the Bulls took a couple of nondescript college guys who make the squad instantly more mediocre. LeBron can go big time with Jay-Z, just bring me D. Wade and Amare, and Rose will lead the Bull back to the promised land.

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Here's my lone fantasy basketball tip for the season, get Gerald Wallace. I love Gerald Wallace. He's a stat stuffer.

Time to start making trades in all your leagues with all your teams. It is just more fun that way. I would be looking at playoff schedules. You know who the bad defenses are, so try to exploit them. You should also start looking to get younger at the running back position as the season grows older. Possession receivers will also become a highly sought after commodity as the weather starts to get colder and dicier.

Daily TV Schedule

So a few weeks ago we talked about the start of the fall television schedule, so now that I've had time to digest the new lineups and avoid the Jay Leno show like the swine flu, we'll tackle what to watch each night.

Monday- Start your primetime schedule with How I Met Your Mother on CBS, then head straight to ESPN for Monday Night Football. If your fantasy team has crushed your interest in football, you can catch up on the DVR or catch Big Bang Theory on CBS at 8:30 and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the food network at 9.

Tuesday - Pickings are pretty slim on Tuesdays, and so are the women of 90210. I'm still hanging onto the guilty pleasure at 7PM on the CWBUPN whatever the hell channel 9 is. No matter how hot the blonde chick on Melrose Place is, I can't wrap my head around that crapfest. I typically choose an alternate form of entertainment for the rest of Tuesday. I would personally suggest DVRing the 30 for 30 special at 7 on ESPN, so you can watch that afterward. The Baltimore Colts band and USFL specials were both pretty top notch.

Wednesday- The schedule fills up a little more on Wednesdays with Modern Family on ABC at 8. That is hilarious and probably the best new addition to any fall lineup. Top Chef Vegas on Bravo and Ultimate Fighter 10 on Spike duel on my DVR during the 9 o'clock hour. I'm not an ultimate fighter junkie, I'm just waiting for former Purdue classmate Matt Mitrione to hit the octogon.

Thursday - Pretty much just DVR the entire NBC lineup on Thursdays. Community, Parks and Rec, and the Office are all great. I don't watch 30 Rock because I don't react well to shows that I'm told to watch by experts. That's just the way I am. I'm sick of Grey's Anatomy and can no longer feign interest in that garbage. Always Sunny in Philadelphia is better than it has ever been, so you definitely need to be clued into that at 9 on FX. Next week, The League starts on FX at 9:30, and I'm looking forward to that one.

Friday - I can't say that I spend a lot of time watching tv on Fridays, but I would suggest setting the DVR for Big Ten's Best at 8 on the Big Ten Network. It is a top ten list and only lasts a half hour, but it offers some great interviews about some classic childhood players and games.

Weekend Wonderment

It's going to be cold and rainy, so there aren't too many interesting things for me to suggest. Maybe you want to start your holiday shopping or find a good costume for a Halloween party. I'm going to provide an additional service or disaster in this time slot. I'm going to attempt to see how hard it is to pick each NFL game against the spread. I'll use the Friday USA Today lines, so away we go.

Houston -3
KC +4.5
Indy -13
NE -15
Minny +3.5
GB -7.5
Carolina -7.5
NYJ -7.5
Cinci -1
ATL +3
Miami +7
Zona +7.5
Phily -6.5

My lock of the week would be Indy -13 and my upset of the week is Miami on the moneyline.

Bad Taste or Awesome?

Guess what, if you're asking that question, then the answer is always awesome. Let me provide the first example courtesy of champion blog Deadspin http://deadspin.com/5385651/there-goes-the-greatest-halloween-costume-that-ever-lived The answer is yes, that is the greatest costume of all time. The time and dedication that it took to put together that entire package and idea is truly outstanding.

I will admit that even I have limits in the realm of bad taste. If you dress up as Michael Jackson for Halloween this year, please don't tape/attach a doll to your crotch. We understand the issues that he had while he was alive, and I'm certainly last in line to throw a memorial for the creepy bastard but that's too far. How do you know the difference? People don't want to see it. Is your first reaction a smile or a slightly queesy feeling? That should give you an idea. Unless that initial sickness turns it to quick unadulterated laughter, you should probably err on the side of caution with your costumes, jokes, or ideas.

Ode to Nader

I'm going to go slightly off base and not endorse a single product, but rather a store with this one. Support your local Binny's in the Chicagoland area. What a superstore of goodness. They have an outstanding wine selection with many people there to help define your tastes. Bigaro is also back in stock my friends. They host numerous wine tastings, whiskey samples, and beer extravaganzas throughout the year at each and every location. They just bought out Sam's, so they are pretty much the monopoly here in Chicagoland at this point. They have a wide selection of imports, but their regional US brew selection is unmatched with Bell's, Three Floyd's, Southern Tier, O'Fallon, Dogfish Head, Sam Adams, Goose Island, and just about any other primary regional brewer you can think of. They also offer a great selection of cigars and some pretty high end food items. Give the pretzel bread a go for your next sandwich.

Sausage That Eats Like a Meal

You know you're in trouble when you tell the butcher that the new sausage sounds good, then you ask what you should eat it with and he has no damn clue. You created it my friend, so you had to have something in mind. You could throw it on the grill, he says. Listen up asshole, it's 42 out with a strong chance of rain for the next five days, so maybe you can do a little better than that. Well he couldn't so we had to come up with our own plan. There are many great sausages out there like the Amylu line of chicken sausages and the various types of Aidell's packaged meats. I prefer to get the raw sausages at the butcher shop since they typically have the freshest seasoning and can take more flavor.

When you see a white wine and garlic turkey sausage, you can't help but be intrigued. Making that into the centerpiece of a meal is another story. We chose to go the typical pasta route, but wanted to switch up how things came together. Our theory was that if the flavor is in the sausage, it probably pairs well with the sausage.

Start by browning your sausage in a stainless steel pan with a little olive oil. Once browned on all sides, toss in a thinly sliced shallot and a few cloves of smashed garlic. Feel free to add more oil if necessary, but not too much. Sweat the aromatics with some salt and pepper for a minute or so, then throw in four full leaves of swiss chard or rainbow chard. Wash the chard, then slice into strips across the leaves and stems. Use both parts. The chard should wilt down after about two minutes, then you can put the chard and sausages on a plate. Throw some white wine into the pan to deglaze the remaining garlic and flavor bits. Let the wine reduce, then remove the heat, add a pat of butter to thicken, and toss in any type of pasta cooked al dente. Finish your plate with some parmesan and you've got yourself a nice meal.

Restaurant Recap

I think I've changed my Mexican food allegiance from Chipotle to Qdoba now that they've entered into the St. Charles market. They have a fajita ranchera burrito that is outstanding. Some lemony/tomato sauce that isn't spicy, but adds plenty of flavor is the key to this combination. The grilled vegetables are also on point. They also have a nice savory pesto made with poblanos that can be used as a sauce or a bold/spicy bbq sauce. These flavors make all the difference. Be careful with the salsas because they pack some serious heat. The green medium salsa puts some hot salsas to shame. I'm looking forward to trying the 3 cheese queso at some point despite its nuclear apperance. I would not recommend the guacamole that is really just mashed up avocado with a sprinkle of cilantro. I suggest you stop by for a visit when you see yourself by one of these fine establishments.

You Can Put it on the Billboard

I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not as young and hip as I once was especially when it comes to the music scene. I would have to venture a guess that many of you are in the same boat that I am. I don't spend long hours in my car listenening to the radio. I usually either go with my newest collections of cds or I'm on sports talk radio. I like to flip to Q101 or my latest favorite 89.1 but this is pretty infrequent. ITunes is nice with their 30 second snippests to preview their songs, but I always scan the billboard weekly lists to keep myself up to date.



Personally, I tend toward the modern rock and mainstream rock single lists for the latest artists or new material from old favorites. Once a month is really plenty of time to spend on this site because the charts don't change too often. I'll usually find one or two immediate downloads, then I'll let those previews of the other tunes marinate for a few days. If I still remember the song, then it is probably worth the 99 cents. I'm certain that you can apply this method to any form of music whether it be dance, country, or hip hop.



Digital Ditty



I'll throw out a few personal favorites that have joined my download list off the recent billboard charts. I would start with Jars by Chevelle. This here is probably the most relevant local Chicago band producing music at the moment. I'm hoping to catch a live show in the coming years at a local club. If you want something with a bit different sound, I suggest you try out Uprising by Muse. They deliver some serious power in a slightly odd way.