Random Updates

Today I'm going to do a general update. It's a little more on the personal side but you can get a glimpse into life which is always fun. 


Travel and life
We'll be heading back to Nashville at the end of the month for my mom's wedding! We're super excited to get back and see everyone. It really will be kind of shocking for me. After living there my whole life, the place almost seems like a dream. I feel like I've lived in Washington for years now and it'll have only been 7 months by the time we get in the plane. On the other hand, it also feels like we moved here last month... strange how that happens huh? So, we'll be in Cashville for 4 days at the end of the month. Hope to see everyone!

Books and Work
As book stuff goes, there's not a lot more to report since my last update a few days ago. I'm chipping away at new projects while editing Thomas Riley 2. I can give you a fun hint and tell you that I did find a Day of The Dead book I'm excited to read as research for Tribes. ;) Also, as I may have mentioned before, Liz and I have been approached to write for a really awesome steampunk RPG game. Stoked!

Animals
Skye and Ghoulia are doing awesome. Skye is crazy as ever but slowly learning the rules around here. The key word in that last sentence is "slowly". She's a sweetie but also note that she's earned the nicknames: Snacks, Crack Head, Corneus, Torpedo, Woo Woo and Tornado since her sort of short time with us. I've never had a big dog and never anything close to a seventy pound one year old Siberian Husky before.

TV
As you know we like our shows. So far, we're knee deep in Project Runway (Go Chris! well, and Dimitri!), The new season of Castle is one of the best so far. We're really hoping to have another Halloween episode as they are our favorites. Face Off is another Tuesday night staple. We're routing for the dude in the cowboy hat. And of course we love our House marathons! There's some really good stuff to come too! American Horror Story is starting up like next week along with The Walking Dead and new Top Chef in November which is in Seattle! Awesome!

So that's sort of a quick personal cross section of fun going on in the Valentino house right now.

My Crazy Cooking Shows

I've been thinking about this for a while. I watch a lot of kooky shows and figured it's about time to give you a little inside look. I've always been a TV show fiend that hops from series to series finding my favorites for some strange reason or another. Here's your inside look into what I'm watching now in the world of cooking:

Sweet Genius: First off, the host is absolutely insane. This guy is the perfect mix between Augustus Gloop and the doctor that sews people together on the Human Centipede. (Dr. Heiter) He's silly and goofy and awesome to watch but you always wonder if he has some insanely twisted torture chamber in his basement. Liz and I get a huge kick out of Chef Ron and are totally addicted to his show. Every time he announces a new "Mandatory Ingredient", I'm compelled to yell out something obscene because that's what I feel like he would really like to say. He actually did say "Chefs, come grab my buns!" last night. Anyway, this show is so fun and I can't get enough.

The Next Food Network Star: At first, I thought this was just kind of like Top Chef but without the dynamics and personalities. Alas, I was wrong. The angle of the competition is totally different and not totally reliant on cooking, as the chefs have to compete as television personalities as well. It's cool to see the the added elements to this like that they have celebrity team leaders although I have a hard time looking at Giada De Laurentiis as she reminds me of a Bratz or Monster High Doll.

Chopped: I love cooking shows... I can't help it. They all have a fun dynamic and most oif them leave me craving some gastronomic twist on a pot pie or something of the like. Chopped is a competition where chefs attempt to make the best three courses in a ridiculously short time out of a basket of ingredients that is nearly impossible to combine into a good dish. They get stuff like, Salmon, Chicken Noodle Soup, Matzo Balls and cheese flavored ice cream. It's good fun and usually ends up with the winner having the best worst dish of the group.

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (DDD)
I used to HATE Guy Fieri. I thought he was such a doofus. Now I watch his show all the time. I love blue collar food however it's presented and I love to see every opinonion of it. Of course Anthony Bourdain will always be the God of good eats and good prose but it's time to stop being bitter and judgemental, so I like all perspectives now, including Guy's. (Hey and he's even been to Nashville to showcase some pretty awesome places.)

The Staples:
Of course nothing will beat Top Chef and Anthony Bourdain No Reservations but as you can see, for me, there are some up and comers that are doing really well for one reason or another in my book.