Science Can Answer Moral Questions

This is a little more deep than what I usually post, but I thought it was interesting. It's about 23 minutes long.

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions | Video on TED.com

By the way, I first learned about the TED conference from Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

Project Runway

I love fashion (not that you would know it by looking at my wardrobe, but...) and I used to think of Project Runway as my favorite show on TV (but that was back in the days of season 2... oh, Daniel V! Remember that time when he said it was "a mother f'ing walkoff")?

Anyway, last night Anthony was robbed! I don't think Anthony is the best designer or anything, but Mila's dress was quite possibly the ugliest thing I've seen in the history of P.R. - and this is a show where people make clothes out of lettuce leaves and garbage bags (sometimes those garbage bag dresses win). Maybe there have been one or two other ugly dresses, but at least the models could WALK in those. This was just a disaster.

It took me a while, but here is the only picture of the dress I could find (Thanks TVgasm):

The challenge this week was to design your own fabric. The first thing I thought was, "Do not put color on a white background and then pick white fabric to pair with it" and that is exactly what Mila did! Then she made it into this gross 70's maxi dress that was so tight the model couldn't walk. THEN she put this horrible black vest/jacket thing on her. Yuck!

Despite this disaster, Mila was safe and it was Anthony (the only entertaining designer left on the show) who was booted off. Mila better not be going to Bryant Park - I can just imagine the black and white Adidas track suit disaster mess her runway show would be.

At least the episode was interesting. This was the first time in a long time that I didn't miss Santino!

Netflix Streaming on Your Wii

I have a Nintendo Wii. I have Netflix. Soon I will be able to stream Netflix movies instantly via my Wii. That will be pretty cool.

Here's an article about it.

And here is the link at Netflix you go to to ask for a disc (you need a disc for it to work). When the discs become available, you will be sent one in a timely fashion. Then get ready to enjoy... um... "Departures" or "Mallrats" or something (There aren't really that many great instant movies).

Speaking of streaming Netflix movies, tonight I'm going to watch "Talk Radio". I've been wanting to read that play for a while, but I can't bring myself to buy a copy because I don't think plays should cost as much as other books when they only take a couple of hours to read. Anyway...

Justifed

I mentioned the new FX show Justifed in a previous post here after I saw a promo. Now I have watched the first episode. It was so good!!

If someone said I would like a new show about southerners who blow up buildings and are psycho religious nuts and the guy in a cowboy hat who tries to catch them, I wouldn't believe it. But I would be wrong! Of course, a good dose of Timothy Olyphant does not hurt!

This doesn't hurt. At all.

If you didn't see the first episode, you can catch it here.

SNL: Boombox

Listen, you've gotta know your limits with a boombox. A boombox is not a toy.

Don't forget - Andy Samburg is going to be on Parks and Recreation this week.

Update 3/22/10: He was. He played a guy who talks really loud. Really.

Meat Free Monday Menu Ideas

As you know, I'm a big supporter of Meat Free Monday - the campaign that asks you to go meat free, if not all the time, then at least once a week. I've mentioned it on my blog before.

What I haven't done is give you actual ideas of what you can eat on your meat free day (which doesn't HAVE to be Monday, by the way). You might be surprised at how many meals you currently eat are already meat-free.

Dinner: Pasta makes a great dinner. Most pastas (as long as you skip the meat balls, meat in the sauce, or chicken in top, etc.) are meat free.

Lunch: You can have a sandwich - peanut butter and jelly, egg salad, cheese, or try something special like a hot veggie meatball sandwich! Many veggie soups also make a quick and easy lunch.

Breakfast: A meat free breakfast is simple, tasty, and good for you, too. Have oatmeal, toast, pancakes, etc. One of my favorite breakfasts is a fried egg (I use organic free range eggs) and a veggie sausage patty sandwich made with an English muffin. The added benefit of that breakfast - you're sticking it to McDonalds.

Here are some healthy menu ideas I got from this website.

Breakfast (choose 1)
• 1 cup oatmeal with 1⁄2 cup blueberries; 1⁄2 cup fortified soymilk
• 1 slice whole-grain toast with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 egg and 1 egg white scrambled with 1⁄4 cup mixed mushrooms and onions and 1 oz shredded cheese; 2 slices whole-wheat toast; 2 mandarin oranges

Morning snack (choose 1)
• 4 cinnamon graham cracker squares; 1 cup fortified chocolate soymilk
• 1⁄4 cup lowfat yogurt topped with 1⁄4 cup fruit and 2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Lunch (choose 1)
• Sandwich of 1⁄4 cup hummus and sliced tomato on 2 slices whole-grain bread; 1 cup crudités dipped in 1⁄4 cup salsa; 1 cup calcium-fortified orange juice
• “Steak” sandwich: 4 oz WestSoy Vegetarian Stir Fry Strips with 2 tbsp barbecue sauce on a whole-wheat roll; 1⁄2 cup store-bought coleslaw

Afternoon snack (choose 1)
• 1⁄4 cup almonds; 1 banana (or other whole fresh fruit)
• 1⁄4 cup nuts-and-fruit trail mix
• Apple slices with 2 tbsp peanut butter

Dinner (choose 1)
• 1 cup pasta with 1⁄2 cup marinara sauce; 2 cups kale, steamed, then sautéed in 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup baked beans topped with 1⁄4 cup stewed tomatoes and 1 tbsp cheese; half a medium oven-baked sweet potato, cut into wedges, brushed with 2 teaspoons olive oil; and 1 cup collard greens braised in vegetable broth with tarragon vinegar

Dessert (choose 1)
• 1⁄2 cup lemon Italian ice with 1⁄2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1⁄2 cup lowfat ice cream with 1⁄2 cup fruit
• 1 slice pound cake topped with 1⁄2 cup strawberries

Happy eating!

SNL: What Up With That?

On Sundays I usually post the most funny sketch from last night's SNL, but I've been busy. Anyway, Zach Galafinakis (or however you spell it) was funny, though he didn't seem to be in that many sketches. I like him dancing at the Sorbonne on The Situation Room.

While the monologue was great, I've chosen "What Up With That" as this week's best sketch. WUPT had to get a little old before it could get funny again. You gotta love Lindsey Buckingham and the ambidextrous flute player! Enjoy!

No Paul McCartney on iTunes?

Is it just me, or can you not download any songs from the majority of Paul McCartney's albums on iTunes today?

I'm getting ready for an Oscar party (making sandwiches, etc.) and I have "Take it Away" from Tug of War stuck in my head, so I wanted to download and listen to it, but I can only find a couple of Macca albums on iTunes and there is no Tug of War or "Take it Away" to be had.

Why are you bad, iTunes?

Update 3/29/10: Here is a link to the Apple discussion board. Still no explanation yet.

Update 9/26/10: It was announced this week that a newly revamped version of Band on the Run will be re-released soon. Maybe they are doing this with all of the albums? What about Red Rose Speedway???

The Jimmy Fallon Experiment: Day Two (LOST Bum Night)

Now that Coco is gone, I have been trying Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. This is my second episode. You can read the run-down of the first episode I watched here.

Don't get excited, Hall & Oates had to cancel.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010:

• This was Jimmy's one year anniversary episode. With him as always was The Roots. (Is it me or are The Roots mostly just drummers)? He started by saying, "Welcome to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC's longest running comedy show. I remember when we started, Jay Leno was still hosting the Tonight Show." Stupid NBC. Jimmy sang a song that he wrote called "Freshman 15." It was all with Blacklights and stuff. It was OK.
• After the first break, Jimmy showed the second installment of LATE (his parody of LOST). I never saw the first one. The premise is that his elevator just crashed on a deserted floor of the building. I liked the guy who was trying to find his son and then found him. There WAS a pretty good MC Escher reference. And why did it take him so long to take a mint? It was funny, but kind of long.
• The first guest was that Robert Pattinson from those Twilight movies. He did some movie with Claire from LOST. (It was like LOST night). The thing about Pattinson being a guest is that Jimmy does these video parodies of him called "Robert is Bothered." They showed one with Pattinson and Jimmy together where Jimmy basically tried to get him to say he was bothered. And then he did. Then he shot lazers out of his eyes. Jimmy asked Pattinson if he watches LOST (I told you it was LOST night) and he said that he watched the first half of the first episode, but it was too confusing for him. I don't know much about this guy. He seems like an OK guy, but he sort of looks like a bum. The clip they showed from his new movie looked kind of terrible.
• The second guest was Judah Friedlander the guy who wears hats on 30 Rock. He also looks like a bum. Besides being LOST night, it was also kind of bum night. He basically brought out a bunch of stuff like a dancing doll from China that didn't work and a coconut sculpture that some guy he went to high school with made.
• The musical guest was supposed to be Hall & Oates, but they had to cancel. In their place was chef Mario Batali. He was a guest during the show's first week. He is also a record guest - he has been on the show more than anyone else. He also likes PBR. He's like some kind of hipster chef. He made some crack about Peta and was apparently going to kill some lobsters on the show, so I stopped watching.

Overall, it was an OK show. If this was a Conan anniversary show, I imagine there would have been more excitement and crazy guests/skits. This seemed just like a regular show. Maybe it was the lack of Hall & Oates.

Blogging and Reblogging

I don't read many blogs on a regular basis (aside from Pop Candy, of course). The ones I do follow are mostly vegetarian blogs. I guess I've heard of re-blogging before, but today was the first time I actually looked at a blog (I didn't read much, but it does look to be excessively hate-able) and the blog that re-blogs that blog.

Here is Julia Allison's Nonsociety - where some bratty chick named Julia goes on ski trips and wonders if her ski pants make her look fat and calls people things like "Prom King" and thinks her married friends being totally in love is news.

And here is Reblogging Nonsociety - where they basically rip on Julia and how odious she is.

Do with this information what you will.