Utterly Useless Knowledge

It's been an incredibly long road for filmmaker Sean Casey. His idea to make an IMAX film capturing the intensity, power and beauty tornadoes and severe weather in the U.S. Plains grew from humble beginnings 8-9 years ago, with his chasing escapades over the seasons turning into a "movie within a movie". His ideas, creations and adventures sotrm chasing across the Midwest for the past 8 years spawned dozens of interviews, specials, and even a starring role in the on-going Discovery Channel series "Stormchasers". He's made friends and fans, and he's also made enemies in certain chasing circles. Sounds like your typical storm chaser to me. Nobody's ever doubted Sean's passion for his craft, and his reverent respect for his star of the film, Ma Nature. Finally, the film he's dedicated the last 8 years to making is finally coming to the biiiiig screen on March 18th, 2011. Narrated by Bill Paxton, the film will feature some of the very best ...

There seems to be certain things that become widely accepted once you become parents. You instantly relate to any discussion regarding parenting, an experience that’s been lost on you as long as you could remember without a kid. You also feel compelled to cover the back window of your car or SUV with a lot of unnecessary family or activity-inspired stickers of various shapes & sizes. After the birth of your first child, you also become aware that with some time & effort you can finally fill a page with things that may be mildly interesting and entertaining to some friends & family. And so it began, on Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2010 when Blaine Andrew Dixon was born at 2:16 PM. When I called Roger, my father-in-law, from the delivery room to tell him what his name was, the actual name was apparently lost in translation. I met the grandparents in the waiting room a few minutes later to tell them the great news in person, welcomed with hugs & tears of joy. Awkwardly, I ...

You had me at Jack Daniels Bacon Grease Egg Nog.

So, uh, Barbie takes a knife once in a while. Or maybe Ken gets cut, you know what I mean?

My formula for fighting this Wintertime head cold: Green tea with honey, NyQuil/DayQuil combo, rest, and the shredding guitars of Dave Mustaine, Dimebag Darrell, and Scotty Ian. Precision metal from Dave & Co. from Roskilde Festival 92. Phil, Dime, Rex & Vinnie at their absolute brutal best, Monsters of Rock 1991, Moscow. A record that changed everything in metal, and made seemingly well-adjusted teenagers want to break things. "Wake up dead in a plywood bed, 6 feet from the rest of your life And when you couldn't see your own dependency....N.F.L. Nice Fuckin' Life." They don't make 'em like they used to.

Okay, so I'm going back on my word. This isn't a food blog. It isn't a music blog. It isn't a blog about anything, really. And contrary to popular blog belief, that's perfectly goddamn okay. Okay? Okay. Truth is, I wasn't doing a very good job being a regular contrubutor at UUKBlog before I made the proclamation that this would be a food-themed site, with reviews, tips, tricks, pretty pictures, etc. But every time I wanted to throw some funny, interesting nugget of nutty-brown bullshit on here, I remembered that I had pidgeon-holed myself, limiting posts to a food theme. Screw it. This is still good therapy, and good interaction with....well, whoever still cares to look for updates here from time to time. And I really don't have any other place to go with a lot of this stuff. So, back to the shotgun approach. And here's something we've never talked about: Pearl Jam. Wait. What? Call it a welcome back. For the 5th or 6th time. No promis...

For a guy who is a self-proclaimed addict of the style of food preparation in question, the word "Barbecue" has admittedly gotten a little old to me in certain aspects. Specifically when proprietors, enthusiasts, cooks, and misguided "grillers" throw the word around as much as they do. A conversation/interview sentence might go something like, " Barbecue is love, and good barbecue should be barbecue that's made like good barbecue should be made. To me that's just good barbecue ." Call it the John Madden Syndrome. Nevertheless, the word "barbecue" cannot be over-used when discussing one of the most unique regions of local indigenous cuisine in the U.S. It's small area bounded by a 40-mile like east-west through Austin, south to San Antonio, known as the South Texas BBQ Trail. A few small towns in this area are home to tastes, techniques, flavors and aromas that can be found nowhere else. I had done my homework, reading/drooling ove...

One of the driving reasons that I wanted to really focus in on food as the main content driver of this blog is because I'm always kind of bummed that there isn't a very good selection of food blogs in the Lincoln area. Specifically, I'm talking about food blogs that have local restaurant reviews. Sure, there's a few out there (a couple of which you may see linked to the right), and while they do provide some good content, I wanted to explain what you WON'T see on UUKblog. If you're looking for scathing, tersely worded posts on how I might have gotten some slow service, or how I might have been disturbed by a restaurant's decor (or lack thereof), I'm not going there. I'm not a big fan of snarky, snapshot reviews. I'm willing to give most places the benefit of the doubt, food, atmosphere (I don't need much, honestly)and service included. Running (and maintaining) a restaurant is hard enough without getting unnecessary bad press from a person wh...

Huckleberry's Hideout, Broken Bow, NE

It's hard to fake me out when it comes to food. I'll know probably before I take a bite of something whether or not it was made on the premesis, or flash-frozen and shipped from some salmonella factory Guatemala, or Sam's Hamburger Patties in Dung Pile, GA (E.Coli Free since March!). Fake food annoys me. It's easy. It insults our intelligence as consumers. But, what's to be expected? Haven't we been lulled to sleep over the decades from companies and restaurant chains who know that the vast majority of Americans could give a shit less where their food comes from, let alone how it even tastes half the time? Is it cheap? Is it fast? We buy it. We drive away from the drive-thru window. It's safe to say that's not how things are done at Phat Jack's BBQ . It's a great success story (at least a story that hasn't had a quick and abrupt ending, like so many start-up restaurants). Matt and Jackie started out as a competitive BBQ team, cutting their t...

I'm not really sure how to react to this. Check that.....I do know how to react to this: With complete shock, bewilderment and disgust. How did we allow this to happen? for so long, we've looked down our noses at such an inferior game. Men running around aimlessly on a field far too large for what's needed. 8 shots on goal.....per 90-minute game. Shake yourselves, Lincoln....Midwest.....America. You have The National Pastime, AND America's Game. You live in one of the most revered college football towns in America. You've got everything you need as a sports fan. Then you go and act like this. I was in a downtown bar in November of 2001 when Eric Crouch caught the touchdown pass from Mike Stuntz to beat OU. This didn't happen. Drinks were not thrown. Barstools were not wielded. Scarf thingies were not swung over heads. Yes, everything in my pockets flew out in a frenzy, but, in my defense, it was freaking NU-OU. You expect things to get broken when a pla...

Looks like the secret is out: Chipps Cooney's magic is now a Nationwide phenomenon. See Chipps in his element, before he lowered his standards and went on America's Got Talent, and marvel at this master of illusion.

It's Father's Day, my first. Actually, it's been Father's Day Weekend. I received a laminated card made from construction paper made at daycare by the girls; a cutout of Blaine's hands glued to it, with the message 'Daddy's Helping Hands". I think back to a time no longer than 6 months ago when I would be the cynic about parents constantly fawning over their kids. I would instantly recoil, desperately wanting to say aloud what I was thinking at the time: Nobody cares. Your kids are not special. Crude scribbles in various crayon colors, a stick figure family drawn with markers, the dry macaroni glued to a paper plate resembling perhaps what Picasso might create with similar materials, all of these covering bulletin boards or file cabinet drawers of proud parents at the office. Memo to all of you that I have looked down on for your open and outward pride in your kids: I get it now. ((Note: There IS a line here, mind you. The above memo does not include pa...

Via theplatypusmethod

Few things take me back to childhood quicker than this particular Tom & Jerry skit. Few things still crack me up like this skit, as well. Trust me, you'll be singing this song just like Uncle Pecos next time you're stuck in traffic. This one's for you, Thad.

From the mind of Merlin , and his brilliant blog, not me....speaking (hopefully) for a generation. A New Brown Thing You'll Totally Eat Hi. We’re KFC. And, it’s become abundantly clear that you sad bastards will eat literally anything that we can find, photograph, and shit into a little plastic coffin. Believe me, we know. Because, for years now, we’ve been testing you. Aggressively. Time and again. Through a mind-boggling series of product releases that call to mind Europe’s inexorable slide into the Second World War—with each new development bringing something more unfathomable, disturbing, and unspeakably inhumane. But, just to be dead honest, it stopped being fun for us a long time ago; you guys have been like the Neville Chamberlains of dignified food. At a certain point, we realized you didn’t even need to be sold on this inedible dreck. Seriously. It became surreal—like you couldn’t stop hitting yourself with your own hand. Only that hand happened to be clutching a glisteni...

Wow.... Where to begin. I suppose that Pearl Jam's Summer U.S. Tour announcement has to go to the top of the stack. It's been since 2003 since they've come to Kansas City. Honestly, I had kind of given up on the thought of them playing there again, for some reason. Calling this a Must-See Show should go without saying. But then, perusing a couple of sites this evening, I stumbled across this one, and I've gotta tell ya.....it moved. Seeing these two bands on the same bill, bands that have had such an influence on me, musically, it seems almost too good to be true. I've never had the opportunity to see either band, but it MUST happen this summer. Chicago, perhaps? August rolls around with a show that only I will appreciate, the American Carnage Tour, featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Testament. They've got an August show in Kansas City. If Dave can stay off the needle long enough, this actually might happen. Certainly this show isn't everyone's cup o' t...

For the few of you who still drop by this little page (one that could always be better), you've probably noticed that there seems to be a bit more focus towards one of my true loves....cooking. There, I said it. I cook. I cook for myself, for my family, for a crowd, for stress relief, for exploring new tastes, for the joy of creating a perfect product that is the sum of its unique individual parts. I cook because I love food, the feelings that the act of cooking gives me, the pleasure that eating food made from hands that you can see. Noted food author & blogger Michael Ruhlman gives one of the most succinct descriptions of why he cooks , why I cook, and why you should think more about cooking, yourselves, in a TED Talk he recently gave in his hometown of Cleveland. It's not rocket science, and it doesn't have to be every day, every meal. He speaks to the history of cooking in our society, and to its role in human existence as we know it today. He also sp...

There's many weekends full of experimenting & riffing on ideas & techniques in this book from one of the biggest, and still somewhat mysterious rock star chefs in the world. All the talk about the buttermilk fried chicken recipe is justified; probably worth the investment alone. Simplified for the home cook, yet revealing to those who look for the subtle techniques that can make good meals great, it lives up to the hype its been getting.

Pantera "I'm Broken" Trevor | MySpace Video Dammit, Pantera! This beer is warm....Gimme another one!

Brilliant. Beat me to a lesser, yet similar attempt.

Timely, because of the destruction in Haiti. You can purchase this song on iTunes, with all proceeds going directly to the relief effort. Even Bruce is moved by this performance...

(Also: More Geeky Guy Rock Music) I've never grown tired of this song after going on 20 years, and Satch is one of maybe three guys that I can listen to and almost wish I had picked up a guitar instead of a pair of drumsticks. Almost. "Surfing..." is what I consider his personal best (followed closely by Flying in a Blue Dream ), among an amazing career songlist/guitar clinic.

Far overdue for such rich accolades, Ali Baba Gyros, the downtown Lincoln dive since 1990, has been the only consistient 3-times-a-month lunch spot for me since we moved out here 9 years ago. The brothers and their nephew that run the place are always friendly & appreciative, typically remembering your usual order after just a few visits. About once every other week (it could easily be much more often, if I let it), the craving becomes overwheming. I need a "Z" Plate. Slap down a warm pita, a layer of their perfectly steamed & griddle-finished Greek fries, gyro meat, their flavorfule, creamy/tart tzakziki (cuccumber) sauce, feta cheese, and some oregano sprinkled on top. The way I like to finish it? I good dousing of simple Louisiana Hot Sauce. Not for the heat so much, which isn't even that hot at all, but it seems to mingle with that cuccumber sauce perfectly. I walk through that plate like a fat kid loves cake. Recently I had eaten a far-too-light breakfast (I...

There's not too many things that make my mouth water like the spicy, rustic, bold flavors of real Louisiana cooking. I remember watching Justin Wilson's Louisiana Cooking show on public television when I was a kid, marveling at how this old country boy could throw together these amazing meals, all topped off by a little Beaujolais. He would say things in this Louisiana accent that was almost impossible to understand. I would marvel at his complete disregard for proper sentences, his butchering of the English language. The the ol' boy could cook. "Now what I got to did is take these heeah shrimps....put a little of that in theahh, and Whoooooohhhh....." Of course my mother would never dare try to cook dishes like these. Cayenne pepper might as well have been moon dust as to the likelihood of either being found in her kitchen. Cajun cuisine, like any other regional fare, is based around what is available in the area, with an obvious emphasis towards seafood found...