DVD = Dead Video Device

Pretty sure my primary DVD player has decided to cease functioning. In its defense, it was my original region-less, code-less player and it returned to primary use 'for a little while' after its replacement failed. That 'little while' was about three and a half years ago. I have other devices I can use but I'm noticing they lack full quality. This bothers me. I don't want to do anything about it now but have the feeling that I might. Botheration.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Not a bad week but not a great week either. One of those weeks were there's some good stuff but no big 'wow!' books. Solid week.

Daredevil reaches his 500th issue this week. The title was restarted and returned to its original numbering at one point but, beyond that, its an earned 500 issues. No counting from the forties or some anthology book that includes some issues with monster stories in it. We get an extra long main story, a preview, a new short story, and a reprint. Is it good? Yes. Is there an event I didn't expect? Yes. Do we have something totally new as the 'normal'? Yes. Thank you Ed Brubaker! No offense meant to the artists involved but Ed's writing had been bringing me a lot of joy here and in Cap and, well, I don't think there's a bad book I've read from Ed.

Heh. 'Read from Ed'.

Amazing Spider-Man #603 shows us what Peter Parker could be or, rather, what type of person he could be. Of course, he's not that way and that's why so many people like the character. This story is delightfully creepy, reinventing an older character in a new style. Good stuff. I believe we're halfway through this story and, at this point, I'd recommend this story to anyone who's not reading Spidey. Looking very much like a 'grab the trade' moment.

Doctor Who #2 still doesn't have me quite sold on the art. It's not bad but it's not quite clicking. The story is good. It gets big points from me for having a cameo from Buster Keaton. I love Buster Keaton. The cliffhanger into the next story doesn't have me sold. We've been down this road before and I'm concerned it won't be anything we haven't seen before.

Transformers – All Hail Megatron #14 has two short stories, like the other epilogue issues. The first story sheds some light on the actions that a character took during the main story. The second is setting up the future. I am excited by this development. I'd say more but it would give away too much. Neither story is great but both are good, either as codas or set-ups.

Hell's Kitchen Episode Six

Let's do this one straight-away. As it's the day after the episode aired, spoiler warnings apply.

This is Episode Six aka 11 Chefs Compete according to the guide.

Recap: The challenge is referred to as a 'decisive victory' for the Blue Team led by Robert. Kevin's assistance during service is pointed out, although it didn't seem that big a deal during the episode itself. Tek 'crashed and burned', Tennille 'struggled' and Amanda 'disappointed'. Blue Team takes over Red Kitchen, defeat is 'humiliating'. Tennille 'fights back'. Tek goes home.

As the Teams get dismissed, Chef Ramsey calls over Amanda. He encourages her to bounce back quickly from this as he's counting on her. He seems concerned. No yelling. Nice moment. It's not the sort of thing he normally does.

Upstairs, Robert points out that the Red Team lacks teamwork while they are on a roll. One more service and they are 'crushed'. This would seem accurate as Tennille is still expressing her anger with her Team. In Interview she notes that the past is the past and they need to get over it. It's not clear to me what she means. I believe she means to say 'I had some problems during service in the past but I've gotten better but they won't let go of the mistakes I made the other day.' If that's the case, I understand what she's saying. If she's saying 'forget about yesterday's mistakes and don't connect them with today's mistakes' then I don't get it. They are judged on an overall basis. If they improve, fine. If someone's constantly struggling, they go. Yesterday shouldn't be a millstone around your neck if you learn from it and move on but, if you don't, it will be.

The next day, the next challenge: create a three course meal that is only 700 calories in total. Appetizer, entree, and dessert. Robert notes in Interview he takes 700 calorie bites when he eats. Ha! Ingredients are labeled for them with a calorie count. Nutritionists will assure that the calorie count for the meal is within the limits. The best tasting dishes according to Chef will win the challenge. 45 minutes and go!

The Blue Team splits into 2 man teams to tackle each part of the meal. Even before adding dessert, the Blue Team is over a 1000 calories. It takes them over half their time just to fiddle their portion size to fit. They struggle to make it work. Their meal ends up totaling 597 calories.

On the Red Side, Sabrina notes that this is the sort of thing she does everyday so she's confident. She takes the lead. They plan out a meal with about 50 calories to spare while the Blue Team are still fiddling. Amanda has issues making food flavorful with less calories but she admits it and Sabrina assists her. Their meal ends up totaling 694 calories.

Red app and Blue app gets the thumbs up. Point each. Red entree gets thumbs up for flavor and portion control. Blue entree is considered small and a bit bland. Red win easily. Red dessert gets the thumbs up. As the Blue dessert, Andy's idea, is displayed, Chef Ramsey laughs as if it's a joke. Commercial.

The Blue Team's dessert looks a bit like a thin wrap with some pink sauce on it. Chef declares it to be foul. The Red Team is complimented overall and win. Their dishes go on the menu for tonight.

Reward: a day at the beach with top volleyball players. Punishment: grocery shopping and prepping for both Teams for tonight.

The Red Team gets a volleyball lesson and then they get to play. JP is there as well and it's amusing to see him fall in the sand while trying to get the ball. They were driven to the beach in convertible Mini Coopers with the top down. The Blue Team gets pulled out of prep to do the shopping. They have to ride there in this goofy 7 person bike that I have never seen before. It's like seven seats in a circle and somehow the pedals all make it go forward. Scott makes them go up a steep hill too, apparently just to make them sweat.

The Red Team believes that they bonded over the day at the beach. They return to find they've gotten fancy blenders as presents. The Blue Team returns with the food but the strain of the hill has affected Robert. He barely gets inside Hell's Kitchen before he has to sit down. The Blue Team is concerned but gives him a moment cause, well, he's a big fella and they knew it was a lot of exercise for him. He staggers through the kitchen mumbling that he needs to see the medic because he's dizzy, short of breath, and feels like he's going to vomit. Upon hearing this, the medic immediately calls 911. Robert is rushed to the hospital as we go to commercial.

As the meeting before service starts, Chef Ramsey reports that Robert's still in the emergency room and will not be back for tonight's service. The Teams are even at five members apiece. All the chefs have to perform well. Both Teams have a little 'we can do this' moment amongst themselves. I like that.

After he calls out the first order, Chef Ramsey catches that Andy misheard him and gets concerned. In Interview, Andy blames this on Chef Ramsey's accent and the speed of his delivery. Not a good start for the Blue Team.

Neither side can put out a proper appetizer to start, earning Jim and Ariel a negative reaction. Tennille prepares too much spinach and gets a hollering. She starts to simmer. Ariel's second try is acceptable but Jim's isn't. Chef Ramsey's getting fired up early tonight. Jim stalls on the appetizer station as the Red Team cranks away... until Tennille doesn't make enough mashed potatoes. Chef Ramsey gets loud. First too much, then not enough. All or nothing. Tennille has enough and says that Chef Ramsey is crap. He kicks her out of the Kitchen and she leaves, shouting at him as she does. Commercial.

Chef Ramsey follows her to the back. Tennille is emotional, yelling that she's busting her butt out there and that Chef Ramsey needs to get off her back. She runs her mouth, shakes a rack or two in frustration and declares her desire to get back in the kitchen. Chef Ramsey tries to retort but she won't let him get a word in. Finally he firmly tells her to shut up until she does. If she can do it, then do it. If not, then leave. She returns to the kitchen all fired up but ready to work. She does have a passion for the situation even if her skills aren't necessarily at the best level.

About an hour into service and Jim shows no life or ability at making a risotto. Sous Chef Scott ends up doing it at Chef Ramsey's direction. “Is this what you're like when Robert's not here?” The Blue Team is behind and Sous Chef Scott is helping? Jim is doomed.

An order of chicken disappears from the Red Kitchen. Sabrina swears she put it up to the pass but no one can find it. The reorder has a problem when Sabrina can't cut it properly. Suzanne tries to help but the advice just gets Sabrina yelled at. That seems familiar.

On the Blue side, Dave has a few lapses on the garnish station which draws criticism from Sous Chef Scott. Dave and Kevin then have some communication issues. Without Robert they are falling apart. Andy mishears another count and then under cooks an order of fish. More yelling. Then he overcooks it.

The Red Kitchen is cranking out entrees. This might be because they start coming back raw. Sabrina under cooked some pork. She owns up to the failure.

Andy gets completely lost, unable to put out fish. More food returns to the Red Kitchen under cooked. Chef Ramsey has had enough and switches it off. Everyone loses. One nominee from the Red Team and one from the Blue.

Andy and Jim are discussed for elimination. Andy admits he dragged down the team. In Interview Jim says he only messed up that one order and got yelled at the least. Dude! Really? You got kicked off your station! While Andy admits that he sank the Team, he offers up Robert for elimination for missing service in an attempt to stay.

Sabrina and Tennille are discussed on the Red Side. Sabrina thinks that Tennille leaving the kitchen indicates that she is the weakest and should leave. Tennille argues that she left on Chef Ramsey's order and had the option to remain out but returned to the Team. Sabrina's poor cooking is what sank the team.

Red Team nominee: Sabrina for her serving raw pork which is dangerous. Blue Team nominee: well, we go to commercial with Van asking 'Where Robert at?' Oh, this is not going to go well. I know Kevin and Dave got hurt and returned for service but I don't think this tactic is going to go over well. It's not Van's fault necessarily that he had to deliver the message.

After commercial, Van's question is repeated as 'I'm wondering where Robert's at?' Chef Ramsey starts to explain that it wouldn't be fair to judge him on a performance that he couldn't give. Panic in the Blue Team's eyes. As expected. Chef Ramsey notes that if Robert can't return for the next service, he will be eliminated but that we'll cross that bridge when he get to it. Blue Team nominee: Andy, getting flustered under pressure.

Sabrina's defense is, essentially, to throw Tennille under the bus without actually naming her. She argues that she wouldn't leave the kitchen and is a team player. Not what she could do better, basically saying that she shouldn't be there but Tennille should without directly saying so. Andy says that the fault is his, Chef Ramsey makes him nervous and he needs to get over that.

Chef Ramsey goes over past services in his mind. He reflects on someone who lacks the passion to stay in Hell's Kitchen. Jim is eliminated. Sabrina and Andy are returned to their teams. Swerve! Jim thinks this was some 'I didn't yell back' sort of thing and is pleased that he remains true to himself. I don't think he understands what was going on. At all.

Trailer: Can Robert return? The next frame shows him in line for what appears to be the pre-service meeting so I'm going with 'yes' for the moment. For the first time, mystery guests at chef's tables in the kitchen. An underdog rises (looks like Andy) and a front runner collapses (Van?).

Looking good: Van and Ariel (if only because they didn't get yelled at much) and Robert (just for not being there).

- Looking bad: everyone else. Seriously. Everyone else looked bad.

Hell's Kitchen Episode 5 (or whichever one last Tuesday's Episode was)

Again, let's do this before the new episode airs.

Recap: Robert and Jim lose the challenge, Robert gets loud, Dave gets bad news but sticks around, Andy had problems with meat, Tek with apps, Lovely with sides, Sabrina does well, Lovely goes home.

Returning to the dorms, Tek continues to defend herself, not denying that she had a problem with the first table, but saying that was her only issue for the night. Dave entertains the others by trying to make a frozen pot pie. It keeps evading him with his newly casted hand. It's funny, here are these chefs that make this fine food and, tired at the end of the day, they're eating no better than me. Huh.

The next morning, Chef Ramsey explains that tomorrow night's service will be a surprise party for a Marine that returned from Iraq the night before. His wife is in Hell's Kitchen to help plan the party.

Challenge: each Team is to prepare an appetizer and two entrees for Chef Ramsey and the wife, Mrs. James to sample. Their tasting will determine the winning Team. Robert and Suzanne are pulled into a room to hear about the Sergeant's likes and dislikes to communicate them back to their respective teams. They have 45 minutes to do this in.

Robert delivers the message of a southern style, soul food, surf and turf style to his Team. They shoot out ideas as they start and Robert guides those thoughts. In Interview, Kevin notes that Robert didn't dictate but directed.

According to Interview with Tennille, Suzanne never directly communicated what she got out of the meeting. It appears she developed a plan during the meeting and gave it to the team to execute. We see Suzanne get asked questions about what sauce to prepare with steak and she notes that he's not a sauce guy. No clue where that information came from. Her Team seems confused by this but carries on. With 5 minutes left, Suzanne first asks her Team what they think of the menu. Little late then, isn't it?

Honestly, if I said there were two Teams, one that had a Collaborative leader and the other a Dictatorial leader, wouldn't you think the Collaborator type would be a woman and the Dictator a man? Depending on the circumstances, neither approach is right or wrong, it's just not the 'stereotypical' roles.

Ariel and Kevin approach with the appetizers. Red Team : Caesar type salad with baked prawns. It's well received and Suzanne winks at her Team. Blue Team: Spicy seafood-style bouillabaisse. It is better received than the Red Team's dish. Then she picks the salad. Red Team has the lead.

Amanda and Andy approach with the first main. Red Team: bacon wrapped fillet with baked shrimp. It's well received. Blue Team: four cheese macaroni, stewed greens, and buttermilk fried catfish. It's better received. Hands down Blue Team vote. All tied.

Suzanne and Robert approach with the second main. Red Team: broiled lobster tail with pasta and white wine sauce. It is very good. Blue Team: cajun rubbed New York strip, twice baked potato, and a grilled lobster tail. The wife starts reacting positively to it as soon as Robert starts to describe it, focusing especially on the fact that the lobster tail is grilled. Of course, we go to commercial before she can pick.

She picks the Blue Team and the gentlemen celebrate. Robert is thrilled to finally win a challenge.

Reward: Fighter Pilots for a Day. Punishment: redecorating the restaurant for the party.

Before the Red Team starts they take a moment. Suzanne refers to it as 'disappointment at Suzanne time'. She doesn't seem to grasp WHY they should be disappointed with her. Sabrina notes in Interview that they never heard Suzanne say 'soul food' and that would have changed their direction. We see a Flashback of Tennille suggesting a jambalaya type sauce and Suzanne quickly shoots the idea down. While Suzanne is right in that they turned out good dishes, she took the responsibility for the whole thing and therefore it's all her fault that they lost the challenge. She didn't utilize her Team to their full potential.

There's only one person Chef will trust to decorate this party: his wife! I've seen her in Chef's other shows and she's way cool.

The guys have a great time playing as fighter pilots. The real pilots get them in the sky, show them what to do, and let them play about a bit. The girls have a good time with the decorating because they have a helium tank so they can amuse themselves with that. The night passes without incident.

The Red Team has to prepare the Blue Team's menu but the Blue Team isn't being very helpful with their recipes. The Red Team is concerned that it's deliberate. It appears that it is.

It's a surprise party and they manage to surprise him. His mom is even there. Everyone's amped for this.

Blue Team starts well, even Andy. They crank out their apps. Red Team not so well. A cold mushroom order ends up hosing them up a bit.

Jim on the Blue Team gets slammed on the Grill station as the New York strip is very popular. He gets lost and Kevin helps bail him out. Tek has a similar problem except everyone tries to help her and causes more problems than it should. The grill is there to start the steak and the bulk of the cooking is done in an oven. The Red Team was already behind and this puts them further behind. Twice we see unacceptable food get rejected before we go to commercial.

Dave is shown struggling but succeeding on the Meat station. Andy offers to help but Dave is fine. The Blue Team is completely stomping the Red Team at this point. No Red entrees have gone out yet. At all. Tek gets taken into the back room for a private yelling. The Blue Team go to Dessert before the Red Team can get any entrees out.

After commercial, Chef Ramsey leaves Kevin in the Blue Kitchen to finish their desserts. The rest of the Blue Team is taken to the Red Kitchen to get things done. The Red Team doesn't get kicked out but they may as well have done. Blue Team comes in and cranks it out. In general, the Red Team looks completely useless tonight. There was no teamwork.

Chef Ramsey is more disappointed than anything else. Blue Team clearly won. There is no Best of the Worst tonight. The Red Team is to have a Team meeting to determine the Nominees.

Rightfully, the guys celebrate. Red Team is not. Tek is considered a no-brainer. She gets that she had a bad night but insists she can cook, a common refrain from her. Ariel suggests Tek and Amanda as she has no confidence in Amanda. Since they are to consider their entire performance, Sabrina suggests Tennille as well. Tennille gets peeved, noting that she was doing her best to support Tek tonight and Tek didn't listen to her. There's a subtle line in the team now with Tennille, Amanda, and Tek on one side and Ariel, Sabrina, and Suzanne on the other.

Nominees for elimination: Tek for deflating in the past couple services and Tennille. As Tennille is the one being asked to provide the information, she notes this is crap and she's not the weakest member of the team. Commercial.

Chef Ramsey asks Tennille who she thinks the second nominee should be with the answer of Amanda. Tek and Tennille are called forward. Then Amanda as well. Tennille defends herself somewhat generically and gets mad. She's sent back into line. Tek's defense of herself is even more generic. While Tennille showed some passion, Tek seems beaten. Amanda's defense at least points to specific things she needs to do better, like be more vocal. Amanda starts crying as Chef wonders aloud if she has anything left.

Tek is eliminated. Chef Ramsey notes that she never got going.

Trailer: Dinner service goes poorly, Tennille shouts back at Chef Ramsey, Robert's medical condition resurfaces.

Did well: Robert and the Blue Team in general.
Did poorly: Suzanne and the Red Team in general.

Irritated

My plan was to do a wrap-up of Irish Fest today but I'm having a little issue with the lappy. That has distracted me. I was typing on the current story, bumped the plug, and it hasn't come back quite right. It seems like the computer thinks the previous session is still active and not letting me get the wireless going, some settings are wrong, etc. It's working, it's just not working quite right. And I have to retype about a page.

So I'm off step. Hopefully tomorrow I can get this settled and we'll try again then. I'm sure it'll seem anti-climatic.

Playing to the Home Crowd

While leading up to introducing the song 'Floating the Flambeau', lead singer of Gaelic Storm Patrick Murphy referred to the Green Bay Packers as the best football team in something or other. We were too busy cheering for me to make out the rest. Patrick was puzzled. "I heard some boos there. Does that mean you're Bears fan?" A cheer from the Illinoisians in the audience indicated that he'd figured correctly.

Patrick had a story.

You see, this past Thursday night the band played down in Chicago. While they were down there, they saw a sad man holding one of those 'Will Work for Food' signs. "Wait a minute!" Patrick said as they drove past. "It's Rex Grossman!"

We laughed.