the DVR

Ok, I’ll cop to it. I like TV. As much as I try to play the intellectual card and espouse my love of the written word while pooh-poohing the evils of the idiot box, I can’t deny that my house has four TVs and it is a rare day that I don’t turn on at least one of them. To my credit, I am particular about what I watch. I don’t do sitcoms (although I’ll make exceptions for reruns of Scrubs). I don’t do talk shows. I don’t do soap operas. I limit my reality shows to COPS, American Idol, and whatever design/chef contest is running on Bravo. I don’t know what’s playing on “Must See Thursday” and I don’t even know what network that is. I like Antiques Roadshow, Deadliest Catch, and Adult Swim. And although the TV is almost always on, I’m not always or even usually sitting in front of it, and sometimes even when I am I’m doing something else. It’s just there, like background music.

And in this state of Madonna-esque anti-television snobbery, I always laughed inside when people talked about TiVo or DVR as if it was the answer to their prayers. “TV,” I’d say, “is just not that important to me.” I vehemently refused to get involved in the drama series du jour; 24, The Sopranos, Gray’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order. Never saw ‘em. Never got involved. “I am above all that,” I’d think, “no DVR umbilical cord for me.” Until I got one.

Then WOOSH the whole thing changed! How great is it that I can go to Girl’s Night Out on Tuesday and not miss American Idol??? Or that I can watch old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and My So Called Life without having to get up at the ungodly hours they air??? (FX at 7am and Nogin at 5am respectively, in case you’re interested.) Or that I can search through a week’s worth of programming on the Independent Film Channel and record all the movies that never came to the theaters in this cultural wasteland of Volusia County??? Or that I never have to miss The Riches or House or The Daily Show because I’d rather be sleeping??? I’ll tell you how great it is – it is FREAKING AWESOME! It's like being able to be in two places at once, like cloning yourself so you can be a couch potato AND a social animal at the same time! It's like having your cake and Edith too!!! DVR really is the greatest thing since sliced bread! Ain’t technology grand?!?

I rate DVR 10 sparkly mushrooms!

okra pickles

Mt. Olive Mild Okra Pickles

I first heard about okra pickles while watching Alton Brown on the Food Network. Now, I LOVE pickles. Any kind except sweet - dill, garlic, cornichons, half sours. Mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm. I loves me some pickles!

But I was a bit hesitant about okra pickles. Don't get me wrong - a plate of fried okra or a nice okra gumbo is just the ticket. But pickles? Aren't okra a bit... well... slimy for pickles? But I heard Alton say it and I believed it: Okra pickles are NOT ONE BIT SLIMY.

So I tried them. And they were positively delicious! And now I'm hooked. And you will be too. Try 'em, you'll see!

I rate Mt. Olive Mild Okra Pickles 5 sparkly mushrooms!

Royal Dynasty Chinese Restaurant

1482 West Granada Boulevard
Ormond Beach, FL 32174

Picture this: you are running late for a movie. The theater is 8 miles from your home. On the way, you have to stop at an atm AND have dinner. A real dinner, mind you, not just some McTake-Away. You have one hour. GO!

This was the situation we found ourselves in last night. Our solution? Royal Dynasty Chinese Restaurant, highly recommended by Volusia County native Amanda (or Becca, as she's known in the biz) - especially the Sesame Chicken and Mongolian Beef.

We arrived at Royal Dynasty at 19:00, Borat started at 19:35. The theater was around the corner from the restaurant. That gave us 35 minutes to eat, drive, park, buy tickets, and find us some seats.

While visions of Seinfeld episodes danced in my head, we were delighted to find there was no wait for a table. While we perused the menu, a waiter brought us water, hot tea, and crispy noodles. We decided against appetizers *sigh*, and ordered:

Singapore Noodles (John) and Mongolian Chicken (me)


We munched on crispy noodles and sipped tea while waiting for our order. By 19:20, our food was on the table; by 19:30 we were finished and had paid.

The food - the bits we tasted as opposed to swallowing whole - was excellent. Generally, I judge a Chinese restaurant solely on the quality of its Egg Rolls and Hot and Sour Soup. In our haste, we had neither; but the quality of our entrees was enough for me to say we'll definitely be going back there! Thanks, Becca!

Sadly, very very sadly, by the time we got in line for Borat it had sold out. Damn! But worry not - we will see it before this weekend ends. But in the meantime...

I rate Royal Dynasty 4 sparkly mushrooms!