The $100 Diet

An offhand comment by Sacha on how cheap food is led to a discussion on how it is possible to eat healthily for $100 a month.

You hit the nail on the head with pasta. I even was able to splurge and buy whole wheat pasta about 1/2 the time (typically twice as expensive). One of the biggest costs was sauce, but I bought it already prepared which added to the cost. Only a little bit of meat and fish, as it is expensive (a little can go a long way with, say, a sweet and sour dish with lots of cheap vegetables). Using inexpensive but full protein-complement alternatives makes it easier. If you eat 3 meals a day, each one on average needs to be <= $1.11.

I never would have guessed that it could even be done; my monthly food budget is something like $200 - $250, and that doesn't even include the inevitable eating out.

Sacha and Tony are smart, patient, and like to cook - all necessary attributes to maintain a diet like this. Unfortunately, I figure that excludes 90% of the population from succeeding at this (I hate cooking), and 99+% of those that would most benefit from the financial savings and improved nutrition.

I wonder if there are any charity groups that teach these kinds of things... kind of along the lines of "teaching a man to fish".

The Simpsons Movie

Finally, a comedy that didn't put all the funniest stuff in the trailer! The Simpsons Movie was pretty hilarious and actually felt like a movie (rather than a long episode).

Definitely shocking to see some of the crasser stuff, and somehow it felt like the already loose laws of Simpsons physics were broken at times...

I also couldn't understand why they had Schwarzenegger as President, but with the body and voice of Rainier Wolfcastle... why not stick with the guy they've been using for years? Everyone knows who he was modeled after.

"I was elected to lead, not to read!"

Unlikely 2008 Election Prediction

If by some miracle Obama wins the Democratic nomination, I predict that Hillary Clinton will end up as McCain's running mate.

Think about it for minute. Can you see Obama tossing out all his "agent of change" baloney and ignoring Bill's slandering of him around the country? And somehow Hillary helping Obama after being trounced doesn't seem all that like her.

On the other side of the aisle, McCain is not making/has not made a lot of friends. He also hates for his beliefs to be challenged. So he is going to want someone that will mostly kiss his ass and do what they are told. Giuliani (who stands behind McCain at every speech now, his shiny teeth blinding the audience...) seems like a pretty good fit, but frankly doesn't have much to offer against Hillary who would claim to bring 50% of the Democratic Party votes with her. I don't recall any particular McCain/Clinton animosity, and their political positions aren't that far apart.

I imagine her pitch would be something along the lines of "Who do you trust more than yourself to handle Iraq? No one. How would you like to be able to forget about this election and focus on the important stuff? All I ask for is a big say in domestic policy."

The final result would be something like 30% Obama, 55% McCain/Clinton, and 15% inevitable right wing 3rd party candidate.

I suspect McCain will beat Clinton and/or Obama straight up anyway, but it will be a tough fight.

Gore Verbinski is a Tool

If my most successful movie was based on a Disney ride which I then poorly cloned into mediocre sequels, I would not be lecturing the video game industry about originality.

“[Games] are giving people like me some hope,” claimed Verbinski, a self-professed gamer. “But now I see that your path is becoming worn. The view is narrowing, and the promise of gaming as a medium can quickly become a disappointment as stasis occurs.

“Already, how many games have you seen that look too similar? How many film enterprises have slapped their logos on inferior [products] because they reacted late, and needed to make a shelf date?”

Movie Review: Juno

What are you doing here surfing the internet when you could be out watching Juno?!

Seriously. Awesome.

I don't know that I really buy the whole "interesting teenagers" concept that this movie and so many others are based on, but whatever. This is the closest I've come to tearing up at a movie since Man on Fire (OK, yes, I have some crossed wires).

See this movie.