Dozens of Tickets Issued in Dallas for Not Speaking English

After it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2nd to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver --- a bogus offense --- it has now been revealed that dozens of tickets have been written in Dallas for similar "crimes."

Read the weinterrupt.com story

Rammstein to Release Box Set — with Six Dildos

German metal band Rammstein is issuing a special edition box set of their album Liebe ist für alle da, which was released earlier this month. It comes in a metal case and includes five B-sides, as well as six dildos, each of which corresponds to the member of each band... um...member. Also included: a bottle of lube and industrial-strength handcuffs.

Read the Exclaim.ca story

You Learn Something New Everyday

Jean Harlow was the first actress to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously

Dirty Harry's badge number is 2211.

The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible which does not mention the name of God.

A full moon always rises at sunset.

My Eggplant Parmigiana

A friend recently put out a request for a recipe for an Eggplant or Zuccini Parmigiana and thought I'd post mine here. This recipe evolved from my Chicken Parmigiana recipe that I had learned from the tradition of the Basile family, one of the many Italian families that I grew up around in Brampton, Ontario.

I can say this recipe is world famous, as I have cooked it in at least eight cities on three continents.

Eggplant Parmesan
also works well with very large zucchinis.

1 large eggplant
Tomato sauce (I recommend using your favourite homemade sauce)
mozzarella cheese (shredded)
grated parmesan cheese
all purpose flour
3 eggs
bread crumbs
vegetable oil
dried oregano and dried basil (optional)
salt and pepper

Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch thick disks. Salt and strain for about 20 minutes or so.

Set up a breading station:
First bowl: all purpose flour, seasoned slightly with salt and pepper
Second bowl: eggs, beaten
Third bowl: bread crumbs, seasoned slightly with salt and pepper, pinches of dried oregano and dried basil

Coat the slices of the eggplant, one at a time, in the flour. Then dip the eggplant slice into the egg and let excess drip off. Then lay the slice in the breadcrumbs, covering both sides. Repeat this process, adding more breadcrumbs as needed. If you fill the bowl with too many crumbs at a time, the crumbs will get sticky and chunky.

Add oil to a medium fry pan, but just enough to coat the bottom. Brown each slice; you can brown about 4-5 slices at a time. Don't overcook; just let them get crispy on the outside. Add oil as necessary; don't let the pan dry out or burn.

Transfer slices to a paper towel. Once all are browned, place a layer in the bottom of a rectangular casserole dish (approx. 9-11 inch dish). Cover the slices with a layer of sauce. A generous portion of mozzarella and parmesan should top each slice. I have experimented with adding mushrooms, red/green peppers, and/or onions to the sauce while baking. Cover with foil and put in a 375 degree oven until slices are tender but not mushy.

Add another another layer of cheese to each slice and broil uncovered until cheese is melted and slightly brown.

Serve with pasta, tossed in tomato sauce. Top with a light sprinkle of italian parsley, extra virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper.

R.I.P Soupy Sales

Soupy Sales, a comedian from the golden era of television, died October 22.

The rubber-faced comedian, whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, died at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York

During the early 1960s, the comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities, from Frank Sinatra to Alice Cooper, lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales.

"The Soupy Sales Show," with co-star puppets White Fang (the meanest dog in the United States) and Black Tooth (the nicest dog in the United States) made Sales one of the best-known faces in the nation, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher.

"If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy," said Usher.

Sales is survived by his wife, Trudy, and two sons, Hunt and Tony, a pair of musicians who backed David Bowie in the band Tin Machine.

Soupy Sales was 83.

Read the New York Times story.

You're not gonna put Charlie Parker in with the Rock n Roll, would you?

A scene from one of my favourite movies.

Addictions and Bad Dreams

My current obsessions, time wasters and indulgences, in no particular order, are:

NHL regular season
Flash Forward
Presidents Choice chips - Loaded bake potato flavor
The Nicholas brothers` Stormy Weather routine.
My niece`s seven teeth
antibiotics
scarves - the lingerie of winter outerwear
cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie
TED.com

You Learn Something New Everyday

Some of the words that my computerized opponent used in Wordscraper today.

Fley –verb, fleyed, fley⋅ing. Chiefly Scot. to frighten; terrify.

Haar –noun Scot. and North England. a thick, wet fog along the seacoast.

Ogive –noun
1. Architecture. a. a diagonal vaulting rib. b. a pointed arch.
2. Statistics. the distribution curve of a frequency distribution.
3. Rocketry. the curved nose of a missile or rocket.