‘Top Chef’ Chicago
I’m not a huge fan of reality TV, but I am feeling my pulse quicken at the thought of a new season of Top Chef premiering Wednesday night on Bravo at 9 p.m. Central. Throw in the fact that this season’s competition is set in Chicago, and I almost want to...Chef José Andrés: ‘Made in Spain’
Update, April 17, 2009: With the addition of the new YouTube Shows section, you can now watch all 13 episodes of Made in Spain at YouTube. I seem to be on a little bit of a Spanish kick with my posts here recently, so let’s go for trillizos. If you like chefs...Penélope Cruz in ‘Volver’ (2006, director: Pedro Almodóvar)
Pedro Almodóvar, Spain’s most prominent director, is especially known for his films about sisterhood and female solidarity, films like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and All About My Mother (1999). Volver (meaning “to return” in...Olde Madrid: Racine, WI restaurant offers tapas, paella
Olde Madrid (OldeMadrid.com) 418 6th St. Racine, WI 53403-1218 (262) 619-0940 Having enjoyed tapas and paella over the years at Don Quijote in Milwaukee, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and especially Emilio’s Tapas in Chicagoland, we were excited when Manny Salinas and...Political campaign robocalls: Mosquitoes of election season
It happened last night, at seven minutes before seven o’clock. Amy and I were savoring our dinner of Cranberry-Pear Chicken (we added fresh thyme), steamed asparagus and a cheap Zinfandel, and we were engrossed in Casino Royale, watching James Bond playing...Back Door Slam: Young British band’s got the blues guitar
My brother-in-law Wayne, out there in Columbus, Ohio, is something of a music connoisseur. Wayne enjoys finding little-known talent. A couple of weeks ago, he gifted me with Mescalito, the major label debut from Ryan Bingham, a 25-year-old singer/songwriter out of...Tornado in Kenosha, Wisconsin: January 7, 2008
As people all over the world have heard, there was some frightening tornado activity in Kenosha, just a few short miles from here, on the afternoon of January 7. I received a lot of calls and emails from co-workers, friends, and family, but happily I had nothing to...Young Che Guevara: ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ (2004 movie)
The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 Spanish-language buddy film about two guys from Argentina on a leaky Norton motorcycle taking a road trip through much of South America in 1952. One of the guys is the young Ernesto Guevara (a.k.a Che Guevara), who would go on to...National Civil Rights Museum at Lorraine Motel in Memphis
Today, on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Martin Luther King, Jr., there’s a news story about how King has been simplified into an icon and a catchphrase, and the details of his life and work have been softened, blurred, and appropriated. Being...