The Walker Evans Effect

Just discovered this site. GREAT comics.

I wrote this up for a friend the other day and figured I’d post it up here since I’ve been meaning to write this down for awhile now…

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Ok, here’s what I do for salsa. I’m sorry if the measurements aren’t 100% correct, but I rarely measure anything. It shouldn’t affect it too much though.

Ingredients:
1 can (15-16oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 medium onion (about the size of a pool-ball)
1-2 jalapenos (depending on how hot you like it)
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic (either fresh or from a jar)
1/2 - 1 teaspoons cumin (depending on how much you like cumin)
2-4 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (don’t use dried cilantro. it sucks.)
2 tablespoons of either lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar (white vinegar or apple cider vinegar is good)

Directions:

1. Chop up your onion, garlic, and jalapenos. Be sure to remove the seeds from the jalapenos if you want it mild, or leave them in if you want it hot. Be careful with the jalapenos because they can sting your hands for hours. Might want to wear gloves.

2. Melt about a tablespoon of butter (or olive oil) in a skillet on medium heat and toss in your chopped up onion, and minced garlic & minced jalapenos. Cook and stir them for about 5 minutes or until the onions start to soften and caramelize.

3. Drain most of the liquid from your can of tomatoes and add them into your skillet. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and stir it all together.

4. Next add your acidity (whichever of the lemon/lime/vinegar you picked) along with your spices (cumin) plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper to your own taste. I sometimes will also add a pinch of paprika and/or chili power and/or sugar. It really just depends on your own preferences. And that’s all optional.

5. Let the whole thing simmer uncovered (so some of the liquid will steam out) for maybe 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. It’s ready to eat warm, but we’ve found that it’s better to cool it in the fridge first. Most people like their salsa cold anyway. Sprinkle your cilantro on top after it’s cooled, and it’s ready to eat. I’ve found that if you add the cilantro while it’s cooking or still hot it tends to dull the flavor of the cilantro and will also “smudge” the color of the salsa making it brownish/greenish. Still tastes ok, but not as pretty.

So there you have it. You can do the same thing with the same ingredients UNCOOKED, but the tomatoes will taste MUCH stronger, and the onions and garlic might taste a little overpowering. When you cook it and blend all the flavors together it seems to taste better to me. More like salsa you’d buy at a store or get at a restaurant.

Once you get a good “base” down that you like, start experimenting. Different types of onions and peppers will give it different flavors… or substitute the tomatoes for half-tomatoes/half-peaches (or pineapple) for some fruity salsa… or you can try the roasting/broiling approach with fresh tomatoes, or with the onion/garlic/pepper for a “smokey/roasted” taste. Or even adding a can of corn to the mix would be pretty tasty if you’re into that. Tons of options!

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So there it is. I’ll post some variations on this when I get some time. Maybe add some pictures too.

Ahhh… Dennis Miller. Jumping on the Fox News Bandwagon a bit late. He’s been living at the obscure edge of “funny” for the last 20 years. Didn’t he used to make fun of politicians on Weekend Update on SNL? And now he’ll be coddling their balls on Fox News. I’d say something about how the mighty have fallen, but Dennis Miller hasn’t been worth listening to since…. well…. ever.

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Wow… this is the best movie promotion ever. I’ve sent one to just about everyone I can think of. YOU SHOULD TOO!

I think you’ve got snakes on your internet!!!

Something I noticed the other day… the original trailer for Talladega Nights showed a clip of the scene where Ricky Bobby thinks he’s on fire and is running around in his underpants screaming “Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! Help me Tom Cruise!” but… there’s a revised trailer now that has the same footage, but instead he’s screaming “Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! Help me Oprah Winfrey!” He does utter both names in the actual movie, but why change up the trailer?

My only guess… because Tom Cruise is a big fat whiney paranoid babypants psycho that complained to the studio, assualted them with threats, and got his way.

I googled around for some info on this, but didn’t see anything out there on it. Anyone know anything about this?

I’m going to be DJing at Bristol in two weeks. Will be my first “real” time DJing there since the last time was last minute and I didn’t have much time to invite anyone out for it. Hopefully this month will be a little better. We shall see. You can click on the little flyer picture to the right for details. An ad for it will be running in the Columbus Alive next week, so I’ll have to pick up a copy of that.

Good stuff.

Anne & I got to go to a free screening of Talladega Nights yesterday at the Lennox, thanks to our friend Lindsey hooking us up with some tickets. WARNING: There may be spoilers ahead, but minor ones. I do my best to not give much away, but really… nothing major happens in this movie that is going to “ruin” it for you anyway, you big baby.

Overall it was a pretty good movie. I enjoyed Anchorman, but I’m usually not a huge fan of dumb comedy. Will Ferrell seems to do a pretty good job of having a unique enough premises to his movies to make them stand out from the rest of the crap even if the story cycle is pretty standard at best, and overly predictable.

The Good : The supporting cast. I kind of expected to see some phoned-in cameos by Owen & Luke Wilson, Steve Carell, Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, but none of them were there. Instead we’re treated to great performances by Jane Lynch, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, John C. Reilly, David Koechner, Jack McBrayer (Yes, I actually recognized him from his small bit in Arrested Development. That is how big of an A.D. junkie I am.), Amy Adams, Andy Richter, and of course… Sacha Baron Cohen. I had no idea he was even in this movie until the credits started rolling. When I saw his character in the previews I actually thought it was Steve Coogan for some reason. Anyway, Sacha is awesome, and couldn’t have made a better villain/rival for Ricky Bobby.

The only dumb cameo is by Molly Shannon. She had one funny bit and the rest of her screen-time was a waste of celluloid. Ugh.

There’s one scene in the whole film that really stands out for me, and that was the “knife in the leg” scene. As seen in the trailer, Ricky Bobby sticks a knife in his leg while in the hospital, and the scene that follows completely flips the directorial aspect around into this shaky handheld cam rapidly moving from person to person to capture bits and pieces of people’s expressions, their lines, and their actions. It felt like a high-quality home-made video you’d see on the internet. Two dudes trying to pin down a third and pry a knife out of his leg. It was hilarious, but painfully realistic to watch at the same time. The rest of the direction and camera work is pretty standard. There are comedy shots, action shots, and a sprinkling of dramatic shots. All very standard and while they don’t add anything special to the movie in that aspect, they also don’t distract from the jokes.

And the jokes are mostly good. A lot of it comes in the form of rapid banter, which is great. I prefer it much more than the weaker “stereotype” jokes… where the frenchman has an outrageous accent, or the southerners act like dumb rednecks. But that stuff is mostly minimal. The comedy is well written for the most part.

Really, my only big complaint about the movie is the over-the-top patriotism embedded in the movie, almost to the point of exploitation. They could have been much more subtle about Ricky Bobby representing all that is good about America, but instead they decided to take it to the extreme. Is it really necessary to have Ricky Bobby’s rival be a french guy? Does that add anything to the story at all? I think all it does is further perpetrate the idea that France is somehow the “enemy” of the United States in the backs of the minds of the people who are going out to watch “That NASCAR movie with the SNL guy in it”. And from a comedy standpoint… it’s old. Making fun of the French is sooooo 2003. If you’re still getting a hearty guffaw out of ordering “Freedom Fries” at every drive through window then you are a sad sad individual.

But really, that’s a minor complaint, and I’m sure you probably won’t hear it from too many of your friends who go to see this movie. So yeah, go watch it yourself. Perhaps not at full price at the theater, but it’s definitely worth $4-5 for a matinee or a rental in six months.

(out of five)