politics with a side of fries

So after a fun night with the friends @ C &V’s wedding party I was in desperate need of some burger goodness. T and I went to church and left discussing where we should try first. As we went through the list I’d worked so hard to come up with, I realized – there’s so many more than 30 places… needless to say, our first burger binge isn’t even on my list. Pappa’s Burgers is over by the galleria so it’s far from our usual stomping grounds (yes, I’m an inside the loop nerd. Anything past 610 feels like it’s SOOO far away.) but since it was a short distance from the church it become our destination. In the spirit of the task, I kept it simple. I ordered just their basic bacon cheeseburger. Topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and a healthy slice of cheddar it was just what I needed after the night of fun. We took a seat in front of the large TV to watch the ‘stros and wait for order. It arrived wrapped in butcher paper and served with a good portion of fries. First the fries:

So I think I’m normal. Or close to it at least – I have bills that I pay, student loans I have to keep up with…but then there’s all the fun stuff that I WANT to pay for. Trips, good food, fun outfits…the things that bring a smile to your face (vs. the sweat to your brow the bills coming close does…) But I’m realistic. I can’t run up expenses beyond what is required – things are uncertain in this nation so it’s best to keep things close to home and save, save, save. And even if it wasn’t uncertain in the broad sense, I’m young- who knows where things will be in the future – kids, a new home, a wrecked car and it makes sense to prepare for those things. So when I see things like this: Obamas fundraising spree costs 2M I just get a little riled up. I mean COME ON. I get it, he’s the president and we (the American public) must pay for his security and travel…or rather the 53% of us that DO pay taxes. But to go on a campaign trip for others, who also go against the majority views on things…

I know about a million people have done 'burger tours' or the 'best burger of...' and I really don't like jumping on bandwagons. However, I DO really love eating burgers. So, after taking some input from the friendly friends - I've sorted out a list of burger places I want to try (or try again, as the case may be). Many of these places I haven't even heard of until I started researching it, so if my taste trail of burgerness only results in some of the friends finding new haunts then so be it. First- Creating this list while attempting to stay at a halfway normal weight during restaurant week is simply torture…I’ve been trying to eat healthy to compensate for my binging at the five places we’re trying between Aug 4-Aug 19 and looking at all the yummy burger photos have made me crave some serious grease and cheese… ah no matter, the things I do for food. Second- There’s never a really objective way to judge food in my mind. Everyone likes different things an

www.houstonrestaurantweek.com So last year this came and went without much of a to-do as far as I was concerned. For some reason I missed this great opportunity to try different places and sample a little of this, a little of that for a fairly affordable price. I decided this year I would not make the same mistake. My first chance was granted me by J for her birthday dinner. She sent out an email requesting everyone weigh in on where to go…I guess I’ve been to more places than I thought, b/c most of the places people were talking about trying I had already been. (but I am counting business lunches, so I don’t know that that’s the best judge of a restaurant but..) It was decided to go to Mark’s. Now I’ve been to Mark’s before and despite everyone saying ‘How Amazing!’, I was not impressed. It’s not even on my top 100 restaurants list. We did go for a lunch, and the soup I had was decent but the main course was simply unappetizing. It had shrimp in it and I don’t think I’ve ever had more

This came across my email this week... I think it's been out awhile but it's worth a read. It's time that we stop embracing things b/c it's the socially 'correct' thing, and actually think through the consequences of our actions. To many people these days simply go with the flow, we're a generation of doing not only what 'feels good' but what everyone else is doing...it's easier to be moved with the tides than to stand firm for something. Until that changes we will continue to be in a sad state... This is Anne Wortham. She is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University 's Hoove Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. In fall

So gov't run GM has come up with an electric car. Sounds pretty cool and futuristic doesn't it! I get that the push for 'green'ing up things has been positive in some areas- plastic bottles are thinner (did we really need them to be thicker?), our landfills aren't quit as full (why be wasteful in general?) and focusing on walking places when you can keeps us not quite as fat. But I have some issues with the volt... Now, I’ll admit I haven’t read all the test results and research data on these cars and I have a feeling it may be to technical for me but I have heard that they ‘back up’ power source has not be tested as thoroughly as it might usually be. They rushed to deliver it to market and in doing so I have to worry about the quality of the product. Rushing things doesn’t seem to be a good idea, especially when everyone knows that even cars that are well tested have problems (does the location of a gas tank matter anyone?) So, if the ‘back up’ source doesn’t work,