Four and three and two and one. What up!

Quick Hitters and Random Thoughts

--And so the game is afoot. Really great midseason finale of Breaking Bad with outstanding direction from beginning to end. Lots of Heisenberg being all Heisenberg-y early on as they finish off Mike and then he meets with Lydia with his little friend Ricin.
A meeting with Todd’s uncle gave us two minutes of a Mafia movie style hit sequence that didn’t disappoint. Well the 10 guys were probably disappointed, but if you dance with the devil…
How have they not used “Crystal Blue Persuasion” until now? As usual a terrific montage starting with the transition of Walt from brother-in-law to monster-in-law at Hank’s house. Nice timing by Skyler to show him the storage locker of cash and finally get Walter to see the light. A light that Jesse already saw and it was weird seeing Walt reminisce like that with him because he’s been so manipulative and I kept expecting the other shoe to drop. At least he gave him his money. Please let Jesse live these final eight episodes.
As for the end I keep going back and forth. Obviously at some point Hank was going to stumble on to something that would make him suspect his brother-in-law, but why would Walt be so sloppy to leave that book on a guest toilet? Maybe, MAYBE, in his bedroom’s restroom, but the guest toilet? I just would’ve liked for Hank to stumble onto something in a different way. Minor quibble in an otherwise fantastic episode. Now it’s time to roll through from beginning to almost end before the final eight come our way in 2013. 2013. Ugh.

--College football has begun (just not for UH apparently) which means it’s nearly time for heart clogging deep fried abominations from the Texas State Fair. The finalists for the Big Tex Choice Awards are out and honestly I think we’re running out of stuff to deep fry. Deep-fried mac-n-cheese slider is pretty tame especially since you can get this Caswell burger at Minute Maid. Fried pork wing = eh. How have we not had a fried bacon cinnamon roll before? A cinnamon roll dipped in pancake batter before being rolled in fried bacon and then fry that heart attack up before dusting it with powdered sugar. Deep-fried divine chocolate tres leches cake is probably disgustingly good though I think you’re missing the point if you’re topping it with fresh strawberries and peaches. Fried Mexican fire crackers sound basically like deep-fried jalapeno poppers. Picnic on a stick has potential. Alternated on a skewer is fried chicken, tater tots and dill pickles then that whole thing is battered and bread crumbed and deep-fried. My personal favorite is the chicken fried cactus bites with jalapeno ranch and agave nectar dipping sauces. After the judges recovered from their coronaries the winner was...deep-fried jambalaya.

--Tricia Helfer to Community?! There is a God. Unfortunately it’s a cylon.

--Solid No Reservations premiere in Austin where the music and food seemed to win over Bourdain. Bonus! Sleigh Bells cookout where Alexis was all sexy while Bourdain shotgunned a Bud Light and got a tattoo. Also liked the backstory on Franklin’s and Mueller’s. Great direction throughout the episode especially when Neon Indian took to the stage.

--After this season Calvin Johnson will break the Madden Curse and the Miami Dolphins will really get the Hard Knocks curse rolling.

--There are good commercial and then there are Australian beer commercials.


--I can do without Seth MacFarlane on SNL’s premiere, but Frank Ocean? Oh, I’m in. Frank Ocean is one of the rare buy the whole damn album artists.

--There might not be a scarier restaurant group name than Rascal Flatts Restaurant Group. Yep, some ten Rascal Flatts restaurants will be scattered about the country starting in Phoenix. No spots in Texas named yet and I stress yet because we all know Dallas is going to get one and that’s one of those things Houston will not get jealous about.

--Really like last week’s review from The Houston Press on Bombay Pizza Company. Excellent, interesting, and at happy hour particularly, inexpensive food. But then you know I’m always gung ho about downtown restaurants.


--Hurley/Jorge Garcia on Once Upon A Time sounds about right.

--It’s not easy raising kids especially when The Man makes it harder than it needs to be. Gretchen Kinnear is trying to raise her four-year-old boy proper. Part of that surely is establishing an alcohol tolerance level, right? Turns out The Man says “wrong.” Gretchen was at an Irish pub in Fort Mill, North Carolina which I think is known for its Irish pubs. Anyway, Gretchen was giving her son shots of beer or what he called “tea.” “Tea” that mad him dizzy and laugh a lot. “Tea” that mommy gives him at home too. Gretchen’s defense? What’s the big deal I’ve given him beer here before and he gets wine at home too. Yeah, Social Services put the boy in the “custody of his babysitters.” I’ve never seen babysitters get custody, but I imagine custody with anyone other than drinky mommy is a good idea.

--There’s fitting and then there’s the Cocaine Grandmother, Griselda Blanco from Cocaine Cowboys, being gunned down by a motorcycle assassin in Medellin over the weekend.

--Nice try Shawn Ryan, but once a Terriers movie gets floated you can’t take it back.

--RIP Michael Clarke Duncan.

Questions, comments or if you watched Dr. Who’s season premiere and think you might actually like the Inspector Spacetime knockoff…