Lupe, Roger Ebert, inspiration and Abraham Lincoln killing vampires

1 - I'd never heard of this author or the book before, but now I really have to read this.



2 - By now most people have heard about the Esquire piece on Roger Ebert. It's pretty awesome.

But what I didn't know is he's on Twitter. I started following him late last night and I've come to the conclusion that's he's basically my idol.

3 - For my guy pals, it's worth a look

3b -

A short-brimmed fedora is heroic and hip. And you might have noticed, they’re also back in style—whether in wool (for the winter) or straw (for the summer).

My lovely pal Danielle says it's ok if I take full credit for bringing this back.

4 - So I know in my last post I said that fictional television isn't going to enlighten you. I never said it couldn't inspire you, however.

Our Content department has been hit with massive turnover in the last six months. None of the people who worked as content specialists when I arrived at SP are here any longer. They all quit. Not only that, but the people that have been hired to replace them have quit.

It's a bitch of a job, and one that I want.

Two weeks ago I went to our CFO. I mentioned to her that I'd heard yet another Specialist turned in his two weeks. It left us with only one person in a department that really demands at least three. Being a former English major and more than capable of handling both Flash and Content duties, I suggested to her that I could help if I was needed. She gave me a, "Thanks. We'll think about that." response and I left her office knowing full well that, no it wouldn't be considered.

This is typical. A lot of companies will preach change and that they need ideas and they need their employees to do more. In the end, a lot of it never happens despite the best intentions of the workers. Months ago we had a company wide meeting where we came up with plans to change our processes for the better. I was encouraged. That happened in January and I'm still waiting on the follow-up. Very little, if anything, has changed. The meeting was mostly bullshit.

So when I had this talk with the CFO and told her how I could be useful, I didn't really expect anything to come of it.

Fast forward about a week. It was around 1:00 am and I was starting to fall asleep to an episode of House. In it, one of the doctors wanted to do clinical trials. He asked House if he could take on this added responsibility. House said no. At the end of the episode the doc tried again, only this time he didn't ask permission, he flat told House he would be doing the trials. House said sure, go ahead. Confused, the doc asked why it was now alright. House said that when he said no, it was because he was asked. This time around he just did it.

The light went on in my head.

The next morning I got to work and crafted an email. Not to my boss, but to the company president. I didn't ask for an expanded role, I more or less told him I'd be taking it. I elaborated as to why. "I've been doing this for almost a dozen years"... "I'm the best writer on your staff"... "I'm an expert in our admin with knowledge of..."

I didn't get a response. Not for three days, at least. When I did get one it was a mixture of appreciation and shock. Management didn't even know I had any writing ability. They didn't know what my program in college was. They didn't understand that in my previous jobs I was not only expected to do Flash work, but also handle email campaigns and do design and write copy and code web pages.

Well, they know now. And I'll be starting in Content in the coming weeks.

5 - My newish role here left me a little more encouraged. I'm also seeing a few of my coworkers follow suit for their own reasons. I'm noticing a shift. People are doing less talking, less discussing, more doing. If they see a need for a change in a process, they're just adjusting and working a solution in on the fly instead of taking it up the ladder and hoping for a response. I like it.

5b - I extended my lease. I want to see where this is heading. The Cities can wait a bit longer.

6 - Guys, I gotta share with you the easiest meal you'll ever make. This is for my pals who aren't cooks who rely on frozen pizza and takeout.

Buy a slow cooker. You can get a serviceable one at Wal-Mart for under $30 bucks.

Next, the ingredients.

Go to your local butcher or meat show or a good grocery store. Look for about 2.5 lbs of sirloin tip roast. Find a leaner cut of meat, one without much fat.

Carrots
Celery
Onion
3 bakers potatoes
Frozen peas
Frozen corn
Two packages of McCormick beef stew seasoning

Chop up the meat into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces and add it to the cooker.

Add four or five chopped celery sticks and four or five carrots sticks.

Chop up about a half a yellow onion and add it.

Peel, chop and add the potato.

You only need half of what's in the two bags, so add that and save the rest for another day.

Add one of the packages of seasoning and give all the ingredients a toss with some tongs. Repeat this with the second package.

Add about a cup and a half of water.

Cover with the lid, turn the cooker on to the Slow setting, and forget about it for the next six hours. When the time's up you get this:



So. Fucking. Good. And it's more or less the easiest thing in the world to make.

7 -



When it comes to music, I'm usually either really early on a band or artist or I'm really late.

I was pretty late on my latest musical obsession. I abhor the state of major label hip hop, but I absolutely love Lupe Fiasco. A few weeks ago I started listening to "The Cool".

It's awesome. Best hip-hop album I've heard since God Loves Ugly.

Standout track, "Streets On Fire"