Another Election; Another Frustrating Night

It is hard to know where to start in all this.  There were so may failures up and down the line, from people not voting all the way up to President Obama, and there are little things, terrible things, that are so much out of our control, such as the specter of racism, that it is really hard to pinpoint where everything went wrong.

Despite a lackluster second term that has been more about reaction than action, President Obama is still a successful president, seemingly against all odds.  From the very beginning of his presidency, Mitch McConnell vowed to make him a one-termer, and failing that, he would obstruct obstruct obstruct to the point that it would cripple the administration.  It became so bad, that Harry Reid, who is someone I do not love, had to take the nuclear option on filibusters, otherwise no one would have been appointed to do the government's work at all. Anywhere else in the world, this kind of obstruction would not be rewarded.  However, the people of Kentucky, where over 400,000 people enrolled in insurance under the Affordable Care Act, re-elected McConnell, the same person who attempted to kill the program at every step of the way.  How does this make sense?

Frankly, it doesn't.

The list goes on: Scott Walker, Sam Brownback, Rick Scott.  These are all Governors that have done harm to their states - Wisconsin, Kansas, and Florida, respectively.  However, all three were re-elected.  Why is this?

There are certainly many possible answers and many tracts to take.  However, the root problem is one that is years in the making, and unfortunately, it is one that we cannot change without years of sustained "re-education" of the electorate. The Democratic Party has failed to make the case for electing its candidates.  Of course, one could say Barack Obama is proof that I am wrong, but I would posit that he is an anomaly and so is Bill Clinton, for that matter.  Both of those individuals were elected because of their personality, or at least the personae that they portrayed on the campaign trail.  It wasn't because they were particularly "Democrats." Yes, they stood by party principles, but the power of their charisma is what elected them. Once you take them away, what do we have? After overwhelming majorities in the 80's and early 90's, there has been a chip, chip, chipping away of the Democratic foundation, with major wave elections in 1994 and 2010 in favor of the Republicans.

In the past 20 or 30 years, we have seen massive polarization of the left and right, but where the left tends to be more pragmatic and open minded (not always, mind you), the right has become more hard-lined.   The conservatives and their propaganda arm, FoxNews and the Koch Brothers funded Super PACS, have defined the words "Democrat" and "Liberal" as designations so fallow that they are used as epithets, even though large numbers of the rural, poor Republican base, specifically in the south, benefits from programs Democrats champion.  Democrats have become synonymous with "big government" and "freeloaders," even has Republican's plan greater intrusions into our lives and prop up businesses in greater proportion to money spent on the social safety net.

Unfortunately, instead of embracing what makes our populist and liberal stances great, the leadership of the party has decided they need to hew closer to the center right to win over conservatives instead of educating people as to why our way is better.  There is empirical data ad infinitum that proves that Republican economic policies have not worked, and the proof is in the economic data out now about the successes of the Obama administration. However, instead of running towards our sitting president and helping cultivate his message, the majority of candidates ran away from him, precisely as the Republican's made it all about him.  If the time and money had been spent drilling home a message of success, then maybe we could have had more wins in these midterms.  Instead, the party threw up their hands in defeat, and consequently, they never defined where we stood.  Sure, the Republican's didn't either, but the onus was on us.  The party failed.

There is not much left for Obama to do except to ride out the next two years.  He's essentially a lame duck now, but he might be able to make some changes within the party to get the ball rolling for a competitive 2016.  If I knew where to begin, I probably wouldn't be blogging about it (I would be trying to get a job to fix it), but for Hillary (or any Democrat) to win and actually have a shot at the history books beyond the gender milestone, then the Democratic Party needs to win the message war.  It needs to fight, and it needs to start now!

***Note:  Part of the reason I haven't been blogging on the regular is because most of my quick bites go out on Facebook.  However, with the turn of the election screw, my political bent is in full force.  If you come here, you should expect a lot of politics from here on out, but I'll try to break it up. ***

BUSY!

Last week was a very busy week at work, which is why I didn't really blog much, and between working on things I wasn't able to work on last week and extracurricular activities like trying to get back into a workout routine again, which I need to do now before winter hits, getting ready for our work Annual Dinner tonight, and going to see Dance Kaleidoscope's version of Carmina Burana tomorrow night, this week is proving to be just as busy.

Outside of the work stuff, I am still trying to find a path of my free time.  I do kind of like doing more arts stuff, but I also can't really afford to do it all the time.  I'm still trying to figure out the correct path in to the political machine, too, and I am pretty sure that I will find my way soon.  Once this election is over, things are going to start getting hot and heavy for the Mayor's race in 2015, but everyone's eyes will turn to 2016 with President, Governor, and Senate here in Indiana.  If I can't make something happen there, then I should probably consider something else for the rest of my life.

We shall see...


In the meantime I'm addicted to this:

HELP!

Monday! Monday! Monday!

No, I'm not really that excited for Monday, but hey, it'll do.

The weekend was pretty fun and mostly packed.   An update on the date situation, well, it didn't happen, and I haven't heard from the guy since.  It is pretty irritating, because more than a few people go to bat for him as a "nice guy," but who knows?

I considered going out Thursday night, but I ended up staying in.  I'm not sure what I would have done or said if I had seen him, and considering he lives across the street from the bar I would have gone to, I decided not to risk it.  When I was thinking about going out, the notion of either going in late, leaving early, or calling in popped into my head, and it became too strong of an idea not to pursue.  I ended up coming in, getting the work done I needed to do, and then I took the rest of the day off.  It was very nice, and I got in a little retail therapy.  I finally landed an iPhone 6, with Best Buy making, what appears to be, a mistake by giving my a ridiculously high trade in value on my iPhone 5.  While the phone is bigger and I am afraid I will drop it at some point, I have to say I really do live the refinements in the 6.  I'm a bit too addicted to the "Hey Siri" feature, especially when I can lay in bed and say, "Hey Siri, playlist..."

The rest of the day was shopping for khakis and groceries, and then I met my friend, Ed, for dinner and cocktails.  It was a very fun evening, but I didn't end up waking up and going to the gym on Saturday.  In fact, I didn't really get out of bed until after noon.  Gone are the days of me being able to drink all night and wake up early.  Old age sucks! :)

I spend Saturday making Macaroni & Cheese and Brownie Buckeye Cookies to take to my parent's house on Sunday for my nephew's first birthday.  While I am an avowed baker, I do love messing around with cooking now and then, and Mac & Cheese is one of those things that can be highly technical (making a roux) but also pretty pedestrian and fun to experiment.  I have a secret ingredient in my sauce that most people wouldn't be thrilled about, but it is a product of of guilty pleasure for me.  It also gives the sauce a pretty creamy consistency.  No, I'm not going to tell you either.

After running into the office for a bit to workout and pickup a package I couldn't schlep home walking or on the bus, I settled in for a night on the couch, and I was finally able to purchase Inception, which had eluded me for a while.  I love the movie, and it is getting ready for Interstellar in a couple weeks!

Sunday was full of family, and it was pretty fun, though when all the nieces and nephew start caterwauling in unison, it drives Uncle Nick to drink.  I ended up meeting Ed & Ed out for cocktails and some dinner, and then I went home, watched Doctor Who, and went to bed.

On Dating...

So, I mentioned a couple days ago that I had asked someone out, which is something I am not prone to do.  I've been single for so long.  Honestly, the thought of being in a relationship is so foreign to me, that I'm not sure I'd even be a good candidate for one.  When you've been able to go home and plop on the couch or do your own thing for long periods of time, welcoming someone into that world isn't exactly a top priority.

Plus, dating brings out high levels of awkwardness and self-consciousness in me.  I totally know I am my own worst enemy.  I sent him an email yesterday to innocuously ask if we were still on for tonight and when he would be free, and he hasn't responded yet.  Since it was on Facebook, I know he saw it at 7:15pm.  So, of course, my mind is going to the worst possible place, that he doesn't want to go out with me, but he just doesn't have the guts to say something.  It could very much be the case, which doesn't necessarily make me angry, but the lack of being able to say something does.

Oh well, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.  It'll hurt a little, but I'm not going to let it get me down too much.  At least I asked, even though it was with some liquid courage.

Update 11:00am - Hopped on Grindr, and there he was.  Sooooooooo, I guess that is an answer.  Irritation level rising.

In A Flash

Yesterday was not too eventful.  I did reach out to a campaign to inquire about volunteering, but I haven't heard anything back.  Of course, the over-analyzer in me is working over time, but I am not going to give up.  I might just need to pivot into a different direction if I am going to get my feet wet in politics again.

It was great to see some of the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling (or not ruling) from Monday. As expected, the Tea Party is huffing and puffing, but to me, it seems like their heart really isn't in it, except for the truly bigoted die hards.  We'll see how it goes.

Last night was the first meeting of the Indy Pride Board that I didn't attend for the first time in 6 years.  I really thought it would be an odder feeling, but I guess I am still awash in my sense of relief of no longer carrying the weight on my shoulders.  I cannot say I like everything that is happening as the organization pivots away from my tenure, but I also realize that this is the way it is going to be going forward.  I've had the experience of trying to please prior leaders, and I don't want to be that way.  Though it is only natural to have an opinion, I will just be choosy as to whether I express it or not.

Finally, last night was the premiere of "The Flash" on the CW, and I have to say I was pretty impressed.  It is rare to see such a self-assured pilot, and there was just so much to like about it.  One thing I have discovered over the past few, cable TV-less months is that I have much more of an affinity to the DC comic universe than I do Marvel.  Sure, I love most of the Marvel movies, but even with those, my interest has been more in the Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy side of things than the terrestrial nature of the rest.  I do love Captain America though.  However, with DC, I guess I like my superheros to be otherworldly/godlike, and save for Batman, which as always been a favorite, the all seem to fall in that category.  I want superpowers associated with my superheros. I really hope DC gets it's act together in the movie universe, because I think their choice to make the television shows their own thing is a major mistake.  All in all, I am looking forward to more of Barry Allen and "The Flash."

----

Over-Analysis of the Day:  I didn't really hear from the boy yesterday.  So, now I'm wondering if the whole date idea was a drunken contract or a real thing.  Again, I have to let things happen naturally.  We'll see. :)

Interesting Day to Say the Least

While yesterday's post was mostly about navel gazing and bringing you up to speed with my life in the interim, it really should have been about what was going on in the public sphere here in Indiana and in other state's, too.  I'm talking about the Supreme Court deciding to affirm the lower court rulings by choosing to not hear the appeals from state's opposed to same sex marriage.  While I have always been optimistic about marriage here in Indiana, which is a fact I would imagine most people outside of the state would find to be borderline insane, but when we started the year, my hope was that this would actually go to referendum, because I think the people of Indiana, Hoosiers, are much more pragmatic and libertarian than most people believe.  Sure, there are loud pockets of the ultra conservative, but I firmly believe that Hoosier's are much more a "live and let live" type of people, and when it comes right down to it, individual rights trump religious belief.  Sure, I think it would have been close, but I think we would have prevails.  It also would have been a bit more satisfying than what happened yesterday.  Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear what the Justices talked about during their closed door sessions, but having it end in a silent affirmation was just anti-climatic, though no less of a surprise.

Last night I went out to the victory party, which was actually a lot less exuberant than the one in June.  It was a good time, and I got to stand around and talk politics, which is always a good thing. Maybe it was the alcohol.  Maybe it was the talk of husbands and #LoveIsLove, but I actually asked someone out.

Me.

Asked someone out....

This hasn't happened in years.  Lord.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I know it has become a bit of a tradition for me to post something after many months about how I am going to try harder to post more, and then I don't post any more.  Kind of funny.  Kind of sad.

Either way, as we dig into October of 2014 I find myself very much in a transitory pattern.  After eight years being involved in Indy Pride, with six of those years on the Board of Directors (two as Vice President and three as President), I have stepped away from the organization as of the middle of September.  While I certainly love the group and everything it stands for, I just felt it was the right time to go, even though I could have been President for one more year of a two year Board term.  I think you can just reach a point in time where you feel like your role is complete, and while it sometimes tugs a little when I am no longer planning the next meeting or involved in the decisions being made, I am comfortable with the fact that the organization is in good hands.

Of course, now I actually have free time to do stuff that I have put on hold for the past 6+ years.  One thing I have realized recently, that instead of growing outward into my role as community leader, when I didn't need to be "on," I was receding into my shell again.  I'm one of those weird outgoing introverts, and in the process of internalizing all of my angst, I just got to a point where I didn't want to really be social with anyone because talk always turned to Pride.  I used to laugh that my full name was "Nick Murphy, Pride Board President," because often that was how I was introduced.   Don't get me wrong, I liked the recognition, but the skeptic inside me often made the leap of wondering whether people were friends with me because of me or because of what I can do for them.  It is an interesting thing to think about, and the fact that because of my retreat most of my friendships suffered, I was left in that awkward situation of feeling alone in a crowded room.

I get that I am, by nature, and insular person.  Also, while I consider myself a good leader who is not afraid to make the tough decisions, when it comes to making personal decisions, I am not nearly as strong.  That is why, over the course of the next 7 months, I am going to focus on me.  I'm going to put myself out there, and I will try to repair relationships or finally put them out of their misery.   On the professional front, it is time to rekindle my love for politics.  There are major elections coming up, and instead of resting on my laurels, I need to get out there and elect Democrats to Mayor, Governor, and President.   I may be too old to make a career out of it, but it doesn't mean I cannot make a difference.

You're probably curious about the 7 month time-frame.  Well, I turn 40 in May.  It might be time for a structured midlife crisis!

I Suck at Blogging, but Look! Beer Cheese Dip!

Okay, so the blogging thing hasn't been as consistent as I would like.  I could sit here and say I will attempt to be better, but there just seems to be a time and place for everything.   Will I blog again?  Sure.  Will it end up being weird recipes?  Maybe.  I'll just be here when I have something to say.

Today, I do have something to say: Beer Cheese Dip!

This story starts on Pinterest.  We were scheduled to have a pitch-in at work in for St. Patrick's Day, and in addition to the dessert I was making (Green Velvet Cheesecake Cake...it was good, but needs modification), I wanted to make Beer Bread and a Beer Cheese Dip, which preferably was able to live in a crock pot.  I found an awesome Beer Cheese Bread recipe, which worked out great.  I actually doubled it and made three smaller loaves.  The only caveat is that I had to cook it a lot longer than advertised - like almost twice as long.  I was afraid the cheese would be rock hard, but it turned out well, though I did lay foil on top of it about half way through.

Anyway, Pinterest and Google were not helping me with a dip recipe.  I would either find one that was way too convoluted or beer cheese soup.  So, I kind of took the little of this, little of that approach, and what I came up with was damn well amazing.  The office raved about it, and I decided to write it down, post it here, and then pin it to Pinterest for posterity.

I will say this recipe uses a small block of Velveeta, and I know that might make some turn their noses up.  Frankly, I don't care.  I know it is a processed "cheese" product, so about as far away from "all natural" or "organic" as you're going to get, but when it comes to making creamy sauces, it and it's bastard brother, Cheez Wiz, actually brings a lot to the table.  I've made Mac & Cheese that contained a couple dollops of Cheez Wiz, which have brought foodies to their knees.  In the end, this isn't haute cuisine.  It's a dip with beer in it. 

Beer Cheese Dip

¼ cup butter
1 White Onion chopped (I purchased 6 oz pre-chopped to saved time and tears)
4 tablespoons flour
12oz Beer (I used Killian’s Irish Red)
2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves garlic
½ Heavy Cream
16oz block of Velveeta; cut into cubes
8oz package of cream cheese; cut into cubes
16oz package of Cheddar Blend shredded cheese

For Taste:
Cayenne Pepper
White Pepper
Salt

Melt butter in a saucepan and add in chopped onions.  Saute until the onion is translucent, approximately 4-5 minutes.  Add in the flour and stir to coat the onions.  Cook for a few minutes to create the roux, and then slowly add in the beer.  Bring to a boil while stirring, and then whisk until the mixture has thickened.   Add in the garlic and heaving cream; stir to blend.  Begin adding in the Velveeta and cream cheese; stirring until the cheese completely melts.  Add in the “For Taste” ingredients to your desired flavor, keeping in mind the Cayenne can create quite the kick, which can get hotter over time.

At this point, all the dip to cool, and then place into a container to refrigerate overnight.  This allows the flavors to come together.   The next day, layer the dip into a small crock pot starting with a layer of dip and following with a layer of shredded cheese.  Do this until you reach the top.  Heat in the crock pot until you are ready to serve, making sure to stir it before you do so that all of the melted cheese gets mixed throughout the dip.  Moderate the heat so that it does not burn.

This made a bit over 1 quart of dip.

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway...

That is a lie, though it is a catchy song from "Frozen."  Anyone who is living in the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of the south knows that this is the winter from hell (resiting the urge to type the winter of our discontent).   This morning, it was -7 degrees with wind chills approaching -25 degrees.  That is ridiculous.  Of course, this is an abnormal winter, and just two years ago, we had the warmest one in a long time, when people were wearing shorts in the Super Bowl Village in February. but I am just about at my the end of my tether when it comes to winter in general.

I'm actually the type of person that runs warm.  So, I'm running around with a light jacket or a hoodie well into the 30s.  I've walked to work in a short sleeved shirt when it was 42 degrees out, and I still started to sweat.  I also don't own a blanket.  I sleep with only a sheet in the dead of winter.  I would much rather be cold and warm up, than warm and try to cool down, and in the summer, I sweat like the proverbial whore on nickle night.

Ideally for me, I would live in a place where the temperature swings from maybe the 20s to the 80s, but unfortunately, my dream places to live never really approach that: Washington DC, Chicago, and New York, in that order.  I suppose Denver would be interesting (and colder), but I really have little interest living anywhere west of the Mississippi.

I just know that before we know it the birds will be chirping and the leaves will be bursting forth, but right now, I just want to punch Mother Nature in the throat.

Hoosier Hate & Other Tall Tales

This blog has taken a few different forms over the course of it's intermittent life, but I always seem to come back to I May Be from Indiana, but I'm Not an Idiot, which is something I said to someone after seeing their reaction to me saying where I was from.  It is something I have dealt with for 38 years, and when Indiana only seems to make the national news when it is being exceptionally backwards, various sports teams winning (or beating the hell out of spectators), or the inevitable tornado hitting a trailer park, I don't really blame people for having a low opinion of the Hoosier State.

We are considered the middle finger of the Bible Belt, which is certainly pretty apropos. We are a state of incongruities that represent some of the best and worst traits of the North and South.  I often joke that anything south of Monument Circle is Kentucky, and it really isn't too far from the truth.  The further south you go, the thicker the twang becomes.  The further north you go the more you move into the big city territory of The Region, otherwise known as the greater Chicagoland area. Indianapolis is a mixture of it all: big city, small town, liberal, conservative, urban, country.

As a lifelong resident of Indiana, I feel I understand the state pretty well.  I grew up outside of Logansport, which is around 17,000, but I lived in the country.  I went to a school that had 700+ people in it grades 7-12, which was actually more people than the very small town of Walton, where it was located.  I never felt like I fit in, and when I was 18, I went off to college at Butler University.  I never looked back.  I had opportunities to move out to Washington DC, but I chose to stay.  While I may regret that a little bit, I do not regret the life I have made here. I love Indiana and Indianapolis, in spite of how much some of the people here try my patience.

The latest example of "exceptionally backwards" notoriety happens to be the back alley way the House Joint Resolution - 6 (HJR-6) has been handled.  This is a proposed amendment to the state constitution that will not only set marriage to one man and one woman, but it will also limit the ability of future legislatures to allow civil unions for not only LGBT but also the straight community.  This has implications on businesses being able to offer partner benefits.  I will save digging into the guts of that for a different post, but as you can imagine, the battle lines have been drawn between pretty much where you would expect: conservative bible beaters vs. a coalition of higher education, business, and community organizations.

The bill first went to the House Judiciary Committee, where it appeared to be heading for defeat or deadlock.  So, Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, after saying how much this wasn't a priority, moved it to a different, more conservative committee.  It passed on Wednesday, and now it will be voted on by the whole House on Monday.  While it is good to be positive and hope that it will not pass out of the House and Senate and go to referendum, I am pretty positive it will sail through.  Republicans have super-majorities in both houses, but there is still a chance the language could be amended, which would reset the clock to 2016.

So, what happens if it goes to a referendum?  Well, there is a going to be an epic battle between the conservative groups and Freedom Indiana, which is the coalition trying to defeat it.  Indiana will be seen as sort of the last stand in the Marriage Equality war, even though the tide is decidedly turning towards full equality for the LGBT community.  It will be ugly.  However, I truly believe that Hoosiers will reject the amendment, even though it is an off year election, which traditionally have very low turnouts.  People are angry about how the bill was handled in the House - Democrats and Republicans, alike.  People are more active, politically, than I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.  I believe that many people who have never voted before in their lives will come out and vote this time, because it matters to them personally.  We might actually see change at the ballot box, which is something this Poli Sci major has only had the opportunity to witness when President Obama carried Indiana in 2008, the first time a Democrat has carried the state since LBJ.  I don't think it is a lost cause, at all.  

While Indiana may ultimately be a conservative state, it has an independent, almost libertarian, streak to it, where Hoosiers do not like being told what to do.  They may appear to be overly simple to outsiders, but I have seen way too many with the attitude of "live and let live" to allow the abject hate of the vocal "moral majority" be the face of the true people of this state.  Needless to say, it will take a gigantic voter registration and voter turnout push, but if my gut feeling is correct, we will win this war.   I can think of no greater exclamation point to this saga, no better way to show the rest of this country that Indiana is not at all what they thought.  We will send a message to the rest of the country that:  we may be from Indiana, but we are not idiots!

Black Forest Torte

I love to bake.  People who are friends with me on Facebook gain weight from the pictures I post.   One of the reasons I got back into blogging is that I have become a bit of a recipe whore on Pinterest, and since I modify a lot of recipes I need the ability to link them back to my master boards.   So, bear with me on some of these.  ;-)

Anyway, one of my favorite recipes is the Double Chocolate Torte from Epicurious.  It was one of the first truly extravagant desserts I have ever made, and it is pretty complicated, which is part of the reason why I like it.  I'm not easily intimidated in the kitchen, sometimes preferring the needlessly complex over the Sandra Lee shortcuts.  I'm also a bit of a daredevil when it comes to baking, which you hear time and again is about precise measurements.  While I do tend to keep on track when it comes to the building block ingredients, when it comes to flavors and additions like vanilla or chocolate, I just slosh it in without abandon. I LOVE vanilla, and if a recipe calls for a cup of chocolate, why not 12 oz, since that is the amount in a bag?  I rarely have major problems, and people love the stuff I make.

Anyway, as I am prone to do, I like to change my recipes.  While I have kept the Double Chocolate Torte pretty standard, I decided this time around to go a different route.   The first reason is that the recipe calls for raspberries, which are exceedingly expensive this time of year.  Another reason to change is more of a problem I've always had with the recipe, that there isn't really a clear delineation between the cake and mouse layer.  So, I went about thinking how I could address this, and the Black Forest Torte was born!  The essence of of the recipe is still the same, but I've added in a white chocolate ganache between the layers, as well as some cherries.  Then I topped the whole thing with cherry pie filling.   If I were feeling adventurous, I would make my own cherry pie filling, but it was too easy to pass up.  Plus, it tasted SO good.

(Obviously, I'm not a food photographer)

*For this recipe, I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips.  I try not to skimp on chocolate for the friends and family, and I do understand that chips are not as good as bars for baking.  However, as complicated as I like recipes, I do like to simplify when possible, and chips just make so much more sense for a number of reasons.

Black Forest Torte

Cake Layer:
•    1 bag 60% Cocoa chocolate chips
•    1 cup unsalted butter
•    1 cup sugar
•    5 large eggs
•    1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•    1/4 teaspoon salt
•    1/4 cup all purpose flour
White Chocolate Ganache Layer:
•    1 Bag White Chocolate Chips
•    1 cup whipping cream
•    1 can of cherries – drained and patted dry

Mousse Layer:
•    ½  cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
•    4 large eggs, separated
•    ¼  cup whipping cream
•    1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•    1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
•    1/2 cup
Topping:
•    ¾ cup of whipping cream
•    1 can of cherry pie filling

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter spring-form pan; dust with sugar. Melt chocolate and butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and salt, then flour. Pour batter into pan. Bake until cake just rises in center (tester inserted into center will not come out clean), about 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Cover; chill while making mousse. 

For white chocolate ganache:

Bring the whipping cream slowly to a boil, and then pour over the whipped cream.  Allow it to cool and thicken, or if you are in a hurry, put it in the fridge or freezer.  Then whip it in the mixer until light and fluffy.  Spread over the top of the cake layer, and then place the drained and dried cherries on top of it.  Cover; chill while making mousse.

For mousse:
Melt butter in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) – a double boiler will work, just make sure it is big enough. Whisk yolks, 1/4 cup cream and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into bowl with melted butter. Whisk constantly over simmering water until thermometer registers 150°F, (mixture may appear broken). Remove from over water; add chocolate and stir to melt. Set aside.

Beat egg whites and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl to medium-stiff peaks. Whisk 1/4 of beaten egg white mixture into warm chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining egg white mixture. Pour mousse over cake in pan; smooth top. Chill torte until mousse is set, at least 6. Run sharp knife around edge of pan to loosen torte. Release pan sides. Transfer torte to platter.

For whipped cream:
Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Spread whipped cream over torte. Top whipped cream with cherry pie filling

The Death of Beloved Characters

I live two miles from work.  So, I either walk during the nicer weather, or I take the bus.  This has allowed me to develop quite the healthy appetite for podcasts.  One of my recent additions is the Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR, and being a pop culture junky, this is right up my alley.   They typically talk about a movie, television show, or important pop culture event from the past week, and another topic, typically from user suggestion from the previous week.  This past week, the topic was the death of characters, and it is a topic that has always been interesting to me.

Growing up, I was your typical television kid.  I watched EVERYTHING, and while I was into your typical 80's cartoons like Transformers and He-Man (not going to lie, but I enjoyed Jem and the Holograms, too), I also watched repeats of classic sitcoms like Maude, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Munsters, etc.  My tastes tended to run to the more sophisticated side of humor, but the vast majority of my stimulation did come from television, much to my mother's consternation.

This all changed around 1985, when I stumbled across a new cartoon called Robotech, which literally changed my life.  It was 85 episodes of epic space opera, which turned out to actually be three Japanese anime shows, with very little in common other than the space setting and large, battling mecha, that were translated and re-written to create a (somewhat) cohesive three generation storyline.  Of course, watching it now, the story creaks under the weight of trying to get these shows to work together, but for a 10 year old kid, it was amazing.

Bringing this back around, the one thing that was fairly unique about Robotech is the mature way it handled the storyline.  At the heart, it was indeed a love story, with soap opera style tropes like love triangles and the like, but it was also the home of an inter-racial storyline, which even in the 80s was not that prevalent on television, and the intergalactic war had consequences.  In the 36 episodes of The Macross Saga, which is the first segment of the series, there were two major character deaths, the complete irradiation and mass genocide of the Earth, and in the final episode, some very beloved supporting characters lost their lives, and it was all handled adroitly.  I remember reaching the episode concerning the fate of Roy Fokker, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  It was very different from the cartoons of the day because even though there was fights between good and evil, there rarely were consequences to those battles.  Plus, everything wasn't black and white, there was nuance to how the invading Zentraedi armada was handled, and the fact that I am still a fan to this day, proves that it certainly captured my imagination.

On a trip to St. Pete Beach for Spring Break, I recall browsing a book store and coming across the first four novelizations of Robotech, which I purchased right away.  This is where everything changed for me.  This is where I started to become a voracious reader.  If it had not been for this weirdly constructed anime, I think my path would have been quite different.

-------

An additional note on character death, because I do not want to give it short shrift, even though the choices made to kill off characters had nothing to do with storyline and everything to do with toy sales.  Sitting in a movie theater alone watching Transformers: The Movie, I was rocked by death after death of favorite characters.  Indeed, in the first 5 or 10 minutes, Iron Hide, Ratchet, Wheeljack, just to name a name a few, were unceremoniously offed by Megatron and the Decepticons.  They didn't use any special weapons either, which means the preceding television series could have been very different.  Of course, then came the biggie, the death of Optimus Prime.  It is true that Hasbro wanted to refresh the brand, which is why there was this bloodletting, but the death of Prime totally backfired on them, which lead to his resurrection a few episodes into the "new" season, though not after a truly horrifying episode called "Dark Awakening," which took place on the Autobot mausoleum ship.  I still can't watch that episode.  Too damn creepy...

December Resolutions

Unlike the usual way, I have gotten into the habit of developing December Resolutions, instead of New Years Resolutions. It is normally some sort of fitness goal, and I find the "24 Days of Christmas" to be a pretty good way of doing things.  Plus, it just makes me feel better about all of the caloric transgressions I will be making at Christmas.

This year has been a bit of a let down for me physically.  I started the year developing a case of tendonitis in my right arm, which made it difficult to do some of the weight exercises that I enjoy, and in the gym, I am very much a typical male, meaning weights over cardio.   I've always had much more satisfaction doing that, but it has also lead to me being "beefy," where no matter how much I workout, I still have a gut.

I had long ago resigned myself to the fact that I would never have abs.  It is too much a case of good

genetics in being able to obtain them to stress too much about not having them.  Even when I got into my best of shape in my early 30s, I still had a bit of a gut.  However, with the tendonitis causing problems, I started doing more in the cardio department, specifically a class at the gym called BodyPump, which is basically a high energy mix of dance music and weight lifting.  While you might not be lifting heavy weights, you certainly feel the burn.  My tendonitis even started to clear up, and I decided I was going to attempt to do the Couch to 5K routine to try to incorporate some running into my workout.

While I am not an outwardly grunting type of fitness guy, I am competitive, which I think is one of the reasons I never took to running.  I want to sprint not jog, and sprinting makes me very tired.  Couch to 5K is pretty brilliant because it is an app on your phone, and it tells you when to run, walk, and stop.  It analytically made me slow down and work on achieving goals, and I liked it!  I would get up in the morning and run on the Canal here in Indy, and I was really thinking I could get to a point where I could run an 5K.  Then in late July, I was running on a Saturday, and when I thought I had clicked on the wrong routine, I started to merge over to the side to sit down.  Well, I got wrapped up in my laces and took a tumble on the Canal, and I scrapped up my right knee and hands.  I caught myself from injuring my left ankle, which has been something that has always given me trouble.

Then, not a week later, I roll my left ankle.  It was the first real fitness injury, or really any type, that I have ever endured, and it hurt like hell.  I had to limp back to the fitness center, gather my things, limp to the car, get to Walgreens to buy ice, and somehow make it up three flights of stairs to my apartment.  It was terrible, and I eventually dragged myself down the stairs again to go get crutches and other accoutrements.  Luckily, it was broken, and it healed in about a month.  I took that opportunity to not workout and eat whatever I wanted.  NOT GOOD!

Around that time, I saw a Groupon for a CrossFit box, and I decided to give it a try.  I was interested in it, but after seeing how much it was going to cost, I never wanted to really wanted to commit without trying it first.  So, I ordered up 24 sessions, and off I went.   It is extremely challenging, but it appears to be what I need to get out of my rut.  I am cancelling my gym membership, so that I can justify more of the CrossFit expense, and I am utilizing the free equipment in my building's weight room for cardio and such.  I am still doing the "24 Days of Christmas," even though I have already missed a couple days.  I am doing two-a-days to catch up with it.   I feel like I am making major progress.  We shall see if I'm feeling fitter by New Years...

The Sound (and the Fury) of Carrie

Before we begin, I have to admit that I only watched the first 5 minutes or so, about to the time Maria sang "The Sound of Music," and via social media commentary, I was able to get back in time to hear Mother Abbess sing, "Climb Every Mountain."  So, my experience with the show itself is limited, but being a fan of musical theater and watching my theater friends both defend and decimate the show on Facebook, I feel that I can at least make a pretty good commentary on the whole thing.

First off, I am not one of those people that abhor remakes.  If the creative talent behind it are doing it for the right reasons, like they are going back to the source material or have a unique hook to do so, then I am all for revisiting classics. My philosophy is that no matter what the remake accomplishes, no one is taking away from me the original song, television show, or movie.  I can still go back and revisit my preferred one.  Of course, Broadway is another animal, which rarely has video records of classic productions, but for me, that gives Broadway an air of exclusivity, that is a motivator for me to see live theater.

The cool thing about Broadway productions is that revivals are celebrated.  From The Iceman Cometh and Death of a Salesman to Cabaret and, yes, The Sound of Music, all of these shows have seen multiple revivals and re-interpretations, and for the most part, the stage community does not bat an eye.  The general public however can get stuck on the "classics," and I knew right away that many people would not be able to to separate the stage production of "The Sound of Music" from the classic movie adaptation.  The fact is that the movie is indeed an adaptation with songs moved around and in different locations, and no matter how much NBC and the producers bloviated, there were always going to be people that would compare Carrie Underwood to Julie Andrews -- unfairly, I might add.

However, a friend of mine on Facebook, who happens to be a classically trained vocalist, posted , "when someone asks me to perform hip hop, I will respectfully say no. So, when a half-ass, country singer is asked to do a great classic musical, she should respectfully say no as well." It made me think. Snarky comment about Ms. Underwood aside, what would motivate someone, who has negligible acting experience, to tackle one of the classic roles in musical theater?  Putting aside the trite idea of broadening oneself, Underwood really has nothing to prove.  We all know she can sing, but it was clearly obvious to me from the way she woodenly speaks in interviews that acting was not going to be her forte.  It is actually OK for her to just be a multiplatinum, multimillionaire pop country artist.  No shame in that game at all.

Ultimately, I do not blame Carrie Underwood, but the fault falls squarely on the producers, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, who should really know better.   They cut their television musical teeth on Gypsy with Bette Midler, Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston, and Annie with Kathy Bates and Victor Garber.  What do all these have in common?  Veteran stage actors and/or actors with singing ability.  I get that they were trying to attract "Joe Six-Pack" to watch, but to self-consciously make the stunt casting of someone with the vocal chops but zero acting ability and then to surround her with multiple Tony award winners like Audra McDonald, Laura Benati, and Christian Borle, it just did a disservice to their overall production.

I do believe it is a good thing to bring musical theater to the masses again.  So, the fact that we are even discussing it makes this a net positive.  However, if Meron and Zadan decide to do something like this again, I hope they have the guts to make the choice of someone with stage or, at least, acting ability to be the crux of their production. I understand that in the current media landscape you have to have a hook, but I wager that ratings would have been high merely on the strength of it being The Sound of Music.  They did not need to make cynical stunt casting and throw Carrie Underwood under the bus just to get higher ratings.

It's All Coming Back to Me Now - Sorta

I used to be a frequent blogger. I think I was a pretty good one, too.  I would think about what I was going to post.  I would save things that I thought were very interesting.  It was my daily ritual that was a lot of fun.  Sometimes it did become tedious, especially when I didn't have much to say, but I enjoyed throwing my thoughts out to the wind.

Then came Facebook.

I had been on MySpace for years, and I enjoyed hacking my profile for the latest skin, stalking hot guys from around the world, and all those things MySpace.  It was never really a place I left my thoughts, and I was really losing interest in it.  While I had heard of Facebook, I really didn't have much of an inclination to join it.  This was 2007.  I was already 32, and something for college students, didn't really appeal.  However, being the political nerd I am and a supporter of Hillary Clinton, when the New Hampshire Primaries came around, and ABC had a joint debate with Facebook, I decided to give it a whirl -- not knowing that it would eventually destroy my will to blog.

As Facebook grew in popularity and more and more of my friends were on there, it became the default place for my odd links, political rants, and goofy ideas.   Instead of saving things for the next day's blog, I would simply just blurt it out on to Facebook, and as that became easier and easier to do, I began to blog less and less.  I eventually just got tired of even coming up with ideas to write about, and I simply just stopped.  I'd start again after a few month, and then it would just taper off.   The last time I did that lasted until the Golden Globes in January, but I am back.

We'll see how long this lasts....   ;-)