An accidental Emmy?

I just finished watching Anthony Bourdain in Beirut on the Travel Channel and I must say that it was pretty intense. It began normally enough to be a regular episode of No Reservations but evolved into something else. Anthony Bourdain, my favorite celebrity chef and one of my favorite writers, was set to film a Beirut edition of No Reservations in July (2006). He had one meal in Beirut before things took a turn for the worse. Not long after his lunch the sounds of machine guns in the distance could be heard and Hezbollah flags were being waved from cars. He and his crew were safe and still went out to film a little bit of the night life. Things were still relatively calm, but things would get worse. The next day the airport was bombed by Israeli planes and he and his crew were trapped in Beirut. They were evacuated to a different hotel where they were stuck for about a week. I won't go into detail...you should see it for yourself. Mr. Bourdain and his crew were stuck at a hotel waiting for word of evacuation. It was obvious that the No Reservations epidode would never come to be, but they pieced together a special in about a month that is honestly very well done. It's scary, humbling, thoughtful, and intense. In being in the wrong place at the wrong time I think that they have put together an Emmy-worthy piece that everyone should see. Luckily Mr. Bourdain and his crew were eventually evacuated by the Marines. Go to the Travel Channel website and see if/when they will re-air the episode. It's worth watching. Luckily, living in Dearborn, Michigan, I have abundant access to Lebanese/Middle Eastern food. As much as I would love to travel to a peaceful Beirut, I'll settle for some fantastic food here in the Motor City.

I haven't really commented on the current situation between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel. And I'm really not going to. I've got friends on every side. I have Muslim, Jewish, Lebanese, and Israeli friends. I have friends/acquaintances from practically every Middle Eastern nation. They're ALL my friends. They're all good people. I believe that mankind is mostly good and doing the best with what they've got. I'm not going to get into Middle Eastern politics. It's not a subject I'd like to openly discuss in this forum. All I can and will say is that I wish that strides are being taken to resolve conflict. Peace in the Middle East seems like an unrealistic goal, but let's all be hopeful. Pray or do whatever it is that you do and be hopeful of peace. Let's get our troops out if Iraq while we're at it.

Also, I am very happy that my friends have returned safely from their travels in Egypt, Greece, and Turkey. They left before the alleged terrorist attempts in London so this made their travels a bit more difficult and their return challenging. But they're safe and that's all that matters.

I did a bit of junk food and wine shopping today for my trip "Up North". That was alright. I'm going to make a batch of my "Chocolate Skullf*ck Brownies" (I embellish by adding a genache and cocoa nibs) and bring them along. They're a crowd pleaser. I use really crystal meth... Just kidding, but I do use Valrhona 71% chocolate, Scharffen Berger unsweetened chocolate, organic free-range eggs, organic sugar, Calder Brothers heavy cream, Normandy butter, Scharffen Berger cocoa nibs, and Ghirardelli bittersweet chips. They're pretty awesome brownies. I could skimp, but why? Using the best ingredients makes them that much better. Is it worth it to make a batch of brownies that costs more than $30.00 to make, compared to brownies out of a box? Hell yes!

Did anyone see the roast of William Shatner on Comedy Central last night? HILARIOUS!!! It was absolutely filthy and depraved and George Takei made it even dirtier. It was funnier than Dubya choking on a pretzel...

I don't know if I'll post again before or during my trip "Up North". Be kind and live peacefully while I'm gone.

Peace.

ITMFA!

Cheers,
Jason