Last Friday, in a little town in Connecticut, lives were altered forever. Many lives. As early reports began to surface about the massacre that had occured, celebrities and regular folk took to Twitter and Facebook to write about it; to condemn the horror, and offer their thoughts and prayers to the families of those involved. The prevailing question was, of course, "why?". What would possess a 20-year old man to shoot his mother four times in the head with a rifle, and then take her guns to the school at which she worked and open fire?
I guess the question I would ask is, "does it really MATTER why?".
Mental illness? Probably.
Pure evil? Maybe.
A combination of both? Sure, that's possible.
But who cares?
THIS HAS TO STOP. AND IT HAS TO STOP NOW.
I was going to write about this on the weekend, but decided to wait a few days to clear my head, and to give myself time to gather more information about the subject in order to have a more informed opinion. The thing is, though, I don't know any more about it than what I wrote above. I don't know any more about it because I haven't tried to learn any more about it. It's just too sickening. It's just too horrible.
Most of the stories I have heard or read on the subject were about the reactions to the incident, rather than the incident itself. The NFL held a moment of silence before each game. Chris Johnson, a running back for the Tennessee Titans, wrote the name of all 26 victims on his cleats before his game on Monday Night Football. New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, who has been alerted to the fact that one of the victims, 6-year old Jack Pinto, was a huge fan and would be buried in Cruz's jersey, wrote "RIP Jack Pinto" on his shoes and called the family to offer his condolences. President Obama was visibly shaken when addressing the nation on the tragedy. There are lots of stories like this. Everyone has had a similar reaction. How could you not?
I was sitting in a hospital bed, IV in my arm, waiting for a procedure when I grabbed my phone and heard about the tragedy. The unit was particularly quiet that day, so I called a couple of the nurses over and told them what I had just read. It didn't seem particularly real at the time, to any of us. Sadly, it does now.
I don't have kids. As most people who know me are well aware, I am not even particularly fond of kids. But you don't have to have children to be affected by something like this. I was 6 years old once. I went to elementary school and had friends. I remember what mid-December was like when I was young. Sometimes snowy, more often not, but it was always close to Xmas and that was the best time of the year. Good food, lots of time with friends and family, visits to see Santa, and presents under the tree!! Now, for the families of 26 people, this time of year will always be associated with pain, loss, and death.
Imagine what December 25th will be like for the parents of those children. The house filled with half-eaten advent calendars, stocking hung for, and presents tagged for, children who's names now only fill the obituary columns. I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain. I hope I never can.
Why does this continue to happen in the United States, and nowhere else in the civilized world? Is it because of the gun laws? Is it possible that the founding fathers didn't comprenhend of automatic (or semi-automatic) assault rifles when they authored the 2nd amendment? It took about 15 seconds to load one round back then. So let's compromise; let's make muskets legal and all other guns illegal. Go ahead, gangbangers, try to shoot up an LA neighborhood with a bunch of muskets. School shootings? Good luck. You'll get off one shot (assuming you pre-load the gun) before you get trampled. Better make it count.
Have you noticed how quiet the NRA has been since this shooting? They took down their Facebook page, and just about an hour ago, 4 days after the shooting, finally broke their silence. They are, and let me make sure I quote this accurately, "shocked" by the shooting. Thanks, NRA, we were all really worried about your reaction.
If you are a member of the NRA, or a supporter of that organization, YOU are the problem. Yes, YOU. Former leader Charlton Heston was famously quoted as saying that you could take his gun only "from my cold dead hand". OK, I'm fine with that. Shoot anyone who is in favor of the current US gun laws. Better them, than another classroom full of children.
Ridiculous? Perhaps. But what is it going to take? Is one classroom of first graders not enough? Does someone have to shoot up an entire elementary school and kill everyone inside before action is taken? Two schools? Three? What is the number of dead? If not 26, what is the number? 45? 100? 150? At some point, it's going to happen. Isn't it time now? Isn't this enough?
President Obama, this is your chance. You are a second term President, you cannot be re-elected. You have nothing to lose, and thousands of lives to gain (and not to mention, being the President who finally got some gun control legislation passed will be a legacy that nobody can ever take away). It won't be easy to get the Republican congress on board, of course, but this is the time. Why does there seem to be a little more outrage this time than the last time? Or the time before that? Or the time before that? Is it because this occured 11 days before Xmas? Is it because the victims were younger than the traditional victims in this kind of crime? Maybe. But whatever it is, it's time to act. It's time to get the guns, President Obama, and it's time to get them all. I hate to politicize something so awful, but there is a palpable sense of disgust in the world right now, and it's time to use that to get something done.
If you are on Facebook, you've seen the numbers. Last year (well, one year, I'm not sure it was actually last year, but it doesn't really matter), handguns killed 10,728 people in the United States.
They killed 263 people, combined, in Germany, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, Israel, and Sweden.
The time has come. Take the guns. Take them all. Of course this won't STOP crime, of course it won't STOP gun deaths. But it will sure as Hell lessen them greatly. Imagine if all it would do was cut them in half (and it's certain to do better than that). That's over 5000 people a year who live to see another day. Over 5000 families who don't have to bury their loved ones. Many of those people will contribute something significant to society, if they haven't already.
The time has come.
I am not particularly religious, but sometimes it just helps to believe in God, even if it's not a permanent or strong belief. This is one of those times.
God bless the victims of this terrible tragedy, and their families. God bless all of the other children in the United States, and all over the world, who get up each morning and go to school, just to learn and have fun with their friends. And God bless everyone who has had enough of this senseless violence.
The time has come.
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
The Boss rules.
I mentioned this in a Facebook post but it bears repeating. At the tender age of 43, I don't really know how many concerts I have seen in my life. Hundreds, for sure. In just the last 18 months, I have literally been witness to a who's-who lineup of rock and pop:
The Eagles
Aerosmith
KISS
Britney Spears
Steve Miller
Kings of Leon
Peter Frampton
Katy Perry
Drive-by Truckers
Roger Daltry
Bryan Adams
Elton John
Collective Soul
Guns N Roses
Steve Winwood (once solo, once with Eric Clapton)
That's a pretty decent 18 months. There is no question, despite that wealth of talent, that I saw the best two shows of my life on back to back nights. Nothing will likely EVER be able to live up with Sunday's love-in with Paul McCartney. Last night, however, Bruce Springsteen came pretty damn close.
It took about 45 seconds to realize that Springsteen meant business. By the third song, Hungry Heart, he was out in the crowd, and in fact, returned to the stage BY CROWD SURFING atop a sea of outstretched arms.
Songs ranged from the classics (Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark) to the obscure (Red Headed Woman, which I have been told has been played in concert exactly TWICE since 1990), the old (Spirit of the Night, from his '73 debut) to the new (several tracks from his new album, Wrecking Ball). Oh, and let's not forget Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It wouldn't be a Springsteen concert without having a fan dressed as ol' Saint Nick pulled up onstage to sing along to a Xmas classic.
I had a pretty good excuse for having not had seen Paul McCartney before now; the last time he played here was 5 years before I was born. I have no such excuse for Springsteen, as he has been here many times. Not sure what kept me from going in the past; but after last night's show, I feel like a fucking moron. I will never miss another Springsteen show, you can take that to the bank.
The ultimate showman, Bruce spent as much time in the crowd (and I mean IN THE CROWD) as he did on stage; once taking a lady's coonskin cap (seriously, who wears a coonskin cap anyway???) and wearing it for the rest of the song, then passing it along to another fan in the front row. He pulled a young girl up on stage to help him sing one song (and she did very well) and during the encore, he helped an 80 year old lady up on stage to dance with him. Throw in Santa Claus and that's a lot of time spent directly interacting with fans (not to mention that he actually fell off the boards into the crowd at one point).
If I was amazed at the amount of energy the 70 year old McCartney had, the amazement was surpassed last night as Bruce, only 7 years McCartney's junior, put on a high-octane, full-on, ass kicking rock n' roll show, the likes I've never before witnessed.
Only one word can really sum it all up, and it's one we heard a lot from the crowd last night:
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce
The Eagles
Aerosmith
KISS
Britney Spears
Steve Miller
Kings of Leon
Peter Frampton
Katy Perry
Drive-by Truckers
Roger Daltry
Bryan Adams
Elton John
Collective Soul
Guns N Roses
Steve Winwood (once solo, once with Eric Clapton)
That's a pretty decent 18 months. There is no question, despite that wealth of talent, that I saw the best two shows of my life on back to back nights. Nothing will likely EVER be able to live up with Sunday's love-in with Paul McCartney. Last night, however, Bruce Springsteen came pretty damn close.
It took about 45 seconds to realize that Springsteen meant business. By the third song, Hungry Heart, he was out in the crowd, and in fact, returned to the stage BY CROWD SURFING atop a sea of outstretched arms.
Songs ranged from the classics (Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark) to the obscure (Red Headed Woman, which I have been told has been played in concert exactly TWICE since 1990), the old (Spirit of the Night, from his '73 debut) to the new (several tracks from his new album, Wrecking Ball). Oh, and let's not forget Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It wouldn't be a Springsteen concert without having a fan dressed as ol' Saint Nick pulled up onstage to sing along to a Xmas classic.
I had a pretty good excuse for having not had seen Paul McCartney before now; the last time he played here was 5 years before I was born. I have no such excuse for Springsteen, as he has been here many times. Not sure what kept me from going in the past; but after last night's show, I feel like a fucking moron. I will never miss another Springsteen show, you can take that to the bank.
The ultimate showman, Bruce spent as much time in the crowd (and I mean IN THE CROWD) as he did on stage; once taking a lady's coonskin cap (seriously, who wears a coonskin cap anyway???) and wearing it for the rest of the song, then passing it along to another fan in the front row. He pulled a young girl up on stage to help him sing one song (and she did very well) and during the encore, he helped an 80 year old lady up on stage to dance with him. Throw in Santa Claus and that's a lot of time spent directly interacting with fans (not to mention that he actually fell off the boards into the crowd at one point).
If I was amazed at the amount of energy the 70 year old McCartney had, the amazement was surpassed last night as Bruce, only 7 years McCartney's junior, put on a high-octane, full-on, ass kicking rock n' roll show, the likes I've never before witnessed.
Only one word can really sum it all up, and it's one we heard a lot from the crowd last night:
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce
Monday, 26 November 2012
Sir Paul McCartney
Best.
Show.
Ever.
There aren't really any words to describe the event that Tracey and I attended last night. Although our seats were just OK (I generally wouldn't sit that far back for anyone, but an exception is made for music Royalty), it was the best concert going experience of my life, by far.
McCartney created instant highlights with nods to John Lennon ("Here Today") and George Harrison ("Something", which started on ukulele and finished with a perfect electric rendition of this Beatles classic). He was polite and appreciative of the raucous Vancouver crowd (and I wouldn't use the term "raucous" to describe many crowds in Vancouver) and seemed to be genuinely moved by the constant standing ovations he was so rightfully given. I have never seen a performer, particularly one of such legendary status, seem so down-to-earth on stage.
He brought the house down, almost literally, during "Live and Let Die", with pyro and fireworks bouncing off the roof of BC Place. See for yourself.
The underappreciated Beatles masterpiece "A Day in the Life" actually brought a tear to my eye, and that isn't something I can ever remember happening at any concert.
This was more than a concert, this was a chance for music fans from this city (and from any other city if they made the trek) to say "thank you" to arguably the greatest songwriter in history. Let's face it, at the age of 70, it's not all that likely he'll be back to our city. This was our one chance to see him live, and he sounded incredible. Much better than he sounded at the Olympics where it seemed as if his age might be finally getting to him. Not a single hint of that last night, apart from perhaps one or two less-than-perfect notes during the opening number. And kudos to the engineers who did yeoman's work on the new sound system at the refurbished BC Place. Other concerts I had seen there were near disasters; but the sound last night was crisp and clear.
Despite the fact that the radio-station-sponsored rumour of an appearance by Bruce Springsteen did not materialize, I doubt there was a single person who went home last night disappointed. After nearly three hours of classic after classic, and two encores (including one featuring the Delta RCMP marching band providing the bagpipes and percussion), there was no room for disappointment.
Mr. Springsteen has a lot to live up to at his show at Rogers Arena tonight. This won't be an easy concert to top.
From the moment that McCartney opened with Magical Mystery Tour, to the final number, the closing Abbey Road medley (Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End), the show lived up to the considerable hype. And it left McCartney's last words hanging there for all, as an echo of the Beatles' masterful swansong.
"And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make".
Amen, sir.
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Oh what a crazy week (or 10 days) it's been.....
Most of you know by now, I won a World Series of Poker Circuit event. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a series of poker tournaments run by the World Series of Poker, all over North America. It's related to the WSOP that you see on TV (where the winner gets around $8M), but on a much smaller scale, and as I said, it takes place all over North America, not just in Vegas which is where the actual WSOP takes place every year. This was the first time the WSOP had come to Canada, so I decided to play in one event. It was the only event I could actually play in, as I already had plans on the days that the previous events took place, and I was heading to Vegas on the same day that the "Main Event (with a $1675 buy-in)" started....so this was my only chance. Buy-in for this event was $580.
What an amazing feeling.
My win is a testament to what aggressive poker can do. I made it through the first day, in fact I was 5th in chips, without any cards to speak of. I had KK twice, and one of those I lost with (to QJ, if you can believe that; luckily that player was all-in without a ton of chips so I wasn't badly hurt by that), and I won a moderately big pot with 77 after turning a full house, but that's it. I just kept raising and re-raising with nothing, hoping my opponents wouldn't have much, and I guess they never did.
One hand I remember was 4-betting a very aggressive player with J4 offsuit. He folded, as I expected (and prayed). I had to accumulate some chips somehow, and since I couldn't get any decent hands, I had to manufacture pots. It's a solid strategy, but eventually one of your opponents is going to pick up a big hand and then you are screwed, so it's not generally a strategy that wins tournaments. It got me to day 2, at the very least.
Since it was around Midnight, I didn't want to drive home to Chilliwack so I stayed at River Rock. Took a sleeping pill to ensure I got a good rest but it didn't work, I only got about 5 hours sleep.
There were 41 players left in the tournament, and the top 36 got "in the money". Although I wasn't guaranteed to be in the money, I had enough chips that it was pretty unlikely I wouldn't make it, so I decided to phone the airlines and see if they had any First Class seats available for an upgrade. I figured at worst, I'd make enough money to cover the upgrade. They did, so I paid the extra $250 to upgrade my flight down. First Class rules, as I 'm sure any of you who have ever flown First Class would agree.
Day 2 began with me getting more good hands in the first 20 minutes than I did the entire 12 hours of day 1. Nothing huge, but reasonable hands, enough that I could continue to be aggressive and win a bunch of smaller pots. After the first half hour or so, the cards went back to crap, so I had to keep stealing as much as I could. Not long after we started, they announced that there were only 36 players left and we were in the money! This was the biggest cash I'd ever had in any live tournament so that was exciting, and I still had high hopes of going much higher. Not much exciting happened for a while; I kept stealing and re-stealing pots, without any cards. Then the following hand came up:
I raised from early position with A8o. Only the big blind called the raise. The flop came K42 with two diamonds. I had the Ace of diamonds. The big blind bet out about the size of the pot. Generally this means he has something, but not a big hand....I put him on a weak King (something like KT or maybe K9), and decided to put him to the test. I had about $250,000 chips, and he had about half of that. I thought about it for a minute, and raised "all-in". I figured he would fold hands like KT, K9, or medium pocket pairs, as I was representing a big hand like AA or AK (and I had raised pre-flop so they were certainly possible). Also, if he did call, I still had a couple of emergency backdoor "outs" to a flush or wheel. He thought about it for quite a while, and then made a very nice call with KQ. The turn card was a 5, giving me a wheel draw, but I still could only win the pot with a 3 or an Ace, just 7 cards in the deck would do it, but a beautiful Ace on the river sent him packing and built my chip stack up to a nice above average stack. Sometimes you have to "come from behind" to win tournaments, and I don't mind the play I made, as he was pretty close to folding the best hand (which was obviously my intent).
Not much else happened of any note until we were down to the final 4. I just kept raising and re-raising with nothing (hey, my opponents didn't know I had lousy cards) and picking up pots, staying alive and slowing building my chip stack. The guy to my immediate left, who was a big cash game player playing in his first big tourney, was the chip leader. As money at a poker tourney tends to go clockwise, you definitely do NOT want to have the biggest stack at the table directly on your left...but there wasn't much I could do about it. Eventually he lost a few pots and I was suddenly chip leader, and I eliminated him when I was in the small blind with 99, and he had AhJh, and all the chips went in. When the flop came Q99, I felt that maybe this was my tournament to win. Ironically, despite flopping quads, he wasn't drawing dead, as the Queen was the Qh, so he actually could have made a Royal Flush and beat me, but that didn't happen and he left in fourth place. I was now the chip leader, up against an older Asian gentleman named Carson who had been short stacked for hours, and a young Asian woman named Lily, who was down to only 8 big blinds earlier in the tournament but had stayed around and was actually the chip leader until I had won that last hand. Her game was excellent, and I had a great deal of respect for her. After we had moved some chips around a bit, the big hand of the tournament came up:
I am in the SB with AK, Lily was in the big blind. Carson had folded the button, so I raised to about $100K. She re-raised me to about $250. I re-raised to $400K, and she quickly moved all-in. As I had put about 30% of my stack in at that point, I couldn't possibly fold AK at this point, even though it was clear she must have had a pair....and she did, JJ. Still, the flop brought an Ace and a King, and that was the end for her, as I had her just slightly outchipped at that point. It turns out that she also cashed in the main event a couple days later, so she is definitely a player to watch.
The heads up battle for the title, and the ring, was no battle at all, as I held a 10-1 chip lead. It lasted all of two hands, before I picked up JJ and Carson had Ad9d. He actually flopped a flush draw, but it didn't come and I was the winner!!! What a feeling! The WSOP representative took my picture and did an interview with me, and I even got my picture taken with one of those huge cheques that Happy Gilmore loved so much :-)
Pretty cool experience. Since the boss (wife) has approved, I will be going to Vegas in mid-February to play in a WSOP Circuit event at Caesar's Palace. Not sure exactly which events I will play at this point, but I'm going to win another one. Count on it.
I was off to Vegas the next day, and I didn't play a lot of poker; the only tournament I played in was a $300 buy-in "Deep Stack" at the Venetian. I played the best I could, but again had very few hands. Ironically, the hand that knocked me out was one of the few good hands I actually had. I raised pre-flop with AK, and the flop was KcJc8h......my lone opponent, who was in the big blind, held 88, so that was that. She actually made quads on the turn. I only had about 20 big blinds at that point so I clearly couldn't fold a hand that big, but I was drawing nearly dead. I still beat a lot of people, finishing 89th (out of 262), but that was not close to making the money. My buddy Sanjay also played in the tournament and busted out (TWICE) before I did, though, so I should have had a "last longer" bet with him!!! He would have had to pay me twice :-)
That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the updates. I sure did! :-)
What an amazing feeling.
My win is a testament to what aggressive poker can do. I made it through the first day, in fact I was 5th in chips, without any cards to speak of. I had KK twice, and one of those I lost with (to QJ, if you can believe that; luckily that player was all-in without a ton of chips so I wasn't badly hurt by that), and I won a moderately big pot with 77 after turning a full house, but that's it. I just kept raising and re-raising with nothing, hoping my opponents wouldn't have much, and I guess they never did.
One hand I remember was 4-betting a very aggressive player with J4 offsuit. He folded, as I expected (and prayed). I had to accumulate some chips somehow, and since I couldn't get any decent hands, I had to manufacture pots. It's a solid strategy, but eventually one of your opponents is going to pick up a big hand and then you are screwed, so it's not generally a strategy that wins tournaments. It got me to day 2, at the very least.
Since it was around Midnight, I didn't want to drive home to Chilliwack so I stayed at River Rock. Took a sleeping pill to ensure I got a good rest but it didn't work, I only got about 5 hours sleep.
There were 41 players left in the tournament, and the top 36 got "in the money". Although I wasn't guaranteed to be in the money, I had enough chips that it was pretty unlikely I wouldn't make it, so I decided to phone the airlines and see if they had any First Class seats available for an upgrade. I figured at worst, I'd make enough money to cover the upgrade. They did, so I paid the extra $250 to upgrade my flight down. First Class rules, as I 'm sure any of you who have ever flown First Class would agree.
Day 2 began with me getting more good hands in the first 20 minutes than I did the entire 12 hours of day 1. Nothing huge, but reasonable hands, enough that I could continue to be aggressive and win a bunch of smaller pots. After the first half hour or so, the cards went back to crap, so I had to keep stealing as much as I could. Not long after we started, they announced that there were only 36 players left and we were in the money! This was the biggest cash I'd ever had in any live tournament so that was exciting, and I still had high hopes of going much higher. Not much exciting happened for a while; I kept stealing and re-stealing pots, without any cards. Then the following hand came up:
I raised from early position with A8o. Only the big blind called the raise. The flop came K42 with two diamonds. I had the Ace of diamonds. The big blind bet out about the size of the pot. Generally this means he has something, but not a big hand....I put him on a weak King (something like KT or maybe K9), and decided to put him to the test. I had about $250,000 chips, and he had about half of that. I thought about it for a minute, and raised "all-in". I figured he would fold hands like KT, K9, or medium pocket pairs, as I was representing a big hand like AA or AK (and I had raised pre-flop so they were certainly possible). Also, if he did call, I still had a couple of emergency backdoor "outs" to a flush or wheel. He thought about it for quite a while, and then made a very nice call with KQ. The turn card was a 5, giving me a wheel draw, but I still could only win the pot with a 3 or an Ace, just 7 cards in the deck would do it, but a beautiful Ace on the river sent him packing and built my chip stack up to a nice above average stack. Sometimes you have to "come from behind" to win tournaments, and I don't mind the play I made, as he was pretty close to folding the best hand (which was obviously my intent).
Not much else happened of any note until we were down to the final 4. I just kept raising and re-raising with nothing (hey, my opponents didn't know I had lousy cards) and picking up pots, staying alive and slowing building my chip stack. The guy to my immediate left, who was a big cash game player playing in his first big tourney, was the chip leader. As money at a poker tourney tends to go clockwise, you definitely do NOT want to have the biggest stack at the table directly on your left...but there wasn't much I could do about it. Eventually he lost a few pots and I was suddenly chip leader, and I eliminated him when I was in the small blind with 99, and he had AhJh, and all the chips went in. When the flop came Q99, I felt that maybe this was my tournament to win. Ironically, despite flopping quads, he wasn't drawing dead, as the Queen was the Qh, so he actually could have made a Royal Flush and beat me, but that didn't happen and he left in fourth place. I was now the chip leader, up against an older Asian gentleman named Carson who had been short stacked for hours, and a young Asian woman named Lily, who was down to only 8 big blinds earlier in the tournament but had stayed around and was actually the chip leader until I had won that last hand. Her game was excellent, and I had a great deal of respect for her. After we had moved some chips around a bit, the big hand of the tournament came up:
I am in the SB with AK, Lily was in the big blind. Carson had folded the button, so I raised to about $100K. She re-raised me to about $250. I re-raised to $400K, and she quickly moved all-in. As I had put about 30% of my stack in at that point, I couldn't possibly fold AK at this point, even though it was clear she must have had a pair....and she did, JJ. Still, the flop brought an Ace and a King, and that was the end for her, as I had her just slightly outchipped at that point. It turns out that she also cashed in the main event a couple days later, so she is definitely a player to watch.
The heads up battle for the title, and the ring, was no battle at all, as I held a 10-1 chip lead. It lasted all of two hands, before I picked up JJ and Carson had Ad9d. He actually flopped a flush draw, but it didn't come and I was the winner!!! What a feeling! The WSOP representative took my picture and did an interview with me, and I even got my picture taken with one of those huge cheques that Happy Gilmore loved so much :-)
Pretty cool experience. Since the boss (wife) has approved, I will be going to Vegas in mid-February to play in a WSOP Circuit event at Caesar's Palace. Not sure exactly which events I will play at this point, but I'm going to win another one. Count on it.
I was off to Vegas the next day, and I didn't play a lot of poker; the only tournament I played in was a $300 buy-in "Deep Stack" at the Venetian. I played the best I could, but again had very few hands. Ironically, the hand that knocked me out was one of the few good hands I actually had. I raised pre-flop with AK, and the flop was KcJc8h......my lone opponent, who was in the big blind, held 88, so that was that. She actually made quads on the turn. I only had about 20 big blinds at that point so I clearly couldn't fold a hand that big, but I was drawing nearly dead. I still beat a lot of people, finishing 89th (out of 262), but that was not close to making the money. My buddy Sanjay also played in the tournament and busted out (TWICE) before I did, though, so I should have had a "last longer" bet with him!!! He would have had to pay me twice :-)
That's all for now, hope you enjoyed the updates. I sure did! :-)
Monday, 15 October 2012
Pocket Kings Burger
I got this recipe off a website of a winery called "Aces", it was originally called the "Seven Deuce" burger, after their red wine blend of the same name.
http://www.aceswine.ca/the-wines
It intrigued me but I decided to make a bunch of changes and improve upon the recipe....I made so many changes to it that I am comfortable changing the name of the recipe. I've chosen "Pocket Kings" after their high-end red blend, which is simply fabulous, and will pair brilliantly with this burger.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup mushrooms (wild Morel mushrooms or basic button mushrooms work fine)
Handful of mixed greens
1/4 large sweet onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vineagar
1/8 cup fresh chopped dill
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 clove fresh garlic
butter
slices of strong cheese (extra old cheddar is the best, havarti works too)
Hamburger buns (artisan crusty buns or fresh Calabrese buns are also excellent)
BURGER SEASONING MIX
1/8 cup fresh chopped dill
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
1. Thinly slice sweet onion; in bowl, combine onion with vinegar, honey, maple syrup and fresh dill. Let stand 1-2 hours.
2. Combine burger seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix into ground beef. Form into 4 patties.
3. Saute mushrooms in pan with butter and garlic until lightly browned.
4. Grill burgers. Add cheese to burgers near completion of cooking.
5. Prepare bun (grill it if you like that, rub with a little butter and garlic)
6. Place some of the marinated sweet onion on the bottom bun, then the burger, mushrooms, greens, and top of the bun.
Enjoy!!
This is a brilliant, flavorful burger....keep in mind it may not necessarily go with your "normal" burger accompaniments (in other words, keep the mustard and ketchup to yourselves). Mayonnaise goes fine with it.
As I said, this pairs brilliantly with a bottle of Aces Pocket Kings ($35) red wine; if you want a cheaper, but excellent alternative, their Seven-Deuce Red ($20ish) is also very good. If you are a wine afficianado, you'll want to try the Kings.
http://www.aceswine.ca/the-wines
It intrigued me but I decided to make a bunch of changes and improve upon the recipe....I made so many changes to it that I am comfortable changing the name of the recipe. I've chosen "Pocket Kings" after their high-end red blend, which is simply fabulous, and will pair brilliantly with this burger.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup mushrooms (wild Morel mushrooms or basic button mushrooms work fine)
Handful of mixed greens
1/4 large sweet onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vineagar
1/8 cup fresh chopped dill
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 clove fresh garlic
butter
slices of strong cheese (extra old cheddar is the best, havarti works too)
Hamburger buns (artisan crusty buns or fresh Calabrese buns are also excellent)
BURGER SEASONING MIX
1/8 cup fresh chopped dill
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
1. Thinly slice sweet onion; in bowl, combine onion with vinegar, honey, maple syrup and fresh dill. Let stand 1-2 hours.
2. Combine burger seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix into ground beef. Form into 4 patties.
3. Saute mushrooms in pan with butter and garlic until lightly browned.
4. Grill burgers. Add cheese to burgers near completion of cooking.
5. Prepare bun (grill it if you like that, rub with a little butter and garlic)
6. Place some of the marinated sweet onion on the bottom bun, then the burger, mushrooms, greens, and top of the bun.
Enjoy!!
This is a brilliant, flavorful burger....keep in mind it may not necessarily go with your "normal" burger accompaniments (in other words, keep the mustard and ketchup to yourselves). Mayonnaise goes fine with it.
As I said, this pairs brilliantly with a bottle of Aces Pocket Kings ($35) red wine; if you want a cheaper, but excellent alternative, their Seven-Deuce Red ($20ish) is also very good. If you are a wine afficianado, you'll want to try the Kings.
Mozza Stuffed Hamburgers
Full credit for this recipe goes to Chef Dez (http://www.chefdez.com/), this recipe comes right out of one of his cookbooks and I didn't change a thing, except for some minor options that I will present at the bottom. It's a damn good burger.
1 kg extra lean ground beef
8 crushed garlic cloves
1 egg
2/3 cup cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, oil packed, drained and chopped
1/4 cup berry jam (raspberry/strawberry/blueberry work fine, even grape jelly)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chinese chili paste, in the Asian section of your market)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pepper
100g mozzerella cheese, cut into 8 small chunks
1. Mix all the ingredients together (except for the cheese) in a large bowl
2. Portion into 8 equal sized balls
3. Flatten each ball into your hand and enxase a chunk of mozzerella in the middle by shaping it into a large patty, wrapping the meat around the cheese
I know what you are saying....JAM in a hamburger? Shut up and taste it. Trust me.
**with the cheese in the middle of the patty, the burger will be quite thick (if you flatten it down too much, the cheese will fall out). If you like your burgers thick, go for it. Personally, I leave the cheese out, flatten the patties down into thinner burgers, and place a slice of the cheese on top when they are almost done being grilled. Either way, you will have an excellent burger.
Want a variation?
Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries to the mix, and prepare as normal. This recipe, cleverly called "Mozza stuffed blueberry hamburgers" was in his second cookbook. It's just as yummy as the original, with a "gourmet" flair.
Jam AND blueberries in a hamburger? Dean, you have clearly lost your mind. That's what you are all saying. Didn't your mothers tell you not to knock something until you've tried it?? Listen to your mothers, people.
Makes eight medium sized hamburgers.
1 kg extra lean ground beef
8 crushed garlic cloves
1 egg
2/3 cup cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, oil packed, drained and chopped
1/4 cup berry jam (raspberry/strawberry/blueberry work fine, even grape jelly)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chinese chili paste, in the Asian section of your market)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pepper
100g mozzerella cheese, cut into 8 small chunks
1. Mix all the ingredients together (except for the cheese) in a large bowl
2. Portion into 8 equal sized balls
3. Flatten each ball into your hand and enxase a chunk of mozzerella in the middle by shaping it into a large patty, wrapping the meat around the cheese
I know what you are saying....JAM in a hamburger? Shut up and taste it. Trust me.
**with the cheese in the middle of the patty, the burger will be quite thick (if you flatten it down too much, the cheese will fall out). If you like your burgers thick, go for it. Personally, I leave the cheese out, flatten the patties down into thinner burgers, and place a slice of the cheese on top when they are almost done being grilled. Either way, you will have an excellent burger.
Want a variation?
Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries to the mix, and prepare as normal. This recipe, cleverly called "Mozza stuffed blueberry hamburgers" was in his second cookbook. It's just as yummy as the original, with a "gourmet" flair.
Jam AND blueberries in a hamburger? Dean, you have clearly lost your mind. That's what you are all saying. Didn't your mothers tell you not to knock something until you've tried it?? Listen to your mothers, people.
Makes eight medium sized hamburgers.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Got turkey leftovers? Try this recipe
This is a fabulous recipe that will use up lots of your turkey leftovers and everyone will love it.
I adapted this from a recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook, hence the fat free ingredients. If you don't worry about fat and calories, by all means you can change to regular ingredients.
This works perfectly fine with deli turkey meat, but it is even better with "real" turkey breast right off the bone!
Cheesy Turkey Tacos
1 cup shredded cooked turkey breast
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno pepper
4 teaspoons fat-free mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (to taste)
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
juice from 1 lime
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup yellow or red cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup reduced-fat old/extra old cheddar cheese
1/4 cup monterey jack cheese
4 (6-inch) tortillas (flour, corn, whole wheat)
Any kind of lettuce will be fine. I prefer the crispiness of iceberg but if you prefer another kind, go for it.
1. Combine the turkey, jalapeno, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime zest and juice in a medium bowl.
2. Set a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tortillas, one at a time, and cook until crispy and brown in spots, about 1 minute on each side.
3. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup of the turkey mixture. Top with 1/4 cup of the lettues, about 1/4 cup of the tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Fold into a taco shape or roll into burrito shape if you prefer.
Servings: 2 (2 tacos per serving)
For those of you who may be on the Weight Watchers plan, this recipe is 10 PointsPlus per serving.
Enjoy!
I adapted this from a recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook, hence the fat free ingredients. If you don't worry about fat and calories, by all means you can change to regular ingredients.
This works perfectly fine with deli turkey meat, but it is even better with "real" turkey breast right off the bone!
Cheesy Turkey Tacos
1 cup shredded cooked turkey breast
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno pepper
4 teaspoons fat-free mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (to taste)
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
juice from 1 lime
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup yellow or red cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup reduced-fat old/extra old cheddar cheese
1/4 cup monterey jack cheese
4 (6-inch) tortillas (flour, corn, whole wheat)
Any kind of lettuce will be fine. I prefer the crispiness of iceberg but if you prefer another kind, go for it.
1. Combine the turkey, jalapeno, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime zest and juice in a medium bowl.
2. Set a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tortillas, one at a time, and cook until crispy and brown in spots, about 1 minute on each side.
3. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup of the turkey mixture. Top with 1/4 cup of the lettues, about 1/4 cup of the tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Fold into a taco shape or roll into burrito shape if you prefer.
Servings: 2 (2 tacos per serving)
For those of you who may be on the Weight Watchers plan, this recipe is 10 PointsPlus per serving.
Enjoy!
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