So my summer hiatus is over. When last we spoke I had a whole blog post full of cool things to do, our government was trying desperately not to call the regime change in Egypt a coup even though it totally was, there was still a chance that Superman could have been a good movie, the sequester was still punishing only poor people, it still seemed to be OK to drone kill whoever Obama put on his kill list, (plus our president had a kill list WTF), there were concerts, beach weekends, parties, and trips to Fenway on the horizon, and I had every intention to enjoy the hell out of this summer. It was going to be the wind in my hair and bugs in my teeth as I frolicked throughout New England. I was even going to try dating again. Wrong!...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Even with all my nifty dreams life happened, work happened, it's kind of amazing how shit just happens.

You can see why the dating didn't happen, but the rest of it, Come on!

I had July 4th off then worked every single day of that month except a day for a personal  emergency and a Sunday at the Lowell Folk Festival. 3 Days... 3 days off out of 31. I didn't even get to slide into my new speedo, not once, and I rock a speedo.  Then came August. I had 5 days off in August. I watched the Perseid meteor shower at 4 AM from my companies parking lot. (which was actually an excellent place for viewing; I counted 12 serious shooting stars before I fell asleep on the hood of my car) Then I had to listen to the, "At least you have a job" crap. Are you kidding me? That's what we've come too? I've been working hard since 1974 and now I'm supposed to be grateful that I have a job? Screw you America! I don't want a penny in hand outs, but as long as I'm willing to work you better have a job for me... and my labor is a straight up fair trade. I get some pocket cash and someone else gets rich. What could be more elegant than that?

OK, ok, I was getting a little heated there for a moment. It wasn't the best summer I ever had but it was still pretty good. How about those Red Sox? Isn't it great to watch a team that looks like they just love to play baseball? No matter what happens in the next month this team will always be one of my favorite teams of all time. "The summer they saved baseball",  would be a great title for a movie.

...it's how you play the game... but winning, winning, is awesome.

Yeah, winning is awesome, but I'll show my un-American almost french side by stating that I kind of wish you could freeze the season right now and skip the play-offs and world series. Why ruin something that was so satisfying by going for the big finish? Besides I really like the Patriots, but I can't really pay attention to football until baseball is over.

On the national level it was business as usual. The Pubs in congress tried to revoke Obama care once a week for the entire summer. Considering that the sequester is still in place, because the Budget Control Act that Obama signed to end congresses desire to take the country over a fiscal cliff by refusing to authorize a rise to the 2011 debt ceiling is still in place even though we now have to raise the 2012 debt ceiling  this year is... blah, blah, blah, I know you are not listening to me. Boring! Right! You'd rather hear about my dating activities...you wouldn't?...hmmm.

Well I did manage to catch a few movies this summer. There were a load of blockbusters released just like every summer, and a lot of them were pretty good pop corn fair. World War Z, Iron Man3, Pacific Rim, Elysium... but I also love the little films that sneak in under the radar that were made for $30...

This one was just sweet

...or less in some cases.

This ones from 2012 but it needs a 2013 plug.

 I love blockbusters, I love studio movies, but I also love a great story and sometimes, like with the Red Sox, it's more special when you can feel the extra effort being made. Maybe the kind of extra effort we all should make so I can talk about the sequester and the debt ceiling and you can answer me and be interested and we'll all understand what we are talking about. (Warning: inexpensive movies have probably been ruined for you by the shear seamless spectacle Hollywood produces, so you might have to work at loving the 2 films I just recommended, Beasts especially is crudely made, but it I is worth it.)

I also know that I have been bouncing around with this blog post. Well it was a long summer, the world was busy busy, and I didn't get to do much of anything so I'm kind of tossing this at you as I think of things. For example I just thought of an excellent fall recipe.

Looks good, tastes good, and it's a wonder food.

I love me some sweet potatoes. Except in that nightmarish casserole with the marshmallows that everyone serves at Thanksgiving (Still best holiday ever!). Keeping with that thought I like to goof around with sweet potatoes so that their goodness, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, are not reduced to a sugary almost desert casserole designed to trick children into eating a vegetable even though by the time you gussy it up for kiddy taste you may as well have given the little crumb pickers cake to start with. Anyway start by baking off some sweet potatoes. you will be working with them cold so run a bunch of them through the microwave one at a time, six minutes each, while you are doing dishes or something. This is a "make it up as you go" recipe. As far as quantities go just remember you want  them to be mostly potato.

1. Cut each potato in half, then being very careful because the skin is thinner than on a regular potato scoop out most of the insides and place in a bowl.
2. Meanwhile fry some finely chopped onion, shallot would be better, in some olive oil. Butter will taste better, Mmmm butter! but be less healthy. 
3. When the onion softens add salt, some chopped parsley, sage would be better, and some chopped garlic.
4. You will need some crumbs, crushed crackers ( get medieval on them, grind them fine) old bread you rubbed between your palms, canned crumbs, whatever. Add it to the onion mixture off heat. Stir.
5. Grate some cheese, Swiss would be good, Gruyere would be better, or a nice smoked Gouda.
6. I third of the cheese goes in with the crumbs, mix, the rest goes with the scooped out potato, mix.
7. Fill the shells with the potato cheese mix.
8. Top the filled potatoes with the crumb onion cheese mix.
9. Drizzle with olive oil if you are being good, or melted butter if you are being bad.
10. Bake in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes.

If you want to turn these bad boys into a main coarse you could fry up some bacon, Mmmm bacon! or some sausage and add a third to the crumbs and two thirds to the potato, but that would pretty much destroy any illusions that these things were good for you...

...and speaking of illusions it is time for the lightening round. Obama drone kills people on a secret kill list that has included American citizens and a 16 year old boy and he gets to be president. W started an unjustified war that killed over 100,000 and he gets to retire in comfort as an elder statesman. Chaney outed a CIA agent for political reasons+ petty revenge thereby placing all her contacts at risk but he got to return to Haliburton or his lair or where-ever with not a peep from us, the soldiers we saw on tape lighting up unarmed reporters and a van with children in it while laughing about it got to come home, Eric Snowden, who gave the tape of the war crime just mentioned to Wiki-leaks got sentenced to 35 years in jail. Life's a bitch isn't it? I won't leave you grumpy though, I don't do grumpy any more.
So...

It's as obvious as the difference between knowing and dreaming.