Mar 30, 2008

Taking a Blog Break


I will be continuing my Jane Austen blogs, however. See sidebar.

What American Accent Do You Have?

What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Northeast
 

Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.

The Inland North
 
Philadelphia
 
The Midland
 
The South
 
The West
 
Boston
 
North Central
 
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz


My first language is Dutch, so my slight accent influenced the result, as I have lived in the South or Mid Atlantic for half my life. A linguist also placed me in Connecticut, so this test is fairly accurate.

Mar 23, 2008

Top Chefs At One With Nature

Oh, dahlings, Ms. Place loves to commune with nature like anyone else, but frankly, it's been a few more years than I dare count since I took 8th grade science class and discussed the dietary habits of carnivores and herbivores. Indeed, my knowledge from those days in the last century might have been tainted by a few commercial considerations, though it must be supposed that lions really have nothing to do with running a food chain.


First the quickfire challenge. How droll! Shopping for only 5 ingredients in a market and forgetting to bring an item home. I do that all the time! Mark won this challenge with a nice old-fashioned sirloin steak. My daddy would be proud of him. Andrew won with a glacier that really resembled a chunk of frozen margarita served as a blob.

As for the elimination challenge of grouping people into teams of lions, penguins, vultures, gorillas, and bears: Who the hell has recently thought about a penguin's or gorilla's dietary preferences? And who would want to even think about the rotted meat a vulture sticks in its craw?

But I quibble. All I know is that while the blinis in Episode Two looked cold and unoriginal, those horrid mushrooms reminded me of something my tiny terror terrier produces with regularity four or five times per day.
Look, let's face it, had Valerie served her blinis with vodka, she would have rocked Tom Collicchio's casbah instead of getting the proverbial Russian boot.

Honestly, dahlings, take a look at this unappetizing appetizer made by Nikki and messed up by Dale, and tell me Valerie didn't get robbed.

Even real life bears would have rejected those horrid 'shrooms. In my opinion both Nikki and Dale should have been fired in the board room! Wait, that's the wrong show. Sorry Donald.
Meanwhile, poor Valerie got thrown under the bus by her team mates, and was told to pack up her knives and go.
As for lions, didn't Bravo know that they've become much more sophisticated in their tastes due to their proximity to man?
And how come none of the chefs noticed that there are a variety of bears in this world? Like Koala bear. Pooh bear. Polar bear. Teddy bear. What bear food are we talking about? Frankly, I imagine fresh eucalyptus trees are a little hard to find in Chicago.

As for two men winning the competions, here we go again, folks. Let's just hope the vultures don't eat the judges before this season is over. For some reason I thought this would be the YEAR of the WOMAN. Well, it's still early in the season.

'Nuff said about this strangely tepid episode. Hope the next one has a clearer winner and loser.

The End

Mar 17, 2008

Would You Believe ...

I LOVED Epi One of TC 4?

My bets are on the female chefs this season. Ok, so we still can't tell them apart. Let's wait until they hop in the hot tub. Oh, wait. That was last season! We're in Chicago now. Land of the windblown hair and pizza of the deep dish. Glad Bravo got that challenge out of the way first, because some of those dishes looked ghastly.

In today's office pool we bet on "The Last 6 Chefs Standing", and the only male I chose was Richard. Miss Thing, my coworker, bet on two males - Richard and Dale, and four female chefs. But I went for the gusto, voting for Stephanie (love the cute 'lil backpack, dahling, and your sense of humor), Zoi (cause her name rocks), Lisa, Antonia, and Jennifer. One of these girlfriends had BETTER win this season, or I'll cry foul.

After the disappointment of a tepid Project Runway 4 season, I can't wait for TC 4 to develop. So, stay tuned folks. I'm a bit buried in paperwork, as the BTC gals said, but not too busy to watch all the kitchen bitchin'. (Kwitcherwhinin', already, Andrew.)

Oh, and the right chef got whacked. In the quickfire and elimination challenges, Nimma wasn't worth her salt, if you get my drift.

Mar 9, 2008

And the Winner is ....

Christian! Was there any doubt?


The moment Posh saw those outrageous puffy sleeves, My Fair Lady Hats, frilly collars, and tight, tight pants, she began to salivate all over her orange designer gown. Nina fought the good fight for Rami, her darling, but Posh's overt lust for Christian's clothes won over Nina's tepid puppy love.

The big surprise was Jillian's third place finish. Her ready to wear, flattering clothes were outstanding. Those knits were to die for, and she definitely kept the female body in mind with fabric, color, and silhouette. Several of those pieces could have been worn right off the runway.

Fifty percent of Rami's clothes were breathtakingly beautiful, especially his evening wear, but I wouldn't wish some of his designs on my worst enemy. What was this sack dress all about? Those shoulders make this poor model appear like a hunchback. And what was up with that icky puce color?

Not that this outfit by Christian had much going for it, except that Posh kept thinking "Me, me, meeeeee!"

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the finale. There were no histrionics, no backstabbing maneuvers among the designers, and no last minute surprises by Bravo to throw the designers off. We were treated to an outstanding runway show, great coverage of the judge's deliberation about their final decision, and a satisfying ending. Our winner Christian couldn't hide how much he wanted (needed) the win, and my heart melted every time his lower lip trembled.

So how come this season is already blurred in my memory, while Seasons 1 & 3 still stand out? Food for thought.

Mar 2, 2008

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