Tangled

The Happily Ever After We’ve Been Looking For!

Disney has finally found a formula for it’s modern audiences!  Take a dash of Little Mermaid, a hint of Sleeping Beauty, put it in a 3D mold and sprinkle on some Shrek style humor for good measure and you have a spectacular movie!  The animation is gorgeous, a perfect mix of realistic and cartoony.  The facial expressions are great and I don’t even want to think about what it took to make Rapunzel’s hair look so good.  The music is awesome, in turns beautiful, menacing and funny, I found myself humming the I Have a Dream song as I left the theater.  All the characters are great, you

hate the villians and cheer for the good guys.  The supporting cast, especially the chameleon and horse, are perfect.  All that being said, the humor is what really shines in this movie, it has a wide variety of gags: one liners, sight gags, etc, but the great thing is that you’ll be groaning at the stupid joke that is there for the kids and then be hit with a one liner that is absolutely brilliant.  This movie is a must see, the first Disney Cartoon Feature that has been a must see in a long time in fact.  If you liked Shrek, see it…If you like Disney, see it…If you like fairy tales, see it… If you can, See It.  This movie has restored my faith in Disney Filmmakers…Now if they would just stop doing all the crappy sequels!

Listen to the Soundtrack Below!

How to Roast A Turkey

By Lawrence Raybon

Ingredients:

1     12-15lb Turkey (Thawed)

For the Brine:
1 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
12 Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bullion Cubes
2 1/2 Gallons of Water
2 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 Tbsp Allspice Berries
1 1/2 Tbsp Candied Ginger
3   3" Cinnamon Sticks

Other Ingredients :
3    10lb bags of ice
1 large or 2 small apples
1 large or 2 small Sweet Onions
4     3" Cinnamon Sticks
1/2 cup  water
2     8" Sprigs of Rosemary
6  sage leaves or 1 tbsp dried
Canola oil

To Make the Brine:

Bring 1 Gallon of water to boil in a stockpot. 

Add all the brine ingredients except the rest of the water to the gallon of boiling water.  Stir till dissolved and then let boil for 4 minutes. 

Empty one of the 10 lb bags of ice into a 50qt plastic container (or any clean plastic container that can hold a turkey with plenty of room to spare).

Pour the brine over the ice to instantly cool it.

Place the turkey into the brine breast side down. 

Pour Half of a 10 lb bag of ice over the turkey to keep it cool and keep it submerged. 

Place a probe meat thermometer into the brine and set it to warn you if the temperature rises above 40 degrees.  Add Ice as necessary to keep temperature down.  Let brine for 6 hours.

After 6 hours flip the turkey to be breast side up and then let brine for another 6 hours.  Make sure the temperature doesn’t rise above 40 degrees.

After brining for a total of 12 hours, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse thoroughly inside and out.  Pat dry.  Discard the brine.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

In a microwave safe dish combine apple, onion, cinnamon sticks and 1/2 cup of water and microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the Turkey in a roasting pan with wings turned back.

Place the microwaved apple, onion and cinnamon in the Turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage.

Brush the Turkey liberally with canola oil (or other neutral oil)

Roast the Turkey on the lowest level of the oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees.

After 30 minutes remove the Turkey from the oven and cover the breast with a layer of aluminum foil.

Insert a probe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set the alarm for 161 degrees.

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and put the Turkey back in the oven. 

Wait for the Turkey to reach 161 degrees 2 and a half to 3 hours.

When the Turkey reaches 161 degrees, remove it from the oven and let rest 15 minutes, covered loosely, before carving.

Enjoy!

Please watch me cook a Turkey in the following two videos to see exactly what I’m talking about!

 

Kinectimals: A Thoroughly Charming Game

Today I review a game that had just enough saccharine to be charming without being overly sweet: Kinectimals

I started my journey by picking a cute lion cub that I named Caramon (the poor leopard, tiger and panther will have to wait), and then an annoying flying raccoon looking thing (the only real drawback to the game) led us to a secluded clearing to play. We played fetch with a sombrero; we knocked a volleyball back and forth and we both played dead. I taught Caramon some tricks (and he taught me some as well). It was a great experience.

Now I don't want to be misleading, this isn't the kind of game you will want to spend hours at a time on. This is a more relaxed kind of game, lose yourself in the cuteness for 30 min or so, play some mini games and then go on with your dreary life. Its like a really, really amped up tamagotchi (you know, the old key chain pets)with a whole slew of mini games. There is a mystery of sorts to the island and areas and games to unlock, but I feel that it would only take a few hours of gameplay to unlock everything. What will keep people coming back (aside from the guilt at neglecting your poor cute kitty) is the variety of mini games, that turn out to be very relaxing!

Check out this video review I made to see the game in action: (please excuse the seeming lack of enthusiasm, it was because I was not feeling well, not because of the game)



Game Scores:

Graphics: 10 of 10, A beautiful experience all around

Sound: 8 of 10, the sounds and music add to the experience without detracting, the annoying flying thing's voice is the only thing that keeps it from being 10 of 10

Gameplay: 7 of 10, Kinectimals is what it is, and the only thing that keeps the game from getting a 9 of 10 score is that I find it annoying that when I scratch my nose it throws stuff at my cat.

Overall: 8 of 10, I can't say this is a must buy, because it will definitely not appeal to everyone, but it is a must rent.  C'mon, you won't know if you like it till you try it and this game really shows off the Kinect.

Kinect: Sonic Free Riders Review

The Game:

Sonic Free Riders is a hoverboard racing game for the Xbox 360's new peripheral Kinect. The control are tricky to get used to, but once you get the feel for it the game can be a lot of fun. Here is a video of my first time reviewing the game before I had a handle on the controls:



And Here is a video of me a few days later after getting more used to the controls:



As you can tell from the videos there is a learning curve and the key is to not immediately writing this game off for lousy controls. The important thing (as I mention in the second video) is to use subtle movements when calibrating so that the game will be able to react to a full range of movements. Also when talking to the game you have to find the correct volume level, too loud or too soft and it won't respond. The weapons are a nice touch, but each one has a different gesture and sometimes the gesture is picked up as the wrong thing and you end up in a wall. Pretty much everything else about the game you can see in the videos.

Scoring:

Graphics:      6 of 10, classic Sonic look, nothing to get excited about, but not bad
Sound:           5 of 10, classic Sonic effects and music, passable
Controls:       5 of 10, Not as tight as they could or should be, but playable
Gameplay:    7 of 10, The controls bring it down, but the concept is fun even if it is complicated
Overall:         6 of 10, Not a must buy, but it's not a must avoid either!

In Which I introduce Myself

     Welcome one and all to the inside of my noggin.  I will do my best to be clear always, but on this side of insanity clarity is somewhat hard to come by.  And so sit back and make yourself ready to be entertained and, if you're lucky,/or, if you are not, informed.  Don't understand?  Well neither do I!  Within these sacred pages you will be delving into the depths of my gray folds and what you will find, who knows?  Reviews, Short Stories, Long Stories, Ideas, Videos, Pictures, or something completely different.  Wait now, you say, that was not a sentence.  And to you I say, keep an open mind, and enter...