Thursday, August 30, 2007

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Wireless Surround Sound Headphones (4/29/06)

From the pre-blog days, another in a series of posts "From the Archives". In this case, a report on wireless surround sound headphones from Apr 29, 2006

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http://reviews.cnet.com/Pioneer_SE_DIR800C/4505-6468_7-31225550.html?tag=also

Several months ago I asked many of you if you had any experience with wireless surround sound headphones.

After some research, ended up buying a pair of the Pioneer DIR800c (actually, a base station/headphone set, along with a spare set of headphones).

Application is for our upstairs TV, so that we don't disturb the kids after they've gone to bed (and the spouse when she's gone to bed)

the headphones work remarkably well, even for surround sound. The decoder does a very nice job of taking surround sound feeds (for example, from our DVD player) and mapping them to the left and right ears on the headphones.

Sound quality is excellent with good base response. Two sets of headphones have no problem being driven from the same base station. There is independent volume control on each headphone.

Basestation use IR to communicate with the headphones, so no interference issues with phones/wlans/microwaves/etc.

Extremely low noise floor (surprising), and comfortable to wear for a full movie. Pretty decent battery life, and the base station has a convenient battery recharger built in (it comes with rechargeable batteries)

A tad on the pricey side, but several dealers on ebay sell new sets for considerably less than list.

It is difficult to find a set of these headphones without the basestation (ie, a 2nd set). I got mine from:

http://www.audiocubes.com/product/Pioneer_SE-DIR800_Dolby_Digital_Surround_Headphones.html

Ended up coming from Japan(!), but shipping was prompt and inexpensive. They also have some cool Japanese science toys. For instance, the inner geek in me loves this puppy:

http://www.audiocubes.com/category/Gadgets,+Games_Gadgets/product/Gakken_Cup_Phonograph_Kit_in_Edison-style.html

When the girls are a little older, I may actually let them play with it ;-)

If anyone ends up with 2 basestations and wants to get rid of one, let me know. I'd like a basestation for the downstairs TV for gaming.

Ray

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Wii Report (1/14/07)

From the pre-blog days, another in a series of posts "From the Archives". In this case, a report on the Nintendo Wii from Jan 14, 2007

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We finally got our Nintendo Wii this past week (used off eBay...only a slight premium). Like many gamers, we're now a dual Xbox 360/Wii household. With the weekend finally upon us, we fired it up yesterday.

Not surprisingly, the girls had a great time making up their avatars (called "Mii's" in Wii land). Some games actually use the avatars in the game, which was a thrill for them.

The sports games that came with the unit were a big hit. Our 10 year old had a great time with tennis (you swing the controller like an actual racket), and even has a sour elbow today (!). Our little one enjoyed the bowling game, and everyone had a good time with the boxing game (all these games use the Mii's, which added to the fun).

The Wii Rayman game is also lots of fun. A very large number of minigames, each one using the Wii motion sensing controllers in different and unique ways (ie, spin the controller over your head to spin and then launch a cow as far as you can, move the controllers up and down to run as fast as you can, draw pictures
on the screen, etc.) Clearly Ubisoft used the game as an excuse to explore different control strategies using the new controllers. Like every Rayman game, very high production values and humor content. A definite winner.

I must say that I'm very impressed with the precision and naturalness of the motion sensing controllers. When I first heard what Nintendo was planning for the Wii, I shook my head thinking this was the end of a great company. On the contrary, this is a rebirth, based almost entirely on a new way of interacting
with games. The unit itself is remarkably underpowered by modern standards (basically 2x the power of the old Gamecube). The value is purely in the games and the elegance of the human interaction. I am very excited to see what type of creativity this inspires.

Already, it looks like some interesting things are coming. In particular, the next installment of the SSX series (one of my favorite games) looks like it's really going to take advantage of the new controllers:

http://media.wii.ign.com/media/842/842200/vids_1.html

(check out the video)

I can't wait to hit the virtual slopes using these controllers.

On the other side, the Wii incarnation of the Godfather game hints at a level of interactivity that is actually frightening for me:

http://media.wii.ign.com/media/842/842201/vids_1.html

(check out the video)

I've commented to others that I'm actually afraid to see how the next installment of Grand Theft Auto uses the controllers.

One of the nice parts of the Wii is that finally gives me a chance to check out all those Gamecube games that I always wanted to play but never could (this is my first Nintendo console). The Wii is basically a Gamecube with updated parts (cpu, graphics, etc.) so backward compatibility is complete. Have Zelda on the
shelf waiting for time, and I'm also looking forward to Metroid.

However, the Gamecube game that I have been most looking forward to playing is none of the big hitters. For those with a Wii (or thinking about getting one), or those with a Gamecube, you absolutely MUST pick up Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Gamecube:

http://cube.ign.com/articles/595/595520p1.html

This is a brilliant platformer (running around as Donkey Kong jumping and grabbing bananas), made 10x more so through the use of the bongo controllers for movement. You use the right bongo to move right, left to move left, both at the same time to jump, and clap to "attack" opponents. In terms of sheer fun
factor, this is the most fun we've had with a video game in a LONG time (the girls were besides themselves with laughter, as was dad).

To make decisions even easier, EBGames is liquidating the game and bongo controllers:

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=B220494A

For $15, you get the game and 2 bongo controllers. Use the coupon code "SAVER" and get free shipping as well. (Greg, ordered one for you already). Game only uses one controller, but the Donkey Konga rhythm games are quite fun as well (the bongos are used in a rhythm game, with up to 4 players at once).

Have not had a chance to check out the Wii Virtual Console games yet (emulated versions of classic arcade games). I've purchased Super Mario 64 from the Nintendo 64, but have the Classic Controller on order (required to play it).

All in all, the Wii is an outstanding piece of family entertainment, and ideal for those that are looking to get a broader group involved in gaming/each other. I love my Xbox and 360, but these aren't games that you can really enjoy as a family. The Wii really follows through on the promise of "we", and I've very
excited to see where the developers will take things.

Ray

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Billions and Billions...

If you're looking for something to make your head hurt, contemplate a 1 billion light year wide hole in the universe:
Astronomers have stumbled upon a tremendous hole in the universe. That's got them scratching their heads about what's just not there. The cosmic blank spot has no stray stars, no galaxies, no sucking black holes, not even mysterious dark matter. It is 1 billion light years across of nothing.

The late night comedians will have a field day with this one...

Thursday, August 23, 2007

It might be, it could be...

This past week, we made our annual summer pilgrimage to Chicago.

I have a deal with my daughters: we spend a day at the American Girl store on Michigan Ave, eating fancy lunches, seeing shows, getting the dolls' hair done, and shopping for 6+ hours. Afterwards daddy gets to eat pizza at one of his favorite Chicago pizza shops (Gino's East, Duo's, Giordano's, etc.) and no one gets to complain when we go to Wrigley for a Cubs game.

One of the great things of going to Wrigley for a game (aside from the spectacular history and feel of the place) is that I get to watch a baseball game with 40,000 other people that react and cheer at the same time I do. Normally in our house, I cheer the TV or the internet radio broadcast, and the family looks at me like I'm crazy.

Unfortunately, things were a little more complicated this time, since we decided that Kit and Elizabeth (my daughter's American Girl dolls) wanted to come to the game. Kit had her new Chicago Cubs outfit on, and Elizabeth had her traveling clothes. To complicate things further, the give away at the ballpark was a stuffed Snoopy doll with a Cubs uniform on. More often than not, I was holding several dolls and a blankie and unable to stand up to cheer a home run. Such is the price of fatherhood when you're a Cubs fan.

In looking around the park, I was shocked at how many boys had Cubs jerseys with Sammy Sosa's name and number of them (a clear majority of those with jerseys had a Sosa jersey). Sosa hasn't played for the Cubs in years, and left with a bit of a steroid cloud over his head. However, his continued presence says much about how youngsters learn to love to game, and the power of the definitive home run to focus attention in a game that is otherwise full of gray and subtlety.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream

After our spectacularly successful first batch of home made vanilla ice cream, it was time to appease the masses and give chocolate ice cream a go.

Rather than mess with a good thing, I used the previously successful vanilla ice cream recipe as a starting point, and experimented until the flavors seemed right.

Serious Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
(with apologies to Alton Brown)
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Nestle's)
2 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Torani hazelnut syrup

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.

Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer before serving (takes 8 hours in our freezer).

NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil

I used vanilla extract since I wasn't sure how much vanilla would be enough/too much for the mix. For next time, I think I'll go back to using a full vanilla bean. If it works out, I'll update the recipe.

I substituted seedless strawberry jam for the peach preserves to avoid the dreaded "chunks of peach" problem that got me in trouble with my daughters last time, and because I thought the taste of strawberry would complement the chocolate better. Got it right on both counts, but I think it could use a little more acidity from more jam.

I am a sucker for malt flavor in ice cream, so I snuck some in this time. I think I can get away with a lot more next time (very subtle...added depth without slapping you upside your head)

We're a Nutella household, so our kids are already used to the wonder of chocolate with hazelnut flavor, so adding the Torani hazelnut syrup was a no brainer, and really added a nice depth to the flavors.

This batch turned out extremely well (my 5 year old even gave me a medal for being the best ice cream maker, declaring it a "Top 10" ice cream moment). Nice balance of flavor that jumped out at you.

With the first batch under my belt, this one was embarrassingly easy to churn out (ouch). Took about 10 minutes the night before to get the mix made (including all the experimenting to get the balance right), next morning poor it in and get the mixer going while eating breakfast. By the time you're done with your tea, ready to go to the freezer, and the kids get to fight over the ice cream beater for dessert.

For the next time, I think I'll back off on the sugar (like the vanilla, this recipe is extremely sweet). The flavors are strong enough that it can take a lot more malt flavor and a real vanilla bean. The girls still insist on crumbled Oreo cones on the chocolate hazelnut ice cream, but I prefer a traditional sugar cone.

Next time: coffee ice cream!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Waffles

In addition to making way too much ice cream this summer, we've been experimenting with lots of different home made waffle recipes.

Many waffle recipes call for beating your egg whites separately and folding them into the waffle batter to get some loft. I've tried that before, and it is WAY too much work, especially in the morning when you're just getting up and the kids are hungry.

As a general rule, let's all agree that life is far too short to be separating eggs and beating the whites to a stiff peak at 7am before you've had your breakfast. In search of the perfect waffle recipe, any that required beating egg whites were struck from the list.

To get things started we purchased a wonderful new waffle iron from Villaware (model 2004). Heats incredibly quickly, no stickiness problems, nice even cooking, etc. Recommended

Our first try was Alton Brown's Basic Waffle recipe. I didn't want to have a whole lot of whole wheat flour sitting around, so I substituted all purpose flour for the whole wheat flour. These were nice, but fairly dry. If you lubed them up with butter and maple syrup, they were quite tasty (but then again, so would an old sock) (1 thumb down from our 5 year old).

Next up was Alton Brown's Chocolate Waffle recipe. Skipped the chocolate chips to try to keep them as a breakfast waffle rather than a dessert waffle. Again, remarkably dry. The chocolate also made it fairly bitter. Even lots of butter and maple syrup couldn't save these (2 thumbs down from our 5 year old)

In an effort to redeem myself with the kids, next were Aretha Frankenstein's Waffles of Insane Greatness recipe. Obviously, expectations were high (didn't help that for a couple days before hand I was saying "Frankenstein's waffles of INSANE GREATNESS" in my best movie voice).

These were outstanding. Large amounts of vegetable oil made them extremely crispy and borderline greasy (no butter needed), but the corn starch and relatively large amount of vanilla made an amazingly nice waffle (2 thumbs up from our 5 year old...she regularly asks for "Waffles of Insane Greatness" now in her movie voice). Only downside was needing to wait 30 minutes after you mix the batter up before you can start making waffles. Get the mix made before your start up your coffee machine.

Last up were Overnight Yeasted Waffles from America's Test Kitchen:
Overnight Yeasted Waffles (extracted/adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 stick (!) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (next time I'm going to try 2 teaspoons)

Heat milk to near scalding (almost to boil), then add butter to melt. Let cool until mixture gets to ~115 degrees (slightly warm...don't want to kill the yeast).

Separately, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt, then gradually whisk in the warm milk until the mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until fully mixed.

Scrape down sides of bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours (up to 24). Batter will double in size.

Next morning, heat waffle iron. When hot, remove mixture from refrigerator and whisk to recombine and deflate (it will be more alive than you are at that time of the day).

Cook as you normally would on your waffle iron.

Note: these waffles are airy enough that I set my waffle iron to 3 1/2, as opposed to 6 or 7 for the other recipes on this page. Less mass so it cooks that much more quickly. The very large amount of butter means it crisps up quite nicely and that you don't need to grease the waffle iron.


These had the advantage of being made the night before (amazingly simple to mix together) and having the yeast rise in the refrigerator overnight. Definitely most convenient of the bunch on a groggy morning.

I found the tangy flavors of the scalded milk, yeast, and mellowing overnight to be very very nice. Lots of butter in the mix (again, none needed for cooking or after cooking), making them very rich and crispy. Extremely airy and light, so go easy on the maple syrup (it just soaks in like a sponge). Flavor actually reminded me of the crust on Gino's East pizza in Chicago (one of my favorites). I would make these my favorite, with perhaps more vanilla next time (1 thumb up from our 5 year old)

I would like to find a recipe that uses corn meal/polenta to accent the waffle. I think that would be a nice flavor combo. I may experiment a little and see how it turns out.

If you have a favorite waffle recipe, please pass along. Happy to put it through the Ghanbari Girls gauntlet and post the results.

As a tip for you waffle makers out there. Unless you have a large family (in numbers or girth), you will likely have extra. Turn down the heat on the iron about 20%, make slightly under done waffles with the rest of the batter, cool the waffles on a cooling rack, stick them in a plastic bag and freeze them. They actually survive quite well and toast/crisp up fine (no more Eggo's in our house).

Next up: Home made soft pretzels(!)

Living the good life...



As soon as this guy gets mobile again, time to head to Vegas... (thanks to Kedric for forwarding)

Coffee Ice Cream

With vanilla and chocolate hazelnut ice cream under our belt, time to make mom and dad happy by making some coffee ice cream.

Once again, I used the previously successful vanilla ice cream recipe as a starting point, and experimented until the flavors seemed right.
Serious Coffee Ice Cream
(with apologies to Alton Brown)
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup minus 4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons decaf Folgers coffee crystals
1 tablespoon peach preserves (not jelly)
3 tablespoons malted milk powder
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.

Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer before serving (8 hours in our freezer).

NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil.

Since I did not think strawberry would work with the coffee, I went back to the peach preserves. I used 1 tablespoon instead of 2 since I wasn't sure how it would work out. Also used 1/2 a vanilla bean since I didn't want to overwhelm the flavor with vanilla. I used freeze-dried coffee to control portions, and decaf so we can have as much as we want at night (we're caffeine wimps in our house). I felt brave with the malt, so loaded it up.

This batch was nice, but not the surprising success that the previous two batches were. Coffee flavor was a bit too intense (to the point of being borderline bitter), and the taste was flat on the tongue.

For the next time, I'm going to use the full vanilla bean (it can take it). Also, I plan on cutting back the coffee to 1 1/2 tablespoons. Lastly, it does need some acid to balance out the flavor and not be so flat. I'll either use the full 2 tablespoons of peach preserves, or experiment with some lemon rind in the mixture (probably the lemon rind just to see what happens). Can still benefit from more malt powder. I'll back off the sugar tablespoon for tablespoon as I ramp up the malt.

The girls still insist on crumbled Oreo cones on the coffee ce cream, but I prefer a traditional sugar cone. We all enjoyed some Heath bar crumbles sprinkled over the ice cream. Next time, may try blending some Heath bar crumbles in to see how they survive the process.

For those that want to jump the gun, add blend ins to the ice cream machine at the very end of the churning process (~5 minutes to go). Too early and they'll either dissolve or get ground to a pulp.

Ice Cream

As many of you know, I'm on a bit of a home made ice cream kick this summer.

Late last year, after lusting after them for 20+ years, we finally got a Kitchen Aid mixer. I took advantage of my good fortune to get my wife the ice cream maker attachment for the Kitchen Aid for Christmas. For those of you that have experiences a Minnesota winter, you know how unlikely a gift an ice cream maker is for Christmas, but there you have it.

This summer, we finally got to get the bowl out of the deep freezer and give it a whirl.

Now I'm an ice cream fan, not a custard fan. After a rather unfortunate incident with a rotten egg when I was twelve, I have an aversion to eggy tasting things. Most recipes for home made ice cream are actually custards, using copious amounts of egg yolks in an effort to make the concoction more rich.

After much searching, I found an interesting ice cream recipe from Alton Brown, host of "Good Eats" on the Food Network.
Serious Vanilla Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Churn Baby Churn
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons peach preserves (not jelly)
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped


Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.

Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer before serving (takes about .

NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil.


The Kitchen Aid did a great job. Took about 20 minutes to churn. You know it is done when the churn paddle starts to slip in the mechanism (this is intentional). Transfer to a pre-chiled pyrex container (I prefer the neutral taste of pyrex to plastic), cover in plastic wrap and cover the container with its cover (remember, air and thermal cycles are the enemy of your ice cream), and freeze for ~8 hours until hard. Makes just under a quart of ice cream.

This turned out remarkably well for a first effort. The vanilla bean added a remarkable amount of flavor, especially after seeping in the mixture over night. Heating the dairy also did a LOT to really add some depth to the flavor and texture (taste the mixture before and after it goes into the fridge over night to see the difference). It was borderline too sweet, but otherwise outstanding. The only complaint from the kids was the occasional chunk of peach from the peach preserves that spoiled the party for them. I liked the (very) subtle peach flavor. The acid was necessary to balance out the flavors of the ice cream.

In our house, the preferred serving style is in a bowl, with some crumbled Oreo ice cream cones on top of it. Caramel sauce is also always in fashion.

For future variants, I plan on cutting back the sugar some (2-3 fewer tablespoons) and perhaps adding 3-4 tablespoons of malted milk powder (I'm a sucker for malt flavorings in ice cream). I'll extend this post as I try different variations of the vanilla ice cream, and have different posts for different flavors we're experimenting with.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Mike Wieringo

Rest in Peace comic book artist Mike Wieringo, who died Sunday at the age of 44.

Wieringo's recent run on Fantastic Four (with writer Mark Waid) was a wonderful return to the childlike wonder that so much represented the soul of the World's Greatest Comic back in the day. Reading that run was an unexpected joy and an important reminder, and for that I thank Mike.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

I Believe!

Baroque Cycle

I recently joined the elite club of 18 other people that have actually read all three volumes of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (or the Baroque My Back Cycle for those of us that had to carry around these books for the 18 months it took me to read them)

A far ranging novel, covering Isaac Newton, Leibniz, various kings/queens, Europe/Asia/North America, the invention of calculus and modern science, etc. over ~3000 pages, essentially chronicling the remarkable years of 1660 to 1714 when modern civilization was born. A remarkable tome, at its heart about the role of free will vs an all knowing God and mathematical perfection.

Stephenson clearly had free reign from his editors, often spinning off into multi-page Melvillian prose to lovingly explore such topics as how to fabricate phosphorous from animal urine.

For all the extravagance, there are literary jewels where the imagery lingers far longer than the backache. For example, 1/2 way through a round the world sea journey, our heroes approach feudal Japan from the west. During this time, Japan was desperately trying to keep foreign influences from their shores (those of us of an age will remember the Shogun miniseries, where we first learned to understand a little Japanese).



"Dappa exchanged Malabar-words with three black sailors who had just hauled in the sounding-lead, then turned toward the poop deck and gave van Hoek a certain look. The captain stretched out a mangled hand towards the bow, then let it fall. A pair of Filipino sailors swung mauls, dislodging a pair of chocks, and the head of the ship itched upward slightly as it was relieved of the weight of the anchors. Their chains rumbled through hawse-holes for a moment, making a sound like Leviathan clearing its throat. Then chains gave way to soft cables of manilla that slithered and hissed across the deck for quite a few moments, gather force, until everyone abovedecks began to doubt if the Malabari sailors with the sounding-lead had really gotten it right. But then the life seemed to go out of those cables. They coasted to a stop, and the Filipinos went to work recovering the slack. The sails had all been struck, but the wind that they had ridden in from the Sea of Japan found purchase on Minerva's hull and nudged her forward into the long shadow of a snow-topped mountain, creating the curious impression the the sun was setting in the east."


(I look forward to someday writing something 1/2 as good as the above...wow!)

Aside from the larger philosophical questions and historical excitement (and the philosophical issue of free will vs determinism is explored subtly and extraordinarily well through the actions of the story), imagery like the sun setting in the east on a Japan turned upside down makes these books a must read for those with the patience to work through them.

For those friends in Minnesota, in a moment of head swooning temporary insanity, I purchased the Hillhouse limited editions of these books. That means I have the original backbreaking hardcovers available if someone would like them.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Don't mess with TEXAS!

Now this is what I'm taking about: Chicken-Fried Bacon

Hurry up and get your orders in before it is banned.

For those that have had the pleasure of attending the Minnesota State Fair, can you honestly say you wouldn't give this a try? (with ranch dip instead of gravy of course)

Geoff had the best suggestion: fry it up on a stick, and roll it in corn flakes (aka, Breakfast on a Stick)

Patti Smith's cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

In a sign of the times, rock/punk legend Patti Smith (all 60 years (!) young) has released an album of covers.

Among other astonishing songs is a cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", accompanied by a banjo. A remarkable journey for the woman who opened her 1975 debut album with a killer cover of "Gloria" by Van Morrison.