I know it's been awhile since the last post. But there really isn't any family related news to post or at least I'm not privy to any, but if any of you do know what's going on with family or want to share anything that may interest the family, please do post. If not, you're going to have to suffer more and more of my non-family related posts like the one below.
I was watching NBC's Las Vegas - guilty pleasure of mine so don't judge - last night and I remarked to a friend how NBC's "Green Week" campaign was really annoying me to the point where I wanted to go out and hurt the earth. Don't get me wrong, I didn't aspire to nuke it or anything like that but more like go stomp on some flowers or leave an unnecessary light on. At the time I didn't know why it bothered me so much. I thought maybe it was that it turned my entertainment into a bully pulpit of sorts and the shows came off as being preachy in a sort of you must join our cult or suffer eternal damnation way. But that wasn't really it. So what was it? Well I think Jonah Goldberg explains it real well.
[Y]ou've seen the tyranny of Green even if you've never turned on NBC.
Green is everywhere. Every magazine feels compelled to do a special "green issue," but they feel so guilty about it, they ditch their glossy paper for pulp that gives it the feel of a hemp-commune newsletter that doubles as toilet paper. Food magazines have replaced "delicious" with "sustainable" as the highest praise....
Now, the predictable response to my caterwauling is that I just don't get it. Of course, Bob Costas' Dickensian studio lighting is just so much symbolism. But, they respond, NBC is "raising consciousness" and promoting "awareness."
We've heard this tone before, perhaps starting in high school, when we were told, "If we all work together, we can make this the best yearbook ever!"
And that's why, on top of all the other reasons, Green Week - and the Green Millennium it hopes to usher in - is so annoying. It plays us all for suckers.
First of all, you have enormously rich people at fantastically wealthy corporations seeking grace on the cheap with a few symbolic gestures that come at absolutely no cost and often-considerable profit....
Liberals and environmentalists love to whine about special breaks for corporations, and they work themselves into paroxysms of paranoia about how big corporations propagandize against action on climate change. The reality is exactly the opposite: GE, DuPont, British Petroleum and countless other big corporations routinely propagandize in the other direction, largely to win governmental support they don't need.
So that's what pissed me off so much. Not that it was more liberal bullshit being stuffed down my throat. But it was the fact that it basically turned the shows I was watching into thinly veiled commercials and boy do I hate commercials. It was like NBC was tricking me into watching a 3:00 am infomercial in primetime. How fucking lame is that?
I'm a little late in posting this actually but I'm not the only one - I'm looking at you Annette.
Mehran's homecoming got pushed up and he made his return yesterday. Those in the know say he looked much better upon his return than he did on departure.
So everyone, be sure to give Mehran a warm Mama's House welcome back home. How do you give a warm Mama's House welcome? With lots of cheese.
UPDATE:Annette, ignoring my wishes for a traditional Thanksgiving menu, has said she will make pansit palabok and Jade said he would make BBQ. I suppose the bbq can serve as a main dish alternative to the turkey - and seeing that I could totally screw up the turkey, that might not be such a bad thing to have - and I suppose the pansit can be some sort of side dish or stuffing alternative.
Not a bad start to the Thanksgiving menu.
So apparently I've been charged with making Thanksgiving happen. Actually, I more or less said us cousins could handle it. Now I know what you're all thinking, it probably ranges from, "Goddamnit Wayne!" to "What the fuck were you thinking Wayne?" Now before you all get upset over this, let me remind all of you that we pretty much pulled off Christmas last year when many of the titas and uncles were away. This is going to be a lot like that Christmas but with a lot more food and hopefully less of those terrible jello-shots that were made.
First things first in planning this year's Thanksgiving, the food. Of course, we gotta have turkey and since Joni got me this turkey deep fryer last Christmas, I'll be making the turkey. Yep, that's right, deep fried turkey. Doesn't this sound like it's going to be the most awesomest Thanksgiving already?
Outside of the turkey the only things we absolutely need to have are side dishes, stuffing, dessert, and drinks. Now I want to try to keep this a more traditional Thanksgiving. That means instead of dinuguan, maybe mashed potatoes. And really nobody has to cook anything if they don't want to, but remember what Robert Rodriguez has to say about cooking, "Not knowing to cook, is like not knowing how to fuck." And it would be nice if we could pull this off, seeing that we are old enough to pull something like this off. Also, you could just buy this stuff instead of cooking it yourself.
Anyway, so what would you people like to have for this Thanksgiving and what are you willing to cook or buy precooked for the meal?
Well according to this article Roland, myself, Darryll, Mehran, Austin, EJ, and Oliver would probably do best not to. Not that the article knows the aforementioned would probably produce some fucked up offspring - I kid because I love - but on other grounds.
Sonja Hastings of Fathers-4-Equality says that “no matter how decent, hardworking, and caring you may be as a father, that in the event of separation, you will more than likely not get custody of your child, you will lose up to 80% of all of your assets, you will have to pay up to five times the cost of raising a child, and most importantly you could never see your child again.”
Combined with the divorce rate it's not surprising that there's been a bit of a movement that we males from the Fonacier clan might be wise to consider.
There is mounting evidence that as men discover the terms of marriage and divorce today, they are engaging in a marriage boycott or marriage “strike”: refusing to marry or start families, knowing they can be criminalized if their wife walks out and how attractive the divorce industry has made it easy for her to do so.... In Britain a fathers’ rights group tours university campuses warning young men not to start families. Even one attorney writes a book concluding that the only effective protection for men to avoid losing their children is not to start a family in the first place.
Now the article goes on to state that men should enter marriage with complete knowledge of how screwed over they could be if things go bad and to do so with a prenuptial agreement. She also elicits advice that others would give to young men considering marriage and here are a few responses I found illuminating. First, the uncertainty of marriage.
I'm married, and happily so, but the more I see, the more I feel like a guy who played a slot machine while walking through the airport in Vegas, and just happened to hit the jackpot on the first try. Marriage is exactly like gambling. Yes, you're going to see a few winners, and the fact that they exist encourages a lot of other people to gamble, but that doesn't mean gambling is a good investment strategy.
Also, bear in mind that marriage isn't just one gamble. You're not going to be the same person in ten years, and she isn't either. Particularly if you have kids, an event that can significantly change your outlook on life. What are the odds that the people you'll be in a decade will get along with each other?
Find a girlfriend, treat her well, but don't ever let her take you for granted.
And because of that uncertainty I wholeheartedly agree that one should take the precaution of a prenuptial agreement. Too jaded you say? Setting up the marriage for failure or even a sign that one shouldn't get married? Well,
I boils down to this: If everyone chose their mate wisely, If everyone knew everything there is to know about their mate, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? Both genders can change, and some do, because they don't have to try anymore.
So? Protecting yourselves legally is a reasonable fallback. Accepting the risk after knowing what it might be, is only prudent on the part of both parties.
Still not convinced that a prenup is the way to go? Well maybe Kanye can convince you. You ain't no punk are you?
Still want to get married and willing to sign a prenup? Continue reading on then.
But I realize I'm extremely lucky, because I know my happiness is unusual. I know many men who are unhappy with their marriages, and i know many men who've been victimized by the legal system in the process of their divorce.
I have a son, and my advice to him is this: When you consider marriage, know what you are risking.... Consider that carefully, and know that you are placing your hope for happiness in the hands of another. You are rolling the dice. If you are still sure, still confident you found the right woman, and willing to approach it a lifetime, irrevocable commitment - no matter what - then by all means do so. Thinking of it this way may give you the certainty you need to make the right choice.
Okay, are you still sure you want to get married? I mean seriously, you've got to be damned sure. So you're absolutely certain as certain as 2+2=4 that you want get married but want to know if you've found the right girl? Here's some advice on that,
Good sex is not a reason to get married. How do you know when you've found the right one? Ask two questions: 1) Do I care more about her needs than my own? 2) Does she care more about my needs than my own?
There's tons more advice given about whether men should marry in the first place and how you know when you've found the right woman and I suggest all of you guys go read it. There's a lot of experience that can be learned from.
With Halloween upcoming I was wondering what everyone's favorite candy bar is? As for me, I really like Crunch, Twix, and the always satisfying Snickers but my all-time favorite has to be Kit Kat.
It was brought up yesterday by Melanie and Tita Evie that Papa was missed. It prompted me then to ask them to share a story about Papa. Instead, Melanie thought it better that I solicit from all of you to either post or comment a favorite story or memory of Papa. I'll be expecting those posts.
For me, it's difficult to recall with the detail needed to retell a specific story about Papa. I don't know if it's simply the passing of time that fades my memory or the more bothersome idea that memorable events with him merely didn't even occur.
Notwithstanding, I can remember an oft said phrase of Papa's, "Nothing doing." This phrase would oftentimes be said while he watched the Dodgers. He would say, "Nothing doing Dodgers," damn near every time they failed to score in an inning. He would say it in such a way that it was generally expected that a MLB team was to score every single inning and that the Dodgers let him down every time they didn't. He would do the same thing with the Lakers when they didn't score on every possession. And I remember how it would greatly annoy me to no end. I don't know if I was annoyed because as a youthful fan I took any perceived slights against my teams personally; or maybe I thought it showed he didn't quite understand the game fully; or perhaps him saying, "Nothing doing Dodgers," only highlighted how terrible they were doing; but at times it would get so annoying that I would have to leave the room and stop watching with him.
So come to think of it, Papa was a lot more annoying than I wish to remember him.
USC lost, yay! The food was good, yay! It stayed mostly dry, yay! Meka killed some bad guys in Halo 3 on Legendary, yay! DJ Tropical Goodies made a pre-debut warmup, yay!
I wouldn't bet against this blog making it onto next year's list.
A recent Carnegie Mellon study used higher mathematics to answer the question: if you want to be informed about what the entire blogospohere is talking about, but you can only read 100 blogs (out of the millions available), which blogs should you read?
I know all of you have been worried about me considering the numerous fires taking place in San Diego. I have been sitting inside my non-airconditioned apartment for the past 2 days doing sudoku puzzles and watching the television. So far my roomate Tiffany and I have been lucky enough to not have to evacuate our apartment. However, the air quality out here is absolutely disgusting. I can't even see the mountains around me considering the fact that all the fires are surrounding us.
I will be coming back to Simi Valley tomorrow to sit at home because of the Ventura fire, until I go to Santa Barbara this weekend for Halloween and to visit Tiffany's sister, Natasha.
So the powers that be are meeting up tomorrow to discuss what went right and wrong this past Fonacier family reunion and to begin preparations for the 2008 version, rumored to be held on August 9.
If you're not one of the powers that be but still want to be heard, you can sound off here. So feel free to say whatever you want - that's what anonymous commenting is for, you cowards - about what you liked and disliked about this year's reunion, what you would like to see happen at next year's, or any other thoughts. Disappointed that there weren't any t-shirts? Loved the selection and want to see the same menu for next year? Happy that we changed locations last minute to stay dry? Found some of the name tags inappropriate? Not enough hotchicks we weren't related to there - always a problem? Thought the neighbor was going to run us all over and thus prevent any need for further family reunions?
Anyway, if you want to see improvements and have a more enjoyable experience next year, speak up and be heard.
As for me, the last minute change of location was disappointing because I had looked so forward to spending the day at the park. So making sure weather is not a concern next time would be nice. I supposed that can be done by either having it on certain days when you know it won't rain or by having it indoors. Regarding this year's location, it was nice that someone opened up their home to all of us, especially at the last minute, so that we could stay dry. But I think that maybe having it at a house is not conducive to getting a large group of people to know each other. It was much too easy for one part of the family to dominate a room at the exclusion of other family members. There were certainly those social butterflies that moved easily from one room to the next, meeting new family members, but on the whole that was limited. So perhaps the answer is to hold it in a place without so many walls so that people can't so easily section themselves off. As for the food, the only things I ate were chips, a hot dog, and a hamburger. And that was more than enough to satisfy just me.
All in all, the first Fonacier Family Reunion went well, very well considering it was our first and the weather did not cooperate. It went well enough that I won't be skipping the next one, especially considering that it was our first and that it can be and should be even better next year.
I asked Jayden what he wanted to be for Halloween and decided to ask him what other people should be for Halloween, his answers were:
Himself: Spiderman Annalynne: Princess Angelynne: Princess Mom: Dolly (I'm pretty sure he means a doll and not Ms. Parton) Dad: Butt (said he could wear it on his head) Roland: Cat Faye: Cat Vanessa: Cat
Roland is flying into town today for one of his best friend's wedding that is happening this Saturday. Annette is picking him up this afternoon. That's the excuse I'm being given anyway as to why I have to pick up Jayden.
So if Roland owes any of you money, now is your chance to collect.... Or I suppose you could just say hi to him or something.
4 of the 9 visits to this site today have come from San Diego by a person using a Mac. Don't we all know a certain someone from there who has midterms all week long? I guess the 1 am visit shows that she was up late, perhaps doing some late night cramming.
Can anyone answer my question regarding one of the photos of Mama's and Papa's 50th Anniversary? I know it's a long shot that anyone could possibly remember what was so funny at that moment - thankfully captured - so long ago, but you never know.
Heck, maybe it's better that I don't know and imagine that Papa told a witty and hilarious anecdote that upon further reflection imparted some wise lesson about life and love. You know, the kind of story that puts Papa in a very admirable and favorable light and in the ranks of George Washington, Mister Rogers, and Papa Smurf. Of course, my limited and crude imagination only leads me to believe that Papa leaned over and let out a big one.
So if you know, please be kind and leave a response. Or feel free to speculate.
TO: The guy air drumming on the treadmill in front of me at the gym
FROM: WFS
DATE: 14, October 2007
SUBJECT: Air drumming while on the treadmill at a public gym
Though you almost inspired me to get on the treadmill next to you and do some air guitar, but for fear of getting my ass kicked, you're obviously in need of some help. May I make a suggestion?
I'll start off by saying it was good times celebrating Uncle's 50th, with that said, I'll probably most remember Uncle's 50th for a couple of reasons.
First, the service was terrible. So it was dim sum and the ladies with the carts came by. As usual with dim sum, maybe more so this time because we had a section of the restaurant to ourselves consisting of six tables and all of the ladies coming at one time, it was chaotic. For the most part they did their job right by asking the table if we wanted any of the dishes they were pushing around.
After it seemed like we were settled in with the several dishes we ordered, a few more dishes started popping up onto our table. Our table was only about half seated when service started and it was the empty half of the table began to fill up with dishes. Noticing this, I asked if any one at the table had actually ordered any of those dishes being set down. Everyone said no and so we asked the ladies to remove the dishes we had not ordered.
All they did was ignorantly smile and move on. Granted, they may actually not have known any english and we may have initially asked those who had not set down those dishes to take them away, which I can understand they can't do. So we pretty much had to figure out who set what dishes down and practically hand them back. Now the thing was, we were sure those who had gave us those dishes had stamped our order sheet/tab. We counted up the dishes on our table and the stamps on our tab and figured out that there were two extra stamps. When we asked the ladies to cancel those orders, we got the same ignorant smiles.
We then explained to the guy in charge what had happened and he was very reluctant to correct the situation. I mean considering we were a small part of a party of close to 40 why would we try to get a couple of dishes for free? And what happened to the customer always being right? It was understood that the stamps were for different dishes categorized by "A, B, C, D, E" for pricing purposes so it was not so easy to see what we were being charged for that was not on the table. But I even offered that he could just remove two marks from the least expensive category. In the end, he went over with us with what was on the table and each correlating stamp on the tab and couldn't explain what one of the stamps was for and even then he seemed unwilling to make a concession. Finally, he removed that stamp from the "C" category and after all that hassle we probably ended up "saving" $3.00.
The second thing I will remember is Lindsey's friend Brian. Before he arrived, he was described as someone who perpetually looked and sounded stoned. And when he did arrive sporting a Rasta style hat, he did not disappoint. Seriously, his retelling of his weekend so far that included a trip to Red Robin sounded like the sequel to a classic, I half-expected him to tell me that Doogie stole something of his.
For all of you girl cousins and whatever other female readers this blog may have. What are the 5 essential things a girl must carry in her purse? A question strictly out of curiosity of course.'
By the way, what are the odds that only Faye answers this question?
Seeing no objections, the next cousin meetup over drinks will be at BJ's in Woodland Hills on October 19th. Now the question is what time exactly. They close at 1, I don't know when happy hour is, but I'm guessing it doesn't matter because most of you won't be able to make it at that time. I suppose as early as possible is always best so those who want to do something afterwards can, though I'm more than willing to make BJ's my entire Friday night so late is an option for me.
Any thoughts and suggestions as we make this official?
Not much family news going on at the moment so expect a lot more non-family posts to go up. I guess I should point out that EJ is currently training in Oregon until tomorrow, his parents are on a cruise until Friday, Tita Agnes is now working in Rhode Island, and Roland still hasn't received all of his furniture and clothes.
We are writing to express concern and hurt about a racially-discriminatory comment made in an episode of Desperate Housewives on 9/30/07. In a scene in which Susan was told by her gynecologist that she might be hitting menopause, she replied, “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines."
My immediate reaction upon reading that was so what? I was not offended as a filipino at all. I was more offended that it wasn't that good of a joke. It would have been funnier if she said, "Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some online med school." Not much funnier, but funnier still. Of course, online graduates would probably have taken offense.
Then I began thinking, why is it that it didn't offend me. It is obviously a derogatory remark aimed at Filipinos. Is it because I relate more to the american rather than the filipino in the filipino-american that I am? Or is it because I'm not a graduate from one of those prestigious med schools in the Philippines? Or is it merely because it was intended as a joke not so much targeting filipinos, but racists themselves?
Had the line been mentioned matter-of-factly in a news or documentary program, our protest would have been valid. But lest we forget, Desperate Housewives is a dramedy — a drama AND a comedy. Everything said there should not be taken seriously. For one, Susan Mayer was definitely in character — insensitive, arrogant, and stupid — when she delivered the line.
So let me get this straight. A racist remark is made by a tv character portrayed as insensitive, arrogant, and stupid. Sounds like a pretty damn accurate portrayal of a racist to me. If anything, we filipinos should be thanking the show for its accurate portrayal of those who would say anything derogatory about our med school graduates. Heck, if I were of a different minority I would be calling for equal time and demand that this Susan Mayer make racist remarks about my people.
Maybe it was not clear to everyone that watches the show. Perhaps the writers should have dumbed it down and have the good doctor say that it was a racist remark that can only be made by the insensitive, arrogant, and stupid. I mean we are talking about a tv audience here - I can say that because I'm a tv audience member.
Also, really?! And by that I mean, is this even something getting all riled up about in the first place?! As pinoymoneytalk says, this wasn't mentioned as a matter-of-fact statement. And if there are viewers of that show who rely on it for cultural education then there are far greater problems that need to be addressed.
How good are these predictions? Well seeing that I don't want the Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, or the Cubs to win the whole thing, my biases probably outweigh my better judgment.
Per EJ's request. I added the name DJ Tropical Goodie - I think it's better just because it's not such a short leap to thinking about his balls. If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment.
BJ's it is - the one in Woodland Hills I suppose. What's a good day for everyone? I figure an early Friday night as usual. Keep in mind that we have Uncle Wilson's birthday the weekend after this and Joni's birthday is the weekend after that.
(pic linked above is of me with legendary DJ's Yoga Frog and DJ Q-Bert)
I suggest a new poll to vote for the cousins' favorite DJ names for me.
so far...
DJ EJ (self-explanatory DJ Tropical Goodies (from a halo halo menu description) <- Austin liked this 1 DJ Funky Fonacier (from the family reunion) DJ Keen (from childhood screen name) DJ Keen 1 (same as above)
Please feel free to download it. More mixes on the way. I'd also appreciate any suggestions for songs to put into a mix or themes for mixes (i.e. i'm working on a bay area/hyphy/nor cal mix for my friends up in berkeley). Thanks!
I think we all know in our heart of hearts that Oktoberfest is the inspiration for Green Day's hit song. Apparently the real Oktoberfest starts in late September and ends on October 10, but the commercialization celebration of Oktoberfest runs for pretty much the entire month of October.
It was pretty much decided by Austin and I that our next family bar night should take the opportunity presented by Oktoberfest so instead of meeting up at Los Toros we thought it best that we do it a place that celebrates Oktoberfest. Here are a few ideas. If you have a preference, comment away. And do tell when would be a good time for you.
*Seriously, we need a better name for our cousin meetups.
Mehran visited last week. He says he will be done with his program - or as Tita Evie(sp?) puts it "graduating" - November 7. I told him that we cousins like together from time to time and he said he wanted to catch up with all of us when he's done with the program. And although Thanksgiving would be just around the corner from then it might be nice if we all meet up some time before that. Tita Evie suggested something about meeting up at a Dave and Buster's. If anyone has any ideas please share.
Pictures have been served on Lindsey's pro flickr account. They can be found here. I still have a few more pictures to upload. A select few can be found below.
For those who asked, "What the fuck is Romper Room?"
Each program would consist of the hostess and her group of children embarking on an hour of games, songs and moral lessons. The Romper Room tried to teach its young charges to be polite.
A recurring character was Mr. Do Bee, an oversized bumblebee who came to teach the children how to be well-behaved; he was noted for always starting his sentence with "Do Bee," as in the imperative "Do be"; for example, "Do Bee good boys and girls for your parents!" There was also a Mr. Don't Bee to show children exactly what they should not do.
The show used the then-popular Mattel Jack-in-the-box for its opening and closing titles, with its Pop Goes the Weasel theme song.
At the end of each broadcast, the hostess would look through a "magic mirror" (in reality, a face-sized open hoop with a handle) and name the children she saw in "televisionland."
She would begin with the rhyme: "Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic mirror, tell me today. Have all my friends had fun at play?" She would then lead into "I can see Scotty and Kimberly and Julie and Jimmy and Marcie and all of you boys and girls out there!"
Awwww... bittersweet memories.
If you want to see the "Magic Mirror" part only, skip to the 6:15 mark, but if you do you'll miss the Paddington Bear part which was totally awesome.
Apparently Mother Nature won and the park is too wet to have the family reunion at. So instead of the wide open spaces promised earlier the reunion will be held in the cozy confines of a relative's home. The home is really close to the park where this thing was first intended to be held, just click on the link to get your directions.
Anyway, not only has the rain literally put a damper on things, but the resulting change of location has put a bit of a figurative damper on the family reunion for me. I was looking forward to a day of outdoor activities with old family and new family. And really, outside of baseball players and golfers, who changes plans just because it rains? Not football players. And it's not even raining, it's just wet. Too wet.
Well I suppose one good thing comes of this. Unlike the park, I'm pretty sure alcohol is allowed at the new family reunion location.
Apparently there's some concern about the weather on the day of the reunion. Well fear not, I've got it from twosources that says the rain (a light rain at that) will fall the day before and that the day of will be partly cloudy (alternating between sunny and cloudy). Highs in the mid 70s are also forecast for that day. So expect a clean, crisp autumn day as the rain the day before washes all the crap away.
Just wondering if anyone wants to go to KnottsBerry Farm the Sunday after the Family Reunion? Were planning on staying the night. Possibly go to Downtown Disney or D&B on Saturday evening.
Everyone please set aside October 13th as it is my Father's birthday and the event is to tbd. We are leaning toward a lunch or dinner. Details will be posted as they come. Wayne, please add this to the google calendar.
Shocked. That's how I felt when I viewed these rankings. I mean how can you leave off the Dillon Panthers? They were state champs of Texas, they're returning three of their best players in the awesome backfield trio of Smash, Riggins, and Saracen - I don't care if none of those guys made Grady Hunt's list of 100, Voodoo Tatum has nothing on them - and they have the best team chant of, "Clear eyes, Full Hearts, Can't lose!"
Sure they lost one of the best up-and-coming coaches in Coach Taylor to the collegiate level but coach's wife and daughter are still in town, that has to count for something right? Without those two, who knows if Saracen would have coped as well without Julie with all that happened to him last season, caring for a demented grandma, father in Iraq, having to step in for the nation's top rated qb prospect; and who knows if Riggins would even have been academically eligible for the team; a big thanks to Lance for that too, although he definitely needs to disband Crucifictorious. The team also came up with more than its fair share of miracle wins but who's to say this same group of miracle workers can't perform those tasks yet again?
Fact is, this is not only a talented, experienced team but a team that came out on top in one of the most emotionally draining seasons no team should be asked to endure.
Ok, so I wasn't shocked, but I was clearly disappointed. Anyway, maybe this year's squad could use the rankings snub as motivation. I can't wait for the Friday Night Lights to come and the new season to kick off on October 5, hope you're as excited as I am.
T-shirt design has been pretty much finalized finally.
Food is still being discussed. What is certain is that there will be burgers and dogs as well as chips and dip. Not yet finalized are the Filipino dishes that will be served though expect it to dominate the menu that day.
Calls are still being made to anyone with Fonacier blood as relatives nationwide and even from the Philippines are expressing interest in the family reunion.
Method of preparation used: Grilled and served on a bun with cheese.
Wayne: Why are the patties so small? EJ: Vegetarians eat small portions. Wayne: Does that say something about the quality of their fake meat? EJ: Probably. Wayne: It has an odd aftertaste. EJ: It tastes like egg roll. Wayne: It does taste like Chinese food. EJ: It tastes like the egg roll meat filling, maybe egg roll meat isn't real meat. Wayne: Maybe.
Due to the crappy family tree we have now (good job Wayne ). My Dad and I are have started to build out our own famiy tree. You should be soon getting emails from geni.com. Everyone should sign into this service, register and fill out their information. Also please fill out the family tree to best of your ability adding people and their e-mail addresses.
We really need to come up with a better name than "Family Bar Night," any suggestions? Well for those of you who were not able to make it out last Friday night here are the highlights:
Sara started off the night desperately in need of one of these after finding herself much in the same situation that inspired that product. But with a bit of peer pressure she gave it the old college try with use of her palm... and spilled a good portion of her Corona on the bar, which was probably for the best. However, all was not lost, we were given the tip that one should insert their thumb, if thumb is not large enough to cover the opening, into the bottleneck to help prevent overflow.
I learned that one of the tricks to getting is to style my hair before I go to sleep.
Austin and EJ were mistaken for brothers and for some reason they sat right next to each other and ordered the same exact thing off the menu, earning a Bobbsey Twins remark from our waiter.
So in honor of EJ's 22nd I was thinking maybe I'd list 22 reasons why EJ makes for a good cousin but then realized I couldn't even think of 5 reasons thought it would better if everyone contributed. I'll start us all off,
He went to a decent college, meaning at least he didn't go to USC.
So for the past couple of weeks internet access here at Mama's house has been spotty at best. A guy from Time Warner came over today and diagnosed it as a hardware compatibility issue between the all-in-one cable modem and wireless router with the integrated wireless laptops. He gave us a couple of wireless internet cards to fix the problem and also suggested that I switch to a separate cable modem and wireless router.
So if you plan on coming over this weekend and expect to have wireless, well you better rethink that unless you have an external card.
So not only do we have EJ's birthday to celebrate this coming weekend but we also have Labor Day to celebrate and that will be happening Sunday, the day before Labor Day, at Mama's house. Ribs, ribeye steak, watermelon, corn, and other things will be had. Feel free to bring whatever you want and hopefully what you want is what I want.
Also, who wants to go to the batting cages that day?
UPDATE: Directions to the batting cages nearest Mama's house.
I need to know who can make it for dinner on Saturday, Sept 1st around 7:30pm so we can make reservations. I'm inviting all the cousins and maybe a few friends for the dinner, but anyone is welcome to come after. Please call me or just post a comment to RSVP. I don't think a lot of people will come, but last time I thought that (my going away to college party), I was very wrong. So yea, it'd be great if you guys can make it out. Btw, Friday's last Friday was fun and hoping for the same atmosphere/crowd :)
We’re trying to figure out how any college party could top UCLA’s annual undie run, especially after seeing these pics, but the Bruins didn’t even make the Top 20, so what do we know?
Re: Family Bar Night, Faye and Annette ask what time we're all getting together. Austin says he'll be there 6:30ish and really people if you want to know if something is still on and what time it's on just look over to the right of this site and you should notice a calendar.
Hope you tried the last family recipe. Lindsey told me she was going to give it a try but I don't think she got around to it. Anyway, this recipe is just as easy as the last - it's basically only adding layers of ingredients on top of a fillet of fish - but it can definitely look like you put a lot of effort into it.
Ingredients:
Salmon fillet(s) Roasted unsalted Macadamia nuts Panko bread crumbs Parsley (optional) Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Also, chop up parsley and spread over salmon fillets.
Lay a layer of panko bread crumbs over the salmon fillets.
Crush macadamia nuts in a Ziploc bag with the side of a large knife, mallet, or the back of a spoon. Then spread a layer of crushed nuts over the fillets. Also, season again, this time you're seasoning the panko bread crumbs and the nuts, with a little salt and pepper.
Grease the baking dish, pan, aluminum foil, or whatever you use to put the fish into the oven with a little oil or butter so that the fish won't stick and leave in the oven for about 10 mins. for every inch of thickness at the thickest part of the fish or until desired doneness.
To brown the nuts, pop under the broiler for just a few seconds - keep the broiler oven door open and eye out on them while browning because they will burn quick.
Enjoy best salmon EVER.
Notes:
So you might be asking yourself wtf are Panko bread crumbs (especially if you didn't bother to click on the helpful link I gave you). Simply put, they're just Japanese bread crumbs that can be easily found in the Asian aisle of almost any supermarket, though I prefer to get mine at Trader Joe's. Do NOT substitute any other kind of bread crumbs.
Wild, fresh caught salmon is obviously the best kind to get and it does make a huge difference in taste but can be expensive so feel free to use salmon that is farm raised. However, please try to stay away from the fish that says "color added."
Try not to go overboard with the use of bread crumbs and nuts. You want to cover the top of the fish with the panko and the nuts but you don't want too thick of a layer. Just try to make sure there's more fish than crumbs and nuts.
As always, feel free to tweak in whatever way. As for me, I like to squirt a little lemon juice onto the fillets before seasoning and I use dill instead of parsley. I also like to mix in a little melted butter with the Panko bread crumbs and the macadamia nuts in the Ziploc bag before laying it on the salmon.
I will see y'all tomorrow for bar night. Are the kids coming shall we get a table or are we simpy going to sit at the bar? Anyone know when happy hour starts / stops. I shall see everyone there.
So I've got EJ and Austin interested in starting a softball team come April 2008. A long ways away I know but I figured I'd gauge the interest and see if I should push to put a team together. We would need at least 5 women and 5 men to field a co-recreation team. We would probably play our games at Mason Park, during the evening, one day a week, and for about 14 weeks.
Now if you've seen me play, you know you don't have to be good at all to play on this team. I just thought it would be nice if we could all do something together every once in a while that was fun and this would only be for fun as we would probably get our asses handed to us every single game.
Ah yes, it is Oliver's birthday today. And it's not some insignificant birthday like his 8th, but rather it is his 21st birthday. So what are we to do on this on this special occasion? Should we take him out on a trip? Perhaps we could spend a day at the beach with him, where he could enjoy the Pacific sunshine;or make it a night in Old Mandalay, where he could party after dark; or we could take him to Manhattan, where he could party until he dies? Those last two places are probably out of our budget.
What about gifts? What gift would bring a smile to Oliver on his 21st? Maybe we could get him a piece of ass. Of course, we should make sure that piece of ass doesn't come with an Adam's Apple. After all it would only be prudent of us to make sure he gets what he deserves rather than something he doesn't before he pulls down his zipper. Maybe a nice girl from Alaska is what we should get him, though I don't know how the family would take to having a baby Eskimo. Maybe the whole idea of getting him a girl is wrong though, after all, from what I hear, Oliver is quite the player.
What's with the people at the gym who bench press like 295 pounds and then after finishing their set, with much attention seeking grunting, remove the 10 pound weights and maybe the 25s but leave the 45s on? Seriously, who are these people and what's going on in their heads? Why not just leave all the weights on there? I mean laziness and rudeness I can understand and hell I can also understand leaving them on in case any chocolate covered hotties happen to pass by, they can notice how much weight I'm lifting - not that I do that. But seriously, what the fuck compels people to remove the lightest weights and leave the heaviest on? The only things that get me more pissed off at the gym are insufficient gym hotties, too old to be ashamed men in the locker room, and lack of gym cheerleaders.
WFS - Bumped up because of the new poll and to highlight for further discussion.
So does everyone really wanna do this cousin cruise thingy next year? If so I want to start looking at prices because during those times it could very well be high peak season. First off i need to know who's in? How long? ( 3 or 5 days; during the week or on a weekend) and where to? Just give me a heads up on what you opinion is on this?
Faye: Yeah, I heard you hated him from the beginning. Me: It wasn't just me. We all hated him. Faye: Really? Me: Yeah, he was just really annoying. And we'll say the same thing about Jason if you should break-up with him. Jason: I KNEW IT!
This is the first of what I hope to be many recipes shared not just by me but by all of you.
So with arroz caldo winning the recent poll I thought I would share with all of you how I make arroz caldo. Now you canfind manyrecipes for it online - some of which are probably tastier than mine - or I guess you could just ask Tita Malou how to cook it - definitely better tasting than mine - but I think my way is the easiest and still produces an an arroz caldo that any arroz caldo lover would enjoy eating.
Ingredients:
1 lb. of Cooked Chicken (whatever part of the chicken you like most) 1 cup Calrose Rice (or any medium grain rice) 10 cups of Chicken Broth (I just use canned chicken broth - unsalted) 2 tbsp. of Butter 2 teaspoons of Salt Pepper for taste
That's right, only 6 ingredients and if you're any sort of asian, the only thing you probably have to go out and buy are the chicken and the chicken broth.
Directions:
Wash the rice and then soak it in water for about 30 mins.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan, wok, or pot on HIGH heat. Drain, rinse, and drain the rice one last time. Add rice to the melted butter and cook, stirring, until rice is well coated with the butter and smells toasty, about 5 mins.
Add chicken broth to a slow cooker dump in the toasted rice, salt, and pepper. Stir well, cover, turn the cooker to LOW, and cook for 8 hours, or overnight.
After 8 hours, stir well. If you want it thicker, turn cooker to HIGH and cook for 1 hour more, stirring now and then. The soup will become thick and white.
Stir in cooked chicken and serve with soy sauce or hot sauce.
It's that simple. You can't go wrong with this recipe. It's damn near impossible to overcook. I usually cook it overnight or start it early in the day to have for dinner. Give it a try, don't be afraid to add your own touches to it, and let me know how it goes.
Need further convincing that this recipe is good? Feel free to ask Annette, Joni, Darryll what they think about my arroz caldo.
Notes: Most chicken broths at my score come in 6 cup cans so I just end up using 12 cups of broth and add an extra 1/5 cup of rice to compensate.
Now you can buy the chicken cooked or you can cook the chicken yourself. I usually just boil the chicken or pan fry some strips of chicken breast.
The toasting of the rice gives it a nice nutty flavor. You can skip this step but I wouldn't.
Traditionally, the chicken is cooked with the rice, but I choose to cook them separately, so all of the flavor is basically coming from the chicken broth.
Arroz Caldo wins as your favorite filipino food. I know it's mine. There's nothing more satisfying in my mind than a meal consisting of chicken and rice. To be able to have it in a hot porridge form makes it all the more satisfying.
It is official, we finally picked a place to hold this thing. It's going to be at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park. A few of the amenities include baseball fields, volleyball courts, tennis courts, fishing, hiking trails, and barbeque/fire rings but sadly no basketball courts.
Well if you haven't heard yet there's going to be a Fonacier family reunion come this September 22, which is what the above countdown timer is all about. Outside of the date the particulars are still being decided. However, there is strong speculation that it will be held at Craig Park in Fullerton. The odds of it having it there are about the same as Austin having the next kid in the family. By the way, is this blog too young to be self-referential? It's also rumored that a shelter is to be had and that it will be a catered event. And if that's not enough to bring you out to get to know long lost family from Papa's side, then maybe talks of a family reunion t-shirt might persuade you otherwise.
What are we doing for this momentous occasion? Anyone have any ideas other than the obligatory acts of getting him drunk and getting him a $50 - is that enough to say we like you and yet not too excessive that it might offend? - hooker?
Me: I heard you got a job as an event planner. Sara: Event Coordinator, not event planner. Me: Sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive or anything. Sara: I'm not offensive. EJ: Uh, no, you're not. And that's a good thing.
Granted, this was towards the end of a night of drinking and Sara had just shared a few shots of Malibu Mango with EJ and an unidentifiable minor.
Long lost family perhaps? I have no idea. Probably not. And that only adds to my irritation because their page is ranked #2 by Google in a search for "Fonacier," right ahead of Uncle Wilson's site, while this site is nowhere to be found on the first two pages of Google. What do I have to do to get some Google love?
Well where to begin? First, Jade lived up to his reputation as a lightweight. I will give him credit for holding his liquor but the guy does turn into a talkative drunk relatively quick. How quick? Well far be it for this lightweight to say how much of a lightweight someone else is. Also, so impaired was Jade that he actually argued that Jello shots were for girls while expressing his affinity for daiquiris in the same breath.
Speaking of drinking, chocolate cake shots, while looking nothing like chocolate, are surprisingly tasty.
This is not to say that the whole night was about drinking. There was plenty of food ranging from bbq chicken to balut and an ice cream cake to boot. Activities ranged from playing the Wii, EJ has a heavier brain than Sara; finding out that EJ and Sara only read books with Harry Potter as the main character; taking a tour of Roland's new toy, it has Vortec if you haven't heard; debating which sports were worthy of disapproval, soccer won; and wondering why Meka was crying when he wasn't even bleeding, several times.
Jason: I love Roland's dog. Me: When did you see Roland's dog? Jason: I've seen pictures of it and I want it. Me: Why? Jason: I just like cute and dumb things. Me: Then you've got the right girlfriend. (Pats Faye on head.)
Darryll got himself a Xbox 360 yesterday. The only game he currently has is NCAA Football 2008 and has yet to sign up for Xbox Live. What other games MUST he own?
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Annette will be having a bbq at her place starting around 6:30 tonight for Jade's 29th. Lots of food and probably a lot more drinks to be had. See you all there.
Did anyone feel that one last? That was the most action I've got in bed since... well we won't get into that. For those of you who were actually engaging in extracurricular activities in bed and assumed that their partner was merely being extra vigorous, we had ourselves a little 4.5 earthquake in our backyard:
Ohhh, that was a nice 20 to 30 second rumbler too. Tonight's 4.5 earthquake, minutes before 1:00 a.m..... The epicenter is in the Santa Susana Mountains north of the intersection of the 118 freeway and Topanga Canyon Blvd. near the split of the San Fernando and Simi Valleys.
No major damages to speak of unless you count one severely broken Eric Gagne bobblehead as major damage and that I do - I know Austin is happy right now because he hates Gagne. So here's the total cost of last night's earthquake.
So what did everyone think about it? Did you even notice it?
I don't want to be rude or anything like that, I am completely staggered at the results of the poll. I know we all like to pick on Roland (atleast I do) and use him as some sort of scapegoat for why the lives of all are failing and the world is going in turmoil, but did anyone seriously think before voting? Who honestly believes Rol is getting some ... "action"? Someone please justify the last poll's results. Also, who the heck voted for me?
New poll out, remember you can vote for multiple items. Not that any explanation of the dishes should be needed because we're all true filipinos here, but here you go courtesy of Wikipedia:
Adobo - consists of pork and/or chicken stewed in a broth of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and peppercorns, a favorite dish among many.
Pancit - a dish primarily consisting of noodles, vegetables, and a bit of meat or shrimp with variations primarily distinguished by the type of noodles used.
Lechón - whole roasted suckling pig. Sometimes, either a piglet (lechonillo, or lechon de leche) or cattle calf (lechong baka) is baked instead.
Kare-kare - also known as "peanut stew," boiled oxtail and/or ox tripe in a peanut-based stew of mixed vegetables, served with alamang (fermented shrimp paste).
Sinigang - tamarind-soured soup typically made with pork, beef, or seafood. But tamarind is not the only souring ingredient used: Variants include guava and miso, but these are only used on seafood.
Kaldereta - beef or goat simmered in vinegar and tomato sauce. There is a variant that uses dog meat.
Afritada - made of pork or beef and vegetables simmered in tomato sauce.
Dinuguan - a stew made from pig blood, entrails, and meat.
Balut - is a partially-developed duck embryo boiled then served in its shell.
Halo-halo - composed of shaved ice, milk, coconut sport, purple yam pudding, caramel custard, sweetened plantains, and jackfruit.
Bibingka - hot rice cake topped with a spread of butter, slices of kesong puti (white cheese), itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs), and sometimes grated coconut.
Leche Flan - caramel custard made with eggs and milk.
Puto - sweet steamed rice muffins.
Dinengdeng - consists of malunggay leafs and bittermelon similar presentation to pinakbet.
Pinakbet - vegetables stewed with bagoong.
Arroz caldo - a Spanish inspired rice porridge cooked with chicken, ginger and cheap saffron, garnished with spring onions (chives).
Soup No. 5 (Also spelled as "Soup #5") - a soup made out of testicles. Found in restaurants in Ongpin St., Binondo, Manila.
And others that didn't make the cut include:
Camaro - are field crickets cooked in soy sauce, salt, and vinegar. It is popular in Pampanga.
Asocena - Dog meat, is especially popular in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Pinikpikan chicken - chicken which has been beaten to death. Cooks do this to tenderize the meat and to infuse it with blood. It is then burned in fire to remove its feathers then boiled with salt and pork.
Basically, everyone other than Roland and maybe EJ is a sucker bet. Although with the odds The Field is getting you may want to lay down a buck and hope to get lucky.
*These odds are merely for use as entertainment purposes and are not intended for betting purposes - no matter what the last paragraph above states. By the way, if I've messed up in my calculations of odds, please excuse.
For those of you who don't have an Xbox360 - I can't believe there's only two in the family who have one - and because I'm tired of chainsawing Austin, the 360 is having a price drop starting tomorrow. Need more reasons to get a 360? Wellhereyougo.
Currently, Roland leads all vote getters, outdistancing his closest competitors by having twice as many votes as Oliver, Austin, and EJ - can anyone say landslide?
I'm somewhat surprised that no one voted for one of the girls, especially Faye, seeing that girls typically have kids at a much younger age than guys. Also, I suspect that none of the guys in this group are going to have kids until their 30s, which I guess Roland is. By the way, is this a poll that anyone wants to even win?
