Iron Chef Michael Symon

I have a confession.  I watch a lot of the Food Network.  My favorite shows tend to be the ones that are more competitive in nature.  I guess you could chalk that up to the sports fan in me.  That is not to say that I don't also enjoy some of the other shows that are less competitive in nature.  Shows like Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, especially when they feature restaurants local to my area are also a favorite.

As I said, my favorite shows on the network tend to be the more competition oriented shows.  I have watched several seasons of The Next Food Network Star, The Worst Cooks in America, and The Next Iron Chef.  Needless to say, since I am a fan of The Next Iron Chef that I am also a fan of the original Iron Chef America.  One of my favorite Iron Chef's is Michael Symon who one the first season of The Next Iron Chef.

One of the reasons that I like Chef Symon so much is that he has a very engaging personality.  He just seems like he is a lot of fun. He also has an infectious and distinctive laugh.  Another reason that I like him is his support of Autism Speaks.  When appearing on a celebrity version of the show Chopped, his charity was Autism Speaks.  Unfortunately, he did not win that competition.

Today, I had the pleasure of getting to meet Michael Symon.  He was appearing at the Williams & Sonoma store in Annapolis mall this afternoon signing copies of his new cookbook Carnivore.  It has been a while since I attended any kind of signing, so I wasn't sure what to expect as far as a line or wait.  I am used to attending signings of sports stars, and have had to wait a couple hours or more to get my autographs.

Symon was scheduled to start signing at noon today.  I got to the store shortly after 11 am and bought my copy of the book.  It was then that I saw the rather long line waiting to get in to see him.  It didn't look that bad.  I decided to go ahead and get in line rather than walk around the mall and window shop.  It was then that I noticed that they were already allowing people to go in.  Symon had gotten there almost an hour early and started signing right away.  That has never happened at any signing I have ever attended before.

The line moved pretty quickly, and entered the store right around noon.  While waiting my turn, Symon was out of my field of vision, but I could easily hear his distinctive laugh.  When it was my turn, he noticed my Benedictine shirt (my son's school) and started a conversation because his father attend a Benedictine school in Cleveland.  We had a brief and nice conversation.

The entire event was very well organized.  Williams & Sonoma had people who wrote sticky notes to put in the books for how you wanted your book personalized.  They had people who would take pictures for you if you had a camera.  I have included two of the four pictures they took with my camera phone.  I was also impressed that Symon started signing early.  I was able to get in and out early enough to get home in time for the Redskins game.

Since I have been home, I have been browsing through the cookbook.  There are a lot of recipes that I am looking forward to trying.  Unfortunately, my wife could not attend the event with me.  I raved to her about how nice a guy Michael Symon was.  She now thinks I have a man-crush on him.  I don't know if I would classify it as a man-crush, but I do admire the man.  Now if I could just get him to fix me a few of these dishes. Michael, I will bring the wine.

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I Surrender All

Usually, when I read a book I read a little at a time.  A chapter or two a day.  For most books, it usually takes about a week or so for me to finish.  The book I just finished yesterday, I Surrender All: Rebuilding a Marriage Broken by Pornography by Clay and Renee Crosse was finished over a two day time period.

There are a couple of reasons why this book was read so much more quickly than most books.  First, I have been off of work the last two days so I have had some more free time on my hands.  My son has also been home, so he has been playing some games on my laptop.  With him sitting next to me playing, I would read. Another big reason that I read the book so quickly is that I found myself relating to Clay Crosse's story.

Clay Crosse made his name in the Contemporary Christian Music field. He had several big hits, won Dove Awards (the Contemporary Christian Music version of the Grammy) and toured the country performing his music.  Crosse has been a professed Christian most of his life.  The book details his addiction to pornography and how it almost cost him everything he held dear.

Crosse was exposed to pornography at an early age when he was in the fourth grade.  He reveals that it started with some magazines and eventually moved on to movies.  As he delved more and more into the world of pornography, he needed it to become more graphic and more intense.  The more he watched, the more he wanted to live out those fantasies that played in his mind.

While he never physically committed adultery, he knew it was just a matter of time before he would give in to the temptation.  He came to the realization that he needed help.  He also confessed his double life to his wife.  Her part of the book talks about her feelings and how she came to forgive him and rebuild their marriage.  It was not easy.

The key for the couple in turning around their lives was in turning to faith.  While both of them had been professing Christians most of their lives, they were living a superficial form of Christianity.  Both were more concerned about how God could bless them and not in having a deep relationship with God.  They were both caught up in the material blessings of success, and Clay had the added burden of lust through pornography.

By discovering that their faith was lacking, they were able to build a deeper faith.  It allowed them to save a marriage that was on the brink of collapse.  Eventually, their story became a ministry to help others who were struggling with similar issues.  God was able to take the bad in their lives and turn it into something good and positive.

I think that everybody could benefit from their story, whether or not they are struggling with issues like lust and pornography.  The root of their problem were not these things, but rather the focus on themselves and not on God.  By refocusing on the right things, they were able to get back on the right track.  That is not to say that they don't still struggle, but that they now know better how to stay on track.

Related articles

• Can the Christian crusade against pornography bear fruit? (signposts02.wordpress.com)

Borders Files for Bankruptcy

Image via WikipediaI have always loved books.  For as long as I can remember, I have had several bookshelves loaded with books.  A lot of them were from different mail order book clubs.  One of my favorite book clubs was a club that featured classic literature.  Depending on the type of book it was, the book came in a different colored binding. For example, classic American literature came in a navy blue cover and British novelist were green.  There were five different colors.

Most of the books that I bought in stores were from small stores at the local malls.  The stores themselves were small and didn't have a lot of variety.  The first big book store that I experienced was a Borders book store in Rockville, MD.  I was mesmerized.  There were bookshelves that went from floor to ceiling covering every conceivable subject.

On Monday of this week, I went up to the local Borders here in Bowie, MD. It is not as impressive as the first Border's that I went into.  I went to the Borders because we were going to be taking our son back to school and I wanted to pick up a couple DVDs for him to watch at school.  At the time, the clerk offered me an upgraded membership to their rewards card for $20.  It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Yesterday, Borders filed for bankruptcy.  My store in Bowie as well as that first store in Rockville happen to be two of the stores that are closing in my area.   There is another store nearby that also is scheduled to be closed.  Since I just bought the upgraded membership, I decided to see if I could get a refund.  I felt kind of bad about asking for a refund given their circumstance, but the clerk gladly gave me money back.  She said that today would be the last day they would be giving refunds.  

It is sad when a business that you have frequented is headed down this road.  Still, the combination of the economy and new technology has led to the decline of sales in places like Borders.  With the rise of eReaders like Kindle and Nook, combined with discount stores like Target and Walmart along with websites like Amazon.com have led to an atmosphere where stores like Borders will struggle.  

Related articles

• Borders Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (crenk.com)
• Borders files bankruptcy as it struggles to respond to changes in book market - Washington Post (news.google.com)
• Borders Books Bankruptcy: List Of Closing Stores (huffingtonpost.com)