Oscar Night

Last night was the biggest night in tinsel town, and I was excited to see the stars on the red carpet showing off their glitz and glam... but I was not as impressed this year as I have been in previous! All around, the show was just "alright" when it should have been spectacular!
The backdrop of Hollywood was beautiful thanks to Mother Nature and her dazzling display of snow tipped peaks of the local mountains outside the Los Angeles county line. As always, Hollywood Blvd. and Highland draped in red carpets, and the statues of giant Oscar's lined the walkway into the Kodak Theater. All seems worth the anticipation of the award show with the two youngest hosts in academy history! Let's begin...
First let's start with the arrival of the stars and play fashion police, without the dreaded Joan Rivers. The men always looks fairly decent, I mean how much can you really dress up a tuxedo, but what it comes down to is the face! Shaven, clean cut, and smooth makes my heart melt, and makes the men look like they actually cared to look good for one evening. Matthew McConaughey, Justin Timberlake, Robert Downey Jr., and Colin Firth, are some mentionables that looked dapper in suit. I was not too impressed with the bald-headed Geoffry Rush, but for his age and the legacy behind him in film, he pulled it off well enough. If you must pull off the five 'o clock shadow and sport the scruff, then whom better to wear it with a smile than Hugh Jackman! Dashing fellow, with a voice to sooth your soul, he did well with the look, but I know you'll agree when I say he still could have taken the extra five minutes to shave. And for the worst, I will nominate none other than Christian Bale! I didn't realize they allowed lumberjacks on the red carpet! Lastly, it was a nice surprise to see Billy Crystal jump up on stage later in the show, but honestly, I think he should stay away from anymore botox! I was shocked he could smile..
Okay, onto the gowns of the ladies. Personally, I loved Nicole Kidman's dress, but critics already are calling it a folded napkin. I thought she looked beautiful. Natalie Portman and her baby bump looked great, Halle Berry adorable as always, Annette Benning looked fabulous for her age, and Anne Hathaway with her seven wardrobe changes looked stunning! Some of the others worth mentioning in the category of looking amazing were Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Hudson with her sexy new figure, and Hillary Swank. However, with every good, there is a bad, and frankly there were quite a few! Helena Bonham Carter came dressed for a night with vampires, pulling the gothic look again, Scarlet Johannsen had a flowery frock that wasn't as appealing as I would expect from her and her bed-head hair did no justice to the look either! Cate Blanchett looked like she was wearing a chair, Mandy Moore was washed out by the color choice of her ensemble, and Gwyneth Paltrow looked like an anorexic barbie! Her straight locks, fake tan, and not so flattering dress also gave her a pasty look, and let's not forget to mention her vocals.. as she sang on stage later in the show, the performance was everything but good! She should not quit her day job! And was I really over anticipating too much? Correct me if I am wrong, but I half expected some of the "bigger names" to be at the ceremony, even if only as seat fillers! Where was Pitt, Jolie, Clooney, Depp, Nicholson, White, Streep? What about the Queen (Latifah) that is... Or Cruise? Very few of the older generation showed.
As for the show itself, overall, it was boring. With the execption of Celine Dion and her voice tributing the lost stars this past year, the iconic Bob Hope that was edited onstage to make you laugh, and the Staten Island 5th grade choir that ended the show with a promising message singing, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". During the show, most of the credit goes to Anne Hathaway for making the attempt to have fun, and acting excited when presenting the next guess presenter, but James Franco completely brought her down. His non-expressive attitude that so many say is apart of his charm, was anything but! With a few lousy jokes, this year's presenters were not worthy of Oscar showmanship. Well, there's always next year!

Wild Hog in the Everglades

Yesterday could not have been any more beautiful in South Florida! A perfect day to trek out to the Big Cypress National Park for a get together at the Monroe Station Conservation Center.

We first met at a friend's house to kick off the celebration with a fresh bloodymary. Then to head out with hiking gear packed up in the trucks and SUV's, and coolers to boot for more refreshments later! Only a half hour in, we made a pit stop at Dade Corner's, which really is just a gas station for the truckers, but the local "hogs" gather there as well before heading whichever direction they decide. Usually, this is the last stop before crossing into the Micosukee Indian Reservation going east deep into the national forest. To my surprise, a few friends from Animal Services were there for a quick potty break, and they too were heading out to the 61st annual Wild Hog BBQ. This ought to be a blast!

Now, there is an easy way to get to this picnic in the sticks, off route 41, but who wants easy when you can have an off-roading of a good time through the scenic backwoods! So off the highway we go, down a narrow pathway that winds into the glades! Begin dirt road, and get get ready for some bumps! Fortunately, the road bed was dry, so no 4x4 was necessary, but still a challenge, and not a road for the faint of heart! As we sped down the trail kicking up dust to high heaven, we catch glimpses of shiny black along the banks of the narrow canals... yes, the infamous alligators of the Everglades! Tons of them, of various sizes all soaking up the much needed sun! Turtles too! It was worth the few extra miles to see nature at its best!

After a few stops along the way for photo opportunities, our entourage continued on, finally to arrive at our destination! We hiked in a few yards with our folding chairs, coolers, and backpacks. Everyone is spread out everywhere in the grass, most under the shade trees, others had pop-up shade tents. Band playing, the smell of BBQ, kids playing, and we passed by the swam buggies revving their engines through the mud! The sound of shots firing off in a distance was where the skeet shooting range was, as well as archery targets set up for practice. All I could think about was how cool this was and then I turned to my group of friends and asked, "does this make me a redneck?" They all laughed loudly and said yes!

We found the clan of animal services, and set up our chairs next to theirs. The smell of barbecue was calling to us, so we jumped in line for lunch! The plate included chicken, ribs, slaw, and baked beans! Extra sauce was on the side! Yum! We sat down to get our grub on, and wondered if the ribs were wild hog? I mean it's not unlikely that it could be, there are wild boars in the Everglades that have become a nuisance since they are a non-native species. Regardless, it was awesome! After a cold beverage to wash it down, we all wanted to swamp buggy it up! So off we went to enjoy a redneck pastime in the sticks (and swamp). We goofed off while waiting in line for our chariot to arrive, and finally boarded this hybrid machine that can conquer all kinds of mud! It was only a short loop around, but we had a blast! Once you disembark the vessel, you felt like a bobble-head, and as if the ground was still moving. A swamp of a good time!

 A few hours later, and a lot of booze, we called it a day and decided to head out before dusk. Everyone said their goodbyes and parted ways.. I for one wanted to see more than meets the eye, so on the way out a few miles down the road, my roommate was cool enough to make a stop for me at the Oasis Observatory. This boardwalk overlook allows you to be just a few feet away (safely) from alligators of all sizes! I was excited to be so close but unfortunately, my camera battery was on it's last few seconds of charge, so I snapped as many pictures as I could before it shut off. I rememer the last shot was taken with a BIG smile!

I could not complain otherwise, it was a great way to end a great day!

Eggplant Parmesan - Animal Friendly

Okay, as you follow along and get to know me personally, or as personal as you can get through writing a blog, you will come to realize I have a few hidden talents besides dealing with animals! One is cooking. I like to dabble in the kitchen and try new recipes, make up my own, or twist traditional recipes to create my own delectible delights! So last night after coming home from the grocery store, I decided to tackle a vegetarian-version of italian cuisine... eggplant parmesan! I myself am not a vegetarian, but every now and then, cooking with just vegetables is not against my will, as long as they are done right! So this idea was planted in my head a few days ago when I was watching 'Kitchen Boss' on Food Network. Rarely do I sit there and write down everything they are trying to do in less than 30 minutes, but this caught my eye! As a favorrite dish of my own, I never thought to make it myself from scratch. So I quickly grabbed a notepad and scribbled what I had just seen, and without proper measurements, I figured out the combination of flavors!

Well, to say the least, it was easy to make, but it made more of a mess than I expected, or maybe that was just me? Regardless, it was just as good as I imagined after seeing "the boss" pull his cheese-bubbling, dinner from the oven! The house filled with a sweet aroma of something yummy baking, and when I pulled mine, it looked just as good as his! Voila! 

Look yummy? It was heaven in my mouth! And according to my roommate who is my guinea pig for new recipes, he loved it! He said this was the best yet! Thank you Kitchen Boss!

So, seeing that I have quite a few friends that are vegetarian, I thought I would give out the recipe! Obviously no secret, you can find the recipe online on food network under the Kitchen Boss, but I am sharing how I made it. That's the great part about cooking, you are the chef, and can create a whole new flavor with adding different spices and things, so experiment and have fun!  

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
3 cups of bread crumbs (I prefer Progresso Italian Flavor)
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 tbs. salt
3 cups of grated parmesan
fresh mozzarella
1 8oz package shredded mozarella
1 cup olive oil
1 jar of marinara (I used Original Ragu)
1/4 cup sugar

Slice your eggplant quarter inch thick. Mix your salt and flour together in bowl; coat eggplant slices evenly with this mixture. Wisk eggs together in seperate bowl; and dip your coated eggplant slices in egg. Once coated in egg, cover both sides with bread crumbs in seperate bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil in frying pan, and add 2-3 pieces of eggplant at a time to brown and crisp each side. 

Mix sugar and marinara together in a bowl. In a glass baking dish, put down a single layer of eggplant. Pour some marinara sauce over the top to cover the eggplant. Add one layer of sliced mozarella, and 1 1/2  cups of parmesan cheese. Top with second layer of eggplant, the rest of marinara, fresh mozarella, and parmesan. Cover entire top layer with shredded mozarella. Bake 30-40 minutes, uncovered at 400.

Bon Appetite! 

Petition - Please read and sign!

A gal, whom I have never met, came across our news stories here in Miami Dade, about the heart-stick incident and took it upon herself to help make a difference. As an author, lawyer, and animal advocate, she gathered information to write a piece recapping the story released a couple months ago. In this article, she has also attached a petition to help put an end to heart-sticking that possibly is still taking place at Miami-Dade Animal Services.

Please read, share, and sign, if you would like to help prevent animal cruelty! Thank you!


https://news.change.org/stories/miami-dade-shelter-exposed-for-practicing-heartstick-euthanasia-on-homeless-pets