Eat or be eaten.

Day 39

So you've destroyed the brains of your first zombie. Congrats! But now what? What do you do with the festering, rotting body? It was just this question that plagued (get it?) us at Zombie Defense HQ. We thought about mailing them to someone we didn't like, but that was just too costly (and he had already been zombified, anyways). After a lot of discussion, we decided the only sensible thing to do with the re-dead undead was to eat them. A few experiments later, we discovered the only safe way to eat zombie corpses was to turn them into Zombie Jerky!

Zombie Jerky is a delicious way of dealing with the undead. Seriously, though, Zombie Jerky is really just tasty chunks of zombie - accented with green stuff. Packaged in a neato specimen pouch, Zombie Jerky will prove to everyone that you'll eat anything (and also earn you lots of grossed out looks). And all the while, you'll know it's not really infected... Or is it?!? Hey, zombies have been eating us for years - it's time for us to return the favor with Zombie Jerky.

Watch out for that pickle!

Day 38

A food fight is a form of chaotic collective behavior, in which food is thrown at others in the manner of projectiles. These projectiles are not made to harm or damage others, but to simply ignite a fight filled with spontaneous food throwing. Food fights may be impromptu examples of rebellion or violence; however, they can also be planned events. For example, La Tomatina is a regularly-held, organized Spanish food fight in which participants pelt each other with tomatoes. In organized food fights, the food "weapons" are usually all of one kind, or of a limited variety. An impromptu food fight will use whatever food is on hand.

Food fights are a common element in slapstick comedy, with the pie in the face gag being especially prominent. Food fights are frequently featured in children's television and books, usually as an example of destructive or reckless behavior. Though usually associated with juvenile settings such as schools, there are notable incidents that take place in more official locations, such as the food fight at a lunch meeting of the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan. In Europe, some food fights evolved into traditional celebrations rooted either in the recent past such as the Spanish Tomatina or in long-gone centuries such as the Battaglia delle arance during the Carnival of Ivrea in Italy.

Some would argue that the best food fights are when participants actually dress as food and begin to battle each other. Though often prohibited in schools or official locations, this practice has a large following at sporting events, state fairs, carnivals, and weddings. Weaponry is optional, though ground rules are usually set prior to a costume food fight.

Denise: I'm sorry, Rod. What were you going to ask me?
Rod Kimble: Um, I was gonna ask you who you think would win in a fight between... a grilled cheese sandwich and a taco.
Denise: Is that what you were really going to ask me?
Rod Kimble: Of course.
Denise: Well, I think the grilled cheese sandwich - in a fair fight. But if it was prison rules, I'd put my money on the taco.
Rod Kimble: Wow, that's pretty racist but correct. I'll see you later.

Hot Rod (2007)

Really? This Alan Jackson song? Really?

Day 37.1

Daddy won a radio
Tuned it to a country show
I was rocking in the cradle to the crying of a steel guitar
Mama used to sing to me
She taught me that sweet harmony
Now she worries 'cause she never thought
I'd ever really take it this far
Singing in the bars and

Chasin' the neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream
'Cause all I've ever wanted
Is too pick this guitar and sing
Just trying to be somebody
Just wanna be heard and seen
Chasin' that neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream

An atlas and a coffe cup
Five pickers in an old Dodge truck
Heading down to Houston for a show on Saturday night
This overhead is killing me
Half the time I sing for free
But when the crowd's into it
Lord it makes this thing I doing seem right
Standing in the spotlight

Chasin' the neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream
'Cause all I've ever wanted
Is too pick this guitar and sing
Just trying to be somebody
Just wanna be heard and seen
Chasin' that neon rainbow

Livin' that honky tonk dream

Daddy's got a radio
He won it thrity years ago
He said 'Son I just now we're gonna hear you singing on it someday' I
made it up to Music Row Lordy don't the wheels turn slow But I wouldn't
trade a minute I wouldn't have it any other way Just show me to the stage

I'm chasin' the neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream
'Cause all I've ever wanted
Is too pick this guitar and sing
Just trying to be somebody
Just wanna be heard and seen
Chasin' that neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream
I'm chasin' the neon rainbow
Livin' that honky tonk dream

Pass the gravy please.

Day 37

Potato mashers are used to mash a variety of foods, but most often potatoes, hence the name. They are normally used in a home kitchen, but also may be used in commercial kitchens. Commercial mashers are often of larger design (up to 32 inches in base width). Other common uses include mashing pumpkins and rutabagas for soup, making hummus, chili, baking mix, egg salad, or even purées (depending on the fineness of the ridges). The potato masher consists of an upright or sideways handle connected to a mashing head. The head is most often a large-gauge wire in a rounded zig-zag shape, or a plate with holes or slits. Basic designs made from a single piece of wood were used in Victorian times, before the more complex modern designs which are now used. The original design was patented by Lee Copeman in 1847. The idea resulted from his love of smooth, lump-free mashed potatoes.

As a murder weapon, the potato masher is hardly a wise choice. However, depending on the victim...

Pass the ketchup...

Day 36.1
The ingredients comprising cheeseburgers follow the same pattern as found in the regional variations of hamburgers. Regionally popular toppings can include bacon, avocado or guacamole, sliced sautéed mushrooms or onions, cheese sauce and/or chili. Somewhat less common ingredients include egg, feta cheese, salsa, Jalapenos and other kinds of chile peppers, anchovies, slices of ham or bologna, horseradish, sauerkraut, pastrami or teriyaki-seasoned beef, tartar sauce, french fries, onion rings, potato chips, a pat of butter, pineapple and tofu among others.

A cheeseburger may have more than one hamburger patty and more than one slice of cheese. A stack of two is a double cheeseburger; a triple has three; and a quadruple has four. The ultimate cheeseburger is made entirely or cheese. The most common combination includes swiss, cheddar, gruyere, and colby-jack.  Variations can include creamcheese, brousse, crocciu, ricotta, urda, geitost, mozzarella, havarti, munster, jarlsberg, cheshire, glouchester, edam, gouda, roquefort, feta, brie, camembert, canned and cheeze wiz.

Giddyup....

Day 36

The “rocking horse” is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair.Predecessors of the rocking horse may be seen in the rocking cradle, the tilting seats used during the Middle Ages for jousting practice as well as the wheeled hobby horse. The toy in its current form did not appear before the 17th century, though some conflicting sources note medieval manuscripts including references to carved rocking horses, presumably of the toy kind.

From the 19th century onward rocking horses became more commonly considered as child's toy. Mostly built by hobby woodcrafters, and ranging from relatively crude to finely ornamented, it was not until the late 19th century that the production became industrialized.

What is often unknown is the “rocking horse” was modeled after the “Equus Rubusto”  or “wooden horse”, that roamed wild in northern Europe and became extinct around 1500 A.D. Named for its rough, oak like exterior, and ability to camouflage with surrounding trees, the animal, though small in size, numbered in the hundreds of thousands before it became popular as a child’s pet. Overgrazing by sheep and cattle, along with the unmonitored capture and sale of these animals led to their extinction.

The Lone Ranger and Raji.

Day 35.1

Cowboys and Indians is a very old childhood game, with roots extending further back than even the romanticized historical period from which it springs. Its formal use has declined over the years, as sensitivity has increased regarding the historic treatment of Native Americans, but the basic tropes can be found through dozens of different variations (cops and robbers being the most obvious). Through the use of such pretend, children learn to interact with their environment and each other, as well as taking on the roles of adults in a safe and non-threatening manner.

How to play:

• Choose sides. One group of children serves as the cowboys and the other group serves as the Indians. In some cases, the sides can wear bits of costume differentiating one from the other, but it isn't necessary.
• Divide up the territory where the game is being played. It can be a backyard, a park, or anywhere that makes running around easy and fun. It represents the wild frontier, which the cowboys are trying to settle and explore, and the Indians are trying to protect from interlopers. Half the team starts out on one side of the territory, half the team on the other. Alternately, choose one part of the territory--such as a large rock or a jungle gym--for one team to "defend" while the other team "attacks." If the cowboys are the defenders, the spot can be a wagon train or a remote homestead. If the Indians are the defenders, it's their native village coming under attack.
• Try to stay hidden from the other team until you get close enough to take a "shot" at them. The object is to use the territory to your best advantage: keeping rocks, bushes and similar pieces of cover between you and them.
• If you see someone from the other team, start "shooting" at them. Cowboys should point their fingers like guns and make "bang-bang" noises, while Indians should mimic firing bows and arrows.
• Play dead if someone "shoots" at you and you're not behind cover. Make your death appropriately dramatic; arms flying up in the air, body writhing on the ground, etc. No getting back up after you're "dead."
• Continue playing until one side or the other is "dead," then get up and start the game all over again.

Warning:

• The one inviolable rule in cowboys and Indians: no touching. You can pretend to shoot someone all you want--or even engage in hand-to-hand combat with a knife or invisible rope--but the action has got to stay pretend. Supervising parents should make that clear from the get-go.
• Rules for cowboys and Indians are flexible in the extreme, and needn't be adhered to if everyone is having fun. The ubiquitous "You're dead!" "No I'm not" arguments practically go with the territory. Parents may be troubled by the violent overtones of cowboys and Indians, but it's usually quite harmless. The main concern is labeling one side or the other "bad guys," which is no longer considered appropriate (unlike cops and robbers, which has very similar dynamics, but a much more clear-cut sense of morality).

Due to increased sensitivity regarding the historic treatment of Native Americans, and a movement to emphasize historical accuracy, the role of the “Indian” has been altered to reflect a more accurate description of the word. Indians are native peoples of  India, not native peoples of North or South America, as first described by early assumptions  and misnomers of European explorers during the 15^th and 16^th century. The game of Cowboys and Indians is forever changed now favoring a standard “Cowboy” and an accurate “Indian”.