October 2005 – Page 2 – Legends of the Falls

October 20, 2005May 9, 2007

One for the Thumb

No – I’m not referring to another female, I’m talking about winning my fifth Mondo Martini contest at Tony’s Big Easy Bar and Bistro here in State College. My trophy is being held by UncleLar “niece” Ashley Schlosser on my right, “neice” Susan Kim is on my left – I don’t know the other two but how could I say no when they wanted to get in the photo too.

Tony has held this martini making contest for the past nine years and I’ve won it five of the last six (I sat out one year when I had tickets to a concert the same night but like Michael Jordan I came out of my semiretirement to capture another trophy).

My winning entry this year was called “The Rose Bowl” (I was kind of counting on the football team beating Michigan last weekend and keeping the Rose Bowl front and foremost in people’s minds but I was still able to sell the concept anyway). Here’s the recipe for those who are interested:

Mix the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker (stir do not shake – shaking will create a froth while stirring will maintain a creamy appearance). Pour the ingredients into a brandy snifter that has been rinsed with Rosewater. Add a rose petal as a garnish.

Unfortunately, I was so dazzled by the crowd at the contest that I forgot to actually get a photo of the winning drink.

Tony really does a wonderful job of hosting the contest. Numerous liquor companies come in and provide samples of their wares to the crowd. Each companies display is created around an ice sculpture which makes for a quite beautiful arrangement. Some of the ice displays are actually functional in that you pour the liquor through a channel that has been drilled into the ice and it drains into the patrons glass quite chilled.

Here are some of the sculptures:

From left to right:

a complete bar made out of ice
an interactive ice display with a drink being pour down a channel
an ice man chilling some shrimp

My previous winning concoctions were

The Midas Touch (2000) – a drink that actually changed colors from greenish yellow to gold with the addition of the final ingredient, a splash of cranberry juice.
Rally Round the Flag (2001) – a blatant appeal to patriotism when I created a white creamy drink sprinkled with red and blue sugar crystals and topped by clipping a star shaped figure holding a flag onto the glass edge.
The Nittini Lion (2002) – a blue colored (what else?) cocktail loosely based on a cosmopolitan. The drink is made with an apple flavored liquor using Blue Curacao and apple juice in place of a typical cosmo’s triple sec and cranberry.
(2003) – didn’t enter, went to see Matchbox 20 concert.
The Krispy Kreme (2004) – a golden colored vanila martini that tastes like a donut (now I don’t know who would like to drink a donut but once I planted the seed in the judges minds that the drink was supposed to taste like a donut and it actually did, I had the contest locked up. Tony markets the drink as a donut without the carbs (see the menu below).

October 19, 2005May 7, 2007

First Posting

I don’t get on the pc often at home. Nick is on it a lot. Not much new other than not being able to get White Sox tickets was a bummer.

Chris and I went to ISU today to register him for his first semester (spring 2006). He is now an official Redbird. He will be studying to be a teacher in Physical Education. I understad ISU has a very good program.

Thanks to all of you who sent your thoughts to Mary on her dad’s passing. Mary is never on the computer so I have passed those on to her.

Too bad about Penn State. The boys and I watched the game. They really got into it. As soon as it was over I decided to keep it in perspective as Larry says he does. Who would have thought they would be 6-1! Larry, I have a $100.00 bet that Penn State wins more games then ND. I didn’t think either one would be as good as they seem.

When the game was over the boys and I starting looking forward to the White Sox game. We are big fans. Chris REALLY gets into the games. He is not pleasant to be around when they lose. Fortunately, not something we have worried about lately.

Well, that’s about it around here. I’m going up to watch the Cardinals and Astros. For tonight’s game we will root for the Cardinals. We really don’t care who wins. We just want both of these teams to wear themselves out before Saturday.

October 19, 2005May 1, 2007

Franco Harris and Mondo Martinis

I was downtown last night at Tony’s Big Easy Bar & Bistro preparing for the ninth Annual Mondo Martini Contest (yours truly, UncleLar is a four time undefeated champions of the event – FYI, it’s a martini making not martini drinking contest – more on Mondo Martini tomorrow after I win my fifth title tonight) when in walked Franco Harris along with Gary Gray, whom I have mentioned on this blog before. Gary and Franco were teammates on Penn State’s teams from 69-71.

Gary and Franco joined me and helped taste some of my creative work. Franco won four Super Bowls while with the Steelers and ever since then the Steelers have used the rallying cry “One for the Thumb” during their annual chase for another ring. I jokingly told Franco I was planning on getting my own “one for the thumb” tonight.

After perfecting my cocktail, Gary, Franco and I went over to the Gingerbread Man (or G-Man as it’s affectionately called here). It’s amazing to watch how much recognition Franco gets. He hasn’t played ball in twenty years yet he is still adored by many fans. There were bunches of college kids coming up to us using their cell phones to get their picture taken (admittedly they just shoved me out of the way but still I was still part of scene).

I have had some minor celebrity incidents here in State College (I’ll explain some time) but I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through that everyday like Franco. I even asked him if it bothered him and he very graciously said no, that the fans had always been good to him and he was glad that he could make them happy by obliging them with a photo. I thought that was a huge contrast to what we see in many athletes today.

Have to leave now but more tomorrow on my Mondo Martini (hopefully) winning entry.

October 18, 2005August 8, 2007

Cayuga Pipe Company

Cayuga Concrete Pipe was founded in 1958 in New Britain, Pennsylvania. A second facility located in Croydon, Pa was acquired in 2000 and a third facility located in New Britain, PA was acquired in 2002.

October 16, 2005May 1, 2007

Not so Happy Valley this weekend

There’s a ton of people going nutso because of our last second football loss to Michigan on Saturday but they are the ones who usually overreact to everything. Fortunately, I’m one of the few who keeps a broad perspective on things.

So. while the loss was heartbreaking, ending our winning streak at eight which was the third longest in the nation behind USC and Texas, and eliminating our changes to get to the National Championship game, there still much to feel good about the program. For one thing, at the beginning of the season I doubt that many fans realistically thought we would be 6-1 at this point. Secondly, we are still in first place in the conference and we control out own destiny when it comes to winning the league championship and getting to a BCS bowl. If we win out we will hold the tiebreakers on the other B10 schools.

Our others sports are still going quite well too. Friday night the 4th ranked women’s volleyball team beat Michigan 3-0 and then came back on Saturday to knock off Michigan State 3-0. UncleLar niece Kaleena Walters set a PSU career record for digs in the Friday match. Those two matches left Penn State atop the conference with an 8-0 record.

While the VB match was going on here in State College, the women’s soccer team were in Columbus beating Ohio State 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Tiffany Wiemer who has now scored in 15 straight game and has tied Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record. Earlier in the week, the women were voted the #1 team in the country, taking over the top spot from North Carolina. The women also hold down the top spot in the Big Ten conference with a 7-0 record and are the only undefeated team in the conference.

Saturday was a pretty full day for me. At noon, I went to watch our 6th ranked women play and knock off their archrival Michigan State 2-1. That was the women’s 14th in a row, one away from the team record. The win left the Nits undefeated in conference play and atop the league standings. Earlier in the week, UncleLar niece Natalie Berrena earned her second B10 Player of the Week Award for her 2 goal performance against Iowa.

Immediately following the field hockey match I travelled to Tussey Mountain, a small amusement area about five miles south of town. I got their in time to watch a friend of mine, Kevin Becker, finish the Tussey Mountain 50 Mile Ultramarathon. Kevin finished about 8:25:00 which placed him about 10th. I did one marathon once, which is 26.2 miles and it was painful. I can’t imagine running 50 miles but Kevin did and looked just fine. He was even able to join us later in the evening for beers to celebrate his finish. Kevin couldn’t have finished at a better time. The race started at 7AM so 8:25 got him done at 3:25 in the afternoon. I had just enough time to congratulate him and to hightail it home in time to catch the 3:45 football kickoff.

On Sunday our sports teams continued with their winning ways when the men’s soccer team duplicated their sister team’s effort by also knocked off Ohio State 1-0 in Columbus. The men, while not #1 ranked in the country like the women, are like the women in that they are undefeated in league play and sit atop the Big Ten standings.

So while we may have lost the big one, overall the weekend was a success with the five squads going a combined 5-1 with each of them remaining atop the conference and in good shape to win B10 championships.

October 16, 2005May 9, 2007

Praying Mantis

For the past 3 years we’ve been seeing a praying mantis in our backyard. I get quite a kick out of it. I don’t recall seeing any as a kid. The children really dig it, too. We found one yesterday and I took a few pix.

I also read a little about them. They live only a year, so we’ve apparently got a family in our yard. And they’re carnivorous. Here’s an article about a praying mantis that caught a hummingbird. A picture, too. Pretty cool.

BTW, I’m pretty impressed by the macro lens on my little camera. Charlotte said, “I never saw the eyes before.” Not sure I do, but I do see slits that could be eyes.

I really like the small opportunities our yard offers the kids to experience nature a bit. Lightning bugs are plentiful (tho Lis and I fight over calling them lightning bugs or fireflies). We have a pair of cardinals, some blue jays, a catbird or 4. Occasionally a flock of crows create havoc. We have a family of skunks nearby. I crossed paths with a baby skunk (8 ft away) while taking the garbage out recently. I ran like hell. Possum, raccoons, a family of bunny rabbits, dead moles that the kids bury. Bats, neat.

Just a bit of the mundane I thought ya’all might enjoy.

October 14, 2005December 23, 2009

Anybody paying attention?

It’s Friday night, the kids are watching Superman II, we’re waiting for pizza, and it’s raining for the 8th day in a row. Just remembered a picture I’ve been meaning to put up here in hopes of stimulating some conversation. Ron, you can contribute, too.

October 12, 2005May 1, 2007

Kevin Dare Memorial Concert

Just to let you know that all my time isn’t spent at sporting events. Last night, after the State College High School girls soccer game I went to a memorial concert to benefit the Kevin Dare Scholarship Fund.

Kevin was a PSU pole vaulter (and former Tavern employee) who tragically died in a vaulting accident at the 2002 Big Ten Track and Field Championships. His family has established the Dare Foundation which is dedicated to making pole vaulting a safer sport.

Kevin was a wonderful young man who truly has not died in vain. In just a few short years his father’s dedication has resulted in significant technology advances in pole vaulting safety. The next step is to get these technology advances adopted by the vaulting community. Toby Stevenson won an Olympic Silver Medal wearing one of the Dare helmets but in general most vaulters haven’t yet embraced them.

The technology of the KDMax helmet is also extending to other fields. The Penn State football team among others is now using helmets cushioned by the same material as pole vaulting helmet. It appears that Kevin’s tragic death will have a far reaching positive effect on the safety of others.

October 12, 2005December 23, 2009

more Fall sports news

Greetings. Here in Utah the soccer playoffs have begun. The Judge Memorial Bulldogs face a difficult task of returning to the State Championship game. Last year we were runner-ups to Park City (who are currently ranked number 12 in the country). We were State Champs in 2002 and 2003. Park City are the heavy favorites this year, they are led by a midfielder who is on the U-19 national team.

This year has been rougher than the last few. Three starters have gone down with season ending ACL injuries. Our second leading scorer broke her arm last week, and her doctor’s say she’s done for the year. Natalie has been plattooned at center mid, forward or outside mid…and it’s been difficult for her to win a starting spot despite the injuries. The head coach has started a youth movement, the freshman and sophomores are in many cases as good or better than the upper classmen. Last night Nats played about half the game…where her great passing skills were on display in our first round victory (5 to 1 over Millard). But this weekend we travel five hours to St. George for our quarterfinal matchup against an unbeated Dixie squad. Two more wins and we make it to the finals, which would mean a likely rematch with the hated Park City team.

We’ll keep you posted.

October 9, 2005May 9, 2007