My FOX News Channel segments

If you want to see my two segments from FOX News channel, check out these links. It was a blast getting to do this in support of my friend Eric, who donated a kidney to another guy in the 501st Legion. What a great guy. The cast and crew loved having us there and were very gracious toward us.

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=4498571&referralPlaylistId=playlist


The After the Show Show. We get to interact a little more in this segment.
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/22128512/after-the-show-show-4-21.htm#q=%22star+wars%22+kidney



For the Empire,
TD-2243

SET YOUR DVRS!

I will be on the Fox News Channel on Tuesday, 4/21/09 at 8:40 am EST. Look for the Sandtrooper.

New Mexico - Part 3: The FOOD

I had to save this for a post all by itself. The cuisine of New Mexico is worthy of an entry and cannot be denied full attention. While in New Mexico, I made it a point to photograph all of my meals at various restaurants. Without further adieu,

The Shed, Santa Fe, NM

Blue corn chicken enchiladas with red and green chile sauce. Pinto Beans and some corn creation. Served with garlic bread.


... and for dessert, mocha cake served chilled. Unbelievable.



Also at The Shed,

Marinated seasoned pork and cheese enchilada. Also with pinto beans and some corn creation. Served with garlic bread.



Michael's Kitchen, Taos, NM

Three egg omelette with green chile and cheese. Hash browns and pancakes.


Guadalajara Grill, Taos, NM

Chile Relleno and pork chimichanga. Served with rice and refried beans.





Tomasitas, Santa Fe, NM

I'm not even sure what was on this. I think there was one enchilada, one tamale, one chile relleno and a taco. Served with rice, beans and a sopapilla.



El Paragua, Espanola, NM

This was hands down the best food I ate in New Mexico. Simply wonderful.

Two chile rellenos served with rice, refried beans and another marinated pork side. Outstanding and well worth the trip to Espanola.



Courtesy of various rivers of New Mexico.

Three rainbow trout. The skin comes right off after a very short time of cooking.



Courtesy of the freezer, an 8 oz. bison burger with american and cheddar cheese and chipotle Tabasco sauce mixed into the meat.



I also ate a dozen of Pedro's pork tamales while staying at the cabin. The food alone in the southwest is worth the trip.

New Mexico Trip - Part 2: Tres Ritos

After leaving Abiquie, I drove about 90 minutes into Tres Ritos, where the family cabin is located. It was surreal driving up the mountain toward the cabin as it had been over twenty years since I visited there. Places, bridges, and turns slowly came back to memory as I passed them and driving up the road to the cabin felt like coming home. The cabin is where I stayed for the next eight days of my vacation.






My parents were staying for the weekend, so it was good to see them as well as Uncle Mike and Aunt Donna. They all knew I wanted to spend most of my time alone, so they left on Sunday. Tres Ritos is so relaxing after running around for so long in NYC. The scenery is the opposite end of the spectrum entirely. Mountains, waterfalls and blue skies cannot be escaped.



We made our way into Taos, which is a normal pilgrimage when visiting the cabin. We had a great breakfast and walked around for a bit. Taos had changed quite a bit since my last visit. Instead of numberous galleries surrounding the square, most businesses had become gift shops with touristy trinkets made in China. That was somewhat disappointing, but the scenery was still beautiful.



Immediately after the family departed on Sunday, I bought a five day fishing license and hit the waters, fishing as much as seven hours a day. It was a tough time to fish because it was still fairly cold outside and the rivers had not been stocked since last summer. It was slim fishing, but I did catch five by the week's end. Two I released because of their size, but the rest I ate happily. I did have a stab at fishing in the Rio Grande River, but had no luck.



Of the time when I wasn't fishing, I usually spent it reading or walking around places I had been years before. The highlight of my trip to Tres Ritos was the walk up to what we call "The Meadow". "The Meadow" is about a mile up a trail behind our cabin. The first three hundreds yards or so is a tough climb. The altitude at the cabin is about 8,500 feet, so there isn't as much oxygen to be had. Needless to say, I was panting like a fifteen year old on prom night trying to get up that hill. The path evens out somewhat and gets easier as you hike. Much of the landscape had changed some, but the meadow was still every bit as lovely as I remembered.





I walked to the two broken down cabins and looked around. I drank from the stream when thirsty. I spent probably four hours up there just relaxing and reading my pocket Bible. I sat in one spot for awhile and when I got up to leave I startled about fifteen deer which were walking a couple of hundred feet away. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity then eventually went our own ways.

At the end of the week, I did have to unfortunately leave to catch the plane back to New York. There was a sadness about having to leave such a lovely place for a place of such filth and despair among its locals. When all you can see is the effects of man, hope seems gone. But in New Mexico, there is heightened sense of spiritualism by everyone when surrounded by such beauty. I can see myself living in New Mexico or at the least, visiting it at least twice a year.


For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockforceone/

New Mexico Trip - Part 1: Santa Fe

What a relief to leave NYC and visit another place with no agenda whatsoever. Even flying into Albuquerque is relaxing. The way the airplane soars over a huge mountain only to find the city just below. Thanks to my cousin Angie, I used the Expedition which is kept at the airport.


I arrived in Santa Fe on a Wednesday afternoon. I pulled up to my hotel and it started snowing. I was sort of bummed that my vacation started with snow and harsh wind, but I made the best of it. I layered up and hit the pavement to explore. I wandered through the downtown streets to the Plaza, where there was not a person in site. Very odd for the most touristy part of the city. Usually there are dozens of Indian families selling various hand crafted jewelry and such.


It eventually cleared up a bit and allowed for some beautiful weather. The city is breathtaking in it's beauty. It is so obvious that the people care about their city, unlike NYC. The streets are clean and there is a sense of pride about the land in which they live. Most buildings are made of adobe often trimmed in light blue or red. Absolutely gorgeous. You can't walk thirty seconds without seeing some sculpture somewhere as every block is immersed in art.





I also spent some time at a few museums. I especially enjoyed the Georgia O'Keefe museum. I absolutely fell in love with that artwork and decided to take a trip toward Abiquie when heading out of town. When Friday came, I took a detour out west a bit to Abiquie. I wanted to specifically see Pedernal mountain, which O'Keefe drew time and time again. I wasn't really sure how to get there or if I would find it. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and as my aunt calls it, "God's Country". She couldn't be more correct.



As I drove I kept seeing mountains and wondering if that was Pedernal. However, when I did see the real thing, I knew it instantly. I pulled off and drove down a dirt road near Abiquie Lake for quite a few minutes, until I was fairly close. I parked the car near this ranch and just sat there in the breeze for probably an hour.


I have to say that there is a charm to northern New Mexico like no other place I have been to. I could easily see myself living here with a giant dog.

For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockforceone/

The Devil Wears Satin

From my 28th floor window I get to see numerous billboards overlooking the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. Most of the ads are for some HBO series or a film yet to be released. This billboard is just beyond belief in the amount of worldliness it packs into one advertisement. On the way to work, I head over to snap a pic.

Here we see an advertisement for Caesar's casino in Atlantic City and a lovely woman nestled in some white satin sheets.

The life you were meant to live.

This billboard has almost as offensive as The Devil Wears Prada in the subliminal messages it gives. I'll start with the woman, obviously naked and attractive. I guess what I'm meant to believe is that if I go to Caesar's, I'll win a fortune and be able to have a perfect woman of my own. They do mean me, since the you is deliberately italicized. How did they know my bedroom is rather small with a loft bed? A far cry from a Queen sized mattress with satin sheets and no girl in sight.

Maybe this sign was designed for people using the Lincoln Tunnel, who brave the tunnel twice a day on the way to their mundane desk job to support the wife and kids. I wonder how women driving past the sign feel, since it implies that men will be the one's winning at Caesar's and they will be the prize. Do they give it a second thought? It doesn't give the female much worth, but what of this world does.

The billboard just struck me like few do. What direct line to the Father do they possess that I don't telling them this is how I'm meant to live? I can't deny that this idea is very appealing, it just seems unlikely that God would have a lovely brunette planned for me by way of gambling. Of course, God could be trying to speak to me through this sign telling me to head to Caesar's. How would I know? This seems to be a reoccuring question in my life, but the fine print tells me otherwise. Know when to stop. Have a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. If you can't get the girl, at least they provide a toll free help line.

I would like to be eaten by a bear...

I have a vacation coming up on April 1st. This is my first vacation outside of visiting my parents at Christmas in a couple of years. I'm headed to New Mexico for about eight days to scout out possible relocation possibilities. I'm leaning toward Taos, because there are only about 30,000 people, which equates to 1/267th the population of NYC. I love New York, but there's a point at which you say to yourself, "you can't do nothing forever". While it is a much needed getaway, I'd really like to eaten by a bear while I'm there.

My mom's side of the family owns a cabin about an hour outside of Taos. If I lived in Taos, I could pretty much retreat to the mountains anytime I wanted. My family used to take trips there often while I was growing up, at least twice a year. It has been over twenty years since I have visited the cabin, which just isn't right. I think it took my living in NYC for ten years to realize how much I miss going there. I already feel great sadness surrounding this trip for some reason. I think it's the idea that even though I haven't even left yet, I will inevitably have to return to a life I don't really like that much.

I have never seen a bear in New Mexico, but God willing, He'll put an angry one in my path allow me the fast track to Heaven. That is my prayer. I looked up the bear migration season but didn't learn much except that bears suffer less from Osteoperosis because of hibernation. Not only do they get to sleep for 4 months straight, they do so rather comfortably.


Here is a picture of our little cabin from Google Maps. What an amazing, yet depressing world we live in.

Call me crazy......

For a intensely private guy, I sure have many online pages in various places. I just set this thing up, so for now, my first post will be this little page I wrote probably two years ago. A little outdated now, but it was on my myspace at one point with some fun results. I don't necessarily subscribe to this view to this extent anymore, but for what it's worth....

--------------------------


About four years ago, I was meeting with two friends weekly for our own Bible study at my place. We would read scripture and pray for each other, one of which I still meet with weekly. Naturally, the three of us would follow up our prayer with some furious rounds of Halo 2, which involved much yelling and brotherly trash talking. One day, one of the guys said, "I want my next kiss to be on my wedding day." To which I replied, "You're crazy." I thought it was because he was just trying to come off as super romantic. Needless to say, he was married about a year later to a wonderful girl, but I know for a fact that he kissed her before the 'big day'. Hey, it's the thought that counts.

Fast forward four years. So many things have happened in that time frame. Things of great joy (Pearl Jam at Irving Plaza). Unfortunately, some things of great sadness (death of a best friend). These four years have been a time of personal growth and recently, what enters my thoughts often is . . . I want my next kiss to be on my wedding day. Sure, it would be really romantic, but there's other reasons involved. "You're crazy!" probably just went through your mind and you know what. . . you're probably right, but here's how I see it. Getting physical in any sorts builds up an emotional bond between two people. The further you go, the stronger that bond gets. Right? So how can it be a good thing to start building up an emotional relationship between two people that aren't really compatible otherwise. It can't. See, the problem lies with God's human design and the fact that we are inherently morally flawed. You see, He made kissing good. In fact, He made is so good in that it makes you want to do other things. That is the way it is intended. I'm not here to draw any lines for anyone on what's okay or not okay. You can wrestle with God about that, but at this point in my life (thirty-freakin-five), I want nothing, and I mean nothing, clouding up my relationships. That forces me go back and ask myself, how many girlfriends would I have kept dating had we NOT made out on a regular basis? hmm. . .

Let me explain all of this. I'm not saying I've stayed in relationships just for affection. Some people do and that's lame. However, I AM saying that every time I was affectionate with a girl, it clouded how I viewed that relationship and sometimes even made me view that person as a potential mate ('that person' being someone who was in no way a good match in the first place and we might have figured it out sooner had we been communicating in other ways not based on sheer attraction). To elaborate even more on this whole premise, I've never kissed a girl and not enjoyed it. I've never left saying, "Well, there's two wasted hours". Surprise, surprise, TD-2243 likes kissing the dames (that's for Kirsten G). That's not the point.

The point IS that if I know from past experience that I will greatly enjoy it, then that's a good reason not to do it, IF in doing so there's the threat of clouding up journey to the final goal, which is marriage. Plus, I know without a doubt that any female kissing me in the meantime will surely be swept away beyond all reason and lose all her faculties. GRRRRR. What kind of protector would I be to allow that? We can't have that. Also, it's not as if the potential for wedding night disappointment is looming in the back of my brain. Not in the least. In fact, not being physical will make the physical even better should the time come. Hell, I haven't cheated on her yet, why do it this late in the game? If we believe that God has someone planned for us, then intimacy with anyone other than that person IS cheating (at least, in my mind). Granted, I may not even know who the 'her' is, but that doesn't mean I can't love her today. Now you really think I'm crazy.

Obviously, this is way easier said than done and my fear is that my desire to not be too affectionate would come off as disinterest or even non-attraction, That couldn't be further from the truth. Hopefully, I'll find someone in the same sort of place and she'll understand where I'm coming from. It's more of a desire to not mess things up...again and taking steps to make that happen, extreme as they may be. Maybe it's part of the bigger picture of an struggling person striving to be Christlike. Maybe I ate some bad pizza. Although admittedly, I do like the idea of her walking down the aisle, we say our vows and then kiss for the first time. You really can't beat that imagery. Anyway, I'm glad my friend said this years ago because it stuck in my mind and now it makes sense. Like I said before, this is just where I'm at and I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to 'reach' this point, as I'm not even sure this is reasonable. I'm sure there have been written books about this, but hey, I kissed reading goodbye a long time ago. The saying is "It is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all." I, personally, am not so sure I agree with that, but if the goal is to be the best husband I can, so be it . . . Jedi.

I still play Halo 2.
Daniel
gamertag: skutch