75 replies to this topic

[SWoodyWhite]

And in the words of ...I forget..." I've met Anthony Bourdain, and you , sir, are not Anthony Bourdain".

Your paraphrase is of Lloyd Bentson, Democratic party candidate for Vice President in 1988, directed at Republican VP candidate Dan Quayle.

Interesting trivia tidbit: one of the electors representing West Virginia at the Electoral College that year for some reason reversed Bentson and his Presidential running mate, voting for Bentson for President and Michael Dukakis for Vice President.

[Kim WB]

Kim, how lovely of you to downplay the existence of a man who clearly puts thought into his posts.

Do you cook?

The black/white thing clearly fosters discussion on a level that helps sophists facilitate their own intrinsic need for argument. Based on the short attention span of so many of us "cooks" (thanks for that one, btw. Nothing like a stinger to tell someone to kiss your ass), it's the kind of discussion that we can sink most easily into. Now, arguing over the obscure references to Pulitzer Prize winning novels and the misspelled names contained therein, that's an obvious credit to the time and effort he-who-makes-lengthy-posts puts in. (see Ignatius J. Vs. Ignatius T. Thanks for that one as well.)

My point is that in three or four short posts, you've devalued what this fella does, and stepped on toes here quite possibly without your knowledge. Instead of saying "You are no Bourdain, blah blah fart blah", don't let this line of conversation fall into the same dreadful pattern that defouls places like this.

And hey, if you like Alton Brown, more power to you. He's a smart guy. No doubt, that's why all the housefraus and "foodies" (God, they stole our word!) love him. Personally, I think he has about as much personality as a dead salmon, and it's not as though I make appointments to watch him, because I can just open a cookbook and find the same stuff he's talking about in there. I can do it on my own time, without the banality of having to sit through a program where I get to relearn how to soak a genoise cake that didn't come out of the pan right.

You're right...I should not have made the zinger about his cooking, that was a low blow and I apologize. In fact, I will edit accordingly.

I guess CSW's style of insulting just about everyone but Thomas Keller got a bit too much for me to bear, and I will try to take the advice I often give out: If I don't like a particular poster's style or content, just skip his/her post. In his case, even when he claims to like someone, it seems to me he is insulting them at the same time.


The Ignatious stuff was not an arguement, really...I am pretty sure that it's Ignatious J., though.

[hjshorter]

Good Eats appeals to people who like food science. Those who don't like are free to change the channel or even turn the TV off. The fact that Bourdain says Alton dissed him is irrelevant to me, but seems to be a reason for those who don't like him to pile on here.

Edit: no energy for pissing matches today

Edited by hjshorter, 12 May 2003 - 05:19 AM.

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

First, I'm not easily confused. By a long shot.
 
Whatever, I like the approach that Alton Brown takes..it fills the need of some home chefs.

And in the words of ...I forget..." I've met Anthony Bourdain, and you , sir, are not Anthony Bourdain".


edited, as it was pointed out that I was rude.

Damn...I guess my new thread..."Don't eat sheep's milk cheese on Thursday" is shot to the curb. Actually, CWS is my ghost writer's name...busted...Tony.

[tommy]

But seriously maybe you and Tommy ought to hook up and maybe form an alliance of dry readers that only want to read dry prose.

you don't really want to suck me back into this, do you?

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

But seriously maybe you and Tommy ought to hook up and maybe form an alliance of dry readers that only want to read dry prose.

you don't really want to suck me back into this, do you?

No Tommy,

I'm sure I'll run up against you again soon.

[tommy]

But seriously maybe you and Tommy ought to hook up and maybe form an alliance of dry readers that only want to read dry prose.

you don't really want to suck me back into this, do you?

No Tommy,

I'm sure I'll run up against you again soon.

"run up against." oh, the drama.

[Kim WB]

And in the words of ...I forget..." I've met Anthony Bourdain, and you , sir, are not Anthony Bourdain".

Your paraphrase is of Lloyd Bentson, Democratic party candidate for Vice President in 1988, directed at Republican VP candidate Dan Quayle.

Interesting trivia tidbit: one of the electors representing West Virginia at the Electoral College that year for some reason reversed Bentson and his Presidential running mate, voting for Bentson for President and Michael Dukakis for Vice President.

And the reference was John Kennedy, right? The Dukakis campaign was a rough one..I think I've blocked out most of the details!

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

But seriously maybe you and Tommy ought to hook up and maybe form an alliance of dry readers that only want to read dry prose.

you don't really want to suck me back into this, do you?

No Tommy,

I'm sure I'll run up against you again soon.

"run up against." oh, the drama.

let's dispense with the banalities...

or in dry prose....

Let's quit this pointless back and forth. This forum is about Alton Brown. I like him for his contributions to food science. But he opens himself to an occassion jab with his quirky show (that I think brings esoteric concept to light in an enjoyable manner). As for what he did to Tony, that's Tony's monologue, I have no feelings about it one way or the other.

It's possible to like and dislike the same person. To adopt one position on a person is uni-dimensional and a party-line bias issue. Like you Tom, I appreciate you for riding my ass but find fault with some of your bitter reasoning. But that's part of what I like about eGullet. You can express your opinion with minimal repercussion.

[tommy]

Like you Tom, I appreciate you for riding my ass but find fault with some of your bitter reasoning.

with what "bitter reasoning" do you find fault?

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

Like you Tom, I appreciate you for riding my ass but find fault with some of your bitter reasoning.

with what "bitter reasoning" do you find fault?

Ending the perpetuations....

That you may think, however piously, that I should write clearer to appeal to more readers.

That, although you haven't come right out with it, I maybe trying to piss people off because Tony said it may work. He didn't mean on eGullet, I don't think.

That my whole stance is based on a house of cards that is blown down daily by how my meds are adjusted.

But Tommy, like I said, I can appreciate all points of view, and can definitely see where they come from when I'm bashed. I have taken a position, or positions, here that may not endear me to the Joe Millionaire publishing conglomerates. But I'm having fun. If I never get published because I'm considered a stilted hack that's fine with me. I've waited years and years to be able to debate the issues in this industry. I'm all for a good debate, even it involves my intentions in this forum. As long as you leave my children out of it, I'd be more than happy to lower the level of discourse in PM. Thanks.

[tommy]

That you may think, however piously, that I should write clearer to appeal to more readers. 

That, although you haven't come right out with it, I maybe trying to piss people off because Tony said it may work.  He didn't mean on eGullet, I don't think.   

you're delusional. i said neither.

over-and-out.

[=Mark]

Help! Help! My thread has been hijacked!!!

Amazing how such a train wreck draws attention, check out the users viewing it... For shame!

[Jinmyo]

Boys, boys. Poor Mark had such a nice shiny new thread here.

[pixelchef]

CWS, you go post on (---->) that side of the forum. Tommy, you go post on (<-----) that side of the forum. Once you two boys feel that you can get along, you may mingle together with the rest of us. And when this occurs, I will have small, delicious cookies for you to partake in.

Deep breathes guys, deep breathes. eGullet, while all about fostering intelligent conversation and/or debate, is meant to be a pleasure to participate in. With nearly 10,000 members you obviously aren't gonna get along with everyone (except for me, because I'm such a lovable little teddy bear ). It isn't like you're being forced to sit down and share a beer with the person who gets under your skin. It's just the Internet. Let it slide, and be grateful you don't live next-door to each other.

[TrishCT]

My observation is that anytime anyone wants to post anything about the Food Network the thread gets hijacked.

Edited by TrishCT, 12 May 2003 - 07:07 AM.

[tommy]

My observation is that anytime anyone wants to post anything about the Food Network the thread gets hijacked.

indeed. i think there are 3, possibly 4, current as we speak. it's the new "objective/subjective" thread.

[elfin]

Inquiring minds want to know...what did Alton say about Tony at the Beardies?

[=Mark]

Inquiring minds want to know...what did Alton say about Tony at the Beardies?

Comment can be found here.

What is whiskey shit anyway?

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

CWS, you go post on (---->) that side of the forum.  Tommy, you go post on (<-----) that side of the forum.  Once you two boys feel that you can get along, you may mingle together with the rest of us.  And when this occurs, I will have small, delicious cookies for you to partake in.

Deep breathes guys, deep breathes.  eGullet, while all about fostering intelligent conversation and/or debate, is meant to be a pleasure to participate in.  With nearly 10,000 members you obviously aren't gonna get along with everyone (except for me, because I'm such a lovable little teddy bear  ).  It isn't like you're being forced to sit down and share a beer with the person who gets under your skin.  It's just the Internet.  Let it slide, and be grateful you don't live next-door to each other. 

For such a youngster you sure do come off as a wise old sage Pix.
I'm going to suspend myself for a few days for getting embroiled in this childish little pissing contest. Tommy, you win. over and out.

[=Mark]

Deep breathes guys, deep breathes.  eGullet, while all about fostering intelligent conversation and/or debate, is meant to be a pleasure to participate in.

Hah! Nonsense. Nobody here is willing to admit that they all love the occasional flame war... That's why the dearly missed Off Topic Chat was so much fun, it broadly increased the number of topics we could fight over...

[DaveFaris]

Back on topic, I just watched the episode in question, and I'm thinking that it's ok to turn the grill on with the lid closed when you did as Alton did, and turned it on within a few moments from the time when you turned the valve of the propane tank. There wouldn't be enough time in the 10 seconds between when he opened the valve and when he ignited the first coil for the gas to build up and cause an explosion.

Of course, he didn't explicitly explain that, but he did tell the viewers to read, understand and follow the manual that came with the grill, so I'd say he covered all his bases.

[tommy]

the manual that came with the grill, so I'd say he covered all his bases.

if that's the case, that's a good thing. but still, you're opening yourself up by suggesting to light it with the lid down, as many manufacturers clearly warn against this.

mine lights just fine with the lid up, although i obviously let the gas run a while to get a nice big "booooshhh!!!" when i click the starter.

[Steve Klc]

"But he did tell the viewers to read, understand and follow the manual that came with the grill."

Yes, but that's about as helpful as this is for someone trying to figure out why his ice cream is gritty or his sorbet is too soft: "Place in an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions." And this guy won a Beard?

And the fact is, when CWS writes plainly: "I like him (Alton Brown) for his contributions to food science. But he opens himself to an occasional jab with his quirky show (that I think brings esoteric concept to light in an enjoyable manner.)" And when CWS says Alton "makes difficult techniques and esoteric concepts a lot more accessible by using those visual aids--the creep-o-matic oriental kitchen supply Nazi being my fav. It makes it a lot more interesting" I think he pretty much crystallizes all the Alton Brown-related discussion:

1) is Alton the person who should be teaching "food science" and is his science worth ingesting? He sure seems to have all the geeks at Slashdot fooled. Is he getting it right on the air and in his book? This is, I believe, the door Mark astutely tried to open;

2) can Alton the persona be separated from the show and how much do the production values of the show affect his on-air persona? Is he the on-air persona? Is Alton a putz or is he merely complicit in allowing the show to present him as a putz?

The makings of a fine eGullet media thread. Carry on. (Oh, and let's try to stay away from posting about who has bigger balls.)

[Hopleaf]

Just so we're all clear, Dennis Miller is no longer (if he ever really was) a sportscaster. Last I heard, he was involved in the tenuous decision making on Alton Brown's grilling advice. Ergo prop, hoctor schlock.

[foodie52]

Well, I'm just jealous of all those TV guys because they get to play with food all day and meet fun people and everyone wants to publish their books and they are doing what they love ALL THE TIME, and I wish I could, too.

So there.

And I've met Alton, and he was concerned about being nice to people and doing his job and selling books and filling his cooking class, and he had his photo taken with a zillion people and didn't complain once.

I wouldn't mind having his life, and I think that secretly most of you wouldn't mind either.

And I bet he thinks about the day when he won't be popular any more and wonders what he's gonna do next.

[reverendtmac]

What is whiskey shit anyway?

Drink a bunch of whiskey, preferably preceeded by an absolute greaseball of a burger. You'll know. Or, for those of you who want foreign credit, replace whiskey with Guinness...

Todd <-- helpful

[Really Nice!]

Back on topic, I just watched the episode in question, and I'm thinking that it's ok to turn the grill on with the lid closed when you did as Alton did, and turned it on within a few moments from the time when you turned the valve of the propane tank. There wouldn't be enough time in the 10 seconds between when he opened the valve and when he ignited the first coil for the gas to build up and cause an explosion.

Here's my experience.

I worked in a small group within a large, geeky company. In this small group was a gorgeous, non-geeky woman who went out of her way to invite me to her place for a small barbecue. I imediately answered yes.

<long story short... the day of the barbecue>
As I was driving from my place in Kirkland Washington to Bellevue Washington I got very excited to see this woman out of the work environment.

When I was about a half mile away from her place I found myself stopped at a stop light. I was in the left-hand turn lane. Suddenly two fire trucks and an ambulance, all running hot, sped from right to left in the crossing street. Moments later I made my left turn and found myself about a quarter mile behind the fire trucks and ambulance. I looked at my printed directions and noticed that they made a right turn on the same street I'm supposed to make a right turn. Three blocks later they made another right turn on the same street I'm supposed to make a right turn.

Hopefully, you're getting the idea...

They stopped in front of her house. When I arrived I found was the first guest to arrive and the firecrew was doing what they do best.

It turns out when she turned on the barbecue, she left the lid down. She got distracted and walked away. Either the flame blew out, or she never checked to see if it was on. Five minutes later, she checked to see how the barbecue was doing and lifted the top. This created a spark which created a massive explosion that threw her back about five-eight feet. The barbecue was against the wall of her house. The explosion blew a hole in the house and its close proximity caused a cannon effect. The sudden stopping of the blast by the wall pushed the barbecue away and towards her, and it landed on her legs. It fried her hair; however, the blast did minor damage to her beautiful face, and fortunately, did no damage to her eyes, legs, back, etc.

She had no physical scars, but then she had no eyebrows either. Her long hair was singed to within four inches of her head.

The fire department had to axe several holes to ensure there was no fire in between the walls.

She took months to physically recover; but she was emotionally scared long after that.

In observing the after-effects of this mishap, I now leave the lid open.

[tighe]

HOLY CRAP!!

[nyfirepatrolchef]

If you are not a Smug Scientific Bastard, I don't see the appeal that Alton Brown's show holds.  Unless I am baking, I rarely measure exactly. 

I don't really understand why people don't take Bourdain seriously or don't give him any respect because of his bleeped out monolouges or honesty on t.v.  Some choose wisely to ignore him since they'd rather watch the Halycon antiseptic likes of Sara Moulton (whom I am sure can actually cook), but give me a broken down scarred chef any day.

Im anything but smug or scientific..but how do YOU know about who my father is when even *I* dont?

But seriously ladies and germs....I like Alton cuz hes offbeat and just a bit to the left of center. I identify with my own. But as is evidenced here somewhere on the site, I really like Bourdain too because of HIS think out of the box style.

Id GLADLY cook for either one of them at work

Oh....Sara Moulton too...Ive spoken to her on air several times...she good people!~

Edited by nyfirepatrolchef, 13 May 2003 - 06:33 AM.