Uncool Hollywood Report 8 - Fashion Alert! September 8, 2009

Jeff's Annual Labor Day Sunburn

As my wife lathered-up my neck & back and all of the kids with sunscreen, she so kindly asked me, "Would you like me to do your legs and feet?"

"No!" I huffed. "I'll do it when I get to the beach. I won't forget"

Four hours later, my legs are baked and I'm screaming all night in pain. Happy Labor Day!

Happy Birthday Number 3 Son!

Son #3 recently had his 9th birthday. I was threatening and threatening that we were going to skip this year and give him two birthday's next year but I'm not completely sure he believed me. Anyway, he went with his cousin, mother and aunt to Knott's Berry Farm and had a blast. Happy Birthday Michael!

Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 11 "Grilled Twinkies"

Happy Labor Day Weekend from your pal Jeffrey Rhodes. Unless you are traveling, you are probably going to be firing up the grill and cooking for family and friends. Let suggest a favorite Rhodes treat, grilled twinkies. They are actually quite easy to prepare. Remove from package and put straight onto the grill, no marinating, no pre-prep. A couple of twinkie grilling hints:

1. Cook over indirect grill heat. You are just looking to heat them up, caramelize a crust on the outside and add some grill marks. If you put them right over top of the coals you'll burn the outside before the inside is hot enough.

2. Use a clean grill. No sense mixing your twinkie with barbeque sauce (that's a future post).

3. Cook on its side to keep the filling from dripping out. Enjoy and happy holiday!


Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 10 "Twinkie Movie"
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 9 - Are You Ready For Some Football?
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 8 - The Road to Heaven
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 7 - Twinkie Factory
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 6 - The Twinkie Tree
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 5 - Patriotic Twinkie Pie
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 4 - More Recipes
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 3 - Twinkie Art
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 2 - Recipes & Cookbook
Twinkies: A Celebration of Gold - Pt. 1 - How to Make from Scratch
Twinkies: The Fingers of the Gods

Life of a Football Parent

(Above) Jeff between naps at football practice getting in a little reading.

I've really been enjoying attending football practice this year. In seasons past, the practice was so boring I could hardly stand it and made sure to not spend too much time there. This year, the coaches are pretty good and make sure to scream and holler and all-around entertain me. But even this year there are times when it can get a little boring out on the gridiron. I've found that I'm actually catching up a great deal on my reading, writing and arithmetic.

Uncool Hollywood Report 7 - September 2, 2009

Video Game Wires/Discs/Crud - Trip Bait

I always swore I wouldn't get a bunch of video game crud. In fact, I forbid any video games from ever entering my home for many years. The family worked me over for a long time and I finally gave in on one small concession: I allowed a used, yard sale Nintendo to brought in. I should have known better.

Like crack, that became the gateway electronic device. Somehow, someway, I turned around or closed my eyes or blinked or something and when I re-focused, my home was full of video games, wires, discs, cartridges, controllers, cables, empty cases, disks without cases, directions, books about games, chips, memory cards, accessories, and remotes.
Heaven forbid I need to walk through the living room in the middle of the night to get a drink of water from the kitchen. It is not unusual to end up in a heap on the floor, tangled in cords with a WII on my head. I'm not even sure how we got all these things. I know we didn't pay retail for most of this stuff, but despite my anger, I don't through it through the window.

It is however the only reliable pre-teen/teenager babysitter. If I need 30 minutes of peace, I authorize game play and take my nap. The problem kicks-in when trying to remove them from the games. I am reminded of that scene in Alien when the sucker creature attaches to the face of the human and how they tried to remove it...

At least the kids are getting good exercise as they learn values, teamwork and hand-eye coordination.