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Sara Leeway
Ever since getting my Kindle, I have made it a habit to check the list of 100 “bestselling” free e-books on Amazon.com. They have a list of the top 100 free mp3 songs too.
Today I downloaded a free book called “CAKES – 50 Cake Recipes to Tantalize Your Taste Buds” by M. Smith and R. King and then mentioned it on Twitter. That prompted Jennifer Prairie to ask, “Do YOU bake?”
I am much more likely to buy a cake than to bake one, although I have helped my wife bake a few things. Before downloading the cookbook, I glanced at the table of contents and saw two recipes with the word banana in the title. Neither seemed close to the Sara Lee banana cake I loved as a kid. Every so often, the memory pops into my head and I wish I had some in the freezer.
If the free e-book didn’t have a replica of the Sara Lee recipe, maybe the Internet would. I found three candidates that might be worth a try: Banana Cake VI on AllRecipes.com; Iced Banana Cake on PetitChef.com and Southern Living Banana Cake on Food.com.
Holmes for the Holidays
Before going to see “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” I wanted to see the previous Robert Downey, Jr. film in the series. My family saw “Sherlock Holmes” in the theatre without me. I hadn’t gotten around to seeing it, even though it had aired on some of the movie channels we get.
I assumed the movie would still be available via the cable system’s OnDemand menu but it was not. My daughter tried using the Wii to access her Netflix account but they were having some sort of maintenance issues on Monday. Eventually my wife rented “Sherlock Holmes” from Amazon.com for 99¢ and used a VGA cable to put the movie on our TV. For audio, we used some speakers from an old desktop computer.
I’m glad we made the extra effort because I actually liked the first movie better. “Game of Shadows” had more action, especially with people jumping on and off trains and with fight scenes. Sherlock’s fighting skills reminded me of Chuck Bartowski accessing the Intersect. I would have preferred more scenes of Holmes looking at clues and deducing what they meant, like in the first film.
The character played by Rachel McAdams inspired me to look on my Kindle for a Sherlock Holmes story featuring Irene Adler. When I got my Kindle, one of the first books I downloaded was a free copy of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.” It wasn’t difficult. “A Scandal in Bohemia” was the first story in the book.
According to my newly-arrived program guide from East Tennessee PBS, they are planning to repeat the BBC’s excellent modern-adaptation of “Sherlock” on January 15 and 29. New episodes of the mini-series are due to air in May.
This Bud’s for You
One of the best free things to do in St. Louis is to take the Budweiser Brewery Tour. My family and I finally took the tour last week. It is infinitely better than the Ben & Jerry’s factory tour in Vermont and not just because you get two free beers at the end. You get to see actual beer being made, not a movie and a replica of the equipment. The tour starts with an up-close look at the Clydesdales.
One of the more interesting stops is the beechwood aging cellar. The beechwood chips, some of which come from Tennessee, help in the carbonation process. I stuck my camera in one of the empty tanks to see what it looked like inside.
Elsewhere along the tour we saw huge brew kettles. The green barrels next to them contain hops that will be added to the wort for flavor. We also saw two production lines, one for bottles and one for cans.
During Prohibition, Anheuser-Busch brewed a “near beer” called Bevo. The Bevo mascot, Renard the Fox, is represented in stone on one building’s corners. I wonder if the sly fox knew some secret way to convert near beer into a full-strength drink.
Merry and Bright
The movie “White Christmas” keeps popping up. I awoke from my nap on Monday to hear the song “Sisters.” My wife was playing the DVD as she made Cracker Candy and Cappuccino Cookies for Friday night’s All Saints Christmas party.
On Sunday, I saw a poster at All Saints advertising this year’s screening of “White Christmas” at the Tennessee Theatre on December 12. The annual free event is sponsored by Rose Mortuary.
A 22-year-old coworker told me on Saturday that “White Christmas” is her favorite Christmas film. She said she loved old movies. I asked her an old trivia question that I always enjoy: “In what movie did the song ‘White Christmas’ first appear?” The answer is “Holiday Inn,” a film she had never even heard about, that happens to be one of my all-time favorites.
I gave her a brief recap of the plot of “Holiday Inn,” including the controversial blackface number. According to IMDB, “Holiday Inn” will be broadcast on AMC on December 16 at 12:30 a.m. They will replay it on December 23 at 9:00 a.m. and December 25 at 2:00 a.m.
Free Parking
An Internet video show aimed at tourists and anyone who enjoys the Smokies will debut next month. “Smoky Mountain Morning” is the brainchild of Taz Cable, who recently hosted an online show called “Bowl of Oh!” He frequently invited members of Einstein Simplified to appear as guests around the “Cable Table.” One time when Taz was sick, I filled in as guest host.
The new program is being rolled out to potential advertisers at a series of events. The first was yesterday at Southland Books in Maryville. The new program will include a pre-recorded segment called “Frankly Frugal.” Luckily for me, my name is Frank and I’ll be on the show as a contributor.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park never charges admission. Not coincidentally, it’s the most visited of the national parks. We plan to highlight cheap and free activities in an around the Smokies for tourists and trying to stretch their vacation dollars and locals trying to stretch their entertainment dollars.
Monkey See, Monkey Dew
It turned out that the joke was on the people who didn’t believe me. When the social media representative for Weigel’s contacted me about giving away Monkey Ice at a tweetup, I picked April Fools’ Day for the event. Several Facebook friends and Twitter followers questioned my motive, thinking it was a prank. It wasn’t.
The Tombras Group handles advertising and public relations for Weigel’s. Tombras employees Laura Bower and Matt Honkonen brought along a custom-made sock monkey they have named JoJo Weigel. I bet they could sell replicas of JoJo if they mass-produced them. There was a live Weigel in attendance as well. Kurt Weigel showed up.
A few of the attendees missed being in the group picture because they either left early or arrived later. A photo album on Facebook gives a fairly good portrayal of the hour-long Tweetup. From a marketing standpoint, it’s a cheap promotion. The crowd doesn’t have to be huge, just active online. The 20 or so who are there will tell hundreds of friends about it via social media.
Ay-ples and Ba-nay-nays
What is Monkey Ice? Perhaps the “Planet of the Apes” version of Vanilla Ice? Or an arena where Capuchins play hockey? Actually, it’s an ice drink product at Weigel’s that comes in four different flavors: Monkey Brains (watermelon), Monkey Mush (banana), Monkey Tango (orange), and Monkey Zing (green apple).
Over the winter, Weigel’s contacted me via Twitter about possibly having a tweet-up to sample their red velvet cappuccino. The timing didn’t work out, partly because of my vacation. As temperatures increased, they suggested sampling Monkey Ice instead. When we looked at our calendars, April Fools’ Day seemed like a natural choice to fling free Monkey Ice.
The location that Weigel’s chose is one I know. When they opened their store at 9729 Middlebrook Pike in 2008, I was there to buy discounted gas and milk. If 20 ounces of free Monkey Ice sounds good to you, show up on Friday between noon and 1:00 p.m.
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