Good Stuff! Extinct, RadioWest, and Ruca’s

ByJohn Brown

I’ve been looking forward to watching Extinct, a brand-new TV series. I watched the pilot with my wife and teenage daughter, and we enjoyed it. I watched the next episode, and then a few days later couldn’t help but binge-watch three more. And I’m happy to report it’s full of good stuff and interesting stories.

First of all, it starts with a killer concept. Aliens invade earth and wipe us out, but that’s been done to death. This story doesn’t start there. This story is set four hundred years in the future after the extinction of the human race, when a small group of humans is revived by an alien civilization.

But this isn’t Star Wars, Star Trek, Blade Runner, Battlestar Glactica or anything like that. It feels more like the TV series Lost or The Maze Runner. The heroes are three humans who have been brought back and are trying to figure out what’s happening and how to survive in a place that’s low tech and is the home to a dangerous band of other humans that were also brought back. They’re dangerous, by the way, because they have been taken over by spores that latch other their nervous system and use their bodies as a host.

This series transports you to a world of cool tech and alien stuff like the sparks that regenerate the humans in pools of water, two interesting drones, and alien ruins and glyphs. But the best part about this isn’t the spectacle of the technology. It’s the stories. There’s suspense and action, but also mystery and a lot of stuff that’s human and warm and, surprisingly enough, thought-provoking.

We try to hold a family night once a week to have fun together and discuss important topics. And I can see us easily watching one of these episodes and finding ourselves in a deep discussion about free will, or the creation, or whether Duncan, one of the skin riders, looks like someone right out of The Hobbit.

I liked episodes one and two, but it was episode three that kicked it into high gear for me. If you liked Lost or The Maze Runner or the series Once Upon a Time, I think you’ll really enjoy this. Right now you can stream the first eight episodes for free from byutv.org/extinct or extinct.tv.

EDIT: I just finished episode 8. I really like this series.

#

Do you like listening to interesting ideas? If so, you will love tuning into RadioWest. It’s a daily program from KUER in Salt Lake City that features hour-long interviews of folks who are experts on some of the most interesting things or have an interesting story to tell.

Doug Fabrizio is the host and has to be the best interviewer on the planet. I love his voice, but it’s his skill in drawing out the fascinating meat of the topic from his guests is what sets him apart. And unlike some interviewers who don’t even read the books they’re talking about, you can see that Fabrizio has done his homework. He’s really thought about what they have to say.

For example, just this last week, I got to listen to compelling interviews of (1) Tom Christofferson, the gay brother of Elder Todd Christofferson, a Mormon apostle, (2) Ben Shapiro, an orthodox Jew who is an up and coming voice on the Right and was recently protested at Berkeley and the University of Utah, and (3) science writer Ben Mezrich who has written a book about the scientists and researchers who are trying to bring back the wooly mammoth.

Week after week, Fabrizio brings amazing people and ideas into my car and home. You can listen to his interviews every morning at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the radio at FM 90.1 (Salt Lake Area), FM 90.5 (Logan and Bear Lake), and FM 88.3 (Randolph and Woodruff). Or you can listen live online at radiowest.kuer.org, which is also where they keep all the recordings so you can catch up on any you miss.

#

New restaurants come and go all the time in Garden City, Utah. Most of them don’t last more than a few seasons. Often this is because they charge lots of money for food that’s really not worth it. So it’s with great delight that I tell you about Ruca’s, a little spot on the block between the city park and Bear Lake Pizza on the main drag.

Not only are the prices reasonable, but the food is delicious. They have sandwiches and other stuff, but we have gone back multiple times for their ebleskivers (AY-bill SKEE-vurs). These are Danish pancakes in the shape of a ball that can be filled with all sorts of stuff. My wife and daughter love the ones filled with peaches and the others filled with Nutella and strawberries. I like the savory ones filled with bacon and cheese with eggs on top.

They’re going to be closing up for the winter, so if you want some great food for a great price, get over there now and enjoy a new delight.

Share

Similar Posts

  • Good Stuff! How to Make Meetings Work

    ByJohn Brown

    Do you regularly sit through meetings that seem to accomplish nothing?

    Meetings where people drone on and on and on.

    Meetings where people discuss and no decision is ever made.

    Meetings that always slide off topic.

    Meetings that should never have been held in the first place.

    In many cases, the reason these meetings stink is because those organizing them are not aware there’s any other way to hold a meeting. But there is. I was fortunate enough to have been exposed to it just out of college while working for a business consulting firm in San Francisco. (And why they didn’t teach this in my business degree I will never know!)

    After learning the simple and powerful principles, I was eventually paid to plan and facilitate meetings for clients. In some of these meetings they were making incredibly important decisions. I remember a client flying me and a colleague from San Francisco to Delaware for two days of meetings.

    You might be groaning at the thought. But they paid thousands of dollars to have us come and facilitate. And when we were done, the energy in the room was palpable. A number of those that were involved were astounded and said they’d never been involved in such productive sessions. They’d accomplished more in the hours we were there than in months of other meetings. They were happy and grateful we’d come.

    Think of that—happy and grateful for a meeting that went on for hours!

    When meetings are done right, the collaboration and synergy can be amazing. Now, you may think that some secret handshake is required to learn how to do this. Or that it’s only for those with some special knack. Or that it’s only for high-powered jobs. If you do, you’d be wrong.

    And that’s because you can learn the principles all for a few bucks. They’re laid out in perfect clarity in How to Make Meetings Work by Michael Doyle and David Straus. This is the book that was the source of our training sessions all those years ago. And I reread it every few years to brush up. The principles work in everything from a family council to a board meeting to class settings. I know because I’ve used the ideas in all of them. And when I fail to take just a few minutes to prepare, that’s when the meeting becomes, well, just another (yawn) meeting.

    If you hold meetings of any kind and want to improve them, give this book a try. I think you’ll be happy you did.

    Share

  • Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, Rumbi Island Grill

    ByJohn Brown

    Toy Story 3

    It’s interesting that two of the most enjoyable films this year are both animated. The first is Toy Story 3. We all know how awful sequels can be, and, in fact, I didn’t like Toy Story 2 all that much. But Pixar defied the sequel slump with this one.

    Andy has grown up and is going to college. From a toy’s point of view, that’s tantamount to death because Andy has to clean out his room, and what is he going to do with all that junk anyway? The last few remaining toys barely miss the garbage truck and get sent, by accident, to the local day care instead. Sounds great for a toy, right? They’ll get played with every day forever. But things are not as they seem at the day care, and our crew of toys is put on the fast track to an early death. Will they be able to escape when the other toys there are ruled mob-style by a big pink teddy bear that smells of strawberries?

    I laughed and cried and cheered in this movie. There are hilarious scenes featuring Barbie and a Ken who’s gone over to the dark side. More gut busters with Buzz Lightyear when he’s put into Spanish mode and Mr. Potato Head who has powers we never would have suspected.

    But the movie goes beyond toys and action. It’s not just a cartoon. It’s about loyalty and friendship and heroics and love and family. Because my oldest will be leaving the nest next year, the final scenes carried extra power for me. But I think they will be effective for almost anyone because Pixar does in this movie what all great art does—it reaches into themes we all share. And in that moment, we identify so strongly with the characters that their situation becomes our own.

    How to Train Your Dragon

    Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon, based on the novel by Cressida Cowell, is the movie I should have seen for my birthday. Instead, we went to the mind-numbing Clash of Titans. I still cringe at some of the massive plot holes in that one, even though Medusa rocked. Which only proves, once again, that cool effects can’t save a bad story. How to Train Your Dragon, on the other hand, delivers cool monsters, but never once did the writers make the mistake of thinking that cool monsters is what the story was about.

    The movie is about a young Viking named Hiccup who wants to be accepted, wants to become one of the burly defenders of his city, like his dad, Stoik the Vast. But Hiccup isn’t brawny. However, he is resourceful. And during a dragon attack, he brings down a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention. However, when he finds the dragon, he can’t bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon begin a friendship. But will Hiccup be able to save the dragon that everyone wants to kill? Will the Vikings be able to see the truth about the dragons before they’re destroyed? Most importantly, will Stoik be able to accept his son?

    I enjoyed the superb animation in this story as well as the dragons. But it was the characters and humor that made this movie so good. There’s Stoik who just can’t relate to his son, but tries to bond with a very interesting use of his dead wife’s brassier, Hiccup, the son, with his dry wit, and Gobber, a peg-leg family friend who has some of the best lines in the movie.

    Go see this show. You’ll laugh, and then you’ll wish you had a dragon of your own.

    Rumbi Island Grill

    The Rumbi Island Grill is a restaurant chain that started in Salt Lake City in 2000. They serve fast, casual tropical food at incredibly good prices. My favorite is their rice bowl. It comes with your choice of sauce, rice, and meat with sautéed vegetables. In the Netherlands I learned to love Indonesian food and the spicy-sweet peanut sauce that often accompanied it, which is why I can’t get enough of the Bali Island bowl with brown rice and shrimp. You might find you love the sauce so much you ask for two servings to pour over your bowl (oh, and add a dash of the hot sauce). The food’s great, but they’ve paid attention to the Hawaiian atmosphere as well. So even though it’s fast food (you order and they bring it out to you), you feel like you’re sitting in a casual dining restaurant.

    I always look for a Rumbi when I travel down to Salt Lake City or Provo. Now I don’t have to go so far–a restaurant has opened up in Logan right across from the Wal-Mart on the south end of town! I took Nellie there recently. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious–just what I’d come to expect.

    Now all we need is a Cheesecake Factory!

    Share

  • Sticky Ideas, Cook’s Country Magazine

    ByJohn Brown

    They stole his kidney . . .

    A friend of a friend of mine is a frequent business traveler.  To keep his identity safe, I’ll call him Bill.  Bill was recently in Atlantic City for an important meeting with some new clients.  Afterward, he went to a local bar to kill some time before his flight and took a seat at a table. 

    He’d just finished one drink when an attractive woman approached and asked if she could buy him another.  He was surprised, but flattered (Bill isn’t exactly a Brad Pitt).  He accepted the drink.  The woman walked to the bar and brought back two more drinks—one for her and one for him.  He thanked her and took a sip. And that was the last thing he remembered . . . before he woke up, disoriented, lying in a hotel bathtub, his body submerged in ice.

    He looked around frantically, trying to figure out where he was and how he got there.  Then he spotted the note:

    DON’T MOVE. CALL 911.

    A cell phone rested on a small table beside the bathtub. He picked it up and called 911, his fingers numb and clumsy from the ice. The operator seemed oddly familiar with his situation. She said, “Sir, I want you to reach behind you, slowly and carefully. Is there a tube protruding from your lower back?”

    Anxious, he felt around behind him. Sure enough, there was a tube.

    The operator said, “Sir, don’t panic, but one of your kidneys has been harvested. There’s a ring of organ thieves operating in this city, and they got to you. Paramedics are on their way. Don’t move until they arrive.”

    Incredible, isn’t it?

    More importantly, do you think you could remember enough of that, without review, to tell it to someone tomorrow?

    My guess is that you could. And if you did, you’d be spreading one of the most successful urban legends of the past fifteen years.  

    But I didn’t tell you the story to focus on urban legends. There are a lot of stories people tell one another that don’t go viral.  What makes this one different?  In fact, what makes any idea stick effortlessly, like this one does, in someone’s brain?

    Are you a teacher? In school, at home, or at your business? Do you give presentations?  Do you ever need to advertise something—a product, service, or yourself? If so then you’ve had this question.

    Maybe you’ve uncovered some of the secrets. Maybe you haven’t.  But there’s no reason to despair: Chip and Dan Heath have written the book on it. It’s called Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die and is one of the most fascinating and practical reads I’ve come across in the last few years.

    The brothers Heath spent hundreds of hours researching sticky ideas: urban legends, advertising campaigns, wartime rumors, proverbs, conspiracy theories, jokes, some of the nation’s best teachers—you name it; if it was sticky, they looked at it. They asked questions like what makes some urban legends so compelling? Why do some chemistry lessons work better than others? Why do some political ideas circulate widely and others fall short? What they found was that sticky ideas exhibit six traits. And it was relatively easy for someone, once they understood those traits, to make almost any idea stickier.

    I can see the traits in some of the things that I’ve done that have been sticky. I can see other ways to improve. The cool thing is that I’m not going to be guessing as much. If you need to make your ideas stick, let me recommend you get this book.  If you want a preview, go to madetostick.com.

    Recipes that actually work?

    I was once induced, through insidious mind control, to purchase a cookbook that included all sorts of tempting dishes. I prepared a number of the recipes, and every one of them was a bust, especially the cinnamon flank steak with eggplant, which I think Nellie and I chewed for about six hours until our jaws dropped off.

    Not satisfied to learn my lesson once, I soon purchased another book on making bread the Old World way. Despite our best efforts and many valiant attempts, all we could produce were loaves that were so bitter and sour they could have been used at Guantanamo Bay to threaten captured Talibanists to talk.

    Let’s just say that after a few more of these, I finally beat back the mind control. I’ve been gun-shy of cookbooks ever since. We’ve been very selective over the years, and this has saved me some money. Unfortunately, I think all of those lessons learned are going to go out the window.

    I was recently watching the Create channel and saw an episode of Cook’s Country where they showed how to make coleslaw that wouldn’t get all watery and a grilled chicken with traditional Southern white BBQ sauce that had me slavering in my seat. During the show they talked about testing these recipes and their failures.

    I learned that the folks there had just finished an eleven-season series called America’s Test Kitchen (where was I all that time?). In the series, they tested hundreds of recipes five ways to Sunday to come up with ones that really worked.

    When the episode of Cook’s Country finished, the old cookbook mind control had risen to full force. This time, though, I was able to exercise some restraint. Instead of buying fifty cookbooks, I started a 14-day trial to Cook’s Country magazine, a thirty-four page, oversized, bi-monthly that’s full of recipes that have been tested. 

    One of the neat features is that they don’t simply present the recipes, they also include the stories behind the testing so a reader can learn from their failures and successes right along with them. In fact, the stories of the tests were so interesting I made Nellie sit down while I read them to her. The magazine also includes cooking tips and product ratings. In the issue I received, I learned, for example, which egg wash proved, through testing, the most successful on pies and which graham cracker tasted best in recipes. One of the best things about the magazine is that, unlike many magazines that have three sentences of content and forty pages of advertisements, Cook’s Country has zero advertisements. Zero! It’s nothing but cooking.

    We’ve tried five recipes so far. Three of them have been clear winners for all the tasters in this family. There other two were good, but not spectacularly so. Still, there weren’t any cinnamon flank steaks! 

    In the next set of reviews, I’ll share their potato salad recipe that had us all oohing and aahing. And maybe the chocolate éclair cake we adjusted to perfection. I’m going to continue the subscription and give their family cookbook a try.  I’ll report my results. In the meantime, I suggest you look at Cook’s Country magazine online at cookscountry.com or watch the show on Create.

    Share

  • Check out Dave Farland’s new cover

    ByJohn Brown

    Isaac Stewart pointed this out to me. Wow. And what a change. Farland’s got a whole new look and feel. I don’t know much about cover art/marketing and how well various colors and styles do in the book store (will buyers gloss over this because of its dark color?–I hope not). But however this performs on the shelf, it’s a great illustration.

    See more images on Irene Gallo’s blog about it. Compare with the old style.

    david-farlands-sons-of-the-oak

    Share

  • Good Stuff: 8 Awesome Movies

    ByJohn Brown

    Summer is a great time to catch up on great movies you haven’t seen because sometimes the movies that are released to the theaters during this time are contenders for the dud award.

    I shall leave films such as Transformers: The Franchise Could Have Been So Cool or Pirates of the Caribbean: Johnny Depp Is Now Acting Really Weird nameless.

    Instead of watching duds, try a couple of these fantastic movies, all of which are based on true stories.

    Queen of Katwe. A tremendous film based on the true story of depicts Phiona Mutesi, a girl growing up in the slums of Katwe, a city in Uganda, who gets a chance to break out of that life with chess. You will come away having laughed and cheered and been touched in a poignant way. Highly recommended.

    The Eagle Huntress. A fascinating documentary about the first girl in Mongolia to compete as an eagle hunter—these are folks who capture and train golden eagles to hunt game like fox or rabbit. You’ll be introduced into a new and interesting culture that triggers you to think about your own.

    The Founder. Ever wonder how McDonald’s got started? No, neither had I. Who cares, as long as the food is good, right? Well, if you’re like me, you’re in for an eye-opener. This tells the story of how Ray Kroc started McDonald’s, except, hint, he didn’t. Kroc is played by Michael Keaton. He’s one of my favorite actors, and I loved his performance. This story will fascinate you, and then make you think, and then make you really appreciate folks like Dave Thomas of Wendy’s.

    Concussion. An engrossing, suspenseful film about the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu and the tie between football and brain degeneration. Omalu was working as a forensic pathologist (one who figures out the cause of death) in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 2002, Omalu performed an autopsy on Mike Webster, a former NFL star who played for the Pittsburg Steelers and is considered by some to be one of the best centers in NFL history. And his worked opened up a can of worms the NFL wanted to quash. I loved this film.

    Hacksaw Ridge. This one is based on the true story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist who did not believe in killing, but wanted to support his country and all those going to war. So he goes into World War 2 as a medic and is sent to the Pacific theater. His first engagement is the Battle of Okinawa. And, oh my holy heck, what he did during that battle is nothing short of amazing. There’s one part of the film in boot camp that seemed out of place. Really, some dude back in the 1940s was going to do pull ups in the barracks naked (nothing but a bum is shown in the film)? But then I recall that growing up in the 70s and 80s that we guys showered in communal showers. And that wasn’t a big deal. And earlier than that, swimming at the swimming hole often meant shucking your clothes and jumping in. So who knows? We have a similar funny scene in Mulan, but for some reason that one felt more organic. This one felt tacked on. It was a gag for humor and then, thankfully, Mel Gibson, who directed this, got on with the awesome story of Doss.

    Deepwater Horizon. This one is based on the true story of the Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that encounters a catastrophe. The details of how such rigs work and the issues involved are fascinating. But what will really get you is the heroism of the captain and crew.

    In the Heart of the Sea. This is based on the true story of the whaleship Essex that was sunk in the Pacific in 1820 by a sperm whale and what the few that survived did to remain alive. Back in the 1700s and early 1800s, sperm whale oil, which was contained in the whale’s large head, was highly prized for lamps because it burned bright and odorless. It was also a great lubricant. Later the oil was replaced with kerosene and other and petroleum-based lubricants, but in those days there was a whole industry dedicated to harvesting it. I watched this with my teenage daughter, and we both found it a powerful tale.

    The Finest Hours. This last one is based the book The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman. It chronicles the 1952 United States Coast Guard rescue, in a dinky boat, of the crew of the SS Pendleton, a big tanker, after the ship split apart during a nor’easter off the New England coast. The movie was thrilling and heroic.

    And after you watch all of those, if you want some more great films based on true stories, well, you won’t go wrong with Tom Hanks in Sully or Captain Phillips or Bridge of Spies.

    Share

  • Best Buy, Samsung, and Sony

    ByJohn Brown

    I am not an early adopter. I do not rush out to buy the latest and greatest of anything. If I have something that works, then I keep using it until it absolutely won’t work anymore.

    For example, Nellie and I bought a Honda Accord when we were first married. Fourteen years later, we had put almost 300,000 miles on that car and would have tried to put on another 300,000. Unfortunately, it met an early demise when it encountered a herd of black Angus cattle on a very dark country road at one a.m. in the morning. So long, brave companion.

    We have a computer we purchased thirteen years ago which is still running Windows 98. Computers evolve about as quickly as fruit flies, which means that in human years our computer is like 450 years old. This is like going to war with first-generation muskets while everyone else is using Predator drones. And we’re okay with that, even though it appears we’re going to have to retire the old fellow this year.  Alas.

    I have these fine olive green dress pants that are fifteen years old. When the rise finally wore out, I had Nellie fix it.  She put in a bright Kermit-The-Frog green patch, which draws a lot of attention to an area that’s been down-played ever since the codpiece went out of fashion in the late 1500’s. Was this sweet revenge for eating her stash of chocolate? Or a cleverly planned source of constant enjoyment? I do not know. But as a result, I do not wear these pants to church and important business meetings. I wear them hiking. They protect me from bushes and mosquitoes, yet breathe with perfection. Why would I ever get rid of them?

    As you can see, I’m not a buy buy buy guy. Which means that when I get something it better darn well be a fine product because I know I’m likely to be using it for a very long time. And this brings me to our recent television and blu-ray player purchase. Two years ago some friends who had just purchased a big flat screen TV saw that we were still using our twenty-three year old 15″ RCA, took pity on us and gave us the 21″ TV they were replacing. It is one of those big suckers that weighs 475 pounds, but still a fine TV, and we watched it with joy.

    However, a few weeks ago our antenna converter box broke. Our church’s semi-annual worldwide conference was coming up, which is a feast we love to watch, and so we were faced with choice: buy another converter box or pay a few more dollars and move into the twenty-first century with a flat screen. Now, while it’s true I’m not a buy buy buy guy, it is also true that I have been longing for a manly TV lo these many years. This was my chance. When Nellie agreed we should look for a new TV, I went into immediate action.

    We started our search at Best Buy. The sales guys there were incredibly helpful. But we wanted to shop a bit more. So we went to a discount club, and thinking we’d save thirty bucks, purchased our TV there. We took it home, and I did not like it. I looked up the reviews on Consumer Reports and liked it even less. So I took it back. Sam’s has a great return policy, and gave us a full refund. Good bye, piece of crap.

    I went to Best Buy again. After talking with the floor guy there for some time, I purchased a 32″ Samsung LN32D Series 4. No, it’s not 60 inches of gorilla manliness, but a 32″ TV does have a bit of hair on its chest. And it was bigger than what we’d been using. And it was only a few hundred bucks. I found this TV’s picture much better. Excellent, in fact, with the TV stations. However, my DVDs didn’t play so well on it.

    I took it back to Best Buy. The folks there spent an hour testing other TVs and demonstrating that the issue was not the TV but my old Sony DVD player which could only use RCA cables. I needed a new player with the new HDMI cable, which is able to deliver much better quality. So I purchased one, a blu-ray player, brought it home, and found that the picture was indeed much better, but I hated the player’s remote controls. For example, I want to push one button to bring up the disc menu. I do not want to click options, over, down, down, down to do this each time.

    I took it back. The folks at Best Buy were as friendly and helpful as ever. There was no hassle returning it. We spent another thirty minutes test driving different players and their remotes. I finally settled on a Sony BDP-5390 which is fabulous, not only because the remote and on-screen controls were helpful and it remembers where I was with movies I don’t finish, but also because it has a number of apps that allow me to connect to my wi-fi and watch things like YouTube, listen to internet radio, and pipe music all through my house.  There are so many cool features that I’m going to be enjoying discovering them all for a number of weeks. In all of this, the folks at Best Buy were cheerful, helpful, knowledgeable, and willing to work with someone who was very particular in what he wanted. I am now a Best Buy believer. If you want excellent customer service and good prices, go to Best Buy. I’ll be going back there for my next TV . . . when this one has racked up two gajillion viewing hours and at last gives up the ghost.

    Share