I have just started reading Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking. I know the litterati will scoff when I say that I normally avoid introductions and prologues like the plague but I think it’s important to read Ruhlman’s introduction, written by pal and Bottom Line fav Anthony Bourdain, to understand the intent of the book. It appears as if Ruhlman set out to write something of a reference book for novice chef. Notice that I don’t use the word beginner because I think, as it has been pointed out, Ruhlman’s book has a tone that suggests that he assumes a certainly culinary knowledge has been attained by the reader prior to picking up Elements. That being said, Ruhlman’s writing is informed, concise and passionate. It conveys quite well that cooking and teaching people to appreciate cooking is something he cares a great deal about. For the home cook serious about making good food, it’s definitely worth a read (thus far).

www.michaelruhlman.com

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Playoffs?!?!

NFL playoff time, boys and girls, in between watching a few movies and catching up on my TiVo, I’ll be consumed by Wildcard Weekend. My picks are as follows:

WASHINGTON over Seattle

JACKSONVILLE over Pittsburgh

NEW YORK over Tampa Bay

SAN DIEGO over Tennessee

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BCS DEBACLE

I speak, not of the system as a whole (though it could be said a similar description would be fitting), but of my .500 percent BCS batting average after Wednesday night’s Fiesta Bowl and last night’s Orange Bowl. My hats off to West Virginia and especially to Kansas, both of whom I thought had virtually no chance of winning their bowl games.

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OUTDOOR HOCKEY IS AWESOME!

Had it not been for a gripping Capital One Bowl, I surely would have watched the entirety of the Buffalo Sabres/Pittsburgh Penguins Winter Classic game Tuesday afternoon. It’d be hard to believe that one game could put the league back on the game but the NHL has gotten more press as a result and that’s never a bad thing for a league that plays the majority of its games on Versus.

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WHY WAS RICH RODRIGUEZ AT MICHIGAN’S BOWL GAME?

I thought this was absolutely classless. While many of the coaches who have taken jobs with programs playing in bowl games, most had the sense to stay away from the games and let the seniors and the outgoing coaching staff finish their season. Or at the very least not be filmed on the sidelines at the game, let alone interviewed during the game. Given how long Lloyd Carr had been at Michigan and that the bowl was his last game, I thought it was a low-class move for Rodriguez to try to steal the spotlight for a second. It’s not your team yet, Rich, stay away.

I like…

USAToday’s Pop Candy blog has a cool story about the pen pal relationship between John Waters and a young Fred Armisen, now a cast member on SNL.

Arctic Monkeys have released some new tracks under a fake name.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley tears into the BCS.

Spin has a cool interview with Mike Doughty.

Anthony Bourdain is returning to work the sauté station at Les Halles in New York for a night. Working the grill station? Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin. Might not be a bad time to think about booking a table at Les Halles in the near future.

The new Chronicles of Narnia trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

To view the trailer in HD, head on over to Yahoo! Movies.

I don’t like…

BCS Coordinator and SEC Comish Mike Silve says increased parity in college football won’t change the BCS.

The Sabres have ended their 29-year relationship with the Rochester Americans.

If you get bored, I’d highly recommend Kevin Smith’s Smodcast that he does with longtime friend and producer Scott Mosier. Really funny, insightful stuff on a variety of topics, the least of which appear to be movies. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

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No, seriously…

Who knew an exclamation point could be so expensive.

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Will the NHL return to ESPN next season? And by next season, we mean 2008-2009.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are suing Ticketmaster, claiming the ticket broker of being a *gasp* monopoly?!?! I hate buying anything through Ticketmaster. I think if I had all of my “convenience charges” back, I could finance an Web 2.0 start-up.

You know you’re in trouble when Michael Irvin comes to your defense.

The Titans are shutting down Pacman Jones’ dreams of becoming the next Superfly Jimmy Snuka.

Freddy Adu signs with Portuguese football club Benfica. Wanna know why the MLS is never going to be a successful and respected soccer league? Because it can’t hold onto talent like Adu.

T.J. “Who’s your momma?” thinks NFL commish Roger Goodell is being “mean” to Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman.

Fanhouse’s Big Ten preview.

• Most underrated players
• Impact freshmen
• Players with big shoes to fill

A rare Navy football story.

Eric Wright and Joe Thomas have agreed to contracts with the Browns. Brady Quinn continues to act like a moron.

Wisconsin AD, and former football coach, Barry Alvarez is in favor of a Big Ten championship game if the league expands to 12 teams.

Chicago Tribune columnist says Big 10 commish has some ‘splaining to do.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock calls out Priest Holmes.

LSU head coach Les Miles tries to downplay all of the stupid things he’s said this off-season.

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge is in search of a go-to receiver. Erik, his name is Robert Meachem, he’s in New Orleans. Just thought I could help.

L.A. Times’ columnist T.J. Simers proves can make you an elitist jerk.

Mark Richt says his Georgia Bulldogs are not “too far away” from being a title contender. Check his office for a gas leak.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on the early Heisman race and the five things to expect in the SEC this year.

The AJC’s Jeff Schultz says Georgia is flying under the radar and could surprise some people this year.

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Well-rounded news…

The Consumerist is reporting that Best Buy has fired some Geek Squad personnel following newspaper articles about “agents” taking files from customer’s computer.

Select Best Buy stores open mini-Apple stores.

NBC wants the sometimes-funny Jimmy Fallon to replace Conan O’Brian as late night host.

Premiere’s 20 fresh faces of comedy.

A major investment group has called for the resignation of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey after it was discovered he was posting to a Yahoo! stock forum anonymously.

The Federal Trade Commission may block Whole Foods’ acquisition of rival Wild Oats. Seriously, consumers need two places where they can buy overpriced health food. Good lookin’ out, FTC.

The New York Times and NBC News will collaborate on their coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

A first look at the Lost videogame. Warning: You should secure your brain before you watch this! I almost lost mine. No pun intended.

A teaser trailer for the Dark Knight. Oh man. I don’t usually get excited about trailers, especially one that is 45 seconds long. But I’m a dork and I like Batman so this made me excited. 

New Cold War Kids video for “Hospital Beds”.

Kathy Griffin on her date with Andrew W.K.

Kevin Smith to write and direct episode of Heroes spin-off.

Some Lost news from Comic-Con.