Lost Cowboy

By any objective measure, the 1980 comedy film Caddyshack is not very good. But as a guy of a certain age who saw it back in the day or grew up with it due to a father who loved it – it is better than Citizen Kane. Now, nearly 40 years later, film critic Chris Nashawaty explores the making of film to the cult-like status it has attained in the wonderful Caddyshack:The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story.

About Caddyshack:The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty:

“In Caddyshack:The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story film critic for Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty goes behind the scenes of the iconic film, chronicling the rise of comedy’s greatest deranged minds as they form The National Lampoon, turn the entertainment industry on its head, and ultimately blow up both a golf course and popular culture as we know it. Caddyshack is at once an eye-opening narrative about one of the most interesting, surreal, and dramatic film productions there’s ever been, and a rich portrait of the biggest, and most revolutionary names in Hollywood. So, it’s got that going for it…which is nice.”

Caddyshack:The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty is available from Amazon and other fine booksellers everywhere.

I love tin plates and I have never seen ones that are as gorgeous as the Tin Plates I found from the fine folks at Houston-based Biscuit.

About the Tin Plates from Biscuit:

“So pretty you almost (almost!) don’t want to plate your food. This tin plate is hand painted and perfect for the summer hostess.”

Find the Tin Plates from Biscuit here.

Visit Biscuit online here.

Ever see something like an oar, snowshoe or vintage tennis racquet and think it would make a great piece of wall art? Or maybe a cool hockey stick? Well, the latter is what the fine folks at Ironwood Hockey are all about – they hand craft a great variety of hockey sticks intended as art.

I have my eye on Ironwood’s Black and Crème Goalie Stick:

“This stick is inspired & modeled after sticks from the 1920’s and 30’s.  It is a 2-piece construction made from Minnesota Ash.  Flat blade with 2″ of black leather at the toe of the blade which is the historic precursor to the cloth tape used today. Leather by Leather Works Minnesota. Handcrafted and painted in Winona, MN.”

See Ironwood Hockey’s full line of Hockey Stick art here.

Visit Ironwood Hockey online here.

FF: The Dewako One Bite Eggplant Seeds from Kitazawa Seed

I have never grown eggplant from seed in my garden, but I have had luck with pre-grown plants from nurseries. Most of my success had been with smaller varieties of eggplant, which has me excited to try the Dewako One Bite Japanese Eggplant seeds I found from the fine folks at Kitazawa Seed.

About the Dewako One Bite Eggplant Seeds from Kitazawa Seed:

“This small one-bite size Japanese eggplant, hitokuchi nasubi, is a purple-black color with a purple calyx. The fruit weighs about 10 grams and is ideal for pickling. This specialty eggplant is from Dewako in Yamagata Prefecture Japan.”

Find the Dewako One Bite Eggplant Seeds from Kitazawa Seed here.

See all the great seeds options from Kitazawa Seed here.

FF: The Common Beans from Native Seeds

With the amount of beans I use throughout the year for soups, chilis and salads, you would think I would be growing my own, but I haven’t so far. I grow plenty of green beans but not the kind of bean that make for drying and using later. The fine folks at Native Seeds – a nonprofit seed bank seeking to preserve the seeds of Native Americans – have a great line of common beans, just what I need to make my annual garden a great success.

About the Common Beans from Native Seeds:

“Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a diverse and important crop to Native American farmers throughout the Southwest. They are eaten young as green beans or dried and shelled. Plants can be bush, semi-pole, or pole. Native to the New World, beans are a traditional protein complement to corn, rich in minerals, with a variety of tastes and colors. Members of the legume family, beans fix nitrogen from the air if certain bacteria are present in the soil to infect the roots. Beans also contain soluble fiber helpful in controlling cholesterol and diabetes. Approx. 15g/50 seeds per packet.”

Find the Common Beans from Native Seeds here.

See more about the mission of Native Seeds here.

Chocolate? Made with bourbon? You have my attention! Yep, that is what the Prohibition Milk Chocolate from the fine folks at Maverick Chocolate Co. is all about.

About the Prohibition Milk Chocolate from Maverick Chocolate Co.:

“International Chocolate Awards Silver Medal! Our Prohibition bar is made with real Kentucky Bourbon imparting the chocolate with a smooth bourbon flavor. A sprinkling of smoked sea salt balances out this lightly sweet, dark milk chocolate. Tasting Notes: Bourbon, creamy chocolate, smoked salt. Ingredients: organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, milk powder, organic cocoa butter, smoked sea salt, bourbon. Contains less than 0.1% alcohol.”

Find the Prohibition Milk Chocolate from Maverick Chocolate Co. here.

Visit Maverick Chocolate Co. online here.

It was with great sadness that we marked the passing of the great Stan Lee late last year. However, the legacy he leaves behind has left an undeniable mark on popular culture which is sure to last for quite some time. Most of us know what Mr. Lee created – the Marvel universe of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, et al – but few know his whole story. Now, in Amazing Fantastic Incredible – A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David and Colleen Doran, Mr. Lee’s life is gorgeously illustrated.

About Amazing Fantastic Incredible – A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David and Colleen Doran:

“Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. The most legendary name in the history of comic books, he was the leading creative force behind Marvel Comics, and brought to life—and into the mainstream—some of the world’s best-known heroes and most infamous villains throughout his career. His stories—filled with superheroes struggling with personal hang-ups and bad guys who possessed previously unseen psychological complexity—added wit and subtlety to a field previously locked into flat portrayals of good vs. evil. Lee put the human in superhuman and in doing so, created a new mythology for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”

In this fitting full-color graphic memoir, the legendary Stan Lee shares his story and it may be the most interesting origin story yet.

Amazing Fantastic Incredible – A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David and Colleen Doran is available from Amazon and other fine booksellers everywhere.

Detroit-based artist Abigail Murray offers an inspired collection of handmade bowls, platters, cups and vases, and they are all works of art. I like Ms. Murray’s vases, like her Blackened Blue Strips Vase (right).

About the Blackened Blue Strips Vase from Abigail Murray:

“Porcelain vase with glazed interior and glazed exterior and are dishwasher and microwave safe.”

About artist Abigail Murray:

“Abigail Murray creates simple, utilitarian forms with complex surfaces of found and created textures. She explores ideas of pattern, layering and light referencing the repetition and precision of technology while delighting in the subtle imperfections of the entirely handmade.”

Learn more about Abigail Murray and visit her online shop her.

Good wrapping paper is hard to find. Well, especially when you really need good wrapping paper when you waited to the last minute to wrap a gift. You end up just getting whatever the store has when you need it. That is why when I find a wrapping paper I like, I stock up so I always have some on hand. For example, the Watercolor Gift Wraps I found from the fine folks at Yao Cheng Design are perfect for just about any occasion.

About the Watercolor Gift Wraps from Yao Cheng Design:

“Our luxurious gift wraps are the perfect way to dress up your special presents or to bring fun colors into your art projects! You can mix & match your own set of 3.”

I like the Yao Cheng Design’s Field of Roses Gift Wrap.

Find the Watercolor Gift Wraps from Yao Cheng Design here.

Learn more and visit Yao Cheng Design’s online shop here.

FF: The Organic Container Garden Collection from Fruition Seeds

I have had a container garden every year for quite a while now, and look to be better every year. Now, the fine folks at Fruition Seeds are going to help me out with their special collection of seeds selected especially for containers – their Organic Container Garden Collection.

About the Organic Container Garden Collection from Fruition Seeds:

“Container gardening is so rewarding, though not as simple as it would seem. Having the right seeds and the right soil go a long way. These varieties are easy to grow and compact as well as drought tolerant, making them perfect for your containers, wherever they may be. We have short videos below to inspire you and classes on-farm and online to help along the way! Contains one packet each of: Spacemaster 80 cuke, Genovese basil, Italian parsley, nasturtium, Deluxe Mesclun Mix and Dwarf Blue Vates kale.”

Find the Organic Container Garden Collection from Fruition Seeds here.

Visit Fruition Seeds online home here.

FF: The Organic Non-GMO Brussels Sprouts Seeds from High Mowing Seeds

The fine folks at Vermont-based High Mowing Seeds offer a great line of organic seeds, including Organic Non-GMO Brussels Sprouts Seeds – which I am bravely going to try growing this year.

About the Organic Non-GMO Brussels Sprouts Seeds from High Mowing Seeds:

“As their name indicates, Brussels sprouts, are native to Belgium, but their predecessors were originally cultivated in Rome. The “sprouts” are actually buds that grow in the crook between the leaf base and stem of the plant and are most closely related to wild cabbage, which they resemble in miniature. Brussels sprouts are high in vitamins C and K, and the phytonutrient sulforaphane, which has been found to increase the body’s production of detoxifying enzymes.”

Find the Organic Non-GMO Brussels Sprouts Seeds from High Mowing Seeds here.

Visit High Mowing Seeds online home here.