Hey whose that guy with the hair cut and silk outfit?

Oh yeah, that's me, Jim Kruska, aka, James Kruska. That's right, still sayin it just to get my name out there.

Makin beer

Birthday steak

Here is an absolutely terribly edited video about my birthday steak. This turned into a bit of a disaster because the charcoal fire refused to start. Listen to this equally terrible song and replace the word "sex," with steak and you may be able to further celebrate my birthday which was about a week and a half ago.

Disapointing the Inlaws

A few weeks ago my future wife, father, mother, brother, sister in law, nieces, and nephew went to a river valley for a day of fun and barbecue. This was the resulting video. As you can see, I am playing around on a two year old's floaty toy. I'm not proud of the resulting video.

If you live in Jinju.....

If you live in Jinju and want a nice (expensive) western meal, don't go to VIPs or Outback go to the Asia lakeside hotel, on Jinyangho. I am very serious about this. That place will be the location of my wedding this October, so we went there to have lunch today.

There are two restaurants there. One is Japanese, the other seems to be French and Italian. I had eaten at the Japanese one before, and found the sushi to be a cut above the normal sushi that you can get other places. A highlight of that meal was some kind of pan seared tuna like fish that they called an oil fish, that was great.

Today Gff/booin and I went to the western restaurant. I had a tenderloin and seabass combo, and she had some baked seafood spaghetti. Hers had some giant shrimp and other shellfish in it. Normally I don't like shrimp, but I tried one of hers and found it to be great.

My meal was excellent, the tenderloin was in a brown sauce that had some balsalmic. I cut the tenderloin with my butter knife. I had never tried sea bass, but this bass was served in a safron sauce that carried a nice mild flavor. Served with the meat and fish were some zuccini, a mushroom that i am forgetting the name of right now, in Korean it is called a Soangi mushroom I forgot the more common Japanese name, also a bacon wrapped thing.

To all folks who live in Jinju, if you want to go spend about 60,000 won on a meal for two, skip the Outback, and the Vips, go to the Asia Lakeside Hotel.

Taco Loco

Kruska has done it again. He has profaned the art of film making with another film that stains the craft. Another piece of excrement that requires the help of a plunger for it to go down. Five tomatoes were used in the making of the tacos seen in this movie, but I'm sure five million will be thrown at computer screens when viewing this blog.

Ironically, on the side bar of this blog, martial arts videos are promised, yet action fans are treated to nonsensical cooking programs. Kruska had better learn his audience and live up to his promises in the future. At least the last film had something of a sword fight in it with a cube of frozen chicken stock, in this film there is simply a running monologue about a Korean grocery store chain and a disturbing comment made towards two cloves of garlic.

To top that off, Kruska seems to sound needlessly defensive about his choice to add pinto beans to some taco meat. Who cares?

Once again there is a part that could use some explanation. Kruska drones on and on about going back to the store to get some more supplies, then there is a break and suddenly people start speaking broken Korean in the form of Moo han shiday, the Korean restaurant feature show that goes from town to town talking about the various novelty places in the countryside. Ai Ya Yai, this reviewer's patience is wearing thin for the films of Jim Kruska. Fifty four thumbs down.

Yeah FTISEK is now the first hit when you google "James Kruska"

Just googled myself and am happy with the results, I would like to thank my readers and everyone out there who have made this a success!!!!

How to become a Wine Person

Ladies and Gentlemen there is a new type of alcoholic out there. They are called wine People. Wine people constantly live in denial to the fact that they are indeed alcoholics, but like to hide their addictions behind full bodied adjectives and metaphors.

In the field of Anthropology, Clifford Gertz enjoyed using the term "thick description," as a means of talking about culture. However, in the world of drinking, wine people like to blow smoke up listeners' asses by making comparisons of wine to things that people have never actually tasted before.

As I write this I am drinking a Chilean Syrah that boasts a "black current and blackberry balance with a spicy note."

I must admit that this wine tastes exactly like what I had for breakfast this morning, which was oatmeal with black currents and blackberries topped off with some cajun seasoning.

All kidding aside I wonder how many people sit around and eat black currents? I don't even know what one looks like. (Okay, googled it, and I always thought that those things were poisonous.)

At any rate, tonight, I ate some baked spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was okay. I'll describe the wine that I had with it in wine person talk.

Tonight's wine had the complex qualities of an Asian pear/Service berry fruit salad. Jesus Christ, what have I done with my life?

The aroma brings to mind cherry blossoms in the spring with the subdued overtones of the atmosphere before a rain. What went wrong?

Yet there is a subtle earthiness. Much like the earthiness I tasted when I woke up this morning outside a Baskin Robbins with faint memories of singing Elvis Presley's "Its now or never," to a duck.

All in all, on a seesaw shared between an apple cured smoked bacon and wild pheasant miso casserole the scales were tipped more towards the smoke house than the house of a home cooked Japanese comfort meal. Seriously if you see me you can pretend like you don't know me, I'd do the same if I were in your shoes.