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The Novice Gardener

Tag Archives: Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars WAS the right choice.

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Music, Opinion, Reviews, Uncategorized

≈ 68 Comments

Tags

Bruno, Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, NFL, opinion, rant, Super Bowl Halftime, The Beatles

The New York Times thought it was a risk for the NFL to select Bruno Mars to headline the halftime show. My buddy Jim from Iowa first told me about it. I thought, then, and still do that it was one of the best selections the NFL has made.


Picture: Giphy.com

The reviews for the show are trickling in and so far there are at least three times as many cheers for Bruno’s performance as there are jeers. The jeers, by the way, are ridiculous. Like this particularly scathing one from USA Today’s For The Win blog,”Bruno Mars gives a forgettable Super Bowl halftime show for the ages.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Fifty years ago this week, the Beatles made their first appearance in New York.
We listened to The Beatles. We grew up with The Beatles. You, Bruno Mars, are no Beatles.

Wait a minute, who’s trying to say Bruno Mars is the Beatles, or Michael Jackson, or even Beyoncé? That’s just the problem with these critiques. They always try to compare apples and oranges. Nobody in their right mind would even suggest that the standard-bearer for the Super Bowl halftime show is the Beatles, who never even performed at the event. Paul McCartney has, but not the Beatles. I find the argument bizarre.

Then there are individuals who tweeted these:

yeaaaa bruno mars has a boring performance

— that one asian chick (@i_amscarymonsta) February 3, 2014

Bruno Mars sucks he has no talent I promise you that

— – (@saint_femme) February 3, 2014

I had to search high and low for these comments. Their number is low, but they are out there. I’m assuming these are less-than-serious critiques. There are just too many shock jock wannabes out there that you can never be sure if responding to comments such as these is a good idea.

The New York Times and USA Today, however, are in all likelihood serious publications deserving of a response. And I have one.

Their criticism of the choice of Bruno Mars seems to harbor on the fact that a) he is not a music legend and b) he doesn’t play the kind of music the writers are used to listening to. The latter is an odd argument. If anything, compared to his peers, Bruno Mars’ music brings back memories of “old-school vocal powerhouse,” according to Rolling Stone, adding,”His music mixes vintage soul, Eighties rock and contemporary R&B.”

But I have more of a problem with the first argument, that Bruno was the wrong choice because he didn’t have the profile of a musical legend or icon. I have a question, why do we always have to go with the safe and the known? How are we to discover new flavors or new directions if we don’t give new ideas a chance? We can’t always rehash old concepts hoping for new results.

It’s the same argument I have with the movie industry. How many more remakes of Superman or Batman can you take? It’s as if nobody out there can think of new stories or new plots. Create new classics for the current generation, I’d say.

Besides, to say that Bruno Mars was an untested entertainer was far from reality. After all, he’s been performing since he was practically a toddler and last year alone, performed in 84 concerts.

As far as I’m concerned, I have only one thing to say about the NFL’s choice of Bruno Mars. It got me to tune in. And I never watch football, otherwise. And how did he do, this young “unknown” singer? I don’t have to tell you, since you may think I’m a biased fan. Just read these tweets, instead.

How'd you like #SB48 halftime performance? In overnights, @BrunoMars halftime beat @Beyonce's last year 48.6 vs. 48.2 in HH rating.

— Lou D'Ermilio (@FOXSportsLouD) February 3, 2014

To everyone that said #Bruno was NOT a good choice for half time: How's that crow tasting? Mmmmmm

— Chris Daughtry (@CHRIS_Daughtry) February 3, 2014

Is this a rant? Maybe. Just want to get something off my chest, that’s all.

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Fiesta Friday #1

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Fiesta Friday

≈ 79 Comments

Tags

Bruno Mars, Chinatown, Chinese cuisine, Chinese New Year, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #1, Super Bowl

In case you didn’t know, today happens to be Chinese New Year. And you know what else is happening on Sunday, right? Mr. Bruno Mars in the house! Well, in the Super Bowl, really. Looks like Fiesta Friday is off to an auspicious start. I’m sure you are all planning something exciting, either in anticipation of Chinese New Year or the Super Bowl. Or, you’re just excited it’s Friday. Either way, tell us about it.

Hubby and I will be taking the kids to Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year tonight, and maybe again tomorrow. No way am I going to cook and make a mess in my kitchen between now and the big day on Sunday. In case you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of Bruno Mars, and I’m planning a mini party for myself. What, you never throw a party for yourself? I think you’re missing out.

Hopefully, we’ll find a parking spot. Philadelphia Chinatown is notorious for its lack of parking spaces, unless you are willing to pay premium parking fee of $10/hour or $30/day. Which I think is so ridiculous. 

If Motel 6 charges you $30/night and it gives you a bed and a bathroom, then a car spot can’t possibly charge as much without the b & b. Actually, I don’t know how much Motel 6 charges, but I’m assuming its rates are reasonable. And $30/night is reasonable IMO. Especially if you have to cohabit with cockroaches. That was just a joke, okay? Please, I don’t need Motel 6 to serve me with a lawsuit. 

So, when we go to Chinatown, our restaurant of choice is Sang Kee Noodle and Roast Duck. And our food of choice is Sang Kee’s Noodle and Roast Duck, ha!

noodle and dumplings soup

roast duck

Being that it’s Chinese New Year, however, we’ll probably be feasting on a lot more than that. We’ll probably be having Peking Spare Ribs,

peking spare ribs

Stir-fried veggies,

stir fried pea shoots
Greens are a symbol of “luck” since that’s the color of money.

Spring rolls,

spring rolls
‘Cause who knows, maybe it’ll bring Spring that much closer to us. It’s been freezing for far too long!

Maybe we’ll even eat fish, supposedly a symbol of luck, too, due to their scales resembling coins.

Now you know it doesn’t take much to convince me to tuck in. Any excuse will do. Chinese New Year, the Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, Fat Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July, just being alive. All are perfectly legitimate reasons to feast. Why discriminate?

Besides, it’s Fiesta Friday! One heck of a reason to celebrate! So, what are YOU doing for Fiesta Friday?

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Mr Fitz

Pizza Friday

Chickpea Fritters

Banana Pancakes

Cocas

Chili Chicken

Favorite Farmer’s Market

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Orecchiette with Kale

Chicken Burrito Bowl

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Fiesta Friday!

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Sweet potato and tahini cakes

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Flaming skirts, fiestas &
little bit of oooh la la!

Catbird Quilt Studio
post #100

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“Island Dreaming”

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Cooking, Food Photography & Styling, Poetry

≈ 52 Comments

Tags

Bruno Mars, DPchallenge, food art, Frank O'Hara, poem, zerotohero

BY THE NOVICE GARDENER

It’s another snowy day
Keeping the sun at bay
Seems that dreary gray
Is long here to stay
Chasing my blues away
Island dreaming all day

food art island scene

Zero to Hero lucky day 21 for me. The challenge has us drafting a post, expanding on the new-to-you format post published for #19, where I talked about Bruno Mars in an aside.

Well, Bruno is from Hawaii, and Hawaii is an island. And I’ve been island dreaming all day long. I’d say I’d fulfilled the assignment, don’t you think?

The lucky part comes from the Weekly Writing Challenge that asks that we write a short post a la Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems. So, I’m killing two birds with one stone. One post for 2 challenges. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

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Eagerly Awaiting The Super Bowl

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by Angie | Fiesta Friday in Aside

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Bruno Mars, football, Super Bowl, Zero to Hero challenge, zerotohero

I don’t watch football. So why am I so freaking excited about the 48th Super Bowl?

Because I found out, ladies and gentlemen, that listening to Bruno croon or better yet, watching him move on stage, could get me quite in the mood. For football!!

This is for Zero to Hero #19.

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Fiesta Friday #439

Fiesta Friday #439

Happy early 4th, guys! How are you all going to celebrate? Is anybody thinking of having a block party? Wouldn’t that be fun, huh?! A couple of years ago, just before the pandemic, we celebrated with several of our immediate neighbors, potluck style. We had such a good time we promised to repeat it annually. […]

Fiesta Friday #438

Fiesta Friday #438

So, the elderflower champagne experiment was a bust, unfortunately. And I spent SO. MUCH. TIME! I trimmed off every little stem from the blossoms since the green parts are reportedly toxic. That alone took me a couple of hours! Pretty much my whole afternoon was spent making the elderflower concoction. It was supposed to ferment […]

Fiesta Friday #437

Fiesta Friday #437

School is out, finally! Hurray, hurray! So now, what?! The first day I don’t have to go to work and I’m not sure what to do. Too many choices! I’ve never been a decisive decider. Sleep. That’s the first order of business. Everything will become clearer after a good, sound sleep. So I’m just going […]

Fiesta Friday #436

Fiesta Friday #436

A friend from work who knows about my blog, and no doubt has been perusing it, recently commented about my recipes. She tried a few and found them to be, in her words, delicious gourmet fancy food. She marvels at the food photos on the blog and contends that I must spend an excessive amount […]

Fiesta Friday #435

Fiesta Friday #435

Gosh, it got so hot this week! I can’t stand the heat, guys! So I got out of the kitchen. We’re subsisting on salads and cold sandwiches. Don’t feel sorry for us. We’re eating well, truly. Yesterday’s salad looked like this. Pasta salad for the win! With minimal cooking and prep other than boiling the […]

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