The Friday Five

1. Music: Real Time by Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott. This album is 16 years old, but it's definitely not mainstream. This is a great sort of Americana/Folk album by two incredibly gifted musicians & songwriters. They play all the instruments on this album & wrote I think all but two of the songs. If you're into great playing, great songwriting, & great singing (which is sorely lacking in most popular music today), you should give this one a try. It's great.
2. Food: Coffee Rub Pork Chops. Here's a new addition to the Five. On Memorial Day I tried a new take on grilled pork chops. I modified the recipe I've got linked here & used it on the chops. I didn't have turmeric, coriander, or cayenne on hand. I substituted a little Cajun seasoning for the cayenne instead & just skipped the turmeric & coriander. They turned out great. Just be careful not to overcook because an overcooked pork chop is like eating shoe leather. Here's an extra tip: save some for breakfast the next day. Serve the leftover pork chop on biscuits with just a little bit of apple jelly or apple butter. It's slap yo momma good.
3. TV: Gotham. Season 2 of Gotham just wrapped up. If you're not aware of Gotham. It's basically the story of Gotham City, Jim Gordon, & Bruce Wayne beginning with the murder of Bruce's parents. If you're looking for Batman, he's nowhere around. The show begins with Bruce as a pre-teen dealing with the death of his parents. As he grows, the writers do a good job of giving you glimpses of who he will eventually become. The stars of the show are really a young Jim Gordon, who will one day become Commissioner Gordon & the villains. If you need to catch up from the beginning, you can catch season 1 of Gotham on Netflix.
4. Quote: "Self control is the ability to do the important thing rather than the urgent thing." Tim Keller
5. Nerd Corner: Follow Pablo Hidalgo On Twitter. As you might expect, this is Star Wars related nerdom. Pablo is one of the leaders of the Lucasfilm Story Group at Disney who gets to be a part of creating Star Wars. He literally gets to decide what becomes "canon" in the Star Wars universe. Pablo is a great representative to the fans as well. He's very active on Twitter. He's really interactive. Sometimes he'll answer questions, sometimes he won't. He also pokes fun at the insanity that is alway present in any sort of rabid fanbase. Pablo himself is worth a follow, but if you ever feel a little ashamed of how into Star Wars you are, following him also gives you access to people who are way more gone than you are. It helps you & your family realize that you could be a much bigger nerd than you already are.