One attraction might be worth the 13 hour drive to the west coast.  Deep fried butter.  Uh…yum?  I have a huge sweet tooth and I’ve indulged in deep fried oreos (life changingly good), deep fried coke (actually not bad) and the now common deep fried chocolate bar (had a snickers…chocolate melted…it was ok).  And of course, who hasn’t had the deep fried ice cream at Julio’s Barrio on Whyte ave. But deep fried butter?  Aren’t they called Krispy Kremes?

Deep fried butter w/ sauce Ctsy: Toronto Star

The balls o’butter also made a heart stopping appearance at the CNE earlier this summer. Got the trick to deep frying butter from a Toronto Star article.

“Skinkle mixes it with secret ingredients, scoops it into small portions with a melon baller and freezes it.  When it’s good and cold she dips the butter balls in sweet funnel cake batter and deep fries them for about 20 seconds. The bite-size balls are drizzled with raspberry, chocolate, caramel or vanilla topping and sprinkled with icing sugar. A four-pack, served in a cardboard tray on toothpicks, costs $5″

You gotta check out this kid from the states.  I haven’t tried the DF butter but by his reaction it must be pretty good.  Either that or the hot oil has gone to his head.

If you have a favorite food, chances are someone has battered it and stuck it in a tub of boiling oil. There are deep fried mac and cheese balls. Deep fried pickles.  Deep fried peaches and cream. Deep fried peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

Deep fried coke

What is it about deep frying food that makes it so good?  I don’t know.  Is it our ‘the bigger the better’ culture we live in? Is it the greasy, yummy taste it leaves in our mouth?  Is the Eden-apple syndrome?  We shouldn’t have it and that makes it even more irresistible?

Whatever it is…we pay a deep price for our grease addiction. Deep fried Mars bars are about 500 calories.  Deep fried coke is more than 800.  If you are on a diet, you might want to just stick with a Big Mac with cheese.  It only has 704 calories.

Deep fried Cadbury creme egg

Even David Letterman talked about DFB in his daily top ten list.  In “Things you should ask before you eat deep fried butter”, he asks “how close is the nearest emergency room?”  and “Should I be heart smart…and order the deep fried margarine.”  Laugh Dave…but keep looking for ‘Can’t believe it’s not deep fried!’

Change is hard

On Tuesday, in our news cast, we ran a story about the first day of school for Elk Island school division.  Most kids looked snappy in their new clothes, almost happy to be lugging the still-creased-from-the-store backpack to school.  But as I was reading the words on the teleprompter…there was one little girl who caught the corner of my eye. Watch the video and toward the end…look for the girl in pink.  It looks like she was told Disneyland burned down and she was going to identify the remains of Mickey mouse.  She looked like she was told Santa decided to cease and desist any more visits down her dusty chimney. Her tear soaked face matched her pink sweater.  Her mouth gaped as she openly sobbed.

After 5 years of being home with mom, surrounded by her favorite stuffies,  napping  in the comfort of her own bed…now she was told it’s time for her to move on.  It’s heart breaking, but  just one of many adventures she will face as she grows up.  And we all know she’ll be okay in moments after her mom or dad tears her hand out of theirs.

But will the parents be ok?  The interview with the school principal told the other side of the story.  She said there was a lot of tears…but these salty droplets were rolling down the faces of the parents.  I know that will be me.  I cry at the new Apple iPhone commercial with the new grandpa.

My own little girl is facing a new adventure in her life.  She is going to daycare on September first for the first time.   I am nervous.  The butterflies are thrashing around in a mosh pit in my stomach.  I know, like all those parents dropping their kids off at school for the first time that it’s another adventure for her.  She loves being around other kids and I know her speech will improve and she will thrive in the supportive environment.  But as a mom, I want to shelter her from the kids who will run her over with their tricycle or push her out of the way to get at the sandbox.  But, growth comes with letting go.  I am just glad my husband will have the adventure of dropping her off .  He can grow.

Today, another name has been added to that list.

But to re-cap first, David Hasselhoff, international singing superstar Michael Bolton, Jersey Shore’s “The Situation” (imagine the outfits, my friends), and “The Hills” reality star Audrina Patridge have been said to hit the ballroom.

Bristol Palin.

And so, apparently, is Bristol Palin! Oh boy. Meanwhile, the father of her child and ex-fiance Levi Johnston is filming a reality show to become mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

The true stars of “Dancing with the Stars” will be announced during Monday’s “Bachelor Pad” which airs on Citytv Edmonton at 9 PM.

Lindsay and her mom.

Rumour has it, a New York-based radio station is prepared to offer Lindsay Lohan and her mother Dina $1 million to co-host its nationally syndicated morning show!

The station, Party 105, is located on Long Island in Lindsay’s hometown of Merrick, New York.

According to a rep at JVC Broadcasting, they’d pay Lindsay and her mom would cover trendy fashion tips, entertainment news, and evem have an advice hotline.

It is not yet known if she’s accepted or turned it down.

This- less than 48 hours after she’s been released from rehab.

To be honest, I’m not sure if anyone cares what I have to say or if anyone is reading my blog..it’s only 3 weeks old.   I know I have the freedom to write what I want…so long as it’s not spewing hate or inciting violence.  As I muddle my way through the blogosphere, I find this article fascinating.  The Oilers and other NHL teams do not accredit bloggers and they want the teams that do…to stop. Read this…it’s a great talker.

http://yhoo.it/9QTHSz 13

What is a blogger?  Someone who has a website and rambles personal thoughts? Are they a journalist?   Is everyone with a ‘blog’ allowed a free pass to an Oilers season?  Are there more qualified bloggers than others? I’m not sure if every Tom, Dick and Harry with a blog should be allowed in the locker room, having access to the players.  I think the team and its officials should be held accountable for their actions but I think there are already a lot of qualified people there to do it.  Most bloggers comment on what they read in the media anyway.

The Oilers probably want more control on the people who comment on their performance.  The bloggers are not accountable to anyone, but their readers. Team management doesn’t have a general manager or publisher to call if they don’t like what they hear or read.

Not everyone who applies for accreditation to Oilers games gets it.  Should the big bloggers like David Staples be allowed and the smaller ones forbidden?  My colleague Ryan brings up a point. He says if someone tapes a news event on their handicam…is that video of less value, less legitimate than video taken by a traditional news organization?

From sports to theatre…these bloggers know how to make waves. That brings me to the big blogger vs actor blowout of last week.  A local blogger posted theatre reviews on her site. An actor got upset  about what he read and posted an ugly response, saying (among other things) the blogger is not trained to write reviews and shouldn’t.  That response was then blogged and tweeted and facebooked. The actor got death threats.

A blogger should have the freedom to write about sports teams and the things they see on stage.   The blogger, in question, didn’t get free tickets to get into the shows (she bought season tickets). And honestly I can most times relate more to a layperson’s review than a trained professional who can talk above my head.

Blogs are relatively new…I guess when you compare them to traditional newspapers, TV and radio. By my mumbled thoughts, you can see I’m struggling with this.  I have a few blogs i follow.  My favorite is Perez Hilton. Redneckmommy makes me laugh, gasp with shock and often cry.  David Staples has a good sports blog.  As with everything, we will struggle with this new form of technology until it becomes even more mainstream…a day that the Oilers and a certain actor are not looking forward to.

 But these bison are not small.  They weigh about 2000 pounds.  They have the ability to run 48 kilometers an hour.  That’s not funny. 

Bison are the most dangerous in rutting or mating season

According to the book Nature on the Rampage, bison are like freight trains with hooves.  “Its battering-ram skull is topped with horns specially designed to hook and gore its foes”.  Park wardens say bison are at their most dangerous during rutting season (which runs through September…which is now).

Here’s some tips if you encounter a bison on the street (that sounds funny to say, and it’s even odder to think we might actually need them)

-If you see a bison with its head lowered, snorting and pawing the ground…start running.

-Running is a good idea, but they can outrun you so get a head start.  Bison run three times faster than a human.

-If you can’t run…lie down. Bison have a hard time getting its head and horns down to gore you.

Having a bison walk down main street past city hall is way different than the docile animals you see on the side of the Yellowhead in Elk Island Park.  Let’s just hope you don’t have to look one of these beasts in the eye and wonder if you should drop or run.