There is a contest coming

Yes with prizes and everything. Stay tuned....

This Party needs some Margaritas

But first, please allow me to do some housecleaning annoucements.

1.Please resist the urge to pluck the feathers. I know they are lavish and soft, but contrary to popular belief, they do not grow back as fast as some people think.

2.My butt needs a break. I know its a cute butt and all, so says Mrs Duck, but some of you ladies pinch really hard. Lets take tonight off in the butt pinching contest, shall we?

Ok now on to the recipe. I am going to give you two versions, One by Sandra Lee of Food Network. Hers is the beer margarita for a big gathering recipe.

Beer Margarita for a crowd

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup coarse salt
2 (12-ounce) bottles your favorite beer, chilled
1/2 cup frozen concentrate limeade, thawed
1/2 cup chilled tequila
Ice cubes

Rub lime wedges around rims of 4 margarita glasses. Dip rims into salt to coat lightly. In a medium pitcher, combine beer, limeade, and tequila. Fill prepared glasses with ice, then with margarita mixture. Garnish with remaining lime wedges. Serve immediately.

And now the Easy Sparky Duck version, for when you are just mixing for you and your special sweetheart. Or even better, for when you really feel like drinking alone.

2oz of Limeade, which is about one shot in a shot glass. (found in the Butter/Egg aisle of the supermarket.We like Minute Maid)
2oz of tequila, again about one shot in a shot glass
3 or 4 shots of your favorite beer (from my experience, you can make 3 servings from one bottle of beer, 2 drinks with 3 shots and 1 drink with 4 shots)

1.Combine Limeade and Tequila in a drink mixing glass, or in a large serving glass or beer stein, with 2 to 3 ice cubes.
2.Add beer, and stir gently.
3.If using mixing glass, pour into your favorite glass, with or without ice cubes according to taste (to some people, ice and beer dont mix)
4.Enjoy!

Mini comments-Ultimate Blog Party

Jay, P'Od Patricia and Rhiannon have asked what exactly is the Ultimate Blog Party. As a public service, I will explain at least what I know.

The Ultimate Blog party is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. It is alot of Moms, I mean alot of them. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I check out alot of mom blogs, like Kailani, Tigerprrr, Slackermom and Peg. So I have no problem reading mom blogs. But, alot of them are also homeschooling moms, not exactly my cup of tea coming from a family full of educators. And then there are the homeschooling moms that blog for God. Have I mentioned that I am a lasped catholic and leaning towards becoming a Wiccan??

So, while its a large group of people, almost 700 blogs linked, I dont see myself getting to many new readers from this little party, since I dont see them jumping on the Pagan bandwagon.

But, if you stay tuned, there will be a beer margarita recipe coming in the near future, that should keep you coming back.

Oh, before I forget, run over to Lady Jayne Scarlett's blog and tell her congrats! She is crazy enough to join the commune of the married in a few weeks. try and talk her out of it.

Todays Annoyance

If you did not watch CNN or MSNBC or have some sort of email news alert telling you about the big stories of the day, you would have never have known that Scooter Libby was convicted of obstruction. Thank You Disney and Columbia for making sure the masses have no idea how horrible the President and VP are.

Sweating and Breathing Easy

This is my first March Madness post, another sports holiday that for about two weeks over takes the country like a brush fire. Everyone fills out brackets, even if they only pick teams based on numbers and nicknames.

A couple more teams are breathing easier today with VCU and Gonzaga winning last night. Both these teams would have gotten in, at least probably, based on record or reputation, but the committee would have had to take another team from each conference. Now, they should only take one more from the CAA (VCU's conference and that team should be Old Dominion) and no one else from the WCC, where Gonzaga won the title. It would have been hard for the committee to leave either or both VCU or Gonzaga out if they lost last night, and now its not a problem.

Now, here is how I figure this, the smaller conferences have some teams that should be in, whether they win the title or not. If these A-List teams get knocked out, they then have to take two teams all of a sudden, making one less seat at the table for someone else. Confusing enough?

Basically, if you are a fan of Purdue, Illinois, Missouri State, Old Dominion, Mississippi or Mississippi State, you are rooting for Butler tonight in the Horizon Championship. If Wright State manages to win, Butler is definetly going and one of those teams listed above will lose a seat. This is so much fun!

Frio Manifesto Ver 2.0

The wind chill is 2 degrees here today, so thoughts of Hawaii are necessary.



Yes that is Diamond Head in the background and the Hotel was pink

An Inconvenient Truth-3 Quacks

A few weeks back, we TiVo'd an Inconvenient Truth, actually just before the Academy Awards, to see if it really was that good. And actually, it was.

Now, I will preface this by saying that I voted for Al Gore. I helped campaign a little for Al Gore back in 2000. I read his book, the Prince of Tennessee. So I am an Al Gore fan. There were parts of the movie that I did find boring, when discussing some of his upbringing and his early political career, but that was because it was all information that I knew very well already. But if you dont know Mr Gore, these segments helped to show that he is not a Johnny Come Lately on the subject of Global Warming and the environment.

The actual discussion of Global Warming was laid out in a way that was very easy to understand. CO2 in the air is keeping more of the suns rays in the atmosphere, causing the earth to stay warmer. There were also some points that truly caused fear, especially the sights of the floods if some of the ice caps at either Pole melted.

But, the best information I got was how the Baby Boomer generation is the genertion that might be most to blame. They are excessive and also opposed to change. And taking a quick little survey of my neighborhood and there parked cars, except for 2 work cars that are probably purchased by the companies that my neighbors work for, most of the American made cars parked around here are foreign cars, which give better gas mileage and are more reliable. No one can dispute that a Toyota or a Honda is better then a Pontiac.

It all comes down to making changes in your own life and also not allowing big business to block things, because overall the United States is one of the worst offenders when it comes to waste and not doing things green. And the movie made all of this perfectly clear. Its a must watch for anyone who is interested in why the weather might be screwy and how we may be able to change it.

On a side note, while I can not say whether the Melissa Etheridge penned theme song was worthy of an Oscar, it did remind me of some older Melissa Etheridge tracks and I promptly downloaded it to the Ipod, just because it was an enjoyable song.

Is Hillary Right?

Apologies early, because this could be a bit of a jumbled mess, still fighting off a bit of a sinus headache that is spiraling into a migraine, or at least I hope not.

But last night, I was watching the world news on ABC, because there were no good basketball games on anymore, but they did this story about all of the Republican candidates visiting this Conservative Southern thing. And its amazing, they all really disliked the frontrunners. Romney is called Mitt Flop, McCain is really not thought of as one of them, and Rudy is too, New York and wishy washy on abortion.

But, for all the bad thoughts they have on these front runners, they all agree on one thing, how they must defeat Hillary. She is such a dividing force, the Southern Republicans will take whatever they can get.

Which is why I am quite worried about Hillary running for President and getting the nomination. Many Democrats are undecided upon her, yet the Republicans will all band together to get her. She will get the base out, more for them then for the Republicans. Though it is amazing, this election is starting way way too early. And, I wish Cheney would run, because I think even Dodd could beat him.

Ultimate Blog Party, Fashionably Late

***Sticky Post, until I do another party post, so please please scroll down for other posts***

Sparky Duck is in the house, and the house is packed! You knew that I would be here, foshizzle nizzle. What? People dont say foshizzle anymore? Well, I am a bit of a wallflower, so I had to wait until the party got itself started before we showed up.

Oh, you mean you have never met a 34 year old blue duck before? Well, then I had better lay it all out for you, so you wont just gawk at me. I grew up in Central Jersey, but moved down here to Philadelphia in 2004, hence the name of the Blog. I know, I know, people say its just one state over, but once you get above Trenton, NJ is very very different, meaning Philadelphia is really really different. And I dont just mean the pretzels.

But, I have settled in, gotten married to the lovely Mrs Duck and it really aint so bad here. Oh yes, married, Mrs Duck and I are still in the honeymoon/newlywed phase, its only been since June. I am a Stay At Home Dad who does not have any kids. *giggles* that is much better to say then I am currently between opportunities now isnt it? Well, the furballs are kinda like kids, but there cats, they are pretty darn self sufficient. Dont worry though, I have not lost faith.

I have a few pasttimes, football of course being one of them. But there books of all kinds and blogging. Dont forget that I am a expert in the kitchen, Mrs Duck says so and she is a pretty fickle critic.

The blog itself has been around since 2004 and has evolved from political rants from a guy who happily live in a blue city, to a mish mosh journal of things, which is actually how I pictured this little experiment to be in the first place.

I have invited some folks and they may stop by, as long as they hit that little button on the right (no your other right :>). But I am just excited to meet and greet new folks, oh yea and there was some mention of door prizes??

Oh, Oh, never come empty handed, thats what i always say, so click the little video below and maybe we can get some music jumping in here. I have to run out later for some limeade, but I figure we would go mingle first. Hey, nice to meet ya, now watch out for the feathers.

Triple Tribute

****This is a Birthday Sticky Post, so scroll down to see newer posts for the day***

First, a birthday wish. Today is Wordnerd's birthday. Stop by her place and wish her a happy one, she is 29 once again. She has become a good blogger friend and I hope she has a great day and weekend. Though if you do stop by her place, don't ask her about LSU football, you will never escape.

Wordnerd, here is a little something for you to enjoy.



Also, its Sarge's birthday. Sarge is my BIL and spends his days protecting and serving some of the youngest citizens of the city. His birthday was this week, but I am wishing him a happy one today because we are going out tonight to celebrate it. Sarge gives off this forboding, kinda scary vibe, but if he is your friend, he would do anything for ya. Plus, every year he picks a new sushi place for his celebration and its like the only time I get sushi.

Also, a little thank you to Peg. She ran a contest, since she was able to finally download a musical ringtone to her phone, and to celebrate, her readers had to guess the song. Yours truly came in with a second guess at the last moments and got it right, so I am getting featured there. I am just happy that my musical idiosyncracies work for something.

So In honor of Peg and the Sarge, who both seem to love this song, here is a little Ozzy! (Not the version I wanted to find, but it does the trick)

Not Yet...

You scored as Paganism. Your beliefs are most closely aligned with those of paganism, Wicca, or a similar earth-based religion. You may also follow a Native American religion. Paganism 58% Islam 50% Christianity 50% Buddhism 50% Hinduism 50% agnosticism 50% Judaism 42% Satanism 25% atheism 25% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

but right now its the way im leaning

Alton Brown, Chef and Psychic?

I have always been a fan of Alton Brown, he is one of my non sexual geek crushes. He has that goofy way about him and the recipes he offers are usually simple and tasty. So, the other day, I recorded an episode about Crabs and Crab Legs. It was easy,place fresh herbs on top and then you just wrap the legs in wet paper towels and saran wrap, finally microwave for two minutes and voila, steamed crab legs.

So easy in fact it struck me as something I could do, but sheesh, crab legs can be expensive. So, not expecting much, I took a ride to my local market and lo and behold, crab legs were on sale at 50% off!! A meal fit for a king and queen out of nowhere.

So I ask, how did Alton not only know that this would be so easy, but that the shellfish would be on sale at my favorite food store?? Kreskin of the Kitchen perhaps?

Blogger....

you officially suck

Typepad, Wordpress, anyone?

Thursday Thirteen #24-The Musically Forgotten One

Thirteen Underappreciated Bands Yea, the Thursday Thirteen returns! And while I swore I might slow down on this meme, I still have 5 or 6 lists trapped in my head so we shall press on. So, Thirteen Bands that need some love. 1.Better Than Ezra- A band that still clicks along. Listen to Desperately Wanting or In the Blood and tell me they dont deserve a download. 2.Buffalo Tom-Big Red Letter Day was the perfect album, with just a bit of a mix between the lonely grunge sound and the eff you punk sound. An album I still listen to now. And they have a new album coming out in 2007. 3.Love Seed Mama Jump-A Delaware based, Philadelphia Cover Band that still fills the bars, 12 years after I graduated from college and saw them for the last time. The thing about cover bands is that you hate the sound, but LSMJ does a nice job of making the song all there own. Check out Free or Rocky Top to get a true sense of there sound. Plus how many bands can release a song originally done by a marching band and make it sound good! 4.Crowded House-Everyone thinks Crowded House had two good songs in the 80's and then disappeared back to Australia. I consider the Finn Brothers some of the contemporaries of the grunge sound and "Weather With You" and "World Where You Live" were some of there best from later albums. Try to find the live concerts with a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder. 5.P!NK- Ok, you ask, how is Pink underappreciated? Well, since she has gotten away from the bubble gum pop sound, she is no where near as popular, though some of her newest stuff is some of her best stuff. "Who Knew" maybe one of her best songs ever. Plus she did a duet with the Indigo Girls in "Dear Mr President" and held her own. 6.Living Colour- A unique band because it was made up of African Americans playing heavy metal. They really only had one huge album, but there were 4 or 5 good songs on the first album. Plus Vernon Reid was and still is a guitar genius. 7.Seven Potato Baby-A small Philadelphia based band that strikes me as a cross between No Doubt and Sarah McLachlan if she was in a band. Find "Happy" someplace. 8.Dig-One of those mid-90's grunge bands with a heavy accent on fast guitar, they sound like a knock off of the Goo Goo Dolls. It was probably a race to see who would survive between the two, since there sound is so similar. "Believe" was a better song then anything the Goo Goo Dolls did in the early days, but Dig could not substain the momentum and GGD exploded. 9.Color Me Badd- Ok here goes some of my street cred, but if you dont find yourself tapping your toes when listening to "Sex You Up" or "All for Love" you may need to see a doctor about a happy pill. 10.Tupac/2-Pac-Ok, now to get that street cred back! Tupac was a rapping genius, who wrote some great songs about social concerns that not only affected inner city folks, but could be a message to everyone everywhere. "Changes" is special and California Love is a great song for the Friday drive home. 11.Blessid Union of Souls-A great band that caught on during the early 2000's with a sound that was a mix between the vocals of Boyz II Men and the piano playing skills of Billy Joel. While they disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived, "Believe" and "Light in your Eyes" are great songs still today, guys especially if you have some sucking up to do. 12.Four Squirrels-A band out of the Pacific Northwest that came after the grunge sound, but still stuck to its heritage with its tribute to Kurt Cobain in the "Mighty KC". They became slight celebrities when the van they were traveling in got in a car wreck, killing the lead singer and a guitarist. Still one great album. 13.Soul Asylum- Ok, they are not under appreciated really, because they have not put out too much to be appreciated recently. But in 1997, at the height of there popularity, they played a benefit concert for the victims of the Red River Flood in Minnesota. And even better, they played the prom at a high school most affected by the flood in Grand Forks. That deserves some appreciation in my book and the CD was released as a benefit album, titled "After the Flood" in 2004. All of these bands should be visible on Itunes, except for maybe Seven Potato Baby, but if your intrigued to hear what they sound like, drop me a line, I have the CD. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

So Lost

Lost?? Well there is an hour of my life I wont get back

Of Mice and Cheney

I was hunkered down yesterday, submitting resumes and also catching up on the TiVo backlog (Gotta catch up on OLTL), so I totally missed out on any of the news from yesterday. Until I talked with Mrs Duck later on, I was unaware that the stock market tanked and that Cheney had been a "target". Well, a target in a grand target sense.

Now, I am not one of Cheney's biggest fans, that is for sure. But he is someones husband, father and grandfather, so my human being side came out and was thankful nothing serious happened to him. Of course, the same can not be said for the soldier and other people milling around outside the air base who did not fair as well. So, here is my question. WHAT WAS HE DOING THERE??

I think of it this way. We have a colony of mice living outside our front door, ok maybe colony is strong. But they live under the front step. They stay away from me and I leave them alone. Now, the mice dont come running into our front door, probably because of the cats, not because they are a afraid of me, since I am more afraid of them.

How does this relate to Big Time? Well, the mice are smarter then him, they know exactly where they should go and should not go. I am the goverment of Afgahnistan and I guess the cats are the suicide bombers. But guess what, still havent seen a mouse. So, if you want to bolster the troops, or yell at some generals, send an email, do some video conferencing!!

On a side note, Mrs Duck is much more intune with all things financial then I am. Her words of wisdom when she heard about the market? "Gee, I wonder what Haliburton is trading at right now."

Ear and Eye Candy

I remember how popular the last entry that included the great Jared Leto was, so why not follow it up with another video post? I say give the people what they want, I know who my readers are. Have patience, 30 Seconds to Mars is in this video, trust me.



That was the ear candy, and now for the eye candy.



Of course, I need some eye candy for me, it is my blog you know. I always used to get Rose McGowan and Bridget Moynahan confused, until Bridget went and got herself pregnant. Plus, I have a whole thing with the name Bridget, but thats another story. So, a hottie that you have heard of I am sure, ....drumroll... Rose McGowan.

Frio Manifesto Ver 1.4

As we still continue to melt out of another winter ice/snow storm, let us enjoy another honeymoon picture where the weather was perfect.

I think its sunset in San Diego, though it could be Sunrise, the sun seems to be moving right to left.




This is a Crosspost, so see all my photographic brillance at

Sparky's Photo Hut

Da Comments 2

Da Comments 1

Trish said...
OMHigherBeing! What a great idea!! Imagine- posting comments responses as a POST! I'm gonna try that! LOL
Seriously - lovin' it. :)
Which reminds me - gotta do a comments post. ;D

Yes, I stole this idea from Trish, check her out sometime.

Anthony said...
Unfortunately, I think we'll see Kyle in victory lane a couple of times this year, too. The little shit.
I read somewhere that it's possible that Rudd would leave the car if they either didn't win or Ricky just gets tired. If they keep running like they did last week, Ricky will probably find the energy to stick around.
Even counting the Bud Moore years, this may be the best chance he's had equipment-wise. I always thought he was a talented driver who never really hooked up with the right team for his style. In his younger days, he ran alot like Smoke ... bump 'em out of the way if they don't want to let you go!
He was my favorite when I started going to races. He ran the Piedmont Chevy then. About as reliable as the airline.

I think Ricky will have a good chance with his equipment if he just stops getting wrecked, since his luck ran out again yesterday. Two weeks though and no Jeff, Jimmie or Kyle in Victory Lane is a good thing. Piedmont Air? How long have you been watching racing???

Thursday Thirteen #23

ChupieandJ'smama said...

You know, sadly, I didn't know the whole story behind most of those. What are they teaching us in school anyway? I do know the whole Brittany Spears saga. Pretty sad statement on society isn't it? Nice TT. Sorry it'll be the last one. I always enjoyed yours.

Well, thats why I did the list, since I was pretty clueless on most of them. I thought Purdue University was named after the chicken company for the longest of times. I did know who Ringling and LaGuardia were though. And apparently the TT lives again.

crowwoman / rhian said...

I had decided to continue it as well - it's my one disciplined post a week - well sorta. The whole naming process is interesting - I have a client who is a land developer and he just started naming lakes and roads in the community after his relatives. Must be nice to have the power.

You still can have that power. Sim City 5 and Roller Coaster Tycoon, baby!

Anthony said...

That's a very cool list. I learned a few things. Never knew the source of Purdue or Austin or very much about Rittenhouse.

Do you think it was easier to be an inventor in the 1700s, when there was so much stuff left to invent?

I think it would have been easier and harder in the 1700's. So many new things to invent, but how many people do you think tried to create dynamite before someone did it successfully??

alisonwonderland said...

interesting stuff that i'd really not thought much about before. i'm going to #9(St Louis) in the summer, so i'll have to be sure to recite that information! i'll sound so smart! :o)

Bring me a good souvenir back!!

Neila said...

Wow! I love the TT's that teach me something. :-) Kudos to doing the research for that one!

It was easy, a half hour of Wikipedia! And my wandering brain to wonder about these places.

Will They or Won't They

ali said...

i'm not going to say...since i know who dies...but i think it's going to be a good episode.
i love love love friday night lights. kyle chandler totally carries that show. he's awesome!

It was funny, because in the beginning it became obvious that Kyle Chandler is a method actor, because he sure did sound like his character on Friday Night Lights. Was your spoiler right?

Nancy said...

My thoughts are Grey's: I cried thru most of the episode. Manily, because I have a Person. And, I would so call her first if and when I have to get rid of a corpse. I even emailed her this morning letting her know how much I love because of this show

I think its amazing because almost all women have a person and that person is not there husband. Probably because that is the body you will be burying Nancy :)

Neila said...

I cry at that damn show every week! I was not surprised they didn't kill her. (How's that for a double negative?) But, I was not expecting them to kill her mom. That was a surprise.
And I have been a fan of Kyle Chandler ever since he was on Homefront in the early 90's. Love him!

I actually did not cry this week. But my wife bawled enough for the both of us. No matter how goofy Meredith seems I think Mrs Duck identifies with her some.

Porn Pirate

Anthony said...

They would have really gone Google-nuts if you had found a way to mention Cecily Tynan's name in there somewhere.
She's Google Gold, baby!

Or Erin O'Hern now! Though I think I may have found a way to do just that just now.

Lady Jane Scarlett said...
I am amazed at your title-surely it will go down in the annals of great blog titles. I can't believe it-a sword!?

Please send all awards and monetary donations to my paypal account. Thank you. I will share some with you Lady Jane for part of the inspiration.

Music and Lyrics 3 Quacks

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Audiophile me would love to see Music and Lyrics; maybe I ought to line up a babysitter and surprise the Tour Manager with a night out.
Yes, me who just downloaded White Zombie, Judas Priest, and Prong to her MP3 player has an affinity for pop music. *blush*

Thanks, I knew it should have been audiophile instead of musicphile. And it is worth the effort, plus it ran under 2 hours, always aces in my book.

Slackermommy said...

I want to see Music & Lyrics just so I can see Hugh shake his butt!

You will be pleased, there is plenty of rump shaking and "crowd friendly pants"

kailani said...

I can't remember the last time we watched a movie that I wanted to see. It's usually The Cheetah Girls or High School Musical around here. *sigh*

This High School Musical seems to be the runaway hit of the century. Which I dont get actually since it was a TV movie on the Disney Channel. But, I also never really got Grease either.

And away we go with the rest of the week! Thanks for reading

Music & Lyrics-3 quacks

Last night was another movie and burgers night in the Duck home, and the choice was an easy one, Music and Lyrics. Mrs Duck is a huge Hugh Grant fan and I like both Hugh and Drew Barrymore, especially when she lets her goofy out.

Overall, it was a formulamatic romantic comedy, but it was exactly what you like about Romantic comedies. Boy meets girl, falls in love, achieves goal, loses girl and finds her again. The perfect mindless fun.

Plus, the movie also told the truth about pop music, it can make you happy, even though it is usually fluff. And considering I am a musicphile, it hit home with me. While my Ipod is filled with Evanescence, Sarah and Springsteen, there is nothing like a good pop song on a Friday afternoon while driving along the highway. Hence, I also am a closet Justin Timberlake fan.

The only quibble is I wish they were able to get one of those tween pop stars to be the pop star in the movie that Hugh and Drew are writing for. It would have been nice to see one comfortable enough to make fun of themselves, but Haley Bennett, who can obviously sing, did a fine turn.

On a sidenote, I have absolutely no opinion on tonights Oscar's because I haven't seen too many of the movies besides The Queen. I hope Scorscece wins, just so he is no longer the best director in the world that has never won an Oscar before. Beyond that, I could care less who wins.