It’s been another week, and maybe some more ramblings in cyberspace or in the real-world. Here are a list of things that I did…

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You may have seen my Tweets from last night, but I’ve come across a new piece of Saturday night television that it ridiculously cheap, trashy, and very very funny- unlike the other batch of weekend programming which is just cheap and trashy. The show is called Take Me Out and it airs on TV3 in Ireland and the ITV network in Great Britain.

In short: 30 women, all single who are looking for some romance/passion/gold-digging/whatever, ranging from classy to trashy, stand at podiums with lights. Bloke, who think he’s God’s gift to women (typical  greasy haired, high-street fashion wearing twentysomething) comes down an elevator onto the stage and sells himself to the girls. The ladies decide to they like him- lights stay on for yes, and go off for no. Paddy McGuinness (that bloke from Phoenix Nights) finds out why girls with lights off are not interested. Then, the remaining girls, after several rounds of window shopping for the them, are eliminated by the bloke turning off the rest of the lights and selecting, if any, which girl he wants. They then go on a date where the couple are brought to Nandos “Fernandos”- apparently it’s an exclusive restaurant in Manchester. That’s it.

It’s the kind of television junk you hate to love. It’s addictive, purely for comical reasons. It’s not very intelligent, and it’s far from serious, and it’s the perfect piece of tripe to tide you over for an hour. Seriously, I can’t recommend it enough.

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If only things were more fun. Wouldn’t they make us better towards others, the environment, or just smile and appreciate life?

The Fun Theory makes us do just that. These are must see videos.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Alice in Wonderland is being released later this year, only this time as directed by the absolutely fantastic, Tim Burton, and with a real-life actors, unlike the Disney version.

The movie is starring Mia Wasikowska (that girl from Defiance and Amelia) with the brilliant Johnny Depp (no explanation or credits required) as the ‘Mad Hatter’ and also people like Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman, to name but a few. From even the presence of these superb actors, it’s going to be humongous. But what has astonished me is the soundtrack, which seems to be improving every day as the internet gets filled with news stories about who’ll add their music to the film.

The soundtrack, called “Almost Alice”, includes the following:

1. “Alice” performed by Avril Lavigne
2. “The Poison” performed by The All-American Rejects
3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City
4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown
5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low
6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station
7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith
10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s
12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli
13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother
16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Pretty amazing, huh? I’m really looking forward to this movie.

“Alice in Wonderland” is released on March 5th. The artwork for the soundtrack is released later today.

photo credit: Joan Thewlis

Look at these beautiful pieces of succulent chicken, cooked to absolute perfection in wonderful spicy and zesty sauce, until slightly crisp. They are the world-famous Elephant & Castle Chicken Wings. But, I didn’t even need to tell you that: the fame surrounding this dish speaks for itself, and a mere photograph instantly helps you identify yourself with the meal in question. Why am I talking about this divine culinary delight? Because after hours of searching online (and catching drool as it drips from my lips and mouth in anticipation and excitement), I have found the the closest thing to the recipe for the wonderful wings.

I read well over two dozen different variations, submitted by people on message boards, in chat rooms and on various blogs, all in the strong belief that their recipe was the correct and truly accurate instructions of how to craft them. It was difficult to gather the information as the recipe is secret, according to the word on the street. This was until I found the material posted on a far from private or undercover location- on the Irish Times website- on an article printed in 2008. I was not able to access the material unless I paid for the archive access, which I was not prepared to do, so I popped into the local library and viewed it there, via AskAboutIreland (the archive access service). And now, I’ve got the  preparation guidelines in my grubby, and eager, paws.

I think you can guess what’s on the menu tonight.

If you’re interested, and not willing to pay the day pass to the archive, here’s the similar recipe I’m using:

1.  Melt 70g of butter, and mix it with half a cup (110mls) of Frank’s Original Red Hot sauce (Available in Tesco, or Fallon & Byrne- Dublin)

2. Pour it  over and thoroughly mix it into 750g of chicken wings (about 24 mid-sized pieces) that have been roasted in the oven (an hour at 180 degrees; longer if you want them really crispy)

3. Devour.

Some Bloggers suggest using one hand only to eat the wings, or things will get very messy.

Do tell me how your cooking goes for you, and compare them to the Elephant & Castle ones. Comments are always appreciated.