Dreaming of a new job?

I know everyone loves their job, but sometimes you can't help but think there might be something else out there. Thanks to our Oregon Tourism client you have the chance to explore some possibilities. As part of this year's Oregon Bounty celebration, you could win an all-expense paid "cuisinternships" with an Oregon chef, cheesemaker, chocolatier, craft brewer, distiller, rancher, fisherman or winemaker. Apart from a fun week learning the job, they also pay for your hotel and transportation and give you $1000 spending money, which goes a long way in Eastern Oregon.

If you want the inside scoop on any (or all) of these jobs, go to the Oregon Bounty site where you can see some great videos of all the mentors and you can enter to win.

Inglourious Basterds

"Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France... " so begins Quentin Tarantino's new film Inglourious Basterds (sic). A young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the slaughter of her family by Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when a German war hero quickly takes an interest in her and arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs. With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the "Basterds", a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). As the relentless Nazi hunters advance and the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fanciful evening that would have/could have changed history.

I had read mixed reviews on this one. I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan, so it was likely I would go see Inglourious Basterds anyway, but the review in Newsweek really made me think. They lambasted Tarantino for bringing Jews down to the level of the Nazis, by acting like barbarians - they beat Nazi's heads in with baseball bats and literally scalp their victims. It went on to equate the movie's big finale to the incinerating of Jews in concentration camps. Honestly I don't see it that way. Sure revenge fantasies are fun, but nothing can ever undue the atrocities of the Nazi's and I don't think that is what Tarantino is going for. He has mashed up The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with The Dirty Dozen in a revenge fairy-tale. I don't think you should try to make more of it than that, but clearly many of the critics are.

The truth is this movie is funny and gross and over the top - quintessential Tarantino. I went into it expecting Pitt to be awesome, and he was. Like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels his character Lt. Aldo Raine is a caricature. He is a one-note, quote spewing, army stereotype, "You see, we're in the business of killin' Nazis, and boy, business is boomin'." What I didn't expect was how great Christoph Waltz would be as the "Jew Hunter." He easily glides from chill inspiring to camp. And French actress Mélanie Laurent is the new Tarantino hero. Be warned, this movie is really graphic in some parts and there is reading involved, but I think Tarantino is back and this movie will be nominated for an Academy Award.

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

I have a feeling this is going to be a controversial choice, but there is one record that I keep coming back to as the best of the 2000's and that's Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III. Every time one of the songs pops up on the iPod I have to turn it up and usually end up just playing through the entire record.

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., began his musical career as one of the Hot Boys, a short-lived all-star group on Cash Money Records in New Orleans. His first solo record, Tha Block Is Hot released in 1999, went double platinum, but things slowed down after that. Instead of releasing records he became a prolific producer of underground mixtapes. He found his footing again in 2004 with Tha Carter and in 2005 Tha Carter, Volume II debuted at number two on Billboard's album chart, it was a critical favorite as well as a strong seller. The mixtapes and the popularity grew. In 2008 Tha Carter III sold over a million records in it's first week and went on to be one of the best selling and critically praised records of the year. Lil Wayne's not for everyone, but give Tha Carter a few listens before you decide.

Chipolte Grill

Today was my first trip to Chipolte Grill. I was accompanied by two veterans, who highly recommended it and helped steer me through the ordering process. The food offerings are very basic: they have burritos, tacos and salads with your choice of beef, chicken or pork. They started out in Austin, Texas and now have restaurants all over the country. Their theme is "Food With Integrity" which they describe as unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. They have a strong commitment to sustainability and giving back, but as the hippies taught us, if the food is not good, all that doesn't matter. The good news is that the food is really tasty. I had the marinated pork burrito bowl, which comes with rice, beans, salsa, cheese and if you like (I don't) sour cream. You can also get the tortilla on the side if you wish.

They are not only forward thinking on their food policies, they are also pretty high tech on their ordering. You can order on-line or you can download the iPhone app and order before you get to the shop. This is a great tool if the place is really busy as you can place your order as you are walking over, cut the line and pay as soon as you get there.

One word of warning, like everything that tastes good, the burritos are pretty high in calories, especially if you load them up with guac. You can check out the Chipolte web site for more info on that and to find a location close to you.

Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie was out at Nike today where she gave a short interview and signed some autographs. She is a very articulate young woman. Quite a bit taller than I thought she would be. We were supposed to have some time to chat with her alone, but unfortunately she took off before we could meet with her. She was really excited about her great play at the Solhiem Cup and was not afraid to brag on herself a little, which was cool. It sounds like she is having a good time at Stanford and doing well. I am bummed we didn't get any pictures or get her to autograph any of the posters we made for her, but hopefully she will be at the next shoot and we can hit her up then.

P. D. James - Cover Her Face

Seems like I have been getting into a lot of crime novels lately, and there is no one more expert than P. D. James. I have to admit that this is the first book of hers I have read and up until I opened the book I had always assumed P. D. James was a man. James is the author of twenty books, most of which have been filmed or broadcast on television. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service, including the Police and Criminal Law Department of Great Britain's Home Office. She was also a magistrate and a governor of the BBC, so she knows her way around the crime world.

Her novel, Cover Her Face, was her first and the first of fourteen to include the investigator and poet Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard; it was published in 1962. She published the latest Dalgliesh novel, The Private Patient, in 2008 at the age of 88. Along with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie she has been inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame; she has won many other awards (too many to list here).

The story opens with a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Eleanor Maxie at Martingale. Mrs. Maxie’s son and daughter, Stephen Maxie and Deborah Riscoe, are both at the party. Also present are Dr. Charles Epps, the vicar Bernard Hicks, Miss Alice Liddell, who is the Warden at St. Mary’s Refuge for Girls, and Catherine Bowers, a guest at the estate who happens to be in love with Stephen Maxie. Serving at the party is Sally Jupp, an unwed mother with an infant son hired by Mrs. Maxie at the recommendation of Miss Liddell. Stephen Maxie champions Sally during dinner, and afterwards Deborah Riscoe cryptically predicts that the young servant will cause trouble. During dinner it is also mentioned that the Maxie’s old domestic servant Martha Bultitaft is not very pleased with Sally Jupp. A week later Sally is found dead and of course, everyone in the house is a legitimate suspect. From here Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, deftly lays out the case as we interview each of the suspects and the case builds to a dramatic conclusion.

Clearly James is a master at her work and it is the details and the characters that make this book a page turner. As with all good crime novels, I had developed and dismissed several theories as I read, and was desperate to see how they played out. Beyond being a great crime story, Cover Her Face, is also an interesting trip back in time, when old landed families still held court and servants and women's roles were modernizing in the early 1960's. This is a classic book, that makes me want to explore more of James' novels.

PGA Tour iPhone App

At first I was not sure why the PGA Tour was launching an app when they already have a good mobile site. Now that I have downloaded the app, I am even more unsure. Don't get me wrong, it is a good app, but was far as I can see it does not do anything that the web site doesn't, but it is a little faster. I know this is an initial launch for the 2009 FedEx cup and they will be adding a lot more features for 2010, but so far it is pretty bare bones. You get scoreboard and stats , a run down on all the players, some videos and news updates. It is elegantly designed and very easy to navigate. I look forward to checking out the live tournament feed when the FedEx Cup starts next week. Also, the app has one sponsor, you guessed it - Nike Golf.

To make this work, we had to develop our first mobile web site. If you go to Nike Golf right now on your iPhone you will get nothing, but check back tomorrow and you will see a pretty deep site that offers product and player info, videos and breaking news. I think our team did a really good job given the tight deadline. We are also the first golf company to have a mobile site.