STL to AK and Back Again

It was my second year to get a chance to eat some of the best barbecue St. Louis has to offer...and once again it was all for a good cause. On Sunday, I headed out to Millstadt, IL to hang with Tim Ezell, Andy Banker, and the rest of the FOX 2 BBQ Crew at the 8th Annual Millstadt Optimist Club BBQ Cook-off. Snoots, Chili, Ribs, and Pork Steaks were all on the competition menu....I actually ate my first snoot this year...interesting. 
  It was another award winning year for FOX 2. Tim and his amazing ribs took 3rd place! And Charlie Berra and his pork steaks won the team 1st place!!! Go us! 
  Of course, the whole event is for a great cause, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Thank you Tim, Andy, and everyone else on the FOX 2 Team for a really fun afternoon!



Click here to see more photos!

  I was so excited to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I’ve been a huge Harrison Ford fan for years and it all started with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. I had my fingers crossed that the script, actors, and filmmakers would just make a movie that would be a great addition to the series…and in the end it was. I really enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Of course, I have a few plot issues and there are a few corny moments, but overall I just loved the movie!

 What follows is pretty generic…mild spoilers at best. Just a warning if you haven’t seen the movie yet.

 

  The fight scenes are great…classic Indy! The story line is good…mixing Indy with X-Files a bit…but I liked it. Whatever you do, don’t say it seemed a bit like National Treasure. National Treasure was trying to be Indiana Jones not the other way around.

   A couple issues…I loved the idea of Karen Allen coming back as Marion Ravewood. I didn’t like how short lived the Marion-Indy tension was. Their relationship became lovey-dovey way to quickly.  She was such a firecracker in the first movie. I wanted more of that. See the movie and you’ll understand. Plus, do you think she could still drink like she used to?

   I also wish Indy would have been a little bit more desperate.  I think the idea was there that the Russians would do bad things with the Skull’s powers, but I think it could have been played up more.

  Over all, it was so fun! They left things open in the end. Would there be another movie? Would Harrison be back? Is Shia’s character, Mutt, going to take over the whip? Stay tuned…

This morning, I met Iron Chef Bobby Flay from the Food Network!  He was at FOX 2 promoting his new cookbook, "Grill It".  If you know me, you know I'm a wanna be chef...this was such a big deal for me! This guy is the king of the grill, whether he's making a simple burger or a rack of lamb. His food is so full of flavor and inspiration. We got a few minutes to talk about local St. Louis food and some grill techniques. He even signed his cookbook for me! It was such an honor to meet him!

Click here to see the morning show segment with Chef Flay!

With all the earthquake craziness I haven't gotten a chance to post this! On Thursday night, I headed to the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton for the Riverfront Times' Iron Fork Chef Competition & Restaurant Tasting! I love to cook and I was so excited to check out this event. It was a little on the crowded side...but what a tasty way to spend a Thursday night! I sampled some amazing food from some twenty restaurants and got to see a fun cooking competition...a chef-off if you will. If you watch Iron Chef you know what I'm talking about. The best part...the event benefits the St. Louis Area Foodbank (www.stlfoodbank.org). My friend, Erin, who came with me, and I left with a long list of restaurants to try. See more of my photos from the event in the "My Photos" section to the right. I created an album.

You have to check out this guy's website. His name is Dave and he's a local St. Louis guy who went to Illinois.   You might have heard about him.  He snuck into the Super-bowl press conference and tried to ask Tom Brady  a question, but it was no dice. Anyway, he's been going around the country with Hanes challenging celebrities. The videos are really fun to watch.  Check it out and send onward if you can. He's trying to build his Youtube viewer-ship.  His list of celebrity challenges is growing. It now includes Matt Leinert (QB), Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile), Chuck Liddell (UFC), Rob Bironas (Tenn. Titans), and many more.  He challenges Nelly to a throwing contest, and 50cent to an arm wrestling match for watches on there too.  You can see his website at davesdetours.com. 

First and foremost, thank you FOX 2 viewers and just random people heading to Schnucks for donating over $5,000 to the Salvation Army Tree Of Lights campaign on Friday!!! Plus, a huge thank you to the man or woman who dropped a Bar of GOLD into my kettle last night! Once we verify it, it should be worth more than $800!!!! I pretty sure that makes me the winner of the Golden Kettle....but of course the Salvation Army is the real winner!
I had so much fun last night hanging out with Andy Banker, John Gadson, and Dan Gray as we rang our bells until they broke...literally. It was great to say hello and thank you to so many people as they made their donations! Also, a big thank you to blogger Michelle4Wellness who dropped by with coffee! Don't forget, Salvation Army volunteers will be out ringing those bells into 2008 so if you have any spare change why not throw it in. And, of course, our FOX 2 Virtual Kettles are still up and running so there is still plenty of time to donate there (PS: I'm only $15 short of my $150 goal so.....)!
Happy Holidays to you and yours and I'll see you on TV!
Angela
Salvation Army: Tree of Lights Campaign

What a fun time I had last night attending Cureiosity! It was a benefit for Siteman Cancer Center and it was true to its slogan: A Party For a Cure. Great music, great food, and, yes, great drinks!  Lots of FOX 2 folks were there and it was really fun to hang out with them outside of work.  The highlight of the night  was getting to meet Mike Shannon, the honorary chair of the event . He was very nice and Shawn Lindsey and I took the opportunity to snap a picture. If you didn't attend this year, you should really consider heading to the event next year. So much fun! Check out my photos section to see more pictures from the event!

 Angela

What a fun Sunday afternoon! After the Sunday morning news, I headed over to Millstadt, IL to join Tim Ezell, Andy Banker, and the rest of the FOX 2 BBQ Crew at the 7th Annual Millstadt Optimist Club BBQ Cook-off. Snoots, Chilli, Ribs, and Pork Steaks....as far as the eye could see and the nose could smell. Let's just say, Tim is a wiz with the rubs and his ribs that we entered in the contest were amazing.  In the end, the FOX 2 team walked away with 2nd place in the Rib competition. Go us!  Even better,  was seeing so many people come out to help a great cause.  There were nearly 5,000 people there...some of which were loyal FOX 2 viewers ( nice to meet you all)!  Organizers think there may have been more than $25,000 raised for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation! Thank you Tim, Andy, and everyone else on the FOX 2 Team for a really fun afternoon!

Click here to watch our live shot from the event.

(I've also added 2 pics from the event to my photos section!)

Not to brag, but I spent all of last week lounging on the beach in Mazatlan, Mexico. Did you know that Mazatlan and St. Louis have one really big thing in common? The are both home to major beer companies. Mazatlan is the home of Pacifico and, just like Budweiser, they sponsor everything in the town! It was amazing. Anyway, it was truly and wonderful week..but now, I guess it's back to work!

 

Looking for some great weekend activities or just hoping to catch up on the week in News. Check out Weekends on the Web for all the information you need.

Click here for all web links related to this segment of "Weekends on the Web"

If you have any more events to list, add them below!

So, it may not be the biggest news in Hollywood from today but it was big news to me. A huge Harrison Ford fan, I'm anxiously looking forward to the new Indiana Jones movie coming out. Will it suck, will it be ok, or will is kick butt? Well, one key player in making the movie better has now passed on the role. Read below:

Connery Says He Won't Be Back In `Indiana Jones 4' (CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES The next "Indiana Jones" flick will not be another father-son affair. Sean Connery says he will not return to play dad to Harrison Ford's globe-trotting adventurer Indy.

Connery played Indy's father in 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the third installment of the franchise directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas.

"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement," Connery, 76, said in a statement posted Thursday on Lucasfilm's "Indiana Jones" Web site. "I thought long and hard about it, and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an `Indiana Jones' film."

"I love working with Steven and George, and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison as my son," he said. "But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun."

The fourth "Indiana Jones" film, not yet titled, is again directed by Spielberg and produced by Lucas. Shooting begins this month, and the movie is due out May 22, 2008.

Lucasfilm also announced Thursday that Cate Blanchett, John Hurt and Ray Winstone will be joining the cast, which along with Ford, includes Shia LaBeouf.

Scenes are scheduled to be shot June 28 and 30 in New Haven, including a car chase set to be filmed on Chapel Street between College and High streets.

Connery -- who played the bookish Henry Jones Sr. in "The Last Crusade" and affectionately called his son "Junior" -- did have some words for the 64-year-old Ford.

"I do, however, have one bit of advice for Junior: Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low, and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator!" Connery said. "This is a remarkable cast and I can only say, `Break a leg, everyone."'

So, no Henry Jones, Sr. for the film. I don't know. Some folks are already saying Harrison Ford is too old. Maybe an aging Sean Connery would just add to the "too old" debate. But still, he's fricking Sean Connery. Bond, James Bond. He makes every movie cool. What a great level of legitimacy to add to an already questionable film. Now, I know I'm going to love the movie because I'm a nut when it comes to HF and Indy...but I really think the addition of Sean Connery to the cast would have helped the movie with the critics. George Lucas was pretty confident. He'd already written the part into the script. That part of the movie will be taken out...no one else will play the role. Appropriate for sure. I think the riot from loyal Jones fans should anyone assume the role would have hurt ticket sales. I guess, I shouldn't be too worried. It is Indiana Jones. Most folks will see it because the are curious about just how good it is going to turn out. Plus, they've got Cate Blachette. What do you think??

Thought this was hilarious! Gotta love the Correspondant's Dinner!

--Angela