Full of Meat

[Because this can't be a gay blog unless I occasionally use a title with misleading innnuendo]

I hosted a BBQ at my place for the Fourth this year. I've got a nice little backyard at my condo, and I've hosted BBQs many times before, though this is the first time I've hosted one on the Fourth. I had about eight friends over, which was just the right size.

The Fred's Steak went over very well. For those of you not familiar with Fred's Steak, it's a legendary cut of sirloin, sold by Schaub's Meat & Poultry at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. It's some of the best steak I've ever had, and while I've eaten it several times before, this was the first time I tried cooking it. It turned out perfect (and made everyone lose interest in the Costco burgers for some reason...).

We finished the evening by watching Napoleon Dynamite. It's a movie I meant to see in the theatres. Then I meant to see it in the discount theatre. Then I meant to catch it on pay-per-view. Then I meant to rent it at Blockbuster, which I finally did Tuesday, though it no longer on the new releases shelf. But I've finally seen it, which means I (and my 30- and 40-something friends) are now finally in tune with high school culture. Well, with a part of high school culture. Part of 2005 high school culture. That's probably way out of date now.

Um, vote for Pedro!

I skipped fireworks this year. Because while some people can see fireworks from their rooftop, I would had to have spent about two hours in congested traffic to see a fifteen minute show. I settled for watching a replay of the shuttle liftoff on NASA TV while listening to other folks in the neighborhood set off illegal firecrackers.