George Formaro has done well for himself in Des Moines. He’s started some of the best restaurants in town. You might have eaten at Centro, Django or maybe shopped at Gateway Market. Now, George has created another dining gem in Des Moines in Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. I had a chance to sample the food recently and I have to say, it may have become my new favorite burger restaurant.

Why the best? Creativity. George’s concoctions are some of the most creative that I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. Even the names of the burgers are top notch. “Undead Elvis,” “Dead Moines,” “East Village of the Damned” and “Trailer Trash Zombie” are hilarious, but then you get into just what is on the burgers. I sampled “The Boomstick” which was deep fried chili with onions and pickles on top of two delicious beef patties and American cheese. I bit into the sandwich and the chili begun to ooze all over my sandwich, creating a delicious chili cheeseburger the likes of which I’ve never had before. Apiram, our web guy, got the “They’re Coming to Get You Barbara” sandwich which was caramelized onions, bacon and the house “zombie sauce” with American cheese on two beef patties and - are you ready for it - served between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Incredible!

These are just two of the yummy options they have at Zombie Burger + Drink Lab. They’ll also offer deep fried hot dogs called “New Jersey Rippers,” yummy appetizers, salads and great tasting fries.

Not a meat eater? Zombie Burger has you covered. In a brilliant move, all 20 of the burgers on the menu can be altered with three additional “meats.” You can substitute the beef for a chicken breast, veggie patty or even a grilled portobello mushroom. If that wasn’t enough, you can control the size of your sandwich by requesting the number of patties when you order. You can go single, “double tap” or brave a triple patty sandwich. Which ever sandwich combination you choose, you won’t leave hungry.

When I first heard that Zombie Burger was coming, I was apprehensive since I’m not huge into the zombie movie genre. However, the decor of the restaurant isn’t too in-your-face with zombie lore and the servers don’t dress as zombies (as I thought might happen). It’s just a great kitschy place that has great food.


The best part is that they have plans to stay open late. Since half of the restaurant serves as a bar with wild drink concoctions, they’ll be open as late as many of the bars in town. Plus, there is an express zone that you can get your food quickly and go. Zombie Burger will also be a great warm weather place to eat with an enormous patio that wraps around the restaurant.

Prices are a little on the higher end for burgers. A burger with a single patty will run you around $7, while a triple can get near $10. Salads, apps and sides are all in the respectable $3-$6 range.

There were still kinks getting worked out the day we went. Service was a little slow, but the taste of the food made up for it in my eyes. Zombie Burger is going to be an enormous success and is a great addition to the East Village and the downtown restaurant scene. It has the right amount of kitsch and delicious food that it could be a destination for out of town visitors. We could be seeing the start of something big and important right here in Des Moines.

Zombie Burger + Drink Lab opens to the public on Tuesday, August 30 at 300 E. Grand Avenue. Find them on Facebook and Twitter.

We did it.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association along with Iowa State and Iowa caved to the overwhelming demands of the fan bases and have agreed to change the Cy-Hawk trophy to something resembling a football trophy. It was another modern victory for social media and proved that the Cy-Hawk rivalry truly belongs to the fans, regardless of the title sponsorship.

I won’t say that Iowa Corn looks like the bad guys in this “controversy,” but I will admit that they were annoyingly defiant even in the press conference announcing that the trophy was being changed. Iowa Corn CEO Craig Floss said “The first trophy missed the mark,” and that he appreciated “all who spouted off.”

“Spouted off?” That seems like a rather harsh way to say “people that disagreed with what we wanted.” Of course, THAT quote is missing from the Iowa Corn Growers Association website. They use much more diplomatic, pleasant language.

It was clear watching the demeanor of Floss at the presser that he was a bit annoyed that they had to talk about this at all. They wanted their corn family trophy and that was that. They never anticipated the ire of the people once said trophy was unveiled.

Even Steve Malchow, the senior associate athletic director at Iowa State, seemed a bit annoyed that the process was starting all over again. He even dismissed the idea that the trophy had to be ABOUT football (the primary gripe by trophy haters). Malchow’s comment was “If you look around college football, most aren’t football related.” This seemed to be trophy backer’s one and only solid argument. Most brought up the hog trophy “Floyd of Rosedale,” exchanged between Iowa and Minnesota and the Iowa State and Missouri Telephone Trophy as examples of non-football-related trophies.

Too bad they didn’t read into the history of those trophies.

The story of Floyd of Rosedale goes back to the 1930s when the football rivalry between Iowa and Minnesota was at a near violent crossroads. The governor of Minnesota bet Iowa’s governor a “prize pig” to the winner of the game. The real pig later died and instead of betting a real pig, the states (schools) decided to create a trophy with the pig on it. A football trophy.

The Telephone Trophy came about after a game in the 1950s in Ames. Testing of the telephone lines uncovered that the lines were crossed and Iowa State’s coaches could hear the strategy of Missouri’s coaches and vice versa. A trophy was created by a telephone company in Ames to commemorate the game and has been exchanged since. A football trophy.

There are others with football backgrounds and some with historical backgrounds. The fact of the matter is that THIS trophy did not represent ALL of Iowa. It represented a small fraction of those that live and work in Iowa. Iowa Corn along with both universities would have done themselves a favor by involving the fans from the beginning, not after it was too late. The fans spoke up as one and got the trophy changed, proving that despite corporate naming rights, this game and this rivalry will always belong to the fans.

It was no secret that the trophy exchanged between Iowa State and Iowa for the annual rivalry game was ugly. It has been compared to a trophy created by an 8th grade shop class. Like it or not, it was a goofy football trophy.

Friday at the Iowa State Fair, a new Cy-Hawk trophy was unveiled by the new sponsor, the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Shortly after its introduction, the boos and hisses begun to appear on Twitter. I’m not even talking about a few groans, it was unanimous. It was vicious. It was unrelenting. All weekend, fans of both teams groaned on social media about their distaste for the trophy. If you haven’t seen it, this is it:



I wish I were kidding. This thing is ugly. The Cedar Rapids Gazette panned it. Yahoo! called it “The strangest trophy in sports.” Even ESPN said “It looks like something your grandmother would buy off of the Home Shopping Channel.” This isn’t local people. This is the national media laughing at our state and our teams. They’re right to laugh. This trophy looks like a Precious Moments figurine from Things Remembered at Valley West Mall, only on steroids.

Or, as the Iowa Corn Growers Association puts it:

The trophy represents Iowans as caring, trustworthy, committed, and compassionate, stewards, mentors and educators. These are some of the many characteristics of all citizens of the state of Iowa and are embodied in the iconic image that rests atop the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series football trophy. The image also salutes the rich tradition and significant role that agriculture has in the history and the future of our great state.

 

Right. They DO realize this is a football trophy, right? The scene of “modern” farming family talking over a husk of corn says nothing to me about football. Yes, it’s all about rural Iowa. But that’s not ALL of Iowa. If you wanted to make a trophy that didn’t focus on football, yet represented the state, you need to branch out further than farmers. Yes, Iowa is a farming state, we know that. But we’re also a hub of big business. We’re an insurance center. We’re a mecca for young professionals. We have a strong urban community in Des Moines and even in Ames and Iowa City.

The problem with this trophy is that both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa bowed down to the almighty dollar, to the sponsor. They let the Iowa Corn Growers Association make this trophy all about THEM, not the game. This is a football rivalry game. It’s for the fans. But no, Iowa Corn is using the trophy (and their sponsorship) to push their agenda. Can you imagine what would have happened if Principal Financial had been the title sponsor? Would we have a trophy depicting an agent going over homeowners insurance benefits with a client? Compelling stuff, eh? Just as compelling as a farm family talking around a husk of corn.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association was clearly not expecting the amount of backlash that they received for the trophy over the weekend. The chorus of boos were so loud on Twitter that Iowa Corn (@iowa_corn) even locked out their Twitter account. That in and of itself is a public relations faux pas of epic proportions. What Iowa Corn should have done was TALKED to the people. Let them know that they at least hear their complaints and “will let the powers that be know” or some sort of canned response. But at least RESPOND. They did the worst thing they could do and that was not say anything. The only thing that came out of the Iowa Corn camp was this Twitter reply to one of my friends:

“We think it is a good trophy and we are proud of it. Worked with ISU and U of I the whole way.”

 

After that, silence.

Iowa State and Iowa cashed their big checks from the Iowa Corn Growers Association and gave them carte blanche to create a trophy. Looks like the fans are getting what we paid for - a glorious, majestic, pewter advertisement.

The news of Amy Winehouse’s passing over the weekend was sad. Sad in the way that she was an immensely talented singer that wasted her gift with drugs and alcohol. Her demons and addictions eventually caught up with her and now she’s another tale of music, fame, fortune and opportunity taking another talented performer. We can debate the “greatness” of Amy Winehouse all day, but that’s not what this blog is about.

I’m pretty disgusted in online music retailers today. All of the major players were quick to post “tributes” to Winehouse after she died. By “tributes” I mean “links to buy her music.” Some retailers, like Microsoft/XBox/Zune weren’t even clever about it:



Let me translate that tweet for you: “Amy Winehouse just died. You’re probably feeling slightly nostalgic and empathetic and we’d like to to take advantage of that! Click here to buy her music from our store that nobody even realized existed.”

There, that’s better.

Even my beloved iTunes made it clear that they wanted to capitalize on fan’s grief, curiosity and urge to impulse buy by placing a large banner at the top of the iTunes store under the guise that fans would be “Remembering” Amy Winehouse.



Pretty weak, iTunes. Don’t sugar coat it or be fake. Just come right out and be honest with us. Tell us that you want us to make the impulse buy of her music now that she’s dead because now, an album that came out 4 years ago is suddenly more important.

It would be even more deplorable if this were the first time that they’ve done this. Music retailers do it all the time. Each time an artist or actor of any sort of significance passes, suddenly, you can easily find their entire body of work on your favorite online retailer. Remember when Michael Jackson died? He suddenly had the number one album (and several of the top 10 albums) for a couple weeks. Same thing just happened to Winehouse on iTunes. Funny how that works, huh? The only thing that could make it any more crass is if they actually put the music on sale. Which wouldn’t surprise me.

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t looking forward to this weekend and the release of the final Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.” If all goes well, my wife and I will see the movie on Sunday. I say “if all goes well” because there’s one small snag in seeing the movie: my wife hasn’t finished reading the final book yet. It took me about one week to read from the day it came out a few years ago. I still remember where I was in my house when I finished the book. It meant that much. Since then, I’ve been bugging my wife to finish the book. She hasn’t seen Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows movies yet. The plan is for her to finish by the weekend, then watch Part 1 at home, then we head to the theater to watch the final installment.

I’m so excited to see the final movie, but I’m not looking forward to the feeling I’ll have once it’s over. That feeling that there will be no more. It’s the same feeling I had when I finished the books. It was a feeling of almost mourning. I’ve been watching a lot of the movies this past week to prepare and get myself psyched for the final movie. With that, I want to present my ranking of the Potter movies in order of most to least favorite.

7. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” - This was the longest movie in the series. It was also the one that just didn’t excite me as much. Sure, there were interesting characters like Dobby the house elf and Professor Lockhart, but the movie doesn’t excite me like it once did. Maybe it’s because whenever there’s a Potter movie on ABC Family, it always seems to be this one. The saving grace of this movie is that it contains the first appearance of my favorite Potter character of them all, Ginny Weasley.

6. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” - OK, this really isn’t fair, but this one is ranked so low just because the newer films are so much better. You can’t go wrong though, with the first. You are introduced to the characters for the first time and get your first looks at some of the mainstays of the magical world of wizardry. I mostly love the early parts of the film with the character development, but the ending with Voldemort hiding inside another guy’s head was a bit odd.

5. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” - This film introduced many of the characters that are still around as the final movie arrives. It’s the first time we meet “The Order” which swear to protect Harry from Voldemort. The storyline of Snape being in the Order always confused me and it’s one of the reasons I disliked the movie and the book. But, the action gets much better. It ends on such a down note though, with the loss of Sirius Black in what really became one of the first great on-screen wand battles.

4. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” - This was the first film where a major character was replaced by another actor - that being Professor Dumbledore. Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first two films, but died before filming began on “Azkaban.” He was replaced by Michael Gambon, who I think is a MUCH better fit in the role of Dumbledore. It’s now difficult to see the older films without Gambon. The third film in the series introduced us to Harry’s Godfather, Sirius Black. He was originally painted as a villain, but the audience soon comes to love him as the closest thing to a father figure that Harry has in his life.

3. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - This film was great because it was awesome to see the wizarding world meet the real world of London. We see the characters racing through London to avoid death eaters. It also perfectly sets up the final two films with it’s near cliff-hanger ending. It was the first movie to not end with the gang leaving Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express. It just sort of ends with the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione facing the battle ahead of them. It also fully sent Draco Malfoy down the path of evil as he is tasked by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore. This really is one of my favorite movies as it is dark and really well done. It’s also a great moment in this movie where we realize that Harry and Ginny really are meant to be.

2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1″ - It’s surprising that I liked this movie as much as I did since this part of the book really seemed to drag along when I first read it. I even remember thinking to myself that this part was going to be a very boring movie. As it turns out, it’s very exciting and you really start to get a sense of the tension that is coming in the final movie. By this point, we’ve grown a very strong emotional connection to the characters. My hope is that one day, they will release both parts of the movie as one continuous film so there is no lapse in the middle. I would gladly sit through that!

1. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” - It’s funny that this is my favorite movie because it wasn’t my favorite book (the last one is). “Goblet of Fire” was a daunting book to finish at over 800 pages. I remember buying it and being overwhelmed by its size. But, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The storyline of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was so compelling and exciting. I love seeing how wizards and witches from other parts of the world are introduced and how there really is a very large magical community. The continued fight against Voldemort, paired with the Tournament made for a very exciting movie. It’s one that I try not to watch too many times because I never want to tire of seeing it. I also think it’s funny to see a young Robert Pattinson in the role of Cedric Diggory - well before he became better known as Edward from the “Twilight” movies. “Goblet of Fire” has exciting challenges, great humor, fast pacing and a tragic ending with the realization that Voldemort has, indeed, returned.

My expectations for the final movie are very high. So high that I firmly believe that it will be my favorite of all time. I certainly hope it will be. Once I see it this weekend, I’ll already be anxiously awaiting the day that I can buy it and complete my Potter collection.

See my photos of the launch here!

I was honored to be invited to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of the final Space Shuttle, Atlantis on Friday, July 8. Below is my video of the launch, including video of my reaction to the launch. Next to me, on my left, is my buddy Vincent. It was a humbling, exciting, exhilarating and emotional moment for me. Enjoy!

(Disclaimer - I was given two complimentary tickets to Chicago by the Civic Center of Des Moines)

Chicago is one of the oldest Broadway productions. The genesis for the story was born in the 1920s as a play. In the 1940s, it was turned into a major picture starring Ginger Rogers. It wasn’t until the mid 1970s that it finally made its Broadway debut. However, most people know it best as the 2002 movie starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger.

The National Touring production of Chicago does have its own celebrity to boast in actor John O’Hurley, known from his role on “Seinfeld” and for his appearance on “Dancing with the Stars.” O’Hurley takes over Richard Gere’s role of attorney Billy Flynn. O’Hurley clearly is the one that most people came to see. However, one other person on stage nearly steals the entire show and that’s Roz Ryan in the role of “Mama.” She’s funny, sassy and has all the great lines in the show.

For those that don’t know, Chicago is set in the Windy City in the 1920s. Velma Kelly is serving time for murdering her husband and sister after finding them in bed together. She starts the show with the show’s quintessential number, “All That Jazz.” Soon, we meet Roxie Hart who is also sent to jail for the murder of her lover. Both women, with the help of Mama retain the services of hot shot attorney Billy Flynn. Velma is already manipulating the media to cast her as a good girl and star. In doing so, she’ll be more likely be acquitted of her crime. Soon after, Roxie learns the same lesson and becomes the new media darling, shoving Velma out of the spotlight. Roxie hopes that not only will the spotlight help acquit her of the murder of her lover, but it will also make her an instant start on Vaudeville and rocket her to fame. The rest of the show focuses on Velma and Roxie’s relationship and how one tries to outdo the other. In the second act, Roxie’s trial begins with a brand new, shocking development. She’ll have to rely on Billy to get her out of jail and on her way to stardom. Meanwhile, Velma has to worry about her own future and has her own aspirations of fame and fortune.

Another brilliant character in the show that you can’t help but love is Amos, Roxie’s husband. He’s manipulated all throughout the show and by the end, he barely knows which way is up. He even has his own song about being an invisible man in “Mr. Cellophane.”

While the story behind Chicago is great, I feel recent shows like Rock of Ages, Wicked and Spamalot make shows like Chicago seem just, old. In the touring production of Chicago, there is really only one set. You see the orchestra on stage throughout the show and there is much that has to be filled in by the imagination. I think this may be unappealing to the newer theater-goer. We’ve become accustomed to big sets, big lights and high production value. While these are all lacking in Chicago, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you are a theater purist or someone that can appreciate the old school productions, this show is for you. If you need to be ultra-stimulated every few minutes, you might find yourself nodding off during Chicago, especially during the slower first act.

I think of Chicago as “It’s a Small World” at Disney World. Sure, it’s older and it isn’t the most technologically advanced ride. It’s certainly not as sexy as Space Mountain or the Great Thunder Mountain Railroad, but if you love Disney World, you have to ride it just to say you have. If you love theater, you have to see Chicago at least once so you can say that you’ve seen a true classic of American theater. Just don’t take the kids, this is one ride they don’t need to experience.

It wasn’t that many years ago that I was among a group that organized our ten-year high school reunion. It was a pretty daunting task, trying to track down nearly 500 classmates from Valley High School. We started with the organizers and who had phone numbers and email addresses for our classmates. From there, we reached out to those people to get more numbers and emails. By the time most people were satisfied, we had found about two-thirds of our class.


At the time, I was on MySpace. I decided to try to use it to find my fellow Valley Tigers. I ended up finding about a dozen or so more people that we hadn’t tracked down using our sophisticated email/phone tree. People laughed at me for using the site to track people down. Some even thought it was a bit weird. We went on with the reunion and had a nice turnout. The year was 2006.

Just five years later, I’m starting to wonder if we’ll even have a 20th reunion. I know some people will want it, but what’s the use? We’re all connected via Facebook. I communicate on a day-to-day basis with classmates via Facebook at nearly the same rate I did when we were in school together, seeing each other in the halls every day. I know what’s going on in their lives. I know whether they’re married, have kids, what they do for a living and I’ve seen recent pictures of their vacation. So, why would I try to organize an event where we find out the exact same information, only with an expensive dinner and rental costs?

I don’t see my friend Nicki Leniton at all these days. She lives in Chile, in South America. However, I’ve dropped her notes on Facebook from time to time. I see photos of her, her husband Brett and their daughters Violet and Zoe going on walks all over their beautiful country. I checked on her after Chile experienced deadly earthquakes. I live vicariously through their experiences. So, what am I supposed to ask her about at the reunion?

Can you imagine talking with someone and nearly every story or conversation is halted with “I know, I saw that on your wall,” or “yeah, I saw the photos you posted.” It just takes all of the catching up out of reunions – which is (tell me if I’m wrong) the whole point of a reunion in the first place.

While some would say that Facebook has made organizing reunions easier, in the span of just five years, it seems Facebook has actually rendered the high school reunion obsolete. Think about it. I’m willing to bet the people that you would want to see or bother to talk to at your high school reunion are already friends of yours on Facebook. With Facebook, you can chat with your chosen group day and night and save money on the airfare/gas required for the trip home for a reunion.

Are high school reunions are doomed? I doubt it. Will they continue as they once did now that we as a society are connected tighter than ever? I don’t think so. I think you’ll see fewer people coming to reunions and possibly even fewer reunions happening altogether.

What do you think? Are you less likely to go to your reunion because of Facebook?

I was invited by the Science Center of Iowa to get a sneak peek at the fascinating exhibit, Body Worlds Vital. The exhibit is the most extensive look at the human body by its use of the bodies of real people. The bodies have been preserved through a process called plastination. All of the bodies were those of donors that wanted to be used for education and enlightenment.

The exhibit looks at every part of the body. You get to see the body in various forms from skeleton only to a body that still has muscles attached. It’s very interesting to see all the different parts of the body both inside the body and independently. Some displays show the body in almost an “open door” way, so that the viewer can see just how this incredible vehicle is put together.

I found the displays that showed how muscles and tendons worked in various activities the most interesting. It was incredible to see just how the human body works when we do everything from the most complex to the simplest movements. Another area that I found interesting didn’t involve bodies at all. It was a display showing how much food the average family from different countries eats. I found that Americans, Canadians and Australians seem to eat the most poorly and spend the most on their food, while countries like Egypt, Italy and Japan spend far less for their food and clearly eat much healthier.


In the end, Body Worlds Vital teaches us about the human body and how we can best protect it. Just like when you know how to fix a car, you know how to drive it better. If you’re curious about the human body and about how it works, this is the exhibit you can’t miss.

The exhibit also has it’s share of controversy because of the nature of the displays. It’s not for everyone. If you’re going to take children, they need to be of a mature nature and ones that can understand what they’re seeing. Talk to your kids about what the exhibit means and how the body works. Don’t let them look at it for the bodies, have them look at it for the engineering that allows the human body to work. Have an open mind when going to see Body Worlds Vital. It’s incredibly fascinating and very educational. Sometimes, you have to get really real to get through to people. Body Worlds Vital does just that.

Body Worlds Vital opens at the Science Center of Iowa on Saturday, May 7.