Author Archives: charlesprogers

Movies in Bed: Walking With Monsters: Life Before Dinosaurs

Post by Mark T. Locker.

When all the dinosaur shows have been watched (and watched and watched) but still you (or, more likely, your offspring/niece/neighbor) still long for more prehistoric CGI action, you can rest easy! Brought to you by the same chaps at BBC who created the much-lauded Walking With Dinosaurs series have a trilogy shining a light on the creatures who began all the fun. Beginning with my kid’s favorite (announced in a dramatic British accent): ARTHROPODS. For the uninitiated, that means scorpions and spiders and other fun things. Now, picture them the size of a Volkswagen and crawling out of the sea. ARTHROPODS.

This show follow the dinosaurs’ predecessors from the first fish to the dimetrodons, which I always thought were dinosaurs but apparently aren’t. My father-in-law, the eminent non-paleontologist grumbled, “Is it bigger than a dog? Then it’s a dinosaur!” Although I like his philosophy, I had to argue that elephants are bigger than dogs too. ANYWAY…if you or someone you love digs prehistoric creatures and you can handle the brutal truth of life in the Cambrian and early Permian periods, find this series streaming online. It’s fun and less played than the old dinosaurs.

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Things We Like: Sleeping Positions For Better Health

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

We all know that it’s important to get a good night’s sleep, and we’ve posted dozens of articles here on the Charles P Rogers blog to help you do just that. Today, we’re going to discuss another important element of a good night’s sleep: the position you sleep in. Keep reading below to learn more about how the most common sleep positions affect your health (and what they say about your personality).

The “soldier”: Flat on your back with your arms at your sides.
Widely considered the best sleeping position, lying on your back with your arms at your sides promotes a healthy spine and neck. However, people who sleep on their backs tend to snore more than others. Solider sleepers are usually more reserved, quiet, and have higher standards for themselves and others.

The “log”: On your side with both arms down.
The log is generally considered a good sleeping position; however, it can cause some neck pain as your shoulders put your head at an angle down towards the pillow. Loggers and are usually thought of as being easy going and sociable.

The “starfish”: Flat on your back, with your arms overhead.
Similar to the log position, starfish sleepers lie flat on their backs. Instead of leaving their arms at their side, however, starfish sleepers put them above their head — either on top of or underneath the pillow. While this position also promotes good spine alignment, some people may experience shoulder/neck pain over time due to the extra pressure put on the shoulders. Starfish sleepers tend to make good friends, and are good listeners.

The “freefall”: On your stomach, face down.
Sleeping on your stomach is said to help with digestion; however, it restricts breathing. After all, it’s pretty hard to breath through a pillow. As such, many people who sleep on their stomachs tend to tilt their head to one side or another which can put a lot of strain on your neck and back. This strain also causes many freefallers to experience restlessness, as they constantly adjust throughout the night in search of comfort. Freefall sleepers are typically brash and outgoing, but do not take criticism well.

The “fetal position”: Curled up in a ball on your side.
The fetal position is the de facto for comfort, and is by far the most popular position people sleep in. After all, it is the position we were first created in. If you’re having trouble with snoring or are pregnant, the fetal position may provide you with temporary relief. While the fetal position may seem like the most comfortable way to sleep, it can wreak havoc on your neck and back, and also restricts deep breathing. People who sleep in the fetal position are said to be tough on the outside and soft on the inside.

The “yearner”: On your side with both arms out.
Similar to the log, the yearner position is another popular sleep position. The yearner differs from the log in arm placement: they are stretched out in front, rather than being kept at your side. Yearners tend to be stubborn yet open-minded.

So if you’re looking for a better night sleep, you may want to try changing your sleep position. A new sleep position can not only help you sleep better, but can also help you stop snoring (which means your spouse will sleep better) or even get rid of that lingering pain in your neck.

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Breakfast in Bed – Brown Butter Eggs

Post by Alison Hein.

Brown butter is a delicious and decadent way to dress up a dish. I love it on top of butternut squash ravioli, with some toasted fresh sage tossed in. And one of my very favorite dishes growing up was, believe it or not, cauliflower. My mother would cook the cauliflower, then melt up a big wad of butter and keep it on the heat until it turned a rich, bubbling brown. The final step was to add plain breadcrumbs, and stir them around until they reached the same lovely brown color, and the deep, nutty flavor of the butter. Then she spooned the breadcrumbs over the cauliflower to make a superb side dish.

Well, how about applying that same principle to eggs? It’s best to cook them simply – boiled, poached, or baked – and then let the nut-brown butter add all the depth and flavor. In this recipe, a drop of butter and dash of breadcrumbs has been added to the bottom of the baking dish for a heartier feel.

I recently learned that adding vinegar while heating the butter helps it to brown deeply and evenly. No need to butter your toast rounds – simply dip them right through the buttery layer deep into the heart of the eggs for a delicious and decadent breakfast in bed.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
4 slices of sourdough bread
1 teaspoon fresh curly parsley, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt one tablespoon of butter and pour equal amounts into two small ramekins. Pour an even layer of breadcrumbs on top of melted butter in each ramekin. In a separate small bowl, carefully break eggs one at a time. Make sure the yolks are intact, then pour the eggs one by one into the ramekins, two eggs in each. Season with salt and pepper.

Place ramekins in a baking dish which has been filled with about 1 inch of warm water. Place baking dish in oven, and bake about 20 to 25 minutes until egg whites are firm.

Toward the end of baking, cut the sourdough bread into four rounds and toast until golden brown. Melt the remaining butter in a small pan over medium heat. Continue to cook for a minute or two until the butter starts to bubble. Stir in vinegar and continue to cook for another minute or so.

Pour brown butter equally over each of the two baked egg ramekins, and top each with half of the chopped parsley. Serve hot with toast rounds.

Makes 2 servings.

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Bedtime Stories: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Post by Mark T. Locker.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

Once in a while, there is a book, one of those that completely transports you and immerses you in another world. One of those books that keeps you nervously glancing at the clock to see how much past your bedtime you have stayed up. I guess for most people this wouldn’t be that book because it’s only 150 pages long. But, I read slowly and it still took me a few evenings to finish.

The story starts out fairly normal, with the author heading to his childhood town for a funeral. When he finds himself at the old Hempstock farm, whose daughter he had vaguely known as a child, things begin to change. He begins to remember little details, like the duck pond behind the barn that Lettie Hempstock had referred to as “the ocean”. And when he remembers the name she had for the pond, he begins to remember everything from that spring when he was seven years old.

It turns out the Hempstock family was not your ordinary family. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but the women of the farm were much more than they appears. Magical, ancient, otherworldly. The young narrator is unwittingly drawn into a fierce conflict when Lettie brings him with her to bind an ancient power (Old Mrs. Hempstock dismissingly refers to it as a “flea”) causing trouble in the village. When the creature hitches a ride into the real world inside the boy’s foot, great trouble ensues.

Almost a children’s book if it wasn’t for some very scary imagery, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a wonderful quick read for a rainy afternoon. And we will have plenty of those soon enough.

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Movies in Bed: Planes

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Nothing like staying home with a kid who is technically sick but bursting with energy. Thank goodness for second-run movie theaters, especially the kinds that serve pizza and beer. On a Thursday afternoon, you can stroll in with a pretty reasonable expectation to be the only people in the theater, on the teensy off-chance that the kid is still contagious (he wasn’t). I must admit, I was not only dubious of the Disney talking plane movie Planes; I was downright dreading it. I couldn’t make it through more than twenty minutes of Cars, that merchandising darling of the Disney empire. You know what? It wasn’t that great. On the other hand, it wasn’t that bad. From a three-minute trailer, or from watching the first five minutes, you can accurately predict every aspect of the movie. And the stereotype attributed to the planes of different genders and ethnicities was definitely cringe-worthy. But in the end, I was not in physical pain watching this, which is saying a lot considering what some children’s programming is like. I’m not going to run out and buy it when it comes out on DVD (November 19th!). But it’s a good way to kill two hours with a sick kid.

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