Deep Fried Everything and the Bumble Bee

Well, kids, I am rounding day 19 at the State Fair of Texas.  This show is always a marathon, not a sprint to the finish.  I've been dressed like a bumble bee for days now and it was only fitting that an audience member, Tyler, came dressed as a bumble bee to our show.  Yellow and black will never look the same to me.  I know I've dressed the same way in 2009 and 2010, but I think I'm ready for a new look.  How about blue next year?

I happily have indulged in delicious fried food this year like a little Chicken Express fried chicken, fried okra, hush puppies, and fried corn nuggets.  Have you ever tried a fried corn nugget?  Holy cow!  Who knew you could fry creamed corn in a little nugget of deliciousness?  I promise I have been working out a lot this time around since I have a few red carpet events once I hit the West Coast and the East Coast again in the next few weeks.

Finally, a high five to the chef who created a Deep Fried Grilled Cheese with a side of tomato soup and potato sticks from your elementary school brown bag lunch topped off with Sweet Tea and a pickle.  Sometimes the simplicity of food is the best way to eat. *UPDATE*:  I am getting a lot of inquiries here on where to find Deep Fried Grilled Cheese at the fair.  The stand is just across from the main entrance of the Old Mill Restaurant.  Enjoy! And let me know what you think about the amazing Deep Fried Grilled Cheese.

I will be back to all of my red carpet shenanigans next week, but I hope you are able to join me tonight (Monday, October 17th) for my appearance on the Driving with Gass show.  Kevin and I debate the latest entertainment news....the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I hope you join us by listening here at KWSS.org at 7:35PM PT/10:35PM ET.  You can also join in the conversation on my Twitter account with the hashtag:  #RadioBurtt.

State Fair of Texas Photo of the Day: Fletcher's Corny Dog

I look forward to my Fletcher's Corny Dog every year.  It's tasty and I always get the jalapeño and cheese dog for a little extra kick.  This year, my Corny Dog was rather mediocre.  It just wasn't as good as I remember, so it was a waste of calories.  I think I should have had a deep fried grilled cheese if I was going to go big.....instead, I went home.

You can see me enjoying my Fletcher's Corny Dog in happier times here in 2009 and here in 2010.

Scenes from the Red River Rivalry Weekend

Matt hit up Fletcher's Corny Dog. I haven't had my annual treat....yet.

Ah, Red River Rivalry weekend....for those of you not from Texas or Oklahoma, this is a huge football weekend between OU and UT that occurs each year at the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas.  As someone who went to a high school and a university without a football team, it is sometimes an overwhelming venture.  It's fun to watch everyone decked out in their school colors and see how passionate the fans are about their respective teams.  I am still trying to figure out how a punter and a place kicker differ on the field and why five minutes in football takes twenty minutes in real time.  Nonetheless, I survived my third Red River Rivalry weekend with flying colors....yellow and black.  

 My cute little opening show announcers while Trackside Tina, our racing expert looks on from the audience.

 Immediately following the game.  We survived!  Sweaty, but rather gleeful. 

 I've been tweeting for Toyota Trucks while at the fair. Crystal is one of Toyota's most enthusiastic fans and she came out to say "hi".  We were so happy to finally meet her!

 A night show!  It's been hot here, look how shiny I am!

 And then it rained.  I found a new use for Toyota bags on the way home....and I'm always advertising for them.

 That would be my co-host also avoiding the rain.

 The battle of the teams.  I aligned with UT while Matt aligned with OU for their schools' fight song.

 Hitting the RC Tundra race tent with a little bit of Toyota trivia.

 Limbo time!  Everyone made it through this game safely. Phew.  The crowds had been drinking for awhile when we began this game.

 There were thousands of people in our display watching the game which was only a few feet away.

Parting shot......

Photos Courtesy of Kristyn Burtt, Matt Troyer, and Tina Pettet.

Remembering Steve Jobs

At the Oscars with my iPhone 4.

In December 1984, the big family Christmas gift was a Macintosh computer.  I spent my entire holiday vacation inserting the MacWrite and MacPaint diskettes and wasting reams of paper and ink cartridges printing up my creations.  I even went off to college with my Macintosh about a decade later and wrote countless term papers on that computer.

Dancing a little West Side Story with my iPad 2 at the State Fair of Texas yesterday. (I seriously need a spray tan.)

I didn't rejoin the Mac revolution until 2003 when I bought my first iPod, but once I went back to the cult of Apple, I never left.  My old Dell desktop went away as I bought an iBook G4 laptop in 2004, a MacBook Pro in 2008, my 3G iPhone in 2008, a gifted iPad in 2010, an iPhone 4 in 2011, and 2 gifted iPad 2s in 2011. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way we look at technology and I always joke that if I could marry my iPhone, I would.  I'm not kidding.

At CES in 2004 launching iTunes for HP.  (Look at that awful haircut!)

In 2004, I had the pleasure of helping HP launch their version of iTunes and the hPod at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas.  Yes, this Apple/HP partnership was short-lived, but it was an exciting time. I remember teaching people how they could find a particular song, download it to their iTunes playlist, and then make a mix of a variety of artists.  I remember adding a plethora of Michael Jackson, U2, and No Doubt songs to my unlimited iTunes account while I was at the show.  I was hooked and I watched as others shared in my amazement that week at CES.  

On the Goodyear Blimp a few weeks ago.....

These days, it's rare to find me without my iPhone or laptop and my iPhone has been photographed everywhere from the red carpet at the Oscars to the Goodyear Blimp. I own a collection of Pixar films from The Incredibles to Finding Nemo and I wear my Pixar sweatshirt with pride.  I am a happy Apple owner and shareholder.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends at home and at Apple.  You revolutionized the world.  RIP, Steve Jobs.

I would love to hear your stories about how Apple and Steve Jobs revolutionized your life.  Share in the comments below.

State Fair of Texas Photos of the Day: The Fried Bubblegum Saga

 Remember when I posted this photo of Evan yesterday?  I thought he might regret letting me eat a bite of his Deep Fried Grilled Cheese after I photo bombed his picture.  Well, he paid me back alright.  He let me take a bite of his Fried Bubblegum (It's really a fried marshmallow with bubblegum flavoring.) which was dubbed the "Most Creative" of the State Fair of Texas.  Um, creative and colorful, but tasty? Not so much. See how it all went down as I took my first bite:

Dedicated to my awesome niece who dared me to eat this.  Next time, you try it, sister!

State Fair of Texas Photo of the Day: Day 6

When you pose for a nice, charming photo at the State Fair of Texas, you never know what is lurking behind you.  I wonder if Evan is sorry he gave me a bite of his delicious fried grilled cheese?  (Fried grilled cheese should be on every menu.  Get on it, LA!)

Photo courtesy of Ron Williams.

State Fair of Texas Photo of the Day: Day 5

After a relatively slow weekend at the State Fair of Texas (Where were, y'all?), here is my latest photo of the day.  I have yet to indulge in all of the fried food (Don't worry, I will.), but this sign caught my eye.  Um, let's see the Ultimate Fried Cheeseburger:  1/3 lb of Black Angus Beef, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Pickles, Fried Cheese, and Onion Rings.....the only thing missing is the Bacon.  It's pretty perfect though, no?  Who dares me to eat this?

(This photo is dedicated to my burger pals:  DangerShoes, MdnightMaverick, and MYMHM on Twitter.)