Jack Flacco

Anniversary Week—Part III

Posted on December 20, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

December 17th was the one-year anniversary when Jack Flacco: The Official Site went live. In celebration of this milestone, I will present the Top 5 Most Popular Freedom Friday posts of 2013.

But before anything else, allow me the gift of your attention to thank you for supporting me during 2013. This certainly has been a year of surprises, for sure. For instance, if you’re curious as to how many views and visitors I had this year, you can read this week’s Monday Mayhem post for site statistics. Also, in keeping with my wanting to express gratitude, I wouldn’t have thought my book would have been the success it is today without the help of my review team and all those who paid me kind words after its release. Thank you so very much, folks!

Onward. When choosing the Top 5 Most Popular Freedom Friday posts, I first wanted to present them based on amount of views. The more I thought of it though, more it didn’t make sense. For instance, a visitor may pop into the site and hit the same post several times within the day. I didn’t think it fair, considering there could have only been two visitors for that day and a hundred views.

Next, I thought I’d use comments as the benchmark. You know, the more comments a post has, the more popular it is. Again, I didn’t think it represented a good way to measure popularity given I can comment on my own post a dozen times and push it ahead on the popularity scale.

No, what I used is the number of “likes” a post has garnered throughout the year. It will not only present a fair representation of popularity for a post but also prevents users from gaming the system with multiple “likes”.

Okay, now for the list. You’ll notice that for third place we have a tie. Other than that, it’s straightforward. Are you ready? Here it is.

The Top 5 Most Popular Freedom Friday posts of 2013:

Canada’s Wonderland Water Fountains

My Favorite Things—“For a long time, photography has inspired me to travel great distances, survive sour weather and mangle my body into weird positions all in the expectation of capturing that perfect shot. Today, I hope you enjoy this edition of Freedom Friday because today, I’d like to give you a tour of my favorite subjects. As…” ~86 likes
Dinosaur Paws

Royal Ontario Museum—“During this year’s spring break, my family and I skipped the idea of going to the Ontario Science Centre and decided to hit the Royal Ontario Museum instead. It was a cold and dark morning, raining to no end, and we thought it great if we could be in among history. Besides, I wanted to…” ~79 likes
A path to the foot of the woods

Autumn Photography—“Every autumn I go on safari. Not really. I treat it as a safari, though. I pack my camera in my satchel, slip on a warm jacket, and head for the woods. What am I hunting, you may ask? Trees, leaves, nature—anything really to depict this glorious season we call fall. And that’s my Freedom…” ~77 likes

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls—“Recently, my family and I took a trip to Port Colborne, a small town west of Fort Erie, half-an-hour away from Niagara Falls. Due to the nature of the trip, it was only for a couple of days, we traveled most of the time in and out of the car, and in and out of…” ~77 likes
Thunder and Lightning Storm

My Dark Secret—“I have a secret. A very deep and dark secret. It’s the kind of secret that would make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Yet throughout the past year, holding my tongue, I never thought it possible I could ever admit to having this secret. This is my Freedom Friday…” ~71 likes
Avocado & Lemon

Avocados—“Did you know avocados are a fruit? I didn’t know that for a long time. Much like tomatoes, they have a seed inside. According to science, that’s what makes it a fruit. In cooking, however, it’s a different matter. Served in delicious savory meals, chefs define it more as a vegetable. Avocados also provide an…” ~69 likes

That’s it! Thanks for a great first year here at JackFlacco.com. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be back next week with more posts for your reading pleasure. Have a great weekend!

Do you have a favorite Freedom Friday post you’d recommend to your friends?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Anniversary Week—Part II

Posted on December 18, 2013December 20, 2013 by Jack Flacco

Yesterday, December 17th, was the one-year anniversary when Jack Flacco: The Official Site went live. In celebration of this milestone, I will present the Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts of 2013.

First, I would like to thank all the folks who took the opportunity to visit my site this year. I have to say, you’ve flattered me by all the attention you’ve shown me. If you’re interested to see how much attention this site received, check out this week’s Monday Mayhem post for the 2013 stats of views and visitors.

Moving along. When choosing the Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts, I first wanted to present them based on amount of views. The more I thought of it though, more it didn’t make sense. For instance, a visitor may pop into the site and hit the same post several times within the day. I didn’t think it fair, considering there could have only been two visitors for that day and a hundred views.

Okay, let’s get to list.

The Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts of 2013:

Hermione Granger

Hermione Granger—“As the precocious, young witch in the magical world of Harry Potter, it doesn’t seem fitting to include Hermione Granger in my Women Who Wow Wednesday series. However, once we see what she accomplishes when she flees the troll in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, we can safely cast aside all those biases…” ~70 likes
Natalie Portman as Mathilda

Mathilda—“Last week, for my Women Who Wow Wednesday series, I wrote about The Bride, Quentin Tarantino’s blitzkrieg. This week, I’m concentrating on Mathilda, Luc Besson’s hitgirl—raw steal for nerves and a tummy made of iron. When Natalie Hershlag auditioned for the part of Mathilda in the movie Léon: The Professional, everyone had fallen off their…” ~64 likes
Underworld’s Selene

Selene—“What better way to kick off today’s Women Who Wow Wednesday post than with a kick ass, female Death Dealer. I like vampires. Well, I like vampire movies, not vampires per se. Otherwise that would make me weird. Then again, I do love zombies, so that makes me weird enough. But I like a good…” ~57 likes
Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode

Laurie Strode—“For those unfamiliar with the Halloween franchise, one cannot say the name Laurie Strode without saying Michael Myers in the same breath. One, the protagonist. The other, über-antagonist. Women Who Wow Wednesday continues with horror’s scream queen Laurie Strode. When Jamie Lee Curtis accepted the role of Laurie Strode in the 1978 horror classic Halloween…” ~54 likes
Princess Leia Organa

Princess Leia—“Erupting from the screen for the very first time, Princess Leia Organa confronted the evil Darth Vader head on. With a determined resolve, she fights to the last until captured. Women Who Wow Wednesday wouldn’t be the same if I’d never written about the courageous Star Wars damsel. I love Princess Leia. She was one…” ~53 likes

Come back Friday when I reveal the Top 5 Most Popular Freedom Friday posts of 2013. Don’t miss it!

Do you have a favorite Women Who Wow Wednesday post you’d recommend to your friends?

Monday Mayhem

Anniversary Week—Part I

Posted on December 16, 2013December 22, 2013 by Jack Flacco

Tomorrow, December 17th, will be the one-year anniversary when Jack Flacco: The Official Site went live. In celebration of this milestone, I will present the Top 5 Most Popular Monday Mayhem posts of 2013.

Before we get to that, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who visited my site over the course of the year. It’s been quite a ride, folks. We’ve delved into zombies, zombie apocalypses and the like, and we had fun with one of this year’s most notable movie titles (i.e. World War Z).

I don’t share this information freely, but I thought it appropriate given the nature of the festivities for the coming week. Here are some stats* you might find interesting:

Total views since going live: 47,562
The most views in one day: 463
Most views in one month: 5,244 views in March 2013
Most visitors in one month: 2,537 visitors in November 2013
The country with the most views: 24,646 views from the United States

* Statistics range from December 17, 2012 – December 16, 2013 as at 7:01am EST.

Let’s move along to the main attraction. When choosing the Top 5 Most Popular Monday Mayhem posts, I first wanted to present them based on amount of views. The more I thought of it though, more it didn’t make sense. For instance, a visitor may pop into the site and hit the same post several times within the day. I didn’t think it fair, considering there could have only been two visitors for that day and a hundred views.

Okay, enough chitchat.

The Top 5 Most Popular Monday Mayhem posts of 2013:

Neuron

Zombie Apocalypse: Causes—“The other day, an article published October 29, 2007 on Cracked.com titled 5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen, caught my eye. I typically base most of my posts on multiple sources. However, because the site’s article instilled such a horrible chill in my bones, I decided to focus my entire Monday Mayhem…” ~101 likes
Discovery Special: It Could Happen

Zombie Apocalypse: Ground Zero—“I’ve always wondered if a zombie apocalypse were to take place now, where would it hit first? It’s Monday Mayhem and this has been on my mind all weekend. You know, I’ve thought about this question. It’s not one of those precious topics floating around lunchrooms across America. Like, how many Twitter followers does Lady…” ~88 likes
The Zombie Run

The Zombie Run—“If you have a soft stomach, I suggest you leave—now. If not, I have news that may be beneficial to your health. For a while, I’ve followed an event so scary, so shocking, and so exciting; I couldn’t let it go much longer without including it in my Monday Mayhem series. Some of you already…” ~85 likes
Fast Zombie (photo credit: Plan B)

Fast Zombies—“Now that World War Z is part of movie history, perhaps this is a good time to have a heart to heart talk. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything if I were to ask a simple question. Some folks might have their opinions, and quite frankly, I’m interested in hearing what those opinions are. After…” ~78 likes
Jack Flacco takes you to the edge of horror

My Book Release—“It’s not every day I can say tomorrow I have a book releasing. It’s not as if I write a book every day. That’d make me one fast writer, for sure. It would also make me an incredible genius. Believe me, as much as I’d like to punch myself in the arm, no way would…” ~75 likes

Come back Wednesday when I reveal the Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts of 2013. Don’t miss it!

Do you have a favorite Monday Mayhem post you’d recommend to your friends?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Food Tips

Posted on December 13, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I enjoy food as much as the next guy. In fact, I would venture to say, I eat for the shear pleasure. I never used to be this way. Most of my meals years ago had trouble staying in my mouth more than a few seconds before they hit the bottom of my stomach. I ate fast. I played hard. And lived for no tomorrow. Of course, I don’t do that anymore, and I’m happier and healthier for it.

A full pantry (Photo Credit: theperfectpantry.com)

I thought for Freedom Friday you’d appreciate a few tricks I have up my sleeve whenever I’m in the kitchen cooking a meal. I’ve always wanted to write these tips in a notebook, but how can that happen if I’m either in the kitchen cooking for the family or at my laptop writing other stuff? And don’t worry, although I write about zombies it doesn’t mean I am one. I’ll leave the undead to worry about eating brains.

Let me start by saying every kitchen needs a few basic ingredients. Salt, pepper, and olive oil make it almost into every meal. That’s why our family buys those ingredients in bulk. If you have a cold room or pantry, you can store the basics in there for a long time before you need to stock the shelves again. I suppose you can do the same thing with toilet paper, but I’d recommend not eating toilet paper.

Here’s something I’ve learned when I went on a one-year viewing binge of Food Network Canada. Chances are I picked up a thing or two here and there as I watched, however, one of the coolest tips I got from them has to do with knowing when the oil in the pan is hot enough for frying. All you do is wet your finger with water and allow a drop to fall to the pan. If the water snaps in the pan, then you know it’s perfect for frying.

Which reminds me, if you’re going to try this trick, make sure you stand well back from the pan. You don’t want to make your meal to-go, as in going to the hospital ‘cause your eye was an inch away from the pan.

How to hold a chef's knife (Photo Credit: stellaculinary.com) — How to hold a chef’s knife (Photo Credit: stellaculinary.com)

You’d think holding a knife is easy. Not at Casa Flacco. When I’m cutting vegetables, I grasp the knife by the handle, curling my index finger to the side of the blade while my thumb leans on the other side, half on the blade and half of the handle. Not only is it safe, but you have better control of the cutting. With the other hand, I curl my fingers so as my fingernails fall at a ninety-degree angle on the vegetable. Then, I cut with a rhythm, rocking the knife on its tip as I bring the blade down on the vegetable. I learned this technique from one of these fancy-shmancy chefs in order to prevent a premature amputation of a digit.

The proper cut (Photo Credit: besthomechef.com.au)

Not so much a tip as it is a recommendation, but enjoying your food ranks up there with turning off the stove when you’re done with it. It involves not rushing through your meal so you can spend countless of senseless hours in front of a screen. I’ve done it many times and it doesn’t do justice to the digestive tract. Eating your food at a leisurely pace invokes a relaxed atmosphere conducive to pleasure. The food settles better, too. I know, it’s hard to do in this day and age where we’re rushing everywhere. But it beats ravaging a side of steer and washing it down with a gallon of gin.

Do you have any food tips you’d like to share? Are you a fast eater?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Dr. Maggie Rice

Posted on December 11, 2013December 13, 2013 by Jack Flacco

Can someone love but not touch? Feel but not see? Hear, yet remain deaf? She is in despair. She loses something very dear to her. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever get it back. Then Seth appears and everything becomes just as before. Better, in fact.

Meg Ryan as Dr. Maggie Rice in City of Angels

The film City of Angels tells the story of a surgeon (Meg Ryan) who questions her belief system soon after losing a patient. Some time after, she gains a friend—Seth (Nicolas Cage)—an angel. Women Who Wow Wednesday celebrates the life of Dr. Maggie Rice, the woman who can make angels want to become human.

They admire each other from a distance. She knows when he’s there. The storms may envelop her senses, but his presence comforts her. The warmth of his arms wrapped around her shoulders cradles her at night, lulling her to sleep.

She’s also curious about Seth. He’s not like anyone she’s ever met. He’s different. Special. She hears about his history from a friend of his:

Maggie knows she’s not like him. She knows she will have to do something. She can’t see him anymore. It just isn’t right. So she visits him with the intention of making it the last time she talks with him. She says good-bye explaining the other man in her life asked her to marry him.

Seth doesn’t understand. How can she do that? How can she break his heart like so? Doesn’t she feel the same way? She doesn’t understand. Maggie makes him feel alive. Maggie makes him feel invincible. Maggie makes him feel…

I can’t reveal how the story ends. In some ways, the story doesn’t have an ending. At least not the ending we would hope. But isn’t that how life is anyway? Perhaps like Maggie, we find love in the oddest places. And try as we may, it takes a lifetime to understand it. At the same time, maybe we were never meant to understand it. Maybe, just maybe, love is a growing process that takes time to nurture, trusting in its power to lead us to have faith to understand it some day.

Have you seen The City of Angels? What did you think of Maggie?

Monday Mayhem

Classic Films Zombie Style II

Posted on December 9, 2013December 11, 2013 by Jack Flacco

Remember the movie Jurassic Zombieland? How about Star Wars: Attack of the Zombies? Tell me you remember Zombies of the Lost Ark. Well, I don’t remember them either. They don’t exist. However, for a short time in August, I wrote about these fictitious films in my post Classic Films Zombie Style. I wrote about them as a fun way to enjoy Monday Mayhem.

How does it work? Well, I pick a film everyone ought to recognize, then I add a few zombies, amp up the violence, throw in a generous splattering of gore and voilà, you have yourself a zombie classic. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Let’s see what Part Two of this series holds for us adventurous hunters of the undead.

Zombienator XVII—Sent from the future, a zombie hunts a boy named John Kenner in an effort to ensure the zombie apocalypse occurs as planned. The eater, an undead beast fitted with an indestructible endoskeleton coated in mimetic polyalloy, hungers vast quantities of human meat. In its mission to find the young man, zombienator leaves behind a vast swath of death and chewed bodies in the wake of its attacks, from one side of Los Angeles all the way to when they first meet. Unknown to the evil maggot bag, another zombienator makes an appearance. This one, as John’s protector. A cat and mouse game ensues until the zombienators clash in a final battle that will determine the fate of humankind. Regardless of who wins, will there be a zombie apocalypse?

Planet of the Zombies—When a U.S. spacecraft breaches the atmosphere and crash lands on what first appears as a uninhabited planet, the astronauts on board have all they can do to escape the destructive inferno. On their trek to find life, they encounter a band of primitive humans grazing in the corn. Without warning, a hunting horn sounds and the humans scatter. The hunters ride on their stallions shooting and tripping snares, capturing the humans as they storm through the cornfields. Within a matter of minutes, the former astronauts discover the riders’ identity is none other than zombie. On this planet, the undead have evolved to become the top species on the food chain, and their plans involve nothing more than to serve human as their main course. Can someone please pass the salt.

Close Encounters of the Undead Kind—Ships from another planet visit Earth with the seedlings of a zombie apocalypse. Their mission to conquer humanity from the inside out propels ordinary citizens into extraordinary actions of courage. Who knew tearing apart a garden would lead to the central headquarters of the alien invasion. Zombies functioning as the aliens’ protectors take to the streets killing all humans who dare stand in their way of total world domination. Only one species will survive, but the aliens may have underestimated the zombies’ ability to yield to their commands. No one knows who will win.

What classic movies would you like to see done with a zombie makeover?

Freedom Friday, Photo Opportunities

My Walks

Posted on December 6, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

If you haven’t figured it out, I write about a lot of stuff. Food. Travel. Photography. You know, the basic things that make life interesting. One topic I’ve mentioned in passing but never really delved in deeply is my affinity to taking walks. Those who know me know I’m out and about more often than not in the middle of the woods. Early to late fall is also one of my favorite seasons. Therefore, it goes without saying, I’m in my element during this time of year. And what better way to introduce my walking journeys than to write about them for Freedom Friday?

Someone asked me how I keep so trim. I would use the word emaciated but that’s just me. Thin is another polite word for saying I look all skin and bones. I don’t mind when folks call me skinny, after all, I am my mother’s son and she’s not on the meaty side either. So, it’s not really something I don’t know. Anyway, I answer whoever’s asking that I’m a walker. I walk everywhere. Even having a car, I still will walk half-an-hour to Main Street on a regular basis. I enjoy the coffee shops there. They’re cozy little establishments where you can grab a warm cup of pleasure. In the wintertime, I enjoy sitting in front of the window looking out to the traffic as folks slush their way through the snow.

Walking also provides me a time when I can think. So many wonderful ideas come from those one-hour sessions. I can’t say why certain thoughts come to mind whenever I’m outside stretching my legs. They just do. I go with it and see where they take me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when I do take long walks, I tend to resolve quite a few problems that way. If something’s on my mind, by the time I get home it will have disappeared.

Another side effect of a good walk is crossing paths with the animal kingdom. I’ve mentioned this before in my Autumn Photography post. Have I told you my biggest fear? Well, I’ve met with raccoons, rabbits, foxes, wild dogs, black cats, ducks, and geese. That’s it. I think. Wait a minute, did I mention coyotes? I haven’t met a coyote yet, and I’m not planning to either. But my biggest fear is skunks. Thankfully, I’ve seen them, but never startled them enough to race down the street like an idiot. I wouldn’t know what to do if one sprayed me. I suppose that would be the basis for a bad day.

I’ve also encountered my share of incidents during my constitutionals. One in particular strikes my memory. It involved a car and an immovable object. I was walking home, listening to music, when right behind me on the opposite side of the street, a car veered off the road, bounced on the sidewalk, tracked through a couple of front lawns, took out a porch, a veranda and finally came to a stop with its front-right side embedded in a house. Yes, a house. Oh, everyone walked out of there alive. Yet, the whole scene shook me. To this day, I can still remember how it all happened.

I always wonder what my life would be like had that car veered in a different direction.

Nonetheless, I still walk everywhere. And I’ll probably keep walking until the end of my days. It’s what makes me who I am. It’s what keeps me alive.

[Author’s Note: I wrote this a month ago yet only now did I get a chance to post it. Hence the fall shots.]

Do you take walks? What comes from the exercise?

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