Misha Collins Is the Fifth Element

I'm not one to gush over actors or celebrities--nothing against them; I just don't generally care about what they get up to offscreen. Occasionally, however, one of them piques my interest and I go looking for more info. That's how I found out about Misha Collins.

For anyone unfamiliar, Misha Collins is an actor--you might know him as the angel Castiel on Supernatural. I'm not really a fan of Supernatural (I'm missing the "Super" in the Superwholock fandom, alas), but I do like a few of the characters, particularly Castiel. Over time I found out through the internet grapevine that Misha is kind of a wacky guy on social media, so I started following him. I wasn't disappointed (it turns out he's a genuinely good person, as well as funny). From there I decided to check out his imdb profile and what I found out about him kind of blew my mind.

Misha Collins:

-Is a published poet (published in respected journals, such as the Columbia Poetry Review). You can watch him sharing one of his poems here:



-Has co-founded an amazing charity organization, Random Acts, which does things like building schools and orphanages, while also encouraging people worldwide to do good on their own. Random Acts has also started a crisis support centre, along with the "You Are Not Alone" initiative, to help Supernatural fans cope with all sorts of mental health issues they may be facing. [Update: As of 2025, the Initiative seems to be gone, but there is an excellent Random Acts Support Network for anyone in need.]

-Runs the world's largest scavenger hunt, GISHWHES: the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt The World Has Ever Seen, which has helped him break five (!) Guinness World Records.

-Does an online cooking show with his son (I think his daughter might have also joined in more recently):

 

-Is a certified EMT

-Goes on Buddhist meditation retreats at monasteries around the world.

-Did I mention he built his own house, including cabinets and most of the furniture in it? The pictures here aren't great but you get the idea, and it doesn't suck.  [Most of the photos seem to be inaccessible now, but this is a great article with photos about Misha's wood working and crafting.]

Bonus: Was the inspiration for "Mishapocalypse" on 1 April 2013, when Tumblr users switched their user (and other) pics to pictures of Misha.

I'm sure further research would uncover more worth sharing, but I'll leave it for another time. And why am I sharing this, anyway? Because awesomeness needs to be shared, so it can inspire and beget more awesomeness. Don't you feel better knowing people like this exist in the world? Actually, the more I found out about Misha Collins, the more I started thinking he wasn't quite your standard human. Which led me to the conclusion that, much like Leeloo in The Fifth Element (a movie you should probably go watch if you haven't already, even though it's Misha free), Misha Collins is at least a, if not the, Fifth Element, which is to say...

 

2025 Update: Somewhere along the line I did become a Supernatural fan, and now I even review the episodes on The Junkyard (see a list of my reviews here). I also wrote a short bio of Misha. He continues to be good people.

[Edited to update links and info. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com] 

It's info-tainment!

People can have all sorts of bad habits: smoking, biting their nails, believing Intelligent Design trumps Evolution. My bad habit? Infomercials. I love them. I'll even watch them repeatedly. I blame my wacky sense of humour--if it's over-the-top absurd I can't get enough, and infomercials are nothing if not absurd. 

My favourites--big surprise--are the cooking infomercials (conversely, I despise the ones selling exercise equipment/diet regimes--their claims are unbelievable and they just make us all feel bad). 

Even if you'd never buy them, the products in the cooking infomercials are full of potential and the infomercials themselves are often--dare I say it?--fun and interesting. 

I also like a lot of the cleaning infomercials, although I won't go out of my way to watch them. They're not as interesting as the cooking ones, but the 'potential' factor is still there. Really, who wouldn't dream of having a spotless house in half the time with no effort? And a lot of those products are actually pretty good. Hey, if someone gave me a Shark steamer I wouldn't complain. 

Just a note: I'm neither advocating for or against any of the products I'm mentioning in this post. I just like the ads--use your own discretion on the products themselves. 

One of the first infomercials I got into was Ronco's Showtime Rotisserie. Ron Popeil (inventor of the Pocket Fisherman!) is entertaining and a little freaky. You also have to give him props for convincingly making it seem like this thing is easy to use. 

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 

 

Man, was I surprised when I discovered the FlavorWave Oven's new spokesperson was Mr. T! That alone makes this an awesome infomercial. It's also fun to watch food shrivel under the 10,000 watt light bulb inside this thing (it's an Easy Bake Oven for adults!) 

My rating: 4 out of 5 

 

You have to respect a man who's out there still flogging merchandise in his 90s. I've seen the infomercial for Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer a few times now. The people in it display the sort of enthusiasm often seen in cult members. Mmm...nothing like the tasty goodness of rind juice! And don't forget--it's WHISPER QUIET! 

My rating: 3 out of 5.

 

The GT Express 101 infomercial is a little lacklustre. It is kind of fun to watch what's-her-name make chocolate cake with a candy bar filling in the bizarre-looking contraption, but next to Jack LaLanne, Mr. T, and Vince Shlomi, this infomercial's about as interesting as listening to Katie from season 5 of The Next Food Network Star go on about antioxidants and digestive health. I suggest they hire an 80s TV personality to spice things up. What's Alf up to these days? 

My rating: 2 out of 5.  

 

I have to say, I'm fairly impressed with the Magic Bullet infomercials. Somebody actually put some thought into them and made them into stories rather than straight-out commercials. And "Mick" is charismatic enough to hold anyone's attention (not to mention his obnoxious "friends" and "family"), although "Mimi" is definitely on the bland side. If more infomercials were like this one I might not get quite so many pitying stares when I admit I actually like them. 

My rating: 4.5 out of 5. 

 

And that brings us to my all-time favourite infomercial. Actually, it's not the infomercial itself so much as the pitchman: Vince Shlomi aka Vince Offer [Edit: this was from a more innocent time, well before Vince's legal troubles and revelations of general asshattery]. I first discovered Vince on the ShamWow commercial and was instantly sucked in. I don't know what it is about this guy but he manages to be both hilarious and convincing at the same time. His magnum opus, however, is the Slap Chop. With such immortal lines as "Don't have a boring tuna; don't have a boring life" and "You're gonna love my nuts" Vince is the undisputed king of television salesmanship. 

My rating: 5 out of 5. 

 

And for some extra wacky fun: The Slap Chop rap remix!

[Edited to update formatting, links, and videos. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Recipe

Sunday mornings around here are pleasant. Being an early riser, I have a few hours to myself before the SO gets up and joins me. I like to spend this time watching the Brit soap opera Coronation Street (the week's episodes are all aired from 7:30 to 10 am on CBC). 

Now, unless a show features, say, Cylons or a certain bleached-blond vampire, I can almost never give them my undivided attention. So while Coronation Street is on, I'll clean or catch up on the week's newspapers or--most enjoyably--bake. Not only is baking therapeutic, but the 1950s housewife in me loves the idea of my guy waking up to the smell of freshly baked cookies or bread. 

Today my baking foray turned out better than usual. I made cinnamon-raisin bread that was like a lighter version of cinnamon rolls. Quite addictive. Next time I plan on adding an icing sugar glaze. You know, to make it even more ridiculously irresistible. 

We had it fresh out of the oven for brunch, buttered and sliced alongside scrambled eggs and bacon. And because sharing is a virtue, here's the recipe (based on one from my KitchenAid mixer instruction manual). Enjoy! 

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread 

1/2 cup milk 

3 Tbs sugar 

2 tsp salt 

3 Tbs butter or margarine 

2 pkgs (aka 2 Tbs) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups warm water (105F to 115F) 

5 to 6 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 cup raisins 

Cinnamon Swirl 

1/2 cup sugar 

2 tsp cinnamon 

2 tbs butter, softened 

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm. 

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time [Note: I found a total of 5 cups of flour to be plenty] and raisins, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. 

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon for swirl. 

Punch dough down and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle approximately 9 x 14 inches. Spread each half with 1 tbs softened butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly. Pinch to seal the seam. Pinch the ends and turn them under. 

Place the dough, seam side down, in well-greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans. Cover, let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. If desired, brush tops with beaten egg white. 

Bake at 375F for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown (and sounds hollow when tapped). Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. If desired, once completely cool, drizzle with an icing sugar glaze. 

 Makes 2 loaves

(Edited for clarity, to update title, and to add photo. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com)

Honey, pack your things, we're moving to Hogwarts!

If you're like me, when you watch TV or a movie, you pay as much attention to the sets as to plot and character development. In a great movie, a gorgeous setting is icing on the cake, but even a mediocre movie is elevated (or at least made more bearable) by beautiful design. Hell, sometimes the sets are more interesting than the shows themselves! Here are some of my favourite sets from shows and movies I love. The list is by no means comprehensive (partly due to my photo google-fu, which was not so strong this time). 

Rivendell (Lord of the Rings trilogy):

In the books, my heart belonged to the Shire (particularly Bag End), but the movies really brought Rivendell's beauty to life. I'm too tall for a Hobbit house anyway.

The Harry Potter movies haven't thrilled me since the first one (and that was before I read the books), but I have to say I adore the set designs (and the score too, actually).

Forget the magic (but not really); I wish that world were real just so I could live there! 

 I love Pushing Daisies. I can't even say how sad I am it's been cancelled. Besides the show's originality, great characters, and compelling stories (much like Bryan Fuller's other prematurely cancelled shows, Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls), the sets and costume designs are amazing, with a retro feel and super-saturated colours. 

I also wanted to find photos of the exterior of the aunts' house and Dead Like Me, particularly the Lass house, but see above re: google-fu, lack of. I did get an interior picture, though:

As you can tell from the next photo, I have a taste for fantasy and whimsy. Let's just say I'm not a fan of neutrals! This is Jack's house from Nightmare Before Christmas (one of my favourite movies of all time). Too bad I couldn't find a picture of the gothic-arched windows with scrollwork panes (you really have to watch the movie to see the house properly. This is a photo of a figurine from Department 56).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I liked the movie Practical Magic a lot, but I love the house! In fact, I think the house made the movie. If I ever build a house, it'll be based on this one. The kitchen alone. Great stove (I believe it's an Aga)! And although you can't see it, I want a pantry full of herbs like theirs.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Royal Tenenbaums is a great movie (in fact, I can't find any fault with it). The house is fantastic as well: a great, decrepit mansion that suits the characters and makes me drool every time.

 

Angel (the character) seemed to always live in style, both on Buffy and Angel (the series), but in my opinion, nothing topped the Hyperion hotel, which he and the Angel Investigations crew occupied for not nearly long enough. I don't know about anybody else, but it made me want to buy and convert an old hotel (lots of room for guests too). This is a shot of the hotel's courtyard. 

Anyone else care to share their own favourite examples?

(Edited for clarity, spelling, formatting, and to replace pictures uploaded from an outdated hosting site. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com)