tim’s thought property

Each time it’s held, there seems to be a greater and more dynamic twist to Steak Night. This past June, most of us went to the BDI for Ice Cream. That wasn’t that smart of a choice, particularly after all-you-can-eat-ribs. This time, it was the prospect of expansion.

After much talk of movies, and what to see this season, talk came up about Blood Diamond. Bucky had seen it, and had a good opinion of it. The movie was also on Tim’s and my short-list of films to see. As ravenous meat-eaters, we had seen movies on past Steak Nights. Why not this time? After much humming, hawing, and sold-out shows, we bought some beer and watched Little Miss Sunshine at Bucky’s instead.

On the Friday of that week, Tim Penner, Corey Kamp and I went down to the CBS to give blood. This plays into the development of what’s to come, and I’ll explain this blood-giving further down.

What made this Steak Night different than the subsequent Steak Nights, were two ideas. 1)In the spirit of Boxing Day, which has somehow turned into a week long spending spectacle, we should make the festivities of friends and food to a week long event. This could potentially soften the rampant sore stomachs of the Wednesday night eat-a-thon, and it can broaden it out to bigger things. We could watch a Blood Themed film ( like Throne of Blood, or Blood Sport, or Dracula) and also do some good for society.2) Start a website that specializes in Steak Night. Actually, a myspace account. That is in the works as you read this.
As any good marketer would have you believe, the best way to profit is to “grow” a brand. Why have a day of sales, when you can have can have seven? Why offer one iPod, when you can offer a half-dozen?

As I mentioned above, I made a trip to the Canadian Blood Services.
I have had a bit of apprehension about donating blood for years, ever since my first donation, when I had passed out part way through, and only gave a half pints worth. This time, I had done all that I could to do my best - had a good night’s sleep; ate a full meal; drank a lot of water; made sure to not watch my own blood pressure; and stayed as calm as I could. And I did it. I donated without any adverse effects, and I felt great. Then, when I saw a banner in the atrium saying I “saved three lives”, I felt even better, (albeit a bit confused).
That night, Corey, Tim, Brianna and I watched Blood Diamond, which was perhaps one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long while. It had a very hard-hitting realism to it, that I can only compare to Hotel Rwanda. And as I watched the movie, coming to grips with the reality of this - that people die so horribly, even daily, by hate and strife; that people are taken captive or forced into military service; how people of the west are oblivious and ignorant to it all - it made for some real tough drama. Sadly, it took a fictitious re-telling of something that has happened, to begin to effect minds in the West by means of entertainment. It seems that news is all to easy to ignore, but seeing it in a film? Why does that make a difference? Before watching this movie, I was opposed to buying diamonds for financial reasons. After seeing it, I do not want to buy a diamond for ethical reasons.

After that whirlwind kind of week, I thought that perhaps we can bracket some of the fun of food and fellowship, with that of a movie and also by donating blood. After all the all-you-can-eat meat that still is digesting, it’s got to be good for the iron in the blood.