Children of Men

I think I just watched one of the most startling brutal "what if" films I have seen in .... well, maybe ever. I'm speechless.

Saturday Spotlight

Tom Everett Scott

Movies, TV and Broadway - he does it all

I, like a lot of people took notice of him after seeing him in "That Thing You Do". However, his stint on ER really showed the depth he is capable of. I was elated when he came to Broadway earler this year in "The Little Dog Laughed". He was truly outstanding as a famous closeted movie actor who develops an unexpected relationship with a rent boy and the effect it has on his life and career.

I definitely look forward to seeing more of this talented man.

Go Ahead.... Make My Day

There are certain everyday events/people we experience that annoy the crap out of us.... here are a few of mine. This list has the potential to be endless......

• Gas station attendants that don't come to the driver's side window, but stay on the passenger side because they are too lazy to walk 5 feet around the car to speak with you. It's rude.

• The person who is buying a newspaper, doesn't wait on line to pay and tosses their money at a cashier because they "have just one thing". In reality you are cutting the line. You seem to think you are more important than the harried mom carrying a huge box of diapers, pushing a stroller and has a toddler in tow. You are not.

• The woman standing in back of me on line at Walgreens, who upon hearing me ask for cigarettes, looks at me with such distain, as if I asked permission to pee on her furniture. Maybe I should.

• People who dismiss children and their opinions... just because they are kids. We have a lot to learn from them and the natural instints they have, which we adults seem to have lost with age.

• On the flip side, parents who let their kids loose in stores and expect fellow shoppers to be their guardians. I can't tell you how many times I have had to gently stop a child from handling something along the lines of household chemicals, because their parent was not paying attention.

• People who can't seem to "get to the point"..... and say everything BUT what you have asked them - and then they forget and have to start over.

To be continued..... because life can be that annoying somedays

New York, New York... WAS a Helluva Town

Enough already... STOP chipping away at my beloved City and what little is left that makes it so special. I'm not going to go into why this Festival means so much.... anyone who lives in the City can tell you. No smoking in bars... Shut up... I smoke - and now this.

I hope you choke on your fucking zeppole

To sum it up:

Little Italy residents upset by the raucous annual street fair voted this month to pull the plug on the historic feast, recommending that Community Board 2 move to nix the 11-day gala.

"No one likes San Gennaro who lives here," said Sean Sweeney, a member of the community board's street events committee, which voted against issuing permits for the feast.


So.... after 80 years of the Festival.. all of a sudden it's a nuisance....

and huuumm - I wonder what part of Italy Mr. SWEENEY's family is from.... maybe a visit from Tony Soprano is in order :-)

And They Called It Puppy Love

It is *that* sad my excitement for this is immeasureable? PUPPY LOVE!!!

Donny and his five brothers may be planning a comeback -- at least for one night - a TV special.

Flashbacks to my bedroom of the mid-70s - poster covered walls, bean bag chair, lava lamp, 8-track player - Oh God..... so stereotypical..... but true.

Saturday Spotlight

Djimon Hounsou

Academy Award/Golden Globe nominee,
former model and all round hottie

On February 24, 2007, it was announced that Hounsou will be the new Calvin Klein Underwear model. Starting with the Fall 2007 season, he will be the featured in the brand's global print advertising campaign including the launch of their new Calvin Klein Steel product line.

Stick a Fork In Me... I'm Done

To say the last week and a half was stressful is an understatement. Last Wednesday, my grandmother passed away at the age of 93. In the Jewish religion we bury our dead within 3 days (excluding Shabbat). So... the funeral was on Friday... in the ice storm. It was as dark and gloomy as could be - it was a bit surreal, sort of like a movie funeral. One small moment that happened - my cousin's yarmulke blew off and.... into the grave. It was a much needed split second of lightness.

Thursday through Saturday, I was firmly ensconced at my parent's house... eating anything and everything. There was nothing else to do. Finally on Saturday evening, I was able to get out and go see Grey Gardens with a friend. Not exactly the first show you would think of to see after a death in the family, but it was WONDERFUL and a great escape.

In the midst of this, I have a massive deadline involving the Israeli government. Part of my job is arranging for a group of 67 kids to go to Israel for 2 weeks in April. The paperwork is staggering. I love what I do, but the pressure was definitely on - especially after being out from work for 3 days. Add to that 2 nights of Parent/Teacher conferences, arrangements for the school play and the school dance.... you get the picture. It's been brutal.

But.... Last night - another fantastic evening of theatre ... Talk Radio. I said to a friend today that every man on the planet should look as good as Liev Schreiber does in a pair of black Levis. Naomi is a very lucky woman. Oh yeah... and the play was fabulous. :-)

So that's the roundup - I'd say... that's been enough! I'm really looking forward to bowling tomorrow evening with friends. GREAT stress relief!

It's Alimentary My Dear - aka - You Can't Use the "N" Word

Living in an area with a sizable Asian population affords me the opportunity to try a variety new foods that I am enjoying quite a bit.

The newest is "alimentary noodles" from Japan. I was one of my favorite stores after work and in the refrigerator section I saw these fresh, creamy, milky white noodles the thickness of a pencil. I had to try them especially because of their name and their size. It was a 3 pack of noodles that included a packet of dry soup mix for each. It was so yummy and didn't taste "pre-packaged" at all.. The texture of the noodles was perfect.

Sidenote: I love this store.... I also got a chocolate babka and Italian Muscat grapes.... those of you who know about my "grape-scapades" last April in Seattle .... these are THOSE grapes :-)

Now you may be asking - what the hell are "alimentary noodles"? Here is the description according to The Cook's Thesarus:

Until recently, the U.S. government required a noodle to contain flour, water, and eggs to be rightly called a noodle. Since most Asian noodles aren't made with eggs, this left them without much of an identity. The FDA permitted names like "alimentary paste" and "imitation noodles," but Asian noodle producers--from the birthplace of the noodle no less--could not use the n-word. The government finally relented, and we can now use the name "Asian noodles."

Here Today.... Gone Forever

Why am I still amazed that there are people who haven't learned life lessons and continually get off on engaging in mob mentality lead by little people who have nothing else to do with their time/energy/empty lives than get a thrill out of getting relative strangers "on the bandwagon" about people and situations they really know nothing about? It's disgusting and has detrimental effects on those ACTUALLY involved in very emotional situations.....

It's interesting... no... pathetic, that innuendo and gossip have taken the place of facts and that real communication between people is disappearing. There are choices that can be made... ignore or engage.

Ignore is especially useful if your personal knowledge of someone's character leads to you rationally determine "well, this doesn't sound like something XXX would say or do", so maybe I should just ignore it or talk to the person directly. Automatically believing something said in the context of gossip with no direct knowledge is mindless and for people who can't make actual judgements for themselves.

Engaging and getting caught up in that is dangerous and almost always leads to failure - not to mention not so secret little hypocracies. Such as, privately voicing utter destain for someone, then publicly fawning over them. It's actually laughable in some ways. If you don't like a person don't engage them and don't pretend. It's not being true to yourself. I fully understand that this is not always possible in real life social situations, like a party, etc... but you can find a balance, be graceful, and socially mature in a situation like that.

Can people change their minds as circumstances change and not be considered hypocritical? Absolutely. The difference lies in being true and consistent. For a lot of people, it just does not seem possible.

Jeepers Creepers - Wher'd Ya Get Them Peepers?

Some of the most beautiful eyes....

Escaping "Escapa"

Heather... I have only you to blame for this..... as will many people now.

Escapa

I've Got Mine - Now You Get Yours!

You! - I see you eyeing the lunch or snack that is on my desk.... and apparently your need to comment on it is positively overwhelming. Have you never seen a tuna sandwich before? Or a pile of pretzels? Or some fruit?

Enough already - get your own fucking food and stop commenting on mine - every. single. day.

And if you even THINK you are going to get close to my coffee maker, you better hope and pray you have life insurance.

(I need a vacation)

Goodbye Platypus Man

Richard Jeni, one of my top 5 favorite comedians and fellow Brooklynite, was found dead this weekend at the age of 45. Apparently, the cause of death was a self inflicted gunshot wound.

I'd been fortunate enough to see this wonderful man many, many times and I will miss his presence in the entertainment world. If you have never seen his HBO specials, especially Platypus Man and a Big Steaming Pile of Me, then you are missing some of the best standup experiences you will ever see.

Along with Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor we have lost another light of laughter and social insight.

"My mother never saw the irony of calling me a son of a bitch" - Richard Jeni

Parla Italiano?

Hopefully, I will in a few months! I am starting to teach myself that beautiful, romantic language. It's been a dream of mine to spend an extended amount of time in Italy - especially Tuscany - and this endeavor will be the first step in making that future experience even more fulfilling.

For a while, I've felt like my brain has been on autopilot and somewhat static. So teaching myself a new language should kick start my gray matter into firing those synapses again.

I do read books, listen to music, etc... but for some reason it doesn't seem like enough. I need to learn something completely different! Learning new words/verbs is going to be the fun part. I'm not looking forward to conjugating those verbs properly, but practice makes perfect. Once I get the basics down, it will be the semblance of an accent I will need to work on. That leaves me laughing as I type that.... so I guess I will have to watch a few Sophia Loren movies and The Godfather II to see how it should be done! Ciao!

Fun with Condoms

The makers of Trojan condoms has started a really clever new website and included name generators on it.

For the Goddesses


For the Gods

Life - When It's Time To Let Go

Over the next few days I will be dealing with the emminent death of my grandmother. It has given me a lot to think about in regards to modern medicine, technology and the decisions we make in regards to extension of life. She is almost 93 , has lost all quality of life and is going to hospice tomorrow so that she can let go as comfortable and peacefully as possible without all the meds and feedings she has been given. At this point they are ineffective and are actually doing more harm than good for her. Hospice was a very hard yet easy decision to make... if that makes sense. Easy in the sense that it is the logical thing to do at this stage, yet so difficult because for my father, it means it really is the last few days he will have with his mother.

A very strange coincidence with all of this. The doctor estimated given the circumstances, that she will probably pass away on the 10th . My aunt, her daughter... passed away on March 10th, 4 years ago. My grandmother never knew of her death which would make that date very cosmic indeed.

Useful Tip #1

With the next few nights being bitterly cold... sort of like a Siberian shockwave of weather - a useful tip can be, well.... useful.

Something I learned when living at my last apartment, where the landlard (sic) installed a locked thermostat box during the winter and he kept the fucking thing on 60 degrees. Slumlord.

When you have late night cold feet - put your socks (hopefully clean) side by side in your microwave for 5 seconds on high - turn them over and go for 5 more seconds. VOILA - toasty warm tootsies.

NEVER EVER try this with pantyhose. Ever.

Aretha Franklin Has A Point

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

I've been thinking a lot about that word lately. It comes in different shapes and forms. There is the respect for parents and siblings, partners, pets, children, co-workers/bosses, friends, and the human race in general, etc... They are all significant beings in our lives. The concept can be broken down even further yet all tied together at the same time; Respect for feelings, opinions, boundries, and the relationships we have with those beings.

So what happens when it is taken for granted and morphs into lack of respect, apathy, rudeness, lack of manners and consideration for others? You start to question and examine your value and place in those relationships and theirs in yours.. Not a pretty thing to have to do.

I've realized that in order to achieve some sort of peaceful balance in life, you have to ask yourself some tough questions, find the answers within yourself and make decisions that work for you to achieve the best peace of mind and control.

I've struggled with, and made a lot of those types of decisions over the past several months and have been working towards that goal of balance. Learning how to get through the tough parts, knowing how to identify your own issues and separating them from those that are not yours and how they affect you..... is a continuing process.

One of the hardest parts is knowing the right reasons for deciding if a relationship is worth keeping... or is it time to give up and let it ride itself out?

Sometimes - it's hard to tell.

The David Caruso School of "Acting"

I blame Opie & Anthony for introducing me to these particular "eye" worms. Thanks guys... no really... thanks.

Endless One Liners




The Sunglasses Edition

The Dialectizer

I had long forgotten about this website from RinkWorks, until this morning when I was cleaning out my bookmarks. I love this site - it's always good for a quick giggle. You put in the URL of any site and it translates it into a variety of dialects.

Try it with your favorite websites, your friend's blogs, your company website, etc....

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/

What's In A Name?

Over the past year I have collected a list of some of the more interesting sender names of e-mail spam I have received.

Here is just a partial list of some of my favorites:

Vociferously H. Luminously
Holiest V. Breaches
Curable S. Smiting
Corral Q. Albino
Sylph G. Breakneck
Woodenest T. Backpedals
Pliny I. Hormones
Platte R. Ramrod
Linoleum J. Refusing
Exhibitionists B. Scullion
Darla H. Foolishness
Hunchback E. Pewee
Elvira Fries
Tincture J. Motorboat
Rosin K. Pussycat

and last but not least... Bimbos V. Shaver

Lychees!

I have been obsessed with these tasty little fruits since I was a kid in Brooklyn and got them at the Chinese restaurants as dessert. Sweet, plump, juicy, with a perfume-like taste. There is nothing in the universe that tastes like them. Kemia Bar makes an outrageous martini with them. When I was in Vancouver B.C. last April, I had a frozen Lychee Tea drink that almost made me pass out from drink-happiness overload. Maybe I should try my hand at making Lychee jam and sorbet.... I can't wait until June/July when I can buy the fresh ones in season! On the other hand, I wonder how hard they are to grow myself..... hummm.

Soooo...? What's the big Megillah?

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

The story of Purim is told in the Book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle gragers (noisemakers) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the Purim service. The purpose of this custom is to "blot out the name of Haman."

(Thanks to JewFaq.org)

Note: I've always found the Book of Esther as inspiring and empowering for women. I've also just noticed that the characters in the Megillah have taken on a completely different symbolism - those of people I actually know.