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....