...and happy birthday, tony bennett

Just learned (from John McEnroe's US Open commentary) that Mr. Bennett is turning 85 today.

happy birthday, michael jackson

...excellent birthday tribute here ("You Rock My World" remix featuring Jay-Z)
Michael would have been 53 today.

baby-jay-be

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

emergency preparedness

We are ready for you, Irene. (but not really Irene, just residual tropical storm action...
...
... hopefully)

letzte nacht

Last night we saw Reggie Watts at Woolly Mammoth and it was a wonderful use of our time. Hilarious! Although we agreed that his routine was a bit funnier when we saw him on the Conan tour (with Reggie, the humor lies in the unexpected), he was still brilliantly funny.

(photo cred: Woolly Mammoth, by Noah Kalina)

Deemed "the coolest comedian on the planet" by GQ, he's not only a comedian, but a performance artist and musician. Count him as a new addition to my best friends club.

 

coco crispy awesomey

Just so awesome. The man homered from both sides of the plate twice, both times at the first pitch. For more on this awesomeness from last nights A's-Yanks game, go here: Awesomey McAwesome Face

(photo courtesy: NYTimes who got it from

Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press)

we shouldn't have evacuated...

...that's what I thought. I was on my way under my very sturdy desk when the quake literally shook the earth beneath us on Wednesday...until I heard someone shout "It's an earthquake! Get in the doorframe!" then someone else shouting even louder "Evacuate! Evacuate!"

Apparently, the doorframe is not a good place to go, contrary to what I learned as a schoolkid...but we did learn to also drop and cover. Anyway, more info here: Shouldn't Have Evacuated

scary devil

Here is a link to readers' comments on a Times article about Cheney's new book: Readers' Comments
I won't say much here, because much of how I feel has been more eloquently stated by fellow readers. I agree that he's the devil. And why won't the man die already? Because he has super evil devil powers. I never wish death upon anyone, but Cheney and Rush Limpballs are exceptions.

i was kissed by a stranger

I was kissed by a stranger on the train to work this morning. Said stranger was a petite middle-aged, put-together, soft-spoken woman with sunglasses who I have never seen before. When I boarded my train, I took my usual seat, which happened to be directly across the aisle from her. I can't remember how she got my attention, but when I turned to her, she said "You look nyyyce!!" She then proceeded to elaborate on her mental digestion of me, none of which I could understand or hear, given the loud roar of a fast-moving train, but based on her hand gestures, I think she was talking about my skirt. Then she ended with an a-ok gesture (see picture). Her facial expression was that of someone describing something really tasty.

(illustration courtesy of Wikipedia)

I was taken aback - our exchange was long by morning-commuter-complimenting-a-stranger standards, but was appreciative of her even noticing me and said "Thank you." We then rode about 4 more stops together without any further exchange - her tending to her makeup and hair, me reading Bossypants. When we arrived at her stop, she got up, I turned to her, and before I could say "Have a good day," she said it, then approached me and gave me a cheek-ear-area "muah," as if we just said goodbye after having brunch together. I closed with a "Thank you, you have a good day too."

I deboarded the train at the next stop. I tried to act unphased by the whole experience, and maybe I came off as so on the outside, but inside I had so many questions! What just happened? Where am I? Who's that friendly to strangers? Did she sense I was having a rough morning? (I didn't get up to run as intended, but didn't get any additional quality sleep either; worried about the next earthquake.) Does she give out kisses and compliments to strangers all the time? Is she aware of how she just completely and simultaneously made my day and freaked me out?

Then I just decided to appreciate that there are still decent people in our world, and tell you all about it by writing this post. I hope we're all lucky enough to have mornings like this once in a while...or maybe, if we're brave enough, to grant someone else such a morning. ...and, in the meantime, I'll just relish in the fact that, hell yeah, I look cute today.

sign it

Tax rich people

this is strange

Republicans for wind energy

chewbacca

Source: ffffound.com via Natalie on Pinterest

fancy walking

Earlier this year, I vowed to improve my crip walking abilities, among other things I vowed to do upon turning 30.

Hm? What's that? How am I doing? Well let's just say I need to practice more...

525,600

...just posting this here so I can watch it readily, whenever I want.

LISTEN, republicans!

Warren Buffet's Times Op-Ed: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

congratulations, #17

Chris Mullin Heading to the Hall of Fame
...the 'C' of the dynamic trio Run TMC...alas, the last time I was a Warriors fan...
(pic credit: here)

idiots on parade

(reference: Max Whittaker for The New York Times)

crawfish aka crayfish aka crawdad aka LOBSTER!

This is so funny to me: 'Seafare' Salad
It's amazing that in 15 years, no one noticed the salad was lacking lobster...or maybe they did and just didn't report it...but for Zabars to sell thousands of pounds of the stuff is telling - that there were still many people who just bought it.

check this nonsense

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"Corporations are people, my friend."

MITT ROMNEY, responding to a hecklers in Iowa who want higher corporate taxes.

(reference: NYTimes)

Which Child Dies? Famine Forces Impossible Choices

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: August 11, 2011 at 10:53 AM ET

DADAAB, Kenya (AP) — Wardo Mohamud Yusuf walked for two weeks with one child on her back when her 4-year-old son collapsed at her side.

The 29-year-old asked the families she was traveling with for help, but they continued on their way. Then she had to make a choice no parent should have to make. Yusuf left her 4-year-old behind.
Now at a refugee camp in Kenya, Yusuf says she is reliving the pain of abandoning her son.
Parents fleeing Somalia's devastating famine are having to make unimaginably cruel choices: Which children have the best chance to survive when food and water run low? Who should be left behind?
The U.S. estimates that more than 29,000 Somali children under age 5 have died in the country's famine the last three months.

(reference: NYTimes)

please

Oaklandish

missoni for target

I gotta jump on this come September!


(photo courtesy of NYTimes)

oak-town

DGG just sent me this article about a new store in our beloved Oakland: Oaklandish
Such a great business idea - I really hope it does well and is welcomed and treated well in the neighborhood. Just as importantly, I hope it inspires positive change, reinforces what's right in the city, and instills some lost pride. I may just have to order everything they offer. I want it all!

(photo from here: Shop Oaklandish at Therethere)

watch the throne

I've never written a review for an album before, but I'm listening to Kanye and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne right now (which dropped at midnight) and all I can say is that it's DENSE. I think I may be experiencing auditory overload (or my broken headphones are just too loud).

secret items

While doing some research for work (yes, really), I came across this site:
The Bachelor Guy
I was actually looking up what a Mustard Whopper was (a whopper with mustard spread on the bun instead of mayo!), and was surprised to see that McDonalds had secret menu items!

So in addition to the Mustard Whopper, here are some of the things I'd like to try to order the next time I find myself wanting some fast food:

From McDonalds:

• Fries with Big Mac sauce
• Chicken and Waffles (ok - this version is an insult to the real thing, but I'm just giddy they offer it)
• 2 Cheeseburger Meal Mac

From Burger King:

• Frings
• BK Club (even though a chicken sandwich taste test from college revealed it was inferior to its competitors...maybe the added club ingredients make it better)

...and lastly, KFC has poutine! I'm a little on the fence about ordering this, as I'm pretty sure I'll get a blank look from the person behind the counter, but I'll try whenever I'm not in the mood to generalize people.

shack man

...for all those who have lots of time, and are open to learning more about the man behind Shake Shack and numerous NYC fine-dining restaurants, read this lengthy, albeit easy-to-digest (like Shackburgers), Times article about Danny Meyer:
A Moveable Feast: Danny Meyer on a Roll

crisis

Read more here: Oxfam GROW

another MSNBC ad

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

BFF club member

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

pet peeve

In the context of current popular gastronomy (as opposed to...? I don't know, maybe nitpicky technical culinary nitpickiness), let me clear something up for all those who are confusing the two.

This is a macaron:

This is a macaroon:

Ok, back to nitpicky technical stuff. According to the macaron wiki page:
"Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling of the cookie/biscuit. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonyms.^[5]"

So although their wiki pages imply that each term (macaron and macaroon) are just translations of the same thing, the two sweets are different. This place, Sucre, sells 'macaroons' while showing pictures of macarons, completely invalidating themselves as a purveyor of fine sweets and perpetuating the miseducation of US eaters (again, in the context of current popular gastronomy, since technically, I guess the term macaroon can be used for both a macaron and macaroon). Ugh, whatever.

(photos courtesy of Pierre Herme and Wikipedia)

never mind...here's the BUTTERBEER video

View more videos at The Feast
...turns out it was just my Adobe Flash player malfunctioning...it wasn't my HTML skillz at all....

BUTTERBEER

I'm not good enough at HTML to post the video here, but go here for a Butterbeer recipe by a bartender at DC's Ripple using a local brew.

yum nom nom

paper calendars

G just sent a Times article to me about paper calendars and how they measure up to electronic options. First, I'd like to profess my deep appreciation for the Times for having stories like these. They cover life in all aspects, tell stories about people that everyone should hear and otherwise wouldn't know about, and have fun stories that appeal to my interests. Second, I'd like to say thanks to G for sending this to me: you know me so well.


Ok - so why all the love for this article? Because I am attached to certain things that others consider passé, such as my Sony Ericsson W810i phone, the word "'moded," my MySpace account (just kidding), print books (as opposed to e-books), CDs if I had the room for them, and my At-A-Glance DayMinder, model SK-48 (I'm currently sporting a green-covered one).


I've used planners (or as Pamela Paul notes, what industry calls personal organizers) since middle school. My middle school gave out Trapper Keeper-sized planners every year with the distribution of our textbooks. I can't recall what kind I used throughout high school, but I'm pretty sure I used them - oh wait, I think I used cute Japanese ones. Then in college, my love affair and fascination with NYC began and I started using NYC Public Library student planners. Or was that grad school? I can't remember...but since graduating, I've always relied on my trusty, compact DayMinder to keep my life fairly in order.


I love its generous notes space for each day, the useful conversion tables and area codes list, as well as it's area codes map in the back cover. I utilize the plastic cover-s flap-overs as pockets for business cards, event tickets, and tons of dried up post-its. I also like to clip business cards to the page of a day when I know I'll need it (e.g. my doctor's card when I have a MD appt). I also clip a paperclip to the current day, allowing for easy and fast flipping to the right page.


I've tried switching to Google calendar, but it just hasn't worked out, in that I'm not able to reference it when away from a computer (I don't own a smartphone - Sony Ericsson W810i phone, remember?). It also doesn't allow me to look back years from now to see what exactly I did on a particular day (smartphones didn't exist when I was in middle school, high school, college or grad school). And these pockets and post-its! Where else would I be able to store important business cards, tickets, potential names for my unborn/yet-to-be-adopted children, my work computer log-on information with the number to the IT guy, and my list of to-do restaurants - all in one place??? Not to mention the excitement I feel when I get to shop for a new planner every January. It's my version of back-to-school shopping.


Since this age of the I-whatever (be it -Phone, -Pod or -Pad - do they still make I-Macs?) started, I've always been skeptical of the consolidation of devices that do so many different things and the switch to electronically doing and/or storing of everything. What if you lost your IPhone? You apparently lose your life. You lose your MP3 player, you lose your phone, you lose your portable entertainment, you lose your notebook, your banking device, your calculator ....etc etc ... and yes, your personal organizer. True, our supply of paper is not infinite, but instead of switching everything over to the electronic world, we should prioritize what should and shouldn't be done on paper. Medical records- yes. Thank you cards - no. Bills - yes. Depositing checks - as cool as it may be, I would rather not.


I love my planner. I love how I can easily open it to my paper-clipped page for this week and see that on August 5th, I have 'happy hour?' written down...just like I did back in '05.

the beginning of the end

Take a gander at these op-ed headlines:

"The President Surrenders"
"The Diminished President"
"To Escape Chaos, A Terrible Deal"

...contained in those links is enough reading, so I won't say too much here...except for one word that stuck out to me from one of these columns that I failed to use, but it so perfectly sums up what this is all turning out to be: extortion.

as seen in the Times...



I have that shirt...and although they're not filled with ice cream, I also have stroopwaffles in my apartment.

(from this slideshow)

gavel gavel! BVBC post-brunch review

The inaugural BVBC brunch took place yesterday at the Capital City Diner and it was a success! Seven of us convened in the outside area behind the diner car for a lovely meal in the summer heat (but it wasn't so bad because we were under umbrellas and the good company distracted from the warmth). The ordered dishes included:

• strawberry-topped waffle
• biscuits & gravy platter
• corned beef hash platter
• chicken & waffles (Capital City Diner's specialty)
• hash brown platter

Our waitress was flustered but friendly enough. I ordered the hash, and wished my hash was a bit more crispy - it could have spent a few more minutes on the griddle, but my side pancake was fluffy, tasty, and I appreciated the option of adding just one pancake to my platter, rather than the popular stack. My eggs were perfectly over-easy. One of the reviews for the chicken & waffles was "I think Creme's (as in U St's Creme Cafe) is better, but this waffle is good." We had a cx&waffles virgin, so I'm excited to see him order it at future BVBC gatherings to develop his cx&waffles tasting expertise.

Despite the diner's super tiny size and no reservations policy, there wasn't a long wait at 1130am on a Sunday morning. There is street parking available and H St is nearby should you want some post-brunch drinks from some of the neighborhood's newer establishments (Capital City Diner being a traditional diner, there is no alcohol served).

All in all, it was standard diner fare that fulfills that brunch-time hunger and provides enough midday calories to fuel a great afternoon nap. Given its location and accessibility, I would probably only return if a) I was already in the area, b) it was a convenient meeting place for others, or c) I had other plans in the area.

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it!

One more thing - 2 items have been added to the terms & conditions (at the bottom). This is a trial-and-error process, so if you think of anything else, let me know!

See you next time!

REintroducing the BON VIVANT BRUNCH CLUB

OK - so planning brunch isn't so easy. Here is the updated terms and conditions. Thanks for bearing with us while we figure it out.

The BON VIVANT BRUNCH CLUB

For those of you who received a coveted invitation, welcome. The Bon Vivant Brunch Club (BVBC) is an invitation-only gathering of convivialists who share an appreciation for good food and good times (and the joy of going home to a nice nap afterwards). 

You will find all the terms and conditions in this posting. Confirmation for the first gathering will be distributed via email.

How this is going to work:

1. BVBC will be held every last Sunday of every other month unless noted by me or G (ie if we're busy, out of town, lazy, etc..). I'll work out the schedule and post and/or email it.

2. BVBC locations will be determined by a vote.  Suggested locations (chosen according to number of people expressing interest) will be sent to those who have expressed interest..  The place with the most votes wins. Suggested additions to the list will be considered, but selection is not guaranteed. (Disclaimer: most of the restaurants chosen will be new to us, so if they suck, you can't blame us.)

3. BVBC will convene around the same time every brunch day - 1130am. If reservations are not taken on a particular week, an earlier arrival time may be needed and will be noted in the email of details that will go out before brunch day (see 4. below).

4. Reminder emails will be sent out every first Sunday of each brunch month (with the exception of the first gathering). These emails will ask for a head count of those interested. RSVPing to these emails guarantees a seat. Details regarding arrival time, reservations, price range, gratuity charges, crowd conditions, back-up plans, RSVP deadline, etc will be in this email.

5. RSVP by email by the Sunday before brunch day (one week before brunch day - this is subject to change depending on popular places that require booking weeks ahead). RSVP only if you are attending - no need to let us know if you can't make it (hope to see you next time!).

6. Depending on the restaurant, there may be a maximum number of people. This is due to the desire to keep brunch day intimate. It would also be easier to get a table at places that don't take reservations with a smaller group. 

7. Post-brunch reviews are welcomed.

8. If you know of someone who would like to be added to the BVBC mailing list, let me know!

9. If you would like to bring a friend, just let me know when you RSVP for a brunch day. All are welcomed, as long as you RSVP early enough in the case of an imposed cap (see items 4 and 6 above).

Did I leave anything out? If so, let me know! Also, email me or G if you don't want to partake in the fun that is BVBC (our feelings won't be hurt, but we'll miss you).

OK - fingers crossed! I hope this works!

proposal

...a thought that should be expanded upon later: What would it be like if the country were physically split (roughly) along party lines? Which of the 2 newly independent countries would thrive and which would crash and burn?

good gracious...

This is truly ludicrous. Another example of a Republican making crucial decisions based on their own agenda and not of their constituents - an entire state! in so much financial need. The FL governor has left millions of federal grant dollars on the table out of distaste for the Affordable Care Act. These are dollars that would fund community health centers, health education programs, patient transition, and other essential services. If you asked any person in FL (and I'm giving Florideans the benefit of the doubt here), I'm guessing they wouldn't turn away free money that would fund services they would use or create jobs they would gladly take. This one jerk (the governor) has prevented his ENTIRE STATE from getting jobs?!?! Isn't that what his party keeps preaching we have to create more of? REPUBLICANS ARE RUINING THE WORLD. They are condemning people who support them, who elected them into office- to lives of hardship. How long will Republicans be able to get away with this?!?!! HOW LONG!?! It's criminal!!!!!!
I've dedicated way too many caps lock letters, exclamation points and posts to these jerks.