I may be in Manhattan today, but my thoughts are back home.
Best of luck to everyone working hard (and playing hard) at today’s Fancy Farm Picnic! No one does barbecue better — I can almost taste it — and there might be loss of life during the political speeches this year.
I hate to miss that.
At the very least, could someone play a few cards of tab bingo for me? And if that doesn’t work out…
…just make sure I win the car, okay?
Thanks.
Posted in Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Food, Friends, Games, Home, Humor, Life, Politics, Summer, Travel
Tagged barbecue, car raffle, commentary, entertainment, family, Fancy Farm Kentucky, Fancy Farm Picnic, food, Humor, life, New York City, summer, tab bingo, Travel
Wimbledon is a racket.
I look forward to it every year, and watch every moment of tennis that my schedule allows.
But this year?
My actual body clock reset itself to make sure of it.
I normally wake up around 7am every morning — without an alarm — to walk the dog. But this year during Wimbledon, I have been popping out of bed between 5:30-6:00am
I know that the first hour of Wimbledon coverage on ESPN is bogus chit-chat, and the matches don’t start until 8:00am. But my body doesn’t. And I especially know that the weekend coverage doesn’t begin until 9:00am.
Go back to sleep.
(I’m not listening.)
Posted in Health, Home, Humor, Life, Sports, Television, TV
Tagged alarm clock, body clock, chit-chat, commentary, dog, dog walk, entertainment, ESPN, Holiday, home, Humor, life, NBC, racket, sleep, Sports, Television, tennis, TV, Wimbledon, Wimbledon coverage
Today is Father’s Day — Happy Father’s Day, everybody! — and like a lot of holidays and special occasions, Google has created a logo dedicated to all the dads out there:
Wow. Went all out, didn’t they?
I mean, on Les Paul’s birthday, they designed a Google logo that was a functioning guitar you could actually strum. And I recall a PacMan version of the Google homepage that you could play using your arrow buttons.
What does Dad get on his special day? A tie. A tie that just…hangs there. Doesn’t even swing from side to side when you click on it. (Would have been a nice touch, don’t you think?)
As usual, Dad gets remembered but not really fussed over. And he won’t mind. Won’t say anything. Because he doesn’t really expect much…especially not from the Google homepage.
Would have been nice, though. Goodness knows he deserves it.
Posted in Children, Commentary, Design, Family, Holiday, Home, Humor, Internet, Relationships, Technology
Tagged commentary, dad, design, family, Father's Day, Google, Google homepage, Google logo, Google tie logo, Holiday, home, Humor, Internet, Les Paul, life, Pacman, Pacman Google logo, Relationships, strumming guitar Google logo, technology, tie
Would you take a punch for some pad thai?
It is yummy.
Stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, and any combination of shrimp, chicken or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and lime juice. When I’m at a Thai restaurant, I find it hard to order anything else.
But would I willingly get in a fist fight for my fav?
Two ladies in a Manhattan Trader Joe’s did.
The altercation started when one woman’s son ‘interfered’ with the other’s husband’s attempt to pick up a pad thai in the produce section. Words were exchanged, followed by a slap.
Now the two families are continuing the clash in court, contesting an attempted harassment charge.
All over a package of pad thai — and vegan pad thai at that.
And I here I thought vegans were all about peace and love and serenity. Just goes to show you…
Eating all that tofu makes you testy.
Posted in Cooking, Dieting, Family, Foods, Green, Health, Home, Humor, Life, News, Shopping, Travel
Tagged Business, commentary, family, family court, fist fight, food, Foods, Health, Humor, Manhattan, New York City, news, packaged pad thai, pad thai, produce section, punch, rice noodles, shopping, thai food, thai restaurants, tofu, Trader Joes, Travel, vegan pad thai
Every two years, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University publishes their “Freedom in the 50 States” index.
This year’s most free state? It’s a virtual tie…between New Hampshire and South Dakota. And the least free state?
New York
Lady Liberty, look the other way. (Oh good, she is.)
Turns out my beloved Empire State got dinged for our particularly high taxes, health insurance regulations, anti-smoking laws, lack of medical marijuana and no same-sex marriage (only one vote away!).
Oh…that.
Jason Sorens, co-author of the study and assistant professor at CUNY Buffalo — who (ahem) lives in New York — admits the state has other benefits.
“New York City has a lot going for it…if you like culture, the arts, music, having lots of things to do, nightlife — you’re going to value having more things to do even if you feel more impinged upon.”
Exactly, Jason. And the things that may make other people feel ‘impinged upon’ — not being able to smoke in Central Park, for example — don’t make me feel any less free.
That’s the beauty of the USA. There are 50 different states. If you don’t like the one you’re in, you can move to one you like better.
Like I did.
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…” Me & Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
Posted in Commentary, Education, History, Home, Philosophy, Politics, Travel
Tagged anti-smoking laws, arts, Business, commentary, culture, CUNY Buffalo, education, empire state, Freedom in the 50 States Index, George Mason University, high taxes, history, Humor, Jason Sorens, lady liberty, least free state, life, medical marijuana, Mercatus Center, most free state, New Hampshire, New York, New York City, nightlife, no smoking in Central Park, philosophy, same-sex marriage, South Dakota, statue of liberty
Happy National Iced Tea Day!
Today we celebrate the official drink of summer, that mother’s milk of the South — iced tea.
I grew up drinking my iced tea brewed with boo-coo’s of sugar, but today I prefer it with a just a touch of the pink stuff (Sweet ‘n’ Low).
Now, I know there are a lot of coffee drinkers out there who have never tried iced tea, or who simply consider iced tea the ‘second-class citizen’ of caffeinated beverages. If that is true, I ask you this:
Which drink is so popular it has it very own piece of flatware?
Iced tea
(It has its own long-handled iced tea spoon. Coffee? No such utensil.)
So, when the next heatwave leaves you feeling parched, consider a tall, thirst-quenching glass of sweet iced tea.
If you’re lucky, you might just pick up a sexy Southern drawl along the way.
Posted in Cooking, Family, Foods, Friends, Home, Humor, Life, Summer
Tagged caffeinated beverage, coffee, coffee drinker, cooking, drawl, family, flatware, food, Foods, friends, heatwave, iced tea, iced tea spoon, iced tea with lemon, life, mother's milk of the south, National Iced Tea Day, National Iced Tea Month, summer, Sweet n Low, sweet tea, the pink stuff, the South
Last night on The Middle, the family did a bit of spring cleaning.
Since I had just killed some rather heinous dust bunnies myself under the bed, their pain spoke to me on a very personal level. Then the daughter Sue had trouble throwing away an old set of hair rollers because she ‘didn’t want to hurt their feelings.’
Why don’t I watch this show more often? Clearly we are on the same wavelength.
I too understand how ‘things’ can have feelings. So does Tom Hanks. Remember Wilson the soccer ball in Castaway? I do. When they got separated out in the ocean, I cried like a baby.
Snuffles and I love that movie.
Snuffles is a small, white Gund bear that has lived with me since 1990. He was originally a gift from me and my sister to our mother when she was in the hospital having surgery.
He was very good to our mom, that bear. And after she died, Snuffles came to live with me.
Snuffles is not your ordinary stuffed animal. He talks and dances — “Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes is still his favorite song — and has accompanied me on every trip I’ve taken, business or pleasure, for the past two decades. (This photo was taken when he went with me to Ireland in 1997.)
Rory Dog will tell you. That’s no stuffed animal sitting on the bed.
That’s his older brother.
Posted in Animals, Children, Commentary, Dogs, Family, Home, Humor, Life, Television, Toys, Travel, TV
Tagged Blister in the Sun song, Castaways movie, commentary, Dogs, dust bunnies, family, friends, Gund Snuffles, Gund stuffed animals, home, hospital gift shop, Humor, life, objects have feelings, Relationships, spring cleaning, stuffed animals, Sue The Middle, Television, The Middle tv show, Tom Hanks, Travel, TV, Violent Femmes, Wilson soccer ball Castaway
Ricky and Lucy. Ross and Rachel. Sam and Diane. Every generation has had its seminal TV couple. But not today.
We gots all kinds of ‘em!
Thanks to a really strong lineup of sitcoms — and dramas, too — the current television landscape boasts multiple couples with great chemistry, fun banter, and unconventional relationships.
Do I have favorites? You betcha! (Thanks for asking.)
Here are my 2011 Top Five TV Couples:
No. 5: Sheldon and Amy, The Big Bang Theory — Call them the ‘uncouple’. They don’t like to spend too much time together, preferring to Skype. The terms ‘girlfriend’ and ‘boyfriend’ offend their sensibilities. And the only kiss they have ever exchanged was more scientific experiment than sexual act. But their pairing has added a spark to the already smoking nerd fest that is TBBT. Long live Shamy!
No. 4: Jack and Liz, 30 Rock — We’ve all had that work colleague who is more than a friend. But in the fantastical world that is 30 Rock, Liz and Jack’s more-than-a-friendship mentor-ship blurs the lines in bizarre, often disturbing, always hilarious ways. Heck, they even got married by accident. If I had a nickel…
No. 3: Castle and Beckett, Castle – This may be a TV drama, but anyone who watches Castle knows this police procedural is sprinkled with a heavy helping of funny, thanks to Nathan Fillion’s take on its namesake. And his chemistry with Detective Beckett is as Sam and Diane as it gets on TV today. Will they? Won’t they? When? Hurry up already!
No.2: Ben and Leslie, Parks & Recreation — My favorite ‘newbie couple’ on TV today, Ben and Leslie are as positive and life affirming as those shiba inu puppies on the web cam. I love their characters separately; I love the idea of them together even more. Since the series is relatively young, I thought they’d keep us dangling like a worm on a hook in a lake in a park in Indiana. But did you see last night? “Uh oh.”
And, last but definitely not least, my choice for the absolute bestest TV couple of 2011:
No. 1: Claire and Phil, Modern Family – No couple on TV is funnier because no two actors are braver. The Dunphys’ sexual exploits alone are worth a spin-off. (Could they be more unsuccessful? How did they have three children?) This week’s episode “Bad Dog, Good Dog” — featuring a brilliant parenting role switcheroo — was yet another tour de force for Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen. They are, simply put, the very best on television today.
Emmy voters, mark your ballots.
Posted in Celebrities, Children, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Friends, Home, Humor, Life, Relationships, Television, TV
Tagged 30 Rock, boyfriend, Castle and Beckett, Castle tv show, celebrities, comedy, commentary, Emmy Awards, Emmy voters, entertainment, family, friends, girlfriend, home, Humor, Julie Bowen, Leslie and Ben Parks & Recreation, Leslie Knope, life, Liz and Jack 30 Rock, Liz Lemon, mentors, Modern Family tv show, Nathan Fillion, parenting, Parks and Recreation, Phil and Claire Modern Family, police procedural, Relationships, ricky and lucky, ross and rachel, sam and diane, sexual exploits, Shamy, Sheldon Cooper, shiba inu puppies, Skype, Television, television couples, The Big Bang Theory, TV, tv couples, tv dramas, TV sitcoms, Ty Burrell
Why do so many foods have that icky, sticky black licorice-y flavor?
I don’t have any stats to support this, but I don’t think most people like licorice.
It tastes bad. It smells worse. And licorice candy — which I have encountered sometimes in unexpected, upsetting ways — even looks distasteful.
Dull. Dark. Depressing. That’s the legacy of licorice.
And it doesn’t stop at the candy counter. That bitter bite can be found in everything from the Greek liquor ouzo to Rachael Ray’s favorite fennel to the cool looking star anise spice.
But don’t let the nifty packaging or the cool green color or the ‘under the sea’ vibe fool you.
They all still taste like poo poo.
Posted in Cooking, Food, Foods, Home, Humor, Life
Tagged anise, black licorice, candy, candy counter, commentary, cooking, fennel, food, Foods, home, Humor, licorice, life, ouzo, Rachael Ray, star anise
Goo goo
What the flarp?
No, seriously — do you know what ‘flarp’ is?
I encountered this word yesterday for the very first time in an article online. Thanks to the all-knowing, all-seeing Google, I soon learned that flarp is a liquid-like goo that makes a fart noise when you stick your hand in it.
Brilliant.
You can see how that would beat the real thing every time.
Obviously, flarp entered the scene long after my childhood had passed. When I was a kid, we were all about Silly Putty. Silly Putty didn’t make any noise to speak of, and it came in only one color/smell combo — putty grey.
You’re using your flarp right now to make fun of me…aren’t you?
Pfffttt!
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Posted in Children, Commentary, Entertainment, Games, Home, Life, Toys
Tagged banana, childhood, children, commentary, entertainment, fart making goo, farts, flarp, fruit, fruit flavors, games, goo, Google, grape, Humor, lemon, life, newspaper print, newspapers, orange, pineapple, pre-teens, putty, putty grey, silly putty, strawberry, toys