Read this insane article on how Ted Turner is doing away with smoking scenes in cartoons.

He's absolutely insane. I mean, how can you just edit these cartoons. I guess he has the rights now or something, but I mean, it's just awful. Why not edit out the Mammy character from Gone With the Wind. Or edit out all of Humphrey Bogart's smoking in movies.

I just don't understand why parents expect it to be the responsibility of others to censor or adjust what their children watch. I grew up with a whole generation of people who watched Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny. And surprisingly enough, none of us go around hitting each other with anvils, blowing each other up with dynamite or lighting each other on fire. Hmmmmm....wonder why that is.

Queen of Free

So I've just printed out 2 coupons for freebies. I love getting free stuff. I revel in it. I love getting something for nothing, for beating The Man at his own game.

So I've got a free Seattle company coffee beverage and a free dessert from Ruby Tuesday in honor of my birthday. Doesn't get much better than that, does it?

So all this freebee stuff....can't get enough of it.

Could I be more of a dork?

C-o-n-spiracy

How is this fair? One location of Lucille Roberts is next door to McDonalds. One is next door to Baskin Robbins and one is next door to Cold Stone Creamery.

Is that supposed to be a true test of me or is it just a big cosmic joke?

Happy Birthday To Me...

I had to do a birthday post. It just screams cliche. And I've been to the gym (I figure that might help start the year on the right foot) and just chowed on a BLT and Cheetos. Hey, if I can't eat my favorite junk on my birthday, when can I eat it?

And I had a glorious birthday dinner last night. Delicious food, silly antics and even a game of "Pin the cherry on Curious George's ice cream." I was spoiled rotten and just basked in the warmth of being with my family. I even got weepy on the way home, feeling lucky that I have such support and love.

But my day isn't near over yet. I get to play my cello and get paid for it on my birthday - how cool is that?

Life is (still) good.

Can You Hear Them?

So I'm feeling slightly goofy and decided to do a hommage to the record cover for Beauty and The Beat:

Ahhhh....back in the day

So I watched Good Night and Good Luck tonight and was just wowed. What frightened me was how tangible and relevant it is to today. So eerie. I loved the speech that Murrow gave telling the television professionals that they need to change the purpose of television from mindless entertainment to educating and challenging people. Now then, could that possibly be relevant today with such gems on tv as Bridezillas and Jerry Springer?

A New Sensation

So there's this new singer on the block - Corinne Bailey Rae. She's got a breathy, soulful voice and sings great tunes. But more than that, she's got uber-cool curly hair that she wears beautifully.

And You're Like a 90's Kennedy

Well, so far it's been a delightful day. I woke up my sweetie to say goodbye, he squints his eyes open, smiles and says "Oooh, pretty." That's always a nice way to begin a day.

I get to the country club and it's absolutely gorgeous out. People are playing golf, are walking and there's this small spot where we're set up in front of the wedding. It was so intimate and quiet and lovely. And I get to play Bach and quiet wedding music. And then as people were leaving, we played some ragtime - how neat! And Lianne, the flutist turns to Meg and goes, "She's smoking." And I just beamed inside. You never know, playing with new people who have never heard you or played with you. So it's such an affirmation that's making me float on air today.

Then I stopped at the supermarket and picked up some stuff for a yummy, unconventional dinner - antipasto type items and that little square bread he's always saying looks so cool. AND....upon coming home, I discover he made the bed before leaving!! It just kept getting better and better.

So now, I'm relaxing listening to "Adult Alternative" and chowing on a baloney sandwich.

Sigh

A Red Letter Day

To start with, I tried to dress on the nicer side since I was meeting with a printer. So I sported a comfy, yet nice outfit. Polka dots galore - I always feel like I'm channeling a spirit from the 50's when wearing that. So I'm wearing something nice, go to put gas in the car, get free coffee (if it's free, it's for me!) and off to work I go. I get some work done, have a good meeting with the printer and back home I'm headed. Before I can even leave work, my friend Chris calls me and I tell him I'll call when I get home.

Get home and make a few calls, firm up this weekend's wedding (hooray!) and call Chris......who contracts me to do Into the Woods!! Hooray hooray!! We chit chat for a while and I'm thrilled. We're both so giddy to be playing together again. He tells me I'm his "number one cello!" He's just such a cutie and so talented that I'm honored to be working with him. He's also just so enthusiastic and so optimistic. Just the idea of doing so much more work is titilating. I was on an adrenaline high all night. So high in fact that I actually baked a cake at 9:00 p.m.

Diane stops by and we hit my new favorite "fast food" place, Panera. I could just sit and eat soup and bread all day there. So we get some time to chat, which is always good.

Come home and bake my cake for Mirek who has been saintly in helping me get my office relocated. I assemble, bake and clean everything and then retire to the bedroom to just unwind. Turn on the classical station, and with the first few chords I recognize the Elgar Cello Concerto. Dash to grab my copy of it and follow along. I realize, yes it's insanely difficult, but certainly not totally outside my realm, so I vow to at least try to get some of it going.

So, all in all, a really good day. Pretty good day. Can't really complain about one like that.

You're a Cookie Filled With Arsenic

Could this movie be any cooler? I watched it the other night and just relished in all the glorious bits of it. It's got biting dialogue, amazing shots of gritty pre-Disneyfied NYC, swanky costumes, a character who almost always wears a fur, old-school 21....it's too much, not to mention a jazz ensemble that has a cello in it. Too cool.

I think this is a movie I need to own, simply because I feel more glamorous just watching it. Simply a must for anyone who considers themselves a die-hard NY-er.

What? Are You Kidding Me?

So I have a regular day at work, made only marginally crazy by a training on software. Then go for a pedicure with my pal Patricia, which was long overdue and really relaxing. We were able to catch up and just enjoy some peace and quiet. So then I make my way over towards Huntington for my concert. I go to my favorite wrap place European Republic and get my favorite chicken and brie wrap and Belgain fries that I surely don't need. Yummy yum yum. I then make my way to the Italian ice place and ask when they close, thinking that an Italian ice would suit Tommy and I as we watch the eagerly anticipated week's installment of Project Runway. I run around a little and finally drop Fred off, hop back in the car and get the Italian ice and stash it in a backstage fridge.

The concert was agonizing. I poured sweat. I oozed sweat. I had sweat coming from places I didn't know had sweat glands. It was awful, but somehow I made it through without vomitting or fainting dead away. I was glad to get out of there when we were done. I grabbed my ices and hit the car as quickly as possible, cranking the ac.

Upon getting to the neighborhood of my neighborhood though, I saw a traffic light out and realized the power outages had finally reached us. I saw that some blocks had power and some didn't and the one before mine had power, so I was hopeful. What made me even more hopeful was the fact that the streetlight on the side of the house was on. I prayed, please please please. But when I got to the front door I knew all was in vain. The outside sensor light didn't go on and the doorbell was dark. I swore. Well, actually I cried first and then swore. So I trudged upstairs, with the cello on my back, in the dark, fumble for what feels like forever and make my way inside. I manage to get the cello away, somehow take a shower and go downstairs to sit on the steps to call Mom and Dad and the electric company. Tommy gets home an hour later, smiles at me on the steps until I say, "No power."

Long story short, we pack up, somehow get all our stuff and get to Mom and Dad's to sleep in my old room. What would we do without them???

Dinner and A Movie

So hot. Too hot. Heat wave. So when Tommy came home from work I gave him a deadpan ultimatum: Movies, library or the mall? He tossed the decision back to me, so I chose movies. We first hit Burger King and then saw Lady in the Water.

Burger King puzzles me. It seems to have this seedy side to it - like it's McDonalds' red-headed-step-sibling - that it knows it can't compete with, so it just tries to go the other way. I dunno. It just seems like their help doesn't quite know how to get it right. But I had a delicious salad with chicken and those cheesy tots, which are odd. I can't tell if I like them or not. (*Note - tried them again and really enjoyed them, so I guess it's one of those hit or miss items.) But it was just nice to enjoy air conditioning on such a brutal day and leisurely eat dinner. I grabbed a slice of Hershey's Pie to enjoy during the movie and we left for the theatre.

I love, love love the Farmingdale UA Stadium theater. It's never too packed, the seats are comfy and it's just smaller. Plus, I can use $6 movie coupons. Can't beat that. So Tommy grabs some popcorn, a soda and a honking container of water and we settle in to our seats. In lieu of the usual wacky pre-movie slides, they actually had previews of upcoming television shows which was more interesting. I found a show that I really think I might enjoy: Heros. It looks different, it's got Greg Grunberg from Felicity and Milo V. from Gilmore Girls, so I figure I'll give it a try.

I loved the movie. Loved it. I really like M. Night's way of telling a story, his characters, how he lets a story develop. People (critics) are just so negative about it. And I don't understand this, because they dislike his other movies for the same reasons they raved and gushed about Sixth Sense. I don't get it. I just know that I enjoy his movies and eagerly look forward to them.

So a real nice evening and at least a couple of hours relief from the disgusting, ungodly heat we were having.

Finally, Thai Food!

Had a really nice dinner with the gals at Nanking, a Thai restaurant. I got to eat all sorts of different food, since Jill is the queen of appetizers. It was decorated beautifully - tall bamboo shoots places around the restaurant - creating little screens and dividing up the space. It was dark, but inviting - like a little hideaway. There was a private room to the side, done in reds and gold with a huge Buddha - it looked like a little theatre. Plus a pretty, lit aquarium next to the bar.

We ordered drumsticks with a sticky, ginger sauce, lamb chops, fried lotus stems and a papaya salad. The drumsticks were good - a little too sticky for my liking though - I'm not a wing person, so take that at face value. The lamb chops were delicious, cooked perfectly with just a hint of spice to them - I could have eaten a plate of them. The lotus stems were surprising. They were fried and then coated in a sweet and sour type sauce. I thought they were kind of like zucchini or a vegetable that, when fried tastes of the batter and whatever you put on it. They weren't heavy, but were more about the texture than the taste. The sauce was good - not too sweet but a nice counterbalance to the other spicy items we had. The papaya salad surprised me the most though. I was thinking it would be very fruity but it was....fragrant, refreshing. The papaya and vegetables were julienned, so it was almost like eating cold noodles - very Asian, but so different.

Jill ordered eggplant in a garlicy tomato sauce, Steph ordered shrimp with black bean sauce and I ordered duck with curry sauce. We got 2 bowls of jasmine rice which sopped up the fragrant and unique sauces. I loved the shrimp - the black bean sauce was delicate, not cloying like the kind you get from the local Chinese take-out. The eggplant was tender and tasted just enough like garlic. The duck was different....but I'm not sure I liked it enough to order it again. It was cooked nicely, but I'm thinking chicken would better compliment the sauce. We all shared and there was enough to go around and for leftovers. (Of course, we were also sufficiently padded by the appetizers)

The owner was very nice and came over to us - chatted us up since the restaurant was still so new. It was nice to get the attention, and nice to see someone making sure that their patrons were enjoying themselves. He sent over complimentary port for dessert, so of course we ordered fried bananas with ice cream. The bananas were still firm, not mushy, and the coating was sugary and crisp. A perfect ending to the meal.

We gave it 4 #s out of 4!

(Last month we tried Peter's Pasta. The food was delicious, and the service attentive, but it was a little more expensive than we would have liked - good for a cheaper lunch, but expensive for dinner. That one we gave 2 1/2 #s)

Happy Birthday Rabbit

Got to go to a birthday party tonight and just have some relaxed fun.

Lesson of the Day:

Jack Daniels mixes much more nicely with Pepsi than Coke.

Just a personal observation is all.

When Did I Become a Woo-er?

So, I started my day off yesterday with a trip to the gym, which had touted a Salsa class instead of Kickboxing. I was all for that. I get there and just sit and relax for a little while. Women are trudging in and once word gets around that it's not kickboxing some storm off angrily. (Hello...there's been a sign in the front for weeks now saying this is what's going on.) Evelyn comes in and I'm relieved. She's a fantastic instructor and really is laid back. I really like her classes. So she gets us started and I got so into it. Loved it. My inner Alex Owens (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085549/) was released. Thankfully there were no chairs or water release chains around. But it was just good fun - I didn't care about making a fool of myself or being self-conscious, I just had fun. And embarassingly enough, found myself replying with a "Wooooooo!" when Evelyn asked "How's everyone doing?" *hanging my head in shame*

So I felt mildly vamped up since I got my groove thing on, went food shopping and went home to chill before picking up Diane. I was glad I offered to take her since she was in a bit of pain after the doctor visit. Plus, I'm just so indebted to her after she did so much for me (and Tom) when I was sick. So I was glad to help her out. We hung out, ate Chinese food and actually had a nice evening with the guys who joined us after work. And, had someone told me about the glory that is cream ices at Ralph's long ago....my goodness. I'm slowly working my way through that menu. They're better than regular ices (which to me are always very melty, too sweet and too fruity), a little creamy, but not as pleghmy as regular ice cream. Delish.

Lessons Learned While Traveling To The Orange County Fair

Saturday came in gloomy. But I had faith that the weather might improve while I drove first to upper Manhattan to fetch Annie and Ahmed and then to Middletown for the Orange County Fair. http://www.orangecountyfair.com/

Lesson #1 - There is no need to go over the Triboro Bridge when going to Annie and Ahmed's. Yup. I made the error of not knowing that the FDR and the Harlem River Parkway were the one and the same road. So, I unknowingly got onto the Triboro Bridge, paid the darn toll and looped around Rikers Island. Luckily, I easily made my way back on course and still made it to their apartment in an hour, and we were on the road.

Lesson #2 - If you are heading anywhere near New Jersey, go on a half-filled tank or less. This is because gas prices in Jersey are at least 10-20 cents cheaper a gallon. I thought I was being well-prepared and smart in making sure the tank was filled. Alas. I could have gotten cheaper gas.

Lesson #3 - In-car snacks are very important. We didn't want to eat too much before arriving at the fair, lest we fill up before getting our hands on all that greasy/fried/cheap/stomach-ache-inducing fair food. We were looking forward to funnel cakes (of which Ahmed didn't know), cotton candy, corn dogs (for me, the non-Muslim), popcorn and homemade rural goodies like pies and other baked delights. But it was a good thing we had something to snack on, as we eventually got punchy and snackish. And if we weren't entirely starving, we'd be able to pace ourselves better. We slowly made our way north and west, the light drizzle we first encountered getting steadily harder. But since we kept hitting pockets of non-rain, we thought we had a chance....leading us to,

Lesson #4 - Always check weather forecasts before doing an outdoors activity. http://www.weather.com
We arrived at the parking lot, paid $5 for parking (Lesson #5 - There will always be free parking somewhere else, you may have to walk a bit, but it's better than being an out-of-town rube.) and sat in the lot while the rain poured down on the car. Ahmed did work and Annie and I tried amusing ourselves by coming up with alternate plans. We checked Ahmed's Blackberry and found that the rain would just keep getting harder and harder (3pm - Hard Rain, 4pm - Hard Rain, 5pm Strong Storms, 6pm Strong Storms) and it seemed that the fates just didn't want us visiting a fair. So we cut our losses, made tentative plans to hit the fair the following weekend and made our way back towards home. But before we left the area, we drove around the fairgrounds and found that they were quite extensive. We saw the bleachers for the "Masters of the Chainsaw" show, all sorts of food tents, a ton of nausea-inducing rides and even an "Old-Time Photo" booth. The anticipation of seeing Ahmed dressed in Old West gear gave Annie and I a good case of the giggles. So we scouted it out and thought maybe we might try again next weekend.

We then made our way back - stopping at Nyack, which I remembered to be a quaint little town "nestled in the lower Hudson Valley." So we stopped, parked the car and decided to look into the cute stores and find somewhere to eat. We went into a few nice stores, they bought some nicely scented soaps and Annie treated me to an "Arabic Groove" cd, which boasted the best of contemporary African and Middle Eastern songs. It is actually quite excellent and I love it. We searched for a restaurant which had promise and narrowed it down to a Northern Italian, Japanese, Thai and even an Irish Pub that touted a nice selection of seafood. So we went with the Irish Pub on the basis that we could always get good sushi back in the city. We had a lovely dinner (rack of lamb for me!) and then went in search of the little place that the local map was quoted as saying "Voted the best desserts in the Lower-Hudson-Valley." Sounded promising to us. So off we went in the pouring rain, giggling and getting sopping wet until we came across Temptations. http://www.nyackny.com/restara.htm Annie opted for a flourless chocolate cake, Ahmed for the chocolate mousse cake and me for the Kentucky Derby pie (think a nuty chocolate chip cookie in pie form.) We also grabbed for some of the vintage candy; Charleston Chew http://www.tootsie.com/cc.html (here then known as Chucky Chews) for Annie, (Lesson #6 - Chuckie Chews are the most amazing candy I've recently discovered. How come nobody told me about these things? I remember them being hard and tooth-dislodging, not fluffy pieces of vanilla-y heaven) and rock candy and Atomic Fireballs for Tom to bring him home a surprise (in addition to the mini-squirt gun and egg-laying chicken I nabbed at a toy store). It was a cute place, with incredibly helpful service. I'm always amazed that there are still younger adults who are happy to do their job. The only other place I've recently encountered this is at the local Ralph's Italian Ices, http://www.ralphsices.com/ where I was waited upon by not one cheerful teen but two. I was astounded. So we then traveled home, and quickly grabbed the Tappan Zee Bridge (which Ahmed had never gone across before) where we found Lesson #7 - The Tappan Zee Bridge is cheaper than the George Washington Bridge. It's $6 to get back into NYC if you don't have EZ Pass ($5 if you have EZ Pass during rush hours, $4 during non-rush hours) - $4 to take the Tappan Zee. So we were delighted to have "bucked the system" so to speak.

We make our way to Blockbuster on Broadway and 103rd Street and grab "Freedomland" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349467/ to watch while eating our desserts. It was an okay movie, thought-provoking enough and has lots of good acting to it. (I took out the book today from the library.) After the movie I work my way home and make it home in less than an hour. Off to bed I go, not having visited the fair, but far wiser than I was when I left in the morning.

Shrimp, Broadway and Fabulousness

My fabulous night on Wednesday. First, I went to the gym and had a good workout. I noticed while checking in that this woman wearing a scarf in that tell-tale cancer person way was talking to another woman about her hair growing back. I got a little bold and walked over and said "Mine grew back the exact same way!" They both looked at me and marvelled at how curly and thick it is. I spoke a little to the woman and we compared notes and treatments and on the way out we both wished each other well. It's odd, but when you find someone who's been through the same thing as you, there's an instant kinship. It's nice and strange and sad all at the same time.

So I get home and relax (or try to in the 90 degree heat) till I need to get dressed, wearing a kimono-type top, black skirt and strappy sandals. I let my hair run free and grab my new knock-off designer bag. The train was fairly air conditioned. We get to the city (Mom and I) and start making our way uptown. We duck into a little body product store that was new to me (www.missha.com) I grabbed mango body butter, mango shower gel, a new natural sponge and a lipstick for mom. We meander further uptown to meet Annie and Ahmed at Avra, this amazing Greek restaurant (http://www.avrany.com/index.html) where I had grilled shrimp over the most amazing moussaka I've ever had. Even before the amazing shrimp was a little dish with olives, bread, hummus and olive oil. I could have just eaten bowls of radishes slathered with hummus. Annie of course ordered dessert as did Ahmed, so I sampled a delicious chocolate lava cake with fig ice cream and semolina custard. Then...off to the theatre to see the hugely acclaimed new production of Sweeney Todd, starring Patti "the original Evita" LuPone. (http://www.sweeneytoddonbroadway.com/) She's just a powerhouse. I sat there watching the opening number with tears in my eyes, just astounded at the people on stage. There were 2 Tony Award winners. It was phenomenal. The pared-down orchestrations were so intriguing, the bare set worked perfectly, and the fact that the actors played the instruments was magical. I didn't know what to watch - the actors singing or the ones playing. It is a mind-blowing production and so completely different than how it was done originally. So I somehow make it through the show without fainting dead away from ecstasy and we beat it over to the stage door to wait for the actors. We get autographs from everyone and I got my picture taken with Patti LuPone. I couldn't stand it. What a perfect night. Plus, it's always fun to be in NYC. So much energy, so much enthusiasm.

Sunday, Lazy Sunday
I had a truly relaxing Sunday. Went to the gym, where I really worked hard, which felt good. I was actually almost able to use the larger weights, which is rewarding. Plus, I sweat a gazillion times more from that weight training class than I did from the step class the day before. Then I ran a few errands; picked up some clear polish to give myself a proper pedicure (I'm Not Really a Waitress courtesy of OPI), and a bagel to toast at home. Got home, took a loooong shower and actually put on a robe to lounge in. I was able to read, watch a movie and do my toes. It was so nice just to pamper myself.

Since the new boss, I feel like my stress level has dropped considerably, which is so odd. You'd think a new boss would make more stress. I guess that's speaking volumes about the old boss.

Global Village
So I went on Saturday to a "barbecue" at the home of friends of Annie and Ahmed to celebrate her graduation. It wasn't a barbecue - it was more of a casual party in which we got to meet a lot of their friends which was really nice. And as I was sitting with this Egyptian/Palestinian/Iraqi group I noticed something. They were all mostly well-off; dentists, doctors, real estate moguls. They all drove nice cars and the home I was at was absolutely breathtaking. However....unlike "Americans" they never mention their wealth, never mention things they've acquired with their wealth and never really make distinctions about class. Which is so strange, since it's so huge in the countries of where they come from. Now, is this because they think it's un-American to do such things? Which would be ironic because I've found Americans to be so rude in this department. People think nothing of comparing what they have to what you have to see if it gets a response from you. Or is it because they are more polite than the average American? Just an observation/pondering.

But all in all, it was a really nice gathering. It was nice to see the people who care about A-squared and see them all together. For me, any time I can have Middle Eastern food is a good thing - everything was delicious and I always relish (no pun intended) in being able to try something different. With desserts there's such a focus on honey and semolina rather than chocolate and cake. It was so neat.

*Grumble Grumble @*&)-ing Celebrities

Why? Why is Britney Spears posing nude? (How much airbrush paint did that artist go through?) Why are they claiming that doofy Taylor guy as a "hot bachelor?" I really don't get it.

But what's really bothersome is the fact that people eat this up. They don't say, oh, you know, that Taylor guy is as much as a doof as he was before he sang mediocre-ly on American Idol. He's still a doof, just in better clothes and with more money. I just can't understand it.

And this whole "You Think You Can Dance" thing. That I don't get. I understand they took a concept and ran with it, but if you were to take it, make it actually serious, and air it on PBS, it wouldn't get a second look.

But I digress....

Laura is in for her last day. I'm so conflicted on this. It almost doesn't feel real yet. She was my first "real" boss. She's been there, for better, or for worse, through thick and thin. It's not going to be an easy change, but hopefully, one that will be for the best.