Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Plat du jour--guest submission

Another one from Joanne. This one is a bit puzzling. Is this just an approximation of Caesar's last words, "Et tu, Brute?" (at least according to Shakespeare)? Or is this some sort of bilingual pun? If so, two what? Or did this guy eat two of something?

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Be mine :: Valentine

  2. Ecstatic :: Happy

  3. Orderly :: Disorderly

  4. Sebastian :: Coe

  5. Sore :: Thumb

  6. Don’t need :: It

  7. Rockstar :: Diana+Drums

  8. Tinfoil :: Aluminum

  9. Addiction :: Recovery

  10. Where? :: To?
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Plat du jour--guest submission

Another find of Joanne from the myHusbandBetty boards.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Louis plays a round with himself



Louis is one of the Maestrosities--I've seen several of their shows, and I love them. I hope they start performing again soon.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

50,000 visitors!

Sometime yesterday this blog received its 50,000th visitor! The last couple days have seen a bit of a spike in readership, due to Mary Carillo, as usual. I wonder what she did that made so many people question whether she's transgender. (She's not. Absolutely. Positively. Definitely.)

Anyhow, thanks to all of you. Come back soon.

Plat du jour















What did they win?

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Cups :: Saucers

  2. Brilliant :: Light

  3. Disobey :: Obey

  4. Abstain :: Present

  5. Daily :: News

  6. You make me :: want to shout!

  7. Hurl :: Throw up

  8. Intensify :: Strengthen

  9. Fuck! :: You!

  10. Race :: Walk
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Anne-Sophie Mutter at the NY Philharmonic

I haven't been posting reviews lately, but this time I have to make an exception. Last night we went to the NY Philharmonic, where Anne-Sophie Mutter was the main soloist. She wore the most fantastic dress I have ever seen on a classical concert stage. These photos I found on the internet do not do it justice.
To get the full effect of the dress you have to see it directly from the front. Mutter always performs in a strapless gown, but this one is just magnificent. She was, as the hackneyed expression goes, poured into the dress. It showed every curve of her perfectly proportioned body (She's a 45-year old mother of two!). I have to wonder if she can sit down in it. It is beauty like this that keeps me returning to the NY Philharmonic year after year.

Oops, I almost forgot: This was a concert, not a fashion show. It's the beauty of the music that keeps me returning. Mutter played Mendelsohn's Violin Concerto superbly. I could not believe how fast she went, and sometimes I was amazed the orchestra could keep up with her. The rest of the program, two other Mendelsohn pieces, were almost superfluous, though conductor Kurt Mazur did his best. The former music director of the Philharmonic received ovation after ovation, for what might be his final time conducting his former orchestra.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Dinner with Sullenberger (sort of)

This evening we had dinner at the same restaurant as Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, the hero pilot of the US Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River (is it really a landing if you come down in water?). We left at the same time, and I was about 4 feet from him as he posed for a picture with the restaurant staff. He looks much older than 58.

EDIT: I see he went to see South Pacific. We were next door at the New York Philharmonic. We see South Pacific next Saturday--Valentine's Day.

More on Shepard Fairey--it gets worse

Artist of famed Obama poster arrested in Boston

After this, it seems he's wanted in Los Angeles for graffiti tagging.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Plat du jour













I don't think this is the way it's spelled in Florida.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

This doesn't surprise me at all

AP alleges copyright infringement of Obama image

















It's amazing how frequently artists seem to feel free to use other people's work. But when their work is appropriated by others they suddenly remember there's a copyright law. (Shepard Fairey hasn't done the latter, as far as I know, but plenty of other artists have.)

Plat du jour














I played with Tonka Trucks when I was little. This was not on a Tonka Truck.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

The sad thing is, she's probably right

From Overheard in the Office:
Girl: My dad said I can't get a boob job because of the economy. I told him if I got a boob job, I'd have a better chance of getting hired and making money.

Weekly free associations

  1. Take :: One

  2. 350 :: Degrees

  3. Stand :: Up

  4. Raspberry :: Black

  5. Turnstile :: Subway

  6. Infomercial :: Never

  7. Dejected :: Rejected

  8. What’s the word? :: Hummingbird

  9. Awestruck :: ??

  10. Smashed :: Potatoes
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Plat du jour

Friday, January 30, 2009

And what kind of serial killer would you be?

What Kind of Serial Killer Would You Be?
Your Result: Organized and Goal-Oriented
 

You're a planner. You'd carefully plot each murder, and carry it out methodically. You'll kill them in one location and move them to another later, and you'll study up your forensic science. The good news is, you're much harder to catch.
You won't kill for the person, you'll kill for material gain. Your goal is finance, not a psychopathic compulsion- but you have absolutely no problem killing as many people as necessary to get what you want.

Disorganized and Gain-Oriented
 
Organized and Mission-Oriented
 
Disorganized and Mission-Oriented
 
Organized and Hedonistic
 
Organized Visionary
 
Disorganized and Hedonistic
 
Disorganized Visionary
 
What Kind of Serial Killer Would You Be?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
HT to Veronica

Monday, January 26, 2009

Not you, too, Harvey!

Just stop it now--All of you


Either Facebook has a bug, or

I want to know what it knows about the stock market:

Yetta G. Kurland wrote
at 1:17am tomorrow...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Unwanted :: Hair

  2. You’d better :: be good

  3. Woman :: Man

  4. Weighed :: too much

  5. Upright :: piano

  6. I feel :: good

  7. Ill :: Ind

  8. It’s like :: this, man

  9. Poor man :: Rich Man

  10. Great :: Scott
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

This is getting old real fast


















I didn't think too much of the Barack Obama posters by Shepard Fairey when the campaign started using them. Even worse, more and more politicians, at least the liberal ones, are now copying this style. Enough already.

Friday, January 23, 2009

At long last!

Former NY Senate leader Joseph Bruno indicted

It's too bad this had to wait until after he quit the NYS Senate. But I'm not the least bit surprised that this came when the Repugnants are no longer in control of the Department of Justice.

Plat du jour--guest submission














When I first saw this I read it as "ME ON LYME."

HT to Jean from the MHB boards.

Headline of the day

(assuming the day was January 15)

Fish poop helps balance ocean's acid levels

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Semi-random thoughts

● This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. There's a whole generation who never experienced Berlin, and Germany, being divided.

● The people proposing a cabinet-level secretary of LGBT affairs are crazy, for a good number of reasons. Equating LGBT people with veterans is wrong (for one thing, the government creates veterans). But a secretary of the arts is not a bad idea.

● I'm glad they figured out a way President Obama can keep using his Blackberry. I think one of the biggest problems of our presidency is how isolated they become.

● The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team just doesn't have the talent it did the past two years. It is doubtful they will repeat as regular season or Big Ten tournament champions. I think there's a good chance they can get into the NCAA tournament, but I'd be quite surprised if they win more than one game there.

Blog For Choice Day

Blog for Choice Day

It's the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

This is a blog for choice. Basically, I believe people should have the right to control their bodies. My friend Helen Boyd, who can write rings around me when she's half asleep, explained it much better:

I’m pro-choice because

● because this planet is too crowded
● because abortion will always be available, but it will only be available to wealthier women if it’s illegal, which is class discrimination
● because women deserve to decide their own lives & when & how they want to have children
● because they never, ever report on where the father is when a teenaged girl leaves her baby on someone’s doorstep (or in a local dumpster, etc).
● because women don’t always choose when they’re having sex, even if they’re not raped
● because younger women, especially, may not have the self-confidence to insist on safe sex

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Plat de l'année

Well, last year.
From the NY Times: Story.

HT to @Sarahgoat

My thoughts on the inauguration

Today is a historical day. This we all know. I am a bit amazed at the millions of people who traveled to Washington and braved sub-freezing weather to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama. I can understand how African-Americans would want to be a part of such a big step toward racial equality. But there are so many others there also. There are also so many more who did not go, but were too excited even to sleep last night.

I understand their excitement, but I don't share it. There will be big changes, for the good, some immediate. But there will also be disappointments, especially for those anticipating huge, quick changes on everything that President Obama campaigned on. The economy is a mess, and I think it will be the focus of his first weeks. Other areas will be touched, especially ones that can easily be handled by executive order, but some will be put on the back burner. Guantanamo (the prison, not the whole base) can be closed. The process of getting out of Iraq can be started. But the repeals of Don't Ask Don't Tell and DOMA will wait. Health care will wait. A little can be done about global warming right now, but mostly it will wait.

Again, there will be disappointments. No president ever gets everything he wants. The Republicans in the Senate still have enormous power to throw up roadblocks, and I doubt they will refrain from using it, despite the enormity of the economic disaster the country is facing. They don't understand what got us into this mess, or how to get us out of it. Some of them may look at the polls that are so supportive of the president and temper their opposition, but plenty will just ignore them.

I was, to be honest, a bit disappointed in the inaugural address. It was good, but not great. There were no great lines, there was no "Ask not," maybe nothing that will make the quote books. There were certainly no surprises. Obama effectively made his points, basically repeating his campaign positions, but without any rhetoric that will make the speech memorable. I'm sure former-president Bush (smile, smile) was quite uncomfortable at parts of it (assuming he was even listening). I think even former-president Clinton may even have heard a veiled criticism or two.

History has been made. The celebrations continue. But I can only be hopeful that President Obama is successful in acheiving his program.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Arrival :: Departure

  2. Vomit :: Puke

  3. Fit :: Fiddle

  4. Stutter :: Speech impediment

  5. Lifestream :: huh?

  6. Tread :: Tire

  7. Desire :: Want

  8. Freezing :: Cold

  9. Permit :: Allow

  10. Crinkle :: Cut
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

A sign you're getting old

Friday, January 16, 2009

Nothing fazes real New Yorkers

I just saw a woman walking down the street eating an ice cream cone.

It's 14°F in New York right now.

A great toy for kids--NOT

Playmobil Security Check Point









Click on the image and read the reviews. They are hilarious. My favorite:
This is just a sop to the authoritarians among us. I am holding out for the release of the Guantanemo Playset. Hopefully this will come with an extrordinary rendition option.
HT to Betty Crow

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it)

Click here.

Han and Luke kiss? That must be the version they show at the Chelsea Cinema.

HT to Allyson Robinson.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Zipper Factory Theater closes

Playbill article

This is awful. It was a great place. It was just three blocks from CDI, where I change clothes to present as Caprice. It had some wonderful shows (even a few on weeknights when I could go). And they even knew me there a little.

Public Service Announcement

Estimated Taxes are due today.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Headline of the day

Flying car leaves London for Timbuktu

You can't make up stuff like this.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Resolution :: High

  2. Break :: fast

  3. Tied :: Up

  4. Suffering :: Headache

  5. Instead :: Of

  6. Slash :: Budget

  7. Divorce :: Court

  8. Cough :: Drop

  9. Happy :: Days

  10. Sniffle :: Tissue

HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Exercise log

An hour today. Maybe tomorrow I can get in a full 90 minutes--if my wife decides we're not going to MoMA.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Exercise log

I'm not exactly sure how long I exercised today, because I was interrupted in the middle (which is redundant, come to think of it). It had to be somewhere between 75 and 80 minutes--all at the higher leg effort. (Nothing yesterday.)

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Weekly free associations

  1. Confirmation :: Day

  2. Verse :: Chorus

  3. Authorize :: OK

  4. Blog :: Glob

  5. Thirty :: I wish

  6. Heir :: Apparent

  7. What are you doing? :: Twitter

  8. Complaint :: Department

  9. Leave :: It To Beaver

  10. Tune :: Out
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Exercise log

Another after-dinner session: I squeezed in 37 minutes. I really wanted to do something because I doubt I'm going to have time tomorrow. (Nothing yesterday.)

Monday, January 05, 2009

The top lie of 2008

According to the Burlington Liars Club:
"My grandson is the most persuasive liar I have ever met. By the time he was 2 years old he could dirty his diaper and make his mother believe someone else had done it."

George W. Bush was ruled ineligble because he's a professional. (That's my entry for 2009.)

Exercise log

I did it after dinner, but I only had time for 47 minutes. I don't like to do it past 9:00 because it might disturb the neighbors. Again, I raised the leg effort setting.

Guide to converting to metric from xkcd

Click on the image to see the whole thing.










I think the use of penises and cars as examples of length are quite problematic. Both vary a great deal--and the former does not even have a fixed length. Ditto for moms as an example of mass.
HT to Victoria Marinelli

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Exercise log

I left it too late, and I only had 48 minutes before I had to take a shower before dinner. I had the leg effort on the higher setting the whole time, and I really felt it going over the highest "peaks."

Sad news

Richardson withdraws bid to be commerce secretary

Bill Richardson was my first choice for president at the start of the campaign. After he withdrew, and my second choice was elected, I was hoping Obama would choose him for secretary of state. I'm sure he would have done well as Commerce secretary.

I have no idea whether there is any truth to the allegations. I'm hoping that there is none, and that Richardson is just taking advantage of a face-saving way out of the Commerce post--which I suspect he realized too late was in no way a career advancement for him. (He has already had a cabinet post.)

Places I slept in 2008

New York, NY
Albany, NY
Lee, MA
Boston, MA
Lowell, MA
Las Vegas, NV

A rather short list for last year.

HT to Veronica

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Exercise log

I only had time for 65 minutes today, but I pushed up the leg effort a notch during the second half.

Why I don't have kids

Boss: My daughter's turning two tomorrow.
Employee: What can I get her? Anything she doesn't have that she really needs?
Boss: An "off" button.
from Overheard in the Office

Friday, January 02, 2009

Exercise log

Ninety minutes for my first workout of 2009. Yay me! I'm going to try to exercise at least 4 times a week. (I have a combination recumbent stationary bicycle-rowing machine.)

Movie mini-reviews

  • Valkyrie: Pretty good, but I wish they had shown how the conspiracy started. Cruise was OK.
  • Defiance: I liked it, despite a couple of instances when Daniel Craig's character makes eloquent, articulate speeches totally uncharacteristic of his rough-hewn, poorly educated background. Some of what appear to be movie clichés (e.g. the white horse) were true, according to someone who met one of the brothers. (I have also heard that white horses are quite common in that area.)

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Donald E. Westlake died!

My favorite mystery writer died suddenly yesterday. Donald E. Westlake, creator of the humorous crime series featuring the very talented (but equally very unlucky) burglar "Dortmunder," apparently had a heart attack while on vacation in Mexico.

I love his books. I'm reading one of his more recent books now, Put a Lid On It. Though he wrote a lot of comic crime novels, he was just as good at writing serious ones. He wrote another series of books about a totally "hard-boiled" criminal, Parker--though Westlake used the non de plume "Richard Stark" for those. And that wasn't the only pseudonym he used.

I heard him speak a couple of times, and he autographed a few of my books after one talk. I remember him being asked how he felt when a successful book of his was made into a not-so-successful movie. He said he thought of them as he did his children--he raised them as well as he could to adulthood, and then wished them luck and sent them out to succeed or fail on their own.

He wrote more than a hundred books in all (using manual typewriters!), and I'm not sure I've read even half of them--so there will be plenty of Westlake in my future. And there is one more scheduled to be published this year. Still, it's sad he has died. He was only 75.

Happy New Year! (except...)

There are already two unsettling events to start off 2009.

  • Petitions were filed to reverse the Kalamazoo, MI ordinance adding gays, lesbians and transgender individuals to their non-discrimination law.
  • Helen and Betty have taken down their message board (where I am a semi-retired moderator). Hopefully this is just temporary, while they figure out how to handle the recent trends of "me-ism" and partner-unfriendly posts. (They took the board down once before for a couple of weeks or so, to revamp.) They have just journeyed from Brooklyn to Wisconsin, where Helen will be teaching for the next several months, so they are a bit pre-occupied. When they get things sorted out, I'm hoping they will figure out a way to make the board work again. I miss it already.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Weekly free associations

  1. Destined :: to win

  2. FAIL :: blog

  3. Camping :: yech!

  4. Only you :: can prevent forest fires

  5. Incessant :: noise

  6. Tomorrow :: is another day

  7. Impressive :: collection

  8. Riches :: wealth

  9. Dislike :: like

  10. Speaker :: of the House


  1. Carpet :: tacks

  2. Bottoms :: tops

  3. Music :: sound

  4. Nails :: acrylics

  5. Watch it! :: ??

  6. Your life :: is yours

  7. Candies :: no-no's

  8. Chafing :: dish

  9. Svelte :: I wish

  10. Ding :: dong

HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Plat du jour









An orthopedist, I presume.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

Plat du jour














Actually, the adjective is "euphoric."

Friday, December 26, 2008

Back in New York

I'm back from Las Vegas. It was a quite uneventful journey.

Happy Chanukah!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

Report from Vegas

We're staying at the Paris Hotel. Here's a view of it, with its silly shrunken Eiffel Tower, taken from the Bellagio across the street. Unfortunately, they don't let you cross the street, which is known as the "Strip." The only way to get across the Strip on foot is via some pedestrian bridges. But there aren't enough of them. After dinner my wife was too tired to walk over to one. So we took a cab--just to cross the street!

The Paris is OK. The room is comfortable, except for there being no heater, only air conditioning. It's not really cold, though, just two or three degrees cooler than we're used to. Housekeeping isn't perfect--I had to call to get more toilet paper. The internet works OK--it's wired. But it costs $14 or $15 a day (I'm not sure--two different things list two different prices.) The rooms are cheap, but they make it up with exorbitant extras like this, and the $25/day they charge to use the fitness center.

So far I'm losing less at the casinos than I anticipated--I view it as a cost of entertainment. So I'm pretty happy.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

It's December 23, so...

To all Seinfeld fans (and non-fans), Happy Festivus!

BlankTo the tune of Let it Snow:
What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
this is the place to hate,
let them wait, let them wait, let them wait.

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
I bought some caps for popping,
aluminum pole's aglow,
let them know, let them know, let them know.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.

No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.

No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

T'is the best time of the year!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

Off to Las Vegas!

In a few minutes I'm off to Las Vegas for a family celebration of my 60th birthday. I've never been there before. Wish me luck. (Ha!, I'll be happy if everyone makes it there in time for dinner.)

I hope to be able to blog a bit from there.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Happy Chanukah!

Plat du jour--guest submission

It never hurts to have in-house counsel.

Thanks to Joanne from MHB.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Spam of the day

Oprah Winfrey's No.1 SuperFood, Natural _LoseWeight! only $19.95 FREE TRIAL geg uc9k

Considering the fact the Oprah has recently topped 200 lbs., this spam-o-gram is particularly untimely.

Plat du jour












OK, we get it.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Complaint of the day

Trying to put together an evening out with semi-closeted crossdressers is like trying to nail jello to the wall. With a foam rubber hammer.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Weekly free associations

  1. Travel :: clock

  2. Expensive :: cheap

  3. Backspace :: delete

  4. Traffic noise :: constant

  5. Now see here :: son

  6. Vegetables :: yummy

  7. Chat :: Thursday

  8. Your calling :: retired!

  9. Weekly :: monthly

  10. Oh! :: well
HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Plat du jour













An incorporated wife? Unless it's Mr. Sinc. Or any one of a number of M.R.S. corporations.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Weekly free associations

  1. Love affair :: romance

  2. Bubble :: blow

  3. Pimple :: teen

  4. Knocks :: socks

  5. Persistent :: varmint

  6. Infected :: wound

  7. Yay! :: team!

  8. Repaint :: eventually

  9. Daily :: News

  10. Quickly! :: fast!

HT to Unconscious Mutterings.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Yay 2008!

Apparently people think so much of 2008 they're going to make it even longer. On top of the leap day we had on February 29, there's going to be another second added to December 31.

Actually, this has nothing to do with the year's popularity. It's just that the earth's rotation is slowing down.

So if you want to know when 2009 starts exactly, you'll have to reset your watches after 6:59:60 p.m. EST on 12/31.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

A bit of a coincidence

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Morgan Library for a guided tour of its exhibition of Babar drawings. While waiting in the lobby I noticed on the list of major museum donors inscribed on the wall the name of socialite Sunny von Bulow. I was trying to remember the details of what happened to her many years ago. She was the alleged victim of attempted murder by her then husband back in the early 80's. Now I'm reading the news to find she died yesterday, after being in a coma for 28 years.