November 26, 2011

The sides reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season with a marquee tripleheader Dec. 25. Most of a season that seemed in jeopardy of being lost entirely will be salvaged if both sides approve the handshake deal.

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago visiting Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.



Best NBA Player Tweet:
Hassan Whiteside (@youngwhiteside)
The lockout OVER no more peanut better n jelly sandwiches n Ramen noodlleeee



The Christmas Village has the wildest ornaments.



I see these Moons every year.



Lily in the sun.



Nice arrangement.



Irving Place had a huge line , 99% female, waiting for The Starkids Tour with Darren Criss: "Broadway-bound Glee star Darren Criss first made a splash as a member of Team StarKid, the Chicago-based performance ensemble whose web productions have become internet smash hits. Criss will take the stage with his StarKid pals when the company’s forthcoming national tour makes a stop at New York City’s Irving Plaza on November 26."




Jack with a paint job.



Samuel Adams Winter Lager is the weekend beer.

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving !



"I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage."–Erma Bombeck

The only thing I contribute to the Thanksgiving Meal is Gravy and Carving the Bird. I only indulge in Gravy on Thanksgiving and Christmas. A guilty pleasure. Why is it that Gravy is only really good the day you make it ? The next day Gravy is never as good.



Wines for the day : Smoking Loon Pinot Noir and Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc.



Another of my life's guilty pleasures is Cheez Doodles. I only eat them twice a year, Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.



March of the Wooden Soldiers, Peter Pan and Mimosas. A house filled with the aroma of a Turkey cooking. Nice Thanksgiving, lots to be thankful for, including the end of radiation and Chemo for a loved one.



Henry Brandon AKA Henry Kleinbach as Silas Barnaby. Was only 21 years old when he did the part.



Random reading led to this. Ordered and next on reading list: THE DRUNKARD’S WALK, How Randomness Rules Our Lives, By Leonard Mlodinow.

November 20, 2011

Melissa Manchester hawking CDs , signing autographs and just being friendly. Terrific show, highlight was an audience participation "Be My Baby." Next best was a TV Duet with Barry Manilow: "You've Got a Friend."



Next to Queens Theatre in the Park is the old NY Pavilion. Featured in Men in Black:

"In 1997's 'Men in Black,' the former New York State Pavilion's observation towers are found to house spacecraft used by the first extraterrestrials to visit Earth; at the movie's end, Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) try to stop intergalactic terrorist Edgar the Bug (Vincent D'Onofrio) from leaving Earth via the towers."

November 19, 2011

Protest in front of the now open Christmas Village.



Little dead Elvis.



Bhudda in the Village.



Cranberries in the sun.



Pears in the sun.



Trip to the new Fairway in Douglaston. It is a Country Store, Whole Foods and Balducci's all in one.



Picked up some Raffetto's Red-Pepper,Mozzarella & Basil Ravioli. I used to go to the store ,144 W Houston St. between Sullivan St. & MacDougal St. It is still there and has a Facebook page.



Concert tonight at Queens Theatre in the Park: Melissa Manchester.



If you want me, you can have me. And, if you need me, I'll be there.



Richard Kuh died last Thursday. He was known as the Prosecutor who obtained an Obscenity conviction of Lenny Bruce. Here is the Direct and Cross of DOROTHY KILGALLEN.

November 17, 2011

New collection of short stories, The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don Delillo just released. NYT Review , Sunday NYT Book Review and New Yorker Review.

"Who knows? If writing is a concentrated form of thinking, then the most concentrated writing probably ends in some kind of reflection on dying. This is what we eventually confront if we think long enough and hard enough."

November 13, 2011

City & State First Read is my new way to start each morning during M-F. They e-mail it to your smart phone.


Eddie Hausner/The New York Times

HENRY KISSINGER'S NYT Book Section review of the new Biography of George F. Kennan was excellent.



Lucky Bruce was a treat. What a life ! He mentioned hanging at Elaine's with Paul Desmond. Today on Sunday morning Dan Aykroyd mentioned how he met his wife, Donna Dixon, of thirty years on the set of Doctor Detroit , penned by Bruce Jay Friedman. A horrible movie and the Queenpin character "Mom" owes something to the bad Maltese Falcon adaptation Satan Met a Lady. The Queenpin there was Madame Barabbas.



At the time I really thought it was kind of a throw-away. I was ready to trade the entire rights, lifetime-wise of "Take Five" for a used Ronson electric razor. And the thing that makes "Take Five" work is the bridge, which we almost didn't use. We really came within ... I shudder to think how close we came to not using that, because I said "Well I got this theme that we could use for a middle part". And Dave said, "Well let's run it through." And that's what made "Take Five". - Paul Desmond



Desmond specified in his will that all proceeds from "Take Five" would go to the Red Cross following his death.



“I don’t cut like a chef, I cut like a butcher,” said Ray Venezia, the meat director for the four Fairway markets.

Every year I watch this video to refresh my carving skills. New Fairway opening in Douglaston this week.

November 12, 2011

Setting up the Christmas Village.



Pears in the Sun.



Gandhi arriving in Kauai.



Another Cornucopia. Went to P.E. and D.D. Seafood for Lobster and Squid. Peconic Bay Scallops were sold out but for $26.99 a pound I would have passed.



Apples on the Sun



More Apples in the Sun.



Grapes in the Sun.



Even though I usually avoid all thing from Boston, the NYT Crossword led me to this Group. Just downloaded The Rascal King and The Impression That I Get.



A 25% discount coupled with my member discount got me this book for 1/2 price. My youngest son who is in a Marketing Class told me about it.



Greatest time of my life was when The Knicks were on fire: 1969 - 1970. Throw in for good measure The Mets, The Jets,(yeah, I am a Yankees/NY Giants fan but the City went crazy - you had to be there) Woodstock and going away to College. Always was home by April, so watching the Knicks on Cable was heaven. Back then, only Manhattan had Cable TV and Knicks/Rangers games were part of the package. The Saloons were packed with Long Island fans and watching games was like being in The Garden.

November 11, 2011

Ennio Morricone: The Story Of A Soldier Lyrics

Bugles are calling
from prairie to shore,
"Sign up" and "Fall in"
and march off to war.
Drums beating loudly,
Hearts beating proudly
Match Blue and Grey
And smile as you say Goodbye.
Smoke hides the valleys
And fire paints the plains.
Loud roar the cannons
'Til ruin remains:
Blue grass and cotton
Burnt and forgotten
All hope seems gone
So soldier march on to die.
There in the distance
A flag I can see,
Scorched and in ribbons
But whose can it be;
How ends the story,
Whose is the glory,
Ask if we dare
Our comrades out there who sleep.

November 10, 2011

NYT Errol Morris gives a rave review of 11 22 63. Uses the word quotidian four times. Also, interviews Stephen King.



London Lennie's CrabFest is always worth a visit.



Come on, people
Come on, children
Come on down to the Glory River
Gonna wash you up
And wash you down
Gonna lay the devil down
Gonna lay that devil down

Come on, people
Come on, children
There's a king at the Glory River
And the precious king
He loved the people to sing
Babes in the blinkin' sun
Sang "We Shall Overcome"

I got fury in my soul
Fury's gonna take me to the glory goal
In my mind
I can't study war no more
Save the people
Save the children
Save the country, now

Come on, people
Come on, children
Come on down to the Glory River
Gonna wash you up
And wash you down
Gonna lay the devil down
Gonna lay that devil down

Come on, people
Sons and mothers
Keep the dream of the two young brothers
Gonna take that dream and ride that dove
We could build the dream with love, I know
We could build the dream with love
We could build the dream with love, I know
We could build the dream with love

I got fury in my soul
Fury's gonna take me to the glory goal
In my mind
I can't study war no more
Save the people
Save the children
Save the country, now

November 9, 2011

New Stephen King book has Time-Travel wrapped up within the JFK assassination. Too interesting to pass up. BTW assassination first used by Shakespeare in Macbeth, Act I, scene VII:

MACBETH: If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,



Laura Live at the Bottom Line.

November 8, 2011

Vote early and often.



Hugh Laurie's album is Bluesy and good.



I like his take on St. James Infirmary.



Of Course, Louis Armstrong said it best.



The NYT praises The Wild Bunch.



Queens Uncorked gave out $5 off cards for Sweetleaf in LIC.



Really nice place, almost like having breakfast in someone's Brownstone.



Bust in the sun.



Then it was to Queens Natural Meats with $20 in gift cards. I researched the place and if you go by Yelp the place is incredibly overpriced. Not so, nice friendly staff and quite reasonable. Will return.



Picked up Sriracha Chili Sauce.