November 30, 2013

I don't usually start my Christmas shopping this early but I received my Amex rewards which were two $100 Barnes and Noble gift cards. That and a Black Friday weekend 30% off coupon makes today the start. I will take a day off later in December to complete the purchases.



Man, I guess I have to buy this Bannana-head ornament.



Holiday Market in full swing.



Since I'm getting his more recent book, bought this one too.



Bought Dr. Demento Presents: Greatest Christmas Novelty CD. Needed Jingle Bells - Singing Dogs, and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer for the Holiday collection..

November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving !



Just installed Windows 8.1 from the Beta version. Too much work, I even called Microsoft and I was told to re-set and get the manufacturer's installation disks. I told the Microsoft Tech agent that the solution they suggested was insane and that Microsoft should really re-think their customer support.

The answer didn't seen right so I went back to researching the problem. I refreshed rather than re-set. That worked but it wiped out many programs such as Adobe Reader, Firefox, AOL, Office 365, Quicken and I-Tunes. Most documents were preserved and now my anti-virus program works. It would not in the Beta version. Thank God for Cloud back-up. Office 365 was a problem but a fix-it program wiped out all previous Office installs and all was back. Again , too much work and thankfully I am adept at finding solutions.

November 24, 2013

My assignment for Thanksgiving is Pies and Wine. Here's an interesting one- Momofuku Milk Bar's Franken Pie : two slices of candy bar pie, two slices of apple blondie pie, and four slices of crack pie.



Wednesday the Greenmarket has a special expanded Wednesday version for the day before Thanksgiving. That's when I'll get some Terhune Orchards' Pies.



James McBride's The Good Lord Bird won the National Book Award. A friend of mine who has read a lot on John Brown has been telling me about this book for some time. A Barnes and Noble coupon sealed the deal: $14 for a hardcover.



Ah, a local store has Miami Onion Rolls. Reminds me of Ratner's.

November 23, 2013

Beer for the weekend is Sam Adams' Winter Favorites Variety Pack: Boston Lager, Winter Lager, Cherry Chocolate Bock, Old Fezziwig, White Christmas, & Juniper IPA.



Just synced my I-Pod with my Christmas song playlist of 120 songs. Won't listen untill after Thanksgiving. XM-Sirius now has two Holiday music channels and will add more in December. I force-feed myself Holiday music to get in the mood.



Was at the Barclay's center the other day for a Nets game,don't ask why. Nice arena.



Finally found some fresh Horseradish at the Greenmarket. Bloody Mary time tomorrow.

November 22, 2013

History unfolding right before your eyes, happened again on 09/11. Can't believe it was 50 years ago.



Both Time Magazine and The New York Daily News have reprinted their editions from fifty years ago. Fascinating to read and the ads interesting to compare to today's pitches. 5¢ for the paper.




Starbucks always has a great selection of Christmas Songs that you probably didn't have in your collection. This year, 'tis the Season :

Frank Sinatra - I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Cocteau Twins - Winter Wonderland
Teddy Thompson - Christmas
Elvis Presley - Here Comes Santa Claus
The Roches - Good King Wenceslas
Wham! - Last Christmas
Sarah McLachlan - Silent Night
John Fahey - What Child Is This
Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Il est né / Ça bergers
Bahamas - Christmas Must Be Tonight
Dolly Parton - The Little Drummer Boy
Dinah Washington - Ole Santa
Tony Bennett - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Cyndi Lauper & Norah Jones - Home for the Holidays
Peggy Lee - Deck the Halls
Bob Dylan - Christmas Island

November 21, 2013

My favorite Holiday Market opens today. The food vendors are:
Mighty Balls
Mayhem & Stout
Momofuku Milk Bar
Arancini Bros
Sigmund Pretzels
Wafels & Dinges
La Sonrisa Empanadas

November 17, 2013

Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies are delicious. Was able to get one at Garden of Eden on 14th Street. Now, I have to make some fresh Whipped cream.

November 16, 2013

50th Anniversary of JFK assassination coming up soon. I was in the Eighth Grade, by 3:00 P.M. my class was in a church praying for him. My old college roommate was a huge conspiracy buff and still is. He was always interested in the Organized Crime connections, which were many. He always railed against the Warren Commission report.

The Warren Commission , above, was also a great source for Don DeLillo's Libra :

"Then there was The Warren Report, which is the Oxford English Dictionary of the assassination and also the Joycean novel. This is the one document that captures the full richness and madness and meaning of the event, despite the fact that it omits about a ton and a half of material. I’m not an obsessive researcher, and I think I read maybe half of The Warren Report, which totals twenty-six volumes. There are acres of FBI reports I barely touched. But for me the boring and meaningless stretches are part of the experience. This is what a life resembles in its starkest form—school records, lists of possessions, photographs of knotted string found in a kitchen drawer. It took seven seconds to kill the president, and we’re still collecting evidence and sifting documents and finding people to talk to and working through the trivia. The trivia is exceptional. When I came across the dental records of Jack Ruby’s mother I felt a surge of admiration. Did they really put this in? The testimony of witnesses was a great resource— period language, regional slang, the twisted syntax of Marguerite Oswald and others as a kind of improvised genius and the lives of trainmen and stripteasers and telephone clerks. I had to be practical about this, and so I resisted the urge to read everything."

Don DeLillo, The Art of Fiction No. 135



The Sunday NYT Book Review gives a thumbs up to The Bully Pulpit Thanks to Jury Duty, I am half-finished with this over 700 page book. TR dominates but it is interesting to see what an accomplished individual Taft was in all that he did.



Holiday Market getting ready.



Cayenne Peppers.

November 15, 2013

My favorite Holiday Market at Union Square opens November 21 and continues until December 24th.

November 14, 2013

Jury Duty discharge at 1:00. Went to see Ender's Game. Great special effects, movie was OK, liked the book better. Only $10 as I received the Senior rate.

November 11, 2013

Happy Veteran's Day !



Went to Doughnut Plant on 23rd Street, next to the Chelsea Hotel. The Crème brûlée was outstanding. $3.25, ouch.



Brussels Sprouts in the sun.

November 10, 2013

From yesterday, a sign of the apocalypse.



Bloody Marys and Godiva Truffles today. She would have been 61.



Lythronax argestes a precursor of T-Rex.

November 9, 2013

Going there today, see what I can get to gussy up the bathroom. Got a 20% off coupon to ease the price.



Corona at Stop and Shop. $12.99 a twelve pack. Sold !



For football and B-Ball, Chili and Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Dr.Pepper BBQ sauce.

From the Web Site Serious Eats: Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.

Sauce recipe adapted from Taming the Flame by Elizabeth Karmel
Ingredients

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 12-ounce can Dr. Pepper (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground ancho or New Mexican chile powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper 



Found out from an old bartender that a good ingredient to add to a Bloody Mary is Colman's Dry Mustard. Will give it a try tomorrow.

November 7, 2013

Wasn't going to buy this one although I always like reading about TR. Then, Barnes and Noble reduces it by 40% and also sends me a 20% coupon. Ok, Ok, I'll buy it.

November 6, 2013

In finishing up Ray Monk's ROBERT OPPENHEIMER:A Life Inside the Center , Freeman Dyson and Richard Feynman are highlighted. Dyson's book reviews in the New York Review of Books is a good addendum.

November 4, 2013

November, end of DST, 32°, time to turn on the heat.



I have a bunch of DVDs that I have never watched. I broke open Star Trek Into Darkness last night. Haven't finished it yet. It is pretty good. Just like the first one, it moves and the characters are nicely re-invented.



Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: "The Challenge."

November 3, 2013

Today, an old classic: spaghetti and meatballs. Have to spice things up so I threw in a Pablono pepper and Hot Sausage.To top it off: Garlic Bread. Rao's sauce with wine will accompany.



Watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last night. Pretty good although a tad too long. Won't get the extended edition, watched all the new scenes on Youtube, only 13 minutes were added. Can't wait for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.



Hope Beorn shows up.

November 2, 2013

Yeah, an extra hour. Or is it just a shift in time and schedules ? Depends on how you look at it. I'm going with an extra hour.



Cranberries have arrived. My new find: fresh Broccoli, today $1.50 a pound. I microwave it for four minutes with garlic and soy sauce.



Beer for the weekend is Guinness Red Harvest Stout.