November 30, 2010

Featured on last night's Niteline. Guys can move.



Johnny the Shoeshine guy, my favorite part of Police Squad.
R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen.

November 29, 2010

Magic Hat beer time. Interesting 12-pack includes the signature # 9, not quite pale ale.



Odd Notion Winter 2010, a Hibiscus Red Ale.



Howl, a Black Lager.



Encore, an IPA.

November 28, 2010

My personal library is over 1200 books. This is one I haven't read since the seventies. Yup, my copy says $1.75 too. Time for a re-read.



Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face (Female Version.) I made a CD of Boogie songs and had to include this classic.



Steve Winwood recently had a contest to award the best cover of his song Can't Find My Way Home. A Blind Faith piece.



The winner with an excellent voice is Brenna Fitzgerald.

November 27, 2010

Cold, clear day. Not too crowded. Not much there as far as food is concerned.



Butternut Squash in the sun.



The Michael Jackson ornament has to be the weirdest one yet.



Lots of Christmas ornaments at the Christmas Village.



Lots of Beer in the NYT Crossword Puzzle today. Never had this one, but you have to love the name: Moose Drool Brown Ale from the Big Sky Brewing Company in Montana.



The Big Sky's Trout Slayer Ale looks good too. Both get good reviews.



Some guy named Aleman in Rex Parker's Comments section mentions Santa's Butt and Seriously Bad Elf. They are made by Ridgeway Brewing Company of South Stoke , England.

An explanation of Butt:
In case you find that amusing, we hasten to point out that in England ‘butt’ refers to a certain barrel used in brewing -- a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage.



Salvador Dali would be amused.


Poodwaddle.com

November 26, 2010

“We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one.” ~Voltaire



The woman wearing nothing but dessert topping on the cover of Herb Alpert’s classic album Whipped Cream and Other Delights was actually wearing shaving cream, because of the hot lights.



The Heavy - How You Like Me Now? In the Sock Puppet Kia Sorento commercial.

November 25, 2010 - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving !



The financial blog The Big Picture also has other interests. Today the links are to The Science of Thanksgiving. Fascinating stuff like : Dark meat / White meat , and Tryptophan may not be the cause of your sleepiness.



Babes in Toyland aka March of the Wooden Soldiers is a Thanksgiving tradition. I have the DVD but watching it on Channel 11 is part of the tradition too ( there was an uproar several years ago when they didn't run it.)

Ollie Dee: [Bo Peep is being forced to marry Barnaby] Stannie's so upset he isn't even going to the wedding. You're upset aren't you Stannie?
Stannie Dum: Upset? I'm housebroken!
Ollie Dee: Not housebroken!
Ollie Dee: [to Bo Peep] He means 'heartbroken'
Ollie Dee: [scoffs] Housebroken.



Watched The Dead Zone starring Christopher Walken. Herbert Lom is excellent in it.That got me thinking of the above video, the guy can really dance. When I used to live in Astoria, I would go to the Walken bakery at times, it was a fantastic place.



17 pounder this year.

November 24, 2010

A quick visit to the Greenmarket for some pies, this is Shady Maple farms, Middletown, NY.



This is Terhune Orchards, Dutchess County, NY. The Apple pies look great.

November 21, 2010

A visit to Heartland Brewery for Farmer Jon's Oatmeal Stout , Calamari and Duck Wings.



Mandala at Union Square.



The bags of colored sand can be seen in the back.

November 20, 2010

Brrr! Starting to get cold.



The Christmas Village is now open and Holiday stuff starts coming out.



S & S O Produce Farms puts out a Black Dirt Brand crushed tomato sauce. The Black Dirt in Goshen, NY is well-known for its taste enhancing properties.



Bonk was so enjoyable, I had to pick up Packing for Mars.



The Queens Library had this available, scooped it right up.



Picked up a Sam Adams Winter Classics Twelve-Pack. In the pack, there are 2 bottles each of:
Boston Lager - always good, their signature beer
Holiday Porter - Chalky , bitter and excellent
White Ale - Surprisingly good, wasn't expecting the flavor
Chocolate Bock - Best of the pack, you can taste the Chocolate and it's smooth
Winter Lager - Quite good , cinnamon, ginger, and hint of citrus from the orange peel
Old Fezziwig Ale - Reminds me of Brooklyn Beer's Old Bluderbuss, 2nd best after Bock.

November 19, 2010

Brouczech Dark - Hell with fire of life - The only brunett among all blondes, and yes, it is different.

November 16, 2010

Bloomfield, Kooper, Stills - Super Session - 07 - Season Of The Witch. Love dem horns and organ.

November 14, 2010

End of my mini-vacation. Bloody Marys, Wine, Brooklyn Cuvée Noire, Lasagna and Football to steel my psyche back into work mode. A recipe:

1 1/2 ounces (1 jigger) vodka
1/2 cup tomato juice - Sacramento
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce to taste- Lea and Perrins
Tabasco to taste - McIlhenny
Dollop of Horseradish
1 lime wedge for garnish
Combine the vodka, the tomato juice, the lemon juice, the Horseradish, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco, 1 cup ice cubes, and pepper to taste, shake the mixture well, and strain it into a tall glass filled with ice cubes.



The NYT Book Review makes The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers a must-read.


Photo by Joan Marcus

The NYT recently reviewed the Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice with mostly the same cast as the Summer Shakespeare in the park. New York Magazine's Review reminds us that Portia knows what she is getting into: "Since you are dear bought," she tells Bassanio, "I will love you dear"



Village of the Damned is in my DVD collection. You have to love George Sander's performance.



His voice was so smooth. Remember Shere Khan in The Jungle Book.

Sanders told David Niven in 1937, that he intended to commit suicide when he got older. In 1972, he fulfilled his promise, leaving this note: "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck."

This is a man who was once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor and later to her sister Magda. The line in Wikipedia about the marriage to Magda is classic: "This marriage lasted only six weeks, after which he began drinking heavily."

November 13, 2010

Nice sunny day.



Purple Cauliflower.



Onions in the sun.



Gourds.



Cauliflower.



Action bias. Goalies should stay still during penalty kicks but they don't: study.



Haven't read a work of fiction for a while. This one follows Presumed Innocent and Burden of Proof , both of which I read a long time ago.



Science and Sex, what more could one want? Mary Roach's new book Packing for Mars is getting great reviews. It was also the quote in the NYT acrostic puzzle of November 7th.



Glenn Gould Moments- P.04. Bach Italian Concerto, take one, at 3:25. Gould hums as he plays, the best part of it.



Santa Alicia Cabernet Reserva is a great value wine for $8.99.

November 12, 2010

Not too crowded on a Friday.



Pumpkins in the sun.



Gourds in the sun.



Dancing at the Greenmarket.


People don't even look.



Setting up the Christmas Village.



Went to Whole Foods Tribecca. Brooklyn Cuvée Noire was $9.99 a 64 oz. Growler. The beer is excellent and packs a wallop.



Leo's Latticcini or Mama's for fresh Lasagna Noodles.



Making two tins tonight.