Category: Brooklyn

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful…”

Yep, it’s coming down. The meteorologists and the mayor have all said it’s going to be as bad as the blizzard of 1996, when the city had to be shut down. I’m trying to stay skeptical – but, it really is coming down.

The comic strip, “Annie” – apparently resolves its weird storyline – wherein Vail, the crazy man who’s convinced that the iguanas from Mars will take him to see his dead mother, has jumped a cliff, despite Daddy Warbucks’ telling him to don’t jump. Oh-kay. It’s so weird, it’s actually good.

The Bush inauguration, Term 2 – as a historical matter, I’ll admit – pomp and circumstance gives the country pomp and circumstance. A government in place for 200-odd years, we have democratic continuity and smooth transition. We have “Hail to the Chief” (thanks to Slate.com’s “Explainer” for explaining the song). And, it was nice to see Chief Justice Rehnquist making a public appearance and doing the job (best wishes to him for recovery). But, I only have two other comments – saying “freedom” lots of times may or may not be terribly persuasive; and “tyranny” – what? I thought our fears were terrorism, not tyranny. Ok, no more political commentary now.

Apprentice III – why is Apprentice back so soon? It’s just too soon. And, where are the pretty people? The cast this time looks less attractive (the men certainly; the women – well, I just don’t think they look professional this time). And, the way they jumped on the geeky marketing guy in the board room – I mean, yeah, so you don’t like him, but your project manager ought to be fired. Glad Trump didn’t make a dumb firing this time. But, I find myself less inclined to want to watch much. And, no, I really don’t care about Trump’s third wedding in Florida today. He’s bailing out on the snow in town so that his bride can wear this 50lb dress? Good grief.

Anyway, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Stay inside, eat warm food, watch tv and read a good book.

My website has been updated – an updated index page and an updated gallery (new art!). No new fiction right now, but maybe eventually. Let me know what you all think…

Some snow outside. Still deep chill.

For a limited time, watch The Amazing Race 6: Are There Instructions on Donkeys? (Windows Media Player)

I think that a world record for simultaneous schadenfreude was earned by the fans of the Amazing Race today when Jonathan and Victoria were Philiminated, after failing to read the clue saying that they had to bring two donkeys. That has to be the most humiliating elimination of one of the most obnoxious couples in reality show history, where even mild mannered Phil Keogan had a gleem in his eye at the pit stop. Good riddance!

Catch Bobby Flay vs. Rick Bayless (Windows Media Player) for a limited time.

Speaking of “Iron Chef America” – William Grimes, the NY Times’ ex-food critic-turned-critic-at-large writes some nice stuff on the new show – with some fascinating word choices:

Loyal fans of the original series, which ran in Japan from 1993 to 1999 and eventually totaled nearly 300 episodes, will find themselves in familiar territory with “Iron Chef America.” The faces have changed, but the mythology remains the same. The Chairman, played in the American version by a shaven-headed martial arts champion named Mark Dacascos, is an aristocratic gourmet who amuses himself by pitting his team of Iron Chefs against culinary challengers. As before, the cooking starts when he raises the lid on the “secret ingredient altar,” makes a quick chopping motion and screams, “Allez cuisine!,” a crypto-French phrase that means “Start cooking.”

“The goal was to preserve what the die-hards love, and also to make it exciting for people just coming to it,” said Stephen Kroopnick, the executive producer of the series. “You don’t have to know Episode 121, Battle Octopus.” His company, Triage Entertainment, as Mr. Kroopnick admits, was not the obvious choice. It is best known for producing the Victoria’s Secret fashion show and the Miss Universe pageant, but the Food Network wanted a big-event flavor for “Iron Chef America,” which was filmed at the Chelsea Market in Manhattan.

To keep the series true to the original, it arranged for an indoctrination session. “The first thing the Food Network did was ship us off to Japan, where Fuji put us in a room to watch 200 episodes,” Mr. Kroopnick said, referring to Fuji Television. “It was like passing on a legacy.”

The Food Network learned a valuable lesson from UPN’s “Iron Chef U.S.A.,” broadcast in 2001. A small studio audience, seated on bleachers, was encouraged to scream nonstop at the contestants as the host, William Shatner, sampled dishes. The chefs, unaccountably, did not talk about what they were making, and the camera rarely focused on the food being prepared. The show died a quick death.

After “allez cuisine,” however, “Iron Chef America” takes some unfamiliar twists and turns. For its commentator, the Food Network drafted Alton Brown, the ebullient, fast-talking host of “Good Eats.” Working with a floor reporter (Kevin Brauch of the Fine Living channel’s “Thirsty Traveler”), Mr. Brown discusses what the chefs are up to, explaining techniques and ingredients along the way. Things like huitlacoche.

“You have to wonder, who first got hungry enough to look at it and say, let’s eat some of that stuff?” he says, marveling at an evil-looking sauce in Mr. Bayless’s blender. Huitlacoche, he explains, is a fungus that attacks corn, causing the kernels to swell and blacken. Mexican cooks treat it like truffle. When Mr. Bayless coats buffalo steaks in lard for searing, Mr. Brown explains that lard, because it conducts heat efficiently, counteracts the temperature-lowering moisture that escapes from the steaks during cooking. [….]

The show is a curious blend of campy entertainment and dead-serious cooking. Top chefs put their skills and reputations on display. They submit to the criticisms of the judges. Emotions can run high. On “Iron Chef,” Mr. Morimoto took great offense when the challenger, Mr. Flay, after putting the final touch on his dishes, leaped to the table and pumped his fists in the air in celebration. Mr. Morimoto glowered, then made some choice remarks that set up one of the great “Iron Chef” grudge matches.

“Cooking is all about routine moves, and there is no routine in the contest,” said Mr. Bayless, who prepared for the event by drilling his team for weeks on end. “We trained like we were going to the Olympics.”

That’s pretty much how the competition saw it, too. “I look at this as more a sporting event than a night in the restaurant,” Mr. Flay said. “You’re competing against someone, and there’s a time limit. I go into it thinking it’s like a basketball game.” There’s a difference. On “Iron Chef America” the officials get to eat the three-point play.

“Evil-looking sauce”? Really, Grimes? Cooking like it’s the Olympics? (well, credit that thought to Bayless) Oy.

Oh – and my sister forwarded this to me – apparently, Hasbro, the makers of Mr. Potato Head, is releasing Darth Tater. Strange stuff. And, just in time for Star Wars movie this summer, in a theater near you. Um hmm.

Oh, and it’s the return of – drumroll, please – “American Idol.” No William Hung (yet). But, I do wonder – there are some people auditioning who must – has to be – intentionally singing bad to get themselves on tv (and get some silly laughs). Surely no one’s that delusional as to think that they’re singing well (when they really really suck).

Anyway, stay warm; it’s been freezing in NYC.

It’s Girl Scout Cookie time again, and this year is the 30th anniversary of the Samoa, which is probably one of the world’s most perfect cookies (the Thin Mint comes pretty close, though). P– called about them at work and I’m down for 2 and 1 of each.

Truth be told, I usually come up with the titles for my entries before I actually write them, not the other way around. That being said, let’s go to the switches: two revivals which are followups to miniseries that have Asian American flavor.

Battlestar Galactica (the SciFi reimaging): I generally like it, as long as you don’t try to read in too much from the original series. Every character is bright, but eclipsing a darker side. Grace Park, as the green lieutenant Boomer (a sidekick’s sidekick part in the original series), is developing a serious Dark Side that will dominate the rest of series. But stop with the Blair Witch camera motion, jeez! You’re making me dizzy.

Iron Chef America – the Series: This is a much better intepretation of the Japanese franchise than the abortive Iron Chef USA. The Chairman is flamboyant but doesn’t get in the way, Alton Brown is much more capable of food intepretation, and these chefs actually cook and do some explaining of their techniques. I think that Bobby Flay should have lost this week’s battle, though.

The wardrobe: I finally broke down and bought a tuxedo. I don’t know if this is a true sign of adulthood, but I guess I’m acutally going to enough of these black tie things that I need one. P– and I went to a cheap place on 4th Avenue and 63rd Street in Brooklyn called S & B Warehouse.

Finally watched it, so I thought I’d mention it. This week’s episode “Daedalus” – curiously interesting. It felt like the way good standalone episodes were done with “Star Trek: the Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine” – subtle, gripping, and thoughtful. References to previous character development (T’Pol’s dealing with the loss of her mother and becoming a better Vulcan; Trip’s loss of his sister; Capt. Archer’s loss of his father and hero worship of Zephraim Cochrane, the inventor of warp drive spaceships) weren’t beating you on the head. And, the Big Three carried off good acting in demonstrating their characters’ reactions – Trip’s pissed off that Archer would endanger the crew to help Dr. Emory Erickson, the inventor of the transporter; Archer pissed off with Emory for deceiving him; everybody but Emory feeling bad about the dead ensign of the week. Etc.

See, Emory’s the “Daedalus” – an ingenius engineer/inventor who lost his son to his invention’s accident. Emory believes that he could rescue his son/research assistant from subspace limbo, even if it means deceiving Archer, the son of Emory’s dear friend and a semi-godson.

Archer, who has his own issues with loss of family and making dubious decisions (even if for the right reasons), decides to be loyal to his close family friends, even if it means ignoring his close shipmates (Trip and T’Pol couldn’t get it through to him that putting the ship in harm’s way isn’t a good idea to save the life of one person, particularly when Ensign of the Week died really badly;then again, Archer is a stubborn twit, whose anger scenes which persuasive this week. I also liked his scenes of being the Good Friend to Emory’s daughter, Danica, who – like her brother – was a childhood playmate. Archer felt she belonged in a starship, not as her father’s caretaker; and she had strong moral objections to her father’s actions, even if his emotional pain was really sad stuff – Daedelus indeed). Oh, and Dr. Phlox did a nice job too with his little scenes (Star Trek chief medical officers are nice people to have as doctors, I’d think). Nice episode all around; thumbs up.

So, I saw “In Good Company” the other day. Pretty funny, and interesting characters, good angst (yeah, I’m a sucker for angst); good soundtrack; and yet, I felt sad. Good acting, and yet the ending made me feel unsettled and “huh?” I felt sad for Topher Grace’s character, Carter. He’s about my age, and he’s already feeling like it’s all going downhill and it’s time to find a life. Uh. Ok. I liked the review of the movie on Slate.com – pretty much on point. Maybe I ought to stop seeing sad movies.

NY Jets – big suckers. Losers. Etc.

Michelle Kwan is still the American woman ice skating champion. We’ll see if she can win the World Championship. I mean, I’ll tip my hat off to her for being the most accomplished American woman ice skater, but winning the big prize – that’s the question. Whether for the Jets (i.e., a Super Bowl or even just a big win) or for Kwan (a gold medal), the question hovers.

Really cool item – NY1 profiles Jadin Wong, Asian-American entertainer/dancer/agent. She notes:

“I’m unusual for an Asian girl. They’re very subservient. I’m very nice to people, but I’m not your average Chinese girl,” she says. “I kick tush.” [….]

Wong was married twice. She says she was too busy traveling around the world to have children. In a sense, the people she’s helped were all her children.

“I want them to learn what no one taught me,” she says. “When I came to New York City as a young Chinese girl, no one wanted to help me because there were very few calls for Asian.”

But has Wong seen any improvement for the Asian-American performer in her 30 years as an agent?

“It’s getting better for the Asian, but this is still America,” she says. “It’s like a Caucasian actor in Hong Kong saying, ‘Why don’t they make more pictures for Caucasians?’ Because you’re in Hong Kong, that’s why.” [….]

“I say that life is like a tapestry. You meet people, you don’t see them again,” she says. “Somehow you cross paths. I firmly believe in that, because it’s happened to me so many times. [….]

Fascinating stuff.

Oh, and take a moment to think about Martin Luther King and the dream that continues to be a dream.