Category: Brooklyn

On PBS tonight:

Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle, with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and tenor Bryn Terfel. There’s something off in hearing opera singers sing “Jingle Bells” (although, Terfel’s pretty good with the rhythm; but Von Stade seems stuck with the operatic training – but she does nicely with her range).

Plus, of course, “The Nutcracker” (it ain’t Christmas without seeing it, in any version you watch it).

And, tomorrow, we shall all be at work. Physically. Mentally – that’s another story. But, at least I can enjoy Christmas Eve off….

People are getting awfully excited that J.K. Rowling is finished with Book 6 of the Harry Potter series. Personally, I have to finish Book 5, and I doubt I’ll get that done this year. But, at least I got through Books 1 to 4, so that’s pretty good, even for me (and I’m not as fast a reader as I used to be either). I may get to Book 5 around Christmas, assuming I finish Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” (yep, I’m back on my Austen fixation. This book is so not similar to the Emma Thompson movie – in fact, it’s a satire that’s pretty darn funny. I can see how this book has stood the test of time – “So, Marianne, when are you getting married?”/ “Ah, Elinor, so you have a beau. And, what is his income…?” – Western society – or humanity in general – has yet to advance, so far as I can tell).

Ohmigoodness, Slate.com has been sold… to the Washington Post. I always had my qualms about reading something so tied to Microsoft (aka That Big Conglomerate with the Rich Guy Bill Gates that Joel Klein in the DOJ tried to prosecute — well, Microsoft is still alive and kicking, and Klein is… the chancellor of the formerly known as NYC Board of Education – and it’s debatable as to how well that endeavor is going… never mind). But, the more Slate.com stuff I read, the more I liked it, even if that Rich Guy Bill Gates had some help in making it happen (maybe it’s envy talking – I mean, the guy is rich and powerful, so I can’t help not liking him all that much; but I suppose he can’t help but be powerful and it’s a good thing that he’s a philanthropist).

The point is, I liked Slate.com and liked it more when Doonesbury joined on board (again, putting aside that they were associated with Microsoft). See, good work ought to be recognized – good work such as cool writing and stuff like that. So, kudos to this interesting sale to WaPost. The WaPost isn’t a bad piece of media to now be part of. (well, it was that or the NY Times, considering how many former Slate people are now employed by the Times). Hopefully, no editorial changes (I like Slate.com and WaPost the way they are – separate and interesting entities – thank you very much).

Down to two more days of Christmas… yay… Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells…

Caught the end of Bill Moyers’ on PBS the other night – lovely speech by Moyers honoring his wife/producing partner and noting that he still had other projects to look forward to. Nice article in Newsday, the newpaper he was once a publisher.

And, speaking of Asian Americans in the news – Newsweek profiles Andrea Jung, Avon’s CEO, as one to watch in 2005. Thought it was really fasinating.

Quite cold in NYC, just to give people that extra Christmas-y feeling. Geez, can’t wait for the 30 degree temperature again…

Eh, so let me know if I have to pay up, and how should I do that (cash, check, money order, dinner…): Time magazine names George W. Bush the Person of the Year. That was too easy for Time to do – I mean, the president is the person of the year for every year he’s president, for every decision he makes (good or bad). (my brother said that the runner up choice was Karl Rove, which would have really made me ill). Eh. I’m just not all that impressed by this selection. And, to think about it, had Kerry won the election this year, he would have been the person of the year (although, his campaign was hardly anything nicely run). Was my idea of the American voter such a bad idea (considering the overload of media coverage and recovery from the 2000 election?)….

Anyway, it’s Xmas week… Enjoy…

“The Apprentice” season closer was bordering on the annoying side. I mean, heaven help us, they have two lawyers in the boardroom with Donald Trump, George and Carolyn, plus Regis polling everyone in the universe who all approve candidate Kelly (aka West Point graduate/ex-Army guy/UCLA J.D./MBA) – except for candidate Jen’s rare bunch of supporters (the ones who were desperate trying to shore up Jen as a corporate woman – but who can deny that she’s an annoying bitchy-flying-under-the-radar person? and Jen’s law firm, Clifford Chance – the boss, who somehow tells Trump with a straight face that the firm didn’t want to lose her; and a clip of her firm’s NYC office all cheering for her, with one woman cheering a little too enthusiastically – umm, hello, this is a big corporate law firm??)…. Anyway, all the writing on this “Apprentice” subject has been hilarious, and well, more or less accurate.

And, while it was only fair that Kelly won (he did such a good job in his previous tasks – that whole “Mr. Trump, may we give 100% of our profits to charity?” and his Pepsi Edge bottle were cool and classy stuff), he did a little silly stuff in his final task (while it’s real nice that Kelly knows how to use Excel on his laptop, couldn’t he have told his mindless teammates to cease and desist in their less-than-disciplined-conduct? But, he did a good job mediating his team players’ disputes – boy, did West Point teach him that, or did law school? 😉 )…

Umm, I could say more, but my brain’s a little vegetable-like right now. 😉 Later…

For all of you who can’t get to the website during working hours, now you can blog anywhere you can send email. Send an email from the email address that is in your profile to fcwp@triscribe.com. If you have a JPEG picture, send it as an attachment to your email and it will automatically post. Remember, it has to come from the email address that is in your profile – that’s how it can figure out who to post it under. If you want to blog from your cell phone, let me know what your phone’s email address is, and I’ll set it up.

One of the cool things about Wednesday – food articles in the newspapers.

Newsday’s Sylvia Carter does a write up on the origins of NYC’s favorites – Waldorf salad (actually is from the Waldorf-Astoria); Junior’s Cheesecakes (apparently, Junior’s had a previous name – I had no idea); knish (which the ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani banned from the hot dog carts); bagels and bialys; egg cream; hot dog….

I love this article from the NY Times’ Mark Bittman, wherein he praises the beauty of well-done fried food. He makes everything sounds so yummy and tasty. He justifies the idea of fried food so well:

THE cooking method people fear most is the one they love most: frying.

It does everything you want cooking to do. It makes food crisp, tender, gorgeous and golden. The combination of moistness and crunchiness when you bathe fish in hot oil is incomparable, and vegetables are never more appealing than when they’re fried with a light batter.

Grilling is fun, and appeals to our primitive side; it’s the essence of summer. Frying, on the other hand, is civilized, delicate and more like a winter sport.

Sadly, we’ve been trained to deny our love, even become ashamed of it, because frying is supposed to be unhealthy. And, the naysayers contend, it’s a pain, it’s expensive, and it’s messy.

Hogwash. Try it once, and you’ll be hooked. And on your second try you will come pretty close to mastering the art of frying. You won’t need an “automatic” deep fryer (which is far more trouble than it’s worth) or other fancy equipment. Even a thermometer isn’t essential (though it is
undeniably convenient).

As a nation we eat fried food constantly, but almost always in restaurants, where it’s least likely to be done well, with old oil, sloppy timing and less-than-ideal ingredients.

Frying lends itself to home cooking. Almost all fried food is best about a minute after it is removed from the bubbling oil. That is when it cools off enough so that its surface hardens a bit, before the interior moisture can begin to soften it again and after the danger of scorching the palate has passed. [….]

But, you’ll ask – everyone does – doesn’t the food absorb a lot of oil as it’s cooking? For the answer, I turned to Harold McGee, author of “On Food and Cooking” the second edition of which was just published by Scribner.

Clearly some fat is absorbed by fried foods, but only about as much as that absorbed in sautéing or stir-frying, Mr. McGee said.

“The bigger the surface area compared to the volume, the more oil you end up with,” Mr. McGee said. “A chip is all surface, which is why it’s so wonderful, but it can wind up being 35 percent oil.” Most fried foods have much less than that.

Let me salute – I, SSW, am a fried food lover, and you, Mr. Bittman, make fried food sound so seductively good…

Oh, and a “Jurisprudence” article from Slate.com’s Dahlia Lithwick – she ponders the question “Does William Rehnquist have a right to keep his medical condition a secret?” There are no easy answers, just way too much speculation, I’d say.

And, since the year is winding down, it’s time to speculate on who’s going to be Time magazine’s person of the year. (and this week’s issue was really nice – a review of photos of the year and of yore – fascinating stuff). I’d take a stab at a guess right now, since I was so on the money last year: since it was a nutty election year, I’d say that the American voter ought to be the person of the year – especially since last year’s was already the American soldier. So, someone, please, just give me the cash in case my prediction works… 😉

Umm, t’is the season to eat, drink, and be merry (so speculate and gossip to your heart’s content, I guess)…

“I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown” – in which Rerun, Linus and Lucy’s little brother, befriends Snoopy. In fact, Rerun likes the dog so much, that he wishes he had his own dog and offers to pay Charlie Brown for Snoopy. Charlie Brown tries to find another dog for Rerun – inviting Snoopy’s brother Spike from the desert for Christmas. But, that weird mom of Rerun, Linus, and Lucy, really doesn’t want a dog in the house, so it’s back to the desert for Spike anyway (where he was a heck of a lot more comfortable). It was a weird enough storyline in the comic strips (where it was really obvious that Rerun really fell in love with Snoopy), so seeing it in the tv screen was sweet. Charlie Brown is awfully nice and patient with the strange Rerun. Snoopy’s still strange (apparently, only playing with Rerun for the consideration of Christmas cookies). And, Linus is still attached to the blue blankie. Uh huh. I think that this was one of Charles Schultz last projects (Rerun was certainly the last invented character) – so this is a good watch.

And, got to credit FC – I’m really enjoying “Amazing Race” ever since I watched the last episode of the previous installment, and this current installment has been a fun watch. Thought it was touching how the producers had the contestants visit the point of no return of African slaves before they were shipped to the New World (particularly poignant to watch the African-American father-daughter’s feelings of that moment) and then heading off to Berlin, passing the World War II sites (that father pointed how the whole sadness of this – to go from humanity’s inhumanity in Africa to humanity’s inhumanity in Europe – what point were the producers’ making? “Amazing Race” is a borderline educational tv). Thought that the nasty young husband was just awful to the young wife. Too bad about grandparent pair – they were the example of a halfway decent married couple (the nasty young husband ought to take a lesson from them).

Fascinating story about a 94 year old attorney of the NYC Law Department in Newsday – Edith Spivak, Esq., has finally retired. Salute a pioneer.

NY Times’ Adam Cohen writes an editorial on the latest case before the U.S. Supreme Court, wherein the Court is asked whether to let Californians grow medicinal marijuana – which means possibly asking the Court to overturn the famous Wickard case – that case constitutional law classes made us wonder whether one farmer’s wheat affects the entire market (and which upheld FDR’s New Deal legislation). Cohen notes:

Getting rid of Wickard would be an important first step. At last month’s argument, that did not appear likely. Justice Antonin Scalia, a leading states’ rights champions, said he “always used to laugh at Wickard,” but he seemed prepared to stick with it. It may be, however, that the justices are quicker to limit Congress’s power when it does things they don’t like (like gun regulation) than when it does things they do (like drug regulation). They may be waiting for a more congenial case.

The court will not return to the pre-1937 Constitution in a single case, but it seems likely to keep whittling away Congressional power and federally protected rights. If it does, what President Franklin Roosevelt declared in 1936 – after two key New Deal programs were struck down – will
again be true: “It was not the wage earners who cheered when these laws were declared invalid.”

Worrisome – limiting Congressional power – yeah, about 70 years worth of it. Scary to think about it. Gee, what are we going to do about this, Charlie Brown…?

(oh, and looks like ABC is showing “A Charlie Brown Christmas” again this Thursday. Can’t get enough of the wishy-washy, round-headed kid).

“The Last Time You Used Algebra Was…” – a fascinating article from the NY Times – how many of us use algebra or calculus long after school life was over? Donald G. McNeil, Jr., notes:

Most experts point out that careers in science or computers require mathematics, even when it is not a real job skill but a filter for the lazy or stupid, as passing freshman physics is for pre-med students. (Disclosure: me, for example.) Physics requires calculus, calculus requires algebra and trigonometry, and so on. One must start early.

In the age of Googling and spell-checking, noted Diane Ravitch, the education historian, the “so what?” question could be asked about learning virtually any subject.

“But a democratic society demands an educated populace,” she said. “Why spend hundreds of billions on public education if we’re going to sling it over our shoulder?”

But the best defense – the first to get beyond the utilitarian argument – came from a certain Miss Collins. She is my daughter’s math teacher at a school where there are no boys to distract or intimidate calculating young women.

“If you ask the girls,” she said, “they’ll say it’s another hoop they have to jump through to get into a good college.”

She feels otherwise.

“What we do isn’t exactly what mathematicians do,” she explained. “And I know more alums here become artists than become mathematicians. But kids don’t study poetry just because they’re going to grow up to be poets. It’s about a habit of mind. Your mind doesn’t think abstractly unless it’s asked to – and it needs to be asked to from a relatively young age. The rigor and logic that goes into math is a good way for your brain to be trained.”

Studying poetry is analogous to studying math? Something to justify education in general? Now there’s a thought.

Fascinating article on the art of the sitcom – or, at least, how the format can work: NY Times’ Alexandra Jacobs discusses how CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” may be the successor to “Everyone Loves Raymond” – it’s a goofy yet funny show, where it’s only goal is to make you laugh at a lovingly dysfunctional family. Jacobs notes:

The two leads played true to type: [Jon] Cryer bungled his lines several times, necessitating
multiple takes; [Charlie] Sheen was a perfect smoothie. For those who remember these two men’s earlier incarnations as Brat Packers, there is something very endearing about seeing
them, now both 39 and a bit battered-looking, sequestered in the cozily domestic confines of a television comedy.

Ah, yeah – that’s right – two old Brat Packers. What is the world coming to?! Well, it’s a funny show (although, Sheen’s character has a stalker, which is bizarre…)

Have a good week…

You know it’s not quite a NYC tv holiday season until WNBC Channel 4 airs its annual holiday commercials where management drags its local news people and other departments to the Rockefeller ice rink (or at least the stage under the Christmas Tree) and tape them singing Christmas carols. It’s always a little fun, because then you’d get to do fingerpointing by identifying the familiar tv personalities dancing about in a goofy way or else wearing a Santa cap or whatnot (“Look, Len Berman and Gabe Pressman! Just in time for Hannukah. And, Chuck Scarborough wearing a cool hat. Where’s Sue Simmons anyway?”). Channel 4 could just do a simple gaphic with “Happy Holidays” on the screen, but instead they do this, probably for PR purposes and to show off local network unity.

This year, it’s Jingle Bells, but the gang looks less spirited than they have in previous years (was it too early in the morning for them, before they all got their morning coffees? There’s no bopping around the Christmas tree, just straight singing. Geez, Channel 4 – didn’t management send out the memo to perk up? There’s usually different versions of the holiday commercials (sometime with other songs), so maybe the next one has Channel 4 people looking more cheery.