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Finally having winter this week in the northeast. Frigid, yes, but it’s winter, for gosh sake.  People got all atwitter over getting a dusting of snowflakes on Thursday.
Oh, and on Monday: I watched “The Queen.” Helen Mirren was great as Queen Elizabeth II. Heck, the whole cast was great: James Cromwell as a mean old Prince Philip; the guy playing Prime Minister Tony Blair didn’t come off as a caricature, and even Prince Charles came off as an okay guy. Anyway, highly recommended. Not a long movie, but it felt like such depth.  (unlike, say, other movies that run way too long as if the length makes up for the lack of quality).
If you wonder how our Senators and Congressmen live in D.C., the NY Times has this article which kind of ends any mystery to it: “Taking Power, Sharing Cereal,” on how roommates Senators Schumer and Durbin and Congressman Delahunt live in Congressman Miller’s Washington house (apparently, eating cereal is a big thing; cleaning isn’t; geez, sounds like an awful lot like how a lot of us lived in college, huh?):

Think MTV’s “Real World” with a slovenly cast of Democratic power brokers. While Washington may have more than its share of crash pads for policy-debating workaholics, few, if any, have sheltered a quorum as powerful as this one. About a quarter-mile southeast of the Capitol, the inelegantly decorated two-bedroom house has become an unlikely center of influence in Washington’s changing power grid. It is home to the second- and third-ranking senators in the new Democratic majority (Mr. Durbin, the majority whip, and Mr. Schumer, the vice chairman of the Democratic caucus) and the chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Delahunt, a six-term congressman, is the least prominent of the four but perhaps the funniest. More to the point, he is the only one willing to sleep in the living room with a close-up view of Mr. Schumer slumbering a few feet away in his boxers.

Mr. Miller began taking in weary lawmakers in 1982, but this is the first time in 12 years that four members of a Democratic majority have lived here simultaneously. The four men were once host to a fund-raiser for Senator Barbara Boxer of California at their divey dwelling, raising $80,000. Given the prevailing attire in the place on many nights, guests were given pairs of custom-made “Barbara Boxer shorts.”

As a general rule, the abode is hardly fit for entertaining, or even for a health inspector. It is used for convenience: sleeping, ditching stuff, and fast-food consumption — the kinds of functions prized by vagabond politicians whose families are back in their home states and who generally spend only their working weekdays here.

“Everybody in the world says they’re going to do a television series based on us,” said Mr. Durbin, who was collapsed on the couch on a recent Monday night. Still in a tie, he sipped ice water from a massive Chicago Cubs cup while waiting for the Chinese food to arrive.

“But then they realize that the story of four middle-aged men, with no sex and violence, is not going to last two weeks,” he said. The prevailing topics of their discussions are grandchildren and Metamucil, he added.

“Hey, speak for yourself, Durbin,” Mr. Delahunt said, protesting the claim of no sex and violence.

“There is a lot of violence in here,” Mr. Schumer said.

In fact, the roommates have never resorted to violence, at least with one another. (Crickets are another story.) Their weapons are verbal, and often aimed at Mr. Schumer, who admits to a serious dereliction of roommate duties, like grocery shopping. He is also prone to a blatant disregard for conserving a most precious household resource, cereal.

“I love cereal,” Mr. Schumer said, digging into his second bowl of granola, going a long way toward depleting a box that Mr. Miller had just purchased. [….]

Thank goodness for my having multiple VCR’s – Thursday nights being near impossible with the irresistible tv – taped the musical Scrubs episode (with music by the Avenue Q people, playing on Gilbert and Sullivan and “Rent” and other styles) – cool! – and Smallville – the beginning of the Justice League – as Clark joins forces with Green Arrow, Flash (in his Impulse version), Cyborg, and Aquaman.  Green Arrow bestows Clark the codename of “Boy Scout” – which has been a nickname that I could have sworn, in the comics/cartoon versions, Batman/Bruce Wayne bestowed on Clark/Superman to needle Clark/Superman.  Have to catch up on Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy.  Arg, the networks just screw me up!

Brooklyn Museum: The lines were 1.5 hours to get into the Annie Leibovitz (show your Metrocard for 2 for 1 admission until 1/21). I really liked the photos that had the subjects either in action or in their environment. Did she have a good eye, or did just her notoriety attract the beautiful and the elite? I think she had her own doubts, because she would self-assign projects such as going to Sarajevo in the middle of the Balkan War or shoot landscapes in the American Midwest. She was the most sure of herself when photographing family. Check it out before it closes next week. At least they have an enclosed foyer filled with Rodin castings to wait in.

Franny’s – After enduring the crowds, we went to one of the upstart Brooklyn pizza contenders, Frannie’s. For those that know me, you can figure out the obvious attraction. Features: organic locally sourced ingredients, meats cured and made into sausage on premises, wood-burning brick oven, ultra thin crust. We ordered the Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella with Anchovies and Chilies, and Tomato and Mozzarella with House-Made Sausage pizzas, which are individual dinner-plate sized (about equal to 2-3 regular slices). The desserts were not appealing (everything was too creamy), so we ordered the “Satsumas and Cara Caras with Hot Pepper and Bitetto Olive Salsa”, which our waitress had said that a number of people had ordered instead as a fruit plate. All very good, although you do pay for the organic ingredients – it’s about the same price as Grimaldi’s for a slightly smaller pie and twice as expensive as your neighborhood pizza. For straight-up quality though, I have to give a slight edge to Franny’s over Grimaldi’s. Tje crust is the best part – it has that perfect softness/crispiness that is so hard to achieve. The toppings, while seemingly skimpy, are rich and blend perfectly, and don’t end up all over your lap. Recommended.

A salute to Martin Luther King, Jr. The hope that the world can continue to improve continues.

The man who will not retire: Bill Moyers may be coming back to tv with yet another weekly show. God love him, I’m glad he’ll do it. If you have it in you, and the world needs your voice, why not get back out there?

Saturday: went shopping at Staten Island Mall. Not nearly as fun a place as it used to be, but it’ll do. Bought books at Borders (I could have sworn I wasn’t going to buy anything this month, after the spending for Christmas that I did), so to redeem holiday rewards dollars. Some interesting reading to look forward to doing and good bargains.

And, of course, tonight is the premiere of “24.” Hmm, should be interesting.

In my internet surfing, I was reminded that it’s the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 20?! Yikes. But, it’s true – 1987. I checked though – the actual anniversary’s not until September, as opposed to, say, how the later spinoffs premiered (Deep Space 9 and Voyager both aired as January premieres).

Sooner or later, Hollywood’s going to have to figure out whether You Tube is “friend or foe,” as this NY Times article suggests. There are pros and cons, no doubt – but big bucks are also involved…

Slate’s “Jurisprudence” on an analysis and slide show of Justice William Brennan’s views and notes. Cool stuff.

I know; I’m old-fashioned: while still trying to get rid of more clutter, I listened to some CD’s, my belated Xmas presents. “Jersey Boys” Broadway show album – awesome! Now, if only I’ll ever see the show… Snow Patrol (I know the “Chasing Cars” song is a bit ubiquitous these days, but the album “Eyes Open” is overall pretty good), and The Fray (yes, their song “How To Save a Life” is also all over the place – both Snow Patrol and The Fray have to thank “Grey’s Anatomy” for putting their songs on the commercials and soundtracks; but The Fray’s album is also overall pretty good).

Food eaten: homemade fried wontons – yum. (Good – delicious! Bad – my weakness for fried foods will likely do me in one day); Dunkin Donuts’ munchkins. I believe that munchkins make you happy. Bit into the sugar coated ones, thinking it’d be either a jelly or a creme; turns out to be creme. Happy little surprise. The world sucks, at least if you watch the news, but you got to take the little joys in life.

In a world record for me, I’ve actually satisfied the first half of my new year’s resolution in only 12 days by joining up with the YMCA with P- today. The local YMCA facility is brand new. The second half is to start swim classes.

In other purchases, bought a fine mesh conical strainer. It will come in handy the next time I’m making a gravy from roast beef. Bailed on buying an OXO water kettle. Tasty treats from Sahadi’s and the store next door, Damascus Bakery. They have really good, not too sweet Halvah, a sesame desert made from a secret receipe.

January reading: Nelson DeMille’s Word of Honor. Bit long (like, hi, an editor can help you cut things out, you know); gets down to the nitty-gritty of how bad wars are bad (Vietnam War vet’s covering up of war crimes comes to haunt him real bad; feels very 1980’s because the book was written and published in the 1980’s). Good subway read.

NY Times’ Stuart Elliott reports on the trend of using penguins as advertising spokesanimals. Yeah, you know, ’cause penguins are so darn cute. I blame it entirely on “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet.”
In honor of Iwao Takamoto’s passing, Slate republishes/re-posts its Appreciation for the Scooby-Doo thing. Apparently, in 2004, Chris Suellentrop said:

Here’s the easiest way to comprehend the longevity of Scooby-Doo: Casey Kasem has been doing the voice of Shaggy (Norville Rogers, if you insist on his given name) for longer than he hosted his weekly Top 40 radio show. He started voicing Shaggy in 1969, the year before American Top 40 debuted, and he’s still got the part, on television in the WB’s Saturday-morning cartoon, What’s New Scooby-Doo?, and in the direct-to-video movies the franchise keeps churning out. [….]

But beyond making comparisons to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, or citing the general appeal of talking dogs, or noting that Daphne is as sexualized as a kiddie cartoon character gets, it’s difficult to say exactly why the show has had such a long-standing appeal. It’s not as if the show’s animator, Iwao Takamoto—his other creations include the Great Gazoo of The Flintstones and Grape Ape—is an unheralded genius, a mystery-genre Tex Avery or Walt Disney. “I never got it,” complained Mitchell Kriegman, the creator of Nickelodeon’s Clarissa Explains It All, to the Boston Globe a few years back. “It’s got kind of a slacker appeal, a no-resistance story line.” Animators and children’s TV creators around the world must see Scooby and ask themselves: Why can’t my crappy show become iconic? [….]

TV snobs surely see Scooby‘s ineffable charms as another brick in the wall of American decline, the latest example of how we’re all slouching toward Toon Town. As if our children should all be watching The Sopranos. Maybe Scooby‘s appeal makes sense when you compare it to the rest of kids’ TV. The most ham-handed of children’s shows try to stuff a moral message down the audience’s throat. But the moral code of Scooby-Doo permeates the entire enterprise without you ever noticing it. The Washington Post‘s Hank Stuever concisely elucidated the “Scooby worldview” when the first live-action movie came out: “Kids should meddle, dogs are sweet, life is groovy, and if something scares you, you should confront it.” What needs to be explained about that?

“Ugly Betty” on Thursday night – very interesting episode.  Poor Daniel learns that Sophia was toying with him all along (Salma Hayek played the character’s less-kind side so well, that it was hard to really believe her at the end, when she tells Daniel that he wasn’t what she thought after all).  Poor Wilhelmina gives up her nicer side because love burned her.  And Betty – does she realize that she’s unemployed now?  I certainly hope next week’s episode will get us on the path of wrapping up the conspiracy storyline, which is no fun at all.

Wantedf to catch more of “The O.C.” as it pursues the road to its series finale, but – good grief – the time slot is up against “Grey’s Anatomy.”  Dr. Izzie – do you realize that you can use your $8 million inheritance to help others get medical treatment?  And, once again, Meredith’s family issues rear their ugly heads.

Now, you know that the man who invented the Ramen noodles really made a difference when even the Times has an Appreciation for Momofuku Ando. Honestly, how many of us would have survived college dorm life without a good old cup of Ramen? Actually, considering the extent of my cooking skill, Ramen noodles are probably all I’m really good for; dump in some veggies and I’d be good to go.

The passing of Iwao Takamoto, who created Scooby-Doo and directed the cartoon movie, “Charlotte’s Web.” Fascinating to learn that the cartoons I enjoyed as a kid were done by an American-born Asian-American. Interesting take on how Scooby-Doo came about:

But it was his creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and endured for generations.

Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra’s final phrase in “Strangers in the Night.”

The breeder “showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such,” Takamoto said in a recent talk at Cartoon Network Studios.

“I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong.”

Now the whole “Scooby-Dooby-Doo” makes perfect sense. I think.

Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant noodles, passes away at age 96. Obviously the stuff, or maybe his determination, preserved him.

I remember living off of a case of Cup Noodle during a pretty lean month. Yes, it is only a part of a balanced diet – it’s best to add stuff to boost its nutritional value. Thanks for making something hot and tasty only 3 minutes away.

Happy 2007! Merry 12th Day of Christmas! Best wishes to all!

Actually, if it were up to me, it’d be Christmas all year long. I love the lights and the feelings of peace and goodwill.

Meanwhile, the weather has made it far from Christmas-sy or New Year-ish. Is it me, or have El Nino and Global Warming joined forces to ruin winter in the Northeast? Ohmigod, doesn’t anyone realize that Al Gore might be right?…
PBS – Channel 13 here – re-airing Ken Burns’ Civil War. Episode One ended with this amazing reading of a letter of a Union soldier who died at Bull Run – his words of love to his wife, swearing to be with her again in the afterlife, and belief and pride in his country. It’s timeless stuff. The documentary still has a powerful effect – the feelings of war, loss, love, and politics remain. Great stuff as ever.

Tuesday night – season premiere of “Beauty and the Geek.” It’s an amusing reality show that either finds ways to transcend or perpetuate stereotypes. Can’t be sure which, but it’s a laugh to watch. The guys may be smart, but they find ways to be dumb. One’s a Trek fan who takes his Trek way too seriously (I don’t own a Starfleet uniform and I don’t identify myself as a “Trekker” – I prefer “Trekkie” because my fan-ness is that much lighter – those who do own the uniform and called themselves “Trekkers” – well, I think they are just way too much for even me). One plays a Star Wars band – but seems to function well enough as a person. One’s a Harvard guy who may turn out to be the cute one. The gals – well, one’s identified as a “sorority girl” – so, I’m assuming she’s in an actual college and not bimbo. Some of the beauties otherwise seem to be perpetuating “dumb blonde” thing, but we’ll see – the show’s a good watch and something of a “Social experiment” that “Survivor” couldn’t quite play up (well, as for “Survivor” – I still salute Korean-American lawyer Yul for winning with some integrity intact).

Thursday night – I was watching “Ugly Betty.” Great episode. As she leaves for a new magazine job, Betty reflects on her early days at “Mode” magazine, and how she met Henry, the guy from Accounting. I really am beginning to like this show – very well done.

And in other news in the tv front: the upcoming season premiere of “24” – Jack is Back – Jack Bauer returns to the States after several months of torture by the Chinese government (man, they don’t exactly make Asians look good in this, do they?); and, as usual, America is vulnerable (civil liberties? We don’t need no stinkin’ liberties! Umm – well, what’s Jack defending this country? Just our lives, I guess; we’ll figure out the legal ramifications – umm, later, huh). On a Trekker/Trekkie note: Alexander Siddig, Deep Space Nine’s own Dr. Bashir, may be playing a villain against Jack. Emphasis on the “may” – alleged terrorists on this show have a tendency to become not so Evil and I hope Siddig gets to play a more ambiguous character, since ever since after 9/11/01, he’s been playing these Arab characters who try to be gray.
Plus, Fox’s “The O.C.” will be cancelled. Aww. Too bad. It started strong. I’ve enjoyed the Christmakkuh episodes, and how Peter Gallagher played the amusing Jewish defense attorney from NY who married the California WASP (inspiring O.C. fans to become lawyers, I’m sure), and thinking, “Jeez, isn’t Donovan Tate a little young to play this alleged teenage character’s dad?” and wondering when will the O.C. protagonist Ryan ever stop brooding like an idiot. Ah, well. I’ll probably watch the series finale, in all likelihood, considering that I’ve probably only watching one scene this whole season, and only one episode last season. Disclosure: I lost interest when they pushed Donovan Tate off the show and made Mischa Barton’s teenage daughter character even more of a drunken idiot (why Ryan ever liked her Marissa character, I don’t know).
Slate has the “Explainer” of the Year (which year? 2006 or 2007?) – “Is soap ‘self-cleaning’ because it’s soap?” – i.e., how clean is that soap in the public bathroom? Answer:

It’s dirty, but that doesn’t make it a health hazard. Soap can indeed become contaminated with microorganisms, whether it’s in liquid or bar form. According to a series of tests conducted in the early 1980s, bars of soap are often covered with bacteria and carry a higher load than you’d find inside a liquid dispenser. But no one knows for sure whether this dirty soap will actually transfer its germs to your hands during a wash.

In fact, what little clinical evidence there is suggests that dirty soap isn’t so bad. A study from 1965 and another from 1988 used similar methodologies: Researchers coated bars of soap in the lab with E. coli and other nasty bacteria, and then gave them to test subjects for a vigorous hand-wash. Both teams found no transfer of contamination from the dirty soap. However, both studies were tainted by potential conflicts of interest: The first was conducted by Procter & Gamble, and the second came from the Dial Corp.

Still, there’s no good evidence to contradict these studies, and it’s likely that the bacteria on a dirty bar would just wash off when you rinsed your hands. In other words, you’d be cleaning the soap as you cleaned your hands. (Your hands would probably have been a lot dirtier than the soap to begin with.)

It’s not even clear that you need clean water to get the benefits of a hand-washing. Recent hand-hygiene studies in the developing world have found that washing with soap and water reduces infections even when the water supply might be contaminated. Dirty water, like dirty soap, might not make washing less effective.

Even under the best conditions, washing your hands can actually increase the number of microorganisms present on your hands, thanks to contaminated surfaces near the sink, splashes of contaminated water, or improperly dried hands. (In general, it’s safer to leave your hands unwashed than to leave them wet.) [….]
Still, washing with soap and water has been repeatedly shown to prevent the spread of illness, and may be helpful even when it increases your bacteria counts. That may be because two kinds of microbes live on the hands: residents and transients. (In fact, they can even protect your skin from more malicious microbes.) The transient variety are the ones that tend to cause colds or other infections—the ones you want to get rid of when you wash your hands. It’s possible that the increase in bacteria that can result from a hand-washing is composed of harmless residents, not dangerous transients.

According to the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hand-washing remains a very important method of staving off infectious disease, and either bar soap or liquid soap should be used after a trip to the bathroom or before a meal. Local health agencies and inspectors are sometimes more wary of bar soap. They either ban it outright or suggest that the bar be placed on a draining rack to dry out between washings. (The gooey bars are more likely to harbor germs.) [internal hyperlinks removed; check the complete article to links to the research and other stuff]

Well, that’s good to know then. Now I feel better about glowering at an ugly bar of soap. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside on a warm and weird 12th Day of Christmas.

You probably already heard already about Wesley Autrey, the Subway Superhero who saved someone having a seizure on the tracks of the 1 train.

NYT asks if you would have the courage to do it?

He was on David Letterman last night. There were two factors that were to his advantage – that he was a Navy veteran, which provided courage, and that he is a construction worker who is accustomed to working in confined spaces, which enabled him to estimate that he and the ill person would fit under the train. The two other reasons why he did it was that he didn’t want his two daughters to see someone being killed.

The 2 seconds getting run over by 5 subway cars was actually the relatively safe part – the dangerous part was when he had to restrain the other guy for 20 minutes while under the train until they could cut the power. Real heroes are the ones that never ever think that they would. His advice: if you have the chance to be a hero, go for it.

A 15 year old graffiti artist was not as lucky, getting run over by an LIRR train this evening. Two other members of his crew were at the scene. Unfortunately, there were no heroes there.