Elaine Comes Over and Goes Ape

Our friend, Elaine, came over tonight and we celebrated Valentine's Day.  We went out for Indian food and it had an odd effect on Elaine.  This may look silly, but we nearly had strokes laughing about this.  It takes so little to amuse some of us.

Dr. Weil's 5 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

I have been drinking green tea at work like crazy lately.  I like it without any sugar or sweetner of any sort.  It is very relaxing.  It also has another effect that other warm liquids seems to have in that it triggers a certain need to go to the bathroom.  Sorry... TMI.  Anyway, Dr. Weil just tweeted the 5 reasons to drink green tea, so I swiped them and printed it below.  It is from his blog. BTW, my green tea is decaf.  

5 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

Looking for a simple resolution to improve your overall health? Start drinking green tea. My beverage of choice, green tea is a potent source of catechins - healthy antioxidants that can inhibit cancer cell activity and help boost immunity. Need more reasons to drink green tea? It can also:

1. Lower cholesterol levels and rates of heart disease
2. Help protect against bacterial infections
3. Promote joint health and stronger bones
4. Reduce inflammation
5. Enhance the effects of antibiotics, even against drug-resistant bacteria and “superbugs”

Green tea is available in a wide range of varieties - introduce yourself by substituting a cup of green tea for a cup of coffee and you will soon be enjoying the health benefits of this delicious beverage! Learn to appreciate the subtle fragrance of good-quality green tea and use tea time to unwind, meditate and take respite from your stress du jour.

This is my gay birds teacup. 

Where In the World Is Shane?

I don't think this one will be too difficult to get.  It was just a train ride from here and he went and returned in the same day.  It's New York City.  We were just there this past weekend, but Shane had to go back today for the day.

My Favorite Part of the Grammys-Mumford & Sons

Valentine Dinner at Home--Happy VD!

This is how we celebrated VD.  Shane cooked and I cleaned up.  The menu included a boneless pork chop, baked potato and steamed green beans.  We drank a bottle of Starmont cabernet sauvignon (2007).  Dessert was chocolate ice cream.  We love sitting in the the bay window and Maude always joins us.  It was a nice evening. Hope you had a good VD too.

I Love Me Some Mama Cass

As Sammy says, "You all know the most fantastic lady of the now sound." Born Ellen Cohen in Baltimore, MD, she grew up outside of Washington, DC, in Alexandria, VA, where she renamed herself Cass.  I love me some Mama.   

We See Spider-Man--Turn Off the Dark

Shane and I went to see Spider-Man today and it is not as bad as recent critics would have you believe. It wasn't the greatest show either, but it was not boring.

If you are a kid expecting non-stop action, you may be dissapointed.  It is a musical after all and they stop the action for a U2ish song every once in a while. There were lots of restless kids in the crowd  making lots of noise--mostly from eating and drinking during love songs.

What I did like was the staging. I sat in the front row of the lowest balcony, aka The Flying Circle. Several times during the show Spidey would fly across the orchestra seats and land on a platform about 6 feet away. That was pretty impressive. The sets were pretty amazing. One especially amazing one was a horizontal skyscraper showing the street below as if the audience was hanging out the window. It was worth seeing the show just for the visual effects. I assume that is the work of the director, Julie Taymor.

A few of the songs were fairly good. You could easily recognize they were Bono and The Edge songs a mile away. They often started with the familiar U2 intro. Although, one of the best musical moments in the show is the Green Goblin singing "I'll Take Manhattan," not a U2 song. I won't be buying the soundtrack.

The show is too long and the story ends with a whimper when it should have some sort of twist or surprise. The story could be much better.  There is not even a point when Mary Jane learns of Spider-Man's identity. The first act is much better than the second.

I wouldn't see it again, but I'm glad I saw it. I'm glad I had the seat I had--it was a great seat. Shane sat in a side box and he also liked his view. I was worried whether he was going to like the show, buy i think he liked it more than i did.  If you go, don't get a rear orchestra seat or you'll miss a lot of the action. I would recommend the Flying Circle, side boxes, or front center orchestra--in that order.

Elaine's Doesn't Serve Lunch

We are in NYC for the day and Shane wanted to take a cab up town so we
could eat at Elaine's. Perhaps he should have done more research, as
Elaine's is not open for lunch. He and my two nieces, Megan and
Nicole, can't hide their disappointment.

Lunch with Mom in Havre de Grace

I had the day off today, so I took the train north last night to visit my mom. I took her to the Tidewater Grill on the river in Havre de Grace, MD. This shot was the view from our table. We both had crabcake sandwiches. It was good! Those are real geese. Shane is coming up and we're driving up to New York City to see Spider-Man on Saturday.

The Human Centipede--Yes, I Really Watched This

I'm not proud that I watched this movie, but it was available for free on Netflix, so... what the hay. It was the only film I've seen available on Netflix that had a one star rating. It is such a ridiculous film that it is hard to really not laugh at it. The movie is chocked full of cliches... the trampy girls whose car breaks down outside the evil doctor's home... the evil laugh of the crazy doctor at the suggestion he is crazy... the Japanese man who regrets that he can't hold in his BM when the girl surgically attached to ass is forced to eat the result... all that sort of thing. It was a train wreck I had to see.

Don't Look for Me on Jeopardy

I love trivia.  I play Qrank everyday and have been known to enjoy a game of Trivial Pursuit.  It should come as no surprise that I like to watch the occasional episode of Jeopardy.

Several weeks ago, Jeopardy promoted that you could try out for the show by taking the contestant test online.  I thought, "what the heck."  So, I signed up and took the test last night.

It consisted of 50 questions in which you had to type in the answer within 15 seconds, including reading the question.  I'm not expecting a call to try out for the show.  I did horribly.  I'm not sure how many questions I got right, but it wasn't that many--maybe 20.  It was hard.

I had seen the movie, District 9, but I couldn't remember the country in Africa where it took place.  It was South Africa.  I am very familiar with the choreographer of Chicago and subject of All that Jazz, but couldn't think of his name in 15 seconds--Bob Fosse.  Some of the stuff they asked, I just had no idea.  If they asked about TV sitcoms, I might have had a chance.  So much for my dream of being the next Ken Jennings.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #275

Stop that bangin' or that will be the only bangin' you'll be doing!  

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #275.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Breakfast for Dinner Undoes Gym Workout

I love pancakes!  The lighting in the restaurant don't make them look as delicious as they were.  They were delicious!  The scrambled eggs and hash browns also were delish!  We ate at Ted's Bulletin on 8th Street, SE.  It's sort of a diner.  Shane had a burger of course.  Food is good, but the place is loud.  I went to the gym and ran 3 miles today too--a lot of good that did.

Super Shredder Sunday

Shane and I spent most of the day... I'm talking HOURS... going
through our files and getting rid of old papers. We bought a new
shredder yesterday and gave it quite a workout. We have generated six
large garbage bags of shredded trash--I'm talking big black Super
thick trash bags. The Super Bowl is on this evening, but on Super
Shredder Sunday, we get rid of some of our clutter. Shane just found
another pile to go through. Woo Hoo!!!

Sand and Water by Beth Nielsen Chapman

Zack Wahls' Speech Defending Gay Marriage

Skippidy Doo Dah, Thank You Lord for Big Love

Big Love is back on HBO for its final season.  We love this show.  Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the first two episodes of this season, but Bill got his wives each a new gun for Christmas.  I'm guessing one of the kids finds one of the guns and creates some havoc before the series ends.  
This is one of our favorite clips from the show.  Rhonda sings the Donna Fargo hit, "Happiest Girl In the Whole USA."  It was quite a while ago in the series.  Rhonda's foster mother (playing the piano) persuaded her to make the appearance to talk about polygamy.  Roman is recovering from being shot by lackeys of Hollis Greene -- who believed it was Roman who poached Weber Gaming, when it was in fact Bill.  Bill is sleeping alone because he had a fight with the wives.

Today Maude Was My Co-Worker

This was the first day I have ever teleworked.  I spent most of the day working in bed on my MacBook.  I was amazed at how much work I actually got done.  The only distraction I had was a yellow ball of fur sleeping most of the day next to me.  Maude (above) certainly enjoyed having company all day.  The only downside was that by the end of the day I was going a little stir-crazy from lack of human contact.  Overall though, I liked working from home and hope I get to do it more.

Finally Purchased Office for the MacBook

Althouh I've had my Mac for more than 2 years, I finally purchased the
Office 2011 suite of software for it today, including Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint. I had Office on my desktop PC, and managed to survive
with that, but I'm going to be working from home tomorrow and didn't
want to be leashed to the desktop in our upstairs closet. I plan to
work very hard with my laptop in bed.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #274

Sorry bud, it's not a tutu for one special.  

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #274.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

We Got Tickets to the Spider-Man Broadway Musical

We bought tickets to Spider-Man, Turn off the Dark for Saturday, February 12.  The tickets aren't together, but they are better seats than we could have gotten if we had sat together.  One is in the first row of the Flying Circle, which is the closest balcony.  The other ticket is in a side box balcony.  According to @abroadwaycritic who I follow on the Twitter machine, the balcony is the best seat in the house to take in the flying sequences. You can see his review of the show here.  One of the reasons I wanted to see it was this quote from that review:  "First things first: get your tickets to see Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark as soon as possible. It’s worth every cent." Hope nobody gets hurt.  

The Heat Is On

We have eternal problems keeping our lower level warm since our
furnace is on the roof. The furnace can't seem to manage to make the
heat go down there since heat rises. We've tried a variety of
different space heaters to supplement the furnace on our main level.
I bought this heater today at the Costco. It does throw out the
heat. Let's hope it helps.

Dinner at an Italian Restaurant--Trattoria Alberto

Shane and I went to our corner Italian restaurant, Trattoria Alberto, tonight.  It is one of our regular places we like to go out to in our neighborhood.  We took Shane's sister, Cherri, there last year and saw soon-to-be House Speaker John Boehner eating there.  We have since learned that it is one of his favorite haunts.  According to Time magazine, they even have a dish named after him.  I haven't noticed it on the menu.  We didn't see Boehner tonight, but we were ready to burst into tears to make fun of his tendency to do that at the drop of a hat.  Several years ago, we sat next to Senator Lindsey Graham and his all male party (staff?), the Republican closet case from South Carolina. Where do we have to go to see a Democrat in this town?

What A Difference A Day Makes

Tuesday I was in Florida and Wednesday I was back in DC in time for the snow. The good news is that I only had to work two days this week and we got 2 hours off both of those days because of the weather. This shot is out our front window from Wednesday evening.

La Cage Aux Folles -- Best of Broadway

The 2010 revival of La Cage was one of the best things we saw last year on Broadway.  Shane got the soundtrack for Christmas and we've been wearing it out.  Fair warning though; you onlt have a few more weeks to see the show starring Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge (their last show is Feb 13).  Jeffrey Tambor and Harvey Fierstein take over the roles on February 15.  I want to see them in it too.  This montage of various scenes of the show made me want to see it again.

Those Crazy Academy Award Nominations--A Rant

The Academy Award nominations were announced this morning and I have a few thoughts on them.  Here they are.

This is the second year that there were 10, count them, 10 nominees for Best Picture.  All the other categories have five or less nominees, but in an obvious ploy to get more people to see more movies, they have 10 nominees for this category.  I think I saw maybe two movies in the theater last year.  I did see True Grit recently and I again swore I would never go to another in a movie theater.  People just do not understand they are in a public place and not their living rooms.

In this instance, Shane and I got to the theater early so that I could claim my favorite seat--back row center.  It prevents me hearing people behind me chit chatting or whatever.  Anyway, even though we were among the first ones in the theater, it filled up enough so that someone ended up sitting right next to me.  This lady constantly popped her gum and occasionally talked to movie.  It drove me crazy.  I would have said something, but her gentleman friend looked like he could have possibly been a professional football player.  I didn't think it was worth a brouhaha.  Anyway, my point is that I will not be going to the movies to see the other nine films nominated against True Grit.

The other movie I saw from last year was Harry Potter.  Poor Harry has never been an Oscar darling, but he did manage to wrangle two nominations this year--Visual Effects and Art Direction.  Luckily, Harry does just fine without the Oscar buzz other films seem to need.

My favorite thing about the nominations is how, out of all the movies released in the year, the technical awards also seem to also go to the films that end up being the best picture even when it doesn't make any sense.  For instance, True Grit got nominated for Costume Design.  Costume Design?  It was a western! The costumes were barely designed.  I liked the film very much and the costumes seemed very appropriate, but the best of any picture for the whole year?  That seems odd to me.

Also, I would like someone to explain to me the difference between sound editing and sound mixing.  How is it that some films were nominated in one of those categories and not the other?  You would think they would be dependent on each other.  Also, is there someone out there that is convinced to see a film based on these nominations?  "I wasn't very interested in Salt, but I see it got a sound mixing nomination, so perhaps I will see what all the buzz is about."

My only complaint about the nominations is that Matt Damon did not get included in Best Supporting Actor for True Grit.  He should get a special award for schooling Glen Campbell on how the role should have been played.  Campbell in the original version was so bad, that he nearly ruined the movie.  I know Campbell is not an actor and he just got the role because he bought the ladies into the theaters, but my God he was bad.  Damon wasn't anything more than adequate in the role, but when you compare it to how it was played previously, it was quite an accomplishment.

I used to be very into the Oscars, but lately I can't seem to be that interested in them.  Why do I care what films when awards?  It doesn't really affect my life.  I get an occasional award for working in the Government, but millions of people don't want to watch my performance appraisal.  I probably would work harder if it was televised.  I would dress better.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #273

We're going to need a bigger snow thrower. 

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #273.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

A More Practical Purchase--It's a Maytag!

We decided against buying the art we were considering yesterday.  We were more practical since the washer we have here in Florida has a major problem.  When you wash stuff, it can leave oil stains that weren't there when we put it in the washer.  That makes in not a washer, but a dirtier.  Anyway, I read up on the problem and there seemed to be any number of things that could cause the problem.  So we decided it would be easiest to just get rid of the problem and buy a new washer.  So, instead of the lovely painting of irises we were considering, we're getting the above Maytag washer from the Home Depot.  Problem solved!  It will be delivered in a couple weeks.  The Home Depot will install the new washer and take away the washer that dirties.  

Don't Try This at Home (Or On Your Home)

Irises In Window

It is a chilly, windy day in Florida. I flew down this morning and
Shane met me at the airport. He had been traveling on business in
Atlanta this week, but flew down to Florida Thursday night. Since the
weather was icky, we traveled north to Sarasota to look at some
galleries. We are thinking about this painting we found by Karin
Riccardi. We're on the fence.

Knowing When to Leave from Promises Promises

Shane and I saw this show last August on Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.  Shane actually saw it twice.  He saw it with my sister in September.  He really liked it. This is the best song from the show.  This is a homemade vid someone made with personal pictures and the song from the soundtrack.  It was a great show, but it has closed, so too late for you.  You can still buy the soundtrack though.  I love the Burt Bacharach songs!

Interestingly, at the end of the video, there are related videos listed, and one is another version of this song sung by Betty Buckley.   Very cool to contrast and compare them.

British Animal Voiceovers Viral Video

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #272

On the bright side, at least they weren't triplets.

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #272.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Where In the World Is Shane?

Shane is on travel for work this week and this is a picture he took outside his hotel room.  Be the first to guess what city he is in or near, and you win a brand new car*!  Since this might be a tough one base the fact his hotel isn't realy close to the cityscape, here's another shot out anotuer window of his hotel below.  Good Luck!

*The stated prize of a new car may be substituted for another prize or no prize at all. 

Tweet of the Day--Crutnacker

Sarah Palin has issued a statement offering condolences to Sargent Shriver's family and praising his work on Gomer Pyle USMC. -- @crutnacker

Skating to Work 2 Hours Late

Sleet and freezing rain fell over DC last night, leaving a coat of
ice. The result was that the Federal Government opened 2 hours late.
Even with the delay, the sidewalks in DC were still quite icy this
morning. This is the walk near Eastern Market Metro Station at 8th
and Pennsylvania. I, fortunately, did not fall and break a hip.

Viral Video of Kid Doing "I'm Yours" on the Ukulele

I know this has been around for a while, but I am a bit slow about these things.  Isn't this the cutest thing without cats on the web?

Allison Road by the Gin Blossoms--Songs to Run To

The week before Christmas, we were in New York City and we happened upon a free concert the Gin Blossoms were taping on the a plaza outside NYC Fox News headquarters for a New Year's Eve show.  I love the Gin Blossoms, but hate Fox News, so I was conflicted.  This song is one of my favorites to run to. I was listening to it today as I ran 5 miles at the gym.

I hadn't run since Wednesday, which was the last day of my 10-day streak.  I weighed myself at the gym just after I ran last week and saw that I had gained 2 more pounds.  Granted, I have been eating horribly, but I thought running everyday would negate all the calories.  Wrong.  Anyway, I ran again today finally.

Below is a picture of the Gin Blossoms from last month in NYC.  We recorded the Fox News New Year's Eve show, since we were in Florida without cable when it actually aired.  You could see glimpses of Shane and I in the crowd.  Who would have thought we would ever be on Fox News?  Not me.

Three Pairs of Shoes for $68--Total!

On my way home from my mom's today, I stopped at some outlet stores at
Perryville, MD. They were having a sale--buy a pair of shoes and get
two pairs free. I needed some black shoes, so I bought two pairs of
black and one pair brown. They are all the same style. The retail
price for each pair was $109. They were also discounted and I had a
$5 coupon. My total was just under $68. I LOVE a good bargain!!!

A Blast from the Past

I came to visit my mom today and she had dug up this photo that we had professionally taken of my grandparent's grandchildren at the time.  This was taken around 1976, when leisure suits were high fashion--in my world at least.  I'm on the left side in the blue suit.  My mouth is closed to hide my braces.  I am 15 years old.  Next to me is my brother, Gary, and on the other side of him is my sister, Kathleen.  Everyone else is a cousin.   There are 26 offspring from the people above.

My brother, Gary, saw this photo had been published in a local magazine.  They were looking to figure out who the people were.  The picture was found among the collection of the photographer, who had died.  My mom went to the publication and identified all the people--her children and nieces and nephews--and they gave her a copy of the photo.  They took a photo of her identifying it and were waiting to see if they publish it in the next issue.

Tweets of the Day -- Crutnacker's Bad Restaurants

Nathan Lane's Hot Dogs #badrestaurants


Bob's Big Boil #badrestaurants


Waffle Hovel #badrestaurants


Westboro Baptist Church's Chicken #badrestaurants


Hairy Queen #badrestaurants


Manson Family Restaurants #badrestaurants


Benihaha's #badrestaurants


Howard's Johnson #badrestaurants


PF Chunks #badrestaurants


Jersey Shore Crab Shack #badrestaurants


Marie Choleras #badrestaurants

--@crutnacker

Bigredshark Richard Mallon 

 by crutnacker

Tavern on The Soylent Green #badrestaurants

Tweet of the Day -- The Cajun Boy

Brett Favre's sister arrested in meth lab bust. Suddenly, texting penis pics doesn't seem like such a stain on the family honor. -- @thecajunboy

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #271

Do not covet your neighbor's duck?

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #271.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Refinance Nightmare Par for the Course

We went to closing to refinance our house today.  I wish I could say it went well, but whenever we go to any type of closing it rarely goes smoothly.

We got a really good rate for a 20 year refi, 4.125 percent fixed for 20 years, down from the 6 percent fixed rate we got 8 years ago for 30 years.  Also, we're saving 2 years of financing.  We have really good credit ratings and equity in the house.  You'd think this would be smooth sailing, huh?

Our first indication that this was going to be bad was we got a phone call on the way to the closing from the title company letting us know that we needed money for closing.  What?  We were on the way and that's when they thought it was a good time to bring it up?  I was told the only out-of-pocket expense would be the home appraisal, which I paid weeks ago.  Then, on the way they tell us we are going to need more than $3,000!  It didn't really seem like this refinance was actually going to happen.

Anyway, we arrived at the credit union anyway, and after lots of back and forth, redoing the paperwork and a lunch break, we finally did get the papers signed without the out-of-pocket expenses.

We've had worse closings.  When we bought a house in Maryland once, the owner hadn't finished moving out and threatened to not sell.  We had all of our furniture on a truck ready to move in.  That was stressful.

Sunday Dinner -- Popovers Pop

We went over to our friend, Elaine's, last night to finally celebrate Christmas with her.  One of the gifts she gave me was a popover pan.  I put it to good use today and made these wonderful, if I do say so myself, popovers.  They would give Jordon's Pond House, a restaurant in Acadia National Park (Maine), a run for their money.  I found the recipe online and it was amazingly simple.  Two eggs, a cup of flour and a cup of milk lightly beaten and they turned into the above.  Soaking them in butter and raspberry jam also helped.  Yummmmm!

Dog Whisperer Shane and Patient

Our friend Elaine's Yorkie, Winston, is a bit high strung with visitors--except he seems to love us! Shane works with him to ease his stress.

Tweet of the Day -- Kathy Griffin

Watching the news? Congresswoman in AZ, who is ON Sarah Palin's crosshairs map was SHOT in the head 2day. Happy now Sarah?  -- @kathygriffin










Here is the map to which she is referring:

The Beginning of a New Streak?

I ran everyday this week--5 days in a row of running 3 miles.  I actually ran 4 miles on Wednesday.  Last year I ran a minimum of 3 miles a day for 25 days in a row--my longest streak ever.  How long will this one last?

Time for Chiristmas to Be Over

A neighbor is still decorated. I say that Christmas should be over,
but we're going to our friend, Elaine's, tomorrow to exchange gifts.

Less Ambitious Books -- My Top 10 List

Greg from A Life in the Day blog got me started on this when I saw him do one on the Twitter Machine.  The idea is to come up with the title of a book that is less ambitious than the original.  I don't know... I think I might rather read the less ambitious versions.

1. The Five People You Meet in Cleveland
2. Interview with an Umpire
3. Bridget Jones's Diarrhea
4. The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin (Sorry, that is for the short book list)
5. A Farewell to Hands
6. To Slap a Mockingbird 
7. Scents and Sensibility 
8. Gone with the Breeze
9. The World According to Carp 
10. The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo  

Tweet of the Day -- Sticker of da Week

Repubs will read the Constitution on the House floor, because some of the new members really need things read aloud to them.  -- @stickerofdaweek