Monthly Archives: January 2006

Nick at Night

I forgot to mention last night a couple things I noticed on 24. Geraint Wyn Davies is being lighted EXACTLY like Nigel “The Nightcrawler” Bennett from Forever Knight. I keep expecting them to cut away to a mint green 1962 Cadillac driving through Toronto.
lcmike1.jpg  WYN24.jpg
“You really do love me, Jack Bauer; you just don’t know that you do!”

The other thing is Young Donald’s acting style seems awfully reminiscent of Roy “Michael” Dupois from La Femme Nikita. I really see it in the scenes with the mother and son duo and that blond lady.
Sample dialog:
“Are you coming back to us, Jack?”
“No.”

Watching the commercials, I noticed there are two ads that are virtually identical and I wonder if the same firm created them. The one ad is for a potato chip-like snack in which a woman commandeers an airport’s overhead loudspeaker to tell her fellow passengers to “Snack on!” because the chips are somehow healthier than other chips. The other ad is a man who announces to his neighborhood his love of pizza using his neighbor’s daughter’s portable microphone. I don’t know how successful these ads are because I cannot remember the brands they are pushing.

Lastly, despite the bony chest, doesn’t Dorothy Hamill look GREAT!?

Favorite/Happy Things

I absolutely LOVE Lean Cuisine meals. My new favorites are Hunan Beef & Broccoli and Thai-Style Chicken.

Everyday I am deluged by credit card offers. Normally I open the envelope, separate the papers and shred them. I could probably fill a room with all the paper I have shredded. Yesterday, I noticed that they are finally providing an opt out service. By dialing 1-888-567-8688, I was able to opt out of this garbage for 5 years! I think I not only saved my sanity but also a few dozen forests.

Watching Les Biches with the commentary on, I learned that the correct pronunciation of Jean-Louis Trintignant is Treh TEEN yun.

Chuck Norris is cool

DVDShrink is the coolest app in the whole wide world.

City of Women (1980)

(La Città Delle Donne)

One of Federico Fellini’s last masterpieces, City of Women makes no secret of the director’s obsession with women. Cast again as Fellini’s alter-ego, Marcello Mastroianni is brilliant as a Don Juan trapped in a world of modern women..

Hearty Spinach and Chickpea Soup

This looks soooooo good to me. I must try it!

SERVES 4

2 cups uncooked brown rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 4 cups), stems removed, thinly sliced

6 cups store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

One (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Two (5-ounce) bags baby spinach leaves

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Stir in brown rice and return to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or Dutch-oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat.

3. Check rice after 30 minutes; if it is not yet tender, cover and continue cooking, up to 10 more minutes. Stir 2 cups cooked rice (reserve remaining rice for another use) and chickpeas into broth; return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes to allow flavors to blend.

4. Stir in spinach; cook, uncovered, until just wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese; serve immediately.

And when I hit the road

I don’t know what the weather was like in other parts of the country but here in Philadelphia it was GLORIOUS! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was warm. I took Bo for a long walk through the development and in one ear hung my mobiBlu earplug. The first song to come up in rotation was an English cover of the Serge Gainsbourg song, Harley Davidson. It was the perfect song to hear as the sun shone in my eyes.

Listen to the English version – Anita Lane
Listen to the French version – Brigitte Bardot

I don’t need anyone
On my Harley Davidson
I recognize no one
On my Harley Davidson

I press the start up down
And it’s as if I leave the ground
On my way to paradise
But on a great hell hound.

…

And when I hit the road
The throbbing engine starting to explode
Sending the desires
In my thighs to overload

…

I don’t care if I die
On my Harley Davidson

Of course, in my case it’s more like, “I don’t care if I die, on my Ross 1-speed bicycle with fat tires and a white basket that hangs from the handlebars.”

Loverly

I woke up feeling GREAT! Then I let my head flop to the side and I got a little dizzy but I stayed still and the feeling went away. I got up and the room didn’t swirl around me. I walked to the bathroom and then to the kitchen and I didn’t stagger. Lisa is at work so I will have to do the Brandt-Daroff Exercises on my own today.

On Saturday my RAZR USB cable arrived and I was able to transfer all my pictures from the phone to my computer without having to send them as SMS and incur a 25 cent multimedia message fee. I really wanted to buy a USB bluetooth adapter but that was 40.00 and the USB cable was only 14. I must be thrifty.

I took Bo for his morning stroll and the weather was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! I think we will be taking many walks today.

Creativity

At dinner today Lisa created a new word, enterjoyment. Here it is in a sentence: Bobo loved his new toy, it gave him hours of enterjoyment.

Some other words Lisa has created:
_Vomitose: After the long night of binge drinking, she was absolutely vomitose.
_Dramastically: That new hair color changed her look dramastically.

My sister keeps me enterjoyed!

OK!

I’ve performed the Brandt-Daroff Exercises twice today and I feel 100% better. My hope is that I will wake up centered and on balance tomorrow. We shall see. If not, I am definitely calling the doctor.

Kim Novak

I’ve decided I am suffering from Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (and not pregnancy as Lisa, Mom, Audra’s mother and sister all suggested) and have started self-treatment. I found a Web site that describes Brandt-Daroff Exercises. This morning, Lisa assisted me. She stood over me, giving the count and making sure I was in the correct 45 degree position. I had a hard time keeping the position mainly because Lisa had me in stitches. Each position had to be held for 30 seconds and Lisa would forget to go back to the beginning so she would say, “29, 30, Change positions! 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 11…” She would also just start counting backward, “11, 10, 9, 8, 15, 16, 17…” Sometimes she would forget a number but catch it, “17, 19, 20, 18, 21, 22, 23…” I think she was just messing with me. Oddly enough, I feel a little better. The world isn’t swirling around me as much.