March 8, 2010
March 4, 2010
A crocus
A crocus has blossomed. I thought that in the past they blossomed in my yard in late February, but I’m not really sure.
March 3, 2010
No curtains
All the lights are on in the house next door, and there are no curtains on any of the windows. There used to be curtains. Did the people decide to clean all the curtains at the same time? Have they decided to live without curtains as many people do? Have they moved away? And is the new occupant in the house looking things over? I don’t know.
February 24, 2010
February 20, 2010
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda will be the narrator at a concert performance of the opera The Grapes of Wrath next month at Carnegie Hall. The audience will able to observe the results of her recent plastic surgery. She wrote on her blog on Feburary 16:
I just had some ‘work’ done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes so I decided it would be good to get a new hair cut so people will think it’s my new hair. . . . I’m writing a book about aging so I couldn’t very well NOT talk about it. It’s been 2 weeks.
December 25, 2009
Opera in the past decade
“Opera improved on its glitz factor thanks to HD broadcasts and tabloid publicity, but lost sight of its artistry. Administrators and critics fostered the wholly erroneous notions that singers of the past couldn’t act and singers today could; while the jet-set demands of the international lifestyle fostered hothouse careers: the next great hope comes along, wins acclaim, oversings and fades from sight. The tenor Rolando Villazón became a poster boy for opera in the 2000s: not, alas, for his huge talent, but for singing his voice to shreds.”–Anne Midgette writing for the Washington Post about opera of the past decade
December 23, 2009
Gift cards & receipts
Are you giving somebody a gift card? The Federal Trade Commission says, “Give the recipient the original receipt to verify the card’s purchase in case it is lost or stolen.”
December 18, 2009
Garrison Keillor should shut up
Garrison Keillor has unpleasant things to say about Unitarians, Jews, and the people of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in his recent column. Maybe he should stay in his bigoted little hicksville where things are more to his liking.
December 12, 2009
Saving the planet?
“Ditch fake Christmas trees to save planet” says an article at telegraph.co.uk. My goodness! If a few fake trees more or less are going to make or break the planet, we might as well forget about the planet and do as we please.
November 24, 2009
White House state dinner menu
STATE DINNER MENU
The menu for the White House state dinner Tuesday in honor of India, prepared with the help of guest chef Marcus Samuelsson of New York’s Aquavit restaurant:
Potato and eggplant salad
White House arugula with onion seed vinaigrette
Wine: 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Modus Operandi, Napa Valley, Calif.
Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese
Wine: 2006 Riesling, Brooks “Ara,” Willamette Valley, Ore.
Roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney
Chick peas and okra
Or
Green curry prawns
Caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut-aged basmati
Wine: 2007 Granache, Beckmen Vineyards, Santa Ynez, Calif.
Pumpkin pie tart
Pear tatin
Whipped cream and caramel sauce
Wine: Sparkling Chardonnay, Thibaut-Janisson Brut, Monticello, Va.
Petits fours and coffee
Cashew brittle
Pecan pralines
Passion fruit and vanilla geles
Chocolate-dipped fruit
Source: The White House
—
I understand that Indians have dietary restrictions, but I think the White House could have come up with a better menu.
State dinner: Who’s at the head tables?
Who Is Hot And Who Was Blocked (Or Forgotten) At First White House State Dinner–huffingtonpost.com
Guest list–washingtonpost.com
Modern Flourishes as Obamas Host State Dinner–New York Times
