Haines His Way

The sun is shining brightly, however, and the ice is stating to fall off the roof, so maybe I'll get lucky and the driveway will melt enough for me to clear it this afternoon.  Although I'm not sure breaking up and shoveling ice can be categorized as lucky

...And I'm currently cleaning out the espresso maker - which I haven't used in at least two.. maybe even three (four?) years...  -Just running a couple of batches of water through it.

It's a long hold time.

I had a great time yesterday - at a party for my friend Rosanna's first grandchild. Her husband died going on 21 years ago - you know his work: Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Murder She Wrote... when Richard Levinson dropped dead of a heart attack at 53, his daughter Chrissy was only 15. So, she's all grown up now and married, and totally gorgeous and talented - and a MOM!!! Her mom and I have been friends since 1969 - we used to sing together, wads of musical theater and opera songs and duets - and Wally Harper (may he rest in peace) was our accompanist.

So, the baby boy - Leonid - was born end of August, and yesterday was his Howdy, World party. It was just wonderful - I saw folks I haven't seen in over 20 years. And Leo is a great, calm, easy baby. (His daddy is Antoine Wilson, whose first novel THE INTERLOPER made quite a splash last summer. Good read. I highly recommend it.) Writers' strike means Chrissy gets to stay home with baby a lot.

In other news...

Yesterday afternoon, I stopped by the Holiday Market set up just off of Columbus Circle in the southwest corner of Central Park.  A lot of the same vendors that were there last year were back, but they also had quite a few new ones.  And after scouting thing out for about an hour, it looks like I can get almost all of my Christmas shopping done there.  -I just need to double-check some clothing sizes for my nieces and nephew.

With the rest of my family, I am eagerly anticipating our first of the next litter - my nephew Jesse's (Tami's only child) baby boy, at the end of March or first of April!! I could hardly keep my hands off that baby boy yesterday - oy, I've turned into one of THOSE old ladies...

-Although, I had to wonder about the "wisdom" of this one vendor that was set up there.  They sold gift baskets.  Alas, a bunch of the items they included in their gift baskets were from other vendors at the Holiday Market.  Their booth seemed awfully "lonely".

I'm going to make tilapia for dinner.  This will be the first time I've cooked it. Any suggestions for something simple, tasty and relatively low cal?

Bake it in a glass baking dish, with a little celery, onion, parsley, white pepper, a splash of white wine. I don't use salt, but you might...

I wonder if there is such a thing as tilapia sushi?

DR Hisaka - It was so nice to see you post again.  And I look forward to your next post.  In the meantime, I hope your LA "adventure" continues to excite and entertain you.

I wonder if there is such a thing as tilapia sushi?

LOL!  Thanks Penny and Jose for the suggestions.  The frying I know how to do...PennyO's suggestion sounds good

Think I'll go back to reading Lincoln's Melancholy.  It's very interesting but is one of those books that tends to make me sleepy....so maybe I'll also nap

DR elmore - Atlanta?!?!?  Did you mean to say Boston?

I was accusing you of being DR edi's "The Gobbler."  Wake up!

I also saw "Enchanted" again last night.  It was the last night it was being shown at The Ziegfeld, and since I really wanted to see it again - and see it on a big screen - I went, and Michael went along with me.  It was his first time seeing it.  I loved it even moreso last time than I did on the first viewing.  There were a few lines I lost the first time due to either the sound issues in the theatre and/or the laughing in the audience (my own included), and it was nice to hear those "details".

I'm jealous! I want to see it again.  I'm back to the bass part now.

I am not a DOCTOR WHO watcher either.  I started many years ago....and the production design put me off the show....and I have never looked back, although I know that it is much different now....

Oh, yes it is different!

When it was originally concieved, the show was intended for children almost exclusively.  And the money that went into making the show, or the lack of it, showed.  There were sets that were literally rickety, and special effects that were more talk than anything else.  I've a boxed set of the first three stories ("An Unearthly Child", "The Daleks", "The Edge of Destruction", with a 30 minute condensation of the lost story "Marco Polo") and yeah, you've got to be a real Doctor Who fanatic to get though this stuff these days.

And through the years in the original run, although the production values got better, the belief that the show was kid's programming kept it hobbled.  Towards the end of the run, the head of the BBC made no bones about how he hated the show.

That's what's so not true now.  The people producing the Doctor Who of today are viewing it as family entertainment (Torchwood, in contrast, is regarded as something for the adults), and are pumping the pounds into it - the production values are amazing.  The love for the Doctor and his adventures is quite evident.

What I suggest, for anyone wanting to get into the series, is try renting the First Series - five disc set, with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper posed in front of the Tardis/police box on the cover.  Watch the first three episodes, to get the feel for the show, and then revel in the two-part "Aliens of London/World War Three", and if that doesn't get you hooked then simply return the set to wherever you rented it and that'll be that.

But I'm betting that most people will be hooked by that point.