Sanford Siegal, the doctor who created the Cookie Diet way back in 1975, responded Monday to Madonna's comments, saying that he has "treated more than 500,000 patients" and he "can't recall any of them reporting a similar effect on their sexual appetite."He added, "In the case of my cookies, they taste good enough but I can't imagine anyone preferring them to sex."
And the word of the day is: OBJURGATE!
'Ollie' Johnston Jr., 95; animator and last of Disney's 'Nine Old Men,' diesJohnston is best known for his work in features. He created the character of Bambi and worked on numerous other films, such as 'Pinocchio' and 'The Jungle Book.'By Charles SolomonSpecial to The TimesApril 16, 2008Oliver Martin "Ollie" Johnston Jr., the last living member of the celebrated "Nine Old Men" of Disney animation whose work set the standard by which all character animation is judged and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, has died. He was 95....Johnston died Monday afternoon of natural causes at a long-term care facility in Sequim, Wash., according to a news release from Howard E. Green, vice president of studio communications for Walt Disney Studios.Although Johnston made noteworthy contributions to short cartoons, including "Pluto's Judgment Day" (1935), "Mickey's Rival" (1936) and "Reason and Emotion" (1943), his fame rested on his work on the Disney features, beginning with his animation of the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio.He helped to create such celebrated characters as Bambi and Thumper in "Bambi" (1942), the Three Good Fairies in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), Pongo and Perdita in "101 Dalmatians" (1961), and Mowgli and Baloo in "The Jungle Book" (1967). Johnston's work included such memorable moments as Pinocchio's nose growing when he lied to the Blue Fairy in the 1940 movie; Thumper reciting his lesson about eating clover greens under his mother's watchful eye in "Bambi"; the befuddled Mr. Smee trying to follow Captain Hook's orders in "Peter Pan" (1953); Baloo performing "The Bare Necessities" in "The Jungle Book"; and the penguin-waiters serving Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" (1964).Oscar-winning animator and historian John Canemaker said, "Ollie's death truly marks the end of the 'Golden Age' of hand-drawn Disney character animation that blossomed in the 1930s. He was a great and nuanced animator who could handle sentiment and comedy with equal aplomb, as well as a sweet and generous mentor to many."Roy E. Disney, director emeritus and consultant for the Walt Disney Co., called Johnston "one of the real pioneers of our art.""One of Ollie's strongest beliefs was that his character should think first, then act . . . and they all did," Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, said in a statement. "He brought warmth and wit and sly humor and a wonderful gentleness to every character he animated. He brought those same qualities to his life, and to all of our lives who knew him."
Edible odyssey: A Passover meal by chef Todd AaronsLamb, chicken soup with dumplings, potato gnocchi, salmon and a flourless chocolate cake with strawberries reflect the many influences in Tierra Sur chef Todd Aarons' lifetime of cooking.By Amy ScattergoodLos Angeles Times Staff WriterApril 16, 2008THE braised lamb is redolent of pomegranates and cumin. The chicken dumpling soup is fragrant with Persian limes and cardamom. Pan-seared potato gnocchi are laced with dried porcini, mesquite-grilled salmon is sauced with harissa and a flourless chocolate cake is crowned with Gaviota strawberries, picked from a nearby field.You can trace chef Todd Aarons' personal odyssey on every plate of his Passover feast.The flavors intertwine, reflecting the steps he's taken -- a California childhood; culinary school; apprenticeship at San Francisco's Zuni Cafe; kitchen stints in New York, Tuscany and Israel; his own kosher restaurant, Mosaica, in New Jersey -- before arriving at Tierra Sur, the restaurant at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard.Aarons, 38, didn't grow up eating kosher, much less cooking it. As a kid in Cheviot Hills, he was more likely to eat Mexican street food than anything like the sophisticated cuisine, informed by Mediterranean and North African flavors, that he serves at Tierra Sur. But a lot has changed in Aarons' personal and his professional life.Call it a conversion experience.At Tierra Sur, a fine-dining kosher restaurant, you can read Aarons' cultural résumé on his menu. The cooking is pan-Mediterranean, with not only Cal-Ital influences, but also Middle Eastern, Mexican and North African. Aarons, whose family is of Ashkenazi background, says he adopted his Israeli wife's Sephardic culinary tradition."Israel is a melting pot for North African, Eastern Mediterranean flavors. That's the way I've always eaten, the way I've always cooked.""Before I became observant, I cooked Mediterranean; I grew up eating spicy Mexican food," Aarons says. The chef found the heat and spice of Yemeni and Moroccan food appealing, at once familiar and yet different enough to spark his creative interest....
