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[bk]

Well, you've read the notes, you know the ins and outs of the notes, you know all about hie and therefore it is time to hie yourselves to post.

[Panni]

Thank you for all the good vibes for DD Rachel. I'll pass them on. She's taking two weeks off from her summer job, coming to LA and getting lots of rest - which is about all you can do for Mono. The doctor told her not to play contact sports (to protect her spleen). As she wouldn't know a contact sport if she tripped over one, this is not a hard direction to follow.
Good night, all.
Jane - - Yes she's done with school for the year. Her lowest mark was A-. Not bad.

[S. Woody White]

I do not like to cook for myself.

I like cooking for der Brucer and myself, but that is a totally different thing.

This last dinner, I was planning on doing something Chinese in style.  Der B. nixed that, wanting something warmer (it's been raining).  

So I rummaged around the kitchen, and ended up:

Poaching a couple of chicken breasts and mushrooms in chicken stock.  When the breasts were cooked through, I added some corn starch to the broth, which made a wonderful gravy.

The gravy also went well over some StoveTop Stuffing Mix.  Yes, I used a prefabricated product!  Big deal.  I modified it some with fresh celery and onion, which I sweated in the butter called for by the mix.

This was all completed with a zucchini that I sauteed, with just a pinch of Chinese five-spice powder.  (I had to get my Chinese fix in there somewhere.)

That's what meals are like around our house: I figure out what will work together, and throw it.  Usually, it works.  If it doesn't, der Brucer tells me, and I don't try that again.

[bk]

Welcome eleven GUESTS.  Someday we know some of you will come out of the woodwork and post.  It's ever so much fun, especially on one of our food days.

[George]

I got back from the Seattle Storm basketball game a couple of hours ago and the Storm won!  My niece (the real fan) will be happy with that, and with the pictures that I had to take for her (since she couldn't go).  Just had to share.

DR George, kudos on the new pic. It is extremely sharp on my monitor. I guess with others changing their pics, I need to take down the old camera and snap a more recent shot of me. I'll work on that this next week.

Thanks! You know those newspaper photographers have to be good!  I hope the newspaper where I got the photo doesn't mind me stealing it.  It is a picture of my very own self, after all!

[Robin]

Personally, I love preparing omelets.  Mostly, because it's really difficult to mess up.  Scramble some eggs, chop some stuff up, grate some cheese...or not.  

I also adore preparing stir-fry.  Again, it's really easy.  And, just like the omelet, there ain't nothin' to it.  

Oh, and chili.  That's simple, too.  

Sense a pattern in there?  I enjoy cooking on autopilot.  

[Robin]

I bought a used copy of the new cast album of Wonderful Town yesterday, and it's not very wonderful.  It's tinny, shrill, and has no ooomph! to it at all.  A totally half-assed job; but that's becoming commonplace in cast albums these days.  

Fer chrissakes, where's the love?

[Jrand73]

DRGEORGE - yes nice NEW photo.

Hmmmmmmm....MRBK has a FULL day ahead of himself!  Rushing hither and yon.  I wonder if the other DR's are having such full Saturdays.  I myself am attending a 50th Wedding Anniversary thang for some friends of the family, then will be working the box office, then doing the closing and final and sold out performance of STATE FAIR, helping to strike the set, and then attending the closing night cast party and participating in said party's Talent Show!  

I don't cook much either....hmmmmmmmm....I like to have a Spam Sandwich on white bread with Velveeta Cheese....if I have to be the one to make something myself, it is usually a sandwich of whatever is available, otherwise Mr Burger King does the honor!

[Matt H.]

DR RObin, I couldn't agree with you more about the new CD of WONDERFUL TOWN. I was totally underwhelmed by it. Not having seen the show and only having this as a barometer, I was thoroughly delighted the show did not carry off many Tonys this past Sunday.

[Matt H.]

Since I've been single quite a long time, it is second nature for me now to cook for just myself. I only eat out at most three days a week, so the other days are spent cooking for just me. I have to admit, though, after years of cooking for two, it did take awhile to learn to cook just for myself, and there are still dishes that I cook and have leftovers for the next day.

That includes my favorite thing to cook for me - fried chicken. I usually cook enough for two meals. I also really like my spaghetti and meat sauce which also goes for two meals.

[Matt H.]

When I was working, I really prized my Saturdays and liked to have them to just do nothing. Nowadays, as a retiree, the days seem to run into one another, and Saturday becomes no more special than any other day. I have to admit, though, that because of heavy shopping crowds, I do loathe to shop anywhere on Saturday. I try to do things like grocery shopping and quick trips to Wal-Mart in the early morning to beat the crowds and not have to wait in long lines at the check-out.

[Matt H.]

One of the things that helped Sean Penn in his Oscar quest this year was having another sterling performance in a different film being seen by Academy voters - 21 GRAMS. From some reviews that I read (I haven't seen either film yet though I will eventually see both), Penn's performance in 21 GRAMS is even stronger than in MYSTIC RIVER, but as MYSTIC was a big studio project and 21 GRAMS an independent film, his agents pushed for the nomination to be for MYSTIC RIVER. With two excellent performances in their heads when they marked their ballots, that might have swayed the vote toward Sean Penn.

After seeing Bill Murray's highly lauded (but fairly uninteresting, to me at least) work in LOST IN TRANSLATION, I am glad the vote didn't go his way.

[Jay]

Today I shall make a pilgrimage to the County of Orange to pay a visit to the Dear Mother.  The plan is lunch (no big hats, just a casual affair this time) and a matinee of the new cinematic entertainment called The Stepford Wives.

[DERBRUCER]

LEST WE FORGET

Anne Frank, pictured in an undated photograph, would have turned 75 on Saturday, June 12, had she survived a Nazi concentration camp.

"She was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent," said her biographer, Lee. "I just can't believe she would have led an ordinary life."

All the above from a Newstory on a photo exhibition

[DERBRUCER]

 Yes she's done with school for the year. Her lowest mark was A-. Not bad.

Your a Good Mum, You is.

(My Father would have groused "Why the minus?".)

der Brucer (who grumbled for years because a parent with only an eighth grade education would be so critical - but then, again, without regular kicks in my pompous ass who knows what I would have become)

[Matt H.]

I read THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL when I was in 9th grade, and it affected me deeply.

The Oscar winning documentary ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED gives a nice balance to the story and of course picks up the family's story after the Nazis find them. Not to be missed.

[DERBRUCER]

This was all completed with a zucchini that I sauteed, with just a pinch of Chinese five-spice powder.  

Ah-ha! That's what that was - very nice addition.

der Brucer (Woody always punishes "prefabricated product" by add some loving and labor intensive twist - Hamuger Helper gets the royal treatment with fresh roasted Red Bell Peppers, fresh mushrooms, and lots of fresh hopped herbs)

[Panni]

Good morning. Cooking for myself I find boring. I'm a pretty good cook who these days hardly ever cooks. My kitchen setup in the guest house is pretty pathetic. Can't use the oven really (the temperature is not marked in degrees, so you have to guess - go figure). So if it can't be microwaved or done on the stove, it's out. Plus, because this is such a small space, cooking anything that has a strong odor is out. Which rules out my beloved onions and garlic. And no fish, of course. I do scrambled eggs with whatever happens to be handy thrown in. Lots of canned soups. Microwave ready chicken tenders, that kind of thing. One day I'll have a real kitchen again and then I can post about various dishes till the cows come home (unless I cook them).

[Panni]

Your a Good Mum, You is.
(My Father would have groused "Why the minus?".)

Thank you, DB. I've never believed in pushing for certain marks or getting angry if marks were low. I've always said to Rachel that how she does in school is no reflection on me. I'm judged by my successes and failures, not hers. The marks are HERS, the results, good or bad, are hers. What I've said to her from the time she was old enough to understand is that the only thing I want for her is that she have choices when she is out in the world. People who drop out of school or do really poorly have fewer choices as to what to do with their lives than those who don't. Of course there are exceptions - those with huge talent or luck. But for the most part, it's true. After hearing that again and again over the years, I think it sunk in. She decided that she wanted to do well for HERSELF. And she has, And I'm very proud of her. But what I'm proudest of is that she's an exceptionally good human being.

[bk]

Good morning and where in tarnation IS everyone?  I'm getting ready to leave soon but I'll be here for a bit.  

Favorite things to cook for myself: Wacky Noodles, sauteed chicken breasts, mushrooms and onions over rice, and occasionally pasta with butter and cheese.  Now I'm getting hungry.

[Jane]

SWW-very good answer on STARGATE.  Robin, I don’t know if the series is better as it has been a long time since I’ve seen the movie.  Even you didn’t like the movie you may not like the series.  Do you like sci-fi?  I am a big fan of the series.  Sorry I didn’t answer your question yesterday.

Jason, nice pic of Times Square.  I have never seen the city after sunset.

Sandra, DearReaderLaura, beautiful shot of the peacock.  Oh, and cute turtle.

JRand thanks anyway.  As you saw I just had Keith convert the pic for me.  It did need to be smaller before I could post.

[Jane]

Thank you for all the good vibes for DD Rachel. I'll pass them on. She's taking two weeks off from her summer job, coming to LA and getting lots of rest - which is about all you can do for Mono. The doctor told her not to play contact sports (to protect her spleen). As she wouldn't know a contact sport if she tripped over one, this is not a hard direction to follow.
Good night, all.
Jane - - Yes she's done with school for the year. Her lowest mark was A-. Not bad.

Not bad at all.  You must be very proud.

I doubt she would have the energy for contacts sports even if she did play them.  Enjoy your visit.

[Jrand73]

Have fun, MRBK.  Remember when you get to the reading:

Be seen, be heard; louder, faster, funnier; don't be a dead spot onstage...don't be a black hole that sucks all of the energy out of a scene; have fun - if you have fun, they'll have fun.  

And all that other stuff!

[bk]

Having been to too many readings with too many energy-suckers, I never don't have energy.  And I never understand actors who sit there like so much fish, mumbling.  Helps no one.

[DERBRUCER]

Personally, I love preparing omelets.  Mostly, because it's really difficult to mess up.  Scramble some eggs, chop some stuff up, grate some cheese...or not.  
 

Try adding sautéd chicken livers.

Or for a tad more elegance you could try the speciality of the chef of Norma's at the Le Parker Meridien in NYC:

The omelet, which debuted May 5 and is billed as the "Zillion Dollar Frittata" has six eggs, a lobster and -- here's the kicker -- 10 ounces of sevruga caviar.

Dave Letterman had the chef prepare one for him for his show. When the chef arrived and grandly presented Dave with plate, Letterman casually picked up a bottle of Ketchup...well, you get the picture!

der Brucer (whose Mother would leave the table if he put ketchup on his plate along side sunny-side up fried eggs - now the ketchup was for the home fries - but, when one punctured the egg yolk with the wheat toast, the yolk would mix with the....well. you get the picture)

[DERBRUCER]

I hope the newspaper where I got the photo doesn't mind me stealing it.  It is a picture of my very own self, after all!

Mind! - in your neck of the woods it is you who have been the victim - the photographer has stolen your soul!

In an interview with Anne Makepeace  "Curtis Photography – Stealing Souls or Preserving Legacy?" who did a PBS American Masterworks special on the photographer Edward Curtis, she reports:

In my early days of research for COMING TO LIGHT, I had read that Indian people did not like photography, that they believed that the camera captured a part of them, stealing their souls. I traveled to reservations all over the West to see what people really thought about Curtis' photographs. To my surprise, I saw family pictures covering the walls of every Indian home, and parents and kids shooting each other with video cameras. Clearly, if Indian people had once believed that the camera captured their souls, they had gotten over that. But then, was it different because they themselves were photographing each other? Were negative feelings towards photography that I had read really about the invasion of white photographers coming into their community and taking something that didn't belong to them?
…
What I found on Indian reservations was a tremendous variety of responses to Curtis' photographs. Most people loved seeing pictures of their ancestors. It was interesting that, when telling stories about them, they nearly always talked about their departed ancestors in the present tense as if they were still here, and referred to them as relatives, not ancestors. Some people did say that their grandparents had feared the camera, believing that a part of them remained in the photograph. When these pictures did come back to families and to the reservations where they were taken, through the efforts of tribal cultural preservation offices or of researchers, they have usually been welcomed as though the ancestors were coming home. However, in my travels, I found that some Indian people did not welcome them. One Blood Indian man threatened to confiscate the Curtis pictures I showed him, saying they should never have been taken, that the people in them should be allowed to go on into the other world, and that their souls should not be held captive in photographs.

der Brucer (who enjoyed the picture of George's soul)

[JMK]

Re:  Anne Frank.  Some synchronicity--Betsy and I just finished watching all the extras on the Diary DVD.  Then we went on IMdb to see WEHT Millie Perkins and were shocked--shocked--to see she had been in Wall Street.  Now we must rewatch that to see who she is (Mrs. Fox, whomever that might be).

I will be E&T probably for the next week as we are jetting to Orlando tomorrow, so any Hainsies/Kimlets who wish to send us good travel vibes would be doing me especially a favor.  I am not a calm flyer, and we will be most of the day tomorrow on several flights with two young children.  Pass the Prozac.

If anyone who's been to Disneyworld/Epcot etc. has any recommendations, send them my way:

jmkauffman@aol.com

[JMK]

P.S.  Good job vibes to my lovely wife Betsy, who has managed to pull off the near-impossible and has two, count 'em, two job offers on the table.  We are in fact about to drop her off downtown for a meeting with the Board of one job who has made her an offer (later this afternoon we get to the good stuff--the actual salary/benefits), and another high-profile job with the State of Oregon is awaiting her if this one doesn't work out.  I guess I married good, huh?

[Sandra]

One word: floop!

The reason I only make floop for myself is that no one else will eat it.

[DERBRUCER]

....I like to have a Spam Sandwich on white bread with Velveeta Cheese....

Serve that to a prisoner and the ACLU will complain "Cruel and Unusual Punishement".

der Brucer (thinking JRand would relish BK's "Whacky Noodles")