Topic: PRESTIDIGITATION (Read 23690 times)

bk · « **on:** June 23, 2004, 11:59:53 PM »

Well, you've read the notes, you've made the notes disappear, and now you're ready to post until the one trick cows come home.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #1 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:06:44 AM »

Good Morning!

Pasta Salad: Now there has to be an Alton Brown, "Good Eats" recipe for pasta salad somewhere!?!?!

If not... Whenever I make a pasta salad, I basically make an antipasto type of salad. And everything either comes out of a bottle or can - or a box (the pasta).

First I boil said pasta until al dente - or a little past al dente. I like using shells, elbows or even fusilli - orechiette works nicely too. Shortly after the pasta has been drained and it is still hot/warm, I put it into a bowl and pour over some very good bottled Italian salad dressing. I usually use Newman's Own (original). I pour just enough to "slick" the pasta up. Then I set this aside in the fridge to cool - and to let the salad dressing soak into the pasta to season it. Then it's more or less cook's choice: bits of bell pepper (red, green, yellow, orange); onions (yellow or red, and usually soaked in a cold water for a couple of minutes to soften the "bite"); peas (frozen and defrosted under cold running water); broccoli (chopped - raw or parboiled); carrots (raw or parboiled); artichoke hearts (plain or marinated); olives (black or green); bits of salami, mortadella, pepperoni; small cubes of cheese (cheddar or mozzarella - those small ball of fresh mozzarella, bononcini, if you really want to splurge); etc. The possibilities and variations are endless. Then I pour over some more salad dressing to finish the salad off. Spices, herbs, salt and pepper are added to taste.

*If you want to rich-en this up, just add a few dollops of mayonnaise and/or sour cream. -But I usually prefer oil-based pasta salads. So...

For a more traditional combination: pasta, pesto, pine nuts, chopped broccoli rabe (cooked before hand), and red pepper flakes.

Whew! I'm glad I copied this post before posting since I had the sneaking suspicion I wasn't going to make "yesterday".

Tomovoz · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:20:26 AM »

Favourite singer/songwriters: Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Roy Orbison, Carly Simon, Carole King, and James Taylor.

bk · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:25:51 AM »

I'll just add Rupert Holmes, Tim Moore and Elton John.

bk · « **Reply #4 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:26:07 AM »

And Randy Newman.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #5 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:35:26 AM »

Hmmm... When I first checked the Topics listing, today's topic appeared under yesterday's topic. But they're in the correct order now. In any case...

Magic Tricks: I caught some of "T.H.E.M." on NBC last night. Totally Hidden Extreme Magic. Basically, it's a candid camera type show where a team of magicians go around playing and performing tricks for and on unsuspecting members of the public. Some of the tricks were actually quite impressive; kind of along the line of David Blaine's feats. -There was one where the guy had flies coming out of his mouth - eeewww! But it was effective, and the set-up was simple, imho. And for the reveal, the magicians would say, "I'm one of THEM." I guess that's a good hook.

Otherwise, I'm still a fan of a good ole card trick. Some of the Penn & Teller routines totally bewilder me. But even the classic tricks still bring a smile to my face. There's a guy who sets up a small table in Carytown every now and then, and he just performs tricks for passers-by on the sidewalk. Very entertaining. And if I happen to walk by a magic shop - which are few and far between - I always check to see if a trick is being demonstrated.

I remember buying Magic Magazine when I was nine and ten years old. Is it still around? Hmm.. and I seem to remember an article on Shari Lewis in it -

I even put on a small show for my fourth grade class. Some card tricks, the cups and balls, etc. Strangely enough, I could never master some of the more "finger dependent" tricks - I guess that's related to the fact that I can't play video games either - my fingers just don't work that way. But put some Chopin in front of me...

Singer/Songwriters - The piano men: Elton John, Billy Joel ("Until the Night" is my favorite), Joe Jackson, Randy Newman, Ben Folds (I currently find I'm singing "The Luckiest" to myself now and then for some unknown reason). The guitar player: James Taylor. Elvis Costello. And I like his wife's new album and material, Diana Krall. I like Tuck & Patti's self-written material, but I much prefer their renditions of jazz and pop standards. And I guess I should also include Barry Manilow mainly for "When October Goes". And though most of his material is sung by others, he does sing and play his own stuff in concert: Jason Robert Brown. Oh, and William Finn too. And just to round everything out: Prince (or whatever name or symbol he's going by now).

Hmm... That list was longer than I thought it was going to be originally.

Oh! ... And I never tired of listening to the classic Fats Waller recordings either!

bk · « **Reply #6 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:40:59 AM »

Dear reader Panni must be writing a novelette.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #7 on:** June 24, 2004, 12:55:45 AM »

Best known for singing songs by others but a great talent and a very successful song writer was Bobby Darin. Paul Anka wasn't too bad either. Sedaka also wrote nearly all his own pop songs.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #8 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:00:15 AM »

OK - "Iron Chef" is over.... I can go to bed now.

Goodnight.

Panni · « **Reply #9 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:08:18 AM »

The Magic question made me think of the following... When I was 5, my mother and I went for a weekend to a resort outside of Budapest. My father had recently died, so I guess one reason we went was as a break from the real world. The big treat of the weekend for me was an outdoor evening magic show at the resort. Any kind of performance was exciting, but I had never seen a magic show AND I was being allowed to stay up way past my bedtime. I wore a pretty dress and ribbons in my pigtails. We sat in the very front row. I was absolutely transported. The magician's big trick had to do with a Houdini-like escape from some kind of steel or iron rings. To prove that the rings were not fake, he dramatically threw them into the front row. I reached out for one. Now, I have small hands even today - so at 5, you can imagine how tiny they were, plus I was really thin because of recent events. -- So instead of catching this thing, I sort of intercepted it with my fingers. And it really really hurt. But I was afraid that if I told my mother, she'd make us leave. So I sat through the whole show, my hand throbbing, not crying, not saying anything.
After the show, we walked back in the dark to our room at the resort. My mother turned on the lights and saw my hand, which by then was swollen and purple. She couldn't believe I hadn't said anything and was pretty angry at me. I, on the other hand, couldn't imagine saying something and leaving the show!
...And that was my first and last magic show. If I were an armchair shrink, I'd also say it set up a pattern of behavior for years to come.

bk · « **Reply #10 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:08:48 AM »

And that post, magically, took about twenty-five minutes to write.

Panni · « **Reply #11 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:10:44 AM »

Yes, I was writing a novelette. I was thinking about something I hadn't thought of for years and indulging myself in writing about it.

Panni · « **Reply #12 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:11:15 AM »

I also didn't think anyone was around. Who stays up this late??

bk · « **Reply #13 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:13:54 AM »

Isn't it amazing how you can type words and those words become sentences and those sentences become paragraphs and those paragraphs become - what DO they become? What do paragraphs become? What becomes a paragraph most? Do paragraphs become posts? Novelettes? Novellas? Novels? Short Stories? Whatever they become - it's magic.

Now, as my close personal friend, Mr. Stephen Schawartz once said, we've got magic to do.

bk · « **Reply #14 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:15:01 AM »

And now, presto-chango, I shall now disappear until morning.

Panni · « **Reply #15 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:15:58 AM »

I tried to watch THE REAGANS tonight -- one of my Emmy tapes. It was actually interesting - James Brolin was good - but there was something wrong with the tape, so I had to stop. Skammen.

Panni · « **Reply #16 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:17:05 AM »

I guess I should go to bed, too. I'll probably dream about Ronald and Nancy.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #17 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:52:56 AM »

I loved "magic" tricks when I was a kid. I should never have watched those "Magic Explained" type shows on TV over this last decade. I of course knew it was all trickery but I didn't want to know how.
I am reminded now of a Paul Gallico fable about Magic. Can't remember the title. Must investigate.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #18 on:** June 24, 2004, 01:59:20 AM »

"The Man Who Was Magic". Paul Gallico.

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #19 on:** June 24, 2004, 03:53:47 AM »

Good "leave on time and have a safe journey" vibes, Jason. We're looking forward to reviews, updates, and recipes.

Michael · « **Reply #20 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:17:52 AM »

I think my favorite trick is called Metamorphsis. This is the one where the magician is handcuffed, put in a bag, the bag is tied and then they are placed in a trunk. The trunk is then locked. The assistant then stands on top of the trunk. They take a circular curtain bring it up to the chest. They count to three on three they raise it over their head and bring it down again rightaway. The magacian and the assistant have changed. Even though I have read and seen how it is done it still holds a fascination for me.

Michael · « **Reply #21 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:18:53 AM »

Safe Journeys to you Jason and as Trigger used to sing "Happy Trails To You"

Matt H. · « **Reply #22 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:31:52 AM »

There are some wonderful tricks in THE MAGIC SHOW, and that DVD is available for rental or purchase. The score is not so great, but the magic is.

I appreciate Elton John now much more than I did when he was new to the scene and really hot. And Barry Manilow is really much more my speed. And I like isolated songs by Billy Joel and Randy Newman, too.

Matt H. · « **Reply #23 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:33:27 AM »

Speaking of John Frankenheimer, does anyone else here like THE TRAIN as much as I do? I think THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is his masterpiece, but I think THE TRAIN is almost its equal in entertainment value. What a brilliant and gripping film.

Matt H. · « **Reply #24 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:35:08 AM »

Speaking of magic, did any of you NYCers (or others who might have been visiting during its run) see MERLIN? It didn't play very long, but I suspect it had some fabulous tricks in it, too.

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #25 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:39:46 AM »

My favorite singer-songwriter is Pete Seeger ("Where Have All The Flowers Gone").

Dan-in-Toronto · « **Reply #26 on:** June 24, 2004, 04:49:21 AM »

Trivia q: Who made his Broadway musical comedy debut in Merlin, playing Prince Fergus?

Matt H. · « **Reply #27 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:09:00 AM »

I didn't see the show, but it's got to be Nathan Lane.

Ben · « **Reply #28 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:14:07 AM »

Answer: Mr. Nathan Lane. I didn't see Merlin but I did see NL in his Broadway debut in Present Laughter at the old Circle in the Square Theatre. The production was excellent, but Lane was a standout. The audience was screaming with laughter every time he stepped on stage.

Another trivia question (or three) regarding Merlin.

Which member of Mr. BK's Resident Recording Repertory company also appeared in Merlin (there are 4 CDs by this performer all produced by BK)?

Question 2, which Brat Pack member played Young Merlin/Arthur in this show?

Question 3. Who went from producing and directing Merlin to spreading Marshmallow Fluff all over the Upper West Side of Manhattan a year later?

Ben · « **Reply #29 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:15:04 AM »

Wow, 28 posts at only 8:15. It may be a busy day here at HHW.

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Author Topic: PRESTIDIGITATION (Read 23690 times)

Ben

Ben