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Sunday, October 30, 2016

SRC Fall Dishes Reveal: Pot Roast Carbonnade

It's time for the Secret Recipe Club's fifth Monday theme reveal. And this month, it's all about Fall Dishes. Autumn means bonfires, roasted marshmallows, pumpkin spice everything, and dishes that warm you from the tips of your toes to the tip of your nose.

Though this event can be cross-group, this month I was assigned to Julie at Little Bit of Everything who is in my SRC group. I was excited to show her a little bit of love this month.

Julie identifies herself as a 50 something midwesterner who loves to cook, travel and garden. She collect spoons, building on a collection started by her mom. Her blog, she shares, is a creative journey through her 100+ volume cookbook collection, newspaper and magazine clippings, newly found recipes and baking groups.

With the theme being Fall Dishes and with the weather turning colder, I had soups on the brain. Julie has some fantastic soups. I thought about making her Slow-Cooker French Onion SoupPotato, Fennel, Leek SoupPotato Leek Chowder Robusto; or Asian Sweet Potato Soup. Other comforting recipes of hers are also on my to-cook list, such as her Beef Green Chili Cornbread Skillet and Blue Cheese and Bacon Truffles. But, in the end, I decided to make her Pot Roast Carbonnade because it looked both simple and delicious. This was a great, warming dinner on a chilly Fall night. Thanks, Julie, this will definitely make it onto my regular menu.

Pot Roast Carbonnade
slightly adapted from A Little Bit of Everything's Pot Roast Carbonnade

  • 1 C bacon, diced
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
  • 1 to 2 pounds beef, cubed
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil
  • 5 to 6 carrots
  • 1 T flour for thickening (since my husband is gluten-free, I used a corn flour)
  • 1-1/2 C red wine (I swapped out the beer for my husband)
  • 1 C beef stock
  • 1 t fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bring beef to room temperature and season liberally with salt and pepper.

In a large Dutch oven, cook bacon until it renders its fat. Add the onions and cook until softened and beginning to caramelize.

Add the beef and sear until browned on all side. Sprinkle the browned meat with flour. Add in the carrots. Pour in the red wine and beef stock. Stir in the fresh thyme and cover the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then move the Dutch oven to the oven. Braise for 2 hours. Spoon servings into individual bowls and serve immediately.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Gioia di Polpette for Foodie Reads

As we inch towards the final quarter of the Foodie Reads 2016 Challenge, I cracked the cover on a copy of Not My Mother's Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking Through Stories and Recipes by Rob Chirico.* I received an advance reader's copy through a giveaway and was excited to dig in.

On the Page
I have to be honest - I had a hard time finishing this book. When I was given the choice of books from the giveaway, I immediately chose this one because it involved Italian food. How could I not devour the book? I lived in Italy. I learned to cook in Italy. I'll read just about anything set in Italy and anything that includes Italian fare. Well, there were two reasons that reading the book was agonizing for me.

First, his tone bordered on disdainful towards his mother's lack of culinary skills. The first line of the introduction read, "My mother was an assassin." He continued, "Left to her own devices she laid waste to spaghetti, hamburgers, and even salad. 'Fresh' was not a word she used...."

Here's one particularly brutal assessment of his mother's cooking. "Eventually my otherwise stoic father asked her to stop making the horrific combination of cubed round steak and brown water. He confided to me that it was like eating rubber bathed in a street puddle. This is not being fair to 'brown,' which is indeed a color."

I think he meant to be funny, but how many times do we need to hear that his mother was a terrible cook? I got the picture after the first three times. Humor is difficult to write and I don't think this was as successful has he would have liked - at least not with me.

Still, growing up with awful meals, inspired Chirico to become an accomplished cook. And he truly is that. You can tell that he loves food and enjoys creating beautiful meals. Unfortunately that brings me to the second reason I struggled with this book: it has multiple personality disorder. It's part memoir, part cookbook, part kitchen manual. But the transitions between those aren't seamless. It feels simultaneously forced, stilted, and preachy.

These comments are all really just about the narrative. Regarding the recipes, Chirico writes succinctly and his expertise is evident. So, where I'd give his story a single star - out of five - I'd give his recipes four and a half stars, again out of five.

On the Plate
We are a huge fans of meatballs. So I decided to adapt his recipe for what he described as the gioia di polpette - "the joy of meatballs...." I made mine gluten-free and used pork and beef instead of pork and lamb.

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3/4 C onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 C gluten-free panko breadcrubms
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • 3 T fresh parsley, chopped + more for garnish
  • 1 t fresh tarragon, chopped
  • 1 C grated cheese (I used a combination of pecorino and parmigiano)
  • pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 4 C roasted tomato sauce (my recipe here)
  • 1/2 C red wine
  • gluten-free flour for dusting
  • 1/2 C canola oil

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Cook the onions until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Place all of the ingredients - to the eggs - in a large mixing bowl, including the cooled onions. Mix well, by hand, until everything is well-combined. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Form meat mixture into walnut-sized balls and roll them in flour to coat.

In a large pot, bring tomato sauce and red wine to a simmer.

In the same pot that you cooked the onions, heat 1/2 C canola oil. Brown the meatballs in batches until cooked completely through. Once the meatballs are cooked, place them in the simmering sauce. Simmer together for another 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning as needed and sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

*This blog currently has a partnership with in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to and search for the item of your choice.

Here's what everyone else read in October 2016: here.

{Gluten-Free} Seeded Soft Pretzels

This is my first time making gluten-free soft pretzels. Since I wasn't sure how the dough would stand up to a preliminary poaching, I opted to do a variation of my dough that goes straight into the oven. These didn't end up being pillowy soft, but they weren't bad - especially for gluten-free! I would make them again.

  • 1 C whole milk
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 T active dry yeast
  • 1 T organic granulated sugar
  • 4 to 5 C gluten-free flour blend
  • 1 to 2 T mixed seeds (I used caraway, sesame, and poppy seeds)
  • 2 to 3 eggs for binding (mine needed 3) + 1 egg for wash
  • pretzel salt or other large grain salt for baking

Warm milk in a small saucepan until it's warm to the touch, but not too hot. Add the butter and swirl until melted. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and granulated sugar in warm milk. Let stand until bloomed, approximately 5 minutes.

Add flour, seeds, and 2 eggs. Form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add 1 more egg. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes.

Roll out tubes of dough and form into pretzels. Place on a parchment-lined or silicone mat-lined baking sheet and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Let pretzels rise for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Brush beaten egg over the tops of the risen pretzels and sprinkle with pretzel salt or other large grain salt.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the tops are nicely browned.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Prickly Pear Barbeque Sauce

When I was getting ready to leave my friends' house yesterday, I noticed all the prickly pears on their cacti.

"Do you have plans for all those?" I queried, pointing at all the tunas on the paddles, as I am always looking to cook with things from my friends' yards!

Plans for what? Mike asked.

"All those prickly pears," I answered.

Oh, no, I just let those fall on the ground. Why? Do you want some?

He grabbed tongs, a long, knife, and a paper bag. I followed him out.

"I heard that I can burn the spines off with a torch. Is that what I should do?"

[insert much laughter] Where did you hear that?

"I read it somewhere," I answered sheepishly. It sounded like a good idea...all except for the fact that I have yet to locate my culinary torch since we moved.

No, you don't need to do that. He cautioned me against touching the prickly pears at all and showed me how to get to the meat without handling the fruit at all.

You slice the ends off. Make a slice down the fruit lengthwise. Then run your knife just under the skin all the way around the fruit. You're left with cylinders of prickly pear that are spine-free and safe to touch!

As we're headed to a bring-you-own meat barbeque on Friday, I decided to make some prickly pear barbeque sauce. I've made pumpkin barbeque sauce and rhubarb barbeque sauce before and figured this would be equally unique. And homemade barbeque sauce is so easy to make...

Prickly Pear Barbeque Sauce

  • 1-1/2 C roasted tomato sauce (my recipe here, or you can substitute with ketchup)
  • 1-1/2 C prickly pear juice and pulp*
  • 3/4 C apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 C Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 T raw honey
  • 1 T organic dark brown sugar
  • 3 T diced onions
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed and minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 t curry powder
  • freshly ground salt, to taste
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste
*Place peeled prickly pears in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the fruit is completely broken down.

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer until it has reached the consistency that you want. Mine took between 15 and 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning - sugar, salt, and pepper - as needed. Place in sterile jars and refrigerate until ready to use. Use within week.

Product Review: Roasted Beet Hummus with the Oster Pro® 1200 Plus #MomsMeet #Sponsor

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Moms Meet. All opinions are my own.

I'll just start with this: I have an incredibly contentious relationship with blenders and food processors. I love the ease of blenders and food processors and they are so necessary for so many different foods. And, over the past decade, I've owned my fair share of them.

One blender had a base that tightened in the opposite direction of 'righty-tighty, lefty-loosey' so, if I happened to forget that, I ended up with blended sludge all over my counter; I always ran that blender in a bin! I had a blender that I really liked - it worked quickly and efficiently - but the jar was plastic and I vastly prefer glass.

So, I always keep an eye out for my next blender, hoping that I'll find one that does everything I want and is made of what I want. When the opportunity arose - through my association with Moms Meet - to try an Oster® Pro® 1200 Plus, I was thrilled.

My Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf opened the package before I got home from work. And he already had plans. "Mom," he gushed, "I want to make beet hummus!" Great!

About the Oster Pro® 1200 Plus
'Plus' refers to it being a blender PLUS a food processor and it features...
  • One-touch controls for smoothies, chopping, milkshakes
  • Four one-touch speed controls - low, medium, high, and pulse
  • An all-metal drive provides metal-to-metal connection for more durability
  • 8-cup blender jar
  • 5-cup food processing bowl

What I Loved
The first thing that jumped out at me was its compact footprint. It was no bigger than the blender I have now (which is also an Oster®) and it's much smaller than my food processor. It only takes up a 7" square spot. So, it can stay on the counter...and that makes my life so much easier!

The second thing I noticed, as we were making several dishes this weekend is it's so easy to use. Most blenders and food processors aren't particularly complicated - you press a button and it starts; you press another button and it stops - but this one also sets easily. One thing I disliked about my previous blender is that if I didn't set the jar in properly, the blades wouldn't spin correctly. For this one, there's no wrong way to set it in. It only goes in one way; I didn't have to try to spin it for the blades to align.

What I Didn't Love
Now, if they could only develop a self-cleaning blender...I'd be happy! The only complaint I have: the lid on the food processing bowl is a little tough to unlatch or unlock. Otherwise, in all seriousness, there was nothing else that I didn't love about this appliance.

It was easy to use. It worked well and fast. And it was sleek and good-looking. Well, if an appliance can be good-looking. It can, right?

What I Made
We made several things this weekend in the course of trying out the Oster Pro® 1200 Plus, including a prickly pear barbeque sauce that I will be sharing soon. But the recipe I'm going to share with this product review is exactly what the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf declared we were making as soon as he saw it: beet hummus.

Next to blended soups, hummus is probably the thing we make the most in our blender and food processor. Unfortunately, my youngest developed a sensitivity to garbanzo beans several years ago, so we get creative with our hummus. He still pines for "the regular, plain old hummus" but it's gotten to the point where he no longer suffers through the stomach pain. So, we make hummus with black lentils, roasted carrots, golden cauliflower, though roasted beet is our favorite.

Roasted Beet Hummus

Roasted Beets

  • 3 to 4 organic medium sized beets, scrubbed, dried, and trimmed
  • olive oil
  • freshly ground sea salt

  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves
  • ½ C tahini
  • 1 C plain whole milk yogurt
  • 4 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon for this batch)
  • 1 t freshly ground sea salt + more for taste
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • olive oil for drizzling, optional

Roasted Beets
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scrub and trim the beets, then roll them in olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Lay them on a baking sheet. Roast until they are fork tender. It depends on the size of the beet, but it usually takes about an hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skin.

Place all of the ingredients - plus the roasted beets - in the bowl of the food processor. Process until smooth. Adjust seasoning, if needed, with more salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil, if desired. Serve with pita bread, chips, or cut veggies.

A Few More Things...
Oster® has a current offer at Target for $10 off any Oster® Blender $39 and up. Get the coupon: here. And Target also has a Cartwheel app. Oster® will be updating the app with promotions throughout the holiday season. Get the app: here.

You may find Oster®...

*Disclosure: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program,
May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Favorite Cheeses, Curdling Milk, and a Tasting #TrainingCaseophiles

This week kicks off my six-week cheese class: The International Cheese Board. No, I'm not taking a six-week cheese class. I wish!! I'm teaching a six-week cheese class - to a dozen fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh graders. Yikes. Wish me luck. Thankfully I have a co-teacher this term; that always makes life much easier. Susan wasn't here this week as she was off leading a teachers' workshop in Los Angeles. But, stay tuned for all our cheesy shenanigans.

As a little ice breaker, I had them introduce themselves and tell us what their favorite cheese is. I was pleasantly surprised to hear: "I like stinky cheeses. Whatever is the stinkiest is my favorite!" But they ran the gamut from goat cheese to brie and more. Thank goodness no one answered, "American" because, well, that's not real cheese.

Milk Curdling
I told the kids that cheese is simply milk that has been curdled, drained, pressed, and ripened. Four little steps. That's it. Today, we curdled...

  • 1-1/2 C whole milk
  • 1 to 2 T lemon juice
  • 1 to 2 T orange juice
  • 1 to 2 T vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar)
  • Also needed: 3 clear jars for observation

Heat milk to the steaming point. Divide the milk evenly into the clear jars. Pour lemon juice into one jar, orange juice into the second, and vinegar into the third jar. Observe what happens.

They discovered that lemon juice produced smaller curds than vinegar. Orange juice didn't curdle at all. And vinegar smelled the worst.

Cheese Tasting

Because we'll be making different cheeses throughout the next five weeks, I didn't do an exhaustive tasting. But they did try: Chèvre, Gouda, Manchego, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Taleggio.

We discussed future week's lessons and they requested a week on American cheeses - you know, cheese from America not American cheese?!! - a week on smoked cheeses from different parts of the world, and a week on stinky cheeses. We can do that!

This was a little bittersweet for me. It's the first time I'm teaching that I don't have R in my class...since he's graduated and off at high school.

During week one, kids are always a little bit shy. I'm looking forward to next week. I think we'll be making paneer. We'll see...

Oh, and I did get lots of comments about my cheesy shirt!!

Vietnamese-Inspired Roasted Pork Ribs

Every time we have ribs for dinner, we chuckle about this story. D was about three-years-old at the time, riding in the cart with me at the grocery store. He asked me about the rack of ribs in the cart, pointing, "Mommy, what are those?"

Ribs, I answered.

His chubby fingers went to his side and he declared, "These are my ribs!"

Yes, that's true.

Horror contorted his little face and he whispered, pointing into my shopping cart, "Whose ribs are those?!?"

Not a person's, I assured him.

"Then who?" he demanded. He knew meat came from a living animal. But, I suppose, ribs were a little too recognizable. Now he loves ribs, but we still tell that story every time they're on our table.

The marinade on these ribs were inspired by the flavors in some of our favorite Vietnamese dishes. Well, it has a lot of Asian-inspired flavors. It was tasty!

  • 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, smashed and very finely chopped (approximately 2 T)
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • 1 to 2 T fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 t fresh turmeric, grated
  • 2 T gluten-free soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 T fish sauce
  • 1 T hot sauce (I used our Homemade Hot Sauce)
  • 2 t  salt
  • 2 T organic dark brown sugar
  • 2 t Chinese five-spice powder (You can Blend Your Own)
  • 1 rack baby back ribs
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 t rice vinegar

Slice your rack of ribs in half, if needed. They need to fit comfortably on a rimmed baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl, place the shallots, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, salt, sugar, and five-spice powder. Mix well.

Lay meat on a piece of foil (two, if you sliced the rack in half) and pour the marinade of the top. Let stand for 10 minutes. Flip it over and, using your hands, make sure the rib surfaces are completely covered with marinade. Let stand another 10 minutes. You can let the meat marinate overnight - and that's probably better - but I was pressed for time and the 20 minute-marinade was fine.

While ribs marinate, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Drizzle the ribs with olive oil and vinegar, then place another piece of foil over the top and make an packet. Roast at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Raise the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees and remove the top of the foil packet.

Return the ribs to the oven to brown and char, approximately 15 minutes. Divide ribs with a sharp knife and pile them onto a platter. Serve immediately.

I served them with an Asian-flavored slaw and baked beans.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Fideuà Negra for #FishFridayFoodies

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' October event. We are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, to share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.

This month, Caroline of Caroline's Cooking is hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: "As fall is upon us and winter all too soon, let's create some pasta dishes with fish and seafood. Whether it's a quick midweek meal for a busy school day or a comforting weekend feast, pair together your favorites."

As I was researching possibilities, I came across fideuà which is essentially paella made with pasta instead of rice. Then I came across a Fideuà Negra and I was sold. I am more than a little enamored with anything that includes cuttlefish ink!

Oh, about the name - fideuà is usually made with short lengths of dry pasta called fideus. Since I couldn't find any of that, I opted for some gluten-free spaghetti noodles. I broke them into two-inch lengths. Also, I will be the first to admit that mine is not a traditional fideuà, but it was so, so tasty!

Ingredients serves 4
  • 1 T butter
  • 2 T olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, peeled and diced (approximately 1-1/2 C)
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • ½ t fennel seed
  • ½ t coriander seed
  • 1 to 2 bay leaves
  • ½ pound shrimp, peeled
  • ½ pound squid, cleaned
  • ½ pound fish, cubed (I used a local, wild-caught rockfish)
  • ½ pound mussels
  • ½ pound clams
  • 2 T tomato sauce (I used some of my Roasted Tomato Sauce)
  • 1 to 2 T cuttlefish ink
  • pinch of saffron
  • 1 pound spaghetti broken into 2" pieces (I used gluten-free)
  • 2 C water
  • 2 C stock (I used some homemade duck stock from the bones of my Spicy Braised Duck Legs)
  • lemon wedges for serving

In a large, flat bottom pan with a tight-fitting lid, melt 1 T butter in 1 T olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Stir in the fennel seeds and coriander seeds.

Add in the squid, shrimp, and fish. Saute until the the shrimp begins to turn opaque. Stir in the tomato sauce and the cuttlefish ink. Tuck in the bay leaves and sprinkle the saffron over the top.

Top the seafood with the pasta pieces. Pour in the water and the stock. Nestle the mussels and clams into the pot. Drizzle with 1 T olive oil. Bring the liquid to a boil. Cover and simmer for the length it will take to cook the pasta. Mine took 7 minutes, according to the package.

Uncover and cook until your desired soupiness or dryness. I left some broth because we love soup!

Ladle into individual soup plates. Traditionally this is served with a dab of aioli; we went with a squeeze of lemon juice instead.

New-to-Me Ingredient: Boiled Cider

I came across an intriguing recipe last night that called for "boiled cider" and the recipe included a link to purchase the boiled cider - at $13 for the bottle and $6 for shipping. First, I didn't know what boiled cider was; second, I was pretty sure I could make it myself for less than $19!

I did some reading and realized that boiled cider was nothing more than apple cider reduced to a thick syrup. So easy!! Done. And it smelled amazing the entire time it was simmering. It smelled like fall!

  • 1 gallon fresh apple cider

Pour cider into a heavy pot; I used my Dutch oven. Bring the cider to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep at slightly more than a simmer until the gallon of liquid is reduced to about 2 C. It took me 4 hours.

Pour into a sterilized jar and refrigerate once cool. It should keep refrigerated for several months! You will see this in some Halloween treats I'm making next week.

Uni (Sea Urchin) Handroll

We are huge fans of uni - sea urchin. So, when we have a chance to get it, we always do. I added these on to our CSF delivery from Real Good Fish the other week and asked D how we should prepare it. Last time we got them, we did a Sea Urchin Crostini and his Urchin Soup is a perpetual favorite. We settled on a simple handroll that would let the urchin shine.

Ingredients makes 4 handrolls
  • 2 sheets of nori (seaweed sheets), cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 cooked rice (I used organic Jade Pearl rice)
  • 2 T rice vinegar
  • 8 pieces of uni

While the rice is still hot, mix in the rice vinegar.

Place the nori, shiny side down, on a work space. Place 1/4 C rice on the nori - in one corner at a 45 degree angle. Lay 1 or 2 pieces of urchin on the rice.

Okay, I drew a little diagram for you. Don't laugh!

The bottom right corner will be the top of your cone. Fold the top right corner down over the rice and filling. Then keep rolling until it is in the shape of a cone. Lay the seam side down. The moisture from the rice will seal the cone. If not, just moisten the edge a tiny bit and press down.

Repeat with the other three pieces. Serve immediately.

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Welcome to Yuba City

Welcome to Yuba City

Welcome to Yuba City

Philadelphia Fringe Festival
The Hub
Through September 19, 2009

Welcome to Yuba City

Rod Serling would approve

Pig Iron Theatre serves up plenty of sagebrush philosophy at the diner in ‘Welcome to Yuba City’ located somewhere between Roswell and that last chance Texaco in your mind.    Yuba’s  witty cutaway set by Mimi Lein lets a rusted Ford pickup bust through the diner diorama as desert vistas loom down the road apiece, where the odd alien may be dancing amok.

Those aliens are outshined in strangeness by some of the denizens of  the regular lunch crowd though.   Them dudes and dudettes tumbling into the diner in skinny jeans and Stetsons  for some apple pie or the odd plate of fettuccini Alfredo.  Geoff Sobelle is the telepathic chieftain who knits blankets out of tumbleweed, he doubles as the mumble mouth cowboy whose meandering epigrams leave you stranded in paradox.

Later, Sobelle is the hilariously pissed off and doddering senior who lets people help him at their own peril. him.  James Sugg’s meek pigeon-toed, cross eyed historian tells how Yuba was settled and by a man who ran out of gas and communed with the lizards, later he does a Yuba anthem on the diner’s karaoke machine.

Charlotte Ford is the furiously obsessed wife Susan in such bad animal print clothes that her mullet doesn’t even give pause.  She keeps her diabetic husband Tom, played with glorious spasticity by Dito van Riegerberg, at his 7ft restraining order distance with her expandable  ruler.

Hinako Arao’s the waitress is too, too happy to oblige the customers with instant orders, when she isn‘t in a silver afro burying gold bricks behind the counter.  Sobelle, van Reigersberg and Alex Torra are three stoogey Italian cyclists who love everything Americana but are always a word away from Italiano bickering and passionate makeup kisses.  Torra is also the lisping alien tracker with aluminum foil equipment, who is being tracked himself the gmen in black.

There is madcap, slapstick fun in Yuba and Director Quinn Bauriedel keeps things moving even though some of the comedy skids off course.  Deborah Stein script brings huge laughs and has great character comedy in it, but gets a little windblown with its literal ending.

But Bauriedel knows how to orchestrate fine ensemble playing and inspired physical comedy, love that forward and reverse slo-mo western mayhem ala The Wild Bunch (credit choreographer Christina Zani).   Bauriedel misses the opportunity for some great singing from Sugg and van Reigersberg, who get abbreviated songs, meanwhile the martini and lounge lizard soundtrack is mighty fine in Yuba City.

Philadelphia ,

Lewis Whittington writes about the performing and film arts for many publications. He is a renegade dance, theater and opera queen, a jazz-head and a civil activist.

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sobota, 21. september 2013

Let me be the one to lift your heart up and save your life.

I don't really care what everybody thinks anymore. The more I know about them, the more I love them. And I love being a part of 1D family!

Breaks a billion hearts
I know I'm next in line
But I don't mind

I find your lips so kissable
And your kiss unmissable
Your fingertips so touchable
And your eyes irresistible

Can we fall one more time?
Stop the tape and rewind
Oh, and if you walk away I know I’ll fade
‘Cause there is nobody else
It’s gotta be you

That should be me driving to your house
knocking on your door, kissing you on the mouth.

Close the door
Throw the key
Don’t wanna be reminded
Don’t wanna be seen
Don’t wanna be without you
My judgment's clouded
Like tonight's sky

nedelja, 08. september 2013

Dont chase people. Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard. The right people, the ones who really belong in your life, will come to you. And stay.

Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind.

Stop caring what people thinkStop taking caution in your actions, listen to what you want, do what you want, this is your life. Live it.

When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?

You've got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret. People change, things go wrong, just remember life goes on.

nedelja, 11. avgust 2013

When a loved one becomes a memory that memory becomes a treasure.

Darling, thank you for everything. You were absolutely amazing. In my heart there will always be a very special place for you for all my life. Rest in peace.

15.10.2011 - 11.8.2013

sreda, 07. avgust 2013

The longer you wait for the future, the shorter it will be.

There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there's so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on.

Things change and friends leave and life does not stop for anybody.

I can see exactly where I want to be, I just can't see how will I ever get there.

 I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

petek, 21. junij 2013

Rest in peace, my beautiful princess.

8. 2002 - 21. 6. 2013

Thank you for always making my days brighter, and for always listening to me when I was lonely. Thank you for all the moments of joy you gave me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for everything.

I'm sorry for every time I yelled at you. I'm sorry for every time I was too "busy" to play with you. I'm sorry for every moment I didn't spend with you.

I will miss you waking me up in the middle of the night, because you wanted to cuddle. I will miss you being annoying, when you wanted more food. I already miss you so much.

** you will always have a special place in my heart **

sreda, 22. maj 2013

It's time to work a little harder!

It always seems impossible until its done.

The perfect time to start something never arrives.

Study time = perfect time for everything else.

sreda, 01. maj 2013

This is a war I can't win.

It's like you're screaming, but no one can hear...

Sometimes the smallest things hurt you the most.

That moment when you burst out crying alone in your room and you realize that no one truly knows how unhappy you are.

Sometimesyou just need a break in a beautiful placeAlone. To figure everything out...

sreda, 13. marec 2013

I know these will all just be stories someday.

Someone asked me if I knew you. A million memories flashed through my mind and I whispered: "not anymore."

Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.

The only real treasure is in your head. Memories are better than diamonds and nobody can steal them from you.

It's strange, isn't it?
How hard it can be to forget something bad, and how easy it can be to forget something good.

But then again, sometimes you miss the memories, not the person.

ponedeljek, 04. februar 2013

They said the only way to get over a broken heart is to fall in love again. So I fell in love with myself. Best fucking relationship of my life.

Hey you.
Stop being unhappy with yourself. You are perfect.
Stop wishing you liked someone else, or wishing people liked you as much as they like someone else.
Stop trying to get attention from those who hurt you.
Stop hating your body, your face, your personality, your quirks.
Love them. Without those things you wouldn't be you.
And, why would you want to be anyone else?
Be confident with who you are.
Smile. It'll draw people in.
If anyone hates on you because you are happy with yourself, then you stick your middle finger in the air, and say screw it!
Your happiness will not be depended on anyone anymore.
Life is too short to be perfect.
Love your imperfections, they make you, you.
And, your flaws is what make you beautiful. So, be you. Because, you, are pretty amazing!

Can you remember the last time you were in love? Your heart went ahhh. It is such a wonderful feeling. It's the same thing with loving yourself except that you will never leave. Once you have love for yourself, it's with you for the rest of your life, so you want to make it the best relationship you can have.

Stop hating yourself for everything you aren'tStart loving yourself for everything that you are.

 Spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.

petek, 25. januar 2013

Sometimes you meet a person and you just click - you’re comfortable with them, like you’ve known them your whole life, and you don’t have to pretend to be anyone or anything.

And then my soul saw you, and it kind of went, “Oh there you are. I've been looking for you."

You wrapped your arms around me, pressing your body against mine. And in that moment of perfection, I knew we were meant to be. I never wanted you to let go of me.

You may not even remember, but it was this one night you brushed
the hair out of my eyes and that was when I fell in love with you.

And you brighten up the world with your eyes, and you're so damn lovely when you're on my mind, because you're the only one.


WARC-Truncated: length

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Sunday, 22 November 2009

Cigarette Filters

Okay, this was a weird one to use - but I was cleaning out the kitchen and found them from when Nicky used to smoke. Popped them in the bin, then fished a few back out again when I realised how useful they would be! Of course. And I haven't even used them for all the things I think they would be great for.

You can cut them into a point, brilliant for applying glue where you need a tiny or delicate amount.

They also pick up ink from your inkpad so you can draw and colour tint fantastically. They soak up water, so you can use them with mica powders to paint with! And there's loads in one box. Pop them on the end of a pricking tool or a tool with a crocodile clip to help hold them.

I used one cut length ways to create a Christmas Tree, by just sweeping ink picked up from the inkpad across my card. I then cut another one to a point, dipped it into water and picked up powders directly to paint with.

I then picked up glue with another one cut into a fine point, which I then popped my micro beads on.

These are great - I haven't even tried them with alcohol inks yet, but bet they are fab - and they are cheap!

Go forth and play........

  1. Wicked!!! lol!!!
    Just love the Christmas Tree! xx

  2. Wow, who would have thought you could do all that with those filters, thanks for sharing Leonie :)

All comments are moderated to avoid you having to input those awful letters which never seem to work anyway. But to avoid spam I get through each comment so be patient as your comment won't show up straight away. Thank you ! X Fab


text:
ASP.NET Core 1.0. 1.1, and 2.0 allow an elevation of privilege vulnerability due to the ASP.NET Core project templates, aka "ASP.NET Core Elevation Of Privilege Vulnerability". This CVE is unique from CVE-2018-0808.
Note: References are provided for the convenience of the reader to help distinguish between vulnerabilities. The list is not intended to be complete.
Assigning CNA
Microsoft Corporation
Date Entry Created
20171201 Disclaimer: The entry creation date may reflect when the CVE-ID was allocated or reserved, and does not necessarily indicate when this vulnerability was discovered, shared with the affected vendor, publicly disclosed, or updated in CVE.
Phase (Legacy)
Assigned (20171201)
Votes (Legacy)
Comments (Legacy)
Proposed (Legacy)
This is an entry on the CVE list, which standardizes names for security problems.


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read all text 2008-01-24 00:48:04

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Not so live blogging: Golden Globes 2010

The all too fabulous Dinah did a great live blogging post on the Golden Globes this year. So, you might say it's already been covered - and fabulously so - and why bother. The reason why I've decided to do it as well, is that I'm thinking I might have a different take on the show. Plus I love, love, love award shows. If all the award shows were transmitted live on Danish tv, I'd be up at all hours of the night watching them all. Champagne in hand of course, and the devil may care attitude towards perhaps being positively knackered at work the next morning. Of course they are not, so it's just one day off I must plan in advance. For the Oscars.

This, however is about the Golden Globes. Let the games begin.

  1. Show opens, and Ricky Gervais comes out all sweaty looking. They should have put ventilation in that suit of his. Is he nervous or constipated?
  2. The stage is all salmon coloured with a bit of silver glitter. It looks like something the Golden Girls would have picked out.
  3. Cosmetic surgery jokes, that's very original isn't it? No?
  4. Morgan Freeman looks bored at penis jokes. Either they really weren't funny, or he's forgotten his hearing aid. He's gotten really old though, hasn't he. Wow.
  5. The camera work is awful, oh there was Sandra Bullock! She is pretty.
  6. Oh, Ricky Gervais drinks beer? On screen? Is that allowed in the US?
  7. Nicole Kidman is missing a nipple, and George Clooney looks so good. Love him.
  8. Massive emerald ear rings on Julianne Moore. Love her, she's so pretty.
  9. Note to all heavy women out there: If you are heavy, you shouldn't wear a coursage dress. You'll look whale'ish
  10. Awww. Mo'Nique makes me cry.
  11. Matthew Fox has gotten a lot less foxy. Such a bad wig on him.
  12. Toni Collette won wearing a very sparkly dress. She's come a long way since Muriel's Wedding
  13. Uh, Lauren Graham in pink. We love her!
  14. Is Lost still on? Wow.
  15. Neil Patrick Harris looks cute.
  16. Fergie looks more alien that ever, and Josh Duhamel not as sexy as he used to. She must have sucked all the life force and beauty out of him. Greedy bitch.
  17. The man accepting the Golden Globe for UP was so happy. Loved that.
  18. Kate Hudson annoys me. She's presenting the movie Nine. Her dress is nice, but shouldn't have been white. It IS a wedding dress. She's off to Vegas after the show.
  19. Ricky Gervais is back. Go away.
  20. Willian H. Macy looks so old. His wife Felicity Huffman looks like she could be his daughter. She looks pretty.
  21. Tom Hanks looks fat and ugly. What happened there? I think it might have been The Polar Express?
  22. Unless Michael C. Hall is sick, he should take off that hat. It's not appropriate.
  23. January Jones...What kind of name is that?
  24. We like The Good Wife. She's pretty. Not sure I like the dress though.
  25. Calista Flockhart still weighs 10 pounds. Someone should force feed her lard.
  26. Harrison Ford sounds so bored. Either that, or he's on whatever Anna Nicole was on.
  27. Cher looks fairly well for her age. Cosmetic surgery much?
  28. It's been a while since we've seen Jake Gyllenhall hasn't it?
  29. I don't like Sir Paul McCartney. I really don't.
  30. I think it's confirmed. Amy Adams is preggo.
  31. Glittery loofa alarm! Drew Barrymore, Liberace called. He want's his loofas back.
  32. Tom Hanks joke tanked. That was funny, not his joke, the joke tanking.
  33. Colin Farrell still looks cute.
  34. Julia Robers and her massive lips - hey Joools, Agelina called she wants her lips back! looks fairly bland with her blonde hair.
  35. Meryl Streep won for Julie & Julia. I want to watch that. I actually planned to watch it in LA but I couldn't make it because I had planned to meet with Dullface at a specific time.
  36. Meryl is one classy lady, but shut up about the politics and charity thing.
  37. Sandra Bullock looked like she was crying during that speech. I don't think it was because she lost though.
  38. Another classy lady is Helen Mirren. She's so pretty.
  39. When introducing Precious they didn't mention Mariah Carey. That was nice.
  40. What was The Edge from U2 doing at the Golden Globes?
  41. Morgan Freeman doesn't care about any of it. He's just sitting there looking bored. Drinking.
  42. I've already commented on Drew Barrymores dress but what was she thinking. I like her hair though.
  43. Cameron Diaz is so overrated.
  44. Just go away Ricky Gervais
  45. Rachel from Friends and that bloke from 300 are beautiful. Gerald Butler is so hot.
  46. What happened to Thomas Jane? He used to be so hot!
  47. Maggie Gyllenhall sounds absurd. Like a moron really. Her message about saving Haiti was more relevant.
  48. I heard that Brad Pitt and Agelina Jolie weren't attending because they weren't nominated.
  49. Oh, oh Miss Sophia Loren. All bow down and kiss her shoes. She's the movie star goddess. I love that they all look so excited about her being there. That's the way it should be bitches!
  50. There's still 50 minutes left and I'm slowly losing interest now. The show Mad Men just won. Hoooray for them!
  51. Taylor Lautnier or something is so handsome, but I couldn't possibly say that because he's not old enough. So ew ew ew.
  52. Thomas Jane really didn't age well. Such a shame.
  53. Chloe Serviette, more like. Lovely collection of napkins you are wearing. She's annoying.
  54. Ricky Gervais has another sip of his beer.
  55. Halle Berry is coming out of her dress. It's fairly vulgar. Woody Harrelson looks cute. Who would have thought.
  56. Why do people find Leonardo DiCaprio attractive? His hair style is ugly.
  57. Marty Scorsese is very charismastic. Was he in the movie UP?
  58. Robert Downey Jr. is chewing gum during Martys speech. Looked funny.
  59. Jodie Foster looks quite good. I wonder how much work she's had done.
  60. Mel Gibson looks quite good. I can almost pretend to forget about his scandalous year last year.
  61. Funny thing, James Cameron won for Avatar. I've heard that it doesn't have a lot of story in it. He has to pee.
  62. Why are the tables so close together. It's very unpractical.
  63. I suppose I have to watch Glee at some point. There is a Danish version, I think. It looked like the same kind of thing, but the Danish one sucked.
  64. Bradley Cooper is HOT! I would marry him.
  65. I still can't believe The Hangover won. It was a great movie, but it wasn't THAT good. I'd have thought it would have been one of the Meryl Streep movies. I heard that Nine wasn't that good. I want to watch Nine though.
  66. Mickey Rourke is butt ugly! I can't believe it, he looks almost worse than at the Oscars last year. I will always remember 9½ weeks.
  67. Arnold Schwarzenegger, botox much?
  68. Emily Blunt is so pretty.
  69. Yay! Sandra Bullock! I love her speech, it was so lovely.
  70. I watched Sherlock Holmes last night. I thought I'd be crushing on Robert Downey Jr. but I was much surprised to be in love with Jude Law.
  71. I wonder if Guy Richie was there, but I'm thanking the lord that Madge isn't there.
  72. Kate Winslet looks great.
  73. I love that we just saw Sophia Loren eating. It sends such a strong message to all the girls out there, and Calista Flockhart.
  74. Julia Roberts is giving away the final award of the evening. She's really annoying, and the dress is not pretty. She's also doing the botox thing.
  75. Avatar won. It surprises me a little. Well, it didn't because I knew it already but in general it's a surprise to me. Mostly because although I've heard it's a great movie, I've also heard that the story is weak. Personally I hope it's not the case, because if they give a movie the best movie award because of special effects, that's when it's really going down the drain.
  76. Did James Cameron get to pee? I can't help but wonder.
  77. Oh he did get to pee.
  78. His hair is awful.
  79. Ricky Gervais says goodnight
  80. Now I feel a little abandoned. I'm no longer surrounded by big Hollywood stars.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Book Update 2: Straight I think not

I've finished four books now. In under one month. So excited I am. It'll end up being fairly expensive though, as I've almost run out of books to read and will have to call upon Amazon UK to deliver a new pile of quality entertainment. With further ado, I give you the two most recent books I've read.

I was browsing through my Amazon UK recommendations and there it was. I'd previously bought a Kylie calendar and other Kylie stuff from them so they thought this little item would be right up my alley. The cover was quite easy on the eyes, and the blurb made it sound like an easy breezy fluffy story. Naturally I was all for it.

The books is divided into chapters by the names of selected Kylie tracks that fit with the overall theme of the chapter. This is quite fun actually. I was a little disappointed that one of the main character, Jonathan Parish's, favorite tracks

wasn't featured as a chapter.

Anyway. You've probably guessed it, Jonathan is an American teenager and an out and proud gay. He's obsessed with Kylie and one day he gets an offer he can't refuse. Being flown to London to see Kylies Showgirl Tour in exchange for going back into the closet to play the straight boyfriend of a girlfriend of his. The rest, you can read about yourself. It's quite the delightful and easy read.

You may, or may not remember that I've also read his other books Leave Myself Behind and Brothers Bishop. I enjoyed Brothers Bishop immensely, but as far as I recall I wasn't that into Leave Myself Behind. So, it was interesting to see how I felt about The Distance Between Us, the third book by Bart Yates.

It's about a 71 year old ex concert pianist named Hester Parker. My first thought was, oh this is going to be a very long book. Then a young man is introduced. Pale, skinny and unruly ginger hair. Oh crap, could it get any worse? It was all uphill from there, and to be honest it went up and up and up and up.

Turns out that Hester Parker and I have a lot in common. We are both slightly bitter and sarcastic, and in all honesty a bit vindictive. You see, Hester Parker has been alienated from her family and her husband of many, many years who has had an affair with the same woman for 15 years, has left her. He wants the house in the divorce, and the woman he has been cheating on Hester with, was a woman she actually liked.

The book has so much humour. Hilarious at times, and is also sad. I like sad books. You don't want to miss this one out.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Nic, Renée and Joooles

I promised the fabulous Princess of Palais de Steff to do a little bit of chatting about Nicole Kidman after I named Australia the best movie I saw last year. It seemed almost unforgivable to our fabulous Princess. Here's what she had to say about it

Dear CyberPete,

You Little Sycophant!

How very dare you award
Ms Kidman/Cruise/Urban for another woeful performance in that "Thing" Called Australia!.....
I refused to go and see it on the Grounds of the appalling trailers that assaulted my ears(the Dread full accent) and eyes (her waxen expressionless face)!

Oh , thats right, I remember Now, Mr Huge Jackman Did steal her thunder!

Love Princess XXX

Right, so the truth is, up until quite recently I've always kind of hated Nicole Kidman - and her acting. Even after she had teamed up with one of my favorite actors of all time Sandra Bullock (LOVE her). Of course, then I'd only watched the following movies, starring her, that left a lot to be desired

  • Days of Thunder (a Tom Cruise movie - bleugh! We hate him!)
  • Billy Bathgate
  • Far And Away (another Tom Cruise thing - ewww!)
  • Malice (we like Bill Pullman, and this was one I didn't hate so much)
  • To Die For (terrible!)
  • Batman Forever (yikes!)
  • The Peacemaker (I dubbed it the Pacemaker, but I am oh so in love with George)
  • Practical Magic (I love Sandra Bullock so it wasn't that terrible)
  • Eyes Wide Shut (another Tom Cruise thing - double ewww! with bleugh! on top)
  • Moulin Rouge! (Kylie was in it, and Baz directed it)

This is about the time where I started liking her. She'd ditched Tom, and Moulin Rouge! was a turning point in her career. The one she should have won her Oscar for. Which leads me to where I was going with this post. The dire Oscar mixup! It was all fumbles really.

Now, I LOVE the Academy Awards. The glamour, the dresses, the glitz, the stars, the shoes, the diamonds, the men, the movies and Oscar himself of course. I watch it LIVE every year, except the one before last, where I had to work the day after. So I had to skip it. It was brutal, I was devastated, and very pissed at my work. Never forgetting that!

Anyway, they mixed up the Oscars of these 3 ladies.

Nicole Kidman

You see, Nicole Kidman was nominated for an Oscar twice.

  • Best actress in a leading role - Moulin Rouge! - 2002
  • Best actress in a leading role - The Hours - 2003

Incidently she won for her role in The Hours. A movie in which she only had 30 minutes on screen which is usually only enough to get a nomination as a supporting actress. So, there were two reasons why she was able to take home the Oscar that year. First, because her original Oscar win for Moulin Rouge! was stolen by Halle Berry (we all remember that atrocious Oscar speech don't we?) for Monster's Ball, and secondly because she made herself 'ugly' by having that fake nose.

That being said, she always looks gorgeous on the red carpet (that is, after she got rid of Tom Cruise).

Renée Zellweger

You see, the plot thickens. Because the year where Halle Berry robbed Nicole Kidman of her Oscar, was also the year Renée Zellweger was first nominated for an Oscar. She was up for Bridget Jones's Diary.
  • Best actress in a leading role - Bridget Jones's Diary - 2002
  • Best actress in a leading role - Chicago - 2003
  • Best actress in a supporting role - Cold Mountain - 2004

Well, I wouldn't say that her performance in Bridget Jones's Diary deserved an Oscar, but she definately did for Chicago. That was brilliant. The thing is though, that was the year Nicole Kidman was given her token Oscar, so Renée Zellweger couldn't get hers. They were up against Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven), Diane Lane (Unfaithful) and Salma Hayek (Frida). A very tough year. Yet, the Oscar should have gone to either Renée or Julianne Moore and since musicals are favoured due to the extra efforts of actually singing and dancing too, it would have gone to Renée Zellweger. Had it not been for the mixup the year before.

Then of course, Renée Zellweger teamed up with Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain and delivered a wonderful performance subsequently winning her a token Oscar for best actress in a supporting role. You'd think it was all over then. Everyone's happy, as they all got their Oscar in the end - and it would be easier for Renée to get another Oscar as she didn't win leading actress.

Julia Roberts

And then there was Julia Roberts. I mean really, when did she ever deserve to win anything.
  • Best actress in a supporting role - Steel Magnolias - 1990
  • Best actress in a leading role - Pretty Woman - 1991
  • Best actress in a leading role - Erin Brockovich - 2001

I'll give you Steel Magnolias. That was a great performance, plus she dies. The nomination for Pretty Woman was weak, and Erin Brockovich. Well, that might as well have been a Lifetime Achievement Award "because you'll never win an Oscar any other way, dearie".

Julia Roberts has been around for a gazillion years I suppose, and her horse teeth and massive hair has helped sell a LOT of movie tickets, and I suppose that should be rewarded, but they could - and have done that at the Blockbuster Awards. Yet, it's not really the same, winning a Blockbuster Award as it absolutely isn't an Oscar.

The most interesting thing about Julia Roberts career (except her sometimes fabulous outfits) is the fact that she didn't win The Razzie worst supporting actress for Hook in 1992. Sean Young stole that from her.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

I don't know what it is - Part II

Miss K and I had a lovely brunch. She was only slightly miffed that I was late. Turns out, she was late herself, so she only waited 5 minutes. We ended up going shopping after brunch, and then off to Christopher Kanes studio to look at some creations she had on hold. They didn't work for the event she had in mind, but we ended up taking a bunch of them back to her place anyway. Just to be on the safe side.

The topic of Aiden showing up with the skank came up. I said he was a friend of ours, and that I was feeling a little under the weather. Obviously Miss K couldn't believe I'd associate myself with a two bit Asda model like that, but after I told her that Aiden was doing photos for this post modern exhibition on supermarket trash, she let up. So I didn't tell her. I know, I should have as we are dear friends. Still, she had a whole to do to get to later so I didn't want to ruin her day. I figured I'd just go home, get the locks changed and crack open a bottle of bubbly to toast my new singleness. At least I can whore around now. Anyone interested in a fit, 42 year old ex underwear model?

Maybe I should do porn. I could move to the US and do porn. Afterall I know how to look good naked, so how hard (ahem) could it be. Although, I've got a nice and cushy life here and with my investments I could probably live comfortable for the rest of my life without lifting a finger. Oh, yes I am not as stupid as I look. I've made quite a bit of money like that. Thanks to Cal, my bank person. Wait, I must get a lawyer. Shit! Aiden probably already has one.

So instead of calling a lawyer, I show up at the most prestigious law firm in town. They know me, as I did some work for them after I just got my law degree. There is this woman you see, Jen Davis who is a total shark. I want her.

We have coffee for 10 minutes in her office, and I explain the situation, and she takes on my case on the spot. Of course I'm thrilled and we make arrangements to meet again with all the papers and such. It's going to get messy, I'm sure. Aiden never took anything laying down (ahem, at least not with me). By now I'm in complete damage control mode, and so I get all these things done. Even sending out my CV just for the hell of it.

When I get home, Aidens there looking for a camera. I meet him in the walk in closet where the skank is trying on one of my shirts. I'm like, oh no you didn't just do that! Aiden tells me to let it go, besides I'm wearing his shoes and jacket. Oh, right. It's different though, because it's not Aiden wearing my shirt, it's his skanky fuckbuddy. It's.. Gross. (I later end up ritually burning the shirt in Aidens office because like EW!) I strip down to my underwear and change into nothing but tracksuit bottoms. Just to see if I've still got it. They are both checking me out. It feels good, or actually, ew! skanky pants is checking me out. Just up and die already. Still, I try to come off as civil when I ask him for his name. He blinks, like he doesn't understand the question. Um, er, Scott? he says. Like it's a question. I raise an eyebrow and ask him if he's sure. Aiden glares at me. Well, it sounded like he wasn't sure, I say. Scott looks at me confused, and I smile at him in my most condescending way. Bless him.

I still love Aiden though. Sure, I'm bitter and pissed and confused. Why would he trade me in for that skanky Asda model. He could have almost anyone and he picks some two bit trash. It's so beneath him. Not to mention very insulting for me. Hey, skanky pants could you give us a minute alone please, I hear myself say. Neither Aiden, nor skanky pants seem impressed by this. I suspect it's for different reasons entirely. When he passes me by the door I trip him. Granted, that wasn't a stellar move, but it worked in Showgirls. Aiden doesn't see this, and apparently skanky thinks he just tripped over the threshold. Hah.

First Aiden starts mumbling something, but I interrupt him and tell him that I've got a lawyer. He looks hurt. Why would he look hurt, he put this in motion and where's his wedding ring? I tell him that it's the natural thing to do when someone decides to end a marriage. So he just looks at me, gets up and grabs his camera. Without saying another word. What's that about. I follow him, and I keep talking all the way to the elevator. Maybe that's why he is leaving. I talk too much? That skanky Scott guy doesn't seem to be able to put together a complete sentence.

I do talk a lot, and I tend to talk about myself a lot. Of course, since I either sit at home, or end up going out to glitzy affairs or famous brunches it's only natural. Isn't it. Suddenly I'm very aware of how much I talk. Especially about myself. Then I get to thinking that all my friends are the same way. Although I'm sort of this model has-been, I still get interviewed and end up on VH-1 and those hideous "wealthiest models in the world" shows. You know, the ones with that man voice over thing that always sounds sooooo obnoxious and yet offended that P. Diddy has a 500 ft. yacht or something. I'm not offended by that, I just wish I did. I'm not that rich, sadly.

Then my mind goes to fashion. Maybe I should get into designing. I love fashion, and I have the connections. You'd think that the only thing I need is the talent, but I've actually got some old sketches somewhere and while I may not be perfect at sewing I am fairly good. My mother called me domestic, because I repaired and altered my clothes. At the very least I might be able to squeeze myself onto the creative team behind Miss Ks next lingerie collection. What are friends for, right?

I go to the bar and mix a batch of gin martinis and sit down. Alicia hasn't been here today. There's still glass and other crap on the floor from the other night. Why didn't she come in today? Maybe Aiden sacked her. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He always thought that since I didn't work, I might as well do a bit of housework. Yeah, right. Like I'm going to clean up your shit mate. That was pretty much my response to that, when he suggested it oh so many years ago. So we interviewed a couple, and it came down to two. Alicia and Randy, but there was simply way too many double entendres and Aiden wasn't comfortable hiring a man. No matter how much, he so wasn't my type. Bless her, Alicia won out and while she's a very poor maid she was the least inoffensive one we could find.

My phone rings, and it's my assistant Cat. I realise I make a lot of obnoxious nicknames, but Cathrine actually prefers Cat. Plus she's a total minx, there is no way anyone could resist calling her Cat. Hey Cat darrrrrling, how are you doing today my love? I say. She giggles and I could almost hear her batting her eyelashes as she responds. Nate, my dear! I'm fabulous, and I was just making sure you guys remember attending the new museum exhibition at the V&A tomorrow. She senses something's wrong from the silence. My brain goes into overdrive as I think. Cat thoughtfully reminds me of the 1950s fashion photography exhibit. Oh..That.. Well, I'm not really up for it, I say. I tell her how Aiden and I have broken up, and that he's probably bringing his trashy boytoy with him. Cat doesn't care. She's paid to make me feel better, and force me to attend even the most tacky of events (approved by my manager, because everyone has a manager right?)

Images of me, standing alone near a WW2 canon at the Imperial War Museum with a plastic cup of white wine out of a cardboard box, waiting for an ancient man in a ragged uniform to finish putting people to sleep with his tiresome and very elaborate speech. It almost made you wish the Nazis had killed him, that or they would come and kill you (or better, him) now. The evening was a complete waste. Nobody of interest showed up, and for years to come I was invited to everything that had the faintest bit to do with history and war. I tell you, I nearly fell over reading my first invitation after that. It started with "Dear fellow history buff". At first I thought it was a friend of mine playing a joke on me, but I called and they meant it. The lady on the other end of the line seemed a little insulted when I couldn't stop my, you are shitting me right?. Bless her though.

Cat asks if I'm still there. Oh, yes I'm still here, I say. So you are attending, she asks. I suppose I should get out there. So, she says she'll make sure to get me on the VIP list. We say our goodbyes, and I go fetch a bottle of Bollinger and settle on the chaise.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Book update 1: LIC GAS

I can't believe I've already finished two books. That's just crazy. Still, I had to up my game after last years failed attempt. This year must be better, and now I only have 10 books to go. Piece of cake. So here goes.

Like most of the books I read, this too is gay themed. The narrator is like totally this 17 year old guy who like has this best friend named Al. They totally like hang out all the time and then Al is like all political and Jaz (the narrator) is like totally like LIC GAS. Or Like I Could Give A Shit.

Actually it's a lot better than what I wrote, because the writing really suits the book as the narrator is this 17 year old guy who is just tries to live his life. Obviously he thinks he and his best mate Alice (Al) are the shit and everyones pretty much lame. Which is kool.

I liked it, it was very engaging and I never did tire of the many totallys, likes and such because the commentary by Jaz was spot on. I totally narrated my life like that when I was 17. Hell I'm still like totally doing it now.

Apparently there are a lot of these kinds of books with samples of sticky notes, post-its and notes written on more disturbing samples of paper, plastic, walls etc. I picked this up at the sales bin at HMV in London last year. It was cheap, and the title was excellent.

I, however, had no idea JUST how disturbed people are though. When I was staying at a folk high school here in Denmark, sharing a bathroom with two other guys (one Dutch and one Bulgarian) and the common kitchen with about 25 people of all nations (and hygiene levels), I thought I'd seen it all. Heating milk in the electric kettle without cleaning it, not doing dishes for a week. Not removing hair from the plughole in the shower. That sort of thing. We left notes, had "hall meetings" and all that. Still, the amount of disturbing and downright terrifying notes in this book left me both in stitches and also almost sleepless at night.

Thankfully I didn't encounter (or had to write) notes like these gems

"This phone has been up my arse"

"Why is my bed damp?"

"I think I should point out to whoever has been eating the stuff in the fridge with the foil over it, it's actually raw sausage meat that I was going to use as stuffing. It hasn't been cooked yet so will probably make you very ill. Guess you have learned your lesson by eating other peoples stuff!"

"Whoever eats my cheese... I licke it. Ha ha ha" noted underneath "So do I"

"Whoever has left their crusty black nickers (with silver streaks) on the bathroom floor - kindly remove them"

People are sick.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

I don't know what it is - Part I

Ok, so I'm sitting here on a chaise in our living room with a glass of Champagne. No, scratch that, I may as well be honest, that was at 9pm last night. By now it's 7am and now it's an almost empty bottle of gin. Isn't it strange how suddenly your life just changes?

The plan was for Aiden (that's my husband) and I to attend the opening of the Tous store here in London. I had put on my new silver suit (ok, maybe it does sound a bit naff but it reminds me of my modelling days) from Dolce & Gabbana and I was waiting for him to come home from work so we could go. Then of course Aiden's late. He finally comes home, it was about 8pm by then, and sits me down and says he wants a divorce. I'm outraged - obviously! - and start yelling and crying and making a complete fool of myself. Of course I knew about his affair with that Asda model Scott but I assumed it would die out. Like it did with Miles, Sambad, Thomas and who can remember the rest. It didn't mean anything, it was just sex. Right?

So I just kind of alternated between throwing stuff at him, yelling, and fumbling my way towards the Champagne cooler. Aiden ducked and covered with the best of them, and said he was moving out. For the time being, he said. Like he's ever getting in here again, hah! Good one. His affairs must have started about the time we got married, about 10 years ago and we've been together 15 years. Today is our anniversary, funny that.

I really love Aiden, and I ignored the cheating because I figured that he always ended up back with me. He didn't love those two bit skanks who, quite frankly, only participated because they thought it would boost their modelling career. This is when you think, hah, who are you to talk. Aiden's a 51 year old world renowned fashion photographer and you are a 39 year old (OK, honesty is the best policy I suppose, 42) ex underwear model and you do the math. Well, it does look bad, but really it isn't. You just think all models are skanks who screw whatever to get on the cover of Elle, Vogue or whatever is the premier fashion magazine at the time. You'd be quite right, been there and done that. Yet, I never whored around after I met Aiden and I never used him to get ahead (ahem!). I didn't.

The thing is, everyone thinks models are whoring around and using everyone to get ahead. They will be quite right, but as I mentioned before, I stopped doing that when I met Aiden. I loved him. Well, I love him. I'm bitter, surly, angry, hateful and I still love him.

I look down at my platinum wedding ring with diamonds all around the band. Apparently I've taken it off earlier and been holding it in my hand. Suddenly, I throw the ring at the 62 inch flatscreen TV. As I watch it fly towards the TV, I regret throwing it and get up to go pick it up. The room is now spinning, like that time some cow spiked my drink at a Jean Paul Gaultier after party at Paris fashion week in 1997. I fall to my knees and crawl to my destination. It looks like there are two rings. How could there be two, it's like friggin Alice in Wonderland. Will the wrong one make me small? How could I feel smaller than I feel now, lying on the living room floor in a naff silver suit from Dolce Gabbana staring at two rings - and is that dust behind the sofa over there, or is the Mad Hatter coming to get me? Must mention it to Alice, no Alicia. Our cleaning lady is Alicia, isn't it?

The phone wakes me up three hours later. Apparently Miss K wants to know why only Aiden and 'some guy' showed up last night at Tous. Oh, and do you want to do brunch? Um, OK...? When, what time is it now? It's 10am. Well Ok then, in an hour at the usual place. Right. Miss K is rarely in town these days, and I fear that I need the company. I put on the wedding ring and wonder for a second if I'll get any smaller. No, and the other ring is gone. Must call Alicia about the dust then.

I take a quick shower, and think of how I do love my bathroom. It's positively divine. The shower and bath tub are the best parts though, but then I picked those out.

You still can't get over the whole, he's an ex model who didn't whore around on his partner, am I right? I know, even I'm baffled. It just never occurred to me because I loved him. Also you are thinking money, Nathaniel (that's my name, but my friends call me Nate) probably didn't have any and his famous photographer boyfriend turned husband probably had loads. You are wrong, I thought we were fairly equal in that sense. Aiden had a great career etc., and I was just an underwear model.

I could have been like that, had I done all that stuff (read. drugs, parties, vacations) my colleages did. When they were all partying in Acapulco, I was off working. Photoshoots, fashion runways, commercials etc. My parents were right about money, put it away and once you're done modelling you can go to law school or something. Of course, I ended up retiring earlier because of Aiden fairly rich. Aiden wanted me to stop working so he'd be the only one seeing me in my underwear, and I did. Partly because I loved Aiden, and partly because I thought I'd be able to do something else. Yet, in those last 15 years I never got around to finding out what that something would be.

On some level I probably thought the only thing I was good at was modelling. That's not completely true, because I did pass all the exams to become a lawyer. At some point I got sick and tired of only being this accessory only to be worn out at parties. I suddenly had deep sympathy for my old Hermés ascot that I hadn't worn in ages. Eventually I took it to a nice little vintage fashion shop down the corner, and bought a pair of 1972 Manolo Blahnik shoes. I know, how gay is that. And yet, I'm a collector. By now I must have over 300 pairs of Manolo Blahniks. They don't get worn, but they get adored at any chance I get. Aiden found that extremely funny, but he has this weird pen fetish, so he's one to talk. It's not like I go about mocking his Mont Blanc collection.

Here I am, telling you about Aidens Mont Blanc collection and my ridiculously large Manolo collection but I never told you how we met. Sorry. This is where everyone says, it's really kind of funny, or, it's really kind of romantic the way we met. With kind of, being the emphasis. Because it really isn't, is it, unless of course you were there perhaps but then again. Maybe not.

It was love at first sight, on my part anyway. We met at a gallery opening in New York that had an exhibit on fashion photography. He had taken a few of the photos and everyone was gushing over him.

Sorry, I just have to put on my black Jean Paul Gaultier trousers and that striped Paul Smith shirt, and grab some orange juice before I pass out.

Well, I caught his eye while I was looking at this black and white four foot blow up of a halfnaked man in the shower. It wasn't his work, and he came over. I pretended to be a student of fashion photography, and he bought it. I gushed over the photo, knowing full well he hadn't taken it, and he was pointing out all the flaws. He ended up giving me a tour of the exhibit and asked me on a date. At the time I was a total workaholic and had a shoot the next morning at 5.30am so I declined. He insisted and we made arrangements the night before I was set to fly back to London. I was immediately attracted to him, although I'd heard he had a thing for these Italian dancer types named Gianluca and Paulo. They usually didn't last long, and I thought maybe I would last, at least a bit longer. I was right about that, turns out, but not as I'd hoped forever.

In the end I ended up back in New York and went on 2 more dates with Aiden. He still had no idea, I was a model, and I didn't really want him to know. The photography student thing was working so well. Turns out, I had been booked to do an underwear shoot for Calvin Klein, and there had been a change of photographer. Who walked into that shoot, but Aiden Donovan. I nearly died. He pretended not to notice but after the shoot he used this cheesy line on me and asked me out again, and that's it. We dated for a while and ended up moving in together. Which is easy to do, when he was based in New York, and I had a studio flat in a scummy part of London and shared a flat with 10 other models in Paris and Milano.

Now I'm off to meet Miss K for brunch, and I'm late. She's usually 10 minutes late, but if the Tube doesn't have delays I'll be 20 minutes late. I'll never hear the end of it. Last thing before leaving is the key, phone, wallet and bags under eyes check. God, I look old. Wait, shoes! Must wear shoes. Black Prada loafers, yes. Wait, they are Aiden's, oh who gives a shit. He might though, hah! I put on his black Boss jacket and leave.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Step back in time

Wow, is it really 2010? It doesn't feel space agey yet though. No flying cars outside my windows there doesn't seem to be any of those dreadful video intercom systems in my flat yet. Just me, slightly hung over, mascara running down my cheeks and the blue nail varnish is flakey. Wait, heavy eye makeup and blue nail varnish? That's a bit spacey isn't it. Anyway, we are about to jump into the time capsule and go back to a much more familiar, and pretty damn fabulous time for me. 2009 here we come!

Whooooooosh! (yes, it's still not space agey so I have to do my own sound effects)

Let's start with the failed book challenge.

I had challenged myself to read 12 books in 2009 and to be honest I thought it would have been a disaster because frankly I don't think I've read that many books. In the end I was 3 books short of meeting the challenge which is amazing all things considered. These were the books I read this year.

I bought this book in Chicago at Borders, a bookshop near this very famous department store that Oprah always mentions on her show. I could get lost in a phone booth so I wouldn't know where exactly it was. There was another Borders bookshop on Michigan Ave. I went there too, but didn't buy anything for myself in there.

To be honest I bought the book because of the title. How could you not? Also it was on the bestseller rack and I'd heard the name Chelsea Handler on TV a couple of times. Still, I had no expectations at all going into this. I read it in one sitting and had fabulous roomservice delivered in order to finish it in time to go shopping again the next day. It was, in my opinion, funny and maybe slightly over the top but it also had heart. Even if some of the stories did portray her family and ex boyfriends as a fairly unpleasant crowd. Still, anyone who went to jail because of their own sister and lived to tell about it in a funny way is kool in my book.

Read about it here

Read about them here

Read about them here

A story that was fairly brutal but also a little out there, with UFOs and sticking hands inside dead cows. However it was a good book, a little exhausting to get through because it was a bit heart wrenching.

I've read all her other books, and that was because Dinah mentioned one or two of her books in one of her 50+ book updates. The titles were just too clever to pass up, I suppose. This was her third book and it's still entertaining to read about her, now, fairly disheveled life with her dogs, cats and once upon a time (at least in my mind) hot boyfriend (now husband). The everyday struggles of someone who thinks she's somebody kool and happening but really is neither kool nor happening. She is fabulous though. Tongue like a viper and well, a determination one can only admire. Train Jen just keeps on going.

On a side note, I bought this book in the city where she lives, Chicago. Which, to me, is a fun fact. Love Borders!

There is not much to add to the title. It's a game guide for Sims 3, which I'm fairly addicted to. I love playing with other peoples lives and this is the healthiest outlet. The guide is pretty good and there are delightful brownie (teee-hee geddit? Cathrine Browne - brownie. hah!) bites.

What's my favorite book of 2009? It's between Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea, Such a Pretty Fat and The Tin Star (the gay erotica book, niiiiice!)

The winner is

Yay for Jen Lancaster (who has a new book out now)!

So I didn't make the 12 books in my challenge, but I tell you, in space age 2010 I will read 12 books. And I may start today, that is, if I will ever finish this review thing.

Pheeeeew, can we go on? We must, right. We must, since we did all that whoooshing earlier.

Now on to the movies

I can't remember which movies I watched in 2009. I found a few old movie stubs but in order to find out what movies that came out in 2009, that I watched I had to go through my book cases. I found 9 DVDs that were released in 2009. Here they are
Starring Zac Efron, Matthew Perry and Michelle Trachtenberg.

I must bow my head in shame and admit I liked it enough to buy it. I bought it in Chicago. Maybe it was because I was on holiday or it could be because I kept missing the beginning on the plane to Las Vegas. It could also be because I adore Matthew Perry and hoped he'd join in on a song and dance number with Zac Efron. Alas, it didn't happen. Still a fairly alright teenage comedy. PS I don't like Michelle Trachtenberg.

Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Zlatko Buric and Johann Urb to name a few.

Disaster movie. Read my review here.

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper (HOT!), Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Drew Barrymore

Total chick flick and not a good one. So disappointing. Too many big names, fabulous title and a dull story.

Starring Bradley Cooper (HOT!), Heather Graham, Mike Tyson and Bryan Callen

Hilarious movie about a bachelor party gone completely haywire in Las Vegas. I can't say it's an intelligent movie, but it sure was entertaining. Of course it added to it, that I've been there and (if not experienced all the stuff, then at least some of it).

Starring a lot of Danish actors who are quite the A-listers in Denmark.

It's about a lot of different people who live not very far from each other, and their lives entertwine and good and bad stuff happens. It's very realistic, a bit crude in places. Social realism if you like. A real commentary on the way we live our lives these days. I don't really like Danish movies, but it wasn't a bad movie. Just not really to my taste.

Starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor (Nice!), Stellan Skarsgård, Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Danish, Thure Lindhardt (Danish, and gay I believe)

Such an average, overrated movie. Based on a book by Dan Brown (I didn't like the book), so the movie alright. Still, any movie that showcases Tom Hanks in nothing but a blue speedo in the first part of the movie gets my thumbs down. I don't like Tom Hanks in general, so this may be unfair judgement.

Starring Hugh Jackman (HOT!), Nicole Kidman, Ben Mendelsohn (starred in Sample People alongside Kylie Minogue)

A gorgeous, well I would call it an epic, movie about a shameful part of the history of Australia. The story was great, the acting fabulous and I LOVED it. I cried, I smiled and well...

It was not just that one time. The camera did that twice.

Starring Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway (we ADORE her), Bryan Greenberg, Steve Howey and Miss Candice Bergen

Another very disappointing chick flick. I adore Anne Hathaway and Miss Candice Bergen, so I just knew it was going to be a good movie. It was however, a real stinker. Mostly because they just never took that whole bridezilla thing to heart. They didn't really bring it. It was dainty and nice. AND BRIDES ARE N*E*V*E*R NICE! Weak. Really weak.

We know who's in it, after watching the previous 5 movies. We love it, we can't wait for the next one. Still, you also get this "is it over soon" feeling. There's just a limit to how much more we can take. Then again, I'll never get enough of Dame Maggie Smith and Julie Walters. Emma Watson is becoming too Hollywood pretty to be Hermoine.

Starring Sandra Bullock (LOVE her!), Ryan Reynolds (HOT!), Mary Steenburgen (FAB!), Craig T. Nelson, Miss Betty White (ADORE her!)

This is a beautifully made comedy, that references the physical comedy and has the heart of the Doris Day comedies. With the contemporary touch. Fantastic cast, and the comedic timing and foul mouth of Miss Betty White is spectacular. It may have been over exposed but it deserved every bit of attention it got. Love it.

Check these two specials from the movie

Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock naked in The Proposal

Starring Isla Fisher, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lynn Redgrave and Julie Hagerty

Light fluffy chick flick. Mildly amusing movie about a girl who shops too much and gets a job at a financial magazine. A paradox as she is heaviely in debt. I liked it because I love fashion and can identify with the lust for designer stuff.

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Winona Ryder

I would say anything that gives Winona Ryder yet another chance to prove herself is good in my book, or anything with a Chris Pine in his underoos. Still, the movie really IS good. Even for a guy such as myself who wasn't really a Trekkie. I mean, I used to watch TNG every week but I had never watched a Star Trek movie before. So for a first, this is damn spectacular. I liked it. A lot.

Starring Amy Adams (LOVE her!), Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn

Now what a delightful movie this was. A movie about biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up. Never thought I'd actually watch a movie about that, even though the TV series are packed with it these days. This has heart though, and a wonderful story. Amy Adams is always a star, and she is fantastic in this, as is Emily Blunt (who was also brilliant in The Devil Wears Prada). There is comedy, tragedy, real life and love (as far as I remember). Who knew, Steve Zahn would fit into a movie like this. Strange.

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel (HOT!), Tyrese Gibson (HOT!), John Turturro, Kevin Dunn

This was unintentionally funny. I watched it with friends and we were laughing through most of it. Most of the time we had no clue what was going on, and there seemed to not be a script this time 'round. I liked it as an action movie where you didn't have to think about what was going on, and just watch and relax your brain after a tough day at work. Which is why I bought it. That and Josh Duhamel.

OK, so maybe Josh Duhamel didn't get his kit off in the movie, but he did do this pictorial before he got famous.

On that note, we have to find a winner for best movie of 2009. It's between Sunshine Cleaning, Australia and The Proposal. Tough choice.

The winner is..

With honourable mention to the other nominated movies, because it was a very difficult choice. Love them all dearly.

Are we done yet? I think not. We still need a few more categories. Best hunk, best TV series and biggest disappointment.

Let's start with the TV Series I've followed this year

Starring Ll Cool J, Chris O'Donnell and Miss Linda Hunt

I like Ll Cool J, Miss Linda Hunt and Chris O'Donnell has grown into a total hottie. That combined with an action series placed in a fabulous city with gorgeous sun and sand, what's not to like? Well, it just doesn't work. I don't know why. I really, really want to love it. I do. I've given it every opportunity, but it's just not catching on. Why, oh why. I want it to, I really do. The teaser is fantastic and the show just isn't.

Starring Milo Venticafalatte (HOT!), Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere, Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto, Cristine Rose (LOVE her)

I sort of lost interest after an abysmal season 2, but I thought season 3 really shaped up to be pretty good. Granted, I can't remember much of it, and I haven't bothered getting the DVD yet. I hope they won't fuck it up, because season 1 was AWESOME and season 3 was pretty good.

I'm so behind on Gossip Girl. I love it though. It's the kind of show that will eventually die out like the original Beverly Hills 90210 did when the kids (I use the term loosely) went to college. The story is good, and at times a bit saucy. I like that. Daring to push the boundaries of mainstream TV. It doesn't all have to be so prim and proper.

Starring Teri Hatcher (HATE her), Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross (LOVE her!), Eva Longoria Parker (FAB!), James Denton (HOT!), Doug Savant (cute - he buffed up this season), Nicollette Sheridan, Dana Delany and Kathryn Joosten (comedic genius)

This was the season where Edie died. I was shocked, and I did have to take a moment before I could go on because that was huge. It was a great season though with many entanglements and it's still a bang up show. The gals are still game, and you can all look forward to season 6 if you haven't started that yet.

Starring Zachary Levi, Adam Baldwin (wow two Baldwin brothers on TV at the same time), Sarah Lancaster, Yvonne Strahovski, Ryan McPartlin (HOT!)

I must admit I didn't watch a lot of this show. Only a few full episodes but it seems great, and I have high hopes for it and plan to watch it a lot in 2010.

Starring Tom Sellec, Josh Duhamel (HOT!), Molly Sims (the guys seem to love her), Vanessa Marcil, James Lesure, Mitch Longley

Season 4 of this show was terrible, at that point I just wanted it to end. Then as season 5 picked up again it was axed. It was a shame because I really liked it. The show was amusing, sexy and action'ish and the stories (personal and otherwise) happened in a casino in Las Vegas (love that) so it was astonishing it kept going for 5 seasons. I had given it 2 seasons, but it came back and season 5 was worth watching. Tom Selleck took over after James Caan and he did a good job, you just had to get used to his style though.

Starring Tracy Scoggins, William Gregory Lee, Gregory Michael, Charlie David and Thea Gill (Queer As Folk - US edition)

Any show that gives Tracy Scoggins (Dynasty and The Colbys) another chance, eh? It doesn't actually have any business of being in this, because the latest season is from 2007. I discovered it earlier this year. The fact that it's a supernatural show with witchcraft and half naked men and women, does cement the fact that the acting on a TV show doesn't have to be brilliant. As long as they have cute butts. And they do. I quite like it, and although it's not eligible for winning, it's still worth mentioning.

This was easy. Hands down, the winner is...

Now onto best hunk..

Milo Venticafalatta
Hugh Jackman
Bradley Cooper
Robbie Williams
Josh Duhamel
George Clooney
Chris Pine
Brad Pitt
Ryan Reynolds

So which one is your favorite? I say put them all together.

Biggest disappointment? Hmmmm.. Well it's not that difficult really. I can only be

So that's about it! Let's slip back into 2010 again.

Let's hope there'll be more wonderful entertainment this year. I sure will keep better track of what movies I watch.

And honourable mention to Kylie Minogue who toured selected cities in the US in 2009 (and released a live album available on iTunes).


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Friday, 24 April 2015

4 Seasons in one bike

This time last year the only thing that was spinning was my head, the thought and planning invested in a major house renovation doesn't leave much room for anything else. In the passing months, my bikes have gathered more dust than miles and my house gathered more dust than expected. Thankfully, the majority of works have been completed, but I still find myself searching for opportunities to enjoy the bike.

Running has been the main focus for exercise and I planned for this pursuit to assist with the cyclocross season. Last season has come and gone and I don't recall even watching a race, except eurosport coverage of the worlds! For me, the almost immediate access to running is a difficult draw to avoid. I would say that any cycle adds at least 30-60mins of faff/prep time. Look out gels, decide upon what kit (inc. bike - potentially fix/service chosen bike), clean bidon, camelbak....come home, and dependent on ride conditions, clean and lube bike.

Time off a bike does provide an opportunity to analyse what you have in the quiver, and if truth be told, I have too many options and this is part of the problem. Consolidation is now the name of the game, but it is not any easy undertaking and it still costs time and money. The 'go to' bike for the past year or so has been a Boardman CX Team. The bike has surprised me on a number of occasions, it's basically a great, inexpensive (relevant) all rounder.

The bombardment of road less traveled, gravel racing, off road touring etc etc headlines making the rounds are certainly keeping the bespoke and mainstream manufacturers busy. I can understand why - is there such a thing as a do it all bike? That question is probably best answered by thinking about what your requirements are. For me, it's currently very simple, just get out on any bike and ride the bloody thing! The Boardman is now the basis for an experiment - can I ride this bike for road, cross and a spot of touring? There is however a concession, there will be two sets of wheels. Tom Marchment of Hunt Wheels has been extremely helpful in tempting money out of my pocket and a lovely pair of MASON x HUNT 4 Season Disc Wheels have recently arrived. If the 4 seasons work out as good as my all time favourite name sake road tyre from Conti I will be very pleased, in fact, I'll be delighted.

Stay upright