New Celebs in the Slope

I know, I know-readers are tired fo the baby picture thing. I'll try to hold off and post some celebrity gossip instead. It has been reported in the Brooklyn Papers that our newests Park Slope residents are Peter Saarsgard and Maggie Gyllenhal. Very exciting. I can't wait for the sightings, and family visits from Uncle Jake? I hope the paparazzi don't monopolize the line at Uncle Louie G's.

Jennifer Grey-Eat Your Heart Out

  

Plan B is Approved!

As a feminist, I am pretty pleased that Plan B emergency contraceptives, also known as the morning-after-pill, will now be available over the counter. The battle to bring these pills to the public has been going on for over 3 years, and the FDA has delayed and delayed their decision. Their own science has said the pills are safe and effective, but partisan politics would not allow them to make a decision until now. Senators Clinton and Murray held up the confirmation of the new FDA head until a decision was made, and now it has actually happened. On the not so great note, the pill will only be available to women over 18 (young women can still get it with a prescription) and it will be "behind the counter," so pharmacists can check IDs. No doublt this will lead to lots of embarassing impusle purchase while working up the courage to ask for it(at best) and pharmacists lecturing thier patients and judging them all over the place or refusing to give it out (at worst).

One funny note-in reading the Times piece on this, I followed a line to a group at Princeton University doing EC Advocacy. They have a list of emergency contraceptives and the brand names they are sold/prescribed under in other contries. While most were standard pharma-type names, I did find it interesting that in Thailand, EC is called "Madonna." I wonder if it works best when taken with Kaballah water.

  

I Heart (Free) Cheese

Last night I went to the weekly free beer & cheese tasting at Bierkraft on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. Usually I walk by the store and cannot go in because, despite knowing it's full of delicious beer, cheese and chocolate, I cannot take the pungent cheese smell upon entering. However, knowing the tasting would be in the back, outdoor (ie-less pungent) area, I ventured in. I tried 5 delicious cheeses from spain. Well, one was kind of like feet. The other four were great though. I especially enjoyed the zamorano, a sheepsmilk cheese very similar to manchego.Also worth a try was the mahon, a cow's milk cheese that was very salty and had a suprisingly pleasing crunch. The beers were pretty good too. Tastings are Tuesdays at 7pm, but get there early. I almost didn't get in.

To Pick or Not to Pick?

Apparently the answer is-pick. For scabs, that is. The NY Times has come out with an article declaring that it is not only ok to pick a scab, but it is preferable and will lead to less scaring. Yeah for mild self-mutilators everywhere.

Baby Charley: Inside the Actor's Studio

  

What kind of geek are you?

No, this post is not another blog quiz. It's about an article about two camps of geek fighting it out-the crossword-ers and the sudoku-ites. Apparently, it's quite the bone of contention that while crossword may require more "art," sudoku pulls in so much cash that even Will Shortz, crossword editor for the Times has jumped on the bandwagon of publishing these puzzles. I like both. Crosswords are a fun challenge, but sudoku makes me feel smart.

More Fun With Muppets

I just read about the latest version of law & order. It's on PBS, and it's called "Law & Order: Missing Letters Edition." Now even 4 year olds will know the meaning of that special two beat sound that indicates this show is taking over the world one channel at a time.

Yeah, I'm Scooter

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

When the lights go out in the city...

Last night I thought I was re-living the summer blackout of a few years ago. The lights were out on our block and all was quiet. That is except for the huge fireballs coming out of 5th avenue manholes. I came to work this morning expecting everyone to be talking about it. However, no one had heard a thing. None of the brooklyn blogs were reporting it. Was your power out? Was this just on Union St?

Great Study, Guys. Just Brilliant.

(From Seed Magazine-an awesome magazine on science and culture)

"Israeli researchers studied how the brain processes sarcasm by performing an experiment on healthy subjects, subjects with damage to the prefrontal cortex and subjects with damage to the posterior lobe of the brain. The experimenters told the subjects stories where a character spoke either sarcastically or literally; the subjects were asked to determine which was the case based on the context. Those with damage to the frontal lobe—especially those with damage to the right rear part of the prefrontal cortex—had trouble determining when the speaker was being sarcastic."

I always knew the people who didn't get my jokes were just brain damaged.

Shout out to that special someone

To those that know and love our special friend who has abandoned NYC for Austin, this book will be a nice reminder that there is really only one person we know who can wear a t-shirt as a skirt. The rest of us need to do some sewing first. Even if you don't know our brave shirt-as-skirt wearing friend, this book looks like its full of cute summer projects for those old t-shirts. The book's website even has a free project of the month.

Is that Earl Grey? No it's Captain Teao! 

It's a bird..It's a plane..It's a....TEABAG?

Looking over the events going on in the city this weekend, I was pleased to find the coffee and tea festival. If it's rainy, this $10 event looks fun. Their site has typical info about location, cost, who will be there, and all sorts of enticements to attend. They even suggest bringing the kids to see "Captain Teao."

First of all, since when does tea need a superhero tie-in? And is that the best name they could come up with? And what superpowers would Captain Teao hold? And where did he achieve his rank as Captain? The list of questions is endless.

Gnomes are real!

A quick tribute to my girlfriend, and the Waldorf Schools. These are schools which provide a great amount of European History, teach the value of the arts as well as sciences, and provide an excellent education overall. However, they are also responsible for said girlfriend 1)believing in gnomes until about age 12 and 2)crying over the stiff, blue "dead gnome" found in her yard which was actually a plastic smurf. This is what happens when you don't allow your kids to watch TV folks.

More pics of the child. I'm obsessed-deal with it.

More photos of my adorable niece. What can I say?


 

Mochi Ice Cream is the Best!
















This sushi looks ok, but ours rocked. Photos soon!

















 

Sushi Adventure

Last night, two pals (hi chris & fred) came over to make sushi. I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical. I figured it would probably look terrible, but how bad could it taste? Well I was wrong-but in a good way. It looked awesome and tasted even better. Plus, what a fun evening to get to gether with a project you can eat! I promise to post pictures when I get them developed (yes I am still in the non-digital camera age). I highly reccommend this to do with friends. We all felt so accomplished, and full. We bought yellowtail, tuna and salmon from Sun Grocery in Soho, and some veggies. You have to make the rice in advance so it gets sticky, but it is yummy and much cheaper than going out to a nice sushi dinner. Also, we discovered Mochi ice cream. Its like a tiny read bean cake (those yummy doughy Japanese snacks), but instead of beans, they are filled with ice cream-awesome.