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.

Student Loans-Something to WhimperandWhine About

If you have student loans, take a look at this Op-Ed in today's Newsday, by a personal friend and former colleage of yours truly. I mean, everyone whines about their student loans and how hard it is to pay for college, but this girl knows how to really rile you up. I say, this month we all stop paying and move to a 3rd world country. Who's with me?

9 Letter Word for Enigmatologist

 

Pop Culture Update

The number 1 movie in the box office this weekend was Cars, an animated pic about...well...I haven't seen it but I'm guessing its about cars. While I have no interest in cars, I do have a huge interest in words. Friday afternoon, therefore, I took a friend who I know to be semi-obsessed with crossword puzzles to see Wordplay. It's a documentary about crossword puzzles, those that complete them and create them, specifically for the NY Times, about the life of Times crossword editor Will Shortz, and the annual Crossword tournament held each winter in the Stamford, CT Marriot. It featured famous crossword fanatics such as Jon Stewart, The Indigo Girls, Bill Clinton, Ken Burns and (not to be completely liberal) Bob Dole. The real stars, though, were those that compete in the annual tournament.

In the tradition of Spellbound, this was a thriller made for nerds everywhere. I even completed the NY Times puzzle this morning, although they say Monday is the easy one. I guess I will be trying my hand, and my pencil (I can not yet risk trying it in ink) at crosswords.

The only disappointment was that in the panel after the film (yes Will was there!), I raised my hand the whole time for a question. When the moderator said "just one more" and looked my way I was so excited. Unfortunatley, someone in front of me yelled out a question instead. You'd think a bunch of crossword enthusiasts would be more likely to follow the rules of Q & A. Oh well, it was pretty fun when my entire row turned as I whisper/yelled "Bitch!" as soon as she interrupted my chance.

I was going to ask the panel, as fans of crosswords, what do they think of Sudoku? I found some answers online here.

National Do-Not-Date-Abase

I posted a few weeks ago about a great site, hollabacknyc, that allows people to post stories and pictures of men who harrass women on the street (or train, or grocery store, or restaurant. you get the idea).

While talking with some friends about bad breakups, we came up with a similar idea. There should be a database full of pictures and stories of men and women who cheat, break up for no reason, are incapable of commitment, are liers or a slew of other reasons for which future girlfriends or boyfriends should be warned. It could be the Do-Not-Date-Abase. People already google prospective dates and look for them on sites like Friendster or MySpace. This would be one more place to check before getting involved with a potential heartbreaker, love-taker, arm-breaker, well you get the idea.

Captain Anne Flint

This post goes out to my friend Mo-

This site is a quiz that will give you your "pirate name." I've heard of the soap star name (Joan Clifton Park for me) and the porn star name (Fanny Carlow) formulas. I found a linke to the "pirate name" formula and I think it's fun. I would be Captain Anne Flint. The site describes me as : "Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!"

Home Improvement Trends

One of the first jobs I ever had was in a hardware store, the now de-funct Rickels Home Center. It certainly wasn't the best job I've had, but it was interesting. I learned about washers and PVC piping and what's a good price for 2 by 4s. I met some interesting characters, especially the contractors who would always tell me I looked too young to work. I learned about how money is physically dirty,and by the end of the day my hands would be black-yuck!

Alas, I haven't kept up with trends in home improvement. For example, I was surpised to know that Lowe's Home Improvement is open in Brooklyn from 5am-Midnight. When I needed some propane for my bbq, I went to check it out. Unfortunately, I had tickets to a play (actually it wasn't that unfortunate-Bridge & Tunnel is awesome) so I had to go at around 11pm.

So who are the majority of customers in Lowe's at 11pm on a weeknight? Contractors-nope. Cops getting off the late shift-nope. The answer is....Orthodox Jews.

There were old men with beards, women with wigs and long skirts, little boys in yarmulkes with fringes on their pants. Who knew? Anyone have an idea why the Orthodox Jewish population is so supportive of Loews? Do they just like hardware?

In exchange for my sleeping through the night, I request "one miiilllion dollars."-(Austin Powers' Dr. Evil as a baby)

















Hip Hopy Baby!






















Allright, bear-this pack 'n' play isn't big enough for the both of us.