Face, or something else

There was a terrible tragedy in the neighborhood, where a tzadik and a hero lost his life helping to save a little boy. I was on the scene. At one point, I noticed some photographers, so I put up my hood to avoid the cameras.

However, there is a picture of me with two other members. It happens to be the photo link into the pictures of the event on one site. I received an inquiry from a relative in Chicago questioning whether the guy in the middle was me. I went to look at it. It shows me from the back, sagging pants and all. He claims that he could identify me by my stance. It was nice of him to say so.

I was not really happy to be part of the pictorial recording of the horrible event, but that is life. Until i saw the brochure that they put together to raise funds for the family ( here is the link to donate). In the flyer that will go out to the community, there is that same picture. (I think they used it because it is the least offensive of all the pics, but that is for another time.)

So I see now that I am the tush of the organization.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Last week the entire region experienced what for many was a first time event, an actual earthquake. However, for those of you keen-eyed readers, you will remember that last June (2010) there was an earthquake that was felt in Brooklyn.

This earthquake was felt up the entire eastern seaboard from Virginia to Toronto. It really was scary up on the twelfth floor, with the whole building swaying, and we just being around the corner from the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Everyone in my office beat a hasty but orderly retreat for the street via the stairs. Without a consensus, just natural self preservation. We, at least, had an idea what it was, having felt a more milder version a year ago.

However, this got me to thinking. Three natural phenomena (potential disasters?) in the past calendar year in the New York area. The first significant hurricane in over ten years, preceded by an earthquake felt throughout the New York area, and a tornado in Queens last Fall.

I will assume the message is to change our ways. Quite appropriate this time of the year. G-d is watching and is in control of the world. It is a shame that not everyone can read the signs when they are so clear.

Happy Waffle Day

Wednesday I was out of the office, but I received an e-mail from someone who must read the blogs, or has seen my phone, and is aware of my feelings about waffles. ( Odd, that someone might know that.)

The e-mail told me that Wednesday was National Waffle Day, and I was floating along the Delaware without an outlet in sight for me to plug in my waffle maker and properly celebrate the day. However, all was not lost on the waffle front this past week.

On Saturday night I went out with my siblings because I missed the previous Thursday night get together.

We went to a dairy place. As I was perusing the menu, I noted out loud, " look, they have Belgian Waffles!" later in the evening, they brought a waffle to one of the tables near us, and I again exclaimed , in keeping with my image of being totally obsessed about the delectable versatile edible syrup holder, "oh look, a Belgian Waffle!"

My loving family, taking advantage of the wonders of texting technology, along with my complete cluelessness about everything around me, secretly went an ordered one for me and Lovey to commemorate a special day for us. I was touched and thrilled. It was absolutely delicious and enjoyed by all. Here is what it looked like.


Amazing, isn't it? And it tasted as good as it looked. The best part of it, though, was a comment from one of my siblings, I don't remember which one, who said

Don't forget to save a piece for Boo so she can give HER opinion on it.

Bad Advertising

I was in Port Jervis yesterday to float down the Delaware with the family. After the trip, the place you rent the boats from drives you back from the river to your car. I was looking out the window and saw a funeral home. A couple of blocks later, I saw another funeral home. I thought this was a little odd, two in a row, but the next building really struck me as out of place, (or perhaps the others were in the right place).

it was the local hospital.

HELP!

You'll never believe what I found when I came home today!










See below












Is this revenge?

Some people never learn.

Of Pineapples and Peaches

When I arrived home last night, I noticed, in place of the rotting melon, a beautiful large pineapple and a box of 12 of the largest peaches I have ever seen. Obviously the chief multi-tasking householder had again been busy at Costco.

From previous experience, I think the pineapple will slowly wither, become spongy, and generate fruit flies before ultimately accounting for part of the 20lbs of garbage I heft outside every Monday and Thursday morning and every Friday afternoon.

The peaches as well don't have too much hope. I'll tell you why. Last night I was attempting to explain a principle of astronomy to one of my children and since I was in my kitchen at the time, I spied the peaches and quickly picked one up to demonstrate the principle physically, intending to use the peach to represent the earth. A loud protest from the chief multi-tasking householder indicated that I was not to touch the peaches. I remonstrated that I was only using the peach as a prop, not intending to eat such a delectable morsel, which mollified her a bit. It was a sure sign that the peach was to be left to begin its long decline into ballast for our tall kitchen garbage bags and our obligation to continue justification for the town's payment to its trash collectors.

I asked Ms Multi-tasker "What about melons? I don't see any here."

"I'm buying them tomorrow."

Breakfast for Prayers

We were in Baltimore for the weekend. At the beginning of the services, a man walked in with his son. The son was holding an ordinary looking plastic shopping bag, not bulging or anything. I thought to myself, "Oh no, this is not going to end well". Generally when the kids come that prepared, its because they are unable to sit quiet for more that ten seconds.

However, he was sitting quietly, but immediately started to eat. "here comes the shmecking" I thought, but I was pleasantly surprised, as he opened a baggie full of cereal, made a brocho, and commenced to munch with his mouth closed. I was thrilled.

After the cereal came cookies and then mentos. These are NOT quiet, and the chewing got a lot louder, specifically noticeable because this was the one part of the services that are REALLY quiet. Except for the shmecking. Oh well, I guess that is the hazard of being near a child who came to shul for breakfast. ( I wonder if this is the root cause of future "Kiddush Club" members?)

This kids was not at all heavy, but there were more cookies, then some wafers. I am pretty sure there were more goodies that I just don'[t remember all of them, as I couldn't write down all that came out of this miraculous bag. I was beginning to think that this bag had Mary Poppins like properties, and was tempted to see if there was a lamp somewhere in the bag.

Eventually the services ended, I assume before the snacks ran out.

Of Money and Melons

I don't know when I last looked but I am quite sure that this morning, our refrigerator was still well stocked with cherries and grapes. When I got home this afternoon, there were none to be found. Also missing was the spongy, hollow-feeling cantaloupe - the last of the original three - which only this morning was lying on a kitchen counter slowly deteriorating before our eyes.

I asked the chief, multi-tasking, householder about the cherries and grapes and she told me that they had been finished. Skeptically, I asked her if they had been disposed of and I was assured that they had been eaten.

"What about the melon?" I asked. Not being able to plausibly tell me that it had also been eaten, she agreed that it had been tossed.

"So, one's been given away, and one's been thrown out. Not very economical"

"Yes," came the reply. "I'll have to buy some more."

Important Activities

I was reading one of the Jewish newspapers the other day and came upon this piece in the News sections from different neighborhoods. The article mentioned that a certain leader of a small sect in some town in the Netherlands was going on holiday in Switzerland, and before he went, he had a Tish, spoke about the importance of learning, and gave out cake. This was accompanied further along in the paper in the pictures of notable events section with a picture of some plates of cake, (no picture of the ditributor of the goodies) and the heading, that this was the cake given out as mentioned in the previous article.

So lets see, a guy goes on vacation, has a little goodbye party for his friends and gives them cake.


THIS IS NEWSWORTHY????????

A Slice of Life

Today is the 21st anniversary of the passing of my grandfather. we had a little get together last night, consisting of three of his sons, four grandsons, two grandson in laws, a granddaughter, granddaughter in law, and three four daughters in law.

Someone mentioned that he had not spoken about him at the gathering, the answer given was, we all knew who he was. I was thinking about this, and his living legacy. Here is what I came up with.

Of the seven direct descendants there, all were EMTs having served or currently serving on volunteer ambulance squads, six have led High Holiday Services, three (that I know of) currently serve on synagogue boards, and that is what is publicly known, and off the top of my head. I am sure there is more that done that I don't even know about.

Enough said, I think.

Costco Revisited

Much as last year, I again find myself with a refrigerator full of fruits and vegetables which I know is going to waste

4 lbs of grapes
4 lbs of cherries
2 lbs of blueberries
Strawberries (cant find the container so don't know how much)
2 huge cantaloupes (1 already gifted; they come in threes)
Peppers
12 medium to large plum tomatoes

I am adamant that 2 people, no matter how dedicated can't finish all this before it either rots or we do.

So today for lunch here was the main (and only) dish

Unfortunately, about 90% of the inventory is still above ground.

Just Asking

Little bit of politics, especially the double standard.

i read in the paper that Al Sharpton got all huffy with Pat Buchanan for referencing our Dear Leader as "your boy", meaning, obviously, that Sharpton supports him. Buchanan, whatever else you feel about him, rightly refuses to apologize for the deliberate misunderstanding on the part of the rabblerouser. The paper noted that it was uncomfortable, because Buchanan was sitting next to someone just back from a suspension for "insulting the president" on MSNBC.

My only thought on this was that for eight years, the left wing liberals called the President the most horrific names constantly, and belittled him mercilessly. Without any ramifications whatsoever.

When did the first amendment stop applying to comments about Black Democrats?

Enjoy below.

Not wishing to interfere with the lively discussion going on, I shall keep today's post short, so people dont miss Soupeater's below.

Karl Marx Lives at Iceberg-Carwash

Our friends over at Iceberg Carwash have gone, unfortunately, Red. I couldn't believe that these staunch supporters of the capitalist ethic should suddenly veer of the road into the mire of socialist thinking. And not just the writers of the blog but even some of their loyal followers have suddenly confessed to heretical thoughts and long held left-wing opinions.

This is tragic.

Essentially as you can see from the blog post to which I refer they are proposing that social security be paid into by everyone but its purpose would be to benefit only those who need it, based on the old communist motto "From each according to his ability, to each according to his means." Even worse, they propose to confiscate the monies already paid to the system in the belief it would be for the contributors' retirement and convert the pension plan, with a guaranteed payout, into an insurance plan for those whose wealth has diminished. Also, since social security is now, and in order to be effective would have to continue to be, involuntary, this scheme would follow the precedent of that most unamerican piece of current legislation, Obamacare. If you didn't like that, you certainly won't like this. This is no different from the collectivisation and murder of the Kulaks in 1930's Russia.

I am disapointed that such a level-headed, family-minded blog shoud suddenly swerve off the rails. What are they smoking?

I suggest that all my loyal readers voice their protest at the comments section of Iceberg-Carwash's post. Click HERE to easily access the comments. Tell them what you think, maybe we can right the wagon!

Potato. Potahto

This issue has come up before, essentially at the creation of this blog, and the subsequent spelling of Greunkern, which may or may not have been a mistake.

I made reference in my past post to Jack, the fish currently living with us. ( And still living, thank goodness). i referred to him as "Beta" I was then corrected by one of our eagle eyed readers that is is spelled "Betta". We then conducted an informal test, ( putting in betta in a search engine) and most of the returns DID spell the name with two "T"s. However, not all of them did, as there was one site that referred to the fish as "beta". I felt vindicated.

However, in continuing my research for this post, I went back to that same site, and scrolled down. I saw a heading that said "Spelling" so I thought, great, vindication. Alas, here is the paragraph


1. Spelling
The names Beta Fish, Fighting Beta Fish, and Siamese Beta Fish are often seen. But Beta is a misspelling of Betta, which is a word that comes from the scientific name Betta splendens.

So I sit here, corrected. henceforth, the fish I mention that we are betta-sitting for shall be called by its correct name.


Jack

Adventurous August

I am going to attempt to have more posts for my dear readers to lurk about, maybe read, and not comment upon ( Oh, stop your whining already!).

Since this is a bit of a large undertaking, I have dubbed the month adventurous August ( as you can see from the heading). I will not be writing on weekends or the 9th, or if I actually get away for a few days, so expect no more than fifteen posts this month, which for us here at the good Doctor, is quite a bit.

The beauty is this counts as one, even though it really doesn't say anything.

Requiem for a Fish

A month in theory, days in fact, forever in our hearts.

Alas, the (sort of ) expected happened, Fluffy, after physically gracing our lives for all of five days, has gone on to her great reward in the giant fish tank in the sky.

Although her life expectancy prior to her joining our home was not really anticipated to be much longer ( feeder fish, by definition, are only supposed to last until they become lunch), we were still saddened to return to the house Friday afternoon to find Fluffy floating lifeless in her bowl. She had appeared fine Friday morning, swimming happily to and fro. However, I had noticed signs of illness from the day we purchased her, and felt a trip to the vet or a host of chemicals to save her would be a bit much for a sixty four cent fish. I had hoped that food, clean water and love would prolong her life, but it was not to be.

So with a heavy heart, I performed the usual get-rid -of -dead goldfish ritual, which involves solemn carrying of the bowl, taps, and flushing.

Although it is no consolation for our bereft hearts, we happen to be Beta-sitting Jack for the summer, Stretchs' beta, who we are caring for while he is away. We hope he has a better outcome than dear Fluffy.

Goodbye Fluffy, we shall always remember you.

Mincha and Lentil Soup

Living in an orthodox jewish community, a usually difficult problem, that of finding a venue for the mid-day prayer (Mincha) in the midst of the workday, is rather easily solved.

Many merchants in our local community, especially those with large staffs and even larger stores, can easily provide both the venue and the manpower (10 adult men for a quorum) and in fact, do so.

At the supermarket, the prayer takes place in a section of the warehouse where the worshippers pray facing things like cartons of "1 Gross Canned Peas" or "24 count Kellogs Rice Krispies" or "Calf's Foot Jelly - 48 jars", certainly not distracting enough to sway them from their devotions.

Not so the bookstore. There, the prayer service is conducted among the latest kosher cookbooks titled in order to induce salivation (not to be confused with salvation) in addition to a physical need to purchase the volume. How then to give your undivided attention to the lord above with "Secrets of 125 Luscious Breads" or "The Best of Near Eastern Cooking" or "99 Best Cherry Dishes" decorated with pictures of the most perfect, mouth watering dishes staring you in the face whenever you open your eyes.

Just recently, I was amused by a fellow worshipper who, while mouthing out loud the holiest part of the litany, was holding a cookbook (instead of a prayer book) opened to a page entitled "Winter Lentil Soup."

I think we need to move the service to the aisle with titles like, "The Power of Thoughtful Prayer" or "Know Before Whom You Stand." It might not improve the worship, but at least they won't be reading the books.

Fluffy

A month in theory, days in fact.

This is the story of Fluffy.

Boo went to camp for the month of July. As soon as she left, I started to write her e-mails ( which the camp prints and gives to the girls at lunch, much easier than actual letters) recounting the exploits of Fluffy, our pet. However, I never actually told her what Fluffy was.

This went on for the first two weeks she was gone, and on visiting day, she asked me about Fluffy, but i was evasive.

Now Fluffy was still in the imagination stage at this point, so I figured I would just have to kill off Fluffy before she got home. As an avid reader of books that routinely kill off pets and people "Daddy, you should read this book, its very sad" I figured it would not be such a big deal.

However, as I am a softy, and only read books with happy endings, and don't like to kill off animals unless they tear up my back yard, I didn't like this solution, so I was in a bit of a dilemma.

Ace saved the day when she suggested that we get a goldfish. I thought this was brilliant, as Feeders are usually pretty cheap, easy to care for, don't last all that long, and are the last thing that would be named Fluffy. So off the the pet store she went to get Fluffy.

Boo comes home and forgets to ask for Fluffy. I met her and Lovey in the City and asked her if she met Fluffy, to which Lovey replied that she locked (hid?) Fluffy in the bathroom until I came home.

So now we were home and time for the big reveal, I went in to the bathroom and came out proudly bearing Fluffy. The reaction?


" Fluffy is a FISH?!?!?!"

The Further Adventures of Soupeater and the Good Companion

We had so much fun at West Point we decided on another adventure, this time into the maw of the big city. A frightening place to a country boy like me but the good companion finds the activity and "action", energizing.

We decided on a cruise around Manhattan, probably one of the most exciting activities for out-of-towners that can be found in the big apple. The oracles of weather had predicted a beautiful day but that changed and the grey skies and small raindrops that we encountered as we were leaving the house did not bode well for the trip. We had some errands to do before sailing time and the sky became progressively lighter as we approached the berth that we decided to chance it. Off to the west we could see breaks in the clouds and only hoped that not too long into the trip the sun would come out. We sailed out from pier 83 at 42nd street and sailed southward. The George Washington Bridge was only a fuzzy image to the north and we concentrated on Manhattan's skyline with occasional glances at the Jersey shore. We were approaching Lady Liberty and it was still cloudy but that didn't prevent me from taking many photographs of this almost 150 year old statue. Ellis Island also came into view, but still, no sunshine.

As the ship turned about and we faced the massive buildings and the lacework of bridges of lower Manhattan, the sky began to lighten in earnest and somewhat past the Brooklyn Bridge the sun came out. Much before we came back out into the Hudson, the weather was fine, excellent for taking pictures.

Although the bridges of Madison County (IA) are the things of legend, the bridges of Manhattan are the things of reality, and what massive reality! Here is a sampling of them for your enjoyment.


Part of our plan was to attend the Shakespeare in the Park festival which is a feature of New York. For about 2 months every summer, the Delacorte Theater, amphitheater like, in the heart of Central Park, puts on two plays, one of which, at least, is by Shakespeare. This year, they produced 2 Shakespeare plays, "Measure for Measure" and "All's Well that Ends Well." Admission is free of charge but definitely not free of hassle as can be perceived by the convoluted procedure for acquiring tickets. Performance is at 8 o'clock. At 1:00 PM, tickets are distributed to those awaiting them, first come, first served. There are three lines, regular, handicapped and senior. Since the tickets are given out at 1:00, obviously a line (or 3 in this case)forms somewhat before this time.

Theoretically, any time after 1:00 is a time to obtain tickets. We had driven from the pier and miraculously found a legal parking spot on Central Park West about 5 cars from 81st Street. The entrace to the park which leads to the theater is at 81st Street. Not having a clue where the theater was we asked one and then another of the many people standing or sitting in the area. One girl pulled out a map and let me look at it but it wasn't detailed enough to give us the information we needed. Another couple tried to bring it up on a phone GPS but couldn't get a reception. It seems that no one roaming the area at that time of day is a native. We finally did find someone who gave us rudimentary directions and we found the theater.

We got there at 4:15PM. There were no tickets left; all sold out. As we were sitting on a bench contemplating our next move, a fellow bench sitter told us that at 6:00 pm there would be another distribution of tickets. We didn't want to wait until then so we decided to go to Brooklyn.

Now, if you have a perfect parking spot, free of charge in Manhattan, you don't easily want to move your car and especially since driving to Brooklyn during rush hour can be nerve wracking and time consuming and expensive into the bargain Luckily we spotted a subway station on the corner and immediately decided to take the train to Brooklyn. I hadn't been in the subway for at least five years and it was a pleasant experience. The F train has some new cars with an electronic sign board showing all the future stations along with connection information and the number of stops until the train gets there, updating at each stop. Fun to watch if you don't have a book and you have scoped out all the wierd passengers in your car.

It was a little after 7:00 pm when we got back to 81st street and seemed rather dark coming out of the subway, not at all what we expected at the beginning of July. It didn't take long for us to realize that we were under an approaching thunder cloud. As we entered the park we felt some drops, nothing serious, but then the heavens opened up. People were clustered around trees shielding themselves as best they could with donut boxes, bits of clothing that they could remove and still remain within the ordinances on public exposure, ponchos, etc. The good companion already had the umbrella out and it helped a great deal.

A line had again formed and we were told that there would be a further distribution of tickets by 7:30. It was already very close to curtain time and we were assured that there would be enough tickets to satisfy those waiting for them. The sun had come out again, the skies cleared and we waited and waited. Some said that the staff were drying the seats and some speculated that the program would be canceled. Time dragged on. Clearly the performance would not begin on time and by 8:15 we realized that even if the 2 hour and 45 minute play were to start by 8:30 we probably wouldn't get home till about 1:00 AM, so after all that we decided to leave. The staff was sorry to see us go.

All's well, but it didn't end well.

Silliness Cookware

I relative of my wife's has a profile picture on facebook that showed a picture of the bottom of a frying pan that said " I kiss better than I cook".

Now this seems silly for a variety of reasons, which I am going to share with you, the lucky reader!

I realize that it is really a novelty piece, but it is still rather dumb. The people who hang all their pots are usually Town and Country types, with enormous kitchens ( that they don't cook in) who have all matching copper pots. They would not be white trailer park trash to hang something so tacky in their kitchen. So more likely it would be hung by someone from a push pin, next to the empty beer can from the final season at Shea stadium, and between the Keep on Truckin' hat and the Kiss the Cook apron. ( At least that's a theme!)

However, the other, practical reason for the pan is reflected in the comment I posted on the page, which was

"If its on the bottom of a frying pan, who would see it but the guy about to get bashed by it???? And at THAT point, neither kissing nor cooking is usually on the woman's mind."

Now if it said I cook and/or kiss better than I run, the guy would have a chance to get out of the way.

....By The Dawn's Early Light

I went to West Point for the fourth of July celebration, a mixture of musical performance, army academy ceremonies and of course, fireworks. We have attended several of these celebrations in the past so we thought we knew what we were in for.

We arrived an hour early for the 8PM performance, but the extra time was quickly eaten up by waiting in long traffic lines and then trying to find a parking spot. On a conventional Sunday afternoon, trophy point looks like this. The flat lower portion directly in front of the bandshell contains rows of long benches which are usually never full. The meadow usually contains a sprinkling of folding chairs and blankets with dogs running on long leashes. The hills leading up to the monument at the summit is usually dotted with people, coolers at their sides filled with drinks and sandwiches and other easily consumed comestibles. It is reminiscent of a lazy late afternoon, people doing their thing while listening to the band play marches and other lively tunes, including a vocal soloist and, more often than not, an instrument soloist as well.

July 4th is a bit different. It is more crowded, the hillsides are packed with people, the program is different. They usually begin by introducing the cadets who march into trophy point. Each class is introduced and that takes a while. Then cadets, representing the 50 states, are introduced, each one carrying his state flag and upon introduction, a cannon is fired.

Then the program begins. It is usually a medley of american marches and other favorites, culminating in Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture with cannon and fireworks as the piece reaches its peroration.

Since it was so crowded we found seats just across the roadway from the monument. The road was closed to vehicular traffic so there was no one close in front of us as we contemplated the monument, the crowd, and a beautiful evening sky. We couldn't see the stage nor could we hear too much. We did hear the Star Spangled Banner which, I was glad to know, was still on the program, especially in light of what occured afterwards.

I had trudged up from a parking space about a mile away from the action and arrived on the scene just after the cadets had made their procession. The places that my good companion had reserved for us were indeed front row and center but to the road, not the stage. Our chairs were on grass and we were surrounded on the sides and back by other people, likewise having misjudged the crowd although one of our neighbors assured us that they had been there since four in the afternoon. The musical program began, but for a variety of reasons we didn't really get much out of it.

First of all, we couldn't hear that well since the sound needed to travel over the hill and through a mass of people. Secondly, it occurred to us that most of the audience was completely uninterested in the program having come solely for the fireworks and were engaged in socializing on a grand scale. Right behind us, sat a group of three couples and their families, the leader of which was a loudmouth know-it-all with a particularly penetrating voice. He didn't shut up for a moment making it difficult to appreciate even the music we did hear. At the end of one piece for solo baritone which we could hardly make out, he remarked without drawing breath from his unending soliloquy, "Hey that guy has a pretty good voice." This sent us and some of the neighbors around us into paroxysms of laughter. The guy behind us continued on as before, oblivious to all but himself. The good companion finally asked him to speak a bit lower which he did (or maybe just ran out of steam [hot air]).

The sky slowly darkened and the young people, flitting from place to place formed a moving tableau of glowing reds, greens and blues worn in their hair, on their wrists and on their ankles or just waving the flexible glow wands in the air. It was a lovely sight. Meanwhile, an entertainment group took over the stage. The MC spoke in a language that I didn't understand but was assured it was English. The crowd went wild with his jokes and sang along with the songs the group performed cheering wildly most of the time. It was a festive evening, one of the loveliest of this season. As it became dark, the excitement was palpable as the hour approached for the start of the main event. It did not disappoint. For 15 minutes the sky was lit and the atmosphere percussed with the reds,greens browns, golds, whites and yellows of the explosive charges. Some particularly beautiful displays were of a kind I had seen before. The reds and greens did not immediately fade as they usually do in conventional fireworks. They remained lambent with solid colors almost like holiday tinsel, suspended in the air. They eventually dropped and were extinguished as they fell to the ground.

The walk back to the car among thousands of others, orderly and mannerly reminds me that there can be calm in crowds. Overall, it was an enjoyable evening but I doubt we will do it again in the near future.

As a clever saying attributed to Yogi Berra says, "That place is so crowded, no one goes there anymore."

How to Beat Hunger for Free

Ace is worried.

I can't really blame her. With all the others gone for the month, we are officially in slow down mode. This means that once the weekend leftovers are gone, food is whatever can be defrosted from the freezer. Since neither Lovey or me are that particular, supper could very well be a frozen pretzel. Period.

We have been informed that she intends to be out all the time. (I think we have gotten to the lofty position of being able to embarrass her even when it is just her and us in the house alone. I defy all you other parents of teenagers to attain that level! We are the ALPHA GEEKS!!!!!) And once she is with other people, I guess she can hang around until someone offers to feed her. We just ask her to bring us something back from them.

So if my sisters are reading this, I prefer my steak medium well.

YES! ( Finally)

So since the one reader I actually know that I have was wondering what happened after my previous post , here is the follow up.

After the judge would n0t hear the application for another day, and told us that, the clerk suggested the tenant go and fill out a form indicating that she couldn't come.

I went back to court on the scheduled day, and the judge remembered the case, and due to my efforts at cooperation, granted another day for the tenant, but included the condition I had requested as a prerequisite to any future adjournments. So it all worked out.

I need to put up more cliffhanger, apparently.

Oh Say Can You See...

I went to West Point last night.

The United States Military Academy Band holds concerts there throughout the year but during the summer months, they hold them weekly on a promontory overlooking the Hudson River; truly one of the most scenic views in New York State. High, leafy, mountains border the river which some have likened to the terrain along the Rhine in Germany. The area is suitably named the Hudson Highlands. This is where Benedict Arnold betrayed his fledgling country when, while serving as commandant of West Point, he agreed to surreptitiously weaken the defenses of the fort and to lower the chain blocking the river giving the British access to the upper Hudson.

We have been attending these concerts for decades. Entering the grounds of the United States' premier military academy always evinced a rush of pride and patriotism not least because of the massive gothic structures therein and its commanding position above the river, but also because of the knowledge that this was the seat of the armed might of what is currently the mightiest nation on earth.

Pride in the fundamental decency of the founding fathers, pride in the system of meritocracy, pride in the equality of opportunity, pride in the might of our armed forces and the restraint with which they are used, pride in our innovation and technical supremacy.

But last night, among all the beauty and magical setting, despite the fairyland atmosphere of the base, I didn't feel this surge of excitement.

How can I feel proud when the president of my country is more engaged in promoting the savagery of militant islam than in alleviating the plight of homeowners about to lose their property?

How can I feel proud when the governor of my state is more engaged in promoting a depraved way of life than in creating jobs for the unemployed?

How can I feel proud when the mayor of a nearby major city puts his political capital on the line in favor of the homosexual agenda when the city's businesses are reeling from his social engineering experiments?

How can I feel proud when our local administrations use public money to fund pet projects that the voters clearly rejected while squeezing the life out of the homeowning taxpayers?

This is still the freest country on earth but our leaders are pointing us in the direction of slavery. If we do not react to the wave of publicly directed depravity, we will have become slaves to our most perverted desires and immoral behavior

NO!

I know I have posted on the Courts and judges in the past. The beauty is they are a constant source of material.


I had a tenant call me recently telling me she couldn't make a date for next week. I told her I would be in Court the next day, and she should meet me there, perhaps we could work out something for a mutually agreeable date.

When we got to Court, we started discussing the matter, and hit a snag, so I suggested that we put the case in front of the judge, since the issue the tenant had was over something that the judge had put in her head the previous time.

Now, this is a very busy courtroom, which handles all of one type of case, and there are specific days when general cases are heard. This day was not a general day case, and the courtroom was indeed busy.

So the judge calls the case, i spend about one minute explaining the issue, and all I have left to say is "we need a new date, but I need the tenant to agree to one thing."

However, before I have a chance to get this out, the judge goes on a five minute rant as to who had the audacity to put the case before her, since it isn't on the calendar, and she is TOO BUSY to deal with it, and look how crowded the courtroom is and she can't, she just cannot, under any circumstances deal with the issue.

Had she actually let me finish the ten seconds I had left, and given us 30 more seconds to straighten out the issue, all would have been resolved, but she preferred to make a five minute speech how she was too busy to do that.

We like to think that our judges, especially since they make decisions that affect lives, would be more than just pencil pushing bureaucrats, but alas

Maybe this post belongs on the other site....

Yawn

Once again, I am happy to see that SOMEONE checks this site, and then sends me nasty comments as to why haven't I posted anything lately.

My snarky answer is "if I got a comment ON THE BLOG once in a while, to know that there are still people out there interested....". However, the sad truth is that I have been very busy, and by the time I have my pithy comments and observations all ready to go, it is, like, three in the morning, and I am not by a computer. More likely I am tossing and turning in bed, wishing the soundtrack in my head would quiet down, and come back in the morning, which, of course, it never does. Until the NEXT night at three in the morning.

Which leads me to the issue of snoring, or my being accused of it on a somewhat regular basis.
I don't think i snore, I have never heard myself snore, no one has taped me, and i am not in the habit of taping myself. However, very often, around four o'clock, shortly after falling asleep following the tossing and turning episode, with an entire blog written in my head, I am rudely shouted at to wake up! Allegedly due to snoring.

My response to that is, of course, I WASN'T SNORING! followed by the observation, that even if I had been, since it will now take about three hours for my heart to stop racing, there is little chance of me falling back to sleep, and therefore, little chance of me allegedly snoring again.

However, the entire snoring debate was succinctly put into perspective for me the other day, when I was talking to someone and commented that I am usually tired. Without knowing the real reason (being woken up) that person said to me " Do you snore, no, let me rephrase that, do OTHERS TELL YOU that you snore?"

I guess the denial is not just on my end, but with most or all snorers.

I hope this hasn't put you to sleep, but if it has, please do so quietly!

Maybe they just got the date wrong.

Two very interesting news items that I recently saw and heard pretty much sum up the state of the current presidency.

The first item is that the administration is digging up dirt on a prospective opponent. Irrespective of the the fact that the alleged opponent has stated many times he is not running, this does not prevent the Chicago street thug political tactics from surfacing once again.

The second item was an interview I heard on the radio, in which the foreign affairs expert ( worked for Kissinger and Nixon) stated that the front runner of the elections in Egypt was the Muslim brotherhood, since they were the only political party able to form under Mubarak. And one of their first orders of business will be to renege on the peace treaty with Israel. Gee, you think? Something I said would happen right after the uprising.

This, of course, does not even factor in the First Jackwagon's idiotic stance on Israel, which of course, he backtracked on the next day.

So basically it shows that we have a president who has no idea what the heck he is doing, but he sure knows how to fight dirty to keep his job.

I don't think the country can survive four more years of this.

Wanna Bet?

I am going to take a definitive stand here . (Like I usually don't??...)

I am unequivocally stiting that the world will not come to an end this Weekend. I am even willing to bet with any of the doomsday believers that this is the case. The way I see it, it is a win-win situation.

In the event that I am correct, and these people who believe that all is lost this weekend are wrong, then they should pay off on the bet. The only problem will be that they have already spent all their money anticipation that they wouldn't need it past Sunday, and they have probably quit their jobs, so they will have no income coming in, and who in their right minds would hire such nut jobs going forward? But al least I would be right.

And if they are correct, Who will be around to tell me I was wrong and collect on the bet?

OF BULLIES AND COWARDS

We have become a nation of cowards led by a man of the same bent.

Assuring the muslim world that we have no fight with Islam, begs the question. We obviously have serious differences with Islam in whose name most of the terrorist acts of the past 20 years have been perpetrated. But we also know that if we tell the truth we will be threatened and attacked by its violent believers. We have to lie to keep ourselves safe.

It's painful to stand by and wait while the White House debates how to prove the death of Bin Ladin without offending muslim "sensibilities." I suggest we declare all out war and let them be insulted. If we are to remain a great nation and if the world is to remain relatively safe, we can no longer kowtow to the "arab street" or the bombastic threats of their bullies.

Affirmative Action or Racism?

I can't seem to get away from the politics, but that is all you hear about on the radio, and I need to write something that willl get the commenters busy ( other than waffles).

First, the wedding. yes it takes the horros of teh weather off the front pages, but is it really so terrible to lead with a feel good story once in a while? i think not.

Now on to the latest Trump issue. He is now being called a racist for questioning whether our leader had the grades to get in to Harvard on his own. Huge outcry (from the left, of course, nicely cloaked in the suposed respectability of "mainstream media"), much hand wringing.

Let me ask you something, what the heck did these people THINK would happen when the people who were the beneficiaries of affirmative aaction eventually suceeded? The program championed by the left to help "the little people"? OF COURSE everyone who might have, or did benefit would be suspect, taht is the whole nature of the program. lets push less qualified people in, and once in, see if they can live up the the expectations. There is nothing wrong with that, but the question still remains, did they deserve the push based onthe criteria set up by those institutions.

I remember seeing an article about a doctor who was featured as the success story of the affirmative action programs who had opened clinics in depressed areas. A few years later he had his license revoked for unbeleivable incompetence.

My own case in point was in law school.

I had a minority friend who definitely did not have the grades or the LSAT scores to meet the criteria of my law school. They took him in. He was a phenomenal writer, and my partner for a moot court competition. He was so good that he wrote on to the Law Review, which is no easy feat. I guess he did okay is school ( i didn't discuss grades with him). However, I lost track of him after the bar exam. Never saw his name on the passed rolls, never found him as an attorney, and have no idea what happened to him.

So if he couldn't pass the bar, what was the point of taking the slot away from someone more deserving with the grades and scores who never got the opportunity to become a lawyer? And had he suceeded, would people not have wondered how he got to where he was? And would that human tendency to wonder be wrong? The only thing wrong is that those minority students who DID have the grades and scored would be tainted with the same brush of doubt, wrongfully so.

The problem is not Trump questioning, the problem is that there is such a mechanism in place that allows him to.

The Birther Movement is Dead

Now that Donald Trump has forced the president to finally realease documents he should have a long time ago if he were even remotely serious about not prolonging the issue, I am left with one thought...

He is a home grown product. How sad.

Family is Everywhere

The previous post was to calm down the family members sending me nasty messages that I haven't posted anything in quite some time. I also question the current (lack of ) American foreign policy, but enough of that.

I met Soupeater in a store on Sunday. He informed me that I was the third branch of a family that he had met that day in three different stores, having run into a brother in law (of mine) in one store and a sister (again, of mine) in another store. Although the odds of this happening are not minimal, it is not so outrageous, as we all live in the same town and basically frequent the same establishments.

As I was driving to work on Monday on the Palisades, and thinking how I could get the preceding thought into a blog, the car behind me gave one quick flash. I moved over. The car did not pass me, which I thought odd (but prudent, as I was at the max, and any faster is a risk of a ticket). As I approached the slow moving cars in the right lane, I got back in front of the car. I then moved over again, and this time, the car did as well. This was quite odd. Until a hand started waving at me as that car exited on the right. I looked over.


It was a another sister. (of mine, not Soupeaters)

Small, but lovely, world to live in.

question for the CIC

No attacks on America, no threat of an attack on America, No unprovoked ethnic cleansing, no threatening of surrounding countries, no additional instability threatening a region, just a country dealing with its citizens who a protesting and rebelling with weapons. Why are we in Libya?

LOOK OUT !

Ace is on the loose.

Ace just got her license. The examiner was ( as per Ace ) beyond obnoxious, and had the audacity to tell her (gasp!) that she really isn't a good driver. ( I could have told her that). Nevertheless, after telling her she wasn't any good, and has trouble following directions (I could have told her that as well) the examiner decided to pass her. I think just so he doesn't have to suffer through another road test with her.

However, now starts the business of actually making sure we are comfortable enough with the way Ace drives to actually trust her with a car on her own.

It could be a while.

7,000. Wow

Actually, the WOW factor doesn't really fir, but since that is how we mark the milestones here at the good Doctor, I am keeping it for now. However, as the numbers are mixed, I might drop it. Or add a frowny face. Here is how the numbers stack up.

We hit 5,000 around July 1, and 6,000 around November 1. Now we are mid March and a few away from 7,000 hits. This is a 4/12 month difference, as opposed to a five month gap last time. That is good.

However, we are now approximately 3,480 hits behind the other blog that I like to trend against to see how I am doing, so in 4.5 months, we lost 100 hits on them. I know that in the past all index numbers were down, but lately they had been coming up, so I would expect a jump in our numbers as well.

So thank you all for reading and checking, and we will try to get to 8,000 quicker, which would probably happen if I actually wrote something more than just once in a while.

And as stated in the past, we need more comments to keep things lively.

VINDICATION!

So its all over the the news today, Mayor Moron has the WORST approval rating of his (seems like) 27 year tenure abusing us. 51% of New Yorkers disapprove of the job being done. This probably includes people from Manhattan as well. I guess people who can no longer drive, park eat what they want or smoke anywhere in the city have finally had enough of the ham handed tactics that he employs to force his agenda on all of us. I would assume if you took out the Manhattanites, his rating would be more like 70% unfavorable. And if you included all the people who work in the city but commute in, it would be more like 90%. Which proves what I said a while ago...

The only person who likes him is himself.

Don't Give

I am not in the habit of contributing to public radio - much as I like their programming - because I don't want my money used to encourage the internal and external enemies of the United States.

Likewise, it irks me that fund drive rhetoric demonizes and characterizes all commercial (those that will create profit for someone) ads as bad. Especially since they are vastly more informative than the ads usually carried by public radio stations that serve very little useful purpose but appeal to the left wing public radio management because they are not tainted by filthy lucre. The droning, formulaic, audio equivalent of the financial industry's "tombstone ads" are the most annoying aspect of public radio. Almost any other ads would be preferable.

The bottom line on all this is that the public stations are indulging in the worst kind of elitism, pushing their central agenda that elitist, culturally oriented ads are more acceptable than ads for drugs, computers, shoes or replacement windows. In my opinion, anything is better than a full week of repeating the station's phone number 120 times an hour interspersed with fervent begging.

The redeeming nugget of interest in the WQXR's recent fund raising drive, and the reason for this post, was a most original and innovative ad for public radio fund raising. Alec Baldwin (the actor not the rebel) encourages you in a deadpan voice to not give... and at the end of his really entertaining monologue says 'and here is the number NOT to call..."
Listen to it Here (Click on "Don't give" audio)

I liked it so much, I am considering sending them a small token donation.

Other Matters

I have been called to task by one of my "lurkers", ( a term I have been branded on facebook, since I read but usually do not comment) that there are too many blogs about waffles. However, I have found that my other posts get even less of a response than the waffle ones do, even if the comments are from family members with no patience.

I have tried different topics, politics, the idiotic mayor of New York, driving and court stories, to name a few, but the beauty of the waffle quest is that it is a theme that has constant updates. I mean, how many ways can you say the president is an incompetent fool and the mayor a self important moron???

Be that as it may, if I actually received responses to the posts, I might be inclined to talk about other topics. I mean, its not like there aren't other blogs that DO talk about all kinds of different random topics, usually headed with one work, and consisting of one to three paragraphs.

So comment away, dear readers, and I will continue to post on all and sundry topics.

And waffles.

The Possble End of the Perfect Waffle Quest II

So since my commenters have the patience of mayflies on line at the DMV, I shall continue the saga here.

After obtaining the recipe for the Rimon Belgian Waffle it was time to come home and pull out the ace card, basically, a recipe from the SIL of Dipsy, a frequent and ardent reader of this site. After hearing accolades from all those who ate this delectable delight, it was time to try it. Although it is not even slightly fat free ( 1/4 cup oil, 4 eggs) it didn't have 27 pounds of butter, so I decided to give it a chance.

DISCLAIMER AND POSSIBLE PART III, I have never actually completely made any of the recipes that DID call for butter, so I can't say the quest is done, you lucky readers! This hobby (obsession?) could go on for MONTHS or YEARS!....

Back to the waffles at hand. So I made the recipe, nice, really thick batter, and I put it in the machine. It smelled lovely. When it came out, it wasn't the usual soggy mess, it seems to have a real crispiness and weight to it. I bit in. So did the tasters.

It was OK.

Unfortunately, it didn't have the WOW factor that we were looking for, it certainly had the best texture of any we had made, and there was more taste than the usual ones ( except for, surprisingly, the fat free one with apple sauce and apple juice, which still had the most flavor, albeit apples).

So we tried to doll it up with a bit of honey ( a Rimon ingredient) some Splenda and cinnamon. Still OK. However, then I decided, since the batter was so thick, to put chocolate bits INTO the batter.

EUREKA!!! WOW!!!!

THAT truly hit the spot, the chocolaty goodness inside the crispiness of the waffle, with the inherent sweetness of the bits made the eating experience phenomenal.

So for now, without the butter waffles, or having tried to re-create the Rimon experience, we are sticking with the Batter from Far Rockaway with chocolate chips as the leader of the quest.

the Possble End of the Perfect Waffle Quest I

I know it may seem odd to number a post from the outset, but I know this is going to be a two parter. I was in Israel as many of you know. In the past, there had been much talk about the famous Rimon Belgian Waffle, so as part of the quest for the perfect waffle, I needed to go and taste this supposedly wonderful waffle. The added reason was that in each taste test, anyone who had actually had the Rimon waffle would constantly compare my offerings to this outstanding gastronomical achievement.

So I went there one evening, suitably hungry so I could achieve the full of effect of wonderfulness. I ordered the waffle with great anticipation ( and of course, a speech for the poor waitress as to WHY I was compelled to order it as a main dish, and not a dessert). The waffle arrived, and here is a picture.

Each square is filled with either a white or regular chocolate sauce, there are the two scoops of Ice cream, and the stuff on the plate is extra sauce, shaved chocolate, and confectioners sugar. Bug claims that they changed the presentation a bit, in the past it was one long waffle, with a checkerboard of sauces, but I would assume the taste would be the same. After admiring it for a bit, I took a bite.

WOW.

It really was quite good, and the first waffle I had tasted that actually had both texture AND taste. Suffice it to say it didn't last long on the plate.

I had decided previously to try to get the recipe. When I initially ordered it, (after the speech) I asked the waitress if I could get the recipe, but she didn't think so. After she brought it, she said that I might be able to get it, as the manager had said it was OK, but the chef that makes the batter was no longer there ( it was 9 at night). So I should try back in the morning, when he would be there.

I went back at 8:30 the next morning, but hew was not in yet, they told me to try back in a few hours. I finally got there at 2, and although the place was hopping busy, the manager on duty went in to the kitchen and actually got me the recipe. However, there were no amounts given, so I won't share the recipe here.

However, I will keep you all posted as I experiment with the ingredients to see if I can re-create the taste. Stay tuned.....

Political Tidbits

Before I get started on my trip. ( which was wonderful, thanks for wondering to yourself) I have to address two things. ( one might show up somewhere else as well..) Today there was a motorcycle and three bus accident in the Lincoln Tunnel. Two hour delay. You might think that in anticipation of the insane traffic that will follow closing one of the tubes, there will be alternative traffic elsewhere. So lay off the morning construction on the main arteries, right? Well folks, this in New York, Home to the richest short dictator. West Side Highway, the alternative route into the city when the tunnel is really backed up, had then setting up one late closure.

At least none of the workers just hanging around weren't smoking, which segues into the next thought, preceded by a joke,

In Egypt, they claim to have less freedom than here, but there they can actually smoke in public.

Which leads to the middle east, and this first jackwagons middle east policy, or complete lack thereof. He doesn't seem to have the slightest clue how to deviate from the Jimmy Carter handbook, which worked out soooo we for us the last time around. He works hard to bring down our allies, and uses kid gloves with our enemies that are already trying to uproot Israel. Does this seem to make any sense to anyone not a liberal? Please explain.

More on the beautiful country of Israel next.

Impressions while on a trip

Did you ever notice that announcements made on a plane by a male member of the cabin crew are usually delivered in a prissy, effeminate style? Then did you also notice, the resonant, deep throated, altogether all-american male voice and diction which comes through the loudspeaker as the captain get on the horn?

The dissimilarity is almost intentionally a parody, emphasizing the virility of the plane's pilot. You feel safe, confident, sure that someone (Snoopy's World War I ace) is in control, while your personal needs are attended to by the more wifely types which push the carts up and down the aisles.

There are distinctions among the male cabin attendants as well. There is the bully, hectoring you to "TURN OFF THAT SWITCH - OFF - OH EFF EFF." There is the mincer, (difficult to describe in words) "Would you like something to drink?" while bending his pinky and pursing his lips. There is the comedian, his unintelligible words spilling out in a cacophony of deep southern sounds with "Please use caution when opening the overhead bins because you know, shift happens." (At least that was funny.) Give me the pilot any day.

Alabama was cold, below freezing at night. Not exactly unusual but they've had a lot of it this year and that is unusual. I got out just ahead of a major snowstorm which is unusual even for February.

Things must be pretty bad in Florida. One sees people standing on street corners holding signs suspended from their necks, advertising, "We Buy Gold, Highest Prices Paid," or "CARWASH! $6.95." It occurred to me that they have to stand outdoors for hours carrying these large signs which can't be too light, in rain, extreme heat, wind, all to earn, what? $5.00 an hour? $7.00? How inhumane. Like being in the stocks or the pillory, except even worse, they want passersby to notice them. It's a rough way to make a living.

South Florida was great, real convertible weather. Too bad I couldn't stay.

After You, Sir.

I see that no one saw fit to comment on the last post. Although I should take that as a sign that no one wants to read my political rants here, I shall choose to interpret it that you all agree with me.

With that in mind, coupled with the fact that I am getting hoarse screaming at my radio whenever the Egyptian "crisis" is mentioned. I must post again on the issue, since lots seems to have happened recently.

Aside from the press making mountains out of this issue, it appears that the US is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, or should I specify that the great student of history, our current leader, is doomed, in his arrogance at thinking he knows everything better, to repeat the mistakes of the president he so closely resembles ( in politics at least) Jimmy Carter.

I heard a clip today of the late great president, Ronald Reagan, saying how he felt the US made a tremendous blunder in not supporting the Shah, and look what followed. This is of course a similar situation. The first Jackwagon has already thrown one of our allies under the bus, ( along with most everyone he has ever been affiliated with, but that is another, much older post) and the news is that we are in talks with Egyptian leaders to work on the succession of Mubarak, who, in the eyes of the State Department, has already resigned, since we asked him to so nicely.

The only things Mubarak has done to us is been a staunch ally to the US, and not hammered Israel more that is necessary to save face among the Arabs. This, of course, ( being an ally to the USA while G.W. Bush was president) is the ultimate crime in the eyes of our idiotic leader. Therefore, he must go, and another country must be destabilized, so that the vacuum can be filled by Islamic radicals.

Can we not see where this is going? Haven't we been down this road before? Or is it the master plan of the current American regime?

I am herewith formally requesting that the President of the United States resign. Based on the way they operate, he should willingly leave, since I asked so nicely.

Lets Rouse some Rabble

Now that my thoughts are focused on the middle east, I just want to comment a little on what is going on over there.

I cannot believe that the left wing liberal press is really so incredibly stupid to believe that all the rabble rousing going on in Egypt ( and for that matter, Lebanon and Tunisia) is for people that are DESPERATE for democracy.

From this vantage point, the only thing that currently fills a power vacuum in that part of the world are extremists. Oh sure, sometimes they couch it initially as democracy, but you can be sure that if there are open elections, and these extremists get into power, it won't be a democracy for long, or it might be a democracy, but not for women.

I think they are brilliant, these fundamentalists. Not 0nly do they have the people believe that they need change ( and see how well THAT worked out for us here), but they thumb their noses at the US, by saying it is all for democracy, when it is clear to me that they are just causing unrest so that they can take over one of the few stable countries in the region.

I hope I am completely wrong about this. I worry that I am not.

Jerusalem is Calling

I met one of my avid followers, who accosted me and DEMANDED that I post something. She was somewhat mollified by the previous post, and it is good to see Soupeater back in the writing saddle, but gave me a hard time for the previous title just popping up every time she checked the site "Sad Music, Sad Music, enough already!"

So now I have written this and satisfied my obligation to her. However, I think I should perhaps add something of substance as well.

The good Doctor is going on the road! This is big news, as I really don't get out much. I am heading for the holy land for a quick spiritual recharge. The funny thing is I didn't realize how much i needed to go until Friday afternoon.

There is a song by journeys about Jerusalem that always choked me up when I heard it. It reminded me of my time there, and how I wished to go back. Eventually, i did make it back, and try to go every few years now. I haven't heard the song in a while, but Ace said they were using it in her concert.

Even so, as of a few weeks ago, when she told me, I had no real reaction to the song. However, on Friday we were singing a few bars, and as I now have the date set for my trip, I felt myself getting quite emotional at my return to the holy city.

I can't wait to go.

Choose Life!

which do you prefer?

Wonderland indeed!

Every time it snows, especially in suburban or rural areas, someone is bound to look out the window and exclaim, "Oh, a winter wonderland!" And, admittedly, it does look pretty, everything white and pristine and sometimes, toward evening, with a lit up house in the background one idealizes the scene of a family, warmed by and cozied up to the fire while winter rages outside.

Enough!

I prefer a summer wonderland. Where the lawn is green, the trees are in full leaf giving shade and visual pleasure to the eye, flowers are blooming and the sun shines its blessings on the earth. No coats to wear, no snow to shovel, no ice to slip on. Winter is only black and white, stark and unfriendly, bare and dead. Summer is colorful, vibrant, full of life.




Choose life.

Sad Music

I was listening to streaming music at my desk yesterday. There is a very disturbing trend in Jewish music that really isn't new, but it is bothersome. It is the use of English music with Hebrew words. Allow me to explain.


Without thinking too much into how I know these things, there was a Hebrew ( modern Hebrew, thank goodness, not words of Tanach) set to a Lady Gaga song. This was bad enough. However, what really got me was a Lecha Dodi set to a medley of Beatles songs. Now that was very well done, but it is still inappropriate.


I remember years ago singing something in Shul to a beautiful popular song, and afterwards Soupeater informed me that it was not appropriate to use popular songs during prayers.


Unfortunately, most people do not have someone to tell them what is proper, or worse, a song gets into our consciousness and them it spirals into more and more inappropriate settings. Such as the Beach Boy song that a kid sang for Kedusha, and when we called him on it, he told us it was a D'ror Yikra niggun, so that is what he was singing. I am not sure he even realized it was a popular English song.


This should be differentiated from the Variations and Country Yossie lines of music, which are clearly meant as spoofs of popular music, and clever plays on the originals. They do not usually creep into our davening though.


It's just sad that our rich heritage is being infused with this music due to the laziness, lack of creativity and larceny of our popular musicians today.

Do They Use Blood in Tea?

What was a blood libel? It was the hysterical knee jerk reaction to something horrible, where the blame was erroneously but deliberately placed against the "usual suspects" with actions them taken against the accused knowing the basis for the claim had NOTHING to do with them.

Now lets see how this plays out. A horrific shooting by an unstable mentally sick individual. The liberal press immediately claims it is the work of an "extremist" (extreme what is not said, just assumed that he is a tea partyer, since there is a gun involved). Then the fault is squarely put at the feet of the Tea Party movement since their rhetoric is SOOOOO inflammatory.

Of course, the entire line of reasoning was so much nonsense, since it was the sick mind of the shooter that prompted his actions, nothing else.

However, once this was correctly compared to a blood libel based on the way it snowballed with blame placed without facts or logic, all the liberal left wing Jews, who always try their hardest to distance themselves from their brethren and G-d, are suddenly outraged and oppressed Jews.

It's disgusting to see. These Jews should be ashamed of themselves. Stop demonizing Sarah Palin, that is what the blood libels did, demonized the Jews. If Mrs. Palin was Jewish, (and NOT a conservative) she would be lauded for her sensitivity and ability to see this unwarranted attack on her for what it is.

Besides, her name IS Sarah..., who knows?

(Interim) Waffle Utopia

Before I saw today's post from Soupeater, I had decided to make fresh waffles for the tasters as a treat (?!). As they have in the past indicated that the fat free version was the least offensive of the bunch, I chose to go in that direction, but with some modifications.

I was out of apple juice, so used some cranberry juice I had. I also felt that to get away from the rubbery consistency complained of by my guest taster, I would try, again, the yeast route, hoping to fluff up the end result.

So I happily measured, mixed, and made a mess in general. I shouted out to Little Miss Sunshine " You lucky girl you, fresh waffles for you in honor of the New Month!" The response? A decidedly tepid "Whatever" ( I was not in the room with her so I missed any eye rolling, but I am pretty sure there was some.)

After pouring the batter, and waiting for the end results, I took the first one and gave it to the older taster, who tends to be less picky and a bit kinder in her analysis, and she didn't seem to hate it. ( in full disclosure, she really just took it with her to eat on the bus, but she didn't gag from the smell.)

then the moment of truth. One for Boo. The response?

"Good" with further edification "Apple-ly, and has some taste"

EUREKA! I AM IN WAFFLE HEAVEN!!


I must say that I am still not thrilled with the final product, it is still somewhat chewy, but I think that is more a function of the fat free nature, and I am still loathe to go the 27 pound butter route. I might once just to see if that is really what makes the difference. So I have a ways to go, but I am definitely getting there. I hereby formally invite Soupeater back for another taste, but in the meantime, allow me to share the recipe with all of you, as I have committed it to memory. (that does NOT make it an obsession!)

2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons apple sauce
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light cranberry juice
1 cup fat free milk
1 packet of yeast.

Non stick spray

combine first seven ingredients. heat up milk and put in yeast when proper yeast temperature.
wait a few minutes for yeast action to work ( I must admit, I really have NO IDEA what the last two sentences mean, but it seams to be in all yeast recipes, and it does sorta work). Add the milk and whisk all the ingredients.

Turn on waffle maker to desired temperature. ( I use the setting just past 12 o'clock.). When heated, spray with non-stick spray. Pour in mixture. flip maker, wait for green light to come back on. Flip maker over again. Open lid. remove waffle. Inhale the aroma, enjoy.

Then blog about it.

I TELL IT LIKE IT IS, WITHOUT WAFFLING

This past Sunday, the good doctor called me up and invited me to partake in a waffle or two made from his latest fat free recipe.

In reading his recent near obesessional posts about waffles, I recalled that my mother had a waffle iron back in the late forties or early fifties and that its products were really quite good. I have no idea what she put into them but in those days, no one was concerned about cholesterol or obessesed about food allergies and contaminants. If you got sick, you might have to spend some solitary time in unpleasant surroundings but no one thought the consequences were as serious as an atomic attack which was all the rage at the time. Today, you can read things like "white rice is lethal," and other likeminded outrageous statements made by seriously committed Carson looneys. What of waffles containing a half pound of butter, whole eggs, and enough whipped cream, ice cream and chocolate to cause an elephant's aorta to clog up. Well, pick your poison but "nothing to excess" includes these items as well.

With that in mind I hied myself over to the doctor where the whole gang, lovey, bug, stretch and the rest of the panoply of characters who inhabit the pages of this blog were gathered over a Sunday afternoon kaffee klatch. I slid right into a seat after examining the showpiece of the mansion, the new rotating waffle iron. Not much different from the 40's version except that this one rotates and makes round waffles. I was offered a fat free waffle which, outwardly, was a paradigm for the masterpiece of the genre. I was offered fat-free ice cream and I scooped out two delicious gobs of the same to place upon the center of waffle, poured some artificial maple syrup into the waffle's crevices then topped the ice cream with some chocolate syrup and just as I was about to take my first forkfull of this delightful concotion, I was offered the piece de resistance (which I could not resist), a maraschino cherry. I left off the whipped cream because it isn't fat free. (All this took place before I had read a recent comment on this blog that the waffles should include these toppings)

Here's what it looked like at that moment.



Now here's the sad part.

With avidity I plunged my knife into the waffle, expecting to feel the crunch as the blade scraped over the waffle's crusty ribs. I knew I was in trouble when, instead, I felt a sensation akin to trying to cut into a rubber band. But, being the brave soul I have spent my life trying to make my persona, I foolishly placed the morsel into my mouth and started chewing for all I was worth.

The ice cream with the two syrups were great, to say nothing of the cherry.

Waffle Quest Continues

After many protests from my tasters that the original recipe for the Quest for the Perfect Waffle (please note: now, since it is capitalized, it is officially a Quest, and no longer an Obsession) was the best, i decided to go back to it, just to be sure that they weren't fondly remembering the initial experience with rose colored taste buds.

So on Sunday I called Soupeater ( I need to mention him, since he hasn't written in a while and I don't want you all to forget him) and told him I was gonna mix up a batch of the original fat free recipe.

I used regular flour instead of whole wheat ( since I was out) and tried to make the yeast work,to give it a bit of lightness ( it didn't) and cooked up the batch.

We served it right, with ice cream, syrup (pancake AND chocolate) and a maraschino cherry. Here is a pic, with Soupeater's ( waffleeaters?) hand about to take the monumental bite and pass judgment.

The judgment? Needs work.

The others? Fond memories are sometimes just that was the basic concensus.

Back to the drawing board, or the store to just buy some.

Happy 2011

Well, it is a secular New Year, and the world uses this time to "turn over a new leaf" and do some introspection followed by resolutions to better oneself.


I ( and many of my readers, I am sure) tend to do this at the Jewish New Year a few months back. However, as the numbers reset for blogs for the years, I think it would be good to take this opportunity to look back and forward a bit here too.


Recently, in case you haven't noticed, this blog has focused quite a bit on food ( or ONE food, to be sure) and the politics tend to rant about one person in particular.


That will probably not change in the foreseeable future, as we still have not attained the perfect recipe that will have my tasters and eaters exclaiming in delight over the heavenly taste of my waffles. Furthermore, as the pompous jackwagon (donkey) masquerading as a mayor has three (gasp! help us) more years of abuse to heap on us, that probably won't change much either.

However, I do resolute the following:

I will try to be funnier so that you don't get bored. Although I usually think I am at the epitome of humor.

I will not write exclusively about waffles, every now and then, there will be other posts. I am thinking of getting into making sushi.

Unless the Moron resigns. no bets on laying off him.

I will try not to fight too often with other blogs.

Comments will be posted with all due alacrity. Subject to my being near my computer or my phone being charged, on, and me remembering to check it.

Now, for you people, a little more interaction would be wonderful. Just no anonymous.