Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Annual report, List of concert halls, Oceania, Publishers, Sydney Opera House, Tools, WordPress, WordPress.com on January 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 34,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 13 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, Mental Health Monday, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Albert Ellis, Barry Lubetkin, Disease, Health, Mental health, Nick Clegg, Oprah Winfrey, United States on January 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I’m so pleased to introduce MENTAL HEALTH MONDAY to my readers. I hope this becomes a regular feature and you will avail yourself of this opportunity to post a question or concern or contact our contributor, Barry Lubetkin, Phd, ABPP.
Barry Lubetkin is the Director of the Institute for Behavior Therapy and past president of the American Board of Behavior Therapy. He has been a guest on Oprah Winfrey‘s show, a quoted source for numerous articles and a published author. His latest book is Why Do I Need You To Love Me In Order To Like Myself.
Available through Amazon
Mental health tip for January 27, 2014
Nearly all anger feelings and outbursts are preceded by the cognitive belief represented by the words “should” or “must”….“He should never act that way”…“She must act more fairly toward me”…“He must stop drinking, I can’t stand it anymore”. “The teacher should do more to discipline that child”….etc. When we make unreasonable and inflexible demands on others or on the world to act in a certain way. We set ourselves up for rage and upset when our irrational expectations are not met. It is far better to wish or desire others to change rather than demanding and requiring them to do so…Or as famous Psychologist Albert Ellis once said: “Stop SHOULDING on yourself!!!”
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, Thursday's Top Ten on January 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Feng shui Luopan compass (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Gail, ever the source of great blogging material sent me an email that was filled with (some) questionably useful information but fun factoids nonetheless. It came under the title of Money Bags and is supposed to have something to do with Feng Shui and I should pass it on. I’m not passing the email on even though I believe in Feng Shui. My last three work offices have been designed according to Feng Shui and my Kua number!
If for no other reason than to add more (useless?) information to your already information overloaded brain, the following factoids are interesting and I’ll bet you didn’t know…
Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Bethesda Fountain, blog stats, bundling board, Mayor Koch, Rockefeller Center on January 8, 2014| 2 Comments »
Hosting my blog on WordPress.com gives me a lot of information. A lot of it is really valuable in learning about where your readers come from, which posts were the most popular and more.
WordPress.com sent me a summary of my activity for the year 2013 and I’d like to share some of it with you. The first factoid is the date and post which brought in the most activity.
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 34,000times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 13 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
In 2013, there were 164 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 1,040 posts. There were 280pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 59 MB. That’s about 5 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was October 13th with271 views. The most popular post that day was Sun and Sand, Sangria and Surfing plus Salmon, It’s Saturday-DAY 6.
Pasha and Fletcher
These are the posts that got the most views in 2013. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts in your Site Stats.
Some of your most popular posts were written before 2013. Your writing has staying power! Consider writing about those topics again. I would love to use this important data and write about these top posts but how to do so? I’ve already written about the Bundling Board twice!
139 countries in all! Including Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Russia, India and the Phillipines and Japan
Most visitors came from The United States. Canada & The United Kingdom were not far behind.
My sincerest thanks to all of my regular readers and followers and a tip of the hat to those visitors who stop by to see specific posts; Whether you’re looking for the original Candy Land board or a bundling board, or Central Park snow scenes or Central Park denizens or the Top Ten things to do in NYC at Christmastime or the Top Ten movie mistakes, thanks for visiting.
A Snowy Bethesda Fountain
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Cape Town, Johannesburg, Mandela, Nelson Mandela, Robben Island, South Africa, Soweto, township on January 8, 2014| 4 Comments »
Nelson Mandela
Tonight I saw MANDELA: Long Walk To Freedom. It’s a wonderful movie, complex on many levels. It’s a story of faith, fortitude, loyalty, commitment, frustration, love, anger, destruction. It’s about power struggles, freedom, equality, politics, morality, loneliness, disappointment, ideology, apartheid, peace, war, fear and loathing.
The scenes shot in South Africa were breathtakingly beautiful and having been there myself I appreciated the landscape all the more. The fine British actor Idris Elba embodies the character or Nelson Mandela, he walks like Mandela and he talks like Mandela. He is the central figure, central to the point of reducing the other actors to near oblivion, with the exception of Naomi Harris’ portrayal of Winnie, Nelson’s second wife. She is a strong figure throughout the movie.
This blog is not like other From My Point of View posts in that I’m not offering my opinion on much of the movie or its style. This blog post is for me, I need to confess, to apologize; While watching the movie unfold in chronological order, I was amazed and appalled at my lack of awareness at what was happening on the other side of the world. I was too busy playing tennis at the Country Club, too busy watching my kids soccer games and swim meets. I was too busy focusing so much of my life and energy on becoming a success in real estate and then too busy getting a divorce. I guess I didn’t really read the newspapers or listen that carefully to the news.
I felt like an idiot and remembered the summer Thierry spent with us. Thierry was from France and a couple of years older than Joel but he seemed about 10 years older. I remembered how he spent time at the dinner table discussing world politics with my then husband. He was AWARE of the world around him; True, he and his family did some traveling as many Europeans do to neighboring countries. Their world is so encompassing and I realized tonight more than ever, just how small my world had been. I say had, because since moving to New York City I have become more worldly, more cosmopolitan, more knowledgeable and more exposed to other cultures and races.
At the end of the movie when Peter asked me how I liked it, all I could say with a lump in my throat was, “I was on an island, not Robben, and I’m so ashamed” .
Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Ha-P 2 B in OG, New York Speaks, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged brunch, Cibo, Heide, Ocean Grove New Jersey on January 7, 2014| 1 Comment »
Several weeks ago I received a message from Emily, informing me that my dear but distant friend, Heide was going to be visiting in New York. Emily thought it would be wonderful to surprise Heide with a get-together with the four of us. I whole-heartedly agreed and only had a few twinges of wondering why Heide herself didn’t let me know she was coming to New York. I made a plan with Emily to meet for brunch on the day after we returned home from Florida.
We decided that brunch on Sunday would work if I could find a place within walking distance of Grand Central as they would be coming in from Westchester. Cibo was the perfect choice! I made the reservations and communicated the details to Emily through Facebook.
As it turned out, the night after Christmas Heide sent me an email telling me of her presence in town and hoping we could get together. I didn’t see this email until we were on the train heading home. Of course I never read it on Boxing Day because if you’ve been reading this blog you know that night turned out to be a major game night in Florida. I thought about writing back and making up a story like we could be available Sunday evening and thereby throwing her off from any suspicion. Emily had told her that they were going to have brunch with friends of hers but wouldn’t say who it was. Peter advised me not to reply at all so I just ignored her email.
Peter and I arrived early at Cibo and picked out a large booth where I knew we would be able to chat away with some privacy. I was so excited, I hadn’t seen Heide in a couple of years and missed her. When she lived in Ocean Grove, it was so easy to just drop by her house or have her over. We had this great European tradition whereby if she ate with us and I sent something home with her, I could expect the dish or container returned with something special that she had cooked. And vice versa!
The hours flew by at the restaurant, some spent catching up and just picking up where we left off; Time and distance does not affect true friendship. Thank you Emily for sharing your visit with Heide with us, we loved seeing you both.
I understand I have a faithful follower who lives in California and Belgium and so this one’s for you, Heide!!
Heide and Emily
New Year – Old Friends
Brunch at Cibo
Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Danny Meyer, fried chicken, houseguests, Mario Batali, Pizza, Tom Colicchio, tourists on January 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I figured that headline would be a grabber! Alright, so your guests have showered and they don’t smell but you are tired of cooking, serving and cleaning up. I happened to have received an email from Grub Street , daily food news from New York magazine and the article featured was Hosting Duties:Where To Take Out-Of-Towners Visiting New York. So if your holiday guests are still visiting, you might want to consider dining out at some of these places.
If the house guests are his parents or yours and they are paying, consider trying to make a reservation at the hot new place in Midtown, Rotisserie Georgette. I had the opportunity of dining there recently and the place was jumping. The menu is not extensive by any means and most of the dishes seem to center around chicken. The food was delicious, the service was attentive and our waiter was more than eager to make suggestions.
Everyone knows that pizza is a New York staple and by the slice mind you! Your out-of-town guest loves pizza and is dying to sample real New York pizza. There a couple branches of Motorino in Manhattan and unlike most pizzerias, Motorino serves up appetizers and dessert. There’s another nice little twist to getting a slice here, the pizza is cut upon request; nice touch! Or Joe’s Pizza on Carmine St. where pizza rules; No garlic knots, no heroes, no concoctions on pizza, just perfect pizza. Traditionally thin crust, bold sauce and cheese that doesn’t taste like rubber.
If your sister is in town with her 3 little kids, you need to find a place that’s casual, fun and if the kids cause a riot, you won’t be embarrassed. Try Mighty Quinn’s Barbecue or Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, the names speak for themselves, the kids will be happy.
New York has its share of celebrity chefs and if your guests can’t wait to go home and brag about whose restaurant they ate at, then hop on downtown to Lupa Osteria Romana, Mario Batali’s trattoria. The restaurant is extremely popular and is always crowded in the evening. Take them out to lunch for some Ricotta Gnocchi. If it’s famous that they want, Tom Colicchio’s Craft may be the place to go. Chef Colicchio is a fanatic for fresh ingredients and has set the standard for the new wave of restaurants that are conceived, presented and eaten in this Green Market era.
Grandma and Grandpa are still in town and want to take you out so pick a place that’s not too stuffy but is quiet and accommodating. Maialino, which means Little Pig and is Danny Meyer’s version of a trattoria has a beautiful view of Gramercy Park. Porter House New York is a well-heeled steakhouse overlooking Columbus Circle and would be a very nice choice.
The article on where to take who has many more recommendations; I suggest you check it out at http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/12/guide-to-taking-out-of-towners-to-dinner.html – copy and paste.
Porter House New York
Posted in BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged blizzard, Hercules, La Vie en Rose on January 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »
We thought it was a good idea, well at least one of us did and the other went along with the plan. He might say it was out of love, however I suspect he weighed the facts and fears and decided it better to acquiesce rather than risk 72 hours of harangue.
It had been weeks since we were at our cottage on the Jersey shore and I always get a little anxious about leaving my little La Vie En Rose to fend for itself against the winter elements. Of course I am reminded by someone who shall not be named that I can’t protect it. I, on the other hand see merit in checking on it and turning the heat up and of course putting out peanuts, corn and birdseed for our dependents. I don’t know where or how they eat when we’re not around but apparently they do.
So I had it in my mind to go this weekend because I wanted to grocery shop, pick up some prescriptions, check on the house and bring back the bins that the Christmas decorations go in. All sounded extremely logical to me. But then I had a real estate appointment that ran a little late AND I got the brilliant idea that we might pack up all the decorations into shopping bags and that way it would be a one way trip and not back and forth. We would leave in the morning.
As we began packing up the reindeer, the bows, the ornaments, penguins and angels, Peter thought we should listen to the weather report. It was SCARY! I knew as the minutes ticked by that there was no way that boy was leaving in the morning after a possible 6″ snowfall. Bad enough we were parked in the ideal spot, right in front of the building. So I convinced him that we should leave NOW – finish up the packing, grab the cats and go. We did just that!!
Ever so quickly we threw the decorations into multiple shopping bags, took the milk/orange juice/cat food essentials we needed to make it through the night and possibly the next day and hustled into the car. We’re just about to pull away when my phone rings and that reminds Peter that he does not have his phone! Back upstairs.
We think we’re going to beat the storm but ha, ha, ha….hubris! The storm gods were waiting for us just as we passed the Newark airport. No nice big soft flakes coming down that usually herald the beginning of a heavy snowfall – NO we are hit square in the face with driving snow smacking the windshield and virtually creating a white-out! I’m a nervous passenger when Peter is driving so right about now, I’m on high alert! While I’m watching the road and trying to keep track of the white lines which have disappeared, I’m also texting my sister-in-law, Juanita who is still in Florida and standing under a star-lit sky. AND she’s now praying for our safe arrival!
As we cautiously proceeded and others flew past us recklessly, I had serious doubts about my insistence to go and was feeling guiltier by the minute. Thankfully as we got closer to the shore, it actually lightened up a bit and the next hurdle would be parking the car. Turns out that our side of Broadway is the legal side to park during a snow emergency, so I figured everybody on the north side of the road would already be parked on our side and I could envision trekking over snow banks to carry the cats into the cottage in the dark.
Luck be the lady! The spot in front of our house was empty so we pulled right in. I rushed in to turn the heat up, the lights on and start the unpacking process. It was good to be back in our little cottage, I turned the candles on (in the windows) and went to the shed to gather the shovels and move them close to the back door. I also dug out the ice melt and wondered just how bad it was going to get. The snow just kept falling and falling.
I like being in my cottage during a snow storm, somehow it doesn’t hold the same charm for my city-born-and-bred-apartment-dwelling husband. I’m sure he was thinking of the snow shoveling that would have to be done, me too! Since we didn’t really have any food here, we called in an order to the local Italian restaurant and Pete went to pick it up. I called Juanita and told her we were safe and sound albeit a bit chilled.
Dinner and a movie and before we knew it, it was really late and we tucked ourselves in upstairs with an extra quilt (so country-like). However, there was a movie on TV that caught our attention and it wasn’t lights out till 3:30am! At about 2:00am I went downstairs to look at the backyard which now had drifts going this way and that! Hello Hercules!
Hercules
Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged diet, Health, Holidays, lose weight, New Year, New Year Resolution, Smoking cessation, Substance Abuse, Tobacco, United States on January 2, 2014| 4 Comments »
Two New Year’s Resolutions postcards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Does everyone make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you announce them to the world? Do you write them down or post them to Facebook or your blog? Do you keep them to yourself and hope you will be able to follow through?
WCTV ran a report on the Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions. I’ll bet you can guess at least 7 of them. If that’s the case and they are so obvious, doesn’t that mean that these resolutions are the ones most often broken and not kept? Otherwise the list wouldn’t be so common and universal.
Here they are and if your’s are among them you are probably just about the average American, whether that’s good or bad is for you to decide!
1. Lose Weight
2. Get Organized
3. Spend less, Save more
4. Enjoy life to the fullest
5. Stay fit and healthy
6. Learn something new
7. Quit smoking
8. Help others realize their dreams
9. Fall in love
10. Spend more time with my family
Please take a few moments and share one or more of your resolutions; If you are not making them public, then just sign in as Anonymous. Perhaps you’ll inspire someone else.
Happy New Year to all!!
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So What’s With The ONE WORD Title TV Shows??
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Californication, Dateline NBC, Dracula, Hank Moody, History, Jonathan Harker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, NBC, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Renfield, Romania, Showtime, Television, Victoria Smurfit on January 26, 2014| 2 Comments »
Dracula (Photo credit: vagueonthehow)
There’s a trend that’s been developing over the last couple of years in the titles of TV shows; I started really noticing it last year and it’s escalating. Some marketing guru must have planted the idea that a ONE WORD title is the way to go. Once a few of the shows so entitled appeared, it was only a matter of time for other stations to follow suit.
It was a great marketing idea; The single word title grabs you right away. It stands out like a naked woman in a crowd. The one word, often itself a powerful word with a strong meaning screams at you to pay attention to me! See if you agree.
Scandal
Revenge
Hostages
Blacklist (I cheated by omitting the THE)
Girls
Southland
Intelligence
Shameless
Elementary
Mom
Castle
Mixology (new)
Resurection (new)
Nashville
Dateline
Parenthood
Community
Believe (new)
Crossbones (new)
Crisis (new)
Dracula (new)
Dracula
Grimm
Hannibal
Dexter
Weeds
Episodes
Californication
Brotherhood
CHECK OUT MENTAL HEALTH MONDAY tomorrow!!
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