Word around the blogosphere is that the president gave a speech the other night. Unfortunately, I already had plans to watch The City and had to miss it.  I also had to pregame The City with a bunch of past episodes of The City, so I wouldn’t fail to pick up on any of the emotional nuances which may arise from knowledge you’d had to have accrued during previous episodes. Totally worth it, guys. 

The speech probably aired during that time. I don’t know what kind of audience Obama got, but he should rethink when he puts these things on TV next time. I’d suggest either 1:00PM or 7:00PM, unless there’s a marathon on of something like Jon and Kate Plus Eight or Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. And there’s like a 60% chance of that happening all the time. I guess it will just have to be a case-by-case type of thing.

Anyway, I have no idea what the speech was about. Probably the economy? In any case, I’ll give some advice and then we can get to what I really need to talk about. Ok, basically what you need to do, Obama, is I guess whatever you want. You’re the boss.

Ok, now on to what’s really important: The Oscars! [Read more →]

Tags: Kelly Conaboy saves the world, movies by Kelly Conaboy
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Cheater’s Row:

Hi, my name is Alex Kudera and although I am running for President, certainly by 2023, I write today to humbly welcome you to my “blog in brief” Cheater’s Row. Our main concern will be the unethical, illegal, and more overtly theft-oriented aspects of American culture, so expect the current lineup of liars and cheats to get an ample share of our meager webspace.

But before we get into all of that, since we really don’t know each other — and therefore, I could be your broker — I thought I’d start with some inspired financial advice.

“Keep all assets liquid” is one of my favorite lines from “A Wife’s Story” by Bharati Mukherjee as well as sage advice offered by the Oracle of Oligarchs, George Soros. But rather than merely recommend you sell your house, rush your bank, sleep in a mobile home with cash and gold stuffed in your night shirt, I instead offer a more flexible approach.

In all cases, keep doing what you are doing!

1) If you are prone to live for the moment and spend it all anyway, keep living and spending! You’re not getting any younger and imagine what delight you can have blowing coin across town when the prudent stock investor next door has lost half his nut and is worried to tears or even death. Savor those moments when you caught his condescending frown as you returned from a shopping expedition laden with transient plastic possessions for your dining or living experience. [Read more →]

Tags: money by Alex Kudera
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Tags: money, movies by Glenn Giangrande
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October 27, 2008
I dream an alien from another planet calls and offers to give me eternal life and make me “one of him.” I am repelled but fascinated. I don’t think I’m going to say yes. I am in my home and a normal looking man I presume to be the alien is hanging around outside and he wants to come in. I want to call 911, but I can’t find the phone.

May 15, 2008
I dream I am on a small planet decorated with plant life donated by an alien race. The plants are rectangular and sparkly and beautiful, but I have a bad feeling about them. Suddenly, through a psychic flash, I see the home planet on which squads of aliens are in charge of maintaining the plants. It is labor intensive, and requires a lot of running. People are punished harshly if they neglect the plants. I see that these supposed “gifts” are part of an elaborate plot to keep us in line.

April 25, 1999
I dream I am in California with Gail, who is preoccupied with a paranormal event. There is a huge, raised pedestal with obscure signs on it indicating that either aliens or gods were meddling in human affairs. A human woman’s necklace has disappeared from a mall and Gail feels she has unraveled the mystery. I go with her to verify the story. Gail is convinced, but I am not.

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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Oops, that may not be the best title. Oh well, it’s been typed & I am not going back. When was my last post? I don’t know. I think I was writing about getting a band going & being over 35. Somehow, I have kept the band thing up (do you live in the greater Tampa Bay area & play drums? check out http://www.myspace.com/tragedybecomesher.) In some ways the band may be keeping me sane. So that was where I left off. And then I got all Jobed. Minus, you know, the boils. Suddenly I was on the brink of divorce, laid off & dealing with the possibility of foreclosure. Suddenly I was an episode of Oprah with lots of layers & no focus. I was at home with my son, trying to make his days full & happy. Mostly trying not to just cry all the time. Or at least shut the bathroom door.

The file is too big, or I would have cued Dr. Dog‘s song “The Beach” right here. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, money by Van McCourt
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1. Fried Tofu with escarole and white beans; Serves 2

Ingredients: one package of firm organic tofu (there is a Hudson Valley brand that I prefer); 1 1/2 heads of escarole; one (16 oz) can of drained, rinsed cannellini beans (you can of course use dried cannellini beans if you have the time to soak them); 2 cloves of garlic; canola oil; salt and pepper; 1 cup of all purpose flour; 1 cup of ice water; 2 Tbsp of cornstarch.

Fill a large stock pot with water and a little salt and let it come to a boil as you cook your tofu.

Slice up the square of tofu and drain the slices very well on paper towels. (If you skip this step they will never fry up nice and crispy!). Heat 2-3 inches of canola oil in a cast iron, or other heavy, deep skillet. If you have a thermometer, your oil is ready at 375 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, just drop a little water in the pan — it should sizzle and jump, but not go too crazy.

Combine the flour and cornstarch in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt. Whisk in the ice water (you do not have to whisk out all the lumps). Coat the tofu on all sides with this batter. Let the excess drip off and then VERY CAREFULLY drop the tofu into the hot oil. If the temperature of the oil seems to go down a lot, raise it a bit to keep the tofu frying nicely. It should only take 2 minutes on each side for the tofu to be nicely brown and crisp. Remove from the skillet and drain very well on paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper as it drains. [Read more →]

Tags: recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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I had never heard of Gaston Bachelard until a few weeks ago, when I read an article by David Cooper called “Art, Nature, Significance.” What Cooper says about Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space, as well as the quotes from it, sounded so interesting that I immediately ordered a copy of the book from Amazon and am now slowly reading it. (I am reading it slowly not because it is difficult, but because it is too beautiful and thought-provoking to read any other way.)

Before the book arrived, however, I had come upon something Bachelard had said in another book, The Poetics of Reverie: “Man is an imagining being.”

Classical philosophy defines man as the “rational animal.” This has always seemed to me a self-serving definition — serving the self of the philosophers. [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
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I’ll share upfront, I like Barack Obama. I like the way he talks in front of an audience, his ability to motivate and inspire. I like his, “yes, we can!” and the whole hope thing. I tend not to trust politicians, Barack is a politician, but that doesn’t mean I can’t respect his delivery, his skills as a rhetorician. It doesn’t mean I can’t be inspired.

Having said that, I’ve decided what to do with my tax cut, the $13 a week everyone making under $75,000 will be allowed to keep come April; I’m going to give it away. [Read more →]

Tags: money, politics & government by Tyler Samien
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As I mentioned in a previous post, the changing economy has been relatively unkind to my family. In mid-December, I was laid off from a copy-editing job that had made small diversions like buying two or three books once in a while, eating out at a mid-priced restaurant, and seeing an occasional show feasible. Since then, the job market in Cincinnati has been — to be kind — brutal. Luckily, my wife still had a great job that made the necessities possible.

Then, last Tuesday, I got that long-awaited call. I had an interview. Maybe the economy here in Cincinnati wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Maybe the stimulus package and the housing bill had already started working its hermetic magic. Maybe, if the interview went well, my wife and I could once again look forward to the uncertain future.

[Read more →]

Tags: all work, money by Les Kay
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 10. “I hear Frank Langella used the same makeup for Nixon that he used for Dracula.”

9. “I love Price, but I never much cared for Waterhouse.”

8. “I’m sorry, but those seats are reserved for the two people who actually saw Frost/Nixon.”

7. “Michael Moore? I’m sorry, Mr. Moore, but you’re not allowed to bring any food into the auditorium.”

6. “They gotta be fixed; I mean, Beverly Hills Chihuahua deserved something!”

5. “Did anybody find out why Heath Ledger’s a no-show?”

4. “I’d like to thank the Academy. And for those of you who think it’s an honor just to be nominated: What a bunch of losers!!!!”

3. “Now that Wolverine has hosted the show, can Cyclops and Storm be far behind?”

2. “I love that new ‘anatomically correct’ Oscar; it’s so much easier to carry!”

1. “I hear they’ve already started torturing that kid from Slumdog Millionaire to find out how it won.”

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, movies by Bob Sullivan
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