songbird's crazy world

A few musical offerings appropriate to the night. First some Johnny Mathis: And you have to have some Bing Crosby: Some New Year's Greetings from Abba: A little Harry Connick, Jr. And my playlist must include some Barry Manilow: And to close it out, Rod Stewart: Happy New Year to one and all. May the new year bring us peace, joy and love.

We enjoyed the restaurant so much on Christmas Eve  that we had to come back and order from the regular menu. I recommend the kourtaki red wine -- it's a sweet wine, but not overpoweringly so. The bread basket includes garlic bread loaded with real pieces of garlic.  There is olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table if you'd rather dip plain bread. We both started with the soup of the day -- the same seafood bisque we had at Christmas.  rich, thick and creamy, very satisfying. The saganaki appetizer -- melted kaseri cheese served in a casserole -- was tasty.  Somehow we never received the pita that is supposed to accompany the dish, but I don't think we really cared. The classic yeero platter came with pita and tzatziki, and enough yeero meat and French fires to feed two people, maybe three. I ordered the mousaka -- layers of eggplant, potatoes and meat sauce topped with bechamel.  The dish was well seasoned, the bechamel almost cloudlike in i...

So on Wednesday we took our annual trek into NYC to see the holiday windows. Our day began, as always, with a delightful ride on the Long Island Railroad -- as if I needed a reminder why I am thrilled I no longer commute into the city for work.  We stood all the way to Penn Station -- ugh! We start our trek at Macy's.  The 34th Street windows were the same as last year's, honoring the TV special "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus".  I always preferred the "Miracle on 34th Street" windows .... This year the Herald Square windows had a North Pole theme: We walked over to 5th Avenue and got a "dirty water dog" from a hot dog cart -- Drew had one with mustard and sauerkraut, mine had ketchup and onions. Next stop was Lord & Taylor.  This year their windows had a winter woodlands theme: We continued uptown on 5th Avenue until we got to 42nd Street -- the New York Pubic Library, and behind it, Bryant Park. Th...

So, coming on the heels of Carrie Fisher's death... One day later, Debbie Reynolds has died.  Best remembered for S ingin' In The Rain ...     But who could forget The Unsinkable Molly Brown ? They say she died of a broken heart. I can well imagine.... “She’s now with Carrie and we’re all heartbroken,” Todd Fisher, Reynolds’ son and Fisher’s brother, said from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where his mother was taken by ambulance earlier Wednesday. He said the stress of his sister's death Tuesday "was too much" for her.  Carrie Fisher, who was 60, had been hospitalized since Friday.  "She said, 'I want to be with Carrie,' " her son said. "And then she was gone." http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/debbie-reynolds-dead-singin-in-the-rain-star-was-84-1.12817510  Carrie's ex wrote the perfect song for the day: No I would not give you false hope On this strange and mournful day But the mother...

The first time I read those words on a movie screen was in the summer of 1977. The concept of a summer blockbuster movie was new then, Jaws having paved the way just two years earlier.  The blockbuster of 1977 wouldn't be a horror film, though: science fiction. space opera, ruled the day. I was 17 that summer, and my boyfriend --  an engineering student at a local college -- was an even bigger geek than I was.  Of course we saw Star Wars .  More than once, actually. Yes, we were very much repeat customers. Yes, I saw it when it was just Star Wars , before it was rebranded as Episode IV: A New Hope.   I think the rebranding happened in 1981, when they re-released the first film after the success of   The Empire Strikes Back, which was labelled "Episode V".      George Lucas had a vision, but in 1977 who knew that the film would be so successful, that it would become part of the fabric of pop culture, that they'd make two sequels and thr...

Today I was a guest blogger on my friend Larry's blog.  Here's my piece at  Ranting and Raving II

It's that week between Christmas and New Year's.  That week when everything slows down at work, where taking a few days off for vacation doesn't result in a backlog of work. My office was closed Monday, and while I'm taking most of the week off, I went into the office on Tuesday.  Shouldn't have bothered, our computer system was down and I wasn't able to actually do anything useful. Jen is off from work, of course, whenever the schools are closed.  Ditto Drew.  And Becca took a few days of vacation.  Drew and I like to look at Christmas decorations whenever we ride around the neighborhood.  th other night we came across this one: Yes, that's Santa in the outhouse.    I guess he's only human... Our synagogue had its "Third Night Out" program Monday night.  It's a big Chanukah party, there's food (latkes!) and music.  The fire department brings one of its trucks so the kids can see how things work.  T...

So it was the 80's.  Degree in hand, I looked for-- and found -- my first full time job.  And my first apartment.  And a serious romance, one that led to marriage. And the music...it was so different from what we listened to in the 70's.  Prince.  Madonna.  Cyndi Lauper.  The Bangles.  Hall & Oates. Dire Straights.  Huey Lewis. Duran Duran. Music that was designed for the hot new medium, the music video. And no one captured the era more than a British band called Wham! George Michael's good looks, his dance moves, his fashion sense ... he was made for MTV. Later he became a champion for HIV/AIDS charities. He passed away on Christmas Day.  but the music lives on.

I think I'm in love. It's called galaktoburiko. It's a semolina custard wrapped in filo dough.  It is the perfect dessert. Smooth, creamy, sweet but not overpoweringly so.  With a cup of coffee, pure heaven. A perfect way to top off an incredible meal. Granted, it was Christmas Eve, and we chose the prix fixe dinner, which was mostly American foods ... Appetizers included stuffed mushrooms, baked clams, hummus, grape leaves.  there was a choice of soup or salad, and we chose incredible seafood bisque.  Entrees included prime rib, broiled salmon, shrimp scampi. Our waitress was efficient, friendly , even entertaining.  She even helped me choose a Greek wine to complement the meal. No doubt we will be back to sample the regular menu.

So every year, for the last 35 years, Kenny Rogers has done a Christmas tour.  And every year, for the last 35 years, Kenny Rogers has finished the tour at Westbury Music Fair ...er, NYCB Theater at Westbury...right here on Long Island. In 2015, Rogers announced that his 2016 tour would be his farewell tour.  And that he'd finish the tour in Westbury on December 23. He labeled the tour "The Gambler's Last Deal". Well, Drew is a huge Kenny Rogers fan.  So you know where we were Friday night. A word about Westbury.  It's theater-in-the round.   A round stage, in the center of the room, a revolving stage so that the performers will face every audience member at one point or another.  Performers enter the theater from the back of the house, and walk down an aisle through the audience to take the stage.  The aisles are very steep, I avoid wearing heels when we see a show at Westbury. When we saw Jerry Lewis at Westbury a few years ago, they put ...

Hanukkah, a minor Jewish holiday, a festival of freedom (Definition of a Jewish holiday:  they tried to kill us, we won, let's eat.)  Candles in the menorah, latkes, dreidels, jelly donuts, presents, family gatherings.  Judah Maccabee and the miracle of the oil. Hanukkah is an 8 day holiday beginning on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar.  Because the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar, Hanukkah can begin as early as the last week of November or as late  as the end of December, or any time in between. This year the first night of Hanukkah coincides with Christmas Eve.  Our December 25 dilemma:  Chinese food or latkes? Yes, I know, it's a stereotype that Jews eat Chinese food for Christmas.  But it's a stereotype based in reality.  Drew and I and a group of our friends go out for Chinese food every year on Christmas Day. Wasn't it only a few years ago -- 2013 to be precise --  that Hanukkah coincided with Tha...

I recently had take-out from this restaurant, for an office lunch.  We chose La Piazza because of its interesting and substantial menu offerings, suited to a wide variety of tastes.  the lunch menu offers all the same choices as the dinner menu, but portions are smaller.  Our order was delivered at the promised time and was 100% accurate.  Food was fresh and tasty.  I loved my rigatoni fiorentina -- rigatoni pasta, chicken, spinach and mozzarella in a  pink sauce.  The pasta was al dente, the chicken breast moist and tender, the sauce creamy but not overpowering. I wouldn't hesitate to order from La Piazza again.

Yes I admit it, I'm being catty. Remember two years ago, Becca was planning to share an apartment with a girl she'd known since kindergarten.  They were best friends, it seemed like a perfect match.  And the whole thing fell apart just before they were supposed to sign the lease and move in, partially because of the girl, and partially because of Helicopter Mom. Helicopter Mom treated Becca very poorly.  Becca dodged a bullet. And to rub salt in the wound, the other girl found another roommate and moved into an apartment six months later, months before Becca found a roommate and an apartment. Needless to say, Becca is no longer friends with the girl. It is two years later, and now I'm taking a weekly yoga class at the public library.  First session, I didn't know a soul in the class. Second session.  Five minutes after class began, a woman came in, and with great show, she unrolled her mat ... and I thought "She looks just like Helicopter Mom!" She...

When I was  a child and a teenager, I used to love watching all those Christmas specials on TV.  You know, Andy Williams.  Perry Como.  Bing Crosby. All the stars my parents' generation loved.  I used to laugh, whoever would listen to Nat King Cole except at Christmas? It wasn't until much later that I gained a real appreciation of the artistry of those performers. And then one hot summer day, about 5 or 6 years ago, I was in a store, and a Carpenters song came on the radio.  I really love Karen Carpenter, she had such a warm, distinctive voice.  The songs were so beautiful.  "We've Only Just Begun", "Sing", "Rainy Days and Mondays", "Superstar", and , of course, "Close To You".  I loved singing her songs in my junior high chorus class, because that was the only time we altos got to sing the melody.  And while this beautiful Carpenters song was playing, I heard a young woman -- she couldn't be more than 19 or 20 ...

Billed as "Asian fusion", Aki is primarily Japanese, but also offers some Chinese and Thai specialties. It's a pretty restaurant, the walls decorated to resemble the black and white paper walls found in Japan. My experience with this restaurant is limited to take-out, so I cannot comment on the service.  But it's nice to find your meal all packed, including chopsticks and other niceties, and ready to go when you arrive. Sushi was fresh, spring rolls crispy. Salmon teriyaki was perfectly prepared,   Hibachi shrimp came with fried rice and an interesting mix of vegetables. We'll be back for sure.

Yesterday I watched the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol . Charles Dickens' message of social justice, of kindness and compassion, has always resonated with me. But this year especially...  A man lacking in compassion and human feeling.  Who prides himself on his business acumen.  A  miserly skinflint who has made himself wealthy on the backs of the poor. And the miraculous transformation that turns him into the picture of generosity. It's a story that has been told, and revised and told again. Henry Winkler brought it to Depression-era America.  Bil Murray brought it to a 1980's TV network. How any sitcoms did versions of it? It's a timeless story. Some of my favorite quotes: “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my busines...

There was snow on the ground when I got up this morning.  And a Star Wars marathon on TV.   A good day to stay inside and take it easy. Though I did get a workout done.  I do enjoy Leslie Sansone walk at home DVD's.  Just because I feel lazy doesn't mean I have to sit on the couch all day. Our New Year's Eve plans are made.  A group of us are going to a local catering hall, Sit down dinner, DJ, dancing.  Should be fun. We're still working on Christmas.  I think we're doing a Greek restaurant on Christmas Eve.  And Chinese food on Christmas Day, of course.  the only thing we haven't figured out is which movie to see Christmas morning.  I'm thinking we might wind up at Rogue One (which is either a worthy addition to the Star Wars story or a total disaster, depending which paper you read). We're also trying to arrange a mid week dinner with Jen and Becca and their respective boyfriends.  Drew met Becca's boyfriend once, but ha...

So we took in a movie at the Broadway Mall, and decided to try the new fast food restaurant. Yes, Chick-Fil-A has finally arrived on Long Island. The line for the drive-through was impossible, the line at the counter somewhat more manageable.  The menu is somewhat limited -- you can order chicken, chicken or chicken. Grilled chicken nuggets were moist and flavorful, nicely seasoned.  There were numerous dipping sauces available.  The original chicken sandwich....fried chicken that was crisp and not greasy.  No wonder it is so well loved.   Waffle fries were a bit limp, I may try the soup or a salad next time. Sometimes the little things are what impresses me most.  The condiments bar offered ketchup, mustard, mayo, hot sauce, grape jelly and honey, as well as straws, napkins, hand wipes and place mats.  Yes, place mats. Good location, decent food, little niceties.  I'm sure we will be back again.  But not on a Sunday, of course....

My friend L, the one dealing with the serious health crisis, called me again last night, left me a voice mail. She's now in a third hospital, being evaluated by yet another set of doctors, trying to stave off the inevitable.  She's become despondent, so needy...she mentioned wanting my skills as an attorney.  G-d help me, I have no real background in health care law, II hope I can give her some help, but .... Meanwhile, I'm having heartburn over my own health insurance.  The company I work for merged into a larger company last summer.  The health plans we had at the smaller company are not going to be renewed, and we're supposed to get our new  (and presumably better) benefits from our new corporate parent.  Our health policy will expire 12/31, and the new plan is supposed to take effect 1/1, but as of today, 12/15, we haven't been given any enrollment materials, and we've been told that we won't be able to enroll until "after Christmas".  Our HR...

So, this time last year I was struggling.  Weight Watchers, my weight loss program of choice, had changed, and not for the better.  I'd lost 42 pounds on the old program, but the new program had me frustrated and angry. At the end of December I finally made the decision to quit Weight Watchers and go it alone. In the year since I've quit Weight Watchers, I've lost 30 pounds.  Not as much as I would have liked, but ...well, I've lost a total of 72 pounds, and that's not a bad thing. I still have a lot more to lose, but that's OK.  I look better, I feel better, my doctor is happy. My next goal?  15 pounds by Passover.  That's mid-April. My tools for continued success include Fitbit, My Fitness Pal, Planet Fitness and my weekly  yoga class. I can do this.

So the other night Drew and I were watching a TV show, something he had recorded from PBS. It was called "Hugs and Knishes", and it was a discussion of Jewish food and family tradition. Featured quite prominently in the show were two older Jewish celebrities, Tovah Feldshuh and the late Fyvush Finkel.  Each of them spoke about the foods they ate growing up, the family traditions associated with the foods, etc.  Each sang in Yiddish. Towards the end of the show, Finkel sang something that brought tears to my eyes. He sang only the refrain, a brief moment... I remember my grandmother, of blessed memory, singing the refrain of that song.   It's a lament... Voz iz geven, is geven un nisht do. .."What was, was, and is no more..." How true... I had to find the song.   Thank goodness for YouTube.

Yesterday I formally joined a political action initiative, a grass roots organization that is growing out of the anger and despair so many of us feel as a result of the election.  We've all been chatting on Facebook for weeks, and yesterday we met to form committees and to plan our events.  In the coming weeks I will be very active indeed. I cannot stand silent. I cannot be mute when the president-elect supports the leader of Russia and not the CIA, and  refuses to attend intelligence briefings.  When the president-elect chooses for his cabinet people who want to dismantle the agencies they are chosen to head.  When he chooses former generals for his cabinet to make us look strong, but undermines decades of bipartisan foreign policy with a single phone call.  I cannot stand silent when the number of hate crimes is steadily rising, when the president-elect's name is invoked to support those crimes. I cannot, and I will not.

Well, you kind of knew I'd be seeing a political thriller sooner or later. Miss Sloane is about a very successful lobbyist in a top Washington firm, who is asked to lobby for the gun industry.  Instead, she quits her job and takes a position with a boutique firm seeking to support gun control legislation.  The ensuing battle between Miss Sloane and her former colleagues involves strategy, intrigue and backstabbing, morality and ethics and questions of where to draw the line between the personal and the professional. Sloane is a smart, ambitious, overachiever who is always one step ahead.  Even her own staff is never fully apprised of the next step. She is also neurotic, addicted to little white pills, and on a course of self destruction.  She is all about "winning" at any cost, even to the point of alienating those around her. Ultimately Sloane's tactics result in charges against her, and a Senate committee hearing into her allegedly unethical operations. Of...

“Who can protest an injustice but does not is an accomplice to the act” ~ The Talmud And I refuse to be an accomplice.  Hate crimes in this country have increased dramatically in the last year or so, and even more since early November. The victims?  Muslims, people of color, Latinx, LGBTQ, Jews...anyone who is not white and Christian. What was once in the shadows, hidden under hoods (both figurative and literal) has now come to the center.  The fringe element has now become the mainstream.  I will not stand silent. I once looked hate in the face... Eight years ago, my synagogue was vandalized.  The hatemongers used spray paint to deface the outside walls of the building with swastikas and horrible phrases. The damage was done either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.  When I drove over to the synagogue Sunday afternoon to see what  had been done, the hateful graffiti had been concealed by huge sheets. As I sat in th...

It's interesting when two different parts of your life come together. I have always been moderately religious, active in my synagogue, eager to learn the both the  rituals and the theology behind the prayers and practices.  When Kabbalah became the "hot thing" (thanks, Madonna!) I started to do a little reading on the topic, but never really pursued the study of Kabbalah.  Well, now I've gotten interested in yoga.  And all that goes along with it.  Mindfulness, meditation, connection to the universe.  The divine that is within all of us. So, how does Jewish thought and prayer fit in with Eastern mysticism? Believe it or not, I found the answer in my synagogue. We got a grant this year, which we are using to explore Jewish mysticism, both traditional and modern, through a series of workshops.  Our Rabbi will cover traditional Kabbalah.  And then there's the Awakened Heart Project .  We've had one program presented by Rabbi Roth, ...

Drew and I spent some time riding around the neighborhood.