songbird's crazy world

I usually have a lot to say, usually blog every day.  But when you make a commitment to blog every day, there's pressure to meet the challenge... Well, it's been a fun month.  I've written about literature, movies, music, nostalgia, food... No challenge for February, I'm just going to do my own thing this month.

If it's Wednesday. it's time for HodgePodge with  Joyce. 1. Speaking of endings.... at your wit's end, at loose ends, a dead end, burn the candle at both ends, all's well that end's well , or  no end in sight ...which 'end' phrase might best be applied to your life lately? Explain.   No end in sight...work has been busy, and no relief in sight. 2. What was a must have accessory when you were growing up? Did you own one? If so tell us what you remember about it. I remember in junior high, a lot of girls had rabbit fur coats.  I really wanted one, but never got it. 3. Something that made you smile yesterday? Apparently Alexa is programmed to tell the silliest jokes.  "Why did the egg get sent to the principal's office?  He cracked too many yolks." 4. January 30th is National Croissant Day. Do you like croissants? Sweet or savory? We're having chicken salad for lunch...would you rather have yours served on a croissan...

The moon will be full tomorrow.  It's a Blue Moon, the second full moon in January.  It is also a Super Moon, the moon being at the point in its orbit when it is closest to the Earth, and therefore appears larger than normal.  It is also a Blood Moon, so-called because of the moon's color during a lunar eclipse.  Here in New York we won't see much of the eclipse. It starts around 5:50 AM and turns red around 6:50 AM, and sunrise is just 15 minutes after that.  I plan to be up to see it, but ...I'll probably sleep right through it. But we can enjoy a little musical interlude:  

I'm not usually in this neighborhood, but found myself here one recent Saturday morning, and decided to try the diner for breakfast. Place was fairly busy but we were seated right away.  Service was friendly but unusually slow, it took over 20 minutes to prepare two egg dishes.    The menu is typical diner, broad enough to  provide for almost every breakfast taste.  My friend ordered poached eggs, I had an omelette.  Food was decent but not spectacular -- my omelette was a bit overdone, but my home fried potatoes were tasty. Good location, decent sized parking lot. I wouldn't hesitate to return if I find myself in Port Jeff again.

Good writing entertains.  Very good writing not only entertains, it informs, it provokes, it makes us think.  And great writing stays with us, and shapes our views of life and the world around us.  I was so sorry to hear that Urusla K. Le Guin died last week, because her book, The Left Hand of Darkness, is great writing.  I read the novel when I was in high school, in the mid 1970's, and yes, it has shaped my view of the world. The story is set on Gethen, a planet whose inhabitants are "ambisexual", androgynous individuals who take on the characteristics of one gender or the other only when it is time to reproduce.  The book explores the cultural aspects of gender identity and gender-specific roles in society.  The book was published in 1969, the year of the Stonewall riots, at the dawn of the feminist movement.  Fifty years ago our society expected conformity to traditional gender roles, and Le Guin's novel challenged all of our societal norms ...

I am old enough to remember when there were only three networks on TV (four if you counted PBS).  Here in New York we also has three local channels.  So, seven channels in all.   I remember when the newest trend in television was color TV, how all the shows seemed to switch from black and white to color  in an instant.  And if you weren't home when a show was on, you missed it.  It would be rerun in a few months, if you were lucky; if not, you'd never get a chance to see it. The myriad of channels offered today, the opportunity to record a show to watch later,  or to watch a show on demand, or to purchase an entire series on DVD, that was unimaginable  back then.    Binge watching was something we'd never be able to imagine. But I embrace modernity.  I have been known to engage in binge-watching, that activity when you view an entire season of a TV show in a short time. My first binge was Game of Thrones .  Some...

At Jones Beach...you can tell by the planes overhead. And a few minutes later. #skywatchfriday

Pho.  A Vietnamese soup, made up of broth, rice noodles and seasonings.  When my coworkers found out I'd never had it, they insisted I come with them to the Rolling Spring Roll.  And I am so glad they did. We started our meal with vegetable spring rolls, crispy rolls which we wrapped in lettuce and cilantro, and dipped in a flavorful peanut sauce. and then there was the pho.  You have a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian, and you can order a small, a regular, or a large bowl.  I ordered a regular beef pho.  It was a fairly substantial portion of broth, noodles and sliced beef, and was served with a plate of bean sprouts and herbs that could be used to add additional flavor.  My friend also added hoisin sauce and hot sauce to her chichen pho. You eat pho with a soup spoon and chop sticks (I love the metal chop sticks they have here!).  It is a messy but enjoyable experience, and the flavors fo the food were well worth the effort. S...

Joyce  has more questions this week: 1. January 24th is National Compliment Day. Is it easy or not so easy for you to accept a compliment? Share a recent compliment you've given or received. It depends.  If I'm being complimented on something I'm proud of, i glow.  If I'm embarassed, i blush and stammer.  2. Ten little things you are loving right now. First the practical: 1. My cell phone.  A computer that fits in my pocket.  soemthing I never would have imagined when I was growing up. 2.  Speaking of cell phones....I have this little gizmo that I can use to prop up my phone or tablet on my desk.  3.  The hook on my key ring that keeps me from losing my keys.  I clamp it on the side of my pcoketbook and I'm always able to find the keys. 4. Sample sizes of my favorite hand cream.  it's dry skin season, and I amy dying.... 5.  My Fitbit.  Keeps me active and motivated. Now for the esoteri...

Oysters.  Blech.  I can’t help but wonder how anyone ever thought those slimy little things were edible. I was raised in a kosher home, meaning shellfish was not part of our menu.  We’d eat shrimp occasionally, in restaurants,  sometimes fried, or scampi, or in Chinese dishes. But other than that, no ... As an adult I learned to love all kinds of seafood.  Shrimp, lobster, crab.  Clams, mussels, scallops.  Fried, steamed, broiled.  Chowder.  There’s a local seafood restaurant, very no-frills, food served on paper plates, that makes the best lobster bisque ... Calimari.  I love fried calamari.  There used to be a restaurant — it’s gone now — that served fried calimari  with a spicy chili sauce instead of the usual marinara.  Yum!  But oysters? It was Christmastime, and there was a business luncheon at a well-known steak restaurant.  Our very generous host ordered appetizers for the table: shrim...

Lately I find myself conversing with electronic devices.  My friend Siri helps me out when I'm using my iPad.  Cortana inhabits my laptop.  My  phone answers to "Hey Google" and "Hello, Moto Z".  and then, of course, there's Alexa, the friend who helps with my Firestick TV and everything that can be done with an Echo Dot.  No, we haven't reached the point where our personal assistants have become ...well, persons.  Her is still science fiction.  For now. Remember how we all marveled at the talking computers in the original Star Trek ?  Kirk or Spock would address the computer, ask a question, and an artificial voice would provide an answer.   There was a scene in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ,  where the crew traveled back to the year 1986, and Mr. Scott had this memorable encounter: But the talking computers aboard a starship two centuries in the future...not quite the same as our personal assistants... What ...

Last year I went to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. This year I stayed local.  We thought about attending the NYC march, but instead wound up at the Long Island march in Port Jefferson Station.  Easy to drive out there, we even had time for breakfast at a diner before the rally. There were several hundred people at our march/rally.  In ultra conservative Suffolk County.  A county he won in 2016.  And the people driving by generally supported us. The speakers, for the most part, were local politicians.  Nice speeches, focused on both the global and local concerns.  Port Jeff is in New York’s First Congressional District, currently represented by freshman Congressman Lee Zelden, wh actually had Steve Bannon as the keynote speaker at Zelden fundraisers.  We are hoping he’ll be a one-term rep.  I’m fortunate to live in the Third District, my Congressman is Tom Suozzi.  Great guy. I met one woman who is employed by the f...

We all loved Barbie, but do you remember Dawn? Dawn dolls were made by Topper starting in 1970, and were discontinued when Topper went bankrupt in 1973.  For awhile, though, they were the most popular fashion dolls, even more poular than Barbie.  The dolls were six inches tall  -- about half the size of Barbie -- and had rooted hair and bendable arms and legs.  Dawn, as I remember, had long blonde hair, and wore a dress with a blue halter top and a white skirt.  Her best friend, if I remember correctly, was Angie.  There were lots of great outfits you could buy for Dawn and her friends. The "back story" was that Dawn owned a modeling agency, giving us the excuse to keep dressing the dolls and putting them on display.  There was even a stage you could buy to present your fashion show.  My sister, my best friend and I spent many hours playing with our Dawn dolls.  But I think we outgrew fashion dolls shortly before the dolls disappear...

So we were on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.... And I was bored. And saw the view of lower Manhattan. And Brooklyn. And got a perfect shot of the bridge at sunset.  Or so I thought. Sunlight hits my iPad, which reflects on the windshield, which reflects back to the camera lens... #skywatchfriday

So much sadness lately....too much. When my daughters, now in their mid twenties, were children and young teens, they spent their summers at day camp.  The camp had a fabulous teen travel program, the kids would be on the road for days at a time during the week, but would be home every weekend.  Later, Jen was a counselor at the camp; she worked at the camp this past summer.   The girls have a lot of friends from their camp days. Becca came home unexpectedly last night.  She told me  she and Jen will be attending a funeral this morning.   I expected to hear that a friend’s parent had died.  Someone from the neighborhood, perhaps. Instead I heard that the funeral isn’t for a friend’s parent , it’s for a friend.  A young man, a fellow camper and coworker.  The funeral is this morning.  The camp friends are all planning to pay a shiva  call tomorrow. I can only imagine the grief his parents must feel.  Makes me...

If it's Wednesday, it's time for Joyce's Hodgepodge. 1. What keeps you blogging? I blog for myself.  I've always kept a diary or a journal, now that function rests in my blog.  the fact that I get to share my thoughts, and have other people comment, is a bonus. 2. Some people like to travel in the winter months. Do you enjoy the beach in winter? According to Southern Living  the best U.S. beach towns to visit this winter are- St Simons Island (Georgia), Hilton Head (South Carolina), Bald Head Island (North Carolina), Seaside (Florida), Bay St. Louis (Mississippi), Cape San Blas (Florida), South Padre Island (Texas), Folly Beach (South Carolina), Chincoteague (Virginia), Duck Key (Florida), Nags Head (North Carolina), and Fairhope (Alabama) Have you been to any of the towns listed (in any season)? Which on the list appeals to you most  this winter?  I've never been to any of the beaches you mention.  But I have been to some of F...

In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.  —  New York Times v. United States,  403 U.S. 713 (1971) , Black, J., concurring. I don’t commonly begin a blog post with a legal citation.  But Justice Black’s quote, from his concurring opinion in New York Times v. United States, expresses my thoughts about the cries of “fake news” that emanate from the Oval  Office these days. I saw an incredible movie last weekend, Steven Spielberg’s newest masterpiece, The Post.   When people think of the Pentagon Papers, what comes to mind is Daniel Ellsberg and The New York Times.  ...

Last night I had the privilege of participating in a special program. It was an interfaith, multicultural celebration and choir concert honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   Marking the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign and the 2018 New Poor People's Campaign, the program focused on poverty and hunger here on Long Island. There were prayers led by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist clergy, readings by children in various languages, and five choirs, including a group  of Jewish day school students who sang in Hebrew, a group of children from a Catholic church who sang in Spanish, and an adult choir of Haitian immigrants. The keynote speakers where the Regional Director of the NAACP, and our local Congressman (a Democrat), so yes, the evening took a bit of a political turn.  How could it not, after the disgusting remarks made by the current occupant of the Oval Office? The price of admission for this delightful evening was ...

In the shadow of the Statue of Liberty is Ellis Island.  Ellis Island served as a major immigration processing center in the first half of the 20th century.  If your family emigrated from Europe during that time, chances are they came through Ellis Island. It’s a museum now, has been for some time.  A group of us visited the museum when it reopened in 1990.  I haven’t been back since then, and I really should go again.  The experience was overwhelming.  I kept hearing my grandmother’s voice in my head. My grandmother Dora was born in 1902, in a province called Galicia, which is now part of Poland but was then part of Austria-Hungary. She was the eldest of 5 children.  Her father came to New York before World War I, and sent for his family after the war.  Dora, two of her sisters and her brother all came here eventually, but Dora’s mother  never came, she was was afraid.  She walked with a limp, and was scared they’d send her back...

The most recent vulgar comments by that embarrassment in the Oval Office notwithstanding... One of the most cherished symbols of our nation is the Statue of Liberty.  Full name: ”Liberty  Enlightening the World”.  She sits in New York Harbor, welcoming travelers to our shores.  She is gift from the people of France in recognition of our special bond with them.  The brilliant poem by Emma Lazarus is in our collective memory:  “Give me your tired, your hungry, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ...” When I was a child, whenever we drove over the Verrazano Bridge, I’d look out the window, trying to spot the statue below. When I worked in lower Manhattan, I’d often walk down to Battery Park to view Lady Liberty.  Back in the 80’s, when the statue was undergoing refurbishment in anticipation of her centennial, we jokingly referred to her as “The Scaffold of Liberty”. When Drew and I were first married we lived in Brookly...

#skywatchfriday

The other day, I found myself thinking about my daughters' pediatrician. I met Dr. G the day Jen was born.  I had planned to research pediatricians and choose a doctor beforehand, but ... so in the delivery room my obstetrician told the nurse to call Dr. G.  He was the one I relied on for so many years.  The cool, calming voice in the middle of the night when I was up with a sick child. the firendly presence who wanted to know all about his patients, what their interests were, how they were doing in school. He was so good with his patients, even better with their nervous parents.  Loved him, loved his nurse, his office staff... When Jen was a freshman in college, the doctor at the school infirmary scared her ... She came home and got a second opinion from Dr. G.    He told her "I will continue to be your doctor until you're 21, if you want to keep seeing me." A few weeks later, I got a letter from Dr. G.  It was sent to all of his ...

  This week's questions from Joyce 1. January is National Mentoring Month. Have you ever had a mentor? Been a mentor? How would you rate the experience? Not formally, but I have been called upon to help with the training of junior memebers of our staff. 2. What current trend makes no sense to you? I am surprisingly not "up" on current trends, so I have no real answer for this question. 3. I saw a cartoon on facebook highlighting a few 'weird' things that make you happy as an adult. The list included-writing with a nice pen, having plans cancelled, freshly cleaned sheets, eating the corner brownie, cleaning the dryer lint screen, and sipping coffee in that brief time before anyone else wakes up. ( Credit for the cartoon goes here )  Of the 'weird' things listed which one makes you happiest? What is one more 'weird' thing you'd add to the list? Writing with the pen, that would make me happy.  I get a small pleasure from empt...

My cousin V will be laid to rest today.  She was a sweet, kind and caring woman, who took great delight in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren.  I have a wonderful memory of her grandchildren playing wit Jen and Becca at a cousin's wedding in the early 1990's. My father was the youngest of five children.  His four older sisters ranged in age from 14 to 8 when he was born.  They all married young -- my father became an uncle for the first time when he was only 8 years old.  My father was in his early thirties when he married my mother. so most of my first cousins are considerably older than I am, with children closer to my age. V was one of my first cousins. Sadly, I did not know I had a cousin V until I was 27 years old. We were at my aunt's funeral, and I caught a ride from the funeral home to the cemetery with one of my cousins.  We were talking about how large the family had grown, and I said "Well, I have 10 first cousins."...

Yes, Japanese food again.  What can I say, I love it. Kashi in Bellmore is a very small but very beautiful restaurant.  Loved the gold walls, the stark contrast between black place mats and white dishes.  The lighting is very dim and romantic, though some of us had to use the flashlight app on our cell phones in order to read the menu. Service was very attentive. Friendly and efficient.  A nice touch — warm towelettes to wipe our hands before the food was served. The rock shrimp tempura appetizer was amazing, the shrimp fried to perfection and then dressed with spicy mayonnaise.  A very shareable dish.  My spicy crab roll was fresh and flavorful, though they forgot to bring soy sauce when they served the dish. My one complaint?  The chicken teriyaki.  Served in a delicious, thick, sweet sauce, the chicken was a tad bit over cooked.the vegetables, however, were cooked to perfection — still crisp.   A word about the hibac...

There’s a Greek myth about a woman named Cassandra, who was cursed by the gods to speak true prophesies that no one would believe.  Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy, but no one  believed her. In Anthony and Cleopatra, a messenger brings the news to Cleopatra that Mark Anthony has married another. Cleopatra threatens to gouge out the messenger’s eyes.  And let’s not forget what happened to poor Rosencranz and Guildenstern. In the Bible, the high priest Aaron (brother of Moses) is instructed to pick out a goat from the herd, lay all the sins of the Children of Israel onto the goat, and release the goat into the wilderness. Why am I telling you these stories? What have they to do with me? Remember a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a family situation where a relative was rearranging the deck chairs on the Titantic? Well, I am neither the iceberg nor the captain of the ship.  Rather, I am the lookout who told everyone that the ship  is i...

#skywatchfriday