pretty momentous night of political theater last night. as far as coverage went, the democrats certainly seemed to be center stage while the republicans were almost an afterthought. maybe thats because the conservative who won doesnt have any institutional support so noone wanted to push his brand. and romney disappeared himself by giving his speech at exactly the same time as huckabee insuring that he would not be covered live. doesnt seem very smart. ron paul, of course, got the wheres waldo treatment, despite his respectable 10% showing. he got no coverage and barely no mention, whereas mccain at 13%, still the media darling, was mentioned at every turn. in fact, msnbc desperate to promote mccain had him as #3 most of the night (they only showed the top three in their graphics) despite the fact that he was in fourth behind deputy droop-a-long, fred thompson. thompson must have taken the night off knowing he was on the way out because he got about as much facetime as bill richardson, which was none, and only mentioned in the context of throwing his support to st. mccain. also, despite beating hillary by the hair on his chinny chin chin, edwards wasnt considered viable down the road by the poobahs. probably true but it seems the media would like to make this a self fullfilling prophecy.

my favorite moment of the night: some pundit trying to explain the chuck norris ironic appeal to interpups.


also great to see rachel maddow of air america given space at the msnbc pundits table. kudos to msnbc for having a true liberal voice. i thought she acquitted herself quite well.

so obama gives good speech. i was nearly as taken with edwards populist cant but you cant deny obamas presence. hillary was pretty gracious in defeat but i cant say i wasnt just as happy as the odious chris matthews to see some fresh faces take center stage. oh, and obama wins on art direction as well. instead of the claustrophobic backdrop of family and supporters huddled onstage, he was set apart. it was very bushian, in fact, but effective given his victory.

someones avatar. seemed very tree-like.

Be afraid, be very afraid -- but don't let it show.

tcm premiere at 8pm of Things to Come, a 1936 film adaptation of an hg wells book.

New Orleans wins, or, almost wins, again.

turned on the tube and i thought i recognized a person from the coffeshop days on avenue a being interviewed about her movie, the savages, in some fox movie channel filler material. i was even able to confirm the cafe connection. i always found her annoying but nice enough. and if slums of beverly hills was autobiographical than you cant blame her.

Had my first and last Burek from these guys , was tasty but i dont need a pile of filo and oil with a smidge of cheese and spinach.....these folks serve the Serbian and Bosnian types.....I predict the Bay Ridge Branch (#4 for them) will fail, as so much in Bay Ridge sadly does.....

Linda/Alex what did you think??

brit com : too many crooks (1959)

What are your favorite British comic films? I like most of the usual Ealing suspects: Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, and Man in the White Suit. I've never warmed to The Ladykillers, and Whiskey Galore made me laugh only once. As for non-Ealing comedies, Heavens Above with Peter Sellers really struck me as well done. I'm All Right, Jack was also good. Smallest Show on Earth was quite charming, and Belles of St. Trinian's took me by surprise and made me laugh.

The men who ruled the world in the late 1950s, or at least six of the men who ruled publishing, rejected Peg Bracken’s manuscript, “The I Hate to Cook Book.” It would never sell, they told her, because “women regard cooking as sacred.” It took a female editor at Harcourt Brace to look at the hundreds of easy-to-follow recipes wittily pitched at the indentured housewife and say, “Hallelujah!” Since its publication in 1960, Bracken’s iconic book, which celebrated the speedy virtues of canned cream-of-mushroom soup and chicken bouillon cubes, has sold more than three million copies. That helped lift her spirits, her daughter, Jo Bracken, said, about her $338 advance.

Bracken had the nerve to say then what so many women felt: They liked cooking fine, as long as they didn’t have to cook all the time. There was scant takeout in postwar America, no prepared foods, certainly no men rushing home from the office to don an apron and help out. The job of a wife and mother was to put food on the table, three times a day, seven days a week. And not just like it — live for it.

worst name for a college football bowl game:

the san diego county credit union poinsetta bowl or the gaylord hotels music city bowl?

Had the chance to watch a bunch of new releases over Christmas. I am the worst movie critic ever, so not sure why I'm even bothering, but here goes.

Atonement: beautifully shot, and much more intriguing than I thought it would be with a lot of jumping around in time. But I'd have to see it again to really know if it hung together on a deeper level and I don't have any desire to see it again. Really beautifully shot though.

Bucket List: Pretty fun although I'm embarrassed to say it. Pure fluff.

Juno: About as awesome as a comedy about teenage pregnancy can be. The Juno character is cast spot on.

Talk Radio Talk To Me: Interesting history lesson about an interesting figure - Petey Green - who I knew nothing about. Probably worth it for that. And I love Don Cheadle. But no way best picture.

Savages: Didn't get through it.

Valley of Elah: A smart look at some of the very negative repercussions of our crazy adventure in Iraq once these kids come home. Tommy Lee Jones is great. So I support this movie, I just wouldn't recommend it so much.

American Gangster: This must have been written with Denzel in mind it fits so well. I'll give it props for reaching for something truly great - but it falls short of that. And in that sense it's sort of overly long and falling apart. No way in the same class as Godfather and Goodfellas (I guess obviously,) and there's no way not to compare it to those. But still worth watching if you're into that sort of thing.

Michael Clayton: Probably my favorite of the bunch. Clooney is good. Interesting plot. A few nice twists. Nothing amazing, but pretty perfect Hollywood movie. Doesn't overreach like American Gangster.

dave, can you post some good smoothie recipes? i got a new blender and ryley was none too impressed with my cherry smoothie this morning.

On the heels of the success of September's Salvage Fest event, Brownstoner.com is launching what will be the largest weekly flea market in Brooklyn next April. The location? A 40,000 square foot schoolyard in Fort Greene. The Bishop Loughlin school yard is located on Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues, positioning the flea market just a block from "brunch row" on Dekalb Avenue and only four subway stops from Downtown Manhattan. Our goal is to create a destination event that gives people from all over the city yet another reason to visit Brooklyn. We plan to put together the best assortment of dealers across a wide range of interests, from antiques to crafts to vinyl records; we're also hoping to create a food court of local and organic offerings.

Breaking News 8:28 AM ET:
Benazir Bhutto Killed in Attack, Official Says

Morecambe and Wise

ileana

top gear bbc america now

anyone have a good gingerbread cake recipe?

colbert and stewart back soon sans writers. interesting to see what that will be like.

indian gin

ARTHUR SCHWARTZ'S NEW YORK CITY FOOD

deli cat / i like to shake the friskies box when i walk down the petfood section of the isle and see if i can get a rise out of the deli cat.

7 11

Last nite was my last nite out in 2007, and a great finish at Cru. Last time I checked I still was at 19 pounds less weight than 2006, and the flush's and cleanse's really helped. 2008 I hope to keep that up, and to loose those last 10 pounds......

07's 11 best in no order are.....

Tommaso's (Chef Tom cooking for us personally)
Cru
11 Mad
Momofuku
Trestle on Tenth
wd~50
Bar Masa
Insieme
Degustation
Sushi Yasuda
Aburiya Kinnosuke

Happy and healthy and yummy new year to all!!

Had a great meal at Cru last night. This was my second visit, but the last was years ago. Not much new to report except that the food is still excellent; the wine list still requires more time than is left in the universe to wade through; and bringing along someone who can pick up the check is still strongly recommended.

Before going I called my friend Alex M., who used to be a sommalier at Cru, to see if he could recommend any hidden gems on the list (and, yeah, to see if he could get me some vip treatment) and he said - I kid you not -there weren't any hidden values left on the list because Skinny and his friends had drunk them all.

Thanks a lot Skinny!

small batch tonic waters :

there is Q tonic from brooklyn. and another from boston and another from the uk. will check and advise.