The Yellow Dog Speaks

Hello and Goodbye

2008-11-08T23:59:00.002-05:00

Yes We Will

2008-11-03T18:08:00.005-05:00

One Day More

Do Your Hear The People Sing About Change

Flash Back to the 80's...and the 70's

2008-10-22T21:18:00.011-04:00

I love Laurie Anderson. I bought the Big Science album I think the summer of 1982. I had to hide this album from my Rush loving college roommates. I exhausted myself explaining to them that good art (music) doest't have to be accessible to the masses. Music and Art are not there to be popular, but to cause thought emotional appreciation and conversation. Today this continues for me at art museums. When asked, "why is this art" I no longer attempt any answer. Art (see below) is about expression emotion etc., for both the artist and the viewer. Yes maybe your kindergartner could have painted that.... If you child OR you can paint this, please email me.

Vacation day well spent

2008-10-10T16:28:00.002-04:00

This sucks

2008-07-09T21:16:00.002-04:00

I used to watch tons of show of BBC America but over time I've watch less and less. Today I checked the current schedule and here are a few of the great shows they are now playing. Hello PBS.

476-lb. Teenager
Britain's Worst Teeth
I'm A Boy Anorexic
My Big Breasts and Me
My Secret Female Body
My Small Breasts and I
Plastic Surgery Junkies with Louis Theroux
Super Skinny Me
Teen Transsexual
Too Ugly To Love
Transvestite Wives

Cheese March Madness!!

2008-03-26T20:45:00.002-04:00

Find out about Cheese March Madness!! at The Yellow Dog Eats.

and it keeps on snowing...

2008-03-08T14:41:00.003-05:00

Interesting...

2008-01-04T18:40:00.000-05:00

"...a small group of homosexual activists took over the city council in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and began imposing their homosexual agenda on that community."

I visited Eureka Springs back in the early 70's with my insane Grandparents. I was probably around ten years old and already thinking a lot about other boys pee-pees. We went to the Passion and during the extravaganza I almost choked to death on a piece of grape hard candy. Thankfully the candy just got lodged in my throat and it slowly melted as I watched 'Christ' crucified. I was so close to being an early martyr for the current boys in-charge. I could have been a saint.

Was Mayberry in Arkansas???

2008-01-04T18:26:00.001-05:00

The Yellow Dog Eats

2007-12-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

Come visit my new food blog The Yellow Dog Eats.

Happy Birthday!!! (and call me)

2007-12-19T22:54:00.001-05:00

2007-12-16T15:22:00.001-05:00

Your Score: Cardamom

You scored 75% intoxication, 50% hotness, 50% complexity, and 50% craziness!

You are Cardamom!

Not many people know you. You're kind of sweet, subtle, and maybe even shy. You're definitely understated and totally underrated. But once people get to know you, they can't get enough. You touch some esoteric, ancient place deep inside people and they love you for it.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Christmas Wish List

2007-12-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

A new magazine is out just in time for Christmas. I hope I get a gift subscription! Maybe I can learn how to deadhead flowers with a shotgun. Oh and squirrels, and not the mention, the insane neighbor would never be a problem again.

OSU Suffers Loss

2007-11-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

Yes there was some football news this past weekend, but that wasn't the really big loss that was felt across campus. Yes you are right I'm talking about something bigger than Ohio State Football. The headline in the campus newspaper, The Lantern, read "South Oval-kill". Yes there was what some have called an assassination on the South Oval. The victim sadly was Whitey, the squirrel.

from The Lantern...

Dozens of students gathered around the lifeless body of Ohio State's famous albino squirrel, known as "Whitey," minutes after the campus celebrity was killed by a hawk on the South Oval.

Whitey's life was cut short at around 2 p.m. Friday when a hawk spotted his white fur coat from above and flew in for the kill. Several students walking through the South Oval witnessed the aftermath of the attack, the proud hawk looming over its prey.

Lindsey Conti, a freshman who is undecided, saw the hawk in the middle of the South Oval and walked closer to investigate.

"I got closer and said 'Oh my gosh it caught something,' and I thought it might have been a rabbit, but then Tim looked and said 'Oh my god, its the albino squirrel,'" Conti said.

Conti and her friends Tim Hoock, a freshman in business administration, and James Greenebaum, a freshman in biology, documented the tragedy with their camera phones while a crowd of 30 to 40 people quickly formed around the bird to witness Whitey's fate.

After about five minutes, the hawk flew away with its talons fastened to the squirrel's lifeless body. The hawk made it as far as the other side of the South Oval when Whitey's weight forced the predator to land. In some nearby shrubbery the hawk sampled his prey before flying away.

"It was basically flattened by the hawk and it looked like a stuffed animal," Greenebaum said. "It (the hawk) had blood and guts all hanging out of its mouth."

Shock and anger filled the South Oval.

"Once it flew away everyone just started saying how mad they were. They were mad it was dead because it's a south campus legend," Hoock said.

Since the death of Whitey, a Facebook group titled, "In Memory of Whitey the Albino Squirrel," has been created to commemorate the life and death of the beloved south campus celebrity. Currently, 599 students have joined the group and posted more than 50 comments.

R.I.P
Whitey

Friday attitude courtesy of Julia Sugarbaker

2007-11-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

Photo for Friday 11/09/07

2007-11-09T17:39:00.001-05:00

Chairs. from the Courtyard of The Museum of Modern Art, September 16, 2007.

The Prices at The Wal-Marts are Great...But.....

2007-11-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

I (Heart) Barney Frank

2007-11-07T21:38:00.001-05:00

Thanks Barney

It's time for a change

2007-10-28T19:37:00.001-04:00

Today I spotted the first Junco for Winter 2007-2008. These little guys spend the winter with us here in central Ohio after spending their summers up in Canada (which is also where I would like to spend my Summers.) To learn more about the Dark-eyed Junco check out this article at Wikipedia.

Tonight also brings our first frost/freeze. This has to be one of the latest first frost in many years.

Time to make soup.

PS. Have I been away for a long time or did Blogger make some recent major upgrades?????

I took today off and didn't realize it was a holiday

2007-10-16T19:39:00.001-04:00

Happy Bread Day!

I took a vacation day today to use up days that I will not be able to carry over to next year. I had planned on making bread today not actually knowing that today was BD. But anyway, last night I made am Italian bread starter called a Biga. So today I made two loaves of Ciabatta using the recipe from Daniel Leader's book Local Breads. The dough for this bread is very loose and hard to deal with and I have tried to make it many times before. But today was the first time I followed the recipe and directions of Dan Leader. Well as the photo above shows tonight I actually made Ciabatta! The loaves almost look as good as they taste.

Today I started (thanks to Local Breads) a French sourdough starter. Hopefully I will be able to post of the results late next week.

Photo for Monday 10/08/07

2007-10-08T22:22:00.001-04:00

Anna & Michael, August 2006.

Photo for Sunday 10/07/07

2007-10-07T01:04:00.000-04:00

Begonia. Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, New York Botanical Garden. September 2007.

Photo for Saturday 10/06/07

2007-10-06T23:49:00.000-04:00

Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence. March 2003.

Thursday 10/04/07

2007-10-04T20:06:00.000-04:00

Tonight's dinner - Shrimp and Sweet Corn Risotto

Butter
Olive Oil
Onion
Red Pepper
Arborio Rice
Chicken Broth
Sweet Corn
Shrimp
Basil
Salt
Black & White Pepper

Photo for Wednesday 10/03/07

2007-10-03T20:23:00.001-04:00

"Hi Mom!, I'm like looking at Picasso's Three Musicians and it's like so cubulor! Did my friend Denise stop by the house yet? She said she would after getting her car washed."

Ok no, these people are not on cell phones but are listening to the audio guide at MOMA. Apparently, if you have this device attached to your head it enable you to get in everyone else's way until you get to hear what Picasso period you are looking at.

Note: I love this photo. It could be title"...and I'm looking at you because...."

Photo for Tuesday 10/02/07

2007-10-02T19:30:00.002-04:00

Tonight's dinner - Eggplant Parmesan Stacks.

This is a great recipe I saw over at Ms.Adventures in Italy I followed her recipe except for the arugula, which the market didn't have today. I used baby spinach. The arugula would be better as would the basil (which I have growing in the back yard but for some reason didn't think about using). I was able to use tomato sauce I put up last fall. I think the next time I prepare this I will give smoked mozzarella a try.

Photo for Monday 10/01/07

2007-10-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

A Chinese carryout on 4th avenue in Brooklyn.

sad, sad, sad...

Happy National Pork Month!

2007-10-01T18:00:00.001-04:00

Let's eat!

Photo for Sunday 09/30/07

2007-09-30T17:19:00.000-04:00

Blc. Rustic Spots (Bl. Richard Mueller x C. Landate).

One of the other regulars at the neighborhood Cafe' did an internship with Kalapana Tropicals an Orchid nursery in Hawaii. This spring he received a box of orchid plants and I bought one from him. This is it's second time to bloom since May.

Photo for Saturday 09/29/07

2007-09-29T21:39:00.000-04:00

Colocasia esculenta Illustris. The New York Botanical Garden, September 19, 2007.

So Sad

2007-09-22T16:20:00.001-04:00

Only in Columbus

2007-09-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I was driving up High Street along the OSU campus and the city had the right northbound lane closed for resurfacing. Why today? Why September 19th? Because today is the first day of autumn quarter classes. Why resurface during the summer when there's like 45,000 fewer people attempting to get around the area? It's more fun to see if campus traffic can get backed-up to downtown. Since there is a home football game this Saturday, I would assume that is when they will be working on the southbound lanes.

Not Our Typical Monday Night Dinner

2007-09-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

Well, Gumby and I have been in New York for a few days. There will be more details to follow, but here is a preview of tonight's dinner and desert.

Today for lunch I did take-away from the Dumpling House located on the eastern side of Chinatown. I had 10 pork & chive dumplings fried. Tonight we grabbed a train to Grand Street, heading back to the Dumpling House and had a great dinner~
5 Pork & Chive Dumplings fried
10 Pork & Chive Dumplings steamed
1 Sesame seed pancake with beef
2 Diet Cokes
Total bill - $6.50

After the main course we headed over to Mulberry Street, which is currently hosting NYC's Little Italy's Feast of San Gennaro.

We set at a sidewalk table at La Bella Ferrara Pastries where we enjoyed~
1 Espresso with Sambuca*
1 Decaf Espresso with Sambuca*
1 Tiramisu
1 Fruit/dark chocolate tart
Total bill - 3+ Xs dinner

*It really was more like Sambuca with a drop of Espresso.

2007-09-13T18:00:00.000-04:00

When I first met Anna she told me a few things about herself. First she told me that she was an Italian Princess and her full name was Anna Maria Delvecchio. I know this had to be true since "Prada" was just about every other word out of her mouth and it was a fact that she loved red wine, prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Next she told me that she loved anything the color pink, but if it was Hello Kitty related all the better.

I was so lucky to have Anna in my life for five years. I couldn't even add up the hours we both set in our chair and watched FoodTV. Each day after work we would sit and watch the Contessa, Anna loved Ina. Next we would watch as much of Sandra Lee that our stomachs could handle. (Anna's off-color remarks about Sandra Lee were classic).

Anna was my sous chef. If I was in the kitchen, then she would be at my feet. When we were in the kitchen we would often talk about boys. It will take me some time to get use to cooking alone.

Thank you Anna for sharing your life with me.

I love and will miss you my little Babebo.

It's that time of year again

2007-09-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Well actually last week was the first home game for OSU, but fortunately we were out of town. This photo captures the first towing that I witness for the 2007 season. I'm sure there will be many more. Things were pretty quiet in the neighborhood today. It seems that the heat and humidity today and the rain tonight put a damper on the usual drunkenness roaming the street. Also, it's a week and a half before all of the 40,000+ students return.

Arrivederci

2007-09-06T18:06:00.001-04:00

OCTA Moments

2007-09-05T20:31:00.000-04:00

Is she really that big or is the tricycle really that small?

Meal number 3 from Corky And Lennys - Corn Beef and Potato Latka sandwich!

Trygve and Michael sharing a special quiet moment.

Plus John

Too much touching???

Late night charades.

Nathan and Kim backstage before the excerpt on Sunday.

Triia and Jennifer at the Banquet.

Michael and Kate at the Banquet.

The HERBED Chicken at dinner was interesting.

Michael and Nathan at the masquerade ball.

The Masquerade Ball

Late night snack time.

Stright wedding party meets OCTA. Wedding party boys with pants around the ankles or maybe jusy laying face own on the carpet.

Brunch is done and now time to go home.

Mistake in Arkansas law allows marriage at any age

2007-08-18T17:49:00.000-04:00

Associated Press Aug 17, 2007
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Thanks to one little misplaced word, it appears that people of any age can legally be married in Arkansas, with parental consent.

Lawmakers say a law passed this year would even allow infants to be married if their parents agree. And that may force the governor to call a special session to fix the mistake.

The bill's sponsor says the legislation was intended to establish 18 as the minimum age to marry — but also let pregnant teenagers marry with parental consent.
An extraneous "not" in the bill, however, allows anyone who is not pregnant to marry at any age if the parents allow it.

A commission that fixes typographical and technical errors in laws had tried to correct the mistake, but a group of legislators argued that the commission went beyond its powers.

The Legislature is not scheduled to meet again until January — of 2009.

I was born in Arkansas. I love the state and it will always be my true home. However, there are times when it is not hard to see why this beautiful state is the subject of so many bad jokes.

I'm 25, handsome, and rich!

2007-07-25T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's my birthday so you are required to play along with my delusional fantasy.

Anna Is Back In Action!....And Now Sleeping!

2007-07-10T18:47:00.000-04:00

Anna is home tonight after her stay at the hospital to 1.) get her pneumonia under control and 2.) remove all of the misc. stuff in her stomach.

She was helping me prepare dinner (as usual), but needed to leave the kitchen for a nap. I'm just so happy that she is home!

Tink Friday

2007-06-21T22:08:00.000-04:00

26% and falling

2007-06-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

June 21, 2007 - In 19 months, George W. Bush will leave the White House for the last time. The latest NEWSWEEK Poll suggests that he faces a steep climb if he hopes to coax the country back to his side before he goes. In the new poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday nights, President Bush’s approval rating has reached a record low. Only 26 percent of Americans, just over one in four, approve of the job the 43rd president is doing; while, a record 65 percent disapprove, including nearly a third of Republicans.

Tink Friday

2007-06-15T22:55:00.000-04:00

I love Tinky Winky!

True Colors

2007-06-14T00:28:00.000-04:00

The True Colors Tour was in town tonight and Gumby and I popped over the the OSU campus and enjoyed a great 4.25 hour show.We forgot to take a camera but I took the following wonderful photos with my phone.

Cyndi Lauper the headliner and the force behind the tour.

Margaret Cho was the MC.

Erasure getting some "respect"

Deborah Harry...I'll let Gumby give this review.

for my dad

2007-06-10T23:44:00.001-04:00

My dad died 22 years ago today. I was 22 when he died. With birthdays and all, I have now lived my life longer without my dad than with him. I hope he would be proud me, but I know he would be. I have missed him and his great sense of humor and how he could always make things right. In less than 3 years I'll be the age he was when in died. Where did the time go?

Bloom for May 17, 2007

2007-05-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

Peony blooms have been my favoite flowers for a long time. Our blooms are just starting this week and despite a thunderstorm and some windy days they are still upright.

For Jerry

2007-05-15T23:50:00.001-04:00

2007-05-12T11:48:00.001-04:00

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful.
You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

In Memoriam

2007-05-05T09:17:00.001-04:00

Michael Edmond Davies, car enthusiast, scooter guy, motorhead, bicycle boy, North High Polar Bear, proud homeowner in Northwood Park Historic Neighborhood University District and Renaissance man, took off his Earth suit May 3, 2007. Mike was the best partner, friend, husband, lover and knight in shining armor to Xenia Palus, his devoted wife and soul mate of 14 years. Mike and Xenia adored and treasured each other. Their relationship is special and everlasting. Mike's honesty, kindness, unique sense of humor, caring spirit, insightfulness and compassion are special treasures he shared with many. Mike spent more than 25 years in the car industry---VWs and Alfas were his favorites. Mike joins his parents Norman and Maxine and leaves his children, Joanne and John Agnelli. Stephen and Elena Davies, Allison Davies; his step-children, Harris and Adam Johnson; his sister and her family, Denise and Jay Jones, Jennifer and Jason Luciow, Jeffrey and Christy Jones, Jonathan Jones; his brothers and their family, Jon and Jodee Davies, Flynt, Blake, Kai and Jared and Kim Davies; in-laws, Edward and Sonja Palus; many cousins and friends. Friends may call from 2-5 p.m. Sunday at RUTHERFORD FUNERAL HOME, 2383 N. High St., Columbus. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, May 7, 2007, at Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E. N. Broadway with a Reception to follow. Special thanks to the spectacular staff at Riverside Hospital in the emergency room, the pulmonary specialists, VTS ward nurses and technicians and those in the ICU who attended to Mike's needs. A heartfelt appreciation to Deb Lindsay and Dr. Richard Wing for meeting with Mike and praying for his peace. In lieu of flowers, please send your contributions in Mike's name to First Community Church and to Hair Theater Fund at the Columbus Foundation (please place the latter in the name of Mike "Manny" Davies.)

Pure Evil

2007-04-14T21:15:00.000-04:00

Harvey Fierstein's New York Times OP-ED

2007-04-14T00:28:00.000-04:00

By HARVEY FIERSTEIN
Published: April 13, 2007

AMERICA is watching Don Imus’s self-immolation in a state of shock and awe. And I’m watching America with wry amusement.

Since I’m a second-class citizen — a gay man — my seats for the ballgame of American discourse are way back in the bleachers. I don’t have to wait long for a shock jock or stand-up comedian to slip up with hateful epithets aimed at me and mine. Hate speak against homosexuals is as commonplace as spam. It’s daily traffic for those who profess themselves to be regular Joes, men of God, public servants who live off my tax dollars, as well as any number of celebrities.

In fact, I get a good chuckle whenever someone refers to “the media” as an agent of “the gay agenda.” There are entire channels, like Spike TV, that couldn’t fill an hour of programming if required to remove their sexist and homophobic content. We’ve got a president and a large part of Congress willing to change the Constitution so they can deprive of us our rights because they feel we are not “normal.”

So I’m used to catching foul balls up here in the cheap seats. What I am really enjoying is watching the rest of you act as if you had no idea that prejudice was alive and well in your hearts and minds.

For the past two decades political correctness has been derided as a surrender to thin-skinned, humorless, uptight oversensitive sissies. Well, you anti-politically correct people have won the battle, and we’re all now feasting on the spoils of your victory. During the last few months alone we’ve had a few comedians spout racism, a basketball coach put forth anti-Semitism and several high-profile spoutings of anti-gay epithets.

What surprises me, I guess, is how choosy the anti-P.C. crowd is about which hate speech it will not tolerate. Sure, there were voices of protest when the TV actor Isaiah Washington called a gay colleague a “faggot.” But corporate America didn’t pull its advertising from “Grey’s Anatomy,” as it did with Mr. Imus, did it? And when Ann Coulter likewise tagged a presidential candidate last month, she paid no real price.

In fact, when Bill Maher discussed Ms. Coulter’s remarks on his HBO show, he repeated the slur no fewer than four times himself; each mention, I must note, solicited a laugh from his audience. No one called for any sort of apology from him. (Well, actually, I did, so the following week he only used it once.)

Face it, if a Pentagon general, his salary paid with my tax dollars, can label homosexual acts as “immoral” without a call for his dismissal, who are the moral high and mighty kidding?

Our nation, historically bursting with generosity toward strangers, remains remarkably unkind toward its own. Just under our gleaming patina of inclusiveness, we harbor corroding guts. America, I tell you that it doesn’t matter how many times you brush your teeth. If your insides are rotting your breath will stink. So, how do you people choose which hate to embrace, which to forgive with a wink and a week in rehab, and which to protest? Where’s my copy of that rule book?

Let me cite a non-volatile example of how prejudice can cohabit unchecked with good intentions. I am a huge fan of David Letterman’s. I watch the opening of his show a couple of times a week and have done so for decades. Without fail, in his opening monologue or skit Mr. Letterman makes a joke about someone being fat. I kid you not. Will that destroy our nation? Should he be fired or lose his sponsors? Obviously not.

But I think that there is something deeper going on at the Letterman studio than coincidence. And, as I’ve said, I cite this example simply to illustrate that all kinds of prejudice exist in the human heart. Some are harmless. Some not so harmless. But we need to understand who we are if we wish to change. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should confess to not only being a gay American, but also a fat one. Yes, I’m a double winner.)

I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent high-profile instances. Still, I’m gladdened because our no longer being deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.

The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all, including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect silently.

The Final Four

2007-03-31T12:06:00.000-04:00

I hate basketball. But in honer of the BIG weekend I give you my picks.

Feel free to choose your favorite. Maybe I will win Mega Millions and then go do a little shopping.

What I'm Listening To

2007-03-29T20:40:00.000-04:00

I got tagged by Gumby. Peer pressure tells me that I need to name 7 songs/CDs I've listened to recently and say something about them.

1.) Rudebox by Robbie Williams from the album Rudebox. I like his voice and his body. Enough said.

2.) Trapeze by Patty Griffin (with Emmylou Harris) from the album Children Running Through. Patty Griffin is a great song writer. Each song tells a story. Also I worship Emmylou. I have over 25 hours of her music in my iTunes. Some people love Cher, for me, it's Emmylou.

3.) Are You Alright? by Lucinda Williams from the album West. This is Lucinda's latest album and the fifth one this I have bought. Here again is another great song writer. Lucinda kicks butt!

4.) Take A Bow by Muse from the album Black Holes & Revelations The beginning of this song sounds just like a Philip Glass composition. AND yes, I one of those freaks that appreciates Philip Glass' work.

4.1) Starlight by Muse from the album Black Holes & Revelations Yes Muse again, but I checked my iTunes to see what I have been listening to the most over the past few weeks. I often play this song really loud at work with my door closed

5.) Cadillac Car from the Dreamgirls movie soundtrack. This song has been stuck in my head for the last week.

5.1) And I need to add what I'm playing right now And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from the Dreamgirls movie soundtrack. I play this so often that I'm surprised the dogs haven't started to sing along. I can just see Scout look up to me and belt out "...You're gonna love me..."

6.) Bones by the Killers from the album Sam's Town Another work place favorite. I think this song sounds the best via my iPod headphones they help you really enjoy the horns in the background.

7.) Victor by Blondie from the album Eat to the Beat This album was released when I was in High School (please don't do the math) and honestly I listened to it almost every night. I downloaded the album from iTunes last year and even though I hadn't heard the album in more that 15+ years, I still had all the song lyrics memorized. What the hell I'm adding the whole album to this list.

Dinner

2007-03-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

Tonight Gumby was at rehearsal for Greater Tuna. For dinner he invited me to join him at Whole Foods for a quick dinner and of course cheese samples. But I was in such a bad mood and the weather sucked I was afraid that I would use my car as a weapon against some Dubliner-Lexus-SUV-driver-on-her-cell-phone-bitch that it might be best if I just stayed home.

I'm in a car pool for work and today I didn't drive. Tonight, As usual we discussed our dinner menus. My driver wanted a Chinese buffet with a full bar. I wasn't in the mood for Chinese. At first I thought I could eat beef (Gumby not home = beef consumption), but as usual the house is stock with mega chicken and no beef AND I'm not getting into the car to go the the store. SO it's Chicken tonight!! When I went to the freezer to pull out the chicken I spotted a bag of Chicken & Vegetable Dumplings. We get these at The Sunflower Market located at the OSU South Gateway. They are tasty and lighter than a traditional dumpling, but really they do need some pork fat in them.

So dinner consisted of Chicken and Asparagus stir fry with Chicken & Vegetable Dumplings. The photo shows 2 dumplings. I ate 5.

Yes, I'm a dumpling whore as well as a cheese whore.

(and yes, that is a dog hair on the table just below the chop sticks)

Dinner

2007-03-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

Scallops with Asparagus (Gourmet April 2007)
Buttered Potatoes and Carrots (leftovers, St. Patrick's dinner 2007)

Yummyness

Weekend Hair

2007-03-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

To spare the public from such horrible sights, I do wear baseball caps when I'm away from the house on Saturdays and Sundays. My favorite caps are...

Iron Chef Japan (Christmas present from Gumby a few years ago) and

my Wicked cap. Which I bought when we saw the original cast on Broadway in 2005.

Four Years Later

2007-03-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

March 18, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
The Ides of March 2003

By FRANK RICH
TOMORROW night is the fourth anniversary of President Bush’s prime-time address declaring the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the broad sweep of history, four years is a nanosecond, but in America, where memories are congenitally short, it’s an eternity. That’s why a revisionist history of the White House’s rush to war, much of it written by its initial cheerleaders, has already taken hold. In this exonerating fictionalization of the story, nearly every politician and pundit in Washington was duped by the same “bad intelligence” before the war, and few imagined that the administration would so botch the invasion’s aftermath or that the occupation would go on so long. “If only I had known then what I know now ...” has been the persistent refrain of the war supporters who subsequently disowned the fiasco. But the embarrassing reality is that much of the damning truth about the administration’s case for war and its hubristic expectations for a cakewalk were publicly available before the war, hiding in plain sight, to be seen by anyone who wanted to look.

By the time the ides of March arrived in March 2003, these warning signs were visible on a nearly daily basis. So were the signs that Americans were completely ill prepared for the costs ahead. Iraq was largely anticipated as a distant, mildly disruptive geopolitical video game that would be over in a flash.

Now many of the same leaders who sold the war argue that escalation should be given a chance. This time they’re peddling the new doomsday scenario that any withdrawal timetable will lead to the next 9/11. The question we must ask is: Has history taught us anything in four years?

Here is a chronology of some of the high and low points in the days leading up to the national train wreck whose anniversary we mourn this week [with occasional “where are they now” updates].

March 5, 2003

“I took the Grey Poupon out of my cupboard.”

— Representative Duke Cunningham, Republican of California, on the floor of the House denouncing French opposition to the Iraq war.

[In November 2005, he resigned from Congress and pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from defense contractors. In January 2007, the United States attorney who prosecuted him — Carol Lam, a Bush appointee — was forced to step down for “performance-related” issues by Alberto Gonzales’s Justice Department.]

March 6, 2003

President Bush holds his last prewar news conference. The New York Observer writes that he interchanged Iraq with the attacks of 9/11 eight times, “and eight times he was unchallenged.” The ABC News White House correspondent, Terry Moran, says the Washington press corps was left “looking like zombies.”

March 7, 2003

Appearing before the United Nations Security Council on the same day that the United States and three allies (Britain, Spain and Bulgaria) put forth their resolution demanding that Iraq disarm by March 17, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, reports there is “no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq.”. He adds that documents “which formed the basis for the report of recent uranium transaction between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic.” None of the three broadcast networks’ evening newscasts mention his findings.

[In 2005 ElBaradei was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.]

March 10, 2003

Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks tells an audience in England, “We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.” Boycotts, death threats and anti-Dixie Chicks demonstrations follow.

[In 2007, the Dixie Chicks won five Grammy Awards, including best song for “Not Ready to Make Nice.”]

March 12, 2003

A senior military planner tells The Daily News “an attack on Iraq could last as few as seven days.”

“Isn’t it more likely that antipathy toward the United States in the Islamic world might diminish amid the demonstrations of jubilant Iraqis celebrating the end of a regime that has few equals in its ruthlessness?”

— John McCain, writing for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times.

“The Pentagon still has not given a name to the Iraqi war. Somehow ‘Operation Re-elect Bush’ doesn’t seem to be popular.”

— Jay Leno, “The Tonight Show.”

March 14, 2003

Senator John D. Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, asks the F.B.I. to investigate the forged documents cited a week earlier by ElBaradei and alleging an Iraq-Niger uranium transaction: “There is a possibility that the fabrication of these documents may be part of a larger deception campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion and foreign policy regarding Iraq.”

March 16, 2003

On “Meet the Press,” Dick Cheney says that American troops will be “greeted as liberators,” that Saddam “has a longstanding relationship with various terrorist groups, including the Al Qaeda organization,” and that it is an “overstatement” to suggest that several hundred thousand troops will be needed in Iraq after it is liberated. Asked by Tim Russert about ElBaradei’s statement that Iraq does not have a nuclear program, the vice president says, “I think Mr. ElBaradei frankly is wrong.”

“There will be new recruits, new recruits probably because of the war that’s about to happen. So we haven’t seen the last of Al Qaeda.”

— Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism czar, on ABC’s “This Week.”

[From the recently declassified “key judgments” of the National Intelligence Estimate of April 2006: “The Iraq conflict has become the cause célèbre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.”]

“Despite the Bush administration’s claims about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to give Congress or the Pentagon specific information about the amounts of banned weapons or where they are hidden, according to administration officials and members of Congress. Senior intelligence analysts say they feel caught between the demands from White House, Pentagon and other government policy makers for intelligence that would make the administration’s case ‘and what they say is a lack of hard facts,’ one official said.”

— “U.S. Lacks Specifics on Banned Arms,” by Walter Pincus (with additional reporting by Bob Woodward), The Washington Post, Page A17.

March 17, 2003

Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, who voted for the Iraq war resolution, writes the president to ask why the administration has repeatedly used W.M.D. evidence that has turned out to be “a hoax” — “correspondence that indicates that Iraq sought to obtain nuclear weapons from an African country, Niger.”

[Still waiting for “an adequate explanation” of the bogus Niger claim four years later, Waxman, now chairman of the chief oversight committee in the House, wrote Condoleezza Rice on March 12, 2007, seeking a response “to multiple letters I sent you about this matter.”]

In a prime-time address, President Bush tells Saddam to leave Iraq within 48 hours: “Every measure has been made to avoid war, and every measure will be taken to win it.” After the speech, NBC rushes through its analysis to join a hit show in progress, “Fear Factor,” where men and women walk with bare feet over broken glass to win $50,000.

March 18, 2003

Barbara Bush tells Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she will not watch televised coverage of the war: “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths, and how many, what day it’s going to happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it’s, it’s not relevant. So, why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”

[Visiting the homeless victims of another cataclysm, Hurricane Katrina, at the Houston Astrodome in 2005, Mrs. Bush said, “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this — this is working very well for them.”]

In one of its editorials strongly endorsing the war, The Wall Street Journal writes, “There is plenty of evidence that Iraq has harbored Al Qaeda members.”

[In a Feb. 12, 2007, editorial defending the White House’s use of prewar intelligence, The Journal wrote, “Any links between Al Qaeda and Iraq is a separate issue that was barely mentioned in the run-up to war.”]

In an article headlined “Post-war ‘Occupation’ of Iraq Could Result in Chaos,” Mark McDonald of Knight Ridder Newspapers quotes a “senior leader of one of Iraq’s closest Arab neighbors,” who says, “We’re worried that the outcome will be civil war.”

A questioner at a White House news briefing asserts that “every other war has been accompanied by fiscal austerity of some sort, often including tax increases” and asks, “What’s different about this war?” Ari Fleischer responds, “The most important thing, war or no war, is for the economy to grow,” adding that in the president’s judgment, “the best way to help the economy to grow is to stimulate the economy by providing tax relief.”

After consulting with the homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, the N.C.A.A. announces that the men’s basketball tournament will tip off this week as scheduled. The N.C.A.A. president, Myles Brand, says, “We were not going to let a tyrant determine how we were going to lead our lives.”

March 19, 2003

“I’d guess that if it goes beyond three weeks, Bush will be in real trouble.”

— Andrew Bacevich, a retired Army colonel teaching at Boston University, quoted in The Washington Post.

[The March 2007 installment of the Congressionally mandated Pentagon assessment “Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq” reported that from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9, 2007, there were more than 1,000 weekly attacks, up from about 400 in spring 2004.]

Robert McIlvaine, whose 26-year-old son was killed at the World Trade Center 18 months earlier, is arrested at a peace demonstration at the Capitol in Washington. He tells The Washington Post: “It’s very insulting to hear President Bush say this is for Sept. 11.”

“I don’t think it is reasonable to close the door on inspections after three and a half months,” when Iraq’s government is providing more cooperation than it has in more than a decade.

— Hans Blix, chief weapons inspector for the United Nations.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that 71 percent of Americans support going to war in Iraq, up from 59 percent before the president’s March 17 speech.

“When the president talks about sacrifice, I think the American people clearly understand what the president is talking about.”

— Ari Fleischer

[Asked in January 2007 how Americans have sacrificed, President Bush answered: “I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night.”]

Pentagon units will “locate and survey at least 130 and as many as 1,400 possible weapons sites.”

— “Disarming Saddam Hussein; Teams of Experts to Hunt Iraq Arms” by Judith Miller, The Times, Page A1.

President Bush declares war from the Oval Office in a national address: “Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure.”

Price of a share of Halliburton stock: $20.50

[Value of that Halliburton share on March 16, 2007, adjusted for a split in 2006: $64.12.]

March 20, 2003

“The pictures you’re seeing are absolutely phenomenal. These are live pictures of the Seventh Cavalry racing across the deserts in southern Iraq. They will — it will be days before they get to Baghdad, but you’ve never seen battlefield pictures like these before.”

— Walter Rodgers, an embedded CNN correspondent.

“It seems quite odd to me that while we are commenced upon a war, we have no funding for that war in this budget.”

—Hillary Clinton.

“Coalition forces suffered their first casualties in a helicopter crash that left 12 Britons and 4 Americans dead.”

— The Associated Press.

Though the March 23 Oscar ceremony will dispense with the red carpet in deference to the war, an E! channel executive announces there will be no cutback on pre-Oscar programming, but “the tone will be much more somber.”

March 21, 2003

“I don’t mean to be glib about this, or make it sound trite, but it really is a symphony that has to be orchestrated by a conductor.”

— Retired Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, CNN military analyst, speaking to Wolf Blitzer of the bombardment of Baghdad during Shock and Awe.

[“Many parts of Iraq are stable. But of course what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everyone.”

— Laura Bush, “Larry King Live,” Feb. 26, 2007.]

“The president may occasionally turn on the TV, but that’s not how he gets his news or his information. ... He is the president, he’s made his decisions and the American people are watching him.”

— Ari Fleischer.

[The former press secretary received immunity from prosecution in the Valerie Wilson leak case and testified in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby in 2007.]

“Peter, I may be going out on a limb, but I’m not sure that the first stage of this Shock and Awe campaign is really going to frighten the Iraqi people. In fact, it may have just the opposite effect. If they feel that they’ve survived the most that the United States can throw at them and they’re still standing, and they’re still able to go about their lives, well, then they might be rather emboldened. They might feel that, well, look, we can stand a lot more than this.”

— Richard Engel, a Baghdad correspondent speaking to Peter Jennings on ABC’s “World News Tonight.”

Spring Break

2007-03-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Spring break has sprung in our neighborhood. Many students have headed south or have gone home for a week. Now we are enjoying ample parking.

This actually is a great neighborhood to live in. It's a mix of home owners (long time residents, professors, and young professionals) and renters i.e. students. There is a great mix of cafes, fast food, ethnic and eclectic restaurants, and bars. The University District is a great place to live!

BUT the campus B-DUBS has been closed since November. They need to finish the new location ASAP!

First Blooms of the Season

2007-03-11T19:27:00.000-04:00

I hope that I will be seeing more of these soon. The forecast is looking good for this week. The highpoint will be Tuesday when we hit 70 degrees and have a day of full sun.

16,22,29,39,42 + 20

2007-03-06T23:52:00.000-05:00

Well... I guess I have to go to work tomorrow. Damn

Rachel, please do the world a favor

2007-03-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

and just SHUT UP!

a little leftover holiday cheer....

2007-03-05T23:05:00.001-05:00

Radley likes to nap

2007-02-27T22:12:00.000-05:00

Goodbye "Hot and Juicy" #1

2007-02-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

In 1969 Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's restaurant in downtown Columbus. Yesterday, Wendy's announced that next Friday this location will be closing. Today for lunch Gumby and I went down and both had the double combo with cheese and everything. I even got fries.

We did have to wait in line 45 minutes to place our order. They seemed to be caught off guard by the large Saturday lunch crowd. This location has the original 1970's decor and also serves as a museum for various Wendy's and Dave Thomas' artifact.

This store has about 6 parking spaces and no drive-thru. The only other time I have eaten at this location was in 1978 when I was in town for a ~~High~~ Pre-School trip to Columbus.

In the last photo you would think that the place was empty. No, not true. People were still waiting in line.

Orgasm

2007-02-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made Carbonara sauce for the first time.

Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all!

2007-02-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!

2007-02-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

In honor of Chinese New Years, tonight for dinner we had the traditional kielbasa, sauerkraut and potato pierogies.

Pierogies are just pot stickers stuffed with potato and fried in a little butter.

Now that's Chinese..right?

Enough Already

2007-02-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

I need a little less of this...

...and more of this.

Dog Show

2007-02-13T20:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight we are watching the last night of the Westminster Dog show. Everyone here is so excited and the air in the room is almost intoxicating.

The photos below really do catch the magic of the night!

got cheese?

2007-01-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon Gumby and I walked down the Kafe Kerouac to meet up with a friend for coffee. When we got home a box from iGourmet.com was on the front porch! This past week they were having a buy one get one free sale. So being the cheese whore that I am I bought 2 lbs of Parmigiano Reggiano and of course got two pounds for free! With any luck the 4 lbs will last us to the end of Feburary.

I also ordered a black pepper salami and got a second one for free. This morning I had a fried egg with some salami added. Yum!

Don't Know?

2007-01-28T01:37:00.000-05:00

I can understand why some people would say that they approve. Why? Because they are insane. But honestly the people who really scare me are the ones that just "don't know".

My Blog Cloud

2007-01-26T17:03:00.000-05:00

The State of the Union

2007-01-23T23:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday Surprise

2007-01-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

So finally winter has decided to appear in Central Ohio. We awoke to snow falling this morning and ended up with about 3.5 inches. I heard on the news tonight that we are 10 inches below normal. Any way, I liked it. I had the window blinds open all day just because everything look so nice. I have two bird feeders in the yard and I put out seed twice today. I looked out to the backyard at about 4:30 and saw 2 if not 3 dozen Red Cardinals. The pups wanted to go out but I didn't want to disturb the birds, so the dogs just had to wait.

I was a theatre widow today. Gumby was at the theatre preparing for his play, which opens this Friday. Today, I was Donna Reed.

253 loads of laundry.
scream at the dogs 379 times. (Donna Reed would never do that. Or would she?)
clear the snow off my car and sidewalks.
make rosemary - garlic focaccia.

plan the dinner menus for the week. (must be quick this week)
sunday: pork from the freezer with pasta...ala pork scallopini and linguine Aglio e Olio, foccaccia on the side.
monday: something beefy-stewy like
tueday: pork and foccaccia sandwiches
wednesday: garlic shrimp with linguine
thursday: choice of leftovers from the week.

Off to the store!

The pork scallopini with linguine was tasty (a combination of recipes via Giada De Laurentiis and Lidia Bastianich). Only problem is that I forgot to serve the foccaccia...that will wait until tomorrow.

I have on the stove a combination beef stew/mushroom barley soup. It looks and smells great and will be a quick delectable dinner for a cold Monday night.

I needed to clean out the refrigerator of all the leftover holiday baking ingredients, so tonight I made Pecan Chocolate-Chip Cookies.

Work is no longer occupying all of my mental space. I'm coming back to reality by cooking. Cooking and working in the kitchen is great therapy. When I cook, I am in charge and in most cases things go the way I want them. If not, then I learn something new.

I will be back to blogging now. The sabbatical is over! With that said, I'm now working backstage at Gumby's show, so this week is going to be busy!

2007-01-13T01:18:00.001-05:00

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female
You are both sensitive and savvy
Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed
But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots!

2007-01-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

Why didn't I think of this?

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T11:05:00.000-05:00

Cheese Please!

2006-12-19T22:54:00.000-05:00

The remains of the wine and cheese tasting party held today at the Kafe Kerouac.

So well, here you go...

2006-12-18T20:37:00.000-05:00

It's time to slow down

2006-12-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

Early last Sunday morning as we were coming home from a night out, I realized that we both had forgotten our fourth anniversary which was on the 6th. My job is sucking away my life and Gumby is in the same boat.

I spend my whole day dealing with the latest crisis in front of me with blinders on so I can't see the rest of the world that is around me. I work at home almost every night so really the blinders are aways on. I know this will end. It needs to because I'm tired.

Happy Anniversary Gumby! I'm thinking a big party on January 6th?

"My hands are starting to go numb"

2006-12-08T23:43:00.000-05:00

That's what Gumby said to me while I was in the next room on my computer. I had to get this photo of Anna powering napping during Gumby's early evening blogging.

rest in peace

2006-11-21T18:07:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Newton. I will miss you.

Gumby with the girls

2006-11-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

We have the Senate

2006-11-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

A few more photos from election night

2006-11-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

Neighborhood friends who were also attending the festivities.

Gumby surrounded by cameras.

Gumby watching the returns and Randy trying to find someone on the other side of the room.

Chris Redfern, Democratic State Chairman. (yummy)

Governor Ted Strickland

Buh-Bye Asshole

2006-11-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

This says it all!!!

2006-11-08T15:33:00.000-05:00

Blue Ohio

2006-11-08T01:39:00.000-05:00

The next Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland. Photographed here in Columbus at the state Democratic post election event tonight.

The next junior Senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown, live in Columbus via video from Cleveland.

It's time to turn Ohio BLUE!

2006-11-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

I'm on a blog sabbatical

2006-11-04T22:42:00.000-05:00

Except for the upcoming election on Tuesday. I will be pretty much silent until spring. In the mean time, I would like you to get to know Cary.

Please visit my favorite blog Farmgirl Fare and learn all about Cary

Chadwick Saxton is unique

2006-10-21T23:45:00.000-04:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

However, There are 9 Chad Saxtons....but I am the only Chadwick. and I Thank you...

ME

2006-10-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
93
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I have the 3rd most popular first name and the 6009th most popular last name.

I ROCK!

It's time to celebrate!

2006-10-16T20:06:00.000-04:00

A step too far?

2006-10-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

When Gumby and I are out and about we continually see things that we both know that our Anna would just love. We could spend hours shopping at Target just because of their massive selection of Hello Kitty merchandise. When we go shopping for new glasses we find the perfect pair of Cartier glasses that Anna would just love. And I will not even discuss walking through the shoe section at Nordstroms!

Anna, of course, is a 13-inch Beagle. She has a love for crafts. Hates Martha, but loves the Contessa. Her bloodline is of Italian Royalty, which explains her love for anything Prada. She loves aged cheeses, red wine, and Manhattans.

Today, we were at the Home Depot getting roofing supplies when I made the usual statement "Anna would LOVE that". But as usual we just had a laugh and walked on by. Then for once I gave in....

So yes, today I bought a 32 inch pre-lighted PINK plastic Christmas tree for a Beagle.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Yummy

2006-10-13T17:55:00.001-04:00

Look what I found at the store today. Mini-Mortadella!!

This baby is a little 3/4 pound tube of extruded pork & stuff.

October 12, 2005

2006-10-12T20:10:00.002-04:00

There isn't anything better than starting your day with a walk through the markets in Venice.

Got fish?

Early morning Gondola repairs.

Wait, with all these scooters this can't be Venice!

Ah....Florence...

October 11, 2005

2006-10-11T21:38:00.000-04:00

Here is a few snapshots from Venice.

October 10, 2005

2006-10-10T22:03:00.000-04:00

Piazza San Marco at sun down.

A Gumby photo of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge at dusk.

October 9, 2005

2006-10-08T15:24:00.000-04:00

A year ago today, Gumby and I were on our way to Italy for a week and a half trip. We enjoyed great food, the sights, wine, and stalking Italian hotness, etc.

Since I was having more fun this time last year than I am now, I will be reliving the trip on my blog over the next week or so.

In this photo, it's the two of us on what we thought was a rather bad flight on American Airlines, however compared to the return filght...this flight wasn't that bad...

On the flight over, the only kid on this plane was sitting behind ME. He kicked my seat for about 6 hours. His mom told me if it started to bother me, just to let her know. Honey get a clue! I also spilled wine all over me. Gumby slept but unfortunately I can't sleep on planes.