Friday, July 29, 2005

the tram! and wolfie has a new cast

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get crafty!

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Wednesday, July 27, 2005

blue on the brain

Bryan bought this book for me last time he came through town. I just started it, it's really funny and good and honest. Some parts I agree with, some I don't. Most Christians-as-you-know-them likely wouldn't like it, which is one of the things I really love about Bryan.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

celeb chef shoot of the week: mario batali

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scenes from an office

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Monday, July 25, 2005

what's better than going to the dentist?

Going to the dentist in the Empire State Building. :)
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Saturday, July 23, 2005

crushing...

on my photo friends...

I met David Holloway tonight.
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James Pomerantz is off to India in a couple weeks
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Marvi Lacar couldn't come out tonight (she's got a new puppy)
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Check out their sites, linked on the right >>>

catman returns...

...to the scene of the crime. He is unfazed!

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Friday, July 22, 2005

Another Chicken, Another Happy Hatchday

It was fair Amy's turn to receive adoration from fellow Chickens and friends... we were waiting at Acme Bar & Grill with libations in hand when our sassy mother hen showed up...
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Sarah's preeetty...
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What's on your camera-phone-timemachine-palmpilot-webbrowser?
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Having stuffed ourselves full of southern yummies, we headed to Juvie Hall for Potluck Cabaret. B'Gawk!

Victory!

As I was getting Wolfie's food (aka syringey-thing and MaxCal) ready, he hobbled out of the crate, hopped into the kitchen and ate a bite of the dry food we leave out and drank from the kitty bowl! I almost jumped up & down and sang but Michele was asleep.

I tried to give him more MaxCal - doctor's orders - but he wouldn't have it. So today I'm leaving more dry food in with him and we'll see...

catman begins

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He's sitting up more, resting some weight on the bad leg, 'talking' more - he meows when I look in on him. He's a little, tiny bit more interested in food but not eating on his own. He cleans himself up after I feed him. Tonight he took a little walk thru the kitchen and laid on the bath mat for a bit, he's gaining strength! Watch out, Gotham!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

i HEART google maps

Scavengergoogle game:
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A sunken ship from Google Globe Trotting:
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Check up on clear cutting in forests of British Columbia:
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Monday, July 18, 2005

one more orbit

This year saw my G's gathered at Druids for the finest Ouija board (Texas Sheet Cake by Amy, decor by Leigh) birthday cake a girl's ever seen...

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BIRTHDAY BONUS: Andrea was visiting from Austin!!
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And she came by to sign Wolfie's cast...
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And a merry day was had by all.

The End.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

billysburg and auf wiedersehen

Oh, Williamsburg. *sigh*
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I headed out to Bozu to do a little write up on shochu for The Brooklynite. I tried grapefruit, strawberry, lime, ginger and persimmon infusions - even garlic! Delish.
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Then it was to Park Slope where Eva threw a wonderful Farewell Daniela fiesta in her gorgeous back garden, we ate tortillas de potata and sangria and praised the breeze when it blew.
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There was much talk of languages, with at least 3 people from Spain, 1 from Norway (raised in Indonesia and the US), an Australian raised in Norway, Daniela off to Berlin (and herself the speaker of Portugese, Spanish, Hebrew and some French)...so I whipped out my high-school latin: "Quod nomen es tibi?"

I managed in all that internationalness to learn the phrase: "Gjør De har en fishing tillatelse?" But last night it sounded more like "trager doo un fisker cot?" Either way, the answer is: No, I do not have a fishing license.

Have fun at Der Spiegel, Daniela!
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life on the mend

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Friday, July 15, 2005

who needs a boyfriend when you have a job?!

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Lovely flowers and card from Photo Dept., courtesy of Jessica, the senior photo editor

Thursday, July 14, 2005

did I miss anything?

Michele: Not Really.
*looks around*
*picks up bridesmaid dress*
*shuffles out*

Sarah: the usual.
*grabs veil*
*chases after*

Cindee: cool.
*finds self humming *
dah dum de dum pause dah dum de dum

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this morning: subway graffitti

On the Times Square downtown N/R/W platform, this is all one message:

The Big Pay Back!
This means war
1 man vs. 20 million women
Revolution!
Koo Koo Nomics

chef du jour, du monde

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Heston Blumenthal (look for a profile in the Sept issue of Food Arts) of The Fat Duck has been called "the Dali of cuisine and the Dr Frankenstein of food." Oh, and his restaurant has been voted the best in the WORLD by the Michelin gods.

What can you get for £97.50 ($171.58) at the Fat Duck? (uh, yeah, wine sold separately). A sample "Degustation" menu.

No wonder Blumenthal has teamed up with the Royal Society of Chemistry to produce a school textbook which aims to make science fun by explaining the physics and chemistry behind the cooking process.

bam! bam!

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From left: Assistant Guy 1, Timothy Greenfield Sanders, Patrycza (makeup), Dave (Cigar Aficionado), Emeril Lagasse, Me, Assistant Guy 2, Mary Louise (styling), Assistant Guy 3

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

bam!

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he's home!

The doc thinks there's more of a chance of him getting interested in food if he's home. On the way home in the cab he started meowing a little so I opened the carrier and petted him a bit - he started purring! aw.

Now he needs to eat something... real soon. My mission tonight is to get some nutrition into him... bit by bit. It's going to be a long night, but worth it... Boo and Zuzu have been a huge help, hiding under the bed.

As soon as I got him out of his carrier he dashed, bad leg and all, to the litter box. Then a crazy scramble up onto Michele's bed before I could stop him (a fractured shoulder blade and broken toes?!?!?). It wiped him out.

The patient, napping:
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Tuesday, July 12, 2005

in Metro today

my story on the Real Food Revival. Here, the Director's Cut (unedited):

I now know the reason I've never really liked tomatoes is that I havent had enough Real ones. The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Ann Clark Espuelas (Tarcher/Penguin, July 2005, $15.95) is an eye-opening look at what's Really good for you. Vinton returned crop-dusted from a cross-country motorcycle trip with questions about the way the food in this country was being produced and began asking questions. "I found that as I went around and talked to growers there was a lot already happening. Eaters are demanding accountability." She recruited Espuelas, a friend and avid eater, to the cause and the RFR took shape.

"Real Food is not black and white, there is no sticker. Eaters who patently buy organic should consider some of the other variables," Vinton warns. For instance, supporting your local bakery, fishmonger or farm could outweigh some of the net benefits of supermarket organic: "I'm always going to vote for the local supplier — if you keep them in business, there's hope." Vinton attributes the abundance of what she calls "fake" food to the consolidation of the food industry into fewer, increasingly powerful, producers. "This gives the illusion of choice, but everything is rock-hard and sour."

Vinton insists that "Real food is for real people" and not just gourmands. But the RFR unites the activist and the epicure, those of us who would have our veal but like it to come guilt free. Domestic caviar, heirloom crops — these are votes cast with palate as well as principles. "Each eater can change the system every time they pick up a fork," she says. One trip per season to a local farm or farmer's market could be enough to get big-box retailers to perk up their ears.

Vinton gets fired up about Real food and making a difference, but for beginners she advises small steps. "It's important to understand that it doesn't mean you never set foot in a supermarket again in order to make a difference." For the seasons when local produce is scarce, rely on a stash of canned, dried and frozen options. As much as possible go seasonal and local. Then when your strawberries or artichokes come back into season, go to the farmer's market and stock up on favorites. Vinton suggests, "give them as gifts at your office, make special dishes for your family, make a party out of it!"

visions of recovery

Wolfie News Flash: Wolfie has a fractured scapula and several broken toes. He will have a splint for his foot and the shoulder should heal on its own after 6-8 weeks of "strict cage rest."

Amy: I have this image of Wolfie in a hospital bed, with a view of the convalescent garden out of his (ground floor) window. He has IV's in his good arm and he's reading People Magazine. He's wearing a white sheet only...no gown. Oooh, he's so naughty. There are cards taped to the wall by the window and someone (Aunt Michele) sent him a mum with a pipe cleaner smiley face. He keeps pinching the nurses's fannies.

Leigh: Wolfie will be like the weathered motorcycle dude in the bar, "Yeah, I got this limp when I bought it on Mullholland riding with Hopper and Fonda. We were tripped out on peyote and I saw this woman in a white dress beckoning me to follow her. But it was really a lamppost."

it's gonna be ok

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Monday, July 11, 2005

visiting my little leapfrog

So I saw drooly, medicated Wolfie. He was 'hypersalivating' - which according to Dr. Terry was a sign he was happy to see me. I think he was trying to make me feel better. But Wolfie did notice a fly that was buzzing around and looked like, if he didn't have a broken leg and a kitty morphine patch, he'd be ON IT. That's my Wolfie.

Still, he's stable enough to do an x-ray that will determine the course of action they'll need to take for his fractured leg. Estimate will likely double, to $3,000 when all is said and done.

Special hugs and thanks to Martin and Charlie for their donations to the cause.

So I sit and wait for their call...

the Chickens weigh in...

Kelly: According to Dr. Gordon he's looking much better today, they'll be able to sedate him a little in order to get better x-rays of his shoulder...visiting my little leapfrog at 4.

Leigh: Hooray for Wolfie! He's the man. Cat-man.

Michele: Can they get a pocket watch and do some hypnosis on his crazy a*s and get a cat translator to find out what was going through his mind? Paul and I think that maybe Cosmo, Wolfie's favorite homeless man, may have been doing some kind of floating out of Kelly's window to entice him outside. Cosmo! You're mean.

Amy:
Has anyone else noticed anything suspicious about all of this? Dr. Gordon? Commissioner Gordon? Cat-Man? Bat-Man??? Hmmm? Cosmo? Robin? I think Wolfie is secretly fighting crime on the streets of Gotham and just forgot his cat-mobile this one time.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

prognosis

Wolfie is still "stuporous" according to our vet, Dr. Fetner. But the good news is he's recovered some feeling in his front left leg, which may mean amputation won't be necessary. This is great news on good news (he survived). Well know more tomorrow...

Frightening: There are 3 other "cases" like Wolfie's at AMC right now, we found out.

Thank you: Dave who bought my bike. Mom & Dad, for reals.

Boo: Wolfie, come home!
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(forgive us our anthropomorphizing...)

Would you survive the fall from a fifth story window?

Wolfie did.

One minute he was fast asleep, right next to a fast-asleep me. Next second I hear him busting through my window's screen... I jolted awake to the most awful split-second realization and intense shock. He jumped out the window of my 5th floor room. Panic set in, then hysteria... then we realized he was moving. He crawled under a table in the 'back yard' (cement) area of the basement apartment. Michele and Stan helped get me and Wolfie into a cab somehow in the blur of moments that followed.

Why???? After 2 years of no such incidents, nothing even close, why? Theories: 1. Bird 2. Kitty nightmare 3. ... Ok that's all I've got. I will never know why. Vets call it high-rise syndrome. While we do have screens in all our windows, they should be double or reinforced. Take a minute to make sure your pet is not at risk, as even shorter falls can be detrimental.

A very, very scary 30 minutes later Michele and I arrived with a breathing and awake but very still Wolfie at the nonprofit ER for pets and waited while the very kind vets examined him. We were relieved to find that most serious injury had been avoided, but it is still to be determined whether he suffered any trauma to his head and if he will require an amputation of his left front leg. Still, I am grateful. A three-legged kitty is better than none.

To all pet owners, I'd highly recommend pet insurance, which was well worth for my brief stint as a dog owner. Regrettably, I never considered Wolfie at-risk and therefore did not insure him. My emergency veterinary costs will exceed $1,600, of which my Mom & Dad have already covered half. If anyone is so moved, you may donate to the Wolfie Fund by creating a PayPal account and sending a credit, debit or bank account contribution using my email address. Any amount is helpful and will be met by my (and Wolfie's) heartfelt thanks.

Thanks to all my friends and family for their support. I know animals aren't people, but dammit don't they seem like it most of the time?? If only they could talk...

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Saturday, July 09, 2005

Farewell, Park Slope

And g'bye Sid, Agatha & Beezus!!

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