The Great K-Fed Swindle

So... back in the day, Britney used to be hot. Everyone loved her. Her songs went to Number 1 and her CD's sold millions. Despite the occasional stumble (Crossroads anyone?) she was always able to pick herself up and move along. Then Kevin Federline came along. No one could understand what the hell Brit was thinking. He slid in out of nowhere (I would be completely amazed if anyone out there had ever heard of him before he started dating Britney Spears) and hooked himself up with one of the most popular and wealthy stars around. His future was looking bright. He used up tons of her money to attempt to become a recording artist, and another immense amount partying with his friends in Vegas. All the while, he was fooling around with one of the hottest people in showbiz. Of course, we have all been witness to the decline in Britney's status (all the way down to what some may refer to as "fugly"). But that only made Kevin party more and spend more of her money. Now, after he got her knocked up twice and has basically sent her to the nuthouse, he's out. Kevin Federline and Britney Spears finally had their divorce finalized. Kevin gets $1 million and only partial custody of the kids (who will live with Brit). He's out and he's rich. Sure, some may say that $1 million doesn't get you that far in today's economy. But this guy got to screw around with the girl everyone wanted, and when she got all nasty, used and bald, he got $1 million to leave. It's almost as if he planned it this way all along. Got to hand it to the boy; if it was planned, he's smarter than any of us gave him credit for.

The Sanjaya Paradox

For those of you who don't watch American Idol, there's this kid, Sanjaya Malakar, who's striking fear into the executives at FOX and the producers of the hit show. Basically, this kid stinks, but he keeps getting enough votes each week to move along in the show. He's not even getting into the "Bottom 3" of vote-getters. He's a rock in this thing. Meanwhile, singers with exponentially better voices are getting the boot. Some feel that his continued success is due to the website votefortheworst.com, while others blame Howard Stern's plea to his viewers to vote for Sanjaya. Whatever the reason, the kid's winning. (Of course, some people out there love him, as witnessed by that little girl who was crying in his presence a couple of weeks ago.)
I guess the big problem is that if this musically challenged kid wins American Idol this year, it basically destroys any credibility the show has developed for being an avenue to find truly talented people in America and turn them into recording artists. However, here's where the paradox lies: If Sanjaya wins, I think it's confirmation that anyone can make it if they try, and this should only encourage more people to audition for American Idol next time around. It would make more people want to be in the show and have a greater interest in the show. This, in turn, could lead to higher ratings and more money for FOX. So... it could very well make the thing more popular while simultaneously destroy all of its credibility (and lose Simon Cowell in the process, who has said if Sanjaya wins he's going to quit). Nice.
The other thing I find interesting about this whole mess is the way the judges (Randy, Simon and Paula) are dealing with it. Every week they have these flabbergasted looks on their faces after he performs and then look dumbfounded when he doesn't get voted off. However, what they never seem to want to remember is that they are the ones who put him in this situation in the first place. They love to remind everyone how it was "America" who voted off Jennifer Hudson and not them. They realized her talent and put her on the show. You don't see any of them taking responsibility for Sanjaya.
(Personally, I can't stand this kid anymore. I used to think he was a nice kid and I wanted him to do well because of that. However, I can't stand listening to him anymore. He's so freakin' bad.)
Go Sanjaya!

NP: The Inch Worm, John Coltrane

Cafe D'Alsace

This weekend, we decided to treat ourselves by having our nanny work late on Friday night so we could go out for dinner by ourselves. We love our baby, but sometimes you need to get out and remember what it's like to be an adult.
We went to a new French restaurant in our neighborhood called Cafe D'Alsace. We didn't want to go too far on the first night she had to put our son to bed in case there were any problems. This is the newest restaurant by Simon Oren. He owns a bunch of different French restaurants throughout the city that focus on cuisines of specific regions of France.
I liked this place right away because the decor reminded me of actually being in France. However that feeling was somewhat dampened by the music choice in the restaurant. I don't know how often the Bangles are played in France anymore...
Anyway, we opened up our meal with a couple of appetizers. My wife had the Tarte Flambee, which is a white cheese, onions and bacon tart, and I had La Moelle, which is bone marrow served with toast and salt. We also both had a glass of wine at that point. We each had the Chateau L'Ermitage, Listrac-Medoc, Bordeaux 2003.
Our main courses broke down like this: I had the Baeckeofe, which is a traditional Alsatian casserole of lamb, oxtails, bacon & potatoes braised in pinot gris w/ onions & thyme, and my wife had the lamb shank. Both were excellent. With my dinner, I moved on to a glass of Pinot Noir, Cote de Beaune Villages, Roux Pére & Fils, Bourgogne 2004.
From there we moved onto dessert, where we shared a Creme Brulee and I had a Cafe Au Lait to end things out.
It was a very nice meal and we had a good time. But it was nice to come back home and see our son too.

Thirstade Powder

I remember back in the day, it was commonplace to see Gatorade Powder mix in the grocery store isles. Of course, that was a time when Gatorgum was everywhere and the only three flavors available were Green (lemon-lime), Orange, and Red (fruit punch). Now there are 51 flavors of Gatorade, including weird crap like Gatorade AM and Gatorade XTremo Mango Electrico (which, I assume, is supposed to appeal to the ever-growing Latino population in the U.S.).
Anyway, yesterday I was in my local Gristede's getting a couple of things when I spotted some canisters of Gatorade Powder on the shelves! I know I shouldn't get so excited about such a stupid thing, but I grabbed a cannister of Lemon-Lime before someone else came by and took them all away. I don't think they were left-overs from the 1970's, but even if they are, I don't care. Now I can make myself a cool glass of Gatorade whenever I want.

Bourne Ultimatum

Today I watched a little of Matt Damon filming a scene for his upcoming movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. They were/are filming in Manhattan (I think they're still filming now, but I was with my son, and he decided it was time to come home) on the East Side. 76th Street and Second Avenue to be exact. Unfortunately, I didn't get to witness any cool action shots or fights. Basically I saw Matt come out of a store and walk very briskly with a concerned/constipated look on his face. So... from what I can tell, it may be a movie about Jason Bourne's search for a bathroom and some laxatives.

NP: Far Cry, Rush

Sciacchetrà!

I was finally able to locate some Sciacchetrà in the United States. (To be totally honest, I did find a bottle once a couple of years ago, but it was over $150.00 and I wasn't too sure I wanted to spend that much on a bottle of this stuff then.)
I found that K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco just got a case in of Arrigoni Sciacchetrà 2003, Cinque Terre Italy, so I decided to order a couple of bottles. They came in a week or so ago, and the other night we opened one up to see if it was how we remembered it. Now this isn't the same producer of the one we had while we were in Italy, but beggers can't be choosers I guess.
It was great. It's got a nice amber color, and it's warm and smooth. There are flavors of caramel and orange, and it reminded me a little of a tawny port without the nuttiness. All in all, worth the wait, and it gave us a little reminder of our honeymoon.

NP: Pilots, DramaGods

DramaGods

The other day, I stumbled across the new band by Nuno Bettencourt while looking for something on YouTube. Nuno used to be the guitarist for the Boston-based band Extreme. After he quit that band, he started a new group called Mourning Widows. Apparently that group didn't work out. So... Nuno moved on to form a "group" called Population 1. The full-length CD by Population 1 features Nuno on all instruments. When he decided to play some live shows, he put a band together which includes Joe Pessia on bass guitar, Steve Ferlazzo on keyboards and back-up vocals, and Kevin Figueiredo on drums and back-up vocals. They put out an EP called Sessions From Room 4. I guess there were some legal issues with their name, so now they're called DramaGods, and they have a CD called Love, which came out last year, available on iTunes.
Watching some of their videos and live clips made me remember what an awesome guitar player Nuno is. I don't think I've ever heard any of these groups before. In fact, I kinda forgot Nuno was making music. I'm kind of digging it.


Something About You



Megaton

Magic Man

Recently, we've watched both The Illusionist and The Prestige. You know, I can't remember the last time there was a movie out about a magician, never mind two movies. But here we are. Two movies about magicians/illusionists out in the same year. And both had very good casts. I saw The Illusionist first, and if I had to choose, I would probably say that this was the better film. It really had me fooled throughout the entire movie. Edward Norton was fantastic as always, and this movie has Jessica Biel. However, I think I enjoyed The Prestige more. Sure, I had about 90% of the plot and surprise twist ending figured out halfway through the movie. I didn't care. This movie was sicker and more twisted than The Illusionist. Because of that, it was more fun and enjoyable. Better story? Nope. But I guess I don't really care.

NP: Crash Course In Brain Surgery, Metallica

Drunken Holiday

Today we had to go to see our accountant for our 2007 taxes (our stuff is way too complicated for me to do it by myself anymore). As many out there know, today is St. Patrick's Day. A day to pay honor to one of the Catholic Church's more well known saints. It's also a day where a ton of people decide to get stone cold drunk. Our accountant's office is on 5th Avenue, just south of the parade route. So, after our meeting, we were lucky enough to share the streets with all of the drunken revelers. It was 1:00 in the afternoon and there was a girl literally sliding sideways down the wall of a building as she slurred drunkenly towards me attempting to take my picture (why? don't ask me). Not that I haven't taken part in getting hammered on St. Patty's Day in the past, but now I just find it all sort of one of life's many amusements.
Oh, and by the way, our taxes weren't nearly as bad as I had feared. Irish eyes were smiling on us.

Pinkberry

My wife had been wanting to try this place since one opened up near our apartment on the Upper East Side. From what she told me, it was a supposedly really good and hip Frozen Yogurt place that had its roots in California. Word was that the stars line up for this place on the West Coast. So, today we tried it. And you know what? It sucked. And it wasn't just me who thought so. My wife decided she never needs to go back there, and I heard more than one "this is crap" uttered from other patrons. It's crappy plain (or green tea) frozen yogurt with a variety of toppings (from fresh fruit to Fruity Pebbles). The thing it reminded me most of were those old frozen yogurt pops by Dannon in the 1970-80's. At least those had Buddy Hackett pitching them. I see no redeeming value of Pinkberry. It just blows.

Oscar Worthy?

Hmmm... I'm sorry that I have to say this. My wife and I watched The Departed last night on DVD, and although I thought it was a great movie I really don't think it was Scorsese's best. I still haven't seen all of the movies that were up for Best Picture this year, so maybe among the crop, this one stood out as the best. It just sort of makes me sad that Scorsese finally won his Oscar, and it was for this. Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Taxi Driver... all better. I could go on with the list... I'm very happy that Scorsese finally got his Oscar. I think it's great. I just really think he deserved it sooner, because I think this year's win was more a "lifetime achievement award" rather than a true win for this film. Well, that's my opinion anyway.



NP: Pull Me Under, Dream Theater

Waste Of Time And Money

Yesterday, I had to go downtown a bit to do some errands. While I was there, I decided to stop in this wine shop called Vino. It sells only Italian wines from around the old country. Anyway... I decided to get a couple of things. One was at the recommendation of the shop-guy, and the other was something I had wanted to try. The recommended bottle was Tenute del Portale Aglianico del Vulture Riserva 2000, Basilicata Italy. This wine is made from the Aglianico grapes, which are grown in volcanic soil. This supposedly gives the grapes more minerality and spice. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know, because the wine was totally heat-damaged. So... I've got to go back to get a refund/exchange. The second bottle we opened last night was the other one I bought there. It was Conti Zecca Cantalupi Riserva 2002, Pulgia Italy. I guess the "legal" name of this wine is actually Salice Salentino Riserva, and it's made from the Negro Amaro grape. The wine is described as having some leather and spice aromas and flavors. Well... to me it tasted like you were drinking a leather coat. Not enjoyable at all. So... we struck out with the wine last night. After having two crappy bottles, we switched to water instead. What can you do?

Captain America... Dead

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is dead. Killed off in the Marvel Comics Universe by a sniper's bullet (well... 2 bullets). I was never one to get into the whole Captain America thing, but I find it somewhat disturbing that he's dead. Maybe it's because he was a fellow New Yorker (born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, living in Red Hook, Brooklyn) or maybe because of all the symbolism. He appeared during WWII, when the USA was on top of the world. Now he's gone in 2007. Who's next on Marvel's hit list? Beta Ray Bill?

It's A Cold Day To Be A Millionaire

Holy crap was it cold today. It's freakin' March and it's still 1°F outside. It looks like it's going to stay cold out in NYC until the weekend, when we'll move on to more reasonable weather.
Tonight's MegaMillions Jackpot is $370 Million. Good luck.

UPDATE: Well, I didn't win the MegaMillions. Too bad, too. Because I could've really used $370 Million. Maybe next time.

Dancing With The Devil

More wines... more wines... I was really busy this weekend, working 12 hours a day for 4 straight days (finishing on a Monday, which blows) so I didn't get much time to do anything but work. Tonight, however, we relaxed with a nice dinner and some wine. We had Casillero del Diablo Carménère 2004, Chile. This wine is made up of 85% Carménère, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah. We've had this in the cellar for a looong time, and I thought we'd bust it out tonight. It had some nice flavors of chocolate, plum and some spice. I also felt it was kind of earthy. It did have some nice acidity at the end - almost too much, but not quite. A very nice wine that my wife enjoyed a lot. You can check out the Casillero del Diablo website here.
Another wine we had somewhat recently was a bottle of Le Causse Vin de Pays D`oc Sauvignon Blanc 2005, France which we received from my wine club in January. We were really excited to try this wine since the first bottle from the club was so good. Unfortunately, this one wasn't up to snuff. It's not bad, it just didn't excite me. To be honest, if almost tasted more like a Chardonnay than a Sauvignon Blanc. It was almost too fruity to be a Sauvignon Blanc.
Finally, there's one more wine we've had recently that I haven't mentioned. It was Blanc Slate Jean de Lupfen Pinot Blanc which I ordered with my groceries through Fresh Direct, but you can also get from Best Cellars. This is a very nice wine, that we really enjoyed. It's a little more fruity and floral than I usually like, but it went well with our meals and is really easy to drink. This is a great wine to have around for those who don't always like to drink wine.

NP: Rollin' On, Black Stone Cherry