The Holy Grail of Silly

Because, what's sillier than 'Spamalot'?

(Perhaps a special edition can of SPAM-alot?)

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My favorite song from the show:


Diva's Lament _{{CardinalFang.net}}

What ever happened to my part?
It was exciting at the start.
Now we're halfway through Act 2
And I've had nothing yet to do.
I've been offstage for far too long
It's ages since I had a song.
This is one unhappy Diva
The producer's have deceived her.
There is nothing I can sing from my heart.
Whatever happened to My Part?


I am sick of my career
Always stuck in second gear
Up to here, with frustration and with fear.
I've no Grammy, no rewards,
I've no Tony Awards*,
I'm constantly replaced by Britney Spears.
Britney Spears!


Whatever happened to My Show?
I was a hit, now I don't know.
I'm with a bunch of British Knights,
Prancing 'round in woolly tights.
I might as well go to the Pub
They've been out searching for a shrub
Out shopping for a bush
Well they can kiss my Tush!
It seems to me they've really lost the plot


Whatever Happened to My…
I'll Call my Agent, Dammit!
Whatever Happened to My…
Not Yours! Not Yours!
But... My... Pa-art !


*btw, Sara Ramirez actually -did- win the Tony! :)

For our TT's 'Silly' day
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New New York Art

<

Floats like a butterfly... made of trash bags.

Caught in a still image, it looks like it could be made of bronze.

* She's looking away because, though he looks like a demon-centaur, he's really just a big windbag. A politician, no doubt.

The video:


I'm glad somebody uploaded this to youtube.

After all, if you're going to have a city full of hot air that smells bad, then dang it! - you might as well dress it up and make it look good!

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orig link from: NYmag.com

Top Bid = Top Chef

Get your bids in!

The NY Drama League's annual Benefit Gala Auction has begun, and one item is a Tour of Top Chef:

#-139 This 'priceless' VIP package includes:

4 VIP tickets to a Top Chef Tour show
(* pick any 2010 Tour stop)
Meet and greet with TC chefs
Tour of the Top Chef Tour Kitchen
Top Chef gift bag, including items such as
an autographed Quickfire cookbook,
Top Chef t-shirt
Top Chef apron
etc...

Highest bid so far is $ 650

Woo, its getting expensive. But not as expensive as going to the auction in person. Tickets to the event start at $750, going up to $1,995, or $7,500 to reserve a table. And add to that whatever ca$h you plan to spend on drinks or the auction itself...

Online auction is here: Bidding For Good .

* Just 2 weeks left to bid - I'm wondering how high it will go, because the online bids are just the beginning. They will continue to allow additional bids at the gala event itself.

Are drama geeks also foodies? - Guess we'll find out.

The Met Next Door

My local cinema is turning into Lincoln Center today, courtesy of a digital-streaming simulcast from The Met. Its a cool use of this new technology; now everyone can see their favorite big shows on a big screen.

But I think I'll pass on this particular one.

The music will be memorable I'm sure, but the plot?... well, just in case you don't know it:

'Carmen', the opera, (in 50 words)

Trashy hot cigarette gal entices soldier boy.
She flees justice, he takes the rap, sings.

She feels guilty, sings, thinks she loves him.
He's released; they 'smuggle' away together.

She tires of him, picks bullfighter instead.
boy: "If I can't have her no one will..!"
(big song) Stabbity-stabbity-stab. (the end)

Not exactly a PC tale for today.

Maybe we'd prefer Tom & Jerry's version:
(complete w/ cartoon Lincoln Center!)

Cash Cab Clues

Coming courtesy confirmed contestants! :

1. No, no, it’s not rigged... but
2. Some NY players were pre-screened...
...via a come-on for a 'NYC travel show'.3. Your check, not cash, arrives weeks later. Sorry.
4. host Ben Bailey is actually a comedian... but
5. He has taken and passed the NYC cabbie exam.
6. If you lose, you get the t-shirt above.
7. In 'real' pickups, they stop the cab, explain rules.
8. You can't reveal if you won before your ep airs.
9. There are many Cash Cabs, in 20+ countries.
(chilly Calgary CA could be CCCCCab!.. ;-)10. A production van follows CCab. In NY its white.

a quote: 'hot sh*t was it a fun time!'...

... I bet !

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these tidbits from Reddit, & wiki, &:

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lastly...

FYI: There's no crying in Cash Cab!

U MST L@@K !

Above was the title of the link sent to me.

Have to agree - can't believe it til you see it.

*click* above for pics. (13 quick pics)

My jaw dropped open when I got to pic #6.

Yes, its a real Long Island, NY listing: via Sotheby's.


Remember, its only 4 mil so you better hurry.

The Flavor of WD-50

Does it sound appetizing?... Well,
remember the potty-mouth from Top Chef Masters?
_{image courtesy minxeats - click to go there!}
TWoP's Aemilia ate at his (Wylie Dufresne) place 'WD-50'.

See what you think of the items she tried:

Fried Frog's Legs w/ pomegranate reduction & fruit balls that were 'sort of like caviar w/kelp pieces on top'

Hanger Steak Tartare, on top of almond paste w/ hyacinth reduction with banana powder and crispy strings of fried sweet potato. 'combo of bloody tartare w/ sweet really sort of blew my mind'

Pork Loin with Coconut Mustard Sauce w/ fried sweet potato balls and pickled leeks with bitter greens, and 'these clear threadlike things on top that I can't remember, but they seemed vegetable in nature'

(dessert tasting menu)

Tart Ice Cream with powdery raspberry crumbles... 'when I broke it open with my spoon, it had a center of balsamic vinegar'

Cheesecake - very tart and citrusy w/ lime ice cream & a pineapple gel and gelatinous slivers of pineapple pieces with pickled raisins.

Caramelized brioche that inside had this caramel filling, along with a ribbon of buttercream, and with vanilla ice cream and a cardamom (?) foam.

Chocolate Ganache and Cardamom Cake and Peppermint Ice Cream - sitting on a bed of chocolate cookie crumble that had a hidden molten chocolate mint sauce underneath

My opinion?
Some of it sounds as tasty as real WD-40.

But she said she liked it - maybe b/c she got a kitchen tour?

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link- Aemilia's post re: her dinner, 4th one down.

Rubber Rooms, Rubber Heads

(warning, rant ahead)

NYC's Dept of Education gets an 'F'.

AP: '700 hundred NYC public school teachers, accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct, are being paid their full salaries to sit around all day playing Scrabble, surfing the Internet or just staring at the wall, if that's what they want to do.'

And thats just the beginning...

...salaries of $70,000 or more, the city Department of Education estimates the practice costs the taxpayers $65 million a year. The department blames union rules.

"It is extremely difficult to fire a tenured teacher because of the protections afforded to them in their contract," spokeswoman Ann Forte said.

City officials said that they make teachers report to a 'rubber room' instead of sending they home because the union contract requires that they be allowed to continue in their jobs in some fashion while their cases are being heard. The contract does not permit them to be given other work...

Sheesh, if I lived in NYC I'd be livid... just last week NY mag had an article about how parts of the city are desperate for more teachers.

But because their cases are heard by 23 arbitrators who work only five days a month, stints of two or three years in a rubber room are common, and some teachers have been there for five or six.

NY needs to fire their heads of the NYC Ed. Dept.

Who couldn't see that hiring arbitrators for more days per month will be a heck of a lot less than $65 mil/year?
(sorry, rant over)

link: AP news article, via Yahoo

The Nifty Fifty

No 'Top Chef' tonight? Find fun fare elsewhere...

Food Network's U.S. Burger countdown, state by state
*click* on the image to go to their 'live' map

California's 'In-n-Out' was the only 'chain' I noticed.
Chicago's 'Kuma's Corner' sounds more like Hawaii.
And NY's burger joint? Amazingly, "Burger Joint".

And for my Charm City pals - Baltimore's winner is:
Mother's Fed Hill Grille 'Heart Attack on a Plate'
Is it any good?

Tribeca Film Festival

Wish I could be there, but a new job keeps me from going to NYC. I'll have to live vicariously through some friends who saw this one Saturday... (also Tue 4/28, 4pm - Wed 4/29 & Sat 5/2, 6pm)

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This year's Fest includes 24 full-length comedies.
How do you like your laughs? Regular, or Dark?

COMEDY: (20)

City Island - USA, 2009
Easy Virtue - U.K., 2008
The Good Guy - USA, 2009
Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench - US
Here and There - 2009
In the Loop - U.K., 2008
Masquerades - 2008
A Matter of Size - Israel, 2009
Midgets Vs. Mascots - USA, 2008
My Last Five Girlfriends - U.K.
My Life in Ruins - 2009
North - Norway, 2008
Rudo y Cursi - 2008
Serious Moonlight USA
Stay Cool - USA, 2009
The Swimsuit Issue - Sweden, 2008
TiMER - USA, 2009
Vegas: Based on a True Story - USA
Whatever Works - USA, 2009
Wonderful World - USA, 2008

DARK COMEDY: (4)

Black Dynamite - USA, 2008
Don McKay - USA, 2009
Hysterical Psycho - USA, 2009
Original - Denmark, 2008

link: Tribeca Film Festival Guide

Eco Bountiful

Putting their best Eco Fashion foot forward today.

Wow, until today I'd never heard of it.
Must've been living (and dressing) under a rock...

NYC's Project Earth Day Fashion Show "a unique annual showcase of the most innovative brands in sustainable design"

... "The seeds of the future are encapsulated in the hearts and minds of student designers, and Project Earth Day’s organizers recognize this fact by hosting a student design competition each year. This year’s prizes are eco bountiful and the media coverage will be extensive"...

Eco Fashion for Earth Day? Just never pictured NY's fashionistas decked out in durable eco gear. Should be unique... especially bearing in mind that this (left) was 2008's Grand Prize winner, complete with eco-earmuffs, excess strapping, and pouch pockets. (click for close-up)

Me & Top Chef, NYC

My New York Top Chef Tour photos!

Friday (3/27) we made a looong drive to NYC to pick up some bulky items near Madison Square Park. Not fun, until I spotted the TC Tour truck! Alas it was too late for any demos, so I just took a few pics.
*click to enlarge any individual pic.
The Truck
Today's Chefs
TC crew cleanup
Life-size cutouts!
wheel of TC prizes
Last TC store items
Set side of truck
thru left window
thru right window
Set, thru door
Bravo disclaimer

This (above) was on a 3 ft board by the door.

All the fans that got inside had to first agree to risk being photographed, or used in promo materials or possibly -dying- to be allowed in.

Makes you wonder just what Nikki was serving...

Tour Chef NYC

I saw (and touched) the Top Chef Tour set! We were going through NYC Friday afternoon, and saw the Top Chef tour truck - they were closing up for the day. In fact I waved at Hosea as he was leaving the set, and he smiled and waved back. (Sorry it wasn't Fabio but beggars can't be choosers...)

But anyway, my scoop is that the brunette selling Top Chef gear (books, T's, oven mitts), to the last stragglers said that even though all the tickets for Saturday were reserved, that you can show up in the morning and get put on the waiting list, and there's a good chance you could get into the first seating! So go to south corner of 23rd and Broadway (via N, W, or R lines) right below Madison Sq Park for Saturday's shows:

Sat, Mar 28 @ 10:30 am
Sat, Mar 28 @ 12:00 pm
Sat, Mar 28 @ 01:30 pm

Heck, even if you can't get in, you can still purchase TC stuff including the 'Culinary Boner' or 'I love Fabio' T-shirts. Enjoy!

*will post my pics of the TC Tour truck later this weekend.

Juicy Chefs

More TC reunion from this week's TVguide.

TVguide (paper version) had unseen bits from the reunion. Good little article - wish it was longer. And, just because I'm the sharing type, here's my scan of the (2/3 page) article for y'all - just click it. ;-)

Loved Stefan's reply when asked if he cared that he lost: "Don't give a rosy rat's ass!" - And he also quotes a website that compared his face to a cross between that guy on 'The Shield' and Brad Pitt(?)

Meanwhile the others joked with Ariane about being on Bravo's future version of Desperate Housewives: New Jersey. And the chefs also kidded Padma for details about her love life, but she clammed up. Speaking of Padma, a favorite moment of Stefan's? - smoking outside with Padma after the finale.
Enjoy.

Chop Shop

aka The Top Chef Reunion Show
Tonight on Bravo, The chefs return! chop-chop!...

j/k - But am looking forward to hearing what S5's crew says about NY & New Orleans. Fan favorite?... I'm placing my bet on Fabio, since he had better menus than Carla right at the time Bravo was pushing for votes.

eta: Congrats to Fabio, but that was slooowww

Tidbits from the TC Reunion:

The Stefan & women montage, followed by his stare at Padma when she walked in, priceless!

Toby asking if Fabio & Stefan 'hold hands' walking in Santa Monica and Fabio replies 'No', that he uses a leash.

The chefs made Glad-toys in the stew room! -LOL- I wish we'd seen that -during- the show. (Did Glad wonder why they had to re-stock so often?)

Don't care for host Andy C. But at least I'm not alone - 'Pepper M' (of TWoP) has something to say about him:
'Shut up, you charmless, unintelligent twatwaffle'- I LOL'd.

Sequestered for 6 weeks? H. must've included the finale time, because no way were they in Brooklyn for 6 weeks!

The 'birthday curse'...
Amazed that didn't leak earlier: 'Happy B-day, pack'm'up!'
Loved Leah dismissing the curse just before it bit her.

Fabio > Toby > TomC

TomC makes me like Toby...

... As for the decision to name Rosenberg the winner, Colicchio says he’s "not positive" if it was completely unanimous.

“It may have been three out of four [judges],” he says. “I don’t remember one hundred percent. I think Toby may have wanted to give it to Stefan if I remember correctly.”

And I hope this comes to pass:

Adds Colicchio, “At the end of the day, I would say Fabio will end up doing more than the winner only because of his personality. That’s where the personality comes in. This season, most people are going to remember Fabio.”

*Hopefully Hootie Hoo too. ;-)

MSNBC link: TC finale interview

Not So Easy

Tonight's the TC finale in the Big Easy! I'll be crossing my fingers for Carla, since I'm tired of Stefan & Hosea, the bald, quirky tools. And the preview showed this (see below) as the proteins for what must be the quickfire... (turns out they were for a surprise 4th course) Will any of these three have an advantage with this? (gator, anyone?)

Then its off to this place, er 'palace':
Not very royal looking; hadn't realized it was a such a dining icon. Was in New Orleans ages ago and never noticed it. But I will be paying attention tonight, honest! (their usual, non-TC menu)


eta: ... I'm sad

Oh Carla, why a sous-vide for the first time in the finale!?!

Q.) Think she might've won with Rich or Marcel as sous chef?

eta2: Answer: ,..'Nope' (thanks minx!)

Dining Dish

Dishing out a scoop...
the name of the surprise judge in TC's finale! Too bad its not my scoop really, because the author of DD got this note in her email box and was kind enough to post it on her blog:

"Greetings!!!

We strongly recommend that you tune in to Bravo on Ash Wednesday, Feb 25, for the Top Chef 5 Finale. Rumor has it that you might see a very familiar face on the judging panel.

Happy Mardi Gras...

And it came from Bayona, so it sounds like the head chef there, Susan Spicer, will be the judge.


original link: Dining Dish

Now Hair This!

Tidbits about Carla from a recent interview:

Q&A Top Chef's Carla Hall... Finding Her Sea Legs
(legs? she must use crabs vs. scallops...)

Viewers will see her tonight with a sleek new hairdo
as the cooking competition moves to New Orleans.
(Previews show Carla's hair is straight now.)

Q. Will we be seeing any photos of you from your modeling days?

Carla: Yeah, you might. (can't wait!)

Q. How hard has it been to read stuff... that wasn't so complimentary?

Carla: My husband would get upset when he read blogs, (uh oh) but I still don't read them. (whew!)

I wouldn't necessarily disagree with some of them. I knew I could cook better. I just needed to find my sea legs. It's like being on "Jeopardy!" and suddenly all the categories are the ones you know.

The Washington Post link - can be slow loading.

Coney Betty

Ugly Betty goes on an 'Island' holiday... soon?

Last August KineticCarnival saw UB filming at Coney Island.

Did they air any scenes from that one yet?...
I'm tired of winter - and I'd like to see some summer now.
(Was that me wishing for a bit of global warming?...)

Ugly Betty filming in NY (or click image below)