Wait, Wait!

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the live taping of NPR’s “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” Thursday night at Proctors in Schenectady. Granted, I paid for the ticket, but it was still amazing. I have been a fan of this show for about a year now - I don’t know how long WAMC (my local NPR affiliate) has been carrying it, but I’m glad it’s on their schedule now. If you’ve ever heard the show, you know it’s a hilarious send-up of current events - they call it “NPR’s oddly informative news quiz.” It’s that, and a lot more.

Having worked in radio, I was not awestruck by all the producers on stage, and all of the broadcast equipment - boring (to me). What I loved was:

• Watching the normally staid and businesslike Carl Kasell run around the stage at beginning of the show giving the panelists high-fives, and then watching him do celebrity impressions while never cracking a smile. Absolutely hilarious, considering Carl Kasell is the quintessential newsman, and has been the newscaster for Morning Edition since it began in 1979.
• The witty (and spontaneous) repartee among the panelists - Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell had a script, but the panelists (Mo Rocca, Amy Dickinson, and Charlie Pierce) did not.
• The incredibly talented people who write the show - it was obvious they were scribbling notes right up until showtime - the news they riffed on was that current.
• The audience Q & A after the show. Never missing an opportunity to grab a microphone in front of 2600 people, I raised my hand and asked the first question. Amy Dickinson said, “Ask us anything, as long as it’s not current events - we’re not good at that.” To which I answered, “Yeah, we know.” The audience howled. Peter Sagal then ripped the mic out of my hands. He gave it back, and I asked my question. I was in my glory. The next day, several of my friends called and emailed, mentioning that they heard me and my wise-ass remark.

If Wait, Wait ever comes to your town, I urge you to go. In the meantime, make sure you tune in - the show is one of the best things on radio today.

Random Stats

I love to check my blog stats - who doesn’t? I find this unreal, but the most viewed post on my blog BY FAR is this one, concerning a recipe for Sauteed Sirloin Tips. It’s gotten 179 page views since I began the blog in November. I always see “sirloin tips” listed in the search terms section.

Weird, and yet cool.

Ironically, the restaurant I mentioned (Dakota) doesn’t even have the dish on its menu anymore.

Stealing is NOT Always Wrong

I lifted this from Sweetpea…so sue me.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer? Work: a pcture of my nephew from his 1st birthday party. Home: The tulips one that comes with Windows XP.

Q. How many televisions you have in your house? Two that we use regularly, one that’s not hooked up to anything, and one in the attic.

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed? Lefty - except for scissors.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? All 4 wisdom teeth, a couple skin tags, and a mole from inside my belly button (seriously).

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted? my computer monitor

Q. Have you ever been knocked out? No.

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Nope.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Mrs. Bill Gates

Q. What color do you think looks best on you? Coral or bronze

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item? Not on purpose (I’m sure I’ve downed a bug or two)

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Probably not.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? No way.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000? Uh…yeah?

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? Sure. If they’re dumb enough to pay it, I’ll take it off.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Hmmm…no.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? No.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket? No pockets.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie? Sort of - it improves with repeated watching and alcohol consumption. There are quite a few great lines.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? Both.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower? Stand. No other choice.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Two

LASTOLOGY

Q: Last person who texted you? My sister Kristen

Q: Last person who called you? Mom

Q: Person you hugged? My friend Cristina, whom I haven’t seen in 4 years.

FAVORITOLOGY

Q: Number? 54

Q: Season? Fall.

Q: Color? Purple

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone? Always

Q: Mood? Calm.

Q: Listening to? Mets game, but not by choice.

Q: Watching? My life slip away as I blog…

Q: Worrying about? Surprisingly, nothing.

Q: Wearing? Cape Cod t-shirt, pajama pants.

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning? Dry cleaners

Q: What can you not wait to do? Move out of NY

Q: Do you smile often? Lately, yes.

The Magic Ingredient

Rosemary. My favorite herb.  Broken Sprigs of it tossed into a pan full of fresh vegetables, roasted to perfection - sublime. Added to a salt-sugar brine, left overnight to delicately flavor a batch of pork chops - brilliant.

How do you use it? Do you have a favorite recipe containing rosemary?

Does smelling it make you think of anything? Does the very sight of a sprig of fresh rosemary, rising majestically from a creamy yellow mound of fresh whipped potatoes, inspire you to compose a poem?

I want to know. The world wants to know. Tell us, right here.

Stand Back - I’m Pouring

I had a very intriguing offer yesterday from a friend…

My friend C. moonlights as a “pourer” for various liquor distributors and wineries, pouring wine in tasting rooms, fundraisers, and the like. We got to talking about how much we both enjoy wine, and she mentioned that she’ll be pouring for Standing Stone Vineyards (NY Finger Lakes) at the Travers Wine Tasting in August (which, believe me, is an incredible event - Bob and I went in 06, since his company sponsored it). Then she asked me if I’d like to be her assistant pourer!

Keeping in mind that I cannot possibly afford to go on my own (at least $125 per person), I jumped at the chance! It’s no pay, I can’t drink while I’m there, but other than that it sounds like a ton of fun!

C. talked about how becoming a pourer (starting as a volunteer) opened doors for her, as far as meeting distributors and getting to know people in the industry. I’ve been fascinated by everything about wine for a couple years now, and I think this opportunity could be the start of something good…

Restored and Renewed

OK, so my brother-in-law did a great job fixing my computer - replaced the hard drive, and it’s running like a dream. I’ve spent the last 2 days re-installing all of my software - what a pain in the ass.

The biggest problem came tonight when I could not find the Product Key for Microsoft Office. We had the disk, and the Certificate of Authenticity, but lost the jewel case that contains the Product Key. Which is, of course, pretty much the most important thing. <sigh> What to do? I decided to call Microsoft Tech Support to see if they would do anything besides laugh and say “tough shit”. I was very pleasantly surprised, as it turns out.

A lovely young Southeast Asian-sounding gentleman named Ernest (I’m guessing not his real name) assisted me through the process, and I ended up with a Replacement Product Key for a mere $10 fee. Good thing I had the Genuine Microsoft disk, otherwise I would have been headed to Best Buy…again. They needed me to read off the Part Number from the back of the CD, inscribed just outside the hole. I did, and voila! A new product key was mine.

Now I am back up and running. So, don’t despair if this happens to you…Microsoft is there to help

Now all I have to do is reinstall iTunes and get my iPod up to date. Looks like I’ll be up late tonight.

I’m Not Dead Yet…

I’m just living in Hard Drive Failure HELL. Our home computer’s hard drive failed, I can’t do non-work-related work at work (meanies), and Bob’s only letting me use his work computer once in a while (which I understand because it’s owned by his company and it’s locked down seven ways to Sunday). My brother-in-law is currently “fixing” it, so i have no idea when I’ll be back up and running.

So - I thought I’d take a moment and let all of my loyal readers (the two of you left) that I’ll be back soon, posting comments that will make you drool.

Sneak Peek: Kentucky Derby Pie, just in time for the Run for the Roses…and my in-laws from Kentucky will be visiting, so it’s even more appropriate.

UPDATE: I didn’t make the pie - I got lazy and bought one, I’m ashamed to admit. Though we did watch the Derby, and I cried when Eight Belles was euthanized. I hate when that happens. It was Barbaro all over again.

But Which Fork Should I Use?

I’ve always wondered about public restroom etiquette - is it okay to talk on your cell phone while in the stall? Do you knock before trying the doorknob on a one-seater? And just what the heck is a “courtesy flush”? (Seriously - I don’t know).

In fact, I actually have a bathroom pet peeve that drives me absolutely over the edge - people talking to me while I’m in the stall. I’ve actually had a woman in the stall next to me say, “Who’s that?”, eager to start a conversation. Dammit, it’s “me time”, not happy hour. Don’t you have some business to attend to?

So, on a whim, I Googled “Public Bathroom Etiquette”, and I found an incredibly informative and wildly hilarious website, which addresses every concern one might have about what is appropriate in a public toilet. FYI - it’s okay to text while in the stall, but absolutely verboten to make a call. Who knew? Enjoy.

And, for heaven’s sake - stop talking!

A Recipe from the Vault

I’m fresh out of ideas for a blog post this weekend, so I thought I’d share a great low-fat recipe, that makes a bunch, freezes beautifully, and is a perfect brown-bag lunch (if you’re into that sort of thing - I am). It’s called Tamale Pie, and I “borrowed” it from some posting on the Weight Watchers website forums. It’s Wendalicious - trust me.

TAMALE PIE

• 1 c cornmeal (white or yellow, doesn’t matter)
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 lb lean ground beef (or 12oz pkg Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles)
• 1 onion, chopped (red works really well)
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (any color)
• 5 tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 can kernel corn (with liquid)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 8oz shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13″ casserole pan with Pam.

Bring 2-1/4 cups broth to a boil. Stir in cornmeal, and whisk until fairly thick and most lumps are gone (just a couple minutes). Spread into bottom of 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Set aside.

Brown onion and green pepper in a large skillet until starting to brown. Add ground beef and brown while crumbling the meat. Add chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper, and mix well. Add tomato paste, Ro-Tel, corn, and black beans. Stir together thoroughly.

Spread over the cornmeal crust and top evenly with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.

Slice and serve with sour cream.  Serves 8.

Tomato Soup

I had an incredible cup of Creamy Tomato & Basil Bisque today at the Muddy Cup in Downtown Schenectady (inside Proctors).  Wendalicious!

Plus they have great coffee and scones, too.  The Muddy Cup has become my second office - when I have meetings, I try to schedule them there.  My friends at Proctors tell me they do that, too.  They’ve got lots of seating, big tables to work at, and a very comfortable atmosphere.  I highly recommend it!

I’m just so darned glad that Downtown Schenectady has so many great places to eat, drink, and hang out.