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Until December ~ Free Again
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biSbmPYbwzo[/youtube] There’s no video for this song. As a matter of fact, it’s not a very easy song to find anywhere, probably because it wasn’t their most popular song, and Until December wasn’t ever big as a group. But I loved this song, love the very 80s sound of it all. Love the bitter lyrics, which while I don’t agree with them, there are certainly times in our lives when they feel very real. Maybe right after a break up, for example. Enjoy the crackles at the end of the song, proving that the person who posted this on YouTube ripped it from their LP.
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Udupi Palace
(Photos found at Check, Please! Bay Area) There’s a television at Ted’s office, and on Friday he decided to watch a little TV to unwind during his lunch break. Happily, Check, Please! Bay Area was on, and one of the restaurants reviewed was a Southern Indian place in Berkeley called Udupi Palace. The large majority of Indian restaurants in the Bay Area are Northern Indian, influenced by Punjabi and Pakastani flavors. We love that, but the idea of trying something from another part of India entirely appealed to Ted. He came home thinking we might go that night, but I didn’t feel like getting in the car and going to…
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Honest Scrap Award
I’m tickled pink (an expression I very rarely use, VERY rarely) to receive this award from the lovely and overworked Chrissy, a lovely woman living on a little island up in Ontario, on a farm with her husband and her beautiful baby. Anyone who thinks farm life is easy has never read any good farm books (Like the Little House books, for me), and doesn’t read any farm blogs. Chrissy’s is a good one. She is also a champion blogger…last year, during NaBloPoMo, she honored that commitment, blogging every day that month, even though she was sent to the hospital in the hopes of keeping her baby inside of her…
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13 Again
(pic found here) I remember 13. I remember how emotional I was. Stupid hormones going crazy. I remember crying bitter tears because my mother thought I was ugly. My proof? SHE LOOKED AT ME. Clearly she hated me. And now, I’m the mom. It’s a confusing position to be in, because there are days that are perfectly fine, with laughter and happiness…and then there are days when hormones run hot, and I feel like I can’t say anything right. And when I ask her what’s wrong, she has been thinking I was mad at her the whole time. Which I was not. Not in the least. I remember that, from…
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Translator ~ Everywhere That I’m Not
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxdriKRoabA[/youtube] There’s no way that I was cool enough to have heard this song when it came out in 1982. I was just graduating from Hall & Oats and deciding that I was into heavy metal. And the radio stations that we got in the San Joaquin Valley in the early 80s sucked, so there wasn’t much chance of hearing it there, either. Anyway, finally I met Ted, and he was cool enough to have heard this song, cool enough to actually own it, and he put it on a mix tape for me. See why I married him? Enjoy. Back to the early 80s.
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Photo from SFGate.com. We awoke early this morning to a rare event in Northern California…a thunder and lightning storm! Our summer weather usually consists of some hot days, and some days when the coastal fog comes in far enough to cool us off. This is what happens when you have some of each…reminds me of the storms we used to have in Philly. We lived on the 16th floor of an apartment building, which was the only tall building around, so our view was a canopy of tree tops, and we could see quite far. It was fun to watch the lightning from up high. It was 100 degrees yesterday,…
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September 11, Again
I wonder how many years will go by before we can hear the words, “September 11th” without it taking us back to that horrible day. How long before we forget the tragedy of those who died that day, those who were badly injured, those who continue to carry the harm of that day around inside of them. How long before we forget the sight of people jumping to their deaths from the top of the towers. Before we forget the gut wrenching signs all over Manhattan, of people missing, while their families hoped against hope that they might have somehow survived. How long before we forget the fear and anger…
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The Time Traveler’s Wife
I read the novel version of The Time Traveler’s Wife a few years ago, and I loved it. It was really well done. This weekend, we finally got around to going to see the film version, and I loved it too, just not quite as much. I think that happens most of the time with books that are turned into films. So much of the story has to be left out when you change the medium, it’s rare to find a film version that really works. And I would say, this one did. The premise of the story is that Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to travel…
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Oven-Fried Chicken Parmesan
I thought I would share the recipe for Chicken Parmesan that I made with the $10 pasta sauce (on sale now at Safeway for $9!) last week, which I made again last night, because Maya wanted to try it and couldn’t last week because her teeth hurt too much after getting her braces tightened. Anyway, I made it again, and this time, I took a picture. I think this is my favorite Chicken Parmesan recipe ever. The keys are: good quality chicken, good quality sauce, Italian Parmesan, and panko rather than American breadcrumbs. They’re so nice and crispy, and give the chicken a wonderful texture. Also, of course, don’t overcook…
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Suzanne Vega ~ Men in a War
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR2o54X61No[/youtube] Funny how things change in life, right? This song isn’t even my favorite Suzanne Vega song, and before I lost my mom last year, it never would have made me think of her. But now. Now, any time I hear it, it makes me think of that horrible adjustment period after she died. Of how confusing the world suddenly was around me. Of how, though I still had (have) so many things and people in my life that were (are) so very important to me, things would never be the same again, would never be right again. I know how it is When something is gone A piece of…
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Another Random Mess of Friday Randomness
I paid $10 for pasta sauce the other day. I know, I must be insane, right? It all started at the orthodontist’s office (as so many torrid tales are wont to do), where I sat reading an issue of Cooking Light while various sadists tortured my lovely daughter. The magazine had a delicious looking recipe for Chicken Parmesan, as well as a taste test of several different pasta sauces. Just a month or so ago, I saw a taste test of pasta sauces on America’s Test Kitchen, but unfortunately, I don’t think that the winner of that contest and the winner of this contest were both included in either taste…
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Helpless
When people talk to you about having kids, they often ask you if you’re ready to give up your freedom, your ability to go out when you want, see whatever movie you want, eat whatever you want, stay up until 4am, sleep in when you want, have sex when you want, work late if you need to, live in a crappy apartment in a bad school district if you so choose…so many sacrifices. People list them and warn you. And you say, “Yes, I’m ready. I want a baby to love and to hold and to care for. I want to smell the sweet smell of a baby’s head after…
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Flip Flop
(photo found here) I spied a single flip flop in the road this morning, the kind of thing which makes me wonder…where’s the other one? Is the person missing their shoe? Or were they trying to throw them both away, and just dropped one? Who knows. But it reminded me of a story from my miss-spent youth. When I was 22 or so, living in San Francisco, in a lovely flat on Fulton Street, I came home from work one night to find a young woman asleep on our doorstep. I was worried about her, but not worried enough to call the police. (Perhaps that would have been the smart…
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Rush ~ Time Stand Still
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QfvFy2Qy-M[/youtube] Ted loves Rush. If he could, he would marry Rush. Really, he loves them. Totally. Me? I loved Rush in 9th grade (this is me in grade 9), totally into 2112 (both sides, I know, I’m a dork), and that was about the end of it. But Ted is a true fan, has loved them from the beginning. Still loves them. Has seen them in concert many times. Maya and I finally went with them last year, and they were totally great. I was really impressed with their stage presence, their skill, the fun that they had, and the connection with the audience. Really great. I think my favorite…
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Friday Randomness
Really? Is this all I have left in me, blogging wise? Random updates on my life, music videos, and the occasional recipe or book review? Yes? OK, whatever. Sorry if you came here looking for a wonder eulegy of Ted Kennedy, or more debate on the Heath Care issue. Let’s get to the randomness, k? Awhile ago, I read a book called “Why Do I Love These People“, by author Po Bronson. He has a new book out soon titled “Nurture Shock“, in which he talks about how parents’ constant praise of their children hampers them, hampers their school performance, and makes them decode your words and pretty much see…