Author Archives: Rebecca

Thesaurus, anyone?

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One of the benefits of working out at the gym in the morning is that I get to catch the news on five different channels…all at the same time! It is interesting to compare the headlines and the order in which they air many of the same stories.

Today, of course, one of the main stories was the Conclave at the Vatican. Having never witnessed the process of determining a new Pope, I find these stories to be very interesing. I do, however, have some issues with the headlines that the stations have been airing with their stories.

This morning both CNN and Boston Channel 7 were both using the headline “Picking the Pope.” This just seems irreverent to me. Couldn’t these news station find a better alternative to ‘picking’? Off the top of my head I’ve got a few: selecting, choosing, determining…

Or better yet, why not use those “title” headlines that are so popular, like “Decision 05” or “Conclave 266”. I think maybe the writers should keep a thesaurus handy.

Remember… you can pick the Pope, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick the Pope’s nose!

mmmmmm Homemade!

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Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than doing for yourself what most people pay for. Today, for example, I refilled my stash of bread crumbs. The recipe is as follows:

Rebecca’s Wicked Awesome Bread Crumbs

1. Take the heels of your loaves of bread. Store them in their plastic bags in the freezer.
2. Forget about them for 6 or 7 months, while adding the heels from all following loaves.
3. One day, lay out all the heels on a cooling rack in your kitchen. Leave overnight.
4. Once they feel all dry and stale break up pieces and put in a blender.
5. Blend until fine.
6. Store in a plastic coolwhip container labled “TOM.SAUCE”
7. Enjoy in recipies such as meatloaf and chicken nuggets.

Freedom Song

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I think that it is important to expose myself to different cultures around the world. So when I choose books from the library I try to span the globe when topics are concerned. My latest read comes from the sub-continent of India. aaa|Freedom Song|0375704000|aaa is a collection of 3 novellas by Amit Chaudhuri.

I enjoyed reading these three tales which paint pictures of life in India, as well as life as an Indian in London. I was, however, left wondering how accurate those pictures are. I feel the same way I often do after reading short stories. It is as if I have tuned into the show in the middle and then leave before it is over. I’m just never satisfied.

That being said, Chaudhuri’s descriptions are beautiful, his prose is lyrical and the novels were pleasant to read.

Tuning In

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Behold the power of the internet: I can now listen to my two favorite radio stations just by logging on to iTunes and double clicking! Will the wonders ever cease? Here’s the low-down…

***WERS|http://www.wers.org***: The listener supported, commercial free station run by Emerson college students here in Boston. Their programming is extreemly varied. They play everything from hip-hop to modern Israli music, from cartoon theme songs to Bob Dylan. Who could ask for more? My personal favorite shows are “The Playground”: kids music, “The Coffee House”: folk music, and “Standing Room Only”: Broadway showtunes.

***WMVY|http://www.wmvy.com***: Progressive radio broadcast from Martha’s Vineyard. This is the station most often playing in the kitchen in our house on MV. The music is an interesting mix of folk and rock with a smattering of reggea, oldies and more. I especially love hearing the local news, standby list and island/cape commercials. It makes it feel like summer all year round!

While I listen to these stations through iTunes you can also get a live stream through the websites above. I’d recommend you check them out. Listen for a while and let me know what you think!

Aye, Aye Captain!

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fff|ppp|Captain Vegetable|ppp|fff

For those of you, like ***Chad|http://jayseae.cxliv.org/2005/04/08/so_it_isnt_so_cookie.html***, who keep up with the goings on over on Sesame Street, I’m sure you’ve already heard the news that their newest season will be focused on helping kids become healthier. Chad writes about Cookie Monster’s new song, “Cookies are a Sometimes Food,” which is only part of their new season-long initiative.

I, for one, am glad that the show is trying to get this message out to kids. I think it can only have positive outcomes. All this talk about teaching kids about health and nutrition makes me think of a classic Sesame Street character… Captain Vegetable!! Now, don’t you think it would be cool if they brought back the Captain? I found ***a site|http://members.tripod.com/Tiny_Dancer/index2.html*** where you can get the lyrics to his fantastic song, as well as download it if you haven’t heard it in a while. Peter won’t need to download it, since I sing it at home several times a week already 🙂

Captain Vegetable first graced the small screen in 1982 and had a 13 season run on the show. I think he’d make a nice addition to the new “healthy” theme of the show.

er mcgregor

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Today, possibly to brighten my chores, TNT decided to air my very favorite episode of ER (The Long Way Round, 2/13/97). That was very sweet of them 🙂

I have to say that there are many, many episodes of ER that I love. I’m not even sure why I like this one so much, but I just do.

Perhaps it is because it guest stars Ewan McGregor. More likely it is the amazing nursing skills of Carol Hathaway. Ewan and his ‘cousin’ hold up a convenience store with Nurse Hathaway and several others inside. Things turn bad and Ewan ends up killing the store owner. Carol does her best to help the wounded using MacGyver-like skills. She uses duct tape, and the straw from a juice box and the cardboard part of a tampon and KrazyGlue for various medical procedures. Very cool.

It is also interesting to see the progression of McGregor’s character… From a guy just needing a few bucks, to a murderer, to a victim. Although he is the “bad guy” you can’t help feeling sorry for him. He makes a couple bad decisions and they multiply and come back to haunt him.

Thank you TNT for providing a pleasant break in my day of house-cleaning!

Christmas Present Revisited

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Dear Mom and Dad,

This letter is to inform you that this morning at 9:34 I was forced to open the last package of toliet paper that was given to us for Christmas. Please send more 🙂

Love,
Your Daughter

PS. The toothpaste, dishwasher detergent and canned ham are doing just fine!

PPS. I’m joking about you sending more. We’re on top of the situation!

Book in Hiding

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How often in life do we have the opportunity to retrace the footsteps of our ancestors? To walk where they walked, to eat where they ate… to hide where they hid? Daniel Asa Rose figured that it would come around only once in his lifetime, and so he set out with his two boys to follow the trail of his Jewish family as they escaped the Holocaust.

aaa|Hiding Places|0684854783|aaa is the account of that adventure with tales of the author’s childhood woven in. It is a story that one moment will have you laughing and the next crying. What I found especially touching was the way that Rose was able to paralell his own coming of age with that of his sons, and how this trip changed them all in the same, yet different ways.

This story is also the story of a Belgian Jewish family and their escapes from the Nazis. We learn how they used diamonds to buy themselves fake papers, how they hid in chimneys and attics, how their children were killed… and how they survived. It is a refreshingly different kind of Holocaust story, with all the gruesome details intact.

The themes of family and fatherhood run deep through this book and are its shining qualities.

Consolidation for Compact Craftiness and Computeryness

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When Peter and I moved in together we filled the second bedroom in our apartment with computer equipment. His Mac, my PC and all of their accessories. At the time that was the necessary thing to do. He needed his computer to program on and I used my PC to handle the piles of gradschool homework I had then.

Since I finished school, however, our need for the PC has waned. I still like having it around because I like the Word Processor and it has all of my “stuff” on it, but I really haven’t used it much lately. I much prefer the laptop in front of the tv 🙂

So, after a while of trying to figure out a good solution to this problem we finally came up with one. In my words, “wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easy way to hook up both our computers to one moniter/keyboard/mouse?”

In Peter’s words,”You can do that. You just need a KVM.” Okay, then! Let’s do it.

This afternoon our new KVM was delivered and Peter set to work setting it all up. Now we have two computer towers connected to one monitor and keyboard; all combined on one desk. Very neat, clean and compact. It is easy to switch from the Mac desktop to the PC and back again. So if I need to get info from or use the PC it is just a few keystrokes away. Nice. Look for more interesting solutions at https://pcrevive.org/areas-we-serve/computer-repair-boynton-beach-fl/.

Another added benefit to the new situation is that we now have a completely empty desk. My greedy little eyes quickly recognized that this space would a perfect new home for my sewing machine. I’ve longed for a permanent home for my trusty 1950’s Singer for a while now and it seems to be pretty cozy in its new home. I know that I’ll use it much more now that I don’t have to heft it up and down off the kitchen table every time I have a project.

Peter took some photos of ***the new setup|http://gallery.prwdot.org/kvm***.

Bollywood in Boston

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Whatever happened to the good, old fashioned movie-musical? It is alive and well in the latest flick from the creators of “Bend it Like Beckham,” ***Bride and Prejudice|http://www.brideandprejudicethemovie.com***.

Peter and I ventured to the Boston Common Loews theater on Friday night with high hopes. Bride and Prejudice is a remake of sorts of Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice with a Bollywood flair to it. All the usual suspects are present and accounted for: well meaning, yet overbearing mom, beautiful sisters, handsome (and free spirited) gentleman, and, of course, Mr. Darcy 🙂

Being a musical, the characters periodically break into song and dance about. (500 points if you can name that paraphrase!) The musical scenes are definately more Bollywood than Broadway. The first song was in Punjabi and it was fabulous. I was hoping that they all would be, but the following songs were in English.

It was a fun, kooky and entertaining movie. Go see it.