"New Me?"

 This pic was taken last Septmber 2011. 35 less lbs. later deserves a before and after. I must find the time to showcase the new me. My alter ego-the catfish-is perhaps waiting with baited breath.

P.S. A new "Dear  Cat" may be in order.

Pascual Perez killed during robbery in Dominican

Pascual Perez has died in the Dominican Republic. Due to an apparent robbery. And a knife wound to the heart. Just as a segue, a friend of mine calls the region the Dom-i-nican Republic.

Anyway, Pascual gained notoriety as an Atlanta Brave, when on a scheduled start he missed the Fulton County exit and traveled the length of  I-285 which circles Hotlanta. Some 66 miles.

He even changed his jersey name to I-285, allah Chad Ochocinco. 30 years ago.

Pascual played for the Braves during the Joe Torre regime. He was a good pitcher but never realized much success.

This story is just a sideline due to the disaster in New York but still a tragedy. 

"To Catch a Thief"

"Aliigator People"

"Dirty Harry"

The Only Wing Recipe You'll Ever Need

For residents of Buffalo, New York, where I was born, true Buffalo wings come only from Frank and Teressa's Anchor Bar, where owner Teressa Bellissimo invented the dish in 1964. There, wings are fried, then tossed in a combination of melted margarine and hot sauce. Today, the Anchor Bar serves 2,000 pounds of wings each day. -Denise Mickelsen, from "Wings of Desire" (April 2006)
This recipe is part of a collection. See all 150 classic recipes every cook should know »

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
Peanut oil, for frying
4 lb. chicken wings (about 40), separated into 2 pieces, wing tips removed, rinsed
12 tbsp. margarine
1 cup hot sauce, preferably Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1 ⅓ cups chunky blue cheese dressing
4 ribs celery, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 3″ sticks

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 200°. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven, and heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Dry wings thoroughly with paper towels, and working in batches, fry wings until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer wings to a wire rack set over a baking sheet, and place in oven to keep warm until all wings are fried.

2. Heat margarine in a 12″ deep-sided skillet over medium heat; stir in hot sauce until smooth. Add wings, and toss until completely coated. Serve wings in a large bowl with dressing and celery on the side. 

P.S. I would love to go there. Wow! 2000 lbs. a day!?

"Seventh Voyage of Sinbad"

My favorite sci-fi movie is, of course, "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad." Not Star Wars; Invasion of the Body Snatchers;" The Carrot, er, Thing from Outer Space. Etc.

My Aunt Mad used to round me up, and we would head to the Twin Starlight on Moreland Ave, a drive-in, of course.

There's something enchanting, magical, and mystical about the movie. High adventures on the seven seas. With the obligatory bad guy, in this case an evil magician. And a beautiful damsel in distress. And a boy genie, who could be beckoned by rubbing the magic lamp and uttering:

From the land beyond beyond.
From the land past hope and fear.
I bid you genie now appear.

There's also the fire breathing dragon; a mutinous crew; a two headed giant eagle; and a sword fight to the death between Sinbad and a skeleton; and the two one-eyed cyclops.

What intrigue! What fun! What excitement for a little boy-me-who first saw the flick at sa tender age of 7 or 8.

Thanks to Ray Harryhausen who created the special effects; to Bernard Herrman with the musical score; and to Aunt Mad who would take me to the Starlight. I must have seen it 4 or 5 times.

"Encore"

"Tippi Hedren via 'The Birds'"

"Diamonds are Forever"

I'm still bummed-a 220 foot infield fly rule invoked during the wild card fiasco i,e, one game for all the marbles. Shoulda been bases loaded with Brian McCann lumbering to the plate with a chance to tie or put the Braves ahead.

Because of the bonehead call, we'll never know what might have happened. Instead of bags juiced and one out, it became runners at second and third and two outs. McCann was pitched around and walked, and Michael Bourn struck out.

It was quite a game, however. And the barrage of beer bottles accounted for a 19 minute intermission and loads of fun.

Cos it's one, two, three strikes yer out at the old ball game. Except that diamonds are forever. And my memory of this game will never be forgotten. Perhaps, Jess,my son and his girlfriend, Heather, will fondly recall the game at some point in their young lives, as they were my guests.

Cos it's root root root for the home team....but diamonds are forever.

"Lousy Call, Lousy Game,Lousy System:A Lousy Braves Exit"

Good article from Mark Bradley, AJC sportswriter. However, diamonds are forever!

"Top Ten Party Schools"

Methinks every college might be a party school. Not sure how Playboy determined the top ten but must have been a great assignment for the writers.

My old school/alma mater made the list. The year after I graduated I was still there when the streaking craze was at full tilt. And they've been partying ever since.

"Turn Out the Lights-the Party's Over"

I missed the end of the debacle-Seahawks vs. Packers-last nite, when I turned it off before the final play.

The replacement refs are a joke. The ref who called the final play a touchdown is a high school referee. You get what you pay for, eh?

Hopefully, the real refs will be back soon. The games are hard to watch!

"Beginnings: CTA"

One of my favorite songs from Chicago. I love the brass finale. Only the beginning.....

"from Russia With Love"

 The second installment in the James Bond franchise. Notice how movies are classified as franchises these days. Friday the 13th; Halloween; Star Wars; the Bourne movies, etc.

The theme song for the Bond movie was sung by Matt Monro. Huh? In '62 the crooners were still the rage. I do like the song-kind of a period piece.

Lotte Lenya and Robert Shaw-he of the "you were on the Indianapolis" saga-play the bad guys.

P.S. One of my favorite Bond movies.

"Entertainment Weekly 50 Years of Bond"

To me there's only one James Bond. Forget Roger Moore. 4 get Timothy Dalton. Ditto for George Lazenby. Who? Pierce Brosnan. Huh? Daniel Craig-I can tolerate him more than the others. But there's only one Bond, James Bond. Sean Connery, of course.

  

What is the most appropriate gift you could give Brit super spy and martini aficionado James Bond to celebrate 50 years of big screen 007 adventures? A cake in the shape of a gun? A gun in the shape of a cake? A new liver? Or…How about an entire issue of Entertainment Weekly devoted to the half century of espionage-themed pleasure the Bond franchise has given the world since Sean Connery defined the role of 007 — and Ursula Andress defined the ideal way to wear a bikini — in 1962′s Dr. No?

"Books Never Written"

I remember "Under the Grandstands" by Seymour Butts; and "Herded Cattle on the North Forty" by Bob Wire; and "My Body Aches" by Arthur Ritis, but here's a few this author has never heard of:

"A Guide to Pharmeceuticals" by Sue E. Sidle

"I Didn't Do It" by Ivan Alibi

“Improve Your Reading” by Ken Hardly Reed
“Is O.J. Guilty?” By Howard I. Know
“Something Fishy” by Ann Chovie
The extensive list of books never written appears here

"Ducks Cross Highway 407"

Reminds me of the old joke: 50 yards to the outhouse by Will E. Makeit.

Do the ducks make it? Check out the video.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1172007--ducks-cross-highway-407?bn=1