Staring at Strangers

If Lawyers Ran Starbucks

It would be like this. 

 

Technorati Tags: Starbucks, attorneys, legal

Let's Watch the Investor Ripoff Show

The  Wall Street Journal reports today on R. Allen Stanford, the latest investor ripoff artist.  Mr. Stanford sucked in $8 billion of investor funds before government officials finally got wise to his scam.  As a kid I never as much lifted a pack of chewing gum from the local drugstore because of my dread of being caught (okay, maybe it was the values instilled in me that guided my actions overall and not the fear of getting caught, but even the thought of this minor criminal act filled me with fears of imprisonment and a tortuous interrogation - "Okay kid, who ya working with?  We know you didn't lift that pack of chewing gum alone!  So spill ya guts or we'll make things real hard on ya!").

Given the frequency of exposure of these investor scams, I think that a reality show based on a scam theme ought to be considered (please, please don't tell me that it already has and it's in production).  Each show would focus on a particular scamster, following him (or her, if there are any women in this business) around with a camera and with an investor or two, surprising the low life with questions like, "So, have you anything to say to your investor Mabel Applestein whom I have right here, who has been forced to go back to work at age 72 due to your criminal acts?"

It's enough that the lives of movie stars are made miserable by the cameramen following them around, how about going after people who deserve some harassment?

Technorati Tags: scam, R. Allen Stanford, reality show

Meester Amerika!

Big news, my wife's musical, Meester Amerika, opens tomorrow for a 3 week run thru March 1, 2009, at the Becton Theatre at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ. 

It's her first musical which has been commercially produced so we're all very excited.

It’s being produced by The Garage Theatre Group and you can find out more information about it and order tickets at www.garagetheatre.org.

Here is a very short summary about the play:

MEESTER AMERIKA is a new musical which was a finalist for the 2007 New Jewish Theatre Grant (given by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture) and one of the winning musicals in the Seventh Annual TRU Musicals Reading Series. Book is by Jennifer Berman, music is by Artie Bressler and lyrics are by Michael Colby.

The musical focuses on a Royal Family of 1920s Yiddish Theatre and its rising star, Joey ("Meester Amerika") Rose. Joey has what it takes to become the next Jolson—but he shocks his father when he tells him that the love of a woman has sparked a dormant desire to become a cantor.

MEESTER AMERIKA, hailed as "THE JAZZ SINGER meets LA CAGE AUX FOLLES," evokes traditions of the past in a madcap show you don't have to be Jewish to love, with both new songs and traditional Yiddish songs. It has been described as "a valentine to the Yiddish theater."

-end-

It also has been getting some good publicity.  Here are links to some articles about Meester Amerika:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/MEESTER_AMERIKA_Brings_Yiddish_Theater_Back_To_Life_20090203

http://teruah-jewishmusic.blogspot.com/2009/02/meester-amerkia-new-all-american.html  (listen to “A Little Love in Big Manhattan”)

http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2009/0211/front_page/006.html

So, any of you in the New York City area, go and see it!  It really is a wonderful show, with great music and great performances by a cast that has several Broadway actors.

Technorati Tags: Meester Amerika, Garage Theatre Group, Teaneck, Becton Theatre, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Jennifer Berman, Artie Bressler, Michael Colby, musical

There's Hope for Us Old Folks

The winner of Best in Show for the 133rd Annual Westminster Dog Show here at Madison Square Garden set a record. Stump, a ten year old Sussex Spaniel who came out of retirement to compete, is the oldest dog to win Best in Show in this event's 133 year history.

It's comparable to Michael Jordan coming out of retirement to lead his team in winning the NBA championship. 

So for those of you who are still pursuing big goals late in life, take heart.  You have Stump to look to as an example of it "never being too late to achieve your dreams."

Technorati Tags: Westminster Dog Show, Stump, Michael Jordan, NBA

Chicken with an Impressive Amount of Garlic

While my blogging partner has been busy ranting about the economy and the weather and Obamawama’s Blackberry, I—I—I have been derelict.

To atone for my silence on this blog, I now will share with you my Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic recipe. Ever notice how that dish is always called Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic or Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic and not Chicken with 39 Cloves of Garlic? Are people supposed to be impressed by round numbers? The truth is that this dish could be made with any number of cloves of garlic between 25 and 99 and still be damn good.

Pay attention closely, because I’m only going to repeat this recipe once. Wait. I’m only going to say it once.

Get out a LeCreuset or Chantal covered pan. You know, the kind everyone had back in the 80s  when we all had money. Today I deployed the Chantal 2 quart soup pot in classic cobalt blue with a glass lid. This color, incidentally, was the first color Chantal marketed in the U.S.

Wash and dry a chicken. It doesn’t matter whether the chicken is whole, halved, in pieces, with the skin on, or skinless. It could even be a Cornish game hen. Pouring some olive oil in the pan, brown the chicken slightly. Well, maybe until it’s golden, which wouldn’t really be brown, now would it? Chop up some celery, maybe six or eight ribs, depending upon how much celery you’ve got, how long the celery’s been hanging around in the refrigerator, how much chicken you’re cooking, and how much everyone likes celery. Throw that into the pan, making a bed underneath the chicken. Add peeled garlic, over, under, and around the chicken. Pluck some thyme and a couple of branches of rosemary from the garden, and place that over the chicken.

Now, here’s where some real decision-making comes into play: whether to settle for lemon or juice it up with Noilly Prat or Cinzano Extra Seco. I like cooking with dry vermouth, because the stuff’s got the shelf life of a Hostess Twinkie and all of the spices and herbs are already added. Think of it as an elegant form of Lipton’s onion soup or Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup or whatever the proletariat’s using these days. Just a few splashes will be sufficient. Cover and bake at around 325 F. until it’s done. You’ll know it’s done when the garlic is soft, buttery and sweet. While you’re waiting, bask in the wonderfully seductive aromas of garlic.

Oh, and if you’re ever in need of a most excellent chili recipe, go to Dallas personal injury lawyer Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D. blog.

Technorati Tags: chicken with garlic, comfort food

Undeclared Eggplant

Seems a fellow flying into Australia on a ten hour flight from Dubai was caught with two pigeons hid in his pants . . . . screeeeech . . . .  wait a minute!  Stop the presses!  Did you say a man carried two pigeons in his pants for ten hours?

Yes, really, truly.  Check out the report on MSNBC if you don't believe me.  They even have a photo of the two wittle birdies stuffed in the socks on this guy's hairy legs.  Mebbe you don't want to look.

How do you carry two pigeons in your pants for TEN HOURS?  And how did this man respond when the customs agent asked, "Is that a pigeon in your pants or are you just glad to see me?"

The tip off came when they found two eggs in his luggage.  Seems this man had completely slid off the edge as a result of his feathered friend compulsion.

And there's more:

Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared eggplant.

An "undeclared eggplant?"  Don't you see the utter insanity of this guy?  Eggplants are vegetables (wait, I stand corrected, Wikipedia says that they are a fruit), but he attempted to smuggle into Australia the one fruit with "egg" in its name!

Technorati Tags: pigeon, smuggle, eggplant, Australia, Dubai

Snow in NYC

A gentle snow has been falling all day on the streets and buildings of NYC, as the good people of this City go trudging on their way.  It looks like we're getting a real snow storm for a change. 

I've got a closing to attend tomorrow in Manhattan, but the snow rarely gets very bad - we usually can get around our island without much difficulty no matter how severe the weather gets - so I'm not worried.  As a kid I celebrated every time a snow day was called.  I knew that I had the whole day off to have fun in the snow until I was tired and wet.

Technorati Tags: snow, NYC

SAS Scoops the NY Times

Check out the article in today's New York Times entitled "A New Symbol of Elite Access: E-Mail to the Chief," which discusses the special status that comes along with having President Obama's new email address.  This all may have a ring of familiarity to SAS readers, since I discussed this in my post over a week ago entitled Obama 1, Secret Service 0, where I say,

Over the next four years there certainly will be a status contest to see who can get on "The List" which will put those lucky members in direct electronic communication with the President, whether they have something important to say or not.  As a lobbyist, just knowing someone who is on the list will translate into significant consulting fees.

Maybe the Times is reading SAS posts for story ideas.

Technorati Tags: email, Obama, New York Times, status