Friday, November 26, 2010

That woman is an idiot!


In recent days, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has hintedManyobservers have argued that Palin could never win because of her embarrassing lack of expertise, knowledge, or interest in foreign policy. Her appearance on Fox News host Glenn Beck’s radio show today, captured by Oliver Willis, suggests they may be right: in her clearest language yet that she is seriously considering a run for the presidency in 2012.
CO-HOST: How would you handle a situation like the one that just developed in North Korea? [...]
PALIN: But obviously, we’ve got to stand with our North Korean allies. We’re bound to by treaty –
CO-HOST: South Korean.
PALIN: Eh, Yeah. And we’re also bound by prudence to stand with our South Korean allies, yes.
Palin misspoke, but this was hardly the first time. While malapropisms can and should be forgiven for frequent public speakers, it’s worth remembering what happened the last time America elected a candidate known for gaffes.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Castello Pomodori

As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving this year was celebrated at Castello Pomodori, the magnificent riverside home of the Contessa di Pomodori. As you can see from the photo at left the dinner was a buffet (a "new" concept for us at Thanksgiving). Eleven guests gathered for the dinner with each guest/pairing bringing something for dinner. The Contessa wowed us with a very well executed roast turkey that was exceptionally juicy (thank God), stuffing, a baked glazed ham, manicotti and a cranberry-orange relish that was excellent. She also prepared Liberace's Sticky Buns which, considering they are made with Pillsbury's Crescent Rolls, were absolutely yummy! The side dishes included potatoes gratin (Bob and Tobin), creamed onions (Sarah), green bean casserole (Susan), Brussels sprouts "hache" (Kevin), and butternut squash gratin (Frenchy). The desserts included raspberry crisp (I don't know who brought that but it looked terrific), pumpkin pie, Belgian chocolate truffles, and spice cookies (Bob , Mimi's brother from Belgium),  vegan fudge (Shana), apple pie (Mimi), and ricotta pie with raspberry sauce and fruitcake prepared by the Contessa. I must say that given the disparate foods, baking dishes,reheating requirements, distance traveling to dinner, etc., the dinner was really amazing. I would like to give an special shout-out to the Contessa for the sauce for the turkey. It was magnificent with a deep turkey flavor that really  made for a quite remarkable dinner. 

Thanks to everyone for the great time, interesting conversation and warm friendship. Keep your eyes peeled for the video to come soon.

The Day After

One of my great joys of Thanksgiving is the "Day After Sandwich". It consists (to me anyway) of white bread (not toasted), smeared with mayonnaise then cranberry sauce. Add some sliced turkey and some dressing and you have the most delicious sandwich ever! I have been know to buy sliced turkey and prepare Stove-Top stuffing just to be able to have the sandwich when the urge strikes. 

Alas, as I did not prepare Thanksgiving dinner for my family, I don't have any leftovers to make this delicious treat. Looks like I'll be making a trip to the market tonight for the fixin's.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving Eve

This year I am not required to do any preparation for Thanksgiving dinner except a side dish as we are going to the  spectacular riverside Castello Pomodoro as guests of the Contessa di Pomodori. I will make sure that I video the whole event so stay tuned for some fun. In the meantime, please enjoy the video from last year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Staff of Frenchy's House Party


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Motor Trend magazine names Chevrolet Volt "Car of the Year" and the Conservatives complain

This story has a classic stab at Rush ("Hey Juanita"... run down to Denny's and get me another couple 'o hundred Oxy's will ya?") Limbaugh. To whit:


Last week, the influential auto magazine Motor Trend announced that it had named the breakthrough plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt as its 2011 car of the year. Conservatives immediately picked up on the story and attacked Motor Trend. The magazine “awarded the Obama-approved, government-subsidized Chevrolet Volt its annual ‘Car of the Year’ appellation,” the Weekly Standard whined. Referring the federal government’s auto bailout — which turned out to be hugely beneficial for GM and the ailing industry — conservative Washington Post columnist George Will complained about the government “spending some of your money” to produce the Volt. 
 
But right-wing radio blow-hard Rush Limbaugh was perhaps the most vocal critic. The Volt has been a Limbaugh nemesis for quite some time. He even launched a campaign last August to undermine the innovative car. And this week, Limbaugh said of the Motor Trend award, “[O]f all the cars in the world, the Chevrolet Volt is the Car of the Year? Motor Trend magazine, that’s the end of them. How in the world do they have any credibility? Not one has been sold [and] the Volt is the Car of the Year.” Last week, one of the magazine’s editors, Todd Lassa, shot back at Limbaugh, noting that GM hasn’t sold any Volts “because it’s not on sale yet“:
So, Mr. Limbaugh; you didn’t enjoy your drive of our 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt? Assuming you’ve been anywhere near the biggest automotive technological breakthrough since … I don’t know, maybe the self-starter, could you even find your way to the front seat? Or are you happy attacking a car that you’ve never even seen in person? [...]

All the shouting from you or from electric car purists on the left can’t distort the fact that the Chevy Volt is, indeed, a technological breakthrough. And it’s more. It’s a technological breakthrough that many American families can use for gas-free daily commutes and well-planned vacation drives. It’s expensive for a Chevy, but many of those families will find the gasoline saved worth it. If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt. I’m sure GM would be happy to lend you one for the weekend. Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix.
Lassa also noted that the Volt isn’t some left-wing “tree hugging, Obama-supporting Government Motors” conspiracy, but was in fact conceived of well before Democrats regained control of Congress in 2006 and well before Obama began his campaign for the presidency. Lassa even points out that former GM executive “Bob Lutz, who famously decreed, ‘Global Warming is a crock of shit’ introduced the car two years before Bush gave GM its first bailout from TARP pocket change.” 

“Limbaugh’s beef with the Volt isn’t a question of automotive aesthetics or engineering,” MLive.com’s Jeff Wattrick notes. “He just doesn’t like the Volt because it’s one of them librul eel-eck-trick cars that Muslim-Socialist Obama forced on the real ‘Mericans in Detroit.”

Priceless!

***BREAKING NEWS***

I've just been informed that the Contessa di Pomodori will be making Liberace's Sticky Buns to serve at Thanksgiving! I'll have to get my tiara out of the vault for this dinner!

You may remember from an earlier post that I got the recipe from a postcard purchased at The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas. When I heard that The Contessa was going to be making these I scoured the Internet for a reference to the recipe and sure enough a great site called "Food For The Thoughtless" had the recipe, a color photo of the postcard I bought and a photo of the sticky buns as prepared. If you would like the recipe click on this link.

Holy Crimes

Cross-Posted from Joe Jervis' remarkable site, JoeMyGod.com

Over the last seven days...

Virginia: Pastor J.P. Hale sentenced to six years in prison for indecent liberties with a child.
Pennsylvania: Father Robert Timchak sentenced to six years in prison for possession of child pornography.
North Carolina: Rev. Walter Donald Bradshaw arrested for the rape of an 11 year-old girl.
South Carolina: Pastor David K. Love arrested for the murder of a parishioner.
New York: Rabbi Milton Balkany convicted of extorting $3.5M from an investment fund.
Missouri: Pastor Terry McDowell arrested for the rape of a girl he was babysitting.
Washington: Pastor Steven Welty sentenced to 26 years to life in prison on six counts of child rape and incest. His youngest victim was four years old.
Massachusetts: Father Keith LeBlanc charged with stealing $83K from his parish to pay his online porn bill.
British Columbia: Hindu priest Karam Vir charged with sexual exploitation of a child.
Virginia: Pastor Dennis Erb charged with child molestation.
Florida: Pastor Rodney McGill charged with investment fraud. From prison. Where he's serving 20 years for the same crime.
Georgia: Pastor Brian Gray charged with child molestation and burglary.
Utah: Pastor Aaron Witcher charged with eight counts of rape of underage girls.
Pennsylvania: Father Francis J. Drabiska resigns after confessing to robbing parish of undisclosed amount.
New Brunswick: Court agrees to Catholic diocese's request to shield amounts paid to victims of priest molestation.

This Week's Winner
Kenya: Pastor Marcus Ondiegi has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the rape and HIV infection of an 11 year-old orphan girl. Ondiegi had told the child's grandmother that unless he was allowed to pray over the child for one week, evil spirits would make her insane. Instead he raped the child nightly until she escaped.

Frenchy visits Anne At Night

And another entry in the continuing saga of Frenchy and Anne chatting away on WOMR.  Click here for Anne at Night with Frenchy.