Revenge Fantasy

Do you have Olympic fever yet? I really don’t. I think I’m more of a summer games kind of gal.

Anyway, we watched Inglorious Basterds this weekend. I thought it was good. There were two things I really liked about it. One, it feels like a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. I like that you can see how Quentin Tarantino has progressed as a filmmaker. His ability to heighten the tension in a scene is really matched by only a few living directors. Two, I think the use of subtitles is truly landmark and different languages. Usually in war movies, everyone speaks English: German, French, British, American — it doesn’t matter, the American filmgoer just needs to understand them. In this, there’s a reason why people revert to English, which makes everything that much more believable. Brad Pitt is kind of a weak link but he’s tolerable. It’s worth seeing but I don’t think it’s picture of the year. It would be nice if he won for original screenplay, though.

Friendly Reminder

We’re about halfway through winter (I know, don’t remind us) and now would be a good time to wash any winter jackets that need washing, especially your kids’. Do it while they sleep so it will be dry by the morning. And spray some stain remover around the wrists, where it’s sure to be grimy from all the wear and tear this winter. They’ll wake up to a fresher, cleaner, less germy jacket. And so will you.

Etc.

Well NYC was just through rejoicing in the fact that the huge storm Friday night missed us, and now it seems like we will get hit Tuesday night with at least a foot of white stuff. Blech! So not into it. Where is global warming when you need it?

The Empire State Building is yellow tonight for the Saints’ victory. And apparently Letterman wanted Conan in the Superbowl ad as well, but Coco couldn’t make it work.

Hope your Monday got you kickstarted in the right direction. I for one am remaining POSITIVE for the week! I highly recommend it.

Greatest Superbowl Ad EVER

I mean, come on. Is this genius or what?!

Just the logistics alone of what needed to happen to pull this off are amazing. And the subtext? AWESOME.

The NY Times has a piece about how it all came together here. I love that Dave wrote it himself.

Empire State of Mind

The Empire State Building last night and tonight divided its loyalties with its lights — 2 sides are lit for the Saints, and 2 sides for the Colts. I wonder if it will change right when the game is over. Maybe I’ll wait for the end of the game to post this and see what happens…(Note: they did not change the colors to all yellow and white when the Saints won.)

We had a Superbowl party here and it reminded me how easy it is for the calories to add up with snacky party food. Some things you can do to combat the bulge? Stick to baked chips. Yeah, they might not taste as good, but when you’re piling them high with 7 layer dip, you won’t notice. You can also do half and half — mix regular and baked chips, so at least you cut down a little. And for a dip that’s lower in fat, take a 16 ounce container of light sour cream and mix it with a packet of dry onion soup mix. Put it in the fridge for about an hour to set. Serve with chips and cut up vegetables — it’s particularly good on raw broccoli and cucumbers. Which is another great tip — veggies sub for chips quite nicely, especially with hummus. With minor adjustments, you can graze without the guilt.

Etc.

Another jam-packed, fun weekend for all. Austin had a really great time at a birthday party on Saturday at Carnival on University, which is essentially a carnival for kids with all kinds of games, a dunk tank, and lots and lots of candy. He came home with bucket loads: pixi sticks, fun dip, lemon heads, maryjanes, etc. I didn’t even know it was there — upstairs from Bowlmor. Apparently by night it turns into a nightclub, and I can see the appeal. Austin was particularly good at the game where you aim your water gun in the clown’s mouth and try to fill and pop your balloon first.

We hit Otto Saturday night, which was packed before 6pm (in New York City, that’s crazy). It was the first time Addison refused a high chair and she seemed like such a big kid at the table, eating her pizza and gelato. Austin was telling us who all his friends were at school. He ommitted one kid — I’ll call him Andy for the sake of this story — and we asked why. “He lies to me sometimes.” “How do you know he lies?” I asked. “Well,” he said, pondering what he was about to say, “is it possible to eat a dead baby tiger?” I almost spit my food out I laughed so hard. “See, he tells me stuff like that,” Austin explained about Andy. Too funny.

Hope you had a groovy weekend.

Springtime for Milly

I’m not a huge gift with purchase fan, because I think most of the time you get a bunch of little crap that you’ll never use. But if you do need anything from Clinique, I love that they’ve teamed up with Milly to create a fresh, springtime makeup bag to go along with all the sample sizes of the makeup, i.e. all the little crap that will probably take up space in your bathroom for a while until you finally get the motivation to toss it. If you spend $25 on Clinique at Bloomingdales, you’ll get this lovely makeup bag that you actually will use. Love that! Check it out at a store near you (except for Chicago because weirdly I just noticed that it’s not available in their Chicago stores) or get it online here.

Could It Be Time For The Single of the Week Already?

Why, yes it could.And not a moment too soon. Here’s Ken:

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been playing this nonstop in my office. Each day without fail, at about hour 3, a unicorn comes in to dance. The sun breaks out of the clouds and my desk is filled with glittery cupcakes made out of puppy love and magic. Seize the sound:

Listen to the craziness here.

Etc.

Had a girls night out with a dozen moms from Austin’s nursery school class last year. We had a fun dinner at Ruby Foo’s and then saw A View From The Bridge with Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber on Broadway. It was great to catch up with everyone now that most of our kids have dispersed to different schools for kindergarten. I’ll have my review of the show next week…

So excited for the weekend! Love to spend time with the kiddles…in the snow! Enjoy!

YSL Chic

I feel like there should be a new ticket for people who don’t let people off subways and elevators  before getting on. The ticket just says “RUDE” in huge red letters…

Oooo...juicy!

I am really into this Yves Saint Laurent lipstick I got recently. The gold case is rather chic and the lipstick itself is sheer while still giving coverage. So you get a pretty color without it being too thick and gummy. It’s called Gloss Volupte, and I am crushing on #4, Frosted Plum, which is kind of a sheer, plummy shine. It looks great with greys and navy blue. The best part about it is it has this tropical-ish smell that somehow makes you feel sunnier when you put it on. It has an SPF 9, which I guess is better than nothing.

The best YSL make-up counter I have found is the one at Lord and Taylor on Fifth Avenue.  They always have stuff in stock, and there is a petite blond woman who works there by day who is extremely helpful and truly understands customer service. I had been in there in August when I bought a particular shade to wear to my birthday party, and then I was there in December, and she remembered me, the shade I had bought and asked me how my birthday was! If you can’t make it there, you can buy it here. It’ll set you back $30.

Beet-iful

Recently I wrote about the ten foods we should all be eating more of, with beets being one of them. I remarked how much I don’t like them. Liz wrote in with this salad, which she swears is delicious:

Beet, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad

Boil the beets until fork tender. Put under running water and peel skin off. Julienne.

Combine a couple of handfuls of arugula, julienned beets and crumbled goat cheese. Any percentage of the above ingredients that you like.

Dress to taste with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and coarsely cracked black pepper.

(toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds, optional)

Enjoy!

Etc.

Thanks Liz, I’ll have to try it.

I was insanely busy today but I had a lunch meeting where we actually went out of the office to a sushi restaurant and it does make the day a little brighter, so you don’t have to eat at your desk. Yesterday I scarfed a turkey sub from Subway down in between meetings and felt a little spent by the time I got home at 8:15pm. Just goes to show you that Italy does it right — no one there ever eats at their desk. They think we’re a little barbaric that way — they could be correct.

My children are truly hilarious sometimes. Our nanny lives in Queens and apparently yesterday Addison, who’s 2, drew her a picture, handed it to her and said, “Take this to your husband in Queens.” So funny.

Hope all is well!

O is for Oscar

I was grating parmesan cheese over the pasta I made for dinner and somehow managed to grate my right thumb — ouch! It is killing me.

Who will take one home?

Anyway, this morning the Oscar nominations were announced and lo and behold, once again I was not among the nominees. Maybe if I worked on a movie, that would up my chances.

That aside, some people had a very fine morning and found themselves on the Academy’s shortlist. There weren’t too many surprises — I guess Maggie Gyllenhaal for supporting actress was one. I once saw her at brunch at Pastis — it was kind of shocking how not glamorous she was. Like, I went to high school with people who were better looking. (I’m not sure if that says something about her or my high school.)

My predictions? For supporting actress, I think Mo’Nique from Precious is a lock, as is Christoph Waltz from Inglorious Basterds for supporting actor. For best actress, they’ll give it to Sandra Bullock. She’s had kind of a fairytale year and I think the industry genuinely likes her. And let’s not kid ourselves, the Oscars are little more than a popularity contest. For best actor, much as I’d like George Clooney to win, I think they give it to Jeff Bridges. Adapted screenplay will go to the Up In The Air folks, mainly because it won’t win much of anything else, and original will go to The Hurt Locker (which is apparently that guy’s first-ever script). Best director is an interesting showdown between The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow and Avatar’s James Cameron, who used to be married (!)…I don’t know, I think it goes James’ way since they say he has changed the face of moviemaking, but I could see that going either way. And for best picture? I think Hurt Locker will trump Avatar. Too many people thought Avatar’s storyline was weak.

But we’ll see how it all pans out on March 7th, when the awards air live on ABC with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as hosts.

Here’s the full on list if you want to check it out:

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neil Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci, In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, Up
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Best Foreign Film
Ajami
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
The Milk of Sorrow
A Prophet
The White Ribbon

Best Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Best Original Score
Avatar, James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer
Up, Michael Giacchino

Best Original Song
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from Nine, Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Best Documentary Feature
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Best Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit a la Berlin

Best Film Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Best Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Best Animated Short Film
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live-Action Short Film
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Etc.

Don’t you hate when you can sleep in and yet your mind and/or body won’t let you sleep in? That keeps happening to me. Such a drag.

I pulled my neck in pilates this morning and I can’t turn my head all the way to the left. When I told my instructor she said it wasn’t really coming from my neck and showed me a stretch with both hands clasped behind my back and pulling my shoulders done. This does alleviate the pain but once I stop the stretch it comes right back. But it is interesting that sometimes what you think is causing the pain is really just a byproduct of a bigger problem.

Is it the weekend yet???

And finally, where is Gossip Girl?? It hasn’t been on in over two months.

Tim Burton Comes Alive

Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas

The Museum of Modern Art always has something to see — sometimes we just go up to hang out in the sculpture garden. Right now there’s an exhibit that’s worth making the trek for, with the kids: Tim Burton. The groundbreaking filmmaker gets a wonderful exhibit of his drawings, animation work, costumes from his films, models, paintings, props — it’s really a detailed glimpse into his mind and work. And his visions started at a young age! They have his notebooks from school, complete with essays and doodles. Whether you’ve seen any of his movies or not, it’s a comprehensive look at the archives of one of the great pop culture minds of our time. Kids love all the colors and whimsical drawings and sculptures. There are sites for the little ones to have mini-screenings of some of his work, which keeps them occupied as well. It’s creatively interesting and inspiring — and a perfect way to spend a frigid winter afternoon. Check it out before his 3-D Alice in Wonderland hits theaters.

For lunch, check out the Cafe on 2. It’s rather sophisticated and tasty for a museum cafe, but they do have kids meals. And don’t forget: members get 10% off!

Runs til April 26th — unless you’re a museum member, timed tickets are necessary for the exhibit since the gallery has limited capacity. For more info, go here.

Etc.

I just watched Beyonce’s 60 Minutes interview where she claimed she and her husband Jay-Z have no ego. Come on! It is impossible to stand up there in front of thousands of people and perform with no ego. Impossible.

They said she makes $80 million a year. Then they profiled the snowboarder Shaun White who they said makes $10 million a year. That’s a lot of dough.

I make far, far less than either of them. And I must get up tomorrow and make it happen. So I’ll see you then.

Spring Has Sprouted

Dear Gap and Banana Republic –

You know who looks good in cargo pants? No one.

It’s so weird that every spring I feel like they try to force this crappy look on a doesn’t-know-better public.

How about some navy pants?

Yes, even though it’s below freezing out, spring looks are coming out. The big color is going to be…navy blue! I’m kind of into it. I like it with white and even gray — I think it looks crisp. I bought a navy blazer and a white and blue striped shirt to wear together. I’m thinking about getting navy pants. I even like some blacks and blues together. I used to hate that — I thought it looked like the person was color blind — but now I’m more tolerant in my old age. Taupe and navy has a nice look to it too. It somehow feels fresher than the same old same old black. And light khakis with navy can take you through the whole spring and summer.

I also realized on my short shopping trip today that I am sick of seeing winter clothes on sale — it’s depressing already. It just feels like the dregs of fashion. Move ‘em out and let’s get on with the new. Everyone needs a fresh start in 2010.

New Restaurant

We went out with some friends last night – it was odd out because I felt like the cold kept people off the streets. But the new restaurant we tried was packed: Choptank. I like the vibe, and they try to keep the prices reasonable. Our waitress was a little flaky and I swear they gave me regular not decaf coffee, causing me to be up until past 1am, but I can’t prove it. The food was good — I recommend the oyster po’ boy and the peel and eat shrimp. The dessert selection needs to be broadened a bit, but the banana bread pudding was pretty tasty. All in all a lovely evening out! (308-310 Bleecker, between Grove and 7th Avenue)

Etc.

I really like Beyonce. I think she’s an amazing performer. But tonight on the Grammys she is somehow too blond and not right singing Alanis Morissette’s song. Leave the angst to Alanis and just groove.

We did a lot of entertaining this weekend, which was fun, especially because it was so cold out. Larry, Gena, Sydney, Sabrina, Paige and Rachel came over for an afternoon of bagels and lox. It was nice to see them, and it made me happy my kids are both out of diapers! Then my friend Ilene was here from Phoenix. It was great to see her — she brought a lovely raspberry and lemon tart over from Citarella. The kids gobbled it up! Then tonight we did a massive dinner with all of our buddies from Family Time at the Y.

Another jam-packed weekend, full of good times. Hope yours was as well!

C Ya J.D.

Given that J.D. Salinger died today at the age of 91, I thought it only right to recommend Catcher in the Rye. Even if you read it back in high school, it’s worth picking up again to see how masterfully he captured the role of disaffected youth in Holden Caulfield. From the first line, you get exactly the kind of character he’s going to be:

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.”

The theme of teenage alienation rings as true today as it did in 1951, when he wrote the book. Classic indeed.

That Sucks

Well this is a bummer — apparently Bryan Batt, who plays the closeted Sal on Mad Men, has not been contacted to return for any more episodes this upcoming season. That stinks! He was great in that role. I guess creator Matthew Weiner feels like it’s realistic that he would have been fired for being gay. Oh well…never say never, I guess. He wasn’t whacked.

Did you hear about the woman who lost her balance and fell into a Picasso at the Met last week, tearing it? Can you imagine?! Apparently the museum thinks it can repair it. So crazy. Talk about embarrassing!

Ken’s Single of the Week

Nobody plays Bach like Glenn Gould. It’s well-known that Gould’s idiosyncratic interpretations of Bach’s English Suites, Well-Tempered Clavier, Goldberg Variations and others discombobulate some purists (the tempo, the phrasing, all that staccato!). But to me, taking away some of that self-reinfocing logic from these pieces decalcifies them, and brings them to life. Take thine stick out of thine arses!

Save On

If you have a Banana Republic, Gap or Old Navy credit card, this weekend you can save 25% in any of those stores when you use it. Online, just enter MYCARD25 when you checkout.

Etc.

The weekends cannot come soon enough, right?

Last night I was commenting on Obama taking the Supreme Court to task and Alito shaking his head…right after the speech, someone had already segregated that moment on YouTube. I guess Alito mouthed “not true” to what Obama said. Now it’s everywhere — check it out here. Give it a rest, Sammy.

The John and Elizabeth Edwards split, while not unexpected, seems really sad, no? I feel bad for their children.

Be good!

ABC, Easy As 123…

I am watching President Obama’s State of the Titanic…I mean Union. Who the heck wants that job?! Anyway I may interject with some comments on the proceedings…

Today let’s talk about phonics. We found a great video for teaching the alphabet and letter sounds to little ones — Leap Frog’s Letter Factory. It says it’s for ages 2 – 5, and I would concur. I really think it taught Austin his alphabet and helped him master the different sounds. The little frog Tad joins wacky Professor Quigley to explore all the letters of the alphabet. The J’s are jumping on trampolines; the K’s are practicing karate kicks. The song is really catchy — we still sing it some 3 years later: “The A’s say, ‘ah,’ the A’s say ‘ah,’ every letter makes a sound, the A’s say ‘ah.’”

At about half an hour long, it’s just the right length to keep little ones’ attentions. I think there are a lot of videos that claim to be educational, but I can attest firsthand that this helped my son learn his alphabet and sounds at two years old. And now that he’s in kindergarten and reading and writing, I think it was a great foundation.

You can find it wherever you buy videos, or check it out here. It’s a great gift, too!

Random

OK — great Obama moment — “Even if you disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on global warming,” — ha ha. What is wrong with these people?

Apparently this season will be Ugly Betty’s last. ABC has cancelled it. My kids will be sad!

I am rehabbing my toes — you might want to as well. If you’re at all like me, I keep nail polish on my toes for the great majority of the year. But it dries the nails out and I think it’s good to let them breathe for a couple of months in the winter when most toes don’t see the light of day. So until we head south for a beach vacation in March, my tootsies will be growing out.

I am so glad that Obama called out the Supreme Court for their stupid activist ruling that corporations are people and should be able to give freely to political candidates and fund campaigns. They went against years and years of judicial precedence. We should all be afraid. Justice Alito has some nerve shaking his head.

Etc.

It’s going to get bitter cold in the next couple of days. Back to my super warm Cole Haan coat I bought this year!

Well Washington, America has a lot of problems. People need jobs. Kids need education. Citizens need healthcare. So let’s get it together. We’re all counting on you.

Sooo Juicy!

Today’s recommendation is for a book that I have only read excerpts of so far, but if you are at all interested in politics or power, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin seems like a must-read. Somehow, from a race that was written about ad infinitum, these two reporters from New York and Time seem to have found fresh dirt, from amazing sources. One of the parts I read was about John Edwards and his indiscretions. After it was starting to get out that he was having an affair, he yells at his staffer, “Why didn’t you come to me like a fucking man and tell me to stop fucking her?” The best part is that this staffer did try to get him to cut it out, but he wouldn’t listen. Then, Elizabeth Edwards, who aides say is the total opposite of what her public persona is, called a staffer in the middle of the night and screamed, “Get me out of here! I’m not campaigning for this asshole another day.” Good stuff, right?! There are a couple of conversations between the Clintons that are verbatim, which means that clearly one of them was an unnamed source for the book. Juicy, I tell you! It’s the number one selling book in the country right now. I think I’m going to wait for the paperback, but you can buy it here.

Etc.

Will Arnett is hilarious. He was on Letterman last week and told a great story about giving his kid a Dorito. He and Amy Poehler (his wife) must be great together.

Are you having a good week? Hope so!