Heatwave Play Date

With the temps SOARING up to 18º , and David's dyer breaking, Koda and his pals get some much needed outdoor romping time.

I'm out of here

No flights into the zombie ice ridden City too busy to hate or de-ice, the airlines worked with Neil and on this 4th try let him fly into Greenville/Spartenburg, which is really closer to their final destination.

In defense of my home town.....

" A few inches of snow ".... but that is not , at least from what I am reading/hearing - is not what it was. It was a good coating of hard slippery ice. Which if it were on the roads here would been just as much of a head ache. Add into the mix that Atlanta and all Southerners are just not used to this sort of thing the epic traffic jam that happened was just inevitable. Hindsight being 20/20 , yes - school should have been called off for the day, but let's factor in some tiger mom outrage if no snow had come. Other than that, the Governor and Mayor being blamed for private businesses all letting out at the same time is ridiculous.

I've been reading a lot about how Atlanta should have pre treated the roads which is something I don't think even happens here in Lower Ontario. I could be wrong, but we never see the trucks out before it starts snowing.... I'm not exactly sure what they would do... snow or ice falling on salt or sand is still going to be salt or ice.... and no one can drive on ice.

Snow Jam 2014 : Mendon Edition

Atlanta seems to be coming back from the brink of the cannibal apocalypse and I still have a computer! Neil had his third flight to Atlanta canceled this afternoon, right now he is flying out early early in the AM going straight to Greenville SC, much closer to his final destination. We shall see.

Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial -- "Puppy Love"

Koda gives his Atl pals a shout out

Beauty in the midst of it all...

The AJC is wall to wall STORM WATCH '14, loads of readers pics. I thought this one was beautiful, the old Cotton States Exposition there in Piedmont Park, looking at Midtown through the snow.

Jim Cantore Gets College Kid in the Groin

Blog - magaddon on hold

The snow crisis in Atlanta kept Neil at home today, flights canceled everywhere, and since I remember what it was like , I will keep my Canadian mouth shut about this.....
But it is just horrible, kids are trapped in schools, hours and hours to get home from work, and it is the whole of the deep south.

Tween the Hedges, in the Snow

don't let the door hit you.....

Life Well Lived

From the NYT : "Pete Seeger, the singer, folk-song collector and songwriter who spearheaded an American folk revival and spent a long career championing folk music as both a vital heritage and a catalyst for social change, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 94." 
( please read the rest )

So much more on YOUTUBE - just go look

Sadly and embarrassingly late to make him a personal hero, only after seeing  PBS' American Masters do his life story did I understand he was much more than the kindly old , somewhat wacky grandfather type. A true Zelig to the American progressive movement, was there for it all. 

Then just two days ago on Netflix I found this  really good film on the whole " folk revival " movement that poured out of NYC's Greenwich Village in the late 50's / early 60's . Find it if you can:

Something a little different for the big day

New Obsession

Let's just all bite the bullet and admit that Downton is really not doing it for us SO FAR this season. Really Julian - money woes again? Good lord man, we all have to worry about our taxes, we don't want to watch the Crowleys do it. And really, the flapper-esque fashions just can not hold a candle to the pre war Edwardian . I mean, we will keep watching and all - fingers crossed that it does get back on track!

BUT - as some many have said, what is coming on afterwards is just off the charts good! The BBC's Sherlock . We only started last week , I think - and this weeks was even better. As good a wedding scene as you will EVER see on tv. Just can not say enough about this show. Looking forward to being frozen in over the next few days and just jumping into the last two ( very short ) seasons.

This one is not for everyone - it is Steven Moffet and it does show at times, which is a good thing for me, neuvo Whovian that I am, but could be an acquired taste. I will say that Neil who just hates Dr. Who , likes this one. 

Blog-megeddon

Ruh -roh. Neil is off in the AM, gone for six day to teach peach and love in the hinterlands of North Carolina ( assuming that Hartsfield International Airport has not gone all The Walking Dead, what with Atlanta getting a good wallop of SNOW! tonight ) The thing for us is that with my computer gone to be with Steve Jobs, I have been using his lap top, which is now going with him on his trip . I will have the iPad and a very old lap top so hopefully I will still be able to do this.

Still in full hunker down mode here in Mendon, everything seems to be on ice. The calm slowness of deep winter. Was not all ( all ) that cold today, but very windy, and the snow is just so powdery that it just whips up into huge blowing clouds in the open fields behind out house - makes walking a little unpleasant .

SO, k+b ers ( we need to come up with a name ) let's hope for the best for the coming week as far as keeping up our daily totally one sided chat - I would miss it, if it were gone.

Movie Weekend

A very cold winter's Saturday : NOTHING better than snuggling up with Neil and Koda and just going down a movie rabbit hole.

• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Gravity
• Her
• Nebraska
• Philomena
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street *

* I have not seen WOWS, but I won't / don't want too, so crossed it off.

We started yesterday with CAPTAIN PHILLIPS , Which I thought was just ok. I mean the US Navy spend millions of dollars to save this guy, but the owners of the boat could not hire one rent a cop with a pistol?  I'm sure it's all different now, but just seemed silly to me that there was not a single fire arm on the boat.

Then watched a little movie called KEEP THE LIGHTS ON , a 2012 movie that was the darling of Sundance that year. Gay with out being about being gay. Really liked the Danish guy - love can be tough on everyone. I liked it more than Neil, it was sort of edgy and out there...

Today started with DALLAS BUYERS CLUB - which I really knew nothing at all about - sort of knew it was about AIDS but was not sure how. WOW - most impressed, I think it has moved up to my Oscar favorite above Nebraska ( mostly because Nebraska won't win ) Jaw dropping performance from Matthew McConaughey - it is between he and Christian Bale for the body metamorphosis. Jared Leto was excellent in his Golden Globe winning role. Highly recommend this one - painful , heartbreaking subject matter , but well worth it.

Tonight was THE BUTLER - which really, had some great parts to it. Excellent scenes, but just did not add up for me. Why make stupid lazy mistakes in a movie ? The Eisenhower White House in full 2014 battle gear ? surrounded by concrete barriers ? Songs out of place , just little things. I read about the real butler and many years ago LOVED , all but memorized JB West's 1973 memoir " Upstairs at the White House " , so I knew a little ( well a lot ) about the over all topic. The scenes NOT at the WH are much better than those there. It made a trazillion dollars , so if you have not seen it, give it a go - but it did not belong on the above list.

We watched HER last week - I dont think I have reviewed it for y'all. Hmmmm.. Neil liked it more than I did, and it was a very interesting , possible story - where we are going etc - but seemed not to for lack of a better phrase " flesh it out " and in the end I do believe that Scarlett Johansson becomes the Terminator.....

D.K.

Started out the day by taking Koda to the vet - for what we thought was going to be some sort of tooth ache, bad tooth - something tooth related, but turned out to be nothing. He had a very tender mouth for a few days, would not eat crunch treats or hard food - well, he did eat hard food, just not a couple of times.
Yes, I am a grossly over-protective father. Nothing is wrong with him at all and the very nice vet lady said he was by far the smartest , most well behaved, beautiful dog that , in her long long career she had ever seen.

MEET MITT !

Heeeee's back!  and just wait until you see what all you people missed just over a year ago! 

Kyle loves - LOVES campaign movies. A shocker I know. THE WAR ROOM is pretty much Citizen Kane to me. So I was first in line on our sofa tonight at NETFLIX debuted film maker Greg Whiteley's ALL ACCESS no holds barred SIX year adventure into good teeth and lots and lots of hugs, otherwise known as Romney I and II.

As much home movies about a roaming band of adorable Ewoks as a political movie, it lets you inside to see the Romeny's be self deprecating, goofy, lovable - tired, happy, sad and very well dressed. They are as much like you and me as ..... well the Romneys are like you and me. Starting with the collapse post Florida ( which was not his fault!! ) in the 2008 campaign to that dirty dirty ( and also rich , rich ) John McCain and going all the way to election night 2012, you will NEVER in your life see a more deluded butch of folks. One of the boys, Donny or Jimmy, I really can not tell them apart and the camera is at all times just right in their faces, so they look even more alike - one of the boys lets us know that in 2012 it is MITTS TURN - fade to black.

Its the afternoon of the first disastrous debate for President Obama - and the Romney's, out of their jeans and comfy clothes from campaign '08 and into some much nicer togs are worried. That Obama is a sly one and might use some of that juju on them that got him in the White House the first go round - and then BAM! WHIFF! Ka-POW - our man Mitt lands all sorts of body blows in that first debate the Mormons break out in song... You get the picture.

If, and it is sort of a big if for me, this movie is to be believed,  then no one in the Romney camp watched any tv or really read any paper , other than the Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal - UNTILL like 10 pm on election night. This really is not a political / campaign movie as much as a family sampler to pass down the the adorable omni present grand kids ( the light of Mitt's life ). At no time do you see the inner workings of GOP politics - which , again- if this is really how this happened - totally explains the real pain and shock that these folks felt in the Boston hotel room last November. They all , to the man ( well , maybe not that one that looked around while everyone else was on their knees praying ) - believed that it was 100% God's will that their Dad / Father in Law / Grandad  be President.

I am not really sure of the point of this film, if there even is one. Yes, they appear to be lovely people. Mitt is not Al Gore , made of only recycled plastic. He is a sit com dad who does goofy things like iron his shirt while wearing it, and seems to be obsessed with the constant mess that his Utah Hoards leave behind. Mrs. Romney is a beautiful, smart loving devoted wife, who - does not really seem to be all that much into this - and only goes along - well, who can argue with God. But everything this film maker tries to get us to believe, is just lost when Mitt starts to talk off the cuff. There was no magic from the Democrats, Candy Crowly did not loose this for you - or even those darn urban Ohioans. You lost because you are an out of touch super rich guy, still gaging on the silver spoon you were born with .

One story about some guy that makes guitar amps - a  small company, and Mitt tells us that this poor guy who owns this company just can not get by, because his combined tax burden is something like - 85%, and the Democrats just have NO IDEA how hard things are in America for these people. Sitting on his millions and paying 12% this comes across as harsh and shallow as any slip up he made during the , either, campaign. And this is something that they chose to put out there - 

If you have Netflixs watch it - form your own opinion. Pretty easy to know from the get go that I would not be a convert 90 min later. A crack of a curtain on a window into this mans volcanic ambition- and be ready to wipe away the crocodile tears of the best and last great white hope.

Dinner

Ham

Canned Collard Greens 

( that are really sort of good  )

Sweet Potatoes

Rice with Okra and Tomatoes*

* Ok, some of you may think this is nasty, but I thought it was really good and pretty darn clever of me! A box of Spanish Rice / Rice a Roni which calls for 2 cups or water and a can of tomatoes. INSTEAD I used a can of Okra and Tomatoes  - which also had corn, something I brought home from ATL - could not be easier and it really good. Something different!

( usa....... usa........ usa ...)

The USA Walking in outfit

I'll save any judgment on the actual uniforms (?) until I see them in the opening ceremony - ( I do sort of like the sweater - although it seems a bit more apres ski than ski ). And! the sweaters will come home still looking brand new - because the folks that have them CAN'T WEAR THEM WHILE THERE!

From the WSJ : The U.S. unveiled more of its Winter Olympic uniforms Thursday, but officials are cautioning athletes to keep theirs under wraps outside the games' venues.

A memo sent to athletes by the U.S. Olympic Committee cautions them to avoid wearing team colors too prominently in Sochi amid heightened concerns about security in the southern Russian resort town.

"The U.S. Department of State has advised that wearing conspicuous Team USA clothing in non-accredited areas may put your personal safety at greater risk,"  THE REST 

Daily Koda

 It has just been years since we have had this - if ever. This LONG stretch of bitter bitter cold ( has not been above 15º in days and going down lower this coming weeks) WITH bright bright sunshine! Mendon should be holding the Winter Games!

Getting around is not really any trouble at all, all that horrible ice from the first of the month melted during that little warm up, and now its is almost all just very light dusty snow, that crunches under your boots, too cold to melt and reform as ice. Now a little bit extreme for Koda to walk more than like a mile  - but just beautiful mornings.....

When it rains it pours.

Still bummed about the demise of my computer - I add having a stupid head cold to the mix. First one I have had in years. Nothing major, just messy and crabby. Did nothing today, slept most of it. We did cross one off our Oscar list watching Captain Phillips, which was fine, mostly. All better tomorrow and I will be back up to full blogger speed SOON!

Daily Koda

The intense cold is sticking with us - have not checked really, but I don't think we have been out of the low teens all week. Just old fashion bitter cold. Bright sun, which is rare. This was first thing yesterday morning, and the cold, clean fresh air was exactly what I needed to clear my packed in head - he wanted no part of it. Back in the house we came.

wait ... what ?

dinner

It is COLD out - hot filling soup was much needed

Sausage and Kale Soup

w/potatoes and dittalini

Did not really follow a recipe - but I think I have posted one here in the past. Finished it off with just a little bit of red wine vinegar and the tiniest hint of nutmeg.

R.E.M. World Leader Pretend

Daily Koda n pals

Snow Nose

It was David's turn to help fix my computer this afternoon - to no avail. But Koda got a good play date in! The rare pic of all four pups in one frame.

BRISK !

Just how big can these folks build their fences.....

This just absolutely gobsmacked me this morning. 85 people on the planet, you know mostly men, have equal wealth to the bottom 3.5 billion - the math just hurts your head. You have to wonder how easy those 85 heads lie each night.

dinners

Tonight

Vegan Curry

w/ potatoes, carrots and chic peas

Sunday

Pork Roast

" Smashed" New Potatoes 

w/ fried onions

Brussells Sprouts 

w/ bacon and mustard

Daily Koda

Woke up to a beautiful snowy morning today. The high temp for the next week or so was at 12:01 this morning at 31º. Going down to some pretty deep -5 ish tomorrow night, with just more and more snow. Just the way it should be in the Finger Lakes on New York in January. Slow down global warming, we need this. 

Koda as always , loves it

Had a nice romp with some of our dog pals as well.

The Horror : Day One

I'm not kidding when I tell you that the task of repairing my computer was global today. Folks from all over the planet weighing in on how to fix it, with the general response being , " damn, your computer is old !".  We thought we had a way in , only to be told " ouch! " when my Apple pal in Dubai heard that , other than being really old, I have a third party non mac keyboard, which caused him to just give up.
Wonderful Neil came up with a great plan this afternoon, only to be shot down by the computer itself. One more trick up our sleeves tomorrow with a little help from more local pals. I will keep y'all posted. You think I would have had many more hours today - what with not being able to be online and all - but I'm not there yet. Full on Keebler- Ross 1 : denial. Yes, I sat here and looked at a blank screen today. ( That is not really true - everything is still ON the computer, I just can't access the web to access the pics and music etc.)  It did not " crash" - its a long story. Either way its broke.
SCBFF Jim had to update me on TLo today. I missed all those gifs about it being the pot bowl coming up, and Chubs McJersey keeps on tumbling down with out my knowledge ( I am getting news from TELEVISION! how very 2009! )

Neil is now lost in Dexter-land on Netflix, so I get his for a bit, I will keep y'all posted.

RAGNAROK

The end of the world as we know it, as it looks like my DINOSAUR of an apple computer has gone to that farm in upstate New York... wait....
So, for a bit it will be sharing Neil's computer with him, but that puts us in the same spot we were in over the Holidays . I will just have to learn a few new things to keep y'all updated here.

Frozen Honeoye Falls

Daily Koda

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MISSED IT  :

White Dog in Snow !

Good to see the old neighborhood is keeping up it's standards!

 Back in the day, Steve and I were happy for the prostitutes because it meant no one would break into your car if they were out there. This is exactly the corner we lived on....

Daily Koda

Curiouser and Curiouser  - this wacky winter.

It is the middle of January, bright blue skies we can deal with. Not all that cold and snow free we can deal with. All three is messing with my head! Koda came downstairs and found this bright and sunny spot this morning. A very happy dog.

The remnants of the polar vortex still around us, Koda could not get down to the creek - still frozen over, even after being almost 50 .

But a beautiful afternoon for a good long walk. He had lots of free range dog, just had to get past the water...

OSCAR! OSCAR!! OSCAR !!!

BEST PICTURE

• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Gravity
• Her
• Nebraska
• Philomena
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTRESS

• Amy Adams - American Hustle
• Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock - Gravity
• Dame Judi Dench  - Philomena
• Meryl Streep  - August : Osage County

BEST ACTOR

• Christian Bale - American Hustle
• Bruce Dern -  Nebraska
• Leonardo DiCaprio - Wolf of Wall Street
• Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
• Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
• Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
• Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
• Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
• June Squibb - Nebraska

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
• Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
• Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
• Jonah Hill - Wolf of Wall Street
• Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

DIRECTOR

• David O. Russell - American Hustle
• Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
• Alexander Payne - Nebraska
• Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
• Martin Scorsese - Wolf of Wall Street   

THE REST 

Not really a single surprise in here, at all - which is ok, I guess. We have only seen three of the nine. [ Her , Nebraska and August: Osage County ] The ones from the summer will now be re-realeased , so we can have a chance. I won't see Wolf of Wall Street - just on principle, but will try and get the others in. 

Fashion-wise it is  a bit of  a mixed bag. 

Amy Adams
Vanentino Couture

This started out life with a cape, which looked FANTASTIC, but you know as soon as she and " her team " saw the perfection that was Lupita Nyog'o that it came right off. Looked much better with. You get what she is doing here, sticking with her movie persona, but  - needed more ( the cape ). Has to step up for the show.

Cate Blanchett
Armani Privé Fall 2013 Collection

Any year that Cate Blanchett is on the RC will be a winning year, and she was a close second at this years Golden Globes ( yes, I know, I never posted my round up.... ). This is just perfection - maybe should have saved it for the Oscars... Not that she can do any real wrong.

Sandra Bulloch
Prabal Gurung Pre-Fall 2014 Collection

Fashion wise, you get where our Sandy was going with this, and it is a great GG dress, just needed the belt and a steamer! 

Rounding out with Dame Judi and Empress Meryl - who are the forces of nature that they are but will not dazzle on the Red Carpet.

Supporting wise, I know nothing about Sally Hawkins - but for the others:

Jennifer Lawrence
Dior

Yeah yeah yeah - a girls got to pay the rent, and she has a contract with them and all, but this is just not her dress. Not youthful enough, and just sort of dull. Dior needs to step it up for the Oscars.

Lupita Nyong'o
Ralph Lauren

You have to feel just a tiny tiny tiny big sorry for Miss Nyong'o. As much as  you can feel sorry for a stunningly beautiful recent Yale graduate who on her first job out is nominated for an Academy Award. This over all look, dress, HER, everything is so epically stunning - that it will be hard to even come close at the Oscars. Let's hope she surprises us all, but this one is for the all time record books.

Julia Roberts

Dolce&Gabanna

At risk of all kinds of points on my gay card : I don't hate this. It would be a good look IF ( IF!!  ) the ghost of Sharon Stone were not all over that red carpet AND Ms Stone did it MUCH BETTER 16 years ago!! I like the mix up, mash up - and b/w is Julia's wheelhouse - but it is time for the pride of Smyrna to bring her full wattage star power come the big one.

June Squibb
Tadashi Shoji

Not to get all ageist here, but Ms. Sqibb is 84 yo and totally rocking the red carpet. Enjoy this ride... you look great.

The Awards Show is Sunday March 2.

The Greys of January

I know I have been a most lax blogger as of late, it is just the time of year - post holiday ,etc. The weather has not helped, it has also been grey. Nothing close to sad or depressed - yall know I don't do that sort of thing. Just the no sports, no politics , need to eat healthy , no clean snow  on and on blahs....

Will work on it. Thanks for being patient!

DINNER

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

Yes, this is an ugly photo, but I'm showing yall because this was FAST and very good. I did not really even have a recipe, so change this up as you will.

• 1 rotisserie chicken , picked clean
• 1 pablano pepper ( if you can find one, it adds a great taste ) 
• 1 jalapeno pepper ( I de-seeded mine, this is not a super HOT chili )
• 1 tablespoon cumin ( more or less to taste )
• 1 tablespoon coriander ( more or less to taste )
• 1 tablespoon chili powder ( more or less to taste )
• lets say a cup of onions diced -  I used three small ones
• a little bit of chopped carrot
• three cans of Great Northern Beans 
• minced garlic - i used three cloves
• one box ( plus i had a little bit in another box in the fridge ) of chicken stock
• grated Mexican cheese

Seems like a lot, but I had most of this at home so for me its easy. If you don't DO NOT EVER BUY SPICES at the normal grocery. Find an Indian or Asian market, you will pay much much less for them and then will have them on hand.

• chop onion and peppers and carrot and get going in a big heavy pot with a little oil - Like I always tell you, let this go - 10 min or so... 
• while that is going clean your chicken and chop garlic
• after 10 min, make a well in the cooked veg, add a drop more oil and add your garlic AND SPICES . Very important to cook out the raw taste of your spices. ( in anything you do , really .. ) just a couple of min, do not let the garlic burn. I had to add a tiny bit of water...
• open and drain your beans, BUT, keep one can out and mash with a fork to form a paste, add to the veg/spice mixture. This is your thickening agent.
• This is really all the cooking there is, now its just dumping into the pot. So add shredded chicken, beans and chicken stock. Just heat through -
• TASTE before adding any salt and pepper
• I did add a good cup of cheese to the pot right before serving to just thicken it up a little bit more, but you would not really have to ...

Serve with crushed tortilla chips and more cheese, or anything you like...

OKLAHOMA! OK! - Hugh Jackman 1998

Dominos - and not those little ones either : JUDGE STRIKES DOWN THE OKLAHOMA SAME SEX MARRIAGE BAN.

The one where , in the Winter, Kyle and Neil do something!

Our good pal Andy has some photos in an exhibition downtown, so we , here in the snowless dead of winter, left Mendon for the big city. Wore grown up cloths and everything. His photos are very nice, as was the show. Found out it is open to anyone, if you get picked. Next year : WHITE DOG IN SNOW : THE SHOW!

Kyle + the arts

Went to a little cafe up the street afterwards where I had a " peanut butter bon bon " the size of a large babies head. ( was damn good!  )

Dinner

Chicken 

w/mushrooms

Brown Rice

Okra/Tomatoes/Corn

Field Peas

Daily Koda

Mid 50's again today, total melt off. Good to be out on the trail, getting some exercise for both of us, but just weird to be all but snow free mid January. Everyone with think because of the polar vortex that it was a horrible winter or something, but so far, at least for 2014 - very mild

GOLDEN GLOBES 2014

Dinner

Steak

Salad

Movie Day

Doing what we can to get them in pre award season. This one was very special. I will write down my thoughts tomorrow.....

Daily Koda

Less than a week ago we were pure Siberia with some bone chilling wind chills - painful to even walk my dog. Today it was 55º with ice jam flooding all around the area. Dear Mother Nature, Please pic a season.....

Almost a total thaw - very odd for this part of Winter, April mud out there - and just like last week, standing water everywhere. So, if it does get cold cold cold again we are back to Mendon as hockey rink - not fun.

Snow YES! 

Ice NO!

Koda's picture is this morning when the melt was just starting, I think its pretty much all gone now.