Fuck You, Penguin: A blog where I tell cute animals what's what

http://www.fupenguin.com/

Please check this out and laugh as much as I did (here at work, where I had to pretend my giggles were due to some stupidly funny query request via email).

I feel like I knew about this blog long ago and then forgot about it - the rants against how wonderful and cute animals are seem so familiar to me...

So now, once again, I am on my own. I am usually, typically on my own and used to it. But for the past two weeks I have been continuously with Others - first, the family in Washington State for the reunion and then with just my mom and dad for a few days in Oregon and then since Monday, The Texan Lasses have been by my side but they left this morning and now I'm a little blue and I'll have to get used to the "by myself" part again. SIGH.

Shall I sing the Eric Carmen song to illustrate my mood?

No, I didn't think so either.

But we did have fun, didn't we Texas? Let's see, we did our own Literary Tour of Greenwich Village, had some Israeli food and margaritas, perused the Chelsea Market and bought stuff and food and coffees and walked the High Line and then they were left to their own devices while I worked - but I met them for a tasty Thai dinner uptown on Tuesday and last night, we had BBQ WAY uptown by Fairway at 131st and 12th Avenue - turns out, that area is sort of hopping - I got a wee bit misty-eyed (not really) because I used to come up here all the time whilst at Barnard for 2 reasons - I was cheap and going the distance to Fairway was worth the trek, so I'd load up on essentials and food items and Columbia owns a building up there called Prentis and that's where Eve had her art studio and so I'd go up there and hang out (i.e. study) while she worked on her senior project. What this really means is that she'd sculpt or look at art books (maybe stolen from the Butler Stacks - we knew a trick) for 20 minutes, I'd try to read Shakespeare and Spenser and then we'd spend the next 4 hours smoking, drinking coffee, and talking and thinking that we were cool.

And we were.

So anyway - I feel both good because I've had such a happy two weeks - and then sad because it's all over and my Dear Little Buddy is gone and who's going to laugh at me when I act silly the way she does and now there's nothing to look forward to.

Hrumph. Bah. How about a rousing rendition of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)"?

Fine then.

Who knows though...perhaps something good and supercool is peeking out at me just around the corner and sticking its tongue out at me and I've got blinders on...so let's wait and see and slap on a happy face nonetheless - we shall fake it til you make it.

I'm back and I do declare...

our family reunion to be a success!! Total triumph!! I forgot to say goodbye here on dear bloggie before I left on July 24th but since my audience is really just my family, they all knew where to find me!!

Here are some of my fave shots from Snow White's collection (so far..other incriminating evidence has yet to surface so stay tuned!)

Aw, the Family Drinking Game!! Funnily enough, my dad was the best at it... hmmm...

The entertainment portion of our week - yes, my father is dressed up as Susan Boyle and yes, he makes quite the ugly woman!! I think he's okay with that!

All of us!!!

Drunken troll dolls!!!

I'm as warm as honey in the sun for you...

Earworms Have Attacked!!! Here they are to get YOU - go watch the videos on YouTube or listen on the links below or SOMETHING!!!

Honey in the Sun - Camera Obscura
"I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew but it's as warm as saxophones and honey in the sun for you..."

Black Cab - Jens Lekman

Oh no, God damn
I missed the last train
I killed the party again
God damn,
God damn
I want to sleep in my bed
I want to clean up my head
Don't want to look this dead
Don't want to feel this dread
I killed the party again
I ruined it for my friends
"Well, you're so silent, Jens"
Well, maybe I am, maybe I am

The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman

You've got so much to live for, little sister
You've got so much to live for
But sister, it's the opposite of hallelujah
it's the opposite of being you
you don't know cause it just
passes right through you

You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through

Melancholy Man - The Wake

When all is said and done, my melancholy man
The sky is blue today, my melancholy man
'And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you'

As beautiful as you, my melancholy man
As beautiful as you...

Recipe of the Week:Asian Slaw

Well, I've slacked on this quite a bit but since I had the flu the whole month of June, I really didn't cook much except Mrs Grass' Chicken Noodle Soup and toast. But - I'm getting back my typical vim and vigor (not due to any sort of Vitameatavegamin substance either) so last week I baked a MOST wonderful chocolate cake - all homemade - for my favorite co-worker's birthday - but I shall not post the recipe here as I want to keep my secrets secret. Let them all wonder what I did to make the cake so moist, the frosting so wonderfully cocoa-delicious and pudding-like. Let them eat cake!

But I will post what I've been eating pretty much non-stop since Saturday afternoon and that would be Asian Slaw. I made a huge batch of it and it was so tasty, every time I got peckish, I said "hmm, maybe just a forkful" and then a bowl and then it was my dinner and you can see how it continued from there - it really is that good! I sort of added more of "stuff" as I saw fit - so go by taste for sure.

Makes 8 servings
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 small head of napa cabbage
1 cup of shredded carrots (I just used my peeler and peeled short strips right into the bowl)
1 cup basil leaves, sliced into thin ribbons
8 oz sugar snap peas
1/3 cup of rice vinegar
2 TB soy sauce (I used teriyaki)
1 TB sugar
2 TS sesame oil (I definitely used a bit more since I LOVE the way it smells and tastes)
1/4 TS salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Toast the almonds in a skillet over low heat until browned and then put them aside in a separate container.

Trim cabbage and cut lengthwise into quarters and then into thin shreds and put in a large bowl. Add carrots, basil, and peas and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, soy/teriyaki, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Then slowly whisk in vegetable oil until it comes together then toss with the veggies.

I kept the almonds separate, sprinkling on top of my individual portions as I ate them because I thought leaving them in the big bowl would make them less crunchy - but if you are serving it all immediately, toss them in and eat!

I think too you should make this ahead of time to let all the flavors come together - it tasted yummy right away, but you know, if you let it marinate a bit, it's just that much more...yummy!

Well Done Cloris Leachman!!

The lady is 83 years young - and I know this has been Photoshopped to some degree but even still, kudos to you for looking awesome...

(from the Huffington Post)

In Touch: Well, you look incredible -- what's your secret?

Cloris: It's from making the right decisions. I always wanted to be healthy and look good. I taught myself in my mid thirties about eating right. I actually became a vegetarian at 35. Eating right really is the secret.

In Touch: What's the best diet tip you've ever heard?

Cloris: Well, if you brush your teeth, you don't want to eat something right after because your mouth feels so fresh. So brushing your teeth actually prevents you from eating until later.

Funny Train Moment

So I'm on my way to work and I'm holding onto one of the poles by the door and there's a guy standing next to me, intently reading his book, but not holding on. At Grand Central, I spy him out of the corner of my eye reaching out with one hand - totally not looking - eyes completely on his book, and before I can move, he grabs my head, hard. I pull away in dismay and he smiles and starts to chuckle:

"I guess I thought your head was the pole"

I get that a lot actually.

My round, big head is very pole-like.

Get out of your personal bubble, people! Pay attention! Don't grab my head and get your fingers stuck in my hair! I don't know where that hand has been!!

Jeez!

La Catrina Mariposa

I meant to post these pics when I returned from The Texas Trip so that my mom could see what I was talking about when I told her how much I coveted (and then of course bought) this catrina doll. I've named her Mariposa, as Milette was with me when I bought her and she told me with some certainty " her name begins with an M, I'm sure of it, something like Mari..." and I came to Mariposa - Spanish for butterfly - so you know the whole Life/Death/Rebirth thing. Perfecto!

I like how first, you might go up to her, as she sits on her chair (purchased especially for her to sit upon) and you just think you are conversing with a fancy lady, all glittery and feathery.



She beckons you to come closer and as you lean in, perhaps to tell her a secret or share some gossip, you silently scream and freeze in horror because you realize...

- she is a skeleton lady!!!

And while I'm at it, a most Happy Friday to you all - today has been a good day - I had a Blockheads lunch with The Bushwick Bird and Her Hubby and then was suprised by a "thank you" piece of cake when I returned to my desk, all to cap off a good week, the first one I've had in over a month, I do believe. So thanks to all those who participated in making ME smile.

My Office Garden

Is it the water in the pipes here at 1 Park Avenue? Is it the air? Is it my massive windows that let in humongous amounts of sunlight? I'm betting on the latter, because my office greenery is growing like crazy and I just wanted to share. I get NO sunlight in my apartment - just a bit in my kitchen - so I decided to plant some basil here and look at it go!!



It seems to like being sandwiched between the warmth of my printer and the window light. It smells fantastic too and I keep getting jokes about when am I going to start up tomatoes too. Yes, and perhaps I could also let a water buffalo graze next to my desk so I can milk it, create mozzarella and make a daily Insalata Caprese!

I also started nasturtiums from seed and for a long while I only got leaves - they are pretty though and growing long and ivy-like and I was pleased with the result. But I came in this Monday morning and look what greeted me:



Surprise! Its first flower. Of course - since I read into things - I took it as an omen of good things to come...

I read this poem on the Writer's Almanac today and it made me remember that you need to:

1. treasure your gifts - however small
2. be grateful for them, ALWAYS

The Place I Want To Get Back To

is where
in the pinewoods
in the moments between
the darkness

and first light
two deer
came walking down the hill
and when they saw me

they said to each other, okay,
this one is okay,
let's see who she is
and why she is sitting

on the ground like that,
so quiet, as if
asleep, or in a dream,
but, anyway, harmless;

and so they came
on their slender legs
and gazed upon me
not unlike the way

I go out to the dunes and look
and look and look
into the faces of the flowers;
and then one of them leaned forward

and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life
bring to me that could exceed
that brief moment?
For twenty years

I have gone every day to the same woods,
not waiting, exactly, just lingering.
Such gifts, bestowed,
can't be repeated.

If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.

-Mary Oliver

Another luverly song by Emily Arin

So one of the songs I got from Emily this month is gorgeous and quiet and made me smile - and as usual, she writes in her emails a little bit about the songs. Here's what she explained about Lyle:

"On a rainy evening last Fall, I was walking down the dark and empty Main Street in Montour Falls feeling a little blue. A block from where I was living at the time is a small, two-story apartment building with four street-facing windows. One of them was lit up that night with a soft-glowing porcelain lamp. It was my friend Lyle’s apartment. Something about the light coming from his window put me at ease and reassured me that my loneliness would soon pass.

I’ve been friends with Lyle, a devout man in his sixties, for a couple years and have found, no matter the stress he faces, he manages to give of himself most days—bearing a smile and a helping hand (and often trinkets as well).

I told him I wanted to write a song about him and for him, which he welcomed. Over coffee he told me stories of his life growing up with nine siblings in Valois, a town about 15 miles north of Montour Falls. Many of the details he shared were surprising and wonderful—his Aunt Ruth who could pick strawberries two to his one; naming his cat Lindsay in memory of a girl he went to church with when he was a boy; waking every weekday before dawn for 17 years to walk to his job in Montour Falls as building & grounds keeper for the Rural Urban Center; giving gas money to patrons of the local bars for a ride home every night…

His stories are remarkable. But the reason I felt so soothed by his light shining in the window that night is because it was the perfect symbol of his presence in the world—a man choosing to keep his light turned on."

-Emily Arin

So go and listen to it here by scrolling through the player at the bottom - it's the 2nd song:

Lyle's Light Was On
I kept walking alone through the rain
My tears mixed with the weather
I kept walking alone through the rain
But the image of Lyle's light grew
And I knew there was something he knew

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
I'm gonna let it shine all the time
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
I'm gonna let it shine all the time

Here's a man with some stories to tell
Still he sees it real simple
Here's a man with some stories to tell
And though he's felt the heartache too
He says the sky is the only thing that should stay blue

Once a butterfly followed him home
Through the woods for an hour
Once a butterfly followed him home
And it made his heart feel light
And he knew from that day it would all be alright

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
I'm gonna let it shine all the time
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
I'm gonna let it shine all the time