Danger….

Even if the skies look clear, we need to stay vigilant!

CNN alerted me to this and I suggest we all beware of a coming insurrection far more grievous than the January 6th riots:

“Former President Donald Trump teased a 2024 presidential run during a rally in Texas yesterday and said he would consider pardoning those who were charged in connection with the deadly attack on the US Capitol if he wins the White House again.” CNN 5 Things newsletter.

The suggestion of a pardon for the thugs of 1/6 is tantamount to inciting them to pick up arms again.

Seriously. TFG poses a major threat to the United States of America.

He remains both a clown/buffoon and a threat to be taken seriously. DOJ should take him out and make him pay for his crimes

Me, commenting to a friend

CoStars

When the camera points the wrong way.

Redford was in both these films but let’s focus on a character actor who shared the screen with him.

Herb Edelman is the telephone man in this 1967 comedy, also starring Jane Fonda. His small scenes would steal the show if it weren’t for the scene-stealing done by Mildred Natwick and Charles Boyer.

In the 1973 romantic drama with Barbra Streisand, Edelman plays her woman-chasing boss. It’s a small role but he fleshes it out with flare and character.

Edelman plays opposite Walter Matthau and Elaine May in another Neil Simon comedy. Jane Fonda is in this one as well

He’s a cop at Oscar’s regularly scheduled poker night in the 1968 Neil Simon buddy comedy film which became a TV hit for Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.

Edelman is reunited with Jack Lemmon in a comedy-drama from 1972 that sprang from the works of James Thurber.

He again joins Matthau and Lemmon in a 1974 Billy Wilder story of life in the newsroom.

You are tasked with uncovering the names of these two films. Extra credit for naming names.

Health nuts

These crackers hold up under the burden of a hors d’oeuvre.

The gluttony industry churns out solutions to the vices of our appetites.

Following their guidance we strive for healthier resolutions. This is particularly true at this season of our year.

Food is the enemy and has to be tamed and altered. Sugar-free, low sodium, high protein are supposed to help us maintain healthy diets. The latest vogue in eating seems to be “keto” with a touch of gluten-free.

Since my fad-o-meter isn’t always linked to my fat’ometer, I simply wind up trying more of these a la mode nutriments as a rite of passage.

This brings me to today’s complaint: Gluten-free tends to be pretty tasteless and cardboardy as a rule.

While Absolutely crackers have much more flavor than expected, it’s their fragility that annoys.

Crackers are meant to support our snacks not crumble at their touch.

This means that if I go to the effort of putting a spread on a cracker, I want the cracker to stay intact under its weight.

I crave simplicity at my dinner table. Cooking for me consists of getting others to prepare even my salads. In short, I order in.

Other simplifiers are getting easy- to-eat straight-out-of-the-box meals. Simple doesn’t mean it can’t be exotic and for me vegan fare is certainly alien.

I am making my way through this craze little by little but with some indifference.

Although I may prefer a vegetable based entree, the vegan choice is one I can take or leave.

Yet veganese options abound. Tofu plays a role here but there are many far more unusual menu items. They range from non-dairy cheeses to plant-based deli just for a few possibilities.

Is all this better for my health?Will it revolutionize the food chain? Does it offer the planet a respite? Perhaps, but I don’t believe it will be universally adopted.

I have often mocked the imitation of meat as phoney baloney. In fact, I am sampling a faux hot dog which lacks the snap of the original.

It does have a certain texture and spiciness that is not unappealing. Frankly, however, it just ain’t the real dog.

Hope for the holidays

It’s 2022. Make of it what you want.

Quiet New Year’s Eves are in my personal history. No ballroom pomp, no Guy Lombardo [although I will insist on our evening with Lawrence Welk tonight], NYE was just another night.

We did not try to attend a balldrop [although my hubby did do that with first wife.] At one time, we did a theater run on a few December 31sts and suffered the inconveniences of getting home after.

On one of these occasions we huddled in a theater district hotel pre-preformance and encountered Times Square revelers coming in for a warm up on that frigid night. We did not envy them their spot in the “pens.”

After that, we stayed home, tuning in for some channel flicking and shutting off as we got sleepy. This was usually and inevitably well before the countdown to the next year.

Last night, we had the pleasure and the privilege to witness the fireworks from Central Park that brought in 2022. It was a special New Year’s at our house.