totimundi.com Blog

March 8, 2010

2010-03-09T05:02:06Z

A crocus

2010-03-04T16:43:08Z

A crocus has blossomed. I thought that in the past they blossomed in my yard in late February, but I’m not really sure.

No curtains

2010-03-04T00:25:04Z

All the lights are on in the house next door, and there are no curtains on any of the windows. There used to be curtains. Did the people decide to clean all the curtains at the same time? Have they decided to live without curtains as many people do? Have they moved away? And is the new occupant in the house looking things over? I don’t know.

Jane Fonda on Valentine’s Day

2010-02-25T04:06:27Z

“Gag me with a spoon!”?

Jane Fonda

2010-02-25T04:06:46Z

Jane Fonda will be the narrator at a concert performance of the opera The Grapes of Wrath next month at Carnegie Hall. The audience will able to observe the results of her recent plastic surgery. She wrote on her blog on Feburary 16:

I just had some ‘work’ done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes so I decided it would be good to get a new hair cut so people will think it’s my new hair. . . . I’m writing a book about aging so I couldn’t very well NOT talk about it. It’s been 2 weeks.

Opera in the past decade

2009-12-26T01:54:39Z

“Opera improved on its glitz factor thanks to HD broadcasts and tabloid publicity, but lost sight of its artistry. Administrators and critics fostered the wholly erroneous notions that singers of the past couldn’t act and singers today could; while the jet-set demands of the international lifestyle fostered hothouse careers: the next great hope comes along, wins acclaim, oversings and fades from sight. The tenor Rolando Villazón became a poster boy for opera in the 2000s: not, alas, for his huge talent, but for singing his voice to shreds.”–Anne Midgette writing for the Washington Post about opera of the past decade

Gift cards & receipts

2009-12-23T17:23:26Z

Are you giving somebody a gift card? The Federal Trade Commission says, “Give the recipient the original receipt to verify the card’s purchase in case it is lost or stolen.”

Garrison Keillor should shut up

2009-12-18T21:04:08Z

Garrison Keillor has unpleasant things to say about Unitarians, Jews, and the people of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in his recent column. Maybe he should stay in his bigoted little hicksville where things are more to his liking.

Saving the planet?

2009-12-13T01:28:01Z

“Ditch fake Christmas trees to save planet” says an article at telegraph.co.uk. My goodness! If a few fake trees more or less are going to make or break the planet, we might as well forget about the planet and do as we please.

White House state dinner menu

2009-11-25T05:04:30Z

STATE DINNER MENU

The menu for the White House state dinner Tuesday in honor of India, prepared with the help of guest chef Marcus Samuelsson of New York’s Aquavit restaurant:

Potato and eggplant salad

White House arugula with onion seed vinaigrette

Wine: 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Modus Operandi, Napa Valley, Calif.

Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese

Wine: 2006 Riesling, Brooks “Ara,” Willamette Valley, Ore.

Roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney

Chick peas and okra

Green curry prawns

Caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut-aged basmati

Wine: 2007 Granache, Beckmen Vineyards, Santa Ynez, Calif.

Pumpkin pie tart

Pear tatin

Whipped cream and caramel sauce

Wine: Sparkling Chardonnay, Thibaut-Janisson Brut, Monticello, Va.

Petits fours and coffee

Cashew brittle

Pecan pralines

Passion fruit and vanilla geles

Chocolate-dipped fruit

Source: The White House

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I understand that Indians have dietary restrictions, but I think the White House could have come up with a better menu.

State dinner: Who’s at the head tables?

Who Is Hot And Who Was Blocked (Or Forgotten) At First White House State Dinner–huffingtonpost.com

Guest list–washingtonpost.com

Modern Flourishes as Obamas Host State Dinner–New York Times