You don’t want to get into a legal hassle with the National Football League by inappropriate use of their registered trademark for their championship game Sunday, preceded by other festivities that kick off (two words) today.
Did you know that groups, such as churches, cannot mention the unmentionable event by its legal name if they are sponsoring a party to watch a “professional football game” tomorrow (the only one in the world, obviously)? Nor can they charge admission for it. (I suppose they could try to get around it by calling it the Superb Owl, but that probably wouldn’t draw much of a crowd, except, perhaps, some bird watchers and a few NFL attorneys.)
All in all, approximately 125 million people worldwide will view the kickoff (one word) at 6:30PM EST Sunday.
BTW, the last name of the New York Giants player who will set up the football at that time on the kicking tee: Tynes.
Go, Giants!
Here’s a toast to glamor model and actress Christie Brinkley, celebrating her (gulp) 58th birthday today. The statuesque, 5′ 9″ blonde, for years the face of CoverGirl cosmetics, could theoretically also represent Starbucks’ new lighter blonde roasted coffee blend.
A local, male Starbucks barista (who is not blond) complained to me the other day that now every joker guy in town is walking into his location and boasting: “I’ll take a tall blonde, please.”
The Atlanta Freelance Writer had to take a deep breath and expel it this morning after reading this article about New York City schools: “They have trouble with spelling, grammar and showing up to class on time — and we’re not talking about the students. The city tried to expel 26 teachers from the classroom last year for gross incompetence — such as English teachers who couldn’t write or speak the language properly.”
Even though they did not excel in spelling, only half lost their jobs as English teachers (!) due to union constraints. Imagine a teacher giving a test to immigrants and instructing them to spell “thin” as “Ihin” and “thick” as “thik.”
When that level of gross incompetence is discovered, the city school board needs to act immediately as an expellee and the teachers who misspell so egregiously need to become “ex-spell-ers” at the schools.
The infamous, tragic shipwreck of the cruise liner off the coast of Tuscany may also be a literal environmental disaster for the nearby pristine island of Giglio, which means “lily” in Italian.
This symbol of purity will be at high risk as the the actual pumping of diesel fuel begins on Saturday, and that process alone could take a month. Dismantling of the ship may be done on the spot, or the ship may have to be towed away. It will be a dangerous operation either way.
All caution will be taken to avoid any despoilment of the littoral habitat of flora and fauna surrounding the island’s perimeter. Experts say that this entire salvaging operation could last possibly one to two years.
When traveling in the Liguria Region of Italy a few years ago, I learned that the basil capital of Italy is the Genoa area. This aromatic herb, basil, together with parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts and crushed garlic, is a key ingredient for pesto, a sauce for pasta that dates back to the Romans.
Three hundred miles to the north of Genoa lies Basel, Switzerland. Since the Romans settled in that area as well, I wonder if pesto is still a popular dish served by the Basler chefs in their Italian restaurants?
A third homophone to these culinary and geographic sound-alikes is the word, basal. While Merriam-Webster defines it as “relating to, situated at, or forming the base,” you can take it one step farther and note that basal means “arising from the base of a stem,” perhaps as in the case of the basal part of a sprig of basil that may be consumed in Basel.
The late Art Linkletter used to host a television show on which he would interview pre-school and grammar school-age children who would respond with hilarious results. He later immortalized these remarks in his humorous book entitled, Kids Say The Darndest Things.
I can attest to that statement by relating some of the cute things my little granddaughters have spoken to me, such as “Papa! What happened to your hair? Did the wind blow it off in the park?” Or, “I have too much energy!”
On the more, shall we say, serious, side, Ali, the 6-year old, has started to learn anatomy. Recently she was able to recite the names of several bones, including the radius, ulna and the humerus, aka, the “funny bone.”
The Golden Globe Awards presentation last evening honored the PBS drama, Downton Abbey, as the best mini-series/TV movie for 2011. The period drama, shown on the Masterpiece Theatre program, features scandal, humor and exciting twists of fate during the pre-World War I era. It contrasts the upper crust classes of earldoms, comfortable in their castles, vis-a-vis the lifestyle of their downstairs kitchen help.
The award was made on a different network, unbeknownst to me while I watched scenes from episode two of the second season. At one point tension grew as a rebellious, anti-government footman was about to pour a vile concoction of slop in a soup tureen on the head of a British general.
Later, the butler, housekeeper and the rest of their staff, settle into more terrene, that is, mundane, matters such as making beds, scrubbing pots and shining brass. Or, perhaps they were about to prepare a French pâté-like loaf known as a terrine, served cold as a spread for sandwiches or crackers?
One of my favorite television programs is “Antiques Roadshow.” Host Mark Walberg (no, NOT Mark Wahlberg, the actor) tours the country with a cadre of experts from America’s best auction houses. It bills itself as “part adventure, part history lesson, and part treasure hunt” that has garnered nine Emmy® Award nominations. As PBS’s highest-rated series, the show has an audience of nearly 10 million viewers weekly.
Collectors, family heirs, bargain hunters and curiosity seekers come to these events with their grandfather clocks, Civil War memorabilia, Ming vases, Duncan Phyfe drop-leaf tables, bric-a-brac, etc., in order to have the various specialists appraise their prized possessions. While the owners wait in awe to find out the estimated worth of their items, it’s fun to watch at home and make your own educated guess.
Before the antique professionals let the owners know the amount for which he or she will appraise the items, they will apprise, that is, tell the show guests all about the background and history of their valuables.
The appraisals, whether they be great, or greatly diminished from preconceived notions, often will leave the owners with quite a look of surprise.
The British, er, rather, the Parisians are coming! The Parisians are coming! That is, a new gourmand retailer, Ladurée, has just opened its first store in the U.S., on Madison Avenue in New York.
Ladurée has survived since 1862 in Paris as a purveyor of the sweet delicacy known as the macaroon (macaron in French). A macaroon is tastily described by Merriam-Webster as “a small cookie composed chiefly of egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds or coconut.” Other than the sweet tooth satisfaction that Ladurée provides, the retailer’s sign of distinction is the array of chic and elegant colors of their beautiful gift boxes that contain its collection of chocolates, ice cream treats, candies, teas, perfumed candles and fragrances.
Did I mention that the Italians have arrived, the Italians have arrived!?
On the other epicurean hand, we are planning a trip to the Big Apple and we just might precede these desserts with a meal of delicious pasta and macaroni from Eataly. This 50,000 square foot, gastronomic concoction of Italian supermarket, butcher shop, cooking school, gift shop and melange of a dozen restaurants, is the brainchild of Oscar Farinetti and his partners, TV chefs/foodies Mario Batali and Lidia and Joe Bastianich.
Their motto is “We Cook What We Sell In Store.” Each of their restaurants uses Eataly’s prime meat, salumi, cheese, fish, vegetables and more to produce dishes that focus on quality prepared with simplicity.
Yankee Doodle riding on a pony
never had it so good
with such great macaroni (and macaroon)!
Today my dermatologist performed Mohs surgery on my scalp, which is microscopically controlled surgery used to treat common types of skin cancer. In order to stanch (verb) any bleeding from the wound, the nurse assistant heavily bandaged the back of my head.
Having had to experience several pre-cancerous and cancerous dermatological issues, I am a staunch (adjective) proponent of the American Academy of Dermatology and its recommendations for using minimum Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 30 sunscreen and the wearing of a hat. According to the AAD, “more than 3.5 million skin cancers in more than 2 million people are diagnosed annually. Many of these skin cancers could have been prevented with protection from the sun’s rays.”