Salmon and the City

I'm such a bad, bad blogger these days. I'm sorry, duckies.

I would love nothing more than to show you a delicious menu of fun in the sun photos from my NYC trip last weekend, but - boo - I left my camera on a rooftop in Brooklyn. Sad, and strange, but true. Hopefully, it's en route back to momma, and soon I should have some photos from Mel's camera as well.

We had a totally kickass trip: some sightseeing, some shopping, some hanging out with buddies, some art, some literary and live music action and even a little bit of burlesque. But really, it was all about the food and the drink. I'm sure, between Mel and I, we drank ten bottles of chardonnay and ate twenty pounds of seafood. Fluke ceviche, seared salmon in a wasabi/sweet pea sauce, tandoori shrimp, sushi, paper thin salmon, wild striped bass, more sushi, shrimp pad thai... oh and even a little lamb and beef, for good measure.

It all flew by very quickly, as has this short week home. I've barely had time to experience my mandatory few days of post-vacation blues. Fun weekend plans help as well. Speaking of:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WENDI !!

HAPPY MOVING TO ARKANSAS, KIT!! Wait, what?

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

P.S. Sorry about the title. I know the proliferation of "whatever and the city" references are annoying... it's just that it's a tiny bit irrestistable when talking about NYC. 80% of the time, walking around any given 'hood in NYC, I'm singing the "doot do doot" from the S&TC intro. Or "start spreading the news..." Or "love in an elevator..." which is actually kind of inexplicable.

For no reason whatsoever:

Ciao, buddies.

-Nina.

What A Super Day.

Mother's Day was a blast this year. I was afraid it would be very sad, as it's right around the one-year anniversary of Nanny's death. Of course we gave our shout outs (and poured some out for Biggie), but the general mood was of total merriment and, apparently, starvation.

I arrived at The Vickster's and Wendi's ("casa caliente," by the way. hee) around 1:00 and we started the day with cosmos (cosmo makings and a shaker: The Vickster's Mother's Day present), and moved on to the the vino and champagne and the holy feast.

We grilled the crap out of mother's day. Check it out:

Grilled steak, shrimp, crab legs, asparagus and mushrooms. All healthy & fantastic. Mwah!

Then The Vickster and I headed downtown to the Twins-Tigers game, which, surprisingly enough, was a total blast. (If you have been following the Twinks the last month, you know why it's surprising to go to a fun game.) I think I might be good luck though - - I've been to two games and they were probably the two best games of the year so far.

Hubert's before the game. NOTE: Do NOT order a cosmo at Hubert's. That fact may seem obvious, but, whatever - it was the theme for the day. It was so strong, it was actually undrinkable.

The game was great. The Twins won 16-4. The hits just kept coming to the point it almost became old. So, I decided to play around with my camera and try to capture some cool action shots, which is actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. Timing it right was a challenge and I only got a couple of good ones.

CrazyArms Neshak with his side-winder action. I had to snap the picture before his glove got to his chin in the windup. I really dig this guy. He's one of the only Twins bullpen guys I completely trust these days.

Louis Rodriguez hamming it up. The pitch was nowhere near him; a strike even. I like this shot though.

YAY.

And then the Summit people attacked, in their hovering space travel device, and squished poor CrazyArms. It was weird.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

What are they thinking?

Micheal Moore to Justice Department: Thanks, fellas!

Excerpted, from the AP:

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for taking ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers to Cuba for a segment in his upcoming health-care documentary "SiCKO," The Associated Press has learned.

The investigation provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Moore, a fierce critic of President Bush. In the past, Moore's adversaries have fanned publicity that helped the filmmaker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.

"SiCKO" promises to take the health-care industry to task the way Moore confronted America's passion for guns in "Bowling for Columbine" and skewered Bush over his handling of Sept. 11 in "Fahrenheit 9/11."

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A copy of the letter was obtained Tuesday by the AP.

Seriously? A week before the film debut at Cannes? What a strange decision. I mean, at a time when Bushies approval rating is - what, 28% or so? It's like they want "Sicko" to be the summer blockbuster.



Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

Those little scraps of paper, post-its and bev naps, scribbled with tiny moments of brilliance: things of the past.

Well, well...and well.

Guess what, kids, I'm done with my thesis project. You know the one- the travel writing business I've been carrying around with me for the better part of two years.


How do I feel? Great. I really do. It's been a long haul and there were several times when I thought... I just might not finish this thing. The last few months have been especially rough, with nearly every free minute spent writing, revising, writing, banging my head against the wall, and then writing more.


Yes, I feel good. This good:




My gratitude goes out to, well- everyone. All my beloved buddies have offered endless support and I really appreciate it. Mel, my coach and my biggest cheerleader, I thank you the mostest of all.

Now, you'll have to excuse me, I have piles of books to read, Netflix rentals that have been sitting here for months, laundry to do, legs to shave, big fat cats to cuddle with, blogs to read, and such. AH, free time, you pretty little thing.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina