Today is National Pie Day, not to be confused with National Pi Day (on 3.14, of course) or any number of specific style pie days. To celebrate here is a recipe I recently came across and served to great acclaim at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Place a cast iron skillet in your oven and preheat … Continue reading National Pie Day & a recipe!
Links
Review – The Waverly Gallery
Kenneth Lonergan is having quite a time lately on Broadway. Widely respected as a writer of scripts for Off-Broadway and regional theatre and recognized as an expert screenplay writer, he has had three of his back catalogue brought to the Main Stem. The Waverly Gallery (as of this writing with only one week remaining at … Continue reading Review – The Waverly Gallery
Heads up for an upcoming performance of a new short play
Wanted to give you advance notice for one of my new scripts that will be featured in the Players Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival. Dates are tentatively scheduled for February 21-24. Pamela will direct and casting is underway. More details will be announced soon. I would describe this play as my take on George … Continue reading Heads up for an upcoming performance of a new short play
National Fig Newton Day
Today is National Fig Newton Day (and no, they do not have anything to do with Sir Isaac Newton, but are named after the Massachusetts town where they were first produced). I am not a particular fan of the cookie but as a Baby Boomer have a real fondness for the 1970's commercial campaign where … Continue reading National Fig Newton Day
10th Anniversary of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s famous Miracle on the Hudson Flight
Today is the tenth anniversary of the "Miracle on the Hudson." The day when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles lost both engines to bird strikes shortly after take-off from La Guardia Airport and safely landed their passenger jet in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people aboard the … Continue reading 10th Anniversary of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s famous Miracle on the Hudson Flight
National Mocktail Week
The second week in January has been named National Mocktail Week. What is a Mocktail? Think of a Shirley Temple but more sophisticated. Alcohol has done plenty of damage to plenty of lives but we all desire a celebratory sip to toast our good fortune. These drinks are becoming more widespread with lots of new … Continue reading National Mocktail Week
2019 WBAB Cold Finger Run
Last Sunday I went on the annual Cold Finger Run sponsored by radio station WBAB on Long Island. They traditionally start off the year by inviting motorcyclists to contribute to a children's charity so they can partake in an hour long group ride escorted by police. The sea of motorcycles They gather at the Cradle … Continue reading 2019 WBAB Cold Finger Run
National Oysters Rockefeller Day
As I have said previously on this blog, there seems to be a National Day for nearly everything and today's version is Oysters Rockefeller. This dish was famously created by Antionne's restaurant in New Orleans in the late 1800's. It was named as so rich it was fit for a Rockefeller but that was before … Continue reading National Oysters Rockefeller Day
The Bulls come to New York
No, not this bull... ...these bulls! I've long been fascinated by Professional Bull Riders on television. It fits my short attention span (the cowboys need only stay on the bull for eight seconds) and I really like those hats. It turns out the season starts each January at Madison Square Garden. So I used one … Continue reading The Bulls come to New York
Rainy Manhattanhenge Sunrise
Psst. I know it is early in the morning, but today is that magical time when the rising sun aligns with Manhattan's street grid to provide a beautiful image of the good ol' sol perfectly in the middle of our concrete canyons. However, today's forecast in The Big Apple is for clouds and rain this … Continue reading Rainy Manhattanhenge Sunrise
National Bobble Head Day!
Today is National Bobble Head Day! You've seen them. Oversized heads that bobble when vibrated. These silly figures have actually been around for a couple of centuries in one form or another but only became ubiquitous in the last several decades as plastic extrusion techniques improved. They are primarily associated with baseball collectors and giveaways … Continue reading National Bobble Head Day!
Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Woke up this morning and decided to make my own breakfast sausage. So an unplanned post. I started with Alton Brown's recipe on the Food Network website. You can find it here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/breakfast-sausage-recipe-2103185 As you can see it is basically a some pork shoulder and fatback ground together with spices. I played with the spices … Continue reading Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Review – The Storm Before The Storm & Mike Duncan
I actually finished reading this book some time ago but just getting around to reviewing it. Been busy, you know. I am a long time Roman History aficionado and all you need to do is whisper Gracchi Brothers or Marius & Sulla and I will come running. "The Storm Before The Storm" covers the start … Continue reading Review – The Storm Before The Storm & Mike Duncan
American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio
During the holidays I visited relatives in Cincinnati and having some downtime I visited an attraction there for the first time. The American Sign Museum is a pretty cool place if rather small and crowded. They have collected and restored old signage with lots of nostalgic appeal (even a set of Burma Shave signs). Lots … Continue reading American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio
Welcome to 2019 and National Bloody Mary Day!
May you have a bright and cheery new year and a prosperous 2019. We decided to eliminate our alcohol intake this holiday, but if you celebrated too heartily last night take solace in the dog that bit you during National Bloody Mary Day. Recipe below. You're welcome. I'll be quiet now. As always you can … Continue reading Welcome to 2019 and National Bloody Mary Day!
National Champagne Day – Happy New Year
Sometimes National Day events seem to be randomly placed on the calendar. Today's National Champagne Day is clearly placed to align with New Year's Eve where marketers are heavily promoting that beverage. However you celebrate tonight, even if you turn in at 9 PM with every intention of waking to turn on the TV just … Continue reading National Champagne Day – Happy New Year
Review – two of my Christmas gifts!
Well children, did you get what you wanted for Christmas? I got two pretty cool gifts that I really liked. Of course they were food related! Two different attachments for my KitchenAid mixer. These workhorse machines have a port on the front that permits handy tools to use the power of the mixer. The first … Continue reading Review – two of my Christmas gifts!
National Fruitcake Day
Today is National Fruitcake Day. Smart alecks make a lot of fun of people who actually like fruitcake. But if you are one of those people you can sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/Fruitcake-Lovers-of-the-World-Unite-196760433903/ Okay, Mark Zuckerberg, do something good and round up all these folks on that page and put them in Gingerbread Gaol. As always … Continue reading National Fruitcake Day
National Thank You Note Day
Today is National Thank You Note Day. Yep, time to haul out that good old pen and paper to write a personal thank you note for all the nice presents you got this holiday season. Time to move away from emails and texts and all those modern impersonal methods we now depend on. Oh, while … Continue reading National Thank You Note Day
Merry Christmas
Whether your celebration is religious or secular, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas Day. The world needs much more Peace and Joy. Do what you can to bring more of it to this earth. Jingle, jingle. As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes
National Egg Nog Day
Not surprisingly National Egg Nog Day falls on Christmas Eve. If you are only leaving milk with cookies for Santa you need to up your game and pour Saint Nick some Egg Nog! And spike it, it's going to be a long night. As always you can find more at http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes
National Date Nut Bar Day
Today is National Date Nut Bar Day. My grandmother made the perfect Date Nut Bar and now my Aunt Priscilla makes them just as well. I have never made them satisfactorily. But here is my 2019 resolution. I must make them perfectly twice and then I will post the recipe. If I cannot you will … Continue reading National Date Nut Bar Day
Winter Solstice
Today is the Winter Solstice, the middle of winter where the planet begins tipping back toward a six month march to summer. Sure, it is officially the first day of Winter and there will still be cold weather ahead but this will be the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Days will … Continue reading Winter Solstice
National Re-Gifting Day
As we near Christmas, time to rummage through your closet to find those lovely presents from work exchanges, well meaning nieces and any gift that didn't quite hit the mark. Remove any bothersome tags and make up a good backstory as to why you are giving it to your uncle or postman. Be careful not … Continue reading National Re-Gifting Day
National Hard Candy Day
Today is National Hard Candy Day, I'm sure intentionally timed for the holidays. When I was a boy my parents always filled our stockings with hard candy, nuts in shells and a few tangerines, which were special in the winter those days. We also walked two miles, uphill both ways in the snow every day … Continue reading National Hard Candy Day
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