January 30, 2012

JanBlog3

The Side Trek’s first post Jan 28, 2010. 30,000 visits later. Blahg, blahg, blahg.

Rory bested Tiger but Robert was solid as a Rock in the desert. SAG Awards. Nice statue. Quick, witty show. Watched Moneyball, Pitt & Hill engaging duo.

Niall Ferguson and I are still singing the same tune on ‘Yerp’, calling for the EU to centralize a la Switzerland’s financial structure. Indeed if the EU does not become a single ‘Yerpean’ entity, it’ll splinter, crater, and take us down with it. Zzzomney assembled advisors that resuscitated his campaign in Florida. Putting together a BainStreet marketing team, he can close the deal against Obama’s weak crew.

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January 27, 2012

WeekendMelt

Soaking rain. Song birds at dawn. Longer, lighter days. All good. If this was snow, why we’d have at least 2 feet. Lots of February on the horizon, so melt away.

Kudos to Gillibrand and Brown bringing insider trading bill to Senate. Obama up, Romney resurrected, Santorum rising. Newt lands on the moon. McIlroy v. Tiger at Abu Dhabi, golf season begins. Football free. Scroll down to my 2012 Predictions. They are still in play. Bon weekend!

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January 25, 2012

DragOn

Year of the water dragon. Black. Volatile. Strong. Will a fiery year ensue? Obama calls for unity once again, still an appealing theme. His personality is what differentiates him from Zzzomney and the Grinch as Repub debates drag on. Madden-esque mud fest at Candlestick. Could’ve gone either way in OT. Sloppy defensive slog. Brady lucky he didn’t go into OT, slithering into another SB. Neither win felt triumphant. Grandson with dog collar ad hilarious.

Books Page. The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton- Elizabeth Speller. World War I, its human toll depicted at Easton Manor, as with Downton Abbey this season. Nostalgic nod to Elaine’s from forgotten photo archives.

Recipe Detours. Alison’s roasted asparagus with pan sautéed hake. Finally fun to cook again. Distractions from Grinch and Zzzomney. But hey, Obama can sing.

The State of Our Union depends on the State of the European Union in the coming year. Davos discussions by that 1% will make it clear.

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January 20, 2012

GoNinants!

Yes I am conflicted. Love my Niners from SanFran days. mAdBen’s a native super fan. DaddyJoe’s Giants have my heart too. What to do? Root for another great game that goes down to the last play. Then, hope one of them blows the Patriots away. Joey3Sticks. New SB prediction. It’s not gonna be GreenBay.

In other news…Grinch stuck it to John King and the news media. Newt is scary, but he can debate. Nevermind his hypocrisy and bad behavior. He has promised to give Sarah a cabinet post. That could get complicated. Reege is bored, showed up on Today with Kathie Lee. GE guy finally fixed the fridge! Circuit board, not compressor. Everything runs on computers, give me old knobs.

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January 17, 2012

RecipeDetours-Veggie Chili

There were lots of hits on Recipe Detours recently, especially for the Veggie Chili, which is a fan favorite. If you go to the Recipe Detours Page now, the 2011 full recipes are back up. Looking forward to new ideas for 2012.

Since we are still using coolers on the porch, no recipes from here until fridge gets fixed. GE can you hear me? Not fun for a cook! Finding that canned soups, chilis, sauces are filled with salt, sodium. Even the “healthy” choices.

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January 12, 2012

WeekendTreks-S’No

Breaking news. It’s January and it’s snowing in New England. Close the schools! Cancel bingo! What? It’s winter. First blast since Halloween. Good for gardens and ski resorts. Cheers up the dreary gray. Guess we will have to deal.

Takes a back seat to the Mayans having taken over my appliances. Bad enough that patty shells had to be transported when oven busted on Christmas Eve. Now the fridge is on the fritz. Cheap crap only a few years old. Not the prices, the parts. Maybe Mayans will pay the repair bills. Pizza and lots of booze neat.

Bracing for good football. Go Niners, Giants. As much as I diss the Pats, don’t want to see the TeBow. So… What say you, Joe? I know. Your SuperBowl pick is Green Bay to beat Pats in OT. We’ll see. Record Downton or Ricky? Hmmm.

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January 10, 2012

BackRoadsThoughts

First book review of 2012. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje. I don’t like cats and I didn’t like his novel, The English Patient, but… check out the Books page.

So far, my clicker’s not stuck on CBS in the morning. Charlie Rose, Newt Gingrich, Bob Schieffer, Bill Plante, lots of tired-looking old white guys at 7. Gayle King with Melissa Etheridge, Juliana Margulies pimping her CBS show at 8. Geez, what’s new or cool about this? Back to Mika and Morning Joe.

Downton Abbey returns under a somber hue during World War I, brutal yet true. The war’s impact on Britain’s daily life is poignantly portrayed at Downton. Compression of the classes begins at the expense of a lost generation of men.

MadMen again March 25. Too long.

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January 8, 2012

NoDebate

Is there a smarmier person than Diane Sawyer with her drippingly drawled out questions? Stephie let Paul and Santorum go at each other for half the debate, leaving Romney to stand with his hands in his pockets and grin. What? Thanks for making this the most boring primary season ever. Santy and Grinch defending Catholicism, promoting a theocracy. Have they met those pederast priests? Huntsman just hates Romney. Maybe David Gregory can shake things up. Otherwise we’re Zzzomney’d ’til summer. Guess it’s better than crazy Perry wanting to send troops back into Iraq. But, at least he’s for something.

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January 5, 2012

ReallyHousewives

The Really Real Housewives of not New York, nor Beverly Hills. They cook dinner, drive their own cars, take busses, entertain without party planners, read books, gain and lose weight without needing to be on TMZ or national TV.

Instead of vacationing on Crete, sleep on Frette sheets. Tho’ no manse in France, drink cafay pressay. ‘Nary a pied a terre in town, but bathe in Molton Brown. Private jet? You bet. Jet Blue. Hot tub in Northampton, not Baden Baden. Lacoste piquay v. St. Tropez. Yacht? Not. Life better? Peut-etre.

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January 3, 2012

SideTrek 2012 Predictions

MR squared. Mitt Romney-Marco Rubio Ticket.
Obama ‘wags the dog’. Iran.
Ron Paul dukes it out with Donald Trump for Third Party run.
Callista Gingrich’s hair moves. Newt cries in ecstasy.
Brad Pitt wins an Oscar. He and Angie split.
CBS Rose-King Morning Show bombs. Willie Geist takes over.
MadMen and Downton Abbey best TV of the year.
Mika and Joe have a love child named Barnacle.
Patriots lose to Giants in the Superbowl.
Tiger wins a major. CandyPantsOpen happens.
Market closes flat, same as this year. Around 12,000.
Mayans just got tired of calendars. The world will not end.

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