TheQuietMan

2006-07-19T19:59:00.000-04:00

I just heard a song that stated" You can't choose who you love, Love chooses you." Do you believe that? I used to let Scotch do the picking. Mistake.

Happy New Year!!!

2005-12-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

Well, for Ed Lorenz, the third time was not the charm

The Quiet Man Income Fund was up 13.69% for the year. Also yielded 3%. The Conspicuous Consumption Fund, on the other hand, gained a tad over 1%.

Arlen, it's time for your nap.

2005-11-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

The senior Seantor from Pennsylvania is cranky about....Terrell Owens??

Things that made me smile today

2005-11-04T22:20:00.000-05:00

Love this one. And this.

Hunter Thompson R.I.P.

2005-08-28T10:28:00.000-04:00

This isn't about the Gonzo journalist, or fear, or loathing, but read these three pieces in order, three takes on the same event.

Jann Wenner on Thompson

Bozell reports on the memorial service

Hunter's own take ( scroll down the page to "Johnny Depp...")

Ya gotta have standards

2005-08-26T16:10:00.000-04:00

I'd like to be on the review panel for this one, comrade.

Beating the Band...

2005-08-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

...and the S&P. That's what TQM Income and Conspicuous Consumption Funds have been doing. TQM Income is up 10.53% for the year, the CCF 11.84%. Compare these returns to the S&P, which has risen 3.74% YTD. Smokin!!!! Best performers for IF are: PTR, TS, VIVO, UGI, IDU, ZNT and PVR. For the CCF, our favs have been BEBE, BMHC, SE, COH,ARLP, FO, CTR and BDK. All have returned better than 20%

When Words Get in the Way II

2005-07-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

Nice viewpoint from downunder.

2005-04-25T11:14:00.000-04:00

Took the boys to Florida to see the folks. Had dinner outside at PK Chang's. Gabe kept flicking rice to the birds in the nearby bushes, which I told him to stop. He did it one more time. I asked why he did it when I told him not to and he said " Dad, the bird wanted take-out." PITA.

The Quiet Man Income Fund is down -2.24% for the year, while TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is down -1.73. Both are doing better than the S&P500, which is down -4.41 for the year.

2005-03-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

Maybe I should sue the ex?

This story is a pile of hooey

2005-02-07T11:06:00.000-05:00

TQM Income Fund is up 1.43% for the year. TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is up 4.48%. Both are doing waaaay better than the S&P500 ( -.59%) and Wilshire5000 ( -.88%). Among our favorites are CTR, VIVO. ALRP. SPH, Adobe, and KRO. The Income Fund looks for dividend payors of 2% or more that have strong ROE, low debt, and good recent performance relative their industry and the S&P. The Conspicuous Consumption Fund focuses on Consumer Staples and Discretionaries with P/S less than 2, and good recent performance relative to industry and the S&P.

When w ords get in the way

2005-01-18T09:23:00.000-05:00

We agree with Lake Superior State's choices for banned w ords and phrases. Time to clear the vocabulary. We'd also like to see less of The D and Katie C!!!!

2005-01-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

More interesting marriage and money tips.

2004-12-31T14:08:00.000-05:00

Tol dmy son I was making meatballs for dinner. He said he didn't like meatballs. Told him I'd make latkes, instead. He said he didn't like latkes. What kind of Italian Jew are you, I asked. One in a million, he said. 'Nuff said.

TQM Income fund is up 17.70% for the year. TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is up 12.75 for the year. Not too shabby!

All I want for Christmas...

2004-12-15T14:38:00.000-05:00

Forget cashmere. Lose the ipod. How about something practical for a single guy? Or Natalie.

2004-12-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

TQM Income Fund is 16.25% in the black for 2004. TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is up 10% for the year. Top 10 returners are : BDK, CREAF, VIVO, ADBE,FO, CTR, BEBE,COH, KRO and MTEX. The combined portfolio has beat the S&P since July ( when we changed investment philosophies) 9.85% to 6.25%

Ship of Fools

2004-11-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

Imagine being stuck on a boat with Ann Richards, Joe Wilson, and Sidney Blumenthal? I can't!!! What? They forgot the Dixie Chicks as special musical guest? Or is Linda ROnstadt making a special appearance ( not that the boat needs ballast).

2004-11-23T15:21:00.000-05:00

The TQM Income Fund is up 15.25% for the year. The TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is up 7.42% for the year. Current favs are FDO, COH, VIVO and BDK.

New Babe on the Block: Christina Milian

2004-10-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

Crockpot love. I love to cook, but it's often just me, of me and my finicky boys. And when they are with me we don't have a great time after work to cook, eat, do homework, catch up, get washed and go to bed on time. So, I bough tthe ever-loving crock pot. About.com has great crock-pot recipes, too. I'm psyched to cook the boys a good meal without fussing.

We will not say anything about the RedSox

2004-10-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

winning the World Serious. Only that it's great to be a Yankee fan: when they win it's glorious. When they lose, it's stupendous. There.

When will they learn?

2004-10-19T09:21:00.000-04:00

Joe Torre is stubborn. Edgar Martinez would wear out Yankee pitching. Juan Gonzalez would crush Yankee pitching. Now, there's David Ortiz. Why not pitch around him, for chrissakes. He beat us three times in 2 games. Argh!!!!!

At least the RedSox haven't figured out Pedro should only throw 90 pitches against the Yanks, or else Daddy will put him to bed.

2004-10-14T13:08:00.000-04:00

Did I marry Tatum O'Neal? No. But I know what Mac and Ryan feel like.

TQM Income Fund is up 6.51% for the year. The TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is -3.15%. Our current portfolio, in order of positive performance includes:
BLACK & DECKER CORP ,FORTUNE BRANDS INC ,MANNATECH INC ,ADOBE SYS INC , MERIDIAN BIOSCIENCE, FIDELITY NATL FINL INC , FRONTLINE LTD ORD , WACHOVIA CORP 2ND NEW , FOSSIL INC, ISHARES TR GS NAT RES CATO CORP NEW CL A VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS...
SASOL LTD ADR HEADWATERS INCORPORATED KELLOGG CO NL INDS INC NEW , ISHARES TR DJ US UTILS , ENNIS BUSINESS FORMS INC LIMITED INC PENN VA RESOURCES PART... CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY LT... 7-ELEVEN INC KRONOS WORLDWIDE INC OLIN CORP PAR $1 COACH INC
AMERICAN HOME MTG INVT... ISHARES TR DJ US BAS M... SEMPRA ENERGY ISHARES TR DJ SEL DIV ... AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITT... SBC COMMUNICATIONS INC NATIONAL FUEL GAS CO N J
RED ROBIN GOURMET BURG... MCCORMICK & CO INC NO... JOS A BANK CLOTHIERS INC UNITRIN INC ISHARES TR DJ US CON N... SUBURBAN PROPANE PARTN... ISHARES TR DJ US CON C...
KMART HLDG CORPORATION BLOCK H & R INC OXFORD INDS INC BOSTON BEER INC CL A
SHIP FINANCE INTERNATI... WESCO INTL INC

Back on the Blog, and doing well!

2004-09-18T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Quiet Man Income Fund, which covets stocks paying 2% and more, has rallied. It's up 3.99% for the year. DVY is an awesome etf. We will be stirring the pot for 4th quarter add-ons to the Fund, so stay tuned. TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund is still in the red, -2.80% for the year, lagging its benchmarks. However, we have switched to a new selection criteria, focusing on momentum, which we think is a lot better than intuition, so stay tuned for changes thereto. Favs of late on the Consumption side are Adobe, 7-11, Fossil, Aeropostale.

Check out Cheapskate Monthly. We love Mary Hunt

2004-08-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

The TQM Incoem Fund is down 2.62 for the YTD. The TQM COnspicuous Consumption Fund is down -8.62% for the YTD. In investing as in voting this November, stay the course.

2004-08-09T10:38:00.000-04:00

Money. Matrimony. Learn the connection.

2004-08-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

Rick, we hardly knew ye

2004-08-03T12:37:00.000-04:00

Didn't you dad teach you there are secrets to keep, Victoria?

The Last Hurrah

2004-07-27T09:56:00.000-04:00

Bill in Boston. Meet the F-ckers.

The VIP room was crowded and the champagne flowed as Hillary Rodham Clinton moved her lips up to her husband's face. Bill Clinton puckered up gratefully, apparently believing the woman he married was greeting him with a smooch.

Not a chance.

Bill and Hillary Clinton breezed into town Sunday night, to a party thrown in their honor high atop an office building. They arrived separately.

They barely seemed to know one another.

Where Hillary was radiant, smiling, coyly batting away questions about her presidential hopes, Bill appeared thinner than I've ever seen him and introspective, bordering on morose.

At one point, he announced, quite bizarrely, that before his arrival at the party, "I felt pickled and old and half-dead."

Bill arrived before 9 p.m. and began holding court at one end of the VIP room. Hillary spotted him and wafted over to his side. And as I watched, in amazement, the pair who have been wed more than 20 years engaged in one of those embarrassing physical misunderstandings that usually occur between strangers.

Hillary leaned in to Bill's face, and he responded by giving her a little kiss. But Hillary completely bypassed her hubby's willing orifice, and instead moved her own maw up to his ear, into which she whispered, curtly, "That's John's brother."

Bill looked momentarily confused.

"John Kerry's brother!" she said sharply, and she pointed Bill in the direction of Cameron Kerry.

And then she was gone. It was plain as the embarrassment on Bill Clinton's face. The power sinew that has joined this couple has changed. Bill lingered in the VIP room for a long while, chatting, signing his memoir, posing for pictures. At one point, he placed his hand on my bare shoulder.

"The senator is ready when you are," a staffer informed him, telegraphing Hillary's impatience. "She's ready!" another staffer shouted, more urgently this time.

Any remaining doubt of the weirdness between them was removed when the couple finally took the stage in the main party room, next to Chelsea in curly hair and a Pucci-print silk get-up. Her parents linked hands and smiled like an actual couple.

Hillary spoke first. "Let me introduce you to Chelsea's father, a best-selling author, the man who taught the Democrats how to win again. A great, great president for the country we love . . . "

No mention of the fact she was married to him. Bill was far stranger.

"I want to say thank you for being so rowdy and irreverent and loud," he told the crowd, saying that before he arrived at the party, "I felt pickled and old and half-dead — and you were having such a good time."

The pickled, old ex-prez then turned attention back to Hillary. "She's the only one who can do anything for you anymore. She's got a real job." I fear he needs help.

My New House

2004-07-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

Swimming pool. Movie Stars.

Dump Cheney!

2004-07-09T16:24:00.000-04:00

Alfonse has it right!GB 41 would have won if he sacked Dan Quayle. The Bushies are fiercely loyal, and you must respect that, but a fresh face for 43's 2nd term would be a welcome twist.

TQM Income Fund is up 1.71% for the year. The Conspicuous Consumption Fund is down -3.16% ( ouch). Stocks we like: K, VIVO, BKD

More Blondes we can't stand

2004-06-29T10:05:00.000-04:00

Britney ( natch). Mira Sorvino - actually we like Mira, but she has lousy taste in men. Nicole Ritchie ( at least Paris has that video going for her). Don't you hate that song, Ballerina Girl?

Guys tell what they want

2004-06-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

All this. Oh, yeah. Sex, too!

2004-06-21T11:59:00.000-04:00

Didn't get the Father's Day gifts I wanted, but did get a nice camping lantern from the boys. I told them we'd use it in the tent we set up in the yard. Thank God no one gave me Clinton's doorstop of a book.

The TQM Income Fund is up 1.13% for the year. The TQM Conspicuous Consumption Fund -2.23% for the year. We switched weights to favor the income fund by 50/40, with cash at 10%.

And they never found Clinton's cigar, either!

2004-05-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

Spice Girl stands by her man. No one bends it like Bill, except for Beckham. Tell me what you want, what you really, really, want.

What I still want for Father's Day

2004-05-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

Sailboat. Shoes. Shirts.

Blondes we can't stand!

2004-05-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

Suze Orman Ann Coulter. Avril

2004-05-18T10:37:00.000-04:00

Psst...Here's what the well-dressed voter will want this fall.

They say you should name your children...

2004-05-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

... as if they will be President. So, what were the parents of Moon Unit, Jaz, Brooklyn, Denim, Tu, Zowie thinking? And now comes..... Apple. Yeesh!

Paint your wagon, Jeff Skilling!

2004-05-16T20:44:00.000-04:00

A federal judge on Friday ordered former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling to stop drinking alcohol and submit to a curfew, the fallout from the former corporate star's drunken misadventure in New York in April. He scuffled with his drinking partners after accusing them of being undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and trying to lift up a woman's blouse to see if she was hiding a microphone. The tussle ended with Skilling falling to the ground and accidentally knocking down his wife. "Personally, I can't imagine what good things would happen outside of your home between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.," Judge Stacy told Skilling.

2004-05-16T20:38:00.000-04:00

TQM Income Fund is -2.50% for the year. TQM ConspicuousConsumption Fund is down -5.30%

Kingpin

2004-05-11T11:17:00.000-04:00

A while back I gave you the dope on the Lewobski Fest. With all due respect to the Dude, the best bowling movie for my money is Kingpin. Like Lebowski, it's best watched on a lazy weekend, where it pops up intermittently on Comedy Central or TBS or USA. Woody H is great. Bill Murray is, well, Bill Murray. Classic Farrelly brothers wit and charm.

2004-05-10T14:56:00.000-04:00

Richard Gere and J Lo in a movie? No thanks!!

Bowling Shirts?

2004-05-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

As high fashion? Yeesh, I hope not!

2004-05-04T12:37:00.000-04:00

See the new book by John Dean bashing Dubya? It's been 30 years but Mr. Dean still can't get his hands clean, can he? TQM asks: What did Mo see in that nebbish?

Oh, God! I found my keyboard double

2004-05-03T11:20:00.000-04:00

Check out Midlife in Crisis. Welcome to my nightmare!

2004-04-30T16:00:00.000-04:00

I can't say I'm a big NPR fan. Leans to far to the port side for my taste. But it provides excellent, informative, entertaining talk, especially with Morning Edition. And you'd think it was immune from the agism that is creeping upon us. Not so!!! See this tribute to Bob Edwards, a 25 year staple of public radion, who deserved 25 more years at the mike.

2004-04-29T17:14:00.000-04:00

From Cindy Adams: CARD on back of the front seat of a taxi: Age 5: My parents are the smartest people in the world. Age 15: My parents don't know as much as I thought. Age 25: My parents know nothing. Age 35: My parents know more than I thought. Age 45: My parents were the smartest people in the world. I wish they were around to tell them so. TQM sez: Every night I tell my kids how proud of them I am. I'm going to start emailing my folks to tell them the same.

Whacko Jacko has a new lawyer

2004-04-29T09:31:00.000-04:00

Thomas Mesereau, who could be as freaky as the gloved-one. Represented the SLA, Robert "Sparrow" Blake, talked to Charles Manson. Check out the hair. It can't be real, can it?

Securities Fraud and alcohol don't mix

2004-04-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

Jeff Skilling's NYC rant profiled here

2004-04-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

After almost a year of urging the adult-film industry to require actors to wear condoms during sex scenes, state and county officials say the recent HIV (news - web sites) infection of two porn stars has given them the leverage they need to force change. State and Los Angeles County health officials said Monday they believed existing regulations gave them the authority to require adult-film actors to use condoms, and the state Division of Occupational Health and Safety plans to begin inspections this week, marking the first time Cal/OSHA has investigated the adult-film industry. Industry lawyers dispute the agency's legal authority, and some industry officials say pornographic movie production would move out of state if condom use were required. TQM asks: What would be bigger: Shaquille O'Neal's shoes or John Holmes' raincoat?

2004-04-19T11:20:00.000-04:00

The TQM Income fund is up 3.09% for the year; TQM ConspicuousConseumptionFund is up a scant 1.51%

Things I want for Father's Day

2004-04-16T16:27:00.000-04:00

A sailboat, shoes, shirts

Just what we need....NOT!

2004-04-14T12:07:00.000-04:00

George Michael wants to pay tribute to the Madonna-Britney spit swap by locking lips with Justin Timberlake. "I've already called Justin but unfortunately he hasn't called me back," the former Wham! star tells the London Mirror. Just keep waiting by that phone, George... TQM sez: If you could apply the term skank to men, George Michael would be a skank.

2004-04-12T14:18:00.000-04:00

The TQM Income fund is up 4.08% for the year. TQM ConspicuousConsumption fund is up 3.35% for the year.

Missed Courtney by 2 weeks

2004-04-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was taken to a Manhattan hospital early Friday after several people called police saying he was pulling on their clothes and accusing them of being FBI agents. Police found Skilling at 4 a.m. at the corner of Park Avenue and East 73rd Street and determined he might be an "emotionally disturbed person," said the source, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity.Skilling's attorney said Skilling was never at the two bars police said he visited, American Trash and Vudu Lounge. TQM sez: Sorry, Jeff. Courtney Love IS American trash!

Audrey Seiler

2004-04-09T11:17:00.000-04:00

She claimed that the person who abducted her used cough syrup, rope, duct tape and knives.

TQM to Tom Ridge: Legal says we need a warning for duct tape: " Do not leave it around known or suspected kidnappers"

The Dutchman flies again

2004-04-07T14:36:00.000-04:00

Did you catch Matthew Modine as Honus Wagner in The Winning Season last Sunday? Kinduva sloppy movie, but it gave me one of those poignant art meets life moments to share with my son.

The movie is about a boy who finds one of the rare T-206 1909 Wagner tobacco cards in a neighbor's garage, and he goes back in time to get Wagner's autograph on it to increase its value.

What a joy it was for me to pull out my card from the T-206 set, a 1909 Bill Dinneen. It looked like the Wagner card in that it had the tobacco ad on the back with the name going vertically, and a painted picture of Dinneen on the front. Boy, was my son impressed! It was a great way to impress upon him the joys of history, that history is a living, breathing thing.

TQM sez:Oh yeah, Kristin Davis played a woman who tried to get Wagner, the game's signal star, to quit the Big Show for her. She was annoying as Brooke in Melrose Place, annoying as Charlotte in SINTC, and annoying here, too.

Can you beat the S&P?

2004-04-07T14:09:00.000-04:00

Maybe you won't win Ben Stein's money, but if you fancy yourself a Buffet ( Warren, not Jimmy) or a Peter Lynch, tools abound to make you a fund manager.

Click here to play around. Click here to play for keeps. Les jeux sont faits!

Remember Rick Lazio?

2004-04-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

He's the one on the left. Catch up with the Rick-meister. Soft money takers need not apply.

2004-04-06T14:23:00.000-04:00

This site is too funny!

Passover 2004

2004-04-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

Friends and the mother in law over for Passover. The boys read and were wonderful - even the Hebrew was done well. The Brisket of '04 was a success ( the secret is the dry rub). Makes this Papist want to join the tribe. Anywhoo, if we do Passover again next year, I'll get party favors from Chosen Couture Go see the HeBrew Beer site in the links section. Mahl-vel-us!

...No, I didn't forget Easter. In the nature of fair and balanced reporting, check out these sites. Best of all, that nut Mel Gibson doesn't have a piece of any of these!

The Big Lebowski

2004-04-06T12:42:00.000-04:00

One of the great movies. I don't know how it did in the theaters, but it is an awesome cable favorite, right up there with Roadhouse, Sands of Imo Jima and Porky's. Bone up on the Dude, dude! You can even get a copy of the script. And don't forget Lebowski Fest - much more colorful than that Donna Reed deal in the cornfields.

Stocks we like this week

2004-04-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

AKZOY, CNP, UVV, KSWS, GISX, EAT, COLM..... the AJP Income fund is up 4% this year, the AJPconspicuousconsumptionfund is up 2%

Nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers

2004-04-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

But plenty of people would take one for Touchdown Jesus- Notre Dame. Paul Hornung, for one: Notre Dame must ease up on its academic restrictions because "we gotta get the black athlete. We must get the black athlete if we're going to compete," Hornung said.

Hornung knows something about Notre Dame and expectations. He is the only Heisman Trophy winner to play for a losing team: His 1956 Notre Dame team went 2-8.

Is "The Golden Boy" a racist? Is what he says correct? Partially. Any private school that wants to play at a national level has to do some soul-searching vis-a-vis its admissions standards. How many national champions in anything have schools like TCU, Baylor, Rice, Vanderbilt, DePaul, Georgetown won? Notre Dame built a solid academic reputation on the basis of its jocks. It's a toughy.

Hornung won the Heisman the year I was born. I think his comment was, in part, a product of his generation. Is he a racist? I think not, A lot of people my folks' age aren't racist but say things we would now find unacceptable. Sure, the better athletes are black- in virtually any sport today. That is an observation, nothing more. I think Hornung meant to say Notre Dame had to rethink admissions when recruiting athletes, all athletes, so they could compete with the big state schools for the best of the lot.

At least he didn't try to kiss the reporter.

2004-03-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian man cut off his penis when he said he was visited by four hungry spirits in a dream and he had no chicken or duck to offer them. According to police, 33-year-old Soun Ney told the spirits to go away when they first appeared to ask for food, and waved his penis at them in defiance.

"Devils, I don't have any chicken or duck for you," he was quoted as saying by local police chief Phoeung Vat. "If you want to eat anything, you can eat my penis."

Soun Ney said the spirits agreed to eat his penis. He was rushed to a hospital near the capital Phnom Penh after he castrated himself with a butcher's knife. "He is lucky to be alive," Phoeung Vat told Reuters.
Villagers in the deeply impoverished southeast Asian traditionally offer chicken, duck or cake to the spirits of the dead to ward off bad luck.

TQM sez: I didn't make this up! It came from Reuters. Jason Blair has a new job.

Oh, What a Night!!

2004-03-26T12:10:00.000-05:00

Not late December back in '63, but Sundays, the time for football and -yes- the Sopranos. Frankie Valli joins the cast!!! I always wanted to sing like Frankie. Now, I'd like to have his hair it's a lot better than John Kerry's). A salut, Frankie!

2004-03-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Syracuse lost to Alabama, ending what was a difficult season for the defending national champs. However, they won 23 games, beat UCONN, played tough in the tourney. Alabama has that cinderella look about them. You couldn't ask for more from GMac and Hakkim. Both looked tired last night, though. And where was Craig Forth???? I told you, they are not quite as good without him. But you have to love Nichols, Roberts and McCroskey; could be the best trio since Rautins, Bruin and Santifer. A Sweet 16 finish is baseline acceptable for Syracuse basketball. They should be better next year.

2004-03-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

BERLIN - Germany can no longer afford state aid to help its yodelers buy lederhosen, the Bavarian government said Tuesday in a sign of how drastically public finances have deteriorated in Europe’s largest economy.
TQM reminisces: My second grade class was allowed to perform in the annual Christmas show. A big deal, since the show was reserved for fourth, fifth and sixth graders. We were singing "The Happy Wanderer," that silly song where you yodel at the end. My cousin Lisa had a pair of Lederhosen. So there I was, in a peter pan shirt, lederhosen, long socks and Hushpuppies ( they were popular then). I fainted as we entered the coda, going thunk on the floor from the first riser. A real show stealer. I recall waking out in the cold December air in my father's arms, a little confused but feeling safe.

My Favorite Shops for Shirts/Ties

2004-03-24T16:53:00.000-05:00

Thomas Pink and Charles Tyrwhitt Both have a great selection. Both have stores in NYC. Expensive, yes, but aren't you worth it?

2004-03-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

"Being an artist means: not numbering and counting, but ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly silent and vast. I learn it every day of my life, learn it with pain I am grateful for: patience is everything!"
-Ranier Maria Rilke
TQM Sez: Artists are known to be lousy bosses who have trouble keeping good help.

2004-03-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Carter. Or James Earl Carter. Or Bo. Whatever. Puh-leez go back to lusting in your heart and be quiet. Your fifteen minutes of fame lasted four years, which is 2,102,385 minutes more than the rest of us get. So be happy with that. OK?

Old Boy Scrum

2004-03-23T20:37:00.000-05:00

John Kerry and George Bush meet in the men's room at half time of the Harvard-Yale game. Both saddle up to the urinal. GW finishes first and starts for the door. John Kerry booms out " At St Paul's they taught us to wash our hands after we piss." The Prez counters, " Well, at Andover they taught us not to piss on our hands!!!"

Morning musings

2004-03-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

Wanna cure your GERD, aka acid reflux aka heartburn? Think you need expensive prescription drugs? You don't. Choose a regimen of probiotics, enzymes, vitamins and the occasional cleansing and you'll feel much better. You won't notice a difference in the time of a Britney Spears marriage, but over time you will. And you'll get other benefits as well.... What is this Wi-Fi? Related to feng-shui? Is it safe for pregnant or lactating women? I'm just getting used to my cell phone...okay, i admit it: I'm hooked on Fox News, especially Fox & Friends, their spiffy morning show. Where is ED Hill? Karin is pretty cute, though...ok, it's Kiran ( must be her parents named her after the Asian beer they were drinking before her inspiration, but they were too embarassed to actually name her after it)... here's a funny mock-debate courtesy of electablog.com
Kerry: Bring it On

Bush: No, you Bring it On

Kerry: Alabama No Show

Bush: No funding to support our soldiers

Kerry: I am our soldiers

Bush: Tax and Spend

Kerry: Nu-cu-lar?

Bush: Wartime President

Kerry: Mission Accomplished?

Bush: Northeast Liberal

Kerry: The Texas Rangers?

Bush: The U.S. Senate?

Kerry: Lincoln Bedroom

Bush: Lincoln, Nebraska

Kerry: That's Bob Kerrey

Bush: Let's Roll

Kerry: I've got three words for you...

Bush: $87 Billion

Kerry: $7 Trillion

Bush: Family values, stem cells, traditional marriage, American wife

Kerry: Howard Stern, John McCain

Bush: Foreign Leaders?

Kerry: Plenty of 'em.

Bush: Name names.

Kerry: Private conversations

Bush: Waffler, credibility, wishy-washy, accusatory, fake.

Kerry: Crooked liar

Bush: Who was it, Chirac? Sharpton? I want the truth

Kerry: You can't handle the truth

Bush: But Cheney's a master at handling it

Kerry: OK, Chirac

Bush: Come on, which foreign leaders?

Kerry: Mubarak, Vajpayee, Bondevik, Blair, Kohl, Kwasniewski

Bush: I want names

Kerry: Mbeki, Zapatero, Erdogan, Martin, Howard, Clark

Bush: Shouldn't have said it if you can't back it up...

Kerry: Putin, Lula da Silva, Verhofstadt, Spidla, Hu

Bush: So then there's no one.

Kerry: Rasmussen, Stephanopoulos, Medgyessy, Ahern, Sharon...

Bush: Sharon?

Kerry: Didn't like the nickname.

Bush: What's wrong with "Pringles?"

Kerry: DeLay

Bush: Kucinich

Kerry: Cheney

Bush: Sharpton

Kerry: You mentioned him already

Bush: You bet I did

Kerry: Ground Zero images in commercials

Bush: With us or with the Kerrorists

Kerry: The Skull and Bones circle jerk initiation, 1968

Bush: The Skull and Bones circle jerk initiation, 1966

Kerry: Short

Bush: French Hair

Kerry: Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingraham, Coulter, Novak, Savage, Falwell

Bush: Garofalo

Kerry: Ken Lay

Bush: Martha

Kerry: Bring it on!

Bu

2004-03-22T20:21:00.000-05:00

Check out Thighs Wide Shut. Funny guy!

Go SU

2004-03-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

Bittersweet sports weekend here at 407 Vesper. The Colgate Red Raiders failed to advance to the NCAAs, losing a tough one ot Clarkson on Friday. The consolation win against Dartmouth was just that, as the NCAA took only Harvard from the ECAC. A great-end-year run for the Raiders, who obviously had little respect outside its conference.

The Orangemen of Syracuse started defense of its national crown last week. Without Carmelo (in the NBA), without Billy Edelin (who's MIA), one would have figured the Orange would have reverted to NCAA form of old: Boeheim's teams always seemed to stub a talented toe on bracket lightweights like Rhode Island, Richmond. But not this year. Gerry Mac hit 43 in the win over BYU: only Dave Bing has scored more in an Orange uni. Then Hakkim Warrick got untracked vs. Maryland with 26. Even Craig Forth looked good. With Edelin at point, you'd have to make SU a favorite for a return trip to the Final Four. Without him, you need the kind of games GMac and Hakkim can give you. And you need Craig Forth, of all people, to stay out of foul trouble and believe he can rebound. When he does...look out! Some say SU caught a break when Alabama beat Stanford. But the Tide is the type of team that could give SU fits. Let's hope it's close, with Jimmy B winning for another day.

2004-03-19T16:24:00.000-05:00

FANS should say a prayer for actress Sandra Dee, 60. The aging star of "Gidget," "Tammy" and "A Summer Place" is in fragile health, according to her psychic, John Cohan. "She has a death wish to join her late ex-husband Bobby Darin. From years of heavy drinking, she has to get on the wagon or she'll wind up in the emergency unit at Cedar's in L.A., as she has many times in the last few years. She constantly calls me in the middle of the night. I tell her Bobby doesn't want her to join him because she has so many new, happy chapters in her life coming up. She has two lovely granddaughters to enjoy." Sandra's son, Dodd Darin, limits Cohan's access to his mother. The psychic has to wait for Dee to call him. Meanwhile, Cohan is reportedly planning a vigil for his late pal Nic ole Brown Simpson on her birthday in May in Central Park, one of Nicole's favorite haunts.

TQM sez: What was it about Sandra Dee that Rizzo sang about?

2004-03-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my world....I bet my sister has a blog...Anyway, this will give me a good space to write, which I need to do. Ever hear of David Denby's American Sucker? About a guy whose wife leaves him so he turns to internet porn and daytrading? Could be me, but I don't day trade. And I'm not really into the porn anymore. What am I into? The Yankees, New York football Giants, SU, politics, Fox News, stocks that pay dividends, etc. You'll see....

The Other March holiday

2004-03-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

Today is St Joseph's Day, the Italian feast to Christ's father. St Joseph is the patron saint of the home. Legend says to bury a statue of St. Joseph in your yard if you want to sell your home. Yes, that's right! But don't take it from me. Otherwise, you have a big feast and invite your friends, or do good for the poor. Riley's in Syracuse closed for St Paddy's Day ( too many amateurs for Terry's taste) but always had a St Joseph's Day deal.

There are special St Joseph Day eats. There is a zeppoli with ricotta, and a macaroni dish that is made too many ways to recite, but usually breadcrumbs are in the mix. On the NYC site for St Joseph's Day I found a recipe for cavazune, what Momma Mia used to call cava-Junes - fried gut bombs filled with nuts, chick peas, chocolate ( an Abbruzzi style). I never, ever heard of anyone else making these. What a surprise when I saw the recipe here. We thought Momma Mia took it with her to her grave.

March 19, besides being St Joseph's Day and the first day of the Iraq invasion ( oops, we are liberators, mea culpa) , is the day the swallows return to Capistrano.

2004-03-19T12:43:00.000-05:00

Courtney Love-----Mar. 19, 2004 09:43 AM

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Courtney Love's people say they are investigating the charges against her and they believe she will be vindicated in court.

Love was arrested for allegedly hitting Gregory Burgett of London, Ky., in the head with a tossed microphone stand during a New York concert early Thursday. This came just hours after she appeared on David Letterman's show and flashed him six times. Burgett needed three staples in his head and says he wants to press charges.

The club's publicist says the microphone stand somehow ended up in the crowd and Love didn't intend to hit anyone.

TQM sez: Anyone who says she will be "vindicated" in court is usually utterly quilty

2004-03-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

Hey, so here's something worth noting. I ran a spell check for the first post, and the Blogger spell check didn't recognize "blog." I had to teach it the word!! Hel-looo!