Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Well, I am insanely happy as a pig in clover tonight!!! For my birthday, my Dad and my sister Alice gave me two tickets to see Chris de Burgh in May, so of course, Alice and I will be at Mile One to see him, best seats in the house. The concert tour is called "Moonfleet & Other Stories". 

Back when I used to write here regularly, I wrote a post about giving my sister the CdeB CD "Moonfleet & Other Stories" for her birthday. I then wrote another post, in which I included a link from CdeB's website, where he describes the "Moonfleet" album and tour.

Here and here are the two previous posts from my blog, all about this WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL album. I hadn't even heard the album myself when I wrote these, but I have since heard it a million times, and it is pure magic.

One day, I picked up my (then) 20 year old nephew, Greg, from CONA to drive home, and I put on the CD. Well, instead of going to his house, we ended up driving through Quidi Vidi Village, up Signal Hill, and out to Cape Spear and back, just so we both could listen to the whole thing. He hadn't read the book, but loved the CD.

So, if you are a Chris de Burgh fan, and love his storytelling, this is a CD not to be missed, and a concert that will be equally wonderful, I have no doubt about it.

Thanks, Dad & Alice, for the perfect present!!! I am so delighted!!!

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Congratulations, Ian, on a difficult job well done...

My sincerest and humblest congratulations to my friend and former colleague, Ian Wheeler, on being awarded the Governor General of Canada Award for Bravery, related to the rescue of Robert Decker on that horrible, awful day in March, 2009.

Click here for the CBC story.

I have told many people since that day that Ian was exactly the right person to be there. I spoke to Robert Decker on the one year anniversary; he was so incredibly gracious and remarkable. It's no coincidence that an equally gracious, remarkable and talented man was involved in his rescue. I am so thrilled that now, the whole country will know this, too.

Ian posted on Facebook his thanks to those who congratulated him, while noting that it is a bittersweet day. Of course it is... he lost two colleagues that day - the helicopter crew - and many others he knew who travelled back and forth to the Grand Banks for years. The pride one must feel on a job well done, under those circumstances, must be difficult to bear, knowing that there was so much loss and sadness that day as well.

All I can do is hope that Ian can feel the pride he should on having done what he did that day, while at the same time, I say a little prayer that the burden of not being able to do more does not weigh heavily on him. God had His own plans for that day.

Congratulations, Ian. I am proud to call you a friend.

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Celebrating the Yankees!!

In honor of the New York Yankees making the 2011 post-season playoffs, I have put together - with the help of Jib Jab - a little family song and dance routine, to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". It stars my dear ol' Dad, brothers Doug & Bill, and my sister Alice, as well as yours truly. We were a bit camera-shy at first, but, well, we got over it!

Remembering September 11, 2001

It is so hard to believe that 10 whole years have passed since that day, that sunny Tuesday, that soon turned into the darkest day in the lives of countless people.

No one has to struggle to remember where they were. Everyone has their story about that day. Even now, ten years on, people are still telling those stories when the topic comes up. And it comes up a lot.

It might seem odd, but I often look at little children and think, "You will hear about this day, but you were either too young, or not yet born, and will not know the shock, horror, uncertainty and fear that those of us who remember, remember." Maybe our parents thought the same about us, when it came to the war years. I wonder... 

My Mom was alive for it. Princess Diana wasn't. It's funny how often that little factoid crosses my mind.

Newfoundlanders are lucky, in a way, that we have a story to remember of that day, that is not about doom and horror and death, but about Man's humanity to Man. The kindness, generousity and willingness of the people of Newfoundland to help those thousands of stranded travellers... the stories of those days will never be well-enough documented, and that is a crying shame.

One of the most heartbreaking memories for me was watching TV on the following nights, seeing all those people in New York City holding photos of their loved ones; "Have you seen my brother / mother / son / sister??" In the rubble of two collapsed 100+ storey towers, people still had hope, and it was heartbreaking. WHO could BELIEVE it??

There was no greater moment than the rallying cry of the President of the United States, when he stood on the rubble with his arm around a firefighter and said into a bullhorn, "I hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." I still get all choked up when I see and hear that video clip. That was America standing up after having been brought to her knees, and it was wonderful to see.

I visited Ground Zero in 2005 with my Dad and my sister Alice. I have photos of the gaping hole in the earth, and the piece of the structure in the shape of a cross that still stood there four years later.

I look forward so much to the day when I can go back to New York City and see that cross again in the 9/11 museum where it will stand, and see the Freedom Tower that will have risen from the ashes, the memorial pools and other evidence of the greatness and resilience of America, that made it such a target of envious, sick, hate-filled and hopeless lost souls, who thought this was their path to God.

God bless America, ten years on. And, God bless everyone whose heart aches a little today, remembering these events. 

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My time is not my own...

I am very sad and disappointed that I am not able to post here as often as I'd like.

I've come to the realization that SERIOUS bloggers are people for whom this is a primary employment, not something that they just like to do when they can.

Writing posts for blogs - for me - is and has been a labor of love, but one which took a considerable amount of time. Some bloggers post a comment here and there, many times a day in some cases, but my 'style', as it turns out, was to post essays for the most part. To do that requires a lot of time and thought, and passion for the topic at hand. I had no idea what my blogging style was until I got into this!

There are many days when I've thought, "gee, this is a topic I could really get my teeth into", but at the end of the day, there just was not the time to do it.

Just for starters... I'd LOVE to be posting a Mixmaster Monday all about my sister's and my evening out at Raymond's last week, but to do that topic justice is impossible at 1 a.m.

On the Drudge Report website today, there was an article about federally-mandated lightbulbs in the US costing $50. That's just screaming out for me to abuse!!!

They had another article posted, too, about Jerry Lewis giving up the Muscular Dystrophy marathon. I have thoughts about that, too, that I would love to write, but cannot.

Anyway, I feel like I've really let myself down with this. I'm not giving up, no way, but I cannot be here as often as I'd like - which would be every day if it PAID!!!

So... for those who have stopped by from time to time, commented or just lurked, thank you very, very much!! I will be back as time allows, but for the moment, time is not allowing very much, at all. I hope that changes.

And, it's never too late for me to post about that dinner at Raymond's. I won't be forgetting THAT very soon!!!

Stay tuned... I'll be back...

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Princess Beatrice's hat, or whatever you call it

I've been a very delinquint blogger this past week, but an email came to my attention today from which I just could not procrastinate. Thank you, sister dear!!!

It's all about Princess Beatrice's hat, worn at the wedding of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge.

I call it a hat. The email from where I received the following photos calls it a hat. However, to the true 21st century fashionista, it is more accurately referred to as a "fascinator".

I defer to Wikipedia, knower of all things, to elaborate. And I quote:

"A fascinator is a headpiece, a style of millinery. The word originally referred to a fine, lacy head covering akin to a shawl and made from wool or lace. The term had fallen almost into disuse by the 1970s.

In the early 21st century, the term has made a comeback, but the meaning has slightly changed; it is now used to describe a delicate, slightly-to-very frivolous head decoration worn almost exclusively by women. A fascinator may be worn instead of a hat to occasions where hats were traditionally worn—such as weddings—or as an evening accessory, when it may be called a cocktail hat. It is generally worn with fairly formal attire. Prior to Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s wedding in 2011, fascinators have become popular, not only within the United Kingdom, but also throughout the United States and other parts of the world."

As it happens, 99.9% of the hats, fascinators, scarves, flowers, whatever, that were worn to the wedding that day were lovely, and very stylish. The one in particular that I remember was the one worn by Victoria Beckham:

I thought she looked gorgeous, her dress was gorgeous, and her arm candy was gorgeous. I have no idea why the two of them don't smile more.

While looking for a photo of Posh with this hat, I found a review where someone wrote that she was "overtanned, with too much make up". WHA-A-A-AT-T-T????? Please go back up and look at Beatrice, THEN tell me Posh had too much make up on. Geez!!!!! Beatrice looked like the ends of her hat had poked her in the eyes all morning. She got the "slightly-to-very frivolous" aspect of fascinators down pat.

Anyway, Posh was gorgeous, Bea was hideous. If I were the only one thinking this, then I guess no one would have gotten busy enough to come up with the following copycat uses for Beatrice's 'fascinator'. It was fascinating, no doubt about that, in a car wreck, bleeding bodies kind of fascinating way

Enjoy!!

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The *yawn* federal electio... zzzz...

I suppose I should write something about the federal election that occurred yesterday, but I really don't care enough about the campaign, or the outcome, to give it the amount of thought required to write a post on this blog. But, I'll rattle off something, just for the hell of it...

Harper won a majority.

Good news - No election for 4 years.
Bad news - Harper won a majority. This means he won't step down. We're stuck with him.

Layton & the NDP are the official opposition.

Good news - It's not Ignatief.
More good news - He's not leading a coalition that actually has some influence.
Bad news - We're one step closer to a bona fide socialist society. Bye bye, capitalism.

Ignatief lost his seat, and resigned as Liberal leader.

Good news - They can rebuild with a legitimite leader, and be the official opposition in 4 years time.
Bad news - Still trying to come up with something bad about this. Still thinking...

Gilles Duceppe lost his seat, and the Bloc Quebeqois were decimated.

Good news - His treason should never have been tolerated in the House of Commons in the first place.
Bad news - Nope. None. Don't even have to think about it.

Fabian Manning lost in the riding of Avalon.

Good news - A beautiful thing to see!!! Not only good news, but the best news out of the entire election.
Bad news - He'll end up being put back in the Senate, a useless political appointee haven for losers.

So, that's all I have to say about the election. When it comes right down to it, I don't care about any of it!! (...with the small exception of Fabian Manning.)

BUT... I DID vote, so I have the right to whine and moan and bitch and complain about it as much as I want. I have NO INTEREST in the opinions, even similar ones, coming from anyone who DIDN'T vote.

There are women on this planet who do not have the right or freedom to leave their own homes unescorted, wearing clothing of their own choosing, let alone having the right or freedom TO VOTE!!! So ANYONE, especially WOMEN, who do not vote, are FLAT OUT WRONG, and your opinion is of no interest to me. Taking that right for granted is a slap in the face to those who would give anything to live in a society where they can vote in freedom. Or vote without being shot at. I don't care how boring the campaigns are, or how uninvolved or uninterested you are in politics in general, you have a responsibility to vote. Don't take it for granted. Think about that.

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Mixmaster Monday - The Fish Food Special Edition

Welcome back to this week's SPECIAL edition of Mixmaster Monday!!

The following is a recipe that's been in the making for almost 10 years, but it really got a boost from a secret ingredient about 4 years ago. Late last night, the Americans stuck a fork in it, and it was done. Allow me to elaborate...

This week's special recipe is -

"How to Make Fish Food"

1 - Take one psycho nut terrorist who arranged for jets to fly into buildings and into the ground, killing almost 3,000 innocent people, on one day alone. You'll have a hard time finding one, as they tend to hide in caves in ungoverned parts of countries whose governments do precious little to help hunt them down. Don't give up, though; he's there.

2 - While hunting down the psycho nut terrorist, have occasional chit-chats with his cohorts at a military compound in the Caribbean. Wrap cohorts in plastic, lay them on inverted cedar planks (for added flavor) and rinse generously with pressure washers.

3 - After 6 years, most of these chit-chats will bear fruit and reveal secret ingredients needed to complete the recipe. Take these fruits, and regroup to make a plan. Patience is critical.

4 - Once psycho nut terrorist is located, then the recipe is really starting to ferment.

5 - Blend 24 navy seals (including flippers) with 4 black hawks. No other birds will do.

6 - Drop navy seals / black hawks mixture onto flat stone surface.

7 - Insert small lead pellet between eyes of psycho nut terrorist. This step is essential for the absolute best fish food flavor.

8 - Tenderize psycho nut terrorist by dragging him by his louse-ridden beard across the flat stone surface. Stuff one black hawk with psycho nut terrorist. There should be plenty of room to add a few seals as well.

9 - Allow the black hawk to excrete said psycho nut terrorist into a huge body of water, full of fish. It adds amazing fish food flavor and juiciness if psycho nut terrorist's balls get caught in the door on the way out.

10 - Watch the grateful fish eat.

God bless America!!!

UPDATE!

Image courtesy of a friend...

The Royal Wedding

Just call me a complete and utter snivelling romantic when it comes to royal weddings. This one was no exception. It was a wonderful, happy spectacle, and I'm just going to let these photos do the talking.

First of all, though, here is a link to the UK's Daily Mail website, which contains the wedding programme.  

So, without further ado, here are some photos of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

The invitation.

Miss Kate Middleton and her Maid of Honour, Pippa Middleton, as they arrive at

Westminster Abbey.

The bridesmaids and pages.

The bridal party as they walk up the aisle.

Kate arriving at the altar with her father.

Saying their vows, and placing the ring on her finger.

The ring, made of Welsh gold.

Leaving Wesminster Abbey, going to Buckingham Palace.

On the balcony of Buckingham Palace, waving to the crowd.

The crowd outside the Palace.

Their first public kiss as man and wife.

 

The happy couple leaving Buckingham Palace later, in Prince Charles' Aston Martin that had been given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday.

A stunning, wonderful, happy day!

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The day before the wedding...

Well, the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is tomorrow. I'd give anything to be able to stay home and watch it, but, as the old saying goes, "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go". Sigh.

The rehearsals have all been done, the security is being tightened up, the royal watchers are congregating along the route. There's nothing left but the event itself!

I've been watching TV this morning, and it is all that's being talked about, but it's all just speculation - no one has any idea what will happen tomorrow. I'm not interested in hearing what the dress might be like, or whether she might have a long train or a long veil instead.

I did find, however, two articles on the New York Daily News website that I thought were worth reading, in the days leading up to the big event.

The first one is about Kate Middleton's parents, Carole and Michael, meeting the Queen for the first time at a lunch last Wednesday.

I have to wonder why it was left so long? I guess the Queen wanted to make sure the thing was actually going to happen. No point meeting commoners unnecessarily, is there?

The second article I found is about William and Kate going to visit Diana's grave in the week before the wedding.

What a wonderful thing to do. What impressed me even more is that there was not a huge media 'thing' made of this, just an article among many, many other stories.

I try to imagine the unimaginable, like how Kate must be feeling today. I somehow believe that she knows more about what she's getting into, and the man she's about to marry, and about his feelings for her, than her late mother-in-law did on the day before her own wedding. 

I hope that tomorrow is perfect for them, and that everyone, the throngs of royal watchers included, has a safe and wonderful and memorable day. I wish I could be there. 

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Getting to the 'core' of the Apple iPhone controversy...

Well, finally! After countless requests for a statement, Apple is finally admitting that a "bug", a "glitch" is responsible for the intrusive amount of tracking that is occurring with their iPhones and iPads.

"Bug" and "glitch"  my arse.

Read here for the details.

Read here for the question and answer statement from Apple. Just read the cock-and-bull answer to question #2. The question asks, "Then why is everyone so concerned with this?" The answer reads, in part: 

"Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite."

Huh?!?! Who asked for a soundbite? Nobody asked for a soundbite. The question begs an answer as to why this invasion of privacy was a concern to so many people. This is a ridiculous start to an answer that didn't get any better. With the miracle of websites, they could have given a voluminous answer, and saved the soundbites for TV. Bad answer, bad.

This is the best that Apple could come up after almost a week of circling the wagons? I'm embarrassed for them. I hope they're better at producing mobile phones than they are at spin-doctoring.

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Close encounter of the moose kind - but I'm no Patricia Regular!

I was hauling my tired butt to work at 5.30 a.m. today, cruisin' across the Crosstown Arterial, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but a galloping horse.

No WAIT!!! It was a MOOSE! Clippety-clop, clippety-clop, right through the intersection of the Crosstown Arterial and Old Pennywell Road. If he'd been another couple of hours later, there'd have been whacks of moose stew cooking up tonight! (T'would be a nice change from turkey, gotta say...)

Well, I saw the moose in time, thank God, and slowed right down to avoid him. It's getting quite a bit lighter at that hour of the morning, these days. Had it been much darker, I might not have seen him, and I could have had an extra passenger in the front seat with me if I wasn't paying attention.

I'm particularly happy that I am not as dangerously dumb as this broad from Conception Bay North. Remember her?!?! She's like a one-person moose-culling machine.

But, there's the rub... even for those of us with legendary lead feet when it comes to speeding, it's all about keeping your eyes on the road and paying attention. No fence on earth would have saved me if I hadn't been paying attention.

I hope my little moose-friend found his way back into the woods, and I hope he knows to stay away from the Hr. Grace / Clarke's Beach area!

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Playing by the rules - a hairdresser's bad hair day

Just imagine, for a moment, that you have a hairdresser's appointment, and let's say that it is for 11.00 a.m. on any given day, we'll call that day 'Thursday', just for the purposes of this discussion.

So, you realize that there is something else you absolutely must do on Thursday at 11.00 a.m., so you call your hairdresser and ask if you can come Wednesday, instead. Your hairdresser checks her schedule and says, "Sure! You can come in at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, would that be ok?" You blow her a kiss over the phone, and hang up. Wednesday at 1 p.m. it is.

Now, I ask you, would it be sensible of you to show up at your hairdresser's at noon on Wednesday, and expect her to seat you immediately? The hairdresser sees you, and says, "My, you're early! Have a seat there and I'll call you in as soon as I can." She was able to squeeze you in at your request, so is it now the right thing to do to then hover nearby, an hour early, and haunt her? To then walk away and return several times, making your presence felt? To ask if the currently-occupied chair is going to be your chair? In other words, is it reasonable, sensible and polite to annoy the crap out of your hairdresser and her current client, making her feel as if she should rush to accommodate you?

No, it is none of those things. It is unreasonable, insensible and impolite. Yet hairdressers the world over are catering to people who are all of those things, to the detriment of the ones who are willing to wait their turn, and play by the rules.

I am a lover of rules (except the ones governing speeding). They allow everyone to know the expectations, and provide a level playing field. There is consistency, and I love consistency.

I am so glad I am not a hairdresser, so I never have to be put into this kind of situation. That would be horrible.

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Mixmaster Monday

Hello, and welcome back to Mixmaster Monday!

Whoever would have believed that getting a photo of my late Mother's own Mixmaster would be such a difficult thing? One day, one day soon!!

As I promised last week, I am going to post the recipe for macaroons that I got from Chef Ron Cook, who worked with me on the last ship I was on down in the Gulf of Mexico. He didn't make these nearly often enough, but when he did... ahhhh... it was pleasure without passion!!

I got off work early today, and had every intention of making a batch of these, so that I could photograph and post a step-by-step guide, like I did for the meringue mushrooms a few weeks back. However, working the 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift has the funny effect on me that, once inside the door, I'm drawn to the couch and into a world of blissful unconsciousness that is next to impossible to resist. So, you're just going to have to use your imagination, and if I ever do get photos to post here, I will announce it in a future edition of Mixmaster Monday, ok? OK!!

So, without further ado, here is the recipe straight from Ron to me to you, for the best, tastiest, chewiest, delicious-est macaroons in the whole wide world. Thanks once again, Ron!!!

Boa Rover Macaroons

Ingredients:

·        1 egg white
·        ¼ can sweetened condensed milk
·        ⅛ teaspoon salt
·        ½ cup sugar
·        ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
·        ½ teaspoon almond extract
·        3 cups flaked coconut

Preparation:

Grease and flour baking sheets and preheat oven to 300°. In a small bowl , beat egg white and salt until egg white doubles in size. In another bowl put in all other ingredients. With a rubber spatula mix all together, add the egg white. Mix. The mix should be moist but not sloppy.

On the boat I used an ice cream scoop to form the cookies. Place them on the cookie sheet. You can top with a cherry or whatever tickles your fancy. The time in the oven depends on the oven being used.... and every oven is different, but it will take about 15 to 20 minutes, the outside should be browned and not black LOL. You may have to rotate the cookies halfway through cooking. The inside should be moist and dreamy. Wait 'til the cookies have completely cooled before eating. It's a simple recipe; I think the hardest part is waiting for them to cool. That’s how I made the Rover cookies.

So, there you have it, straight from Ron himself. I'm not sure if he meant to say the inside should be "dreamy" or "creamy", but either word works just fine as far as I can tell!

 

He used the cherry on top when he made them on the ship, and they looked so great! They tasted even better, and as you can see, it's not complicated at all. Enjoy!!

 

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Happy Easter!!

Easter.

I have often wondered why, in the great scheme of things, Easter has seemed to play second fiddle to Christmas.

I mean, there's Chrismas... with its 'peace on Earth, goodwill towards men' message, and the celebration of the birth of Christ. Definitely a worthy event. If He had not been born, the rest would never have happened.

But, it has always occurred to me that the event that cemented Christianity was the Resurrection. Had there not been a Resurrection, then Christ might have been dismissed as just another prophet. The Resurrection was where the rubber meets the road to Christianity, so to speak.

When it comes to Santa and the Easter Bunny secularizing these two events, I really don't get too caught up in the throat about it. These two characters played a role in my upbringing, but not to the exclusion of what Christmas and Easter were all about. As a child, I went to the Basilica with my Dad on Good Friday, went to Confession and did the Stations of the Cross. It's a tradition I wish, as an adult, I still had time to do. On Christmas Eve, when Dad was a Knight of Columbus ushering at the Basilica's Midnight Mass, I'd sit up in the front pew, good as gold, while he and others evicted the drunks out of the confessionals in the back. To this day, Midnight Mass is, to me, what Christmas is all about. The presents are nice, of course, and the turkey is yummy, but Midnight Mass, especially at the Basilica, is Christmas.

On Easter Saturday night, we went to the Easter Vigil at Mary Queen of Peace. The church was in darkness at first, very solemn during the many readings, and then the church lights blaze, the music begins and the flowers and decorations on the altar are all put in place by a number of parishoners, to celebrate the Resurrection. It is spectacular, and one really feels that this was, and still is, a wondrous thing that happened so very long ago.

Santa gives us presents. The Easter Bunny gives us eggs. Jesus gave His life so that we may have everlasting life. Jesus wins.

Happy Easter!!!

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When you gotta go...

A couple of years ago, a nifty product came on the market, called Just a Drop.

To put it delicately, this new product was for the elimination of odors caused by ...ahh... going to the loo to do number two, or, if you prefer, the elimination of odors caused by elimination.

The wondrous thing about it was, it worked! One little drop and you could let loose a 'contribution' of pretty hefty proportions, and the person coming behind you would get the faint scent of eucalyptus, nothing more.

Not only were there little bottles to perch on the toilet tank, there were also little envelopes called "Singles" that were ideal for purses, wallets, what have you.

The advent of the Singles made 'taking one's ease' in a public restroom or someone's home a whole lot less traumatic for all involved.

Such a little product, such a magnificent effect!

Then, the makers of Just a Drop came out with a little pink bottle with a whole new scent.

I guess that, in the Pavlovian way of things, people were starting to equate the original eucalyptus-y scent with the scent of poo, so something new had to step up.

I have tried the pink one, and I have to say I find it has little to no scent at all, yet it is still very effective for what it is intended to do.

However, at my sister's house, a box of Sea-Dog matches has now appeared on the toilet tank, right next to the multicolored selection of Just a Drops.

It seems that my youngest nephew, (who, for the purposes of this post, shall remain nameless or he will murder me in my sleep), detests the aroma of both the Just a Drop blue and pink. Both eucalyptus and floral scents now smell as bad to him as a very healthy (yet poopy-smelling) dump.

He has a part-time job at an Irving station, where he works long hours in close proximity to colleagues and the restroom. There is no job on Earth where we all cannot learn something, and what he learned on this particular job is that if one lights a match before exiting the loo after having 'lightened the load', the smell of the burned match masks the odor, and allows one to retain one's dignity, unscathed.

I was let in on this little secret just last week, and am quite amazed by it! It is nice to know that there are now so many choices one has, when wanting to poo-poo the smell of poo.

However, I think I will still stick with the Just a Drop Singles if I'm ever on a plane again. I somehow don't think the match theory will appease the flight attendants or air marshalls, and I'm not too eager to be thrown on the floor and spread-eagled by someone looking for a bomb. Unless, of course, the searcher is a pilot who looks like Colin Firth...!   

;-)

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Update to yesterday's post about iPhones and iPads...

It is scary to me that so many people think that this invasion of privacy by Apple with their iPhone 4 and iPads is unimportant and irrelevent. Scary.

I brought it up at work during lunch today, and - firstly - people were assuming that this was a feature of the iPhone whereby you can contact Apple if you lose your phone and they can tell you where it is. When they were told that, no, it's a tad more invasive than a simple one-off locator that Apple alone can access, they seemed uninterested.

Wow.

I guess most people are just willing to give up their personal rights and freedoms without a second thought.

Sure, government, go ahead and ban books and songs and censor great writers. Go ahead, I wasn't going to read that book anyway, and I don't like that song.

Sure, private businesses, create a device that literally everyone wants, pack it full of tracking technology and don't tell anyone, or respond when asked. After all, I'm not a criminal or stepping out on my spouse, so who needs privacy?

I guess nobody really cares about their rights and freedoms, until it directly affects them. But, by then, in way too many cases, it's too late.

The CBC posted an article today concerning Apple being pressured into responding to allegations of iPhone tracking, which up until the posting of that article, they still had not done. I am frothing at the mouth to see what they say. HOW can they justify it? There IS NO JUSTIFICATION.

The world has gone mad.

My desire for a desert island, a Kindle, and quarterly deliveries of essential supplies grows daily. But even then, someone will know what books I buy...

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Hold the phone!! Uhhh... not so much...

I'm one of those people who has been sinfully envious of those who own iPhones. Yes, I admit it. I would love one. A tad out of my price range right now, with other, bigger priorities and desires to meet, but it has always been my intention to get one eventually.

...until today.

What has changed my mind, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

It's all over the American and British news today that the iPhone 4 and iPad 3 both have the means of tracking everywhere you go, all day, every day, and storing that information for up to a year. Not only where you go, but the exact location and the time and date you were there.

What the HELL is going on?????

This ability for the iPhones to store this information is not something that the user can switch off. iPhone owners have no control over this. It will track you and document you whether you want it to or not.

What has happened, or what is happening, to an individual's rights and freedoms? It's getting to the point that I don't even want to watch the news anymore, because it seems that every day, the world is becoming exactly like what Aldous Huxley wrote about in "1984", that Big Brother is watching, and we're not even aware of it.

REALLY!!! That book should be required reading for everyone prior to earning the right to vote.

What was Apple thinking when they programmed the iPhones and iPads to have this ability? What were they thinking when they chose not to advise consumers of this invasive technology? And, why are they refusing to make a statement concerning it?

See, now the problem is this, for me anyway... Apple will come out and say any number of things, including maybe something like, "Bring your iPhone or iPad to your local retailer, and this accidental, unintentional 'glitch' will be deactivated." Uhhh... sorry, Apple. The fact that it was installed in the first place, and not disclosed, does not inspire me to believe that there is any truth to your assertions (should they happen), that the application is indeed disarmed, or that it will not be included in any future generations of iPhones or iPads.

They've made upwards of $5 billion (...yes, that's 9 zeroes) on sales of iPhones / iPads this year, so far. All I can say is I am glad that my few measly hundreds of dollars are not in their coffers tonight, and never will be.

That's a guarantee.

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Mamma Mia!! If this was an episode of Survivor, it'd be voted off the island.

I have finally watched the movie "Mamma Mia!!", that I have wanted to watch for quite some time. I had downloaded it onto my computer, but it was never the movie I chose to watch when I had the time to do so.

I think my subconscious knew what was in store, and was protecting me.

I actually started watching it on Sunday night, but fell asleep halfway through. Grand Marnier was more to blame for that than the movie itself. As I watched, though, I couldn't really decide if I was liking it or not. I knew I'd have to see it through to the end to make that call. So, Monday night, I started again, right from the beginning.

It goes without saying that the music was wonderful!! Anyone who was alive in the '70s loved ABBA. They had sing-along-able, catchy songs and wonderful harmonies. I'm just surprised, and I shouldn't be, at just how many songs ABBA had. A lot more than I thought.

But, as for the rest of the film, the non-singing part? In a word - ugh.

It was grossly overacted. The young star who played the role of Sophie was just way too intense.

I could go on about most of the characters, but what occurred to me was that it was being acted like it was a stage production, not a movie. Now yes, of course, I know it was (is?) a stage production!!! I know that!! But, there is a certain amount of 'emoting' that is typical on the stage. When that is carried over into film, it looks overacted and contrived.

I'm no expert, but I know what occurred to me, and that was what occurred to me.

It was as if the actors all wanted to be heard by the audience in the back of the room. Only thing is, the back of the room is all over the world, and sadly, they tried to meet and exceed that expectation.

So now, you have a movie with great music, but bad overacting. Then, there was the story itself.

Stupid-stupid-stupid.

If that was the best story-line that the ABBA guys could come up with to showcase their wonderful songs 30 years on, then I hate to say it but the ABBA guys are senile, old fools.

The bottom line from this particular film critic is that it was an overacted, stupid story with fabulous music.

Sooooooo, I take my opinion, and go to my trusty source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, just to see what it has to say about this movie.

First thing it tells me is that this overacted, stupid movie with the fabulous music is the 5th best-grossing musical movie of all time. Boy, did I feel dumb. But, happilly, that's not all that it tells me.

When it comes to critical reviews, by people who are paid to do what I am here doing for free, it seems that I was not so far off the mark.

The Times (London) gave it 4 stars out of 5. Channel 4 (UK) said it had "all the swing and sparkle of sequined bell-bottoms". This is true.

Then, it got interesting.

BBC's Radio 5 Live's film critic said, it was "'the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke". Now we're getting somewhere. This describes it perfectly!!!

Bob Chipman of "Escape to the Movies" said that it was "so base, so shallow and so hinged on meaningless spectacle, it's amazing it wasn't made for men". Ouch.

As to the singing, I'm just going to post the whole paragraph from Wikipedia...

"The casting of actors not noted for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews. Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated [Meryl] Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including [Pierce] Brosnan and [Stellan] Skarsgård." Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was compared to "a water buffalo" (New York Magazine), "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald), and Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to a prostate exam just outside of the camera's eye." "

Cruel as this sounds, it is absolutely true. I do have to say, though, that I applaud the use of actors not known for their singing. It did lend a certain degree of authenticity to the story. Not sure if 'authenticity' is the word I'm looking for here, but what I'm trying to say is that they weren't just going for a Broadway caliber performance for the movie. It's just too bad that, in my humble opinion, the actors didn't focus more on the acting than they did on their singing. The movie would have been much more touching and appealing and less 'in-your-face' if they had.

Will I watch it again? Probably. I often watch movies over and over again. Even though this one doesn't even rank on my Top 50 list, it was still not horrible. It just could have been so much better, I think.

(Imagine!! I get all the way through talking about a movie with Colin Firth in it, and I don't even mention him!! Who'd believe it?!?!)

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Mixmaster Monday

Welcome to this week's Mixmaster Monday!!

Well, I've been a very delinquent blogger this past week or so. Busy-busy-busy with work, and just too danged tired lately to get in a ranty-roary mood about very much at all.

However, I cannot let Mixmaster Mondays pass without posting a little something that is gastronomically significant, so here is this week's contribution to culinary excellence!

Earlier this year, when I first started this blog, I posted about the yummiest cupcakes on earth with cream cheese frosting, that were made by Ron Cook, the chef on the ship I was working on at the time. If you saw them (there were photos posted) - and certainly if you had the pleasure of tasting them - you would not / could not forget them. I begged and pleaded for the recipe for them, and it finally arrived today!

It seems there is no mystery to the cupcakes themselves. Rumor has it that they were made from a boxed cake mix. I don't care. They were awesome, and only grow in awesomeness in my memory.

All the magic lay in the cream cheese icing. Great creamy globs of cream cheese icing. A diabetic's nightmare. I have to post the photo again. It's just too good to pass up...

It's funny... just tonight on the NTV Evening News, Danielle Butt did her "Made Right Here" segment from Sugar Mama's, a cupcake store in Mt. Pearl. As Dad was watching it, he commented on how horrible and sweet all the icing on the cupcakes shown would be. I am assuming from this, then, that I got my love of sweet things from my dearest Mama. I thought they looked amazing, but I'm willing to bet they weren't as amazing as this little treat in the photo. Correction - it was anything but little!!

So, without further ado, here is the simple recipe for creating the cream cheese icing on these cupcakes, that I ranted and raved about back in January...

"The cream chesses icing is simple. It is any regular cream cheese icing recipe -  Cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla, but instead of using  just cream cheese, I use butter too! So if you're using a full block of cream cheese you would use ¾ of the block and ¼ real salt-free butter.  And at the end I add oil (vegetable oil for the icing is what I used on the ship). The oil softens the icing and adds a nice shine to it." 

So, there you have it. Straight from the cook, Mr. Cook!! I did ask him to clarify just how much oil is used at the end. I will add that here when he writes me back.

I really have to try this soon. I hope-hope-hope it turns out anywhere near as good for me as it was on the ship. Sugary, creamy, shiny, happy sigh...!!

UPDATE!!!

Here is Ron's reply to my question about the oil...

"No not much oil is needed, I just eyeball it. Maybe about two or three tablespoons per 250g block of cream cheese. Just to shine and soften."

"Shine and soften"... Ooooooo... I'm starting to drool here. Oh baby!!

(Preview of next week's post - Come back next week for the recipe for Ron's macaroons, which were also a treat and a half!)

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