I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

January in northeastern New York's Southern Adirondack mountains...love it or leave it.

Well, we're high enough in the north, that we'll not get most of the icing that they will in the upper and mid-Hudson Valley (50 to 100 miles north of New York City).

It's in the low 30's fahrenheight now, and for the rest of the week it will fairly comfortable for this time of year-- mainly be in the low to upper 20's F, so at least we're out of the deep freeze for a while, no sub-zero's...brrrr!.

We've a storm coming in sometime in the wee hours of the morning--not too bad for us up north--less than 12 inches, no big deal. But, the south and southeast could see another bad ice storm--which is far worse than any blizzard could be, trust me on this. My sister lives in southern Vermont, not far from the Massachusetts border, so looks like she may have to break out the ice caluks for their shoes, the generator and lay on some wood for their boiler/furnace...and hopefully some groceries, in case they can't get down the mountain for a day or two.

Here's what the weatherman says:

This next storm will lift snow into our area late this evening from south to north. Snow will overspread most of the Capital Region by about 2AM, continuing through daybreak. We are anticipating about 2" to 4" of snow accumulation by the morning commute. At that time, warm air will move in above us in the atmosphere. Snow will mix will sleet and freezing rain from the Schoharie Valley to Albany and southern Vermont, with some sleet possible further north. And a complete changeover to freezing rain will likely occur in areas south and southeast of Albany. We're specifically watching Greene, Columbia and southern Berkshire counties where heavy icing may occur during the day on Wednesday. The exact precipitation type will vary greatly depending on your location, and the exact track of the storm.

The wintry mix will continue for much of the day on Wednesday, eventually changing to all snow through the evening as colder air arrives. At that point, the storm will be pulling away from the Capital Region which should end the accumulating precipitation. For the entire storm, the Adirondacks through upper Hudson Valley could see 5" to 9" of snow... 3" to 6" will accumulate in the Mohawk Valley through Albany and southern Vermont... areas south and east of Albany will see 1" to 3" accumulation of snow and sleet with up to 1/2" of ice.

Is it me, or is every progressive Doctor getting younger? At the present rate, I am thinking Doctor number 12---will be 12...years old.

The 13th Doctor faces his deadliest enemy--with help from his companion, "Nanny Gray."

Israel learned ZERO from WWII, behaving more and more like Nazi's themselves, each day this "war" of theirs, continues--now apparently indiscriminately bombing a U.N. school--which was sheltering refugee civilians--and a Red Crescent (Middleeastern branch of the Red Cross) ambuance station and who knows how many other NON-MILITARY targets!

The israelii's are behaving more like crazed terrorists than anything else. The US refuses to tell them to back off, or order sanctions against them, because basically, we've become a nation dependant on foreign money and also, Israel is our "strongest" anti-Arab ally. Notice I say anti-Arab. Because, though we may kiss certain oil-rich Arab countries up and down their robed backsides, since the 1950's, America has steadily become power-hungry in the Middle-east, wanting to have control over oil resources--which Russia..and now increasingly China, are also vying for. That's part of the reason Russia supported the Afghan war in the 80's. That's largely the reason we took part in the Gulf War and, is certainly why we pretend to care about (mock) democracy in Iraq.

We have out noses pressed against Israel's buttocks, because we are afraid that if the Arabs have total control over the Middle-east, we will have no power there, no leverage. That's really a simplified answer, but is sort of the truth in a nutshell--the Israelii's are also a big cash-cow for us--a large chunk of the weapons they use are purchansed from the USA, they are also closely tied to us investment-wise as well.

Now, I'm not bein anti-semantic. I could care less about whether someone is Jewish, or Muslim, Atheist or Christan...that's fine. I just hate the terrible hold a foreign country has on my own nation....it's an invisible bond that seemingly can never be severed--without most Americans even knowing it, we are virtually becoming slaves to Israel...in pretty much the same way that some Britons preceive themselves as becoming slaves to America. America went to war with Iraq, and Briton pulled their forelock and followed...now, Isreal is at war with Palestine (again) and we're kissing ass and saying "bombs away!"

HERE'S WHAT THE PRESS (AND SOME FANS) HAVE TO SAY:

WE knew the new Doctor was young – but we didn't know he was this young!

"I never used to watch it but the kids really like it and I must admit getting to look at David Tennant got me involved. No doubt we'll get used to him."--GAZETTE

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HE’S a relatively unknown 26-year-old about to step into the shoes of the actor recently voted the best Doctor Who of all time.

“But after hearing his eagerness and enthusiasm for the role he seemed to fit it,” he said. “They have gone for a unique doctor who will bring flair to the role.”

#####

BAFFLED Doctor Who fans were yesterday struggling to understand why the BBC had picked an unknown 26-year-old to play their hero.

“The dude’s too young.”--both articles from WALES ONLINE

_____________________________________________________________________________-

THE unveiling of the new Doctor received a mixed reaction from fans of Doctor Who yesterday, after nearly seven million people tuned in to learn who is taking over the role.
Matt Smith was revealed as the next star of the show during a special episode of Doctor Who Confidential, making him, at 26, the youngest actor to play the part.

Smith has appeared in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys at the National Theatre in London, as well as several other roles on stage and television.--THE SCOTSMAN

1. Do you like hot dogs, if so where do you buy them when you eat out, and at home, how do you eat yours? If not, why don’t you eat them?

Yes, I like hot dogs. Growing up, we used to always go to Hot Dog Charlie's...they make their own chili-flavoured sauce with meat and onions in it--they served it with yellow mustard, freshly chopped onions and meat sauce, specially made fresh baked mini-buns, and use locally made mini German-style hot dogs. At home, I keep it simple--often merely have it plain or with mustard and sweet pickle relish, or mix some barbeque sauce in some Heinz vegetarian beans, and bake them with the hot dogs on top, or cut up in it, and eat it with some buttered tinned corn on the side.

2. What’s your favorite type of store bought cookie? (meaning mass produced, like Oreos.)

Oreos, Nutterbutter peanut butter wafers, grasshoppers (chocolate mint), Freihoffer's original chocolate chip cookies, Pepperidge Farm's dark chocolate dipped Milano and butter Chessmen cookies.

3. Is there a food where you live that is hard to get anywhere else?

Western/Tex-Mex and Polish

4. Do you drink milk? Whole, 2%, no fat or other? Or, why don’t you drink milk?

Yes, not as much as I used to, though. Generally whole or 2% semi-skim, sometimes I'll buy a pint of chocolate milk, as well.

5. What is your favorite kind of cheese for snacking?

I like extra-sharp cheddar and Rondelle's garlic and herb soft pub cheese, havartii, gouda, and tho' I only had it once, stinging nettle cheese.

6. What is your favorite kind of jelly or jam?

Don't have one, whatever catches my fancy. Last month is was currant, a few months before it was grape, presently it's apricot.

7. Yogurt. Regular or custard style?

Regular, I suppose. I'll eat it, but it's not exactly a favourite food.

8. Share a recipe for a stew or soup.

Well, since we were talking hot dogs...

HOT DOG-CHEESE SOUP

6 hot dogs, sliced 1/2 inch

In a small skillet, sauté onion and franks until browned. Remove from heat. In a large saucepan, stir together all ingredients. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Serves 2 to 4.

9. What’s your favorite form of potatoes?

Don't have a favorite, I like them all ways: fried, baked, mashed, roasted, french-fries, twice-baked (stuffed), potato pancakes, you name it.

10. Pie crust. Premade or from scratch?

Though I've made it from scratch, my crusts are rubbish, so I prefer prepared crust from the chiller case at the supermarket.

11. Vegetables. Fresh, frozen or canned?

Usually frozen or tinned, but sometimes fresh, if there's a good sale on...fresh is a lot more expensive where I live, in winter time...except for carrots and potatoes, they're pretty cheap, year-round.

12. Fruits and veggies. Do you prefer them peeled or not?

It depends on what I'm making. I don't really have a preference, it will depend on the recipe I'm using them in.

13. What’s your favorite fresh fruit or vegetable smell?

Apples or oranges

14. What’s the worst food smell you’ve ever smelled?

Collard greens--bleh!

15. Share the recipe for the dish that you love to smell cooking on the stovetop.

CHICKEN CURRY

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root (Note: I don't add this as I seldom like ginger, and ginger root is hard to find and very expensive where I live)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
salt to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, diced large
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes. Serve with rice pilaf and vegetable or salad of your choice.

16.Name something you use cream cheese in/on.

Bagels

17. Do you use yogurt in any recipes?

Only rarely (see above)

18. Macaroni or pasta salad. What do you like/put in yours?

Mayonnaise, tuna fish, onion powder

19. Share a recipe that you use sour cream in.

LIVER AND ONIONS

1 package (4) sliced beef (calf’s) liver

In a hot skillet, fry bacon until very crisp. Set aside. Retain fat in pan. In a shallow bowl, mix salt and pepper with four. Carefully (to avoid thinner cuts of liver from falling apart), dredge all sides of liver with flour, making sure no part is folded over on itself. Cook liver in pan, about 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Turn heat to low. Slowly pour soup into pan, and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes, or until soup is hot. Remove liver. Crumble bacon into pan and gradually stir in sour cream. For thicker gravy, you may stir in 1 to 2 TBLS flour. Simmer, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour sour cream & onion gravy over liver, and serve. Serve 2 to 4.

20. Popcorn. Homemade, microwave, bagged, hot, cold. How do you like it?

Movie theater (extra) butter flavour microwave

21. Fish and chips? Like it, hate it? Do you make your own or buy it from a restaurant?

I like it, make it at home, or buy it out, either from The Fish Fry Cafe, Ted's Fish Fry or Long John Silver's.

22. Favorite ethnic food(s)?

Italian, Polish, Mexican, Indian, Chinese/Thai, Middle-eastern, Greek.

23. Favorite regional dish? And, were any now-famous dishes invented in your part of the world?

New England Pot Roast, Corned beef and cabbage (which originated in Boston). Apple pie ala mode (apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream) and the potato chip (crisps), both originated less than 30 miles from where I am presently living, in the 19th century.

24. Share your mom's favorite recipe, or a recipe she often made when you were young.

Though she wasn't Italian, this was mum's favourite dish:

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

1 3 ½ to 4 lb. fryer chicken, cut up into serving pieces

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Coat chicken with flour. Heat oil in skillet (if using an electric skillet, like mom did, turn temp. to 360 degrees). Brown chicken on all sides. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, covered, for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until chicken is tender and juices run clear. Serve over spaghetti. Serves 4 to 6.

25. Last dish you made that has its origins in a country other than your own?

Rogan Josh...tho' I'm making Shepherds pie tonight.

--'cos I just found out Openoffice.org's word processor, doesn't like to copy and paste from this blog...damn. Now I have to re-write everything all over again...I'm referring to an idea I had for a play or short story or whatever, a few days back.

I wanted to copy it to word, so I'd not forget about what I wanted to maybe do with it, as far as a story and characters go. I suck at plots, and have a rather bad "let the chips fall where they may," attitude--meaning, I largely sort of make the story up as I'm sitting there writing it...which means my plots are weak and the story flow is probably bad. I don't know...as I keep saying, I know jack squat about writing ANY kind of fiction...playwriting class taught me the mechanics, but never really touched on plot, other than the whole exposition-rising-falling action thing. Of all of the 6 English courses (not counting a theatre writing class and broadcast writing class) in my 2 year college, plus 4 English classes and some journalism writing courses in my 4 year college---out of all that, I had all of TWO WEEKS in fiction writing...taught by a ditsy middle aged hippe-new age flower child woman, whose teaching was so abstract as to leave me a tad out of my depth.

To give you an idea of what I mean, she began the creative writing course--which was mostly poetry, as it turned out--with a very short poem entitled, "The Pope's Penis." As you can guess, the tittering teens in the classroom, found that the height of hilarity. My reaction was: "okay, when are we going to get to the REAL poetry?" I was doomed to disappointment. No instruction on the types of free-verse poems out there, about rhythm, flow or punctuation..nope, it was, I assume, about "thinking outside the box," but without any real structured logic behind it. It was a college course geared to 9th or 10 year high schooler's...which is more like saying 7th or 8th year, in the UK.

Thankfully, my next two poetry courses, were much more in-depth in their approach. Still, I would have given anything to have one decent fiction writing course under my belt--not so much that it changes the way I write, as something to change the way I think about writing (fiction). Nothing so rigid and staid as to bore me to tears, and nothing so loose and abstract as to lose me completely...something just to give me a boost of confidence, I suppose. Well, that's just another pipe dream, I guess. They don't have anything like that around these parts, so I will just keep muddling through. Gotta' find a better word processor though. Think I'll surf the net this weekend, see what I can find.

This from the RSC's website:

Latest news at 5 Jan: David Tennant has made good progress following his recent back operation and will perform the title role in Hamlet this evening. Edward Bennett returns to his original role as Laertes, along with Tom Davey, Ricky Champ and Robert Curtis who will play Guildenstern, Lucianus, and Francisco.

We will be assessing David's return to each Hamlet performance this week on a day by day basis.

Hamlet plays at the Novello Theatre in London from 3 December 2008 - 10 January 2009 after transferring from Stratford-upon-Avon.

Here's some reviews concerning Tennant's understudy--whom I belive we may hear more of in the future-- and the production in general:

'It says much for the quality of Greg Doran's production and the depth of the RSC ensemble that David Tennant’s understudy, Edward Bennett, assumed the role with great style and achieved a well-deserved ovation at the curtain call. Much of the strength of Doran's production lies in the surrounding casting. Patrick Stewart is a masterly Claudius, who starts as a smoothly duplicitous figure, slowly disintegrating. By the end he is so aware he has been outwitted that he almost gratefully accepts the poisoned cup from Hamlet. And when was there a better Polonius than Oliver Ford Davies? He has exactly the right mix of courtly sycophancy, personal cunning and sad senility. This is a first rate production that gives Edward Bennett a well-merited moment in the sun.' --Guardian

'It is a bold, fast-paced production, and beautifully acted production. It is hard to judge whether Patrick Stewart is better as the ghost or the king, both of them are so good. Penny Downie is a beautiful, elegant and thoroughly believable Gertrude. With such a rich cast and a director at the top of his form, even the absence of David Tennant cannot detract from a production which should be rated among the best modern Hamlets.' --Independent

Tho' I know they'll never see this, nor shall I ever see them, I do wish Mr. Tennant, Mr. Bennett and the rest of the cast-and crew, my heartfelt congradulations for what seems to be a top-notch production. Well done!

I really, really hate telling people I'm...well, a 48 year old virgin--who genuinely has never been kissed. Urrrgh. The reactions I get. I do everything I possibly can to avoid that little revelation.

You know, some of you younger folks reading this may not know this, but way back when, women were ill thought of, who were "sexually promiscuious." Now, in a complete about-face..thanks to a combination of the sexual revolution, the feminist movement running amuck and a break-down of civilized behaviour, I'm considered odd, for not having sex. I was born too late, I guess.

Not that some of these changes weren't a bad thing, in fact, they were indeed needed...but then, people lost control and now things are rather extremist, in my view...no balance, no rules, no depth, just run amuck and to hell with the consequences.

Well, no worries. I am who I am, and that's that.

Still, get a little tired of the looks--the disbeliving, askance look. Sucks, let me tell you...I wince every time. Do gays and lesbians have to go through this? When a gay comes out of the closet, do people disbelive him and try to talk him into going straight? Why does it genuinely bother people that I have no desire to be with a guy? I'm not a lesbian, I'm not sexually active, I'm just...me. This is who I am. Why do so many think that cause for jokes and pestering? Leave me alone! Just accept me...but so few do, you know.

I make people uncomfortable, sometimes. Maybe 'cos I really am "different." I'm a bit slow--I mean not totally stupid, or I wouldn't have managed being cum laude in college, or a 3.45 average, for nearly 2 years. Still, I am slightly slow--grasping ideas, picking up on jokes, learning new stuff, and I'm awkard in conversation, sometimes. And, that makes people uncomfortable, I suppose.

No, no one will ever send me flowers, no will look at me tenderly or hold me close and comfort me--and that's okay. I think I've always known I'd be alone, and I accept it...totally. I don't know if I could live with another person again, it's been so long on my own--four years!

I don't reckon for a second that I'm easy to live with, either. There's sides of me, and parts of me, that I never write about on here, and probably never will. And, some may be okay with those unrevealed sides of me, and others might shun all contact with me. Who knows? But...I don't want to know. I don't want to be hurt again, I've had more hurt than I can bear, and I don't want to open the door and leave myself vunerable like that. I truly do not believe that I will ever find love, I do not believe that love will ever find me--and that's just the way it is, and people should just leave it alone.