Requisite celebrity sightings 5

East Coast Guy has seen Kiefer Sutherland and James Gandolfini recently in his prime Soho 'hood (it's the Apple Store). My latest celebs have been chefs and foodies.

In a week:

April Bloomfield, David Chang, Johnny Iuzzini, Jehangir Mehta (my new BFF at my neighbourhood go-to restaurant, Graffiti. What's not to like when the chef greets you with kisses on both cheeks?)

And, at Graffiti, Saturday night, Alton Brown.

Pause

The FG lost her voice this week. Post-traumatic stress syndrome. Apparently, she also lost the ability to write. More later.

It's good to be Queen

Queen Elizabeth II has stripped Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s strongman president for nearly 30 years, of his honorary knighthood as a “mark of revulsion” at the human rights abuses and “abject disregard” for democracy over which he has presided, the British Foreign Office announced Wednesday. The rebuke showed the extent of international frustration over Mr. Mugabe’s insistence to go ahead with a presidential runoff on Friday, even though his sole opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, pulled out of race on Sunday because of the persistent violence and intimidation against him, his party and their supporters.

NYT
Zimbabwe

Shuesday: Pocahontas

Summer has barely begun, and already the fall shoe collections are out and available. These are fun if you're one of those who goes through a seasonal hippie phase as the temperature drops (turquoise jewelry, ponchos, braids). Also, if you're expecting an end of summer raise.

I have the feeling I've posted something similar before, but I can't seem to find them ...

Trunkalicious

Oh that WendyB!

I'm not sure the FG's mother would understand, but there are people you "meet" online, with whom you become friends. Busty Satan was my first such experience, and WendyB is the second (funnily enough, BS and I actually have friends in common, while WB and I just live in the same city). But last week, she had a trunk show, and the Lead Singer and I were there.

It was so lovely to meet her in person - she is just as beautiful and fabulous as you would expect, and this FG knows what it's like to host an event for people you know and people you don't know. And the jewelry!

The Lead Singer liked these:





And I liked these:

Why I love NY: 1

Last weekend, I went to the Met to watch Sylvia Scarlett and Stage Door (part of a Katharine Hepburn celebration), and avoided the thunder and rainstorm uptown by virtue of being inside when it hit uptown. I took the train to Kalustyan's on 28th street, because I needed ras al hanout for my Moroccan pitas, and realized as I came up from the subway that the rain was in Murray/Curry Hill.

It was a hard rain - even my beautiful new umbrella couldn't protect me entirely - and, as though in a movie, I looked to the left and the right in search of respite. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Les Halles! I snuck in for a perfect glass of Lillet and some of the best potato chips I've ever had.

When the rain let up, I took the train south to Sur la Table for additional champagne glasses, and then walked home.

Shuesday: Wicked

I think Cyd would have liked these.

Icons We Mourn: Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse, a former co-star of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, has died in Los Angeles aged 87, her publicist says.

The long-legged star appeared in a number of films, but her fame came from the musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. She sang and danced with legends Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain, and Fred Astaire in Silk Stockings.

At the height of her fame the film company said her long legs were insured for a million dollars.

But a BBC correspondent says she did not need such publicity stunts - her talent was enough to make her an essential part of the golden age of Technicolor musicals.

BBC

This has been a rough week.

Dinner with Tony

Last night, The Blue Fairy, The Vintner, The Artist and The Actor came over to watch the Tonys. I cooked! Which is say, I compiled a cold dinner menu for a warm night. We had:

Prosecco
Endive with Curried Pumpkin Mousse
Veggies, Cassava and Rice Chips with Chipotle Dip

Chilled Cucumber and Mango Soup
Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt
Moroccan Garbanzo Bean and Feta Pitas

Mint Granita*
Chocolate Chip & Dried Cherry Macaroons**

I'm not sure that we paid that much attention to the awards themselves, but it was a lovely evening.

*warning, the granita came out the colour of iced tea, but tasted good
** generously provided by The Blue Fairy

Icons We Mourn: Tim Russert

I watched him every Sunday morning when I could - and I missed last week because I was in DC on business. Damn.

Tim Russert, the host of “Meet the Press,” and NBC’s Washington bureau chief, has died. He was 58.

Mr. Russert was a towering figure in American journalism and moderated several debates during the recent presidential primary season.

Tom Brokaw, the former anchor of NBC Nightly News, came on the air at 3:39 p.m. that Mr. Russert had collapsed and died early this afternoon while at work. He had just returned from Italy with his family.

Mr. Russert hailed from Buffalo and worked for two prominent New York Democrats, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Gov. Mario Cuomo, before being hired in 1984 by NBC in its Washington bureau. He became bureau chief four years later.

You win some, you win some

Fantastic news from SCOTUS this morning - habeas corpus is alive and well in Guantanamo Bay.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.

In its third rebuke of the Bush administration's treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating the rights of prisoners being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The court's liberal justices were in the majority.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, ''The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.''

Kennedy said federal judges could ultimately order some detainees to be released, but that such orders would depend on security concerns and other circumstances.

It was not immediately clear whether this ruling, unlike the first two, would lead to prompt hearings for the detainees, some of whom have been held more than 6 years. Roughly 270 men remain at the island prison, classified as enemy combatants and held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The administration opened the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to hold enemy combatants, people suspected of ties to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

The Guantanamo prison has been harshly criticized at home and abroad for the detentions themselves and the aggressive interrogations that were conducted there.

The court said not only that the detainees have rights under the Constitution, but that the system the administration has put in place to classify them as enemy combatants and review those decisions is inadequate.

NYT

Shuesday: Strapped

Ooh, these are pretty ...

but why are they grey?

Our mothers, ourselves

The fantastic WendyB is in marieclaire magazine, discussing the day she found out her business partner had died of complications from breast cancer - Wendy hadn't known she was ill.

For me, her death raised difficult questions: At the end of the day, what do any of us owe each other—in terms of honesty, intimacy, and disclosure—as friends, colleagues, neighbors? How could I have had an intimate working relationship with Caron and not have known something like this about her? It made me question my judgment, my powers of observation.

Still, I wondered: Why didn't she do right by me? I know that in the grand scheme of things, our little business project paled in comparison to the fact that she was facing death. But even so, if she felt her illness was too private to share, she could've simply provided the information that would keep our business going. It seemed odd to me that her work and her life were always so intertwined, yet so separate at the end. I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

I agree with WB that it is not OK to withhold business information from your partners, especially under circumstances like the ones she describes. Beyond that ...

When my mother, a double survivor, discovered that a woman she considered a close friend had kept the disease from her, she was angry. Why hadn't Carol told her, especially as she'd been through it herself? My mother was hurt that she considered a close enough friend to be in the loop, and that her help and support - and my parents are both extraordinary friends, particularly during difficult times - had not been asked for.

At the time, I told my mother that it wasn't about /her/, that people have a right to their privacy, and she should see what she could do now that she knew what was up. Not everyone is able to draw their friends and family around them and be vulnerable, to be strong enough to admit when they are out of control of a situation. One of the reasons I think my mother is so open about the health issues she has experienced over the years is that she had more than her share of losses in the first three decades of her life. There is no question for her whether or not she will survive, it is the only option. I think her experience somehow enables her to plan for the days leading up to and after a knee or hip replacement, because she is convinced she will not only survive, she will be fine.

Graffiti

I'm behind on my "Places You'll Go" entries, but first I had to share another fabulous meal.

As I talk with friends about neighbourhoods and places they would and wouldn't live, I remain just thrilled beyond belief that there are so many delish places to eat so close to my place.

I've walked past Graffiti daily for weeks now, and finally made it in last Friday. The menu:

Watermelon feta salad with mint sorbet and a pomegranate reduction

Green mango paneer - so sour and oh so good - with naan

Pickled ginger scallops with candied red chili

Braised pork bun with apricot chutney

Cumin eggplant wrap with lentil mustard soup

Three cheeses

We drank a delightful bottle of prosecco, followed by an acceptable glass of rose. The dishes were exquisite. I'll be back.

Oh the Places You'll Go: Chicago (again)

What can I tell you? It can't always be somewhere new.

In brief, the hotel was cool, until the internets went down and the DVD player didn't work at the same time. I went to an all night Pakistani restaurant, on the recommendation of a cab driver. I bought the aforementioned lavender bag, /on sale/, and two new pairs of sunglasses - I broke a pair on the flight in, and there was a Nordstrom. I rode the L thither and yon, north and west. It was a good trip.

YSL continued

Don't ever make fun of my summer hat again.

The heart of the matter

Yes, I saw it in NYC on opening weekend, and yes, it met expectations, in terms of shoes, clothes, and plot. Yes, many, many women in the theatre were dressed to the nines, in heels, dresses, wraps and jewels, which was fun, and yes, we clapped and sighed and cheered en masse.

I enjoy being a girl.



For a more sophisticated and nuanced analysis, see WendyB.

Trends to avoid: belting it out

Having survived a summer in NYC - and one that was mild according to the locals - and preparing to head into another, my sleeveless tops and skirts are all in order and there are more dresses in my closet than ever. I don't think I wore pants even once during the day in July or August last year. It's dressing for the subway platform, or the un-air-conditioned restaurant season.

I agree that summer clothes need movement - tailored pants don't cut it - but the baby-doll dress of prior seasons is now taking its toll on tops - I tried several on this weekend in sizes small and xs, and they were ridiculous. And the dresses get bigger and bigger. The last thing I need is people thinking I'm pregnant.

Which brings me to the ubiquitous belt. Thank you, SATC,* for belting absolutely everything in the damn movie, but I'll pass. It doesn't look comfortable, I don't want a heavy piece of leather sitting on my hips, and how many belts would I need to belt all my outfits? There must be something between mat-wear and exterior corsets.

If you love the look, you're welcome to try to convince me ...

*of course, I also couldn't pull off the tight/shoe combination here either ...

Shuesday: The green monster

Don't hate me for these - I laaave them! And they go with my favourite Ted Baker top ...

Shaken ...

I was watching Casino Royale last night, and thought I'd share, for my fellow martini-fans.

'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

'Oui, monsieur.'

'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'

'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.

Bond laughed. 'When I'm...er...concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'

Wiki

Icons we mourn: Yves Saint Laurent

A master left us today, too soon.

Yves Saint Laurent, who exploded on the fashion scene in 1958 as the boy-wonder successor to Christian Dior and endured as one of the best-known and most influential couturiers of the second half of the 20th century, died on Sunday in Paris. He was 71.

During a career that ran from 1957 to 2002, he was largely responsible for changing the way modern women dress, putting them into pants both day and night, into peacoats and safari jackets, into “le smoking” (as the French call a man’s tuxedo jacket), and into leopard prints, trench coats and, for a time in the 1970’s, peasant-inspired clothing in rich fabrics. Among the women of style who wore his clothes were Catherine Deneuve, Paloma Picasso, Nan Kempner, Lauren Bacall, Marella Agnelli and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild.

Mr. Saint Laurent achieved instant fame in 1958 at the age of 21 when he showed his Trapeze collection, his first for Christian Dior following the master’s death. But unlike many overnight sensations, Mr. Saint Laurent managed to remain at the top of his profession as fashion changed, from an emphasis on formal, custom-made haute couture to casual sportswear.Originally a maverick and a generator of controversy — in 1968, his suggestion that women wear pants as an everyday uniform was considered revolutionary — Mr. Saint Laurent developed into a more conservative designer, a believer in evolution rather than revolution. He often said that all a woman needed to be fashionable was a pair of pants, a sweater and a raincoat.

Can you imagine if we weren't allowed to wear pants?