NEWS FLASH: Ruth’s Chris Steak House no longer has the Chocolate Explosion cake on its menu.
Apparently, it came off six months ago (and may become a seasonal item).
After a pretty excellent birthday meal Saturday night, this had the makings of a disaster.
Thankfully, my beloved dessert has been replaced by a chocolate mousse cheesecake that, let me tell you, is so so so so sooooo good.
Sooooo, Birthday Meal 2008 was saved. Hooray! Continue reading
I have mixed feelings about Hillary Clinton today. While I am a supporter of Barack Obama — and have become more so over the course of the primary season — I can’t help but sympathize with Hillary after her speech earlier this afternoon. Unfortunately, while our plights are completely different, I know what it’s like to deal with disappointment and decisions I don’t agree with, and how hard it is to suck it up for the greater good. I haven’t always done the right thing, and not only has it taken me a while to put the negative feelings behind me, but I’ve suffered additional setbacks due to how I dealt with the situation. Just like she sorta has. When Hillary said, “Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward,” it struck a real chord because it’s only been a couple weeks now since I learned to put a frustrating setback from six months ago behind me.
To be clear: I haven’t become a Hillary fan all of a sudden. I still think she’s calculating, and I didn’t always believe she meant everything she was saying today. All I’m saying is I identified with a lot of Hillary’s speech and I hope she exercises better judgement moving forward than I did. Hillary made a strong case about why it’s so important to support Barack Obama. I hope her support — her genuine support — will help his campaign over the next few months, and will help the Democrats take back the White House in November.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25021292#25021292
So believe it or not, my birthday seems to have snuck up on me this year. Not that I didn’t know it was coming or anything, but I just kind of let it arrive for a change, rather than hype it up and make it another Day of All Days. And that’s fine. It’s been an exciting last couple months with lots and lots of other good stuff to celebrate — buying a condo and becoming an uncle, for example — so I thought it’d be alright, for a change, to just kind of ease into my birthday this year, and not make too big of a deal about it.
Which, of course, does not mean that I won’t be doing my birthday up right. I mean, please. I’m still me. I don’t fear the birthday and I embrace more celebration. There’s a big dinner tonight, and tomorrow there’s brunch, followed by some miniature golf and ice cream, for example. And there’ll be some kind of daredevil activity at some point this summer, of course (I’m thinking whitewater rafting). Plus, the weather’s beautiful today, so that’s good too. All things considered, I think this is going to be a really nice birthday — and even more importantly, I predict good things in the year ahead. Happy 34th to me!
People from as far away as California have called and emailed and mentioned yesterday’s accident on the D line to me and told me they were worried that I may have been on the train, that I figured it was worth posting a quick message to say “I’m alright!” Where this accident happened was way out deep into Newton, and not really close to where I live. When I take the T, I take the B line (which has its own troubles) and on those days when I do take the D line, I get off at Reservoir, which is about five stops before Waban, around where the accident took place. Thanks, everyone, for your concern, but really, I’m fine.
Though my entertainment preferences might imply otherwise, I am neither gay nor female. Who cares. I still decided to take one for the team and see an advanced screening of Sex and the City.
I was never a huge fan of the show, but I’ve certainly seen my share of the episodes and have even referenced one right here on this very blog. And I guess I’ll admit that I was a little excited to see the movie. Why do I tell you all this? Well, I guess it’s so that you don’t hate me too much when I say the movie really didn’t do it for me.
If you’re a devoted Sexaholic, you’ll no doubt delight in the clothes, the men, the witticisms, and the sheer sight of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda together again. For me, it wasn’t all that. Continue reading
The first time you wear shorts and a tshirt in any given year is always an exciting occasion. So it was today, when the temperatures topped 80 degrees and there were blue skies as far as the eye could see. But those weren’t the only signs that the seasons have changed: I put my sweaters in storage and I actually went for a walk — around the perimeter of Boston College. I just couldn’t resist. The sun was shining, people all around me were in good moods, car tops were down, music was playing … summer was in the air. It’s the best time of year, when the cold finally passes us by and it’s clear sailing till October. This was a great weekend. Oh, how I wish it would last a few days longer.
It starts with the hat.
That’s the first thing we see when Indiana Jones is re-introduced to us after a 19-year absence from the big screen. And then the man, in shadow, picks up his iconic headgear, puts it on, and we see his familiar profile.
It’s fitting that this is how we first see the character, because so much of what is beloved about the Indiana Jones series of films is the title character himself, not so much the plots or the sought-after artifact, and his presence, his shadow, lords over the whole proceeding.
And while Indy’s looking a bit older now, I’m happy to say he hasn’t lost his charm. Welcome back. Continue reading
A quick update on Sweet, the new cupcake store I wrote about on Tuesday. I stopped in Wednesday night to check it out, and despite a steep price of $3.25 each (whoa!), I bought a Sweet Cake and a Dark Chocolate, both with chocolate frosting. I’m no culinary expert, but I’d like to think I know my cake. And I have to say, I was not blown away. The cupcakes were good — better than those at Kickass Cupcakes in Somerville for sure — but they were not as moist and good and, ahem, sweet as those at Shaw’s (yes, I really just said that). And I liked the vanilla one more than the chocolate one too.
I’ll be honest: because they’re so pricey and so small, I expected a higher quality ‘cake. But I’m a generous soul and I’ll allow that I had high expectations. So this will not be the last time I go to Sweet for cupcakes. I just won’t be rushing back.
To the entitled-looking twentysomething girl in front of me who, after swiping her CharileTicket at the Hynes Convention Center T stop last night, simply flung it on the ground in the middle of the station … WTF?!? You couldn’t just put it in the trash? You almost hit me with it when you threw it on the ground. Thanks for that. But more importantly: WTF? Why are you so obnoxious that you acted so selfishly and carelessly and threw your trash right on the ground? Did you not hear me say, “Are you serious?!” Jeez … what a bitch you are.
Woo hoo! There he is, ladies and gentlemen, your new American Idol. I have to admit, I was really excited when this was announced (all things considered, of course).
I was never a fan of David Archuleta and I said as early as February 19 that he would never win. David Cook may not have given the better performance last night, but for most of the season it was pretty clear he was the best contestant. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 