Northeast Distillers

 

There appear to be a growing number of distillers manufacturing spirits throughout the northeast – including several right here in Brooklyn!  For the full New York Times article, please click on the link below …

 

Just Don’t Call It Moonshine

2010’s Top Cocktails

 

The Village Voice has just announced their favorite cocktails for 2010.  Many of these are actually signature cocktails for the bar to which they are attributed.  Matter of fact, some of these bars are even in my own little corner of The BK.  Seems like I need to be getting out more ( ~ sigh ~ ).  For the full list, please click the link below …

Top Shots: Our 10 Best Cocktails of 2010

Sparkling Wines & Champagnes On DME

 

My review of Sparkling Wines and Champagnes for your New Year’s Eve celebration has just been posted on the Drinking Made Easy Web site.  If you like the post, please remember to Tweet it, share it on Facebook or leave a comment on Drinking Made Easy.  To read the article, please click the link below …

New Year’s Eve: A Sparkling Wine & Champagne Review

Macallan Tasting On DME

 

 

My review of The Macallan Scotch tasting has just been uploaded to the Drinking Made Easy Web site.  Please remember to Tweet the post if you’re on Twitter or to Share it if you’re on Facebook.  Also, please feel free to leave comments or ask questions.  To read the entire post, please click the link below: 

The Macallan Master Class Tasting

Kubrick’s “2001” Explained

 

As embarrassed as I am to have to admit this, I have never quite understood Stanley Kubrick’s so-called masterpiece, “2001:  A Space Odyssey”.  Although I’ve seen it multiple times (but not lately), it’s always gone over my head.  Recently, I read an explanation of the movie that I believe makes the most sense in terms of helping me to understand and appreciate what I saw and why the film is so highly regarded; it was an article written by noted film critic Roger Ebert – the piece was written around the time the movie was released and I think it sufficiently fills in many of the blank spots that have troubled me over the years.  Here’s an excerpt:

 

Silence and attention are especially useful during "2001: A Space Odyssey" because here for once is a film that makes a total statement. You cannot really understand part of it until you have seen all of it. Then, afterwards, you can go back and fill in the missing places. But while it is there on the screen, you should simply let it happen to you. No questions. No whispers. Let the movie have its chance.

Because "2001" needs to be seen this way, I think it will have a better chance with younger audiences. Kubrick himself has speculated that his film wouldn't have much luck with audiences raised on "linear movies" - that is, on movies that follow a plotted story line from beginning to end.

In a linear movie, you never ask why John Wayne wants to kill the bad guys (although perhaps you should). But in Kubrick's movie, there are questions harder to answer. What about that enormous black monolith, for example, which follows Man through Kubrick's universe?

 

 

If you have been stumped by this movie over the years as I have, then you owe it to yourself to read the entire article for a detailed analysis; in that case, please click the link below …

 

"2001" -- The Monolith and the Message

David Lynch On Cell Phones

 

As a movie lover, it deeply saddens me that we may be developing a generation of people who will only or primarily consume them on – of all things! – their cell phone. 

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I recently discovered one of my favorite filmmakers, director David Lynch, has spoken out on this atrocity. 

I agree with his comments 100%.

 

Little Fockers – Movie Review

Last night in the final session of the Fall Semester of my movie class, we saw “Little Fockers”, starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro as well as appearances by a bunch of other folks. 

Synopsis

 

When Jack Byrnes decides he must hand over the responsibility of head of the family to his son-in-law Greg Focker, Greg then desperately tries to prove to Jack that he’s worthy – but after Jack suspects Greg of being a philanderer, can Greg convince Jack that he’s faithful?

 

Story

 

Struggling to earn a decent living as Head Nurse at his hospital, Greg Focker (Stiller) is forced to take a job on the side working for a pharmaceutical company to help them sell their new Erectile Dysfunction drug.  This causes him to spend less time with his family, resulting in father-in-law Jack Byrnes (De Niro) becoming suspicious about this new behavior.  Jack is particularly upset by this because after a recent mild heart attack that caused him to come to terms with his own mortality, Jack informed Greg that he wants Greg to take over as head of the family upon his demise. 

Jack and his wife Dina (Blythe Danner) are in town visiting Greg and their daughter Pam (Teri Polo) because Greg & Pam’s twins are about to celebrate a birthday.  While there, Jack figures that this is an opportune time to check up on his son-in-law and determines something is up when he discovers samples of the Erectile Dysfunction medication in the closet and sees Greg leaving the family at night.  Jack confronts Greg about this and informs him that if Greg is to take over responsibility of running the family once Jack is gone, then Greg must earn his trust and show that he is truly a dedicated family man. 

One night, Jack tails Greg and finds him at Greg & Pam’s new house, which is currently being renovated prior to their move-in; Greg is alone with Andi (Jessica Alba), the sexy saleswoman from the drug company with whom Greg works closely.  Andi then comes on to Greg – Jack spots this and mistakes it for Greg cheating.  During the birthday party of Greg & Pam’s twins – an elaborate affair held at the palatial estate of Pam’s old boyfriend Kevin (Owen Wilson) – Jack confronts Greg about his supposed infidelity.  Can Greg convince Jack that he’s loyal to his wife and thus earn Jack’s trust?

Review

 

It wouldn’t take too much effort on my part to trash this movie, but I refuse to do so.  First of all, I realize that there are quite a few people that have enjoyed these Stiller vs. De Niro flicks over the years, which accounts for their popularity and success at the box office (not to mention the resulting sequels).  Besides, taking the opportunity to bitch-slap the film would only make me look like some kind of a pompous pseudo-intellectual who’s above this type of major Hollywood production (which my ego wants me to believe that I’m really not).  Since there are already enough professional movie critics who are paid for that sort of thing already, why should I bother doing myself the disservice?  Suffice it to say that if you liked the first two movies in this series, then you will probably appreciate this one as well.  

For those of you who saw “Meet The Fockers”, I should warn you that Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand (who played Stiller’s parents in that film) are barely in this movie – their appearance results in basically what you might think of as cameos, having precious little to do in terms of driving any aspect of the plot forward.  Essentially, wasted performances by a pair of big name stars.  Kind of makes you wonder why their characters were even in the movie in the first place.  The jokes – which I found few and far between for something that’s supposed to be a comedy – weren’t particularly funny to me and they mostly just left me shaking my head.  The one bright spot for me was the scene where Alba runs around in her undies for a bit.

After the screening, our instructor interviewed the movie’s primary screenwriter, John Hamburg, who was also among the producers of “Little Fockers”.  Our instructor characterized this series of movies as a “franchise”, not unlike something such as “Star Wars”, partly because of the fact that the filmmakers are now in the role of making a sequel to a sequel.  Hamburg said that this gave him great trepidation because as you explore new twists on the theme, you find that you are gradually running out of story ideas and the whole concept loses steam after a while; he joked that maybe the next film would instead be a “prequel”, titled something like “Fore-Fockers”. 

NYC When The Big One Hits

 

According to an article in The New York Times, it can be possible to survive a nuclear attack – albeit with some rather unrealistic methods.  For example, how long do you think you could stay inside your car? 

For the full details on the 21st Century version of Duck & Cover, please click the link below:

U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable

Suppose the unthinkable happened, and terrorists struck New York or another big city with an atom bomb. What should people there do? The government has a surprising new message: Do not flee. Get inside any stable building and don’t come out till officials say it’s safe.

The advice is based on recent scientific analyses showing that a nuclear attack is much more survivable if you immediately shield yourself from the lethal radiation that follows a blast, a simple tactic seen as saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Even staying in a car, the studies show, would reduce casualties by more than 50 percent; hunkering down in a basement would be better by far.

But a problem for the Obama administration is how to spread the word without seeming alarmist about a subject that few politicians care to consider, let alone discuss. So officials are proceeding gingerly in a campaign to educate the public.

NYC’s Fiscal Health

 

Some reports (like this one) say that New York City is finally on the rebound from the Recession, thanks to Wall Street’s performance in 2010 – however, we’re not out of the woods yet because of the budget gaps. 

Here’s the city’s financial recovery plan for the next year …

NYC Budget Rpt 11 2011

Can You Be A NYC Firefighter?

 

Do you have what it takes to be a New York City Firefighter?  After the recent article published by The Village Voice, the only possible answer to that question would be, “I would certainly hope so!”

The Voice published a sampling of some of the multiple choice questions in the test; a few are below, but if you want to know the correct answers, you’ll have to click the link to read the entire article on The Voice’s Web site.  Note that while the questions may not be so dopey themselves, some of the possible answers supplied in the multiple choice selection are so silly that it would be hard to understand how someone could get them wrong.

 

The 10 Most Idiotic Questions from FDNY Entrance Exams

 

1. While operating at the scene of a car fire on a street, a firefighter was told to inform the officer of any dangerous conditions at the scene. Which one of the following conditions would be considered most dangerous to the firefighter operating at the scene of the car fire?

2.  Firefighter Jacobs has just come upon a young woman who has just started bleeding profusely from the lower part of her right arm. Which one of the following actions should Firefighter Jacobs take first to control the woman's bleeding?

3. Firefighters must stop the flow of traffic in the safest possible manner when operating at the scene of fires or other emergencies located on highways. Firefighters have been assigned to stop traffic at night while operating at the scene of a car fire located on a highway. Which one of the firefighters is the most likely to attract attention of motorists in the safest manner?

4. A fire department instructor is explaining to a newly-assigned firefighter the hazards of electrical wires that have fallen in the street. Which one of the following is an action that a firefighter should NOT take?

5. Firefighters have responded to an apartment for an emergency water leak and are now standing in front of the door to the apartment. Which one of the following actions should the firefighters take first to gain entry into the apartment?

6. After firefighters are sure that a fire has been extinguished, and that there is no hazard in the building, they begin a salvage operation. Salvage involves moving and covering furniture and other properties, covering broken windows and holes in the building with plastic, and redirecting and cleaning up water to minimize damage. After extinguishing a fire in a high-rise apartment building, firefighters begin salvage operations. Which of the following pieces of property is in the most danger of being damaged?

7. A fire department instructor is explaining the hazards of operating on a frozen lake to a newly-assigned firefighter. Which of the following is an action that a firefighter should not take in this situation?

8. Firefighters conduct building inspections to locate potential life-threatening conditions in the even there is a fire. Which one of the following would the most-serious threat to life in the event of a fire?

9. Firefighters are required to operate on the subway tracks during emergencies in the subway stations. Which one of the following would present the greatest threat to the safety of a firefighter working on the subway tracks?

10. A group of firefighters and their officer respond to a fifth floor apartment in a seven-story building. When they arrive at the apartment, they are told that the contents of a wastepaper basket was on fire, and the fire was extinguished prior to their arrival. The officer instructs the firefighters to ventilate, or remove, the smoke from the apartment by first using a method that will not cause damage to property. Which one of the following would be the most appropriate method for the firefighters to use to remove the smoke?