Missing The Cheyenne Diner

I am so sorry to hear Cheyenne is still bogged down where it is. I only hope they don't tear it down. For me it was a hit on every count. Ease of parking at four a.m. after disco, good reliable food, decent prices, friendly service, and a teriffic spot to share with and get to know new friends before heading off into the mysterious night. New York secrets are fast evaporating, thanks in large part to mister Mayor and his developer buddies. Given the current tax load, this city needs revenues, and empty lots with old diners on them don't generate enough real estate taxes.

I don't blame Ming or the other diner for trying to advertise on the sleeping walls. An empty building is fair game in Manhattan; it's not the holy grail. As to its moving to Red Hook, well I don't give a dirty rodent's behind for Red Hook; they don't live near me. That's far from saving Cheyenne, if it's not available to the old patrons. Brooklyn may as well be Beijing.

Beyond the buildings is one precious species which is now in deep doo doo danger of extinction: The New Yorker.

I've moved for a while

I decided I wanted to start another and less morose BLOG, so here is where you will find me now:

http://mymymichl.blogspot.com

Condy Rice Goes Electioneering

Her boss sent her into the most futile of situations: go to Jerusalem and get the peace talks going again.

Could our president be thinking of peace on Earth, or the next election?

Where's the real war?

Rumsfeld's Army is busily - and futilely - shooting at insurgents, but the supply of weapons and men seems endless. Does anyone know where the guns they all carry are coming from? Someone has to be selling the weapons to the Islams; it's usually the French, yet so far no one has thought of cutting off the supply.

I watched a WW II movie where the Brits bomb a heavy water factory and shipment. It made sense then, but now, nothing makes sense.

US House of Reresenta-Pervs

Foley may be lots of things, but dragging in the FBI is a bare assed political ploy to recruit votes from GWB's crazy right wing and sacrifice Foley in the ceremony. All the guy did was email kids. Let's see -- oh yeah, he's the worst criminal we have, or is he another sad case of a guv'mint creating a decoy?

Hey, come on; this game is older than Pontias Pilate, and by now if Americans can't see it for what it is, we're in deep do doo as a nation.

And for this we need the FBI? I wonder what the Bureau would have done if J Edgar's collection of drag gowns showed up.

As I watch the antics of both political parties, I understand why the law provides for a court to take a hands-off position when both parties to a lawsuit are a couple of scoundrels, and neither deserves satisfaction from the other.

Oprah on XM

Oprah joined the Larry King Show to promote her new XM radio channel, and it seems worth checking out. I groaned when they said Marianne Williamson was a part of the troupe. I attended many of her lectures in Manhattan a few decades ago, and walked away, disgusted. She was more of a performer than a spiritual healer. She has a way of twisting words around themselves so they sound like the ultimate truth. My friends worshiped her. For me, something in the milk wasn't white.

There sat Oprah, telling Larry she simply would never address the question of her and Gail's relationship and then spending the next half hour talking about it: "I don't think gay is bad, I'm just not gay, that's all" etc etc blah blah. I don't give a hoot what she does or doesn't do; I have my own life to think about.

If I had an XM radio, I think I'd subscribe to the channel. They better be good, but if you're Oprah, you don't have to be.

California Burning

The wild fires in California return year after year with devastating results. But the good citizens wait until a fire starts and then start to chop firebreaks so the flames won’t spread. This waiting is dangerous, difficult and sometimes costs human life.

It would be a lot better if firebreaks were cut on a regular basis, in advance of the dry season, so when a fire does start, it has no chance of taking over the entire region.

This is called planning. Duh. Okay, so maybe they aren't so smart in Southern California, but I wonder why the insurance companies, who loathe paying out even a single dime, haven’t thought of this simple protective step.

Feed Rachel on $40 a Day?

Aside from Mario, one of the best food minds on the TV Food Network is Alton Brown, who adroitly shares his wealth of food know how with us. Very sad to say, his producer believes food facts cannot be imparted to us yokels without a huge side order of corny, stupid stabs at humor which miss, serving only to bore and waste time. This--and their plethora of commercials--made me drop the channel from my favorites list. Bye Bobby, bye Emeril, and bye bye Iron Chefs, English and Japanese.

A comment I read on Rachel Ray and her bogus "Forty Dollars a Day" show, as though anyone (else) could possibly get that food at that price. Her secret: she stiffs the servers, how else?

“Tip, Bitch!”