Click on the links below for THE HIT LIST, Sally's periodic picks and pans.
Another month gone by, another lost list. Let's just keep it short, sweet, and retroactive.
Top 10 things in my April:
1. Scavenger Hunt (Hiving at its best)
2. Sequins (Circa 1991, brought up to date in 2005)
3. Topaz (bling bling gifting from the husband)
4. Tom Brokaw (speaking at the Disney Concert Hall)
5. Saucy Spoons (Cooking Club I've just joined)
6. Daylight Savings (hooray!)
7. American Idol (the scandals, the shows, all of it)
8. Vegas (wrote about it, learned about it, now I love it)
9. Spamalot (brilliant & hilarious)
10. Aging (not so bad after all)
April, 2005
March may be over, but that's what this whole month has felt like - flying by without rhyme or reason. So, in the name of everything brief and fleeting and full of madness, I'm going to do as my NBF Michael Shulman does in his "Diva Las Vegas" column, and present just a Few of My Favorite Things:
MUSIC:
Garden State (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) - See the movie on DVD, download post haste, and enjoy. Entirely, across the board, mellow and great.
MORTIFYING:
Pat O'Brien - Indulge in the dirt that is the voicemail messages. So good. Wish Jimmy Fallon were still on SNL to imitate it. [I can't even link to the story here, it's so bad.]
MOISTURIZING:
ISH Ionic Rescue Treatment (yes, it's a hair thing.) Run, don't walk to your nearest salon (it's available in 1000 around the country) and get yourself ionized. I had it done weeks ago and I still feel like I'm in a Pantene commercial every day. (Look for my DailyCandy item about it, running soon.)
MADDENING:
The lack of time in a 24 hour day. The fact that foie gras isn't fat/calorie free. Transcribing interviews. And... WHY COOK L.A. - a delivery "service" that punishes their customers (yells and screams, even) instead of "delivering" their food.
MARCH:
March, 2005
Once my least favorite month of the year (when I was living in the arctic climes of the northeast), February has been revived for me. Thanks to Groundhog Day (2nd), President's Day (21st) - c'mon, let's hear it for GW! (George Washington, that is), and the Oscars (27th), it's a month chuck full of celebration. And hey, if you don't celebrate any of the above holidays, there's always the run-of-the-mill Valentine's Day or, I don't know, Mardi Gras. (But who needs another reason to wear plastic beads and expose yourself?)
Herewith, February's faves:
On the iPOD:
1. "Galvanize" - from Push the Button by the Chemical Brothers
This song starts out like Barat's theme song from "Da Ali G," and then it turns into a cool groovy beat.
2. "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar
As I found out this month, this is a terrific karaoke song - but only with the right wig.
3. Samba '68 by Marcos Valle
36-odd years later, this still holds up (as evidenced by the huge popularity of Brazilian music of this era. Makes me want to wear a mumu and sip Caparinhas.
News of the Month:
I made DEFAMER.com! Well, an article I wrote made it... Next stop: Page Six!
OVERUSED Word of the Month:
Why can't boutique owners, ye olde fashioned designers, and, worst-of-all, PR people, stop using this word? It's irrestistably so very 19th Century, I know, but so is a haberdashery, and you don't see those on every street corner (and press relase), do you?
be spoke- adj.
Custom-made. Said especially of clothes.
Making or selling custom-made clothes: a bespoke tailor.
Resto o' the Month:
Polo Lounge, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Boulevard, (310) 276-2251
In honor of awards season, I have to point to an old favorite with the old school. Nothing better than a McCarthy Salad and French fries and a Diane Keaton sighting.
PLACE/PERSON THAT MUST BE STOPPED:
Cynthia, of Cynthia's Restaurant , 8370 W. 3rd St., 323-658-7851
There's nothing I can't say that hasn't been said already about this tyrannical crazy person running around in the service industry. See these user reviews on AOL, just for a sampling. Avoid at all costs.
MY NEW FAVORITE FOOD ITEM:
Preserved Lemons
Look, these are a little weird when you first encounter them: salty, sweet, tart.
They're a pickled item that is used in Moroccan cooking.
You can make them yourself, or just buy them at Whole Foods and put them into your cooking, like this chicken recipe.
Take me to Casablanca!
February, 2005
Why should we pick something as arbitrary as the beginning of the calendar year to
decide we feel "renewal," "change," or "resolve?" I usually get all that done back in September -- I'm still
stuck on that whole back-to-school thing. Instead, this January has made me feel alternately overwhelmed (I'm not ready yet!),
dreary (will the rain please stop?), and/or in denial (awards season is a bad time to diet, right?)
That said, please enjoy the following things that have jazzed up my January:
On the iPOD:
1. "Take Your Mama" by the Scissor Sisters
I know, I'm about 6 months behind the curve with this one. But it's great!
2. Midnight Lounge
by Jody Watley
Yes, of "Looking for a new Love" fame. This is totally different. Her new album - loungy and cool.
3. "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg Feat. Pharrell
I can't help myself.
News of the Month:
A CHORUS LINE will return to Broadway, in a revival opening Sept. 21, 2006.
Opening night tickets, anyone? (Read announcement.)
Word of the Month:
cosmopolite - n.
A cosmopolitan person - a true cosmopolite a Renaissance man.
Ecology - An organism found in most parts of the world.
Resto o' the Month:
Geisha House - Love it. Deelish. Funky. Piece of Tokyo right on Hollywood Blvd.
Read my DailyCandy review.
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
The latest and greatest, eye-opening book about first impressions, by the best-selling and influential author of The Tipping Point. A fascinating read (But then, Malcolm can't write anything not fascinating.)
Birthday Alarm.com
Check out the Reminder section - Once your friends enter their birthdays, you can set alarms, so you'll never miss them!
Aphrodisiac of the Month Club
A gourmet food-of-the-month club to inspire erogenous eating (and cooking). Started by Amy Reiley, a Master of Gastronomy and food maven extraordinaire!
"Whatever Happened to Serendipity?" by Lynell George
This is a great article that ran in the Los Angeles Times about how letting what happens happen doesn't happen that much anymore. This speaks to one of my strongest beliefs: setting yourself up to have the unexpected occur is one of the most important things you can do to enhance your life!
January, 2005
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