Over and Dunne

Today came very sad news. One of my all time favorite authors and personalities passed away. Dominick Dunne was an old Hollywood legend. I first became acquainted with him in my high school years through Vanity Fair. After reading everything he wrote for the mag, I went back and read everyone of his books. I followed him as he followed OJ; the first, second and third time, and the Menendez brothers and Lily Safra and on and on and on. One day I had the opportunity to meet him on the Metro North train from New Haven back to the city. I spent the entire trip sitting across from him trying to contain my excitement at being in his impeecably dressed presence. At 125th St., I finally leaned over and told him I was a fan. I remember how grateful he was and how he promptly went back to his paper. I mean, it's not like he was going to invite me to Swifty's for a drink. In any event, I'll miss his monthly VF article, his presence at the big courtroom dramas and all his untold stories.

Culinary Tour Stop #1

Last week, we hit our first stop on the Sullivans Island Culinary Tour 2009. HomeTeam BBQ. Here's the rundown:

1. Food was pretty good. Their lunch menu is pretty straight forward: sandwiches with 1 side, chicken (1/4 or 1/2) with a choice of sides, a whole host of salads.

2. Mam Ruth was horrified....let me say that again HORRIFIED, that CityBbay had food all over his face and the table. I had to turn to her, lean in and in a controlled voice tell her, that he's a baby and we're eating in place that is basically a beach bar. This is what it's like when you have a baby.

3. Just so she wouldn't be outdone, she had to dispense a bit of her own wisdom. She proceeded tot ell me that when you have a baby you have put locks on all your doors and cabinets (Really?) and that with medicine? "You have to buy a house 4 blocks away and lock all your medicine in a cabinet in the 3rd floor." OK, thanks for the real world advice.

All in all, everyone enjoyed themselves. Here are some pics to document the revelry. My personal favorite is the one where Mama Ruth tried to get CityBaby to tango.



Next stop.....Thyme.

Goods Reads, Good Bye!

At the urging of a friend, I joined goodreads.com. It's a site that allows you to post your past, current & future reads, recommend and rate books and link to your friends (and their friends) to see what everyone is reading. Quite frankly, it makes me feel deficient. I love to read, however, lately I've been having trouble finding time & patience. So, how do you think I feel when I am still on the book I bought for last year's vacation and I get weekly updates from people who have read 2 books? So, I have decided to ditch goodreads and introduce to a far more antiquated system. Every time I see a book I think I might like to read, I go to amazon.com, look it up and add it to my wishlist. I am loathe to admit that my amazon wishlist looks like the middle well of my car and the top drawer of my nightstand: a dumping station for crap. But I find it an effective way to remind myself of books that appeared interesting. So, I am revealing my wishlist. Enjoy browsing my list and start your own and share it.