Happy VD

In an attempt to get into the spirit of this malignant holiday, I thought I would share with you a romantic little tune, sung by the late Blossom Dearie.

Be My Baby

I was listening to BBC radio this morning and heard that Estelle Bennett, sister of Veronica "Ronnie" Spector who with Nedra Talley was one third of the Ronettes has passed away.

It has been over 40 years since this song hit the airwaves, when I was just a wee Ganome, dreaming of the day that I too would be able to wear my hair in a beehive and get some white go-go boots.

A lot has changed, but I still love this song which is always featured when I am playing the soundtrack of my childhood inside my head.

Blossom Dearie

You may or may not have heard, Blossom Dearie passed away Saturday. I remember first hearing about her as teenager, reading "The New Yorker" in the library at my high school in rural Vermont. Blossom Dearie gave me a vision of a city that was far more exciting and sophisticated than the cow town I was living in. Eventually, I landed in Boston which, while more exciting and sophisticated than Bomoseen Vermont, none the less fell short of Manhattan. Almost 40 years have passed since I first heard Blossom Dearie but her voice still brings back a small part of a 15 year old sitting in a high school library dreaming of an exciting life in the city.

I think the song I will always remember best is her rendition of "Satin Doll". I couldn't find that particular song on Youtube, so instead this is Ms. Dearie singing an Irving Berlin tune.



We'll miss you Blossom.

Another birthday

As you may have read, Doris turned 83 Saturday. As these things go, while I may feel like the old lady is getting, well... old, it doesn't really effect my perception of my own mortality too much.

However, 34 years ago today, Daddy's precious little angle came into the world. I cannot believe my teenage daughter is in fact 34 years old and has a kid of her own that is now in high school.

Any associated number with my own age really doesn't bother me one way or the other. But this having an adult child crap can really make the years weigh you down a bit. At any rate, happy birthday kid!

Happy 83rd

I feel compelled to inform her many fans, that Doris is celebrating her 83rd birthday today. I called like a dutiful son and she talked at me, at great length. However, it's her birthday and I let her go on as long as she wanted to. As we say up in Vermont, that woman could talk the hind leg off a mule!

A Lucky Break

Considering that I was not looking forward to my day at all, it has turned out much better than expected.

I had to go off an see the orthopedist this morning and thought I was going to waste half of my day at the hospital. Instead I was whisked in and out of x-ray and the doctor was actually with me "shortly". The upshot of all this is that I in fact merely chipped a bone and did not have a stable fracture, whatever the hell that is and, AND this is the most important part, I get to throw out the much hated and I have to admit after 2 and a half weeks, rather gamey wrist splint I have been wearing.

I have also been given the green light to lift weights and use the rowing machine to my little hearts content.

You have no idea of how much better this makes me feel already. I don't think I had any idea of how much going to the gym was a part of my routine and how much shape it gave to me day.

Now, to get back on my schedule!

Super Ganome

I figured I might as well jump on the bandwagon and come up with my superhero avatar. Uhhh.... They did not have a short guy with a middle aged roll available. But he's bald! So I at least get honesty points for that one.

Obviously, one of the things that happens when I transform into Super Ganome is that I get a bottle of "Just For Men" out and touch up the old facial hair.

The good news

I was walking past the burned out shells of the string of restaurants that I had mentioned earlier. I was walking, disheartened by El Pelon and noticed a sign saying that they are planning on reopening!

My little heart is singing, though I managed to refrain from doing a happy dance on the icy sidewalk, since one broken wrist is enough.

Hopefully, RG and I will be once again eating burritos the size of an adult head.

Stop yer whinin"

I haven't been blogging much recently, in part because I broke a bone in my wrist and typing is even more challenging than usual. At the best of times I am a pretty piss poor typist, however my cast keeps trying to send things to the printer, or asking my browser to display in HTML, among other things.

Also, I haven't felt like I've had much to say other than to gripe about how much I a.) hate being in a cast and b.) that this situation is totally screwing up my workout routine.

Not exactly compelling and I am tired of hearing myself whine about the situation, so I am fairly certain no one else wants to hear about it.

So, to move things on to a positive note, I have been thinking about what has been working out lately. It's been a good time for gadgets. After putting in good service, my faithful Nokia 3220 really needed to be put out to pasture. It has been a great phone, but the contacts on the keys, specifically the * key, which allows you to unlock the keypad was going.



After trying out a cheap replacement, that was not going to do it, I bit the bullet and got this baby.



It seems to be as good a phone as my old one, which is all I really wanted. But to make my consumer experience more enjoyable, it has an MP3 player built into it and it actually sounds good. Who knew? I don't expect it will replace my iPod, but it will be a nice distraction on days that I go out unpodded and get stuck waiting somewhere and need something to distract me. It definitely isn't coming into the gym with me. Unlike some of my fellow gym goers, I view the gym as a refuge from phones and email.

Another new item that HAS made it into the gym with me is my new razor.



I had seen this thing advertised on the internet, but just figured that is was up there with the thigh master as far as actually being useful. However, I saw one of the guys at the gym using one and he raved about how sharp the thing is and how good of a job it does. And it actually does. Work that is. The only thing I have had to get used to is that you don't press down, not even to remove the barbed wire that grows out of my face in lieu of a beard. It's a pretty cool gizmo and I will be happily grooming myself with this item for the foreseeable future.

Last but not least, I was turned on to the following video by Joe. Unusually, for me I commented on Youtube. The next day my inner teenage girl screamed at the top of her lungs when I saw in my email that Matt Alber had replied to my comment on Youtube.



So, these are a few good/fun/silly things that have been going on. I am sure that the next 5 or 6 weeks will fly by and then I will be back in the free weight room and start kicking asses.

Another example of why the Ganome is a dumbass

Life is full of important lessons. I have been taught a very important lesson recently.

If you are walking down an icy sidewalk and your legs go out from under you, let go of the Little Miss Healthypants lunch that you are carrying. Because if you stupidly try to hang onto it, instead of just landing on your well padded ass, you slam your hand down on the sidewalk and break one of the small bones in your wrist that they can't reset.

This takes you out of the running in the weight room for 6 weeks and puts a real crimp in your workout routine.

It's looking like there is a lot of time in the near future on the much hated aerobic equipment at the gym for a certain dumbass Ganome that we all know and laugh at. I am probably going to be the size of a house by the time this is all over. RG however thinks I'll only go up to the size of a trailer, but he is always optimistic.

Big Fire

When I headed out the door at my usual ungodly hour to go to the gym, I smelled smoke. Initially, I was worried that there was a fire in my building because the smell was very strong in my foyer.

Walking out the door, I looked down Peterborough St. and saw firetrucks further down the block. I walked towards the excitement and saw that there were firetrucks lined up down the block. A quick look at the activity told me that I should turn around. The last thing the firemen needed was some gawker getting underfoot.

I headed off to the gym and when I got home I checked the Boston Globe site. This is the story. The whole row of little restaurants down the street have been destroyed.

It's upsetting. Not just because, selfishly, these are places I like to go to and give my money to, but because they were all Mom and Pops.

These were little privately owned restaurants, which unlike chains actually added to the character of my little part of Boston. They were by and large cheap places to get some good food. They were also a sort of common ground. Walking into any one of these establishments allowed you to see an interesting cross section of our increasingly yuppified neighborhood. While there were young professionals aplenty, you also could still see students, section 8 housing residents, the elderly and low wage earners, like me. All of them had sidewalk seating, so it afforded some great people watching opportunities. I especially liked the lack of pretense. No matter how much you are earning, it is impossible to pretend you are doing anything other than eating a burrito off a little cardboard container plate, when you are engaged in this activity.

I hope that the various store owners have good insurance. I really hope that they are all able to rebuild. It would be nice to think that the city will do something to ease the way for these small businesses to reopen. I doubt that will happen.

Hizzonner hasn't attached the Boston name to any project that didn't have the term luxury attached to it in years. I have a hard time believing, especially in the current economic climate that the city is in any way going to assist a group of small business owners, regardless of the ineffable contribution that they make to keeping some sense of neighborhood going in our area.

So, it is rather a sad day in the Fenway. I will be interested in seeing how the neighborhood reacts and if out of some sense of neighborly goodwill or a desire to keep some identity as a distinct neighborhood if the community does something to restore what has been an institution on Peterborough Street.

The real curse of the holidays

Everyone talks about why they hate the holidays. It's too commercial. It's too frantic. Expectations are too high.

I hate the holidays because they are too fattening. I received a rude awakening when I got on the scales recently and tipped in at 170. Somehow, between Thanksgiving and Xmas, I had managed to acquire a few unwelcome pounds. It's always the same thing, every year. No matter how much you promise yourself that you will exercise moderation, there is always someone shoving a plate of cookies under your nose saying something like, "Oh have one, it's the holidays." Or I have to listen to RG tell me that holiday calories don't count. This coming from the only person I know that can eat like a pig and lose weight.

So, once again this morning, I headed out the door to the gym. It was an act of will.

As I was enjoying my slumbers last night, Mother Nature decided to rain down ice. I swear I got more exercise trying to remain upright going to and coming from the gym. However, needs must when the devil drives as they say, so I am trying to get back into the habit of eating sensibly and exercising portion control, while bumping up my routine to defeat the evil forces of delicious fattening food.

I suppose I should take a glass half full attitude towards this. Look at it as motivational and try and think about how this will get me to bump my workout up and get closer to my goals.

In fact however, I am just looking forward to being able to button my pants without holding my breath again.

Happy 2009

Happy New Year's! It is currently 6 degrees with a wind chill of -11 outside.

I have no idea of what we have in store for us for the new year, but I would like to wish the best to everyone and hope that come what may, we all enjoy a better year.

I myself will be heading out to the gym soon and then spend the day freezing as I go and pay calls on friends.

Once again, my very best wishes for everyone.

Happy New Storm!

We are getting a little snow here in Boston. Again.



Here's the view of Boston, from the middle of the Mass. Ave. bridge around noon o'clock.



This is the view of Cambridge from the same vantage point.

It looks like we are in for it again, though at least this time it is all suppose to be fluffy and the temperature is suppose to drop like a rock, so it will stay this way for a while instead of turning into ankle deep slush and ice water.

At least here, 2008 is going out with a bang.

Boxing Day

I had a very nice time yesterday afternoon at Chez Wahz. Old friends, good food and champagne. Funny cards were exchanged as well as funny stories.

This morning, against all expectations I actually got up early and went to the gym. I am beginning to think my pal Monkey is right and I am possessed. However, it got the blood circulating and by the time I had showered, I had come to my senses and I am having a rather leisurely day around the house. I will toss some laundry in the machine and later I will probably head out to pick up a few groceries.

I am trying to make the most of the fact that I have all this free time this weekend. If anyone sees me hurrying to do anything, please give me a clip in the ear and a talking to. I don't have plans and I really need to keep it that way.

C'est si bon

Another sad loss this year. Miss Eartha Kitt has passed away. I will remember her for a lot of songs that she put her own special spin on, but when I think of Eartha, this is the song I think of.

I one day, long ago got to sit near Eartha at the A House bar in P'town one afternoon. I didn't chat her up, it was enough of a thrill to be sitting 2 stools down from her.

She was a true icon.

Happy Xmas to all.....

Alice and I just want to wish everyone a Happy Xmas, Solstice, Chanukah, Kwnaza or whatever you do to celebrate this time of year.



Here's hoping the fat man brings you whatever is on your list.

Sweet dreams

I mentioned in a recent post that I was getting a CPAP. I was suppose to pick it up last week, but the snow storm put the kibosh on that. So, I went and picked it up today.

It turned out to be an appropriate day to do it too. For starters, I got a lousy nights sleep last night so I am, to use Yellowdog Granny's words, feeling like hammered shit. When I did drag out of bed, there was a report on NPR on a new study on the importance of good sleep to your health. In particular, heart health and weight management.

So, here it is Xmas Eve and Santa brought me a CPAP. Hopefully, it will be easier to sleep with at home than it was at the sleep center. I have already made up my mind that I will just sleep with the damned thing no matter what. Dr. Fred is actually very good about common sense and doesn't rush off to the most expensive or most complex answer when I have a problem. So more often than not, we manage to find a cheap easy solution to any complaints I've had since I've started seeing him. After going over the results from my sleep study, he was pretty adamant about my sleeping with the thing, so I trust his judgment on this.

On the upside. I am feeling confident that this gadget will help ensure my continuing bachelorhood, unless someone has fantasies about sleeping with someone who sounds like Darth Vadar at night.

So. That's what Santa brought me this year. Hopefully, a good nights sleep.

Snocial Science

As Wahz and I slipped down the snowy sidewalk at Forest Hills, grumbling and fretting our way through the snow storm, Wahz turned to me and said, "You know 20 years ago, we wouldn't have thought twice about walking out to JP in this, because it was so pretty out."

I agreed, but pointed out that we would probably have had a couple of bracing cocktails in us before we left his place and that by the time brunch was over everyone would have been 3 sheets to the wind.

We were on our way to our friend C's house for a Solstice brunch. C. doesn't really do Christmas anymore, but it's nice to do something for the season, so he usually has a couple of people over between the first day of winter and New Years. This year it was a combination of winter solstice and "Hogswatch" a mythical holiday from a book by Terry Pratchett that we all love, which is a send up of Christmas, among other things.

Dinner was lovely. C. had opted to order in Chinese, which he filled out with a few special touches of his own and the table was a thing of beauty. This is no surprise, since C. is a retired scenic designer. However, C.'s mad culinary genius was not to be entirely silenced. Dessert was a white fruitcake that he made, which was served warm with a zabaglione to go over it.

We had a delightful time and left sober as judges. Which later really struck me, since in the old days we used to refer to the holidays as "Drunkmas".

For my part, I have developed gastric problems which keeps me from drinking much. This is quite a change from my youth, when I never met a cocktail I didn't like. I can't say I'm terribly sorry. Starting off my day with a clear head the morning after, really is it's own reward. However, I can't regret the happy alcoholic fog I wandered around in during the holidays when I was young. I will never be able to look back with anything but fondness on Christmas Day spent at our late friend Steven's house, which started off with a glass of champagne in your hand at noon as soon as you walked through the door and ended 4 hours later staggering home after port, Stilton and walnuts. Steven was an old New England Yankee and a great believer in traditions. One of these traditions was that if he invited friends to Christmas dinner, they were going to walk out of the house with at least one bottle of good champagne under their belt by the time they left.

These days I have Christmas with Wahz at his house with a few other old friends. Conversation will turn to Christmas with Steven and that in turn will bring back memories of epic parties of the past. Who was it that always passed out in a hallway and would be stepped over for the rest of the evening once the party got into full swing? Who got caught doing the host's boyfriend in the guest bathroom? Famous party misdeeds that live on in legend. It was fun at the time and it is still fun to remember, because it happened in a far away land called our youth.

I read Susan Cheever's piece which she wrote for the Times about epic drunken holiday parties from years ago and the fact that a lot less booze seems to get consumed at parties now and no one smokes. This was unheard of in my youth and so it would seem in Ms. Cheever's as well. I thought it was a good piece of writing and really enjoyed it. However the comments that were left were a bit discouraging. The majority of them seemed to be in terms of scolding. I can only assume from the tone of the comments that the individuals writing them spent their youths doing good works and attending temperance meetings. Speaking for myself, I have to say I was as badly behaved as most people are in their 20's and early 30's. I can't say I regret a minute of it either.

One gets the impression from the current trend of thought that the new nanny society is ending youthful indiscretion, but I am fairly certain that young people out there are even now, getting hammered, waking up with blinding hangovers and in general living life to its fullest. This is as it should be and I suppose that equally, whenever people of a certain disposition get past a certain age, they are bound to disapprove of anything that looks like young people might be enjoying themselves. In turn today's young people will go out and behave excessively and with any luck, will live to tell the tale when moderation or outright abstinence becomes their lot in life. No doubt, some of them are merely drinking and smoking their way into their roles as the scolds of tomorrow.

As for myself, I'm glad I misbehaved when I was still young enough to do it and that eventually I grew up and changed my ways instead of turning into a sloppy old drunk. I am also thankful that I still have a few friends who survived from those days so that we can reminisce about those times from the safety and comfort of our relative old age.

As for the young folks that are drinking and smoking and carrying on, good for you.

For all the vinegar faced old shrews who are going on about the evils of drink among other things, I can only say I'm sorry you never had any fun when you were young, but stop trying to take it out on the rest of us.

More snow

We are getting another winter storm here in Boston. The photos are from earlier this afternoon. Since then, it has decided to start throwing down a mix of rain and frozen rain. I understand we can look for some sleet as well.

It's going to be so much fun getting into work tomorrow. I really envy my friends who are retired.