Archive | 2010

Top 5 Best and Worst Chicken Sandwiches – Is Fast Food Really Fat Food?

14 Apr
The New KFC Double Down Takes on Chicken Sandwiches And Leaves the Bun at Home

I was listening to a radio station this morning on the way to work and the d- jays were talking about the new KFC Double Down bun-less chicken sandwich.  They had gone to their local KFC to try the sandwich and had recorded their reactions.  For those of you who haven’t heard about this new gastronomical delight, it’s 2 boneless white meat chicken filets (grilled or original recipe), 2 pieces of bacon, 2 slices of Monterey jack and pepper cheese, and the Colonel’s sauce, whatever the hell that is.  But NO BUN!

There were two guys and one gal doing the test taste. The two guys are you typical man-guys who think everything tastes better when you fry it and add bacon and cheese. The gal, on the other hand, is into fresh, organic foods and shops at Whole Foods.  But she had agreed (or rather was coerced) to at least take a bite of the sandwich.

The guys dug right in, grunting and groaning.  They were enjoying every bite and basically described it as amazingly delicious and surprisingly not greasy.  The gal relented and took her bite.  Her honest response was that all she could taste was salt. She did not want another bite however, you could hear the two guys eagerly woofing down the remaining bits of their bun-free sandwiches.

As a person on a low sodium diet, I could certainly relate to the gal.  Since I no longer use salt when I cook or on my plate, my awareness to salt has increased immensely.  Foods I once thought weren’t salty, suddenly are now very salty. I wondered if I would feel the same about the Double Down.  I also wondered how much sodium was in this semi-sandwich, so I did a bit of checking on it… (more…)

Sketch Club Players Put on “Out of Sight…Out of Murder”

13 Apr
And I Helped…

Out of Sight…Out of Murder opened last week at the Woodbury Sketch Club Players, and I helped.  That’s right folks. I was the assistant director.  My job was to assist director John Blackwell where ever it was possible including being on book during rehearsal, feeding actors their lines, reading lines when actors missed rehearsals, and working with the various actors to help them develop their characters. I had a wonderful time performing my duties but it was pretty easy when you’re working with a talented director like John–not to mention the talented cast he was able to assemble.

Is she dead...or thinking?

Now if you know anything about actors and acting, then you’ll know that the “current” show is always the “best” show with the “best” cast and all that jazz.  So I always take it with a little grain of salt when someone tells me they are in the best show they’ve ever done or are working with the best cast they’ve ever worked with.  And now I’m saying it and I’m not even in the cast… (more…)

Friends, Family, and Other Strange Relationships

30 Mar
Birds of a Feather…

My blog suffered a bit due to neglect during the past couple of months. I regret that slightly, but life had kind of taken over for a while, consuming a good portion of my time. I had been busy with a play (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and was focusing on creating a realistic patient for the show.  I believe I succeeded and received some very heart-warming praise from both audience and cast members alike.  Many people told me it was the best performance I had given to date.  Maybe I’m tooting my horn just a little too much but it sure made feel proud of my work and my efforts.  It’s a wonderful feeling when you give it your all and receive recognition for those actions as well.

In addition to working on the play, I had to deal with the craziness of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my daughter and her fiance buying their first home in the middle of all that.  Add in rehearsals and practicing for the play and I barely knew which end was up.  Lastly, my very close friend, Linda, was moving into Heather’s old bedroom at the end of January.

Now Linda and I are very close friends.  She doesn’t like me blabbing about her personal life–she prefers to do that on her own. Anyway, I am not revealing any deep secrets when I tell you that she’s been out of work for over a year.  She could no longer afford her apartment and continue to pay the extensive amount of bills she had amassed over the past couple of years.  She was working a second job and barely keeping up with her bills.  Living a lifestyle that she felt she deserved but really couldn’t afford disastrously caught up with her when she lost her job. Of course, she lost the second job with weeks of losing her main job… (more…)

Thai Basil in Collingswood Delivers All Around

25 Mar
Thai Basil Serves Up A Bounty of Flavors and Textures at Prices That Please

I’ve been a fan of Thai food ever since I ate at a Thai restaurant in Chicago on a business trip many moons ago.  Prior to that, I was always afraid of Thai food because I hated curry ever since I accidentally ate curried goat at one of those Philly Fun Day Festivals that the city used to hold in the late 80s. Blah.  But a co-worker set me straight about curry. There’s more than one curry and each has its of unique flavor.  There’s red, green, yellow, Panang, Massaman, & Khing. My favorite is the green curry.

Linda has had moderate experience with Thai and has always wanted to broaden her horizons.  I’ve been eying up Thai Basil in Collingswood for some time now so when Linda didn’t want to cook dinner tonight, I decided we should give it a whirl. And we sure were glad we did.

Two women dine while take-out waits to be “taken out”

Collingswood has become THE place for foodies and hungry diners alike and Thai Basil is a perfect addition. The decor is warm and inviting, filled with earth tones and dark wood. Tables line one side of the restaurant with unique booths that alternate between square and round on the right. A large mirror helps to make the restaurant seem larger than it is… (more…)

Top Ten Worst American State Flags

24 Mar
Thank Goodness for Old Glory

Before I get started on some of the rather “unusual” state flags in this country, I just want to say how much I love our flag.  And when I say “our” flag, I mean the American flag–the good old flag of the US of A. Now that is one beautiful flag, with thought and history behind it. I love that the whole design is representative of our country at its birth: the stars on the blue background representing the states in the union and the 13 stripes representing the original 13 colonies that rebelled against England.  It’s a history and a flag that fills me with the pride of being an American. And even though the design of the flag was decided upon a resolution in 1777, it’s Betsy Ross everyone thinks of when it comes to our first flag.  How lucky we were to have her.  Some states were not so lucky.

New Jersey – Before I go on my state flag rampage, I want to make sure no one gets his or her underwear in a bunch.  If I poke a little fun at your flag, don’t take it to heart. I’m not making fun of you personally. And to show that I can be fair, the first flag I’ll review is my own state’s flag, New Jersey.  Now a lot of states use their state seal or crest on their state flags and there’s nothing wrong with that.  So New Jerseyans decided to plop their seal dead center in their flag. It’s not a bad idea but who came up with that background color? Is is muted peach? Faded mustard? Fleshtone? Did someone say, “Hey, we got a lot of this ugly colored fabric lying around. Why don’t we make a flag out of it?”… (more…)

I’m In Print, Sort Of…

23 Mar
Trade Shows, Magazines, and Traveling Circuses

Well, I bet you all thought this blog was dead, right? Wrong! I realize that it has been some time since I posted anything on Me and the Blue Skies but this baby hasn’t exhaled its last breath just yet. And what better thing to bring me back to blogging then to announce that “I’m In Print!” Well, sort of.

Several months ago I wrote this really cool article about the state of the Trade Show Industry. Our company was toying with the idea of putting out a corporate blog and my creative juices were charged up a little. The blog thing hasn’t happened yet but while I was thinking about things I could write, I typed up a nice little story about where I thought trade shows were heading and what they needed to do to turn things around, so to speak. Actually, a post about trade shows wouldn’t exactly be the type of post I would put on the company blog anyway so even if we did do the blog, I doubt that it would have ended up on it.

So what was I going to do with this really cool article about an industry that affects my job? After all, I am a trade show coordinator. So naturally I decided that I should try to get it published and what better magazine then Exhibitor Magazine, THE quintessential trade show industry magazine. After scanning the magazine and their website many times, I couldn’t find anything indicating where to submit articles. Did that stop me? No way. I simply sent my article to the “letters to the editors” section and crossed my fingers… (more…)

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

6 Feb
All Right, Already. Enough With the Snow! Gheez!

The view from my front door

It’s 9:30 am here in NJ and it’s been snowing since around 8 pm last night. And boy has it snowed. In fact, it’s still snowing.  The forecast is calling that it will continue to snow until somewhere between 5 – 7 pm tonight. That’s practically 24 hours of snow fall. Yikes. I tried to walk poor Dave this morning at 7:oo am but he would not go down the front steps. I took him out the side door and he went about 3 or 4 yards and stopped dead still in his tracks. The snow was up to his head and he practically disappeared in it. He was not happy.  Anyway, I practically had to drag the poor dog back into the house.

The view of the street corner from my front door.

Knowing that Dave really did need to do his duty (or dooty if you please), I shoveled like crazy on the side of the house.  I made enough of a space for him to come out but he only took a quick pee on the concrete and just stood at the door waiting for me to let him back in the house… (more…)

Having Dinner at Supper in Philadelphia

1 Feb
Dining at Supper During Philadelphia Restaurant Week

Philadelphia Restaurant week is over but Linda and I got a chance to dine out during this event last week.  I’ve been busy with my show, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It closed this weekend so I didn’t get the opportunity to post about our Supper experience until now.

Linda and I love to take advantage of Restaurant Week.  It’s a great opportunity to try someplace you haven’t eaten before at a reduced price. We’ve been to Amada, Chifa, and Tinto (to name a few) during previous restaurant weeks.  This time I suggested we try Supper and since Supper appeared in Philadelphia Magazine’s Top Philadelphia Restaurants list, Linda decided it was a good idea. And boy, was I glad we went.

Supper is located right above 9th and South Street.  There’s really not much around that area, as most of the activity on South Street happens between 2nd and 7th.  Besides, South Street is nothing like it used to be and, in my opinion, has gone down hill substantially. The outside of Supper is quite unassuming but the inside is full of warm earth colors and bustling activity.

As we walked in we were warmly greeted by the hostess. Even though we were 20 minutes early, she said she would be able to seat us in just a minute.  As she checked our table, the bartender smiled at us and asked us if this was our first time at Supper.  We told him it was and he smiled again, telling us we were in for a treat. The hostess returned and lead us upstairs to our table.  OK. So I never finished this post. Sue me. Some day I’ll dig up the pictures and finish this thing…or not. :(

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Opens Tonight

22 Jan
A Woodbury Sketch Club Players Production

Nurse Ratched and the Gang. (I'm far left)

I’m in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the Woodbury Sketch Club. I play Martini.  If you saw the movie, the character was portrayed by Danny DeVito.  This is the third time I’ve been in this show but the first time playing Martini.  I was Scanlon in both the Ritz Theatre Co’s production and the one we did at the Arts Bank Theater in Philadelphia.

Before I get into the rest of the post, let me first get the advertisement out of the way.  The show is located at the Sketch Club Players in Woodbury.  Click here to see their website and to get directions cause I know you are going to wanna see this show. The Show dates are Friday 1/22 & 1/29, Thursday 1/28, and Saturday 1/23 & 1/30 at 8 pm.  Matinee’s are Sunday 1/24 & 1/31 at 2 pm.

Martini in Cuckoo's Nest

Martini in Cuckoo's Nest

Now I know that everyone who has ever been in a play thinks that their current production is the best play they’ve ever done. And I understand that as being part of the show, it’s sometimes hard to see the forest for the trees.  Those damn rose color glasses keep getting in the way.  So I am going to try to be as impartial as I can be about this production.

I think it’s pretty damn good. Yes, we’ve encountered problems with the set and lights and sound and memorizing lines, but we’ve met those problems head on and they’ve either been addressed or we’ve adjusted around them.  The cast is top notch and we’ve really come together as a team, which is something that does not always happen in community theater. Trust me, if you come to this production, you are gonna laugh and you are gonna cry… (more…)

I’m Addicted To Milk

17 Jan
Yes, I Have A Love Affair With Milk

I keep drinking milk but I never end up looking like this.

I love milk. I L-O-V-E love it.  It’s a love affair that has been going on my whole life.  In fact, is not just love, it’s a craving. Oh, how I crave milk. When I was a kid, my mother would limit the amount of milk I had at the dinner table.  I was allowed one glass until I finished my meal and only then I could have another. And this was the late 60′s – early 70′s when milk was considered God’s gift to the world of children’s beverages. But I drank that much milk. In fact, I would have rather filled  up on milk then eat most of the food that was being passed before me.

When I became an adult, I discovered that I could drink milk whenever I wanted, with no limitations.  And drink I did. I ordered milk with dinner at restaurants. I drank milk with my lunch. I ate cereal in the morning. And I drank milk in the evening, plain and chocolate. By the time I was 30, I was drinking half a gallon a day. No lie. (Trust me, I’m not Pat Robertson.)

Eventually all this bad press started appearing about milk. It was too full of fat. It was no good for adults. Cows were full of hormones. Milk was wasted calories.  I could go on and on.  I was crushed. But then 2%, 1%, and fat-free started to hit the markets. To be quite honest, original fat-free milk was disgusting. It even had a bluish hue to it.  And I didn’t like 1% that much better. But I was able to switch to 2%. Still, everyone kept telling me milk was no good for me… (more…)

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