Category Archives: August

The Great Neil Simon

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“If you can go through life without experiencing pain
you probably haven’t been born yet.”
Neil Simon

The Chep Detective

There’s a small list of comedy writers that I’ve admired all my life. One of them is at the top of my list. That writer is Neil Simon.

Mr. Simon has written more than thirty plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer.

I thought I had seen every movie he had ever written, until today on TCM they showed, The Cheap Detective.  The movie is a combination of Steve Martin’s, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein style of humor.

Neil Simon began writing comedy for television for such famous shows as The Phil Silvers Show and Your Show of Shows, for which he earned two Emmy Award nominations. He’s worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. Simons first play was, Come Blow Your Horn which was followed by Barefoot in The Park and my all time favorite, The Odd Couple.

One of the most helpful writing books I’ve read is written by Neil Simon. Neil Simon Rewrites: A Memoir, was written in 1996 and I still have my first edition hard copy. I also recently bought the e-book edition and read it again for the fifth time. For any aspiring writer, this is a must read.

Neil Simons’ comedy writing was influenced by Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. Simon has said that he often took refuge in movie theaters to escape difficulties at home. “I think part of what made me a comedy writer is the blocking out of some of the really ugly, painful things in my childhood and covering it up with a humorous attitude … do something to laugh until I was able to forget what was hurting.”

The Cheap Detective may not be a traditional Neil Simon movie, but it certainly holds true to the Neil Simon style of writing. It’s packed with double entendres and funny one liners in the charming, classy, clean comedy style of the great Neil Simon.

Shine On

#Holy Shade Balls

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“Water is life’s matter and matrix,
mother and medium.
There is no life without water.”
Albert Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt

Holy Shade Balls, Batman

Shade balls released into the Los Angeles Reservoir.

Unless you live on another planet, you must know that California is in a serious drought.

To combat the four years of drought, officials have released 96 million plastic balls. These plastic balls, shade balls as they are commonly known, are small black orbs that float atop the water creating shade to keep the water from evaporating.

The shade balls also help block sunlight and UV rays that promote algae growth, which would help keep the city’s drinking water safe. The balls slow the rate of evaporation, which drains California water supply of about 300 million gallons a year.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said the balls are expected to safely float in the water without emitting dangerous chemicals.

Apparently, the black orbs are not new to California. They have been used for almost seven years. But, due to their name they are receiving huge attention from social media users. #Holy Shade Balls.

Shine On

Speedy Recovery

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“A Jewish woman had two chickens.
One got sick, so the woman made chicken soup
out of the other one to help the sick one get well.”
Henny Youngman

Speedy Recovery

This evening I wanted to roast a whole chicken, but I didn’t want to use the oven. So, I decided to try roasting the chicken on the gas grill.

I rubbed the inside and outside of the bird with a lemon garlic chicken marinade from Bristol Farms.

Then I took one orange, quartered it and squeezed the juice over the chicken. I then took the four orange slices, four sprigs of rosemary and placed them in the cavity of the chicken. Our grill has a temperature setting which I set at 350 degrees and placed the chicken on the grill for one hour. So the bird would roast evenly, I rotated it several times until it was a golden brown.

For side dishes, I made my famous mascarpone mashed potatoes, as well as my sautéd spinach with roasted garlic infused olive oil.

From now on, all my whole chickens will be roasted on the grill. The chicken was juicy, flavorful and you could taste the rosemary with every bite.

My husband loved the dinner and appreciated all the pampering. I love that my husband is feeling so much better. All this pampering with his favorite food is helping him to a speedy recovery.

Shine On

Comfort Food

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“Food is a lot of people’s therapy
– when we say comfort food,
we really mean that. It’s releasing
dopamine and serotonin in your brain
that makes you feel good.”
Brett Hoebel

Comfort Food

The past few days my husband was in the hospital with an infection. He must have dropped ten pounds in those few days. He just couldn’t eat the food they presented to him at the hospital. Why is hospital food so awful?

When I picked him up at the hospital, the first thing he told me is that he hadn’t eaten a good meal in days. He also told me he missed me and would I please cook his favorite Italian dinner.

It just so happened that I had all the ingredients to cook up an Italian gravy made with fresh Italian sausage, onions, tomatoes, Anaheim and Jalapeño peppers simmered slowly. The house smelled like one of our favorite Italian bistros.

Nothing warms one’s heart and makes you feel better than good old-fashioned comfort food.

Shine On

The Eye of The Beholder

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“Since we cannot change reality,
let us change the eyes which see reality.”
Nikos Kazantzakis

When you look into someone’s eyes or an animals eyes, what do you see? We are now able to know if the eyes are from a flight or fight species.

A scientific study recently analyzed the eyes of 214 species of land animals. What they discovered is that pupil shapes are directly linked to an animal’s ecological niche.

For instance, animals with pupils that are vertically elongated, like domestic cats and gators, are more likely to be ambush predators – hunters active day and night who use stealth, not strength or speed, to overcome their prey.

Animals with horizontally elongated pupils, such as goats and sheep are herbivore prey animals, the researchers found. Circular pupils, found in humans and birds, provide good all-around vision and are linked to animals that chase down their prey.

Species that are active both night and day with slit pupils provide the range they need to help them see in dim light yet not get blinded by the midday sun.

In fact the sideways orientation which the horse has, is very important for his survival when he is grazing. When he drops his head to graze, its pupils rotate (in opposite directions) by up to 70 degrees to stay horizontal, the researchers found.

While prey animals need to be able to see all around them, predators need binocular vision to see how far away their prey is. Vertical-slit pupils maximize binocular disparity, and blur, in which objects at different distances are out of focus, the scientists found.

But not all predators have vertical pupils.

What is surprising is that the researches noticed from their study that the slit pupils were linked to predators that were close to the ground. Domestic cats have vertical slits, but bigger cats, like tigers and lions, don’t. Their pupils are round, like humans and dogs.

This amazing research teaches us how remarkable the eye and vision can be for us as well as all of nature. Who knows, maybe in the not too distant future we will be able to simulate and see through the eye of the beholder.

Shine On