Amazing Race-Hot and Sweaty in India

Leaving beautiful Cambodia first are Nick and Starr at 11:22 pm, followed by Toni and Dallas just 10 minutes behind with the Frat boys leaving last. All boarded the same flight to Delhi, India, which as always promises to be a bag of mix confusion. A budding romance is occurring between Starr and Dallas. At least she doesn't think he looks like teen wolf. First at the road block to paint one of the local tut tut taxis green, are Nick and Starr. How are they always the first ones off the plane? Joining them surprisingly are frat boys, Dan and Andrew, with all the other teams lost in India somewhere. The driving looks totally confusing, with cars, taxis and cows sharing the road equally. Tina and Ken are having an especially hard time with their cab driver trying to find Moonlight Motors, but Tina insist she knows the way. Sometime later they are still lost in India. Finally all teams arrive to the road block to join in the painting. Tina trying to make up some lost time is bossing poor Ken on how to tape and paint. Which is exactly what Terence is doing to poor Sarah. I think Tina and Terence should hook up with Ken and Sarah pairing off, then Tina and Terence can really duke it out, they're both such A-type personalities. I thought Sarah should have spray painted Terence's face for pestering her. Hey, doesn't she remind you of another currently famous Sarah? The detour is to either launder money or launder clothes. Humm, that was a hard one to choose. Ironing clothes seems like cake but it really was the more daunting of task. Teams had to iron 20 pieces of clothing. Not too hard right? First off, was this the Indian version of a public Laundromat? I guess they've never heard of washing machines and dryers. There were guys manually slapping clothes on stone just like in biblical times and where the women were ironing dried (probably sun dried) clothes. The irons were something from the 1800's, some kind of heavy hot charcoal heated thing. I had to crack up how Nick and Starr were just so prepared by bringing their own gloves. Who knew? The other teams are like where did you get your gloves? Starr's like their ours, yep we're that good! And what was Andrew frat boy ironing? It looked like some grandma panties as he complains that he can't iron these. The Frat boys are having a real difficult time of it. Hey, it's just ironing! They make it seem like it's the most difficult thing in the world and when a big gust of wind blew all their hard ironing on the ground even the spectators had a good laugh. The only teams to chose launder money were Ken and Tina and Sarah and Terence. See those two teams really are on the same wave length. Here the teams had to fashion an Indian version of a money lei out of rupees and give it to the groom. What a mob scene, hope no one yells fire! That definitely was the easier task, the only thing hard was trying to find someone to make a money exchange. Both teams after finishing the leis are trying to find the groom. Now wouldn't you think it would be someone in ceremonial garb possibly at some special table? Tina kept asking everyone in the mob if he were the groom. Finally, when Tina and Ken finished their task, Tina was like oh our taxi guy waited, bless his heart. I would have been like, get lost taxi man since he didn't have the slightest clue where anything was. The unfortunate taxi rides cost Ken and Tina their last place finish with Nick and Starr one again placing first, Kelly and Christy second and Mom and Dallas third. Fortunately for Ken (quit your weeping and tell Tina where to get off) and Tina this was really a non elimination round and will suffer a speed bump on the next leg of the race which means they will not be able to make any mistakes or be on the next plane home.-Single D

Ghost Adventures

So I come across this new show called Ghost Adventures and of course I'm going to check it out. As long as it's not Most Haunted with that so called psychic and his imaginary friend (he says it's a spirit guide) partnered with a "jump at anything" woman, I'll watch.

We have Zak, Nick and camera man Aaron who go to a site and get locked in for the duration of their investigation. The first episode I watched, it looked to me that Zak is either suffering from roid rage or he's had so much Starbucks that he is afraid of his own shadow. After Zak screams and runs from a number of things, he yells at Nick not to run when he ran from the men's room after hearing a loud bang. Obviously the lock down thing doesn't work when all parties get so spooked that they jump from a second story window.

I watched a few more episodes, in fragments I'm afraid because I was out of town and doing other things, and with each episode, Zak had more equipment but seemed just as jumpy. I'll check out the show again when I can really pay attention and give a better report. In the meantime, happy haunting! Double D

Survivor Gabon-Can't Cry Over Spilled Rice

Tensions are running high on the Fang tribe after losing once again! Crystal spills the rice and Matty and Ace give her the looks of death. Ok, maybe Matty and Ace didn't say anything, but I know they wanted to say, you stupid idiot! So Crystal tries to pick up every grain of rice and even refrains from eating her portion. Come on, are they really starving? Yes, I guess they are since they all look like skin and bones. I think dieters should sign up, what a great weight loss program, surviving on rice and fruits. That must wreck havoc on one's constitution if you get my drift.

The reward challenge is a game of keep away and who by the way let Sugar play? She is so totally useless in any challenge. She looked like a school girl saying to the boys, aw come on. Fang once again loses the fruits and letters from home. Everyone gets a letter but did Randy get one? He wasn't crying crocodile tears like everyone else was. He was just sitting there like he didn't have anyone back home who loves hims, gee I wonder why?

The immunity challenge features a log roll, where professor Bob says he was the log rolling champ back home,yeah, but how many years ago was that? Jeff Probst says that this time both tribes will be going to tribal council and that this challenge is for individual immunity. We know who will reign over individual immunities and that would be first time winner, Marcus. After winning the immunity, Jeff announces that Marcus can now give an immunity to the other tribe, which Crystal is like pick me, pick me! Of course he totally over looks her to give the immunity to Sugar. Now she has two immunities. Back at camp, Kenny tells Sugar that Ace needs to be voted out as he's the snake of the tribe as the cameras pan to the snakes slithering in the jungle. Ace asks Sugar for the idol and I thought she might give in to his request, but that only served to confirm to her that Ace is a snake. At tribal Fang is still going on about the spilt rice and Crystal gets her defenses up. Ace is blindsided by the tribe and is voted out.

Back at Kota, Susie opens her big mouth to Corine by saying that she almost voted Corine out so now Corine has a vendetta against her. Is Susie that dumb? In the end, the tribe succumbed to the fear that Dan had the idol and voted him out. Dan's game playing was just awful. Hasn't he ever watched Survivor before, probably not, he's probably just another mactor. Let's hope next episode, the tribes merge, how much longer can Fang survive?-Single D

Top Design Sends Martha's Eddie Home

It must have been a sad day at the Martha household, when Eddie was sent home. I never thought Miss fancy name, plain Jane, Ondine would have out lasted Eddie, the stylist from Martha Stewart. I thought for sure he would have made it into the final two opposite stalker eye Nathan. Unfortunately, for the last two challenges, Eddie just totally flopped. In the previous challenge designing a room around a chandelier, I think Margaret Russell said that he took a stunning crystal chandelier and made it look like a dime store purchase. He drabbed it up with all that heavy Martha Stewart furniture, sorry Martha! The light fixture totally disappeared among the gold leaf leaves wall treatment. Where was the sparkle, where was the drama? Looking back at the pictures of the light rooms I really think Andrea's room was really great, better than Eddie's and Ondine's. The green room with the swanky glam furniture really did have an elegant feel. Too bad she dismissed herself and her talent.

In the semi finals, Eddie chose to do the master suite that was another ode to the drab. In the words of Eddie himself, why should I do stunning when I can just do drab? (ok something to that effect!). Where was the master in the master bedroom? It spoke Grandma slept here. I hated, hated those white lattice garden trellis. Isn't that something they would do in design 101? Both Eddie and Nathan's room lacked the pizazz, style and drama. And I hated Eddie's white lattice garden trellis, did I say that already? Nathan's room was mix of bland white bread with the quirky plain stupid mixed in, like the jar of nails. What was up with that? He said that was supposed to be sexy, yeah maybe in the world of a dominatrix or leather face from Texas Chainsaw.

I hate to admit it, but Ondine's small office room was really nice. I have always been partial to black and white, so dramatic.

In the end, I think the judges knew that they could expect the unexpected from Nathan and that was the only thing that saved him against Eddie. For Eddie, it would have been more Martha. In Eddie's defense, Margaret Russell really came to his rescue. I was thinking maybe she has some personal ties to Martha Stewart not to diss Eddie like guest judge Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out. He more like flipped out on Eddie, on what he was wearing and on what he did. He said he could so totally match who did what room by how the designers were dressed. Ok, so Eddie looked like something of a 1920's throw back, but hey, look at Jonathan Adler's sense of clothing style, it's the same as Eddie's. Well, sorry to see ya go Eddie but it's back to Martha's house with ya.-Single D

Reality Check-Yipee, I Finally Know My Neighbor's Name!

Why does that make me happy? Well, I've had this habit over the years and you'd think by now I would know how to rectify it quickly. As a cafe owner in San Francisco, La Dolce Vita, back in the 80's and 90's we had our group of regulars that would come in to eat every weekend. As owners we would come to know our groupies on a first name basis. I remember one couple in particular, they were your typical Haight Ashbury gamer geeks. He had longish brown hair and horn rimmed glasses, his wife, a rather stout woman of ample proportions would come in almost every weekend to have breakfast. They would always order the same thing, french toast with the fresh fruit and whipped creme and read the Sunday newspaper or books. I remember I would wait on them, "hi Susan and so and so" (funny, I don't remember his name). I would see Susan on the street and say, "Hi Susan", or at the neighborhood Korean produce market, "Hi Susan", or at the local video store, "Hi Susan". One weekend they came in and ate and then left. She left her books on the seat. When her husband came back to retrieve them, I said, tell Susan Hi for me. He then said, "Her name is Cheryl, not Susan!" Now why would someone who came in every weekend keep letting me call her Susan? And so it began, a succession of wrong name calling. Like my neighbor in Denver, a nice man named Peter, or so I thought. It turned out it was the name of his German Shepard dog. This I found out one day when I was backing my car out of the garage. I could hear this muffled choking sound, but I couldn't determine where it was coming from. I turned my car stereo down to listen. When I looked to right where the sound was coming from I saw the German Shepard hanging by his collar over the wooden fence strangling himself. Peter had jumped the fence but his leash had hold of him over the gate. As I ran to the front of the house, I knocked desperately on the front door. The neighbor next door said they weren't home. I told them that Peter was hanging from the back fence strangling himself. I screamed he's almost dead but I was afraid to get him off the gate. Alarmed the neighbor ran with me to the back alley. When we got there, the neighbor paused but for a split second then jumped into action pulling the strangling dog off the fence. Of course he saved the dog, but in between gasping for breath and laughing, he told me that the dog's name was Jack, not Peter, Peter was the dog's owner. Ok, slight mistake! And so the tradition continues here in Las Vegas. Our neighbor, a lovely Italian lady with a penchant for yorkies whose name I always thought was Melana, until one day my daughter corrected me and said, Mom that's the dog's name. I was like what? I then told her to ask the neighbor what her name was, since she being a kid and all can get away with stuff like that. The next day she excitedly told me she asked the lady next door what her name was. She said she couldn't remember what it was, but that it started with an M. I'm like great! So the other day, when we were getting into our car and she was outside with her two yorkies, Melena and Mia, I said to her that maybe we should exchange numbers just in case of an emergency (what a light bulb idea!). Ah ha, she'd have to give me her name when she wrote her number down, ya think! No, it was just her number, home phone and cell! I was exasperated! Finally, my husband pipes up and says, how exactly do you spell your name and gives her back pen and paper to which she writes Marilia! Gee why can't owners call their dogs something like Fluffy or Fido? Single D

Amazing Race-Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple

Ok, another place to add to my bucket list of places to see is Angkor Wat, Cambodia. What a wonder. That is the next destination for the racers to get to with Tina and Ken leaving Summerhill New Zealand first at 6: 00 am, while Aja and Ty were the last to leave at 3:00 pm. How did they get so far behind and how were they supposed to catch up? All other teams depart on two separate flights and catch up in Singapore while Aja and Ty are the last ones to leave and arrive in Cambodia. I have to admit they did manage to keep a positive attitude during the entire time they were in last place. Once in Siem Reap Cambodia, Nick and Starr get the jump over everyone and get to the clue station first where they have to hand pump 25 liters of gas into a truck. Soon the rest of the teams arrive with the Frat boys, Andrew and Dan, scratching their heads like Laurel and Hardy, not having any idea on how to pump the gas into the canister. Gee Olly I think you do it this way. Uh dud? Just pump it for goodness sake and put some muscle in it! These guys do not have a mechanical bone in their boneheads. Gee, even Kelly and Christy were able to pump it quickly and they are the femme equivalent of Laurel and Hardy. Teen wolf and wolf mom as dubbed by Kelly and Christy make quick work of it as well. Ok, so Dallas has a full head of hair. I think those girls would make fun of anyone, hair or no hair. From there the teams take the truck they filled with gas onto their next location, which once on their way, Starr is questioning if the driver knows where they are going. She makes him stop to ask for directions while all the other teams start to pass them.

Sometimes, it's better not to second guess yourself. The next stop is jumping into traditional Cambodian boats into an Asian water society. Kelly and Christy are stunned by the poverty, however, those people looked happy to me. It is another world but hey, they have a floating basketball court, how nice is that? The next task is village life or village work. Both task looked pretty easy, either gathering items, like a doll, toy teeth and a basketball or collecting baskets of fish traps and delivering fish, although for that one the water looked muddy and murky. And I would also be wondering if it was infested with disease. How is it that Kelly and Christy always get so screwed up when it comes to following directions? Oh right, they are the boneheads too. They forgot that they need to get the clue before starting their challenges. A typical Kelly and Christy comment when they went to the dentist to collect the teeth, "Do we get the teeth from that patient?" Hello, it says toy teeth! Sarah and Terence's boat break down, I think in defiance of Sarah yelling faster, faster. I'm wondering if Amazing Race compensates that poor boat owner for getting the most annoying vocal racer of the group? Speaking of Sarah over zealous urging for faster, faster, Terence and Sarah were stopped by the po-po in New Zealand, clocked at going 117 kilometers, 17 kilometers over the limit. For that infraction, Sarah and Terence will incur a 30 minute penalty on the outbound leg of the race.

For the road block, it's a trip to Angkor Wat to look for the echo chamber. This looked daunting as there were so many different rooms. Tina passes right through the chamber without knowing it. First to the mat at the pit stop at the Bayon Temple were Nick and Starr with Tina commenting to Ken that we should have been first. Come on Tina, you can't always be first. Teen wolf, Dallas and mom placed a good second as Aja and Ty were eliminated. And once again, I thought this has got to be a non elimination round, but it wasn't and Aja and Ty were sent home. This leg of the race brought the two of them closer together, so that Ty says maybe he's ready to make the big move to LA to be with Aja. Well good for them, they do make a cute couple.-Single D

Survivor Gabon-Fang Losers Again

Ok, now I'm getting mad. How long is this losing streak of Fang's going to last? Kota needs to lose and in a big way. I am getting a little tired of their happy soiled little faces, I just want to spit! Matty is missing food, his dog and his girlfriend and in that order. He makes a pact with Ace to go to the merge with him and Sugar and he's keeping to his word. Back at Kota, Dan is being the food hog and everyone is eyeing how much he is eating while the Fang tribe is counting out their merger rations of rice. Sugar gives Ace the idol, why? One word Stupid! The reward challenge is to carry a heavy 240 lb snake around a track, challenge of endurance, which we know Fang has none. Crystal, Matty and Ace make a good fight of it, but Kota with practically all it's members carrying that heavy thing, even Professor Bob was still in there, Fang could not keep up. Kota quickly gobbles up some of the food in front of the Fang tribe sending Crystal into tears of frustration. Yep, I'd be frustrated too! Kota sends Sugar back to her Sugar shack. Now I'm thinking here, isn't there another idol out there? Why doesn't she look for the second idol instead of crying in her pineapple, feeling guilty about eating the fruits of her exile.

At the Kota camp, they manage to catch a turtle. Ok, I don't care how hungry they are, didn't they just win a reward challenge of food? And isn't this just TV and not real life and aren't turtles a protected species? Poor turtle, be free! I can remember when I used to go to Chinatown in San Francisco, I would buy the tiny turtles they were selling as a food product and take them to Ocean beach and let them go. Turtles are just too cute to eat and that stew Kota made looked simply disgusting.

In the immunity challenge, Fang did try to make a heroic effort to win, had not Ace's let me do it attitude at putting the pole together undo them and once again they are sent to tribal council. At camp, Sugar tells gamerboy Kenny that she gave the idol to Ace. How many people has she told? Gamerboy was shocked and told her that she needs to get the idol back from Ace and when she did and told Ace that she took it out of his pack, he just seemed ok with it. Surprise, surprise, I thought he'd want to keep it for his own protection.

If there is one thing at tribal council that I have learned is not to get into Crystal's face because she will z-snap you in a heart beat. And with that Kelly was the next survivor to have her torch snuffed.-Single D

Martha Stewart-Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread

I love cookies, cookies in any form, shape, flavor and size. I do however tire easily over cookies. Like for example, I can't buy a bag of cookies in the grocery store without half the bag getting stale because I never finish it. I'm like a cookie tramp, I get tired of the same cookie after a few days. However, there is one kind of cookie that I really never tire of and that is the shortbread cookie done right. I have tried many shortbread recipes and I have found that the less sweet the better. When we were in Rome, the pastry shops there are crazy fantastic. Why is it that the pastry shops look so much more enticing in Europe than they do here. I do have to mention of a little pastry shop in San Francisco that I used to go to that reminded me of a Paris patisserie, Fantasia Bakery in the Laurel Heights section of town. More old fashion of yesteryear, but definitely European in flavor. I miss those days of buying their hot cross buns at Easter, napoleons and butter cookies. One of my favorite Italian cookie is the buttery shortbread cookie made with cornmeal, really delicious and not very sweet. So when I came across a Martha Stewart recipe for Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread I was in heaven and hoping it would be like the ones in Italy.

Take two sticks of butter out of the fridge and let stand at room temp. I left my two sticks out too long and just the heat of my Las Vegas kitchen made the butter too soft.

Put soften sticks of butter in kitchenaid:

Add 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar

Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Grate over the bowl some orange zest mix well in bowl-

Then stir in 2 cups of flour + 2 Tablespoons of yellow cornmeal and 1 teaspoon of salt and mix until well combined.

Dough should be soft (if too soft at this point put in fridge until dough firms somewhat, dough should be nice to handle), flour counter top and take dough out. Halve dough and shape into two logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and wrap in plastic and refrigerate until cold, at least an hour.

Take dough out and cut into 1/4" rounds and roll in 1/4 cup of yellow cornmeal. Bake in a 300 oven for 30-35 minutes until golden.

These are delicious, crunchy and tender, and I could eat a hundred and that's saying a mouth full. -Single D

Top Design-Honorable Mentions

I don't know why I am not blogging Top Design. One of my three favorite things to do is design, cook and travel. So why not Top Design? I started watching Top Design because it followed on the sassy high heels of Project Runway. I was thinking just another knock off of HGTV Design Star and I love that show, although I thought this season was pretty lame. I think I actually like Top Design better, oh hush! A few honorable mentions here. First there's designer to Martha Stewart, in all his girlish glory, Eddie. He reminds me of the kid on the playground you would push off the slide just for kicks. He'd go running to the nearest teacher and tattle tale, nose dripping with snot and blood. And can he be more humble? The guy thinks he God's gift to simply everything, "I do it all", design, cook, stage, stumble and fall. I'm wondering what Martha's thinking when she sees her editor in chief say, gee I don't know what you mean, I'm great! Then there was Wisit. What kind of name is Wisit? He reminded me of a Chinese concubine, an operatic Madame Butterfly flitting here and flitting there, uttering rococo this and rococo that. What exactly is rococo? Next there's Nathan. Bald, sour, worm like. Sometimes the camera light accents his deep eye bag, only one though, so that he looks like some kind of weird psycho person, but my best bet for winning this whole thing. Blatant raw talent. The person I liked the best right from the beginning was Andrea, wife of Ricky Schroeder. She just seems so down to earth and ordinary. She has those sleepy bedroom eyes that seem so sweet and innocent. No effectual airs about being married to an actor and not a diva bone in her body. I think her lack of professional experience pitted against the likes of Eddie and Nathan was just too intimidating for her and she actually asked to leave the show last night. When the judges told her that she was not the one out this week and did she still want to leave the show, I think she suffered a moment of why did I open my mouth. But because she is a nice person and it would be plain jane, Ondine to leave, she knew she couldn't back down now. Too bad she didn't reign in her insecurity at least until the judging because she would have made it to the final four and be the last woman standing, which would have been a huge accomplishment on her part. Now I guess it's back to Hollywood, the kids, the Hollywood lifestyle and hiring designers, after all, I'm sure she can afford it.

One mention about the judges here. Jonathan Adler, iconic potter extraordinaire. Who has a title like that? I think might refer to myself as Single D, blogger, mother extraordinaire. Doesn't his face convey it all? He has a mother face, it gets all screwed up when he doesn't like something. You so totally know when he finds a design repulsive and for him, if it's not genius then it's repulsive. Margaret Russell looks like the b!!ch from Hell. Oh boy, would not want to meet her in a dark alley, she's just plain scary. I do like India Hicks but what is she famous for again? And that Kelly Wearstler, I know she's some kind of designer, but does that give her license to wear the quirkiest hats in the universe? My favorite Tim Gunn of this show is Todd Oldman, Oldham. He just seems so nice and has a voice that would calm down a pack of pitbulls. He so knowledgeable and gives kind words of encouragement, unlike Adler's looks of "oh my why did you do that"? -Single D

Amazing Race-Auckland, New Zealand & Phil's Dad

Can I get this off my mind-you know the opening scene of Amazing Race where they show the racers in their hometowns? I just can't stand Starr and Nick, their heads bobbing to the side like they are cheerleaders or something, totally drives me crazy! It's just so goody goody, which is so opposite of what they really are.

The teams leave La Paz, with Ken and Tina leading the way at 12:33 am. I was surprised how many team times were bunched up around the 1:00 hour. I imagine leaving at the wee hours of the morning must make for an exhausting day as it looks like they race straight through till the evening hours the following day. I'm thinking when do they eat, or pee? I guess the lack of sleep are making Ty and Aja grumpy as they are having a blow out at the airport. Once in New Zealand, things don't fare any better for them as they get another blow out this time a flat tire on their way to find the clue. That would be my worst nightmare, is to get a flat tire and Ty looked totally helpless in changing it. He tells Aja to flag someone down.

I don't know how Ken and Tina always make it first to the clue locations barely squeaking past the nerds for the fast forward. Why would the nerds, Andrew and Dan, go for the fast forward when they knew Ken and Tina were on it before them? And tell me this, how did the Southern belles, Marisa and Belle get so far behind?

Ken and Tina get to the fast forward first and have to scale the Skytower the tallest building in New Zealand. That looked scary, I would have definately pooped my pants!

The roadblock proved to be fairly easy as most of the teams were able to match the tattoo picture with the Maori tattoo face. Reminds me of some of my friends in San Francisco. Most of the Maori wanted nose kisses but one Maori did steal a kiss from Ms. Southern Belle. The next challenge is either to make a go-cart or crush kiwis. Of course, I know how mechanically challenging assembling things are so I chose to crush kiwis like the majority of the teams. This seemed to be harder than it looked as there were rocks at the bottom of the kiwi vat. I had to crack up when both female teams, especially, Kelly and Christy view stomping kiwis like it was a day at the foot spa and the rocks didn't seem to bother them at all. See, I guess wearing high heels really do toughen the feet.

Mom and Dallas were the second to arrive at the Kiwis but were not able to finish that challenge, as mom said, it wasn't as fun as Lucy stomping the grapes in Italy, so they decide to do the go-kart challenge instead. Nick and Starr follow their lead, but Starr takes a nasty spill on the track and it looked like for a half second that she broke her arm. She managed to finish her laps between tears and complaints, and then the good brother lets her drive. What was he thinking? They finally switch places because she can't steer let alone drive on the wrong side of the road.

The first to the mat, who else? Ken and Tina. They are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. I guess if you think about it, the other teams just don't seem as strong as them. Then again, it's not always about strenght as it is about luck and they've had some good luck. It was cute that Phil's dad was Phil's companion at the mat. I didn't know that Phil was from New Zealand. I have a girl friend from Christchurch. When she came to the states many years ago, she tells the story of how she came to America. She and her husband were going to move to England, only when they landed in London, he got off, she didn't and that's how she came to America without her husband! I love that story!

Anyway, the belles unfortunately were the last ones to reach the mat. I thought for sure this has got to be a non-elimination round, but unfortunately for them it was not. Sweet girls, now go home and put on your pearls.-Single D

Remembering A Memory In Perfect Detail-Ever Have One of Those?

Ever have one of those memories from your childhood that you can recall in perfect detail? The other day on the TMC channel the "Trouble with Angels" was playing. Watching this movie brought me back to the day I went to see this movie with my best friend growing up in Southern California. I think I was in 6th grade. I remember it was playing at the Vogue Theater downtown. It was summer and very hot, not typical for a town close to the beach. I don't know why this particular day in my childhood is so clear. Maybe it was the first time I was able to go to the movies with my girlfriend without being accompanied by my mother. Maybe it was the movie, "The Trouble With Angels", starring Haley Mills and Rosalind Russell as Mother Superior that made it so memorable. I stopped what I was doing the other day and sat down to watch it. It was just as good now as it was then. I remember my mother taking us to the theater and dropping us off and told us she would pick us up promptly when the movie ended. How I was able to go to the movies without my mother is still a mystery to me. I hated going to the movies with my mother, she would always cover my eyes during the romantic parts, how embarrassing! I remember I wore gold capri stretch pants and a black turtle neck that day, even though it was summer outside. My hair was pulled back in a single pony tail. How I felt like Audrey Hepburn in that outfit! I bought Goobers and Terri bought a box of vanilla bon-bon ice cream bites covered in chocolate. I remember sitting through that movie and in the end when the Haley Mills character sees Mother Superior mourn the death of one of the sisters and then decides to join the convent, I was crying in the dark.

In the ensuing years, the Vogue theater converted to showing Spanish films, I lost touch with Terri after junior high school, she went to another school, and I don't know what happened to those gold capri pants.

As I watch my daughter play with her friends on the computer, I'm wondering will she ever have that perfect childhood memory comprised of clear crisp details? What will she have that will make her stop her life, even just for a second, to recall a memory so perfect in detail that one could almost relive the entire wonder of it all? I hope she does, because in the end, isn't the perfect memory all we have?-Single D

Survivor Gabon-GC Makes It Known

I was highly disappointed when I read on the MSN homepage an article titled-Survivor Secrets Revealed. It revealed that the cast of survivors, and they shall be called cast here, are mostly made up of actors wannabes, so called mactors. The article cried that there were too few quality applicants to choose from so out goes a casting call for survivors. So ya mean to tell me that the nutty professor is really a wannabe be actor? I can definitely see Ace or Sugar in that line up, but gamer boy? I would suspect that CBS gets thousands of applications for Survivor, why I know one guy from work who put in his application at least 4 times and he's a perfect candidate, being a trainer and world poker champ wannabe and he's never gotten a call back. What would a perfect CBS survivor be, cute, boobs, A-type personality, aren't we all wannabe actors at heart anyway? They did say that only 1 person was not a mactor on this season's Gabon, my guess, shy Susie, has she even said two words during this entire season?

The reward challenge of hitting fruits with bats proved once again out of reach for the Fang tribe and they lose the reward of herbs and fruits, but then again isn't seeing an elephant up close and personal reward enough? It's back to the Sugar Shack for Sugar and like I said before, she's got the best gig of all, fruits and an hammock, what more could you ask for in the wild? Hey did I see Marcus give Charlie a kiss on the cheek, a tender brokeback moment after winning the reward? This episode's immunity challenge is to roll a large ball of wood down a hill while blindfolded survivors try to keep the ball out of the other other tribe's goal. Who decided to put Sugar (doesn't she remind you of a Drew Barrymore?) as the person giving directions for a blindfolded Ace? Two words for her performance her, she blew. Did she think he would get her directions telepathically? I'm surprised others on her tribe didn't out her for that. I was hoping that Fang would win the immunity challenge, since Fang has been beaten down. Back at camp, Crystal is finally playing the game and decides that Sugar must have the idol which she finds in Sugar's pack. Now Crystal said the most definitive words of the season, to get rid of Sugar now in a blindside since she has the idol and is a real danger. Apparently she has little weight, or the others thought putting up with GC's whining the greater danger and they vote to extinguish his torch-one word for them-FOOLS-let see idol or whining? For GC, someone who looked like he could have used a million dollars, he could dish it, but he sure couldn't take it. GC grow a set, you have to fight for the things you want, one word for him crybaby. -Single D

Project Runway-Finale

Well, I guess Double D was right when she read that the three to Bryant Park were girls. This would be the first time 3 ladies held that distinction even though I still can't stand Kenley being in the top three. She's still ranting on about how the judges accused her 4 times, yep, 4 times of copycatting other designers style. She acts like she doesn't know what they are talking about. Oh yes she does! That mother goose wedding gown was just too eerily similar to that McQueen wedding dress and I don't even know who McQueen is, just saw a picture of his gown. Tim suggests not to do the wedding gown thing on the runway, but Kenley spouts something about being the designer being the decider in that nasally nasty way that she has about her, wa wa! You could so tell that when Tim went on to Korto he was relieved to have cordial banter with a nice polite human being. Korto is thankfully dismantling her awful wedding gown and making two new outfits. Cut to Kenley sneering that Leanne's collection looks like Holly Hobby. Well, her collection doesn't look Holly Hobby, just Leanne. Doesn't that girl ever wash her hair. It's so stringy and limp, you'd think the TREsseme professionals would grab her, tie her down and wash that hair! Leanne meanwhile is dressing a model who brings her dog into the studio who is pooping, not fabric but doggie turds or as Jeff (my co-worker) would say making a grossen poopen. When that dog was allowed in the studio, I just knew poop or pee would fly.

At the fashion show, Heidi looked amazing as usual. Here she announces that Jennifer Lopez was to be the guest judge but hurt her foot so in her stead, Tim Gunn was to be the guest judge. Hum, a hurt foot how would that be a factor in judging the runway? Tim graciously points out that he will not let his associations with the designers cloud his judgment, meaning Kenley you're out! Kenley is the first to show and walks on stage in a Holly Hobby dress fit for a twelve year old and sprouting a display of green leaves from her head, which I'm sure is a Kenley original. I thought her collection wasn't all that bad and I did love that beige number with the hand painted flowers down one side, but once again, Michael Kors pointed out that one dress was eerily similar to another designer, more protest from Kenley ensued.

Korto next on the runway exhibiting a collection of colorful outfits which I thought were very pretty and I did like the ethnic touches. Leanne's collection of folds, pleats or as Michael Kors called them petals, were a little overdone. Why did every outfit have to have those petals, Petals Marshall? (Kors said it sounded like a stripper name). Do you know how to get your stripper name? Your pet's name when you were a child and the street that you lived on. Mine was Suzy G!

Anyway, I was so hoping that Korto would win, I mean she is older, has a family and could really design clothes for the everyday woman. How many women are going to wear those petal thingy's of Leanne's? I should be happy that Kenley didn't win, maybe she should develop a line of sailor clothes since she is in love with rope and all that. Now maybe Leanne can afford getting that haircut and a makeover.-Single D

Reality Check-How We Treat the Animals We Eat-Oprah Show

While watching the Oprah show today, I listened to a man tell a story which captured my attention and pulled at my heart. Today's subject on the Oprah's show was How We Treat the Animals We Eat. I knew deep down inside I didn't want to know or acknowledge how the bacon I love came to grace my breakfast table or how the beef patties met it's death. I didn't want to see horrifying scenes reminiscent of the KFC debacle of chickens being slammed to death or cows slipping under the throes of mad cow disease. In the audience there was a man who owned a farm. He related a story of how when he was a kid growing up on his parent's farm where they raised geese, one of his chores was to catch a geese for slaughter. The flocks of geese would run in sheer terror into the barn where he would eventually catch the unlucky goose. As he carried the goose out of the barn, he would be chased by a sole goose bravely running after him in defiance in defense of the partner he had by the wings. This vivid picture tugged at my heart, as I have previously written of my fond memories by the shore of Lake Tahoe feeding the Canadian geese that would make their way around the shore knowing which neighbors would have bread ready. I would see groups of geese but always knew who was paired with whom. Occasionally there would be the solitary goose, a partnerless creature who lost it's mate and was like a third wheel on a date. I always had hopes that those solitary geese would find another love, another partner. So when this confessed geese catcher realized as a child that the geese had personalities and social behaviors, he became involved in the human treatment of farm animals as a farmer. And so as I continued to watch the show and the treatment of the pigs, cows and chickens in pens so small that they can't turn around, I found myself horrified and sadden. The knowledge of calves in pens all their short lives (for this reason I have always boycotted veal), fed a liquid diet, weaken in muscle and diseased sicken me with the thought that it was all for the sake of veal scallopini . Have we as a nation forgotten that the food that sustains us also have intelligence and are social animals just like us? Have we lost our consciousness for the sake of the almighty dollar? I know we will always have the animals as a food source, but at least can't we treat them with dignity and respect for what they do for us? I vowed as I watched it that I would try to support the free range and cage free animal products and support the small farmers that are trying to make a difference and hold to a higher standard. I still love a good steak, will eat my eggs at breakfast and who knows maybe eat one less pound of bacon a week!-Single D

Amazing Race-Technical Mistake Costly in La Paz

Oh my, controversy and drama unfolds as Christy accuses Starr of throwing her sports bra over the railing, which of course Starr flatly denies. What does this have to do with racing? Well obviously it's hard to race without your sports bra. Hopefully she has a backup? The next stop on this leg of the race is the 12,000 ft city of La Paz Bolivia. When they all arrive, it's sleeping on the street like the homeless. Next day, it's brushing teeth and putting on makeup outside. You'd think a good night sleep on the street would put aside the bragate, but Christy is still going on about it. The next clue found in the local newspaper would be to find a hat shop for their next clue. This challenge is either musical marching farm band or a bumpy ride. I think I would have chosen the bumpy ride, because anything saying to ride is better than marching and those farmers were marching so slow! I guess it was siesta time for them. I would have been pulling my hair out if I had chosen that task. Once again a lesson in reading your clue is critical as Terence and Sarah realized once they were in their cab on the way to their detour. Sarah soon realizes that they were supposed to go on foot, so they back track to their starting point. Good move on their part. Unfortunately, Mark and Bill were not so lucky. This challenge, the bikes were the way to go unless you took a wipe out on it like Christy did. That looked like it had to hurt but, hey it's just a bike, however wooden and strange. Hey was that Terence blowing his whistle? When Nick and Starr passed Aja and Ty they asked them to pull a U-turn on Christy and Kelly, what's up with that? Let someone else do your dirty work? Thankfully, Aja and Ty have more sense than that to play someone else's game. The detour was to fight a Cholita (a plump Bolivian woman) in a wrestling rink. It was really funny to see everyone dressed like superheroes. At one point the whole episode looked like some Keystone Cop movie, yeah I know for those of you out there, Keystone? Dallas looked hot in his yellow leotard and again mother and son pull ahead, although mom labored under the altitude while doing the bike challenge. Mark on the other hand had serious issues with it and had to be on oxygen and almost passed out in the rink. His age was showing. First to the pit stop again, Ken and Tina, (did ya notice Tina doesn't have any eyebrows?). Mother and son Dallas make a surge to #2 (my favorites to win) and unfortunately, the lack of ciphering clues better, made Mark and Bill incur a 30 minute penalty while last place team, Kelly and Christy cross the finish line before their penalty time was up. I was holding my breath thinking maybe this was a non-elimination round, but there was no saving Mark and Bill from their costly mistake and were eliminated. Just goes to show you, as I have said before reading the clue is critical. Sorry to see them go, but I really wanted Kelly and Christy to stay on to see if the rivalry escalates between them and Starr, drama and traveling what more can one ask for!-Single D