My paternal grandmother was a Greek refugee from Asia Minor.  She went to Alexandria, Egypt, with her seven sisters, seven sisters, refugees in 1912, they survived.   She always had the feeling of uncertainty and impending danger.  We all inherited that anxiety, either through biology… Read full post »

The US Navy in WW II did not want Julia Child, she was too tall at 6’2”. So, she joined the OSS, she was a spy. Today the documents were released that out Julia as an agent of the OSS, the precursor… Read full post »

Egypt is predominantly  Moslem , you all know that.  Egypt has Christians, the biggest group are the Copts, but there are other denominations.  A small group of Copts are the Zabaleen.   Who are the Zabaleen and what does all have to do with Egyptian politics and economy?  

Z… Read full post »

Well, the straight talker, told us what he thinks of women. While he was at Sturgis, the South Dakota Harley event, he offered his wife for the topless competition. The banality continues.

McCain felt so comfortable at the event… Read full post »

Charlie's Angels started on television 1976, I was 22.  That year I graduated from college, UC Berkeley.  Farrah hair was everywhere.   But not for me and my friends.

Farrah hair meant turning the clock backwards to curlers and hairspray.  To wanting to have hair you did not have… Read full post »

Prepare: The End Is Near, Again

As a lifelong insomniac radio has become my solace. Radio basically provides a distraction from my personal broadcasting loop of doom that is magnified in the late hours. After the first round of demi slumber, comes the… Read full post »

Tomatoes. Tomatoes are now killing us. They are killing us and the government is doing nothing about it. Well, actually one person has died, maybe.

" In particular, the agency said, raw red plum tomatoes, raw red… Read full post »

On another post, things got slightly wild, BBE, suggested that our time would be better spent posting nudity than talking about Sarah's clothes.  The most eloquent rjnax, suggested the following:

" I want to see the story, " Sarah Palin; 1st Gov to pose for Playboy. "
It could happen, esp,… Read full post »

Sitting one summer on the island of Spetses, a few years ago, life long friend, said while looking at a collection of gorgeous young men under 25: "Young men under a certain age, are problematic.  Let's say, you have sex with them, what do you do with them after?   Burp… Read full post »

I have already disclosed that I love the Real Housewives Series.  Bravo has now moved from New York , to  New Jersey.   How convenient for the crews.  

I have lived on the west coast all my years in America, forty plus years, my knowledge of New Jersey is based on… Read full post »

Ah, the French.  Turns out Ms. Bruni, the first lady of France, aka Madame Sarkozy, once again is in the eye of the press, mostly the British Tabloid press and maybe the French-- did not look, yet.  

Before Carla married, Mr. Sarkozy, she was a model  and  a singer. She… Read full post »

I am sort of dubious cause these images of British Olympic athletes will be used for a Coca Cola advertisement. But, nonetheless, there is this mythical Olympian beauty that cannot be denied.

 Rebecca Romero

 Phillips Idowu

Gregor Tait … Read full post »

Our machines live with us, they have entered our psyche and our culture in ways that we do not  understand and why should we.  We have machines in our house, computers, stereos, iPods,  phones, mobile phones, PDAs, DVRs, Tivos, alarms, cameras (digital and otherwise), GPS systems.&nb… Read full post »

I usually don’t include recipes in what I write, but I was taken by this particular recipe and thought I should include it in this post:

“The cadaver of a reddish man (because in such a man the blood is believed lighter and so… Read full post »

At Salon front page there is a review of the new film about Philip Petit. 

I have a nephew who has done a few New Yorker covers.  In his web page he has a great visual development of how the final cover for the New Yorker 9/11 anniversary issue was… Read full post »

These are the phrases, expressions and words I will be glad to not hear anymore after November 4th. 

From the General Election cycle:

Making history:  everything that happens in politics is historic.  There is no "special" history.   There is one American history.  

Inspire… Read full post »

Binaries are great.  They give us contrasts. Simplistic world views.    Yet, they offer a glimpse of a certain reality.  California vs. New York, is always a great one.

In the world of shallow and "I cannot believe I am watching this" Real Housewives series are the "it" television… Read full post »

Fox News pundits , bloggers and commenters across America are dumbfounded as to why people are offended with the illegal alien costume.  After all it's all in the spirit of fun and Halloween, with a wink a giggle and nod.    It's that enemy of America " Political correctness" they scre… Read full post »

Remember Dan Rather?  Remember how CBS fired him cause of the planted memo, "memogate" ? 

Well, he is suing CBS, 70 million for wrongful termination.  This is what Rather's lawyers found during the "discovery".  CBS was gonna appoint an independent panel to review the case. … Read full post »

First, let me explain.  I was never Greek enough to be a Greek, a  mixed Greek of the diaspora is suspect . Although my last name and paternal line is  Lebanese, it was not  enough to go to Lebanon.  Two generations born in Egypt, yet we were not Egyptian.  So, when… Read full post »

The Republican party is hell bent on making America a Christian theocracy.  They have fed and nurtured the Christian right so that they can stay in power.   Sarah Palin is part of the theocratic arm of the Republican party.  She developed her political chops from the Christian Rig… Read full post »

You have to give up all the handles you ever used, all the places you ever commented, diaries.  Yikes.  I guess I have no chance of getting a job--63 page questionaire.  Info about spouses and children.  You know that picture on facebook of your kid smoking a joint… Read full post »