Wry On The Rocks

     When did the evening TV weather report become a full-blown production adopting a style more suitable for a National Geographic feature?  And, when did the TV weather people start treating me like an idiot.  Do you notice how they usually start their evening telecast with a commentary on that day’s weather?  Like..”well today was a beautiful day…sunny and warm…”  I know what the weather was today!  I don’t live in a submarine.  I want to know what it’s going to be tomorrow!  And I want to know what it’s going to be here…not in Casper, Wyoming or Sioux Falls, Idaho or where ever.  And if it’s going to be hot tomorrow, I don’t need to know why…high pressure area over Coos Bay?  Air masses?  Station pressures??  I don’t care.  Just tell me how hot it will be and is it going to rain??  Period.

(read more on this at www.wrysandwherefores.com)

     Last evening, the Boston Pops premiered a tribute to the Kennedy legacy entitled “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers.”  The musical piece, written by Peter Boyer with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, includes quotes from various speeches by the three brothers and was spoken from the stage by actors Robert De Niro, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman.

     The high profile audience at Symphony Hall included Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Muray, UMass president Jack Wilson and JFK Library Foundation CEO David McKean.

     While members of the Kennedy family were expected to attend the evenings festivities, several were noticeably absent.  Joe Kennedy was busy pumping gas in Everett, Mrs. Robert Kennedy Jr. was apparently unable to raise bail, and Patrick Kennedy was arrested for driving his car up the Museum of Fine Arts steps at 3 in the morning.  He claimed he was there to see the Kennedy brothers portrait.

    My wife and I always enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner and the other night had a particularly lovely 2008 fish bladder with our lamb chops.  It was slightly more expensive than usual because it was not just any fish bladder, but sturgeon bladder which has less of a hint of salt water to it.  Not everyone, of course, favors fish bladder;some of our friends, for example, prefer a hint of egg white in their Pinot Noir while others prefer the smooth taste of milk byproducts in their Merlots.  These are just a few of the items that vintners might add to their grape concoctions.

     Because of the slew of forest fires in California this past year or so, you may find more and more wine from the state higher than usual amounts of fish bladder or other “additives” to hide the smokey taste of the recent harvests.

     If the FDA ever gets around to demanding full disclosure on wine labels it will be a boon to the average consumer.  I can never remember if the ‘99 is better than the ‘04 or vice-versa, but I damn sure know how much fish bladder I want in my burgundy.

    Michele Obama lashed out at George Bush today in announcing her mission to solve the obesity problem among young people.  The First Lady pointed out that one-third of young Americans today are over-weight and under nourished; a problem caused, she explained, by former President Bush.  “It’s no secret,” she said, “that Mr. Bush had a weakness for M&M’s.  In fact, when he left the White House, he presented each of the press corps with a gift-wrapped box of M&M’s embroidered with the Presidential seal.  What kind of message was that to send to the youth of America?”

    Mrs. Obama discussed her goal of trying to un-do the 8-years of damage to nutritional values caused by the previous administration.  “What we need to do is get kids to eat more fruits, for example,”  she explained, “maybe the way we do it at State dinners..fruits dipped in chocolate.  We find it the perfect companion to the pumpkin pie tart, whipped cream & caramel sauce, petits fores and pecan pralines that ends our meals.”

     If that doesn’t work, she suggested that  they could eat cake.

Here’s a flash….The Boston Globe just endorsed Democratic Senatorial candidate Martha Coakley!!  And they call it a NEWSpaper.  I have an idea…how about The Globe endorsing a Republican?  Now, that would be news!