Jan 19, 2015

Rest In Peace Francesca Hilton--I Love You

From the archives

Francesca Hilton had to laugh

She is the unknown Hilton. The un-Paris, if you will. For Francesca Hilton, there are no red carpet poses performed before shouting paparazzi, no boutique line of Francesca fragrances, no nervous Chihuahua tucked in her arms.
That the 61-year-old didn't wind up as irretrievably scarred emotionally and psychologically as so many children of celebrities in Hollywood is considered a minor miracle by her friends, who ask, what must it have been like to be the only child of the late hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian-born '50s glamour queen with the signature line, "Oh, dahlink"?
These days you can find Francesca at the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. It's Friday night and a small crowd claps as the hefty comedienne, adjusting her eyes to the glare of the spotlight, launches into a self-deprecating joke.
"Good evening, " she begins. "I am the original Hilton heiress. I'm older, wiser, smarter -- and I'm damn wider."
As laughter ripples through the room, she riffs on her famous family lineage. "My mom is Zsa Zsa Gabor. Couple of you are going to know who that is. My father was Conrad Hilton. Some of you have our towels. Keep 'em! Keep anything you steal! Keep 'em!" Her next relative needs no introduction: "My niece is Paris Hilton. She called me the other day and said, 'Francesca, can you pick me up? I'm just too drunk to drive.' I said, 'Girl, I'd pick you up, but I'm too drunk to drive myself.' "
In a few minutes, she wraps up her stand-up act with another reference to Zsa Zsa. "My mother and I, we're the best of friends now that we're the same age."
Made for a memoir
"Without THE humor, she would have been Britney Spears," says actress Jayne Meadows, the widow of Steve Allen, who has known Francesca and Zsa Zsa, now 91, for decades.
Director Henry Jaglom, a friend of 30 years, who, at Jack Nicholson's suggestion, cast Francesca in a small role in his 1971 film "A Safe Place," adds: "She is, in her own way, a fighter to have survived with her own identity. She tried to have her own normal life and become her own normal person. To me, that's a bit of an accomplishment when you come from that background."
Former Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas has known her for 25 years. "The big key here is a lack of love on both parents' part," he says. "That is the key to everything, in my view. . . . It's a dark comedy, and Francesca is the first one to recognize this. I can't begin to chart the calamities, but I have to say, even though Francesca has experienced the depths of despair like many people do, she has an amazing capacity to see the absurdity of it all . . . and see the humor in that absurdity. And that is why she is still around to tell the story."
Hilton says she once had a summer job taking reservations at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. "They'd always ask your name so they could scream at you if it didn't work out," she recalls. "When I gave them my name they said, 'Surrrre.' I'd go, 'Listen, do you want to make a reservation?' "
She won't reveal all the details of her relationship with her late father, noting she is saving those for a planned memoir to be titled "Hotels, Diamonds & Me." "He was a businessman," she says dryly. "He was wonderful, but he was married to his business. . . . We'd spend Christmas together. We'd occasionally have lunches at L'Escoffier [the ritzy restaurant that for years graced the penthouse level of the Beverly Hilton] with my mom. He loved my mom. He couldn't pronounce Zsa Zsa, so he called her Georgia from time to time. That's the truth."
Her father, who died in 1979, left the bulk of his estate to set up the foundation that today bears his name. Francesca got $100,000. She contested the will but lost.
"There was a disinheritance clause," she says. "If you sue and you lose, you lose. One-hundred thousand [dollars] out of $200 million, that's why I sued." Still, she says, she is not bitter, noting, "You can't live in the past. That was his decision."
Hilton hasn't seen her mother in two years, although the two talk daily by phone. Gabor, confined to a wheelchair, rarely gets out of her Bel-Air mansion, and Hilton isn't allowed to visit unless either her stepfather, Frederic von Anhalt, or his attorney is present.
Gabor and Von Anhalt sued Hilton in 2005, claiming she had forged her mother's signature to take out a $2-million loan by using Gabor's $14-million home as collateral. Hilton, in turn, accused Von Anhalt of manipulating her mother to get into his wife's will. A Los Angeles judge dismissed the lawsuit after Gabor failed to show up for court hearings. Von Anhalt has vowed to refile the suit.
Among the famous
Constance Francesca Hilton is having lunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel when she spots aging record producer Phil Spector, out in public after a jury deadlocked over whether he had murdered actress Lana Clarkson.
"I'm Francesca," she calls to Spector, who looks vacant-eyed and shaky as he turns toward her. She tells him that she once went up to his old Beverly Hills house. "Remember, you had the big dogs?"
"Yes," Spector replies, unearthing the memory.
They chat amiably about mutual acquaintances. "I met him through Kris Kristofferson," Hilton says when Spector leaves. "He took me up to his house one time. I had a crush on Kris Kristofferson."
Not long after, Hilton spots actress Joan Collins, the former "Dynasty" star, who exudes an aura of celebrity mixed with mystery in a leopard-skin top, a swank hat and oversized sunglasses.
"Joan, you look fabulous," Hilton tells her.
"Thank you, Francesca," Collins purrs. "Nice to see you. How's your mom?"
"She's good. I'll give her your love."
Collins departs, and Hilton remarks: "My mother fixed her up with Trujillo" -- that's Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican dictator -- "a long time ago."
In her autobiography, "One Lifetime Is Not Enough," Zsa Zsa wrote that she once clashed with Collins when the actress "accused Francesca of flirting with her husband, Ron Kass. Which was ridiculous because Francesca was much too young and even now doesn't really know how to flirt." Today, Francesca scoffs at the very idea she would have flirted with Collins' husband.
There are other eyebrow-raising entries in the book. Like actress Hedy Lamarr telling Francesca the facts of life when the girl was only 3 years old. Or Zsa Zsa's claim that Frank Sinatra banged on her locked bedroom door one night, yelling and refusing to leave. "Frank wouldn't take no for an answer and leave me alone," Gabor wrote, "and made so much noise that I was terrified that he would wake up Francesca."
But the most shocking revelation was Zsa Zsa's allegation that her daughter was the result of her mother's rape by Conrad Hilton.
When asked how her mother's claim made her feel, Francesca deflects the question with humor. "How would I know? I wasn't even there." Then she deadpans: "I know they had sex because here I am." She adds: "I asked my mom about this and she doesn't seem to remember."
Zsa Zsa had many rich and famous lovers. At one time, she was married to actor George Sanders, but he divorced her and married her sister, Magda. Sanders later committed suicide, claiming he was bored with life.
"My mother's boyfriends took me everywhere," Francesca recalls. "They tried to buy me things so I would tell my mother to marry them."
Once inseparable
In earlier years, Hilton and her mother were inseparable. They loved to ride Tennessee walking horses, competing professionally and winning blue ribbons.
It seemed like a fairy-tale existence. Life magazine published a photo of Francesca's 11th birthday party, where children were dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos. Life's story said the "18 guests, dressed like well-bred miniatures of their movie-colony elders, showed up on a rainy evening at Miss Gabor's Bel Air home. They partook of ginger ale and grenadine cocktails, a dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and danced till 10 o'clock. When the evening threatened to segregate into sexes, Francesca, a chip off the old block, murmured to the girls, 'Let's go in and meet the boys.' "
"My view is that Francesca was like a trophy child, an accessory," says film critic Thomas. "You've got the fancy house, you've got the fancy TV, you've got the decor and the fancy car. So you've got to have the fancy child to complete the picture."
"My mother would drag me around -- not drag me, but take me to different locations: Paris, Rome, you name it," Hilton recalls. "I was never really a kid because I'm the only child. Parents do the best they can, you know?"
At one time, there was no one in Hollywood more glamorous than the Gabor sisters. Hilton's publicist and longtime friend, Edward Lozzi, recalls how the Gabors -- Magda, Zsa Zsa and Eva -- would hold court every Friday at the old Bistro Gardens in Beverly Hills. "They were all coiffed up, all looking beautiful," he says.
It was their mother, Jolie Gabor, who coached her daughters to "go after big men and rich men and manipulate them," Thomas recalls. "She had a really grasping view on how you should handle men. I think of all of them, Zsa Zsa took it to heart the most."
But Zsa Zsa "went through many husbands, and that was probably difficult for Francesca," says Ronald Richards, her attorney.
Hilton never reached the heights of celebrity that her mother did, but over the years she has honed her skills as an actress and comedian in films, on TV and in the theater. Early film roles included parts in "Cleopatra Jones" and "Pterodactyl Woman From Beverly Hills"; her TV credits include the old detective series "Cannon."
Outside of show business, she worked in public relations and is skilled at photography. She has also focused on charitable work, helping out the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. "I think she spent a large part of her life trying to find her path," says the foundation's head, her nephew Steve Hilton.
In the fall, Francesca plans to travel to Africa to film a documentary to raise funds to assist World Vision in its ongoing efforts to drill water wells in rural villages.
Her name on a building
Hilton stands outside the Comedy Store and points out for a reporter her name, high on the front wall, alongside the names of comics who have performed there over the years.
"She turned her relationship with the Gabors into a comedy act," publicist Lozzi says. "How great is that? And . . . her mother hasn't threatened to kill her or write her out of the will over it. Her mother, I think, thinks it's pretty cool."
But attorney Richards sees the costs. "I've watched her comedy act," he says. "I think it's geared too much toward her mother's shadow. You can see she doesn't want to talk about her mother. She wants her own identity."
Hilton's analysis? "I'm just crazy," she says with a laugh over lunch. "I do stand-up comedy. I just think I don't take anything very seriously."
Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

Jan 18, 2015

I Just Love Listening to Joan Hamburg On The Radio......





Joan Hamburg Returns to New York Radio Airwaves


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By Richard Horgan
Fans of Joan Hamburg were very unhappy with WOR 710 AM when the station unceremoniously dumped her earlier this year, without the chance to do a farewell show. But after a summer recharging, the veteran radio personality has returned.
JoanHamburgPic
Starting this Saturday at 1 p.m., the 79-year-old “First Lady of New York Radio” will host a two-hour weekly show on WABC 770 AM. From this week’s glorious announcement:
Hamburg will continue discussing the most important social, economic and political issues that impact listeners’ lives each week. Hamburg will also interview major celebrities and powerful political figures on the program.
Hamburg will also produce weekly features and exclusive programs available in digital formats. In addition, The Joan Hamburg Show programs pre-empted by sports play-by-play will be presented on the 77 WABC stream and within other 77 WABC digital products.
“How excited I am to join legendary WABC radio and work with Kim Bryant, Craig Schwalb and the rest of the Cumulus family,” said Hamburg. “And what a treat to join their roster of the best talk talent in the country. New York get ready – the conversation is about to begin.”
At Michael’s this summer, here’s how Hamburg described the WOR parting when she crossed paths with our “Lunch” columnist Diane Clehane:
“I didn’t see it coming,” Hamburg said. “I never in a million years thought this would happen. I’m still trying to process.”
She recalled the events of that day for me like this: “I was getting ready to go on the air when saw someone from human resources and I thought, ‘Someone is sick and they’re going to ask me to go on for them.'” Instead, she was shown the door that day without any warning. While she admits that the station has the right to let anyone go, she calls the decision to deprive listeners of a proper farewell as “despicable” saying “I love my audience and they deserved better.”
This consummate pro respected by all who know her remains optimistic. “I’m the ultimate Pollyanna,” she said with a smile. “For all of us, there is life out there. Every ending is a new beginning.”
Hamburg was inducted into the New York State Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame in 2012. Welcome back, Joan!


and here is a link to the page:

http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/joan-hamburg-wabc/227892?red=ny


from the ronnie re........



Always listening to talk radio and I have been listening to Geraldo on WABC for over a year now....Recently moving to wichita and looking for good talk radio, Geraldo is really a well done show and hard to beat as he knows the news, the international news, all the big talkers go on his show and most importantly of all......he is not afraid of an opinion different than his.  Then I discovered Curtis and Kuby....hilarious and equally informative.  Now I love Joan Hamburg, as well.  Planning on visiting New York to see Letterman, Joan has all of the tips on the shows and where to eat.  I always listen to Joan now live or on the podcast because I love her friendly voice and she has great information and recipes....she is very interesting, as well.  As far as I can see or hear,  WABC is one of the best talk radio and information stations on the radio today.  I also listen to Larry Mendte on Sunday evenings and he often fills in for Geraldo.  He is an excellent reporter, too.  Now, I do not always agree with Larry but he always researches his facts for the show very well....love to write about him on my blog.    Thank you for your time and best of luck to Joan......the station is lucky to have her.



Please share your thoughts on the radio......agree or disagree.....everyone is welcome.........

Jan 10, 2015

Joan Hamburg: The Best New Radio Show--WABC 77 New York

Leave it to WABC 77 New York Radio for the very best listening during the day.....


Always listening to Geraldo and Noam every morning for the latest news, the big political talkers and the best radio information--seriously, Geraldo does the best radio talk news show out there.

Geraldo has the gift of listening to both sides, saying his opinion and making a good show--WABC is lucky to have him.

Challenging anyone to find a better radio show that gives all sides of the latest political view and conduct an interesting show.  The listener is the winner because they have the information.  the defining factor.....Geraldo is not afraid of new information, even if he disagrees--highly unusual in talk radio today.

Follow with the hilarious and again both sides--intelligent radio for the intelligent radio listener...Curtis and Kuby.

But the very best and latest Saturday addition that no one should miss is Joan Hamburg.

This lady has her finger on the pulse of the latest New York information......

Her recipes and restaurant info is to die for........I'm still waiting to make her dressing--crackers and onions and chicken drippings--I'm down for that, Joan.

Please listen to her best interviews show for recipes from the New York Times featuring smothered chicken.

Is there a better value in cooking than a whole chicken....so delicious and so fun to prepare and eat with your family.......

Family people........much to many of my associates dismay......children or dogs and cats......they all like chicken.

Joan interviews Gail Sheey, Harvery Firestein, a very informative stint with a physician describing the death of Joan Rivers...the who what when where why and how......

Love Joan--if you are trying to visit New York to see Letterman--she can tell you where to have a bite to eat and fills one in on the details of the expense account.

I love Joan.......it seems like I am listening to an old friend.....she is perfect for Saturday.....she is also a brilliant radio host.

Wish her the best......

here is a link to the radio station......click on Joan Hamburg and go to the podcast....guaranteed good listening....tell me what you think.




here is a link to Joan's page and I am suggesting the Jan 3rd recap......

http://www.wabcradio.com/page.php?page_id=7733


Please do not forget Larry Mendte on Sunday evenings...also he often fills in for Geraldo......love listening to Larry because he always does his homework and has his facts....agree of disagree he stands behind his idea......just another talented radio host on WABC


from the ronnie republic radio round-up....thank you for reading...please share  your thoughts about the radio.....


What's up with George Noory--what day did Coast to Coast AM become a proponent for the ultra conservative right wing agenda.....I'm telling At Bell......





Ronnie and the cats....looks like they are sleeping but they are really listening to Joan

Here's Chloe--Chloe always listens to Joan every Sat--Chlo also listens to Howard Stern because he like Maine Coons




Jan 9, 2015

Check Out Mews of Mayfair: Let's Go There Right Now........2 courses & glass of wine £20


2 courses & wine £20 at Mews of Mayfair
Free & instantly confirmed
Mews of Mayfair, W1
2 courses & glass of wine £20
Book now >
A word from Mews of Mayfair
The first floor is home to an intimate and sophisticated Brasserie that serves traditional British dishes using the best of seasonal ingredients. It is a fantastic place to draw out lunches and dinners with cocktails, fine wines and a plate of Britains best produce prepared by Head Chef Michael Lecouter. Read more
See all 97 reviews >
What diners say
Book now >
Terms & conditions
Sample menu
Starters 
Portland Crab Salad 
Granny Smith apple, avocado, crispy salmon skin

Grimsby Smoked Haddock & Potato Soup
salsify crisp

Carpaccio of Beetroots (v)
shaved Ticklemore, English truffled Brazil nuts
Mains 
Line Caught Dover Sole
spinach spätzle, razor clams

Cornish Lamb Loin
raviolo, salsify, pomegranate roasting juices

Cep & Brighton Blue Risotto (v)
sprout tops, chestnut shaving
Desserts 
English Forced Rhubarb
vanilla custard, candied thyme 

Bitter Dark Chocolate Ganache
caramelised satsuma, sesame wafers

Cheeseboard of English cheeses
Wine 
Chenin Blanc, South Africa 2014

Terrassa Tempranillo, Spain 2013
View full menu

Jan 7, 2015

Geraldo Rivera: So Sorry for the Loss of Your Older Brother Willie

Geraldo Rivera, brilliant news talk show host, told us today about the loss of his older brother, Willie.

Geraldo's show on WABC New York Radio 77 from 10 to 12 every week day morning........Geraldo always, always, always has compassion for his guests if he agrees or disagrees with their views--always lets them talk and say their opinion.

Willie passed away this morning from a long fight with heart disease and cancer.

So sorry for your loss, Geraldo, and also to your family and your 95 year old mom--to your radio family, too--may Jesus be with all of you on this sad day.

Appreciate your compassion and interest in people, Geraldo, and the ronnie republic would like to extend our thoughts to you at this sad time.

Noam Laden always does a good job anchoring the radio microphone when the host is not there but the he was later joined by Curtis Sliwa who is usually joined by Ron Kuby for their own show at noon.

Curtis and Noam continued the conversation started be Geraldo before he left a little early today to join his family.  They talked about the police issues in New York City concerning the mayor, the police commissioner  and the issues of safety concerning the citizens and the officers, themselves.

WABC is lucky to have Geraldo Rivera in its stable of news talk show hosts.  He runs an excellent show......always listening to the radio, Geraldo has the ability to run an interesting show, inform the listeners, tell the people the important international and national news of the day and let the people talk.....this is highly unusual in talk radio today.  Geraldo is not afraid of ideas different from his own--Republican or Democrat.

Thanks, Geraldo, for consistently doing a good job and caring about people and their trials and tribulations.

Prayers and thoughts with you on this very hard day.


Jan 6, 2015

Tunisian Marzipan Balls (Kâber El Louz) Recipe - Titli's Busy Kitchen

Hotel Miami in Rome: Good Deal Good Price Good Breakfast

Hotel – 
Via Nazionale 230, Rome, Italy


Stayed at this place in Rome, Italy.........

The location was perfect for getting around in Rome and seeing the sights.

Really liked the reasonable price but what we particularly enjoyed was the breakfast.

A huge selection of cereals and fruits and cold cuts including a delicious selection of cheese.

We would definitely stay there again.

Yes, it was very fun to look out of the very tall, very well traditionally decorated windows onto Via  Nazionale.  Plenty of restaurants..all within a good price range and walking distance...and the food....deliciously unforgettable.

Reasonably priced leather jackets to die for less than a block away.

Yes..we would stay there again and recommend it highly.


Why did we stay there....price, location and recommended on trip advisor.



Hotel Miami




Rome is very fun and easy....this hotel is also within a few blocks walking distance from the drop off location at the central train station of the airport bus.

The best thing about Rome--plenty of extraordinary food, close by and inexpensive.

Jan 5, 2015

Desert Donuts Phoenix: Seriously The Best Donuts I Have Ever Had In My Life!





Actually, cruising through Phoenix on a recent road trip stopping for gas could not resist the donut sign in the morning........

Oh, my gosh...what a lucky find.

Each doughnut is baked fresh.....

As in, while you are standing there watching the donut is cooked right before your eyes.


All cake donuts.......you pick the topping and it is applied.

Count on the flavor knocking you down.

In my book doghnuts are always good, especially fresh from the local donut shop but these things are from a different world.......the freshness and the flavor....like eating a cake right out of the oven.


Recommending the Bavarian Cream without any hesitations......

A cake donut......chocolate icing and Bavarian Cream filling.

It was so good I could not even get it to the car to eat it....you know the aroma of fresh cake baking...right!


Just north of Phoenix on route 17.....take Carefree Drive and it is just behind the Chevron and the McDonald's in the Albertson's parking lot.

Let me know what you think.....I guarantee a magnificent taste experience.


here is a link to the website:

http://www.desertdonuts.com/


open from 6AM to 1PM Mon through Sat and open at 7AM on Sun.


from the home page:

Desert Donuts is a family owned and operated donut & coffee shop in Northern Phoenix, AZ.  We opened our doors in July of 2013 and haven't looked back.  To compliment our fresh made donuts we also offer locally roasted coffee's, espresso based drinks, and iced drinks.  We always have a few different coffee flavors to choose from and each pot is freshly ground right before it is brewed.









Dec 24, 2014

Can't Wait To Go To Cuba..............

The White House, Washington

Yesterday, after more than 50 years, we began to change America's relationship with the people of Cuba.
We are recognizing the struggle and sacrifice of the Cuban people, both in the U.S. and in Cuba, and ending an outdated approach that has failed to advance U.S. interests for decades. In doing so, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.
I was born in 1961, just over two years after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, and just as the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with that country.
Our complicated relationship with this nation played out over the course of my lifetime -- against the backdrop of the Cold War, with our steadfast opposition to communism in the foreground. Year after year, an ideological and economic barrier hardened between us.
That previous approach failed to promote change, and it's failed to empower or engage the Cuban people. It's time to cut loose the shackles of the past and reach for a new and better future with this country.
First, I have instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations that have been severed since 1961. Going forward, we will re-establish an embassy in Havana, and high-ranking officials will once again visit Cuba.
Second, I have also instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism -- a review guided by the facts and the law. At a time when we are focused on threats from ISIL and al Qaeda, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces terrorism should not face such a sanction.
Third, we'll take steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to -- and from -- Cuba. These steps will make it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba. They will make it easier for Americans to conduct authorized trade with Cuba, including exports of food, medicine, and medical products to Cuba. And they will facilitate increased telecommunications connections between our two countries: American businesses will be able to sell goods that enable Cubans to communicate with the United States and other countries.
These changes don't constitute a reward or a concession to Cuba. We are making them because it will spur change among the people of Cuba, and that is our main objective.
Change is hard -- especially so when we carry the heavy weight of history on our shoulders.
Our country is cutting that burden loose to reach for a better future.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama

an e-mail from our President.......

Dec 7, 2014

Larry Mendte in Philly Mag: Too Bad He Is So Wrong About CNN's Don Lemon

Love Larry Mendte and Don Lemon.......Larry, I listen to you whenever I can and admire your work but you are way off on this one.  Just so happens, as a constant and long time CNN listener, Don is well respected and he is often on panels, particularly about race.  He is often asked his opinion and his answers are valued.  He speaks from his perspective and personal experiences...his answers are unique and well thought out.  I like to hear his take on things.  

Larry, he gets to talk on this one, this subject, and he gets to make a mistake once in a great while, too.

Larry, not only are you being way too harsh but unrealistic......It is true Don Lemon will be going to the bank fueled by his merits rather than his mistakes.


DonLemon-940x540

Don Lemon Is America’s First Reality News Star

Mock him all you want. He’s taking your laughter all the way to the bank.

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/12/04/don-lemon-americas-first-reality-news-star/#bcEUwiTVhlfoDO87.99





It is far too early to tell whether CNN’s Don Lemon is embattled or just growing his brand. He is becoming a household name for all the wrong reasons — but he’s becoming a household name all the same. When CNN does its talent research, Lemon’s name recognition will creep up on the network’s stars like Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer, even though Lemon’s fame is fueled by his becoming an Internet joke.
The latest Lemon embarrassments are photographs, which have gone viral, of Lemon flashing gang signs and grabbing his crotch at a party. This comes after CNN’s bizarre gas mask reporting from Ferguson, when Lemon trapped smoke inside his own gas mask and couldn’t breathe. And while buildings were on fire and stores were being looted, Lemon complained about the smell of marijuana in the air. That follows Lemon’s even more bizarre interview with one of Bill Cosby’s alleged rape victims. Lemon essentially asked the woman why she didn’t defend herself with her teeth.


Controversy has long followed Don Lemon. He once worked at NBC 10 in Philadelphia and made the papers for identifying an 84-year-old rape victim on the air; and once for accusing the now-defunct Tower Records on Broad Street of racism because a security guard dared to ask him to see a receipt for merchandise he carried out of the store.
Lemon left Philadelphia for Chicago, where controversy followed. Lemon made the papers there for refusing to cover a story. He was an anchor, after all, and covering things like actual news was beneath him.
And then came CNN, where, once again, Lemon’s tainted star continues to rise. New York Magazine recently put a list together of Lemon’s greatest gaffes on the air. Traditional media is once again following social media, where the sardonic hash tag #DonLemonReporting was still alive and well during coverage in New York following the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner chokehold case and Lemon suggested everyone close their eyes and forget about race for a minute.


And so it goes. It is the new media, where reality stars and news stars meld into one and the Twitter crowd craves the entertainment of failure over the boredom of competence. It is in this world where Don Lemon thrives, more Kardashian than Cronkite.
So ridicule if you must, but you have to watch to know what to ridicule. And CNN, a struggling news network scraping for ratings, is not about to lose anyone who can attract viewers, even if those viewers are locked and loaded at their keyboards ready to write the next great #DonLemonReporting tweet.
Go ahead and laugh, but realize this: Don Lemon is taking your laughter all the way to the bank as the Internet’s first reality news star.
Follow @LarryMendte on Twitter.

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/12/04/don-lemon-americas-first-reality-news-star/#bcEUwiTVhlfoDO87.99



copied from phillymag.com

Dec 4, 2014

Carlos Santana on Larry King: Inspirational


from the best food site: Thibeault's Table--Roast Chicken and How to Make Gravy

copied from Thibeault's Table

Roast Chicken and How to Make Gravy

It seems at this time of year the question on roasting turkey and chicken comes up often on various cooking forums.

Making gravy is another topic that comes up often.

So I thought this would be a good time to do a post on both.


I use the presalting method to season both chickens and turkeys.
Actually I use it for almost all meat cuts.

You can find the instructions here.

The chicken (turkey too) is roasted at 500°F,
known as the high heat method.





HOW TO MAKE GRAVY

Remove Chicken from roasting pan and set aside to rest.


The drippings are made up of fat and juices.
In order to make a rich flavourful gravy, the juices need to be browned.


Place the roasting pan back in the oven for a few minutes, watching
carefully as the drippings start to brown.

Or this can be also done on top of the stove.


When the drippings are golden brown, remove pan from oven.


Place pan on burner and add enough flour to make a roux.
Cook for a few minutes to cook the flour.


Add chicken broth, stirring until gravy thickens.  Season with sage and black pepper.
I don't like thick gravies so I add more broth.
You can adjust thickness and seasoning to suit your own taste.

Cover and simmer over low heat to allow the flavours to meld.


and here is a link to the page:

http://www.thibeaultstable.com/2014/11/roast-chicken-and-how-to-make-gravy.html