We all started this blog a couple of years ago to talk about news in a positive way, to bring out the good stuff, the funny stuff, the under-reported stuff, the stuff we like.

Each one of us has taken on new jobs or responsibilites and I am actually headed back to graduate school despite all reservations about my age or the economy. 

The work that goes into a blog has deterred us from posting for a while. Know that we will not dissappear, but this blog will be sporadic until an overhaul next spring. For now - we’ll say thank you for all who visited and good luck. If you’re interested in writing for this blog, or if you want more information - write to us as a comment and we’ll be in touch.

…buck up, kid. There’s still good news out there.

~channon

Fried Polenta by Tina

Ah- sometimes I find myself just not having the time or inclination to be creative and newsworthy. That’s when I gravitate towards the boundless energy of very good friends - just try it yourself and relieve yourself of non-productive guilt.

Check out this beautiful website created by my zany, energetic, creative and fun-loving friend Tina. This food site goes beyong the average with stories, feelings, and everything you need to know to create 3 new recipes a week. (many of which have been tried and tasted by yours truly! lucky me)

Tina’s Nom Noms - yum, yum, yum, yum….

…nom…nom..nom…

…yum…yum…yum…

Sometimes we sit around complaining about the fact that there just isn’t anything good on television. Why don’t you take a moment to think about all the great stuff that WAS on television and is now available on DVD? Head to Amazon.com, my thumb-cricking friend and buy yourself the series pack of News Radio or The Golden Girls or even better Designing Women - a show which reminded us that women can work together without killing each other. (throwing in a gay man always helps).

Dixie Carter passed away today at the age of 70 years old from Uterine Cancer.

Dixie Carter - you’re a sassy broad, and dam you’ve got class. You taught me to always love your siblings, put losers in their place with a few carefully heated words, kick undeserving men off your porch and always, always, always be there for you friends. 

Check out her best moments at this great blog - http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/11/dixie-carter-ripdesigning-women/

Associated Press recently reported for MSNBC that, although white-skinned Americans make up 2/3rds of the US population, there will be more minority babies born in 2010 than white-skinned babies. This is partially due to the rise in the Hispanic population and the decision many white-skinned women are making to wait to have children.

Catch the full article at www.msnbc.msn.com .

And don’t forget to fill out your US Census - we’ll find out all sorts of good stuff about the 120 million households that finally fill it out.

We’ve all read about little Holden Caulfield at one point or another. When we learned that J.D. Salinger passed away a few weeks ago, I wonder if you slipped back into a memory of a slower time, when it was quite alright to be all alone for a while…as long as you had a great story in your hands.

Here - A Little Note from my friend, Patrick Donahue:

For more about Patrick - visit Patrick Donahue on Facebook

Little Shirley Beans

When I first met Holden I was in no condition to meet anyone, at least for the first time. They pave the initial stones of the road for that relationship. They create a new frame of thought in your mind designed to turn the wheels of judgment, interaction and compassion. I had just recently lost god along with all my faith. Organized religion was completely dismissed from my life. I was on a search for my identity, my purpose, all that jazz, a search which has become life long. But most importantly my innocence, or at least what remained of it, the purest portion of it, was stripped against my will. And I was depressed. All day, every day, behind my smiles, behind my words. Depression. At night I slept unsoundly, those short hours, my only escapes from reality, scarred. My mind was a swirling clusterfuck. My goals in life were often clouded with thoughts of suicide. And then I met Holden. And Pheobe. And Ackley kid. And the rest of the gang. They didn’t save me. By no means was this a self help book. With every sentence read I sunk deeper and deeper. But the pages coddled me, kept me warm on the coldest of days. I wasn’t alone down there. They allowed me to live in my mind, and in the book. My views on people and of the world fell perfectly in line with Holden’s. There was no need to interact with anyone.

The book became an extension of my body. Train rides, car rides, auditions, castings. I replaced waiting with reading. It allowed me to disappear as I sat in hallways waiting to be hit on by some pedophile designer who would fall in love with me and then tell me I wasn’t right for the gig because I didn’t return his sexual pass. While the other models compared portfolios and passionately chewed the fat about their awful, superficial lives, I walked through the museum with Holden and Phoebe and marveled at the Eskimo who was still ice fishing. I watched phonies smoke during intermission and praise The Lunts. I ran without knowing why I was running. [Read more →]

Let’s face it - aside from some slight gains in security in Iraq - there wasn’t much good news in the news in the middle east in 2009. But let’s not forget that media will always show you the scary stuff (and as they sometimes should).

However, here are 2 interesting happenings that UK’s Telegraph wanted to remind us about:

Both Saudi Arabia and Iran appointed their first female ministers. (And we got all the attention for the President!) Now, we aren’t saying that these women are liberal feminists, but it is rather interesting. To learn more about each, click on their names:

Female Health Minister - Nominated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdii

and

Deputy Education Minister for Female Education Affairs nominated by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud:

Norah al-Fayez

Read the Telegraph’s article Middle East Review for a look back at the Middle East in 2009.

Few will argue that New York City is driving out artists and creative types with higher costs and exponential population growth. People who wish to spend more time creating and less time worrying about the rent are looking for better opportunities for living - with lower rents, cheaper eats, and more space.

Susan Saulny’s NY Time’s article, “With Detroit in Downturn, Entrepreneurs Look Up” highlights some pretty great small businesses that are picking up in the Detroit Area. Perhaps Detroiters are tired of being viewed as simply the worst-hit city in America. They are instead turning low rents into opportunity. Find creperies, low-cost cinemas and stylist shops with attitude. Torya Blanchard pays a mere $1,600 a month to rent space for her creperie, which, positioned closely to Detroit Institute of the Arts, should eventually gain flipping success.

See kids, the recession can’t be all bad. When everything you’re accustomed to diminishes, there grows  plenty of opportunites for some bright imagination.

For great photos and the article that goes with it - head to the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/us/10startup.html?hp

This from my friend Sara, who finds all zany things on the internet. The food blog - This is Why You’re Fat. Or as I might like to call it - Why We REALLY Love Food. Find photos of all wonderfully wonderful food finds and information about the upcoming book:

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Spaghetti Loaf

Fame Poster from Cinematical

Most people that know me - know that #1 - I have 23 Barbra Streisand Record Albums, and #2 - I have a dance movie collection complete with accompanying soundtracks. I’m one of those  - Oh! I wish I had continued at Miss Jan Estrella’s School of Dance when I was 10 instead of dropping out to play 10 other sports kind of people. If only I’d had the opportunity to attend Performing Arts High School - oh the places I could have gone. (although my lack of vocal talent and my inate inability towards self-discipline probably would have caused some problems)

I went to a free screening of Fame last week at Loews Theater on 42nd Street. Any true dance nut knows that this movie has been in the works ever since the 1980 original version. (yes, 1980!!!) its directed by Kevin Tancharoen, who’s cut his chops on dance videos.

And indeed - the best features of the film are the moments when these talented young whippersnappers sing, rap and leap across the stage. The sheer brilliance of the dancing and choreography, the spectacular grittiness that is still New York and some beautiful Chicago-like montages make this film a must-see for anyone in entertainment. These kids have so much heart and so much talent - I got teary smack in the middle. Naturi Naughton plays a classical pianist whose real dream is to sing and Kay Panabaker plays a young actress all too eager to fall prey to creepy guys. Even though their storylines are barely fleshed out, the montage of teen angst and the spectacular dance scenes carry the energy throughout the film. [Read more →]