Organ Donor and Altruism

I was watching Religion and Ethis Newsweekly on PBS and they had a piece called Altruism. They had a guy on, Harold Mintz, who 5 years ago, donated one of his kidneys to someone he didn’t even know. He had decided that he could still live a healthy and productive life with one kidney and that someone would How inspirational! He is a perfect example of altruism. Mr. Mintz said “If everybody signed their driver's license right now, nobody would die waiting for a kidney, plain and simple.” Now THAT’S pretty powerful stuff. Why not be an organ donor? Every time I renew my driver’s license, I check off the box to be one. In addition, I’ve told my family that I’m an organ donor – just in case anything happens to me, they know my organs should go to someone who needs them. Here is the organ donor site if you want to find out more about it: http://www.organdonor.gov/ Please save lives – be an organ donor.

Cream Puffs In Venice Blog

WOW - I just came across Cream Puffs in Venice . What a FABULOUS cooking/baking blog - very organized, very detailed and great pics, too! And there are LOTS of links to other great cooking/baking websites. I just wanted to share this with all of you - especially my sister, who loves to bake. Maybe she'd like to bake a little something for our next weekly "Family Night Dinner"?? :-)

Foreign Translations

I don't know if you're like me, but sometimes I come across a website that is not in English, but I'd like to know what it says. Or I come across a sentence in another language and I would like it translated into English. Or, as it happened the other day, I was writing in a get well card for a Brazilian co-worker and I'd like to write it in Portuguese, so I needed to translate English into Portuguese.

Well, I've come across 5 great sites that allow you to do all this. These sites cover a plethora of languages including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, etc. The sites will translate an entire web page or just a few words and will translate from English or to English. They're really pretty wonderful and are as follows:

http://babelfish.altavista.com/
http://www.systransoft.com/index.html
http://www.google.com/language_tools
http://www.ultralingua.net/
http://www.freetranslation.com/

Happy Translating!!!

How Much Do Authors Make on Each Book Sold?

I've always wondered how much authors make on each book sold, but never knew. I understand that it depends on the author and each deal is different, but I figured there was a "typical" deal. Well, I read this article in The New York Times yesterday and found out. It's pretty interesting. It appears that a publisher normally sells a hardcover book to a store for half of the cover price. The author gets 30% of the half or 15% of the cover price. So, if a typical hardcover book is $26, then the author gets $3.90. The publisher uses about 40% of the half for production, marketing, publicity costs and then 30% of the half covers overhead, returns and profit. On paperbacks, the author typically gets 7.5% of the cover price, so if a paperback is $14, then the author receives $1.05. Can you imagine what Dan Brown is worth!!??

Travel Show and No Name Restaurant in Boston

Dick and I attended a Travel Exhibition/Tradeshow at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. It had about 200 exhibitors covering the entire world. We came home with LOTS of catalogs and brochures for various places. It was a good place to get ideas and hear different people's suggestions on where to visit. We'd like to go to Italy (I've been, but Dick hasn't been), China (Dick's been, but I haven't been) and Africa (neither of us have been). I think it'll be a few years before we get to Africa - we have to do a lot more research on it, although I know I want to see the Serengeti.

After the show we went to the No Name Restaurant on the pier. It is next to the Center and close to Anthony's Pier 4. I had heard about the restaurant before (named Best of Boston 2004 for Affordable Seafood and was Editor's Pick in Yankee Magazine's New England magazine) and thought we'd try it out. I had called my sister to ask her about it (she used to live in Boston and knows everything about anything in Boston). She said it wasn't great and that we would be better off someplace else, but I thought I'd like to see for myself. Well, after dining there, I have to say I agree with her, although both Dick and I enjoyed the experience. You walk down the pier to get to the very unassuming entrance. You walk upstairs to the restaurant and you feel like you have entered a 1970's restaurant - it had dark paneling, etc. It definitely hasn't been updated in a while. (BTW, the restaurant has been around since 1917!)The waiter sat us right by the window which was nice. We overlooked the water and were able to see the planed fly in. We both had the fish chowder. Basically, it was a cup of fish with some broth - which is great if you love fish. I enjoy thick, creamy chowders myself. Prior to the chowder, the waiter dropped off garlic-toasted bread. We both had broiled scallops for our main meal. There were a lot of scallops and they were fine, but plain, which I guess is what I should expect for broiled scallops. I guess I like my seafood prepared with sauces or something a bit more seasoned. And the scallops were served with your choice of french fries or rice - we chose the fries which were average. In spite of the food, we enjoyed our visit because the place really does have character. All the waiters were foreign and had "Boston" personalities and fit in perfect with the out-dated decor. We won't go back because we didn't love the food, but it was fun because of its "personality". But, I'm still wondering why this place has gotten such good food reviews from various publications.

March Madness

Darn, I picked Duke to go all the way...but alas, they failed me :-(

Ok, now I'm waiting for baseball season to officially start!! Go Papi!

Hanover Street Chophouse

Last night, I was lucky enough to dine at the http://Hanover Street Chophouse/ in downtown Manchester, NH. It’s a fairly new restaurant – about 3 or 4 months old.

I dined with 6 other people. I was there for a business dinner – one of our European customers was visiting us. We had reservations for 6:30 PM and arrived to find the place quite busy which I didn’t expect for a Tuesday evening. I noticed there were other “business-related” parties, as well as other groups just socializing. It definitely appeared that there were more groups than couples. When you walk in, you see mahogany all around you. I characterize it as sophisticated elegance – a bit formal, but everyone was quite friendly. The wait staff all wear white jackets and black pants.

The entrée prices were between the mid-$20’s to $30’s with one or two special entrees in the $40-range. I started off with the Lobster, Scallop, Crab Cakes – so tender and perfect. One of my dinner companions had the Calamari and Rock Shrimp and he thought that the calamari especially was done just right. Another companion had the lobster bisque and enjoyed it, but he mentioned there were no chunks of lobster in it and I think he prefers a bisque with chunks, but the definition of a bisque is a “rich and creamy soup” – no mention of chunks. For my entrée, I had the Baked Stuffed Shrimp which was not your typical fare. It was infused with lemon and a dijoine sauce. The stuffing was actually not brown, like most places, but more on the whitish side. It was nice – very “cosmopolitan”, but I think I prefer the “regular” kind of baked stuffed shrimp – I’m just simple at heart. One of my companions had the pork chop and he said that is was “the best pork chop I’ve ever had”. He said it was very tender. It looked very thick, too. Another dinner companion had the Wild Salmon – which is a nice treat since it is getting harder and harder to find wild salmon – most are farm-raised.

We all had cappuccinos or espressos. And I had the Profiteroles for dessert and they were very nice, but I wish I had tried their rich chocolate cake with ganache filling – it sounded so good, but I was just so full, I thought anything that rich would just put me over the edge. One of my companions had the cheesecake and he said it was delicious.

This restaurant is also open for lunch and has an AMAZING scallop entrée (only served at lunch).

I would highly recommend this restaurant. And you can take a look at their menu on-line.

Movie Mistakes

I was watching the news yesterday and they mentioned a website that posts mistakes in movies. The website is www.moviemistakes.com . It's a pretty cool site. In addition to posting mistakes in movies, it also does it for TV, it has movie and tv trivia, movie quotes, etc. It's entertaining. And I think you can post your own entries - mistakes that you find while watching a movie.

BTW, I just saw Million Dollar Baby last night and cried like a baby. It was one of those movies that I wanted to see because it won so many Oscars, but I didn't really feel like seeing because it boxing doesn't really appeal to me. Well, I'm glad I saw it, it was AWESOME.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I was thinking about this and I remember 6 different occupations - although there may have been more, I just don't remember. When I was in grammar school, I remember wanting to be a police officer. I distinctly remember thinking how cool it would be to chase and capture the "bad guys" and how it would be so exciting. I also remember I wanted to be a private investigator. Can you say "watch too much TV growing up"!?

Then when I was 12 or 13, I watched the movie Jesus of Nazareth and was moved, so of course, I wanted to be a nun. I was into it for a little while - a few months to a year or so. I even had my name narrowed down to Sister Mary Teresa or Sister Mary Josephine. And I researched the various orders to join and picked the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston because they produced books (and I love to read). I even went to retreat at their place to find out more about them and wanted to go to their high school, but my parents said no, that if I still wanted to be a nun after high school, then I could join. At the time I was disappointed, but am very glad about their decision - although they might not be now! :-)

At some point, I wanted to be a psychologist - but I can't remember when that was. In high school, I decided I really wanted to be a lawyer - I didn't know what kind of lawyer - trial or corporate, but I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I had even looked into which law schools to go to (even though I hadn't gotten into college, yet) and decided on Suffolk. Then, after a while, I decided that I liked accounting (I took a course in high school) and chose to major in accounting in college. I figured that I may want to be an accountant after college, but if I did decided to pursue law, which was still a real possibility, an accounting degree would be just fine, especially if I got into corporate law. I know the suspense is killing you....so drum roll please...I became an accountant-pretty exciting stuff! :-) And I know this sounds corny, especially since we're talking accounting, but I'm glad I did - I've really enjoyed it and have been in the field for over 18 years. Plus, I don't think I would have met the height requirement for becoming a cop! :-)

So, when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Bush Impression Bash

Bush Impression Bash

Enjoy and make sure you have volume - it's pretty funny!

Fun Time in Boston on Saturday

Dick and I had a GREAT time in Boston on Saturday – we were there to see a play in the afternoon and a musical in the evening. The weather was awesome – about 60 degrees and sunny. We got there around noon time. We went to the Boston Public Library to see a Tomi Ungerer exhibit which was nice. And had a snack in the courtyard.

We spent most of the afternoon on Newbury St. – it was very crowded due to the weather. We went into a couple of galleries and did some window shopping. And we stopped at the Teuscher Chocolatier and had one champagne truffle each – yummy. And we got kiddie cones at J.P. Licks – which I had heard of before, but never had. I had the Oreo and Dick had the Kalhua – both were EXCELLENT. And I tried a sample of the Cake Batter – which I’ll be having the next time!

We got to the Lyric Stage Company a few minutes before the show started at 4PM. LSC is on Clarendon St right across from the Hard Rock Café. We saw Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia?. (Note Edward Albee wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) I thought it was a comedy, which it started out that way, but it really was a commentary on how easy it is to ruin, not only your life and soul, both the lives and souls of those you love the most. It was about this husband who has a perfect life – wife, son and success – but then falls in love and has an affair with a goat (this is not a typo). Like I said, it starts out funny, but then is very serious. It was ok, but I think because I was expecting something light and comedic, it caught me off guard. But I have to say, it’s one of those plays that stays with you for a while – you think about the meaning and depth. It was one of Edward Albee’s latest works and won the 2002 Tony award for best play.

We then walked to Tremont St. in the South End and found a great place to have dinner called The Garden of Eden – all the produce is local and the meats and chicken are free-range, etc. We started out with a fantastic salad – arugula, pears, goat cheese, almonds and sherry vinaigrette. I had the lasagna which was made with eggplant and Dick had the ½ free-range chicken and kale. We both enjoyed it very much. And we topped it off with 2 fantastic pastries – Dick’s was a chocolate/raspberry tart and mine was as strawberry/cream/sponge cake tart – and cappuccinos.

We got out of there with just enough time to get to the theatre for 8PM to see Forbidden Broadway SVU . This musical was a parody of various broadway musicals. I laughed almost non-stop it was so funny. And the people in it were so talented – they all had quite a range since they had to parody all different kinds of people/musicals (Les Miserables, Spamalot, Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Rent, Mamma Mia, etc). I am so glad we finished off the day with this musical. I would highly recommend it, but I believe this was the last weekend of production. I understand that this musical has been around for 23 years and gets updated every year or two for the new musicals. I would DEFINITELY go see it again in a couple of years.

Anyhow, that was our fantastic day/night in Boston. I love the city so much – it’s got so much charm, great energy/vibe and always has so much going on. And the South End has quite a bit going on, too. I always think of the North End, Quincy Market, Copley, Cambridge, etc for “doing stuff”, but the South End is doing pretty good. It’s got lots of restaurants, cafes, theatres, etc.

BEST Bananas Foster

I LOVE Bananas Foster - it might even be my favorite dessert, although it's hard to say since I love most desserts :-) Anyhow, I had probably the BEST Bananas Foster at Richard's Bistro on Lowell St. in Manchester, NH. It was unbelievably delicious - you could taste the brown sugar, bananas and a very rich and sweet (they might even use brown sugar) vanilla ice cream that they make. It was "melt-in-your-mouth" good. It is big enough for 2 people and it's always cool to see them prepare it table-side. So, if you are ever in the area, go to Richard's Bistro - even if it's just for the Bananas Foster - it is SO WORTH it. If you are ever in Rockport, ME, Marcel's Restaurant at the Samoset Resort also has an EXCELLENT Bananas Foster - but I still think Richard's is a tad bit better - which may be because of the ice cream or the kind of brandy used - I don't know. But both of these are worth a try.

Barnes & Noble University

I am going to take a class at Barnes and Noble University . I'm starting it on Monday, 03/06 and its called The History of Western Culture: 1500 to Present. This is my second class at the "university". The first one was on antiquarian books. B&N offers a nice selection of FREE on-line courses. Their current open enrollment courses (all starting 03/06) are as follows:

LIBERAL ARTS
Becoming Human: The Story of Evolution
Being Jewish in Today's World
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Film Noir: Danger, Darkness and Dames
French for Beginners with Living Language®
Geography for Everyone
How to Read a Film: Creating Meaning
History of Western Culture: 1500 to the Present
The Poetry and Life of Emily Dickinson
Writing Memoir with Gotham Writers' Workshop
Writing Poetry with Writer's Digest Books
Writing Screenplays with Gotham Writers’ Workshop
LIFE IMPROVEMENT
Beginning Programming
The Best Year of Your Life with Debbie Ford
Caring for Your PC
Learn Yoga with OM Yoga Center
Money Management for Women
Organizing from the Inside Out
Reel Fulfillment
Simplify Your Life Now
Speed Reading
Tarot for Beginners
Unpuzzling Your Past: An Introduction to Genealogy and Family History
Writing for Quick Cash
Your Home Spa
ONLINE READING GROUPS
Scott Turow on Ordinary Heroes
Augusten Burroughs on Magical Thinking
Po Bronson on Why Do I Love These People?
John Lescroart on The Hunt Club
Kaye Gibbons on The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster
Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The classes that are currently in session (no open enrollment at this time) are as follows:

LIBERAL ARTS
The Civil War Era
Discover Dungeons & Dragons
Everyday Math for Everyday Life
From Planets to Pulsars: Astronomy Basics
Grammar Fitness
How to Read a Film: The Technology of Art
Italian for Beginners with Living Language ®
Jazz: A History of America's Music
The Poet's Table: Walt Whitman's Poetry and Prose
Thinking Like an Editor: How to Get Published
Understanding Islam Today
Writing Fiction with Gotham Writers' Workshop
Writing Romance with Gotham Writers' Workshop
LIFE IMPROVEMENT
All About Your Dreams
Beauty: The Basics
The Best Year of Your Life with Debbie Ford
eBay the Smart Way
Feng Shui for Your Life
Find a Job You Love
Learn Wine Basics with Morrell & Company
A New Way to Cook with Sally Schneider
Scrapbooking Basics
Total Memory Workout
Web Pages Made Easy
Writing for Quick Cash
Yoga for Novices
Zen Miracles and Your Life
ONLINE READING GROUPS
John Grogan on Marley and Me
Barbara Taylor Bradford on Just Rewards
J.R. Moehringer on The Tender Bar
Ron McLarty on The Memory of Running
Yann Martel's Life of Pi
Charles Dickens's David Copperfield
Ovid's The Metamorphoses

So, you can see their classes vary from session to session. Anyhow, just thought I'd share since it's a great deal - free classes that you might just enjoy! And if none of these classes sound appealing, just keep checking periodically, you may just come across that class that keeps you home on a Saturday night doing homework! And don't worry, you don't get a report card.

Oscar Trivia

In honor of the Oscars, here is some Oscar trivia:

The most awards for a film is 11 for Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), was nominated for and won 11 awards.

Two films, The Turning Point (1977) and The Color Purple (1985), were nominated for 11 Oscars without winning any.

Walt Disney won 26 Oscars, mainly for short subjects. Walt Disney was nominated 64 times. And he won 4 Oscars in 1953 - which is the record for most awards by a person at one ceremony.

Katherine Hepburn was nominated 12 times and won 4 times - the most nominations and awards for a leading actress (Meryl Streep was nominated 13 times in various actress categories.)

Sir Laurence Olivier and Spencer Tracy both tie for the most leading actor nominations - 11.