Troll at Fairway - Broadway & 75th NYC

"Scraggly bits hung from the Carcass"

I am having 'a hate on' for Fairway on Broadway and 75th. The crowd is so aggressive, 'God Forbid' you forget something in the front and have to make your way back for a pound of coffee. They should have signs like at the toll booth “do not back up”.

The produce is of mediocre quality and the refrigeration is inconsistent rendering fragile greens spoiled well before their due date from the moisture content rising in the plastic tubs. The loose greens are over refrigerated and are thus tasteless and limp.

My experience with the butcher was so unpleasant it could put me off my feed all over again. After perusing the cases of organic chicken I politely asked the butcher for a bird under 3 lbs. He pointed to the case and told me to look again that’s all the organic chickens. After receiving no help from the masked and hooded worker arranging chicken parts I chose one and asked the butcher to please butterfly it for me. His head went back down and he continued trimming a rack of chops before grabbing my bird without so much as a nod. I said I would continue shopping and be back in 10 minutes. When I returned he slapped the loosely wrapped and hastily stickered package into my hand and did not reply to my thank you.

Back home I discovered the back was snapped but the bones had not been removed. Scraggly bits hung from the carcass and the neck was hastily stuffed inside, piercing the cavity. No giblets or liver. Where I come from, butterfly means to remove the bones. I had to do it myself which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place.

When I phoned the store it took several tries to speak to a manager and he couldn’t have been less interested.

Women's Sexual Health

FDA approved Viagra on March 27, 1998. On CNN's Larry King Live show, former presidential nominee Bob Dole admits he took part in experimental trials for Viagra, calling it "a great drug." In December of 1998: Pfizer announces it has hired Bob Dole as a spokesperson.

On August 19, 2003: The FDA approves Bayer Corporation's vardenafil hydrochloride, sold under the brand name Levitra, to treat erectile dysfunction in men. Cialis was the third drug for ED to receive approval by the FDA at the end of November 21, 2003. Cialis is manufactured by Lilly ICOS LLC.

In 2008, The Washington Post reports that the CIA is using Viagra to gain friends in Afghanistan. "While the CIA has a long history of buying information with cash, the growing Taliban insurgency has prompted the use of novel incentives and creative bargaining to gain support in some of the country's roughest neighborhoods, according to officials directly involved in such operations."

2011: A federal judge extends Pfizer's U.S. patent for Viagra, making sure generic brands cannot come to market until 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal.

By 2012 there were 8 million sales of Viagra resulting in $2 Billion revenue.

So, in the 16 years and billions of dollars in revenues since Viagra was approved by the FDA, how is it we women are now having a full on battle for FDA approval of flibanserin, the one drug that has the potential to help millions of women all over the world with Sexual Dysfunction. That means millions of women with no libido may once again have the option to fulfill their god given right to be a sexual being. Just like men.

Why do women have to fight for everything? Who started the rumor that we don’t love it if we didn’t have to work for it? The general opinion is flibanserin is for women in peri menopause and menopause that may be experiencing a lack of desire for sex. News flash, this is not about boomers wondering where their next boom is coming from. The bottom line is that women between 18 and 36 that are experiencing the greater diagnoses of Sexual Dysfunction.

How is it that young women all over the world, in their sexual and reproductive prime are just plain old not interested in sex? Oh there are ever so many reasons but lets not go there right now, but lets stay focused on why we should even have to wait or wonder why we don’t have as many options as men, again.

Dig this. This drug has been tested on over 11,ooo women. Initial resistance suffered arguments at hearings such as the concern that women who use this drug most likely drink alcohol and so, might abuse the drug or be less than responsible with this prescription medication. What, like no guy has ever come back from the Pharmacy and said to his buddies, “ Hey look what I got, you want one?” or “ Hey, that was fun let's try two!”

Piffle, there is a drug for men with ED on the market that has barely 100 test cases and is slated for approval. The drug is to help those men afflicted with a crooked penis. The side effects include the possibility that the drug could cause the penis to explode.

Are you kidding me?

Really what is the old boy network so afraid of? That women of all ages will suddenly be sexually active again and that Viagra sales will fall as the heart attack rate rises putting a strain on our men of fighting age? The sheer dollars alone could eliminate illiteracy in the female population on a global level and you can rest assured that if anyone’s vagina explodes that we girls will form together in sisterhood to get her a new one.

You simply cannot make this stuff up.

Bklyn - Teak to Chocolate

Joan Horton - JHorton Store, Connecticut

Today was a Williamsburg adventure day with the intrepid Joan Horton from JHorton Store in Madison Connecticut. I love working with Joanie. Her never ending quest for the new and exciting has led her from being VP of Corporate Communications for Revlon to having her own Lifestyle store.

We started out navigating the streets of Williamsburg in search amazing organic teak bowls. They are so beautiful and capable of withstanding the punishment of the outdoors. We compared and contrasted several petrified wood stumps to act as cocktail tables, seating and pedestals. Finding elements of Pat Steir’s drip paintings and loving the simple yet distinct differences in each and every one.

After the bowls were dusted and polished we took our starved selves on a safari through Williamsburg. The now pristine hipster hood is home to countless shops and restaurants but we had bigger game in mind. Mast Brothers. That’s right, we needed chocolate. 

With our steady guide, Waze, we found ourselves at Mast Brothers Brew Bar. Furniture shopping on an empty stomach is never a good idea and so the perfectly broken squares of dark chocolate imbedded with pepitas, cranberries, almonds and did I detect a hint of bitter orange?, was gobbled up in about 30 seconds as we were schooled on the latest brew from The Brothers who brought chocolate back to Brooklyn. We chose the salted caramel and watched as the cacao nibs were ground in a special grinder so as not to disrupt the healthful butters and then the grinds were prepared in what looks like a tea bag, covered  in boiling water and steeped like tea. Add some simple syrup and it was truly a new taste sensation. So new it propelled us down the street to the factory to snatch up an assortment of truffles and bonbons to take back to the prisoners on Manhattan island.

Ciggies

How many times today I wanted a ciggie.

276

Cigarettes actually smoked: 0

Cigarettes in possession 0

I know, I know, I’m a Lifestyle Evangelist who waxes poetic about green juice and grass fed beef. I also say Life is short and perfect is boring. I have my vices and cigarettes are on the top of that list.

More addictive than heroine and a lot easier to get at a moments notice.  I often wonder what my life would be like if Omar at my corner deli would sell me one cigarette at a time….

What’s my biggest excuse? It’s genetic. My Great-Grandmother Lilian May was born on a tobacco farm in West Virginia. She smoked up until the stroke, three months before she died at 93. Nicotine is in my blood.  

To this day, almost 16 years since I quit smoking, I scan the room when the phone rings in search of the red pack that morphed into the blue pack when all of a sudden I thought that smoking organic had to be better for my health than just plain old smoking. 

Ahhhh, that feeling when the first deep breath, in what feels like forever, releases my soaz muscle and delivers that first blast of nicotine to my system. My shoulders come out of my ears and there just ain't no substitute, electric or otherwise, that will be better than that.

Helen Mirren Smoking - Oh she so hot!

I confess its vanity more that keeps me from puffing up. Yes, I hate the smell of smoke in my hair and on my clothes. I can wash those. It’s the lines on the upper lip that keep me from sucking back a few ciggies when the going gets tough or when I want to celebrate or when I want to be sure that lunch is really over.

'The Judge' vs. 'Low Down'? - Am I there yet?

I could look at RD Jr all day long and that’s a good thing because when you see 'The Judge' you see a lot of him. In every angle, from Mt. Rushmore to Rodin, and God Bless, he looks great at every turn. And, as always, Robert Duvall’s performance as the Judge is spectacular.

The cast, story, lighting, camera work, cutting all bring words like epic, monolithic, grand and opulent to mind. Truth is, the film didn’t bring me to the place I wanted to be when I took my seat. 

My experience of 'Low Down', the story of jazz pianist Joe Albany, based on the memoir of Joe’s daughter Amy, took me where I wanted to go.

Amy Albany, with my fellow Bennington College alumni, Topper Lilien collaborated on the screenplay and Low Down was made on a shoestring over the course of 9 years.

The film takes place in LA during the jazz scene scene of the 60s and 70s. 

What must it be like for Amy as she now watches that period of her life being played out by the likes of Glenn Close, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, Flea and Taryn Manning, all expertly guided under the careful direction of Jeff Preiss.

Hawkes as Albany is lovable and tragic, he has style and heart and, of course, I fall in love with him a little bit. Elle Fanning kills it as Amy. Tim Daly, another Bennington alum, gives a performance so outside my expectation of him as to reaffirm my faith in creativity as it was back in the day at Bennington.

Bravo, I believed every moment of the dark, twisted story of love, devotion and acceptance.

Sand Mandala at Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery

When my friend Anne Kirkup invited me to come to The Asia Society and have a look as the four Monks from the Drigung (Drikung) Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism create an amazingly intricate and beautiful sand mandala in conjunction with the opening of the Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, I practically flew across the park. The position the monks had to maintain, squatting on the floor or perched on small stools looked like the set up for a chiropractor’s dream. And there they were in their saffron and crimson glory. Carefully, with the most delicate and directed touch, bringing color to the drawing, sometimes even blowing delicately to create the proper shape and all I can think of is that crazy cocaine moment in Annie Hall.

A Sand Mandala is a painting, a sacred cosmogram representing the world in perfect harmony. It may be used to focus attention, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation. The monks use small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, called chak-pur to form the mandala, representing the world in its divine form. 

There are thrills and there are thrills but nothing compares to shaking hands with the monks during their break. All smiles as they gathered in the hallway, I introduced myself and thanked them for their dedication and the beauty they brought to the day. When they offered their hands their grasp was so electric as to make my heart open and sing in ways I had never imagined. Joking and giggling and asking if I would like to be an assistant, their joy was contagious. I always marvel at the playfulness and joy I feel when in the presence of Tibetans.

I practically skipped across the park and back to work.And FYI,The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. The deity syllables are removed in a specific order, as is the rest of the geometry until the mandala is dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), and released back into nature symbolizing the impermanence of life and the world. I would be delighted to be invited back to observe them, again and again.

Namaste

"A Musical Celebration of Broadway" - Drama League Gala 2014

Neil Patrick Harris has to be one of the cutest guys ever. This was the second year I co-chaired the Drama League Gala, A Musical Celebration of Broadway, with the amazing Ellen Fox. Aside from being totally gorgeous, Ellen is an absolute dream to work with. I love her because she owns her power. Ellen is a force in the Financial World and sets an amazing example for her daughter and all the women she so generously devotes her time to.

Ellen Fox, Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Eller - Drama League Gala 2014

The DL celebrated its 98th year, right there that’s impressive.  The event is the best ticket in town if you love the theater. This year the show was directed by Michael Mayer and Johanna McKeon, two of the many illustrious alumni of The DL’s Director’s Project and they will be Director and Associate Director of the revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch Starring NPH which just happens to open on my birthday!

I cant say enough about Neil and the love he generates in the community. The night was magical. Cady Huffman, Audra McDonald, Katie Finneran, Tim Gunn, Stephen Colbert, Norm Lewis and the cast of Rent, were just a few who helped  make the evening so special. For me, the roof blew off the Pierre when Neil’s fiancé of eight years, David Burtka, sang Sondheim’s “Marry Me A Little” from the show Company. Once again I have proved there is no such thing as waterproof mascara as I just wept with happiness feeling the love in that room. Thank god the glue from my lashes held tight.

This pic of Ellen, Neil and me is a special moment. Just as the flashes popped, NPH said “Are you wearing a leather dress? That’s hot!” I replied “…yes I am, and you can borrow it for Hedwig any time” We all laughed and I will remember that moment forever.