“It is spring time now! While the world looks for a new war to fight, you look for a cherry blossom to watch! Let the stupid seeks the violence; you seek the elegance!” ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan
Early spring heaves a heavy sigh, shedding a few tears of upcoming rainy days – a necessary part of spring glory I suppose, but oh how the heart aches for some sun and warmth… In the meantime, all we have are these falsely-started cherry blossoms, doing their best to cajole some happy spirits, and console the heavy hearts.
A spring jazz selection will have to do to pass these next few dreary days. April showers bring May flowers… April showers bring May flowers… April showers bring May flowers… so we chant and intone and will it into being.
Alice Wu is the visionary behind this amazing short film entitled ‘The Note’, which must be seen multiple times to gain all of its grace. It shows the process of coming out as one that continues throughout someone’s existence – something that gets lost today. That a company as powerful and popular as Oreo is bold enough to put its name behind such an important message is a heartwarming testament to the good that is left in this world, and the sensitive and masterful touch that Wu finesses out of just a couple of minutes of screen time is a testament to her artistry. She easily earns the Dazzler of the Day thanks to this effort, and be sure to check out the rest of her impressive work as posted on her link tree here.
April is underway, and spring is in full-effect, even if it doesn’t quite feel like it. We will make it happen – you and I – beneath a canopy of forced cherry blossoms. Thy will be done. On with the weekly recap, as is our wont on Monday mornings, when all feels dismal…
If you need an ambient background for your meditation (silence is oppressive to some people) I would like to suggest this collection of Japanese flute melodies, accompanied by a harp. It put me in the mind of the cherry blossoms that I forced this week. They don’t bloom as big or as boisterously as when they come into their own naturally outside, but even the smaller and more delicate blooms are appreciated at this point. We are desperate for spring, and the sooner it arrives, the better. If that means a little nudging and coaxing, such as with these forced blooms, so be it.
As another week gets underway, and Sunday can be seen as both an ending and a beginning, I lower myself onto the floor, cross my legs beneath me in lotus-fashion, and begin the daily meditation. May the calm and serenity I find here work its way well into the week, providing a sanctuary and repository of peace and tranquility when the work waters swell and the storm clouds gather.
Creating such a space, and time and place, may feel fleeting and temporal at first, until you realize you can access it at those times that aren’t peaceful and calm. A few deep breaths, when practiced and collated with moments of serenity, can remind the body and the mind of what that feels like, recalling the memories of sanctuary like pleasant echoes of a sweet melody.
“The most precious gift we can give anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Feeding a fellow human being has to be one of the most heartwarming things one person can do for another, and Brandon Styles has made a career of it. Proprietor of Mr. Bumbles Cafe, Brandon previously headed up chef duties at the Tipsy Moose Tavern. Mr. Bumbles is a work entirely of his own creation, and his enduring talent at crafting delicious plates easily earns him this Dazzler of the Day. (Bonus: Mr. Bumbles Cafe just revealed a new spring menu, so stop by to check it out – the wraps and sandwiches look amazing.)
For yesterday’s brunch I made a batch of bellinis, and came up with a non-alcoholic mocktail version for myself which was peach nectar, peach seltzer, and a few drops of orange blossom water. The latter is the magical ingredient that reminds me of this Ramos Gin Fizz which used to come out every Easter Sunday. I’d forgotten about it until today, and it will actually make a fine mocktail. Not every cocktail does (think of the martini) but the ones with more than a few ingredients – especially the powerful but simple ones found in the Ramos gin fizz – tend to use the alcohol as an accent that isn’t always necessary. Watch this space for an Easter update on that.
In the meantime, and for the spring and summer ahead, this peach drink is a lovely addition to my mocktail repertoire, and the orange blossom water is paving the way for Neroli season…
Jerrod Carmichael is hosting Saturday Night Live this evening, and his new stand-up special on HBO, ‘Rothaniel’ is earning acclaim (he officially comes out as gay in it). All of that, and more, is why Carmichael earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning, and this seems to be only the beginning. Watch his star rise.
A vase of carnival-colored tulips stands in the center of our living room greeting guests for a Saturday brunch and insisting on spring even if the weather itself isn’t quite cooperating yet. It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper brunch, the day feels celebratory, and perfectly emblematic of the season of renewal and new beginnings.
In the air the sounds of ‘Perpetual Optimism’ as performed by Herlin Riley scatter from room to room, the title a living testament to how we will choose to have our brunch today – with hope and optimism, laughter and joy, indulgence and glee.
There is perhaps no greater reservoir of hope and promise than a Saturday morning in early spring. Easter is almost upon us, the wilderness of March recedes into dim memory, and a lively bit of jazz sets the tone for the day. Anything is possible, and it’s ok to embrace that at last.
Get out there and make your own fun this weekend. Spring is here. Let there be love.
It was an early Friday afternoon, and I’d taken an early lunch to beat the forecasted spell of rain scheduled to take place just at my usual lunch break time. Count on snow squalls and rainstorms and general meteorological fuckery whenever I plan on taking lunch outside the office. It’s the way the world runs.
On this day, I carried my umbrella, and just as I arrived at Stacks, the rain arrived on cue, so I ordered a coffee and took up a corner seat overlooking the little park nearby. A couple of squirrels darted by, while a sporadic spattering of people paraded by the window – more than I was accustomed to seeing at my later lunch time.
Allowing my cup of coffee to cool, I studied the reflections of tree branches on the surface of the liquid. A mist was falling, and low clouds hovered around the higher reaches of the surrounding downtown buildings.
A song called ‘A Foggy Day’ by Ahmad Jamal seems a fitting musical accompaniment to close out this Saturday morning post. We are brunching soon… come back for lemon cardamom sweet rolls, a souffle, and a variation on a Bellini with orange blossom water.
Actor, singer and up-and-coming aerialist Chris Salvatore is a Renaissance man who earns his first Dazzler of the Day thanks to a career of reinvention and evolution. He’s been in movies, television, and live shows, while honing his singing and songwriting (witness some of his popular covers, as well as his original songs, for evidence of his brilliance). He’s also had a line of underwear out, which originally put him on this website’s map. Fortunately for all, he still likes showing off, and his burgeoning OnlyFans site is further proof of that.
This may be the beginning of a very popular feature: Full-Frontal Friday. The time for the cock has come! Based on the appearance of the penis in just about every trending television show and movie right now, the male anatomy has never been bigger. On this day of all days, it sees fitting to finally do a full-frontal reveal, as this website winds into the winter of its existence and there are hardly any barriers left to surmount.
On this last day of March, and for this final post of the month, here are a couple of peony tulips just beginning to unfurl their splendor. The weather is forecast to be slightly stormy, but warmer, and that’s good enough after the cold spell we’ve had of late. Truth be told, March wasn’t as terrible to us as it could have been (and as it’s been in the past). Changeable weather is a mainstay of upstate New York, and to expect consistency or comfort is a certain path to misery. Instead, we embrace the good days when they’re at hand, and find ways of making the most of the bad ones.
Nestled amid all that glorious sauce and spaghetti is one enormous meatball, at least three inches in diameter, and just waiting to be devoured by my lucky mouth. If there’s one thing that Andy knows how to cook (and there are actually many) it’s the meatball. Despite their size, these always turn out tender enough to slice easily through with a fork. Their flavor is wondrous, yet I’m told the ingredients are simple enough. (Perhaps you can cajole him into sharing the secret with you. I’m content to have him continue making them so I’d rather not know.)
While I enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs as a kid, it wasn’t something I ever ordered or cooked for myself as an adult. Andy’s meatballs changed that, because these are an art form.
While some chose violence at this year’s Academy Awards, Lady Gaga chose kindness and grace, ending the night on a hopeful note in which she took careful care of a wheelchair-bound Liza Minelli, gently keeping her on track when she seemed slightly lost. It was a heartwarming moment of delicate humanity on a night otherwise bereft of it, and it earns Gaga her first Dazzler of the Day. Like Madonna before her, crowning Lady Gaga as a Dazzler feels like a bit of a redundant let-down when you think of all her other accomplishments, but it’s all I have to give.
“I’m sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills.” – Emily Brontë
Heaths and heathers are coming into their own at this time of the year, and while I’ve never grown them, I see them here and there, and anything slightly green or flowering is a glorious sight. Like the hellebores, they are early bloomers, with foliage that is often evergreen – unfortunately when it’s not, they can look a little ragged and bedraggled, which is largely why I have avoided them in our own garden.
That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them in others, and on a recent stroll in Boston I came upon these beauties, defying the current winter-throwback cold spell and bravely blooming in the face of all the ill wind.
