Nobody 847

Sunday, January 2, 2011
Nobody # 847

Nobody Asked Me But:

“The world is so full of a number of things
That I think we all should be happy as kings.”
Robert Louis Stevenson, from “A Child’s Garden of Verses.”


I thought it would end when I retired. After all, free time is, if not my middle name, at least my nickname. But it didn’t. A journey home, after the freedom of a trip, although always delightful, is still a plunge into busy. I can still feel the air thicken as home draws near. Perhaps I continue to have too many deeds I want to get done, too many books I want read, too many computer minutes “demanding” my time. “Don’t you get me wrong,” as the song goes (from Guys And Dolls, I think) I love my life at home. Wouldn’t trade it for anything except - let’s see. When is our next trip?

Our Christmas trip to Arizona was, as always, a delight. This time we stayed in Scottsdale where Elizabeth and family met us. (Greg, Benjamin and Marie spent this Christmas with their family in Reno.) We opened gifts, ate pizza, sat by the pool while the little ones swam, did some shopping so that Ryan and Emily’s gift cards didn’t burn holes in their pockets. Elizabeth and I, early risers, had coffee and conversation over the hot breakfasts that were an Embassy suite bonus, and we all enjoyed the wine and finger food at the hotel’s complementary afternoon gathering. Actually only Elizabeth and I had the cab, Barbara abstained and the children, for some reason, drank cokes or lemonade.

GOODBYE OLD YEAR. HERE ARE A FEW OF MY BESTS AND MY FAVORITES FOR 2010

BOOKS

Seeing as how I read several books that made top 5 or 10 lists, my choice for best book may seem a little surprising, because it was written by a crime fiction novelist. But T. Jefferson Parker’s “Iron River” leads my list. Yes, it is a story about cops and murder but it is much more. It is a morality tale about free enterprise. The iron river flows with guns made in America and shipped south to Mexico where they deliver drug traffic death, to competitors, which is not that bad, to those who oppose their evil business, which is and to innocents, which is the worst of all. This book should be out in paperback early next month. I highly recommend that you read it.

Incidentally, Jeff Parker is one of the best writers around regardless of genre. Two of his other books, “Silent Joe,” and California Girl” are among my best of the decade.

Here in order, are the others in my top 5:

“Freedom” – Jonathon Franzen
“The Passage” – Justin Cronin
“The Information Officer” – Mark Mills
“Painted ladies” – Robert B Parker (Because it my last adventure with Spenser)

The book I took the most joy from this year was “Carney,” because it is well written, entertaining and, mostly, because it’s publication fulfills a dream for my life-long friend, Jim Hitt.

Note # 2 - To make it easier for myself to settle for 5 books, I did not include audios. I listened to the second and third books in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and loved them both. Also excellent and entertaining was “City of Thieves” by David Benioff.

Note # 3 – Best first novel – tie between James Hayman’s “The Cutting” and Paul Grossman’s “The Sleepwalkers.”

Worst book (in a year where there were not many) – “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Most disappointing – “Moonlight Mile” by one of my favorite writers, Dennis Lahane. I felt like he gave Patrick and Angie short-shift as if he were glad to get rid of them. And his Russian mobsters bordered on being cartoon characters. I did like Patrick’s decision to become a history teacher.<<<

FOOD

Best meal – Again this year it was the macaroni and cheese that Barbara fixed for Valentine’s Day. Very sharp cheddar, excellent salad and dessert and a fine bottle of Cab. As Anne sang while getting her gun – “Who could ask for anything more?”

Best restaurant meal – The Hamlet at Moonstone Gardens, the happy surprise I wrote about after returning from Cambria. My scampi, which followed a Caesar Salad with Thousand Island dressing and small shrimp was the best. And it didn’t hurt that Barbara shared her delicious fried shrimp with me. My small shrimp and Barbara’s large ones – just call this our redundant/oxymoron dinner.

Runner-up – An interesting tie in that both restaurants were in Portland. The halibut, shrimp and chips at Halibut’s, a bar-restaurant in northeast Portland, Oregon was excellent, as was the pizza at Flatbread Restaurant, on the water in Portland, Maine. Add on – Barbara reminded me to mention the best bread – the English muffin bread from standard baking Company, also in Portland (Maine).

This one gives me great pleasure:

Best new local ice cream - The easy winner is LA Creamery in Topanga Plaza. Made from Straus Dairy cream, every flavor I tested (5) was delicious, and my double scoop – brown butter pecan/salted caramel left me eagerly planning a return visit.

LODGING

Best vacation lodging – We had so many on our two big trips in 2010, but the best was our cottage at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine. The two bedrooms and two baths, the huge great room, (is that redundant?) the screened porch, the breakfast basket delivery (with the NY Times riding sidecar), the setting – made it one of our all-time favorite places to stay.

Runner-up – We stayed in some great rooms and excellent hotels this year. Two in Oregon come to mind - the mini-garden suite at the Ashland Creek Inn and our room at the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, which was special for being at the meeting point of the Pacific and the Columbia River. The Shangri La in Vancouver was cool, tech and looked out over Vancouver. But the Hyatt in Seattle takes my runner-up spot. The room, the view from the 40th floor, the Starbuck’s in the building and the included breakfasts at Ruth’s Chris off the lobby win it this spot.

SPECIAL BEST LITERARY BATHROOM AWARD

This one in the great Poison Pen mystery bookstore in Scottsdale.

WARM FUZZIES

Warmest family fuzzy – attending Emily’s Transition (graduation) from the 8th grade. Just in time too, as my WFF from Ryan’s transition two years ago was wearing off.

Warmest newspaper fuzzy - http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20101224,0,4306937,full.column

TELEVISION

Best television – “Mad Men,” “Justified” and “Rubicon.” However, the latter illustrates the problem of carrying over stories until next season. The show was canceled leaving those of us who liked it feeling unfinished. No, I didn’t watch “Boardwalk Empire,” which was, from what I read and hear, my mistake. But one I can rectify when it is released on DVD.

Worst TV move of the year – KCET dropping its affiliation with PBS. Who was at fault? KCET says PBS National. PBS National says KCET. Unbiased third parties say KCET. I’m convinced.

Worst television event – LaBron’s fiasco.

POLITICS, AKA STRANGE HAPPENINGS

Rumor of the year – After seeing a picture of the president on vacation, Barbara commented about how white Obama’s legs are, which makes me think that he was born white but dyed brown by conspirators plotting the take-over of our government 40 or so years later. (Or is this really truth disguised as rumor?)

Best proof that there is still hope for justice – Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor: Justice Sotomayor has given hope and a voice to those of us who still believe that justice is not just a utopian pipe dream. She has been more than expected and, as a bonus, has been the verbal match for the loquacious Justice Scalia.

DUMB DUMBS – The military may have separate bathrooms for gays. I guess that is because they fear that homosexuality may be contagious and that you might catch it from a toilet seat.

My favorite quote: “This is a big fucking deal.” – Joe Biden on the health care bill.

Lie of the Year – (actually, make that lies) the Republican campaign against “Obamacare.” There are no death panels and it is not a government take-over. (How I wish that it were.)

MOVIES

I have made no secret as to my favorite movie of the year. “The Social Network” is also the best out of the few I’ve seen. The second best is Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer.” I also saw and enjoyed the Swedish versions of “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest.” I will be interested to see how the American versions turn out, starting this year with “The Girl With The Dragon tattoo.”

Movies that I didn’t see but want to are - “The Kids Are All Right,” “True Grit,” “Winter Bone,” “Another Year” and the French film, “Carlos” - all 5 ½ hours of it.

SPORTS

Most satisfying fall from grace – Mike Garrett’s forced resignation as USC Athletic Director.

Most unpleasant fall from grace – Tiger – I know, it started in 2009, but it continued to make headlines in 2010.

Thugs of the year:

Professional – Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger – has never seen a young woman that he didn’t want to accost.

College – Mississippi State power forward Reynaldo Sydney after a year on the bench, recently became eligible to fight his teammate while on the bench.

Whitewash of the year- NFL lets Farve off with a fine.

Gentleman of the Year - Armando Galarraga, who, I am sure you remember, turned out to be a perfect gentleman after umpire Jim Joyce’s admittedly terrible call at first base robbed the Tiger pitcher of a perfect game.

Asinine comment of the year - “If you eat pork, don’t complain about Michael Vick.” Max Kellerman CNN – as if killing animals for food equates with killing dogs for fun.

PAC-10 PREVIEW

Here is my brief PAC-10 preview. Note: I wrote this before the first game on December 29. The league seems very jumbled this year and, therefore, I will pick clusters rather than the specific order of finish. Call me a coward if you like, but call me.

First Tier – Washington, Washington State, USC (UGH): these three have played the best in the pre-season, especially, and most unexpectedly, the Cougars.

Second Tier – Arizona and UCLA: Despite their 11-2 record, the Cats have been inconsistent. So, too, have been the Bruins.

Third Tier – every body else in a jumble of the lesser talented: there should be a prize named after these boobies.

POY candidates – Derrick Williams/AZ, Isaiah Thomas/Washington, Klay Thompson/Washington State, Reeves Nelson/UCLA.

FOY – Joshua Smith – if he can cut down on his fouls and get more minutes.<<<

And finally, as I start this new year, I am thankful for life, for family and friends and, in a world where courtesy is no longer the coin of the realm, for a mother that made me an exception to this new rule.