Nothing could make me happier right now.

For the years of taunting us, les américains, for not being good tourists, now, la chaussure is on l'autre pied. Yahoo! is covering a story from Reuters Life! that French tourists are the worst in the world according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world. Read more here.

Secerts About a Moonlighting Ida Greenberg

Last night, this typical example of a cutaway gag during the Family Guy episode, Peter's Daughter, had me laughing for hours.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In researching the episode for my blog, I found out that Pat Crawford Brown cameos in the commercial.

My Christmas gift from Campbells

Happy New Year!

There are some many things to say and to share. I just don't know where to begin. So how about I just forget it and jump into revisiting an old blog entry of mine: Damn you, Campbells! Sell 'em in the US. Well, guess what, Campbells is sellin' 'em in the US.

It’s true. Pepperidge Farm which is owned by Campbell’s soup which in turn owns Arnotts, Inc., is selling Tim Tam in America under its licensing!!! My sister-in-law called me on December 2 from Target where she had picked up 4 boxes. (Two of those boxes were intended for me!)

After the phone call, I shot an excited e-mail to my Aussie co-worker and we did little happy dances in our offices. (That's an embellishment. I know I did a happy dance) I quickly googled "tim tam in us" to confirm my sister-in-law's story. In the Food Business Review, I found the story.

I will be stopping into Target when I can from now until March 2009 or until supplies last. (By the way, Tim Tam make lovely Birthday gifts.)

Sick of Godfather Jokes

But I’m not sick of my nephew/godson. Here’s a picture to tide you over.

The Stolen Generations

Thanks for my Aussie gal pal's facebook status entry, I have learned of this news story about the Australian National Apology to the Aboriginal people.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23202616-2,00.html.

Don’t Call It Blasphemous

Days like yesterday are when I was nostalgic about my time at Wharton. When it was good; it was fantastic. Leslie would order a King Cake from New Orleans, and the rest of the floor would jovially wear beads. We had more of a concept of why Mardi Gras was so big. It was the end of Carnival season (from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday); it was the end of eating for winter and the start of preparing for Christendom’s holiest dogmatic day.

I miss the King Cake and the joy that it brings to those who know of the tradition and to those who are learning of it for the first time.

I looked online for recipes since I enjoy cooking, but found out that a King Cake is labor intensive since it’s a sweetbread. I’m not very good with yeast. So I dug deeper and found a solution for a quick, tasty King Cake for those without a ton of time.

Don’t Call It Blasphemous King Cake:

Miss New Orleans? Forgot to order a King Cake? Impatient with yeast? I have a fix for your King Cake needs. It’s not as steeped in tradition as King Cake from New Orleans, but it’s good when you wanna laissez les bons temps rouler!

King Cake:
½ a lemon’s zest
½ Tbsp ground nutmeg
½ Tbsp sugar
1 eight-roll package of cinnamon rolls with icing
1 plastic baby Jesus, bean, coin, gumdrop, etc. optional

Mardi Gras colored sugars:
6 Tbsp sugar
Food coloring to make yellow, green and purple sugars

Follow the instructions on the package of cinnamon rolls to pre-heat the oven. Zest half of lemon rind. Mix with nutmeg and sugar. Open package of cinnamon rolls and separate the rolls. Top each roll with lemon zest and nutmeg mixture. Knead the zest and nutmeg into the roll by folding the roll in on itself a few times. (Note: if you would like to add a plastic baby Jesus, bean, coin, gumdrop, etc. in your King Cake, now is the time to embed it in one of the rolls before baking.) Place the rolls in a ring on the baking sheet on in the baking pan. Bake according to the package’s directions.

Split the sugar for the Mardi Gras colored sugar equally into three small bowl. Add one to two drops of color (a little goes a long way) and mix until the sugar is brightly colored.

After baking, spread the icing over your cake and let the heat of the rolls make it more pliable. After covering the cake with the icing, sprinkle the colored sugars over the cake in discernable strips of yellow, green and purple. Let the cake cool.

Share with family and friends.

The Ryan Scion

There’s a lot of flux going on around me, and I have found myself in a topsy-turvy world. Perhaps, it’s all like birthing pains – a lot of discomfort and work to bring a beautiful new creation about.

My sister-in-law gave birth last week. It never surprises me how miraculous it is. All the hopes of the world can rest on this infant. John Patrick “Jack” could find the curse for cancer. He could make the breakthrough in the search for the unified field theory. He could be an Olympic sprinter in 2024. He could save the world.

I take that back, he is saving the world, now. He embodies the optimism that we all need to survive. Just over eight pounds, he produces a force greater than gravity. He can move the human heart to believe again.

There is love in the world. There is peace on this earth. There is hope.

I’ve only been able to see him once – within 12 hours of his birth – since I have a head cold. However, I got to hold this tiny person, watch his chest rise and fall as he breathed. This wonder does not cease to amaze me.

I’ve watched the flurry of activity that this little boy has conjured, just simply through his existence. Jack is a joy and a curious baby. When he hears someone speak, he will turn his head to look toward the location that the voice in coming from. It is surprising to see him in action.

We all take for granted the ability to speak, to talk, to walk, to understand, and we get to watch an infant to learn everything that we can do. This is all new to Jack, and we get to share in his discovery. Jack grounds us to see what really matters: love, life, family.

I can’t be more proud of an uncle. I unconditionally love this little guy.



In the middle of the melancholy of the world, a newborn like Jack is our touchstone to a brighter light.