Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth

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Sixteen dollar a pound chicken breast

A market opened up across the street from my apartment building. It's one of those real fancy ones that try and be like Whole Foods, with the organic foods and all that. So I was all excited as I entered the first time...that was until I saw the Chicken Breast. It was $16 per pound. I'm not exaggerating. Now, grant it, it was boneless, dye free, antibiotic, organic and grass feed, raised in a farm yard, not a cage, probably went to chicken dances on fri nights and had a feather bed to plop down in her hutch with a view after a long day of lounging around the barn yard and and all that. But really...SIXTEEN DOLLARS?? Who can afford this? And, even if you could, why would you pay $16 to give a chicken the good life before you killed it, threw it in the stew and masticated its tender blue-blood flesh? I mean for that money, I expect soooo very much more. I want to know what the chicken's name was. I want to know it's chick-hood nickname that only her mommie used? I want photos and hand-written letters from the chicken as it grew up, thanking me for sponsoring it's life of leisure. I want periodic video messages showing the chicken having fun at the thursday night mixers and the sunday morning brunches I paid for. I want a fucking ashtray made by the chicken, personalized to me. I want to know what the chicken's hobbies were, it's fears, it's hopes, how it spent its time in the barn yard. I want a letter from the grieving organic, grass-fed, gluten-free goose who was the chicken's lover and long-time companion detailing the chicken's final days and last words. THAT'S WHAT I WANT FOR MY SIXTEEN FUCKING DOLLARS!!!!!

blindfolded

In June I booked a dueling piano gig down south for the month of September. My entertainment director just called me 3 days ago and asked me if I was able to do the show blindfolded. Apparently he is doing some benefit for some blind kids and is playing 24 hours with a blindfold. Since I am scheduled to be up on stage with him for 5 of those hours, he wants me blindfolded also. Like this gig isn't difficult enough with my eye's open!! He told me that we would have someone standing behind us to tell us what was going on with the audience and the written requests. Now, I want to be a good sport so I began practicing today with a blindfold (my favorite college shirt from a gizzillion years ago rolled up and tied around my head), and at first it was really hard. I actually felt myself wanting to hyperventilate. But what I found after a while was that it limited my distractions and I was able to practice for a full 60 minutes without getting up and checking my email or my chat programs or the NY Times, etc. etc. And, although some of my left hand notes were inaccurate, it actually put me into a higher state of concentration and I was more involved with the musiic. When I was finished I didn't even want to remove the blindfold. I'll let you know how it goes in performance.

Overheard

Overheard in a conversation between a couple walking in the opposite direction that I was walking: "...Kids aren't stupid; they're smarter than most adults...."

I immediately thought, if that's true, which I think it is, maybe it's because kids don't "know" as much as adults, and are thus more likely to experience things deviod of judgement and preconception.

Mia Dona revisited 5 months later

In my blog entry for March 3, I spoke of my experience with the then new restaurant, Mia Dona on E 58th St in Manhattan. I noted that it was a great study in how to do a restaurant right but that I also had some very specific issues with some of the dishes. Well, last night I went out for a birthday diner with two dear friends at Mia Dona. My one friend was in the process of ordering the octopus appetizer and I warned her off saying I remember it being too salty. The server turned to me and suggested that I must have had it when the restaurant first opened and they have since "fixed" it. Apparently there had been a lot of feedback that the dishes were too salty. He also told me that the fries are no longer pickled in vinegar before being fried. You may recall that I had said in my blog entry that the fries were very good, but so bold that they overpowered everything else. Apparently that was the general consensus.

We went on to have a superb meal with great food and service. I have not one negative thing to say about this experience with Mia Dona. When I had first eaten there in March I had filled out a comment card saying I really enjoyed the experience but that the fries were too bold and the octopus and the pork chops were too salty. I'm guessing that I was not the only person to say so. How gratifying to see a management that is responsive to their customers. Now it is the perfect restaurant! A great vision, and superbly executed.

Random wierd guy

Tuesday night at 1:00am a couple my friends and I were walking from the Apple store on 5th Ave, over to this bar where we are friends with the bartender. As we crossed over Park Ave on 58th, there was a man standing on the corner, carrying nothing but a flat 9 x 11 manila envelope. As he saw us he made an initial advance towards us, presumably to engage us in conversation. My first thought was he was a wierdo and all three of us continued past him in our typical New Yorker fashion. On second thought, maybe he was lost and needed to be pointed back to Times Square. I turned back around and asked him if he was ok. He said very agressively and drunkenly, "Yes, I'm ok! Are you ok?" Alright, wierdo status confirmed. I didn't respond and we continued walking away from him. He then shouted at us that we were big dickheads. We quickened our pace, while he began walking/staggering in the same direction as we were headed, occasionally yelling . And don't you know, he ends up at the very same bar that our friend is working at. He actually got there first as we had made a small detour before arriving. As we came in, he moved his body to block our path, and we physically had to shove our way past him to escape from him once again. He had already found the only male hustler in the club and is groping his, um...merchandise and kissing him in a sloppy drunken way. The mysterious manila envelope is on the bar top. Once the hustler realizes that this guy is not going to "buy", he disengages and the man asks the bartender (our friend) to hold the envelope behind the bar for safe-keeping while he trolls the outside patio. The envelope has never been folded, and looks like it contains no more than 10 sheets of paper. It's rather unwieldy to carry around on a night out on the town, which leads me to believe the contents are important to him, otherwise, he'd have folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. We immediately egg our bartender friend on to show us the contents of the envelope, which he does. It was......a handout from his Anger Management class.

Stocks I like for a 5 year horizon

I was asked for some stock advice by a friend today and I figure I would post my response on my blog so I can go "on the record" with my opinions:

Everyone hates stocks now, which is the correct time to get in. All the economic downturn fears are priced in to the stocks! So you don't have to worry about an economic downturn. You're already receiving that discount! If you are looking for a long time horizon I'd park a couple thousand in the following:

Devon Energy (DVN): This is a longterm play on Oil and on Natural Gas. They derive half their income on each. The share price just took a major hit in the past 2 weeks since the price of oil and nat gas tanked. It's a great company and a good stock. It has been volitile as of late, but if you believe as I do that the price of energy will continue to march up in the next 5 and 10 years, don't worry if it looses value. It will come back. I originally bought it at $55 around 2 years ago and sold it at $111 a few months ago. I just bought back in last week at $91. That's about where it is today. I don't expect this stock to go below $75, but even if it does I will pick up more, for sure.

Goldman Sachs (GS): This company boasts the best minds on Wall Street and the most repected investment bank in the world. They were one of the few financials that were smart enough to get out of the mortgage investments before that hit the fan. They just got downgraded today because they are highly exposed to stocks and the analists feel that their profit is limited with the current bear market. This drove the stock price down. If you believe as I do that the stock market is a good investment on the whole, and for the long term, this company is a must have. The closing price today is a perfect entry point. Remember, you buy low, when everyone else is selling. The price has been driven down by people with a short time horizon.

PXJ - This is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that tracks the oil services industry as a whole. It is a bet on the sector that provides the drill bits and oil platforms, etc, etc to the oil exploration and the drilling companies. This sector was run up along with oil this year and when oil busted 2 weeks ago, this sector took a correction along with it. In my opinion it was not warrented, because most of the oil explorations and drillings are profitable with a price of oil over $60/barrel. Today after the current rundown from $140, oil is still at $112/barrel. Another note: During the 70's oil crisis, the oil services sector was run up over 1000%.

General Electric (GE) - This stock price has been run down recently. It's got a good dividend and is one of the best managed companies in the world. They recently entered an agreement with the Saudis, I think, where they agreed to buy a good chunk of the company over the next few years. What this does is put a continued upward pressure on the price of the stock, or conversely, it puts a floor on the price. It's got great international exposure and thus is not dependant on a strong dollar to make money.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) - One of the best managed oil producers and refiners in the world. It's stocks been run down alot. The reasons for this price action are complex and I can't really explain it here. But it is a great company and a good long term bet.

Simon Property Group (SPG) - this is a Real Estate Investment Trust (a.k.a. a REIT). that owns, manages and developes retail real estate properties consisting primarily of regional malls, Premium Outlet centers, The Mills, and community/lifestyle centers. David Simon is the CEO and is one of the smartest names in the business. This may be a risky short term play, but luckily you aren't going to play for the short term. Real estate has been beaten down as you know, and may continue to be for some time but it will inevitably come back. Also, it's a bet on retail which is very much out of favor right now. My suggestion with this stock is to put a buy order in around $85 (It's at $97 today) and if it continues to decrease in price then BUY MORE! This is definately a long term play, but a good one. About 6 months BEFORE the economy turns around whether in 1 year or in 3 years, this stock will quickly rise and be a superstar.

My suggestion to you is to place some money in each of these stocks and let them ride for at least 5 years. Don't think about it, don't worry about, just do it and then forget about. Some of them may decrease in value from month to month. Some of them will increase. This is ok. That's what stocks do. These are not high risk plays and if this little 6-stock portfolio doesn't make you money in 5 years, then our entire economic model is in trouble, and this little stock bet will be the least of your economic woes. Finally, don't wait for the economy to turn around and the news to be rosy. Stock prices rise 6 months before the economy turns around. The market is a forward looking beast. The downturn has been, for the most part, priced in currently. Perfect investment time.

Peking Duck on E 53rd St.

I dined at the E 53rd st. location of Peking Duck with 2 friends this past week on a Tues. (8/5/08). Atmosphere was elegant and sparse although the lights were a bit too bright. Our waiter was an older Chinese man who seemed unhappy in his job. He was efficient, but unfriendly, and he scowled when we asked for food with no Garlic. We ordered the sizzling rice soup with shrimp for two ($9.50). The rice was not at all sizzling and the broth was devoid of any taste whatsoever. All three of us sent back the watery mess without eating it and it was taken off the check. For the main course we ordered Gran Marnier Prawns which is described as being "finished in a refreshing sauce w. a hint of citrus." I can't be sure, but the sauce tasted suspiciously like Jello brand lemon custard and had the same consistency as custard. I'm not exaggerating. It was definitely an unnatural taste that smacked of a taste laboratory off the Jersey Tpk. The Sliced Beef w. Scallops were good, but were served with sliced Garlic, after we had specifically asked our server to tell the chef no garlic. We spoke with the manager after we finished (and left about half the food on the plate) and he politely listened to our very specific complaints, but that was it. We weren't asking him for anything but even so, he did nothing. No complimentary dessert or apertif was offered, the check was not discounted, and no real apology. All three of us are New Yorkers to the core, we live locally and are experienced diners. We chose not to tip at all. We will not go back.

McCain Googled and a sprinkling of good old fashioned police brutality

I Googled John McCain. I clicked on the two sponsored links in the shaded blue area up top and the paid ads on the right side of the screen. John McCain pays Google for those clicks. ... Why did I do this? Because I own Google stock and am voting for Obama.

Strange thing. Blogger is the host of this blog site and is owned and run by Google. It has a real time spell check powered by Google that underscores misspelled words as I type them onto this blog. It flagged the second word of this entry as a misspelling. Ummm....who over at Google is asleep at the wheel here? I think I'll call investor relations on Monday and complain. And then look up John McCain on Yahoo.

Finally, this is NYC's finest. It happened July 27th. I'm so proud to live in the greatest city in the world.