Angela's iPod

IDINA MENZEL
STAND 2007
3.5 Stars

For those of you who remember Idina Menzel from Wicked and Rent and enjoyed her, you might want to check out her third album, “I Stand“. With this CD, you get a close-up chance to really appreciate her powerhouse voice. And what a voice! She grabs a note, holds on and takes it to heaven. Her voice goes from soft to strong, from low to high pitch in a breath. Her transitions are smooth as silk.

These songs are rather Broadway. But they are also a little rock, a little pop, a little like the music on CD106.7 ( for those who don‘t have that station - easy listening with an edge). I’ve heard a least one person say she is reminiscent of Barbra Streisand or Celine Dion. As such, when you play this CD, you’ll have a tough time deciding if you should listen or just join in. All the songs are fun to listen to but they are so sing-able, you will want to sing aloud, just hoping you might sound one-quarter as fabulous as she does.

The music is full of piano interlude with hints of guitar, tympani and lots of soft melodies and booming crescendos. And though I enjoyed it, if I had to complain about anything it would be that all the songs follow the same formula. They start off slow and soft, segue into a more upbeat style with a big chorus and then build to a crescendo. The formula works, but it would have been nice to have a little variety.

The best songs on the CD are “I Stand,” the opening song; “Gorgeous,” with a Latin edge; ”Perfume and Promises,” in which she sounds like the wasted lover in the song; the aggressive “Don’t Let Me Down;” “Better To Have Loved;" and “I Feel Everything.”

The CD is a decent showcase for the huge talent of Idina Menzel. If more of the songs kept her edginess and allowed her unique voice to shine without the help of crescendoing music, then she might have a true winner. But in the meantime, this CD shows her talent and her potential.

Click here for more information.

Play It As It Lies

Greetings. Today, I feel like I’m extremely lucky. I’m returning to a golf course that I had been privileged to play, or should I say experience, last year. The famed East course at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. Golf addicts know what I’m talking about when they hear that name. For those currently not on the little white ball intravenous program, let me give you a run down on the prestigious championships Oak Hill has hosted over the years. It has hosted the Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, the US Open Championship, and the US Amateur Championship.

The course pedigree is impeccable. However, if you need further insight, let me give you a quote on the industrial strength of Oak Hill from the best player on the planet. Tiger Woods said, “It’s the hardest, fairest golf course we’ve ever played.” If Tiger Woods attributed that to Oak Hill, what chance do mere mortals like you and I have? On that note, I’m here for the latest championship, the 69th Senior US Open. The history on the course is like a thesis for winning: Tom Watson, Craig Stadler, Jim Thorpe, Sandy Lyle, Dr Gil Morgan and others. There must be something in the water to allow this caliber of player to continue to press on after age 50, playing at this level. Well, maybe not the water, but surely the parking lot. That’s where the player’s fitness/rehab trailer is located. Five days of pain, mental gymnastics, prayer and the thickest rough on the east coast - not located on Bethpage NY’s Black course.

Upon entrance into the Open, you are searched for any and all electronic devices. Cell phones, cameras, iPods, etc. They are to be left home or they can be checked at the front gate. If you’re worried about having to call someone, scattered about the course are banks of free use phones from local carriers.

For a golf junkie like me, this was Camelot. I took it all in - the practice putting green, chipping area, and driving range. Watching, I realized Pro golfers are very meticulous in their preparation prior to playing a round. Each pro’s “situation” can look like a White House cabinet meeting attended by agents, swing coaches, short game gurus, and sports psychologists. Each has an integral part in the success of their player. I felt like I was looking through a peephole and stealing a graduate level golf education first hand. It was too much for me. Oh well, off to the action...Stay Tuned Next Monday

Mardi Gras 3.5 Stars

7020 Austin Street

Forest Hills, New York 11375
718-261-8555

By Angela

For all you Queens folk who feel like a little fun, jazz, and easy dining try Mardi Gras. It is a combination of Latin, Cuban Creole and Southern cuisines. The restaurant has two levels with a large bar area in the back of the restaurant on the main floor, which fills quickly. The entrance is filled with mardi gras signs and tiffany-style lights hang over the tables. The tables downstairs are nicely spaced, but upstairs is very cramped.

At Mardi Gras, the food is appealing but the service is spotty. The waiters are usually friendly, but I have experienced a rude waiter in the past. Also, the service is frequently slow. Sometimes you wonder if your waiter has forgotten you ( fine if you’re hanging out, not if you wanna get out).

The bar is full-service. They have a decent cocktail menu including a wide variety of martinis. Though they will make a drink according to your specifications, they are not always generous with the alcohol. Every Thursday they have a live jazz band and once a month they have belly dancing. They can’t tell you when, instead they suggest you call or check their website. Not very organized, but maybe they are still testing belly dancing.

I have been to Mardi Gras many times and while I find the service unpredictable, I do enjoy the food. The portions are healthy without being ridiculous. The food is better than the average fare available at most hang-out spots. Some of their dishes are actually delicious. One caution, most of their dishes are spicy.

Their appetizers include alligator pops, fritters, spicy jambalaya, crawfish popcorn, coconut chicken, andouille sausage, Cajun crab cakes, gumbo, spicy chicken wings and artichoke with crawfish in a garlic butter cream sauce. The gumbo is sometimes salty, but the jambalaya and the coconut chicken are a good bet. The alligator pops and crawfish popcorn are among my favorites. My daughter swears by them. The artichoke is not bad either.

The po-boys (made with huge pieces of chicken, catfish or large shrimp) are pretty good as is the cebiche (an old world dish from South America also called ceviche). The cebiche is made with calamari, jumbo shrimp and either catfish, tilapia, or corvine. The sauces are also different and range from mild to very spicy.

The sides are decent. The sweet potato fries are good and the curly fires nicely seasoned. But the best side is the jalapeno-cheddar mashed potatoes. They are delicious. The side I would not recommend is the onion rings; they are disappointingly greasy. As for entrees, the most popular ones are the voodoo pasta, the blackened salmon, the jambalaya, the stuffed shrimp and the filet mignon.

Their dessert list includes after dinner coffees and hot chocolates, and bananas foster and bread pudding. Those two desserts are, in a word, yummy. My recommendation is to get lots of appetizers and sides, one or two entrees and then share everything. Oh, and save room for dessert.

Things you should know if you are interested in checking out this spot:
Thursday nights feature a live jazz band
Friday and Saturday nights are packed and the wait can be up to an hour
$$
Monday to Thursday, 4pm until midnight
Friday and Saturday, noon until 1am
Sunday, noon until midnight

Book Review: Standing at The Scratch Line

By Clarence Lewis

Hey Guys!!! I was having dinner with Neonu and was telling her all about a great book I���d just finished reading. She said I should write a review to share with the InSite Family, so here you go. The book is titled, ���Standing at the Scratch Line��� by Guy Johnson. Johnson is the son of renowned author and poet Maya Angelou (not that genetics has anything to do with writing).

The book was recommended to me by my mom. It sat on the shelf for 2 months because the title was so strange I thought it was about black people struggling to make it, a la Good Times. Boy was I wrong. This book is set in the early 1900���s and is about the life and times of King Tremain. One of my friends who also read the book described the character as ���the man every man wishes he was���. Remember the Godfather Part II when they show you the history of Don Corleone and how he became the godfather. Now make that character a black man building an empire during the height of Jim Crow and Harlem Renaissance. THAT���S THE HOOK!!

When I think of that time period, I picture it like ���Gone with the Wind��� and ���To Kill a Mocking Bird��� and other famous films which depict black people as always waiting to be saved or redeemed by the white majority. That���s what makes this book unique to me. It presents the idea that even in the worst of social times if you stand strong, then you can control your own destiny. King Tremain is definitely a force to be reckoned with (guns a blazing, if necessary). One of my boys read the book and called him an absolute ���stud.��� My mom thinks it���s the best book she ever read. I wouldn���t go that far. She also said that every woman wishes she had a man with some (not all) of King���s characteristics. That I can agree with whole heartedly.

I���ve turned about 10 people on to the book and everyone who's read it has enjoyed it. The book didn���t get much acclaim so you���ll probably have to find it on Amazon or some other online book store. Oh, if you do read it and you enjoy it (I���m sure you will), don���t forget to check out the sequel, ���Echoes of a Distant Summer.��� Maybe I���ll tell you about that one another time.

PS. I could say so much more about this book like what is the meaning of the title, but I���m going to let you find out that and much more on your own.

Dating Dimes* on a Dime in DC

*slang noun in relation to physical beauty in place of a "perfect ten"

By Westmoreland

13. I am Bringing Sexy Backward

I write a lot of songs in my head. I picked up the habit when my first iPod blew up on me. To compensate for, say, the loss of The Roots or Led Zeppelin, I would just compose my own music on the way to work. In my head. I wrote ���I���m Bringing Sexy Back��� on the Orange Line train to work. In my head. The music that I used was different. And (more importantly) I was not singing all falsetto like the thief who recorded the track. When I heard my song on the radio, I was like ���The Pussycat Dolls stole that from me.��� When I perform it is more ���I am bringing sexy back. Yes.��� The radio performance is all ���I���m bringin��� sexy back, yeah?!?��� Not the precise expression of the feeling, but damn close. Oh, I also used an orchestra. It has more of an Ellington big band swing feeling. In my head. Of course I wrote the song in D major. In my experience few things inspire the imagination like major Ds.

The song is inspired by my experiences with bringing sexy back (or introducing it entirely) to real life situations. I cannot bring sexy back to software development. There is no back to bring, there. And sexy is well established in consulting. There are so many wild foxes roaming the building where I work. Sex sells, man. It even sells ���business solutions���. So I do not bring sexy back to work. But I do, occasionally, bring sexy back to ordering chicken at Popeye���s. ���I would like an 8 piece spicy with two biscuits. Yeah?!?��� Or in the Whole Foods near my place. ���Where do you guys keep the hummus? Yeah?!?��� When I wrote the song, some time ago, and way before I heard it on the radio, I toyed with a longer refrain. ���I am bringing sexy back and have sex often. Yes.��� But it was just not as catchy. Often doesn���t rhyme with anything groovy. Coffin? Coughin���? McLaughlin? Anyway, as my circumstances have radically changed, I am thinking about doing a remix.

My remix is not as upbeat. It is somber. I am just kickin��� a few ideas around here, but it goes like this, so far

My love life���s way off track, yeah!
For chas-ti-ty, I do not have the knack, yeah!
I want a woman with a sexy back, yeah!
(And take her to my crib!!)

By the way, Pussycat Dolls, if you have a problem with any of this, please feel free to contact my lawyers (who are prettier and more talented than your whole group combined, and one has a photographic memory. You do not want to join this issue. Trust me.) Come to think of it, I know so many super sexy attorneys I could start my own girl group. A la ���Making the Band���. My group would be called ���Raising the Bar���. Man, I know some sexy attorneys��� and I am somehow friendly with them all. Ugh. I wish you could see some of these luscious legal eagles. You know what? This is the last year that I am going to tolerate being friendly with gorgeous women. If I cannot secure a serious relationship by Thanksgiving, the gloves are coming off, ladies. Sorry. By Christmas, I am jumping down somebody���s chimney. Which is way off subject, but there are side effects of chastity that render you easily distracted. Everything is distracting.

Anyway, I���ll need Diddy to do the remix, obviously. It needs to be downbeat like ���I���ll Be Missing You���. Diddy, have your lawyers contact my lawyers. On second thought, if you also have a gorgeous legal team, have them contact me directly. We can work it out. I���ll take it from there.

This Week in DC

Wednesday, June 4
Yappy Hour Fundraiser
Hosted by the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Center
Science Club, 1136 19th St N.W.
5:30pm - 8:30pm

The fun includes drink specials, raffles and a date auction, for a date with both a canine and its owner.

Thursday, June 5
Code Orange Happy Hour/ Pool Party
Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. N.W.
5:30pm- 8:30pm; $15.00

Price includes one complimentary frozen drink, use of the hotel's sprawling, secluded pool area, the Jacuzzi, sauna, and locker rooms. This happy hour can't be beat!

April Hill at Andalu
Andalu, 1214 18th St. N.W.
Free before 8pm, $5 after
April Hill has a jazzy, neo soul sound. Click here for more info.

Friday, June 6
French Wine Society Happy Hour
The Park at Fourteenth: 4 Stars, 920 14th St. N.W.
Information: 202-944-6091
7:30pm -9pm, $20
Advance purchase suggested

Price includes French cheese selection, charcuterie and chocolate with Pommery champagne, French wines and St. Germain cocktails. Music spun by French DJ Terry Smith.

Saturday, June 9
Chuck Brown and Midnight Star at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre
16th Street and Colorado Avenue NW
7:30pm, $20 (Unbelievable price!!)
Click here for tickets

Sunday, June 8
The Best of Washington Party
Hosted by Washingtonian Magazine
The National Building Museum, 440 G St. N.W., 20001
7pm - 10pm
Click here for Ticket info

O's Corner: Asparagus

Asparagus should be flooding the markets now. Look for tightly closed tips and firm stalks that have no vertical wrinkles. Asparagus should be cooked only until bright green, while still crisp and not mushy. If you prefer more tender asparagus, use a potato peeler or knife, prior to cooking, to remove the outer skin of the stalk about two inches below the tip. This woody part which is fibrous will not become tender without the tips becoming mush.

Asparagus with Orange Mayonnaise

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest

Fill a large skillet with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until it is bright green, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, orange juice and orange zest. Spoon the mayonnaise over warm or cold asparagus and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Zest

Using a grater or a knife, grate the skin off an orange, careful to remove as much of the white part as possible. Keep a few strands of the orange zest to garnish the platter.

Angela's iPod

ANNIE LENNOX
SONGS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 2007
5 Stars

I had one of my friends listen to this CD because I absolutely adore it and thought she would love it as I do. She said Annie Lennox has never sounded better but that many people will not buy this CD because it’s lyrics are filled with true commentary and not just fluff.

All I could think was, that is why I like Annie Lennox and her latest CD. She writes from her experience, from her heart. And it is the quality of her writing combined with the beauty of her voice that makes this CD soar. She is a soulful singer with a deep, rich, haunting voice and she can wring emotion out of a person with her lyrics as well as her voice. She is transcendent, evolved, polished, clear and passionate. She creates an intense intimacy with her listener that is simultaneously penetrating and relatable, all encompassing and utterly personal. They reach a chord down inside your soul. Her songs are of loss, sadness, and pain, as well as hope, joy and indomitable spirit. Her lyrics are her take on the world around us; touching on subjects like war, failed love, poverty, aids, truth, lies, and ever changing relationships. Her words are touching, powerful, and ultimately beautiful.

Okay, okay, I won’t go on and on about the lyrics, won’t quote you lines from her songs (well maybe a few). Instead I will recount why almost every song on this CD is unique and phenomenal. Trust me, this CD is one to buy, keep and love. “Dark Road” and “Fingernail Moon” are hauntingly beautiful love ballads. They are filled with the lost “joy within her soul” and the ”sadness takin' hold”. “Love Is Blind“ is a strangely tender suicide ballad. “Smithereens” is so achingly pretty; she truly realizes that “everybody has a broken heart”. ”Womankind” is a funky, soulful groove, calling women to wish for just what they want from men and life. The haunting, wail of the intro of “Through The Glass Darkly” only hints at its intensity as she tries to “remember what it feels to be complete”. “SING” is an amazing song with an unexpected ending. It has a terrific gospel refrain that boasts a choir that includes Madonna, Celine Dion, Angelique Kidjo, Shakira, Fergie, Gladys Knight, Faith Hill and Melissa Etheridge. (Also, all the proceeds from this song go to an AIDS charity) “Big Sky” is a song that allows Annie Lennox to show just what her voice can do.

What is the point of all this enthusiasm? Purchase this CD. In Annie Lennox’s own words, “There’s no need to be shy, there’s no need to be scared”, just do it.

More info: http://www.annielennox.com/

Sex and the City The Movie: 5 Stars

For those of you who have not seen Sex and the City The Movie, here is the deal. Whatever you felt about the TV show is what you will likely feel about the movie. Love the show, love the movie. Hate the show, hate the movie. Did not watch the show, don't see the movie. If you plan to see it, do it soon before you hear all about it. And most importantly, take some tissues.

This Week in South Florida

The Brazilian Film Festival
May 30- June 7
Colony Theater
Info: 1-877-273-4563, Tickets @ ticketmaster

The Brazilian Film Festival of Miami is an annual event for the movie industry of Latin America and the US. The BFFM features Brazilian film productions. The festival hosts guests from the international film industry, including exhibitors, distributors, studio executives, Brazilian actors, directors and producers. The festival provides a platform for the commercialization, distribution and exhibition of Brazilian films within the US.

Spiritual Journey - safe haven

.06 SAFE HAVEN

By Angela

I was hanging out with a friend this week talking, as we usually do, about her multiple illnesses. I have told her in the past and reminded her again on this day: some of her illnesses are due to her stressful lifestyle. But, hey, don’t we all have stressful lives. Anyway, she asked me to suggest a few ways to help relieve her stress; things that are quick, easy to do, easy to remember, and don’t take up space.

I suggested she try meditation. But, she said she has tried it many times but can’t. Could I instead suggest something I’ve done, that has worked? I suggested she try my inward journey and that we try it right then. She agreed. Here is how it works:

Find a comfortable place to sit (if not possible, sit where you can). Make sure your hands, arms, feet and legs are relaxed and not crossed. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. When you breathe in, start from the bottom of your stomach and fill your entire body. When you breathe out, let it all flow out. As you get comfortable with the deep breaths, as you breathe out, imagine your stress leaving your body…out from your toes and your fingertips. And as you breathe in, imagine a white light filling you from the top of your head. When you are filled with white light and free of your stress, then breathe easy. It is time to take your journey.

Create in your mind the one place you would love to go if you could just disappear to your “safe haven” any time you felt. Imagine the sights and smells and sounds. Stay as long as you like. When you are finished, get up and stretch and go about the rest of your day, hopefully better than you were.

I know of someone who created a castle as her haven. She would sit on her throne, listen to beautiful music, and be catered to by gorgeous men and women. Another person created a cottage, in a meadow. Inside the cottage were a great big armchair, a library, lots of blankets and pillows for sitting, and a talking. My “safe haven” is a garden with a hammock, a lake, and a gazebo. The grass smells of herbs as you walk on it and beautiful music plays in the background.

When I tried this with my girlfriend, she said it definitely helped her feel better. The breathing exercises helped her release her stress. She also said when she saw her “safe haven “ she was an adult playing in her favorite spot as a child with her friends from years ago. She said it all felt good. She said she would definitely remember to do this whenever she was stressed. Please take this week and try this journey. I hope it helps you as much as it helped my girlfriend.