March 21 – April 19 Aries
It’s now the hot hot heat of full summer and what’s a better emblem of summer than a motorcycle on the open road? Good timing for the opening of The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. Yes, you can now visit an entire museum about the history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. One of the many items contained herein is Elvis Presley’s 1956 red and white Harley, as well as the paperwork that accompanied its purchase. Presley, who bought the bike shortly before Heartbreak Hotel became a hit single, apparently made payments of $50.15 a month and said his reason for buying it was “pleasure and business.”
April 20 – May 20 Taurus
Rock shrimp tempura with creamy spicy sauce and broiled black cod with miso from Nobu are two of the most sublime restaurant dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure to nibble in all my born days. I know what you’re thinking…I could never get in to Nobu!! It’s way expensive!! FYI it’s no more expensive than any other top shelf restaurant ~ and it’s well worth the money. O Best Beloved, you get what you pay for – especially here. And as for not getting in, c’mon you must really not be trying that hard. Call up the reservation line at the original location, the 57th Street location, or go to Next Door Nobu, which has a no-reservation policy except for large parties. And there are locations elsewhere in the U.S. and even London, Milan, Melbourne and more. Just go; trust me on this – you will never forget this meal.
May 21 – June 20 Gemini
No less a connoisseur of the finer things in life than Kim Fowley famously said of the A-Bones, “They’re like Chan Romero with the Hombres doing Trashmen songs.” I don’t know about you, but that’s enough of a recommendation for me to check out this classic garage band whose epicenter is formed of the redoubtable Billy Miller and Miriam Linna. You can see them this coming Friday July 18 rocking the rafters at Maxwells in Hoboken. Or check out the A-Bones Booze Cruise to Shea Stadium on Saturday July 26! Cruise up the East River to the Mets game aboard the Half Moon from the Skyport Marina, equipped with a full dance floor. Ticket price includes tickets to the game and everyone from the boat will be seated together. What says summer more than the Mets and rock & roll? Details here.
June 21 – July 22 Cancer
The novel Whistle Down the Wind was published in 1958 by Mary Hayley Bell, wife of actor John Mills and the mother of actresses Juliet and Hayley Mills. It was made into a movie in 1961 in which Hayley Mills stars as a young farm girl who finds an escaped convict (sexily played by Alan Bates) sleeping in the family’s barn and believes him to be Jesus Christ. She and her brothers and sisters attempt to keep him a secret from the grownups so they don’t find him and crucify him again. The book is stunning, spare, and haunting. The film will break your heart. Apparently it’s now been Andrew Lloyd Weberized into a Broadway musical set in the American South but I urge you to check out the original book and film.
July 23 – August 22 Leo
Cheb i Sabbah is a Jewish Algerian composer/DJ/wizard who weaves trance/dance soundscapes out of African, Asian, Arabic music and more. Born in Algeria, he later moved to Paris, and now spins his magic weekly in San Francisco every Thursday night at the Bollyhood Café from 10pm to 2am. Visit his site for other appearance info and to listen to clips from his albums. His most recent release is Devotion, released earlier this year, based on Hindu, Sikh, and Sufi religious music. Prepare for transcendence.
August 23 – September 22 Virgo
The website of the week is Score, Baby! – your guide to the cult soundtracks of the 60’s, 70’s & Beyond. Literally hours of time wastin’ fun can be had here, in a site that reminds me of the many ways the internet has changed our lives for the better. Here is a living, changing work of art containing hundreds of reviews of obscure film soundtracks with mp3’s. I take off my chapeau to webmaster Kristopher Spencer; his knowledge of these movies and the music that informs them is truly staggering.
September 23 – October 22 Libra
Lisa Zaslow and her company Gotham Organizers has helped many hundreds of people be more productive and less stressed by organizing their lives at work and at home – including me. She is a nationally recognized expert on organization and productivity and has been featured on television and in print on the subject. She also gives free consultations and as a customer, I highly recommend her. Her website is chock full of great tips and tricks for decluttering and she has a mailing list that periodically sends out free organizing tips.
October 23 – November 21 Scorpio
I’ve never liked peanut butter and in grade school when everyone pulled out their PB&J’s for lunch I just wrinkled my nose. Last year I finally tried almond butter and now I am addicted. I can’t tell you how it differs from peanut butter because I honestly have never had peanut butter, but I’m all about MaraNatha Organic Creamy & Raw Almond Butter (no salt added). Try it on toast, sliced apples, in smoothies, hot cereal, sauces. It’s full of protein and the good kind of fat that we all need in our diet.
November 22 – December 21 Sagittarius
The B&B of the week is the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, located in Fall River, Massachusetts. You may have heard of Ms. Borden. She was acquitted of the crime of slaying her father and stepmother in 1892 with an axe believed to be the murder weapon. Every year an E-bay auction is held for the honor of staying in one of the rooms where the murders occurred on the anniversary of the event, August 4th. Sorry kids, this year’s winner has already been determined. B&B guests are treated to a breakfast similar to the one consumed by Mr. and Mrs. Borden the morning of their last day on earth, replete with jonny-cakes and bananas. There’s even a gift shop on the premises and online where you can get your own Lizzie Borden Bobblehead Doll or a fetching pair of hatchet earrings.
December 22 – January 19 Capricorn
Has your get up and go got up and gone? Well, submitted for your approval: Magma Plus, a magical elixir from Green Foods. It’s what they call a ‘superfood,’ with green algae, herbs, probiotics, whole food extracts, active enzymes, antioxidants and chlorophyll. You can find it in health food stores. 3 teaspoons of this mixed into cold water or juice and you’ll feel centered and energized but without the high pitched whine of caffeine. Don’t believe me? Try it. Every one I’ve told about it so far has been astounded. And thank you Teri for turning me on to it in the first place!
January 20 – February 18 Aquarius
Perhaps you heard about Carol Kreck, the tiny 61 year old librarian and former Denver Post reporter who was ticketed for trespassing and forcibly removed from a McCain speech in Denver, Colorado because she was exercising her first amendment rights by holding a handmade sign that read McCain = Bush. Well now Ms. Kreck has a much larger forum than the perimeter of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She’s blogging on the Huffington Post website and her court appearance on July 23 will no doubt get a lot of attention in national media. Says Carol, “I didn’t ask for any of this, but like dropping a stone in a pond, that idea is so much bigger now than if they had just left me alone in the first place.” Watch Carol’s encounter with the Gestapo on Youtube.
February 19 – March 20 Pisces
Thanks to a friend with an extra ticket, I got to see August: Osage County on Broadway last week. The New York Times called it “a fraught, densely plotted saga of an Oklahoma clan in a state of near-apocalyptic meltdown” and went on to rave that “’August’ is probably the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years. Oh, forget probably: It is, flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years.” Well, not being one who frequents Broadway plays very often, I can’t comment on that but I can tell you that its well worth 3 and a half hours of your time. Playwright Tracy Letts deservingly won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony for the Best Play of 2008. The acting from the large ensemble cast is stupendous from the venerable Estelle Parsons on down to young Annie Berkowitz making her Broadway debut. It’s sarcastic, wise, funny, horribly sad, depressing, and beautiful.
snoop* du jour 