30286 replies to this topic

[NovacScott]

OK, let me be the first 2004 TAR post:

Happy New Year!

[lofty ideas]

And another Happy New Year!

M.Darcy - Thanks to Peter Pan, I am now in love with Jason Isaacs

Thanks for posting that - I've been in love with him since The Patriot, exacerbated by Harry Potter, now I must. See. Peter. Pan! Is he evil in this, or not? If not, I hope I can handle it.

Dougintx - congrats on moving to NYC. I fondly remember you letting me cut in the TKTS line during TARCon weekend!

I just got a TiVo - very excited! I'll be all ready for Survivor and TAR without tapes!

Question - I'm going to Providence, RI for a week, anyone familiar with the city? I won't have a lot of free time, but ideas for restaurants and/or things to do in the evening would be great!

[DariaG]

the Thai Restaurant in Shirlington is my favorite.

I like that place, too, Cubbie. They have fabulous $6 lunches -- I leave with change from a $10 bill and a doggie bag. They weren't open on Christmas, though. The restaurants that were open were in a cluster, closest to the movies. It was almost as though they'd negotiated it with the theater, or talked among themselves and realized that there was enough business to call in their staffs.

Oh, yeah -- Happy New Year, folks.

[whereverthefk]

Happy New Year, all!!! I hope everybody's had a fantastic holiday season, and here's to a TAR-rific (oh, UGH, that's bad-- sorry.) 2004!!!

Edited by whereverthefk, Jan 1, 2004 @ 1:23 PM.

[SeaBreeze341]

Happy New Year everybody! 2003 rocked, which means 2004 will be unbelievable in terms of "awesome."

[mel42024]

Yes, a Happy New Year to all. Hopefully no one is too hungover. ;)

[jennblevins]

My New Year's Day was just about perfect -- didn't get out of bed until 4 PM. Depressing, though, was that it was about as dark at 4 PM as it is at my usual rising time of 6 AM. Oh, well, that'll change soon enough and then I'll be griping about the sun in my eyes. Happy New Year, y'all!

[mel42024]

I got out of bed at about 11 am yesterday, and then my friends and I went on a Subway tour (double chicken, double cheese, nothing else: mmm...). After that we went back to my boyfriend's house and had a 5 hour nap and woke up in time for a supper of cheese pizza. Mmm, cheese....

[Zron]

Mmm, cheese....

I see I'm not the only one who spent New Year's Day watching World Idol.

[whereverthefk]

I see I'm not the only one who spent New Year's Day watching World Idol.

Ryan Malcolm 4-eva!!! (Kidding-- I'm more of an Alexander fan, meself. HEE.)

In other words: No, you most definitely were not. Christmas, too. That 2-part horror show of a queso-fest was freaking AWESOME.

[M. Darcy]

Happy 2004 everyone!

re: Jason Isaccs

Is he evil in this, or not? If not, I hope I can handle it.

He plays two parts - Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. As Captain Hook he is deliciously evil.

Edited by M. Darcy, Jan 5, 2004 @ 9:43 AM.

[Bruin4Ever]

If you're familiar with the original stage productions of Peter Pan, as well as the Disney animated movie, then this is true to the original casting plans of the author, James Matthew Barrie. Mr. Darling and Captain Hook are supposed to be so closely intertwined that it is difficult to tell them apart. That is the great thing about the characters, the representation they make of the "grown up" world the kids are trying hard to avoid.

Also, I just learned that the royalties from Peter Pan go the Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 1987 (50 years after Barrie's death), when normally royalty rights would have expired, by a special act of Parliament, royalties were allowed to continue going to the hospital in perpetuity. Quite cool.

[Rustina]

Hello -- just butting in for a moment to tell lofty ideas that there is a fabulous little pizzeria in Providence called Caserta, home of the famous Wimpy Skippy. It's sort of like a calzone, but not. They make the dough into a circle, then stuff it with spinach, fold it, and bake it. When it's partway done, they open it up, add pepperoni and cheese, and bake it again (open this time). When it's all done, they fold it up and put it on your plate. I saw it on the Food Network and had to try it when I was in Providence over New Year's, and it was GREAT. If you're not into the spinach-calzone thing, they also have the best pizza I've ever tasted.

Have fun!

[rlb8031]

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy New Year and say thanks for all the advice. Christmas went off without a hitch. We took the boy to a tree trimming party on Christmas Eve, came home and put together a puzzle. I finally convinced him that he had to get into his pjs and get into bed or else Santa would not come. Because we kept him up so late (it was after 1am when he fell to sleep) he slept through the night and wasn't up until after 9am, allowing us to get all the presents in order and still get a full night's rest. Rather than sending him outside I sent him to his grandmother's house in the afternoon to play with his cousins and he came home tired and ready to go to bed. Didn't even have to use the brandy.

[Hildy]

Oh, I meant to mention that if lofty ideas is looking for fancy, Al Forno is very, very good indeed. Sadly, it's also quite crowded as it is an institution at this point. Mediterraneo's on Federal Hill is good, too; less expensive, but also not quite as culinarily exciting as is Al Forno. Rustina, that Skippy thing sounds delish. Makes me want to take a ride down to Providence some time soon....

Edited by Hildy, Jan 5, 2004 @ 6:46 PM.

[whereverthefk]

Didn't even have to use the brandy.

Kept it for yourselves, eh, rlb? Smart move.

I'm glad it went so well!

Edited by whereverthefk, Jan 5, 2004 @ 7:00 PM.

[NovacScott]

home of the famous Wimpy Skippy. It's sort of like a calzone, but not.

I would think that a Wimpy Skippy might be a hamburger. The bill would come on Tuesdays, of course.

[rlb8031]

Lofty ideas, another kind of fancy but very good restaurant in Providence is Camille's on Mansion Hill. I'm in Providence on business alot and I've taken clients there a number of times. The food is great as is the atmosphere. And if you are a wine lover they have an outstanding wine list.

[lofty ideas]

Thanks for the restaurant ideas, Rustina, Hildy and rlb8031. Pizza was mentioned by one of my colleagues today, so I'll push for trying Caserta tomorrow and one or two of the other suggestions before we leave. We went to the mall last night (Cheesecake Factory - cliche, I know, but we were tired and their food is always good) and visited a pretty good but overpriced trendy bistro tonight near our hotel.

I'm enjoying Providence very much!

M. Darcy - thanks for the info, Peter Pan is at the top of my "to see" list!

[NovacScott]

Coolio. I know what I'm buying for MA's day!

[theschnauzers]

And notice, it's TARTubey on the shirt! That's super sweet! Yaaaay!

Edited by theschnauzers, Jan 7, 2004 @ 3:46 PM.

[bungle3358]

Any cat lovers out there have any advice for introducing 2 cats? I recently got a male cat from the pound, and my current cat, a female, ain't happy about it. Right now he's secluded in a spare room, but when I've tried to introduce them, the female goes nuts and tries to attack him. She's normally the sweetest, nicest cat in the world, and I thought she'd like some company, as I'm not home that much. But she's not welcoming him w/ open paws as I thought she would.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

[macaddict]

Eight years and counting of two cats introduced in adulthood. Get some Nature's Miracle and pray.

And, Glark, why isn't that shirt available in the store?

[erinjsnark]

I introduced two cats to each other about a year ago. Honestly? I just had to deal with the catfights (hee.) and let them get it out of their system. It took a few days till they weren't hissing all the time, but now they're the bestest of friends (well, they still fight occasionally).

Best part? The older cat (Chandler) had been my pet for a few years and was completely declawed (f&b) when I introduced him to his baby sister, Phoebe. They fought a lot at first, but since he never "clawed" her, she never learned to use her claws when she was fighting. They just smack each other (and me, sometimes) when they're upset, but I've never had to worry about them drawing blood.

[Kanuck!]

My family had (has, but I'm not there...) two (male) cats, a year apart in age. After we'd had the first cat for a year or so, we decided to get another - the second was a kitten still at the time. At first, we left the kitten in the cat carrier so they could see each other without causing bodily harm. At first, there was a lot of hissing from the older one, and some fights, but they learned to get along (although the older one has always been more dominant). They continue to get along for the most part, with the occasional fights (more of a 'teenage siblings squabling'-type thing than a 'death match').

As for introduction suggestions - try for more neutral locations/settings, and for gradually increasing periods of time. Your first cat probably feels the new one's invading her territory, so having the new guy approach her favourite sleeping spot, etc probably isn't the best idea. Feeding them from separate bowls in the same room might be an idea, although if she's an aggressive type she might try to steal his food and precipitate a fight. If they're similar in size, you might have to let them go at each other a few times (provided there's no blood flowing, their eyeballs remain intact, etc) to settle the pecking order. good luck!

[DariaG]

I've gone through that twice. Not fun.

There are purists who think the seclusion should take a week or two or four. I'm not one of them. I keep the new cat in a room by her/himself for 2-3 days (with litter and food, of course), only going in occasionally, and lavishing attention on the resident cat. When I get fed up with the arrangement (it's a good thing my parents didn't name me Patience, because the irony would be unbearable), I open the door and let them fight it out. No blood, no problem.

I do two other things, though: First, I keep the separate litter box and food station for a few weeks. That seems to diffuse the tension somewhat. Second, I buy the new cat something of his/her own -- a basket with a new blanket, a cat tree, whatever. Just something that doesn't have the scent of the resident cat and the recently deceased cat whose slot the new cat is taking. And I don't worry about whether or not they become friends. Eventually they do, but there's not a whole lot a human can do to hasten that.

One product I hear about occasionally is called Feliway. It's a spray with feline pheromones, and you can also get a plug-in diffuser for it. Supposedly it keeps them calm in stressful situations.

When Cat #2 died, Cat #3, who'd been brought in to fill the long-hair slot sadly vacated by Cat #1, went into deep mourning, crying constantly. And I thought she'd hated #2. So even if they're not getting along famously, I do think they like having another cat around.

Good luck!

[Rabrab]

The only time that we had to introduce a new cat, we just put an extra litterbox in an area that the old cats couldn't block the new one away from, and set the new food bowl down about six feet away from the others. Then we let them sort it out between themselves. But we do have a large enough house, with a fairly open floorplan, so they all could establish their own territories. I do have a friend, though, who swears by dabbing tuna juice on the backs of both/all of the cats. She says that the mutual grooming that this generally inspires goes a long way toward defusing any serious wrangling.

macaddict, that shirt is going to be handled the same way the "Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover" shirt was: he'll be announcing when he's taking pre-orders, then will have the shirts made up to fill the orders, and that'll be the end. Something about reducing the amount of inventory storage space he needs. Anyway, check the first page of the Store Comments thread in A/B/F for details.

Now, I have a question for the assembled wisdom that is this Meet Market. Since I've cut way back on my smoking (down from over a pack a day to under half-a pack) and switched from commercial cigarettes to roll-your-owns made with non-additive tobacco, my sense of taste is getting a lot more sensitive. Therein lies the problem. Is there a toothpaste out there anywhere that has a mild, even bland, flavor, preferably not mint? I've got about eight different kinds in the bathroom right now, and I hate them all; the mint flavor in them is just simply overwhelming, especially first thing in the morning. I've also tried the Crest Cinnamon-that's even worse. The Crest Citrus Burst Whitening gel is, so far, the one I can stand the best, but I really don't like it. I don't care what other properties it supposedly has (sensitive teeth, stain removing, whitening, whatever...) as long as it doesn't leave me feeling like I need to have a ciggie just to kill the taste.

Edited by Rabrab, Jan 9, 2004 @ 9:17 AM.