Charity Concert
Last night I went to a charity concert in Stamford, Connecticut, to help at-risk women and children and provide shelter for battered families. The 13th annual event was started by Michael Bolton and aided by a hodge podge of different celebrities in attendance.

My friend and I went VIP since I know the road manager's wife. The pre VIP event included a silent auction of autographed guitars by people like Billy Joel and Paul McCartney, plus lots of sports memorabilia as well. The concert included musical performances by Lee Ann Womack (who stole the show with her frank and likable nature plus powerful singing), Nancy Sinatra (who sang and auctioned off two pairs of her boots that are made for walking), Patrick Swayze (I always forget that he sings "She's Like the Wind) and Michael Bolton. The event was opened by Joan Lunden and oh Chuck Norris was there in a Walker Texas Ranger style suit.

There was also a live auction as well, which was fun to watch but the items--like Swayze's song says, were "out of my league." An hour dance lesson with the Dirty Dancing star went for $30,000. A personalized song about you or whatever you choose composed and recorded by Bolton, Paul Williams and Richard Marx went for a mere 70K and for having Bolton sing at your party or fund raising event went for $100,000! Bolton joked to the winning bidder by asking, "you know I'm only singing, right?"

It was definitely an odd group and the earlier open bar caused for more than a few intoxicated socialites who wouldn't stop talking through out the show and for a guy to shout out "You go girl" to Ms. Womack. For more information on the charity go to MBC.
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News Photo:
U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (more)

The Food Critic Wannabes
After my evening grad class last night, a group of us went to the restaurant opening of Cercle Rouge in TriBeca. They had a three piece brass band outside playing French & Jazz music, inside looked like the set of Victor/Victoria with feathers on display with a 1930s flapper girl feel. We drank strawberry infused champagne and ate scallops, lamb, steak, salmon, apple tarts, and different types of flan. Everything was very yummy and better yet...free. Plus everything is super great with three, well maybe four, glasses of champagne. One friend said that the people there looked like a caricature of New York City, which was somewhat accurate.

The restaurant was just mentioned in the recent Daily Candy email, check out their commentary, A Perfect Cercle.

I guess I was at a hot event, because the NYC blog Curbed is writing about it as well, Eater Inside: Cercle Rouge.

Also, met Jennifer Leuzzi at the opening, she runs the Snack blog.

PS: thanks Pure Mood and Let's Have It for your CSS help.

DVD Review: I have another review posted at DVDFanatic and am quite proud of how it came out. Ned and Stacey--The Complete First Season.

When Tara is away the mice will play!
So I'm in my pajamas watching the Yankees game on TV after coming back from a "Meet the Editors" night at NYU, when I spot something moving from the corner of my eye. A freakin mouse darts by and runs underneath my couch! Now, I live in a very very very small bitchen and knowing a mouse is in my close quarters is freaking me out. I turn my head at every noise and am afraid to not wear my shoes around the apartment.

I had the same problem last fall. The mouse would jump in my garbage bin and I'd run down from my lofted bed, I'm not sure what I planned to do, but it didn't matter anyway since it would scurry away too quickly. After weeks of playing--forgive the pun--cat and mouse, I come home and find him in my trash bin, unable to scurry out since it was empty. I scream, it pees and continues to jump, I continue to scream with each leap it makes towards me. I quickly grab the bin and open the door to my apt, but now that the pail is angled the mouse is able to almost jump out. I swing the pail, mouse and all, into the hallway and slam my door shut. Through my peep hole, I see it climb down the banister upside down and to the first floor, presumably into someone else's apartment. I didn't see a mouse again until today, a year later. I wish Gremlyn was still alive or my dad to help me do something about it.

Any suggestions? Do you think the Sonic Mouse Chaser will work? I just ordered it, I hope its not just BS.
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This evening was one of those nights where I just felt like meeting people, so I chatted to three MBA guys at NYU then started speaking to the guy walking next to me on my way home, turns out he lives on the same street as me and goes to the same pizza place. Yes, I've had some red wine and I do feel very very fine ;) And for those who read about how I like to give out my business cards, I managed to keep the cards in my wallet, lol.

Take a look at my 9/11 Remembered article that I wrote last year for the 3rd-year anniversary while attending a memorial service at Ground Zero.

I'm so glad that I do not have to go to such an up-close event again. Just reading over it takes me back to the raw emotion that I witnessed. I also felt like a real shit for intruding on the moment. You'll notice I didn't quote people who lost direct family members, I just couldn't approach them and interfere with their grief.

From my fire escape you can see the honorary lights representing the towers, but from this angle, directly north, it looks like one light and not two. You used to be able to see the real towers from this window though. After 9/11, before I lived at this address, my landlord couldn't come back to the apartment for several weeks since many of the buildings below 14th Street were off limits until the dust settled and debris cleared.

The Postman Always Rings ... the Dead?
I spent this gorgeous Saturday morning in Westchester, New York, visiting my Nanny and then stopping by the cemetery to see my dad and sister's grave. It is a beautiful cemetery actually, up on a grassy hill with lots of trees and sunlight. We once saw deer walking around. Although the prettiest cemetery I have ever seen is in Mystic, CT, there's a large stone archway and iron gates, weeping willow trees and located along the water. I wouldn't mind having my ashes buried there in the way distant future. Yes, I have a morbid fascination with cemeteries. Most likely because I used to visit my sister's stone with my mother since I was a little kid. I even have a photo of me when I'm 5 or so in a purple Easter dress in front of Serina's grave. We'll analyze that another day ;) actually I believe my mother was hoping to find something special in the photo once she got it developed.

Anyway so I'm squinting from the sun and picking at the weeds in front of their plot while chatting away about recent events in my life and trying to keep my emotions in check. Some visits I want to cry when I'm there and other's I'd rather just feel tranquil, reflective and dry eyed. Just when I was about to give in to self pity, a United States Postal truck wobbles up the drive. It took me a second to do a double take. There isn't an office or anything nearby and I doubt the residents located here are still reading mail, and unless the mailman knows a forwarding address that I'm not aware of the sight definitely looked out of place.

The man of course was visiting a loved one too, but I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of a postman possibly making deliveries to the cemetery, effectively banishing my blues :P
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DVD Review: My latest DVDFanatic.com staff review is up Frasier- The Complete Sixth Season .