| The best of theater: New York shows golden, but regional theater not ...
Both sides finally came to their senses after losing the lucrative Thanksgiving tourist trade. And just in time for Christmas. For waiting in the wings of the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street was a lightning bolt of theatricality called "August: Osage County." The playwright is Tracy Letts ("The Man From Nebraska," "Killer Joe," "Bug"), who has enjoyed a string of off-Broadway successes. But "August," Letts' holiday gift to the city, warmed up a frost-bitten Broadway. It's the kind of play that changes the future of the art — this decade's "Angels in America," although it has nothing to do with the themes explored in Tony Kushner's epic drama. No, "August: Osage County," with its original Steppenwolf Theatre Company cast nearly intact, is about a family so dysfunctional it makes the Tyrones of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" look like Ozzie and Harriet, David and Ricky.
G.O.P. Bloggers Gird for Obama
He may well imagine that they really like him—and surely some of them do, at least for now. Such happy feelings are easily conjured these days, when William Kristol hopes Democratic superdelegates will do “the good deed" of pledging their ballots to him, and when George Will urges Democrats to choose him as “the party's most potentially potent nominee," and when Peggy Noonan promises that he will be “bulletproof" against Republican attack. Meanwhile in the bleaker precincts of the blogosphere, lesser figures prepare to welcome the Democratic front-runner should he secure his party's nomination. Evidently they will celebrate his triumph with poison gas and bombshells rather than confetti and champagne. If you listen closely, you can already hear the test rounds exploding.
Great tips for decorators, and handy advice for the green-fingered
DIY isn't all about circular saws, sweat and sandpaper... sometimes even the most enthusiastic DIY demon needs to take a break. So hang up that hammer and enjoy this look at the lighter side of DIY... We all know what a tool is supposed to do, but here's Rod Baker's tongue-in-cheek look at the jobs that tools usually do... Tape measure/rule: A handy item for rechecking the length of an item, such as a length of wood, to confirm that you have indeed cut it 5mm too short/narrow/whatever. Ideally, this item is used only when the shops are shut for the long weekend and, therefore, replacement materials are unavailable. Hot glue: Used for dropping on to fingers when hot, and staying there, despite all efforts to remove it. Also very useful for removing unwanted hair, particularly on the back of the hand and the forearm.
Fans have their say on FA Cup exit
Stop throwing in the towel and fight for your pride, the club and the supporters! One thing is for sure - we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride until the end of the season. God help us. Martin van Tuyl, season ticket holder, Kingsland HOW can Jason Dodd say that Bristol wanted it more than Saints? How many of the Saints team have played in a FA Cup final? I will take my hat off to Dodd as he has the backbone to come out and say this - not like the rest of the team who slipped away out of the back door to avoid the fans who paid their cash to watch this rubbish. As fans, we have to watch this week in and week out. Now it is getting boring and becoming a joke. It is not that we lost, it was the way we lost.
Mr. Food: Long-Cooking Roasts
This is the time of year when our supermarkets have loads of sales on long-cooking roasts like brisket, bottom round, shoulder and chuck roasts, and pot roast varieties. All of these take a little more cooking time than most other cuts, but what we like best is that they're completely no-fuss. In fact, they almost cook themselves!All we really have to do to most is sprinkle them with some seasonings and surround them with flavoring veggies like onions, carrots, potatoes, and celery. (We can even pick those up at the produce counter in combination packages where they're already cut up.) Add a little water to the pot or pan, cover it, put it into the oven or simmer it on the stovetop, and that's it! If you want to give them your own favorite touch, add a little tomato sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, or canned broth.These cuts also work well in a pressure cooker where they get that same long-cooked taste, but they're done in minutes.
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