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Joan Rivers: “A Piece of Work”

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Annice

When Charlie Rose interviews someone, I watch and listen. I guess that makes me a Charlie Rose groupie (I rely on Tivo to get my fill). So, when he interviews Joan Rivers about the documentary, “A Piece of Work,” I go see it. The film, by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, spans the 40 year career of Ms. Rivers. At 77 (she’s actually 75 in the film), we see a tough broad who is not afraid to bare all. In fact, she thrives on it, needs it, like an addict.
Watch this great trailer:

I’m not exactly sure when I stopped liking Joan Rivers, but I’m guessing it was back in the late 80s with everyone else. Falling from grace due to a series of professional and personal blows such as being blacklisted by Johnny Carson/NBC, and the 1987 suicide of her husband/manager, she struggled to find work in her beloved show biz.

The Young Joan Rivers

Circumstances and age seemed to have turned Ms. Rivers into a comic whose jokes seemed more like cruel jabs aimed to hurt the likes of Liz Taylor and her battle with weight. I find it very ironic for Joan to be hassling Liz when she was perpetually under the knife of her plastic surgeon re-figuring her face, and who knows what else. I know it’s none of my business how many face lifts this Grande Dame of comedy endures but frankly, I think her face lifts turned me off when she started to look like a caricature of herself standing in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.

Now, here’s the big BUT – after seeing this film, and her journey back to glitz and glamour, I actually like Joan Rivers again! She’s one smart woman who climbed her way back to legendary status selling her jewelry on QVC, and her red carpet attacks (with her daughter) on celebrity T.V. And don’t forget her latest gig on Donald Trump’s reality show “The Celebrity Apprentice.” No, I didn’t watch it but I was not surprised to learn that Ms. Rivers won the competition, which by the way, meant she had to beat out her own daughter, also on the show. Needless to say, the mother and daughter relationship is strained. Nothing new here abut mothers and daughters.

The many faces of the Queen of Comedy

In spite of her obsession to be a star and stay on top of her game, I couldn’t help but admire Joan Rivers. Like I said before, she is one tough broad, and she’s not afraid to fight tooth and nail to keep her dream alive. Aging gracefully? Not her. Aging any way she can is more like it.

Tags: annicejoanriversoops50, AnnieSundberg, Beautiful Women >50, charlierose, joanrivers, joanriversapieceofwork, oops50, oops50joanrivers, Ricki Stern, women over 50, women over fifty, women's journeys, womenaging, writers over 50
Posted in Annice'sAngle, Beautiful Women >50, Beauty, Entertainment, Fitness, Health, Living, Main, Movies, Style | 3 Comments »

Annice’s Secret Summer Gazpacho Recipe from the U.N.

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Annice

My Gazpacho is better than yours. Okay, I said it, and it’s true. I’ve been serving and enjoying this wonderful gazpacho for a very long time. I wish I could say it’s my creation but in fact, it comes from the cookbook, GOOD FOOD from FAR & WIDE : Favourite family recipes from the United Nations International School 1975. And of course there is a story there.

In 1975, I visited New York with college friends, and took a tour of the U.N. because I knew one day I would work there. I was young, ambitious, and wanted an international career. On my way out of the gift shop, I purchased the cookbook. I’m not sure why I did, because I was living in a dorm and never cooked. I’m guessing it was the cheapest thing I could find. Well, I never did work for the U.N. (although I did work for the World Bank and had many colleagues at the U.N.) but I am grateful for their cookbook. I must’ve used it hundreds of time over the last 35 years (OMG! Has it really been that long?) and one of my favorite summer recipes is the Gazpacho on page 22.

I’m sharing it now because it’s been unusually hot here for the mountains (90 degrees plus!), and it’s simply the best meal on a hot summer day. Just serve it with corn on the cob and you’re done. Oh, a blueberry cobbler would be the perfect dessert and with all those anti-oxidants, it’s just got to be healthy.

It seems appropriate that I credit Mrs. Henry Kent (whoever she is) for submitting the recipe. While she doesn’t appear to be from Spain judging by the name, she sure knows how to make a Gazpacho, so here goes:

Serves 6

5 or 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 2 cups tomato puree) – I use real tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2 cups tomato juice
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 – 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1 teaspoon salt
Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste (my addition)

Blend tomatoes, onion, green pepper and cucumber at high speed for 30 seconds. (I pulse it in my blender but don’t overdo it). Pour into large bowl. Combine tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt (add hot sauce here if you like) and add to soup. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with croutons on top, and an ultra thin slice of green pepper for color.

Prep time: roughly 15 minutes.

That’s the recipe in the book – follow it closely – you can add more garlic if you like, and if you like hot like I do, add some Tabasco. Also, I don’t like it pureed completely (like pea soup) – I leave some pieces in it, NOT chunks, but very fine pieces of vegetables. Lastly, if you make it early in the morning, it will be ready in the evening, but if you leave in the fridge overnight it will be perfect.

So when you’re enjoying your Gazpacho this summer, don’t think of me, but Mrs. Henry Kent (probably the wife of some diplomat) whoever and wherever she may be!

Tags: easy gazpacho soup recipe, Health, oops50recipe, secret recipes, summer, UN secret recipe, United Nations
Posted in Annice'sAngle, Beautiful Women >50, Living, Main, Recipes/Food | 2 Comments »

Father’s Day: Significant Family Memories

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Annice

For Father’s Day, I asked my friend, Judy King-Calnek to share some of her memories about her father, who was one of the few African Americans to go to Harvard University in 1941. Toward the end of her piece, you will find a link detailing his experience at Harvard told by the Boston Globe entitled, Southern Discomfort: With quiet grace, two black men change the heart of Harvard in 1941.

While driving down the FDR Drive in Manhattan, I was still savoring the excitement of Brazil’s first victory in the World Cup, which I had watched and celebrated with friends in a cute little Brazilian bistro in Brooklyn that could’ve easily been in Copacabana. I was on my way to work that morning, and even though it was only 7:45 a.m., the sun was shining brightly and it was so warm that I drove with my car windows and sunroof wide open, not to mention the radio cranked up.

Dr. Judith King-Calnek

As I surfed the pre-selected buttons to find some music, preferably something I could sing along to as it was one of those kind of days, I was grabbed by a voice I had known since my childhood growing up in Cleveland. It was Louis Armstrong on his tribute album to Fats Waller, singing “All That Meat and No Potatoes” – one of my father’s favorites. I sang along at the top of my lungs, not like the 50 year old teacher getting ready to talk to her anthropology students as they prepare for a summer of fieldwork, but like the little girl who used to dance frenetically about the living room, with no clue of the double entendre of the lyrics, laughing as my father laughed at my glee and excitement when Satchmo wailed, and Daddy and I both sang out, “Give that food to the alligators!”.

(more…)

Tags: Aging Parents, Beautiful Women >50, Harvard University, Louis Armstrong, music, oops50, The Boston Globe
Posted in Annice'sAngle, Beautiful Women >50, Family, Main, Music, Other Voices, Parenting, Relationships, World | 11 Comments »

Visiting My 84-Year-Old Dad

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Annice

Last week, I went to Cleveland to spend time with my aging dad. There was concern–because he fell a few times and could not get up. While I was visiting, various family members made comments such as, “he’s frail, he needs a walker; he might be depressed; he shouldn’t be driving,” etc. And what did I find? Some of the above, but not all. It’s just not that simple.

To know what’s going on, I decided not to depend on the observations of others. When I got the chance to talk to my dad alone (about driving, falling, not wanting to use the walker, etc.), he sat back in his big leather chair, looked me right in the eye, and said, “I wasn’t prepared. I just wasn’t prepared to get old like this and not be able to do the things I want and need to do. I can’t believe it.”

My heart ached for my dad, yet, at the same time, I turned selfishly to my own needs. I immediately started thinking about what I can do to prepare myself so I won’t end up like him at 84. I started to make a list in my head of things I need to do to be more vigilant about my life, like walking, more yoga, better diet, more sleep, and on and on. No time to lose. But then I realized the physical is just one aspect of our life, and, no matter how critical it is, there is more, so much more, that it is hard to talk about. So, while it was a little uncomfortable to talk about such intimate issues with my dad, I knew that I could. We have that history. (more…)

Tags: Aging Parents, driving at night, Everyman, life alert, Philip Roth
Posted in Annice'sAngle, Family, Main, Relationships | 8 Comments »

One More Thing to Worry About

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Annice

I just got back from the blue skies and white sandy beaches of Florida. I didn’t want to come home, but I have to get back to work, unless, of course, I am snowed in AGAIN tomorrow morning. While I have no intention of moving to Florida, the long car ride home played havoc on my imagination–with too much time to ponder old age–and not old age in a generic sense, but my own. I mean, just sitting in a restaurant in Florida can sometimes feel like being in one great big waiting room. Sure, there’s the beach with the young and skinny bikini bunch, but my focus was elsewhere.

In Florida, I met up with a dear friend for brunch, and one of the first things she asked me was, “Do you have long-term care insurance?” Childless, like her, I wondered if she had seen the same old woman with oxygen tubes up her nose being helped into the restaurant.

Of course, when I talk to my friends with children, they always say kids are no guarantee. I disagree. Over and over again, I see children (my age) caring for their aging parents in one way or another. So, do I need long- term care insurance? Does it really work? At what age should I get it? Isn’t it too risky and too expensive? Over an Everything Bagel, cream cheese and lox, my friend told me her insurance broker quoted her a price of $1000 a month, and she’s only 53. Ouch! He also told her that by the time today’s 60-year-old’s need such care, the average cost for nursing homes will be $175,200 annually. Ouch again! Oh, I also heard that policy benefits only cover a portion of the total expense. And many policies are packed with catches that can keep you from collecting. Finally, there is no guarantee that long-term-care insurers, some of which have weak balance sheets, will even be around when you need them. So, unless you’re rich and have enough money to purchase the private care you need, it seems there is just one more thing to worry about. Do you have long-term care insurance? Let me know!

Posted in Annice'sAngle, Main | 3 Comments »