Weekend Round-up

Sometimes it's good to save the "Weekend Round-up" writing for late in day on Monday, since remembering my weekend always gives me a much needed boost once the horror of the the work week sets in... So let's try to release some endorphins, shall we?

On Friday night, I had my last (last!) birthday celebration of this year over dinner with our friends Liz and Ingrid and Nina and Carina. Two lesbian couples--both pregnant. Based on Nina's recommendation, we tried a new Algerian restaurant in the East Village called Nomad. I think it's true that none of us had had Algerian food before (and which, in the lead up to dinner, got confused for Moroccan at least once), and I also think it's fair to say that we were happily surprised. We ordered a bunch of yummy apps (with the exception of the fava beans, which Ingrid said tasted like feet) and then I had a lamb and prune tagine, which was delectable. The only thing I'd say is that if you happen to read the review in the Times, beware that the cookies aren't all that the reviewer claims... they aren't in any way bad--they're just not that good. Far better, to my palate, were the red velvet cupcakes my dear friend Liz brought along as a surprise.

Saturday was fairly calm: we took Jackson for a two mile jaunt up First Avenue, then came back to nosh on bagels and watch the 2007 NFL Draft. A short trip to J.Crew was made even shorter thanks to the antibiotic Jess is on that left her running (literally) for the bathroom; we spent the rest of the night indoors.

And then Sunday, beautiful Sunday: got up, walked the pooch, straightened the house and then headed to breakfast at the diner. Then walked from our place in Midtown East all the way to the Upper West Side, through the park (gorgeous these days!), to meet Liz and Ingrid at my friend Sue's house, where they picked up a few things for their imminent arrival, while I got to play with my goddaughter and her siblings. Afterwards, Liz and Ingrid and Jess and I took up residence at Citrus, for snacks and beers and conversation, and at the end of all the socializing Jess and I walked all the way back to our apartment at a nice, sweat-inducing clip. All that was left of the day was a little 60 Minutes (George Tenet freaks me out!), a peek at the Little People, Big World marathon, and bed. Divine.

And now, as En Vogue once said, it's time for the break-down...

Times Gets it Right on Washington Correspondents Dinner: And I thought I was the only one who found it strange that the press, who are supposed to maintain an "unbiased" distance from the people they report on, would travel to Washington every spring and yuk it up with the powers that be in the White House. Now it turns out that the NY Times will be taking a pass on the event next year, since given this whole debacle in Iraq, it's become increasingly clear what a bunch of patsies the MSM have become as far as unearthing the truth about this President and his administration goes. Here's hoping more outlets follow suit.

Women's College Hoops--A Bona Fide Bull Market: Columnist Mechelle Voepel gives you the run down on a few (too many?) of the coaching changes taking place within women's college game. What's driving the 30-some staff changes in Division 1? Happily, money. Should be interesting to see if the women's programs can actually take the pressure and make back the bucks these universities are laying out on staff. But remember: UConn and Tennessee are currently the only women's b-ball programs in the country that turn a profit--and Tennessee's profit isn't even close to 6 figures (god bless all those folks in CT who have nothing else to do but watch women's basketball).

Unmasking Leni Reifenstahl: It is a fact not-so-universally known that I have long held an interest in the person of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's sometime gal-pal and full-time filmmaker (despite what she may have argued once the man was dead). Now, there is a new book out that takes a detailed look at her life and debunks a whole boatload of the myths she invented to clear herself of culpability for the nightmarish rise of Nazism. Amazing how long it can sometimes take to come to the simple truth of the matter, isn't it?