The Column of Life

John Pagano will be putting it forth for us at New World Stages tomorrow evening. In the meantim let's hear Herb Alpert put forth and follow that up with John's excellent rendition of "God Give Me Strength."

Vitello Tonnato is a classic summer Italian dish. This variation comes from The Chefs of Cucina Amore from ten years ago or so. It utilizes turkey cutlets and uses the tonnato as a side dip. It's that turkey time of the year. This is one of the more creative ways to consume it. Speaking of consumption, here are some fine specimens provided by that great purveyor of male pulchritude, DNA .

It's cocktail hour and a nice healthy appetizer never does any harm, perhaps some seafood to whet the appetite.

Sam Talbot's Lobster Roll for The Surf Lodge Ingredients • 1 lb. cooked lobster meat, cut into chunks (instructions following) • ¼ cup diced red onion • ¼ cup diced celery • 1 T. celery seed • 1 T. celery salt • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice + zest of two lemons • 1 ½ cups mayonnaise • ¼ cup Dijon mustard • Old Bay seasoning to taste (about 2 T.) • ¼ cup melted, clarified butter at room temperature • 5 brioche burger buns (or hot dog rolls), toasted • lettuce leaves, tomato slices Directions: You can use frozen lobster meat, thawed in the refrigerator and cut into chunks. For fresh lobsters (about five 1- to 2-lb. lobsters will yield 1 pound of meat): Fill a large pot three-quarters full of salted water (about a tablespoon per quart of water) and bring to a boil. Submerge lobsters completely – you may have to cook in shifts – and cover. Cook approximately 18 minutes (more for larger lobsters), until shell is red. Drain, cool, remove meat from shell and cut into chunks. Combine the lobste...

Recovering from eating stuffing and getting stuffed can take many forms. There are assuredly many inhabitants of the United States who would be eating leftovers and here are a couple of light and tasty Mediterranean sides to go along with the Turkey and stuffing. Insalata Provenzale Eggplants, two medium, cut into one inch cubes Virgin Olive Oil, one third cup Coarse Salt Ground Black Pepper Zucchino, one medium, chopped Onion, medium, chopped Garlic, minced, one tablespoon Plum Tomatoes, two medium, chopped Fresh Thyme Leaves, one tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice, one tablespoon Parsley Leaves for garnish 1. Let the eggplant cubes ‘weep.’ Sprinkle with salt, place in colander for about 45 minutes. Rinse. Drain. Pat dry. 2. With half of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add eggplant. Salt. Pepper. Stir occasionally for ten minutes and then let drain on paper towels 3. Add remaining oil to pan and repeat process with the zucchino for about two minutes. 4. Add onion and garlic; st...

John Bolton recently completed a run of over 500 performances as the villainous drama critic in Kander and Ebb’s Curtains where he also played the starring role of Lt. Frank Cioffi during David Hyde Pierce’s vacation. Also on Broadway: original cast of the Tony Award-winning musicals Spamalot (often performing the role of King Arthur), Contact and Titanic , and in the hit revivals of Damn Yankees and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (as Finch opposite Sarah Jessica Parker). He was featured in the acclaimed New York benefit concerts of Chess , Funny Girl , Busker Alley and the Grammy-nominated Dreamgirls . He recently sang for 104-year-old Zeigfeld Girl Doris Eaton Travis on stage at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre. He starred Off-Broadway in Five Course Love at the Minetta Lane and in John Bucchino’s It’s Only Life directed by Daisy Prince. He played Rooster in the 20th Anniversary Production of Annie (with Nell Carter) and Will Parker in the European Tour of Oklah...

Date: 26-Nov-2008 [culled from DNA , an Australian magazine, no less] A judge in Florida has overturned a three decade old law that prevented gay people from adopting children, allowing a Miami man to adopt two half-brothers he had been raising with his partner for four years. Martin Gill and his partner had been fostering the two half-brothers, but had wanted to make the arrangement permanent. "There is no question, the blanket exclusion of gay applicants defeats Florida's goal of providing dependent children a permanent family through adoption," Judge Cindy Lederman wrote in her ruling. "The best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption." After the decision, the state attorney general's office announced it would appeal the decision. The judge said there is no moral or scientific reason for banning gay people from adopting, despite the state's arguments otherwise. The state had argued that gays and lesbians have higher...

Date: 23-Jul-2008 from DNA , that gayest of magazines from Australia Perhaps unsurprisingly, Barack Obama is the clear front-runner amongst gay American voters as their favoured candidate for the November presidential election. Obama is leading most national polls as the favoured candidate, however not many polls have him leading Republican Senator John McCain by the margin that he is amongst gay voters. Over 60 percent of gay registered voters are throwing their support behind Senator Obama, while only 14 percent are backing 71-year-old McCain. The Harris Interactive poll shows that 90 percent of black voters are planning on voting for Obama, while Latino voters are on par with the gays when it comes to support for Obama. Obama is seen as being more supportive of gay rights issues. While not supporting gay 'marriage' per se like McCain, he does support civil unions. McCain campaigned against domestic partnership benefits in his own home state of Arizona. Obama is also in favou...

To say that Billy Porter is a triple threat might imply that he’s only a great singer, dancer and actor and not a master of the artform. To say that Billy Porter is a star of stage, screen, television, and records might askew his work as a director, songwriter and playwright. With Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am , his new one person “roof raising musical autobiography” (as The New York Times described it)... Critics have reaved consistently about this man's fierce talent which will be on full display come December 1st at New World Stages. Billy will show us how to sing "Alfie." Main Entry: 2about Function: preposition Date: before 12th century 1: in a circle around : on every side of : around 2 a: in the immediate neighborhood of : near b: on or near the person of c: in the makeup of d: at the command of 3: engaged in 4 a: with regard to : concerning b: concerned with c: fundamentally concerned with or directed toward 5: over or in different pa...

There's nothing but positive energy coming from Dan Daly. To watch him perform at Stonewall in New York is a joy. He is above and beyond what most piano bar performers are. He knows his material and embellishes it with magic that comes from his fingers. It seems like he can play anything. Dan Daly has been performing since 1995in New York City, Fire Island, South Florida, and various Cruise ships. In addition to performing he has been the musical director for many cabaret performances in the New York area. Many artists have performed Dan’s original material on stage, which is the catalyst for his upcoming CD the beginning of next year. [source Dan's website.] You can visit him on MySpace and learn more about him and hear some of his music. See him and person at Stonewall and Marie's Crisis to see and hear what the fuss is all about. Go here for an interview .

A proud member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices Mandy Gonzalez made her Broadway in the Elton John musical Aida . She appeared in the musical Lennon , based on the life of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and she also starred opposite Michael Crawford as Sarah in Dance of the Vampires . Mandy was best known for her OBIE Award-winning performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli's Comin' , the musical based on the lyrics and music of songwriter Laura Nyro until now. "I would love to be Maria in West Side Story, just because it's such a great, great part. There are a lot of things in that show that explain why I'm here, and why I fell in love with musicals..." Well, she may not be Maria as this is being written, but Mandy is tearin’ up In the Heights as Nina. That she and co-star Christopher Jackson will be gracing the stage to perform Burt Bacharach’s "On My Own" for Bacharach to the Future is indeed another magic moment to look forward to.

This pic accompanied an article on being gay and gray. This is the main course at any stage of the game.

This is planning ahead for the tradition that calls for the eating of seven fishes for Xmas eve. This recipe comes from the Ritz-Carlton and the young men, of course, can be considered sea worthy bounty or something like that.

'Tis that time of year when many inhabitants of the United States of America start that long journey until after January 1st into overindulgence. The task begins now with Halloween with its tricked treats and ends with the New Year with its tricks and the call for designated drivers. In between there should be much dieting, while placing emphasis on the treadmills and related accessories. Easier said than done. It is that very reason that John Antorino's image graces today's Beefcake entry. He is a man who obviously knows how to handle the temptations of overindulgence while at the same time exemplifying what one might be better choosing to indulge in, so to speak. The recipe choice is very appropriate for the time of year and very much an exceptional suggestion for indulging either over or under. Scaloppine di Tacchino Seasoned Flour (sea salt & ground pepper) 2 Eggs, large beaten with milk 2 Cups Fresh beadcrumbs 3 Cups finely chopped pecans ...

This is something that will rescue you from the winter doldrums. ...perfect