Happy Birthday, Stubbie's Godmother!!

Please join me in wishing Stubbie's Godmother a very happy birthday!! She is turning mid-twenties today (I won't tell you exactly how old because I don't know myself!!). What a wonderful little girl, always cheerful, always helpful, and always willing to put in a verbal jab here and there. Some would call her perfect. I am still mulling that one over. (Check back for updates on that one!)

Anyhow, Coach Nelson (who moonlights as workspace decorator) did a wonderful job setting up the birthday location for Stubbie's Godmother.

Happy Birthday, Stubbie's Godmother! Enjoy it while you can!!

P.S. That isn't the birthday cake. That's just some photo I found on the web. But, can you believe some people are so serious and hoity toity as to quote Shakespeare on a birthday cake? No doubt, they will be having wine with it. *eyes*

HAHAHAHA!!! This is funny.

Dudes, check this out! I had nothing to do with patenting these inventions--honest!!

(Special thanks to Augustus Pablo for the submission!)

Thanksgiving Photos Update

If you haven't submitted your Thanksgiving photos, you're late!! Because of you, Freelance Midget is assured of a win in all categories. Now, I have to pit my lame, non-imaginative Thanksgiving photos against her oh-so-sparkly-and-wonderful-family-warm-fuzzies photos. (Trust me, they're good. I guess it helps to have an MD-turned-photographer for a dad. *eyes*) You only have yourselves to blame for this.

Kitty Korner (11/28)

Here's a video of the nightly feeding frenzy at the Nu residence.

*DISCLAIMER--Racey dialogue alert!*
Sorry!!! I just realized that Dazed and Confused was playing in the background!!

Kitty Korner (11/27)

Well, it's settled. We'll have to move. You wouldn't think that, between the two of these kitties, the smaller, plainer girl kitten would be the ring leader, but that is how things have turned out. Skillet, though she possesses the innocent, I'm-just-a-little-girl expression, is constantly up to no good. We live in a two story house, and the balcony overlooks the stairwell. The balcony is really just a waist-high wall. Mr. Nonny Nu has long been worried that Skillet would jump onto and over the wall and plummet to her death in the stairwell. I, being the optimistic fool that I am, didn't think she would do it.

Lo and behold, she was found sitting on the waist-high wall this weekend. She was immediately yelled at, and appeared to regret her poor choice of sunning area, but this evening, I found her sitting in the same place again. Of course, I yelled at her, but I fully expect to see her there in the near future. We have placed pillows on the ground where we project she might land, if she were to jump over the waist-high wall. But, of course, she could just land onto the hard floor below.

Kash, on the other hand, is a complete sweetheart. Of course, he has gotten into his share of trouble, but he isn't as naughty as she is. Recently, he pulled down our "Christmas tree." It's not a real Christmas tree. A few years ago, we moved into this house around Christmas time, and since we were so busy moving in, we didn't have any time to get a real Christmas tree and ornaments. So, we started a tradition of using the silk tree as a Christmas tree, and then buying only one ornament each year from Walgreens. The first year was a glass house-like ornament. The second year was a John Deere tractor (Coach Nelson and Stubbie's Godmother knows all about my obsession with those). The third year was a Sushi look-alike. Well, when Kash pulled down the Christmas tree a few days ago, he broke the first year's glass house-like ornament. GAH! But, he's still my little boy. He's so sweet! Here he is trying to find his way in the restaurant business (that's a McDonald's bag):
Pic 1
Pic 2

But these two are worrisome. Kash has a (possible) chlamydia infection in his eyes and has to have eye ointment put right into his eyes three times a day. And, both he and Skillet have ringworm (a fungal skin infection), so they have to their ringworm spots cleaned twice a day. They aren't too bad, just irritated areas. But still, you know? I feel like I broke my toys.

Anyhow, I know this next thing should belong in the backyard petting zoo section, but here's a better photo of our pet raccoon:

I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!

As some of you might know, Mr. Nonny Nu is partly from Phoenix, AZ. That's why we are a Suns and Cardinals household. I am more a basketball fan than a football fan, so I only watch football sporadically. But, for a little over a year now, I have noticed a marked difference in the Cardinals' logo. The bird has lost something. It used to look like a righteously indignant bird, pushed past the point of no return by repeated unprovoked injustices. Its lips were pursed and the glint in its eyes told me that there was no way this bird was going to take it anymore. NO WAY. Now, the new logo looks, well, a bit less annoyed. More evil and more proactive, but something was missing.

Well, we are at halftime during the San Francisco Forty-Whiners v. Arizona (New) Cardinals, so I just looked up the logo change. SURE ENOUGH, this change has been documented (here):

Arizona brushes up logo of outdated bird
45-year-old Cardinal image gets first, meaner makeover

updated 4:09 a.m. ET Jan. 29, 2005

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona Cardinals have given their old bird a makeover.

The Cardinal head that has served as the team’s logo since 1960 — when the franchise moved from Chicago to St. Louis — has been subtly transformed into a sleeker, meaner creature. The updated version was unveiled with great fanfare at Cardinals headquarters on Thursday.

“A tough bird,” team owner Bill Bidwill said. “Hopefully it will be worn by tougher and faster and meaner players.”

Yet to come is what Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill called “a revolutionary” change in the team’s uniforms, to be shown this spring.

Defensive end Bertrand Berry will wear the new logo on his helmet in next month’s Pro Bowl.

The old Cardinal logo was a roundhead bird derisively referred to as a “parakeet.” The new version has decidedly more evil eyes and a menacing expression.

“The outline is in black,” Michael Bidwill said. “We’ve made the beak much more predatory and much more aggressive. The face is much more streamlined. It’s faster looking. The eye has been described as mean, we’ll say tough. We’ve taken tail feathers and given them speed, as well.”

The new beak is gold, while the old one was yellow.

“As they say, it’s not the size of the bird in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the bird,” coach Dennis Green said. “The cardinal is a small bird, but it can be a very aggressive bird. That’s the idea.”

Several prominent Cardinals — including Josh McCown, Larry Fitzgerald and Leonard Davis — modeled apparel with the new logo.

With his rural Texas background, McCown was asked if he was something of an expert on birds.

“The only birds I know about are the duck and the dove and the quail, birds that you shoot,” the Cardinals quarterback said. “You’re not really supposed to shoot cardinals. I don’t know if I’d shoot this bird. It looks pretty mean. This bird might pull a gun out and shoot right back at you.”

The changes are part of the team’s preparation for its move into a new stadium, set for completion by the 2006 season opener.

Okay, so do I know my dear Arizona Cardinals logo or what? Anyhow, here, take a look:The one on the left is the old one, the one I have known all these years. It has lost its pursed lips, and the "Why, you son-of-a-bitch!" look in its eye. It used to look like a bird who was trying to live in peace with the world, but the world just kept pushing and pushing, and now, it had finally had enough. It would not be talked out of its decision to fight back. There was an irrational but explained stubbornness in its eye. Now, the cardinal is just evil. It's like he's on the attack rather than righteously defending. In other words, he used to be John McClane, but now he's Hans Gruber. He used to be Aragorn, but now he's Saruman. He used to be Stan, but now he's Cartman. I guess that's fine if you are trying to be tough, but come one. There are all sorts of toughness, right? I like the righteous indignation, John McClane-style toughness more.

I mean, I get what the management is trying to do. I really get it. They're trying to make this little bird more dangerous and more aggressive. But, they've lost something along the way. They lost that inconsolable, crazy ass anger that the old bird used to have. Oh well, I guess that's "progress" for ya.

New Deadline for Thankgiving Photo Contest

Too busy having fun and celebrating to send in your photo submissions? Yes, me, three. Therefore, I am extending the deadline for photo submissions to Wednesday, Nov. 28, midnight PST (the one that marks the end of Nov. 28).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

This is why I never listen to turkeys.

Willy Wonka v. Cl. Panic

Check this out. The chicken noodle soup with veggies was made by Cl. Panic, and the curried turkey burger with mango chutney was made by Willy Wonka. I don't know who's the winner in the Willy Wonka v. Cl. Panic bout but I can tell you that it's a win-win situation for yours truly!

HOG HEAVEN, HERE I COME!!

FDMNN: Talking Cats

This is so cute!

This is going to get me through my hellish work week.

Dudes! I am not usually a patron of McDonalds beverages (especially not their orange water juice), but I was pleasantly surprised by their premium roast iced coffee that they rolled out this summer. Mr. Nonny Nu wanted a breakfast of McDonalds yesterday, so I went to the McDonalds down the street and got him the Big Breakfast and an Egg McMuffin (con queso, of course). But, I honestly couldn't find anything on the menu that I really wanted. So, I tried their iced coffee. (That's not my hand in the photo, btw. And, it's not my car, either. In fact, I have nothing to do with that photo. I think it's just another person like me who discovered the coffee and thought it important enough to tell others about it.)

There were three flavors--regular, vanilla, and hazelnut. A medium sized coffee costs $1.59+tax (which, in CA means $1.72 total). But, this medium size is about the same size as a Starbuck's grande, which could easily run three and a half clams. Guess what? It was really, really good! I mean, you can't customize it the way you can at Starbucks and it doesn't come with whipped cream (I usually get the iced latte prepared breve with extra extra whipped cream), but the coffee itself is really, really tasty. It's totally worth the $1.59+tax.

This morning, I stopped by McDonalds before coming to the office and got a medium sized hazelnut flavored iced coffee. It's not as good as the regular, but it's still very good, especially for the price. Tomorrow, I will try the vanilla flavor.* This is so awesome! Other people think so, too:

Review 1
Review 2 (boy, this dude just keeps yapping--scroll to midway to see accolades for McDonalds iced coffee)
Review 3

(Note: Googling will also get you non-favorable reviews written by food snobs who don't truly love food since real foodies are able to appreciate food in all its forms, with the exception of artichoke which is not really fit for consumption since it comes directly from Satan's orchards.)

But anywho, this is going to be a tough work week, even though it's short. It's one of those ones where you already have too much to do and now, with the short work week, there's not enough time to do everything. I worked Saturday and Sunday, but yesterday was especially enjoyable because I was sipping on my yummy cheapo coffee as I worked. I'm actually hearing that stupid McDonalds jingle in my mind now. o/` Dah dah dah, dah daaaaahhhhhh! o/`

*I'll edit this blog entry tomorrow to update you on how that goes. In the meantime, tell me what you think:

McDonalds Iced Coffee: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

Toasty...by Sushi Cat (four-legged guest blogger)

Well, I've been jumping around in my new duds for about a month now, so I figure that it's about time that I give an update on what I did with my old rags after that fateful, sunny day. I got them cryogenically frozen at the local kitty hospital, and then transported to a semi-permanent refrigeration unit that mom had reserved for me in Monterey called Monterey Bay Memorial Park (it's exclusively for pets). It was a very animal friendly place!

Then, a couple weeks ago (on Nov. 3), while Grandpa was visiting, he drove mom to Monterey Bay Pet. They arrived around noon for the scheduled funeral pyre of my old coat. The manager had thawed out my old coat and showed it to mom and Grandpa. Grandpa hadn't seen me in a long time, but he finally got a chance to say goodbye that day. We had a lot of good times together. Mom was her silly self, of course, tears and all (no singing this time, thank goodness). After the eulogy was done, the manager put my coat in this big pizza oven and set it on high for 60 minutes.

In the meantime, I showed Grandpa and mom around the place that kept my coat on ice for two weeks. First, I introduced them to the founder of the place. There were a lot of old coats laying around, ranging from big and tall to petite. Then, I showed them the petting zoo! Of course, there were quail and geese, but my favorite were the rabbit and...what's that? Yep, that's a rooster. Here's mom trying to get him to dance for her:
Well, before we knew it, my coat was revamped, pressed, and ready to go. Grandpa and mom brought it home and set it in my favorite place (this is where I usually sat to wait for mom to come home each night). But, now, it's in a drawer next to mom's side of the bed so that when I come home to sleep at night, it's right there waiting for me.

Oh, gotta run--I have a dinner date with Mr. Jones!

(MAYO status, here I come!)

Is Stubbie Trying to Tell Me Something?

Stubbie hasn't been eating in the past couple of days. I changed his water on Monday, so it shouldn't be because he has a dirty house. His fin is up, and he is active, so it doesn't look like he's sick. When I feed him, he swims toward the food but doesn't eat it. I just don't know what's wrong. He does have a modest bubble nest going, though. Do you think it's "that time of the year" for him?

TWoNN Hall Meeting: Get Ready for Thanksgiving!

Hi, folks,

Seeing as how we are all going to be celebrating Turkey Day separately, I was thinking of putting up photos from everyone's celebrations so that we could kinda celebrate "together." So, if you would like to join in on the fun, please email to nonnynu@gmail.com photos of 1) your Thanksgiving Dinner, and/or 2) (if appropriate) the atmosphere/decorations of your celebration. There will be a vote afterward for "Best Turkey (or Other Thanksgiving Meat)" and also for "Best Setting in a Supporting Role." (Special thanks to Freelance Midget for coming up with the idea for the voting! Unfortunately, she gets nothing for it.) Please note, if Willy Wonka participates, only 1/3 of the votes for his Turkey (or Other Thanksgiving Meat) will be counted.

The winner(s) will either get 2 extra entries counted (if they are already guestblogging) or will get honorary MAYO status on the Contributors list (if they are not already guestblogging).

All photo entries must be received by Nov. 23 midnight PST (that's the midnight that marks the END of Nov. 23--sorry, this "midnight" business has always been confusing to me). Polls open Nov. 24 noon PST (noons are much clearer, imho).

Remember, *NO FACES OR OTHER IDENTIFYING MARKS IN THE PHOTOS* and *NO NUDITY, STILLMAN*.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nonny Nu
Chief Editor, The World of Nonny Nu

Yum! Part Troisby Willy Wonka (tired guest blogger)

Busy little worker bees today, 10 hours of baking and making of cakes…it was almost like being at Nu, Nu & Nu LLP. Except at the law firm we don’t get to eat our memos. [Speak for yourself. -Nonny Nu, Chief Editor] Today was pulling together all the cakes we’d been working on previously in the week. So I now have three cakes sitting in the refrigerator, waiting for a good home. Today was the day to learn how to assemble the cakes…and apparently getting your cake level and split evenly is a big, big, big deal. Apparently, I am not good at this. (An interesting note, our instructor told us that when he was being trained they had to be able to split a cake, fill it, ice it, and decorate it in under 7 minutes or they failed).

So…the pictured cakes are: a raspberry/lemon curd genoise cake with whipped cream icing,


a variation on a black forest cake (chocolate chiffon cake with cherry mousse icing),


and a chocolate hazelnut cake with praline buttercream frosting and a layer of japanoise (see day two).


I guess that is about it, probably much more to say but I’m tired. [So, what's new? -Nonny Nu]

Oh…and for those who were wondering about the day three update*, in brief I learned the two axioms of making puff pastry:

1) With the proper equipment it is possible to make puff pastry at home.

2) No one has the proper equipment.

*Note from Editor: This is the day that Willy Wonka didn't blog.

Excuses, excuses...

Will you just look at that? Second day on the job, and Willy Wonka "calls in sick." It's so hard to find good help these days. Nobody cares about the readership anymore...

Check out my lunch, dudes.

I have placed a quarter next to the plate for comparison. Is that a huge plate of spaghetti or what??

[edit] If you click on the photo below, you will see a LIFE SIZE representation of my lunch! (I just verified this by putting the quarter up to the screen.) Try it!

To Stillman's Knee

Get well soon!

P.S. That's just a mock knee, not Stillman's actual knee.

Yum! Part Deuxby Willy Wonka (newly annointed guest blogger)

Today was a whirlwind of activity. We made chiffon cake, genoise, angel food cake, japanoise, and puff pastry. (The angel food cake and japanoise are pictured.) The japanoise is a hazelnut meringue which can be utilized as a layer of cake itself or how we will be using it, as a filling layer...so it will be chocolate cake, layer of japanoise, layer of frosting, cake, japanoise, frosting, etc. etc. The picture is excess japanoise that we made into small snack size discs...they were also trying out the new ice cream machines at the school, so the suggestion was made to crumble pieces of japanoise as a crunchy topping on the ice cream.

Today was also useful for learning that the practice of law does not prepare one for standing on their feet for 8 hours straight and baking all day. Sore, sore legs and a very tight back. And no...there are not real angels in Angel Food cake...that would be Angel Meal cake. Based on the ingredients angels apparently eat sugar and egg whites. Sort of like, Atkin's-obsessed heroin-addict super-models.

I will probably be bringing some of my classwork to feed the ooda-loopas of Nu, Nu & Nu LLP tomorrow since I have to come in for a meeting. My classmates did not quite understand why I had to go home and do a couple of hours of work e-mail or why I might have to swing by the office...they all thought I was on "vacation." I was kind and didn't not laugh at their naiveté to our lawyerly ways.

To My Bear

Life is good--we are loved!



Artist: The Zombies
Song: This Will Be Our Year


The warmth of your love’s
Like the warmth of the sun
And this will be our year,
Took a long time to come.

Don’t let go of my hand
Now the darkness is gone
And this will be our year,
Took a long time to come.

And I won’t forget the way you held me
Up when I was down.
And I won’t forget the way you said
“Darling, I love you.”

You gave me faith to go on,
Now we’re there,
And we’ve only just begun.
This will be our year,
Took a long time to come.

The warmth of your smile,
Smile for me little one.
And this will be our year,
Took a long time to come.

You don’t have to worry,
All your worry days are gone.
And this will be our year,
Took a long to come

And I won’t forget the way you held me
Up when I was down.
And I won’t forget the way you said
“Darling, I love you.”

You gave me faith to go on,
Now we’re there,
And we’ve only just begun.
This will be our year,
Took a long time to come.
Yeah, we’ve only just begun.
And this will be our year,
Took a long time to....

Is It Too Early to be Thinking About Christmas?by Man from U.N.C.L.E. (guest blogger who doesn't like mayo)

Have you noticed that department stores and retail establishments all across the land have started putting up Christmas stuff earlier and earlier? It used to be that Santa and his merry elves would only emerge from the arctic North about a month before the holiday. Thanksgiving Parades would reach their denouement with the first visit from the fat guy in the red suit. As time has gone on, November 1 became the day that Halloween Candy was hastily ripped from the shelves and the yuletide festivities and accompanying decorations were on display. Yet the calendar got even more rolled back this year. I started noticing X-mas decorations and displays going up directly after Labor Day?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? As soon as Back-To-School Sales ended, up went Rudolph, the stockings, the twinkling lights and artificial cotton batting doubling as snowfall. There's a local radio station that starts playing Bing Crosby, Elvis, Rosemary Clooney and Alvin and The Chipmunks holiday music 24 hours a day, 7 days week effective last week. What the heck?

Why are we as a society so compelled to speed everything up? We diminish the significance of day to day knowledge and growth to careen toward the future, unbridled to stop and smell the roses, and as a result, we miss precious opportunities to be grounded and share ourselves with others, or allow others to share themselves with us. Thanksgiving has become merely the day before the biggest shopping day in the year. Is this what John Smith and Sacajewa had in mind for us?

I miss sitting around with my family and sharing quality time laughing and enjoying each other's company. At the time, it sure was a chore loading up in a cramped Chevy Impala and driving the 40 miles to my grandmother's house (no-we didn't go over the meadow and through the woods), for weekend visits where we'd sit around and play cards, watch football, go for ice cream and build a soon-to-be demolished pseudo dam in the creek behind their house. But now, with everything so sped up, those sassperilla Saturdays sure seem idyllic.

Yum!

If you remember, I introduced (well, sorta) you all to Willy Wonka who used to sit two doors down from me (before the big Office Shuffle of '07). As can be deduced from the candy (organic mango and pomegranate flavors) that Willy Wonka offers in his office, this man has an interest in food (and not just eating). This week, Willy Wonka is taking a vacation at...*drumroll please*...a culinary school! Can you beat that?? What a cool vacation, right? LOVE IT! Anywho, he is serving as our culinary correspondent, and his first (maybe not only--if we beg him enough to send more updates, so come on, people!!) entry is a fruit cake that he made today:[The recipe was entitled "Cake aux Fruits," which I think is French for "you've just spent too much money to learn to make a fruitcake." -Willy Wonka]

In the event I'm never heard from again...by Cl. Panic, probed guest blogger

I'm sure that the creatures in space suits had nothing to do with it.

Kitty Korner (11/1)

The honeymoon is not over!! These two are still cutie pies and are vastly different kitties than Sushi. Skillet is a complete ham and will stop at nothing to jump into things she shouldn't jump into. Kash continues to be the good (most of the time) little boy he has always been. And, they are still devoted to each other. I'm almost jealous. Here are some recent photos.
Getting ready for Christmas
Look at that face!
Mew!
What a poser...
Sleepy time!

Messing around: