Pinkberry

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt
a kate west reflection

I'm not really that big of fan of this new Pinkberry craze. Not to the point of thinking about it fervently in between visits anyway. I guess I have too much of a sweet tooth and Pinkberry yogurt is more tart. Or maybe because it's literally frozen yogurt, as in the kind you eat on a lunch break. Not my idea of dessert.

And I really don't understand all the long ass lines blocks and blocks long and the whole insane demand. For yogurt, really? I prefer coffee and chocolate - deeper flavors. I like that you can get toppings, like Cap'n Crunch on top, but not enough to fight traffic, find parking and wait forever. It started in West Hollywood, the worst place to find parking and now they're all over. I even introduced my brother to one when I visited him in New York for Christmas. I'm happy with the normal ice cream stores. Don't people still go to Baskin Robbins or Coldstone Creamery? BR is so my childhood - I will always be loyal to them. Hot fudge sundae? Yes, please! Or what about the little family-owned gelato shops? Mmmmmm. Love those. Sorry, Pinkberry. Not into it.

But I think I 'm the only one. And it's so lonely....

Latest update: I just found out that Pinkberry doesn't do real yogurt anymore - now it's all from a powder. So you see there's really no reason to go there! Harrumph.

Find your closest Pinkberry:
www.pinkberry.com Read more!

Les Luthiers

Les Luthiers
a kate west recommendation








Les Luthiers Volumen 3" (1973)

The Argentinean comedic group Les Luthiers was formed in the 1960's and is composed of several articulately funny gentleman who are versed in literature and music alike. Following up a clever monologue with a musical number, they've been internationally famous for years and have several popular YouTube videos to show for it.

Known for using hand made instruments (made from everyday objects), their name comes from the French word "luthiers". Appropriately, Les Luthiers integrates cantatas, serenatas, madrigals, pop and opera into their act. Intellectually provocative, there is something for everyone, from rap to word play. Often ending in playful silliness, they evoke Python (Monty) like absurdity so it is no wonder they have worldly appeal.

Members

• Carlos López Puccio: Violin, keyboards, percussion, viola, cello, vocals, bass, etc.
• Jorge Maronna: Guitar, cello, bass, double-bass, percussion, vocals, keyboards, etc.
• Marcos Mundstock: Percussion, keyboards, trumpet, vocals, etc.
• Carlos Núñez Cortés: Piano, keyboards, recorder, percussion, vocals, etc.
• Daniel Rabinovich: Guitar, violin, bass-pipe, drums, recorder, vocals, bass, keyboards, etc.

• Gerardo Masana, founder (died 1973): Guitar, bass-pipe, vocals, percussion, etc.
• Ernesto Acher (left the group 1986): Piano, horn, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, drums, keyboards, cello, vocals, etc.

Roberto Fontanarrosa, a renowned Argentine cartoonist and writer (from 1980 until his death in 2007).

Shows

• Les Luthiers cuentan la ópera (1967)
• Todos somos mala gente (1968)
• Blancanieves y los siete pecados capitales (1969)
• Querida Condesa (1969)
• Les Luthiers Opus Pí (1971)
• Recital '72 (1972)
• Recital sinfónico '72 (1972)
• Recital '73 (1973)
• Recital '74 (1974)
• Recital '75 (1975)
• Viejos fracasos (1976)
• Mastropiero que nunca (1977)
• Les Luthiers hacen muchas gracias de nada (1979)
• Los clásicos de Les Luthiers (1980)
• Luthierías (1981)
• Por humor al arte (1983)
• Humor dulce hogar (1985)
• Recital sinfónico '86 (1986)
• Viegésimo aniversario (1987)
• El reír de los Cantares (1989)
• Les Luthiers, Grandes Hitos (1992)
• Unen canto con humor (1994)
• Bromato de armonio (1996)
• Todo por que rías (1999)
• Do, Re, Mi, Já (2000)
• El Grosso Concerto (2001)
• Las Obras De Ayer (2002)
• Con Les Luthiers y sinfónica (2004)
• Recital Folklórico Cosquín (2005)
• Los Premios Mastropiero (2005)
• Recital por los Cuarenta Años (2007)

Sonamos pese a Todo" (1971)

Albums

• Sonamos Pese a todo (1971)
• Cantata Laxatón (1972)
• Les Luthiers (volumen 3) (1973)
• Les Luthiers (volumen 4) (1976)
• Mastropiero que nunca (1979)
• Muchas gracias de nada (1980)
• Les Luthiers (volumen 7) (1983)
• Cardoso en Gulevandia (1991)
• Les Luthiers En Vivos (2007)

Les Luthiers - Educación Sexual Moderna Read more!

Barefoot Contessa

Barefoot Contessa - Food Network
a kate west favorite



It's not the 1954 movie with Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner. Food Gourmet Goddess Ina Garten is the new Barefoot Contessa, with her own cooking show on the Food Network since 2002. You can't visit her yummy Hampton store anymore (it's closed, alas), but you can still catch her entertaining and delightful show.

With an open and warm style she offers easy, non-intimidating recipes, croons over her adorable husband Jeffrey and tells us tales of her many adventures in France. She's pretty much an icon in the culinary world and her many books have sold wordwide. Tune in before your special dinner party.

www.barefootcontessa.com

At Home:
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again

MORE Magazine: www.more.com Read more!

The Closer

The Closer - TNT Network
a kate west favorite




Krya Sedgwick is more than remarkable in this acclaimed television show about Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson who transfers from Atlanta, Georgia to a whole different world of crime in Los Angeles, California. Three seasons worth of investigative work have endeared her to audiences everywhere. She has the accent down perfectly and the subtle characterization is amazing. It is quite heartening to see an "older" (Hollywood older, not real people older) in such a gratifying role. She won the 20007 Golden Globe award for best actress and deserved ten more. Lord, what a dream come true for a working actor. The rest of the cast comprising her crew is wonderful as well.

Each week another crime is solved by Johnson's finesse at cornering her suspects into admitting the truth. She's brilliant at what she does, which makes her all the more human in her vulnerable moments outside the interrogation room. She has a rabid sweet tooth and hides all sorts of chocolate goodies in her desk drawers and purses, forever tempted into sin by the stresses of her job. She works with her ex (J.K. Simmons, Assistant Chief Pope), and is engaged to an F.B.I. agent (Jon Tenney as Fritz Howard) who loves both her strength and her neurosis, lucky, lucky her. In one recent episode, she puts off a visit to her doctor, assuming she's having a pregnancy scare, only to find her brave front is big, fat, facade when they discover she's actually going through early menopause. Her despairing cry that she will now get "all old and wrinkly" is hysterical.

The show was created by James Duff and the Shephard/Robin Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. Check it out.


Series Directed by
Michael M. Robin (10 episodes, 2005-2007)
Arvin Brown (5 episodes, 2005-2007)
Elodie Keene (4 episodes, 2005-2007)
Rick Wallace (4 episodes, 2005-2007)
Gloria Muzio (3 episodes, 2005-2006)
Kevin Bacon (2 episodes, 2006-2007)

Series Writing credits
James Duff (35 episodes, 2005-2007)
Hunt Baldwin (8 episodes, 2005-2007)
John Coveny (8 episodes, 2005-2007)
Ken Martin (7 episodes, 2007)
Wendy West (6 episodes, 2005-2006)
Mike Berchem (6 episodes, 2006-2007)
Adam Belanoff (4 episodes, 2006-2007)
Steven Kane (3 episodes, 2006-2007)
Rick Kellard (2 episodes, 2005)
Roger Wolfson (2 episodes, 2005)
Nancy Miller (1 episode, 2005)

Cast:
Kyra Sedgwick ... Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson / ... (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
J.K. Simmons ... Asst. Police Chief Will Pope / ... (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
Corey Reynolds ... Sgt. David Gabriel (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
Robert Gossett ... Commander Taylor / ... (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
G.W. Bailey ... Det. Lt. Provenza (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
Jon Tenney ... Agent Fritz Howard / ... (37 episodes, 2005-2007)
Anthony John Denison ... Det. Andy Flynn / ... (35 episodes, 2005-2007)
Michael Paul Chan ... Detective Mike Tao / ... (34 episodes, 2005-2007)
Phillip P. Keene ... Buzz / ... (34 episodes, 2005-2007)
Raymond Cruz ... Detective Sanchez / ... (33 episodes, 2005-2007)
Gina Ravera ... Detective Daniels


To Catch Up:
The Closer - The Complete First Season

Speaking of older women, check out the trendy over-40 magazine MORE at www.more.com. Read more!

The 4400

The 4400
USA Network Television
www.usanetwork.com/series/
the4400
a kate west favorite









Now in its fourth season, USA's prominent sci-fi show, "The 4400", is still a cool idea. 4400 people were abducted by aliens and inexplicably returned to earth. They were all frozen in their respective time periods, so as a result did not age until they came back and their eras of origin range from different decades in the 1900's through the present.

The Department of Homeland Security makes an ominous appearance, in the form of The National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC). Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris (Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie, pictured above) are the main NTAC agents who keep track of the displaced 4400. They're supposed to be the bad guys, but are often torn in their compassion towards the returned Earthlings. The main reason they need to be so bureaucratic is due to the uncanny and amazing new abilities every 4400 seems to have developed. And that could well prove a national security risk. Diana actually adopts one of them, Maia (Conchita Campbell), who can foresee the future. Granted, some of the 4400 do go bad and that's why nothing is ever completely black and white, but things are more grey, or rather alien green, much like the Promicin injections that render regular non-abductees into superior beings. Every 4400 produces a fifth neurotransmitter called Promicin that enables him or her to use parts of his/her cerebellum that no human has used before and this has been cleverly distilled into a drug to use on the rest of us.

Adding to the difficulties is the emergence of a 4400 Messiah, Jordan Collier (Billy Campbell). He dies, is resurrected and comes back wanting the whole world to take Promicin so that everyone can experience 4400 abilities. Unfortunately, some civilians have bad reactions and end up dead. Tom and Diana can barely keep up with each new case. That, and Isabel Tyler, (Megalyn Echiunwoke) is a scary new kind of post- 4400 with destructive powers bent on thwarting both sides of the war. It all escalates throughout the seasons until surprising developments come to pass. Shawn Farrell's (Patrick Flueger) gift of healing is cool, as is Richard Tyler's (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) telekinesis.

Season One and Two are the strongest so far, but for sci-fi nerds, it's still an intriguing show. This show works better than the wildly popular "Heroes" in that there is certain logic in the supernatural origins of its characters. We know why they are the way they are - they were made special by aliens.

The show was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria and is set in Seattle (filmed in Vancouver). The opening credits explain the show pefectly and one of the few you might not want to fast forward through. The catchy theme song is "A Place in Time", written by Robert Phillips and Tim Paruskewitz, and performed by Amanda Abizaid. You won't be able to get it out of your head.


Tom Baldwin — Joel Gretsch
Diana Skouris — Jacqueline McKenzie
Richard Tyler — Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
Lily Moore Tyler — Laura Allen
Shawn Farrell — Patrick Flueger
Nikki Hudson — Brooke Nevin
Isabelle Tyler — Megalyn Echikunwoke
Danny Farrell — Kaj-Erik Eriksen
Maia Skouris — Conchita Campbell
Kyle Baldwin — Chad Faust
Nina Jarvis — Samantha Ferris
Alana Mareva — Karina Lombard
Dennis Ryland — Peter Coyote
Jordan Collier — Billy Campbell
Meghan Doyle — Jenni Baird
April Skouris — Natasha Gregson Wagner
Kevin Burkhoff — Jeffrey Combs
Matthew Ross — Garret Dillahunt
Marco Pacella — Richard Kahan
Tess Doerner — Summer Glau
Cassie Dunleavy — Tristen Leffler


The 4400 - The Complete First Season Read more!