Lots of weekend events and nostalgia TV shows
Plus a salad recipe
By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
Our Internet is back online. We use a Verizon cube — it’s really affordable and usually quite good, but our area was affected by an outage this past weekend, so we had to go back in time a bit and do non-Internet things.
On Saturday, I did a live podcast with Random Thoughts columnist Mike Levy at Union Village Fest. The overall event was well organized by Greenwich’s Liv Thygesen. In case you didn’t see them, you can find photos here.
I’m still working on the audio from the podcast to see if it’s salvageable. Even if it’s not, we plan to do some podcasts this summer. If you’d like to be interviewed, let me know.
It was a good weekend not to have Internet. Besides Union Village Fest, there were myriad parades and protests in the region. Here’s what Indivisible ADK/Saratoga sent us:
They write: On Saturday, June 14, over 2,000 area residents joined events in Saratoga Springs and Warrensburg in a sweeping show of pro-democracy solidarity as part of the national “No Kings” Day of Defiance. The coordinated actions were a direct response to President Trump’s extravagant $45 million taxpayer-funded birthday spectacle and a clear repudiation of authoritarianism.
In Saratoga Springs, more than 1,500 demonstrators marched proudly in the city’s historic Flag Day Parade, many donning locally designed and produced “No Kings” shirts and carrying American flags. The turnout sent a powerful message: patriotism is non-partisan, and the American flag belongs to all who believe in liberty, justice, and democracy.
In Warrensburg, approximately 800 demonstrators lined the streets with signs, chants, and “No Kings” gear in a peaceful protest co-organized by Indivisible ADK/Saratoga and Blue Line Indivisible. Indivisible ADK/Saratoga’s musical team provided live music, playing a wide array of patriotic standards, classic folk anthems, and other popular songs.
I feel like we put a lot of mileage on the car this weekend. We saw the beginnings of the Saratoga gathering as we had breakfast there Saturday, and then went up to Lake George, where scores of volunteer firefighting units from across the state were participating in a Flag Day parade on Saturday, as well. Then Union Village Fest. Sunday was Father’s Day, so my daughter took me to a lunch in Albany. Good to see people out and about, but the average age at most weekend events skewed high — where are all the younger folks? So it was good that Union Village Fest had bounce houses where lots of kids played.
At night to wind down, I put on the TV — but without Internet, we were limited to antenna channels. There’s actually a channel called Antenna TV at 10-3 on my dial.
In case you didn’t see my column on cutting the cable TV cord, here it is:
You should consider dumping cable TV, if you haven’t already. It’s expensive, and there are so many cheap/free options now.
Antenna TV plays old sitcoms, for the most part.
I caught an episode of the 1970s’ “Maude,” starring the late Bea Arthur in the title role, and the 1980s’ “Too Close for Comfort,” both shows I’d remembered vaguely, but they were hits in their day, and the actors were really good within that framework of three-camera sets and cackling audiences.
The shows had the feel more of an Off-Broadway comedy, with cheap sets and lots of slapstick to appeal to the boisterous in-house crowd. The actors will do something flamboyant and then pause long enough to fit in the cacophony of studio audience guffaws.
The writing is incredibly stilted and with odd messaging by today’s standards.
In the “Maude” episode I saw, Maude’s daughter, played by Adrienne Barbeau, is going off for a romantic weekend with a man she isn’t married to, and Maude is considered a liberal for that era, so doesn’t put up an argument, but she feels she has to explain the dalliance to Barbeau’s pubescent son, Maude’s grandson.
This conversation is extremely awkward, for some reason, and later, it turns out the grandson has a study buddy coming over, to perhaps sleep over, named “Sam.” Maude at first is fine with that, but then realizes “Sam” is a girl. The girl’s angry father — who happens to be a reverend dressed in full collar — shows up to kibosh the study session, the grandson wondering about the double standard and adult hypocrisy.
The “Too Close for Comfort” plot was also sexually awkward. The show’s breakout character, Monroe (Jim J. Bullock), expresses to the main character, played by Ted Knight — who apparently owns an apartment building in San Francisco where Monroe, as well as Knight’s adult daughters, live — that he’s still a virgin, and this bothers him.
So his beautiful adult daughters — who Knight strongly suggests they keep their chastity, even though they look to be in their 20s and living in sexually liberated San Francisco — concoct a plan to essentially hire a prostitute for Monroe, but, of course, mayhem ensues.
It was rather funny that Monroe mistakenly thought an elderly neighbor returning a dress to the daughters was the prostitute, and both at first decided to go with it and start making out. Until Knight is the kibosh.
Shows from that era often had a potential sexual situation kiboshed.
Both of these shows had odd sexual assumptions, but also seemed sexually pent-up at the same time. I don’t think such shows could be made today, unless as satire.
Since we didn’t do the recipe yesterday, here it is…
This salad is highly customizable
By Diane Rossen Worthington
Tribune Content Agency
Special to Journal & Press
When the weather begins to turn warm, I find myself wanting lighter dishes but still with plenty of color and pizzazz. I have made this salad three times in the last couple of weeks, and each time I am so pleased with how it tastes and looks.
I’ve also slightly changed up the recipe each time I make the dish. Sometimes, for example, I’ll omit the cheese and top the salad with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp. Feel free to add your favorite chopped herbs to the salad for a fresh herbal touch. Or add a peeled diced peach for a fruity note. A crisp chardonnay or sauvignon blanc is a nice complement to the salad.
A few notes:
Select thin green beans called haricots vert. The green beans need to be cooked and cooled before you can make the salad, so plan ahead.
Look for very fresh sweet yellow or white corn. I often opt for raw corn, but boiled or grilled are delicious too.
I prefer European cucumbers since the skin does not need to be removed.
Multi-colored cherry tomatoes add a burst of sweetness.
Look for ciliegine mozzarella balls (they are about 1 1/2 inches wide). They add a creamy contrast to the crisp vegetables.
Diane’s Summer Salad
Serves 4
3/4 pound thin French green beans, haricots verts
2 medium ears sweet corn, husked and shucked, raw, boiled or grilled
1 large European cucumber, cut into 1-inch dice
3/4 pound yellow and red cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup ciliegine mozzarella balls, drained
1 large or 2 medium ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of Basic Vinaigrette (see recipe
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil, for garnish
Good-quality balsamic vinegar
1. Cook green beans in a pot of salted water on medium high for about 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain and pour cold water and ice cubes over the beans to stop them from cooking. When cool, drain, pat dry and cut each bean in half. Reserve.
2. Place corn, cucumber, cherry tomatoes in a large salad bowl. Add the green beans to the vegetables and toss.
3. Just before serving add the mozzarella, diced avocado and salt and pepper. Pour enough dressing on to lightly dress the salad, and toss to evenly distribute and dress the vegetables. Sprinkle on the basil, drizzle the balsamic and serve.
Basic Vinaigrette
Makes 3/4 cup
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Combine the shallots, garlic, parsley, chives, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. (Or place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until well blended).
2. Slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl, whisking continuously (or processing) until blended. Add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning.
And Now for the Comics — ‘Animal Crackers’ by Mike Osbun
More tomorrow!