Happy Thanksgiving!

The Ciruccis Are Thankful

Thanksgiving has given Adam Cirucci and Aimee Cirucci a great deal to be thankful for.
Adam Cirucci, the redoubtable legislative assistant to Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman has done a remarkable job helping to steer Senator Dinniman to a significant re-election victory earlier this month. Since Adam is responsible for much of the Senator's community and media relations, his work in crafting the Senator's messages and outreach has proved vital.
You can sample some of Adam's fine work here and here and here.
And don't forget to check out Senator Dinniman's beautifully designed and written newsletter here.
I can attest to the fact that it's not easy to be a PR pro but Adam already has a leg up on some of the best of them. Of course, he has valuable experience as an award-winning journalist and has also published quite a few pieces of fiction and commentary.
As for the prolific Aimee Cirucci, she reports that "Fall produced a wonderful harvest of writing opportunities."
Aimee has a piece in the upcoming book Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak publishing on January 6th from Harper and already mentioned in the NY Post.
Her essay called "Video Killed the Love Story" will be published in What Was I Thinking?: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories releasing on February 3rd from St. Martin's Press (it is also her first hardcover anthology).
Her first printed magazine article called "Leaving My Job, Finding Myself" will appear in the January issue of Sasee a Southern lifestyle magazine for women.
Her article "The Story of You" recently appeared on BettyConfidential and sparked enough interest that she'll be speaking further about it on Real Life, Even Better a blog talk radio show hosted by Michele Gentile, date is TBA.
Her writing appeared for the first time in both WritersWeekly and Chicken Soup for the Soul earlier this Fall.
And finally, she has started providing articles for Associated Content which offers a comprehensive multimedia library on almost every topic, her first piece is available here. Aimee's website and Facebook page are always updated as articles appear and she tweets about books, writing, publishing, and anything else that crosses her mind on twitter.

Who killed Christmas?

Who Killed Christmas?
Was it lawyers, courts and the ACLU?
Was is greedy businesses and commercialization?
Perhaps cowardly politicians are to blame.
How about apathetic Christians?
Or maybe it was multi-culturalism and our secular society.
You tell us: Who killed Christmas? Vote in our exclusive online poll at the top of this page.
You have until the end of the day Sunday, January 4 to vote in the poll. We want to hear from you. Vote now!

Quoth The Raven . .

Once upon a Sunday dreary, as I pondered, weak and weary
Over how many ways our football team could screw up the season ever more,
While I pondered, fingers tapping/On my pillow, nerves now snapping
Suddenly there came a rapping, rapping at my chamber door/'Tis some relative I muttered, living on the same house floor
Only this, and nothing more.
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was there in late November
And I knew that we'd surrendered any chance for playoff scores/Eagerly, I wished for April, when the Phillies would be staples/And this damned and cursed wasteful
Team would be forgotten lore.
"Go away," I sharply uttered, to the seeker at my door . . .
To read the rest of "The Raven '08" by Christine Flowers in the Philadelphia Daily News click here.

Curious Benjamin Button

More than halfway through The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Cate Blanchett turns to Brad Pitt and says: "Look at you. You're perfect!"

And indeed he is.

But in this sprawling new film it takes a long, long time for Brad Pitt to get that way.

And that's part of the unusual story of Benjamin Button - the "curious case" part.

As we watched an exclusive advance showing of this film last night we were reminded that the greatest stories always come from the South. And Benjamin Button is no exception. Though the film roams the world it is set primarily in New Orleans and it covers the period from the World War I up to Hurricane Katrina. The film is a joy to watch. And ,with so many lilting southern accents and great music it's a joy to listen to as well.

Yes, this may in fact be the first time that Hollywood has actually made a successful film based on the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The performances by Blanchett, Pitt and Taraji P. Henson are excellent. Henson, in particular, is stellar. But then again even the secondary performances are great. And the adapted screenplay by Eric Roth combines beautifully with David Fincher's exacting direction. On top of that the cinematography, costumes, sets and makeup are also superb.

What's to compare? Well, Benjamin Button is much like Forrest Gump. And Pitt is almost as much Button as Hanks was Gump. Still, Button lacks the distinctly American flavor of Gump and one longs for a bit more sentimentality in Benjamin Button.

But that's hardly a significant complaint.

Benjamin Button is a Major Motion Picture with lots of Oscar buzz. In fact, this film could garner as many as 11 Oscar nominations, if not more.

But I must warn you: Though it tells a highly unusual story this film is an old-fashioned Hollywood narrative complete with flashbacks. subplots and periodic narration. And for a movie that's based on a short story it's surprisingly long. So, if you're going to watch those incredible movie stars who are the beautiful Cate Blanchett and the perfect Brad Pitt, please be patient. You're going to be in the theater for quite awhile.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opens nationwide on Christmas Day.

Happy First Birthday!

Today is our blog's First Birthday!
Thanks to all of you, we've logged more than 21,000 visits over the past 12 months. Generously speaking, that's nearly 2,000 visits per month! THANK YOU!
And thank you for your many comments - even when you disagreed with us.
We want you to keep commenting and keep participating.
We wish we could say we've always been right from the day we began. We haven't.
We predicted Hillary would defeat Barack. We were wrong. We said Rudy would defeat McCain. We were wrong. We foresaw a continuing stable economy with little or no recession. We were wrong. We picked McCain for President. We were right, but 52 percent of the voters didn't agree. We lost.
But we also predicted the return of good, solid conservative leaders (like Berlusconi) in Europe. We were right. very early on we said Cole Hamels would be a Big Star. We were right. We called the Pennsylvania presidential primary right on the nose. Hillary won that one pretty much by the exact percentage that we predicted and we were right. We foresaw the emergence of Sarah Palin and Janet Napolitano. We were right and we wish both of these smart, strong women the best. We said the presidential election would be closer than the polls predicted. We were right. Long before the current shambles we said that Reid and McNabb were in trouble. We were right. We saw enduring bright spots in the local economy (like the continuing commercial growth in Cherry Hill) and predicted these would continue and would move along on schedule. We were right. We guessed that Brian Tierney would buck a trend and take the Inquirer and Daily News and make them lively, successful reads once again. With the help of the World Champion Phillies, he did. And of course we predicted that Joisey's lousy, corrupt band of state "leaders" would continue to break promises, try to raise taxes and tolls, spend carelessly and run the state further into debt. Regrettably, we were right.
Well, for better or worse, we do get some things right.
And we always try to remain lively, open and engaging.
It's been a hugely successful year.
So, if you keep returning we'll keep writing.
Is it a deal?

Thanksgiving Cards

Each year I receive a few more Thanksgiving cards.
I'm not sure where or how this trend started but I don't like it.
Here's why: Those who send Thanksgiving cards usually don't send Christmas cards.
Thanksgiving is a state holiday - a secular feast. Don't misunderstand me. It's a nice holiday and I think it's wonderful that the whole country celebrates this day together. And it's important to give thanks. Obviously, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God. But Thanksgiving nowadays is hopelessly generic.
And Thanksgiving cards are ultimately wimpy. Sending a Thanksgiving card is a convenient way to gently nudge Christmas out of the picture.
Because, let's face it: Thanksgiving now marks the official beginning of the Christmas season. So, the day after Thanksgiving is the time to get your card list in shape and get to work. Every Christian on your list should receive a Christmas card. If you're not sure if the person is Christian or exactly how observant the person is, send him or her a holiday card - just as you would send to non-Christians.
And yes, real greeting cards received in the mail are still a nice way to show you care.
But please, please, please skip the Thanksgiving cards!

Checkin On Chima

Brazilian steak houses seem to be all the rage right now.

So, we dropped in at one of Philly's newest, Chima, to check out the scene.

Chima Steakhouse is named after chimarrao, a traditional drink of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that symbolizes hospitality and friendship.

Like most of these eateries Chima features a huge soup, salad, etc. bar and gauchos who bring 16 types of poultry, meat and fish to the table -- all on skewers.

The meat, poultry and fish are sliced directly in front of you and you can have as much or as little as you want. Each diner has a small disc alongside his or her plate. When you want more, you turn the disc up and a color shows (in this case, burnt orange) signaling your request. When you want to pause or stop, you turn the disc over (in this case to black).

The gauchos fly back and forth through the large dining room hopping from table to table fulfilling requests.

The salads were wonderful: hearts of palm, wedges of iceberg lettuce, big fresh tomato slices, various pasta salads, plentiful fresh romaine and lots more. The bar also featured creamy vegetable soup and black beans. At the table we found cheese puffs and miniature meatballs along with crusty fresh bread.

Among the meats and fishes we tried barbecued ribs, chicken, ribeye flank steak and swordfish.

One price covers everything (as much as you want) except coffee and dessert. Dinner will run you $40 per person.

Here's the bottom line: If you like to eat a lot and if you enjoy second and even third servings this should probably be on your list. But be forewarned: The place can get very hectic, crowded and extremely noisy. When it's at capacity it feels more like a diner than a fine restaurant. So, you want get hushed service. And, you better decide what you want from the skewers as the gauchos are not in the habit of lingering.

We Won! VI Day!

On this November 22, 2008, join us and zombietime.com in observing Victory in Iraq Day. Let us honor the sacrifice, dedication and sheer determination of American, coalition and Iraqi troops who have brought freedom to the nation and people of Iraq. Although our governments have chosen to not name any official day marking the end of this war, we the people have taken it upon ourselves to commemorate November 22, 2008 as the day of victory over the forces of tyranny, oppression and terror in Iraq. Join fellow bloggers and other members of the public in this virtual ticker-tape parade for our brave troops, to celebrate their success, to remember the fallen, and to declare, in the words of President John F. Kennedy (RIP):
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Visit the official Victory In Iraq Day site by clicking here.

Following is a list of just some of the blogs from throughout the world that are celebrating Victory In Iraq Day and thanking our President George W. Bush and our brave men and women in our armed forces for making this possible. God Bless America!

Gateway Pundit Blackfive Little Green Footballs Rantburg sisu Because No One Asked Dog Opus Blog Oh No, Another Conservative Blog Who Is John Galt? Gathering of Eagles (national) Gathering of Eagles New York Gathering of Eagles North Carolina Stop the ACLU The Surfing Conservative Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group The Wide Awake Cafe The Foxhole Lighthouse on the Right Arming Liberty Uncle Sam Ate My Baby Down Is Up Foreign and Domestic WOT Daily The Blog of Record Serr8d's Cutting Edge Army Wife: Rants from Ft. Livingroom Hamilton, Madison, and Jay Rochester Conservative The Daily Blogster I Call BS! Macker's World Something should go here, maybe later Nice Deb The Bronze Blog AZresident The Irascible Chef Sharp Right Turn TigerHawk Tman In Tennessee Thunder Pig Sith by Sithwest OutOfTheBlue Anti-CAIR Marooned in Marin Thoughts Enroute More Weight Anti-Strib The Jack Knows Red State Rumblings High Plains Blogger Air Force Pundit Fallback LGF Liberty for USA Diary of a Madman The Rumbler Report D.C. Thornton Lock and Load Fat Angie Gegenkritik Oedipal Beatdown Conservative Action Network A Herd of Turtles Penny's Potpurri Sayyad al Wahabiyya Brain-Surgery With Spoons American Syndicalist Party Broadsides Public Secrets Freedomplow Toxic Taxation Berman Post HumbleInfidel The Inquisition Pax Parabellum CrossFit Camp Pendleton Freedom Watch American Truths Destination OBX Fearless Dream Theodore's World The Cool Blue Blog Life With Monkeys Woody's Place Wild Weazel The Atheist Conservative King's Right Site We are the Grizzwolds redc1c4 Hourglass1941 E3 gazette Zirkumflex GunTrash's Multifarious Blog mama winger's potluck the "silent" majority no more! The Working File
Instapundit Confederate Yankee The Jawa Report Ed Driscoll Facebook group for Victory in Iraq Day Barking Moonbat Early Warning System Exurban League Noblesse Oblige Protein Wisdom Pub Black & Right Johnson County Republican Party Winefred's Well Still Unbounded The Liberty Boys Atlanta ROFTers Tennesseefree.com This is Scooter Country The Crescent Moon From My Position...On the Way! Letters to a Dying Dream Blogs for Victory RealChoice EagleSpeak HXC Christian.com Conservative Diggs zomblog Erica Marceau Pirate's Cove Let's Get It Right Cmblake6's Weblog What Bubba Knows RightwingSparkle NavyWife Psycmeister's Ice Palace! Stable of Zionist Hore #2 Conservative in Seattle Right Side News Karridine Delivers LifeoftheMind ahavafriend Zim's View I Am, Therefore I Think Patriot Missive USS Neverdock Dan Cirucci The Conservative Contessa The Four Rs Wake up America The C-Square Sarge Charlie Red-Hot Right Echoes in Eternity American Infidel buckferkeley supporting the troops One Model Place The Dumber Ox The Lightning News BackyardConservative 2nd Exposure DailyAviator Lindy's Blog: Where Mom is Always Right Comics Pundit No Clever Pseudonym Free Frank Warner The Digital Hairshirt The Blue Pelican Krigsblogg Nothing But the Facts Gegenstimme Environmental Republican Irons in the Fire no blood for sauerkraut! The Individualizer TechnoChitlins Nebulous Continuum Take Our Country Back The Conservative Radical Zion Beckons Antihippies Soldiers' Angels Germany Paul Ibrahim jweaks on Squidoo Marie's Two Cents The Other Club The Anchoress Beyond the Veil Michigan Taxes Too Much Once More Into the Breach Stix Blog

Mall's Giant Leap!

Cherry Hill Township Mayor Bernie Platt and PREIT's Joe Coradino break through a ceremonial banner while riding in a Bentley at Cherry Hill Mall's Parking Deck Opening. Friday, November 21, 2008.

What a grand day it was yesterday at the beautiful "new" Cherry Hill Mall as Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust's Joe Coradino and Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt road in an open luxury convertible to officially open the Mall's new parking deck as uniformed parking attendants stood by. Just behind the deck in the dramatic new Nordstrom store set to open on March 29. Of course the parking facility connects directly with Nordstrom and into the new Mall addition now taking shape. Next to the parking one can see the beginnings of the new free-standing Capital Grille restaurant which will open at the Mall.
The three-level parking deck is two acres of covered parking with state-of-art security cameras, bright lighting throughout, emergency panels, and a Precision Parking System – installed in 2009 – featuring LED signs displaying the number of available parking spaces at each level. When the new Nordstrom opens, guests will be able to gain access directly into the department store and new retail wing from the parking facility without battling weather conditions.
The parking deck is part of a $200 million redevelopment that includes not just the new Nordstrom but up to seven new fine dining restaurants, an upscale retail wing, a redesigned and relocated food court and extensive interior and exterior renovations.
A luxury car showcase, sponsored by FC Kerbeck and Sons at the entrance to the parking deck featured the following brands--Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini, Roll Royce and Maserati. The Cherry Hill Mall Parking Garage Band performed jazz music in the facility throughout the afternoon.
Among the restaurants that will open soon are California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), Maggiano's Little Italy, Season's 52 and The Capitale Grill.
I've been over the the Mall several times during this growth period and I marvel at the progress that has been made. The continuing transformation is astonishing considering that the Mall has been open during the entire expansion.
Get over the Mall this holiday season and take a look at all of the new and exciting changes. Delight in the fresh, bright, spacious, airy atmosphere that's being created at the region's foremost fashion destination.
And imagine: This is only the beginning!