Dinner Party Talk – Whitney replaced?!

Do yourself a favor and listen to Lin Yu Chun, competing on the Chinese reality show called Super Star Avenue. Whitney has had to cancel a few performances because of throat problems (is that what you call it?) but she could easily be replaced by Lin Yu, the Chinese boy with the trademarkable bowl haircut. Here’s his version of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” And don’t forget Dolly wrote the song! So, in tribute, here’s her version she performed in 1974 on “The Porter Wagoner Show.”

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Save the Rosendale Theatre

There aren’t many family run, single-screen movie theaters left in America… but there’s one in Rosendale, New York (where I had my two restaurants), a great old mining town with an amazing theater. A group called the The Rosendale Theatre Collective has formed to save the theater and is in the running for a $50K Pepsi Refresh grant! If they win, they will have raised enough to buy the Rosendale Theatre, a jewel, one of the last single-screen, family-run movie theaters in the country. It’s simple, whoever gets the most votes wins the grant. Please vote at HERE. (And you can vote everyday!) Please do… and then drink a Pepsi!

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Happy Easter!

EASTER BUNNY HOPS BY EDGEWATER FARM. Today, we were working on the farm (spreading 21 bags of mulch, readying the vineyard for the arrival of 75 grape vines, and tilling the vegetable garden), when what hops down the driveway… but the EASTER BUNNY! Bunny stayed long enough for photos, but then hopped back up the driveway and down the road. I have no clue who it was, but all I can say, is “Thank God for FUN friends.” Check out this 81-year-old granny bunny who for the past 29 years has been hopping by each Easter to entertain the kids (and kids at heart) of Iowa. Hippity-hoppity! I love people like this. Did you do something fun today? Happy Easter!

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American Icons – Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No GraveAin’t No Grave, the brilliant sixth and final installment in Johnny Cash‘s American series is out, and it’s a wow. Cash’s history was brought to the big screen a few years ago in the excellent Walk the Line, but the later releases have provided a rare and personal look at his life and final years. From the deeply affecting cover of Nine Inch Nails “Hurt” to the title track from “Ain’t No Grave,” Cash took risks and continued to expand his musical horizons right up to (and past!) the end. Do yourself a favor and reacquaint yourself with his amazing catalog.

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American icons – huh?

In our fallen icon department…. Here’s the surreal one where Tiger Woods gets questioned by his dead dad Earl. Awkward! Does this make me want to run put on my Nikes? Or run to my room? What do you think?

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Garage Sales-Hunting Season Opens

GOOD(S) FRIDAY! If there was an official opening to “garage sale season,” it would be Easter Weekend. So, put on your bonnet and get out there! As I point out in my book Garage Sale America, the first of the season sales see lots of bargain and the best prices (people have been dying to get rid of this stuff all winter). If you need some of my advice for having a garage sale, check out my ideas from this Today Show segment. And if you want to know how to spot a treasure, check out my hints from this Today Show segment. And here’s some extra tips from my guest spot on NorthJersey.com. Get out there and find some treasure!

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American Fun – April Fools

APRIL FOOLS PRANKS… I’ve been known to pull a few, including: Saran Wrapping a door entryway, stuffing olives with toothpaste, and calling mail order companies to ask the most mundane questions about their products (okay, I was pubescent!) The origins of April Fools’ Day is a bit perplexing, but the earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392).
The Museum of Hoaxes has the Top 100 April Fool Hoaxes of all time. Remember in 1996 when Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to “reduce the country’s debt” and renamed it the “Taco Liberty Bell?” That caused some quick bell-ringing outrage! But one of my personal favorites was in 2008 when the BBC announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its natural history series Miracles of Evolution had captured footage of Adélie penguins taking to the air. It even offered a must watch video clip of these flying penguins. Question is: who will get us this year?

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American Icons – Diner Dreams

Shining chrome, bright neon, classic cars – these are the hallmarks of the American diner experience. The diner got it’s start in the 19th century when enterprising entrepreneurs began selling packed lunches out of horse carts. The idea of a mobile station that could move with the rhythms of commuters (and didn’t have to pay property taxes!) caught on, and by the beginning of the 20th century a few different manufacturers were producing their own versions of the traveling restaurants. Today diners come in all shapes and sizes, but some of those old-fashioned, formica-countered classics are still out there if you know where to look. Created by diner enthusiast Ron Saari, Diner City is a wonderful online resource for locations, reviews, facts and recommendations for diners all across the country. Follow their Ten Commandments for a perfect, authentic diner experience. I’ve just finished pulling an all-nighter for CBS Early Show… And ordered my perfect comfort food from my favorite diner: grilled Swiss with sauerkraut and a side of fries. Order up!

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Bruce on The Early Show!

Set your DVRs, ’cause I’ll be hopping onto the CBS Early Show Tuesday 3/30 around 8:30 am with all kinds of Easter fun (and wearing my bunny ears!) Tune in for holiday ideas for you and yours! There’s a rumor I also might be helping Carrie Underwood dress up some of her canine compatriots for a special doggie event. In the meantime here’s a video from my previous Early Show Easter appearance, watch where I try to get Harry Smith try on my Easter bonnet. He’s forgiven me. I’m on around 8:40! Please tell your peeps!

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Dinner Party Talk – Baking with Dorie

If you are into deliciousness, watch “The Art of Baking Bread” from CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood featuring the delightful Dorie Greenspan. Dorie is family and has made her deliciousness for me many times. The video features the late Lionel Poilane (killed in a tragic helicopter crash shortly after) teaching Dorie how to make his famous Punitions, or Punishment Cookies. After watching the segment, you’ll definitely want to make the cookies, so here’s the recipe. Enjoy your dinner!

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