Gimme five: Christmas movies

Gremlins

When a young bank teller inadvertently breaks the rules of Mogwai care, his new pet Gizmo multiplies into a bevy of mischievous brothers, who soon morph into malevolent scaly creatures. Grab your Milk Duds and sing along.

Bad Santa

Willie is a thief who teams up with his dwarf friend Marcus, for a very special Christmas scam. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, Marcus tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to rob stores blind just before Christmas. But Willie is a bitter and foul-mouthed alcoholic who doesn't care much for kids. A mall's manager is certain something's wrong, so he asks the chief of security to check out Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer. Not for the kids.

Muppet Christmas Carol

Alone on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by ghosts who transport him to his past, present, and future--and it's not a pretty sight! But along the way he comes upon poor, kind, humble Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) and his family, including Tiny Tim who teaches Scrooge the true meaning of Christmas.

A Christmas Story

A young boy must convince his parents that a toy rifle is the only Christmas gift that will make Christmas worthwhile. Not only do his parents face what many other parents do during that time of the year, but their actions fit in with the All-American Christmas. How many kids have been told “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration

Two hosting prehistoric dinosaurs guide you along a typical small town's Christmas choral celebration. There's just one catch, the entire town population is made out of clay! Special guest stars: The California Raisins, singing camels, ice-skating penguins and the Paris Bellharmonic Orchestra. Compelling in a creepy sort of way.

Abroad for her Country by Jean Wilkowski

In ten words or less: First woman ambassador recounts her long career in diplomatic corps.

Review: Jean Wilkowski from Rhinelander, Wisconsin, became the first woman ambassador in U.S. history when she went to Zambia in 1972. She had joined the state department after teaching at a Catholic school. She was assigned to Trinidad, Colombia, Italy, France, Chile, and Honduras. Many times she was the only woman on staff, except for wives and secretaries. She was an ambassador before Shirley Temple Black.
Her life is fascinating--a trailblazer in most aspects of her job. Many of the training programs did not even have accommodations for a woman--at one point she sat in the kitchen with staff because women weren't allowed in the dining room.
There are plenty of anecdotes, both about her personal life as a single woman in the diplomatic corps, and as a member of the department of state. She wondered why Henry Kissinger, whom she apparently rubbed the wrong way, need to fly a bulletproof limo to Africa, just to ferry him the relatively short distance from the airport to the embassy.
A great biography, which just misses being a breakout book.

Why bother? Fascinating story of a woman pioneer in public service. Job well done, Ambassador.

Gimme Five: All Latkes, All the Time: Children’s Books for Hanukkah

The latke who couldn't stop screaming : a Christmas story / by Lemony Snicket ; illustrations by Lisa Brown. San Francisco : McSweeny's Books ; c2007.

"Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukah. Lemony Snicket is an alleged children's author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. People who are interested in either or both of these things will find this book so enjoyable it will feel as if Hanukah is being celebrated for several years, rather than eight nights....

Lots of latkes / Sandy Lanton ; illustrated by Vicki Jo Redenbaugh. New York : Kar-Ben Pub., c2003.

Rivka Leah invites her neighbors to a Hanukkah party, but a series of mishaps causes each of them to bring the same dish-- latkes.

The runaway latkes / written by Leslie Kimmelman ; illustrated by Paul Yalowitz.
Morton Grove, Ill. : Albert Whitman & Co., 2000.

When three potato latkes escape Rachel Bloom's frying pan on the first night of Hanukkah, everyone including the cantor, the rabbi, and the mayor joins in the chase.

The borrowed Hanukkah latkes / Linda Glaser ; illustrations by Nancy Cote.
Morton Grove, Ill. : A. Whitman, 1997.

A young girl finds a way to include her elderly neighbor in her family's Hanukkah celebration.

Grandma's latkes / written by Malka Drucker ; illustrated by Eve Chwast.
San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1992.

Grandma explains the meaning of Hanukkah while showing Molly how to cook latkes for the holiday.

Gimme Five: Thanksgiving Movies

Alice’s Restaurant

In the late '60s, a changing social and political climate inspired a new generation to create a lifestyle outside the mainstream. Twenty-two year-old Arlo's journey to find a place for himself and his music includes a visit to his dying father in the hospital, gigs in New York and romps with his friends Alice and Ray, who run a small restaurant in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. And when an incident at Alice's Restaurant plays a pivotal role in Arlo's avoidance of the draft, it send him down a road that he will consider a small price to pay to keep his freedom and his beliefs. Arlo Guthrie shows that real life can be stranger than fiction.

Home for the Holidays

Claudia Larson is a divorced single mom who just lost her job and now has to fly home for the traditional family Thanksgiving in Baltimore. From the plane, she calls for reinforcements--and her brother Tommy makes it down from Boston with a little surprise: a handsome friend named Leo. Between dropping the turkey in their sister's lap and a few fist fights on the front lawn, Claudia and Tommy recapture their childhood and Claudia and Leo explore the sweet possibility of romance. Holly Hunter and Robert Downey, jr., star.

What’s Cooking?

What happens when families come together for Thanksgiving? Almost anything! A charming tale of four very different families, as they cook up some tasty holiday surprises: love, betrayal and even a few outrageous secrets-- and ultimately discover the astonishing power love has to reconnect us all. All star cast includes Alfre Woodard, Julianna Margulies, and Kyra Sedgwick.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

An uptight businessman faces disaster after disaster as he tries to get back home in time for his family's Thanksgiving dinner, and along the way is joined by an insane traveling salesman that will not leave him alone. With Steve Martin and John Candy.

Hoboken Chicken Emergency

When the Bobowicz family asked their son Arthur to pick up a turkey for Thanksgiving, they weren't expecting him to bring home a 266-pound live chicken named Henrietta. Starring Dick Van Patten, Gabe Kaplan, and Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from “A Christmas Story”)

Stalking the Puzzle Lady by Parnell Hall

In ten words or less: A stalker pursues Cora on her Puzzle Lady tour.

Review: Cora Felton is a fraud. The public knows her as "The Puzzle Lady" but she couldn't solve a crossword to save her soul. She's fronting for her niece Sherry who's trying to distance herself from an abusive ex-husband. Granville Grains, a cereal company, is sending Cora on a promotional tour of grocery stores to promote their breakfast cereal. But when a young actress on the tour is discovered dead in a motel parking lot, Cora has more to worry about than someone discovering her total lack of talent in the puzzle department.

Why bother? Chain smoking, much married Cora is a sleuth to be reckoned with. You don't have to be a crossword fan to enjoy the road trip with feisty Cora.

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver

In ten words or less: Rhyme's cousin is arrested for murder--is he guilty?

Review: When Lincoln Rhyme's estranged cousin Arthur is arrested for murder, Arthur's wife Judy contacts the famous NYPD detective. The evidence seems air tight--shoe sprints, fibers--and rhyme doesn't see how he can help Arthur.
But is the evidence too perfect? Rhyme's team, including his partner/lover Amelia Sachs, finds other crimes in which the evidence is similar, and where the accused protested their innocence all the way to prison. Someone has access to confidential information, and is using it to commit rape and murder, and to set up fall guys to take the rap.

Why bother? In this Lincoln Rhyme mystery, author Deaver examines the world of data mining businesses. computers--and the people who have access to them--have far too much information on the average citizen. The glimpse into the Rhyme family history adds a bonus subplot to the usual fast paced thriller.

Saturday at the Farmers' Market

This fragrant cauliflower dish could also be served as a vegetarian entree.

Cauliflower Curry

1 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets, and steamed until crisp-tender

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they pop. Add the garlic and onions and cook until the onions are soft.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the cauliflower and heat until almost boiling. Add the cauliflower and simmer over low heat for fifteen minutes.

Makes six servings.

October’s Books

Viewers of “What not to Wear” will already be familiar with the advice Clinton Kelly dishes out in “Oh no she Didn’t.” No mom jeans, no white cross trainers, no pajamas in public. Mostly photos and snide comments by the author.

Genghis: birth of an empire by Conn Iggulden

On the line by S.J. Rozan

Roux the day by Peter King

Nine lives last forever by Rebecca Hale

Oh no she didn’t: the top 100 style mistakes women make and how to avoid them by Clinton Kelly

Stalking the puzzle lady by Parnell Hall

Hit man by Parnell Hall

Painted ladies by Robert B. Parker

Delicious and suspicious by Riley Adams

Thieves’ dozen by Donald Westlake

Last child by John Hart

Hatchet man by William Marshall

Long quiche goodbye by Avery Aames