At a party yesterday, I had the most amazing, healthy (fat free!) dish -- Fruit Salsa w/ Cinnamon Tortilla Chips. It's freakin' amazing...oh, and of course, nummy. Give it a try:

CINNAMON CHIPS

• 4 (7-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

FRUIT SALSA

• 2 med Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup strawberries -- sliced
• 1 kiwi fruit -- peeled and chopped
• 1 small orange
• 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp apple jelly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For cinnamon chips, lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon in flour/sugar shaker; sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; place in single layer on round baking stone. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove to cooling rack; cool completely.

For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples. Cut apples into quarters; chop with food chopper. Slice strawberries and chop kiwi. Place fruit in 1 quart bowl. Zest orange and juice. Add orange zest, orange juice, brown sugar and apple jelly to fruit mixture, mix gently. Serve with cinnamon chips. From what I know, this recipe is from Pampered Chef.

I just had one of those *city moments*. I was sitting here working at my computer on a not-yet-revealed website when I looked up through the windows and looked at a guy sitting on his balcony. I was compelled to pick up the binoculars and look. Lo and behold, he had his binoculars up too...methinks he was looking this way as once I picked up my binocs and looked his way he quickly left his balcony. Kinda funny. I've never really noticed anyone peeking over this way. I don't use curtains or drapes and only use the blinds when the sun is far too glare-ish. I'm sure I've put on a show on more than one occasion. ;-)

Two "Two Second Movie Reviews":

• Jurassic Park III -- If you can get past the stupidity of the decisions that the characters make, you'll probably enjoy this movie. It's a fun thrill ride. To me, it was much better than the flat JPII. The ending was less than dramatic, but what do ya want? All dinosaurs on the islands to be obliterated by an atomic bomb? ;-) B
• America's Sweethearts -- It was a cute yet vacuous movie. If you're looking for a light hearted comedy with little intellectual involvement, this is your movie! There were a few genuinely good jokes in this one too....worth quite a few giggles. B-

This afternoon...I got it...I got the "Notice of Status and Amount of Immediate Tax Relief". It's the 21st of July and I get this notice..or is it an advertisement for the Bush administration? The first sentence makes sure to mention that GWB signed the act into law. BFD. This is a WASTE of paper. A WASTE of money. A WASTE of manpower. Why send out this freakin' letter aside from the fact that GWB wants to gain a few popular opinion points prior to the checks hitting the street. The ridiculous part of my letter is that my check is supposed to come this week. Wooohoo. I wonder if my employer is going to learn from this? Sure, they could send me a notice on Wednesday that I'm going to get a check on Friday, rain or shine...it would make almost as much sense. Bah.

Fazzino -- I saw some of his work while I was in NYC a few years ago. The site doesn't do the works justice. They're fun, whimsical, very detailed, 3-D paperworks that just bring a smile to my face.

If you're an AOL web-mail user, take note...your security may be compromised. I use it fairly extensively so that I don't have to sign on to AOL while writing email. Anyway, the other day while checking my email, I wrote a message to someone, clicked "send" and at that point *normally* a message pops up indicating that the email was sent. Well, this particular day last week, instead of the you've sent mail message, I had another inbox pop up on my screen. Yes, someone else's email box was in my face. Someone from AOL Brasil had his email privacy compromised by me. Good thing I don't know Portugese. :-) I could even open, delete and send emails from his inbox. (Yes, I tested it to see how serious of a security breach this was.) Here's the view of this guy's inbox that I received.

Being the dutiful techie, after hunting for about an hour for an appropriate email address to which I could send a complaint, I sent off a message simply describing the issue. I sent it twice...and guess what? I got two form letters that said, and I quote, "It is always a great pleasure to assist you regarding any issues you may have. From what I understand on your recent e-mail, you have a comment regarding the security in the AOL Mail on the web. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings. Your opinion makes a difference." heheheh. As if my feelings were somehow at issue...or that it was an opinion?!?! Arrrrgh. I wrote back a message and attached the file I linked above and thanked them for their "touchy feely" response, but that there was a serious issue at hand that NEEDED to be escalated to someone who knew something beyond customer service.

If you don't own the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, what are you waiting for?? I'm listening to it now and it's just phenomenally moving. Ahhhhh... makes me want to see the film again too...and dance...and well, lots of things. :-)

I received a voice mail message yesterday at my home. Not an unusual occurrence, but what it said piqued my interest. Simply, "It should be used for testing purposes only." That's all it said. Nothing more, nothing less. It didn't sound like a recording, rather just a woman telling me in no uncertain terms of "its" purpose. :-) Strange.

Here's a plethora of 2 Second Movie Reviews:

• A.I. Artificial Intelligence -- I liked this movie, but I think I really would have loved this movie if I had evacuated the theater at the time when the movie *should* have ended. If you happen to see this movie, please leave the theater when it seems the movie is over -- the camera pulls out and the narrator starts to speak. It's not a happy ending, but it really seems that this is where the film should have ended. The last 20 minutes or so is Spielberg fluff. The tone of the film shifts from time to time reflecting the two influences of Kubrick and Spielberg, but it works pretty well in reflecting the inherent conflicts that will arise with artificial humans.B+
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within -- Amazing computer generated movie and an OK story line. Go for the graphics. B
• The Fast and the Furious -- Lots of souped up cars, overly testosteroned guys and trophy girls. What more could ya want in a movie? During the first part of the movie left me wondering why we picked this movie. *help, get me out!* About half an hour into the flick, however, I was a convert. I actually got wrapped up in it. B
• Scary Movie 2 -- I had low expectations for this movie and wasn't disappointed. More low brow humor than you can possibly hope for. There were a few good jokes, however. One of my favorites was when two women were being chased by a skeleton. The one chick says to the first chick getting chased, "Girl, would you run from Ally McBeal? No, I think not..." and she turns around and rips the skeleton's head off. :-) C-
• Legally Blonde -- It's pink and it's fluffy fun. This movie had tons of giggles in it and a decent message. I had no idea I'd be sharing the theater with teenagers when I went to the movie, but it's not just a teeniebopper flick. It definitely works for all ages. B+
• The Score -- A good movie even though it seemed a bit predictable or forumulaic, but all in all, a good choice for a full price admission. What is up with Marlon Brando being touted as a "good actor". Granted, I've never seen the Godfather movies, but every other movie I've seen with him, he plays the same guy. Is that acting? Don't think so. He's strange and has an annoying screen presence. There, I've said it. The movie: B+ Brando: C-

Outstanding 2 Second movie reviews (coming soon!) -- A.I., Final Fantasy, The Fast and the Furious, and Scary Movie II. So many movies, so little time to review...

Charming Shoppes - Acquires Lane Bryant Stores -- This is NOT a good thing. Charming Shoppes now controls almost all of the fat chick clothing market niche of retail shopping. Wanna know what to expect from this? The same crappy clothing choices that you find at Fashion Bug Plus and Catherine's. Much more poly-cotton knit and other cheap-ass clothing choices. This is bad news for fat chicks 'round the country. Hey, can Ulla Popken please come to our rescue? Or any other shops out there that deserve such expansion??