Local Gem

It's certainly not the kind of place you'd expect in Woodridge, NJ. Or anywhere in NJ for that matter. But Martini Grill does reside on hilly street and I can tell you it serves up the best Martini's ANYwhere in the tri-state area. That's saying a lot since big sister - New York City - is merely miles away. How can a tiny joint so ostentaciously named shake such a bad boy Martini? Well it starts with a bad ass owner, this one's named Aret Cakir (that's French and Armenian, and yes, he's as sexy as he sounds). Aret impeccable training (French Culinary Institute) and apprenticeship (Maxine's in Paris, Le Cirque in NY) shows in his nouveau Mediterrean menu. And even more so in the cocktails. Well-aged mixologists Al and Tommy blend innovative top shelf vodkas with fresh juices and liquors into frothy fantasy martinis. Even better, they use fruits and garnishes the likes of which I've not seen anywhere except perhaps the Sonoma County rage Cyprus Restaurant . Like Scott Beattie , the bartenders at Martini Grill use the freshest, juiciest, highest quality mangos, pears, citrus, edible flowers and berries. I've seen blackberries the size of a kiwi!

The distinguishing factor between Cyprus is the use of locally grown ingredients, a practice that mixologist extraordinaire Scott Beattie vehemently endorses. How else could he come up with cocktails using opal basil or red Hawaiian sea salt or lollyberries? But since I can't hoof it over to Cyprus (located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County) anytime I've got the hankering for freshly muddled Ciparinas, I'll stick with my local Martini Grill for a Jackie O or scrumptious Peartini.

Here's the info for Martini Grill:

187 Hackensack Street
Wood Ridge, NJ 07075
Tel: 201-939-2000

Oil: the Great Evil

So how long have men been fighting over that Texas gold? And I don't just mean George senior and junior. I'm talking about the Far East, which religious claims aside funnel down to one factor: possession of oil-rich land.

But if you think oil wreaks havoc on land, just wait till you see what it does in the water. The inhabitants of San Francisco Bay had that unfortunate honor when the container ship Cosco Busan rammed into the base of Bay Bridge's western tower November 7th due to radar failure.

Governor Schwarzenegger suspended all fishing in areas affected by the Bay spill, accounted as the worst in nearly two decades. The type of oil that spilled "bunker fuel" is sticky, packed with pollutants and slow to break down as reported by AP. "Bunker fuel is the dirtiest fuel on the planet," said Teri Shore, campaign director for the marine program at Friends of the Earth, which has started a petition drive seeking a ban. Accordingly to environmentalists, it's an ecological nightmare for the water, environmentalists say. The spill inspired the group Friends of the Earth to ask Congress to ban the use of bunker fuel.

For those of you interested in the plight those animals injured by the spill, or wish to donate funds or your assistance, here are a few links:

Donations
Volunteer to help
International Bird Rescue

Winter in the Garden of Evolvement

The first freeze hit my garden this weekend. The coleus were hardest hit, their fragile "stain-glass" leaves shriveled and brown from the frost. The Portulacas - succulent by nature also wither in the frigid climate so removed from their native Mexico. However the Geraniums thrive as hardily in frostiness as well as they do in the burning heat of summer. The silver dust Cineraria with uncanny lacy but robust leaves is another survivor.

So I am left to play one of two roles; Circumspect Gardener who tends to the needs of the flora as determined by the seasons. Or the Goddess Gardener who allows the whims of temperature to destroy or incubate as it will. Think I'm shooting for the latter.

The Apple Tree

One of the most endearing traits of nature is finding it in unexpected places. A bunny rabbit in your boxwood hedge. Deer grazing on the Garden State Parkway. Cosmos growing wild in a highway median. I was able to catch nature at her stealthiest on a bus, no less. All throughout New Jersey run little buses that shuttle passengers from the garden state to New York and back. These buses are labelled "community transportation" and are usually run by someone of Latin descent. I call them Merenge buses since they blare loud Latin music and are used by members of those communities.

One fall day we idled in Union City, the city closest to the Lincoln Tunnel. For those of you familiar with Union City, it's not a place you wish to idle for a long period of time. But I was at the mercy of traffic and the bus driver, a man intent on squeezing as many passengers as humanly possible in the 20 seater. I happened to look outside the window and what did I see? Not bumper to tail light traffic vying for a spot in the Lincoln Tunnel. Not an accident nor a police incident. I saw an apple tree - 10 feet tall and bearing green apples that would shortly be blushing pink and crimson. Don't know about you but that thrilled me to my bones - unexpected nature.

Om is where the heart is

Om seems to be a trend of late. I've written about the birth of a wee boy name Om. And this weekend I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a tuning fork set to the frequency of Om. The location was Newark, NJ - my friend Lourdes' home. I know what you're thinking - driveby gunfire, car alarms, thugs on the street corner. Oh no no no. First of all, she has priviledge of living in the uptown part of Newark. More importantly, her home couldn't be further removed from inner city violence and ugliness. Imagine an English cottage garden in the front yard. Think on flowering perennials and herbs tilting in the breeze. Sage so pungent that she dries and ties it with string for homemade smudges. Then picture a cosy house painted in brilliant colors and festooned with Disney characters. How un-innercity can you get? Moreover, the staggering supply of crystals, dieties, candles and assorted talismans keep this home as safe and protected as the Rosetta Stone.

It was in this setting that Lourdes brought out the tuning fork, informing us that it was set to the frequency of Om. Of course we had to test this declaration by thumping it vigorously to hear the low decibel vibrations. Placed to the hand the emissions went straight through bone and muscle. We thought it capable of breaking up muscle distress, memories and even disease. Perhaps you would like to try it yourself?

A Child is Born

My dear friends Rupa and Kiran welcomed their second child into the world yesterday. While the wee lad doesn't have a name yet, he certainly does possess a personality - at only 18 hours old! He fluttered his wispy eyelashes, although infants can not see until a few days after birth. I was so moved by watching the new mother, battered by the ravages of birthing and yet proud of her grand creation. The father was also exhausted but soberingly vocal while speaking to a group of visiting men.

"You can't imagine how much a woman goes through. You can't imagine the pain she has to endure. I couldn't handle it myself at first. Imagine having to endure that for hours is crazy."

Hats off to Kiran for voicing a tribute the creative force and endless strength of womanhood.

But the visit wasn't all about the gore of delivery. There were sweet spots. Rupa's aunt bringing in a tupperware full of her favorite Kitchadi, sour rice flavored with nuts and seasonings. Kiran's brother and fiancee - looking longingly at the little man with cherished dreams of their own. Rupa's father, cradling the newborn after swearing he wouldn't touch him until the age of 6 months. And Rupa herself, reigning over her guests as majestically as a queen. Handing out Indian sweets - Misurpak, Ladoos, Rasmali - as is the Indian custom. Sweets made from milk and sugar to celebrate a birth.

And as I finished this post I got a call from the happy Mama, notifying me that baby was indeed christened with a name, that being Om. The all-encompassing symbol of mystical entity. How fabulous is that!

Amidst the Chaos

Don't know about you but it's draining to ride the waves of transformation these days. To that end thought I'd share some information, guides, assistance that I carry around in my toolbelt these days. In particular I'm excited about a remarkable woman named Laurie Bloom who also goes by the moniker: Ajnira. She's a tremendously talented healer, teacher, channeler. She must be feeling the pull of the chaos as well because she is now offering classes to contend with the personal planetary onslaught of these days. Check her out.

Laurie Bloom - Ajnira at the Healing Zone

Introducing our New Class Schedule. Become your own healer in an hour with a simple, easy to use healing method. Become part of the global movement for direct healing. Step by step demonstration makes removing anything from viruses, bacterial, fungal, microbial, parasitic, flus, colds, chronic conditions ( pain, allergies, addictions,
STD's), a reality. From simple to complex conditions and disease processes. Get health-wise. Can curing Pathology really be this simple ? Simple and fascinating. Come join Ajnira and lead the way to true health Security in your family, friends and communities. We will send you home curing yourself and your loved ones.

This will be the first of of a 3 class series, repeating monthly. Each class building on the basic concepts introduced in:

Class 1 beginning Monday October 22, 2007 7-8:30 PM
Class 2: Monday November 26, 2007 7-8:30 PM
Class 3 Monday December 21, 2007 7-8:30 PM

Ajnira Lauire Bloom, MS is a practicing nutritionist, energy healer, hypnosis professional and intuitive. She has been self-healing for over 20 years.

Develop your Intuitive Skills. Educate your intuition and awaken true intelligence. How to begin or deepen your comfort and skill with divination. We will explore the unseen realms of information, wisdom and spirituality together. Demonstration of different Approaches, including creating your own system of tools. These can offer practical solutions and insights To the Cosmic nature of your life that can help create a new level of empowerment.

This will begin a series of 6 classes repeating monthly, each class progressing to new levels of development using your intuitive tools and understandings.

Teacher: Ajnira Lauire Bloom. MS psychic reader, healer, and intuitive channel
People in all age brackets from all walks of life find my readings interesting and relevant to the questions they are asking in their lives.

Call for Space: 973-509-8908
$33 per session
Classes held at The Healing Zone
127 Valley Sacred Space
Located at: 127 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ

4 Women in a Jetta

One of the joys of life has to be Girls Night Out. Imagine girls night out with your favorite women. Then imagine not only one night out but 3! Such was my weekend. Cousin Radha's birthday and she visits NY/NJ to celebrate. Cousin Suj (from NY) and cousin Patty (from Baltimore) all join in the festivities.

While I constantly embrace friendships and the sacred feminine, I must say the added dimension of family raises the bar for feminine bonding. There we were, 4 Indian women eating dim sum in Chinatown. Browsing tchakis in little shops. Drinking margaritas and snacking on goat cheese chorizo empanadas. Reminiscing about our childhood. Petting adorable dogs named Mia that stop to talk to us. Making it from Northern Jersey to the city in less than 5 minutes! Sipping shots of Limoncello. Discussing the men in our lives. Getting roses thrown at us by effusive Italian men. Reading Tarot cards at 3:30 am in front of a roasty outdoor fire. Nibbling on a trio of Italian sweets. Remembering how goofy, beautiful, reckless, bold, insecure we once were. Appreciating how much we love food! Embracing the women we've become. Thankful for the bond of sisterhood, adulthood, womanhood.

As they drove away in the black Jetta I knew I had another precious chapter to add to the family story.

Why music vidoes are a great expressive medium

Do you remember the first music video? Video killed the radio star by the Buggles. Those were the days when MTV actually played music videos instead of the tripe served as reality shows. Who cares what STD Brett Michaels is catching these days, eh? It was my belief then, and still is, that videos are a fertile forum for self expression. You can capture your dreams, fantasies, philosophies and just plain thoughts and transpose them into a musical story for posterity. How great is that?

I recently caught a video that manifests this belief. It was by an unknown band, the best I can manage was that their name began with a C. Any musical detectives out there wanna find me the band name? The protagonist of the story was a centaur, barechested, foot stomping. You get the idea. He charges to save the heroine, a mermaid who has been captured by an Octopus. Now remember I did say videos vent fantasies. Come now boys, an octopus? 8 tentacles? a beautiful mostly naked girl? Anyway, the centaur battles the octopus, thus freeing her. At the end of the video the centaur holds the mermaid in his arms as they stand atop a craggy cliff, watching the sunset. How much more primal and mythical can you get? He becomes his true self - a stallion. And she turns into, well. A fish.

7 Things That Don't Suck

The priest of cosmic parody, Rob Breszny of FreeWill Astrology entreated readers in his newsmail to make lists of this very thing. In honor or Reverend Rob, here's my list of things that don't suck. Send me yours.

1. Google. On top of making my day with slams against Dubya, Google delights in playing with their own logo. I believe the above is Canada's homage to Autumn Google. US Google actually depicted a Horn of Plenty on the Autumnal Equinox on September 23rd, but foolishly I didn't capture it. If anyone out there finds it, please shoot it my way?
2. Lucinda's Burrito Truck. I've been meaning to write a piece on the culinary delights of those mobile units that dispose of quality eats. Lucinda's is one of those. Always someone interesting standing by the yellow retro logo truck while I'm waiting for my breakfast burrito. The size of a grenade and about as heavy, this egg, cheese and chorizo filled beauty warms the belly with a perfect blend of tastes and textures. Voluptousness wrapped in a tortilla.
3. Ugly Betty. Just caught the season premiere which only solidified my belief that this is the best written comedy on TV. How about that portrait of evil fashion editor Wilhamenia Slater with Dick Cheney? Come ON! It's freaking brilliant.
4. Energetic Body Massage. Owner Isabelle Dassinger of the Healing Zone in Montclair, NJ hires some of the most talented alt healers this side of Deepak Chopra. Ask for Andrea.
5. The Thorns Never would have thought to band this bunch of guys together, but glad they did. As far as rhapsodic road music goes, these guys rock.
6. Although Autumn brings the strange inclination to stuff my face with meats and sweets my body seems to handle it well. Doesn't hurt that I exercise 5 days a week and take hard core AB classes to boot. Highly recommend Vanessa's or Miquel's Core Ab Classes at the NYSC at Harborside, NJ.
7. Storks. My commute happens to take me by the NJ Meadowlands Center in Lyndhurst, NJ. I'm usually able to spot red-winged blackbirds, herons, storks, ducks and swans. Today I spotted dozens and dozens of storks feeding in the early morning marshland. They so didn't suck.