Hop on pop's bandwagon, and wish him a Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

Americans first celebrated Father's Day in Fairmont, WV on July 5, 1908. Seven months earlier, 210 men -- all fathers -- perished in a mining disaster in Monongah, WV. Organizer Grace Golden Clayton sought to honor the dead paternal familiaris, and chose a date closest to her own father's birthday. Few, though, paid the event -- too close to Independence Day -- too much attention. Clayton's holiday was "one and done." Two years later, Spokane resident Sonora Dodd created her own Father's-Day-themed celebration. Congress entertained legislation to create a federal holiday honoring fathers. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane to promote a federal Father's Day. However, Congress -- supposedly fearing Hallmark-style commercialization -- demurred. Although President Calvin Coolridge recommended a national holiday in 1924, he did not issue a federal proclamation.

The fathers of America -- unlike the mothers in the country -- went unrecognized and unheralded for another three decades. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith rebuked her congressional colleagues for failing to honor fathers thereby "(singling) out only one of our two parents." Federal recognition would come almost a decade later when President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a federal proclamation in 1966 that designated the third Sunday in June as a holiday honoring American fathers. In 1972 President Richard M. Nixon signed into law legislation that created Father's Day.

If you're grilling steaks for dad, fix him a cocktail -- provided that a doctor and/or judge hasn't prohibited him from imbibing. The Bourbon Sidecar is a whisky cocktail that will whet Dad's appetite while he snacks on Ruffles and onion dip.

Bourbon Sidecar

2 oz. bourbon

1 oz. triple sec

1½ oz. lemon juice

Combine the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Remember to tell your mama 'Happy Mother's Day"

Happy Mother's Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

An acquaintance confided that Mother's Day -- celebrated on the second Sunday in May -- caught her by surprise. The confusion is understandable given that we celebrated Easter a couple Sundays ago and the weather is more appropriate for March Madness than the Kentucky Derby.

A brief recap on the history of Mother's Day. In 1914, Congress passed a Joint Resolution establishing the second Sunday in May as "Mother's Day" to acknowledge the roles of American women in nuclear families. Anna Jarvis, who made it her life's work to establish a holiday honoring mothers, opposed the inevitable path to commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she said. Jarvis decried the purchase of greeting cards as "a poor excuse for the letter that you are too lazy to write."

If you have invited Mom to brunch, impress her with a Mimosa (provided that neither you nor the maternal familiaris are barred by your doctor and/or attorney from consuming alcohol).

Mimosa

¾ c. sparkling wine (champagne)

¼ c. orange juice

It doesn't get any easier -- three parts sparkling wine to one part orange juice. Pour drink into flute. Garnish with orange twist, strawberry, maraschino cherry, or mint leaves, etc.

It's February... Happy New Year!

新年快乐 from your friends at the Dog Denizens at Genesee Park (DDGP)!

Chúc mừng năm mới!

New Year? you might be wondering. Didn't we do that last month? It's post-Groundhog Day.

Whether you call it Lunar New Year or Tet, the occasion allows for cleaning out homes of bad luck, paying debts, purchasing new clothes and resolving differences with family and friends. Tet celebrants usher in the New Year with the Le Tru Tich celebration at midnight (Giao Thao) that includes fireworks. The popping sounds that you heard at midnight weren't gunfire in the Rainier Valley.

If you choose to celebrate with a libation, why not go old school with the Singapore Sling? Created in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boom (嚴崇文), a bartender at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel Singapore, the Sling combines gin, fruit juice, French and Danish liqueurs.

Singapore Sling

• 3 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
• 1½ oz. gin
• ¼ oz. fresh lime juice
• ½ oz. cherry Heering
• ¼ oz. Bénédictine
• ¼ oz. Cointreau
• Dash of bitters
• Pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry

Combine pineapple juice, gin, lime juice, Heering, Bénédictine and biters into a cocktail shaker.

Shake (duh).

Strain ingredients into a highball glass.

Garnish with pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Say "thank you" to a veteran today

Happy Veterans Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

How did Veterans Day come about? you might ask. Although World War II ended on June 28, 1919, an Armistice -- a cessation of fighting between the Allies and Germans -- occurred on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. November 11, 1918 is regarded as "the war to end all wars." President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919 as the First Armistice Day. Business would suspend at 11 am for parades and public meetings.

Armistice Day became a federal holiday on November 11, 1938 in commemoration of World War I veterans. In 1954, Congress renamed Armistice Day "Veterans Day" to honor all former service members.

On Memorial Day, we submitted a list of movies that we would have aired in honor of the holiday if we controlled Comcast. In honor of Veterans Day, we submit a list of the movies about members of our armed services and veterans in no particular order of significance. Unlike the Memorial Day list, which featured movies involving death during active duty, the Veterans Day list includes movies about military service.

• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Harold Russell, Virginia Mayo and Hoagy Carmichael. William Wyler, director.
• The Caine Mutiny (1954): Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, José Ferrer, Fred McMurray, Robert Francis, E.G. Marshall. Edward Dmytryk, director.
• Mister Roberts (1955): Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon, Ward Bond. John Ford, Melvyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan (uncredited), directors.
• Apocalypse Now (1979): Martin Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Dennis Hopper. Francis Ford Copolla, director.
• Stalag 17 (1953): William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves. Billy Wilder, director.
• Sergeant York (1941): Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, Ward Bond, George Tobias, Noah Berry Jr. Howard Hawks, director.
• Strategic Air Command (1955): James Stewart, June Allyson, Barry Sullivan, Jay C. Flippen. Anthony Mann, director.
• Good Morning, Vietnam (1987): Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, Richard Portnow, J.T. Walsh, Tung Thanh Tran. Barry Levinson, director.
• The Guns of Navarone (1961): Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, James Darren, Richard Forbes. J. Lee Thompson, director.
• Crimson Tide (1995): Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, George Dzunda, Viggo Mortenson, James Gandolfini, Rick Schroder. Tony Scott, director.

Admittedly, there are are movies involving women veterans. I couldn't bring myself to list GI Jane.

To commemorate the holiday, Dick's Drive-In is serving free hamburgers or cheeseburgers to veterans and active-duty members. Show up in uniform or provide another form of identification for your free beef.

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends up north!

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers of Canadian citizenship or aspirations from the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

Our neighbors to the north commemorate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October in appreciation of the harvest season. Canadian networks broadcast the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Parade and the "Thanksgiving Day Classic", Canadian Football League (CFL)'s doubleheader. Instead of preparing one's day-after-Thanksgiving shopping lists and 5-am-sales Target plans, Canadians use the holiday to stow away summer lawn furniture and prepare for the impending harsh winter.

To toast our neighbors to the north, we offer a nationally themed cocktail, the Misty Maple Leaf. Does anybody really drink this stuff?

Misty Maple Leaf

• 2 oz. Canadian whiskey.
• ½ oz. maple syrup.
• Splash of soda.

Pour whiskey and syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake well.

Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.

Add a splash of soda.

Did you know that Morley Safer, Steve Nash, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Howie Mandel, Barenaked Ladies, Diana Krall, Avril Lavinge, Nelly Furtado, David Steinberg, Debbie Brill, Amelia Alcock-White, Cowboy Junkies, Dan Aykryod, Justin Bieber, Tommy Chong, Rae Dawn Chong, Reggie Cleveland, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Sera, Sarah Chalke, Alex Trebek, Brendan Fraser, Justin Morneau, Ferguson Jenkins, Art LInkletter, Bing Thorn, Rick Moranis, David James Elliott, Nathan Fillon, k.d. lang, Catherine O'Hara, Sandra Bezic, See Spot Run, Sandra Oh, Emanuelle Chriqui, Jay Silverheels, Rick Fox, Michael J. Fox, Neil Young, Matthew Perry, Walter Pidgeon, Christopher Plummer, Barry Pepper, Bronko Nagurski, Jason Bay, Jason Priestley, Neve Campbell, Glenn Ford, Kim Cattrall, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Nate Burleson, Shaina Twain, Caroline Rhea, William Shatner, Paul Anka, Eugene Levy, Paul Shaffer, Rufus Wainright, Skinny Puppy, Kirk McCaskill, Eric Bedard, Martha and the Mufins, Tony DeFranco and the DeFranco Family, Maynard Ferguson, Yvonne de Carlo, Monty Hall, Harold Klunder, Raymond Burr, Jessy Veilleux, Margot Kidder, Mark Rypien, Rueben Mayes, Bernie Shaw, Leslie Nielsen, Bryan Adams, and Leonard Cohen are Canadian?

It's a lucky day... if you work for the feds or New York

Happy Columbus Day from the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

Chances are that if you are employed with the United States and New York governments you are enjoying a rare day off. Federal and New York state governments close on the second Monday of October commemorate Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Bahamas on October 21, 1492. Workers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands commemorate "Puerto Rican-Virgin Islands Friendship Day." The state of Hawaii does not recognize Columbus Day, and instead honors the Polynesian discoverers of the islands with Discoverer's Day... by keeping state offices open.

We could reprise information that you have heard since grade school about the Italian explorer -- 1492, Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria -- but we decided to instead highlight the works of movie director Chris Columbus. The Ohio native graduated from the New York University's film school at the Tisch School of Arts. Columbus worked for Stephen Spielberg's Amblin Productions as a screenwriter for Gremlins, Goonies and Young Sherlock Holmes. Columbus enjoyed breakout success with the Home Alone series, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Stepmom in the 1990s. In the 2000s, Columbus directed the first two Harry Potter movies and Rent before turning his energies to producing (Night at the Museum and its sequel, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer). Columbus branded his production company 1492 Pictures for obvious reasons.

Too much hype for a director of "popcorn movies"? Maybe, it takes a rare movie -- here, Home Alone -- to drive George Costanza of Seinfeld to tears.

For those with the day off who want to toast one or both Columbuses, consider the Americano -- known to others as the Godfather.

Americano, aka the Godfather

• 2 oz. bourbon whiskey.
• 2 oz. Amaretto almond liqueur.

Pour whiskey and liqueur into an old-fashioned glass filled halfway with ice cubes. Allow a brief respite so the ice cubes can melt.

Stir and serve.

It's Yom Kippur... did you turn off your cell phone?

Gamar Chatimah Tovah from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP).

Translated as a "Day of Atonement", Yom Kippur represents a complete Sabbath in which one attempts to "afflict the soul" and atone for the year's past sins. From sundown before Yom Kippur until sundown the following day the faithful refrain from working and the consumption of food and liquid.

Baseball fans -- and Jewish baseball fans in particular -- knew well the dilemmas that faced Hall of Famers (HOF) Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax when deciding whether to aid their ball clubs in pursuit of victory... or observing Yom Kippur. Greenberg -- labeled by sportswriters as the "Jewish Babe Ruth" -- sat out Yom Kippur during the 1930s. Koufax spent Yom Kippur at the synagogue instead of the pitching mound during the first game of the 1965 World Series. For an insightful piece about Jewish ballplayers observing Yom Kippur.

http://espn.go.com/classic/s/merron_on_green.html

This year, a national campaign urges Americans -- Jews and Goys alike -- to commemorate Yom Kippur by turning off their cell/smart phones for a "No Device Day". Campaign organizers seek to encourage people to take a respite from modern technology to reconnect with others through old-school, face-to-face conversation.... or in the Rainier Valley, maybe in-your-face discourse.

We'll see who goes device-less at the park on Saturday.

Here's a shout out to the working class dogs of America

Happy Labor Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

While you are preparing a Jell-O mold for your picnic or stowing away your white wardrobe, you may not know the origin of the holiday for which many working Americans enjoy. According to the Department of Labor (DOL), the holiday is "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers."

Labor Day started as a result of a push to the now-ubiquitous eight-hour workday. In the 1880s employees in the manufacturing industry began organizing protests and strikes to protest unsafe and unjust work conditions... the eight-hour workday, for example. Tension between laborers and management grew increasingly hostile

The first "Labor Day parade" took place September 5, 1882 when 10,000 protesting employees took unpaid leave to march from New York City's city hall to Union Square. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Chicago-based Pullman Palace Car Company went on strike in opposition of wage reductions and the termination of a union representative. The federal government sent United States marshals to break the strike. The predictable result? Riots, violence and the deaths of workers. President Grover Cleveland signed legislation two years later to create a national Labor Day holiday. The holiday was scheduled for the first Monday so as not to appear to link the federal holiday with international labor celebrations on May Day.

Fast forward to more than a century later. Maybe you're preparing for a Labor Day gathering like a picnic in the 1955 movie Picnic with William Holden and Kim Novak. Here's a clip from the seductive love dance between Holden and Novak, who swoon to the tune "Moonglow":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpD5ZkjCoGI&feature=related

Or maybe you're staying home and overdosing on all-day marathons of Pawn Stars or Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. You'll need a beverage to deaden the prospect of the end of summer and returning to work Tuesday. A peach margarita seems in order.

Peach margarita

• 1 cup of ice
• 1½ oz tequila
• ¼ oz. triple sec
• ¼ oz. Peach Schnapps
• ¼ oz. lime juice
• 1 fresh peach, skinned
• Peach slice for garnish

Pour the ingredients into a blender... or the blender-wannabe that you purchased during a moment of weakness while watching an infomercial.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into a chilled margarita class.

Garnish with peach slice.

La Fête Nationale, les bons moments sont sur!

Bonne fête nationale à partir de vos amis les habitants de Genesee Dog Park!

Commonly known as the "fourteenth of July" (le quatroze julliet), Bastille Day commemorates the day in 1789 when ticked-off Parisian peasants stormed the Bastille, a fortress that incarcerated working-class prisoners. To the proletariat, the Bastille represented the hypocrisy and corruption of the government controlled by the French aristocracy and clergy. In a face-saving gesture, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette fled for Versailles.

Ten days ago we celebrated our national day of liberation with grotesque consumption of fatty foods, so an encore seems well in order. And what better side dish to expand the ever-growing waistline than the ever-popular French fries? The fat and calorie count notwithstanding, french fries don't seem controversial. However, seven years ago red-state wingnuts went ballistic when the French government expressed opposition to American military invasion in Iraq.

Some attempted to excorcise term "French" in our reference to fried potatoes and toast. Ubiquitous French fries became "freedom" or "American" fries in some circles. Restaurants and snack bars operated by the United States House of Representatives renamed the fried spuds so as to remove them from their French roots. The moratorium in the U.S. House eateries remained in effect for the better part of the decade. So much for "célébrer les différences".

You say "freedom fries", the French say "pomme frites". Want to increase the possibility of artery clogging: Dip your pomme frites in mayonnaise as in Belgium (or tartar sauce as we Seattleites do). Fry your pomme frites in duck fat, and you'd better budget for a bypass graft in six or nine years.

Wash your pomme frites down with a French 75. On ne vit qu'une fois.

French 75

• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• Squeeze of lime juice
• Sugar cube
• Chilled champagne

Drop sugar cube in champagne glass.

Combine Cointreau, gin and lie juice in a martini shaker. Mix and strain contents into the champagne class.

Garnish with maraschino cherry or orange wedge.

Take a moment to remember our fallen troops

Before you commence your Memorial Day celebration with your picnic or barbecue, take a moment to remember the men and women of the military who died while serving our country.

Originally called "Decoration Day", Americans first celebrated Memorial Day on May 5, 1868 when the graves of Union soldiers were adorned with flowers at Arlington National Cemetery. Simmering with bitterness over the Civil War, many Southern states refused to acknowledge Decoration Day. The term "Memorial Day" was not employed until after World War II and was incorporated into federal law in 1967.

Since 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) have assembled and distributed red poppies to commemorate Memorial Day. The VFW registered the name "Buddy Poppy" with the US Patent Office in 1924. Take a moment to acknowledge the veterans selling Buddy Poppies this weekend.

Interestingly, the cable networks aren't running war movies to commemorate Memorial Day. If we ran Comcast, we'd broadcast these movies -- all involving death in service -- to note the holiday:

• Battleground (1949): Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy. William Wellman, director. World War II.
• The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954): William Holden, Grace Kelly, Frederic March, Mickey Rooney. Mark Robson, director. Korean War.
• Courage Under Fire (1996): Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon. Edward Zwick, director. Operation Desert Storm.
• Destination Tokyo (1944): Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale. Delmar Daves, director. World War II.
• From Here to Eternity (1953): Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed. Fred Zimermann, director. World War II.
• Glory (1989): Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick. Edward Zwick, director. Civil War.
• The Great Escape (1963): Steve McQueen, James Garner, Sir Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson. John Sturges, director. World War II.
• They Were Expendable (1945): John Wayne, Robert Montgomery, Donna Reed, Ward Bond. John Ford, director. World War II.
• Twelve O'Clock High (1949): Gregory Peck, Dean Jagger, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe. Henry King, director. World War II.

The co-creator of thirtysomething places twice on this list. Go figure.

Tell Mama... Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)!

We posted this item early enough in the event that you awoke from your hangover, logged on and -- to your dismay -- realized that you forgot Mother's Day. To those guilty of the crime of omission: Shame on you. In these days of Skype and high-speed, Internet-bundled phone service, don't think for a minute that Mom will be satisfied with your phone call. We're not living in the 1970s; Mom is onto you. She won't take kindly to a text message, either, tightwad.

Quick: Get yourself to Costco, Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrell -- and pick up a last-minute present. Gift cards and money work as suitable substitute gifts.

American corporations -- greeting card companies, florists, cell phone carriers -- knock themselves out shaming us into purchasing gifts for our deserving mothers. Funny thing is, the creator of Mother's Day would not be amused. Anna Jarvis, a former teacher, dedicated her life to establish a holiday honoring mothers of the past and present. Jarvis pursued politicians, lawmakers, religious leaders, businessmen and members of women's groups to promote her cause. When Jarvis linked up with the World's Sunday School Association, she gained a valuable ally in lobbying members of Congress to create a national holiday commemorating -- in the words of Connie Conehead of the classic Saturday Night Live skits from the 1970s-- the maternal units of the family.

In 1914, Congress passed a Joint Resolution establishing the second Sunday of May as "Mother's Day". President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation. The original intent of the holiday to laud the roles of American women in nuclear families.

Ironically, Anna Jarvis opposed the inevitable path to commercializing Mother's Day. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she said. Jarvis 0pposed the sales of commercial greeting cards, which she described as "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write."

In 1923, Jarvis filed suit against New York Governor Al Smith in opposition of a Mother's Day celebration. When a judge dismissed Jarvis' suit, the angry plaintiff participated in a public protest and was arrested for her endeavors.

Anna Jarvis's original intents notwithstanding, you would be well advised to fete your mother in the manner in which she deserves. Maybe Mom wants an iPad or Kindle for Mother's Day.

If you really want to score points -- and simultaneously draw Jarvis' ire -- prepare Mom a celebratory brunch cocktail with frittats that you prepared:

Bloody Mama Bloody Mary

• 1-1½ oz oz. vodka in a highball glass filled with ice.
• Tomato juice, enough to fill glass.
• 1 dash of celery salt.
• 1 dash ground black pepper
• 1 dash Tabasco.
• 2-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
• 1/8 dash pure horseradish (not creamed).
• Dash of lemon or lime juice.

Shake contents vigorously -- if you're 007 -- or stir if you're Oddjob. Garnish cocktail with celery stalk.

Festejar, festejar... it's Cinco de Mayo!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo from your friends at the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park!

Too many Americans view Cinco de Mayo as an occasion to overindulge in fully loaded nachos and margaritas. While we would never begrudge anyone from consuming too much fat, dairy, sodium, carbs and alcohol (all the major food groups), we at the DDGP also think one should possess the most rudimentary understanding of a holiday that rationalizes your purchases of José Cuervo.

Cinco de Mayo traces its roots back to French occupation of Mexico. After the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, the Mexican economy fell into crisis and the country in bankruptcy. Attempting to clear up the debt, Mexican President issued a two-year moratorium of foreign debt on July 17, 1861; debt restructuring and repayment would commence two years later. Like some of the predatory banks and mortgage companies in the real estate crisis in our country a decade-and-a-half later, a cadre of foreign debtors (American, Spanish and French) attempted to foreclose and regain the monies.

On May 5, 1862, the Mexicans fought back. A rag-tag team of 5,000 underpowered Mezito and Zapotec Indians defeated the French army in the "Batilla de Puebla. Party on, Wayne.

Chances are, if you aren't sipping a Tecaté, Dos Equis, or Corona with a lime wedge (remember when that was all the rage in the mid-1980s?), you're fixing a batch of margaritas. There's nothing wrong with going "old school" -- tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice. But if you want something different, try the...

Madagascar Marquita

• ½ oz. Navan vanilla liqueur
• 1½ oz. premium light tequila
• ¼ jalapeño, muddled
• 1 barspoon agavé nector
• Jalapeño pepper for garnish

Muddle (grind) the jalapeño in the bottom of the drinking glass.

Add the other ingredients.

Shake and serve in a glass with ice. Garnish with a jalapeño.

Party like it's 1862.