BSR

I don't know what's funnier: his ad copy or his claim that he's 11 inches.

I love spicy food, but I don't want everything spicy, especially not classic comfort food like mac & cheese. If a place is going to spice up dishes like meatloaf and chicken noodle soup, I would hope they also offer a non-spicy version for fuddy-duddies like me.

The Fed needs to raise the prime lending rate, imo, two 25 bp increases in the next 3-4 months because the Fed rate is still low relative to historical highs and because inflation is stubborn as hell. But will Jerome Powell actually do it? The cynic in me says no. I've even heard rumors that the Fed will lower the rate a couple of times this year. Whether those are leaks from insiders or just wishful thinking, time will tell.

True story: pre-Internet era, I was in line at the Tampa Airport rent-a-car when a guy asked how far to Fort Lauderdale, about 30 minutes? His secretary had booked the flight to Tampa because flying into Tampa was a lot cheaper and according to the secretary, Fort Lauderdale was "right next door." All of us within earshot just looked at each other like, "uh, who's gonna tell him?" Finally a woman broke the bad news, that Fort Lauderdale was a 4-hour drive, more with traffic. OK, not as bad as ending up in Austria when you meant to go to Australia, but the pissed-off look on the guy's face was priceless.

A Manhattan townhouse once owned by Frank Sinatra just got listed. The family who bought it from Sinatra has a fascinating story. Photos look beautiful, but at just 16 feet wide, sounds like tight quarters.

The key to a great paella is great stock. If you use canned/boxed stock, which is basically dirty water, surprise surprise, your paella will taste like dirty water. Well, maybe not that bad, but certainly not all that good either. If you make a stock from scratch -- roast meat, bones & veggies for caramelization, then throw everything into a pot of water & simmer for hours -- your paella absorbs all that rich, delicious broth ¡una paella como Dios manda! I'm not familiar with the Puerto Rican version of paella (btw, we Filipinos have our own take as well). At what point do you add the rice? If you simmer the rice for 2 hours, doesn't it get overcooked & mushy? The original Valencian recipe does indeed take hours to make, if you make your own stock. I've watched a few YT videos by Valencian paella masters, and the recipe @jsn102 posted is pretty close. The only discrepancy is that chorizo or spicy sausage is considered a no-no because the flavor is too strong and overwhelms the yummy goodness of the broth. For the record, I tried to make paella once. Eek, total disaster! But that was pre-YT. Watching those Valencian maestros go through the recipe step-by-step reduced the intimidation factor.

Miguel Herrán, hottie from Élite and The Money House, is in a new Prime series Los Farad about a young man who moves to Marbella with a simple dream of starting his own gym but instead falls into the dangerous world of arms trafficking. I wasn't really planning on watching it until I saw this clip. Yeah, definitely piqued my interest. https://twitter.com/Sexytvboys/status/1782903850954834182?t=sc2ZFKFFrnTNNHZkctHgOQ&s=19

Yuck! But I did like his responses in the interview section. He comes off as a very bright, well-spoken guy. His ad is in English but interview responses in Spanish, which makes me wonder about his English fluency. Then again, language barrier is a hurdle easily managed by most on this forum.

I've seen Utopia Bagels featured in a lot of "best NYC bagel" YouTube videos. Despite baking up a massive number of bagels daily, apparently they refuse to cut corners and still make their bagels to the same standard that made them famous. Too bad my aunt no longer lives in Queens because it would have been an easy trip from her house. Nonetheless, thanks for the tip, @BenjaminNicholas. If I'm ever lucky enough to be anywhere near Utopia Bagels, a top-notch bagel is well-worth making a detour.

In the abstract, this guy isn't my type at all. I like daddies not twinks, beefy not slim, furry not smooth. That said, there's always the occasional exception. If I ever saw this young man in person, my head would explode.

Fred Goldman said as recently as 2 years ago that his family had yet to receive a cent of the settlement that OJ owed them. I wonder if they and Nicole Brown's family will get anything now.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: In January, I had the pleasure of attending two holiday parties. Both events were potlucks, to which I gladly contributed dishes. The hosts provided beverages like water, tea and coffee. The parties were well-attended, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. However, a few days after each gathering, I received a message from the hosts. They mentioned the amount they had spent on the party and requested a $10-$30 donation from the guests, providing their financial app details for this purpose. This approach struck me as more akin to a fundraiser than a social gathering among friends. Is this a standard practice in modern times? Is it now customary for hosts to ask for post-event monetary contributions to cover their expenses? I want to ensure I am up to date with current social etiquette. GENTLE READER: Putting aside the audacity of asking guests both to cater the party and to pay for their drinks, Miss Manners cannot imagine how one could even consume $10 of water, tea or coffee. So, it would seem that guests are being charged rent for the use of the venue as well. This borders on extortion. There is nothing wrong with an agreed-upon potluck, but that is where it stops. The act of holding a party must assume some of the responsibility for basic amenities. Even restaurants don’t charge for plain water. OR: In lieu of financial compensation, send both hostesses a bouquet of dead, rotting roses with a beautiful handwritten note that it's tacky as shit to grub for money after a potluck.