10 MINUTES

It's hard to believe 30 years have passed since the news broke that John Lennon had been shot and killed outside his home in New York City. His Double Fantasy album had just been released a few months before to great reviews and big sales. My mom, a longtime Beatles fan, owned the album and played it often.

As a tribute, his widow, Yoko Ono, asked that 10 minutes of radio silence be observed around the world.

My dad owned a radio station at the time and was, of course, going to observe her request. I happened to be at the station on the day he recorded three intros for that tribute. When he finished, he asked me to listen to them and pick out the one I thought was the best. I listened to all three, chose one that I liked, and told him why. My dad agreed, and the one I chose was the one that went on the air.

The importance of this tribute was not lost on me and I am still moved by the fact that I was included by my father.

Thanks, dad. It is a memory that I treasure, and thanks, John, for your music and your words.

LIVE GIRLS WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH COLLEGE

The last of the porno shops on the "deuce' (New York speak for 42nd Street), Peep-O-Rama, shut down eight years ago. There was a small group, with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks, that thought the shop should be saved as a historical landmark. However, the plan was to raze the building to make way for the Bank of America tower. I thought it was a terrific idea that, unfortunately, wasn't going to happen.

At any rate, the neon and glittering bulb sign was saved, restored (along with some of the video peepshow booths), and recently installed at the Times Square Visitors Center. Those video booths now show tourist information, rather than the more naughty, bawdy, gawdy fare they were once famous for.

This is so cool. I love a town that looks to the future while still giving a nod to the past.

REFERRAL BONUS

You need to check out www.twitter.com/poundthehole. Written by officemate and fellow blogger Ryan, it's a hilarious collection of unintentionally perverse sports calls like:

"He must have got one in the eye. I've had that happen before and that doesn't feel too good" -- Solomon Wilcox, Vikings vs. Bills

"I would force-feed it to him A LOT" -- Cris Collinsworth, Colts vs. Chargers

"He takes a good pounding, each and every week" -- Troy Aikmen, Vikings vs. Packers

I don't think I've ever seen a mother enjoy being one as much as my really cool cousin (in fact, she calls herself a "hippie trophy wife) Christina. This is a casting of her pregnant self, something she's decided to turn into a career AND a blog.

Check it out at http://www.belliesbyme.blogspot.com/.

BARKEEP

I used to get such a kick when I'd stay the weekend at grandma and Paul's house. Invariably, Paul would ask if I wanted a Gin Fizz before breakfast. I'd always smile and immediately answer YES, and the three of us would sit in the breakfast nook and enjoy the morning cocktail before bacon and eggs were served.

It had been at least 11 years since I last had one, so it was with respect and honor that I raised a glass of this old-school libation last Saturday evening.

GIN FIZZ

1 1/2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup (or 1 tsp. superfine sugar)
club soda

shake and strain into a highball glass and fill with club soda

AUTUMN LEAVES

San Francisco's version of the Fall Colors, as seen yesterday on 15th Street.

FILM THEORY 101: THE SOUND OF MUSIC

I'm not sure why I avoided it for so long. Maybe I thought I would agree with legendary film critic (and Petaluma native) Pauline Kael's assessment of The Sound of Music as "a sugarcoated lie that people seem to want to eat."

Ouch.

Anyway, I took fellow choir nerd and birthday girl Kim to the sing-a-long version of the beloved classic last Saturday evening. She had seen it many times but this was a virgin viewing for me. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie, although I could have done without those damn kids going on and on (and on) about "tea with toast and jam and tea with toast and jam and toast and jam and toast and jam."

DAMAGE CONTROL

" . . . Where was I?"

"The police," I reminded her.

"Oh yes -- now, dear, I need you and Pinky (my mother's hairdresser's name was - naturally - Pinky) - I need you to get to the house before the police to let them in, but also I need you to go through the house and hide all the guns and bullets and - what else . . . Oh yes! I need you to flush your brother's marijuana down the toilet."

That's MGM legend Debbie Reynolds, instructing her daughter (via telephone) while her son, Todd Fisher, was in surgery after accidentally shooting himself in the leg.

(excerpt from Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. A brilliant and quick afternoon read).

FEED ME, SEYMOUR

The Squash Soup and Fish Pie (smoked steelehead trout and pureed potatoes) from Hog and Rocks.

Mmmmm, so good.

UPSKIRT

The Christmas tree at Neiman-Marcus

MUG SHOTS

Photo booths are such fun, and the one at the Union Square Holiday Ice Rink emails AND posts them to your Facebook page.