So there I was the other day, watching a food show on TV, as I often do. The chef was preparing something impossibly exotic—a fish dish, carefully baked, with an incredible sauce creatively laced with novel combinations of condiments and herbs, and side dishes of moderate complexity.

As I watched, I shamelessly felt myself smiling; I was really enjoying the show. And then I thought: “Wait a minute! Much as I enjoy cooking, I’m NEVER gonna make this dish. Too damned difficult!” Even though I now know HOW to make it, I’m just not motivated enough to actually DO it. And that’s when it suddenly dawned on me: we’re a nation of wishers.

We pay rapt attention to these programs even while knowing, in our heart of hearts, that we just don’t have the time or energy to whip up these amazing repasts. And when our significant others ask us why they don’t ever get to eat these delectable delights, we smartly answer: “Because you never order it in the restaurant.”

Took a wonderful trip to Paterson New Jersey this weekend. As many of you know, I anchored for a few years in the '80's with the legendary Tom Snyder at Channel 7. What a trip that was!
And then, on Saturday another trip....in a rented bus with 18 of his friends, many who had flown in from California for the event. And what was the event?

Well, as many of you might NOT know, Tom had a passion for trains. Lionel trains to be exact. A few months after we started anchoring together, he invited me and my then-husband to his home in Mamaroneck. He paused dramatically in front of a closed bedroom door, then with a flourish opened it to reveal an entire village and town, complete with valleys and mountains, through which an amazing series of trains, accurate down to the last detail, chugged along, with real smoke bellowing forth. You could not enter the room....it was entirely taken up with this magical world of tiny houses, and stores and people, and those trains, just choo-chooing along. It was truly breathtaking.

Now, normally I don't do this...take a suggestion from a loyal reader and just post it verbatim on my blog. But frankly,I didn't think I could improve on this from my blog pal Charles Frazier, and besides, I'm tired. So a little help from a friend is always welcome. So as LIONEL would say, feel free to comment, as you see fit.

Hey, Kaity!

You mentioned if I had a blog suggestion to let you know,... so, here's one connected to the music theme. What do you, (and your blogging fans), think of the idea of comparisons between regular musical artists who made their names & marks on the world through regular career channels,.. as compared to those who attempt to do so on "Reality Shows" such as "American Idol", & "The Voice" among others?

It has been commonly pointed out that many past famous musical talents, (such as Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones or even The Beatles), would probably have never made past the audition judging stages of most of these now popular "Star-Search type series. Also, the whole amateur concept really originally came from "Amateur Night At The Apollo", which I believe dates back to like 1935,..... but, the main point would be what you & other people think of the career venue comparison as a potential rode to success & originality of the artist's voices, talents and product.

Just read a fascinating article in the New York Times, "In Queens, new mothers and old Asian Custom." It's about how immigrants from China, giving birth in a new land, adhere to the old traditions of post-partum confinement, or in Mandarin, "sitting the month".

That's exactly what my young mother did when she had me at the age of 24 in Tsingtao China, only in her case, she did a sitting for two and a half months. which even by Chinese standards is a bit excessive.

The Chinese believe that a woman is weakened after giving birth and must be pampered , fed strengthening foods, and kept calm, in order to be strong enough to take care of her newborn.

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be sitting in the audience of a new film being shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. It's called The Second Day, and was made by the son of a neighborhood friend.

His name is Brook Peters. I've known Brook since he was about 7 years old, playing stickball on the corner of 7th Avenue and 19th on those special summer days when the local pub at the corner, Peter McManus, would serve free beer and hot dogs to all the Chelsea neighbors who came to play, or just cheer.

I was thinking today about Eva Blum. She was an Asian-American from New Jersey, with a husband, two kids and a dog, who desperately needed a bone marrow transplant. You might remember her; I know I'll never forget her.

When we learned just how serious her condition was, we did a story on her. More than anything, I just wanted to spread the word: Eva needed a donor match, and she needed one fast. Her life hung in the balance. I don't think I ever wanted a story to have a bigger impact; I had hopes that Eva would have her pick of donors.

She didn't; she died before a match could be found.

A woman searches for her missing husband amid debris after an earthquake and tsunami struck Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan March 13, 2011.

We’ve all seen the videos. We’ve watched television, we’ve read the newspapers and internet. The extent of the horror that the Japanese people have faced—and continue to confront—is incalculable. And we’re reminded once again of how puny we are: in the face of a massive earthquake and a flooding tsunami, we are candles in the wind.

Natural disasters have a way of instilling humility that nothing else can. But what I feel today is not just humility in the face of natural forces, but also indescribable anger at human stupidity or—much worse—greed.

A Japan Self-Defense Force member reacts after rescuing a four-month-old baby girl in Ishinomaki, northern Japan, Monday, March 14, 2011, three days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast. (AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun, Hiroto Sekiguchi)

So many people have been asking me about Philip's well -being that I thought it best to write this and tell everyone at once. First of all, he's fine. Thank you.

As many of you know from my earlier blogs, my son went to Japan more than a year ago to teach English to high school students in a small town along the northernmost coast. When that terrible and terrifying quake and tsunami struck two days ago, I was deluged with calls, emails, texts ... so many of you worried for Philip, thinking he was still in the country.

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog already know quite a bit about my little brother Kai. How smart and creative he was from the time he was small, a wonderful artist and writer even in elementary school. How we shared a fondness for Little Tavern burgers and the rare Coke or milkshake with our parents at Howard Johnson's. How he was a terrific cook, even as a teenager, whipping up amazing casseroles at the drop of a hat. I just always knew he'd do great in life.

So I feel comfortable sharing the following with you...

Just got back from a big grocery shopping expedition, stocking up the 'fridge' for the arrival of my son from his travels to Japan and other distant vistas. By the time he arrives in the city, I will already be at work, doing my thing from either Queens or Brooklyn, so I want him to come home to a fully stocked larder.

When my kid was little, I won't say he was a picky eater, I'll just say there were a lot of things he wouldn't eat. :) For example, he loved pizza, but from when he was about five to ten, he would pull all the cheese OFF the pizza and just eat the crust.

Okay, I don't want to hear it. Yes, I have been very very bad about keeping up with my blog. But I have my reasons. Which I won't go into right this moment.

But I do have something on my mind. It has to do with my subbing for Jodi Applegate because she is getting married (what a beautiful bride you'll be, Jodi!) this Saturday and is taking a few days off.

Don't know if you've had a chance to see it; I am having fun doing the show. But there are some funny things that I did not encounter when Jim and I anchored the show together back in the old days, sitting at a desk.

You know how it feels when you've put off writing a thank you note for so long ( because you've just been too busy or, let's face it, you're just an inveterate procrastinator?) And then when you finally sit down to write it, you feel really awkward because the time to write it is already past?

Well, that's about the way I'm feeling right now. I know I have neglected my blog terribly in the past couple of months, but there have been a number of reasons. For one thing, there have been new challenges at work, and adjustments to be made.

But more specifically, I have been quite ill from a severe case of laryngitis since the day before Thanksgiving.....a case of laryngitis that then blossomed into a fiery case of strep throat,and now a more difficult kind of infection on my vocal cords.

I know, I know: it’s not that big a deal. With all the difficult stuff that goes on in our lives, this shouldn’t stick in my craw, but it does. So I’ll confess, and I make no apologies for it: I absolutely hate those little stickers that supermarkets put on individual fruits. What an irritating policy, and what a maddening design.

Just got back from giving a speech at the Library of Congress. Quite an experience. The occasion was a ceremony marking the donation to the Library of an 80- volume genealogy of Confucius’ family. My mother, Kung Ling-he, is a 76th generation descendant of the revered Chinese teacher and philosopher, and donated this documentation of the Confucian family tree. The volumes record 83 generations ( that’s more than 2 million people) descended from Confucius. It is believed to be one of the biggest family trees in the world.

Okay, kman. So you wanna chat. Well, so do I. And just for the record, I didn't think you were being rude when you chided me on my last blog. You've been a longtime reader, and I find your comments interesting, funny, and thoughtful. And since you've been commenting since practically the day I first started blogging, I feel I've gotten to know you a bit. I think you're a baby boomer with kids probably around the age of mine, and I know we share many of the same tastes in music, food, and other stuff.

Though,Shelley, I must say I very much appreciate your jumping to my defense the way you did! Yeah, sometimes, kman can come across a bit snarky (and kman, I don't think you'd disagree with that) but I don't think he means to be mean.. And kman, you do make an astute point. Where ARE all my regulars? Always good to hear from Chuck, Ari, Giada, Z-man, diedonce, Alexa, LB, Kaity Fan, mc in PA, to name some of my most loyal regulars, but what happened to Christian, CityCop, Leeanne, Mel, Jen, KC, Marie, bart and Nash, that sweet kid who was going to college just last year, the one who numbered his comments. Where did you go???

We’re all familiar with the Denial Syndrome. It often shows up in times of sadness or tragedy—the rejected lover who’s absolutely certain, against all odds, that the relationship will be repaired, or the unfortunate person who’s gotten a dire medical diagnosis, but who can’t accept the truth of it.

But sometimes an act of denial is absolutely hilarious. Enter stage right: Rod Blagojevich, erstwhile Governor of Illinois.

First of all, here’s one of the pictures I promised you. The caption should be something like : Kaity and Philip Get Ready to Tackle Biggest Oysters Ever!

Just got back from six days in Tokyo. Those of you who caught the News at Ten Friday night know I am suffering from a massive dose of jetlag. It took me a good six days to adjust to Tokyo time, and that's when I had to get on a plane to fly back to Newark. 15 hour flight over, 14 hour flight back.
I got on a flight at Narita airport on Wednesday, at 4:30 in the afternoon and arrived in Newark on Wenesday at 430 in the afternoon. And my body is still trying to catch up!

I wouldn't have been on the air Friday, with only one full day to get my head together, if Jim hadn't taken the night off for personal reasons. And as I shared with you viewers on the news that night, I was in Tokyo to visit my son who, after graduating from college, is spending a year in Japan teaching English to high school students. I hadn't seen him since November.

We all now know that Shirley Sherrod, the government agency official who was vilified and forced to resign by her boss just a day or so ago, has now been offered a promotion—and a White House apology. The firestorm erupted over a piece—underline the word “piece”—of video of her giving a speech that went viral, immediately after which came her harsh discipline. When it was later learned that the small piece of video gave a false impression of what she actually was saying, the White House did a u-bie—and embarrassed itself.

I didn’t even NEED a new phone. I strolled into the Verizon store the other day to buy a charger for my perfectly fine old cellphone, and was told that it was silly to spend 30 dollars for a charger when I could get a brand new phone, virtually for free.

Now let me point out here that this is my neighborhood Verizon store and I’ve gotten to really like the people who run it. They’re friendly, and knowledgeable, and just all-round good guys. And the fella who talked me into a new phone had a point. The new one cost 50 bucks and with the rebate, I get that 50 dollars back. He even filled out the paperwork for me and everything, so no hassle!

But here’s the problem. Well, there’s actually more than one problem. But here’s the biggest problem.