Martin Manulis, a television, film and stage producer who created the classic, Emmy-winning program “Playhouse 90,” has died. He was 92.

Manulis died Friday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, according to his son, John Bard Manulis.

Manulis was best known as the creator and original producer of “Playhouse 90,” a live dramatic anthology series that took on serious subjects and won critical acclaim and a constant stream of Emmys.

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Manulis is survived by John Bard Manulis, daughters Laurie Harmon and Karen Manulis Cohen.

His wife, Katherine Bard, died in 1983.

Rest In Peace, Martin.

Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded a recall of ground beef from about 300,000 pounds to 21.7 million pounds, one of the largest meat recalls in U.S. history.

The recalled products are all ground beef patties with various brand names.

In a statement, the Elizabeth, New Jersey, company said the hamburger patties may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea and cramps, as well as other complications.

A statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 25 illnesses are under investigation in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The ground beef products being recalled have a “sell by date” or a “best if used by date” between September 25, 2007, and September 25, 2008, Topps’ statement said.

For more information, call Topps at (888) 734-0451.

[Source: CNN]

Lois Maxwell, who starred as Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond movies, has died, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday. She was 80.

The Canadian-born actress starred alongside Sean Connery in the first James Bond movie, “Dr. No,” in 1962 as the secretary to M, the head of the secret service.

She died Saturday night at Fremantle Hospital near her home in Perth, Australia, the BBC cited a hospital official as saying.

Bond star Roger Moore said she was suffering from cancer.

Rest In Peace, Lois.

When I woke up today, I found the wife in the kitchen with three bowls like this one.

I ran to the store a bit ago, and when I walked in the door I could smell hot fresh apple pie. Too bad it was only a tease.

But we do have 21 quarts of apple pie filling, so when the mood strikes, the wife can whip up a delicious, hot, apple pie.

Oh hunny, I think the mood is striking…

Ingredients:

1 pound okra
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups self-rising cornmeal
vegetable oil

Preparation:

Wash okra and drain well. Remove tip and stem end; cut okra into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle okra with salt; add buttermilk, stirring until well coated. Let stand at least 15 minutes; then drain okra well. Dredge in corn meal. Deep fry okra in hot oil at 375F until golden brown; drain on paper towels.

This recipe serves 4 to 6.

Photo by Slobokan.

Wally Parks, an automobile enthusiast who founded the National Hot Rod Association and helped turn drag racing into a legitimate sport, has died. He was 94.

Parks died Friday at Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center of complications from pneumonia, said Michael Hollander, a spokesman with the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona.

As a test driver for General Motors, Parks started organizing car races in Southern California’s dry lake beds in the 1940s.

“He effectively created drag racing,” Hollander said. “These kids were racing jalopies and he wanted to get them off the streets and start them racing in an organized manner. He set up a system of timing and scoring and turned it into a legitimate sport.”

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His wife Barbara died in 2005, Hollander said. He is survived by two sons, Richard and David.

Wally Parks is a legend in the sport, and this is a huge loss for everyone. Having created the NHRA back in the 1950’s, Mr. Parks changed the landscape of racing forever. If you’ve never been to an NHRA event, you are truly missing out.

Rest In Peace, Wally.

In case you didn’t know, Chef Tom has another blog called The Secret Recipe Blog.

Last week he featured a copycat recipe of Red Lobster’s Schrimp Scampi.

Ingredients:

1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup unsalted Butter
3 tablespoon minced Garlic
1 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Combine the butter, wine, garlic and shrimp in a pan.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 7 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink.
Be careful not to overcook the Shrimp.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve.

This recipe serves 2-4 people (if you’re a shrimp lover like me, this will serve 1). I worked at Red Lobster for a short time, and I can personally vouch that this recipe tastes just like the real thing, except you don’t get the rude waiter, ignorant management, or the high price.

If you’re wondering, no, I didn’t work at Red Lobster very long, the food servers I worked with were rude, the management didn’t have a clue how to run a restaurant (lucky for them they were small fish in a bigger sea), and the price you pay for the food you get? Ridiculous.

Try this copycat recipe, it’s easy, and it’s delicious, or head on over to the Secret Recipe Blog and check out some of the other yummy creations.

One of the issues we have at my company is keeping track of timesheets. When it comes time to bill a customer we want to make sure we have billed them for all of the engineering and installation hours which apply to their project, but if our timesheets are not up to par, we end up getting screwed.

Well, now we don’t have to worry because JournyX offers free timesheet software that integrates into Microsoft Project, Quickbooks, payroll software and more.

JournyX offers a free copy of Timesheet, with 10 licenses, with no strings attached. Why? They have seven reasons listed on their site, but I think it’s all about reputation and word of mouth. You see, if they give away software that works, and people like it, they will come to rely on it, and when the company grows or the person goes to work at a larger company, they are going to remember JournyX and return to purchase the software.

The company I work for? We’re small, so this offer is perfect for us. And if we grow in the future? JournyX has that covered.

What’s going on in my corner of the internet today?

On The Alligator Pit, Disney cell phone customers probably aren’t too happy this morning.

At Bits Of Dust, Gordon Ramsay is cooking up some Crispy Salmon.

Those Kooks at the UAW have settled their strike with GM. Big surprise huh?

Lately, we’ve been getting RetroMental with old television shows.

In the world of left hand turns, Kyle Petty had one good reason for being so pissed last weekend.

Does John Edwards ever talk without whining?

Paul Walker and Adrianne Curry heat things up over at TinselTown Trash.

I can’t believe it’s almost October already. It’s been three months since I started posting regularly (almost every day) at all eight blogs, and things are going well. I think I have blogged about everything out there, including the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Is it possible to have bloggers cramp? Have a great weekend!

Six people have died from this already and we haven’t heard about it? While it’s not quite as popular as West Nile Virus (which has caused 58 deaths from January through Sept 25 of this year), and is much more deadly in the United States than Bird Flu (thus far), I still think we should have been warned, especially since it can be found in warm, standing water.

With drought conditions all over this country, there is warm, standing water everywhere. Even at the feet of John Edwards who is freaking about all the money being raised this campaign season.

A 14-year-old Lake Havasu boy has become the sixth victim to die nationwide this year of a microscopic organism that attacks the body through the nasal cavity, quickly eating its way to the brain.

Aaron Evans died Sept. 17 of Naegleria fowleri, an organism doctors said he probably picked up a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu.

According to the Centers For Disease Control, Naegleria infected 23 people from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials said they’ve noticed a spike in cases, with six Naegleria-related cases so far — all of them fatal.

Such attacks are extremely rare, though some health officials have put their communities on high alert, telling people to stay away from warm, standing water.

You better watch out people, and don’t go near the water!