dial-a-ttante

daily playlist 8/16/09: love in stockholm

2009-08-16T09:55:00.016-04:00

today's daily playlist is also a new haven concert must see, for tonight (8pm) at leon's.

i've mentioned my friend charlie's band, love in stockholm, before (sadly, didn't make the top 20 by a couple slots, but good for you if you voted), and tonight, new haven friends, you have a chance to see their new, awesome expanded set!

the "musical fearlessness" of this be-suited septet makes itself felt in all their originals, from the dance-ready (nay, dance-DEMANDING) funk-rock jams "allston, MA" (a tribute to the band's birthplace, a filthy, low rent, and deeply awesome slice of boston sandwiched between cambridge and brookline) and "fellowship of funk" to the more laid-back tunes like "don't be fooled". they also do some truly rocking covers of everything ranging from outkast's "bombs over baghdad" to the band's "don't do it", in their signature growly funk/soul sound (and let it be clear that by "funk", i do not mean any craptastic jam band nonsense; i mean serious funk). let's be real; anyone who can make me enjoy the middle school dance staple "no diggity" deserves a medal.

it may be a little out of your way, but, if you go, i guarantee you'll have the same reaction to love in stockholm that i heard from a surprised sounding gentleman last night at a family-heavy, all day outdoor music festival staged about 100 yards from plymouth rock. as charlie thanked the audience, the man muttered, "no thank you!" and turning to his wife, "these guys are fucking great".

real talk

2009-08-13T21:09:00.004-04:00

i have friends who assure me that this is a feeling that stays with you well into your thirties (or, if my mother is to be believed, nigh unto your sixties).
damnit. anyone know how to make pictures fit? n/m, just click the clicky.

daily playlist 8/13/09: daptones jukebox

2009-08-13T19:59:00.002-04:00

oh, this. this is just magical.

sorrrrry (and upcoming).

2009-08-13T13:35:00.005-04:00

mm yes, so i haven't been terribly good about updating this blog this summer, i know. however! in case you were actually missing the brain gobbits, be reassured: the next few days will be a veritable cornucopia of them, gathered during my last month and a half of living at home and seeing friends and family both on the cape and up and down the east coast...notes on some new albums, summer recipes, and even some thoughts on the politically unexciting month of august.

in the meantime, as i gather my thoughts, check out the latest update on my trip to nepal, which commences in t-7 days.

read of the day

2009-07-24T12:14:00.003-04:00

this is such an awesome concept. it's two wicked fun things, hip-hop battles and international relations, making sweet sweet geeky love all over the npr website. wheeee!

rock the vote

2009-07-21T15:39:00.004-04:00

love in stockholm, the band of a close friend, is in serious contention to make it to the next round of mtv's best boston breakout contest! if you're not from the boston area, you may recognize them as one of the bands i am always surreptitiously trying to slip people on cds of other music. i am utterly unapologetic about this, as everyone could use a serious dose of the funk these guys bring.

register (for free) as a fan, go to mtv best breakout boston, and vote (or "judge") for these guys. get them to #20 (they're at #24), and maybe we can get some decent music on mtv for once. (be patient, the songs come up randomly).

also check out their stuff on myspace and facebook.

blogging FAIL

2009-07-21T14:58:00.002-04:00

(maybe if i post this AWESOME video and then start writing prolifically the month-long gap between posts won't be as obvious. ok it's a plan. aaaand break)

grand east coast tour

2009-06-26T12:16:00.005-04:00

"i ain't got nothin' 'gainst the east coast/you want some people where they've got the most"

i just thought i'd drop a quick word about where i'll be for the rest of my time in the states. as some of you know, i still don't have my start date, but at this point, i'm planning on an august 1 departure. to make sure i see as many people as possible, and...y'know, not spend an entire month at home, where i'd be sure to start making poor decisions out of sheer boredom...i'm planning a GRAND EAST COAST TOUR in mid-july. right now it's looking (roughly) like this:

7/9-7/11: richmond, VA
7/11-7/13: DC
7/13-7/17: some combo of delaware, philly, and nyc?
7/18-7/19 or 20: new haven

if you're around any of these places, or anywhere en route, let me know!

read of the (three weeks ago) day

2009-06-23T18:19:00.004-04:00

my friend dave was guestblogging for a while over at attackerman, before he scored his dream job (congrats!). i just caught up on some of his posts, and this one a) picked up on one of my favorite idle, intellectual equivalents of desk toys, the shifting place of superheroes in the american social imaginary and b) made me giggle.

read of the day

2009-06-23T14:05:00.001-04:00

i think this is sort of nicely put. the thrust being:

"In fact – and this is what Sotomayor means when she talks about reaching a better conclusion than a white man who hasn’t lived her life – rather than distorting reality, perspectives illuminate it or at least that part of it they make manifest. It follows that no one perspective suffices to capture all aspects of reality and that, therefore, the presence in the interpretive arena of multiple perspectives is a good thing. In a given instance, the “Latina Judge” might reach a better decision not because she was better in some absolute, racial sense, but because she was better acquainted than her brethren with some aspects of the situation they were considering. (As many have observed in the context of the issue of gender differences, among the current justices, only Ruth Bader Ginsburg knows what it’s like to be a 13-year-old girl and might, by virtue of that knowledge, be better able to assess the impact on such a girl of a strip-search.)...You can call it empathy or (as some in the audience suggested ) you can call it understanding or imagination. I called it hearkening to the spirit rather than the letter. But whatever you call it, everyone present that evening agreed that it was what we wanted."

blogrollcall

2009-06-23T12:56:00.004-04:00

kitt's kitchen: finally, a blog from one of my favorite humans: a fabulous writer, teacher, and drinking buddy, and (now!) aspiring chef. show her some love, why dontcha?

nepali molly: i'm going to compartmentalize, and start putting posts about my year in nepal on a new blog. wheeee.

a haiku for new haven in spring

2009-06-23T12:32:00.003-04:00

squirrel scampers past
twix wrapper gripped in its mouth
probably rabid.

I GETS A COOKIE.

2009-06-23T12:23:00.003-04:00

i learned to write my name in nepali script (devanagari) today.
मली
wheeeee. absurdly proud of myself.

daily playlist 6/20/09

2009-06-20T14:12:00.012-04:00

"ghostwriter"
rjd2
2002

for when: you need a personal soundtrack

i guess it's really a subgenre of personal soundtrack though. i'm heading into new york for the rest of the weekend, and, as i am wont to do, am planning on building in some just wandering around time. so this is really the kind of personal soundtrack you need when you want to be able to feel like a bad ass, just cold walkin' anywhere. you know what i mean... the tracks that give you a little swerve to your step.

the rest of your playlist:
"can't get enough of your love, babe" barry white
"how long do i have to wait for you?" sharon jones and the dap kings
"here come tha police" vicious vicious*

also: random bonus youtube clip. just...wow.

* really these guys should have been first....i'm going to give them a whole additional treatment another time, i think, because they are the single best band you have probably never heard of

something i will really miss...

2009-06-20T13:58:00.006-04:00

...about new haven/yale: going to do something mundane like pay an overdue charge at the library and running across something unexpectedly special or beautiful...like a small exhibit of ketubot from 17th century onwards. the exhibit also included this decorative micro-script version of the song of songs.

true hardness (and poaching blogposts)

2009-06-19T18:27:00.004-04:00

word. i'm basically just going to poach someone else's opinion by linking to the review above and posting the video in question. i will add only this: pretty much ONLY jay-z can sound that hard rapping over a freaking clarinet sample.

(now imagine him in a klezmer band. doooo it.)

daily playlist 6/19/09

2009-06-19T17:45:00.010-04:00

"timorous me"
ted leo and the pharmacists
2001

for when: you're going to a ted leo concert (!)

yeah, so the theme lacks a certain creativity today...
however, if you haven't managed to catch these guys in the last 10 years they've been making music (in a variety of lineup configurations), you should do it. they started off, as so much great music does, as an experiment. by the time they released 'tyranny of distance', their first full length album (from which "timorous me" comes), they'd settled themselves firmly into mainstream rock sensibilit(ies)... which is in no way a bad thing, as they've remained unbound by any particular rock sub-genre convention (see eg dub sensibility in "the unwanted things" off 2007's 'living with the living', side-by-side with the same album's distortion-laced, savage "bomb.repeat.bomb"). they pretty much rock anything they put their collective hands to...in fact, that's what these guys pretty much are: pure rock. hopefully i'll get some fun footage/pictures tonight, when i see them play at toad's place.

the rest of your playlist:
"tommy gun" the clash
"long nights" piebald
"santeria" sublime

someone gets a cookie.

2009-06-18T17:11:00.003-04:00

"The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for the wrongs of slavery."

best intersection of homosexuality and fruit leathers. ever.

2009-06-16T18:06:00.004-04:00

seriously, you remember this shit?

if you're like me, your health-food oriented parents fed you these when you were a kid, instead of anything that was COOL and shaped like a DINOSAUR or a ROCKET...made out of SUGAR and BLUE DYE 16....anyway, neither here nor there...best quote ever from my friend (he happens to be gay), who was having his first experience with fruit leathers:

"i want to COVER a woman with these. just like, slap them all over her body".

by god it never occurred to me as a child...but i think he's RIGHT.

cry for help

2009-06-16T17:54:00.003-04:00

so my FAVORITE jeans in the world have a couple holes/tears in them, originating from the upper inner thigh, and now extending, on the left leg, all around the back half of the leg, parallel to the ground. now it's kinda unraveled...anyway, this leaves me unable to bend over or really do anything but shuffle when i wear them, for fear of scarring small children.

i'm not very "craft-y" (mmm to say the least... i get all spazzy and panicked like a cat with a laser pointer)...but is someone handy with clothes? what's the best way to keep these jeans just this side of wearable? i'll post a picture when i'm not running out of the house...but in the meantime, thanks for any advice.

read of the day: "suffering and art"

2009-06-16T17:01:00.009-04:00

i really appreciated this discussion about the ethics of photographing suffering. there were some good points of practical distinction made (it's easier to preserve moral integrity when a photo is properly captioned and contextualized, and when it is not subsequently commodified). i also found that this comment resonated with me:

“You have to remember that the stronger the image is, the more it hurts,” said Ms. McNally, an assistant managing editor and the director of photography at The Times. “When a photograph of a horrific situation is mindfully and artfully put together, and works on multiple levels, it simply grabs your attention and is more effective. Those pictures tend to live long in your memory because all the elements work together to reinforce the narrative and emotion.”

that's what's most striking for me. i find it almost nonsensical to argue that (barring aforementioned issues of commodification) one can detach the formal/aesthetic and empathetic messages of a picture. like being in love (i imagine), being truly moved, having your "heart wrenched," by an image is both both intensely tragic and intensely joyful. by making these images wrenchingly beautiful, a photographer makes them wrenchingly human as well.

anyway, enough of that serious/theoretical nonsense...back to our regularly scheduled fart jokes.

goodreads = new fun!

2009-06-15T16:48:00.000-04:00

Teach Yourself Nepali Complete Course by Michael Hutt

My review

mostly it just sits next to my bed, glaring at me, balefully.

View all my reviews.

experiment with new interwebs thing...

2009-06-15T16:32:00.003-04:00

oh man! this is fun!! i can just copy and paste the clicky clicky right into the word box thing. wheeeee.
anyway, i read this book in one sitting on saturday...

The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
beautifully lyrical memoir and important commentary through a very personal lens on the shifting paradigms of black american masculinity.
see also:
"globalization and race" (Ed) Clarke
"beyond beats and rhymes" (documentary film) byron hurt

View all my reviews.

daily playlist 6/14/09

2009-06-14T14:53:00.013-04:00

self-titled
the commonwealth
2009

for when: you need an anthem

this playlist is a little different...but i've been meaning to talk about this EP for a while now, so i figured i'd kill two birds with one stone, and make it today's playlist. in the interest of full disclosure, i should mention that i've known half the band since we were in diapers, but i think that only gives me a better perspective on this record. i've listened to a lot (and i mean a lot) of john mcnamera (vocals, guitar), and ben elder's (bass) music over the course of my life, and i really like the place they've come to on this EP, with the addition of ben paterson (guitar) and ian conboy (drums) to the band. plus, y'know, they'll always give me a shout out when they cover "molly's chambers".

this record is great, because it's not trying to be anything it's not. the lyrics don't stab wildly at profundity. they talk about the basic shit that plagues all of us in our 20s (and, although i don't think anyone really wants to admit it, before and after as well): failing/flailing relationships ("leave me alone/ you know i won't answer my phone/ don't ask me if i miss you/ you know that i do, too") and figuring out what exactly it all means when it seems like everyone around you, is, well, full of crap ("you just can't see original opinions coming from tv...is there anybody out there who can share my point of view?"). they don't do it in the histrionic, adolescent, garage band way, though, but with a sense of playfulness and a degree of resignation that (dare i say it?) reflects a growing maturity and taste in these guys' musical careers.

there's some diversity among the tracks, from the low-key "moon and sun" to the darker, more sexual energy of "she's a rocker" (a song totally made by the march tempo bass and drums underneath mcnamera's growled vocals). they've got the musical chops to do that versatility (you should see john make the older ladies swoon with his frank sinatra stylings), but the commonwealth is at their best on songs like "small hands", "make out party", and especially "youth in asia". these tracks are basically tight, quasi-anthemic pop gems, uptempo and filled with hooky guitar lines, rich call and response choruses, and the little pop flourishes that i'm such a sucker for (syncopated hand claps, anyone?). i can never understand why people would shy away from making music that is just so flat out enjoyable, but i'm happy to report that pop rock is alive and well and living in falmouth, MA.

[sidebar: ben, in addition to his bass playing, is an incredibly talented designer, and (i think?) does all of their graphics...you can check out a small selection of their posters here.]

blogrollcall

2009-06-12T18:58:00.002-04:00

cocktail summer: my uncle's OTHER new blog: "...one new cocktail a day, every day, all summer. (Or until my liver gives out.)". have i mentioned how flippin' cool my uncle is?

waiting on tehran

2009-06-12T14:38:00.007-04:00

wowza. unprecedented turnout for the iranian presidential elections today. they've extended polling for at least four extra hours. certainly this insane turnout is a good sign for reformist challenger mousavi.

so the eyes of the world are on iran. foreign engagement with iran has been somewhat suspended as people have held their breath waiting for today. does it matter though? khamenei ain't goin' nowhere. how then, would the dynamics of a new government pan out, with a head of the executive, at least rhetorically, more willing to engage the rest of the world? how big an electoral mandate would he have to have to avoid a major whip-cracking from khamenei and the guardian council?

do i actually have enough people who read this to do an open thread?
meh, probably not. go for it, though, and i'll spin some more thoughts later when i make more progress on the annual report i'm supposed to be writing. regardless, between last week's cairo speech, the much-viewed and commented upon max blumenthal video, and iran's election, it's an interesting fortnight in debates on american mid-east policy issues.

UPDATE: no one/everyone (fp bloggers) wins so far. get ready for the whole country to be completely stabby for the next, like, three days while the votes are counted. check out the nyt liveblog here.

BONUS daily playlist 6/12/09

2009-06-12T13:01:00.011-04:00

...because i didn't post for a week...

"no te pido flores"
fanny lu
2006

aside from being a shameless hispanophile, i like a lot of spanish-language pop music (as an enormously broad category) for a few reasons. practically, it's great to listen to while trying to read or write. my spanish isn't bad (although there are some who would contest that), but i don't find myself constantly distracted by the lyrics the way i sometimes do in english-language music. on the other hand, it's more energetic than a lot of the strictly instrumental stuff i have, so it keeps me focused (ummm y'know, unless i'm spending time blogging about how productive it makes me...never mind.) second, fanny lu has pretty much ruled the latin pop charts for the past two years. compare this to some of the utter crap that makes it onto the us charts: t-pain? katy perry? yurk. [caveat(s): 1. i have no idea who half the artists on the current billboard charts are...don't know what the hell the kids are dancing to these days...2. i'm sure plenty of stuff on the latin charts is crap too...this has more to do with my visceral reaction to vocorders and general old lady crotchetiness about the state of pop in america than anything else]. third? HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THIS VIDEO??

the rest of your playlist:
"nada valgo sin tu amor" juanes
"pa' calor" rosana
"a eme o" andrea echeverri

daily playlist 6/12/09

2009-06-12T11:39:00.016-04:00

"what i'm looking for"
brendan benson
2005

"being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up; these are the best days of our lives"...the ataris said it (although no one but my inner 13 year old wants to hear them sing it). i've been thinking a lot about transition...watching my friends graduate, and preparing for a pretty big transition myself. the pop-punk lyrics of bygone years now feel like rationalizations of adolescent angst and bad decision-making (cf summers of 2003-2004). but, there are some newer songs that, with their simplicity and whimsy and confusion, in an (ever so slightly) more grown-up way, evoke the simultaneous hope and fear and nostalgia that the process of transitioning (and trying to claw your bare-handed way up the steep cliff face that is adulthood) inspires.

the rest of your playlist:
"new soul" yael naim
"i feel it all" feist
"darlin' do not fear" brett dennen

no posts til sunday

2009-06-04T16:00:00.001-04:00

i am going out of town, so no posts for a few days.
please feel free to enjoy these other fine products.
*jazzjazzjazz*

daily playlist 6/4/09

2009-06-04T14:09:00.014-04:00

"penniless patron"
sean hayes
2007

for when: you need to get away

..."would you like to sail away? maybe we could go to spain" offers guitarist sean hayes on this track off of his 2007 album "flowering spade." hayes, especially on "flowering spade," shows a deft hand for a range of styles, from the jazz-inflected syncopation of "all for love" to the midtempo americana of the title track. "penniless patron" is more similar to the latter, but a downtempo near lullaby, crooned over a spare guitar riff with a faintly keening instrumental descant woven into the bridge. not everyone is gonna love this kind of low-key folk rock, but i think lying in the sun listening to this album is one of the most soul-soothing things you can do.

the rest of your playlist:
"california" joni mitchell
"hannah" ray lamontagne
"human thing" the be good tanyas

an excellent point...

2009-06-03T11:37:00.008-04:00

the lovely sarah k. smith of wonkette pretty much hits (at least one) argumentative nail on the head in the whole sotomayor life-experience-and-impartiality/insane-old-white-men-calling-a-distinguished-latina-jurist-a-racist kerfuffle.

"The horror, that anybody would admit that judges can only aspire to impartiality! Why, that is sort of like a journalist admitting they can only aspire to objectivity. In other words, it is a concept that absolutely enrages conservatives while it just seems like a given to other Earthlings. The point is this: the only people who can reach judicial decisions from the taint of racial or gender bias are people free from the taint of race or gender itself, which is to say, white males."

wheeee! sanity at last!

more on this later when i'm not working...

daily playlist 6/2/09

2009-06-02T17:23:00.012-04:00

"pushing and shoving"
man/miracle
2008

for when: you need to work off some hipster angst by just cold shakin' your flannel-clad limbs.

i won't vouch for all of the rest of their (limited) catalog, but man/miracle's single "pushing and shoving"'s simple, charging ahead guitars and slurred vocals are saved from generic post-punk/indie-garage rock blandness by a bounding energy and perfect pop accents like off-beat handclaps....it all comes together in a way that makes you want to get off the couch and whirl around in circles with your arms waving.

UPDATE: woops! forgot the link to the song.

the rest of your playlist:
"sweet dreams sweet cheeks" los campesinos!
"moped" thao with the get down stay down
"i won't lie to you" let's wrestle

BBQ tofu

2009-06-02T16:33:00.003-04:00

ok, this is a quick one, because a) i have no idea what measurements i used, and b) it looks so dubious in a picture that if i posted one, you would never try it, and you SHOULD, especially if you're a tofu doubter.

the idea of huge slabs of carcass slathered in tomato paste and brown sugar usually doesn't light my fire, but i started warming up to the idea after watching hours of BBQ specials on food network this weekend (hey, when you're spending the weekend on a godforsaken 19-mile strip of sand off the coast of jersey in the loving but modestly dysfunctional bosom of your family, you'll do a lot more, up to and including low-quality heroin, to maintain your sanity).

i didn't abide by any of the many regional distinctions when i made the sauce, i just sort of cherry picked the ingredients i thought i'd like:
tomato paste (i actually strained and blended a can of organic diced tomatoes, which tasted great, but was, admittedly, a little chunky)
mustard (just the yellow kind, about four tablespoons)
brown sugar (i dunno...half a cup? could have used less)
white wine vinegar,
olive oil
sriracha
garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, salt, pepper, chili powder...wheeee.

preheat the oven to 325, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. slather some sauce on the pan and lay down drained, 1/2 inch slabs of tofu. coat the tofu with more sauce, and bake until the sauce is baked into the tofu (about an hour).

blogrollcall

2009-06-02T15:54:00.004-04:00

pictures of my favorite forts: once you get past the disappointment of realizing that this is not, in fact, dedicated to the sheet, bunk bed, no girls allowed style forts, it's pretty easy to get sucked into the detailed architectural details and military histories in these well-written notes on fortresses from every corner of the world and every time period.

what would you like to learn today?: one-a those there "video blogs" all the kids are dancing to. from the man who brought you "pictures of my favorite forts", it's a testament to what a yale degree, four years teaching in a brooklyn public high school, and no felony convictions (yet!) can get you. you send in a question, and will answers it. anything at all. really. try him.

buzz, boom, and sizzle: my uncle's wicked sweet new true/slant blog on technology, pop culture, and their intersections. nepotism, wheeeee!

daily playlist 6/1/09: "this old heart of mine"

2009-06-01T17:03:00.012-04:00

"this old heart of mine"

the isley brothers

1966

for when: your heartache can only be properly expressed through the bari sax.

...or you just need something you can dance around to in your desk chair without falling out. warning: don't judge this by the 1989 rod stewart version, which makes me throw up a little in my mouth (although you may want to watch the music video, for larfs). you don't have to be feeling particularly ache-y in the cardiac area to love this track. i'm not, but for whatever reason, it's on repeat in a way that's making my roommates look at me oddly. it's also the song that i've sent to stressed, finals-taking or job-applying or apartment-hunting friends for like the past three months, and more than once i've been told it was the perfect musical panacea.

the rest of your playlist:
"moanin'" charles mingus (for the bari)
"tears dry on their own" amy winehouse (for the belt-y, melt-y, dance in your chair heartbreak)
"baby i need your lovin'" the four tops (for the old school video footage...because god forbid they're remembered for the 2009 grammys tribute, which, with the jonas bros' creepy performance with stevie wonder, was a night when soul died just a little).

farewell, emusic...

2009-06-01T16:24:00.004-04:00

i am, as we, er, blog, contemplating what is going to be my final emusic purchase, for now at least.

oh dear emusic, while i'll miss your free samplers and your literate editorials which relieve me of having to form my own opinions, i've decided to cancel. my ipod doth overflow already with your bounty (should have gotten the 80 gig) and i often forget to use my downloads...and when i move to nepal, $11.99 > 10% of my rent.

SO. now, monthly music dumps will just be concerts, and i'll be trying to do right by this blog (and simultaneously work through my enormous backlog of music), and post a track or album per day w/ post-title moniker "daily playlist".

out with the old, in with the "stop spending money and maybe post every day, dontcha know."

the "hispanic" fallacy

2009-05-27T12:50:00.009-04:00

so, while this doesn't make nate silver any less one of my imaginary boyfriends, i though it worthwhile to point out how even the smartest analysts are at the mercy of the problematic "hispanic" fallacy.

i was reading some fivethirtyeight posts about sotomayor's nomination, and i came across this post, where nate debunks the idea that "non-white hispanic" voters are more opposed to marriage equality than white voters.

so, although i really like the point silver's making, and wouldn't be able to question his actual math even if i wanted to, i (legitimately or not) decided to cherry pick this to bring up a major issue in the way we think about voting blocs and race as a whole. maybe this is just my inherent qualitative (anthropological) bent, but isn't a far more interesting and telling question the ways that opinions among "hispanics" differ? the category "non-white hispanic" is almost useless, really, for predictive purposes. there is such a world of difference among the experience and political calculus of, say, a first generation chicano voter in southern california, a second generation voter of cuban descent in miami, and a self-identified newyorican whose grandparents moved to the states 60 years ago, that it seems pretty inadequate to talk about some mythical category of "non-white hispanics" as a coherent voting bloc.

to be fair, it isn't like it's silver's fault. it's what he's got to work with. race in the united states is a deeply-ingrained, all-encompassing, and oversimplified category-creating discourse perpetuated by everything from talking heads on CNN to the way we apply for our driver's licenses. it just seems that in a nation where, for instance, the "non-white hispanic" population is increasing in size and diversity, that we can't rely on these overly broad categories to accurately tell us anything important about the way we and our fellow citizens actually behave. or perhaps more to the point, our continued reliance on these categories of understanding tells us a lot, and none of it comforting, about the way we continue to behave towards our fellow citizens.

k-k-k-k-k-k-kathmandu

2009-05-22T16:55:00.006-04:00

i assume that no one reads this blog except for my friends...well, mostly my mother, actually. in any case, most people reading this will have been a party, to a greater or lesser degree, to my last several months of insanity as my plans for next year came together.

for those of you who haven't been filled in on every detail as it comes, i won't bore you with it now, but i wanted to tell everyone that, barring a couple of hoops i'm still jumping through, i am, in fact, moving to nepal next year.

i'll be moving to kathmandu for a year (maybe longer?) and doing sustainable development work in rural areas. my departure date isn't totally set yet, but it'll be sometime in july. 'til then, i'll be in new haven until mid-june, and then on the cape until i leave.

i've actually already had my first travel prep related adventure. i went to costco the other day to buy food for a huge dinner party and, after being told at orientation that condoms are hard to come by in nepal, i thought it would be advisable to stock up, right? well, it's not every day that the question "do you sell condoms in bulk?" meets with an unblinking "sure. they're on sale". i sort of boxed in the 3 boxes (yes, some might say that 120 condoms is excessively optimistic) with some produce, more out of instinct than active shame. however, i definitely set another gold standard for awkwardness when the scanner broke down right before the condoms, resulting in at least three costco employees thinking that i was planning a very health dinner party...and a very safe orgy.

anyway, i'm psyched to be able to report back to you all on my attempts to learn nepali, my first taste of yak, my new apartment in kathmandu, and all my other adventures. hope i get to see you all before i go!

my gazpacho brings all the boys to the yard.

2009-05-22T15:25:00.010-04:00

that's right, it's better than yours.

it's true; i talk a HUGE game about my gazpacho (a cold veggie soup in a tomato-based broth, for the uninitiated), but i think it's warranted. it got a great response at a dinner party i just had, and a bunch of people asked for the recipe, so i figured i would post it (and simultaneously re-start keeping this blog up to date!).

gazpacho
so, first, my two part gazpacho manifesto:
first: thou shalt not blend.
blending gazpacho is for the weak. if you take care with your broth, there's no need to blend.
second: thou shalt let your gazpacho rest.
the great thing about gazpacho, like chili, is that it gets better with some time to rest. it's convenient, too, because you can make a huge amount of it, in advance, and eat it for days.

the broth is easy, but like so many other recipes i post, it's a matter of taste. i don't make it the same way every time, so i've just put down the basic ingredients, with approximate measurements for this last batch. it'll be up to you to find a balance you like. just whisk together V8 (2 bottles), veggie broth (1/2 carton), olive oil (a few tablespoons), lemon juice (4 medium sized lemons), hot sauce (i used 1/2 bottle of green tabasco), salt, pepper, and cumin. re: the cumin, i think it gives the spiciness a nice bottom note, but then again, i once put cumin in biscotti, so i'm pretty much an outlier when it comes to cumin use.

chop into medium bits: carrots, tomatoes (take out the seeds and goo with your thumbs), cucumber (unpeeled), green pepper. cook some onions and a few cloves of garlic, until the onion's a bit soft. let the gazpacho chill in the fridgee for up to 24 hours.

oven roast some corn on the cob (husked) at about 375 or 400 (depending on your oven); slice off the kernels and mix them in just before serving. don't skimp with the veggies, there should be tons.

garnish with avocado, cilantro, more hot sauce, toasted sunflower seeds, sour cream or greek yogurt, or anything else you like.

big bad barry obama

2009-04-20T14:51:00.006-04:00

i can't believe i'd never heard this before. fucking right.

also, i promise non-twitter (UGH) length posts again soon.

your new imaginary boyfriend

2009-04-18T10:20:00.003-04:00

if he's not already.

junot diaz, author of the INCOMPARABLE "brief and wondrous life of oscar wao", is charming and witty and insightful and, well, wonderful. this should be required listening.

life imitates art.

2009-04-13T14:45:00.004-04:00

this is literally out of an episode of 30 rock.

excuse me, your geek is showing.

2009-04-06T19:19:00.003-04:00

how can you not love these guys?

Middle East Upstairs (boston)
Sun 5/24
Harry and the Potters present WizRock iz Dead: a WizHop BLOWOUT with Swish and Flick, Dumbledore, Big Whompy, MC Kreacher, DJFF, MC Remus and the Lupins, Griz-ed & Fiz-orge – All Ages $10 – NOTE: 1pm Doors

hmm, overcompensation much, kim jong-il?

2009-04-06T13:13:00.003-04:00

okok. i know it's been said before, but i truly can't take the nuclear threat from north korea that seriously when such an unfortunate homonym is being bandied about in Serious News Reports.

the latest on north korea's Type-o-dong 2 BALL-istic missile technology.

"[T]he United Nations tumbled into a disarray over how to respond to what President Obama called a “provocative act.” Washington and Seoul said the North Korean rocket launched on Sunday failed to thrust a satellite into orbit...Peter Hayes, director of the Nautilus Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank, said the main motivation behind the launch was “to demonstrate the strength and vitality of Kim Jong Il’s leadership to the military and the population, and for the scientific sector to declare its fealty to Kim Jong Il’s leadership.” ...When North Korea first flight-tested the Taepodong-2, in July 2006, it blew apart 40 seconds after take-off."

don't worry, kim. i hear it happens to all world leaders at some point. doesn't make you any less of a man.

support harold koh

2009-04-05T22:40:00.004-04:00

oh sweet jesus. what a bunch of human dildos are the far right.

this article pretty much sums up the utter crock of shit that's being flung around about this nomination.

oh, and if yer on that face-thing all the kids are dancing to, join this group.

blogrollcall

2009-04-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

graphic feminism: one of our student workers, a senior this year, started and maintained this project. crazy smart, provocative, and easily the most aesthetically pleasing blog i've linked to so far.

vogue republic: some more friends from college with eclectic tastes (as you can see from the tag list). could just as easily be called "smart people talking about interesting things". something for everyone.

schott's vocab: obviously, i don't actually know this guy, but as a kid who read used to read constantly because she didn't have friends between the ages of 9 and 13, this sort of thing just makes me tingle.

i can haz a link to ur blog?

april music dump: concerts

2009-04-05T20:00:00.011-04:00

running a little late this month, but here is a preview of concerts i'd like to hit...review of music acquisitions forthcoming (still working through some of them).

4/8: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's @ Toad's (new haven)

4/8: Ray LaMontagne @Schubert Theater (new haven)

4/9: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin @ Mercury Lounge (nyc)

4/10 Amazing Ghost @ Cafe Nine (new haven)

4/15 Nada Surf @the bellhouse (nyc)

4/16 Damien Jurado @ TT The Bears (boston)

4/18 Yale FES Environmental Film Festival @GYPSCY (new haven)

4/19: Of Montreal @ Toad's (new haven)

4/20 Jedi Mind Tricks @ Toad's (new haven)

4/21: Ratatat @ Terminal 5 (nyc)

4/23 Simian Mobile Disco @ Highline Ballroom (nyc)

4/23 Shiny Toy Guns @ Webster Hall (nyc)

4/25: Kid Sister @Bowery Ballroom (nyc)

4/27 KRS-One @Toad's (new haven)

4/28 Girl Talk, N*E*R*D, Wale @Yale Spring Fling (new haven)

5/7 Cut Off Your Hands @ Mercury Lounge (nyc)

5/12 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bowery Ballroom (nyc)

5/14 Thao With the Get Down Stay Down @ Bowery Ballroom (nyc)

spiced goat cheese wontons and orange-coconut reduction

2009-04-05T19:34:00.006-04:00

yeah...sounds wicked fancy (although it's not)...and i did, in fact, royally screw up thos this desert idea the first time i tried it, having not bothered to consider the relatively low smoking point of butter, or to look up exactly what you do when you make a reduction. in any case, when i tried this whole thing again when i was at my parents' house a few weeks ago, it turned out much better, and i got the thoughtful feedback of two of my favorite foodies: my mom and uncle (my brother and father, though i love them dearly, are goat-like in their indiscriminate consumption of pretty much any old crap).

orange-coconut-chai reduction
(i've got to come up with a better name for this.)
in a small saucepan, bring pulp-free orange juice to a boil. steep several chai tea bags in the oj for a few minutes, but don't let it get bitter. pour enough light (organic, if possible) coconut milk to double the volume. then (and i guess this is how you do reductions), heat the crap out of it, stirring regularly, until it halves its volume and gets thick. if you want it sweet(er), i stir in some honey or agave nectar after you've finished reducing it.

notes for next time: my mom mentioned that this, like chili, gets tastier as it sits, and is great with yogurt. i wouldn't know, since i left the leftovers with her. in any case, i would probably cook this a couple of days in advance and leave it in the fridge next time. i think my next adventure may be a permutation using lime, coconut milk, and green tea.

spiced goat cheese wontons
take plain goat cheese and mush it up with some ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom. mix in some agave nectar (or any other sweetener), to taste. fold in teaspoons into square wonton wrappers and seal (see this post for suggestions). heat up some ghee in a frying pan, and pop the wontons in a few at a time, turning to get them toasty and golden all over. serve with a dollop of reduction.

notes for next time: consensus was that these weren't quite sweet enough for a desert, but i leave that up to your palates. i think i would make the wontons rather than the reduction, the sweeter part. also, i happen to really really (really) like goat cheese, but for people who find it too, hm, gamey, you could probably substitute mascarpone or even ricotta.

this ceviche is not a metaphor for my relationship with my mother

2009-04-05T18:48:00.009-04:00

so, clearly, i've been kinda MIA lately...i'm doing a lot of catching up on things that i meant to blog a while ago. this scallop ceviche was from when i was visiting home a few weeks back.

for anyone who hasn't tried ceviche before, now is the time to start experimenting...it's light and citrus-y, and best made with fresh ingredients: perfect for summer, really. the basic premise sounds kinda repellent, but i promise it's not. ceviche is a dish made most often in coastal south america (particularly peru and ecuador), and is comopsed acid-cooked fish served in the broth in which the fish has marinated.

the exact recipes vary by region, but the broth is often citrus and/or tomato-based with chilies and onions. you can use any kind of white fish, but, obviously, since you're serving it undercooked (the final product comes out more acid-seared than acid-cooked), you should be getting sushi grade stuff. scallop and shrimp ceviches are also popular, but you should flash cook them, by pour boiling water over them, before you pop them in the broth (maybe more than once for scallops, depending on size. for shrimp, leave in water until they turn just slightly pink, then rinse in cold water to prevent rubberiness). how well done your seafood is depends on how long you leave it in the broth. it should be monitored to prevent a rubbery, overcooked state. you can garnish with anything from tomatoes to cilantro or parsley to avocado to corn chips (popcorn is a traditional garnish...somewhere...ecuador? don't quote me on that).

anyway, my favorite thing about ceviche is the way you can mix and match variations in the broth, seafood, "cooking" time, and garnish to make dishes with completely different profiles using the exact same process. this wasn't the best ceviche i've ever made, but it wasn't the worst. next time, i'm playing with grapefruit and lime juices mixed with some coconut milk, which i guess is used in honduran ceviche. but for now:

tomato-less scallop ceviche
in a glass (or other non-reactive) bowl, mix half and half fresh squeezed orange juice (low to medium pulp) and fresh squeezed lime juice. add finely chopped red onion (or shallot). mix in salt, pepper, olive oil, and hot pepper sauce (i used sriracha, my new favorite thing, which has a smoky flavor) to taste. you may want to dilute the mixture with some chicken broth or water.
give the scallops a quick cook in salted, boiling water. chop them and toss them in the broth. cover and refrigerate until done to your satisfaction. garnish with cilantro, avocado, diced roasted tomatoes a la ellen, and a few dots of sriracha.

"the most delicious sandwich in richmond"

2009-04-05T18:44:00.003-04:00

from my friend kitt, who only pretends to not want to blog with me here:

"Alright, food blogger. I just made the BEST leftovers sandwich: toasted English muffin with thinly spread horseradish on one half, pesto on the other, melted havarti, thinly sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced beets, and sprouts. Bow down before the most delicious sandwich ever to come out of Richmond"

bonus points for being vegetarian.
points deducted for kitt living in the south.

you really ought to give iowa a try

2009-04-03T15:58:00.017-04:00

YEEEHA.

while all marriage equality eyes have been on prop 8 in CA, this iowa state supreme court case managed to slip under the radar until it blew its way onto the scene today. the unanimous decision rendered this afternoon absolutely DESTROYS the "circular" (their words, not mine) logic of opponents of marriage equality... all while maintaining characteristic heartland courtesy.

the full text is worth a read (no really, the judges are just like "honestly, now?!? no srsly, stfu."), but here are a few more of my favorite passages:

"This lawsuit is a civil rights action by twelve individuals who reside in
six communities across Iowa. Like most Iowans, they are responsible,
caring, and productive individuals. They maintain important jobs, or are
retired, and are contributing, benevolent members of their communities.
They include a nurse, business manager, insurance analyst, bank agent,
stay-at-home parent, church organist and piano teacher, museum director,
federal employee, social worker, teacher, and two retired teachers. Like
many Iowans, some have children and others hope to have children. Some
are foster parents. Like all Iowans, they prize their liberties and live within
the borders of this state with the expectation that their rights will be
maintained and protected—a belief embraced by our state motto.1
Despite the commonality shared with other Iowans, the twelve
plaintiffs are different from most in one way. They are sexually and
romantically attracted to members of their own sex. The twelve plaintiffs
comprise six same-sex couples who live in committed relationships. Each
maintains a hope of getting married one day, an aspiration shared by many
throughout Iowa."

...

"[W]ith respect to the subject and purposes of Iowa’s marriage
laws, we find that the plaintiffs are similarly situated compared to
heterosexual persons. Plaintiffs are in committed and loving relationships,
many raising families, just like heterosexual couples. Moreover, official
recognition of their status provides an institutional basis for defining their
fundamental relational rights and responsibilities, just as it does for
heterosexual couples. Society benefits, for example, from providing samesex
couples a stable framework within which to raise their children and the
power to make health care and end-of-life decisions for loved ones, just as it
does when that framework is provided for opposite-sex couples.
In short, for purposes of Iowa’s marriage laws, which are designed to
bring a sense of order to the legal relationships of committed couples and
their families in myriad ways, plaintiffs are similarly situated in every
important respect, but for their sexual orientation."

...

"Thus, the use of traditional marriage as both the governmental
objective and the classification of the statute transforms the equal protection
analysis into the question of whether restricting marriage to opposite-sex
couples accomplishes the governmental objective of maintaining opposite-sex
marriage.
This approach is, of course, an empty analysis. It permits a
classification to be maintained “ ‘for its own sake.’ ” Kerrigan, 957 A.2d at
478 (quoting Romer, 517 U.S. at 635, 116 S. Ct. at 1629, 134 L. Ed. 2d at
868). Moreover, it can allow discrimination to become acceptable as
tradition and helps to explain how discrimination can exist for such a long
time. If a simple showing that discrimination is traditional satisfies equal
protection, previous successful equal protection challenges of invidious
racial and gender classifications would have failed. Consequently, equal
protection demands that “ ‘the classification ([that is], the exclusion of gay
[persons] from civil marriage) must advance a state interest that is separate
from the classification itself.’ ” Id. (quoting Hernandez v. Robles, 855 N.E.2d
1, 33 (N.Y. 2006) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting)); see also Romer, 517 U.S. at 635,
116 S. Ct. at 1629, 134 L. Ed. 2d at 868 (rejecting “classification of persons
undertaken for its own sake”)."

....

"The civil marriage statute is
under-inclusive because it does not exclude from marriage other groups of
parents—such as child abusers, sexual predators, parents neglecting to
provide child support, and violent felons—that are undeniably less than
optimal parents. Such under-inclusion tends to demonstrate that the
sexual-orientation-based classification is grounded in prejudice or
“overbroad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or
preferences” of gay and lesbian people, rather than having a substantial
relationship to some important objective. If the marriage statute was truly focused on
optimal parenting, many classifications of people would be excluded, not
merely gay and lesbian people...
As applied to this case, it could be argued the same-sex marriage ban
is just one legislative step toward ensuring the optimal environment for
raising children. Under this argument, the governmental objective is slightly
more modest. It seeks to reduce the number of same-sex parent households,
nudging our state a step closer to providing the asserted optimal milieu for
children. Even evaluated in light of this narrower objective, however, the
ban on same-sex marriage is flawed.
The ban on same-sex marriage is substantially over-inclusive because
not all same-sex couples choose to raise children. Yet, the marriage statute
denies civil marriage to all gay and lesbian people in order to discourage the
limited number of same-sex couples who desire to raise children. In doing
so, the legislature includes a consequential number of “individuals within
the statute’s purview who are not afflicted with the evil the statute seeks to
remedy.”

...

The County also proposes that
government endorsement of traditional civil marriage will result in more
procreation.
[...EH?!? LET 'ER RIP ISSC...]
Even if possibly true, the link between
exclusion of gay and lesbian people from marriage and increased procreation
is far too tenuous to withstand heightened scrutiny.
[FOR THE WIN]

...

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion
of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not
substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature
has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely
important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification.
There is no material fact, genuinely in dispute, that can affect this
determination.
We have a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the law.
Faithfulness to that duty requires us to hold Iowa’s marriage statute, Iowa
Code section 595.2, violates the Iowa Constitution. To decide otherwise
would be an abdication of our constitutional duty....
Consequently, the language in Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil
marriage to a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute, and the
remaining statutory language must be interpreted and applied in a manner
allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil
marriage....All justices concur."
....

FUCK YES.

what effect this will have on pending cases, i'll have to leave to my friends who are in law school*, but i have to say, this seems like an unmitigated victory.

*or not...ok, some of the branches of gvt discussion puts a lot of emphasis on (state) constitutional deference...so is this case less useful in supporting a case that contests a state constitutional amendment passed by ballot inititative...i guess i'd say probably, but i'm also probably talking out my butt.

ZOMG

2009-03-24T14:29:00.002-04:00

it's NATIONAL PUPPY DAY.
no, srsly, though, adoption, s'a good thing.

brain-food playlist

2009-03-21T19:29:00.016-04:00

yeah. i'm buried in work. having slacked off during (everyone else's) spring break, i'm paying the price this weekend. for whatever reason, i've discovered a certain loosely similar (in my head anyway) brand of dance-y electronic-ish music is keeping me focused (um, despite blog breaks?), so i thought i'd share (in alphabetical, not aural/aesthetic order).

chairlift bruises
chairlift evident utensil
cut copy far away (gold filter remix)
friendly fires lovesick
friendly fires jump in the pool
kid sister get fresh
matt and kim daylight
MGMT kids
miike snow burial (dj mehdi remix)
miike snow animal (original or either remix)
MSTRKRFT bounce
sonny j can't stop moving

happy 1388!

2009-03-21T18:14:00.010-04:00

happy nowruz...from president obama?
that's right.

aaand those would be subtitles in farsi.

reaction has been mixed, but it's worth noting the contrast to bush's last nowruz message. now that's some saavy bridge-building, and culturally sensitive diplomatic manuevering circa 2000-2008...woof.

what a difference a year makes.

update: from my farsi-fluent friend june's blog, a quick rundown of iranian blogosphere reaction.

from guinea to yale and back again

2009-03-19T12:30:00.028-04:00

i got a little vicarious thrill in coming across a quote from my anthro advisor, currently on leave and doing field work, at the end of this article about the military coup in guinea.

the first time i met mike was when i came to the first day of his class (his first class at yale, i think) "anthropologies of insurgency". my skepticism about his choice of facial hair (a little soul-patch paired a predilection for black turtlenecks) was short lived. by the end of the semester, i decided that any guy who mentions offhandedly anecdotes like "this one time i was talking to some insurgents in the niger delta. they had this new remote car-bombing technology they were really excited about. i think they got it from jihadis, but they wouldn't tell me for sure" can wear his beard any damn way he pleases.

yes, mike is a scary scary man (especially when he's critiquing your senior thesis), but he's also exactly the kind of anthropologist i want to be when i grow up. it's not just his subject matter (political violence, conflict, reconstruction), but his approach. while maintaining a proper anthropological dedication to deep understandings of local particularities, he doesn't fear the comparative or political economic. most importantly, he wants to make anthropology accessible to policy (he was west africa project director at international crisis group, one of my all-time favorite NGOs, before returning to academia at yale).

at the end of this post on guinea, he poses some questions that i think, disastrously, for many years went without serious consideration in COIN and other policy planning (eg applicability of an iraq-style surge in afghanistan): "How can we take into account the particularities of a country and also the predictability of experiences from other countries in roughly comparable situations? How can we take seriously local actors’ just concerns with short-term considerations while underlining the medium-to-long term risks being built into the situation by present compromises?". i'm not saying that these questions aren't posed, but rather that the importance of anthropology (or, rather, the vital local knowledge that the discipline is in the unique position to provide) in answering them was for a long time ignored by policymakers. in return, the discipline obliged policy-makers by basically uninviting them to its birthday party. and so both groups skipped along for most of the 20th century, happily writing off the other as detached from reality on the ground (in their own ways).

since the american military finally caught wise to what they were missing in the wars in afghanistan and iraq, we've seen a new debate born among in social science (and especially anthro) around the human terrain system (HTS)program, which embeds social scientists with the military in the field. quite rightly, the american anthropological association, has decided that researchers collaborating with the military can not maintain a responsible, "first, do no harm" relationship with their informants, and may simultaneously do irreparable harm to the discipline (you can read the AAA resolution here and the full report here).

now, i think the resolution is absolutely right. HTS, as it currently functions, is fundamentally contradictory to responsible anthropology. besides being, arguably, deeply unethical, the results that you get are just not reliable the way non-embedded anthropology is; HTT anthropologists can't build the bonds of trust or develop the subtle back-of-the-house understanding of local dynamics that are precisely what (should) make anthro invaluable to responsible policy making. a not-unreasonable analogy is to the fundamental unreliability of intelligence gathered by torture. on the other hand, i think this debate forces open a conversation about what role anthropology should play in informing policy. the statement in the AAA resolution says, "anthropology can and in fact is obliged to help improve U.S. government policies through the widest possible circulation of anthropological understanding in the public sphere, so as to contribute to a transparent and informed development and implementation of U.S. policy by robustly democratic processes of fact-finding, debate, dialogue, and deliberation." however, i don't think the discipline can rest on this statement alone. the HTS debacle(s) must force a deeper examination about how anthropologists can remain true to professional ethics while REALLY engaging policy makers with the knowledge that they need.

...anyway. i never meant for this post to devolve into what it did...long story short, it's time that policy makers got re-invited to our birthday party. work like mike's and international crisis group's are good examples of vitally important bridge building among disciplines and between academia and policy making.

thai shrimp soup of the gods

2009-03-17T18:06:00.007-04:00

this one was a family collaborative effort from this weekend. my brother brought home the recipe, and my mom and uncle cooked it. i was cooking other things ( gingery brussel sprouts and spiced goat cheese wontons), so, er, i supervised.

the smell of this cooking is pretty near heaven. it's tangy and spicy and sweet in that way only SE asian food is...just. the. best.

the version made was probably lighter than the recipe below, since we used light coconut milk instead of regular. we also cooked it without any meat in it, to accommodate my brother and me. instead, we had shrimp and chicken cooked seperately, to be added in later. apparently, my brother and his friends made it at school with no meat but extra mushrooms, which is also yummy.

4 cups chicken stock
5 cloves garlic , peeled and cut into large chunks
2 inches fresh ginger , peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems, plus additional 1/2 cup chopped for garnish
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 (4- to 6-ounce) boneless chicken breast , cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 jalapeno , sliced into rings (optional)
1 small tomato , seeded and diced, for garnish
1/2 cup freshly shaved coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes , toasted, for garnish

In a large heavy-bottom pot over high heat, combine chicken stock, garlic, ginger, curry paste, coriander, cumin, peppercorns and cilantro. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Strain broth over a bowl through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids. Return broth to pot; add coconut milk, shallots, mushrooms and chicken. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and jalapeño, if desired; stir until sugar is dissolved, then add mixture to soup. Garnish with tomato, coconut shavings and cilantro; serve hot.

a children's treasury of my mom's culinary staples (or: why i go home)

2009-03-17T15:11:00.018-04:00

so i've been inactive on the blog for a little while, because i was home for a long weekend, and while i'm there, i like to pretend that there is nothing but walks on the shore, reading on the couch, beers at grumpy's, and my mom's cooking....

...especially the cooking. for a woman who will happily eat unspeakable, week-old leftovers all mushed up together in a bowl, my mom is an incredible cook. the best. and we never really stop eating in my house. we're a family of grazers; i would wager that most of our calories are consumed just before dinner, with the eternal cheese and roasted veggie and hummus and toast and deliciousness that goes out before we actually consider ourselves ready to consume the real meal.
below is a collection of her old standards (or variations on them), with my pictures and instructions in her own words.

roasted red peppers
ellen sez: "wash and dry them. Put them on a baking sheet (I line it with foil, since sticky juice leaks out when the peppers cook, and it's hell to clean up. Broil them, turning until all sides are charred but not so charred that the meat is all desiccated. It's fine if the charred skin cracks. Let them cool completely. Peel and remove seeds. Juice will come out, and it--or at least some of it--is yummy to keep the peppers in. Cut, douse with some good olive oil, and balsamic if you want, and a slice of garlic if you want, and some basil leaves if you want"
molly sez:"eat with everything, especially soft cheeses and toast."

rumanian eggplant
ellen sez: "wash, dry, prick a couple of times on all sides. Broil, again on foil and again until charred all over and collapsed. remove from oven, make a slit from one end to the other, squirt plenty of lemon juice in, and let cool. Scrape into a bowl, chop, add olive oil, salt and pepper, and in the true rumanian style, some very finely chopped oninons, but I don't like the onions."
molly sez: "ONIONS. and yeah, kinda looks like boogers, but as someone who missed out for the first 20 year of her life due to squeemishness, i can tell you: sack up."

roasted tomatoes
ellen sez: "Buy the Roma (Plum) tomatoes. Cut in half the long way and with your index and middle fingers (or in my case, kielbasas), dig out the seeds and the juicy stuff the seeds are in; leave the pulp, though. Line a baking sheet w/parchment, put tomatoes cut side up, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, and chopped garlic. Roast at 275 for 2 hours."
molly sez: "new favorite."

salmon
ellen sez: "get a slab of salmon fillet, put it on a baking sheet on top of parchment. Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cover with another sheet of parchment and press so it sticks to the fish. Bake at 400-ish --maybe 10 minutes--until fish flakes and is as done as you like it. I don't know how to determine that except dig a fork into the middle and look. The rule of thumb seems to be 10 minutes/inch of fish."
molly sez: "not her usual preparation, but just as good. serve with tsatsiki"

fruit pie
ellen sez: "4 cups of fruit, 2/3-ish cup of sugar, 1/4cup flour, lemon juice and peel (but not pith, of course), 1/4 tsp cinnamon, anything else (nuts? craisins?) and if juicy, 2 tsp quick-cooking tapioca sprinkled over the top. Stir gently. Let sit 15 min. Preheat oven to 450. I use the Pillsbury or store brand pie dough that comes in the long rectangular box in dairy sections. Put fruit filling in shell, dot with butter, put top layer of crust on. Brush top crust with milk or cream and dust with sugar. make several slits. bake at 450 for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 for 35-40 min. If the edges start to get too brown, you can do that tin foil trick."
molly sez: "i put a little half and half on, but if you wanna be all european, finish with cheese"

kitchen confidential

2009-03-09T23:18:00.007-04:00

one of the best shows no longer on television.
it's a story about a brilliant chef and recovering mess of a human, jack bourdain (yes, as in loosely based on anthony bourdain and his book of the same title) given one last chance for redemption. he gathers together a motley crew of cooks and comedy ensues!

...seriously, though, it's wicked funny (and the source of one of my favorite cooking quotes ever*). although only four episodes ever aired in the US before fox canceled it (same season arrested development was canceled, in a perfect storm of poor judgment), all the episodes are available on dvd, as well as on hulu. at 13 episodes of 20 minutes each, it can be done in one slightly embarrassingly long sitting/binge.

*"cooking isn't about struggling. it's about pleasure. it's like sex, with a wider variety of sauces" -- steven

facing the tattoo music

2009-03-09T18:01:00.013-04:00

so i'm inching closer and closer, sideways and crab-like, to sacking up and getting a tattoo. i've had it designed for a while (nb: it is not, nor was it ever, going to be a gothic-lettered "LA LUCHA"...just to clear that up. i'm in no rush to get shanked by an ecuadorian gang member or harassed by east haven cops); i've narrowed down placement to ankle, lower back, or between shoulder blades (although: painful, tramp-stamp, and inclined to fat, respectively); and now i just have to figure out where to go. SO if you've had a good experience with a particular location or artist, preferably in an easily accessible place like new haven, boston, or new york, email me or let 'er rip in the comments.

(it should be noted that this is not the design either, just a little something i whipped up for the cover of our intern protocols at my old internship. GENDER AND SECURITY: HOLLA BACK. UNSCR 1325 4LYFE)

common concert post-game

2009-03-08T15:21:00.044-04:00

caveat: this post is going to start a little negative, but IT WAS ALL WORTH IT BECAUSE LONNIE RASHID LYNN JR (aka common sense aka common) IS A GOD AMONG MEN.

so last night i went to a show at toad's for the first time in a while, because...well, who could pass up common playing within walking distance?? we sort of split the baby in terms of arrival- too late to get to the front, but early enough that we waited for an hour and a half for the opener, asher roth, to go on. (predictably, the show started about an hour late).

asher roth...
is a new artist from PA. i knew nothing about him before he came on, so i didn't immediately identify the lanky, tow-headed kid (he's 23) who loped on stage and snagged a floating joint from an audience member as the first act. he's kind of charming, actually, in that wanna pinch his cheeks way...but he's self-fashioned as a sort of chill party boy; his overall vibe says "smoke weed every day! in my mom's basement, in the suburbs". to be fair to him, it's not really his fault that i didn't respond well. first of all, when you show up for common, a man who writes lyrics about his daughter's eyes and redirecting hiphop in a positive direction, a song called "i love college" isn't exactly what you're in the mood for. on a personal note, as someone who's trying to scramble up the cliff-face of adulthood (one foot upwards, two feet back) lyrics like "that party last night was awfully crazy/i wish we taped it/i danced my ass off/i had this one girl completely naked/drink my beer/smoke my weed/with my good friends it's all i need"...not so much. it's to his credit that he doesn't posture and act like something he's not, but at the end of the day, he's sort of like the OAR of hiphop: fun if you're smashed at a party, but otherwise a bit grating and juvenile in all but the smallest doses.

COMMON
it says so much about this artist that he wiped away every trace of negativity that had built up for me in the interim between acts. as much as i love live music, i realize that i kind of hate concert-goers. i was surrounded by every terrible show attendee stereotype...EVER. the couple making out the whole time: to my right. the group of drunk, writing, attention-seeking 14 year old girls with the BRIGHTEST CAMERA FLASHES this side of a red carpet: to my left. the tallest guy in the room: directly in front of me. the guy shouting every lyric in budweiser breath: directly over my right shoulder. BUT in the middle of mentally composing hate letters to all of these people, common swooped onto stage in a blaze of energy, and i immediately loved everyone around me, and not just because of the ambient marijuana finally getting to me (i don't think...).

his set was pretty be heavy (which made me happy), including the title track, "the corner", "go", "testify", "love is", and "the food" (in his encore), but he also threw in older classics like "i used to love HER" (a scathing critique of hiphop's gangsta-turn, which spawned a brief battle with west-coast rappers, primarily ice cube), to which the crowd responded energetically. live-moment highlights included a quick sample from black star's "definition," when he decided to spotlight his INCREDIBLE dj, and an extended free-style, which, starting off a bit slow, made me wonder if he was beginning to show his age, but picked up considerably in the second half, where he offered shout-outs to new haven landmarks and a mini-praise song for obama (AMEN!)**.

this was my first real exposure to his neptunes-produced universal mind control material, which is a departure, especially lyrically, from the gravitas and fusion beats for which he's become known. however, the sheer danceability (less common for common) of "universal mind control" make truth of the lyric "you know you like it/it's calling your name". "punch drunk love" (the album version reprises the successful kanye/common partnership from be) isn't terrible either. i dug "gladiator"; its sky-high energy and horn-and-piano accented electronic beats make it great for a live show, but who invokes michael vick and nelson mandela in the same verse? common's famous and admirable moral compass seems to have gotten skewed there. unfortunately, "sex 4 sugar", weirdly salacious in a crappy club song kinda way, doesn't have the same musical highlights to redeem it.

but let's be real: it barely matters what a mixed bag his new stuff is. the man is a consummate performer. he reminds me of the kind of young, cool high school teacher who had the students completely in the palm of his hand. a commanding, but playful presence; earnest, but mischievous. he seemed like he was having as much fun as the audience was (which was LOT) whether he was bantering with his dj and keyboardist on stage, interacting with the crowd in front, or dancing with a fist-pumping, sweat-soaked energy on every inch of the stage. (it helps that common is not only a riveting performer, but easily one of the most attractive men i have ever been the the presence of; he is sexy in an irresistible, magnetic way. i'm (almost) not ashamed to admit that i would have sacrificed a digit to have been the girl he brought up on stage during "love is".)

bottom line:
there are shows that you leave feeling quizzical, with a sense of anti-climax (dave matthews).
there are shows that you leave feeling satisfied, but ultimately not overwhelmed (catch 22).
there are shows that you leave, drunk as a lord on smuggled nips of bourbon, eating cheez-fries, and having just made out with a celtics-jersey wearing plumber from quincy, in order to tow a distressed and equally drunk friend back to a red roof inn (steve miller band).

and then there are shows, like this one, that make you say to yourself, "i would give up [sex, chocolate, beer, lolcatz, etc] for a whole year, in a hiphop lent sort of way, if i could see that every saturday".... it's the food, baby.

aaanyway, to distract you from the fact that i've been to a steve miller band concert, here's a snippet of "go" from saturday:

**i, of course, got video of the first half of this, but, for no logical reason, stopped taping in the second half. kicking myself...but i'm having a hell of a time getting the videos posted, anyway...so maybe no harm done. i'll try to get something posted, soon, though, whether it's my own or something that pops up on youtube.

blogrollcall

2009-03-07T12:09:00.009-05:00

so i just wanted to make some brief plugs for friends' blogs.
'cause why not.

argument by spaghetti: dave is so sharp, he cuts himself, sometimes. this blog is great snippets of our mutual, geeky love of all things political, mostly in the IR/security studies realm, or, as he puts it, "random thoughts about order, conflict, violence, and anything else that sticks." he keeps wanting me to post more stuff in this vein, and who knows, maybe i will.

come on into my kitchen: my friend molly and i have been known collectively as "the molly mayhems", for good reason. check out her cooking blog, which is awesome, if a little sparse lately :(

diagonal limes: kai has this really annoying habit of being excellent at whatever he turns his hand to. this includes his music blog, which trends towards the electronic and electronic-heavy rock/pop genres. he knows his shit.

encyclopedia black: for the pop culture geek in all of us, i give you jay's blog. these days, he's actually mostly posting on forcesofgeek. (best blog name ever? possibly.)

traveling light: june's semester studying abroad in amman, and then (planned) summer working in beirut. june is a stellar photographer and journalist, and all around great world citizen, so it's always worth following her adventures, which she always relays with insight and eloquence.

are we friends? do i not know you have a blog? are you one of approx. three people who will see this post? send your blog to me and i'll shamelessly plug you.

off-season for a reason

2009-03-07T11:45:00.004-05:00

maybe it's the economic downturn and the "staycation" trend that's only partially sweeping the nation...but whatever the motive behind this laura holson's nytimes travel section paean to the romance of the forbidding but icily beautiful winter on cape, it's abundantly clear that the author has never actually spent a whole. winter. on. the. cape.

having grown up there, i can tell you that the spring and fall right before and after the tourist season are vastly underrated...but you've pretty much got it right to avoid winter. winter on the cape is much like the rest of new england...gray and cold. if we actually get snow, it looks beautiful for about five minutes, then turns dingy and slushy, then freezes. you might have a couple of freak days in the 40s or even 50s (new england weather: toying with your shit since 1660), which will make it all melt before it drops back down to 15 with wind chill. rinse and repeat. on the cape, you also get the car-rusting salty rawness of the frigid sea air rolling off the shore...so, bonus!

and if i'm going to get self-righteous as well as mocking (and, really, when have i ever shied away from that), her brief portrait of the salty locals (look! they eat oysters, too!) glosses the reality of what happens in an economic crisis when "a drinking town with a fishing problem" overfished its two generations ago, and relies almost exclusively on tourism to sustain its economy.

march/april concert update

2009-03-07T11:25:00.003-05:00

here are some more for ya:

3/10: let's wrestle and black lips @ music hall of williamsburg [<--anyone? anyone?]
AND/OR
3/13 let's wrestle w/ pains of being pure at heart @ the bell house [THIS will be an AWESOME show...that i tragically can't attend]

4/1 Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Terminal 5
4/1 Sebastien Tellier @ Le Poisson Rouge
4/3 Deadmau5 @ Roseland Ballroom
4/18 Yale FES Environmental Film Festival @GYPSCY
4/23 Simian Mobile Disco @ Highline Ballroom

CT police state

2009-03-06T09:52:00.002-05:00

this article in the new haven independent documents what is looking like some truly egregious shit.

it's frustrating that it took the arrest of a (white) priest with a video camera to get people's attention about the east haven police harassment of latino business owners and the terrorization of their customers, but better late than never i guess.

any thoughts on ways to take action on this? if i had a car, i would go patronize these places (and i may try to do this anyway). anyone else have any ideas/has anyone heard of efforts that are already going on?

everything's amazing.

2009-03-05T16:49:00.004-05:00

...and nobody's happy.
every time i catch myself wanting to chuck my computer, dysfunctionanal microsoft visio free trial and all, out the window, i force myself to quote this in my head, like a mantra.

nouveaux lentils and further adventures in flatbread

2009-03-05T00:05:00.013-05:00

as much as i love my lentils (and my roommate does call me "lentil queen"), i've gotten sick of my usual curried-ish tomato-ish lentil recipe that i've relied on for most of the winter. so, i was understandably psyched when a friend sent me a lentil recipe that relies on winter greens and fresh herbs for a new take on this particular staple. i made some changes from the original to suit my taste, so it's still pretty spice heavy, but during a new england march, when you've pretty much run out of patience with winter, scenic snow-scapes or not, trust me, the this fresh-herb dependent recipe can make all the difference....

nouveaux lentils
chop one large onion, and sautee in a large saucepan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
when the onion gets soft, add two minced cloves of garlic and some powdered ginger and cumin, as well as about a cup and a quarter of lentils.
mix together and add enough vegetable stock to cover the lentils with room to spare.
cover and cook until the lentils are tender, adding more stock as necessary.
throw in a generous amount (1/4 lb? 1/3 lb?) of kale (or any winter green...the recipe called for spinach, i used kale, and chard would probably work as well, besides adding nice color) with a little extra stock or water, and wilt the greens.
add red pepper, black pepper, salt, and more ginger and cumin if necessary, to taste.
when everything else is satisfactory, mix in a double handful, equal parts chopped mint and cilantro. serve with a dollop of yogurt.

first attempt at naan
so i've already blogged my shot at foccacia, and the naan i made tonight is really similar, just with more fat, and different seasoning.
mix 1 packet yeast and 2 tsps honey.
add 3/4 cup warm (~110F) water to activate yeast, and leave covered for 5-10minutes, until frothy.
mix together 2tsps salt and 1 1/2 cups flour, and 2 cloves minced garlic.
add yeasty/honied water, along with 1/4 cup ghee and 3 generous tbsps greek yogurt.
mix, then knead, adding flour as needed to get to an elastic and not impossibly sticky dough.
oil a bowl and the dough, and cover. leave to rise to double its size (~1 hour).
punch down dough, remove from bowl.
preheat oven to 400F.
divide dough into 10 pieces, roll out, and place on oiled baking sheet.
cook until golden, flipping halfway through.
remove, glaze with more ghee, and serve.

just to go along with the theme, i decided to try a new beer:
otter creek brewery isn't my favorite (their copper ale tastes like a trip to the dentist), but, given the theme of my dinner, i couldn't resist trying their "world tour: sphinx" which is an "egyptian multigrain ale bewed with chamomile and honey". it very much tastes like if you were to make a beer out of a mug of chamomile tea with lemon and honey. it's actually not bad...unique, if likely to offend purists. on the other hand, it pairs pretty well with the spice/mint of the lentils and the buttery naan....and maybe more importantly, it's $2 for a 1pt 6oz bottle...so enjoy!

FML: john legend

2009-03-04T14:09:00.005-05:00

so work this week is making flow charts/report writing until my eyes bleed. times like this, i'm really glad that few people work around me. we share our building with an eclectic group of yale organizations (the episcopal church at yale? the lgbt co-op? the yale angler's jounal?) each with few employees, so there's virtually no day to day contact with other people. given that the building seems to have been decorated in Early American Psych Ward, this can get a little, er, wearing. on the bright side, this means i can listen to music in my office, pretty much as loudly as i'd like.

lately, my music selection of choice has been my pandora quickmix of common, the temptations, and amy winehouse (a largely neo-soul/"conscious" hip-hop mix that only stufftwhitepeoplelike could love). from this, i've been reminded of why i originally purchased john legend's "get lifted". my roomate and i were just talking about how insufferable the contemporary r&b genre can be...which gave me the opportunity to rant about how so many artists who are put into the r&b/pop category today spit on the legacy of CLASSIC r&b that they've inherited. one exception that i think stands out is john legend, who, while unapologetically producing that babymakin' music, does it with style and originality: interesting collaborations, musical integrity, and honest to god throwback-to-motown sound.

anyway, that's all just my opinion, and really by way of dressing up how embarassed i was, nonetheless, to be caught by our cute wireless installer guy, singing along to slow dance and dancing around in my chair like a fool. FML.

at least it wasn't this one (it's even worse as you read the lyrics)...

herbed apple pie

2009-03-01T23:46:00.008-05:00

it's snowing out AGAIN...i am so done with winter...

that said, it seemed appropriate to end my weekend with a little comfort food and a movie. so i cued up "can't hardly wait" (which i'd actually never seen before), and decided to use up some of the fresh thyme and mint that i had in my fridge.
i don't much like sweet things, so i decided to adapt an apple pie for my tastes. it's still kind of sweet, but uses honey and orange juice rather than sugar.

crust
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
2 sticks butter, cut up
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
ice water

mix the flour, sugar, and salt with a food processor, add the butter and pulse until the mixture is kind of crumbly. add the water, slowly, until you can make the mixture stick together. knead the dough until it forms a ball, and divide it into two discs. pop them in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, for about an hour.

filling
peel and dice some apples and mix them with lemon juice, orange juice, honey (only about a 1/4-1/3 of a cup), ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. let it hang out, covered, while the crust chills.

take the crusts out, let sit at room temp for about 10 minutes, then roll both out. line a pie pan with one. mix the apples with a handful of thyme and chopped mint. throw the filling in the crust and cap with the other. pinch the two crusts together and trim off the extra.
bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees. when the edge of the crust starts to look brown, cover it with foil, turn down the oven to 375 and keep cooking until the rest of the top crust gets golden.

cool the pie for a while and serve with some cream (i didn't have heavy cream to whip, but that would be yummy), and maybe a little maple syrup.

notes for next time: i was a little heavy handed with the thyme. in the future, i'd be more judicious with that, and add a little more cinnamon, and maybe some cloves (which i didn't have tonight).

the new white house

2009-03-01T18:22:00.003-05:00

i started my morning off with the videos posted below...and can i just say how glorious it is to be able to imagine the american president and his wife having sex without feeling physically ill?
our first couple is just so bangin'.

so, thanks for that, stevie wonder.

watch barry sing along...I LOVE THIS MAN.

march music dump.

2009-03-01T13:49:00.035-05:00

happy march, everyone!
i realized i had a couple of posts i wanted to do: one on concerts i want to see, and one on my monthly binge/emusic purchase....and then realized that they could easily be combined in a single, convenient monthly format. so, i give you: monthly music dump, march edition.

march concerts
these are concerts i want to hit in the months of march and april. most are in new york, although some are in new haven (toad's turned out a surprisingly good lineup). i'm open to pretty much anything, though, so send me a concert and i'll update this post.

3/7 Toad's: Common

3/15 (Music Hall of Williamsburg) 3/16 NYC (Terminal 5): Ting Tings

3/16 Toad’ s: Less Than Jake

3/25 Terminal 5: Bloc Party

3/26 Music Hall of Williamsburg: The Harlem Shakes (nb: yale alums)

3/31 Toad's: Digable Planets (yeah, that's right)

3/31 Wellmont Theater: Ray Lamontagne

4/4 Mercury Lounge: Ra Ra Riot

4/8 Toad's: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

4/9 Mercury Lounge: Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin

4/19 Toad's: Of Montreal

4/20 Toad's: Jedi Mind Tricks

4/21 Terminal 5: Ratatat

4/27 Toad's: KRS-One

emusic binge
so, as i've mentioned before, my personal music downloading venue of choice is emusic (and yes, i often, if not exclusively, BUY my music, like the sucker i am). emusic doesn't carry a lot of big contemporary names, which is what lets them get away with selling their music for what they do: anywhere between .60 and .25 per track, depending on your plan. what's great is that they sell by the track, so, for instance, i get 40 downloads a month, of any length, in any configuration. although it's not the place to find that one addictive radio single (you'll inevitably end up augmenting from itunes or similar), the price, eclectic selection, copious free downloads*, and smart (if self-consciously indie) editorials and features make it a no-contest win for my primary service. the only major downside is the monthly "refresh" function of your downloads: if you don't use 'em, you lose 'em. for me, this results in dawdling all month, then purchasing in one big binge...and hoping i don't lose track of the date...and all my downloads.

anyway, i got my shit together this month, so here goes:

jay-z reasonable doubt

those of us who came of age after 2000 know jay-z as much for his crossover efforts, entrepreneurship, and tumultuous romances as for his individual artistic efforts. i think we can lose sight of the fact that he's a brilliant lyricist and heir to the legacy of some of new york's greatest, as reasonable doubt, his debut album, attests.

the pains of being pure at heart the pains of being pure at heart

this album invites the inevitable comparisons to morrissey, velvet underground, the cure, etc [insert john hughes reference here]. but i'll go ahead and use the word "derivative" without any negative connotation (although you may not agree). regardless, as often happens, just when i feel like pop is dead (thanks, katy perry), emusic gives me a little something to hold on to.

beirut march of the zapotec & realpeople: holland

as usual, zach condon pulls together a whirling, swooping carnival of influences, from mexico to his usual balkan-inspired sounds. recorded half in oaxaca, mexico and half in his parents' basement...SO INDIE IT HURTS.

bon iver blood bank

a sort of amuse-oreille follow up to the wistful, sighing balladry of 2008's for emma, for ever. at 4 tracks, also rounds me out to 40 for the month.

free music haul: nacional records sampler 2009, wages of syntax (syntax records sampler from 2002), an introduction to truth and soul (great sampler, this one), and an ok remix album from the rosebuds.
see you next month: sharon jones and the dap kings, ted leo and the pharmacists.

*the free downloads can be a major mixed bag, but i've picked up a couple of new favorites artists from the samplers i've gotten there. they're always worth sifting through.

is food the new sex?

2009-02-28T16:49:00.004-05:00

i can't quite articulate how much the kind of answer that mary eberstadt (as echoed by george will) provides in the hoover institution's policy review makes me froth at the mouth.

eberstadt takes idle cocktail party speculations (has society's moral regulation of food choice replaced its moral regulation of sexual choice? are these shifts connected?), and turns it into a 7500-word steaming turd of ill-informed self-righteousness, thinly disguised as analysis by a throwaway reference to kant. i was going to spend a lot more time dissecting why this complete nonsense, but it's just too irritating, and, frankly, could take up several books. anyone who claims that the fact that people of a lower socio-economic class suffer higher levels of obesity is due to overabundance (and implied lack of self-control) shouldn't be allowed to get within 2 intellectual miles of food policy and trends. and any woman who waxes nostalgic for the days of pre-sexual revolution moral regulation, when "Susie in the town nearby got pregnant and wasn’t allowed back in school", should be forced to wear a chastity belt.

my brush with celebrity.

2009-02-28T14:48:00.005-05:00

it's true. i not only met, but actually danced with this dude.
ah! like flying too close to the sun.

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

gloriously tasteful.

2009-02-24T14:18:00.007-05:00

appropriate to send to a colleague who just gave birth?
absolutely.
i think it really says, "have fun breast feeding!"

gheeeeeeeeee

2009-02-22T20:50:00.006-05:00

actually, to be technically accurate, clarified butter.
one of the places i went wrong in a recent recipe was trying to use unclarified butter to quick fry something, so i decided to make a bunch for myself. clarifying butter, just by melting a few sticks, separates the butter into three layers. you skim off and discard the foamy top layer and then gently pour or skim the pure middle layer into a jar. the milk solids, which settle out in the bottom of the pan during heatin, are what burn most quickly, so getting rid of them raises the smoking temp of the fat by 25-50F. apparently it'll last in the fridge for like three months. score!

thao with the get down stay down

2009-02-21T16:13:00.026-05:00

well, my day was just made.
thao with the get down stay down, one of my favorite bands, will be playing at the bowery ballroom on may 14th. i've seen them twice already, but i'm absolutely going again, and i encourage everyone else to check them out. the openers seem not bad: samantha crain, a perfectly listenable neo-folk/americana outfit, and sister suvi, who i suspect will either be FANTASTIC live, or unspeakably pretentious. (y'know, either way...or both?)

and then there's TWGDSD. i'm pretty prone to girl-crushes, but the one i have for thao is of a particularly flustered, breathless type...so i'll try to get the basics out of the way before going all rapturous: you can snag a few free songs on the daytrotter website, but i seriously recommend getting their albums, at least we brave bee stings and all, if not also like the linen. both are pretty great, but, in my opinion, bee stings, their second, is a more varied, polished, interesting album. i would definitely be sure to score "moped," "tallymarks," and "chivalry" off linen, though.

TWGDSD is spring music for me. can't really pinpoint why, except that maybe it's that their literary, guitar (and sometimes banjo)-based brand of indie folk rolk is so light-footed and (mostly) sunny, good-natured even when in distress. regardless, it's gotten me through 2 senior theses and graduating college, so maybe that speaks for itself. or, specifically, bee stings did. like i said, i like the first album fine, but the second is far better (i've just destroyed my hipster street cred if i ever had any). one improvement on like the linen that's made on bee stings is the addition of more varied forms and eclectic components, like the horn bass line under the stripped down snare drum and acoustic string on "beat (health, life, and fire)". just...so...catchy.

the lyrics are the real gems here. what thao does most often, and quite well, are verses that meditate on situations that have just not gone quite as someone expected: regret leavened with resignation and self-deprecating humor ("you can't build cathedrals out of finger steeples" or "my, my mouth, a confessional canon/run away with me with the most reckless of abandon"). i'll say though, she's energizingly great on the occasions when she gets fierce, like on her feminist anthem (woot!) "swimming pools". the lyric "you've got to push all the doubt/to the side of your mouth/and we, we brave bee stings and all/and we don't dive, we cannonball" gives the album its name, and the rest of us an oft-needed general exhortation to ballsiness.

thao croons and sighs and growls and wails her way through these lyrics in a way that makes you feel like you're in the middle of your third glass of wine with a perfect stranger. you're both a little drunk, but certainly sober enough to be self-conscious about it (not to mention the fact that you're spilling self-revelation to a complete stranger). and then she says something wry and self-reflective and just exactly what you've been trying to articulate, even if the actual situation she's describing has nothing to do with yours.

at her live shows, thao is far more wail and growl than croon and sigh. even at an intimate gig/talk i saw, her twiggy limbs jerked and thrashed along with the beat, and most songs were played half again or even twice the speed of the album versions. like a manic-depressive in a manic phase, her energy, her hurts, her wryness, are all as distilled as the whiskey she's been known to sip while performing. live, thao is like that stranger a couple drinks (and maybe a few lines) later. she wants to find a way to break onto the roof of the nearest, tallest building, or steal a fast car, and while part of your brain thinks you may have gotten something completely different than what you bargained for, the rest of you is pretty much along for the ride.

HAHA FARCE

2009-02-19T16:39:00.008-05:00

if only...
for anyone who's ever despaired of the culture of litigation in the states, abandon all hope ye who click here...

that's right, one of the top stories on bbc.com documents the travails of welsh 14-year old kristy mcrae, who ran afoul of GROSS NEGLIGENCE, when, using a coin-operated tanning bed (aka DEATH MACHINE) without the immediate presence of a non-brain dead mammal, acquired FIRST DEGREE BURNS over 70% of her body.

for those of you who have never suffered the AGONY and psychological trauma of a first degree burn, perhaps this SHOCKING DESCRIPTION will help you to understand poor, pink kristy's plight:

"First-degree burns are red and very sensitive to touch. First-degree burns involve minimal tissue damage. These burns affect the outer-layer of skin causing pain, redness and swelling. Sunburn is a good example of a first-degree burn."

that's right. and imagine the insult added to kristy's injury by the callous implication of the salon owner: that kristy should actually have read the warning signs posted all over the store, when no one was there to hold her hand and remind her to sound out the longer words. "operating within the law" indeed...when obvious illiterates can just wander in the door and expose themselves to concentrated UV rays at £1 a pop using technology that your average monkey trained through a basic rewards system could operate without incident? disgusting. WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY I ASK YOU??

kristy was admitted to the hospital, for, um, a coupla hours...and now must suffer the indignity of regular lotion application. indeed, whose heart wouldn't be wrenched by her story of TERROR:

"It is something I don't think I'll ever forget about how scared I was and how I didn't realise just going on a tanning bed could result in going to hospital and being quite ill" ...She added: "It was extremely frightening. I was just glad I got out of hospital."

our thoughts are with you, kristy...mostly the ones along the lines of "maybe idiots shouldn't be allowed to wander the streets with loose change."

food for a rainy day

2009-02-18T17:16:00.042-05:00

well, it absolutely could not be grosser outside. cold, windy, freezing rain, you name it...but i'm psyched because a meeting got canceled, so i slipped out a little bit early... and, after a miserable walk home and a ferociously hot shower, plan to spend the rest of my night finishing up work here and cooking.

my quaff and my makeshift rolling pin: our lady of rojo.

i love working from home. i've got an excel sheet open, but by 5:20, i've already pulled my ingredients and opened a bottle of questionable red. SO, first off...

focaccia
i'm not a baker. there's something about the recipe-dependent science of it that flies in the face of everything i love about cooking. however, i've been doing a little experimenting with pita lately (after you've had fresh baked pita, especially from the middle east, serving store-bought becomes something approaching a capital offense)...but i haven't managed to get it puffed properly yet. nonetheless, it's a pretty delicious flatbread, so i decided to come back to that problem later and adapt the better of the two recipes i've tried to something that doesn't require as much precision.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon honey
1 packet yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
a mess 'o rosemary
--> caveat, i didn't really pay much attention to these...so we'll see. (see notes for next time below before making this)

activate the yeast in the water (just a touch above your wrist's temp), and once it's a little frothy, dissolve in the honey and salt, and add the olive oil.

add the rosemary to the flour(s). sadly, i didn't have fresh rosemary, so i had to use dried. yum factor minus four. pour in the liquids and hand mix until it's no longer sloppy and sticky, but just kinda tacky.

knead for 10 minutes (or approximately 2.5 tom petty songs, as i'm currently measuring), until it's smooth and elastic. oil the dough and and and a bowl, put the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise until it's doubled in size (90 minutes? sure, why not.)

punch down the dough, take it out, and divide it up into 6 or so balls (or however many mini-focaccias you'd like). knead the balls (HATHAT'SWHATSHESAID), and let them rest under the damp cloth for 10 minutes or so. preheat your oven to 375F. take them out, roll them flat to about a 1/4 inch (maybe a little thicker for the focaccia). then put the rounds back under the towel for another 10 minutes.

pop them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, brush with more olive oil (maybe some kosher salt? some garlic? little more rosemary? a little thyme?) and bake until lightly browned.

notes for next time
i always use some wheat flour. gives the thing some flavor. (as soon as i can get to our local produce/natural, vegetarian foods joint, i'm going to pick up some barley and spelt flours and give those a whirl too.) however, you definitely need to add some extra water and olive oil (or whatever you're using for fat). also: dried rosemary- FUGGEDABOUDIT. mine was really lacking for the fresh stuff. it could also use a little more salt. i found that the 1 1/2 teaspoons wasn't really enough for focaccia, although it works fine, taste-wise, for pita.

vegetarian chili
i often cook massive amounts of food, with whatever is to hand. so what i call "vegetarian chili" is an only-semi constant constellation of bean and tomato-based ingredients, thrown together. it is, however, pretty delicious. i'm noting the amounts that i happened to use this time, but they're totally flexible. although i didn't this time, you can add pretty much any kind of veggie you want, to make it super nutritious (spinach might be good).

1 cup quinoa; 1/2 cup amaranth (or any whole grains)
this is for texture (since there's no ground meat), taste, and (depending on what grain you use) added protein. i like the quinoa and amaranth mixture: both are high-protein, gluten-free new world grains, with nice flavors (quinoa is kinda grassy, and amaranth kinda toasty/nutty). be sure to soak them for a couple hours and/or rinse them thoroughly in a fine strainer, as the quinoa, especially, has a high saponin level (bitter, bowel-irritating coatings on the seeds). cook like rice with 2 parts water to 1 part grain, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa's curly germ has separated from the main seed.

2 large onions
chop and sautee with olive oil and salt until yellowy and soft, but not quite transluscent. i tend to go onion heavy, because i like onions. you may not...and i may judge you for that. if you do this in the bottom of the pot, you can minimize dished (which i like...)

add a 14.5 oz can of diced, unseasoned organic tomatos along with their liquid and a 14.5 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed, and some frozen corn to the pot with the onions. if you, like me, like to have tomatos on hand, but hate watching them go bad if not used, buy canned, but spring for the organic. it makes all the difference. as for beans, you can use any, and i often use a mix. word is, the dried, bagged ones are cheaper and better, but i'm often too lazy to soak them before i use them...your call. also, i'm sure it would be extra delicious if, instead of using old, freezerburned kernels, you roasted the corn on the cob with olive oil and salt, and then cut the kernels in at the last minute.

now, season with chili powder, flaked red pepper, more salt, pepper, and copious amounts of garlic. i also throw in a mess o' cumin powder (like i do with nearly everything), because, in this case, i think it makes a nice mellow note under the spicier chili power and red pepper. cook as long as you want, adding the quinoa about halfway through, so it gets flavor too.

top with cheese, sour cream, cilantro...whatever you want. keep leftovers in the fridge...it only gets better as it sits.

super awesome, experimental desert
this was a collosal fail, mostly because winging it didn't really work...in any of the approximately 7 billion components involved. normally, i'd have no problem blogging said fail, but i think this had to do with execution, not concept, so i'm going to post it when i get the chance to try it again and do it right. don't worry, i'll detail my own mistakes so you don't repeat them...if you would be silly enough to. until then, you'll just have to remain in suspense. [note: if you were present for this spectacularly terrible culinary experience, don't ruin it for others/embarrass me in the comments haha.]

tofu dumplings with brussel sprouts...and love.

2009-02-15T18:51:00.023-05:00

so, i've never made dumplings before, i've never liked fried food, and i don't have a steamer...but hey! after a couple of very strong homebrewed beers (a yummy baltic porter, courtesy of a brewer friend), anything seems pretty do-able. plus, i've had a couple of blocks of tofu, wonton wrappers, and frozen brussel sprouts in my fridge for a while now, so i decided to hit up the korean grocery/fish market on the corner for ginger and scallions, and give it a shot. (note on small, ethnic grocery stores: they are the best. everything is always cheaper, and often in small, cooking-for-one friendly packaging. i go a lot to this fish market, although never to buy the fish, which always seems like a gamble. there's also a mexican grocery which i've yet to try, but plan on going to, to hunt down some masa for tamales. stay tuned.)

i've kind of taken the general thrust of technique for the dumplings from this blog, which also makes me want to try other japanese-inspired dishes. the brussel sprouts are inspired by this heidi swanson recipe. (if i could kill anyone for the purpose of stealing their life, mr.ripley style, it would be swanson: foodie, photographer, and general bad ass. wow i hope i don't get in trouble for putting that on the internet). since, like i said, i don't have a steamer, i decided to go with lightly frying the little suckers, but you could probably use the same ingredients, but sautée the filling first, and then steam them.

tofu dumplings with brussel sprouts...and love

wanton skins
a mess o' brussel sprouts (try to use fresh, but frozen will do)
2 blocks extra firm tofu, drained
2 eggs
1/2 cup edamame
a medium bundle of scallions, chopped
a large bulb of ginger, grated
lots of minced garlic
salt, sugar, red pepper flakes
sesame oil
canola oil
a lime or two

brussel sprouts:
shred the brussel sprouts and sautée in sesame oil with ginger, garlic, salt, and red pepper to taste. don't overcook them: you want them to be brightly colored, and kind of flexible, but not yellow or droopy. squirt some lime juice on in the last minute or so, if you want.

dumplings:
process the tofu and eggs to a creamy mixture, then blend in the edamame, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt and sugar.i put some lime juice in, but i'm not sure it actually came through in the end...
i'm a big believer in the phrase "to taste"...how much of everything is in there will depend on what you like. this is only partly because i am too lazy to measure things (so go ahead, taste it...no, i don't care that there are raw eggs. sack up, scooter).

take wanton skins and moisten the edges with your finger, dipped in water. put about a teaspoon of the tofu mush in, and fold it over, so that there is still a border of damp wanton visible. fold the border back over to close, and moisten the whole edge to seal (see below).

heat some canola oil in a frying pan. fry each dumpling until golden brown, flipping each half way through to cook on both sides. do not walk away from the stove to pour yourself another beer in the middle of your second batch.

let the fried dumplings cool/drain a bit, then serve on top of the brussel sprouts.

LET'S DANCE

2009-02-12T14:31:00.007-05:00

if you're in the middle of midterms, seasonally affective, or just trying to make it to friday at 5, you can't do better for a get-me-through-it, one-album-on-loop playlist than sloppy, scratchy, psych-up brit trio let's wrestle.

you can get their excellent EP "In Loving Memory Of..." over at emusic (my own downloading service of choice, which i will shamelessly plug later). if you're in the northeast in mid-march, be sure to join me at one of their NYC gigs. in the meantime, enjoy the video for their single "i won't lie to you", sit back, and think about the weekend.

write an entire report draft?
that i'm solely responsible for?
for 9am tomorrow morning?

let's dance.

...or wrestle, as the case may be.

NEW BLOG FAIL

2009-02-11T14:31:00.003-05:00

i feel like i'm back in college.

for work, i'm supposed to have a report on sexual misconduct policy drafted by friday morning. much like my term papers in college, down to the wire, it remains in such a state of non-completion that i feel driven to hide out in a dark corner, anxiously chain-smoking and swigging kentucky bourbon straight from the bottle and hoping it all just goes away. sadly, i suspect this is not an effective strategy.

REGARDLESS. in case anyone's actually reading this thing yet, i probably won't be posting much until after i get this report in, and then return from the city on saturday. y'know. in case you were burning to know my breakdown of the stimulus bill cuts.

druze-ish

2009-02-10T00:34:00.004-05:00

so i was recently in israel (yeah, during the gaza, er, kerfuffle), and we ended up in a town outside of haifa, with a relatively diverse, relatively non-jewish population, including baha'i and druze populations. here, we had arranged for us a "tour" of druze life. (this sort of things always brings up my internal conflict with "culture" tourism, but maybe more on that later...also maybe more about the druze faith which is really interesting in and of itself).

however, leaving aside debates about authenticity of experience, the tour ended in a really delicious meal, which i'm determined to try making some of. one of my favorites seemed to be just a cabbage leaf stuffed with nutmeg-seasoned white rice. i'm looking for insight on the following:

- does anyone know the name for these?
- also, when i experiment, i was going to try blanching the cabbage, like you would leaves for stuffed grape leaves...any other thoughts?

well, hey there. you come here often?

2009-02-09T23:24:00.006-05:00

well.
maybe i've got too much unstructured internet time.
maybe i don't have enough face-to-face interactions with real humans
maybe overexposure to "25 things about me" lists on facebook* has tricked me into think that people are really deeply concerned with the minutiae of other random people's lives.
maybe a disproportionate number among my acquaintance have blogs...and granted, they all have cultivated nichey expertise , or 30-some-odd years of writing experience, or hilarious contributors...but hey! i've got...y'know...little, unrelated, mental gobbits i sometimes wish i had a forum for....

and maybe i should just be doing other things right now, and see this as a long term investment in procrastination.

regardless, you can see i've given into the inevitable (?) and gotten myself a blog. i didn't know it just took a gmail account and about three mouse clicks. so easy to go ahead and make the commitment... sort of like buying a puppy at the pet shop. except that a puppy won't be documented forever in google cache and probably render you unemployable sometime in the future.

anyway, i'll be talking about pretty much anything. my interests are wide-ranging, my qualifications minimal, and my entertainment value... well, i guess we'll see.

* (countdown until that reference is dated: t-3 days. thanks, internet age!)