I miss my old stomping grounds. Fall in New Mexico, the smell of chile roasting in the air, front porches with friends and vino, politics on the brain... sigh. It's been too long, Land of Enchantment. Besides making my green chile stew and chatting with the friends I left behind, I also do things like watch Albuquerque talk shows to fill my void. But not just any Albuquerque talk show... the one hosted by my dear friend (and our wedding officiant!) Gene. This particular episode of inFocus begins with a reporters' roundtable that also features one of my favorite women on the planet (an m!), Marjorie. Marjorie and Gene's post-election talk is the stuff of our dinner parties at the Forrester house, or nights at the brewpub, or... sorry, I'm reminiscing again. (Can't Help Myself Memory: Marjorie and Gene's speech the night before our wedding was one of my favorite moments of the entire weekend. Marjorie spoke about my commitment to social justice, and then Gene reenacted me "kicking Albuquerque in the balls" during my tenure there. Now those are some great friends.)
For the second half of the show, Gene's regular panel comes in, and there's my pal Sophie, too. It's like a "Maggie's life, 2002-2007" flashback, in one 50-minute segment.
Can you tell I miss engagement in local politics? Hi friends!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Friday I'm in Love
Cheese or Font?
I love cheese and I love fonts, but this quiz shows me I clearly don't know enough about either. Go play!
Tim Gunn, Superhero
I can't believe I just discovered this: Tim Gunn is going to be a Marvel Comics Superhero! He saves a fashion show from evil-doers. AMAZING.
ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue"
This is Sarah Reinertsen, who is the first female amputee to complete the Ironman, and she's one of six cover models for ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue." I don't always have much patience for nudity for nudity's sake alone, but I've gotta admit, The Body Issue is amazing. The focus is athletic through and through. In 16 photo spreads of different athletes (see them all here), the quotes invoked specifically relate to how that athlete's body helps them excel at their jobs. Body as instrument, not object. There are some fantastic team photos here, and for a refreshing change, the men are even more exposed than the women! There's also a closeup of T's high school pal Patrick Kerney's bicep, if you're interested. (You should be.)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
For me, funnymen?
I'd like to request the following subjects make their own feature-length films:
Tennis with Andre Leon Talley
If you saw 'The September Issue,' you know there are two takeaways: Grace Coddington is amazing and Andre Leon Talley is somehow more outrageous than we ever thought possible. I could watch him playing tennis and describing his accessories for hours. Burning question: how does he change his look on the court during cooler seasons? I must know!
Modern Family's 'Mitchell and Cameron'
Ken Tanaka from 'Glee'
My other television crush this fall, Glee, boasts another entirely loveable cast. And while I'm obsessed with Jane Lynch anyway, increasingly crushing on Mathew Morrison, and totally smitten with Jayma May's adorable J.Crew'd, OCD self, I think I have a growing soft spot for Ken Tenaka, the lovable but dumb football couch who happens to be proficient in early '90s R&B songs. I want to see where he lives! I want Ken to be happy! (And since Ken Tanaka videos aren't exactly sweeping the Web, let's just spend Thursday morning watching a YouTube Acafellas video that someone made by taping their video screen, why don't we? Look at Ken rocking his white belt!) Bonus audio clip, on knocking off a few reps, here.
Tennis with Andre Leon Talley
If you saw 'The September Issue,' you know there are two takeaways: Grace Coddington is amazing and Andre Leon Talley is somehow more outrageous than we ever thought possible. I could watch him playing tennis and describing his accessories for hours. Burning question: how does he change his look on the court during cooler seasons? I must know!
Modern Family's 'Mitchell and Cameron'
I'm obsessed with Mitchell and Cameron from Modern Family. (Watch this clip if you're not already watching this show to see why.) While I am totally crushing on the entire cast (Sofia Vergara kills it as the hot Latin trophy wife cliche to Ed O'Neil), these two are just ridiculous. The toddler class last night with Cameron reigning in his "natural gifts" ?? No words.
Ken Tanaka from 'Glee'
My other television crush this fall, Glee, boasts another entirely loveable cast. And while I'm obsessed with Jane Lynch anyway, increasingly crushing on Mathew Morrison, and totally smitten with Jayma May's adorable J.Crew'd, OCD self, I think I have a growing soft spot for Ken Tenaka, the lovable but dumb football couch who happens to be proficient in early '90s R&B songs. I want to see where he lives! I want Ken to be happy! (And since Ken Tanaka videos aren't exactly sweeping the Web, let's just spend Thursday morning watching a YouTube Acafellas video that someone made by taping their video screen, why don't we? Look at Ken rocking his white belt!) Bonus audio clip, on knocking off a few reps, here.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Still mourning
In the wake of Gourmet's closure this week, I mourned its passing here and in comments on dozens of other beautifully composed odes on the Web. A core component of our community outcry centers around Gourmet's role in the food world that we care so much about. The magazine isn't ("wasn't?" ouch.) just an industry-leader; it's a moral center, the heart of how many of us approach food, celebration, and everyday pleasure.
As comforting as many blog posts have been, most of the mainstream coverage about Gourmet has put me on edge. Major newspapers have adopted similar themes: Gourmet couldn't compete in a Rachael Ray world; the magazine was elitist and beyond the comprehension of most Americans; food doesn't matter the same way it once did; no one has the time or interest to cook from scratch anymore; the magazine would die with the oldest generation anyway.
Well, wait a minute there. Because I, for one, feel like Food-tainment is ruining us. Instead of spending time in their kitchens, viewers who might actually cook for themselves are spending even more of their time on the couch. As for elitism, in the current issue, Gourmet gives us a dozen pages on street food alongside a paragraph writeup of a gourmet tasting menu. That balance of high and low, that carving out of space for other cultures and price points in a previously-Francophile world, is how editor Ruth Reichl helped establish what amounted to a dining critic revolution nearly two decades ago. Are Gourmet's recipes tougher to follow than another magazines? I don't believe so. They simply ask for good technique and the best ingredients you can find - and those ingredients are typically not found in the packaged food or freezer aisles. And I'd say food matters more than ever. The U.S. saw a 13% increase in farmers markets between 2008-2009 alone, and a 297% increase in farmers markets since 1994. That's astounding. Due to food safety concerns, a wider availability of organic and local produce, and publicity about why these choices matter, we are beginning to eat more consciously as a country and, I believe, can begin slowly making up for some of the havoc large-scale food production has wrought. And I know people care about cooking, because I see it everywhere I look. I see it at the market, I see it in blog-world, I see it in my friends and family. What's more? I'm not a graying, stuffy elite. I'm 31 years old. And Gourmet was my favorite magazine.
Embodying all these points and more is a new piece from Salon that also takes offense at the mainstream reaction to the news, "Gourmet was for the young and scrappy, too." This piece cuts to the heart of why much of the coverage has been so wrong-headed. Finally. Alex Van Buren characterizes Ruth Reichl in the way that I see her, as an "egalitarian badass."
And while I'm at it, another piece that's driven home for me the bigger picture of losing a central publication in a digital world is Abbey's "Still Heartbroken", which focuses on the loss of paper we can hold in our hands, from "The internet is ultimately unsatisfying," to "And please, what about reading on the toilet?," to finally, "No one is archiving the internet." Food for thought, all of it.
Me, I'm still in mourning. I love paper, photography, and words that matter. It's why my apartment is overflowing with books. It's why I subscribe to the New York Times even though I live in Dallas and it's ridiculously expensive to have it delivered daily. It's why I loved Gourmet. There is presence to paper for me that does not exist on the screen upon which you are reading these words, and cannot exist.
So I'm mourning, yes, but I'm still cooking. And you can, too. Join me and other scrappy, egalitarian badasses for a blogging event to honor Gourmet. Simply cook your favorite Gourmet recipe by October 15 and link to the site, where next week we'll peek into Gourmet readers' kitchens and see how they've honored the dearly departed. I call it proactive, joyful mourning.
As comforting as many blog posts have been, most of the mainstream coverage about Gourmet has put me on edge. Major newspapers have adopted similar themes: Gourmet couldn't compete in a Rachael Ray world; the magazine was elitist and beyond the comprehension of most Americans; food doesn't matter the same way it once did; no one has the time or interest to cook from scratch anymore; the magazine would die with the oldest generation anyway.
Well, wait a minute there. Because I, for one, feel like Food-tainment is ruining us. Instead of spending time in their kitchens, viewers who might actually cook for themselves are spending even more of their time on the couch. As for elitism, in the current issue, Gourmet gives us a dozen pages on street food alongside a paragraph writeup of a gourmet tasting menu. That balance of high and low, that carving out of space for other cultures and price points in a previously-Francophile world, is how editor Ruth Reichl helped establish what amounted to a dining critic revolution nearly two decades ago. Are Gourmet's recipes tougher to follow than another magazines? I don't believe so. They simply ask for good technique and the best ingredients you can find - and those ingredients are typically not found in the packaged food or freezer aisles. And I'd say food matters more than ever. The U.S. saw a 13% increase in farmers markets between 2008-2009 alone, and a 297% increase in farmers markets since 1994. That's astounding. Due to food safety concerns, a wider availability of organic and local produce, and publicity about why these choices matter, we are beginning to eat more consciously as a country and, I believe, can begin slowly making up for some of the havoc large-scale food production has wrought. And I know people care about cooking, because I see it everywhere I look. I see it at the market, I see it in blog-world, I see it in my friends and family. What's more? I'm not a graying, stuffy elite. I'm 31 years old. And Gourmet was my favorite magazine.
Embodying all these points and more is a new piece from Salon that also takes offense at the mainstream reaction to the news, "Gourmet was for the young and scrappy, too." This piece cuts to the heart of why much of the coverage has been so wrong-headed. Finally. Alex Van Buren characterizes Ruth Reichl in the way that I see her, as an "egalitarian badass."
There is a split in the so-called foodie community between those who consider themselves entitled to the good life and those who are just so abuzz with glee about being in a restaurant or eating something delicious they can hardly stand it. It’s my opinion that -- despite its visions of opulence -- Gourmet appealed to the latter instinct in us, and that it’s the better one.I couldn't have said it better myself.
And while I'm at it, another piece that's driven home for me the bigger picture of losing a central publication in a digital world is Abbey's "Still Heartbroken", which focuses on the loss of paper we can hold in our hands, from "The internet is ultimately unsatisfying," to "And please, what about reading on the toilet?," to finally, "No one is archiving the internet." Food for thought, all of it.
Me, I'm still in mourning. I love paper, photography, and words that matter. It's why my apartment is overflowing with books. It's why I subscribe to the New York Times even though I live in Dallas and it's ridiculously expensive to have it delivered daily. It's why I loved Gourmet. There is presence to paper for me that does not exist on the screen upon which you are reading these words, and cannot exist.
So I'm mourning, yes, but I'm still cooking. And you can, too. Join me and other scrappy, egalitarian badasses for a blogging event to honor Gourmet. Simply cook your favorite Gourmet recipe by October 15 and link to the site, where next week we'll peek into Gourmet readers' kitchens and see how they've honored the dearly departed. I call it proactive, joyful mourning.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Meditation on the Artichoke
Is any vegetable more sculptural or beautiful? The revelations of each layer are as rewarding to look at as they are to eat. From the dinner table tonight:
Fall in a glass
Much like my summertime sipping preference, my preferred drink for the fall embodies the season in a glass. It's multi-layered, warming, and temperamental, with a big pay-off. When the air takes on a hint of crispness, all I want to drink is an Old Fashioned.
The Old Fashioned is a simple cocktail made with bourbon, simple syrup, bitters, and fruit, and it's of course a classic, part of the reason I love ordering it. This drink is solidly sexy; there's no pretty glass or anything masking its essence. Here's my secret, though - as sexy as it is for a girl to order a masculine drink at a bar, what the Old Fashioned conceals to onlookers is the layers at work within the glass. If the top of the drink is sexy - it's stiff, it gets your attention, it's not messing around - then the bottom is pure girl - it's sweet and fruity and the reward for finishing. The way those layers combine and change with each sip is complete magic, and the kind of thing that I have the time and inclination to appreciate in autumn. What's more, the Old Fashioned is made for drinking in cozy, dark, book- and wood-lined bars that are my favorite kinds of places to hide out. (Or, you know, my couch with a book and snuggly throw.) Win-win.
Happy sipping this fall.
The Old Fashioned is a simple cocktail made with bourbon, simple syrup, bitters, and fruit, and it's of course a classic, part of the reason I love ordering it. This drink is solidly sexy; there's no pretty glass or anything masking its essence. Here's my secret, though - as sexy as it is for a girl to order a masculine drink at a bar, what the Old Fashioned conceals to onlookers is the layers at work within the glass. If the top of the drink is sexy - it's stiff, it gets your attention, it's not messing around - then the bottom is pure girl - it's sweet and fruity and the reward for finishing. The way those layers combine and change with each sip is complete magic, and the kind of thing that I have the time and inclination to appreciate in autumn. What's more, the Old Fashioned is made for drinking in cozy, dark, book- and wood-lined bars that are my favorite kinds of places to hide out. (Or, you know, my couch with a book and snuggly throw.) Win-win.
Happy sipping this fall.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Mourning Gourmet
As is so often the case, I feel like the lowest common denominator wins here. Why, for instance, should a magazine like Gourmet, with nearly 70 years of rich history, be given the boot, when there are approximately a dozen magazines aimed at young women on the newsstands right now with a not-so-subtle mission of self esteem destruction? It's the same reason that television shows with cult followings are canceled, while lackluster dramas that are neither terrible nor great stay on the air for a decade. Why beautiful films can't find financing, yet a dozen truly awful romantic comedies are produced annually. Why voters are often forced to support a lesser match to their values, just so that another candidate doesn't win. Why people like Sandra Lee have their own "cooking" shows. I, for one, would like some better choices, personally.
Because I'm feeling wounded, I'd like to remind everyone why Gourmet was the best choice, and why to me this decision is terrible.
Ruth Reichl. We already know how I feel about Ruth, and Gourmet was unmistakably hers. Ruth's joy about eating and curiosity about food - from high-end decadence to low-end street food - was splashed across the magazine every month, and it was infectious to read.
Culture. Gourmet captured the culture of eating across the world better than any other print magazine. It's a medium that's far better suited to television than to print, but Gourmet excelled in bringing readers the faces and ways of life and accents and smells and sounds of other countries, through words and photography alone. No one else came close.
Food Politics. Gourmet stood far and above every other food publication in its coverage of food politics. While alternative media and the mainstream press have been increasingly covering topics of labor, scale, safety, and more the last few years, Gourmet was the only food magazine doing the same. Gourmet's ongoing coverage of Florida tomato slavery in particular stood out as top-quality, forward-thinking journalism, done in a time when a puff piece about tomatoes or about politics might have sufficed instead. Gourmet strived to be more than just "food porn," and was the only magazine to consistently prove itself in the real world arena this way.
Literary. So Gourmet was filled with fantastic recipes, timely political pieces, the voice of Ruth, sure, but what's more, it was literary through and through. I loved the writing in this magazine - smart and evocative and never dumbed-down. Each piece was a pleasure to read, and as a reader, you knew that nothing had been scribbled off and rushed to press. There was care behind the sentences, and you felt it.
Gorgeous. Food photography can be done on a table under a bright light in a warehouse. We might never know the difference. But Gourmet's photography took us other places - to kitchens full of cooks, to picnics out in the open, to backyard cookouts, to streets full of vendors, to fields during the harvest. Looking at Gourmet's articles was nearly as pleasurable as reading them, and that's saying a lot.
History. Gourmet was a magazine built upon its own history, and those kinds of traditions are infinitely appealing to me. On Gourmet's website, you can read what M.F.K. Fisher wrote for them in the 1940s, or what New Orleans restaurants were up to in the 1950s, and on and on. Keeping traditions alive are one of the best ways we step forward into the future. Gourmet's beautiful writing helped us do that. It was 70 years strong, and it knew it. How sad for all of us that Conde Nast did not.
Conde Nast says that Gourmet will continue to have an online and branding prescence, but that all new publishing endeavors will take place under the Bon Appetit brand.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Reasons why 'Whip It' rocks
'Whip It' makes me proud to be a girl. Let's review why I loved this film:
1. It's made by women, for women. This isn't an automatic qualifier for a movie to rock, as we know (I'm looking at you, Katherine Heigl). But 'Whip It' is the kind of movie that makes me grin for my entire gender and know that we can rise above the pathetic rom-com. I love being able to support women like Shauna Cross who write about real life - the fun and the hurt of it - and who do so in a way that's inclusive about our experience as a gender, and how that does not have to involve compromising yourself in order to attract completely unworthy male eye candy. Equally as important, this is not a movie full of female eye candy made for boys to drool over. This movie doesn't care if guys go and see it. First-time director Drew Barrymore doesn't give a shit. Men are beside the point. And that's awesome.
2. There are no makeovers, weddings, or babies. There's just an awesome teenage Ellen Page figuring out who she is, coming into her own. There's no path defined by a boy, or a path leading toward a boy, but a path that a girl paves by herself, for herself alone. It's shocking how rarely we get to see that kind of journey in film. And sure, there's a boy plotline in this film, but it's secondary to who our hero is and the choices she makes. The boys are not the point. The girl figuring out her inner girl is the point, and the journey, and the victory, in and of itself.
3. All women are welcome. There's a myriad of women in this film: big girls, small girls, pretty girls, less-pretty girls, loud girls, quiet girls, mean girls, nice girls, girls who have kids, girls who don't want kids, girls who haven't thought about kids yet, girls who like boys, girls who like other girls. Given that this extraordinary body of women exists in the real world, why, then, are so few of these women ever on the big screen? In that regard, "Whip It" is a breath of fresh air. It's also commendable that roller derby can be celebrated here, because it deserves recognition for its culture of kick-ass inclusion. Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Alia Shawkat, Juliette Lewis, Eve, and more are all great fun to watch.
4. Female friendships are celebrated. I love the treatment of female friendships here, the closeness and also the pain of them. (PS: Arrested Development fans, this stars Maebe!) There are best friends who are growing together, childhood friends who now hate each other, new friends who connect in different ways, and bonds forged with family members that redefine existing patterns of connection. I love the very real treatment of relationships here that goes well beyond Boy + Girl = Kissing While Credits Roll. Life is bigger than that, as we all know.
5. It's a love letter to Austin, TX. And that's always a good thing.
6. It's damn fun. This is not a serious movie. It's a grin-on-your-face movie. I like those from time to time.
1. It's made by women, for women. This isn't an automatic qualifier for a movie to rock, as we know (I'm looking at you, Katherine Heigl). But 'Whip It' is the kind of movie that makes me grin for my entire gender and know that we can rise above the pathetic rom-com. I love being able to support women like Shauna Cross who write about real life - the fun and the hurt of it - and who do so in a way that's inclusive about our experience as a gender, and how that does not have to involve compromising yourself in order to attract completely unworthy male eye candy. Equally as important, this is not a movie full of female eye candy made for boys to drool over. This movie doesn't care if guys go and see it. First-time director Drew Barrymore doesn't give a shit. Men are beside the point. And that's awesome.
2. There are no makeovers, weddings, or babies. There's just an awesome teenage Ellen Page figuring out who she is, coming into her own. There's no path defined by a boy, or a path leading toward a boy, but a path that a girl paves by herself, for herself alone. It's shocking how rarely we get to see that kind of journey in film. And sure, there's a boy plotline in this film, but it's secondary to who our hero is and the choices she makes. The boys are not the point. The girl figuring out her inner girl is the point, and the journey, and the victory, in and of itself.
3. All women are welcome. There's a myriad of women in this film: big girls, small girls, pretty girls, less-pretty girls, loud girls, quiet girls, mean girls, nice girls, girls who have kids, girls who don't want kids, girls who haven't thought about kids yet, girls who like boys, girls who like other girls. Given that this extraordinary body of women exists in the real world, why, then, are so few of these women ever on the big screen? In that regard, "Whip It" is a breath of fresh air. It's also commendable that roller derby can be celebrated here, because it deserves recognition for its culture of kick-ass inclusion. Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Alia Shawkat, Juliette Lewis, Eve, and more are all great fun to watch.
4. Female friendships are celebrated. I love the treatment of female friendships here, the closeness and also the pain of them. (PS: Arrested Development fans, this stars Maebe!) There are best friends who are growing together, childhood friends who now hate each other, new friends who connect in different ways, and bonds forged with family members that redefine existing patterns of connection. I love the very real treatment of relationships here that goes well beyond Boy + Girl = Kissing While Credits Roll. Life is bigger than that, as we all know.
5. It's a love letter to Austin, TX. And that's always a good thing.
6. It's damn fun. This is not a serious movie. It's a grin-on-your-face movie. I like those from time to time.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Friday I'm in Love
Here are my three grinnable selections for the week:
Network Television?
That question mark is there as in... really? Did I really just write that I was in love with network television this week? Yes! I adored the pilot of Glee so much that I happy-cried at the end of it. Then I watched four episodes online in a row. Modern Family is also killing it for me. This show has more family awesomeness than any we've seen since my beloved Arrested Development. Have television writers and network executives really finally woken up from their perpetual lameness? Did you hear that, television programmers? Because now it's your turn. See, "Glee" and "Modern Family," two fantastic shows, both really smart and targeting a somewhat similar demographic, are on at the very same time. And can I just mention, that is also the same time that Olivia and Elliott are doing their perennial thing for "Law and Order: SVU"? Unacceptable. So yep, this is me, loving some of the network tv's offerings for the first time in ages, and politely asking for a different time slot for one of them. (Well okay, one more rant - "How I Met Your Mother," consistently awesome, now on at 7 p.m. CST? Kids can't understand Barney's jokes, and at 7 p.m. I'm not ready to sit down and watch something. Just saying.)
Smoked Mozzarella
I was intrigued by these small smoked mozzarella balls at Central Market and decided I had to take them home with me. I'm a huge fan of smoked cheese in general (well, smoked anything, really), but had never eaten smoked mozzarella before. I tried them in a caprese salad, but the smokiness was a bit too overwhelming in a dish that's built upon simplicity. They found their true place, however, melted in hot, savory dishes. Just a few little slices were wonderfully rich in a steaming bowl of grits for breakfast. I'd imagine this cheese would elevate a ratatouille or a frittata to an entirely new level as well. Smoked mozzarella... check!
Frances Bean Cobain's Twitter Account
Via Jezebel's awesome Tweet Beat feature, where I get to purvey the best and worst of celebrity twittering without actually having to subscribe to celebrities, I came across this gem, and promptly spit out my drink. I kind of feel like I'm too old to bother with explaining to today's brainless and talentless popular youth what is wrong with them, so Frances Bean, thanks for doing that for me to your own cohort! Also, per your tweet from last week, good luck on finding someone to adopt you.
Frances Bean Cobain's Twitter Account
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Anticipation
Lots of stomach knots this week about that ever-present looming mystery for us: The Future. Where to live? Where to work? For how long? Then what? Just a few little questions on our minds right now... no big ones or anything. Our potential "next place" map looks a little something like this:
To settle my nerves, I'm heating up a cup of another lady-in-waiting's soup and simply waiting. Head down, deadlines to attend to, books to read, kitchen creations to make, friends and family to enjoy. But yeah... things are beginning to get interesting in the game of Big Life Questions. My usual nerves-of-steel stomach is most definitely on alert.
But there is this, and that's what matters most:
That about sums it up.
That circle keeps getting bigger, not smaller.
To settle my nerves, I'm heating up a cup of another lady-in-waiting's soup and simply waiting. Head down, deadlines to attend to, books to read, kitchen creations to make, friends and family to enjoy. But yeah... things are beginning to get interesting in the game of Big Life Questions. My usual nerves-of-steel stomach is most definitely on alert.
But there is this, and that's what matters most:
That about sums it up.
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