Best Playlist Ever

It hit me out of left field the other day: nostalgia for a few of my favorite songs growing up. Then I thought, I should just make a whole playlist of all my old favorites...so I did! The following are a few of my memories from 1986-1992 (ages 3-9)

"Land of Confusion" by Genesis (1986)
"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)
"Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel (1986)
"Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora (1987)
"Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was) (1987)
"Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry (1988)
"Straight Up" by Paula Abdul (1988)
"Cold Hearted" by Paula Abdul (1988)
"Lullaby" by The Cure (1989)
"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals (1989)
"Like a Prayer" by Madonna (1989)
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)" by Janet Jackson (1989)
"Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode (1990)
"King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West (1990)
"Send Adrift of Memory Bliss" by PM Dawn (1991)
"I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd (1991)
"I Love Your Smile" by Shanice (1991)
"Chorus" by Erasure (1991)
"Weak" by SWV (1992)
"Letter to Elise" by The Cure (1992)
"Just Another Day" by Jon Secada (1992)

Of these, my all-time favorite forever and ever and ever is Go West's "King of Wishful Thinking." To a 7-year-old in the early 90s, music just doesn't get better than this. In fact, I still get all inspired listening to it! Watch the hilarious music video:



Another great video: "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry. When I used to hear this song as a kid it made me want to be 16 and at the mall with cool big-haired friends:



Oh jeez, I think eventually post the video to all of these songs...well, I'll stop with the next best video of the 80s besides Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," the utter creepiness that is Genesis, "Land of Confusion."

More Comics: Sick Animation!

Food and web comics seem to be summing up the theme of this blog lately, but that's okay! Both keep me happy while I'm at work, so more reason to post about it.

SickAnimation.com has been entertaining me and my pal Melissa for almost 2 years now. It's really known more for its hilarious cartoons, but I recently discovered the comics section in which the creator, Mark M., retains the same ultra sick and sardonic tone as the toons. Here's a few that tickle the dark side of my humor bone:

The Woody Allen Experience

Up until about a year ago, I had never seen a Woody Allen movie. Around that time, it was in my best interests to enroll in a Woody Allen 101 class. I really wanted to do well this semester so I thought I'd impress my professor, Prof. Cotton, with a surprise class field trip to see Woody Allen and his Dixieland Jazz Band perform at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City.





To really secure my spot on the Honor Roll, I got us seats at one of the three VIP tables. The trumpet and trombone players were putting their drinks and instrument doodads on our table. At some points, I thought the trombone player was going to hit me in the head because he was so close:



Here's my professor cheering on his subject:



Tips for those of you who also want to take this field trip:

• Check the performance calendar at the Carlyle Hotel's website to make sure he's in town. They generally only play on Monday nights. The current season runs til Dec 10th of this year.
• You have to make dinner reservations to guarantee getting to see the band. Tickets usually sell out 3-4 weeks in advanced. The Carlyle is teeny-tiny, so you've got a good view from almost anywhere you sit.
• The show starts at 8:45pm, the last dinner reservation you can make is at 7:30pm. Eat before hand as the Carlyle is ridiculously expensive. As soon as you sit down they give you a glass bottle of Evian drinking or sparkling water and charge you $10 for it whether you want it or not. A vodka collins will cost you $20.
  
• Don't be sad if Woody doesn't look up at all the entire time he's playing. He is the king of all introverts and seeing him live proves it.
  

It was totally worth it and highly recommended! So, what became of me and my Woody Allen 101 class? Unfortunately, the dean discovered this photo and Prof. Cotton was fired for sexual harassment:

Thought for Food

So a while back, my boyfriend and I got into the habit of taking pictures of our dinner and sending it to each other:


Dave's Green Curry Tofu and White Rice


My Red Curry with Shrimp and Jasmine Rice


Dave's Asian Fish with Couscous


My (Grandmother's) Patlican (Turkish fried eggplant dish) on French Bread with Garlic Yogurt Sauce and Rice Pilaf.

While skimming for these pictures on my Flickr account, I also noticed I've captured memories of other eats:


Birthday Desserts from Brooklyn restaurant RELISH in NYC two weeks ago.


French Toast with Bananas and Pecans at Clinton St. Baking Company in NYC (what I couldn't finish.)


My attempt at Caramel Popcorn with Almonds and Walnuts for Halloween (it was a little...stiff...)


Dave's mother's Chocolate Sheet Cake with Walnuts (the best!)


Pancakes at Wheatfields in Omaha, NE.

Turns out lots of folks do this and there are even lots of Flickr groups dedicated to capturing din-din and other treat times. Don't click on an empty stomach:

I Ate This

Pictures of Our Dinners

Food Porn

BOAT STROKE!

Married to the Sea is the collaborative web comic of hilarious twosome Drew and Natalie Dee. Drew is also well known for his comic, Toothpaste for Dinner, and Natalie Dee is responsible for the cuteness that is her eponymously named comic. Note on N.D.: is it just me, or is her stuff a possible total rip-off of explodingdog.com, which has been around since 2000?

Married to the Sea uses public domain images from the Victorian era but has recently ventured into using images from the 70s and 80s, which I find particularly hilarious. They take any chance they get to make fun of old people, which totally cracks me up. I know one day old people jokes won't be so funny, so if I'm going to laugh, might as well be now!

Enjoy...and visit their site to check out their large archive of comics. They update daily!

Grocery List

Alright, there are some amazing items in my pantry that I've become so obsessed with, I have to share it here. Let's start with the most innovative on-the-go item I've purchased lately, PICKLE PAKS:

That's right, Mt. Olive now sells baby dill pickles in easy to-go containers for $3.99 (you get 4 paks per pack.) Pickles! I think this is a brilliant idea, as I am pickle crazy fo sho. I remember at the beginning of this summer I was hanging out with my boyfriend's family and his brother's kids starting going BUH-ZERK for some pickles, chomping on them like the Vlasic stork was their dealer or something. I was like, "Hell yeah, these are my kind of kids right here!" But I digress...I think I'll stick with this pickles-to-go snack idea, but use gladware to separate a jar out instead. More dill for the bill.

Another ultimate on-the-go product I've discovered is Cliff Bar's new Mojo trailmix bars:

They come in Peanut Butter Pretzel, Honey Roasted Peanut, Mountain Mix (pictured), Mixed Nuts, and Fruit Nut Crunch. Of the flavors I've tried, Mountain Mix is by far the best. It's got dried cranberries, almonds, chocolate, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pretzels, peanuts, and rice crisps. It's a very filling snack, costs about a buck a bar, and is low on calories and fat. I'd still eat it even if it wasn't cheap or healthy though...!

Finally, my one and only cereal addiction...Kashi's Autumn Wheat. Holy hell, I NEVER get sick of this stuff. If I don't have this in my pantry I start getting jittery and bite all my nails until I run out of them and then I move on to the cat's. IT'S THAT ADDICTING:

I was pretty well convinced I'd find "CRACK" listed as the first ingredient, but here's what the side of the box reads:

Organic Whole Grain Wheat, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice

That's all! So amazingly simple. I eat it with milk for breakfast, put it in ziploc bags to take as a snack, gobble it straight out of the box on the way home from the grocery store, I've had it cold, I've had it hot. It doesn't get any better than this cereal. Dillon's and the like will try to sell it to you for $4.50 a box, but don't buy into that. You can get it at Target or Blah-mart for $2.41.

Ultimate Baking Project: Root Beer Float Cupcakes!!

I haven't attempted making these cupcakes yet, but by golly, the next time I have a good excuse to, I'm making them. I found this recipe at Yum Sugar; click it to get the full directions. It's not that hard a recipe...I mean, Jesus Christ, look at the outcome. It's enough to motivate anyone into trying them out.

Here's what you'll need:

Cupcake Ingredients

1 cup root beer schnapps
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned style root beer (like A&W or Dads)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Root Beer Glaze

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup root beer
3 Tbs. root beer schnapps
3 Tbs. vegetable oil

Anyone want to have a pot luck any time soon?

Flicka Flicka Flicka, Here You Are

After a good, hard rain this afternoon I came across this gorgeous little creature inbetween classes. A perfect opportunity to use my favorite feature on my camera: digital macro!! I stuck around to make sure this little guy/gal made it safely across to the bush he/she was targeting before heading off.

My best friend Bobby B. helped me pick out my digital camera last year. It's a Canon Powershot SD630 and the best digital camera I've owned, especially for the price.

I'm all for getting as much color on this blog as possible...check it out.

(click to imbiggen)

"Oh, dood, I'm totally making this my default photo."

Update:
My boss at the library is also an entomologist, and was able to help me identify this caterpillar. Turns out SHE'S an Antheraea polyphemus, a type of giant silk moth named after the mythological Greek cyclops. Sadly, I read that once she forms a cocoon and becomes a moth, she will only live for less than a week due to having a vestigial (reduced-functioning) mouth. Here's her future state, in all its existential glory:

Finally, I've Found You!

For months and months I've been nagging that the most ultimately awesome show on the radio would be one that played music from around 1900-1920s via phonograph. I knew it would take a lot of money and talent to pull something off like this, but luckily WFMU in New Jersey has got it covered. I stumbled across their Antique Phonograph Music Program by accident the other day and I am in loooove!

They've got show archives that date back all the way to 2000...pretty amazing feat considering most college radio stations weren't attempting things like that yet. Anyway, for an added bonus, check out their sister show called Thomas Edison's Attic which they link to on their page.

Next time there's a dinner party at my house, you can take a wild guess as to what you'll be hearing in the background!


listening to the hot new tunes in Abilene, KS (9.16.2007)

Jack Handey: Deep Thoughts FM?

Probably one of the most creative uses of editing and writing I've heard on the radio is Jack Handey's "My Nature Documentary" broadcast on PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson from WNYC, New York Public Radio on August 31st, 2007. Jack Handey is of course known best for his Deep Thoughts segment that ran on SNL from 1991-1998...I had no idea he'd taken the route of other humorists like David Sedaris and Roy Blount Jr. making contributions to NPR programming. I love it and hope to hear more soon!