This Song is Soothing Me Right Now

Quarantined by Atlas Sound

Live Thanksgiving Cooking Blog

I just found this on the NY Times.  There are probably few of you with your hands free enough to read it, but I do.  I’m actually living vicariously through it.  Saddleshoos has something of a talent in the kitchen, and a love of the process of preparing a meal.  Sadly, both of the two Thanksgiving dinners Saddleshoos is attending this year (at 2PM PST and 5PM PST respectively) will be catered rather than cooked by people I know and love with participation (for better or worse) of various blood and non-blood relatives.

Here is a funny excerpt from the blog featuring a Bay Area celeb:

Waters in the Weeds | 1:18 p.m. OK, so just so no one feels alone, Miss Alice Waters herself just called. Thanksgiving at her house is in the weeds a bit, too. She was looking for one of my guests, the chef Scott Peacock, who has yet to arrive. (And really, it’s not like my daily life is all fancy and chef-y. It’s just that I have a job that involves talking to these people. And since we are all interested in food, we tend to find each other on food holidays.)

Anyway, she had a cornbread crisis of some kind and wanted to talk with Scott, who is up in Central Park reading a poem at a pilgrim monument or something. He should be here soon.

Alice also reports that there was a granita incident involving her daughter, and that she forgot she had put the stuffing on an antique 1920s tray and then accidentally put it in a warm oven to dry.

She now has a ruined tray and a stuffing emergency.

So how is your Thanksgiving cooking going so far? Send in all near misses and disasters.

Oh, sugar. I forgot to put the turkeys in the oven. Gotta go.

Pretty good right?  I’m off to a liquid lunch if you know what I mean…

I’m Thankful For the Following (in spite of the fact this holiday represents the massacre of native peoples by white men seeking to increase their fortunes): [DRAFT]

Ginger, my mother, my father, my brother, my sister, family, friends

A

ability to travel, access to education, ancestors, art

B

James Baldwin, bed, bell hooks, books

C

California, Caribbean, children, choices, choirs, Christianity, cleanliness, clothing, coffee, crossword puzzles

D

democracy, Marcel Duchamp

E

electricity, equity, excellence

F

flowers, food, France

G

Gallatin, gardens, godliness, good smells, Grizzly Bear

H

habeas corpus, hot baths, hellebore

I

ice cream, independence, 

J

jurisprudence

K

kale, kitchen tools

L

Loumarin

M

Memphis, modern medicine, Toni Morrison, mountains, music,

N

Nashawena, neighbors, New York City!!!, NPR

O

OBAMA!!!, ocean

P

Parks’, Pittsburg, poetry

Q

quiet

R

Rockridge,

S

sailboats, sun,

T

teachers, This American Life

U

(burnt) umber

V

Van Dyke, 

W

David Foster Wallace, warmth

X

xenosauridae

Y

Yellowman

Z

(various) zeitgeists

Waiting for the Chicken to Bake

Digital mixing, wine drinking, and my favorite magazine, Sunset.  I know there are some haters out there, but it is a really soothing cornucopia of Western food, travel, and the good life.  Think slow food and Napa.  Great recipes too.  

What I’m making tonight (not from Sunset magazine…I know).

The wine I’m drinking:

I just can’t get enough of the Italian reds these days.  This is excellent and can be found in the “Bargain Red” section of Paul Marcus at approximately $13.  Paul Marcus is a brilliant place.  

On the digital playlist tonight, at randomly and on purpose:

Prince: Cinnamon Girl from Musicology (really random), Sebadoh: my old favorites favorites favorites Not A Friend and Got It, Sufjan Stevens: All Good Naysayers Speak Up Or Forever Hold Your Peace! from Greetings from Michigan, Grizzly Bear: Colorado (Dan’s guitar in the middle/at the bridge is amazing, I could just listen to this over and over again–great song–I’ll never forget when this album came out and Sean blogged about it with the title CHEER UP CHEER UP CHEER UP–when I am listening to this song I also think WHAT NOW? WHAT NOW? WHAT NOW? WHAT NOW? amazing), Dorival Caymmi: Samba Da Minha Terra, Pixies: Rock Music from Bossanova, Keilis: Bossy, Marisa Monte: Pra Ser Sincero, Eddie Palmieri: La Malanga, Tito Puente Y Hector Lavoe: Timbalero, Keyshia Cole Featuring Lil’ Kim & Missy Elliot: Let It Go, Aurelio Martinez: Nuwerun. 

“What I’m doing for Thanksgiving…”

By one of my 6th grade students…

I hope you have a great thanksgiving.  What I’m doing for Thankgiving is I’m going to my dad’s house and eat turkey, pupkin pie (yum!!!), Apple pie, mashed potatoes ETC. I’m going to have a party and invite my friends over to have dinner with us.  At the party I’m going to chit-chat, text on my cell phone, and eat a lot of food.  Well that’s my Thanksgiving what’s yours???

Sincerely,

Txxx Mxxx

Txxx starts everyday by walking down the hallway and saying “[Saddleshoos] I have something to tell you!” I say: “What?” and Txxx says “HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!”

Txxx is a fun kid with highly developed adult-like social skills (chit-chat and texting at dinner, sound familiar?).  I’m proud of Txxx because he is learning to put his glasses on when he comes to class.  You don’t understand the significance of the battle of the glasses with middle schoolers.  Children you must see in order to learn!

Dinwiddie Pearl, Hang Ten

Van Dyke Parks, Sunset Boulevard, 1976

Fashion: “Sandman” airbrushed tank designed by Sara Rightor Parks for Harry Nilsson’s album of the same name

I just couldn’t resist.

The original context.

The Search is Over

Wow, wow, wow.  Everyone wants peonies ALL the time.  They are the ultimate in lushness and pure beauty.  When I was working at Bloomies desperate husbands would come in looking for their wives’ favorite flower from June to March and walk away sorely disappointed, with ranunculus if they were lucky.  The elusive peony can usually only be found in the months of April and May.  Due to the need for a deep frost, they will not produce blooms in California, although I’ve heard of many people trying and harvesting nothing but their fabulous greens.

BUT, BUT, I found peonies at (GASP) TRADER JOES this week!!!  They had them in from Chile, and they were priced at $6.99 a bunch!!!  Peonies are tough to get in off-season for under $15 a stem.  Usually they have to be shipped from New Zealand in a tight bud that isn’t even guaranteed to open.  

So, without further ado, the TJ’s peonies:

See is believing: check out that price tag!

When I went back last night they were sold out, but I’m guessing they will get more.  So run to your Trader Joe’s and ask one of those super helpful part-timers when they’re getting the next shipment in from Chile!

Refinery29’s Autumn Playlist

I sound like a broken record.  I sound like a broken record.

Refinery29 rules!  Refinery29 rules!  Refinery29 rules!

Here is their thoughtfully assembled autumn playlist, with every song available for free download (go buy the albums if you love the songs).

My favorite inclusions are by Air France, Arthur Russel, Department of Eagles, Of Montreal and We Have Band.

Check out the complete list here.

Speaking of Department of Eagles, I’ve been meaning to blog about them and their fabulous illustrator Amelia Bauer.  Damn girl!  I’m digging the McCarren Park on a winter night vibe of the DoE website.

Where can I buy one?  I need it.

New Musical Discoveries

I recently discovered an the Spanish Harlem Orchestra:

“Our music style is the original sound of New York old school “Salsa dura” (heavy salsa) that was played in the early years by our pioneers,” says Oscar [Hernández, director, pianist, arranger, and producer].  “That sound has been lost and we want to keep it alive while educating the new generations (and music lovers in general) on the true musical roots of our culture.” 

The next is Martirio, the mysterious balero singer and sunglasses wearer.  

 

Quinones says she created Martirio to inspire Spaniards to explore personal and artistic freedoms after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

“Martirio is meant to allow people to confront their true feelings and follow the path of their lives,” she says, “so they are free to love whoever makes them happy, so they can validate their existence, so they can be free within themselves.”

 

This is Pretty Soothing

Just leave it on your screen with the volume up for about 5 minutes while you’re doing something else.

You’ll see.

Soothing live stream

(Thank you to KRB)