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Transparent Trends
Anti-fashion conspiracy theorists occasionally complain that fashion trends are deliberately planned to embody the opposite of the previous trend. Instead of easing from flats into kitten heels, for example, fashion leaves the ballerinas behind and chunkifies into wedge-cum-boots flourished with lacings.
I thought of that theory when I saw Anthropologie touting flair jeans for this summer. (Not that it’s Anthropologie’s personal sneaky effort–the 70s are in! They just made me think of it.)
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SpiderWard
The broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has been plagued with four performer injuries so far. This week’s New Yorker cover by Barry Blitt is a funny take on the cursed production.
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Snowpants
Remember when snowpants were an essential part of your winter wardrobe?
Sledding was terrifying–would you hit a ledge, land on your tailbone, knock the breath out of your lungs, miss the mattress and skid into the wire fence, or worse, the deleafed raspberry branches full of thorns–but in the moment of hesitation at the top, sled pointing straight ahead, debating your destiny, the slight push it took to begin hurtling down the hill was irresistible.
An injury-free finish at the bottom meant choosing to wipe out or an all-out-mayday-fling into the snow to avoid one of the menacing endings. Snow crept into every breach in your uniform–between your ear and your hat, the exposed sliver of wrist, melting its way down into your boots. You dusted off, grabbed your trusty plastic partner, only to begin the long hike back up. And somehow at the top, out of breath and sore, you couldn’t resist another go.
Looking back, I can’t think of many other times–aside from swinging as high as possible, flinging up and off flying toward the ground at the last minute–when you genuinely felt as if you chose your own adventure. The risks were yours to select and embrace, you decided how ambitious you would be this year–one year older, savvier, and seasoned–than that seemingly endless time ago last year.
Photos from our neighborhood today! We made it to Starbucks and were thoroughly soaked by the time we got back to the apartment.
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Saturday Reading
A few things I enjoyed reading lately, for your snowy Saturday review:
Wednesday Chef’s wishes for our New Year. I almost cried thinking about juicy peaches–will that season ever arrive?
A New Yorker short on what the kids are saying these days, which is, as always, immediately more cool and apt than anything I’ve ever said.
Elif Batuman on koalas, Oprah, and critical reviews of her Top 10 book. I didn’t make it through her book, but I think she’s a genius blogger–goofy, interactive, and cheery.
Painting of dog reading, with coffee, by Maira Kalman.
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Sart. Craft
A great little video in which The Sartorialist talks about his craft, and we get to see how he approaches people on the street, which I’ve always wondered.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5NgG5koPZU&feature]
I’m glad he did this longer feature piece because when this surfaced awhile ago, the haters were all “oh the sartorialist is so annoying and bossy.”
We are such the benefactors of this new “we like what you like” approach to advertising, aren’t we? I hope they never go back to the meaningless ’90s-Super-Bowl-ad style we were all put through in our youth.
seen on Chris Glass, but it’s everywhere now
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Things I Talked about Over Christmas
Mark Madoff’s suicide: so sad. And: did he really not know? And: did we take the generational-sin-blame thing to far?
The scoundrels at J.Crew who sell lesser-quality replicas at their Factory Store. Who knew, until you fell for it and realized it was not the shirt you thought it was?! Very sneaky of them to subvert the ol’ just-last-season’s paradigm that we’ve come to expect from outlet stores.
Aluminium in deodorant: is this still a concern or just a rumor? Yes, no, respectively. Is the Deodorant Stone a possible solution? Some say yes, but it’s hard to get over how weird that website is.
I like this new Sugar in the Raw ad/recipe by Mother Design:
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A Clear Hot Soup
Mussels are one of those things that you should feel proud when cooking. I always begin my mussel projects feeling very satisfied that I have brought these glossy black creatures home and will fearlessly make something of them. You can’t say me at 21 and me now are the same person, I have advanced this far.
Though there is nothing better than steaming them with wine, shallots, garlic, butter, parsley (…whatever else) and eating them with bread, this soup jumped into my mind the other day. I hadn’t made it for a year, but I remembered its description and title “a clear hot soup” and because it was cloudy and cold, it sounded delicious. If you are living in similar atmospheric conditions, it might appeal to you as well. It only has a few ingredients, so you will need something else to fill you up for dinner. Personally I’m not good at planning complete meals, so I made this, and then around 9pm Joe and I circled back for a second dinner. I’ve included more extensive mussel cooking directions at the bottom, if this is your first time.
A Clear Hot Mussel Soup
created by Nigel Slater, printed in The Kitchen Diaries, a lovely book
Serves 2-3 or more as an appetizer
a 2-lb bag of Mussels (this the typical grocery store size)*
3 cups Chicken or vegetable stock
a small hot red chili pepper (I could only find a jalapeno)
the juice of 2 limes
a little salt and sugar
a handful of cilantro leaves
Steam the mussels with a little bit of water in a heavy pot, with a lid, over high heat. After a few minutes, most of them will open wide. Pull those out while the others have a chance to cook. If a few at the end don’t open, throw them away.
In a separate pan, bring the stock to a boil. Cut up the pepper, get rid of the seeds, and chop up the rest of it. Add the pepper, the lime juice and a pinch of sugar and salt to the stock. Turn the heat down to a simmer.
Pull the mussels out of their shells (I use my fingers, don’t worry if they try to stick to the shells and look like sad little creatures) and add them to the soup. Add a little of the mussel water from their pan. Once you’ve ladled it into bowls, dash cilantro on top of both.
*When you buy the mussels, they give you a plastic bag to take them home in. Keep the bag open so they can breath all the way home. I keep them on ice in a bowl in the fridge, sometimes with a damp towel on top. They can keep that way for a day or two. I scrub them under cold water before putting them in the pan, throwing away any that have opened already. If they’ve opened a little bit, squeeze them and they might close again. If they don’t close, leave them for dead. Sometimes a little hairy bit called a “beard” will peep out of the shell. Pull the beard as far away from the shell as you can, hold it taut, and cut it away with a knife.
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For that Queue of Yours
I just added a bunch of movies to my Netflix from Ebert’s list of Best of 2010. We watched I am Love (screenshot above) a few weeks ago, and the clothes are beautiful and Tilda Swinton’s character is complex in the best, quiet, real way. I’m now excited to see Winter’s Bone, The Ghost Writer, and Another Year. Thanks for the tips Ebert!
PS: Not new, but I finally saw Temple Grandin and thought it was inspiring.
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Siggi’s 0% Milkfat Yogurt
After reading about the Siggi’s founder in O Magazine, I finally bought some at the grocery store. Their marketing is soo pretty.
It tastes lighter than Greek Yogurt with the same amount of protein (double what normal yogurt offers).
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Favorites of 2010
My favorite five E & D posts, of the 150 that managed to come about this year.
Ruminating on my friend making a perfect homemade cappuccino.
