Music Monday: Cosmo Jarvis

Well, hello strangers! My post vacation hiatus was a bit longer than I anticipated. I've basically spent the last week recovering from one of the most awesome weeks ever. I'm reinvigorated in almost every area of my creative life, but especially when it comes to music. I'm not sure if Music Monday will be a weekly feature, but it will be appearing often.

I was first introduced to Cosmo Jarvis about a year ago, when Maya showed me the video for "Gay Pirates." On the surface, it's a raucous sea shanty with a beautifully lit, one shot video. But underneath all that pirate garb is an expertly written, exceedingly poignant love song.



At only 22, Cosmo has written hundreds of songs, produced dozens of music videos, and mastered countless instruments. I'm serious. I have no idea how many instruments he actually plays. I know for sure that he is a whiz at guitar, mandolin, ukelele and banjo. He records everything in a home studio. This guy is a true wunderkind, but he's virtually unknown in the US.

While I was in New York, I got to catch one of Cosmo's CMJ sets, a free show at the very intimate Rockwood Music Hall. This place is so small that the drums have to be set up on the floor on stage left. Of course, a small venue is hardly ever a bad thing, at least for the listeners.

Left to Right: Cosmo Jarvis, Harry Mackaill, Harry Meads





Cosmo powered through his set with the outstanding vocal and instrumental backing of Harry Mackaill on bass and Harry Meads on drums. His influences are diverse, from Frank Zappa to John Lennon, yet these divergent styles all come together in a kind of pop folk punk with underlying maritime themes. The ska-like "She Doesn't Mind" coexists beautifully with the Southern choir stylings of "Sure as Hell Not Jesus."

If you live in the UK, you'll probably be lucky enough to catch Cosmo live in the next few months. If you're in the States, jump on any chance you get. In the meantime, consider subscribing to his YouTube channel. He's quite prolific, and there's a backlog of videos to keep you entertained.

His latest album, Is the World Strange or Am I Strange?, is available on his website, Amazon, or via iTunes. It's also a good idea to join the mailing list, as I've gotten some free tunes that way.

Let me know what you think if you give it a listen. Also, as always, I'm interested in listening to new music, so let me know what you're listening to these days.

Throwback Thursday: My Mom is an Old School Trekkie

Today's post is another one from my mom. Check out her previous contribution to Throwback Thursday here.

I've always said that I've been a Trekkie since birth. My mom was a fan of the original series when it aired in the late 60s, and I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation in its original run. One of my middle names is Nichelle, after Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura. I love that Star Trek is something that I share with my mother and my brother.

I asked my mom to share her experience at an early Star Trek Convention, Vul-Con 2. I was always fascinated by a picture of her from the event, and wanted the details.


A bumper sticker given to participants

In the spring of 1975, I attended Vul-Con 2, a Star Trek conventon in New Orleans, La. I had prepared to participate in the convention by sewing a costume for the costume contest, and matting some artwork to display in the Art Show. However, even as I packed these things, I wasn't sure I'd actually work up the courage to actually do so.
Because I did not then or even now drive a car, I made the nearly 500 mile journey by bus, a local, not an express. This means stopping in every burg and hamlet in Mississippi and Louisiana. I remember little of the trip through Mississippi, but the sameness of the landscape, and the one two hour lay-over spent sitting on a wooden bench while fellow travellers ate their brown-bagged meal of fried chicken. I passed through Louisiana in darkness so have no idea of its landscape.

I arrived by taxi at my hotel, checked in, and went to bed.

The next morning, my first stop after breakfast was the Art Show, so I could enter my two sketches. All art work could be offered for sale, and I thought why not? I placed a modest price on the pencil sketches, one of a dragon and one of a mermaid accompanied on her swim by two dolphins. I'll say now they didn't sell.

The piece of art I remember most is a portrait of Spock, Kirk, and McCoy in which Kirk is depicted with bright blue eyes. That is so not right.

As serpendipity would have it, the first fellow fans I spoke with were from West Memphis, Arkansas. We hit it off and spent quite a bit of time together at the convention and exchanged addresses and phone numbers and participated in other Star Trek related activities at a later date.

Maybe it is the nature of any activity involving people of shared interests, but the atmosphere of the convention was open and friendly and no one was shy about approaching anyone else, even the guests of honor for a conversation. It was easy to run into the same folks in the elevator over and over.
It is the people that I met and talked to that stand out most vividly in my recollections of the convention; from the pint-sized fan, who had to have seen every episode in syndicated re-runs to Nichelle Nichols, herself.


The convention program

Star Trek conventions are organized along the lines of general Sci-Fi conventions. The hearts of the convention, in my opinion, were the Dealer's Room and the Viewing Room.

In the Dealer's Room, fans can buy all things Trek, from models of the space ships to holographic stickers, and of course Tee shirts. It is in the Dealer's Room that I first meet my pint-sized fan, a boy of around ten or eleven years. He was buying a "I Grok Spock" button.

For those who are not Sci-fi fans, the term Grok is from Robert Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land, and basically means, "I really dig it."

The boy was also talking to a guy who said he was some kind of policeman and was showing him a badge. The boy wasn't buying it. Smart kid. I started a conversation with the "policeman" and the badge was certainly fake. I never found out the reason for this ruse, but the guy was from Metairie and we were pen pals for several months.

I spent a lot of time in the Dealer's Room. It was there that I met author David Gerrold, who wrote one of the most popular Star Trek episodes, "The Trouble with Tribbles." He was there with his Agent and selling tribbles. I had read his books: The Man Who Folded Himself, which is about a time traveler, and his two non-fiction works about Star Trek,The Trouble With Tribbles , and The World of Star Trek. We had a longish conversation, about what I don't remember, and I had him sign my program. I bought a middle-sized tribble for five dollars.
David had a lot of input into Next Generation, but had his credits removed because of creative differences. He is also the author of The Martian Child,which relates his experiences as a single gay adoptive father. The Martian Child was adapted into a movie starring John Cusack. The gay part, however, didn't make it into the movie.

It was in the Dealer's Room that I also first met Nichelle Nichols. She happened to be at the table where her fan club was recruiting members. There were also 8" by 10" black and white photos of Nichelle available for purchase, and she was signing them. I signed up, paid my dues, bought a pic, and she autographed it for me. As a new club member, I was invited to a room party in Nichelle's room later that evening.

Besides Nichelle Nichols and David Gerrold, the other Guests of Honor at Vul-con 2 were George Takai, Arlene Martel, who played T-Pring, Spock's wife in Amok Time, and Mark Lenard, the actor who played Sarek, Spock's father. I attended a panel discussion with all the guests, where fans questions were answered. Actress, Arlene Martel, who was very commanding as T-Pring, came across as very quiet, almost shy in person.

I visited the Viewing Room with my West Memphis pals and caught a viewing of Amok Time and the original pilot of Star Trek. Interestingly, I had seen the pilot when I was in high school, when it was making rounds of school campuses. Besides Star Trek episodes , classic Sci-fi movies were also shown.

It was here that we met a dock worker from Liverpool, England. He was doing a bus tour of the US, which he had started in New York. He was crashing the convention, spending the night in the Viewing Room and on a couch in one of the hotel lobbies. We were fascinated by each others' accents.

I did manage to find the courage to enter the costume contest. I even managed not to feel too self-conscious sitting in my pink satin shorts and halter overlaid with a sheer rose-print pair of ankle-length wrap-around coulottes and matching top with full-flowing sleeves: my skin dusted with gold sparkly powder. I wimped out though, when I found out David Gerrold was one of the judges. I'd intended to name my character the Green Goddess of the Great Machine, from his reference in one of his books about the frequency in which such a character appeared in Star Trek episodes. Maybe he would have found it flattering but a little self-serving in the circumstances. Unfortunately, memory doesn't serve up who won. I think it was a trio of women in very authentic looking TOS uniforms. Or maybe a Klingon?

My handmade costume

I also attended a Dinner and Auction function while at the convention. One of my fellow diners at my table was the young fan, I'd met in the dealer's room, and later run into several times. At one point, he gave a startingly good impression of Montgomery Scott and I snorted white wine into my nose, and a prolonged coughing fit ensued. Not my most shining moment.


This occassion was the first and last time I have ever participated in an auction of any kind. Nichelle Nichols acted as auctioneer and I won the bid on a collection of stills from the show. As I took them from her hand, she gave me a bright smile and congratulated me.



The highlight of my convention experience was the room party with Nichelle Nichol's fan club. When I arrived the room was already full of young women, most of them white. I recently read a comment that a majority of fans at the early conventions were women. Women had a great deal of influence in fandom through fanzines and organization of conventions. (The men started attending conventions to meet women.) That the fans here in Nichelle's room were young women and mostly white probably says as much about Uhura's role as a model for gender equality as it does about the one for racial equality.

I recently was reminded that Nichelle was born Grace Nichols and the name seems to fit her. From her physical grace as a dancer to her gracious demeanor.

This petite woman stood in the circle of her fans and quietly discussed her upcoming tour of Mississippi schools to promote education, while smoking on a filtered cigarette. I remember the cigarette well, because when she finished it, since there was wall to wall people she asked one of them standing near the bathroom door to dispose of the butt in the bathroom. The girl took the butt between thumb and forefinger, turned toward the bathroom and hesitated. The whole room seemed to stand still. Nichelle caught her eye, and shook her head slightly, she laughed lightly. " You don't want that," she said. We all laughed, tension broken. The girl turned and tossed the butt away. That was a defining moment for me. And I think that it defines grace.

Guest Post: Liz's Weight Loss Story Part 2

Liz has been my friend since 1999. We met online in a Backstreet Boys Yahoo group. It's hard for me to believe sometimes that we're such good friend all these years later. She's an incredible singer, a great writer, and has a wonderful wry sense of humor that meshed so well with our little group of BSB fanatics.

Liz has lost an incredible amount of weight in the past few years, and has kept it off. I was so amazed when we went on the BSB cruise last year that Liz was able to let go an enjoy herself, but still made such great healthy choices. Let's just say that her Sail and Sign invoice was a fraction of Angie's and mine.

I asked Liz to share her weight loss story. It's inspirational to me, and I hope it will be inspirational to others. Here's the rest of her story.



About two and a half years later, I was living with a roommate and he had asked if I wanted to go check out a 24 Hour Fitness with him. He’d heard good things about it, and I had been thinking about jumping back on the fitness track, so I said yes. I went and immediately thought I’d hate it. I was weirded out having to pay money for the gym and didn’t want to spend money. I was trying to convince myself I’d never use the gym, and I’m sort of weird when it comes to spending money. I like to buy things like music on iTunes, but don’t really like to buy things I need, like clothes or you know, gym memberships to help reach my goals. So, I didn’t join, but a day later, I found out my roommate had joined, and then he told me if I joined, I could join under him and get some sort of discount. So, I went and signed up. For $25 a month, I could use the gym whenever I wanted, and whichever location I wanted. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. I vividly remember making a bet with myself to see how long I could go to the gym without stopping. I wanted to make sure I went, and I knew if I challenged myself, and didn’t tell anyone, that I’d do better than making some announcement about it. I ended up going 14 days in a row.

I’m not going to say that I was magically transformed. I’m not even going to say I was magically convinced, but during the course of those two weeks, I figured something out. If I’m working out, what good is it doing me by negating all of that by eating terrible food? What good is it doing me by drinking all of this alcohol? So, one by one, my diet changed. It wasn’t even a conscious decision, really. I just started focusing on what would be good to eat, and what was, probably, a bad decision. I started limiting my alcohol intake to one or two glasses per week, and making sure it was either only wine or vodka. I wasn’t going to deny myself alcohol, but I also wasn’t going to make it my beverage of choice. Slowly, but surely, it started falling into place.



It’s been about two years now, and I haven’t stopped going to the gym. I try to go, I’d say, about 4 times per week. I used to just stick with the machines and then do some free weights and call it good. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing that, but I got bored. And, I didn’t want to get bored because when I get bored, I stop doing things. I didn’t want to stop going, so I changed it up. I started going to a kickboxing class with one of my friends who is also very much into going to the gym. That’s one of the keys, I think, is finding people who are interested in going to the gym. If you have a friend, you are held accountable because you set up gym dates, and you don’t want to disappoint your friend, right? So, we started kickboxing, and I started taking yoga. Now, I don’t go to yoga as much as I’d like to think I would, but I can promise you this: if you allow it, yoga will change your life. It allows you to relax and breathe, and how many times a day are you allowed to just relax and breathe? Honestly, try it. Breathing is awesome.

I think over the course of the last two years I’ve lost another 35 pounds. I know that’s not a lofty number like 50, but my body and my mind have changed so much that it’s hard for me to recognize who that other person was. In total, I’ve lost over 100 pounds. I think, actually, it’s 107 pounds since I started the journey all those years ago. To put it in blunt terms, I used to wear a size 22 pant, and now I wear a size 6. It wasn’t an easy journey. There were a million bumps along the way, but I had put my mind to this, and I wasn’t going to just quit. I would never want anyone, of any shape or size, to hate themselves or their bodies. We only have one, and especially women, really should know that they’re beautiful inside and out. But, I do know that I want to be healthy, and I want to take care of myself and be around a long time. And, when I work out, I feel so accomplished and so good about myself that I just can’t imagine not doing it anymore. I like eating healthy, and I like feeling good. I’m not saying that I don’t eat pizza anymore because I do. And, sometimes, I eat a lot of it. But, I also allow myself those moments of just eating. I’m also not going to say that sometimes, I think I might be consumed with ‘being healthy’ and that, sometimes, it overtakes my life. I am working on trying to balance that. I do worry about what I eat, and sometimes, I try to count calories in my head, but I know that being like that isn’t good either.



I know it’s a journey. And, I know it’s a struggle. It wasn’t easy for me. It’s not easy for anyone. But, I know that it’s possible. And, I know that it can be done. And, you know, I had a mushroom swiss burger last year for the first time since that infamous lunch with my mom, and it still tasted delicious. I know she wasn’t trying to be vicious, and it obviously left a mark on me. I’m still torn on how I feel about that moment when she told me, but I know that I’m so much better now than I was then. In every way. In some ways, I know that I should thank her for pointing it out, but in a lot of other ways, I just thank myself.

Guest Post: Liz's Weight Loss Story Part 1

Liz has been my friend since 1999. We met online in a Backstreet Boys Yahoo group. It's hard for me to believe sometimes that we're such good friend all these years later. She's an incredible singer, a great writer, and has a wonderful wry sense of humor that meshed so well with our little group of BSB fanatics.

Liz has lost an incredible amount of weight in the past few years, and has kept it off. I was so amazed when we went on the BSB cruise last year that Liz was able to let go an enjoy herself, but still made such great healthy choices. Let's just say that her Sail and Sign invoice was a fraction of Angie's and mine.

I asked Liz to share her weight loss story. It's inspirational to me, and I hope it will be inspirational to others.





It started with a mushroom swiss burger. I remember sitting across from my mother, having a lovely (or so I thought) lunch with my mom, when she dropped a bomb on me: I was overweight and I needed to lose weight. I kept thinking, “Couldn’t she have told me this BEFORE I ordered the burger?” She told me I needed to go to Weight Watchers, and she was going to go as well. I had been thinking about doing something about my weight, but honestly, at the age of 24, I was just trying to get by in life, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around a bunch of people trying to lose weight. Afterall, I wasn’t a joiner, and I certainly didn’t want to sit around and talk about ways to lose weight. Honestly, I felt humiliated that I’d been called out on my weight, and I also wasn’t aware that I was unhealthy. I never thought I was unhealthy, but I also knew I wasn’t happy looking the way I looked. But, I knew if my mother was saying something to me, then I needed to do something.

I did it. I went to Weight Watchers. I had originally been inspired to go to Weight Watchers because my dad had gone, and he had been supremely successful. I figured if he could do it, I owed it to myself to try to do it too. At first, I was pretty stand-offish about the whole thing and was convinced I wasn’t going to like it. I’m nothing if not negative and cynical. But, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. Originally, I started going to WW with my mom, but after a while, she dropped out, so I switched to Wednesday nights with my dad and stepmother. Going to those meetings became a bonding experience with my father and my stepmom, really. We would all finish with our meeting, and then go eat Subway and just chat. Sometimes, it was over the meeting, but most of the time, it was just catch up from the week. During all of that, I actually was losing weight. Over the course of the first year, I lost over 50 pounds. Who knew you could bond with your family, and still lose weight?

During my initial weight loss, I didn’t do much exercise besides walking on a treadmill, but I still managed to slim down. Also, at this time, I was convinced by a good friend to audition for a play he was directing. I was lucky enough to get cast in this play, and all of the sudden, my life changed in a BIG way. Suddenly, I found confidence I didn’t know I had, and energy I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I know that being surrounded by those very special people helped me with confidence and just having fun, but I honestly don’t think I would’ve tried to do it if I hadn’t started feeling good about myself. I had so much energy, and I remember thinking I don’t know if I could’ve even done this with those extra 50 pounds. I felt like my whole life had changed, and it wasn’t even that hard! I knew I was onto something. I stayed with theater for about a year, and did about 6 shows. I felt amazing, and tried very hard to stay healthy, but you know how it is. Cast bonding includes a lot of things that really aren’t that healthy, and probably shouldn’t be eaten or drank. But, I was having fun. During the course of all of that, I managed to lose about 70 pounds. This was after about 2 years of working at it. A pretty lofty accomplishment, I think.

After my initial success in the theater scene, I made a massive life change: I moved from Las Cruces, New Mexico all the way to Portland, Oregon. Moving is super traumatic, and dramatic, and hard as hell. Even moving to a city like Portland, which is all about being healthy, and eco-friendly, my whole life got flipped upside down, and I was barely hanging on. I tried very hard to be healthy when I moved, but when you’re sad, homesick and alone it’s hard to make good choices. There’s a lot of beer in Portland, and there’s a lot of amazing food. There was also a lot of walking, and when I moved here, I lost some weight initially because I was walking everywhere, and I didn’t have a car, so my own two feet were my mode of transportation. I thought I was fine, but slowly, the weight crept back. It’s hard to make it go away when you’re eating hamburgers and drinking beer like it’s water. I was having a hard time living in Portland, but I knew if I just drank it away, and ate it away, I’d be alright. It turns out, that’s not the most waistline friendly way to go about things. I tried hard to maintain good eating habits, but a lot of times, that went by the wayside. I joined a gym at work, but rarely went. I’d be serious about it for a few months, and then just stop going. Honestly, I didn’t want to go to work after having been there all day, so that I could work out. And, I certainly didn’t want to go when I didn’t have to be at work, so it wasn’t an optimal arrangement. Or, you know, that’s the excuse I gave myself.



To be continued.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

www.marriedtothesea.com

Okay, now that I've used up my one opportunity to use the song "Leavin' On a Jet Plane" on a travel post, I'll talk a little about my travel style.

I'm heading to New York this afternoon. This trip is a mix of business and pleasure. I'm going to help Angie out with a super busy week that includes a CMJ Music Marathon gig and the premiere of her first video. We're also going to do some writing and hammer out a concrete plan to get her album recorded. And we're also going to spend some time at bars and restaurants, and probably even more time sitting around watching YouTube videos, The Wonder Years on Netflix, and drinking wine.

I don't have a lot of plans for touristy type things this time around. I know I want to have a picnic in Central Park and to try the lottery for Book of Mormon tickets.

I've never been big on tight schedules during travel. I think my mom set the example, in that our bigger family vacations when we were young were very free style. No tour groups, no itineraries.

I remember going on a school trip to Washington, D.C., the summer after eighth grade, and nearly going crazy. It was one of those package trips where you get airfare, hotel and bus transportation around the city for a ridiculously cheap price. The big problem with it was that you never got to hang out in one place for more than a few minutes. When it comes to travel, I'm all about the quality of the experiences, not the quantity of landmarks to check off a list. I haven't signed up for a guided tour trip since.

When I accompanied my brother on a trip to London in 1999, we bought a copy of Let's Go London and loosely planned out what we wanted to see. When our plans didn't coincide, we split up. One day I explored Covent Garden, the National Gallery, and Kensington High Street while my brother and his friend visited the Naval Museum. It's funny, the fearlessness we have as teenagers. I'm not sure I'd be so brave as to set out on my own like that today. We visited a few of the big landmarks, like The Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, but for the most part, we just explored. We also were fortunate to stay with one of my brother's friends in East Croydon. This let us have a glimpse into residential life in one of the boroughs. We even shopped at a grocery store so I could prepare a dinner at our host's flat. I'll never get over his tiny fridge, or the hot water heater that you had to switch on before your shower. I love this kind of travel. I didn't see Big Ben or Buckingham Palace up close, but I did watch cricket matches while we waited for the bus every morning.

This style of travel has defined my visits to Chicago, New York and several other cities. It's all about finding out where the locals eat, what they like to do, what music they're listening to. I can't imagine it any other way.

It can have its downsides, like the time I went to Chicago, stayed with friends, and only left the house to go to bars. But it was the end of winter and I had a blast. I'll do that Frank Lloyd Wright tour some day.

I'm not planning on blogging while I'm gone, but I do have a couple of posts queued up. I'm not taking a laptop, just my iPad. Have a great week! I'll definitely be posting up a storm when I get back.

Menu Monday

It was another successful week of menu planning. I stayed well under my weekly budget and still cooked a variety of healthy meals. Last Sunday I didn't do any prep for the week, and actually didn't do any grocery shopping until Monday afternoon. I was having a down kind of day on Sunday, and slept most of the day. Again I shopped the pantry and fridge before making the meal plan.

Here was the plan for the week:

Monday: Peanut Soba Stir Fry
Tuesday: Brats, Potato Salad and Baked Beans
Wednesday: Baked Penne
Thursday: Enchiladas
Friday: Baked Chicken


Monday
Peanut Soba Stir Fry
Results: This is the second time we've tried this recipe. I think it's got a lot of potential, but the sauce is just a bit heavy. I may experiment with less peanut butter and a little soy sauce. The great thing about this recipe is that it's an incredibly filling vegetarian dish.

Tuesday
Brats, Potato Salad and Baked Beans
We already had almost everything to make this in the house already. I just had to buy buns and a can of baked beans. Brats are a huge deal in this part of the country. We're out of propane, so I ended up baking these in the oven with sauerkraut and a can of PBR. I don't really follow a recipe when I make potato salad, I just kind of wing it. Maybe one of these days I'll actually pay attention to how I make it and share it.

Wednesday
Baked Penne
This is another one I just kind of wing. The basic idea is whole wheat penne, ricotta, zucchini, red bell pepper and spaghetti sauce all baked in the oven with mozzarella and Parmesan on top. I served it with nine grain ciabatta rolls and salad.

Thursday
Enchiladas
Everyone loved this recipe. I did replace the can of green chilies with a chopped fresh jalapeno and a diced zucchini, though. Also, we didn't end up getting to have shredded cheese on top, because I left the cheese unattended on the counter, and Mary Jane ate every scrap. Yeah. She ate an entire cup of shredded cheese. She's fine, but I was a bit worried about her digestive health.


Friday
Pizza
I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I planned to bake a chicken on a Friday afternoon, but it didn't happen. We ordered pizza and I baked the chicken on Saturday instead.

Saturday
Baked Chicken
It's been a few years since I roasted a whole chicken, so I used a recipe. This was a really great one. The chicken was very juicy and flavorful. I've never used Herbs de Provence before, but I'll definitely be using them in the future for poultry. Also, since I can't resist adding more vegetables to recipes, I roasted carrots and parsnips in addition to potatoes.


There won't be a Menu Monday next week because I'm heading to New York this afternoon to help Angie with her big week of CMJ and her video premiere. We're definitely going to Trader Joe's tomorrow morning, though, because it's so expensive to eat out all the time.

Throwback Thursday: Pop Stars from Outer Space

I recently went on a little jog down memory lane and revisited a few videos from the late 1990s and early 2000s. I've never considered it a secret that I was enamored of a teen pop at the time. It wasn't the only thing I liked, but I was dealing with a lot of heavy things in my life. Sometimes, you want to feel like the singer understands your pain, but sometimes, you just want to forget about it and dance to someone singing about love and broken hearts.

Anyway, I noticed a bit of a recurring theme. Almost every major teen pop act had a video that either took place in space, or involved some other science fiction futuristic trope. It makes sense, since we were suddenly living in the future that was the stuff of fiction for centuries.
Take a stroll down memory lane with me and relive some of these gems.


I couldn't find the actual video with the BSB fighting space bitches from their massive space ship, but this VMA performance will more than suffice.



Britney Spears is queen of the space bitches.



'N Sync being generally lame in the low budget European video for "I Want You Back."



Not exactly space, but 5ive got all futuristic with the virtual reality in the UK version of "When the Lights Go Out." By the way, can I just say that this song is still kind of my jam?


I'm really sad that that cringe worthy musical masterpiece "Liquid Dreams" by O-Town isn't anywhere to be found on YouTube.

However, TLC doppelgangers Blaque were available to come from space or the future or somewhere to teach us all about Thug Appeal.





But of course TLC did it better. And I have to make a correction. Left Eye was definitely the queen of the space bitches.

Fan Girling and Fan Boying

I've been listening to a lot of NPR at work when I'm doing things like collating or making copies. A couple of weeks ago, Claire Danes was a guest on Talk of the Nation. She was there to discuss her new show, Homeland. If you know me or have been reading the blog, you probably know that I'm a huge Claire Danes fangirl, and that I've been obsessed with My So Called Life for the past 17 years. I practically ran for my computer to dash off an email. I decided a phone call was not great, because I get a little weird around some celebrities. I'm usually very articulate, but there's must be something between my brain and my mouth that gets short circuited by large amounts of charisma and celebrity allure. Just ask any of my friends what a mega dork I am around Nick Carter. So uncool.

I didn't really have a question about the new show, and I knew the interview would be short, so I asked the first question that popped in my head. I didn't think they'd get to my email on air. However, a few minutes later I got a little week in the knees. Here's the transcript:

CONAN: Here's an email we have from April. "I hate to bring up the My So-Called Life thing, but I just wanted to tell Claire what an everlasting effect that wonderful, short-lived show had on her peers. My friends and I are all around Claire's age and also that of her character, Angela Chase. We still talk about how we were an Angela or a Rayanne, and Jordan Catalano is still the epitome of the unattainable boy. I've also noticed that the show is being embraced by a new generation of girls by being available on Netflix, which is proof of the show's timeless voice. I do have a question for Claire. What does she think that Angela and the other characters would be doing now?"

DANES: Well, that's a fair question and it's one that I don't have an easy answer for. I kind of think she would be a writer of some form, and I'm probably saying because I associate her so strongly with Winnie Holzman, the writer of the show. I mean, she really was an alter ego of hers - Winnie, whom I'm still very, very close with and love dearly. But, yeah, I don't know what form that would have taken, but I definitely see her as being a writer.

CONAN: A writer of what, fiction?

DANES: I don't know. Maybe a journalist, but I'm totally making that up. You know what, we would have to ask the writer herself. We'd have to call Winnie and ask.

CONAN: Let's do that.

DANES: OK.

CONAN: We'll get her - no, actually, we're out of time, but

DANES: OK.

CONAN: ...next time you're on.

DANES: OK.


So yeah, I was that girl, the one who brings up the movie or the show from forever ago when the guest is there to talk about their new project. She was a great sport about it, though, and it totally makes sense that Angela Chase would be a writer.

You can read the full transcript of the interview here.



Now on to Trevor. Alton Brown just had a new book come out, Good Eats 3: The Later Years We're big fans of Alton around here. I love his approach to cooking. It's analytic, but so much fun. Also, every single recipe I've made of his has been perfect. No tweaking required.

I found out a few weeks ago that Mr. Brown was making a stop in La Crosse on his book tour. Last Friday we grabbed our copies of I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0 and I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking and headed to Barnes and Noble. By the way, I highly recommend these books. I bought them for Trevor last Christmas, but I've gotten a lot of mileage around them as well. If you're intimidated by baking, the latter book is a great place to start.

The line was long, extending out into the mall, but it went fairly quickly once it got started. Let me mention that it started right on time, which warmed my cold stage manager heart. Once we were back inside the store, I decided I'd let Trevor have his moment and make sure I got a picture, since Trevor's more of a fanboy. Plus, you know. The short circuit thing. I noticed that Mr. Brown was taking the time to answer a question from everyone while he signed, and personalized the autographs if requested. I've only ever been to musician meet and greets, which tend to feel like an assembly line. Hello, sign, picture, move along now, repeat. It seems like it'd be exhausting to personally interact with so many people, all while maintaining your interesting, nice, awesome, quirky nerdy guy with a bow tie persona.

When Trevor's turn came, he was that guy. The one that asks the out of left field political question to the food guy. It was awesome. He asked him how he felt about the Feds cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries in California. I don't remember exactly what Mr. Brown said, but the gist of it was that he hadn't been paying much attention, but he doesn't trust the Feds when it comes to States' Rights.

Trevor said that he didn't want to ask a food question that he could find an answer to in one of the books or on the show, so he went with something that was on his mind. This is one of the reasons I love him. If we go to any political events during election year, I definitely want him to ask a candidate for the best method for the perfect hard boiled egg.





Also, A+ to Alton Brown on the pattern mixing.

Apparently I'm not alone in my mouth brain celebrity short circuiting. One of my friends posted this tale on Facebook:

"Saturday morning Alton Brown came into Cabin Coffee to get a bellringer. The first thing out of my mouth was, "Oh, you have no idea what's going on in my mind right now." To which Mr. Brown replied, "I'm sure I don't." Then he asked how many shots of espresso we put in a bellringer. To which I replied two! Because that's what we do at Cabin Coffee!" As these gems were coming out of my mouth, my brain was screaming noooo!!!!"


I feel your pain, girlfriend.

Daytrippin': Honeycrisp Hootenanny

We've been having the most beautiful warm spell for the past week or so, and Saturday dawned with perfect weather for some apple picking. Maya, her friend Jasmine, and I headed out in the afternoon for Ecker's Apple Farm. It's a quick forty minute drive through beautiful countryside. We had Amos Lee on, and I drove just at the speed limit so we could enjoy the view. The foliage is at its peak right now, so it made for one of those drives where it was easy to get distracted. You want to take it all in, because you know how sick you'll be of all the white and grey in just a few months.

We went to Ecker's last year, on a cool cloudy day late in the season. Luckily, this year's trip wasn't just any old day at the farm; they were holding their annual Honeycrisp Hootenanny. In addition to the usual pick your own apples and homemade treats, the Hootenanny featured entertainment from local dance troupes and bands. They also had tamales, walking tacos (Frito Pie to Southerners) nachos and free beer.



The weather was as perfect as you'd ever want it. Low 80s, clear and breezy. We grabbed food first and ate while watching a clogging troupe, then grabbed a bag and headed to the orchard.





Since we were a bit earlier in the season this year, there was plenty of low hanging fruit, and we didn't have to search long to fill our bag. The easy pickings didn't keep Maya from wanting to climb a ladder, though.







In no time our bag was full, so we headed back to the party. The kids had just started hitting an apple shaped pinata. They had the kids line up by age, youngest to oldest. Something interesting I noticed is that while the littlest girls were very tentative hitting the pinata, the littlest boys weren't. And the bigger kids, all had no trouble taking a whack. They had it open before they got through the line once.







Maya and Jasmine each enjoyed a Queen's Apple, which is a Honeycrisp drizzled in warm caramel with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top. They're so delicious. We bought two pounds of fresh caramel to go with our six pounds of apples, and a half gallon of apple cider.

I know that going apple picking in the fall has become one of those things that smug people do, like going to the Farmers Market or shopping at Whole Foods. But it's really a good time and a change of pace. It also never hurts to remind yourself where your food comes from and actually meet the people that make it.

And that caramel alone is worth the drive.

Menu Monday

Menu Monday is a creation of my friend Julie at The Ideal Me. Like most of us, she knows that cooking at home is better for your health and your budget than eating out. Also, like most of us, she finds it hard to balance work, home and cooking. Meal planning is an important step in making home cooked meals happen.
I've found through my Lunch Time series that public accountability is a great motivator for sticking to commitments, so I've jumped on the bandwagon to post a weekly roundup of our meals.

Julie does two posts, with a Monday meal plan post and a Sunday "What We Actually Ate" post. I've decided to work a week behind and combine mine into one post.

Last week I made the following meal plan:

Sunday: Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread
Monday: Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday: Parmesan Kale Pasta, Salad, and 9 Grain Bread
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Tacos
Thursday: Chicken Sandwiches and Fries
Friday: BLTs and Veggies

Before making the meal plan, I shopped my pantry and fridge so I could work around ingredients we already had on hand. For budget and health reasons, the goal is to have meatless meals at least twice a week.

I spent about an hour and a half Sunday prepping anything that could be prepped in advance. I marked everything with the day it was to be used and stored it on one shelf of the fridge, Friday in back, Monday in front. I completed most of the prep while I was cooking Sunday's dinner.


Sunday
Red Beans and Rice
This was pretty good, but I'll definitely be going a little heavier on the cajun seasoning next time. I served it with cornbread. This is a huge recipe, so there was plenty leftover for freezing. The long simmer time made it easy for me to get all the prep work done for our other meals.

Monday
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Sunday Prep: I put together the sauce in the slow cooker insert, and washed and separated the broccoli for the side.
Results: Well, the mac and cheese didn't happen, because the pasta turned to mush. I used whole wheat elbows. If I ever try it again, I'll probably use something thicker like penne. I think, though, that I'll stick to oven baking for mac and cheese in the future. The easiest thing to when I realized that it was a bust was to make the Thursday's meal. So we ended up eating chicken sandwiches, fries and steamed broccoli.

Tuesday
Parmesan Kale Pasta
Sunday Prep: I chopped the onion and washed and chopped the kale.
Results: This recipe was incredibly easy and surprisingly flavorful. Maya wasn't a huge fan of the kale, so I'll use spinach if I make it again. I'll also follow the tip from Budget Bites and use a short pasta instead of spaghetti. I'll definitely be making it again, though.

Wednesday
Slow Cooker Tacos
Sunday Prep: I prepped the entire recipe and stored it in a gallon sized bag in the fridge.
Results: I tweaked this recipe right from the beginning. I just couldn't really stomach the idea of all that salsa being cooked down. It sounded like way too much sodium when added to the taco seasoning. So I replaced the salsa with a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes. I also used chicken thighs instead of breasts because they're less expensive. I served it on corn tortillas with sour cream, salsa, fresh guacamole, cheddar and lettuce.

Thursday:
BLTs
Sunday Prep: Sliced veggies to serve on the side
Results: This was incredibly easy. I sliced the tomato and washed the lettuce while waiting for the bacon to bake. Baking is our preferred method for cooking bacon. It comes out perfectly every time.

Friday:
Everything worked out for the best because Maya ended up eating at a tailgating party and Trevor and I grabbed Burritos House before heading to Barnes and Noble for an Alton Brown book signing.


On the weekends we just tend to wing it. We rely on leftovers a lot, or whatever's around. We'll also usually grab at least one meal out, or grill something.

Julie will be making Menu Monday a weekly link up, so if you've got any tips for meal planning or easy meals of your own to share, just head on over to The Ideal Me.

Lunch Time

I've made a commitment to start bringing lunch or a snack to work with me instead of relying on the vending machines or takeout. Each week I'll document how I did. Click here for previous posts.

While I was editing this week's photos, I looked back at some previous lunches and realized that what I've been taking lately hasn't been as interesting or fun. While it's awesome to be able to throw last night's leftovers in a microwave safe bowl and take them, I think I need to try to strike a better balance between super easy and interesting. I'm afraid it might be easier to justify more takeout splurges if I rely too heavily on leftovers. Plus, it's not like anything I've taken since I started this has taken longer than ten minutes to get together.

black bean burrito, veggies, fruit
The filling for black bean burritos is easy to make. I just saute' some onion and garlic, add a can of refried black beans, salt, pepper and cumin. It'll keep in the fridge for a few days and also makes a great dip for tortilla chips.

beef Stroganoff, 9 grain bread, fruit
It's pretty much impossible to make cold Stroganoff look appetizing in a photo. It was definitely delicious for lunch, though. I used this recipe for dinner the previous week. I served it with whole wheat egg noodles originally, but over brown rice when I took it for lunch. Either way it's good.

spaghetti, 9 grain bread, fruit
Spaghetti is one of those things I'll probably never get tired of. My first job in high school was at Fazoli's, and even after an entire spring and summer of slinging pasta, I still loved it.


red beans and rice, veggies, fruit
Red beans and rice is one of those dishes that tastes so much better after it's had a day or so for the flavors to marry. I used this recipe. It takes a long time to cook, but it's mostly passive so you can do other things while it's simmering.

salad with Lemon Goddess dressing, fruit
It's been unseasonably warm here, so by Friday I was ready for a big salad. Even though I added a generous amount of almonds for protein, I should have grabbed another piece of fruit. I was incredibly hungry when I left work. Stomach growling, spacy and irritable. Not a good way to start the weekend.

This upcoming week I'm going to try to find some ways to be a little more creative while still saving time.

Intervention Time?

This is what met me when I went to get dressed yesterday morning. My new clothing rack had collapsed. I bought this one because my old one couldn't handle the weight. I thought this one was stronger, but I was wrong.

The weird thing is that it isn't broken. It almost looks like someone actually lifted it by the rail and the legs came undone. I'm really confused by the physics of it.

So I'll try to put it back together, but I definitely think this is a sign I might want to do another clothing purge soon.

Favorite Blog Posts September 2011

Dyane at Oisercage started the month with a beautiful photo essay on London. Her photos are so gorgeous, and this essay makes me want to visit London again so badly.




Capitol Hill Style offered insight on getting to the top in the Old Boys Club of Washington, DC. Her advice can be applied by women working in many male dominated fields.




Smile and Wave's Rachel gave some tips for taking beautiful interior shots over at A Beautiful Mess.




I had just begun to become aware of the Occupy Wall St. protest in New York when Softspoken posted this. I'm watching anxiously, and I think we all owe it to ourselves to get the word out that this is happening, no matter how we feel about the protest itself.

Minutiae

The little things that didn't make it into a post last month.

Lunch Time

I've made a commitment to start bringing lunch or a snack to work with me instead of relying on the vending machines or takeout. Each week I'll document how I did. Click here for previous posts.

I had such a lazy weekend that I completely forgot to post this.

I've definitely begun to embrace the world of dinner leftovers to make lunch time easier. This will especially be great when winter sets in and a cold sandwich just won't cut it.
I can definitely say I'm getting a routine down. Using leftovers and prepping on Sundays was a lifesaver this past week when I was sick.


potato leek soup, bagel, orange

I made this huge batch of potato leek soup last Sunday. It's mostly for me, since Maya doesn't like creamy soups very much and Trevor doesn't like soup at all. I kept two large portions out and froze the rest in quart sized freezer bags. I'm hoping to make at least one more batch of this in the coming weeks. I use this easy, fantastic recipe. I haven't had to tweak it at all.


quinoa with almonds, cherry tomatoes and lemon juice, veggies, orange

Tuesday was one of the worst days of my cold. I was glad that I had made this quick quinoa dish on Sunday.


I didn't go to work Wednesday because there wasn't anything to do. Great timing since I was still feeling really rough.


pesto cream cheese sandwich, brownie, banana, orange

I love mixing a little bit of pesto sauce with cream cheese when I make cucumber sandwiches. I also added some red bell pepper strips.

leftover spaghetti, banana, orange

Leftovers to the rescue once again!


Now that lunch is mostly conquered, Trevor is working later hours, and cooking dinner has fallen back into my lap. Planning will be necessary to stay within our budget and to keep us from eating out all the time. The Lunch Time series has shown me what a huge influence it is to my accountability to commit to something publicly. I've decided to take a queue from my friend Julie at The Ideal Me. I'll still be posting Lunch Time on the weekends, but starting next week we'll be adding a weekly series called Menu Mondays.

September Giveaway Winner

The winner of the local products gift box is...




Yona from Priceless Writers!

Congratulations, Yona! I will be contacting you shortly.