Yesterday evening my friend Barack Obama came to eat dinner. Well, okay, he didn't come to my house. And alright, if you push me, I'll admit that he didn't even eat with me. But I'm sure that was just because he was being considerate. You know, he understands that I'm busy and didn't want to bother me. He's thoughtful that way. But really, the POTUS did eat down the street from my apartment at a fancy restaurant in Brentwood. There was a lot of police presence and tons of yellow tape everywhere.
I got the impression that Angelenos were scarred by the last time the President came to visit L.A. because most people in my office freaked out when they learned that he would be in town. The traffic in L.A. is near disastrous on a regular basis; when they shut down major arteries for presidential security, it becomes a nightmare.
Luckily I was able to escape work about an hour early and squeeze in right before the police closed off my street. From what I've read on random LA Traffic websites, I also managed to slip out about 30 minutes ahead of a shut down to the area where I work. So... that was good.
I did go out and try to see the motorcade, but no one was being too specific on his route (for good reason), and I happened to pick the wrong corner. But that's okay, there are youtube videos if you or I really want to see it.
Mostly, it was great to stand around with the crowds of my neighbors and chat about the excitement, the traffic, the weather, and everything else. I live in a pretty great city, and in a pretty swell neighborhood- full of diversity- but it's easy to lose sight of that.
This came in the mail for me yesterday and it was completely surprising and entirely timely! I definitely needed a pick-me-up yesterday, and it was perfect. Best thing ever: personal sparklers for indoor use! Rachel, you know me so well! Thanks buddy!
And as always, if you aren't interested in Beautiful World Posts, no worries! Just scroll down to the most recent long post, tagged "Musings" and click on the tag. It will remove all the "BeautifulWorld" tagged posts from the page.
This is what my porch garden looked like a few weeks ago. The geraniums are going to town and the sweet alyssum is just wonderful. It smells divine and is overflowing its pots! There's a gerbera daisy in the background, and a little orange cactus. Fantastic.
And as always, if you aren't interested in Beautiful World Posts, no worries! Just scroll down to the most recent long post, tagged "Musings" and click on the tag. It will remove all the "BeautifulWorld" tagged posts from the page.
When my dining room table looks like this once the sun starts to go down, I firmly believe it's been a good day.
I recently had the occasion to buy "real" water colors that come in a tube, not a Crayola plastic tray!
I love how this tiny vase I got from World Market functions as a water jar for my water-coloring.
It turned a delicious pink!
And as always, if you aren't interested in Beautiful World Posts, no worries! Just scroll down to the most recent long post, tagged "Musings" and click on the tag. It will remove all the "BeautifulWorld" tagged posts from the page.
A couple of weeks ago Mara, Malcolm's sister, came to visit. She stayed for two weekends with us, and went off exploring Las Vegas with a friend during the week between. It's especially exciting to have her come to visit, because she's going to be moving to L.A. herself in a few months. She's going to be an awesome screenwriter one day; her scripts are chilling. Also, she'd want me to tell you, she's great at high fiving!
We didn't get to show her around as much as we would have liked because of a series of unfortunate events. For example, on her first Sunday in L.A. I got a migraine, it was pouring rain, and 26.2 of the most prominent and most crucial miles in L.A. were shut down for the L.A. Marathon. It was a bit difficult.
We had to take her with us on a bunch of errands, but she seemed tickled to see Trader Joe's and help me pick out crafting supplies for another set of bridal shower invitations I'm making. So much pink guys!
We also got to take her down to the Pacific, as well as to our old stand-by- the 3rd Street Promenade.
Mostly, though, it was just nice to see the two siblings be together. With siblings (I gather) you don't feel like you have to entertain them the whole time they're visiting- it's just nice to interact without the sense of performance. I don't really quite understand what it must have been like to grow up with someone so close in age to you, and yet, seemingly, worlds away- but it's nice to look in every now and then.
You might remember this picnic I made Malcolm for his birthday: When I showed it to you the first time, I also told you I would show you how to make this special birthday sandwich. It's taken me a while, but here it is:
First Step: Go shopping for your ingredients! I tried to go organic for the produce and fish elements of the meal, partially because I can only afford it for specials and partially because it tastes better that way. Proably.
You Will Need:
For Preparing the Salmon:
salmon fillet of whatever size you like, skin on
olive oil
thyme
salt
pepper
For the Sandwich:
thinly sliced, hard-crusted wheat bread
arugula
half a red onion Optional:
tomatoes, avocados
For the Special 10-Ingredient Mayonnaise:
1-mayonnaise
2-olive oil
3-lemon juice
4-Braun's spicy mustard
5-freshly chopped basil leaves
6-freshly chopped dill
7-the juice from a caper jar
8-salt
9-pepper
10-love*
* Please don't ask the cashier where to find/how to pay for love. You have been warned.
Second Step: Take your salmon fillet and rub it with salt, pepper, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and some sprigs of fresh thyme. (Which you should grow on your balcony/porch/front stoop.) Then bake in the oven at 475 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. This intense but brief heat really helps keep the moisture and flavor in the fish.
Third Step: Take a fork and flake the yummy cooked salmon off the skin; it should come right off.
Fourth Step: Wash the arugula, snap off the over-long stems and leave it in a cup of water so it can be extra crunchy.
Fifth Step: sautee your red onions so they get a little sweet, a little more potent.
Sixth Step: Make your Special 10 Ingredient Mayo. The mayo is made by mixing approximately:
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of spicy mustard
1/4 tablespoon chopped dill
3/4 tablespoon chopped basil
2 teaspoons juice from the caper jar
salt to taste
pepper to taste love to taste- And yes, I am just THAT cheesy.
... but really, you should just add these ingredients in a combination that pleases you. I didn't really measure while I mixed it up.
Seventh Step: Assemble ingredients and admire them.
Eighth & Ninth Step: Toast your wheat bread and spread it with special 10-ingredient mayonnaise.
Eleventh Step: Create a bed of arugula.
Twelfth Step: Add an inspiring layer of your flaked salmon.
Thirteenth Step: Add your lovely cooked/slightly blackened/sauteed red onions.
Optional Step: Add tomatoes or avocados if you feel like it:
Fourteenth (or Fifteenth) Step: Add final piece bread and cut in half. Admire. Possibly admire through your camera's viewfinder like I did.
Final Step: Give your boyfriend his sandwich. Yay! Remember to eat a sandwich yourself, silly, you've worked hard!
A few Fridays ago M, Joel, Christina and I went to the charmingly sketchy concert venue Bootleg Theater to see Vienna Teng and Alex Wong perform.
Before I can tell you about the concert, I need to tell you a very important truth: M has very discriminating taste with music. He also enthuses so vigorously about whatever music he's passionate about at the moment that most people can't avoid becoming enthused about it too. That's exactly what happened with me and Vienna Teng's music. M loved it, so I love it. But really, it's wonderful.
It's very difficult to tell you what genre her music fits into- a dilemma she herself mentioned between songs- and announcing that she had recently hit on "NPR pop" as the best description. "NPR pop"! I love it
Their music IS hard to describe: she plays the piano and she sings, and Alex Wong, her percussionist and occasional producer, works magic utilizing all kinds of less-than-conventional instruments. Pop, Classical, Jazz, A Capella and Folk are all genres that can be said to influence their music, but the result is entirely original. And it's wonderful. Can I stress that enough?
Just listen to this, and you'll get the idea. It's called "The Last Snowfall" from the album Inland Territory.
And this is the first song of her's I fell in love with, it's called "Whatever You Want" from Dreaming Through The Noise:
It's about (I gather from the lyrics) a corrupt and manipulative businessman being turned in for fraud by his overlooked wife and his second in command. I love plot-based songs, don't you? This is one of the things that first drew me to her music, you believe there's a story there, and you can get sucked in. The whole crowd stood swaying through so many of her songs for that reason, they're beautiful, and they're also fully-developed settings. They take you away.
As if all this artistry wasn't enough, Vienna Teng is also incredibly intelligent. She graduated from Stanford with a degree in Computer Science, and is pursuing her MBA/MS degree in sustainable enterprise at the University of Michigan as we speak. Talk about multi-tasking, geez! This intellectualism really shows through in her lyrics. The songs are ABOUT things more complicated than love or breakups. Take for example the last verse from "No Gringo", Inland Territory- a song about what it would be like if the American economy crashed and Americans were flooding into Mexico for jobs.
"No gringo
No gringo aqui
Words as levies against the flood
Hoy cerrado
There's too many to feed
room for only our own
kind, our own blood
No gringo, no gringo aqui
you have stayed in this
land for too long!
Tan amargo
But there's no time to grieve
You just pack up your
things and move on
and move on."
Just listen, it's clever, heartbreaking and original:
Now that you have the background, let me tell you: I was SO excited to go see a "real" concert. No, this one didn't include laser shows or anything like that, and yes, the venue was small. However, this was- no joke- my first time to go to a concert that wasn't symphonic, played by someone I didn't already have a personal connection to, or conducted in the courtyard of my residential hall (Wiess Jamfest, whutwhut!).
I was expecting Vienna to be awesome; but, what I wasn't expecting was the artistry that Alex Wong brought to the table. He's a full-time musician, balancing several bands and producing multiple albums- and he works percussion wonders. He has a large wooden box that he sits on during performances which, when smacked- that's a technical term right?- resonates beautifully. It's a warm, organic sound that does wonders for the folky mixture this pair produces. He also has a waterphone- which, in what he told as a slightly madcap adventure, was held by the TSA (to make sure it couldn't be exploded or smoked) and then rushed to the concert venue, arriving an hour before show time. And how lucky the audience was that it made it. This instrument produces sounds reminiscent of a violinist using harmonics. Really- you play it with a bow- it's ethereal, wavering, haunting, elegant. Plus, the man is a master with the loop pedal. It really was impressive to watch- that's the element you really miss out on in recorded tracks; the physicality of percussion is fascinating and when you are in the same space, your bones resonate in the most exciting of ways.
Moreover, and here was the truly special thing, it's clear that these two artists are well matched for each other, they collaborate, they challenge, they appreciate what the other does. They were brilliant to watch on stage because of the camaraderie and challenges they brought to each other.
Plus, the two of them seem totally comfortable co-opting things as instruments that aren't really instruments: Take for example this brand new song: "Breaking Light" which features two wineglasses tuned to different pitches, recorded on the spot and played on a loop, a Jameson bottle, the waterphone, the piano, and vocal harmony. Watching them do this live was quite the experience. It's magical to watch something so unusual come together in a way in which quality singing or piano playing isn't. A person can be a master of those instruments and not awe because they are manipulating the familiar. But this is different, special. Also, if you choose to buy this track, the proceeds go to Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief. So that's awesome.
I loved it.
In case you want more, listen to "Grandmother's Song", Inland Territory...
...or "Stray Italian Greyhound", The Moment Always Vanishing, both favorites:
