i heart interns

melissa (my intern) and i are going to blog our journey this semester. if you care to follow, here's the link:

http://bubblegirlinterrupted.blogspot.com/

RIP

i don't have the words...

i don't think my french is getting better and my english is getting worse.

sometimes, i flip claire over and bite her under her chin, on her neck, just so she knows that i could kill her anytime i wanted. she knows who's boss.

we reject as false, the choice between our safety and our ideals.

i no longer want to be asked why i didn't audition to be in the cast of gran torino. i mean, i didn't LOVE it the first time i was asked (white people like to make jokes that could be perceived to be as racially offensive to show that they're definitely not racist since they can joke about it) but i definitely like it less than i did the first time. if you have to make some ridiculous joke, you can start asking me about the joy luck club again. really.

black people ain't used to being the man

you know in the movies, when two people are having a thoughtful conversation and then there's a protracted good-bye, and then one person either blinks or the line of vision is blocked, and the next second, the other person has disappeared? i am always surprised at the reaction of the person who is still left there. they just seem a little confused/disturbed/perturbed. but let's think about this: you have JUST said good bye to someone, you blink, and suddenly they're GONE. would you really just furrow your brow and sort of cock your head in a "huh?" and then go on with whatever you were doing? NO. you would absolutely be baffled and look for them everywhere. and if you couldn't find them, you'd text them, message them over blackberry messenger or check yourself into an mental clinic. MAN, i should be in the movie business.

the doctor is in

is it me or is reggie love HOT??

your mom is so skinny, she could use a dorito as a hand glider

it's very gross to watch people eat. you see food go into someone's mouth, watch them chew until it's the consistency of oatmeal and then watch the muscles of the esophagus squeeze it down toward the stomach like a girl trying to fit into her skinny jeans. the scariest part is that at first you see the food, and then it just keeps disappearing. the food you just saw consumed will never be seen again. for some reason, if i'm eating too, i don't feel grossed out, maybe because i am occupied. watching fat, bald men eat is the worst.

i want a sunday kind of love

i drink a lot of tea all day, every day. green, white, mate, chai, you name it. you can imagine how much my electric kettle gets used. it broke yesterday. it has slowly become less reliable over the last couple of months and this morning it refused to turn on. it's gone. i'm not ready for a new electric kettle so i've decided to go back to my roots. i am using a stove top tea kettle by revereware now. it used to be my mom's. makes me feel quaint and substantial.

before:
after:

are the shades of pemberley to be thus polluted?

this week, i am staying with hannah and jude ashley, two of my very favorite kids in town. more to come on that.

i didn't make any resolutions this year, but there are a few culinary items on the radar that i'd like to pursue this year. the impetus to make these resolutions came from a great article by mark bittman (nytimes) on what a modern kitchen should keep and also discard. article here

1. no more boxed broth. i have already made two batches of vegetable broth (and used them in tomato basil soup as well as butternut squash soup) and it feels earthier, more direct, making it over purchasing. after all, vegetable broth is just boiled vegetable scraps. as i make food, i keep the odds and ends, put them in a pot with kosher salt and simmer for a couple of hours. so far, i've used onion, garlic, celery and carrots. next time i will add mushrooms. it feels less wasteful and spectacularly efficient (it also composts down much faster)!

2. cook more korean. if you know me, you know that my dietary habits change on a whim. for the last month, i have dedicated myself to learning how to cook more korean food. the biggest help i've found is from a web site called maangchi.com. she is very cheesy and adorable, has a major korean mama accent but makes some mean authentic korean food. and now that i live alone, i don't have to be self-conscious about the smell of kimchi wafting through the air...if you are ever bored, watch her video on making butternut squash porridge (she is wearing a pink halloween wig and advises that you invite trick or treaters over for a bowl of squash porridge rather than giving them candy) or her avocado appetizers (she is outfitted in a green tee, green eye shadow and green beret, which she later says she wore as a tribute to the avocado).

3. eat more magical fruits. i believe the aisle at the supermarket with rows and rows of dried beans used is very possibly the most overlooked section in the whole place. however, beans are really wonderful. they are cheap, sturdy, absorb flavor rapidly and are very wholesome. i am exploring by color. right now, i am cooking mostly with navy beans, white lima beans, great northern beans and black eyed peas. tonight, i made rustic cabbage soup, which was great.

4. BARF. claire does not eat dog food anymore. i have resolved to also be more economically and ecologically sound by feeding her a diet known as "biologically appropriate raw food." this consists of RMB (raw meaty bones) as well as bland vegetables, ground meat, occasional dairy and some supplements (spirulina, flaxseed oil, vit c). this is supposed to mimic their natural diet. watching her motor through her first chicken neck/wing was monumental. the only thing that bothers me is that i've read that vegetables should be ground up to resemble what would be found in the innards of a dog's prey. wha? how am i supposed to know what that looks like?

5. focus on cruciferous vegetables. cabbage is so trendy right now so i've been eating a lot of it since there are a lot of great recipes out there. next on the agenda: bok choy, baby kale and cauliflower.

this has nothing to do with my politics...

the answer is no, michelle obama cannot save american fashion. she does not have the taste, mystery or body to do it. i will give her a chance but i feel dismal. if she is crowned american sartorial queen or western fashion's joan of arc, i may dedicate myself to wearing plaid flannel shirts, cargo pants and crocs with socks. i'm just sayin.

nytimes on michelle obama's fashion

so funny

the worst ski vacation nightmare IMAGINABLE (i laughed for about 15 minutes, roughly the time it took to rescue the poor chap). the pictures are so hilarious:

guy gets trapped on ski-lift, hangs bare-ass naked for 15 minutes

no yolks about it

between christmas and new years, my family discussed our favorite ways that we like our eggs prepared. below, the top five ways that i like my eggs prepared:

5. hard boiled
4. scrambled
3. over hard
2. soft boiled
1. poached

what are yours?

the iliad and the 2001 space odyssey

musicians/bands that i love so much that if i could acquire the completed works of each, i could easily go the rest of my life without hearing anything new.

chet baker
coldplay
doves
interpol
jimmy eat world
joy division
kings of convenience
nina simone
portishead
radiohead
rufus wainwright

rounding third base, almost home

the cedar room
by: doves

Stars leave the morning
Sleep clouds my view
Don't let them come round here
And call to you
I didn't notice
It's a crime too few
I didn't know it's
It's a crime to feel
And I tried to sleep alone
But I couldn't do it
You could be sitting next to me
And I wouldn't know it
If I told you you were wrong
I don't remember saying
I don't remember saying
I don't remember saying
I'll be a shadow
In the cedar room
And leave just a memory
Alone with you
I didn't see that
It's a call too soon
I couldn't see that
It's a call to you
And I tried to sleep alone
But I couldn't do it
You could be sitting next to me
And I wouldn't know it
If I told you you were wrong
I don't remember saying
I don't remember saying
I don't remember saying

planes trains and metallic green automobiles

two things people loved about cars in the late 90s. metallic green and two tone paint. this has made life hard on me. i actually know *someone* whose car fit that exact description.