For Hester

So here’s what I know about Iggy Pop, gleaned from movies and general pop culture participation:

He was in the movie Coffee and Cigarettes where he appears in one of the better vignettes with Tom Waits- they are sitting in a bar, (spoiler alert) drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Their conversation wanders all over, at one point Tom Waits tells Iggy Pop that he’s a doctor and delivered a baby on the way over. Iggy Pop is impressed, until he checks the jukebox and doesn’t find any of Tom’s music in it. Tom is dumbfounded and Iggy slinks away. I imagine he sort of slinks everywhere.

He also played an insane character in the “sequel” to The Crow, The Crow II: City of Angels. This was my first introduction to Iggy Pop aside from Lust for Life featured so brilliantly in Trainspotting and then sort of creepily, years later, in cruise commercial. He was most excellent at being the psychotic junkie, Curve, in The Crow II and that impression was firmly cemented in my memory. Heroin use being a pattern in his own life.

Iggy Pop unsettles me. I quite certain that this is not a unique or original reaction to him. But, I really like the way he unsettles me.

I know that he spent some time in mental hospital after his time with The Stooges. Right after he got out, his first call was to David Bowie. Because, really, who better to call? This is supposedly the fodder for Velvet Goldmine.

He is from Detroit.

His first foray into music started with blues and jazz, naturally, he was living in the birthplace of Motown at the height of its heyday. His high school band, The Iguanas, spawned his name.

Richard Avedon captures him, stereotypically but perfectly: shirtless, ropey armed, hollow eyed and sneering, leathery, blonde.

I don’t really listen to Iggy Pop. Not regularly. I know Lust for Life, I Wanna Be Your Dog, and my most favorite song by him: Success. I have toyed with playing Success as Matt and I exit the ceremony after our vows.

Most recently, I was driving back to work after a completing a long distance donation pickup and NPR was talking about Iggy Pop. He has a new album out. It is blues inspired. They played a clip. His voice, ragged and hard, came at me from the speakers. It was the perfect crossover. All the things I know and like about jazz and the blues, having seen the one-man play about Jelly Roll Morton- the man who claims to have invented jazz- how blues clubs are always portrayed in movies, the jazz and blues clubs I’ve been to in real life… melded completely in his rendition. I associate Iggy Pop with seediness, the underbelly of things and a tremendous amount of confidence. His life history and his exuberant performances lend themselves extremely well to my romantic idea of blues and jazz. His voice was almost tangible. I could feel it in my teeth. And again, I liked it. I like that Iggy Pop exists. That he is still doing things, perhaps tirelessly. Undoubtedly, tirelessly.

I have found that what I am most attracted to in life, in people, is unabashed excitement. The act of being thrilled is thrilling to me. If you are excited, jazzed, psyched, into something to the point of obsession, to fanaticism and you wanna tell me about it, chances are I will be into it too and also into you. I am bored, bored, bored by apathy, by the too cool, by the lukewarm reaction to someone else’s empassioned rant about their new favorite thing. I want the vulnerability of loving something, even if it’s weird, especially if it’s uncool or even creepy. If you are going to spend the energy getting hyped about it, I will damn sure expend the energy to listen.

That’s how I feel about Iggy Pop. I imagine him to be in a constant state of excitement, of curiosity, as evidenced by his jazz to blues to power punk inventor to glam rock back to blues and jazz musical trip. And for that, I will always be all about whatever he is all about.

Wednesday Night

I took a home-printing class last night at this little curio shop in downtown Phoenix. They sell all manner of hand made goods, independent magazines and books. In the back of the store, they have a hallway that leads to a gallery space that can also be utilized as a classroom.

I've spent many years on and off taking art classes. Three summers of my tween life were spent in art programs where I did papier-mache, learned how to wheel-throw and hand build things out of clay, made linoleum prints (where I had to get 2 Tetanus shots after gouging myself a few times with a rusty linoleum carver) and painting. Two years in high school in Arts 1 & 2, then I.B. Art. I don't even know what that means. Lots of charcoal and pen & ink drawings, that's what. In college I took glassblowing and wheel throwing again. I've done collages on and off, elaborate surrealist activites where I cut out unrelated words from magazines and illustrate phrases that I put together with other images. Scissors and tape are some of my favorite tools. I own a sewing machine I use for slapdash alterations and clothing experiments.

I've been in a crafting slump, Phoenix does not lend itself very well to my previous obsession with crocheting. I've been playing with new ideas for projects. I am most attracted to things that are usable. Things you can wear, drink out of, put things on or in. These are also the kinds of gifts I give- things that are utilitarian but attractively so.

A lot of the lessons in the class were refreshers for me, reminders, but not a lot of new things. I think the most important thing I got was the time and space to make. Reminded myself that I like to draw and am okay at it if I practice daily.

So, now I have a challenge for myself- make my home a place where I can make things other than food and messes. We live in a small 2 bedroom with little to no excess storage. I am clever but not overly so when it comes to decorating. Also, I am a horrible procrastinator when it comes to doing things about my living space. To the point of resistance.

Goal #1: Buy a faux tulip table for the dining nook- best suited for accomodating the most people in small spaces and lots of room to spread your stuff out on.

I rode my bike from work to the class, I felt hot, and like I was covered in a thin layer of dust afterwards. The way home was much cooler, with less traffic. There is a stretch on a palm lined street off the main drags that literally drops at least 7 degrees in temperature. Living in the desert enables you to notice the incredible impact of asphalt versus grass on the climate. It was so similar to finding a "cool spot" in the ocean, you wander, blind in the murky water and all of a sudden it's 10 degrees colder in just a very small space.

I also saw a falling star.

Part Animal, Part Machine*

I subscribe to Domino Magazine and also Lucky. I'm OK with that. I'm also OK with Domino as a substitute for Blueprint. There was much kerfuffle over the abrupt demise of Blueprint. Rightly so- it was a good magazine, attached to the Martha Stewart Omnimedia juggernaut. The conspiracy theorist in me says that Blueprint achieved a popularity that Martha Stewart Living hasn't seen in a long time and the plug got pulled for ego reasons. It's a shame because everyone lost out.

I do enjoy Domino for their ideas, recipes, room layouts and stories. I think the most attractive thing to me is that it feels like an amalgam of lists of things. And there is nothing I love more than reading (with pictures!) people's lists of things. Things they love. Things they can't live without. Things they avoid. Things that changed their life. Things they pack on trips. Things in their purses/backpacks/make-up bags/suitcases/lunchboxes. Things they do in a given day and where they go. Things they buy from their favorite stores. Things they wear all the time. Things they are obsessed with.

Both Domino and Lucky meet this need for me so very well. This is most definitely a secondary gain- because first and foremost they want me to buy stuff. Which I might.

But the culling of lists! The itemized details of insignificant stuff! The devouring of other people's lists. I feel like a raccoon in a pile of tin. It can't be just a plain list. It has to have pictures and blurbs of why this thing is important. What does it do? Where can I get it if I wanted it? How much? What do you use it for? Why do you love it? How'd you find out about it? I almost can't read it fast enough. I have to slow down, savor it, re-read it. Dog ear the page and come back to it. So I can read it again. So I can look at the montage of things.

I think it's a form of voyeurism because I have little interest in creating my own lists. I only want to read yours.

*A Henry Rollins thing. I think he meant in a much more uncontrollable intensity/inhuman drive to produce. But I like in it an inoccuous curiosity/repetitive sense. Part magpie/part bike pedal.

Delicious

I really don't think there is a simpler or better flavor combination than brownies and lemonade.

Kiss me like you mean it

So I have always had this preconceived notion about quirky personality traits or mannerisms... "signature moves" if you will. Mostly that they are either developed over time as a default of who you are or they sort of sneak in based on your environment and that sort of validates the slight shift especially if it something sort of antithetical to who you seem to be...

There are qualities or mannerisms that I wish I had as defaults and whenever I meet someone who pulls it off I am instantly jealous. But I feel sort of false adopting these "facets" because it seems like you can't just start doing something like that in the middle of already being somewhere. Sort of like sitting down halfway through an episode of CSI, you spend the rest of the time trying to figure what hell happened that someone would need to shoot a gun into an apple to figure it out. Maybe it's just me.

These include:

cheek kissing at goodbyes*
wearing red lipstick everyday
using heartwarming pet names for friends and managing to not have it sound fake or forced

I often look at moving to a new place as an opportunity to incorporate something new into my personality so it will seem that I just arrived that way. But so far, none of these have stuck... I was telling someone the other day how I wished I had been wearing red lipstick daily for like the last few years and how can I just start doing that?! She, of course, thought my logic was ridiculous and said, "You just do!"

We're travelling to Alabama this weekend for big southern wedding and it's going to be great. I'm a bridesmaid which means mimosas all day for the next 3 days. Alabama, expect to have red lip prints all over your cheeks, cutie!

*No seriously! I met this one girl for all of an hour and she totally kissed everyone (including me) on the cheek when she left and I was completely charmed. I'm also a sucker for hand kissing.

Easter Celebration

So yesterday was Easter and it totally snuck up on us. I never even had a Cadbury egg or a Peep in preparation! I guess I could go hit up Target and load myself down on Easter candy seconds... Walgreens is pretty good for Easter candy too and I walk past one everyday on the way to work though I think the Cadbury eggs might melt during my walk. Gross, Phoenix.

Anyway, we celebrated by going to our church, the movie theater. We saw The Bank Job and I felt a little better about Jason Statham's career. I really like him and I don't care that he plays the same guy in every movie. Transporter 1 and 2? Please. Snatch, yes! Italian Job? (Yes, I know it was a remake.) So-so, though that part where Seth Green is doing the voice over for the conversation between Jason Statham's character and some girl he's conning is particularly hilarious. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, also good. Cranked? Meh. The Bank Job- pretty good. I think I'm really digging this trend of movies that are based on actual events that happened in the 70s. Though it did seem a little like Sexy Beast what with the drilling and the stealing and cockney. I could watch heist movies all day, really. And Saffron Burroughs face.

Then we came home and made dinner. (Good job, cell phone camera.) We've been getting our nerd on a whole lot lately and the DVR is full of PBS shows. It's sort of sick. But Best Recipes in The World, Everyday Food and The History Detectives are a lethal combination that render Matt and I slaves to the television... PBS is our Kryptonite. There. I've said it.

But, Everyday Recipes was a surprising find on PBS and a fun substitute for the Martha Stewart Living show of old that I loved watching every Sunday in high school. With my mom. Does anyone remember her Christmas special where she made that ginger bread house with Miss Piggy? Classic!

Her magazine lately, while visually pleasing is sort of elementary and repetitive to me (I have to say it's gotten a lot better since she was released from prison.) I've tried recipes from her magazine and they always end up sort of off in some way. BUT! This Everyday Food is like a slam dunk every time. It's great because the show is 5 recipes that are meant to be done over the course of one week and you could watch the show, write a grocery list and be set for dinner for 5 days. Refreshingly realistic.

Last night I made a version of Everyday Food's Stuffed Chicken and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe

So here's my version, adapted from theirs:

Ingredients:

For chicken + stuffing
2 or 4 (depending on how many of you there are) chicken breasts with skin
1/2 cup basil finely chopped
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely choppped
2 cloves garlic chopped (I used one chubby shallot instead)
1 tsp orange zest
salt and pepper
1 wedge of Fontina (I used Gouda because Trader Joe's did not have Fontina but I would recommend a harder cheese than Gouda if Fontina's not your bag) cut into quarters lengthwise

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Use a really sharp knife to cut a pocket in the chicken for the stuffing + cheese. I would say go close to the bone (if you have bone in) or a good lower middle if it's boneless and make it about 3-4 inches deep and about 1-2 inches wide, depending on your stuffing likes
3. Mix up the chopped basil, tomatoes, shallot or garlic, lemon zest, add some salt and pepper
   
4. They suggest putting the stuffing in first, then putting in a wedge of cheese like an edible cork. All my cheese oozed out which could be due to a few things: using a softer cheese than advised or not "sewing" it shut with a toothpick. I think the next time I make this I might either put the cheese in first or on top of the bed of stuffing.
   
5. They suggest using a toothpick to close the pockets, I just sort of tucked the skin in the pocket like an envelope. Arrange the chicken skin side up and rub with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes. Let chicken rest 5 minutes; remove toothpicks before serving (if you used them) or you can leave them in like a meat version of that cake with the little plastic baby in it but this time everyone's a winner!
   

Broccoli Rabe with Yellow Peppers

Ok, so I totally used a bag of mixed chard from Trader Joe's. I find it exceptionally hard to find broccoli rabe, it eludes me every time. I think maybe it doesn't exist. But if you can find it- follow these directions (they suggest boiling the rabe because it's kind of bitter and this releases some of the bitterness):

1. Cut broccoli rabe into 11/2 -inch lengths; set aside. Pour enough water into a 12-inch skillet to reach a depth of 3/4 inch. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Add broccoli rabe, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
2. Dry skillet; add oil and heat over medium-high. Add bell peppers; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli rabe; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

If you use chard or another hearty green (you could even substitute sauteed spinach or roast some asparagus instead) you can just throw it in some olive oil and sautee it. I found that chard takes a little longer because it is so dense but it has a great flavor and is super good for you (in your face, spinach!)

I used yellow and orange peppers which was colorful amongst the green and purples of the chard. Also, since chard takes a bit, I cooked both the peppers and the chard together and left it a little tender. I used a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. About 8-10 minutes altogether.

Matt said that it was a very "earthy tasting meal." I prefer to think of it as Spring Equinox-y.

PSA

In case you were wondering what the perfect music for walking to work might be, I have the answer for you:

Beck's entire Midnite Vultures album. It's really hard to suppress the overwhelming desire to dance the whole way there. But I triumphed.