Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mardi Gras
The Chef on the gumbo, red beans & rice, cornbread perfection. Anita & Cameron brought the Queen of King Cakes. Amanda dropped off V.4 sazerac ice cream + who scored the baby? Does this mean that I can ask the Chef (nicely) to do it all over again next year? Best Mardi Gras yet.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Haus Frau's Best of 2009
Things I listened to this year and liked, but still...certain I missed a few favorites. You?
1. Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics - Inspiration Information 3 (Strut)
An Ethiopian legend matched with UK funky jazz upstarts, it provided much inspiration and a little "Cha Cha" rescue in the nick of time.
2. The Dodos "Time To Die" (French Kiss)
Don't give up, wait for the confetti. This band comes with vibraphone and foot tambourine.
3. Animal Collective " Merriweather Post Pavillion" (Domino)
Best video and summertime singalong of the year. I do believe their show @ Oakland's Fox Theatre made me deaf in my left ear.
4. Zee Avi "Zee Avi" (Brushfire)
Well-deserved rising star.
5. Neko Case "Middle Cyclone" (Anti)
Another amazing release + the Harry Nilson cover makes me teary every time.
6. tUnE-YaRdS - BiRd-BrAiNs (4AD)
This is Merrill Garbus and she is amazing. I was lucky to see her in Montreal.
7. David Kilgour & Sam Hunt "Falling Debris" (Arch Hill)
New Zealand represents! Thanks to Mr. Underhill for tracking this down from down under.
8. Marianne Faithful "Easy Come, Easy Go - 12 Songs for Music Lovers" (Decca)
Music lady legend backed up my some of favorite jazz players. This performance on Letterman inspired an impulsive and fantastic trip to NYC to watch her perform.
9. Wilco "the album" (Nonesuch)
Another cheer up from old favorites.
10. Girls "Album" (True Panther Sounds)
A cheer up from new favorites - thanks to DJ Big Cookie for her enthusiastic alert to this act.
11. Vetiver "Tight Knight" (Subpop)
I missed this very performance at SXSW because I showed up at the wrong time. doh!
12. Clarinet Thing "Cry, Want" (BC Records)
clarinets! clarinets! clarinets! + Beth Custer magic.
13. Elvis Costello "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" (Hear Music)
I missed this stop at Amoeba Records, but the live stream made me feel like I was right there.
14. The Clean "Mister Pop" (Merge)
New Zealand represents again -- thanking kiwi lucky stars!
15. Telekenisis! "Telekenisis" (Merge)
Quite charming and catchy this geeky multi-instrumentalist.
16. Vic Chesnutt "At The Cut" (Constellation)
Oh Vic will be missed, but it sounds like he was ready to go out on a high note.
17. Tinariwen - "Imidiwan: Companions" (World Village)
More funky sounds from the desert!
18. Grizzly Bear "Veckimest" (Fat Cat)
After I got down off my skeptical pony I decided that this band was more than okay.
19. The Bats "The Guilty Office" (Hidden Agenda)
New Zealand represents, three times! 2009 was a wonderful year.
20. Thao "Know Better Learn Faster" (Kill Rock Stars)
Thao makes it seem easy to put out two great records in just two years.
21. Daredevil Christopher Wright "In Deference to a Broken Back" (Amble Down)
I went all the way to Montreal to see this band from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
22. Dark Was The Night by Various Artists (4AD)
A double disc compilation for a good cause with strong contributions from all involved.
23. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart s/t (Slumberland)
Go Go Go Slumberland - this is just one of many great '09 releases from a kick ass indie label.
24. Speech Debelle "Speech Therapy" (Ninjatune)
Mercury prize winning hip-hop w/ an accent + cool collaboration with Micachu.
25. Bar Kokhba "Lucifer - Book of Angels" (Tzadik)
Kind of a cheat as it was released in 2008, but I discovered it this year after seeing them perform live @ Yoshi's in March. Why do I like it? Because it combines John Zorn "easy listening instrumentals" with latin, Sephardic, jazz & surf music, of course.
1. Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics - Inspiration Information 3 (Strut)
An Ethiopian legend matched with UK funky jazz upstarts, it provided much inspiration and a little "Cha Cha" rescue in the nick of time.
2. The Dodos "Time To Die" (French Kiss)
Don't give up, wait for the confetti. This band comes with vibraphone and foot tambourine.
3. Animal Collective " Merriweather Post Pavillion" (Domino)
Best video and summertime singalong of the year. I do believe their show @ Oakland's Fox Theatre made me deaf in my left ear.
4. Zee Avi "Zee Avi" (Brushfire)
Well-deserved rising star.
5. Neko Case "Middle Cyclone" (Anti)
Another amazing release + the Harry Nilson cover makes me teary every time.
6. tUnE-YaRdS - BiRd-BrAiNs (4AD)
This is Merrill Garbus and she is amazing. I was lucky to see her in Montreal.
7. David Kilgour & Sam Hunt "Falling Debris" (Arch Hill)
New Zealand represents! Thanks to Mr. Underhill for tracking this down from down under.
8. Marianne Faithful "Easy Come, Easy Go - 12 Songs for Music Lovers" (Decca)
Music lady legend backed up my some of favorite jazz players. This performance on Letterman inspired an impulsive and fantastic trip to NYC to watch her perform.
9. Wilco "the album" (Nonesuch)
Another cheer up from old favorites.
10. Girls "Album" (True Panther Sounds)
A cheer up from new favorites - thanks to DJ Big Cookie for her enthusiastic alert to this act.
11. Vetiver "Tight Knight" (Subpop)
I missed this very performance at SXSW because I showed up at the wrong time. doh!
12. Clarinet Thing "Cry, Want" (BC Records)
clarinets! clarinets! clarinets! + Beth Custer magic.
13. Elvis Costello "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" (Hear Music)
I missed this stop at Amoeba Records, but the live stream made me feel like I was right there.
14. The Clean "Mister Pop" (Merge)
New Zealand represents again -- thanking kiwi lucky stars!
15. Telekenisis! "Telekenisis" (Merge)
Quite charming and catchy this geeky multi-instrumentalist.
16. Vic Chesnutt "At The Cut" (Constellation)
Oh Vic will be missed, but it sounds like he was ready to go out on a high note.
17. Tinariwen - "Imidiwan: Companions" (World Village)
More funky sounds from the desert!
18. Grizzly Bear "Veckimest" (Fat Cat)
After I got down off my skeptical pony I decided that this band was more than okay.
19. The Bats "The Guilty Office" (Hidden Agenda)
New Zealand represents, three times! 2009 was a wonderful year.
20. Thao "Know Better Learn Faster" (Kill Rock Stars)
Thao makes it seem easy to put out two great records in just two years.
21. Daredevil Christopher Wright "In Deference to a Broken Back" (Amble Down)
I went all the way to Montreal to see this band from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
22. Dark Was The Night by Various Artists (4AD)
A double disc compilation for a good cause with strong contributions from all involved.
23. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart s/t (Slumberland)
Go Go Go Slumberland - this is just one of many great '09 releases from a kick ass indie label.
24. Speech Debelle "Speech Therapy" (Ninjatune)
Mercury prize winning hip-hop w/ an accent + cool collaboration with Micachu.
25. Bar Kokhba "Lucifer - Book of Angels" (Tzadik)
Kind of a cheat as it was released in 2008, but I discovered it this year after seeing them perform live @ Yoshi's in March. Why do I like it? Because it combines John Zorn "easy listening instrumentals" with latin, Sephardic, jazz & surf music, of course.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
NYC Hotel View
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween Humiliation
the classic! how could we resist?
Top Banana...
Cats who laugh at banana outfits have to wear the pumpkin hat.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Chef's Birthday
...and then last week the Chef had a birthday with cocktails and cake. We are getting to the denial #'s, but who can really believe that all of this has lasted so long. Happy Birthday Erik!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
and Montréal QB
At Pop Montreal Festival -- there were married duos that rocked.
+ Holger (Brazil), Ninjasonic (Brooklyn), Tune Yards (Vermont), William Blakes (Denmark), By Divine Right (Toronto), Butthole Surfers (Austin), Nutsak (Montreal), Roxanne Shante (Queens, NY), Tiohtiake Drum Circle, Mittenstrings (Portland), Destroyer (Vancouver), Avec Pas D'Casque (Montreal), Hannah Georgas (Vancouver), The Daredevil Christopher Wright (Eau Claire, WI!).
+ good advice from Buffy Saint-Marie ("Keep your nose on the joy trail.") the confusion between oeust and oust, autumn leaves, Portuguese grillades, Phonopolis record store spree, hockey game cheers, pomplamoose et parapluie, jambon et brie baguette, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, chatty cab drivers who like Obama and bi-lingual everything.
+ good advice from Buffy Saint-Marie ("Keep your nose on the joy trail.") the confusion between oeust and oust, autumn leaves, Portuguese grillades, Phonopolis record store spree, hockey game cheers, pomplamoose et parapluie, jambon et brie baguette, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, chatty cab drivers who like Obama and bi-lingual everything.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
NYC
Recent weeks of whirlwind travel. NYC for fun and friends and Montreal for work (okay, it was fun too, or rather beaucoup amusé). What do I want to remember before my brain turns to mush? So many highlights - it's a blur....especially from the back of a taxi cab.
NYC: friends! food! drink! (The Spotted Pig, Fatty Crab, Prune, The Ginger Man, PDT, Spuyten Duvel & Diner in Brooklyn) Here is the printed menu @ Diner vs. the secret one that is ultimately written on the table by the cheery waitress.
music! (Marianne Faithful @ Town Hall w/my favorite hip jazzsters Marc Ribot, Joey Baron, Rob Berger & Greg Cohen and the Death by Audio Maze installation noise provided by ELECTROPUTAS) I was won over by Marianne's self-deprecating stage presence, as if she could fool us by pretending that she was a regular middle-aged lady. I'm not buying it Marianne.
Below - M&N enjoying the Electroputas, but not as much as The Chef who had to be pulled out of that scene by his neck scruff. I knew as soon as I heard the cacophony that he would be in heaven.
ART! photography: Robert Frank "The Americans" & Dennis Hopper (that's right, Dennis Hopper) "Signs of the Times" + funny faces @ the Met.
Nature! walking the High Line, Central Park and my friend the turtle @ the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
One more memory from the Hell Elevator.
p.s. I lost my wallet in the back of a taxi and the world didn't end.
part two: Montreal....
music! (Marianne Faithful @ Town Hall w/my favorite hip jazzsters Marc Ribot, Joey Baron, Rob Berger & Greg Cohen and the Death by Audio Maze installation noise provided by ELECTROPUTAS) I was won over by Marianne's self-deprecating stage presence, as if she could fool us by pretending that she was a regular middle-aged lady. I'm not buying it Marianne.
Below - M&N enjoying the Electroputas, but not as much as The Chef who had to be pulled out of that scene by his neck scruff. I knew as soon as I heard the cacophony that he would be in heaven.
ART! photography: Robert Frank "The Americans" & Dennis Hopper (that's right, Dennis Hopper) "Signs of the Times" + funny faces @ the Met.Nature! walking the High Line, Central Park and my friend the turtle @ the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
One more memory from the Hell Elevator.
p.s. I lost my wallet in the back of a taxi and the world didn't end.
part two: Montreal....
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Goodbye Again
Proof that I am feeling mature these days. Instead of watching the VMA awards on Sunday night (which I like to do for, ahem, "professional" reasons) I forgot all about stupid Kanye blah blah blah and opted for the 1961 classic "Goodbye Again" starring Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins and (that cad) Yves Montand. Highly recommended if only for the scene where Ingrid Bergman yells down the spiral staircase after her young suitor "I AM OLD! I AM OLD! I AM OLD! I AM OLD!" gulp.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Outside Lands
In the production truck there are many screens.
Tom Jones brings out the hits and the undergarments.Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Sunday in the Park
In our neighborhood there is an enclosed dog area at St. Mary's Park.
The Chef was going to practice tossing the ball w/ Monty, but there were so many distractions.
(just moments earlier below)
Why chase a ball when I can be dog wrastling?Saturday, August 01, 2009
Redonk Work Dessert #2
Israeli Couscous with an orange reduction & sugared thyme.The couscous was a bit heavy, even for a tapioca & rice pudding fan like myself. The concept seemed more appealing than the reality. That's right, I only ate one of these.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)