I hope all yuz
are having a great summer. Here are a few of my favorite things:
1.) Old Bay Seasoned Potato Chips
2.) The Book of Mormon, the musical. And especially this song “I Believe” (Although “Turn it off” and “Hello” (and half a dozen more) are also amazing). I have never seen a funnier play in all my life. It was so good I was crying from laughing so hard.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHEqCXY2B-w[/youtube]
3.) Praising Mark Bittman. He posted this NYT article with 12 summer salads back in June. It included this awesome recipe for raw kale and carrot salad with blue cheese and a simple honey vinaigrette. It's scrumptious. We've made it four times now. Hint: you can trade out the raisins and add toasted chopped nuts instead. Much better if you're not crazy about raisins. Make this salad!
4.) Trixie Honeycups.
5.) Trash talking Mark Bittman. Did anyone read the same NYT magazine food feature three weeks later about grilled watermelon hamburgers? Did any of you try to make them? 1 1/2 inch sliced watermelon. Grilled. Cheese on top. Ketchup. Mustard. Mayo. Onions. Wrapped in a hamburger bun. We haven't tried. But it sounds absurd. Did he really sample this before publishing it? But, in a half-hearted attempt to replicate, we did recently try to simply charcoal-grill watermelon. And it wasn't so great. After a few bites, I just kind of wanted to be eating ungrilled watermelon. Did I miss something? Too many GNTs that night? Or does a food writer sometimes just get it really perversely wrong?
6.) The Song of Summer: Katy Perry vs Lady Gaga debate. While down the shore (thanks for spreading the word SG) this summer we haven't been able to cross a beach or a boardwalk with out hearing one of these two great songs blowing around (“Last Friday Night” and “The Edge of Glory” in case you live in New Zealand). If you haven't heard at least one of these songs while driving somewhere with your windows down and a companion or two chanting along with you, then you're not having a ridiculously fun summer yet. There's still time. Hurry, though! I need your help picking a winner. Or at least, picking which of the saxophone bridges/solos is better. 2011, the year of the Bruce Hornsby revival!
7.) Weekend visits from current and former TGWers who tolerate our occasional top 40 music obsessions.
8.) Mounting Major League Baseball energy. Milwaukee? Cleveland? Cincinnati? Pittsburg? Yep. Right on. (Oh, and it helps that our lil local team is having a decent season again.)
9.) The end of that nasty heat wave. Finally opening the doors and windows again. And tons of new summer music bouncing around. I meant to post a curated summer playlist here, but then no one really ever downloads those divshare files, and it's a bit of a hassle as I have to convert iTunes tracks and it's 11:25 already and I'm tired. So maybe by Xmas I can figure out how to add a mix of streaming tracks instead. And start earlier in the evening.
10.) Learning to swim
Love youse! Have a great second half of summer!
Farrell, I am so happy to see you here as I’ve been wanting to thank you for last year’s mixmas download, which has become the music to which I paint rooms in my new house. Just yesterday I was wondering which pop songs will make the cut for your next one–only five months away and I can’t wait for it! FWIW, I would already have downloaded your new mix had you posted one to divshare last night. Good for you for choosing sleep. I can paint to the oldies for one more day, I guess…
Grilled watermelon “burgers” sound positively repulsive! That has to be a sick joke. But I can’t wait to try that kale and carrot salad. Your enthusiasm for summer is infectious.
Woo, Farrell! I knew you’d come through. And please don’t give up on those mixes. I have a genre in my iTunes specifically devoted to Farrell & Trixie.
Oh, and Katy Perry was in my dream last night. Weird. So I guess she wins.
yeah what rachel said. I loved the last download…
Argh how did you see Book of Mormon? I am seeing it in JANUARY. I guess it is only fair since you were one. (A book, I mean.)
The heat wave was horrible but, in some perverse way, I enjoyed it.
Yeah, I thought those watermelon burgers were a joke. I mean, seriously, what’s the point of eating watermelon other than the cool, refreshing water? That’s like, I don’t know, dehydrated strawberries or something. Totally disappointing.
Hey thanks friends! It seems that at least three of you would download a mix of songs, so well then, why not, I’ll make something happen as a biscuit sometime soon. You’ll love it. More soon. In the mean times, may you continue to have a glorious summer! XO!
god i hope so… it took me SO long to get with the downloading thing… don’t quit now… TGW, 12 people strong as ever!
Yessssss! I’m so ready for another mix. I feel like I know you, Farrell and Trixie, just a bit, based on the music selection. (Is that weird?) I have images in my head of you two singing certain lyrics into spatulas while chopping kale and carrots for that Bittman salad. You have no idea how zippy that music makes me feel when I’m doing tedious tasks around the house.
I download. AND I VOTE.
I love the “favorite things” lists! Especially favorite summer things. Baseball! Flavored potato chips! Swimming! Trixie! What could be better?
PS: Yes, more music, please.