jesus bugs

cuteness

2008-07-15T08:06:00.001-07:00

Meet Ben's new niece! Her name is Naomi and she is quite possibly the cutest, chubbiest baby on the planet.

Check out those sausage arms. She looks like a tiny pink Michelin Man.

I'm sort of coveting the baby onesie. So comfy. Maybe all those ridiculous adult lady-rompers on the Spring runways have merit....

This is what happens when the baby is left alone with one of us in a cafe: She comes out clutching a 1-pound bag of beans and addicted to caffeine. The expression on Naomi's face says, "I could really go for a double soy latte right about now." I feel you, girl.

birthday baking

2008-06-29T19:22:00.001-07:00

Recipe adapted from Orangette. I didn't have the almonds, so I used 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. almond extract.

This cake is always a crowd-pleaser (or, rather, a Ben-pleaser). A combination like blueberries with lemon zest, or fresh cranberries and orange zest and/or almond extract, can work really well too . I like a cake that can change with the seasons.

market lunch

2008-06-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

We returned home from our Saturday trip to Findley Market loaded with goodies. I love making food when the kitchen is full of fresh things. But for some reason, cooking right after shopping is a bit of a turn-off for me, especially when it's all humid and gross out. So we took inspiration from both the weather and our favorite Celebrity Chef.

First Course:

Silken tofu with soy sauce and scallions.

Entree:

Yellowfin tuna marinated in soy and seared. We used scallions again, but the fish would be great with toasted sesame seeds too. This was the Jamie Oliver contribution -- I love his food but don't always love watching him on-screen. Have you ever noticed how he misuses the word "literally" all the time? As in: "I'm going to literally chop this onion and put it in the pan." Drives. Me. Crazy.

On the side:

Salad of roasted corn, avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, s&p. The corn was roasted on top of our gas stove.

Quite a yummy meal, I must say. It was also a good display of how Ben and I divide work in the kitchen. I chop; he sears; I wash; he dries; I boss; he lets me think I'm boss.

we are delinquents

2008-06-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

To our one dedicated remaining reader (Camille...is that you?), you deserve a shiny gold star. If a blog could be mangy or overgrown with weeds, this one would be. The lack of posts is due to a few factors. Sheer laziness is at the top of the list. To that you can also add: incessant traveling, the stress of house-hunting in Vermont, and, once again, lack of will. Excuses, excuses.

But we've been having fun during these early weeks of summer. First up was a trip back to the Bay Area. My sister was graduating from Berkeley with her MA in Statistics and our friends Camilo and Dalia were getting married. Two outstanding reasons to hop on a plane.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures at both of those momentous Life Events. Sigh. Instead, all I have to offer is pictures from a very fun dinner out in the Mission with Ian, Jenny, Kate, and Dan.

That's Ben explaining exactly what library music is. Actually, I have no idea what the conversation was about but I love Dan's intent expression (Judge Judy would say that he has his "listening ears" on) and Ian's bemused one.

pdx

2008-03-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

hello all. apologies for the prolonged silence. things around here have been a bit hectic, and the blog was among the first casualties. we've been interviewing for new jobs, writing, and grading exams (ugh).

but we did find time for a getaway to portland, oregon, one of our favorite cities anywhere.

we made the ace hotel downtown our headquarters. imagine a vintage northwestern hunting lodge run by hip librarians. the decor was industrial flophouse chic meets readymade magazine. staying there made us feel kind of like characters in a gus van sant movie.

our agenda for the trip was pretty simple.

number one: drink good coffee.

number two: eat good food.

potato and spinach quiche from half & half. their scones were also crowdpleasers.

the great wall of bread at saint honore.

we had dinner one night at a great little restaurant called le pigeon. we were celebrating something special (see below). i went all vintage julia child and ordered the beef bourguignon; ben ate bunny rabbit. hoppy easter!

number three: experience some nature to work off the aforementioned buttery baked goods.

portland has two beautiful public gardens that sit on a hillside overlooking the city. the rose garden was still hibernating but was lovely nonetheless. the japanese garden was amazing. little pavilions, waterfalls, koi, mossy rocks. ben got so zenned out by the atmosphere, he felt compelled to strike a yoga pose.

number four: drink more coffee.

and number five, the best of all: get engaged!

Valentine's Day Treats

2008-02-16T09:23:00.001-08:00

Please welcome the new addition to our household. Her name is "Tray." According to her little bio tag, she has three brains (one in each horn), likes blueberry pie, and is always hungry. Hmmmm. I wonder why Ben picked this particular Ugly Doll for me.

Tray and I also have another hobby in common: We like to nap.

I couldn't help buying a treat for myself. Red shoes are an appropriate self-Valentine, I think.

"you know, for your tonkatsu sauce"

2008-02-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Before I joined the ranks of the gainfully employed, Ben and I used to have lunch together pretty much every day. But now that I have to eat at my desk (sad), the key to a good afternoon or a bad one usually rests with what my lunch is like. We've gotten into the habit of making bentos. Well, I should say that Ben's been making bentos for me. I'm a lazy git, particularly after dinner. This salad made with leftover ginger roasted chicken, tomatoes, and cucumbers was especially good.

Yum.

What's that you say? You're wondering about the dressing, eh? We all know that naked salads suck. Ben's mom to the rescue. Noni gave us this little container that's perfect for the purpose of holding vinaigrette. [It looks huge in the photo below but it actually fits in the palm of your hand.] And when I bring my deep fried Japanese pork cutlets to school -- as one does -- it'll hold my tonkatsu sauce.

I'd just like to know what "Proo" means....

moodboard

2008-02-04T13:00:00.001-08:00

Here are some images, more for reference than anything else really. I can't remember where they came from, wink.

reading, virtually

2008-02-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Here are two newish Japanese design books, the first of which, on Swedish graphic designer Olle Eksell, my sister gave me for Christmas. I hadn't heard of Eksell before, but I must leaf through this book just about every day now. He has this home-spun folk modernist thing going on that's very similar to Charley Harper. I also find the Sweden/Japan design nexus really interesting. I had known that Scandinavian designers like Lotta Jansdotter have a huge fan base in Japan -- last time I was there, Kinokuniya Books in SF Japantown had a few Japanese-language books on her -- so it's nice to see earlier designers like Eksell finally getting a look in. The second reading experience features Hirochi Eguchi's World Paperback Design, which assembles cover illustrations from all over the world. You can find more info on Eksell here and Eguchi here. Have a nice flip through. bg

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

2008-01-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Is it a faux pas to rent the DVD that they're playing on the TV in the video store? I guess not when there's nobody else in the store. Also not when the movie in question is a stylish late-60s affair with awesome music that just got released on DVD. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968) is in some sense an "issues" film about, among other things, disability, class, and race in the American south. The handling of these issues, despite a fine performance by Alan Arkin, feels a bit rote. But wow is the film nice to look at. A young, slightly elfin Sondra Locke makes her debut here, and she looks straight out of the pages of the Spring/Summer A.P.C. look book. She cuts a kind of tom-boyish pixie figure, strong and plucky. Actually, Locke eerily resembles Stephen Malkmus. The film also has a very classy soundtrack by David Grusin. Check the clip for some moog stylings.

a-choo!

2008-01-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ben's sister Akemi made me these Lotta Jansdotter-inspired tissue holders for Christmas. I'm in love with the fabrics, a combo of vintage and Ikea. What is it about mustard yellow and grey that looks so good?

dedicated foolios of fashion

2008-01-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

Last week, Joyce and I were walking around Hayes Valley in SanFrancisco. We emerged from absentmindedness to find a woman thrusting a camera in our face and asking about our fashion influences. Uh...eh? We feared she was some sort of foot fetishist [she took photos of our shoes], but she explained that she was a blogger interested in SF street fashion. Quite pleased with ourselves, we posed for some ridiculous photographs and free-associated some complete nonsense in answer to her questions. Have a look for yourself -- it's really quite remarkable. If anyone has any idea just what the hell I'm blathering on about, please let me know. All jesusbugs readers have a right and responsibility to make fun of us for this. If you're bored at work, take a moment to peruse some of the other fashion victims. It's like Buffalo Exchange central casting. bg

chocolate & zucchini

2008-01-09T16:50:00.001-08:00

Don't you love getting gifts in the mail? Yesterday this cookbook arrived from my awesome cousin Camille who lives in LA. We share an affinity for food and fashion, and Chocolate and Zucchini is a blog we both read. The woman who writes it leads what appears to be the perfect life. She lives in Paris, has cute "French girl" hair, and enjoys success as a published author. All at the age of 27. I hate her.

Just kidding, Clotilde! I love you and your recipes. Especially this yogurt cake that I tried out today. The recipe was dead simple -- I just cut the finished cake into two layers and added raspberry jam. Delicious. Even as I write, Ben is eating the piece pictured below. [Please note: no butter jesus was harmed in the making of this cake.]

Camille herself is starting up a new site. Wallflour is devoted to yummy food and chilled-out entertaining. Her writing is funny, sarcastic, and very smart. And her dog Guinness may be the most adorable canine on the planet. jm

Butter Jesus

2008-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

You know you are back in Ohio when you see a huge statue of Jesus made out of what looks like dairy product. This is the Solid Rock megachurch between Cincinnati and the airport in Dayton, featuring a huge bust of Jebus emerging from the water. It kind of looks like he is made of butter. Joyce took two photos from the car. Here is the second one. Thank you Jebus!

leap year

2008-01-07T12:11:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! We are now restored to health, or what passes for health, after a rainy but relaxing stay in California. Thanks to the hospitality of our friends and family we enjoyed ourselves a great deal. In fact I enjoyed myself a full day longer than I was supposed to as the rain resulted in a canceled flight back to Cincinnati. Some highlights included baby holding (Hi Sofia!), cat petting (Hi Puma!), eating, record shopping, more eating...uh...er...what else did we do exactly? I can't really remember but it was great just spending time with our dearly missed friends. And eating good sushi and Mexican food. Now, some photos.

El Vino did flow. Our friends Jenny and Ian threw a lovely New Years party featuring a sidecar recipe that will live in infamy.

I believe this is Ian making said drink. I don't know what was stronger, the drink or the way Ian looks in that beard. Young Ian also gets credit for the photo of me and Joyce above.

Joyce has more photos on her flickr page, but here are some highlights.

Ben's doing his best "Rear Window" / stalker impression:

christmas bounty

2007-12-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

We needed to exchange gifts before splitting up for Joint Custody Christmas. I'm heading out to California and Ben will join me after seeing his folks in Illinois.

Ben is extremely good about hiding presents and not opening gifts until the designated time. I am lacking in this department: Two years ago, I went looking for my presents, found them, refrained from peeking, and then bragged about my restraint to Ben. For some reason he seemed unimpressed.

This afternoon Ben totally surprised me with this vintage Paul Klee silkscreen. We first spotted this months ago -- and he remembered. The print formerly resided in the Macy's building in downtown Cincinnati, until it got liquidated along with a lot of other stuff. It looks great above our couch.

Here is a detail. A nice jumbled up townscape. I like how it looks like an illustration out of a surrealist children's book.

And here's Ben in his new Penguin sweater. Doesn't he look handsome! [Ben wrote that.]

Speaking of children's books, I found the 1956 French version of "Le Ballon Rouge." I saw this movie so many times when I was little. Ben mentioned he had never seen it, so now he can experience the next best thing.

Pascal's sweatpants obviously give him freedom of movement. Run, petit garcon, run!

And finally, this little lovely trinket:

Happy holidays everyone! See you soon!

joyce's first winter

2007-12-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Where Joyce comes from in California, they don't have Winter. So we were excited this morning to be greeted by the first snowfall of the season. It's been very cold lately but our landlord put in the storm windows over Thanksgiving and now it stays nice and toasty inside.

j'aime la mime

2007-11-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

OK, getting sick of looking at that fried chicken. Moving on, then. The aforementioned bookstore coughed up more than just a painting. We also found seven volumes of what looks to be a French-speaking Swiss series of artbooks from 1962. Each book presents a photo-essay on a particular art form (the cinema, the theatre, dance etc.), so that the collection as a whole offers a kind of illustrated typology of the arts at mid-century.

Absolutely stunning modernist design. There is something appealing about the stylistic uniformity of the series, the minimalist stock typeface and pared-down quasi-ethnographic presentation. Here they are in profile.

As you can see, we are obviously going to have to hunt down the rest of the books in the series. Remaining volumes are devoted to cartoons, strip-tease, opera, and "les marionnettes." It is amusing to see just what constitutes "art" in these circumstances. Strip-tease and bullfighting? At any rate, the photos really do carry the books, and I say this only partly because I cannot read the French text accompanying them. Foux de Fa Fa! Have a look at some of these images while I go find out my leotard. BG

amber waves of grease

2007-11-17T07:52:00.001-08:00

Fried chicken y'all.

achromatic circle composition (1968)

2007-11-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

We rescued a painting from an old dusty bookshop the other day. The bookshop is on a second floor walk-up, and the painting was perched high above the stairwell. Not high enough to escape Joyce's cool art radar. It didn't appear to be for sale, but the nice couple running the store didn't require too much prodding to part with it. The artist, a man of few words, turned out to be none other than the owner of the store, William Downing, who keenly remembered the painting's title even though he had completed it almost forty years ago: "Achromatic Circle Composition." He appeared quite unattached to it. He just took out a ladder and retrieved the thing as if he were changing a lightbulb. Anyway we really like it. I don't know what Achromatic means (Ian?) but perhaps it has to do with the fact that there are no actually circles or bent lines in the painting. Merely the suggestion of circles.

happy halloween y'all

2007-10-31T14:00:00.001-07:00

professors on strike

2007-10-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is the name of the bowling team that our friends John and Jess belong to. But it is also a good way of describing the weekend we just spent with them, even though Jess and I aren't professors yet. We did some sightseeing, drank lots of wine, ate and more or less digested chili and spaghetti, and briefly entertained the idea that Cincinnati isn't so bad after all. Here are some pictures, mostly of our visit to the Cincinnati History Museum in Union Terminal, a beautiful old train station containing a miniature model of the city.

squash!

2007-10-24T14:39:00.001-07:00

Joyce wants me to call this post "Lords of the Gourd." Last night we made butternut squash risotto topped with toasty sage and bacon. Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver. Speaking of risotto, there's this other great recipe in Jacques Pepin's book Fast Food My Way for risotto that you don't have to stir. Set it and forget it! We've made it a few times and it's actually pretty good.

Anyway, we're excited because some friends from Oberlin are coming down for a visit tomorrow, instantly doubling the amount of people we know in Cincinnati. Today we tested our heater for the first time in preparation for their arrival. Now, where are those extra blankets?

new york

2007-10-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

It was so nice being in New York over the weekend. I can't believe how much walking we did. We stayed in a leafy, brownstone-lined neighborhood on the edge of Park Slope, the kind of place where the Huxtable family might have lived. We saw some old friends, had great pizza at Franny's (good recommendation, Kate), were slightly bored by The Darjeeling Limited, hobnobbed with tourists in SoHo and complete foolios in Williamsburg.

Cafe Regular on 11th street and 5th Ave. in Brooklyn was one of our big discoveries, an elegant hole-in-the-wall serving delicious coffee and pastries from the Sullivan St. Bakery. Apparently this is the bakery that you want to name-drop around New York.

The one day we spent in Manhattan was fun but exhausting. We did lots of window-shopping, at places like the Moma design store (below), but ultimately the best part was eating pierogi and beets and latke at Cafe Vaselka in the lower east side.

autumn, finally

2007-10-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all -- sorry for the lack of posts lately. The summer is finally over here and we are enjoying the crisp weather. It had been so hot and gross (93 degrees on Monday) that I myself was convinced there would be no Winter this year. And then today when we woke up it was freezing. This weekend we are off to New York for a little rest and relaxation. We are looking forward to wearing sweaters and scarves and doing some urban exploring.

We will post some pictures from our trip, but in the meantime here are some random images from our home.

library music

2007-09-27T07:16:00.001-07:00

Flint Public Library, circa late-50s. Photos found/compiled by Mercedea [flickr]

kettle corn

2007-09-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how to make kettle corn? Neither had we until we stumbled upon a very easy recipe. All you need is some popcorn, a saucepan, sugar, salt, and vegetable oil (we use peanut oil). Put about a tablespoon of oil in the pan and heat it up over medium high. Put two or three kernels in the pan and cover. As soon as one of them pops, throw in 1/4 cup of kernels and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cover and shake the pan vigorously until the popping stops. Salt to taste (it takes more than you would think) and lo! there you have it. P.S. If you're making regular popcorn, just omit the sugar. You will never go back to microwave popcorn again.

nature-hide

2007-09-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

These are my new "get tough" shoes -- dead-stock Dexters from the 1980s. They are either hip or incredibly ugly—probably both. I purchased them at a thrift store owned by a large man who refers to himself in the third-person as "Hollywood" (As in: "Girl, don't you know that when you try something on you're supposed to come out here and let Hollywood see?!" -- jm). The tag on them says that since the leather is untreated "you will notice briar scratches, fence marks and fat wrinkles." What am I supposed to be doing in these, breaking out of jail?

vintage sesame street

2007-09-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our favorite Sesame Street clips from the 1970s. I remember being mesmerized by these songs and images when I was a kid. Watching these again as an adult, I'm surprised how disturbing and unsettling they are -- particularly the "Milk" short film with its gritty realism and haunting music. I also really like the third clip below, an animated short about what to do when you get lost. It's interesting how the kid basically trundles out into some sort of drugged-out psychedelic dreamscape, replete with a yo-yo-twirling pimp dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy. You'll see what I mean. Anybody else remember these as vividly as I do? bg

museum day

2007-09-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

We went to a museum last weekend to see a Charley and Edie Harper exhibit, but they wouldn't allow us to take pictures. So instead we took a few objet photos of the fire extinguisher.

And these are photos of an interactive piece by New Yorker illustrator Saul Steinberg, featuring movable adjective magnets.

The Harper exhibit featured archival copies of Ford Times, a travel magazine distributed by Ford to promote brand loyalty. Charley Harper and E.B. White collaborated on several nature pieces, including a memorable one called "Feeding Station Birds." I couldn't take a photo of the exhibit so I decided to write down the accompanying text, which in this case was just as beautiful. Here is White's description of the slate-colored junco:

The Junco is the snowbird—junco hyemalis hyemalis, lover of the north and of hard times. He goes well with dark skies and bleak conditions; he likes Tuckerman's Ravine and your window ledge. He eats ragweed, thus befriending the hay fever sufferer. He eats berries, thus annoying the gardener. Like so many small birds, he is a masterpiece of beauty and courage, bringing joy to the world.

bg

cup of tea

2007-09-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

a little home improvement

2007-09-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our house, there were some pretty terrible window treatments in the kitchen. Mini-blinds = gross. So with the right equipment, we decided to turn things around. New curtains made from a very cute vintage print. Here I am, looking all Project Runway with the iron.

I would like to claim that the following is a picture of me expertly operating the sewing machine. But credit must be given where credit is due: Ben and I have been running a basement sweatshop staffed with Asian women. Small hands are the way to go, you know.

Just kidding. Ben's mom was our guru for this project and she did the actual fabrication. Thanks, Noni!

The final results were very pleasing and made a huge improvement in our formerly rather drab kitchen. Below is a close-up of the fabric.

green building

2007-09-06T05:21:00.001-07:00

Change is underway, literally right across the street from us. Our neighborhood is undergoing something of a transformation, in part because of an ensemble of urban development projects aimed at revitalizing the area. The city of Cincinnati recently sold five plots of land ON OUR STREET -- all of them on our block or the next block over -- to the Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation for a total of $1. The buildings on these lots have either been demolished or are awaiting demolition, and the sense that we get (from our plumber, no less) is that most of these properties were effectively repossessed by the City in order to "cool off" drug dealing and crime. Here are some photos of the plots nearest us.

At any rate, yesterday the City held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of this initiative, which will eventually involve several green architecture projects on the sites in question. Here the efforts of the CNCUR will dovetail with those of the HOME House Project, recently featured in an exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center here in Cincinnati. The HOME House Project aims to develop affordable, sustainable housing (some of it mixed-use) for low-and-middle income families. I don't know too much about their building practices, but it seems they place a focus on recycled and/or sustainable materials, environmentally-friendly building practices and the like. Here's a sample design from the exhibition catalog.

The houses across the street from us will be designed by the winners of a recent competition. I believe one of the winners (or perhaps THE winner) is S. Flavio Espinoza. I'm not familiar with the architect's work, but apparently I will be soon as site-preparation is already underway. It will be strange having such beautiful green architecture across the street from us. I just wonder whether the neighborhood will absorb or reject these changes, especially considering their scale and pace. Seems like the ground is really shifting beneath our feet here, and I'm not just talking about the crumbling floor joists in our upstairs bathroom. It's weird watching this happen at such close range. bg

land of lincoln

2007-09-04T17:49:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Labor Day weekend at the folks' in Illinois. These are prairie flowers at a sculpture garden in Urbana.

And here we are stealing my mom's sportscar.

Terry Sanders - Plastics (1973)

2007-08-31T08:32:00.001-07:00

Strangely hypnotic educational film about the plastics industry, featuring an eerie bloop bleep electronic score by Carl Stone. I remember watching films like this in elementary school -- grainy 16mm documentaries about plankton or mitochondria or why you should wear seatbelts. How did they not expect kids to be a bit deranged after watching stuff like this?

heath ceramics

2007-08-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Right before we left the Bay Area we struck gold at the Heath Ceramics studio in Sausalito. There's a shelf in the back full of seconds (technically thirds) with very minor blemishes and glazing imperfections, offered at a fraction of the retail price -- see the pic below. Joyce had already staked a flag here, once casually scoring Heath's iconic tea pot for a mere $25. But this summer we triumphed on another scale entirely, as we hauled away at least twenty dinner plates at the low-low price of $1 each.

They are so beautiful and simple. Our plates range across a few earth tones, but they complement each other really well, and make us seem like better cooks than we are. The picture above is from our personal collection.

And below are pictures from the outing itself, made in July while my family was in town. The studio is like the mid-century house of our dreams. It was rainy that day and we tracked quite a lot of mud on the studio floor. bg

gold top dairy bar

2007-08-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

We only eat ice cream now. The Bay Area does have certain kinds of ice cream that we miss, or will do now that I've gone and started thinking about it. You've got cinnamon ice cream at Mitchell's in the Mission, and makapuno (young coconut) ice cream at Tucker's in Alameda—probably the best ice cream in the world. Let's also not forget CCAC (caramel cream almond crunch) at Fenton's in Oakland, or the new frou-frou boutique ice creams to be found at places like Ici in Elmwood and Bi-Rite's new ice creamery in the Mission.

But hope springs anew. Graeter's ice cream is Cincinnati's signature brand, and counts Oprah Winfrey among its many fans. We do like Graeter's, but I think the best ice cream we've had has been at a suburban soft-serve place called Gold Top Dairy Bar. We were driving to a nursery to look for houseplants last week when we saw their huge yellow sign and swerved off the road with bulging eyes. bg

foux de fa fa

2007-08-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

I can't resist posting this spoof video by the kiwi comic duo Flight of the Conchords. For more 60's French pop nuggets, not all of them spoofs, check out this excellent blog.

northside

2007-08-23T11:19:00.001-07:00

la jetée

2007-08-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Lots of vernacular weirdness here in Cincinnati that we are dying to share with you. Chili on spaghetti anyone? Will upload picture collage and wry commentary soon. In the meantime, may I recommend a film or two? We were both pretty absorbed by a new Danish film called After the Wedding, starring Mads Mikkelsen of Casino Royale fame. I missed Le Chiffre's bleeding tear duct, which I believe I said out loud a number of times while we were watching it, but Mikkelsen still puts in a brooding, hunky performance -- and the soundtrack will have you thinking, wait, maybe I should give Sigur Ros another chance.

An American indie film called Mutual Appreciation is waiting in a pile of mail downstairs. Mumblecore yada yada, according to NY Times Magazine. The protagonist is played by Justin Rice, who fronts a real-life band called Bishop Allen. Sound familiar, Show Me State lads? A film about Williamsburg hipsters could be annoying. Why did I rent this?

But this week's Netflix sweepstakes winner has to be La Jetée, an avant sci-fi film from Chris Marker in 1963. It isn't a film so much as a photo collage with voice-over narration. There's a fairly ambitious plot involving time travel, post-apocalyptic Paris, two star-crossed lovers, and a man wearing a bra on his head. But the film succeeds purely at the level of the still image. Delicate and disturbing -- and the wardrobe is straight out of APC or something. Score by Trevor Duncan on a Boosey & Hawkes library record. I bet Jarvis Cocker is really into this movie. bg

thrifty finds

2007-08-16T15:23:00.001-07:00

The idea of finding some cool, undiscovered troves of vintage furniture and mid-century stuff was part of what made our move to the Midwest / Upper South appealing. Well, at a Cincinnati Goodwill earlier this week, Ben scored a lovely little stool (Yugoslavian modern, of course)...

... for 4 bucks! Now when I read some collector's claim in Dwell or Ready-Made that he or she found an amazing Danish credenza/Eames chair/Martz lamp for $10, I'll be less inclined to dismiss that individual as a liar.

We also hit the Cincinnati Public Library's book warehouse sale this afternoon. Shelves and shelves of finds. Many volumes were bought, but this c. 1960s oversize children's book was the pick of the litter.

Hansel and Gretel is appropriate because today Ben and I were feeling a little lost. Culturally, not spatially. After having a nice dinner, however, we're feeling a bit better. jm

lo concept

2007-08-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

You are probably thinking, "What about Ben's records? I've been worried about them." I put together this shelving unit over a sweaty afternoon last week. Basically this means that I slapped some legs on pine record boxes that I had stained a while ago. I guess the idea was to keep things low and long, like a bench. Now all we need is a couch and TV.

farmer's market

2007-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to Findlay Market in downtown Cincinnati. Good cheap produce here -- both from local farmers and wholesalers practically giving away slightly-too-ripe bananas and such. Nice to know we aren't the only foodies around. Here's a picture of lunch afterwards. It's been hovering around 95 degrees, so we've been making good use of Mark Bittman's "Summer Express" recipes in the NY Times. This is shrimp sauteed with cumin, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Kinda smokey tasting because of the cumin -- delicious.

chopped salad y'all!

2007-08-10T16:12:00.001-07:00

hello friends

2007-08-09T13:40:00.001-07:00

Well, we have finally arrived in Cincinnati. We have been here for just over a week and have so far developed the subtle, nuanced observation that it is really hot here. We'll post some pictures of our house and neighborhood real soon. Seems like Cincinnati is going to be interesting once we get our heads around it. We live in a neighborhood called "Northside" that sort of reminds us of Temescal in Oakland, in that it's cool and bohemian but a little rough around the edges. Every morning Joyce runs to the front window to check that our cars are still there. But there are some intriguing things about Northside that we're happy about, such as a great cafe, an independent video store, a hippie farmer's market, and the world's grungiest hardware store, run by a man named Bill Dickhouse who has worked there for 49 years. We thought it was funny that a bar in the neighborhood offers "San Francisco-style burritos." Aside from the heat and humidity and general feeling of confusion and alienation, it's like we never left home.

What are Jesus Bugs? Well, one nice thing about Cincinnati is that some very talented artists and designers call it home. Our favorites are Charley and Edie Harper, who lived and worked in the area for many years. (Why is it that all the cool modernist designers were married couples? Charles and Ray Eames, Robin and Lucienne Day, and now these two.) At any rate, Charley Harper was a celebrated wildlife artist, and "Jesus Bugs" (1969) is one of his signature pieces. It shows insects gliding on a watery surface. We haven't found any jesus bugs out here yet, but we will keep looking.