You Lose

Everyone loses. Everyone EXCEPT those proud few at the Velvet Lounge Ear Pwr show.

They were the cutest things I have ever seen. One with a huge red afro, cut-off shorts and a blowhorn, the other a tiny platinum blonde with sunglasses and awesome dance moves. They were set up on the floor which allowed hugs to be given out to audience members more easily. Their song are mostly about pretty normal stuff, like waterparks and airplanes, with the words "cowabunga" and "ice cold" thrown in for good measure. Their sound was INCREDIBLY infectious, mixing serious synth beats with loud talking, and even had the stiffest DC crowd moving (well, more than usual. but seriously, whats up with that, dc!? shake whatcho momma gave ya, for once!). Basically, all of you totally messed up. You should have been there. NEXT TIME.

eat.sleep.work.pack.eat.sleep.work.pack.

This is a really lame "video" but holler at one of my favorites from the Lovin Spoonfull. I AM TIRED.

Hillary Brings It!

Making the Neighborhood a More Colorful Place

Tim is a local community arts activist and an all around good dude. Up until this year (under the label "Dynamite Printworks"), Tim adorned otherwise bland electrical boxes, trash bins and sign posts with beautifully silkscreened posters for local bands that could be seen all over the heights and mt. pleasant. After an extended stay in Mexico with his fiance working with local Oaxacan kids and teens to make their world a more colorful place, Tim came back to the city and taught a mural painting class at a local arts center. The kids initially took photographs of the faces of their own NW neighborhood, asking "what does Columbia Heights mean to you?", then selected a few of the best and painted them onto a wall outside Harriet Tubman elementary school on Park Rd. If you are ever walking to Wonderland or Red Rocks, please feel free to admire the work done by his class:

http://www.dynamiteprintworks.com/

New Finds - Vinyl

Got these for 99 cents each at the Bailey's Xroads Goodwill, all in perfect condition . Don't worry, I left out all the nerdy country records.

Janet Jackson for Democratic VP

Let's hope Barak makes the right choice...

Outdated - Poloroid show in Chicago RECAP

The show was last friday. No I did not go, (it was in Chicago, duh) but I googled it to see if I could find any of my poloroids in the background of the event photos. I couldn't, obviously, but here are some snapshots from the show anyway:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikgarrett/sets/72157606792184306/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uber-tuber/sets/72157606795332514/

This is the gallery where it was held:
http://www.countryclubchicago.com/


Did anyone go?!

Mark Your Calendars Now!

August 28th at Velvet Lounge: Ear Pwr and Adventure. GO TO THIS. TRUST ME.

Listen for yourself:

http://www.myspace.com/earpwr

http://www.myspace.com/adventuresound

Bodies of Water, Black Cat show on Sunday

I had almost forgotten. It was 6:30pm when I looked at my calendar. Bodies of Water at Black Cat backstage! After waking myself up and hauling butt down to 14th street, I got there in time to see the opening act, Port O'Brien. Perhaps it was the fact that it was Sunday, or I that my brain was still foggy from all that sleeping, but they didn't really do it for me. The lead singer was charming, but I wasn't really sure what sound they were going for. It was always teetering on the edge of sounding like boring generic california indie. If it wasn't for the banjo, there would have been no hope (which, by the way, you could never really hear).

Speaking of snooze-town USA... what was up with Bodies of Water? They opened up with "It Moves" and went right into two really upbeat songs from their old album, then back into their new stuff for the rest of the night, which to be honest, is really really boring. I hate to say it, but its true! One of the things that I loved about them was their energy and their crazy yelling. All I got was lazy keyboards and soft droaning voices. I did appreciate the new girl guitarist/violinist/singer, even if she just kind of stood there the whole time. Listen Bodies of Water, I am sure you were tired and it was Sunday, but that is exactly why you should have amped it up a bit. Maybe THEN you wouldn't have been left with 5 people at your show. I also left, which I felt a little guilty about, but I was falling asleep. (Don't worry, I still love them)

The Montgomery County Fair

It's Friday Y'all

The first video is from a recent discovery, Kendra and Caitlin, listen up: The Tallest Man on Earth - It Will Follow the Rain. The second video is in celebration of all the ass-shaking I will be doing on the dancefloor tonight, as it is the last jaunt with miss Emily before Williamsburg swallows her whole. And not in a sexy way.

Craft Inspiration

New neckware idea from desirapesta Etsy.com store:

This seems cheap and easy. Must make soon, will post images.

Visit her store, there are other cute things:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=1848

Squash Blossoms

There is a new culinary trend sweeping the nation, catching the curiosity of chefs and foodies alike; using squash blossoms to prepare light summer treats and to garnish main courses. These edible flowers are an age-old favorite in Italy and India, but have recently gained a lot of hype in the US.

Much to my surprise and delight, there were boxes of 6 or 7 for $2 lined up at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market this past weekend, along with a printout of some very helpful hints on how they should be prepared. After doing a bit more reserch on the INTERWEBS, I found two different tempting recipes; fried squash blossoms stuffed with fresh mozzerella and basil (i used sweet thai basil from the market), and a light butter sauce to toss with fettuchini pasta.



The Recipes:

GARDEN SQUASH AND
BLOSSOM BUTTER
PASTA

4 blossoms
1 shallot, diced small
1 t. each finely chopped fresh savory and thyme
2 t. finely chopped Italian parsley (i used basil instead... i would have also added garlic... next time!)
4 T. sweet butter, softened (set and extra 2 T aside to saute the squash)
Salt and pepper
about a cup of chopped squash and eggplant
1/2 cup chicken stock
Fettuchini

Separate blossoms from stems and chop the flowers. Blend flowers, shallots and herbs together with butter and season with salt and pepper. Slice squash and eggplant into thin rounds.

Gently saute squash and eggplant alone in butter for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and squash blossoms and simmer while you cook the pasta. Drain pasta and toss with the sauce. Season and mix well.




STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

This is a very simple recipe. All you need is 2 eggs, corn meal or flour, salt and pepper, fresh mozzerella and basil (You can also stuff with an array of other ingrediants). Stuff the blossom with enough ingredients to wrap the petals completely around, dip in egg and dredge through the corn meal (you can season the corn meal with salt and pepper). fry in olive oil on medium heat until the outside is crispy and the cheese begins to burst out of the fried blossom. Serve hot! (there should probably be some more seasoning, need to experiment a little with that... garlic?)

Fashion Inspiration

All of today's inspirations were pulled from HelLooks. Fall is just around the corner. PREPARE

DIY Fancy Headwear

Last weekend I attended a colonial themed going-away shindig for the lovely miss Emily Kirkpatrick. She needed a party favor that wasn't a tricorner hat or an awful wig, something that screamed feminine "colonial chic" (bahaha), and also something BIG enough to make her stand out from the crowd. I found a cloth headband at target, some fake flowers and feather at my local craft store (i added a fake bird later - wish i had taken a photo) and used some yarn that I already had at home. I simply cut the flowers at the length I wanted and wrapped the yarn around and around (and around) until the whole headband was covered and each flower was firmly in place. If you are going to use your headband more than a couple times, I would reccomend some fabric or hot glue action so everything is completely secure. Aaannnnd voila!:






The whole thing took about 30 minutes. So quick and so easy!

Leather Backpack

Someone please find me an awesome suede or leather backpack big enough for records or laptops or bottles of wine. I am really bad at ebay and always lose bids, so I have had no luck. If you see something let me know (preferably something more worn than the following examples):

New Vintage Listing - Preview