99 Problems

ummmmm, we're in trouble with the internet police. I'm on vacay in FLorida right now and will deal when i get home. until then:

DIY poptarts

Carissa and I, back when we were students and not college graduates with degrees like we are today, used to bake for our friends every Sunday night. Some of us would follow up this activity by enjoying a soothing hot toddy but that is neither here nor there. The point is, we came up with some killer desserts, the best of which we will gradually share with you. Today's recipe is for:

POPTARTS
I love the boxed kind so much that i can't guarantee ours are better, but they are more fun, better for you, and at least as good (most would probably say better)

When I'm baking I like some soul in the kitchen, so here's some Sam Cooke to get you started

Now, pie crust.
The following recipe is the most reliable one I have used. Its from 'Perfect Light Desserts' by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim (this book is full of recipes that are naturally low in fat, they don't cut corners so everything still tastes the way it should)

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp cold water

1. stir together dry ingredients
2. add butter and oil (if you have a pastry blender, use that, if not a fork or knife will do). BE GENTLE. do not overwork the dough or it will be dense instead of flaky and light. Mix until the ingredients form little pea sized balls
3. add the water and mix until dough forms a ball, again, do not overwork
4. place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, dust the top with flour and roll it out. If you don't have a rolling pin, which we didn't, feel free to use a glass or a wine bottle or whatever works. for the last time, do not over work it! try to only roll it out once if you can.

NOW, cut the dough into rectangles (we made them twice as long as we wanted the poptarts so we could fold the dough over the filling and only have to seal three sides).

spread your favorite filling over the rectangle

cover the filling and seal the edges with the tines of a fork....think tiny pies!

bake until golden brown (it wont take long), let cool and frost with either store bought frosting or home made. add sprinkles or whatever else to cute them up and...



photos by Carissa Hamman, model: Chrissy Sollenberger

My first introduction to the Black Lips was 2007's 'Good, Bad, Not Evil.' I went to see them live last year, with my step dad, the venerable Tom Stacho, (he wanted to see The Raconteurs and i wanted to see the Black Lips and they were playing together. He described the Black Lips as 'wild' but he got pretty into it) and he bought me 'Let it Bloom' on vinyl. I really love both records. The Black Lips are cheeky, irreverent, and clever. However, they can also be goofy, sometimes tender and always urgent which gives a warmth to their brand of punk that i think is hard to come by. This is part of what makes them so irresistable for me. On 'Let it Bloom' you can hear a group of boys that NEED to make noise and like to have fun. On 'Good, Bad, Not Evil,' the raw energy of 'Let it Bloom' is, in my opinion, enhanced by tighter song structure and more obvious pop sensibilities. Tell me 'Bad Kids' isn't an anthem and I'll tell you you have brain damage.

'200 Million Thousand' is out of this world. It is perhaps a tiny bit less accessible, though also perhaps more sophisticated (not that i would know anything about being sophisticated) than 'Good, Bad, Not Evil' while still as kinetic and raw as any of their previous output. Some of these songs feel a little like church or something. It feels like being in a trance where the music is filling you up with joy and agression and it gives you a fever that only motion and noise can quell. The Black Lips want to bleed, sweat, spit, snarl, yell, dance, and laugh it out. Even better, they want you to come with them and you cant help but join.

Black Lips-I Saw God

Black Lips Blog-Required Reading

Marina and the Diamonds

OK, look, so at this point im sure we all know Passion Pit are MGMT v.2.0x1 million (Carissa is credited for that comparison). We also know that as a social networking site, myspace is pretty well finished. BUT, personally, I still tend to get lost in myspace, particularly when I'm missing my iPod or when I'm away from my stereo, but with a computer (both of which occur with exhausting frequency). I look through band page after band page, perusing their top friends, and the top friends of their top friends, etc., you know how it goes.

The point is, I was engaged in this enlightening activity the other day and came across Marina and the Diamonds as a 'top friend' of passion pit. Now, I dont know pretty much anything about this girl. I assume that since she is on Passion Pit's label, Neon Gold (named after the two trendiest themes of its birth year, 2008) we will be hearing quite a bit about her very soon, or maybe you already have and i will catch up with you soon. In a way i don't want to know anything more about her than i already do. I practically worship her. She's like a one woman Ace of Base for 2009. She is more than that, of course. Although she is 'of the moment,' her sincerity (or what i perceive as sincerity) make her more than an 80s/90s throwback gimmick. She's got drama, she's got heart, and i love every piece of it.

Passion Pit- I've Got Your Number

Marina and the Diamonds- I am not a Robot

and for good measure...

What are We Doing Here?

"If We're All Here Then We're Probably All Special Art Rebels Anyway, So Lets All Be Special Art Rebels Together-BARR", Half of Two Times Two (mp3)

In Launching this blog, Carissa and I (Carmen) aim to create a platform from which to share our current obsessions, observations, accomplishments, and works in progress (some of which will include: MUSIC, crafts, and recipes). Here's why we care, and why you might too:

I have always been encouraged to make art. I was also raised to think of THE GREAT ARTISTS as untouchable demi-gods. As a result I have felt compelled to try to make things, but always with the knowledge that anything I do has already been done better. I could never take my writing seriously because it wasn't James Joyce and I was always ashamed of my paintings because I'm certainly no Botticelli. As for music, of course I could never make a song because how on earth could I ever presume to express myself more accurately than Spencer Krug expresses me?

I know I was afraid of failure, I was afraid of being mediocre and trite. I still am, I still tell myself in the same breath that every word I write, every line I draw, is a perfect miracle and a disgusting display of self-importance. I'm trying to find a middle ground. As my mother, my aunt, my uncle and I have grown up we have all learned to be kinder to each other and ourselves, to cut the world some fucking slack, to believe that what we are is good enough.

I believe that what YOU are is good enough, I believe in stories, yours and mine in particular. I believe that when we create something we are insisting that our story is important, that we were here and want to leave a trace, that we have too much in our heads and hearts and guts for speech and touch alone to communicate. I believe it is brave to love yourself enough to put a piece of it on paper, or in a cake, or a garment, or through a trumpet; to value your self enough to think whats inside is worth putting out. Humans have always tried to keep a record, to communicate, to understand each other and ourselves through the act of creating. I am excited to join this proud tradition, seeing as I am just another person, lost and alone, and found and surrounded, and deeply in love.