There is much to blog about beyond last night, BUT....for now.....
I am currently dog sitting at the house of an administrator at Macalester. She has an AMAZING spice cabinet.
Jamila is out of town and Bimbola and I have been experimenting with different meals (one night we made cream cheese wontons, another night nachos, etc). This evening we decided to make a casserole. Recipe: http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickencasseroles/r/r81116i.htm It was basically a glorified mac & cheese but it was classy and delicious and worth the work! I was so hungry when it was ready and I loved it!
Then, our friend Angelina came over. She's a vegan, and she helped us make this vegan sugar cookie base. Lisa, the owner of the house, has a bunch of great cookie recipe books but we used the spice rack as inspiration. My favorite cookie combos were: orange peel + chocolate chip, lemon peel + rosemary + sugar, garam masala + white pepper + lemon peel, candied ginger + orangle peel + chocolate chips. It was so fun! I had never experienced with spices in cookies before, but it was super delicious!
I will blog more soon!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Jews, Whiteness, Comedy in the United States
Greetings!
As some of you may know, I am embarking upon a one-year honors thesis for my major in American Studies (similar to race and ethnicity studies).
I will be focusing on Jewish American identity, particularly related to race and Whiteness, through the lens of comedy/comedians/comics. This will be an intersectional project, incorporating history, theater studies, Jewish studies, American studies and gender studies!
I am currently generating lists of different artists, performers or texts (in the broadest sense of the word) that might be helpful for this study.
I would LOVE any suggestions for:
-Movies written/directed by/starring Jewish people, either characters or actors
-Plays or Broadway musicals with the same criteria
-Jewish standup or sketch comics
If you can think of any that explicitly engage with identity, race or Whiteness, that's even better! But I'm sure they are all ripe with material.
Any time period, from recent to from the 19th century, is welcome! Suggestions for things like Marx Brother movies, Sarah Silverman, etc, are all appreciated!
Please send them to: elesnick@gmail.com
Thank you thank you!
As some of you may know, I am embarking upon a one-year honors thesis for my major in American Studies (similar to race and ethnicity studies).
I will be focusing on Jewish American identity, particularly related to race and Whiteness, through the lens of comedy/comedians/comics. This will be an intersectional project, incorporating history, theater studies, Jewish studies, American studies and gender studies!
I am currently generating lists of different artists, performers or texts (in the broadest sense of the word) that might be helpful for this study.
I would LOVE any suggestions for:
-Movies written/directed by/starring Jewish people, either characters or actors
-Plays or Broadway musicals with the same criteria
-Jewish standup or sketch comics
If you can think of any that explicitly engage with identity, race or Whiteness, that's even better! But I'm sure they are all ripe with material.
Any time period, from recent to from the 19th century, is welcome! Suggestions for things like Marx Brother movies, Sarah Silverman, etc, are all appreciated!
Please send them to: elesnick@gmail.com
Thank you thank you!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS QUEST VIDEO!
Hi Friends/Readers,
There is a trailer competition online and The Quest wants to win!
If you have a free moment, PLEASE watch this trailer for The Quest and vote for it! You can vote three times per email address
http://www.fringeyawards.com/view-trailer/?v_id=6
http://www.fringeyawards.com/view-trailer/?v_id=6
There is a trailer competition online and The Quest wants to win!
If you have a free moment, PLEASE watch this trailer for The Quest and vote for it! You can vote three times per email address
http://www.fringeyawards.com/view-trailer/?v_id=6
http://www.fringeyawards.com/view-trailer/?v_id=6
The Kids Are All Right
.jpg)
I wanted to be sure to review this film before it slipped from my fresh memory. This indie-film about a lesbian family whose children start communicating with their sperm donor is definitely worth seeing.
Number one, I think it is very important that this film, The Kids are All Right, is directed and co-written by a woman, Lisa Cholodenko. It establishes the gaze as not necessarily feminist, but it definitely the gaze upon women and lesbians.
The film looks at a nuclear family, Nic + Juls and their two children, Joni and Laser. While some might criticize the film for being too White, I think the film actually provides a critique of a White, suburban family and a commentary on homonormativity, the notion that gay people can also live normative or dominant lifestyles. Their daughter even comments that she got good grades just to affirm this perfect, lesbian family, to prove that lesbians can parent just as well as straight parents. Everything about this family seems normal, from prodding children to write thank-you cards to slamming doors to rapport between partners. And then comes Mark Ruffalo, their sperm donor. His presence disrupts the energy of the film, first in an exciting way, but then in more of a chaotic mess.
A really interesting moment was when Nic and Juls, wanting to have fun while being intimate, start watching a gay male pornographic film. It is a fascinating scenario that alludes to the complexities of queerness and of human sexuality in general. That moment is later tainted, for me at least, by the fact that Juls ends up sleeping with Paul, Mark Ruffalo's character, and is so happy by what she sees when she pulls down his pants that the audience burst into laughter and applause. This implies, perhaps, that Juls always wanted/needed sexual contact with a male, which disappoints me. Also, why did the audience applaud a moment of infidelity and unprofessionalism? AfterEllen's Sugarbutch discusses this: http://www.afterellen.com/movies/2010/sugarbutch-says-the-kids-are-all-right
But on the whole, I really enjoyed the movie. It had a fabulous hipster soundtrack, it was incredibly acted, and Juls' revelation that sometimes when you are in a relationship with someone for so long you fail to see them, but rather projections of yourself and your issues on them, really gave me goosebumps. I highly recommend the film.
The NYTimes wrote a glowing review of the film: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/movies/09kids.html?pagewanted=1
Monday, July 19, 2010
Week(end) in Review: 7/11-7/18
What a busy week, sandwiched by improv performances at Brave New Workshop! Both on 7/11 and 7/18, The Quest performed a 20-minute sample of our improvised myth. It went pretty well; I am constantly working on my rhyming so hopefully it will get better!
On Monday night, The Quest performed at Fringe-for-All at the History Theater, a sample night for audience members and Fringe fanatics. Each group had 3 minutes to give the audience a taste of their show, while the audience had pieces of paper with stars so they could rate each show they might like to see. We did well in such a short period of time (I made an awesome rhyme: water/slaughter), but I couldn't stop giggling about the method of keeping time. It was very efficient but also very Midwest passive-agressive. For 2:30, a green light was lit. With :30 left, the light turned yellow, and when the light turned red at 3:00, the audience applauded and you left the stage. Hilarious!
Thursday night was another preview, 5-7 minutes, at the Lyric, a luxury apartment/loft complex on University Ave. The audience was smaller, but excited about our form. It went well! Also, our green room was an apartment, which was pretty cool.
Friday was a busy and exciting day! Friday is my day off and start of the weekend, and Jamila and I drove to Hudson, WI, for a little hiking excursion at Willow Falls State Park. It was beautiful, pretty hot/humid, and we walked to a water fall. We also spotted tiny frogs and drank a lot of water. It was a good good time.
Upon returning, I went with my friend/colleague/supervisor Alina to see the new film, The Kids are All Right. We went to the Uptown theater, a cool, large one-plex kinda place. Old school. A review of the film is forthcoming. Afterwards, we returned to Saint Paul for ice cream at Izzy's. So delicious! I got Coffee Break (think Cookies & Cream + Coffee), Raspberry chocolate chip and midnight snack. Yum!! Alina was craving Everest on Grand, Nepali and Indian food, so she treated Jamila and I to a lovely dinner. It was exciting to eat dessert before dinner.
For a late night excursion, Jamila and I went with her friend Matt to see "OMG! Before We Got Our Lady Bits," an improvised women's night, that was hilariously similar to The Vagina Monologues. Women read from their middle school diaries and improvised, and it was hilarious! Seriously, some wonderful, strange, funny people. I took tickets at the door so I got a comp ticket. Friday was a fabulous, exhausting day.
Saturday I went with my friends Adrienne and Sam to a small festival in honor of Bastille day at some fancy shops/boutiques near campus. Each person got a card and could get stamps at each store. If you got all of the stamps, you enter a drawing for a $500 shopping spree. I hope I win! But regardless, it was nice to walk around, discover new businesses, and hang with friends. Also, some stores gave out champagne and croissants and macaroons! It was fabulous!
For dinner Jamila and I grabbed a quick, cheap bite at El Burrito Mercado, a Mexican restaurant/grocery store in West Saint Paul. It was delicious!
Yesterday was a busy day with rehearsals and a performance (thanks to friends Oleh and Maya for coming to support me!), but I managed to squeeze in some time to see Jamila's aunt Janet for dinner.
Unfortunately, when I came home, I found out we have some mice in our house. Anyone have any tips? I'm looking to borrow someone's cat....
Also, check this out: http://www.shoezooz.com/
On Monday night, The Quest performed at Fringe-for-All at the History Theater, a sample night for audience members and Fringe fanatics. Each group had 3 minutes to give the audience a taste of their show, while the audience had pieces of paper with stars so they could rate each show they might like to see. We did well in such a short period of time (I made an awesome rhyme: water/slaughter), but I couldn't stop giggling about the method of keeping time. It was very efficient but also very Midwest passive-agressive. For 2:30, a green light was lit. With :30 left, the light turned yellow, and when the light turned red at 3:00, the audience applauded and you left the stage. Hilarious!
Thursday night was another preview, 5-7 minutes, at the Lyric, a luxury apartment/loft complex on University Ave. The audience was smaller, but excited about our form. It went well! Also, our green room was an apartment, which was pretty cool.
Friday was a busy and exciting day! Friday is my day off and start of the weekend, and Jamila and I drove to Hudson, WI, for a little hiking excursion at Willow Falls State Park. It was beautiful, pretty hot/humid, and we walked to a water fall. We also spotted tiny frogs and drank a lot of water. It was a good good time.
Upon returning, I went with my friend/colleague/supervisor Alina to see the new film, The Kids are All Right. We went to the Uptown theater, a cool, large one-plex kinda place. Old school. A review of the film is forthcoming. Afterwards, we returned to Saint Paul for ice cream at Izzy's. So delicious! I got Coffee Break (think Cookies & Cream + Coffee), Raspberry chocolate chip and midnight snack. Yum!! Alina was craving Everest on Grand, Nepali and Indian food, so she treated Jamila and I to a lovely dinner. It was exciting to eat dessert before dinner.
For a late night excursion, Jamila and I went with her friend Matt to see "OMG! Before We Got Our Lady Bits," an improvised women's night, that was hilariously similar to The Vagina Monologues. Women read from their middle school diaries and improvised, and it was hilarious! Seriously, some wonderful, strange, funny people. I took tickets at the door so I got a comp ticket. Friday was a fabulous, exhausting day.
Saturday I went with my friends Adrienne and Sam to a small festival in honor of Bastille day at some fancy shops/boutiques near campus. Each person got a card and could get stamps at each store. If you got all of the stamps, you enter a drawing for a $500 shopping spree. I hope I win! But regardless, it was nice to walk around, discover new businesses, and hang with friends. Also, some stores gave out champagne and croissants and macaroons! It was fabulous!
For dinner Jamila and I grabbed a quick, cheap bite at El Burrito Mercado, a Mexican restaurant/grocery store in West Saint Paul. It was delicious!
Yesterday was a busy day with rehearsals and a performance (thanks to friends Oleh and Maya for coming to support me!), but I managed to squeeze in some time to see Jamila's aunt Janet for dinner.
Unfortunately, when I came home, I found out we have some mice in our house. Anyone have any tips? I'm looking to borrow someone's cat....
Also, check this out: http://www.shoezooz.com/
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
My Birthday!!
My 21st birthday has come and gone...now I am legal! The only other milestone ahead is 25 (so then I can rent a car).
Some highlights:
-Blowing out birthday candles with Andrew and Catherine, Jamila's little cousins
-Dancing at midnight of July 8 with friends
-Being the guest of honor at a surprise party- theme: Sex & the Cities (pictures courtesy of Min Enterprises)
-Receiving a nice bottle of wine from Jamila's aunt and uncle
-Eating homemade chocolate macaroons from my friend Adrienne
-Playing Pictionary competitively while drinking home brew with Damian, a member of The Quest Cast
-Bopping around Stillwater, MN, with my supervisor Karla and friend Bimbola as we tasted olive oils
-Eating my mother's chocolate chip zucchini bread, sent in the mail
-Receiving tons of well wishes via text and Facebook
It was an amazing birthweek!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Chicago! Day 3
Our last day in Chicago began with leftover Deep Dish for breakfast. Cold and day-old, that pizza was still delicious!
Jamila and I headed out to the Wicker Park farmer's market, a small and good-vibes kinda market. There seemed to be a wedding party/picnic going on and that was sweet. Afterwards, Joe drove us to the Navy Pier, which, although it's touristy, was BEAUTIFUL. I didn't realize that there was a small beach in Chicago and how beautiful the water was. Navy Pier is also right next to Oprah Winfrey's huge apartment building, but we did not sight her. At Navy Pier, we met up with Zena, a Macalester classmate and former Cultural House housemate. She lives in Little Italy and met up with us. It was so hot and sunny, and the four of us found a cool fountain, which made for refreshment and people-watching.
After that, we headed to Eric's house for a 4th of July BBQ/ fireworks viewing party. Eric set up a wonderful party, but forgot lighter fluid for the fire, so it took a while to heat the grill up. But it finally worked and we made a great fire. I was the GrillMaster, an absolute honor. I held tongs and a spatula and pride and I may still smell like barbecue. There were burgers, different sausages, portabella mushrooms and lamb. It was delicious, and I kept taking bites of everything. After standing in the heat in front of the grill and eating so much, I was tired! But I made it to the fireworks before going back to Joe's to sleep. I should say that all of Joe's friends were so nice and welcoming to us and invited us back. Even though they were about ten years older than me, we had good conversations without any condescension. Yay!
We woke up early for an early MegaBus ride back. We slept for a lot of it and watched Night at the Museum and Ocean's Eleven on the rides. I had never seen either of those films before and they definitely entertained me. On both legs of the trip, we had bathroom lunch stops at fast food restauarants. It wasn't like a big stop with lots of options, but rather a lone McDonald's off the highway. People had no choice but to get fast food, which was frustrating and interesting. Food deserts are a serious problem and while I don't normally eat fast food so I didn't feel too awful about getting it once in a while, I felt saddened that many people do not have or do not know about their options for healthy food and fresh produce.
Anyway, I had an amazing time in Chicago. I met amazing people, got a real feel of the city and the vibes, and would love to go back. Who knows- I could even see myself living there someday! But for now, it's just a fabulous place to visit with dear friends and family.
Jamila and I headed out to the Wicker Park farmer's market, a small and good-vibes kinda market. There seemed to be a wedding party/picnic going on and that was sweet. Afterwards, Joe drove us to the Navy Pier, which, although it's touristy, was BEAUTIFUL. I didn't realize that there was a small beach in Chicago and how beautiful the water was. Navy Pier is also right next to Oprah Winfrey's huge apartment building, but we did not sight her. At Navy Pier, we met up with Zena, a Macalester classmate and former Cultural House housemate. She lives in Little Italy and met up with us. It was so hot and sunny, and the four of us found a cool fountain, which made for refreshment and people-watching.
After that, we headed to Eric's house for a 4th of July BBQ/ fireworks viewing party. Eric set up a wonderful party, but forgot lighter fluid for the fire, so it took a while to heat the grill up. But it finally worked and we made a great fire. I was the GrillMaster, an absolute honor. I held tongs and a spatula and pride and I may still smell like barbecue. There were burgers, different sausages, portabella mushrooms and lamb. It was delicious, and I kept taking bites of everything. After standing in the heat in front of the grill and eating so much, I was tired! But I made it to the fireworks before going back to Joe's to sleep. I should say that all of Joe's friends were so nice and welcoming to us and invited us back. Even though they were about ten years older than me, we had good conversations without any condescension. Yay!
We woke up early for an early MegaBus ride back. We slept for a lot of it and watched Night at the Museum and Ocean's Eleven on the rides. I had never seen either of those films before and they definitely entertained me. On both legs of the trip, we had bathroom lunch stops at fast food restauarants. It wasn't like a big stop with lots of options, but rather a lone McDonald's off the highway. People had no choice but to get fast food, which was frustrating and interesting. Food deserts are a serious problem and while I don't normally eat fast food so I didn't feel too awful about getting it once in a while, I felt saddened that many people do not have or do not know about their options for healthy food and fresh produce.
Anyway, I had an amazing time in Chicago. I met amazing people, got a real feel of the city and the vibes, and would love to go back. Who knows- I could even see myself living there someday! But for now, it's just a fabulous place to visit with dear friends and family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)