January 29, 2008

day time t.v. at its finest.

four out of six spinto band members burst into laughter when this came on the television.




come on television, quit goofing around with this stuff and get back to cristina's court.

January 4, 2008

The Spinto Band's Best Things of 2007 - "Jon's Jawns"

ALBUM
St Vincent's Marry Me - this came from a recommendation by a friend named Jon who won a Roxanne DVD in a game of Bingo. Like Jon, it's a winner.

SONG

Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" - She has dibs on all the best pop songs. I danced to this song with a girl and then we made wild passionate love in a meadow. Then we drank homemade apple and carrot juice.

FILM
Not so sure I understand it, but No Country for Old Men is so beautifully badass it was stunning.

BOOK
George Saunders's In Persuasion Nation - A collection of short stories that turns bitter social criticism into delicious pie.

DISCOVERY
Cape York- where people are either barefoot or wearing flip flops, but rarely anything else.

INVENTION
Flip-flops with bottle openers in the bottom of them. Clever sort of thing that makes you say, "why didn't I think of that."

YOUTUBE VIDEO
This video has already been showcased on our blog, but here is a link for it again, as the comments are always pretty hilarious


RECIPE
Saraca's magic mango salsa:

Dressing:
1 cup lime juice
½ cup olive oil
chopped chilli
salt and pepper (herb salt is good)

In serving dish …4 diced mangoes …1-2 peeled and seeded diced cucumber ……2 – 3 chopped red onion……..lots of chopped cilantro. Mix then pour dressing over……refrigerate.

BEVERAGE
Apple Carrot Juice- delicious post-hanky-panky drink

PURCHASE
My membership fee to the PADA.org website and frisbee folk. Met some fun people, made some great friends, and learned some new ways to throw a frisbee.

January 3, 2008

The Spinto Band's Best Things of 2007 - "Tom's Da-Bombs"

NINE ALBUMS THAT I WAS THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED BY
Avenue – Asleep in the Sea
Exploding, Impacting – Belaire
Heroes and Sheroes – The Eames Era
Loney, Noir – Loney Dear
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? – Of Montreal
Honeysuckle Boulevard - People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
Marry Me – St. Vincent
You’re My Lover Now – The Teeth

FIVE SINGLES THAT CAUGHT MY EARS (AND RELEASED MY INHIBITIONS)
“A-Punk” – Vampire Weekend
“Back in your Head” – Tegan & Sara
“D.A.N.C.E” – Justice
“Lip Gloss” – Lil Mama
“No One” – Alicia Keys

FIVE OLDER SONGS THAT ALSO DID THE TRICK
“The Jumpoff” – Plastic Little
“Tempting” – Jenny Toomey
“Uma Rosa Com Amor” – Kris E Cristina
“We Need Lava” – The Swims
“You Were On My Mind” – We Five

ONE REISSUE THAT I’M LIKE, “IT’S ABOUT TIME!” ON
Back to the Story - The Idle Race

THREE AMAZING BOOKS THAT, EVEN THOUGH TWO OF THEM ARE COMICS AND ONE OF THEM IS ABOUT CELINE DION, DOESN’T MAKE THEM NOT BOOKS.
Misery Loves Comedy – Ivan Brunetti
Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste – Carl Wilson
The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories – Nicholas Gurewitch

TWO DVD COLLECTIONS THAT, WHEN RELEASED, BROUGHT MY BUCKET LIST A LITTLE CLOSER TO COMPLETION
Twin Peaks – The Complete Series (and Pilot!)
That’s My Bush! - The Definitive Collection

EIGHT GREAT FILMS THAT (SURPRISINGLY) HAVE TWO AFFLECKS INVOLVED IN ONE OF THEM
The Darjeeling Limted
Gone Baby Gone
Helvetica
Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
The Ten
Year of the Dog

DISCOVERY
Ghost-Ridin’ The Whip

INVENTION
Ghost-Ridin’ The Whip

YOUTUBE VIDEO


RECIPE
Pumpkin Cheese Cake

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
2 cups mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
2 eggs
whipped cream (or other topping)

Gingersnap Crust
1¼ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Blend in pumpkin, spices, and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Set mixture aside.

Gingersnap Crust: Mix gingersnap crumbs, sugar, and butter and pat gently into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 minutes. Loosen rim and cool completely. Chill and garnish with topping. Dust lightly with nutmeg, or if you’re feeling kind of crazy, some additional gingersnap crumbs.

BEVERAGE
Jamaica’s Finest Extra Spicy Ginger Beer

January 2, 2008

The Spinto Band's Best Things of 2007 - "Sam's Jams"

ALBUM
Michael Ian Black - I'm a Wonderful Man. A perfect title for this man's very funny standup show which was recorded and put on a CD/iTunes. I like it when he makes fun of his kids.

SONG
"Laura Palmer's Theme" - Twin Peaks. Like Nick's pick, this is clearly an older song, but I just started watching Twin Peaks this year. Just listening to this alone in a dark room would give me an eerie feeling and sometimes good nightmares.

FILM
I just saw Juno a few days ago and I laughed a lot. The lead actress Ellen Page used the word "weinuses" and my dad was proud and said, "I knew I was ahead of my time." My dad says "weinus" a lot.

BOOK
Time Will Darken It
- William Maxwell. Another older one, but I read it for class and I was entertained.

DISCOVERY

I found out that baseball players did steroids this year. I cried.

INVENTION
I can't decide between all the great ones I have seen on infomercials lately. Probably the adjustable things you put under door to stop drafts though. Totally cool.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Also...


RECIPE
This is a drink recipe I call "The Christmas Russian". Basically the same as a White Russian, but use Egg Nog instead of cream, so...

One part Vodka
One part Coffee Liquor (Kahlua or something)
Eggnog

BEVERAGES
Jones Soda Football Pack featuring perspiration, dirt, field turf, sports cream, and sweet victory flavors.

January 1, 2008

The Spinto Band's Best Things of 2007 - "Nick's Picks"

ALBUM
"you're my lover now" by the teeth. these guys are some disgustingly talented fellas.

SONG
well this wasn't a song released this year, but "pueblo nuevo" by the buena vista social club was in my head at least once a week, if not once a day, so i think it deserves some fanfare on this year end list.

FILM
i don't watch too many movies in the theater, but "the darjeeling limited" was good. although "there will be blood" looks amazing and i have a feeling it might bump this one off the list if i get to the theaters again before the new year.

BOOK
"the trial of colonel sweeto and other stories" by nicholas gurewitch. speaking of disgustingly talented....

DISCOVERY
espresso coffee. i never had espresso before this year...interestingly enough it doesn't wig me out as much as regular coffee.

INVENTION
certainly not a new invention, but this year i have really explored the power strip. especially the old computer power strips with a switch for each outlet. i found them a handy way to manage the electricity in my house...after all, those silly lights on radios or televisions still eat up electricity. with power strip switches i can turn off an appliance completely if i'm not using it.

YOUTUBE VIDEO
one of the greats...finally on you tube


and a close second:


RECIPE
sweet potato and carrot puree

4 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds) of moist variety
1 pound carrots
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1½ sticks of butter (this is a ton of butter, it was haled to 3/4 stick...and it was great)
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup creme fraiche (1 cup heavy cream-not ultra-pasturized, 1 cup dairy sour cream)
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

scrub potatoes, cut a small deep slit in the top of each set on center rach of a preheated 375 degree fahrenheit oven. bake for about an hour or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.

peel and trim carrots and cut em into 1 inch lengths. put em in a saucepan and add water, suger, 2 table spoons of butter and salt/pepper to taste. set over medium heat, bring to a boil and cook uncovered until water has evaporated and carrots begin to sizzle in the butter (about 30 miin) the carrots should be tender, if nto add a little water and cook until carrots are tender and liquid has evaporated

scrape out the flesh of sweet potatoes and combine with carrots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blades. add remaining butter and creme fraiche and process until very smooth. add nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper add cayenne pepper if you want. place in oven baking dish in a preheated 350 degree fahrenheit oven for about 25 minutes.

BEVERAGE

espresso coffee.

PURCHASE
an iphone, it makes my life amazing! just kidding. i started a bottle collection this year, with an emphasis on ginger beer. i bought an old ceramic ginger beer bottle at a boot sale and that was pretty exciting for me.