The Company Endorsement – Sept. ’09
by Adam Hirsch
Things to do, things to see, things to read in these last weeks of summer:
Blueberries — Seriously: take advantage of globalization. Fresh blueberries practically year round? They’re sweeter than sugar and are just plain healthy to boot. Try eating just one out of the carton. We dare you.
The New Season of Mad Men on AMC — The best writing, best directing, best art design, and best acting on television comes this time each year and immerses us in New York, 1963. Sunday nights at 10/9c should be staunchly reserved for this amazing, moving series. And this season, they’re getting to cash in on developing some of the most interesting characters for two previous seasons by saying so much with so very little. We are not kidding you: sit down and watch this show.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers — Okay, okay. We know Dave Eggers is the darling boy, the indie author leafed in gold — but this book is different. It’s not about Dave. It’s about what the horror of Hurricane Katrina looked like on the ground, a book written with details you could never imagine. If you’re an American citizen, you’re morally obliged to read it.
Caipirinhas — The national drink of Brazil. It’s made with cachaca, kind of like rum mixed with vodka, and it’s served at most bars now a days. Imagine the bastard child of a margarita and a mojito, only not served to bloated tourists at a theme bar. That’s the drink you want. For that matter…
Mixed Drinks, Outside — Ideally made at home and consumed on the porch — if you have a balcony, even better. Mixing drinks yourself — mixing them well, we should say — has now become a lost art. Bars and clubs now want $14 for a cocktail. Nine times out of ten, you’re getting ripped off. (Notable exceptions: Le Petite Bistro in Rhinecliff, NY; Drink in Boston, MA; Prohibition Room in Oklahoma City, OK … here, pay up. You won’t be disappointed.) Making them yourself takes craft, patience, and most importantly, charm. If you can tell a great story to someone, beginning it while starting to mix the drink and ending it while serving them the drink, and then imbibe it outdoors — badass does not even begin to describe you. Do it while summer’s still here.
The Company Endorsement – Aug. ’09
by Adam Hirsch
For the month of August, we’d like to help you pick out what might help the most.
Riceboy Sleeps by Jónsi & Alex. Yes, it sounds like Sigur Rós, but it’s because they’re actually part of Sigur Rós. The first track, “Happiness,” was on the very hip, very good compilation album Dark Was The Night, and is back here along with some other really great stuff. If you only listen to one track, “Indian Summer” is your best bet. Although there aren’t many vocals, when they do come up they’re hauntingly beautiful.
Cutting Your Own Hair. The first few snips are terrifying, and after that it starts to make you feel unusually cool. But, really, do you need to pay $45 for a haircut? Invest $15 in a pair of scissors, a comb and an electric trimmer and get the job done yourself.
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her on DVD. One of Jean-Luc Godard’s more obtuse films produced in his rather obtuse period in the late Sixties (though still completely enjoyable), it’s out for the first time (legitimately) on DVD from Criterion. It’s a double-edged sword though: New Yorker Films had the rights to it since the sixties, and they only recently went belly-up and were forced to sell the collection. Watch the film at night, with friends, with drinks. It’s a trip.
The Food Network. Unapologetic television that’s not based on any sort of Reality TV modus. Enormous amounts of really nifty information handed out 24 hours a day. Learn how to make badass fish tacos, great rice and a chocolate cake for dinner at 1:00 am. Also, everyone is so happy there you’ll end up hugging yourself.
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower. If you have to read one book this summer, let it be this one. A fascinating, engrossing group of short stories that are unlike any that have been written recently.