Under a Red Roof

The Campaign Begins

October 11, 2010 in Admiring, Cooking + Baking, Exploring, Watching by Colleen | 8 comments

Good Morning Gentle Readers! Good Morning Jimmy Fallon (I hope)!

This post started out as something completely different. A dear friend of mine lost her father recently (big hug to you, sweetheart) and wrote how she would love to hear about more normal activities, as she is knee deep in all of the tasks inherent with the loss of a loved one: cleaning house, dealing with banks, bills, a will, etc. When I first read the message, I could comply. I was up to my usual.

Then, yadda, yadda, yadda, I quit my job and our car got stolen (though, thankfully, not on the same day). Not fun or normal. Yet, in the midst of it all, I found myself smiling and laughing, in part because of Jimmy Fallon. In case you don’t know who I’m talking about, I mentioned his awesome work hosting the Emmy Awards a while back. Then I saw him, along with Justin Timberlake and the best house band in late night television, The Roots, do an equally awesome history of rap on his show. I watched it on a loop for about half an hour, and then dashed off to the computer whenever I needed a pick-me-up. It made my heart fill with glee, people! I was dazzled and singing at the top of my voice (that is, where I could keep up).

Then I got to thinking about how that seems to happen every time I watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It’s just a terrific show. I love his style (check out the suit and shoes in the video with Justin – tip top!), his sense of humor and easy laughter, the way his smile lights up his face, his sincere interest in his guests, and most of all, I think, the sheer fun factor of the show. He’s fearless and up for anything. Let’s rap! Let’s play football poker! Let’s get bothered in a tree! LATE!

It made me want to be there, as a guest, sharing a laugh and a smile. But I’m not famous. I’ve written a novel that has yet to have representation and write a little blog all the way across the country. What to do? It being election season and all, I decided to launch my own campaign to be a guest on the show. This week begins with my credentials in the everyday, and the two following Mondays will be, let’s say, more nuanced.

I guess I’ve really taken the Mark Twain quotation from my last post to heart. I may succeed, or I may crash and burn, but hot damn, I’m out of the harbor! As well, I know the video isn’t the best quality (sorry Brian Williams), and our cat Milo speaks before I do, but I had a grand time making it – a blast of silliness and sheer Colleen style goofiness. It took the sting out of a craptastic week and put a smile on my face (and that of my hubster/camera man). Jimmy, I hope you like it, too!

Happy Birthday to my brother Aaron!

Tags: Jimmy Fallon

Emmy Fare

August 30, 2010 in Cooking + Baking, Watching by Colleen | 3 comments

Good Morning!

Jimmy Fallon, cutie patootie of my television set, you did a terrific job as host of the Emmy Awards last night (I like your show, too). I’d go so far as to say that Billy Crystal probably thought you looked mahvelous, and that’s saying a lot. What a hoot that was, especially seeing Jimmy’s imitations – he’s good! Not to mention the belly tickling humor, all the touching speeches, and the great opening number. Jon Hamm, let’s be square dance partners some time. You can toss me up in the air. Yes? Okay!

Of course, the handsomeness of the tuxedos and the gorgeous gowns made me swoon. And they were mostly good too, pretty and sparkly and fine. Save a few, of course. I don’t think ladies should look like they are draped in blue plastic or are in the process of imitating a Victorian lamp, no, no, no. But who am I to judge, really? If you feel pretty and your boat is afloat, I should keep my lip buttoned. It’s not like I’ve ever had to choose a dress for the world to see.

As I am well aware that I become rather like a child once an award show comes on (as in, do not talk or distract me in any way unless there is a commercial), I thought ahead and made a simple supper that could easily be eaten directly in front of the television – Cauliflower cheese soup and our go-to green snack, crispy kale (recipe here). This soup is good, my friends, and for it’s mind boggling simplicity, it’s truly hard to beat. How about that crazy cauliflower color, too? Orange like cheetos, but totally natural, certified organic even. Mmm hmm. Here’s the recipe –

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 head cauliflower florets

1 quart vegetable stock

4 ounces cheese, grated fine – I used colby jack, but cheddar or gruyere would work nicely, too

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

dash cayenne pepper

salt, to taste

Place the florets in a soup pot (mine is 3 1/2 quarts) and add the stock. Unless your florets come from a very small head of cabbage, the stock won’t cover them all, so don’t fret. Turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, until very soft. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth – or you could leave some of the floret pieces whole if you like it chunky. Taste and add salt as necessary. Add the cheese, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir until cheese is melted and well incorporated, about one minute. Serve. We had ours with the kale, rye crisp and a little butter, but crusty bread would be nice, too.

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Recipes

More Movies

August 20, 2010 in Watching by Colleen | Permalink

We’ve been rather fortunate to have seen a fine series of movies Under a Red Roof lately. I love that. There are few disappointments as severe as a film gone wrong. No possibility of that today, however, no siree.

First off is Clean. Maggie Cheung (who won a best actress award at Cannes for her portrayal) plays Emily Wang, bitchy, arrogant, spoiled heroin addict and girlfriend of fading musician Lee Hauser. They have a child, Jay, who is being raised by his grandparents while they waste their lives driving around in an ugly sedan, playing music when they can, arguing, and, of course, scoring heroin.

Emily’s life is upturned when she and Lee get into yet another argument and she flees the scene to shoot up. When she returns the following morning, the police surround the shabby hotel. Lee is dead. Emily serves time for being the source of the drugs that killed him and exits entirely directionless, save the hope that she will one day get it together so she can reunite with her son. It is an honest and oftentimes painful look at the slow progress of an addict trying to change, with great music and locations – from the stark beauty of an oil refinery in Canada, to the streets of London and Paris. As well, and in a pretty surprising role (at least to us), Nick Nolte plays the grandfather – tender, caring, and even keeled. Well played, one and all.

Quite on the other side of the spectrum is Lost in Austen, a hysterically funny adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The story follows Amanda Price, a somewhat hopeless and thoroughly modern romantic who tires of her boorish boyfriend’s ways, preferring to spend her time cozied up with the pages of her favorite novel. All goes Pete Tong when she finds Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of said novel, coming out of a secret passage in her bathroom. What ensues is a delightful voyage into the countryside as Amanda tries and fails mightily to keep the novel on course while also coping with the technology (rather lack of) in 19th century England.

It has a stellar cast, some marvelous twists, and, of course, the witty repartee one expects in such an undertaking. Here too, is a sampling of the lines that kept me in stitches:

Oh, you have standards, pet. I hope they help you on with your coat when you’re seventy.

There really are ladies who steer the punt from the Cambridge end?

The drawing up of phlegm through the nose is not the action of a lady!

Brava, Miss Price! And whenever life is gettin’ me down, I shall be sure to go ‘downtown’. Eh, Darcy?

What is neon?

Okay, I’ve cleaned my teeth with chalk and shaved my legs with some sort of potato peeler.

Tags: Movies

Norse

August 13, 2010 in Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

I’ve got two terrific titles for you today, and a little alliteration, which is always fun. Both are Norwegian and awfully good.

Buddy follows Kristoffer, a young and carefree billboard hanger who chronicles his everyday life via film. Nothing is kept from the camera – laughter, the heartache of a recent breakup, and crazy behavior receive equal time. When he and his friend/roommate Geir decide to jump from a third story window into a dumpster at a local news station, the pair are nearly caught, and Kristoffer loses some video tape in the process. The station actually likes what they see, forgive his and Geir’s trespassing, and offer them a weekly spot on a popular show. They and their third roommate Stig (who hasn’t left their apartment complex for two years) become local celebrities. The future looks bright for rising star Kristoffer, but problems ensue when his increasing popularity causes his friends and his relationships with them to suffer. It’s a great story about true friendship – what it really means to be a Buddy.

Hawaii, Oslo follows the paths of several strangers on the hottest day of the year. Frode and Milla are overcome with grief that their newborn baby might die. Two young boys search for their mother after the loss of their dad. Institutionalized Leon has a date made ten years earlier to meet his childhood sweetheart Asa. Leon’s brother, Trygve has a weekend leave from prison to visit him on his birthday. At the center, touching all of their lives, is Vidar, a nurse who can see the future in his sleep, or can he? It’s a great story about the power of dreams and finding what is most meaningful in life.

Tags: Movies

Visioneers

July 9, 2010 in Being, Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | Permalink

I read somewhere recently that the purpose of school is to make people learn to conform. I have to admit that a tight knot formed in my belly upon reading it. Fighting words. School is so much more. Then I thought a bit more about it and found myself conforming to whomever’s idea it was. Sit here, be nice, 2+2=4, oh, and you better agree with me. I’ve spent a lot of my life agreeing with people. Sometimes even when I really don’t. It is easier and kinder and usually feels right. What about those times when it doesn’t? When I quit the charade and speak my mind? It surprises people and I don’t get invited back to that cool clique on the playground. Someone I used to know called it my hard nugget. “See, you’re petite, and have such a sweet smile, and then POW! out comes the hard nugget.”

I would rather be alone than not be me. It’s that simple. Which is a rather roundabout way of getting to Visioneers, the topic of today’s spotlight. It is a weird and wacky black comedy about the power of corporate America to infiltrate our lives (and the government), and one man’s struggle to discover his authentic self, no matter the cost.

When the number of people exploding from some mystery ailment drastically increases, Visioneer George Washington Winsterhammerman (played by Zach Galifianakis of The Hangover fame) begins to worry. He’s got the classic symptoms – insomnia, loss of interest in sex, binge eating and, most frightening of all – he still dreams.

I really liked this movie. First off, in the aforementioned wacky way, it totally made me laugh. People at the company where George works flip each other off and say, “Jeffers Morning” to greet each other. The insignia for the company is this same gesture (see it there in the poster?). They are terrified by chaos, but they call it “chay-os.” They are an uber efficient and detached group of conformists, with an extreme terror of exploding. Especially George.

Yet there is a certain pleasure in his work, a connection with his level four boss, Charisma. She calls and is friendly, human even. She attaches sticky notes with smiley faces to his work. But, when she gets fired and disappears, George starts to unravel and descend into chay-os. His already troubled marriage takes a turn; his weird, drop-out brother starts to make sense, and his dreams intensify. Is he going to explode? It was terribly worthwhile to find out.

Tags: Movies