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The quotation below is from today's New York Times, "In Europe, the Arts Ask for Alms," brings up an important point on public arts funding. While I more than clamor and dream about this kind of support in the U.S., journalist Michael Kimmelman poignantly addresses what can happen when it's taken for granted -- and I think Germany's Fest system is a great example.

It is a glorious gift, and I am grateful to a public financing system that in this particular case is not yet in thrall to, or is proudly resisting, the marketing strategies that have turned the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London into the equivalents of Wal-Marts on Black Friday. Bureaucratic benign neglect likewise sustains dozens of German opera companies, whose proliferation is a point of national pride. At the same time, by freeing these companies from market forces, it allows them to answer to pretty much no one except themselves. The abundance of mediocre opera productions in Germany is a consequence.

(emphasis is mine)

I wouldn't put this last sentence as a grand generalization, but it's been known to happen in more than a few hamlets. One could also say the same about regional productions in the U.S. -- though private funding and the "free market" sustain these.

Thoughts?

2009 in Review

2009 brought with it some high highs and tearful lows, but, all in all, it was interesting. I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I've enjoyed making it. Happy New Year!

Places I've slept:
Northeast: Kingston, RI; Lenox, MA; Jamaica Plain, MA

Midwest: Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Grand Forks, ND

California: Oakland, Santa Barbara, Poway

Best purchase: new bike

Best gift: Black & Decker Grill and Waffle Maker

Best book: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Best album: Lady Gaga's "The Fame"

Best object: massage squeeze-ball

Best meal: roast chicken, collard greens, smoked ham and biscuits, corn bread with sorghum butter, creamed corn, crab cakes at Hungry Mother

Best social space: impromptu dinner/brunch parties with friends

Best personal space: the top of the hill on Chestnut Street in JP, while walking back from Blissful Monkey

Best shoe: Sorel Caribou snow boots

Best project: my voice studio

Best event: my sister's wedding!

Lessons from Grandpa

Flying West

by Capt. Michael J. Larkin

I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die-
A place where a guy can go and buy a cold beer
For a friend and comrade, whose memory is dear;
A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread,
Nor management type would ere be caught dead;
Just a quaint little place, kinda dark and full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke;
The kind of place where a lady could go
And feel safe and protected, by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their paining is finished, and their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And the songs about flying and dying are sung,
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd flown west before.
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door;
Who would buy you a drink if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"

And then through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen for years, though he taught you how to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear,
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here.
"For this is the place where true flyers come,
"When the journey is over, and the war has been won
"They've come here to at last to be safe and alone
From the government clerk and the management clone,
"Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise
Where the hours are happy, and these good ol'boys
"Can relax with a cool one, and a well-deserved rest;
"This is Heaven, my son -- you've passed your last test!"

We love you and miss you, Grandpa.

xo,
Angelina

All-American

I recently taught the folksong "Simple Gifts" to my singing class. Inspired by how quickly they learned the music, I asked the students to reflect discussion-style about the meaning of the lyrics and asked if they could name a few 'simple' things for which they were thankful. (Given that Thanksgiving is coming up and all.)

Their answers?
"Our freedom."
"Oooh, I know. Fossil fuels!"
"Having enough food to eat because, you know, the USA throws away more food in a day than all of Africa eats in a year."

. . .

What happened to kids saying stuff like "my dog" or "pizza?" Have the youth of today lost their innocence? I tried to at least gear them toward these ideas, but to no avail. Soon after, they began to ask what Shakers were and what made them different. ("Why don't they have children?")

Like the teacher in A Separate Peace I wanted to shout, "digression!"


In these tough times, where even our nation's children are worried about the wars and climate change, what calms the nerves more than a delicious and all-American apple pie?

Exactly.

This weekend I rolled up my sleeves with Heidi and Ben to make a New England Classic: cranberry-apple pie. The cranberries came from our organic produce delivery and, thankfully, they included a recipe booklet. Behold and enjoy.

Favorite Cranberry-Apple Pie

1.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour (we used whole wheat, but all-purpose or white/whole wheat works, too)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 cup orange juice
1 8 oz. package of whole cranberries
1 cup (or more, depending on size of pie dish) sliced and peeled apples

In a saucepan combine sugar, flour and spices; gradually stir in orange juice until smooth. Stir in cranberries and apples. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Pour into prepared 9" pie crust*. Cut top crust into lattice strips or just top and seal the edges. Bake at 400 F for 35-40 min.

*Super-Easy pie crust

1 stick FROZEN butter
1 cup flour
3 Tbsp water
dash sugar or vanilla
2 Tbsp milk or 1 beaten egg

Put flour in mixing bowl, "cut" frozen butter into flour with a cheese grater. Mix with hands until butter's combined. Add sugar, water, vanilla. Combine (but don't knead) further. Roll out. For top crust do the same recipe, but cut amounts in half. When filling's in, brush the top crust with milk or egg so it browns well in the oven.

____________

(You can disregard the French wine included in the picture. Sacre Bleu!)

Iz my day off

Right not I am huddled over the laptop with a cup of tea and crumbs from my toast, and am glancing at the gray day outside my window. Thankfully I do have the day off.

The picture above? That's my family. I love them. I'm on the right in the photo -- the yawning girl. It fit my mood this morning.

This past weekend was full of all sorts of funsies: date night to Hungry Mother, Neighbors for Neighbors citywide kick-off event, Boston Book Festival, last-minute church singing on Sunday followed by a sunny walk through the Common, the JP Lantern Parade and a pumpkin-carving party.

I'll post photos soon. Or you can just view them here.

In the meantime, I have lovely plans for today: yoga, cleaning around the house, reading more of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and making granola!

I'm pretty excited about this recipe, as it came from an email exchange last fall that I recently remembered I had. I plan to cross-reference it with Mark Bittman's, too, in order to keep the sugar a little lower.
___________________
Granola

Ingredients:
7 cups old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
1½ cups light brown sugar
1½ cups raw sunflower seeds (roasted pumpkin seeds good too - no shells)
1½ cups shredded coconut
½ cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups dried fruit (bananas, peaches, cherries, blueberries, mango, papaya - pick your fav combo) or nuts (not for small children)
1/2 cup additional shredded coconut

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 °. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Heat oil, honey, syrup and vanilla in microwave on high for about 2 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir well and pour over dry ingredients. Stir vigorously until granola is well coated. Pour mixture on cookie sheets with high sides (we use jelly roll pans). Mixture can be piled high on the pans. Cook for about 15 minutes until granola is browned,stirring after each 5 minute period.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly. When still warm (but not hot) mix in dried fruit & additional shredded coconut.

For crunchier granola, cook 5-10 minutes longer.

Good combos:
-Apple Pie: Dried apples and raisins, and add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon (or apple pie spice) to baking trays.
-Banana Nut Crunch: Dried bananas, crumbled walnuts, & peanut butter chips.
-Tropical: Cystallized pineapple, dried mango & papaya, additional coconut.
-Sweet Tooth: Cherries, cranberries, & carob or chocolate chips.

Healthy Additions:
-wheat germ
- tiny bit of flax seed oil (too much alters taste) at end
________

Enjoy!

A Good Foundation

A recent entry in the New York Times blog Room for Debate featured commentary from various authors and scholars on why women gravitate toward wearing high heels. Naturally, its title was "Why We Love the Shoes that Hurt Us, " and it prompted me to reflect on my own experiences with heels.

My immediate reactions were of both shock/dismay and intrigue. The shock came from seeing images from Paris Fashion Week, which featured footwear towering to 10 inches. Isn't that just a tad ridiculous?

My intrigue came from the notion that high heels are cute and sexy: If I'm having boring day with an evening out ahead, the first thing I'll contemplate to change my mood is usually changing my flats or sneakers for something with a little more lift.

But that doesn't make them comfortable.

For me, high heels have gone from something I would wear more often than not to shoes that only come out on special occasions. I'm not sure if this comes from my move to Boston (and just plain learning that heels and cobblestones don't get along) or growing older and opting for comfort over height. I still have a few pairs of heels, but they spend more time in the closet these days.

Aside from heels (clocking in at 3.5 inches, thank you) for my sister's wedding, my shoes in regular rotation haven't been high at all. Flip flops, flats, sneakers, clogs, boots have taken over my repertoire instead, and my "dressy" shoes feature a 1 inch kitten heel. I'm seemingly "over" heels instead of head-over-heels for them. Well, almost.

In August, while primping for a party, I reached for my patent leather d'Orsays with the bow at the toe. They matched my dress perfectly and provided a welcome retreat from an otherwise humid and boring Tuesday. I shoved them on and my feet ached even as I looked in the mirror. Deep down, I knew that -- even if I loved the outfit -- there would be no feasible way I could even make it out of my house in those shoes, let alone to the subway and to the cobblestone streets of Cambridge. Reluctantly, I put them away for a more sensible pair of Mary Janes and made my way to the party. And I still threw my shoes off at the end of the night.

My Sister has a Mister

This past weekend we celebrated my sister's marriage to a great guy.

Congratulations, you two!!

(photo by Katie H.)