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Love: My lovely and amazing father, Terence Evans, aka T, who passed away quite suddenly a year ago this Friday.  I've got a pretty big hole in my life and my heart now, and am only just beginning to comprehend the finality of the loss.  The best way to fill the void is to remember, so I love it when my friends who knew him bring T up, and the old stories and memories are trotted out. 

Like: The orange movie theater marquee letter I bought on etsy and keep in our kitchen as a reminder of the great man.

Discovery: My Sopranos- and Green Bay Packers-loving guy's-guy of a dad had a softer side.  One compelling piece of evidence: his deep love of David Lean's epic romance-cum-historical drama Dr. Zhivago. (T might have appreciated The Selby's recent train trip from Paris to Shanghai on behalf of Louis Vuitton, which involved many days in Russia, a more glamourous version of the horrible train ride Zhivago and his family take as they flee Moscow for a cottage in the Urals.)
The Selby Part 1    The Selby Part 2

Obsession: T was a Democrat through and through, but he couldn't help but find constant amusement in Howard Dean's self-destructive 2004 Iowa Caucus election night speech.  Dad bought a novelty "Scream the Dream" bottle opener which plays the meltdown speech every. single. time. you. open. a. bottle. The opener, still going strong, is my fondest inheritance and makes me smile whenever I use it.

Complaint:  With T gone, and my mom moved to Seattle, where my sister lives, I miss Milwaukee. It's strange to no longer have a place or family to return to in the city you grew up in and visited regularly, for decades. 

When will I ever see its (modest) skyline and lovely lakefront?      

When will I walk through Lake Park then down to the lakefront, looking at all the big houses on Terrace, Wahl and Lake Drive along the way?

When will I catch a movie at The Oriental Theater? Bowl and drink next door at Landmark with Admiral Ackbar (David) and Big Sal (Erich)?

Count mullets and mesh shirts in the crowd at Summerfest?

Eat greasy but delicious Mexican at Conejitos or a burger and frozen custard at Kopps?

Go to that antiques store I liked in the Third Ward? 

Spend an afternoon at my beloved Milwaukee Public Museum amidst the dioramas?  

Milwaukee, I sure hope I don't lose you too.

List 83

Love: Good salt. It just might be in my genes. My parents had a small cabinet in the kitchen of their old house that literally contained only salts. My mother had taped a note to the inside of the cupboard door that read "Try to cut back on salt." I always laughed whenever I was home and saw the note, as "don't have a salt cabinet" seemed an overlooked, easy step toward achieving that goal. But I digress. My new favorite is Jacobsen Salt from Oregon. It's - slight eyeroll - hand-harvested sea salt. But it's lovely sprinkled on just about anything - from a grilled New York strip steak to a scoop of vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce - as a finishing touch.

Like: The Hour, a 6-part BBC mini-series from last year which I made my way through last week, and which returns later this month for a second season. At its heart is a triangle that includes a very un-McNultyish Dominic West, Ben Whishaw (quite possibly the skinniest man in Britain), and the smart and beautiful Romola Garai. Set in the Cold War London of 1956, I found myself agreeing with The New Yorkers' assessment: "With its casting, its look, its unfolding mystery, its attention to important historical events, its sexiness, 'The Hour' hits every pleasure center."

Discovery: Persian cucumbers - the small, sweet variety which is becoming easier to find in more stores. My friend Josh turned me onto them, and to David Chang's quick pickling method, found in the Momofuku cookbook. Slice a bunch of Persian cucumbers, toss with 1 T sugar and 1 t kosher salt, let stand for five minutes, and you've got perfectly seasoned crudites.  

Obsession: Stella McCartney's uniforms for the British Olympic Team.  I love how she used graphic elements from the Union Jack in a modern way, making the Brits the best-outfitted athletes in the games.

Complaint: I'm piling on: but when did Apple stop thinking differently? 

List 82

Love: The highly original Beasts of the Southern Wild, made by New Orleans film collective Court 13. It lets you into a world and subculture - the fiercely independent and self sufficient "Bathtub" in the flood zone below the levees -  that manages to feel both very real and very fantastical. The story plays out as American folklore, with elements of magical realism, global warming cautionary visions, and Terence Malickisms. When it's all over, 6-year-old Hushpuppy - her face, her spirit - is near impossible to forget.  

Like: Any kind of grilled meat in lettuce cups, like this recipe for Vietnamese pork in lettuce cups.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-pork-tenderloin-50400000122081/



Discovery: This Pulp Fiction chronology poster via Kickstarter - they needed a certain number of people to fund the start-up printing costs, and I happily chipped in.

Obsession: I have always bought into the Olympics, alternately tearing up, getting goosebumps or yelling at the television. My early memories are of Nadia Comanici (I tried to vault over our living room ottoman in imitation of her Perfect 10 routines and was rewarded with the worst rug burn of all time when I wiped out.) I'm looking forward to the Friday night Opening Ceremonies and the coming two weeks, and will be passing the torch to Stella.

Complaint: Truck furniture of Japan has several couches and chairs I would love to import for our living room makeover - but their site - even the English version - is largely in Japanese and it does not appear possible to order anything.

List 81

Love:  The Cindy Sherman exhibit that just opened at SFMOMA. She has created such an amazing and wide-ranging body of work,spanning three decades. Rarely have I gone through an exhibit and fantasized about stealing so many pieces.

Like: My new everyday breakfast: 1 packed cup of kale,  1 packed cup of spinach, 1 cup of light vanilla soy milk, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 a granny smith apple and  tsp honey.  The fruit masks the greens, but it's not overly sweet.  It keeps you full until lunch. And by 8 am you've already knocked off 4 servings of fruit and vegetables.

Discovery: What I've been missing in my recent detour into dystopian YA novels: good writing, well-developed characters, thoughtful story telling.  This lesson was driven home by my welcome return to critically-acclaimed adult fiction via The Art of Fielding, which reads like an instantly classic American novel.

Obsession: Buns, for some reason.

Complaint: Newsroom haters.  It may be more like a top-flight Big Three Network show than an HBO (or AMC) series - especially this past week's episode, what with all the hanky panky - but Aaron Sorkin does that thing he does, and it's working for me.