Just Tell Me That You Want Me

I have to say, I am excited for this! In case we are just now meeting, I love -- LOVE -- Fleetwood Mac. Every time I listen to them, I think, Why do other bands even try? Luckily for me, another thing I love is indie music, whatever that means. So here is the meeting of both of those worlds. Not surprisingly, many indie rock bands have drawn inspiration from the flawless Mac (especially Best Coast), so this makes sense. Just Tell Me That You Want Me: Tribute To Fleetwood Mac comes out August 14th. The tracklisting and "Think About Me" by the New Pornographers below:

01 Lee Ranaldo Band Featuring J Mascis – “Albatross”
02 Antony – “Landslide”
03 Trixie Whitley – “Before The Beginning”
04 Billy Gibbons & Co. – “Oh Well”
05 Best Coast – “Rhiannon”
06 The New Pornographers – “Think About Me”
07 Marianne Faithfull – “Angel”
08 Lykke Li – “Silver Springs”
09 Karen Elson – “Gold Dust Woman”
10 Matt Sweeney And Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Storms”
11 Washed Out – “Straight Back”
12 Tame Impala – “That’s All For Everyone”
13 Craig Wedren with St. Vincent – “Sisters Of The Moon”
14 The Kills – “Dreams”
15 Gardens & Villa – “Gypsy”
16 The Crystal Ark – “Tusk”
17 MGMT – “Future Games”

source

Happy Father's Day!

Earlie Hudnall Jr. (b. 1946), The Guardian, 1990

Joan Didion: The Efficient Traveler

Speaking of traveling and packing well, here is some inspiration for preparing for your summer travels! 

Mmm Niçoise Salad

I've long heard of the deliciousness that is a Niçoise salad, but I've never had one until I made it the other night. I wasn't in the mood for a big meal for dinner, so I opted to make what would be the perfect dinner for a warm evening. It serves two for a satisfying dinner. Not to sound all Ina Garten, but I splurged on some fancy jarred tuna.. definitely worth it. A must make!

Tuna Salad Niçoise

(from Hungry Cravings)

12 ounces fingerling potatoes
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 7.8-ounce jar canned oil-packed tuna
Freshly ground black pepper
2 hard-cooked eggs
4 ounces haricot vert, trimmed and blanched
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 ounces mesclun greens
¼ cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives

Place the potatoes in a medium pot and add enough water to cover by several inches. Add several large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a plate. Let rest for about 15 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, rosemary, and parsley in a medium bowl. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a thin stream. Drain the tuna and whisk the oil from the tuna into the vinaigrette. Season the vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the potatoes into quarters when they are cool enough to handle and toss with enough vinaigrette to coat in a medium bowl. 

Cut the eggs into sixths and flake the tuna. In separate bowls, toss the haricot vert, tomatoes, and greens with enough vinaigrette to coat. 

Mound the greens on a platter. Arrange the potatoes, haricot vert, tomatoes, eggs, olives, and tuna decoratively atop the greens. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Album of the Moment: Fear Fun by Father John Misty

This album is pretty fantastic. Father John Misty is the nomme de plume of the former Fleet Foxes drummer, J. Tillman. Like Fleet Foxes, it's very modern folk, if you will. His music is dark and hauntingly beautiful. Actually, it probably sounds just like the photo above-- strange and surreal yet casual. I had a pretty low key weekend and listened to it on vinyl (which probably makes it sound better, to be honest.)

I recommend you buy it on iTunes, but you can stream it here on YouTube.

Also, I'm absolutely obsessed with this song:

The "Ma'am, your pants are about to bust. I swear," heard round the world.

I had a humbling moment the other night while out with friends where I realized I need to start getting into bikini shape after being on an indulgent bender for the past year. Lest I have to entertain the worried warnings from somehow well-meaning strangers in the future, I've put together a menu of healthier options for the week. Mainly I'm aiming to eat hardly any full-fat dairy or white carbs and more vegetables. Hopefully this attempt at a diet and working out at least once a day (pilates or running) will yield some results.

These are some recipes I found on my favorite site, Tastespotting (I have a ton of them). Since today was particularly hot in DC, most of these are salads, as that's what I have a taste for:

Mad Men: In Defense of Betty Francis

What's with all the Betty hate? Honestly, I really don't understand it. Ever since I started watching the show, people have had some issue with the former Mrs. Don Draper. I'm pretty sure I haven't missed anything worth hating her for-- I'm obsessed with the show. In fact, I really like Betty. I actively hate Don.

As I was reading one of the millions of recaps I read today after last night's episode, I came across this passage in Vulture's recap:

No matter how much sympathy Mad Menaffects, there's still a disquieting sense that Betty is somehow getting what's coming to her — that when you treat your kids badly, you end up a bloated suburban waste case with throat polyps, scarfing Bugles on a couch in a house that Miss Havisham might find oppressive. If you juxtaposed Don's sins against Betty's, they'd probably come out about even, with the two about evenly matched in the narcissism department, with Betty's casual cruelty toward her children counterbalanced by Don's secret other wife and serial infidelities. 

Really? Let's think about Don's transgressions. Aside from serial cheating during his marriage to Betty (including with another man's wife), he's stolen a dead man's identity and continues to live his life. War sucks, I get it, so I won't even act like I wouldn't steal a fallen comrade's identity to get out of there either. He sexually assaulted a woman he was having an affair with in a restaurant in season two. He ditched his child's birthday party midway through for no reason I can remember and didn't come back until late at night, after the party had ended. He had an affair with his daughter Sally's teacher. He emotionally abused Betty (most exemplified when he flipped out on her for wearing a bikini she saw at a charity fashion show in the kitchen). I could go on all night.

I asked some fellow (male) viewers I know why they hate Betty so much. The answer was pretty much the same: she's mean to Sally sometimes, cold and emotionally stunted. Yes, Betty is mean to Sally sometimes. But wouldn't you be too, as the sole disciplinarian of your family who has to spend all of your time with your kids by yourself? Sometimes for days on end? I know I would. Especially considering her parents were probably stricter and harsher than she is. I remember one time, when the Drapers were sitting down at dinner, Bobby was acting up and ignoring Betty's requests to stop. She pleaded for Don to do something and Don threw a hissy fit and broke Bobby's toy out of anger. Is that really better?

There is no way any woman with a "traditional" WASP upbringing in the 1940s is going to turn out emotionally stable. I've also gotten the feeling that she was abused somehow by her father, but that was never really said. Her mom definitely emotionally abused her and instilled in her the way a "lady" should act. It probably isn't ladylike in her opinion to express your unhappiness, your anger or frustration. Either way, she's just as cold and emotionally stunted as Don is, I don't care what anyone says about that one.

I guess it's also not fair that everyone loves Jon Hamm and no one really knows anything about January Jones, other than that she's a limited actress. But it's also not fair to act like Betty is an asshole and Don is this tortured creative genius instead of the lying piece of shit that he is. Maybe it's because she's a woman and he's a man. But let's agree that "I don't know, she's cold" is an acceptable response to this irrational hatred of a character that many women and mothers can relate to and understand.

Team Betty Francis. Do yo thang girl.