madcity girl

Last night my friend Krista and I attended a book release tour event for Soup & Bread Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at a Time. Written by Chicago author Martha Bayne, it’s a revised and expanded version of her 2009 cookbook. The book features a diverse array of recipes from well-known Chicago-area chefs and other “soup enthusiasts” who have been part of Martha’s popular “Soup & Bread” weekly fundraising winter dinner series at Chicago’s Hideout. In addition to recipes, the book covers the social and cultural role of soup—its unique role in building community and fostering social justice. Although the cookbook was just released earlier this month, it’s already received many accolades, including being named by PopSugar as one of the top five books for Chicago foodies this holiday season.

Last night’s event was much different than any other book release event I’ve attended—there were no stuffy readings or Q & A session, just a lively event at the High Noon Saloon with more than a dozen crock pots of soup from local chefs, with donations benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin. Krista and I had a blast. We were one of the first to arrive, which allowed us to score a great table near crock pot row. (I figured with “free” soup and bread involved, who knew how many people might come out for the event.) I enjoyed three bowls of fantastic soup—Curried Beef and Potato; Creamy Sunshine Squash with Sage and Apple from Chef Joey Dunscombe of Weary Traveler; and Garlic Smashed Potato from Isthmus writer Marcelle Richards. Wow—I think all three recipes belong in the next version of the cookbook. And more importantly, apparently the Madison release event raised more money for hunger relief than any other city to date, including NYC and Chicago!

Krista and I shared our small table with a husband and wife who were at the event with their 16-year old high school sophomore son. They were the nicest people and we had a great time chatting and getting to know them. We talked soup, work, politics, 911, and more. By the end of the night, we were exchanging e-mail addresses and the woman was plotting to host and invite us to a soup party of her own. Our conversations and the new friendships we struck up were the epitome of the cookbook and its focus on “building community” over soup. While I’m sad I didn’t pick up a cookbook at the event (they sold out pretty early on), you can bet I’ll be adding this one to my holiday wish list.

Last night Larry and I went to the opening reception of a juried photo exhibit dedicated to displaying the images of the recent months of protests at the Wisconsin state capitol.The show, titled Signs of Protests, highlights the work of 28 local artists. The exhibit is hosted at the Center for Photography at Madison (CPM), which is located on the near east side of Madison on Paterson Street. Collectively, the unique and diverse images tell a powerful story of the important series of events that have unfolded in Madison in recent months. According to the exhibit website:

This unique photographic exhibition captures the energy and spirit of the iconic, and ongoing, chapter of Wisconsin’s history. As protesters marched in, and around, the Capitol building, photographers from every walk of life were there to capture the dynamic unfolding of events. The exhibition includes a range of human interest images related to the recent protest events, from the blatant to the subtle, from the somber to the humorous, and from the emotional to the contemplative.

The best part is that Larry’s mom is one of the 28 artists whose work is featured in the exhibit. Hers is a powerful image of a woman  sleeping in protest at the state capitol. As one observer noted, it’s a photograph that captures many  social issues central to the protests. It’s a picture of a woman who clearly doesn’t have much, but is doing what she can to take a stand.

If you’re interested in checking out the exhibit, it’s open each Saturday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m through August 27. You can also check out a few sample images from the exhibit here. Update (7/22/11): There’s also a great article about the exhibit featured in this week’s 77 Square.

Tonight I have tickets to see Sharon Jones & The Dap- Kings at the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center in Madison. The nine-piece band from Brooklyn produces music that is often referred to as “retro soul.” One music critic places Sharon’s “raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music.” Praise doesn’t come more glowing than that.

Seems like I’ve been waiting for this show for months.  In anticipation, I’ve been listening to their fourth album—I Learned the Hard Way—on my turntable non-stop for weeks.  Last week there was a great article in Madison’s 77 Square about Sharon Jones. Entitled Onstage and off, Georgia-born Sharon Jones holds nothing back, the article gets at the heart of why Jones is exactly the kind of performer you want to see live. Should be an explosive show.

A few Saturdays ago, I saw Willy Porter play at the Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake. I first began listening to the Milwaukee guitarist/singer-songwriter during college and have since seen him in concert several times—everywhere from a small music club in Ann Arbor to the Wisconsin state fairgrounds. But nothing beats Willy Porter’s annual show at the Thrasher Opera House.

The concert always sells out quickly—which I’m sure is a combination of the venue and the talent. Thrasher is a fully-restored and charmingly small town venue. It’s the perfect, intimate space for a night with Willy—a stunningly talented guitarist whose rhythms Tori Amos once described as enchanting enough to “make me want to crawl inside his guitar and sleep there forever.”

I arrived plenty early on the night of the concert and made my way to the second row. Willy Porter was accompanied by percussionist Dave Schoepke, who mesmerized the audience with his expressive beats over a wide variety of inanimate objects. Together they played many favorites—including “Breathe” and “How to Rob a Bank,” among a few numbers I didn’t recognize, which will apparently be included on a new record. As always, Willy lured in the crowd with his down-to-earth vibe and great sense of humor. He certainly entertained the crowd with his trademark on-the-spot creation of a song using word suggestions from the audience. He had plenty of good material—you may recall Wisconsin was pretty prominent in the news at the time.

After two wonderful sets and a two-song encore, I was content and ready to crawl into my bed and sleep there forever—with dreams of Willy serenading me with the gentle strum of his guitar.

Monday’s release of Girl Talk’s latest album, ‘All Day’ has been all the rage on social media sites this week. I was surprised and thrilled to hear about the new album, and even more excited to learn about its release as a free download!

Greg Gillis is the mastermind behind Girl Talk. He’s a DJ who specializes in mashup-style remixes and digital sampling. Gillis takes excerpts from dozens of popular songs and mixes them to create a new track. A single track from Girl Talk might include samples from artists as diverse as Beyonce, Queen, Beastie Boys, Phil Collins, The Police, The Cure, Paula Cole, Wu-Tang Clang, 50 Cent, Outcast, Vanilla Ice, and Jackson 5. As a result of Gillis’ talented and unique re-mixing skills, these divergent tracks come together as seamless and mesmerizing music that just makes you want to get up and move your body.

And that I do. Girl Talk’s last album, “Feed the Animals,” is among my favorites. It’s great dance music, and I especially love listening to it during intense running and spinning workouts. Nothing gets my legs moving quite like some Girl Talk.

Madisonians will be pleased to know that Girl Talk is actually coming to Madison in early March. I’m hoping I can convince some friends to join me for what is surely to be the ultimate dance party.

You can download the new album for free here. I’ve listened to about half the tracks so far. And I can tell you they’re great. If you’re looking for great dance party music or upbeat workout tunes, this is your mix.

This week (June 6-11) marks the official Bike to Work Week in Madison, sponsored by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Events include morning commuter stations, a bike parade, a bike-in movie, a bike commuter tips lunch, Ride the Drive, Planet Bike’s Bacon on the Bike Path, and a morning commuter ride with Mayor Cieslewicz. It’s a comprehensive and exciting array of activities designed to celebrate and encourage bicycle commuting in Madison.

What I’m most excited for, though, is tonight’s free screening of “Breaking Away” at the Barrymore Theatre. In case the sheer excellence of this is lost on you, “Breaking Away” won the Oscar in 1979, and centers around the famed Little 500 bike race at the Univeristy of Indiana. It’s the story of Dave, a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, who dreams of racing with an Italian cycling team. And let me repeat, the movie will be shown on the big screen. For those of you who have had the great opportunity to see this most excellent movie, how many of you can honestly say you’ve seen it on the big screen?

Before the movie, Monty’s Blue Plate Diner (conveniently located across the street from the theater) is transforming their parking lot into a “bicycling paradise” with free bike checkups by Revolution Cycles, and free tastings from Just Coffee Cooperative and Sassy Cow Creamery. Monty’s will grill burgers and veggie burgers in the lot for purchase.

Burgers. Ice cream. Free screening of “Breaking Away” on the big screen. I’m there.

Earlier this month, I finished reading “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,” by Christopher McDougall. Armed with a highlighter and a pen, I tore through the book in just a few days. I marked any and all passages that struck a chord with me—be it because the words were informative, inspiring, humorous, or simply well said. This amounted to a text that is now fairly well underlined and highlighted. For now I’ll leave you with my favorites…

There’s something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we’re scared, we run when we’re ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time. p. 11

In terms of stress relief and sensual pleasure, running is what you have in your life before you have sex. The equipment and desire come factory installed; all you have to do is let ‘er rip and hang on for the ride. p. 12

If you really want to understand the Raramuri, you should have been there when this ninety-five-year-old man came hiking twenty-five miles over the mountain. Know why he could do it? Because no one every told him he couldn’t. No one ever told him he oughta be off dying somewhere in an old age home. You live up to your own expectations, man. -Micah True, p. 50

If some California hippie could go one hundred miles, how hard could it be? Besides, a normal race wouldn’t cut it; if Leadville was going to survive, it needed an event with serious holy-shit power. p. 59

Your body becomes so familiar with the cradle-rocking rhythm that you almost forget you’re moving. [Eventually,] you break through to that soft, half-levitating flow. You have to listen closely to the sound of your own breathing; be aware of how much sweat is beading on your back; make sure to treat yourself to cool water and a salty snack and ask yourself honestly and often, exactly how you feel. What could be more sensual than paying exquisite attention to your own body? -Ann Trason, p.69

Ultrarunning seemed to be an alternative universe where none of planet Earth’s rules applied: women were stronger than men; old men were stronger than youngsters; Stone Age guys in sandals were stronger than everybody. p. 79

Ultrarunners had no reason to cheat, because they had nothing to gain: no fame, no wealth, no medals. No one knew who they were, or cared who won their strange rambles through the woods. They didn’t even get prize money; all you get for winning an ultra is the same belt buckle as the guy who comes in last. p. 85

That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind’s first fine art, our original act of inspired creation. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain. p. 92

It wasn’t just the racing they loved; it was the thrill of exploring the brave new world of their own bodies. p. 112

When I’m out on a long run, the only thing that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going blehblehbleh all the time. Everything quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow. It’s just me and the movement and the motion. That’s what I love—just being a barbarian, running through woods -Jenn Shelton, p. 149

You don’t stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running. -Jack Kirk, p. 202

Name any other athletic endeavor where sixty-four-year-olds are competing with nineteen-year-olds. Swimming? Boxing? Not even close. There’s something really weird about us humans; we’re not only really good at endurance running; we’re really good at it for a remarkably long time. -Dr. Dennis Bramble, p. 240

Just move your legs. Because if you don’t think you were born to run, you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are. -Dr. Dennis Bramble, p. 244

The worst thing you can give a runner midrace is false hope. What causes you to tense up is the unexpected; but as long as you know what you’re in for, you can relax and chip away at the job. p. 267

I’d get up at four-thirty in the morning, run twenty miles, and it would be a beautiful thing. Then I’d work all day and want to feel that way again. So I’d go home, drink a beer, eat some beans, and run some more. -Micah True, p. 279

I don’t want anyone to do anything except come run, party, dance, eat, and hang with us. Running isn’t about making people buy stuff. Running should be free, man. -Micah True, p. 287

I can’t even tell you how excited I am. Tonight I’m going to see Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak Deng, who are visiting UW-Madison as part of the Humanities Without Boundaries lecture series. The series seeks to bring “world-renowned scholars to Madison whose work represents the best of the humanities and of scholarship that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.” It’s exactly the sort of intellectual energy that makes it so enjoyable to both work at a university and live in a major college town.

Dave Eggers is one of my favorite authors. He has written six books, including the bestselling, lightly-fictionalized memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Eggers also co-wrote with Spike Jonze the screenplay for Where the Wild Things Are, and authored the just-released adult novel based on the children’s book by Maurice Sendak. And Dave Eggers is the founder and editor of literary journal McSweeny’s!

Tonight’s event focuses on What is the What, a 2006 “fictionalized autobiography” by Eggers based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan—the 27,000 boys who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). Fifteen years of these boys’ lives were consumed by fleeing from the war (walking hundreds of miles to cross the border and reach international relief camps in Ethiopia and Kenya—enduring starvation, wild animals, and government attack), and desperately clinging to hope that their families were still alive. Somewhere.

The war was one of the longest and deadliest in recent history. Nearly two million people were killed by government troops (frighteningly, the conflict seems far from over). In 2001, about 3,800 Lost Boys resettled in the United States, where they are now scattered around 38 cities. Deng was resettled in Atlanta at the time, where he now runs a foundation devoted to building schools in southern Sudan. All proceeds from the book go to the foundation and help to aid the Sudanese in America and Sudan.

I purchased and started reading the book this past weekend. It’s captivating in a way that is so uniquely Dave Eggers. I have many more pages to read, but I’m already hooked. For more background on the Sudanese Civil War, and based on a recommendation from a friend, I also rented the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, a film that intimately explores the lives and spirit of three “Lost Boys” who leave their homeland and create new lives in the United States. I experienced such a wide range of emotions during the film—horror, anger, sadness, hope, and fear. I was alternatively crying and laughing.

Without a doubt, tonight’s event should be pretty incredible. I can’t wait to see Dave Eggers in action, hear more from Valentino Achak Deng on the current state of affairs in Sudan, and also hear about their collaborative process in writing the novel.

Last week I saw a preview for the movie The Lovely Bones, which is based on the critically acclaimed novel by Alice Sebold. The movie is set to release in December. You can watch the trailer here.

I picked up the novel around a year ago from a used bookstore, but it’s been gathering dust on a bookshelf in my apartment ever since. I remember obsering my friend Karen reading the book two years ago. I still remember her dramatic reaction upon reading just the first page. It seemed impressive to me at the time that a book could so quickly shock and captivate a reader.

Since I was due to begin a new book anyways, and becauase I had been so taken by the movie preview, I decided to finally get started on The Lovely Bones earlier this week. I finished one hundred pages that first day. The thing about this novel is that there is no easing into the storyline, no comfortable intoductions—there’s simply no time or reason for pleasantries. The novel begins with an atrocious crime recounted by the teenage victim herself, and the reader is taken along on a rollercoaster ride of the aftermath.

In simplest terms, the novel is about a 14-year old girl named Susie Salmon who is brutually raped and murdered by a neighborhood man in 1973. She watches from heaven as her family and friends deal with their grief and her killer moves on with his life. She is forced to weigh her desire for vengeance against her wish for her family to heal and move on with their lives.

I’m now about mid-way though the book, and am absolutely wrapped up in the storyline. I have to force myself to put the book down and actually go to sleep at a decent hour each night. As in Kristin, you have to get up and run at 5:30 a.m. Put the damn book down.

But I can’t wait to finish the book, and then to see the movie in December. What a treat that will be to see director Peter Jackon’s version on the big screen.

I have a lot of catching up to do on book reviews. I figured it might be easiest to start with the most recent book I’ve read and work back from there. Last week, I finished The School of Essential Ingredients, a novel by Erica Bauermeister. My friend Karen checked it out for me at the library last month, after it was featured on NPR in a segment entitled “Independent Booksellers Pick Summer’s Best Reads.” I’m guessing Karen thought the cooking theme might resonate nicely with me. As someone who enjoys reading cookbooks for fun, I’d say it was a good pick.

Karen had first tried to reserve the book through the UW campus and Madison Public Library systems, but apparently there were already 70+ person waitlists. A week later, Karen was at the library in the small lake resort town of Green Lake—and there it was, prominently displayed on a front table. Funny how something is featured on NRP, and Madison residents go batty. Elsewhere, it’s just another book.

Karen told me that the librarian described it as a “sweet book.” I think that’s probably the best description. Although it was a little too “pollyanna” for my tastes, it was a nice summer read and my inner-foodie especially loved the evocative food descriptions, such as the following:

Claire lifted the crab to her mouth, closing her eyes one more time, shutting out the room around her. The meat touched her tongue and the taste ran through her, full and rich and complicated, dense as a long, deep kiss. She took another bite and felt her feet settle into the floor and the rest of her flow into a river of ginger and garlic and lemon and wine. She stood, even when that bite, and the next and the next were gone, feeling the river wind its way to her fingers, her toes, her belly, the base of her spine, melting all the pieces of her into something warm and golden.

Seriously. Has crab eating ever sounded so orgasmic?

In terms of the story line, the book is about eight people from various backgrounds and stages in life who come together for a weekly cooking class. The novel details their various life stories, and describes how the transendent experience of cooking and eating great food, coupled with the relationships developed during the course of the class, transform each of their lives.

If you love food and are looking for a “sweet” summer read that will leave you hungry for more, The School of Essential Ingredients is a nice option.