Wordplay

After the initial viewing, there was this, which helped to answer maybe ONE of the 11 million questions straining my brain:

“Inception’s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception” (from Vulture blog via NYmag).

And then, there was  “The Neuroscience of Inception” (from Gizmodo via Jonah Lehrer from Wired) because maybe it’s all a ploy by Nolan to make us FEEL as though we’re in a dream state while we’re watching the dream state(s) fold in on each other.

To which my other brother (psychology major and urban development expert) responds via email:

The critical factor here is active vs. passive participation. And with all cinema, the director has 2.5 hr max to convey a complete (or semi-complete) story (or multiple stories) and develop acceptable and somewhat realistic characters. All cinema  inherently includes shallow/one-dimensional characters and extensive incongruity when broken down to individual and separated elements; it is the way a cinematic experience is conveyed to an audience that has no “active” participation. The writer/director must be able to condense and tell a story to mass audience. We as the audience do not have the privilege of exploring or “understanding” the story on our own terms in real-time, therefore we get the “survey-course” version.

And then my dad (rocket scientist extraordinaire) says:

I still think that the most interesting notion is that of shared dreaming.  If it were possible, what would the experience be like?  How could two subconscious dreaming minds share a dream state?  Who would be in charge of the dream world?  How would logical conflicts be resolved?  Could the two dream avatars interact?  Communicate?  Could both simultaneously experience lucid dreaming? Etc.

Talkin’ World War III Blues, last verse:
Well, now time passed and now it seems
Everybody’s having them dreams.
Everybody sees themselves walkin’ around with no one else.
Half of the people can be part right all of the time,
Some of the people can be all right part of the time,
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time.
I think Abraham Lincoln said that.
“I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours.”
I said that.

And after a while my little brother (grammar expert) spelled Dylan like dilyn (on purpose? on accident? to demonstrate how an email thread can parallel a dream in which you aren’t sure how to properly attribute quotes to famed 60s singer-songerwriters/reluctant figureheads of social unrest?).

And then I saw this on facebook and thought it was pretty clever:

How to make filled coconut marshmallow cuppies for your roommate’s birthday:

First, find an extra deep cupcake tin and fill it with their favorite flavor cake. This mega tin happened to be a block away from my house in a friend’s well-equipped kitchen.

Next, mix together a secret delicious WOW factor filling. In this case, coconut Cool Whip (half a can of Coco Lopez pina colada mixture and a whole tub of whipped cream). Yes, the Coco Lopez doesn’t look like something you should be putting in a cupcake, but I promise it’s just sugar and coconut. Actually, I have no idea what it is. Let’s not worry about that.

CAREFULLY drill holes in the top of your massive cupcakes (drill=cut), empty the contents (good for impatient nibblers), and fill with your mixed cocolopezwhip (should be pretty melted by now, so you can just spoon that stuff right in).

Deposit your frosting into a zip-top bag, cut off the corner with some scissors and start piping a hat on your open-wound cuppies. You’ll need quite a bit of frosting to cover the holes, but no worries if you mess up, you can cover all your errors with decorative elements. I stuck with the colorless theme and covered the sides with shredded coconut and the top with a mound of mini marshmallows.

Just don’t press too hard on your embellishments…remember, there’s a secret inside that would love to get out via an any inconvenient cracks or punctures you decide to create. Quickly refrigerate to keep the insides…inside. Then gift, sing, consume and tell the birthday boy how messy these were to make.

FYI: You don’t need more than 5 of these. Please do not make more.

Matter of fact, you don’t need more than one. One is enough.

Also: Coco Lopez Whip is GREAT on strawberries.

**Title of this post inspired by “Aunt Jemima!! (the pancake song),” one of the greatest cooking videos of all time (yes, these cupcakes instructions should have been sung and presented in poor stop motion, but I just can’t compete):

I made two of these–one for mom and one for adopted mom–for mother’s day and I only drew a tiny bit of blood. If you’re looking for a homemade card (and you can’t draw or paint or sew or decoupage), this is the craft for you. All you need is patience. And elf fingers.

Pick a word (the shorter, the better–meaning, don’t get ahead of yourself here) and trace it on the inside front flap of the card. Make sure to do this BACKWARDS, because you’re working from the inside out. Or just pick a palindrome (emordnilap!) and save yourself the trouble–like kayak or radar. Epic is the card that with “radar” on the front in tiny bumps. Epic.

Then find a safety pin (safety first!) and start poking though your card. It’s easier to poke through the paper into a soft surface like a piece of foam board or a perfectly awesome round cork trivet that you remembered you had under a recipe book in your kitchen. See if you have one of those.

My finger started to get sore after the fourth hole, so I wrapped the pin in a piece of elastic I had lying around my well-equipped craft room to soften the blow. Worked great. Just keep poking until you fill in your sketch. Hundreds of tiny little bumps on a card = something thoughtful you can FEEL.

Last step! Admire and run your sore fingers over the bumps about a million jillion times. Then send to your mom, or person of interest, and remind them to check the mail (what mother doesn’t check the mail the day before mother’s day?! GRR!) Also, cool trick: Tell your recipient to hold the front flap of their card up to a lampshade to see something quite pretty. K. Your turn. Happy mother’s day.

Amazing Obliterati photo booth thanks to Diana Levine. She’s legit. Like Kim Kardashian legit. Thanks for this.

So this kind of made my day:

Finger jewelry I like. Inspired by #4, sent to me from a friend with the message “I WANT.”

1. Original Modern Rock ring from Metalicious, $75::2. Nut Dice ring from Individual Icons, $71::3. Sword ring from thetrophylodge, $50::4. Farfalle ring from the MoMA Store, $95

There’s a theme here…can you guess it?

Had a perfect and non-cheesy Valentine’s day brunch at Friend of a Farmer. He said: It’s like a Cracker Barrel in New York! I say: Not nearly as trashy or uncomfortable as a Cracker Barrel, and with much better food.

Must try: Apple butter, mimosas, homemade granola. Also: best crispiest, savoriest, most mouth-wateriest bacon in Gramercy.

How do you repay for bacon that good? I turned to the chocolate coconut cupcake–with their mythical healing powers–to spell out my gratitude.  Inspired by this garland from Style Me Pretty (and under the impression that boys aren’t really garland-friendly), I made this cupcake banner:

Girls are NORPICONS1, test is Gartentika–both from DaFont. The message? For the cupcake recipient, not for the blog.

Then we took the 4 down to BK yesterday to vintage shop. Romantic? Sure, why not. Thrify? Yup, yup. 

Plus, what’s not to love about old photos of Bing Crosby? 

Bought: Stretchy bracelet from Roka Jewelry at the Pop Up Winter Market. 

Love: my Valentine with removable anti-V-day pin:

JUST SAY NO…to cheap chocolate, singing stuffed animals (overpriced, dinners, sappy rom-coms) and fat guys with wings. JUST SAY YES to martinis mimosas, shopping (at craft fairs) and doing what you love. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Delivery: unexpected late birthday mail (I forgive her):

Compass earrings! A nice gesture taking into account my post on studs? Or a not-so-subtle hint that I may have gotten lost on the road of life? 

Both reasons are fine by me–my ears cannot wait to see where these babies take them! A big thank you to MMH.

Check out more of Hannah Westergard’s jewelry on her etsy site.

You may not have known, but in a tiny southern town this weekend, a couple Mississippi kids got hitched.

There were apples, limes, sweet pea and cabbage, not to mention bouquets of amnesia roses.

There were two of the biggest cakes you’ve ever seen, a collection of super stunning bridesmaids and a couple hours of high intensity dancing that I won’t ever get back.

There were candles hanging from branches, moss-covered tables and plates full of the best food on the planet.

There was a beautiful white dress with buttons down the back and a couple of shiny rings and one boy and one girl very much in love.

And despite all the rehearsing, and the hair curlers, and all the toasts, and all the wine, I guess that’s all that really mattered.

Sacrificing space is just one of the many obligations of having a NY apartment.  Squeezing your life, your hopes and all your big city dreams into 23 square feet is like a puzzle of survival. If all the pieces fit, you may live to see another day.

See: G’s Chinatown kitchenette masterpiece. He recently submitted it for The Small Space Book via AT’s TheKitchn and I do hope he’ll be selected. If possibly only for the fact that he used Pantone’s color of ’09 in his paint job years before it was announced. Maybe it’s because he enjoys the occasional (dailiy) mimosa but I just like to think he’s ahead of the curve.

Favorites: The two-toned wall stripes, swirly text, wine bottle cork board, wall vase and folding table (attached to wall directly behind the camera lens in photo 1).

A word from the artist: “We call it the “Dada” kitchen. Not referring to the art movement, but “Dada da dadaada.” It has to be sung, referring to a bosa nova beat [my rommate] and I heard playing over French party/conversation one evening. “

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