Tits and Balls

MUSIC

The Neon Indian concert at Governor’s Island turned out to be a fun evening, but far from perfect.  Since Neon Indian have only a small repertoire, the show also featured Prefuse 73, DOM, and Nite Jewel.  Most of the music was quality psychedelic dance pop, but was again the hipster crowd proved that they simply cannot dance. Additionally, the security personnel were on a major power trip and thwarted any possible hope of exploring the island late at night.  Food and beer prices were sky high, which is to be expected.

One of the many Security Personnel

The Scene

The show The Capeman written and directed by Paul Simon was much less enjoyable.  Waking up at 5 a.m and waiting in line for free tickets in Central Park until 1:00 p.m ended up being more enjoyable than the show itself.  The evening was rainy and chilly, yet that is not what made the musical viewing experience so miserable.  The show was destined for failure mainly because Paul Simon tried to capture the Puerto Rican immigrant experience with no basis to do so.  And because of this the music and choreography suffered since Simon has no personal experience with the culture.

DINING

Following a long line-waiting experience, we dined at Nougatine in Jean-Georges.  Eating on the patio was a good way to disguise the fact that we were not as stylish as the other celebrity-seeking clientele.  The fried calamari was absolutely delicious with a touch of basil salt.  The citrus-chilli dip also helped make the dish.  Jean-Georges makes a lot of the sauces in a whipped-cream maker, so they have an incredible airy texture.

The poached peaches with pistachio ice cream and hazelnut was an unusual dish.  I thought the peaches tasted like olives and was not in love with them, but the ice cream was absolutely delicious.

All in all, a delightfully delicious meal.

H & H bagels

The selection of varieties are minimal, but the bagels are always hot and delicious.  Being able to eat a fresh bagel and lox sandwich and 4:30 a.m is an unbelievable luxury, so I am not going to complain about the lack of flavors or atmosphere of the restaurant.  We made the fellow line-waiters so jealous with these bagels that we did not make any friends.

RECREATION

Four stars to the midtown greenway.  Well paved, well labeled, and away from traffic.  The best way to travel around Manhattan.

Here at titsandballs.org we are very excited about the release of Johnathan Franzen’s new book titled Freedom.  In celebration we have compiled a Franzen themed photo montage.

St. Louis Arch

Franzen is from Webster Groves, which is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis.  Even though Webster Groves was recently ranked number nine in Family Circle Magazine’s list of the “Ten Best Cities for Families” in America, it received more negative press in the 1966 CBS documentary, 16 in Webster Groves. Although the documentary portrays the suburb as a stifling hub of conformity, Franzen disagrees, citing it as a friendly, unpretentious Midwestern town where one’s innocence is able to be preserved.

Earthquake Cake

In celebration of Franzen’s second book, Strong Motion, which describes mysterious earthquakes in the Boston area.  The fault line runs through the top of the cake.

3M Headquarters

Similar to Franzen’s previous novel The Corrections, Freedom begins with a portrait of a family.  The family is named the Berglunds and they live in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Walter Berglund is a lawyer who works for the multinational corporation 3M, pictured above.

Freedom!

A gas station named Freedom is almost as ironic as a novel about a typical suburban family titled Freedom.

This is kind of like freedom and Franzen loves birds.

The Magic Garden is one of mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar’s many public works.  While the crowds and heat of a typical Philly summer day took away from some of the “magic”, upon entering one can imagine the beauty of the space if it were unpopulated.  While to some it may look like a sparkling junk yard, to others it is a gleaming, and beautifully arranged assortment of glass bottles, bicycle wheels, broken glass, and other trinkets. Additionally, one can thank Isaiah for helping save South Street.  Before, Isaiah, his wife, and fellow artists rented space on South Street it was slated by the Philadelphia city administration to become an expressway.  Also, I think Isaiah and I have a connection since I’ve had a vision to create a mosaic skyscraper and he created a mosaic building and extensive garden.

Fall is a season of mixed emotions.  It signifies below freezing temperatures arriving all too soon, but it is also a season of communal gatherings, beautiful colors, and joyous festivities.  One of my personal favorite fall activities is apple picking followed by pie baking.  We recently baked two delicious apple pies, where many friends gathered to be photographed with the creation.  Here is the recipe so you can recreate it for yourself.  Also, it is key to creatively decorate the crust, so you do not just make any old ordinary pie. We chose to do a marijuana leaf, but your motif can cater to the theme of the gathering.

Applie pie recipe:

For the filling:

• 8 or 9 large apples of several different cooking varieties (Delicious apples will NOT do), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• Sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Unsalted butter

For the Crust:

• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 8 pieces
• 1/3 cup shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 6 to 8 tablespoons iced water

Preparation

To make the pie:
Preheat oven to 450° F.

Prepare the pastry. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the pastry and set aside in the refrigerator, along with the unrolled half, while you make the filling. Taste a few slices of the apples to gauge how much sugar you’ll need to make them sweet. In a large bowl, mix the apple slices in the lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste, then add the mace and nutmeg. Pour the apple mixture into the prepared pastry shell. Mound toward the center and dot with butter. Roll out the remaining pastry and carefully lay it over the apples. Seal the edges, cut vent holes, and decorate with extra pieces of dough cut into decorative shapes.  Place the pie pan on a baking sheet (to catch any spill over) and cook in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350° F. and continue to cook for about another hour, until the top crust is a beautiful golden brown. If the edges start to darken too much, cover with a ribbon of aluminum foil.

To make the crust:
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Incorporate the butter and shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add the iced water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough begins to form into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. As you wrap the dough in the plastic, form it into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Take the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 2 pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Wrap the smaller piece in plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator. Roll out the bigger piece on a lightly floured surface until it’s slightly larger than the pie pan. Drape one end of the dough over the pin and gently lift it up, then slip the pan underneath the dough and lower it into the pan. Press the dough gently — and quickly — against the sides of the pan. Leave about an inch of dough hanging over the sides of the pan and cut any excess away. Refrigerate the crust for at least 30 minutes before filling.

After you have filled the pie, take the smaller disk from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it’s a little bigger than the pie. Drape one end of the dough over the rolling pin, lift it gently, then drape it over the top of the filling. Press the edges together and crimp to seal.  Makes a double 9-inch crust.

So after attending a lot of riverfront/costal festivals this summer, I have come to wonder why no one has started a floating festival. In the heat of the summer, water often appears much more desirable than standing in the blazing sun surrounded by hundreds of other smelly, sweaty, disgruntled fans. If a band could play on a barge attendees could float on rafts, dance on docks, be on jet skies, tread water, laze on an inner tube, dine on yachts, or anything else their hearts desired.

Another great thing is that water is a teriffic sound conductor, thus sound can travel for vast distances before dying out.  I am not an expert, but I think this could really enhance the concert experience.