Summer heat.

lemon treat! today I (becca) decided to make a special surprise dessert for zach. He was thinking about it all day. His coworkers all thought this was a euphemism. That would make Zach a total creeper. After collecting necessary ingredients, and making some substitutions...who knew the tiny giant on Main street did not carry lemon curd...the tart was complete! here is a picture:

Recently it has been overwhelmingly hot and humid here. We're talking 95 degrees and super humid. Our new apartment does not handle heat well as it is an attic type. Thus, we've been escaping to air conditioned places. We also cracked and bought an air conditioner for our room. It is so very pleasant at night in there. Our friend Aaron told me it is much cheaper to cool a house than to heat it. voila!

misses and kisses,

Zach and Becca

summer

so we have moved into our new place. Its a fairly oddball and adorable attic apartment on the other side of town. All the rooms have slanted ceilings, and some form of charm. It was also full of other people's stuff when i got here to start moving. I ended up having to pack up dishes and kitchen drawers and everything you can think of in order to put our stuff in. it was sad and frustrating. It came to a head when i wanted to put some of our kitchen appliance stuff under the window bench in the kitchen, and it was chock full o' crap. I do believe I stormed out of the room and called my mother. Yay for drama! After about a week of being here, we are mostly unpacked and really enjoying it here! We can walk just about everwhere we want to go, even the grocery store. and there's a south facing balcony where i can grown assorted plants. Right now I have a tiny basil, a larger basil, yellow pear cherry tomatoes, rutgers tomatoes, an ivy, and sunflowers. I also want to work on an herb garden in a window box too. we'll see!!

its been in the 90s the past few days here, and wickedly humid. Its fairly unbearable to me, and even made me sickies saturday night. erego, zach came home with an air conditioner yesterday. so much better!

I'm going to go to the library and get a bunch of books to read. cheers!

funny conversations

This evening, Zach and I discussed our favorite Spanish painters. We came across Jose de Ribera and his painting El Martirio de San Felipe, below.

We then discussed how ripped St. Phil was. I said NAY, HE IS NOT! but my attention was then refocused on his forearms. You can judge that for yourself.

Heres the good part--Zach said, "Look at the size of his ribcage, that guy could inhale a horse!" Thats physically impossible, even for a saint!!!!

after typing this, it doesn't seem as funny. in brighter news, i only have 18.75 pages left to write, and an annotated web compendium to do.

busy

Hey babies,

we have been incredibly busy for the past while. I promise a great and lovely update within 2 or 3 weeks. Next week I have a unit plan (spanning 2 weeks) due monday, a research paper due thursday, and the week after that i have a massive paper, and web compendium due. work is hiring a new coordinator, they are visiting this week, i have an art show planned for friday, and we are hiring new staffs/wrapping up the year. My stomach is in knots thinking about all this, and likely my brain will be scrambled from doing research and writing on too many different things: the agenda is world war II/cold war unit, spanish civil war/valley of the fallen and political memory in spain, and the beats as counterculture. WONDERFUL!

anyhow, stay tuned.

a quick update

No, we're not dead! sorry for the incredible lag in posts.

We just wanted to tell you that zach and our friend, aaron, are starting to write hit songs. they have two so far, and will all be about the same thing. the end of summer. You should email us if you want to here them! They are both really good! Also, if anyone knows how to put songs up on this blog...will you please tell us!?

Tomorrow is friday here. not any friday though...First Friday! i have my second art show going on, which is called a day in the life. we gave out cameras for students to photograph their life here...and there were a ton of pics of campus. This is silly. this campus is ugly. for reals. The show will be lovely though, at least its cohesive.

Love love,
Becca and Zach

Diner desserts: pile it high

I am back in Binghamton! On Wednesday night, we had a big old time. We went to the ale house for the first time (the beer joint of your dreams, no kidding. Also, they have a birthday deal where you fill out a postcard, they send it to you, and then you go in on your birthday and get 5 free beers for you and your friends. Hopefully the card will come by Saturday).

After that we went to see a movie at our new favorite theatre, the art mission, which only charges $6 for students to see movies. They show more independent pictures, we saw the darjeeling limited there, which was not playing anywhere else here, and wednesday we saw Margot at the Wedding. I do not recommend it, even if you did like the squid and the whale. they were written and directed by noah baumbach, who specializes in BIZARRE DISFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES. there was nothing redeeming about the characters in margot at the wedding though. after that we were much distressed, and headed to none other than the spot diner.

ENTER THE STRAWBERRY BANANA TART OF YOUR DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

It just looked so beautiful in the diner dessert display case, i had to have it. However, i momentarily forgot tht i hate banana flavored things usually, aside from real bananas, which i love. well. the cream of it was a terrible yellow flavor, and it had chunks of bananas in it, which were brown because thats what happens to nanners. Anyhow, this is what it looked like the next day after I ate some of it...and took it home.

blarg!

Auguri!! Happy New Year!!! TOP TEN!!!

Hey all, welcome to 2008. sorry these are a little late, normally we have them done by mid december! Anyhow, here are our top tens:

Zach:
10. !!! - Myth Takes
9. Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
8. Calvin Johnson and the Sons of the Soil - Self Titled
7. Dr. Dog - We All Belong
6. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
5. Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
4. Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up The Room
3. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer?
2. The Teeth - You're My Lover Now
1. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds of Silver

Becca:
10. LCD Soundsystem: Sounds of Silver
What else makes you want to move quite this much.
9. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
I think he is gifted when it comes to putting sounds together, also had I listened to this more, it would be higher for reals.
8. Feist: The Reminder
There are some really beautiful songs on this album. When you listen to Feist, what does it make you want to do?????
7. Calvin Johnson and the Sons of the Soil
These songs have a great mix of humor, imagery, and deep voices.
6. Dr. Dog: We all Belong
Maybe my favorite new (to me) artists this year...We saw them live w/ the teeth in may, and it was one of my favorite shows. They are tons of fun, and normal guys. Also, one of them looks a whole lot like steve gennet. woo!
5. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Living with the Living
Regardless of the coupe really really annoying songs on here, I've got to say that la costa brava is one of my favorites of the year.
4. The Teeth: You're my Lover Now
Highest energy ever. this might be one of the more fun groups on the list! Whenever its on, we just want to jump around!
3. Saturday Looks Good to Me: Fill Up the Room
We didn't get this one until later in the year, but its beautiful. Fred always has great lines about being young and such, its great! Also, Betty only sings one track, but I really do love that one track...
2. Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
It was a real grower, and I know everyone else has said that about it. But when it comes down to it, its just great pop music. FINER FEELINGS??? DON'T YOU EVAH???? bitch please.
1. Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are you the destroyer?
OH WHERE DO I BEGIN???!!!! It was an exciting direction for them, and i think the vulnerability and candor paid off. What I like most about this is that it just kept on giving and giving, there was so much to it. Not only did it make me LOVE them so much more, for months and months, but it just made me happy. and sad. and in love. and laugh a lot. ANYHOW.

My honorable mentions/things that would have made it had I heard them:
!!! I really did love this, but I just loved everything else more. Must be the moon.
Animal Collective: strawberry jam...I heard a little of this one day, but i think i really like panda bear a ton more.
Jose Gonzalez
Fiery Furnaces
Jens Lekman-Nightfall over kortedala---Zach and I listened to this through headphones one day in the radio station at binghamton, its bitchin.
Radiohead-in rainbows. I never heard it, but everytime i see a commercial for it, i love it!!!!!

In any case, What are your top albums of the year??

love and kisses, becca and zach!