The Easiest Dish I Can Think Of

Bruschetta is by far one of the simplest dishes to make and it tastes amazing every time, so I always have it as a go to dish for Italian meals. Start the night out with these toasts, move onto a green salad, and finish with a pasta dish (following the pasta basics of course), and you will have yourself a complete Italian feast.

What You'll Need:

For the Toasts:

• A crusty baguette, preferably Italian, or a Focaccia loaf


• Extra virgin olive oil


• Salt and pepper


• A single clove of garlic, peeled

For the tomato topping that will be placed on the toasts, I strongly encourage a store bought substitute. You can find bruschetta "sauce" in most supermarkets these days. I personally prefer the Trader Joe's brand. However; if you want to make the topping yourself you'll need to buy a few more ingredients.

For the Topping:

• 3 or more heirloom tomatoes depending on size


• 2 cloves of garlic minced (chopped finely)


• 7-10 leaves of basil laid on top of each other, rolled up like a cigar and chopped into thin strips


• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit


2. Slice the baguette into 3/4 inch slices. Arrange slices and a baking sheet and brush with olive oil using a pastry brush


3. Season the toasts with dashes of salt and pepper
   


4. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, watching to make sure they don't burn.


5. Allow them to cool for a minute then chop the garlic clove in half and rub the toast with the exposed garlic (it transfers the flavor and leaves an amazing taste)


6. Chop the tomatoes into bite-size chunks and toss in a bowl with the garlic, basil, and some extra virgin olive oil


7. Season the topping with salt and pepper and spoon onto toasts (you can also let your guests spoon it themselves so they can control their portions)

Enjoy!

How to Make the Perfect Party Mix

Pictured: You.

Lets face it, parties can be just as stressful as they are fun. Despite the companionship, good times, and fun that comes with throwing parties, the host will always have a long list of worries and concerns that come along with it. Your background music should not be one of them, but surprisingly, it can be sometimes. This guide should help you make the perfect mix for any kind of festivity!


Know Who's Coming

You would never bump hardcore gangsta rap for grandmas birthday (unless your grandma rules) and likewise you wouldn't play Frank Sinatra at an abandoned warehouse rager. You have to know who you're playing to. If it's a kids party keep it as clean and as much as a background sound as possible. If it's a frat party make sure it's danceable and dirty. Failure to do so can make you look irresponsible or just overall lame.

Avoid Awkward Pauses

If you've ever been to a club or school dance you know that unlike your iPod, the music never stops. The sudden lack of background noise can really spoil a moment. A true DJ will make sure that this does not happen by mixing songs together. Since CD's, iPods and iTunes by default pause in between songs you will want to put all of the music together and mix it correctly. A good, easy program to use would be Audacity.

You Can't Please Everybody, So Please the Majority

A common mistake most people make is to try and make EVERYONE happy with their own individual song. A good idea is to put songs together than flow well, don't throw in a Metallica song right after Beyonce just to please your friend Mike.
Don't Save the Best for Last

One of the biggest music buzzkills for me is having all of the best songs either be played right away, or only at the end. This kind of inconsistency will throw people off and generally doesn't go over well. To truly make the music last through the night you need to keep a good mix of killer and filler songs.

I hope these tips will make your next party a blast. Good luck DJ.

Quick Grooming Tip #4

Coffee then Strawberries: So some people love there teeth and would like them to be or to remain pearly white. If you are a coffee drinker (like me) you know or have heard that coffee stains your teeth. Well that is really lame, so my dentist told me to try to eat strawberries after I have my morning cup because the acid in the strawberries will remove the coffee stain on my teeth Try it for a couple of weeks and tell us what happens.

GF & BF Of The Week 9.27.09

Taylor Swift
Age: 19
Heritage: Caucasian-American
Passions: Singing, Playing her guitar, Writing Songs, and making You Tube videos

About: Taylor Swift is so famous it is ridiculous. She has become the new princess of country music and he soft flowing curls falling over her guitar have stimulated audiences all over America. She is based in Nashville, TN and stays out of the Hollywood scene. She is a guy’s girl and enjoys hanging out and writing songs that are on The Billboard Charts forever and happen to be in the top 10. With millions of fans and millions of dollars I am sure you and Taylor could have a good ol’ country time on a date. So my pal Taylor is for sure sweet enough to date but I warn you that if you are bad to her she will write a song about you and everyone in the world will know, actually. “ I need to call her and see when we can chill.”

BF
Drake
Age: 20

Heritage: “Afro-Canadian?”
Passions: Acting & Rapping

About Drake: Drake is the hottest new Rapper on the scene with the release of his new single “Best I Ever had”. The “Best I Ever Had” has been at the top of the charts since it was released and we can’t wait to hear the rest of the album. He broke into the music biz on the sagging pants of Lil Wayne but now he is super famous and he has also collaborated with Mary J on her hot new single “The One.” We don’t know about you but we know him better as Jimmy from the Canadian national treasure Degrassi: The Next Generation. With all this fame and a face meant to be on camera he would be a really satisfying BF. “ So does all this rapping mean he is no longer Jimmy?”

October Movie Month

Just because I walked out of the cinema twice in a row does not mean I have a sour taste in my mouth for good. I am taking a break and waiting until October before the movie going commences. Although I did not enjoy the films I saw (and subsequently walked out of them) I did love trailers. I love trailers. So watch out for these on the big screen:

Where the Wild Things Are: Yes, one of the movies that hipster douchebags will either love to love or love to hate or love to be indifferent about. Hipster douchebags will love it because of its indie-film qualities, the Arcade Fire playing in the trailer, and because it was a children's book. Hipster douchebags will hate it because they, along with many other sorts of people, will say that it ruined the book and are already planning their "It Ruined the Book" posts on their Tumblrs. (By the way the story was only ten sentences long, give Spike Jonze a break, douchebags) Or, hipster douchebags will be indifferent because they are about everything. I think I'm going to love it.

Whip It: I can't wait to see this one. It has the ultimate indie-film babe (that girl from Juno, or Shadowcat if you prefer) to make the ultimate indie film about roller derby. This film is directed by Drew Barrymore, who I am surprised to see still has some semblance of a career. The film has an almost all-star line up that includes Kristen Wiig (famous for her Björk impressions on SNL), Juliette Lewis, that stunt double who played herself in Deathproof, and Eve. Ya, Eve. So go watch it and I'll be sure to write about it in the blog,

Zombieland: This one stars that curly-haired indie protagonist from Adventureland, Abigail Breslin, and some other people I don't know. I love zombie stories. I can't get enough of them. I've seen all the zombie films ever made, and I am thrilled for this one. I love the idea of a rag tag group of people fighting the masses of undead and trying to survive, I hope Little Miss Sunshine gets a gun. But yeah, I expect this to be funny, Sean of the Dead style, and I expect it to be super indie, because that guy from Adventureland is in it. By the way isn't it funny that he went straight from Adventureland to Zombieland? What's next, Frontierland? This one comes out at about the same time as Whip It, try to catch both as soon as you can.

I guess I am an indie movie snob and will only go see ones that have that quality to them, and almost hardly see the big studio mainstream films. I avoid AMC and go straight to a Landmark nearby, and I think that's pretty rad. Support your local indie cinema, and if it's a Landmark, you get a student discount ALL THE TIME (if you're a student) not like that "You're only a student on Thursday" bullshit AMC offers.

See you guys at the cinema!

Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Kid Cudi came into the scene with his trip-hop anthem Day N' Night back in 2007. Fast forward to 2009 and Cudi has built quite a reputation having co-wrote songs on both Kanye West's 808 and Heartbreak and Jay-Z's Blueprint 3. For Cudi's debut he recruits Ratatat, MGMT, Kanye West, and Common along side new fellow new comers Chip Da Ripper and Billy Craven to build his spacey, introspective debut album.

Cudi samples folk and hard rock with distorted electronic finesse that creates an electronic production that breathes fresh air into hip-hop. If anything Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon is a beautifully arranged and produced album. Dark, moody, and experimental the 25 year old Cudi has grown a lot production wise sense his "A Kid Named Cudi" mixtape. When he doesn't use any samples he more than compensates with the minimalist electronic production that Kanye West has popularized. Like Mos Def, T.I., Lil Wayne, or Ant (from Atmosphere), Kid Cudi uses his voice as an instrument as he harmonizes and sings along side his beats to create one of the more organic sounding hip-hop albums (a daring feat considering his strong electronic influence).

Kid Cudi isn't trying to be the best rapper alive, he's perfectly content with his lyrics even if at times you do wish for a little more. While he doesn't have a childlike flow or simple abc123 lyrics, at times his production would really shine with maybe a more lyrical rapper to mold a story with his beautiful production. Yet, Cudi can get away with the less is more mantra. Kid Cudi for the most parts raps about his life as a young adult confused alone, yet still enjoys himself, but once the marijuana smoke clears he's back to being confused but a little more confident in his own journey of self-discovery.

While the albums does have it's share of missteps like the Lady Gaga sampled "Make Her Say Poke her Face" sounds off with the rest of the album. Same can be said about "Hyyerr" Feat. Chip Da Ripper another ode to the ladies sounds off too, as it sounds better placed on a Piles or Lil Wayne album. Not saying Kid Cudi can't make love (or love making) songs, as Enter Galactic (Love Connection) is one of Kid Cudi shining moments.

Cudi's debut is a sold album with some minor missteps, but his production is amazing. It's no wonder Kanye West and Jay-Z have both had songs written and produced by him. His production and song writing really shines on "Soundtrack 2 My Life", "Day N' Night", and "Enter Galactic (Love Connection)".

"In The Market For Food."

My family and I just moved and of course along with moving came stress, and clutter, and short fuses. How far did we move exactly? Oh, just to the other side of town. Maybe a mile, at most. But relentless of the distance our experience goes to prove that moving is never fun.

My new house is a culinary failure at first glance considering the kitchen is half the size of our old one (a cutting board takes up all our counter space). It wasn't until I ventured down the street from the new place and stumbled on a local market. I had passed by this place thousands of times but never once had I stopped to take a look and explore. And explore really is the perfect word because there was an overflow of local produce to be discovered.
This brings me to my point. Local markets really are the best place to buy your food. I understand they may not have specialty foods for the most experimental cooks or the guilty-pleasure hostess cupcakes for those starved of childhood comforts. Overall though, your local market really is a place to behold.
I was making a squash casserole and flew down to my local market to grab some Yellow Summer Squash. Not only was the squash quite tasty; it was cheaper than the supermarket and organically grown. Most of the produce at my local market is from small, somewhat close farms which translates to more money into the local economy. It also means produce that is not genetically modified or showered in pesticides in order to retain it's unnaturally bright color and flawless shape. Your body will thank you later.
And don't think that local markets are just for produce. I snagged myself a bag of tortilla chips, and some pretty delicious goat cheese while wandering the food stands, which makes grumpy Kelly a happy camper. And if my local market has the power to relieve me of my post-moving stress disorder, I'm sure it can work wonders in your life.

Click here to help you find local markets where you live.

Incoming!

Here are a few records to look out for in the next month or so:


Brand New - Daisy (TODAY)

Amazingly good alternative rock. Can go from tense and enchanting to loud and crazy in a heartbeat. Definitely one of my favorite artists of all time.

Owen - New Leaves (TODAY)

Owen is an acoustic artist who lightly brushes his songs with some electronic backgrounds. The effect is extraordinary and very relaxing. The man behind this is the same guy behind the bands American Football and Cap'n Jazz.

AFI - Crash Love (September 29th)

These punk rockers have changed a lot since the 90's. Lets hope this album doesn't dissapoint.

Say Anything - Say Anything (Oct. 13th)

I can't tell you how excited for this release I am. The new single 'Hate Everyone' gives a very promising hope that this album will rule.

When To Walk Out of the Cinema

This past weekend was an awful one in cinema. I walked out of two films, Bright Star and The Informant. I have never walked out of a cinema in my life. Well there was one time when I tried to see The Unborn in Union City with my cousin. It was way too ghetto for my taste, so we upped and left. But that was before the film started. This is different.

Bright Star: This is a period film, so put your walking shoes on. This film was very confusing. I had no clue why the characters behaved the way they did. For those of you who have never heard of this (I'm assuming there are a good number of you) Bright Star is a very indie film based on the relationship between regency era pet John Keats and his lover, this girl named Fanny. Throughout the film, romantic gestures where made, I think. I think they sort of liked each other, and sort of hated each other at the same time. I think. I did grow bored of the plot, the on-and-off-letter-exchanging-emotional roller coaster of the film made me sleepy. I was thinking, 'Gosh, I wish i was doing something right now'. Apparently, my friends all thought the same thing, too, so we stood up and left the Metreon. You know when to leave a film when it's about to reach the climax and you still don't care.

The Informant: We saw this film because there was nothing else to see. I wanted to see 9, but someone in our party had seen it already. So we saw the informant. There was no fantasy aspect in this film, so I was already half way out the door. Not that I can't enjoy a reasonably realistic film, but there was no part about this film that I was particularly interested in, so, for personal reasons, I did not enjoy this film. Part of the time, I did not understand it. Perhaps this is a film meant for adults. It is rated R, but I did not see anything suggestive, which leads me to believe that only adults can enjoy this film. You know when to leave a film when you are looking at the empty seats around you more than the screen.

GF & BF Of The Week 9.20.09

GF
Keke Palmer
Age: 15
Heritage: African-American
Passions: Acting, Singing, and Dancing
About Keke: The extremely cute Keke Palmer is only 15 now but is quickly on her way to being one of Hollywood’s most notable starlets. With a show on Nickelodeon and a budding career in music she is on top of her business. This Junior A – Lister would be a great girlfriend because she is talented, driven, and sassy. Watch out gentlemen I think Keke is the type to call you on any crap, definitely girlfriend material. “ Keke don’t date older men and misbehave in Hollywood.”


BF
David Henrie
Age 20
Heritage: Caucasian-American
Passions: Acting
About David: David is most famous for his role on Disney’s The Wizard’s of Waverly Place but we also remember David from That’s So Raven. On wizards he plays Justin Russo aka Selena Gomez’s older brother. He also has a role on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. David is one of Hollywood’s young quiet bachelors which we like. He is 20 with a stable job in LA so definitely dateable. “ I wonder when we will see him with Miley Cyrus!”

FAME

In Theater 9.25.09

MIKA: The Boy Who Knew Too Much

New Album Out Today
Check Back For A Review
On 9.27.09

Comments

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- Style: For Boys

SP: 9.20.09

From Last Weeks Article.
“We don’t need girls to tell us what to wear and when to wear it, and any girl who says she doesn’t like a boy with style is lying (I will tell you why in the next article).”
This Week.
I have some girlfriends that say,” I don’t want a boy with style, I just don’t” Direct Quote. “ I don’t care what you say chicadita, You want a boy with a style, you just don’t want him to look better than you and hog your mirror in the morning.” The thing is boys, most girls don’t know what they want and can’t even pinpoint what they like. There are two types of girls who don’t care, #1 She likes a Bicep Boy: A Boy who’s biceps are equivalent to a blazer or cardigan and can wear a T- Shirt and look picture perfect, #2 She is a little insecure and has to call a boy a homosexual when he has style because he has better facial features and if he has style he looks hotter than she does. We can’t help these girls; all we can do is shut up the lies by telling the truth with a good closet and date ready cologne. Find a girl with pride that likes a sharp guy. Don’t be jealous ladies, just appreciate a dude’s effort as he appreciates yours, and if he is a gentlemen he will always appreciate your effort.

Look At: Ray Ban Sunglasses, I can’t tell you how much a good pair of sunglasses can do for you, and Ray Ban offers styles most people can pull off. You will most likely look sharp and you can use it as the garnish to finish any great outfit. You can probably find a really good sale on the famous style if you look around. The Wayfarer style that is signature to Ray Ban is their most popular right now and come in a variety of colors and frame textures. There are also a bunch of knock offs but go for those too if you can’t afford the real thing. Remember: Personal Style is associated with a sense of self worth, so own your look and don’t get discouraged by haters.

by David Michael

Quick Grooming Tip #3

Muscle Therapy

So I know this is not a classic grooming tip but you can put it in your bag of tricks. If you have a really rough workout and your muscles are sore that is caused by our friend Inflammation and Swelling. We usually use ice packs and things of that nature to take down the swelling and ease our discomfort but the Rosemary: A Popular kitchen staple can do the same trick and its something new.
Take a couple of sprigs of Rosemary and let them chill out in a pot of simmering water, as if you are making Rosemary tea. Take the pot off let it cool for a little bit. Soak a towel in the Rosemary infused water and then drape the towel over the inflamed area. The heat from the steam will relax your muscles and aid your recovery and the Rosemary is acting as an anti - inflammatory to take down your swelling. " So save the Frozen Peas for dinner and run to your herb garden for a new girlfriend named Rosemary."