Seuss hats, pink's history, rare Hitchcock silents

Some of you know that I got my car Rosco because, five years ago this September, I had the great privilege of speaking at a small retreat Charlie Peacock organized for young musicians. I'm still not quite sure how I wound up there, but it was an experience I'll never forget, and the start of some special new friendships.

About 60 musicians attended the retreat — some you've probably heard of and many you haven't, but should. One of them was a man from L.A. named Will Gray. Earlier this month, I got the shocking news that Will recently died of a cancer only discovered this past fall (2012); I believe he was in his early 30s.

In the course of learning about his death, I also found out that Will directed a documentary about independent musicians called Broke*. Just released in June, the film features Buddy Miller, Bobby Bare Jr., John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Trent Dabbs and many other musicians. You can buy Broke* on iTunes. I thought the best tribute I could offer to this talented musician was to share his music and movie with all of you.

• T. Bone Burnett produced Will's debut EP.
• Will also did a six-song duet EP, The Renegade, that features a cover of Patty Griffin's "Top of the World" (that second link's a video).
• On the Broke* soundtrack, Will and Reva sing "Top of the World" with Buddy Miller.

:: our stuff ::

• Jenn Leighton has another show up at Blue Door Beads on Piedmont; it's there through the end of the month.
• If you think pink has always been a feminine color, you should read my short history of the color for TheAtlantic.com, which ranges from Jay Gatsby's pink suit to the sexual revolution and beyond.

:: special events & exhibits ::

• Watch one or several rare silent Hitchcock films, Aug. 16-31 at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. I might be up for seeing some of these, so let me know if you're interested.
• Aug. 30-Sept. 15, the Dr. Seuss hat collection returns to the Bay Area, for a two-week run in Sausalito. This time I'm determined to see it! Petri's Fine Arts (690 Bridgeway, open 10-6 daily).
  

:: tunes ::

• NPR Music has a pretty spectacular set of First Listens this week, if I may risk a little hyperbole: selections from Bob Dylan's latest bootleg album, plus the new Neko Case, Franz Ferdinand and a Sly and the Family Stone album.
  
• Somehow I missed this last year, but Stephen Colbert started a summer segment called Colbchella (recently in the news for his "Get Lucky" dance featuring Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges and Henry Kissinger, among others). Watch all the Colbchella videos here.
  
• Elvis Costello and the Roots recently released the first single from their forthcoming album together, Wise Up Ghost. Watch the video for "Walk Us Uptown" (via Paste).
• "Hot Knife" was one of my favorite songs from last year's new Fiona Apple album ... and now there's a music video for it. (via Paste)
• Dan Aykroyd performs "Born in Chicago"
• I can't remember what party it was now, but one night in New York, I met a woman who had what must be several people's dream job: working as a photo or art director at Vanity Fair (or something like that). Before long, though, I learned that her real passion was sculpture. I was reminded of that woman by this profile of accomplished portrait photographer Mark Seliger, who writes and performs country songs as a side gig. (He's only photographed Obama and Keith Richards...) Producers on his band's first album included Lenny Kravitz, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and T. Bone Burnett, but they scaled things back from the new record. A fun read, whether or not you check out their sound.
  

:: visual art & film ::

• Although this photo story depicts a rather perilous, aged tramway in Russia, I found myself lingering over the images. Some really beautiful shots.
• Airplane Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style: Apparently this was first posted more than a year ago, but it recirculated recently, and rightly so. Really funny.
• Patton Dodd reviews The East, a film he says quietly -- and radically -- takes prayer seriously. I hadn't heard anything about this before his review, but the film sounds really intriguing.
• Alissa Wilkinson reviews The Spectacular Now, which was another thoughtful review from Christianity Today. I've really appreciated some of the magazine's recent film reviews, most of which have made me want to see the movies discussed.
  

:: reading/food for thought ::

• Book memes crops up every few weeks, it seems, but this set of covers for books that lost one letter in their title was pretty funny. 

:: food ::

For more than a year now, I've been getting a regular CSA box -- first every three weeks, now every two. Because of the summer harvest, though, that's meant lots and lots of tomatoes (2.5 pounds in the last box alone). Last night I decided to try an intriguing "tomato casserole" recipe in my Deaf Smith cookbook. I can't find it online, but here's the gist:

• 12-15 tomatoes (they must be small? I used 7 heirlooms = 2.5 pounds, plus a pint of cherry tomotoes)
• 2-3 jalapenos, which I think they suggested you roast and chop (I used two chipotles, which produced a pretty spicy dish; you might want to start with one and adjust to taste)
• 4 slices of bread, cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated cheese to top

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to a deep, heavy pan along with the peppers. Bring to a boil and simmer until thick -- at least 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the bread crumbs. Pour into a 2-quart baking pan (9x9) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until somewhat firm. You don't want it too soupy. Top servings with grated cheese.

I let my casserole sit a while before serving, but it was still a bit loose (the type and staleness of the bread used might make a difference). I think it would be equally good if you cooked and crumbled a few slices of bacon and stirred that in before baking. An interesting use of tomatoes, at any rate! The cookbook claimed this was an old recipe, handed down over several generations.