8:29 a.m.
We’ve always had great luck with the Jura Capresso automatic espresso machines, and have come to rely on ours for great coffee at the touch of a single button — a feat which can’t be overpraised when it’s 6:30 in the morning and I’m stumbling into the kitchen, my eyes so bleary I can hardly see.
We’re on our third machine after numerous relocations and even more numerous years, and for our last move to Dallas, we decided to upgrade to the Impressa Z6 — a zippy, hi-tech model in black and chrome. But, like any hi-tech upgrade, along with all the zippier bells and whistles comes a lot more opportunity for disaster, and where we’ve had years of uncomplaining service from lesser Jura Capresso models, after only 4-6 weeks of regular use the new Impressa Z6 is a torrent of creaks, groans and outright derelictions of duty.
There’s nothing more sad than a grown man in the throes of caffeine withdrawal standing in front of his espresso machine, cursing and mashing buttons, as nothing happens but noise, noise and more groaning, complaining mechanical noise.
We’re tossing out the Z6 and going back to the model we had before. We’re sorry Capresso S9 — you were sweet, loyal and true, and we never should have broken up with you in the first place!
2:43 p.m.
The House of Cards US Stock Market is teetering, wavering . . .
“Wall Street fell sharply again Thursday after a French bank said it was freezing three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages because it was unable to properly value their assets . . . Losses swept through all 18 western European markets and curtailed a three-day recovery in which U.S. stocks had recovered almost half the $1.6 trillion wiped out in the previous three weeks. Speculation that more banks and brokerages will report declining values in credit investments exacerbated the selling.”
2:56 p.m.
Narciso Rodriguez . . . even the name is beautiful.
“Devoted to the geometry of the female form.”
I love the sleek, clean lines and edgy glamour of it all. Someone entering the room in a Rodriguez would mean business.
9:10 p.m.
It’s next to impossible to find a pair of shoes that the BF likes, yet DSquared2, with their bold colors and eye-catching design elements, consistently fit the bill — that is, if I can find DSquared2 shoes anywhere, much less in his size.
That’s the problem with high-fashion items — cool, but generally unavailable. Here’s a clip of their Fall/Winter 07/08 show:
Despite the fact that the imagery is so hyper-masuline as to nearly stray into camp territory, it’s nice to see a design house produce clothes for men that aren’t softly feminized. For a textbook example of what I mean:
The Canadian duo of DSquared2 have witnessed an explosion in popularity of late that has propelled them into $100 million+ a year territory, and they’re doing what any sensible design team would do with all that newfound cash: expanding!
9:49 p.m.
I’m going to bravely try my hand at making my own ravioli tomorrow. I’ve never made pasta of any kind before, so I’m quite certain it will turn out to be a disaster, but kitchen disasters are containable, don’t leak radiation and they’re instructive in that I rarely repeat the same mistake twice. Besides, I’ll have opened a bottle of something Napa Valley Red or other while I’m doing the cooking, so any pain will be easily mitigated.
I picked up a recently published Italian cookbook today to be my guide through this perilous journey: The Silver Spoon — “the Bible of authentic Italian cooking!” Apparently, The Silver Spoon has been a staple in Italian kitchens for over 50 years, and was only just translated into English a year or so ago.
Lucky me.
I decided to just jump right on in and try Chef Mario Batali‘s recipe for Beef Cheek Ravioli, though I believe I’ll nix the chicken liver canape’s addition to the dish this time around. Why drop additional straws on the poor camel’s back?
God help us all!
