WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

This weekend, I was celebrating my birthday (which is today, but you knew that already) with some friends. My pal Julie presented a beautiful birthday cake she had made me, confiding that she had gotten clearance from my husband to make the cake ahead of time. I'll just present to you, without commentary, the email exchange that went down to ensure that this cake was approved by Steve.

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You know those cool photos that sandwich the commercials on Saturday Night Live? Today I'm speaking with the woman behind them. A native of New Jersey, she began her career in film production and music publicity. She joined the staff of SNL in 1993 as an assistant to photographer Edie Baskin. In 1999 she took over from Baskin, becoming responsible the celebrity portraits used as commercial bumpers on the show.

Tell me about shooting the opening credits of the show. I was always curious to know how sincere and spontaneous those shots of the cast members were.
I came up with this concept of asking them individually what part of New York means something to you, where do you hang out? What is your New York? And that’s kind of how we went about it. So that was kinda fun—like Jason Sudeikis was playing basketball and things like that. So... I kind of approached it in a more personal level for them.

Was that very time intensive? To go all around the city for each of the cast members?

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Well, folks, it’s come down to this. What is Claire Zulkey’s favorite kind of pasta? I know you’ve been waiting weeks to learn the answer to this. Coming down to a decision has been so tough that I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger and pick a favorite last week and put it off until today. However, now that actual tournament basketball is over, it’s time for the carb contest to wrap up as well.

I love all pasta—even the losers who got knocked out in the first round are still preferable to so many other kinds of foods. Quinoa? More like quin-whaa? Wild rice? More like mild rice (actually, this doesn’t even make sense as technically mild rice would be just plain white rice which I’m actually OK with.) The point is, I like noodles.

Let’s just get down to it. Gemelli vs. pappardelle. Neither pasta has ever let me down, neither has an obvious deficit. I can't even decide what’s superior, short vs. long pasta.

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My husband used to be a picky eater, to the point where we'd cumulatively stress out each time we went out to a restaurant that wasn't vetted by him, in case there wasn't something on the menu he liked. Fortunately for our marriage, he's let down his guard a lot. He's learned that eating new things won't kill him, that most food is good and, if not, he can always go to Subway later.

But back before he evolved, I used to note which recipes in my binder met his approval. Now, looking at how long this list is, I think I can stop calling him picky.

Turkey Salad with Manchego
 

Pea, Feta and Crispy Prosciutto Salad
 

Pesto Smashed Potatoes
 

Pasta E Fagioli

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Do you know how old I am? No seriously, tell me. Because I’m approaching that age where I start to forget what my actual age is. (I think it’s 34, unless it’s 43? It could be anywhere in there.) This is a true sign of aging, and it’s definitely showing all over my body, this son-of-a-bitch we call time. Based on the somewhere-between-28-and-50 years I’ve spent on the planet, these are the tips I’ve learned for looking youthful. Just follow them strictly and you’ll look even fresher than my baby son does. Truth be told, even though he’s almost eight months old, it’s a hard eight.

Don’t drink. Don’t smoke.
Pretty much anything fun or cool: skip it. Any sort of life experience is just going to age you because chemicals suck the life out of your face and smiling gives you wrinkles and staying up late gives you bags under your eyes and makes you eat late night burritos which definitely isn’t good for your neck.  

Don’t go outside.

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Today's interviewee's site is up there on my daily reads, except for the days when the site involves poop or placentas (I read my blogs during lunch.) STFU, Parents has skewered the strange world of parental social media overshares and given me lots of laughs, silent commiseration and a bit of a guide on how not to behave online. Blair Koenig's published the STFU Parents book this week with Penguin and I can't wait to check it out. When she's not running the blog or promoting the new book, she's also got a blog at Mommyish. Disclaimer: Blair and I are (Internet) friends my child has appeared on the site...as a Mom's Gold Star.

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Need some music to brighten your day? I DJ'ed last night at Dance Dance Party Party.

This whole mix began with me playing "The Humpty Dance" and remembering what a fun song it is. I went into a '90s happy rap/R&B wormhole, going back to some of my favorite songs from late middle school and early high school. Ironically, "Humpty Dance" didn't make the cut because it's six and a half minutes long, which is too long for a DDPP mix (in my opinion.) The last minute especially of the song feels unnecessary.

This is from one of the first tapes I ever bought. En Vogue was just the coolest, you know? So gorgeous and empowered and talented. You know how one of Beyonce's latest songs tell people to bow down?

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