Everything old is new again at Iris. Well not everything, exactly—only the fabulous bits of retro pop culture we consider worthy of bringing back.
"Veronica Mars"
It’s summer, and let’s face it, what we all need right now is to get addicted to as many TV shows as possible to escape the heat (in Virginia, it’s predicted to be around 900 degrees today). A lovely coworker of mine recently reminded me that “Veronica Mars,” a Buffy-esque series that went off the air a few years ago after three fabulous seasons, is summer-vegetative-state-worthy. Oh my, does Veronica kick behind as a teen private detective with an attitude, a boy problem, a biker gang fetish, and a penchant for getting herself and everyone around her arrested! There is no better escapism, my friends, than watching Veronica waddle her tiny blond self through a doggie door in order to steal the hard drive from a super secret college society, called (a la Kafta) “The Castle.” As a bonus, Veronica has a posse of engrossing friends. There’s her hug-able dad Keith Mars, Mac (her computer and gadgets sidekick), her hunky boyfriend Logan (part jerk, part puppy dog), and Wallace (her b-balling best friend). I guarantee, it’s noir for the thirsty soul.
Wrapping the World like a giant present: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net
I’m not the most perceptive aficionado of modern art, but recently I visited a friend and art museum curator who reminded me of how imaginative and fun art can be. She had just finished a show of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s famous wrapping art. Basically this wildly eccentric French couple have been seeking out natural or manmade spaces to adorn with fabrics, since the late 1960s, and they are still at it. Places they have “wrapped” include Berlin’s Reichstag in luminous white, several islands in Miami, Florida with vibrant pink, and the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in a dazzling gold. (It’s a phenomenon that must be seen to be understood.) They have also hung miles of fabric in a “running fence” through Sonoma and Marin counties, California, that plunge straight into the ocean and set up hundreds of blue and gold umbrellas in a joint project for Japan and the U.S. Unfortunately, these displays are ephemeral, but you can witness the strange and beautiful photographs of past exhibitions on their website. [Photograph from www.christojeanneclaude.net, Surrounded Islands, Miami, Florida 1980-83, Photo: Wolfgang Volz, ©1983 Christo.]
Healing Spice: Turmeric
Turmeric has been around for a long time, and it’s high time to refresh this colorful little spice that lends that golden zing to curries. As my parents raised me on Indian and Malaysian food, Turmeric has always been a frequent go-to in my pantry, but who knew it possessed such healing powers? Well, apparently, everyone in the East has known, and now the West is catching on. In a September 2008 study released in Blood Medical Journal, Turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, was shown to actually suppress and block the spread of some cancerous cells. In addition, it is known to help reduce inflammation and pain, ease some of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and diminish coughing. Well, whether or not it succeeds as a cure all, it is very tasty. Try out this easy vegetarian Indian dish, Kappa Aviyal, to satisfy your budding Turmeric craving, and you might just relieve some of your cold symptoms.
Kappa Aviyal
yucca/tapioca root cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1 shallot, chopped
2 T whole milk or yogurt
¼ t turmeric powder
1 t cayenne chili powder
salt to taste
Cook yucca by adding salt and water, until it is soft. Drain excess water and put it aside. Fry the shallots a bit, then add the spices, coconut, and the yucca. Mix well. Cook on low heat for a few minutes.
Velvet Goldmine, the Soundtrack
All right, so I admit it. I have Toni Collette on the mind this week (she’s a star of “Velvet Goldmine”). But she does bring to mind a favorite soundtrack of mine that deserves resurrection. Even though my copy has been long stolen from my car (at the time, along with ALL of my c.d.s and the entire dashboard—I mean, come on! How do you even remove an entire dashboard? But I digress—), I still long for its incomparable Glam Rock-ness. Those who think the 70s were all about disco may have missed this pre-punk, glittery, platform-heel, men dressing as girls dressing as boys dressing as peacocks, British music movement. And that’s just sad. First see the movie—it has Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in it, so you won’t begrudge me. And frankly, I didn’t even like glam rock prior to the movie, but it’s like a far cooler precursor to “Almost Famous.” Then treat yourself to one of the best movie soundtracks ever compiled, with the likes of Brian Eno, Lou Reed, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead, to name a few. Did I mention both McGregor and Rhys Meyers sing?
Sally Hawkins
Some may be surprised by the fact that I am classifying the newly-Golden-Globe adorned Sally Hawkins as refresh, but in fact, she has been around the block! By all means do not miss her current (and now officially celebrated) performance in Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky.” You’ll spend the first 45 minutes wanting to kill her hyper-bubbly Poppy, and the rest of the movie trying to figure out how to magically transport yourself into her fictional life to be best friends with her roomie, Zoe, and awkwardly but charmingly date her boyfriend, Tim. But Hawkins had a supporting role in an earlier Mike Leigh film (as did her "Happy-Go-Lucky" co-star Eddie Marsan). Though she is only in the first half of “Vera Drake,” her portrayal of a young woman who is raped and seeks an abortion during the 1950s is so chilling and nuanced, Hawkins, like the movie in general, leaves you rich in thought. So much of Hawkins acting takes place entirely beneath her skin that you mistakenly believe she must really be the character she creates.
The Bitch in the House
26 Women Tell the TRUTH about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage edited by Cathi Hanauer
This is not a super old refresh (the essay collection was first published in 2002), and it covers some topics—marriage, kids, monogamous sex, etc.—that may lie in your future rather than the here and now. But it is a book every woman should read now, because it will help put your past, present, and future into perspective. I pulled it out again after my friend and I recently exchanged a set of emails on our stress-induced misanthropy entitled, “Am I a bitch?” The Bitch in the House’s talented writers, from Chitra Divankaruni to Kristin van Ogtrop, analyze their own thoughts, attitudes, and experiences to a shockingly honest and intimate extent. A moment I found all too familiar was one woman trying to get her mother to admit, if not validate, her inexplicable childhood anger. An eerie essay featured a contributor’s admission that finding her intellectual mate has meant a life of less-passionate sex. And the several tales of balancing parenthood and work serve up a serious dose of reality to any woman who might be fantasizing about motherhood. Yet reading these women’s stories is rather like undergoing a particularly satisfying counseling session. Repeat after editor Cathi Hanauer: “I’ve chosen this life, and I’d chose it again in a heartbeat…And if that means I’ll never be The Angel in the House,” then so be it.
Friday Night Frights 
I have always been the champion of underappreciated holidays—Independence Day (I have a thing for John Adams—have you seen the three ring circus/musical about our founding fathers that is “1776”? forget the HBO miniseries, people!), Cinco de Mayo (I’m from LA), May Day/International Workers Day (which is when my husband sends out “Christmas” cards, incidentally). Halloween may not be exactly undervalued, but it does top my list, mostly because I love scary, eerie, and themed movies that enhance the occasion. So here is a brief list of my favorites, if you need a suggestion this October 31st:
5) Any of the Harry Potter movies (my personal favorite? “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” because, as it will shortly become clear, time travel and Halloween go hand in hand). All right so, this seems like a copout, but if you are a fan, you understand that only nose-less Ralph Fiennes licking his lips with devilish relish can get you in the mood for the loads of candy you stole from your own Trick-or-Treat bowl. The Harry Potter world is so deliciously escapist, it is hard to reconcile with your own muggle-dom.
4) Donnie Darko (2001)—It’s impossible to describe the plot of this movie to a new-comer, because it’s just so weird (and yes, it involves time travel, I think—but we may never know for sure). It stars Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal as brother and sister, a frumpy Drew Barrymore, the awesome Jena Malone (from “Saved!”), Noah Wyle, and Patrick Swayze as the self-help-guru/child-porn-ring-leader character that should be obligatory in a movie. This movie will make you rethink time, morality, and if you really did hate Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” after all. 
3) The Blob (1958)—I can’t help myself, it is my favorite campy horror movie ever. I mean, it’s from the 1950s! This movie needs no introduction, as the title pretty well describes the movie’s trajectory. Oozy, gooey alien life forms are far superior to cute, cuddly E.T.s.
2) Stigmata (1999)—We all know "The Exorcist" is a great Halloween flick, and this movie is a variation on the same theme. It's ending is a bit lamer, but the film's pretty saturated colors make possession a feast for the eyes. A convincing performance by Patricia Arquette will have you believing that you too could receive a cursed artifact that allows you to speak and write in a crazy frightening Devil language. So replace "The Exorcist" with "Stigmata" this year for a new spin on the priest questioning the church/ordinary person possessed by terrifying spirit of the netherworld storyline.
1) The Ring (2002)—I know it’s recent and well known, but this movie is horror-flick perfection. The images of the cursed video that “kills” those who watch it remain intriguing and creepy long after the film’s conclusion. And while my parents still try to convince me that the original Japanese “Ringu” (1998) is better, I say it’s a little too campy to be scary. But what the heck, rent them both together and decide your own verdict.
"Earth Girls are Easy"
"Finland? Nooo, this the Valley."
–Geena Davis in "Earth Girls are Easy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ljf-cOuPbU&NR=1
Once upon a rainy Sunday, I was channel surfing, looking for something to sooth my end-of-weekend blues, when my roommate commanded me to "Go back! Earth girls are easy!" I looked over at her, trying to figure out if she was being cute with me. She wasn't, and about ten minutes in, I completely understood her enthusiasm. "Earth Girls Are Easy" (1989) stars Geena Davis as an 80's Valley girl and Jeff Goldblum as the hot alien who crash lands in her pool along with two of his companions (before-they-were-starsish, Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans).
Hilarity ensues, complete with 80s makeover at the salon where Geena works (Curl up and Dye), a dance-off at the local disco (Deca Dance) and interplanetary lovemaking, but it's the mondo-bizarro 80s dialogue, fashion, and song and dance numbers that make this film a real gem of a way to spend your Sunday.
