don't speak. please

LWS has conjured up yet another music mix for your listening pleasure. this time around - no words, no vocals, no choruses to follow inhibiting your musical enjoyment.

a soundtrack consisting of just pure music to sit back and chill by. or work. or play. or relax. or, whatever.

longweekendstyle "don't speak" is available for listening through www.8tracks.com. 8tracks.com always free, always streaming. you can log in and set up an account to save your personal favorite mixes or just be an anonymous bystander and listen to all the awesome mixes available to you.

www.8tracks.com/longweekendstyle/longweekendstyle-don-t-speak

please don't leave me this way

i am constantly plagued by undereye circles of epic proportions. i am unsure whether it is old age creeping up on me, the lack of an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep, allergies or just plain genetics.

any way you cut it, i am perpetually what one would refer to as "raccoon eyed".

better than wall-eyed, i suppose, but really not so much.

i have tried all manner of undereye concealers and around 4pm, i discover that they have abandoned me yet again - making me look tired, way beyond my years and looking as if i have pulled an all nighter for the last 3 years in a row.

enter stay don't stray from benefit. touted as an eye area primer to help hold eye shadow and concealers in place, i decide to give it a try.

stay don't stray is the color of undereye concealer and it's creamy nature lends itself to easy undereye blendability. and yet, somehow, stay dont'stray does manage to "bind" my undereye concealer so that it does what it's supposed to do, which is conceal those dark circles, a little bit longer. luckily, stay don't stray is the color of undereye concealer as more than a few times, i have forgotten that i have not added the crucial final step of actual undereye concealer and have gone out with just the stay don't stray, which has done a fine job of playing understudy to my missing undereye concealer.

stay don't stray from benefit is $24 for a .33 fl oz pump bottle. available online at www.benefitcosmetics.com or check your local beauty counter at your favorite store!

lucky sticks!

no, lucky sticks, not lucky strikes. really.

we have located yet another japanese chocolate covered stick cookie! and while the name sounds like they would be some sort of nicotine type product, we can assure you it is all choco-covered cookie goodness.

lucky stick by meiji (pronounced "meh-gee") is described as a "biscuit stick covered with chocolate flavored cream" and they are delish-delish.

the cookie biscuit itself is a creamy chocolate flavor, about 1/4" wide and covered in dark creamy chocolate. still have that excellent cookie crispness to them but wield a little more flavor than the pocky since we're talking about a bigger cookie area by a factor of 2 at least.

available in asian grocery stores around the country - meiji lucky stick retails for $.99 for approximately 20 cookie sticks.

stop! ceviche time!

long weekend style has concocted what we feel is a pretty damn good ceviche; testers finished the 2 batches and came back asking for more.

so here it is, LWS ceviche, which better yet, requires asolutely no interaction with one's stove. please note<>

1 lb seafood mix (calamari, shrimp, scallops)

1 lb langostines

4 limes, juiced

2 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup cilantro

2 ripe avocados, pitted and cubed

1 tomato - cut into small chunks

1 red onion - chopped (fine or chunky - your choice)

salt & pepper to taste

1 bag tortilla chips (corn or flour, your choice)

defrost all shellfish, if needed, overnight in refrigerator. place all shellfish in a shallow baking dish, trying to keep it to a single layer if possible. pour both lemon and lime juices over shellfish, completely submerging the shellfish mixture. cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 24 hours.

drain juice from shellfish using a collander in kitchen sink - really drain for at least 30 minutes to to remove all juice and prevent a soggy ceviche later. in a large bowl, mix all shellfish with parsley, cilantro, avocado chunks, tomatoes and onion until evenly and well distributed together. salt and pepper to taste. arrange artfully on a pretty platter with a big ol bowl of tortilla chips, sit back and watch your guests gorge themselves silly on this tasty summer dish.

happy happy joy joy indeed!

what else is there?

well, for one thing, a great song by the hypnotic royksopp called "what else is there?" from their album, the understanding. this melodic, entrancing song leads your ears through a maze of emotions and instruments, all culminating in a ticking clock that leaves us forever haunted.

check out the dreamy, surreal viddie here, which also features the amazing vocal talents and usual beauty of karin dreijer andersson from the knife:

www.royksopp.com/videos/what-else-is-there

the album the understanding by royksopp and the single, "what else is there?" are both available for purchase through amazon or itunes.