The good news…..I’ve been asked to be a featured speaker at this summer’s Social Retail Summit in DUMBO! It going to be about social media blah blah blah community bridges non-linear thinking blah blah blah blah. I’m not really sure- it’s bunch of people who work for dot coms and me. Either the quality content I share with my audience on platforms like this page right here makes me some sort of “expert” in the field, OR they just read the article on Fast Company and have yet to actually see this crapshow blog. Now onto yet another post that has absolutely nothing to do with baking!
Let’s talk the bad news. I need a professional headshot for this thing. It wasn’t something that had occurred to me to have professionally done before, mostly because the top things I despise are, in order:
1. Raisins
2. Getting my picture taken
3. The Islanders
4. When I see that Cheers is on TV and I’m like “YAAAAAY!”, but then I put it on and it’s a Diane episode and I’m like “BOOOOOOO!”
5. Raisins again.
You’d think with all the interviews and press we do, I’d have gotten used to this, but I am hands down my most unphotogenic person that has ever existed. I’m awkward in front of the camera, and what’s worse is that I’m actually aware of the fact I’m awkward and know I’m going to look like crap, which is why photos of me ordinarily appear as if I have 6 chins and am actively pooping.
So once I received this news, was the first thing I did to contact a photographer? Find ways to combat my fear using the sorcery of Google? Of COURSE not! I went on Facebook and started complaining. And my good friend Liz Gutman of Liddabit Sweets suggested I just suck it up, stare longingly into my iPhone and make a duckface. Which, of course, caused me to stop what I was working on and start studying the phenomenon of “Duckface”.
I believe that the first popular usage of Duckface by was by Walter “Duckface” Berman on Full House, as pictured above. My first headshot ended up like so:
Which is hands down 10 times better than most of the pictures I’ve ever taken! Gutman, you’re a genius!
Then I Googled “Duckface” and found about a billion photos that looked NOTHING like what I took. I tried copying it all……
“Pensive Philosopher” Duckface……..
“Stumped by Long Division” Duckface….
“Actual Duck” Duckface.
The more I looked at these, I realized that actually NOTHING looked like a duck. In fact, I don’t know why poor ducks got dragged into this at all. I’ve seen this look before - in fact, we all have………
It’s BLUE STEEL! Very simple to do- pucker lips, suck in cheeks, create the illusion that behind your eyes, there is an endless soul-sucking pool of nothingness.
Unfortunately my head is still too big to pull this off, so I’m stuck with my default- the Carl Spackler.
Which, I guess, is the next best thing.
Hey, at least the cupcakes are sexy.
Clockwise from front: Ebinger, Tres Leches, Peach Melba, Strawberry Shortcake
Ebinger: Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate fudge, chocolate cake crumbs
Tres Leches: Three milk soaked brown butter cake, dulce de leche buttercream, caramel shards
Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake, strawberry syrup, mascarpone buttercream, strawberry compote, vanilla cake crumbs
Peach Melba: Brown sugar cake, mascarpone buttercream, raspberry jam, peach compote
Cupcakes, brownies, whoopie pies, and more are available at Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market and select Robicelli’s retail partners. Selection at retail partners is at the discretion of their management, not us, so call them directly if you’re looking for something specific!
