Axis of Evel
One (fleeting) regret on the Montana trip was missing Evel Week in Butte. That’s Evel as in Knievel, favorite son of the tapped-out town. NY Press sent a reporter. Paints too pretty a picture if you ask me. But what do I know: I went to Maloney’s.
One (fleeting) regret on the Montana trip was missing Evel Week in Butte. That’s Evel as in Knievel, favorite son of the tapped-out town. NY Press sent a reporter. Paints too pretty a picture if you ask me. But what do I know: I went to Maloney’s.
Sad to hear that Bill's beloved mutt, Mother, has died. I'm not the biggest fan of dogs, but Mother was as sweet as they come. Good owners make for good dogs, and maybe she was grateful for being rescued from a hard life, but she was about as laid back as a canine could be. I'll always remember tromping around Buck's County with her in the Autumn leaves. Our sympathies go out.
In better pet news, we hear that Polycat is doing well in Montana, and two slightly irregular kittens have found a home…
In better pet news, we hear that Polycat is doing well in Montana, and two slightly irregular kittens have found a home…
Larry Rivers is dead.
The Times obit reflects his mixed reputation. He was gifted and inventive, but produced a lot of truly awful work. Even his good stuff was done better by Rauschenberg. Still, he played his role to the hilt, and managed to be both highbrow and vulgar at the same time, which remains a popular ambition in the art world. I was never attracted to his work, but he was the biggest name on the Parsons faculty when I went there. My friend Steve DiBenedetto did excellent Rivers knock-offs, even to the point of carrying around stencils as part of his life drawing kit. Larry didn't prove to be much of a teacher though, making no more than an occasional appearance, breezing through the senior class studios. My favorite memory is of the one time he was made available to our third year class, but got upstaged by the pope. JP2 was making his first visit to NY, and the whole class was leaning out of the windows to catch a glimpse of the pope-mobile going down 5th Avenue, ignoring Larry, who pouted and leafed through a book, refusing to pay any attention to the pater. Maybe it was principled anti-clerical bohemianism, but I think he was just jealous of a bigger celebrity.
The Times obit reflects his mixed reputation. He was gifted and inventive, but produced a lot of truly awful work. Even his good stuff was done better by Rauschenberg. Still, he played his role to the hilt, and managed to be both highbrow and vulgar at the same time, which remains a popular ambition in the art world. I was never attracted to his work, but he was the biggest name on the Parsons faculty when I went there. My friend Steve DiBenedetto did excellent Rivers knock-offs, even to the point of carrying around stencils as part of his life drawing kit. Larry didn't prove to be much of a teacher though, making no more than an occasional appearance, breezing through the senior class studios. My favorite memory is of the one time he was made available to our third year class, but got upstaged by the pope. JP2 was making his first visit to NY, and the whole class was leaning out of the windows to catch a glimpse of the pope-mobile going down 5th Avenue, ignoring Larry, who pouted and leafed through a book, refusing to pay any attention to the pater. Maybe it was principled anti-clerical bohemianism, but I think he was just jealous of a bigger celebrity.
saw The Good Girl last night. cant say that i would recommend it outright but i thought it was well acted. it was written by the guy that wrote Chuck and Buck and possesses a similarly droll and dire perspective. and while i enjoyed the farcical elements, the story itself seemed a little unoriginal and despite the fine acting you never really cared about the fate of the characters. but then i wasnt concerned with much by the end of the night as the champagne hangover began to wreak havoc on my brain. in general i would say i would have been better off with total sobriety or further inebriation, and maybe thats true of the movie as well. heres a salon review that seems about right.
NY Post gossip guru Neal Travis, the original Page Six editor, is dead. The Post is no longer a down-and-dirty tabloid, having repositioned itself as a secondary read to the Times. I guess it's the "ironic" paper. Guys like Travis, shown here (at right) with drunken Steve Dunleavy, a fellow Murdoch running-dog, were transitional figures who retained something of the aura of the old dailies.
a guy i work with runs this site. he mentioned to me that he is always after new contributors, so thought i'd post in case anyone (tom?) is interested.
Last night at Felidia confirms they are one of my fav's spots...
"I used to ridicule the Riedel fetishists. Then I became one. Riedel, for those not in the know, is the world's trendiest brand of wineglass—the Manolo Blahniks of stemware. Wine geeks tote their Riedels to restaurants, dinner parties, and pretty much any place else where quality bottles might be uncorked."
better killing through chemistry
the sunny side of the street
I was wondering about those ubiquitous Chevy ads, the "walking on the sun" campaign. Did they buy a Zombies song and re-write it? No, Christopher Caldwell of NY Press explains that it's Smash Mouth, in the process of selling out. (see "In Any Event" down the page) But I don't buy his critique. It's not that these folks don't understand irony; the situation is the height of irony, or what irony used to mean. In fact, it's so ironic it's subversive, but in the wrong direction. Nowadays irony is just the echo chamber of meaninglessness; postmodernism's aversion to any commitment requiring a value judgement. 'Course I knew that years ago, which is why I thought the Clash were a joke even then. Smash Mouth and the admen are all of one condition: nobody sells out anymore; they just buy in. And the moral is: the only thing you have to pay the Zombies is homage.
Get your war on, page 13: Get your Exx on.
This week, to accompany the Food Issue of The New Yorker, here is a selection of New Yorker food writing from the past. In this Talk of the Town piece from 1945, Lillian Ross writes about what was at the time a novelty: frozen dinners.
The Minnow in Park Slope has turned into a great neiborhood spot, fresh tasty seafood!!
as wierd as this sounds, we had a fab veggie meal out of Taipei on China Airlines, a multi bean salad followed by tofu and veggies in a dark sauce w/ sticky rice, dessert fresh fruit, we were not hungry and we both ate every bite, and i licked my plates!!
Thomas Friedman is at it in the Times again, this time attributing
the cooldown of nuclear tensions over Kashmir to GE,
American Express, Dell, and other enlightened companies
who job out white collar coolee labor in India. Seems those
companies would have to take their high tech crap jobs
elsewhere because of the danger, so the indentured
servants put pressure on the Indian government to stand
down. To Friedman this is another example of how wonderful
global capital is. Not a word is said about all the money and
jobs and training being exported from the US because the
Indians are willing to work for so much less. On the subject
of Hindus, we can only hope Friedman will be reincarnated
as a minority American in an inner city with poorly funded
schools and no industrial base.
the cooldown of nuclear tensions over Kashmir to GE,
American Express, Dell, and other enlightened companies
who job out white collar coolee labor in India. Seems those
companies would have to take their high tech crap jobs
elsewhere because of the danger, so the indentured
servants put pressure on the Indian government to stand
down. To Friedman this is another example of how wonderful
global capital is. Not a word is said about all the money and
jobs and training being exported from the US because the
Indians are willing to work for so much less. On the subject
of Hindus, we can only hope Friedman will be reincarnated
as a minority American in an inner city with poorly funded
schools and no industrial base.
Pardon me for raining on Steve Fossett's parade, but isn't
his "world record solo balloon flight" a bit of a cheat? First, it
took him, what, eight tries? Second, he had bottomless
funding to keep making high-tech improvements on his
balloon technology. And finally, and most damning, if you
start in Australia, fly to New Zealand, and keep going east till
you hit Australia again, that's circumnavigation, sure, but not
so impressive and lengthy a voyage as starting and ending
on the equator. And the "southern route" is basically what he
did. I wince every time I hear some media ho refer to him as
a "world record holder." Oh well, at least it wasn't Richard
Branson.
his "world record solo balloon flight" a bit of a cheat? First, it
took him, what, eight tries? Second, he had bottomless
funding to keep making high-tech improvements on his
balloon technology. And finally, and most damning, if you
start in Australia, fly to New Zealand, and keep going east till
you hit Australia again, that's circumnavigation, sure, but not
so impressive and lengthy a voyage as starting and ending
on the equator. And the "southern route" is basically what he
did. I wince every time I hear some media ho refer to him as
a "world record holder." Oh well, at least it wasn't Richard
Branson.
Day 12/ Hoi An: Market for am meal and it was one of the best, Cao Lau a fab pork and noodle dish (linda got a veggie version with pickled banana flowers) sticky rice w/ peanuts, a thin pancake w/ seafood and veggies wraped in an rice paper, boiled pork in banana leaf--AWESOME. Dinner at Tam Tam, great place for views and great drinks but besides for the homemade pasta (yummy) the food was bad.
Day 13/ Saigon: Last supper at Temple Club (29 Ton Trat Thiep St) was better than our first night here, we ate the same two favorites plus a few more dishes, a bottle of champagne and one of rose, than retired to thier beautiful lounge room for desserts and dessert wines, wonderful end to the trip and the restaurant of the tour (outside markets).
Day 13/ Saigon: Last supper at Temple Club (29 Ton Trat Thiep St) was better than our first night here, we ate the same two favorites plus a few more dishes, a bottle of champagne and one of rose, than retired to thier beautiful lounge room for desserts and dessert wines, wonderful end to the trip and the restaurant of the tour (outside markets).
memo from samoa : According to a drunk guy who residents at Bellevue Hospital in New York
City, It will be an another strange lounge act will be committed by Samoa a
front man of The Lonely Samoans and NYC's latest lounge band sensation "The
Mood Illusion".
This Sunday August 11th at The lakeside lounge 162 Avenue B. 212.529.8463 7:00 till 8:30 It's friggin FREE!!!!!!!
Starts 7:00pm sharp! as razor which you could use for suicide or could use for plastic surgery.
This Sunday August 11th at The lakeside lounge 162 Avenue B. 212.529.8463 7:00 till 8:30 It's friggin FREE!!!!!!!
Starts 7:00pm sharp! as razor which you could use for suicide or could use for plastic surgery.
bjork
genghis blues from friends of tuva
Tron tech trivia from an unverifiable slashdot comment:
Fun factoids: the scenes with live actors inside the computer were filmed in 70mm black and white, then blown up to cel size for rotoscoping/effects work, and re-shot on an animation stand.I think I know what that means. Sure worked out well. It's still a cool looking effect.
