Restaurant Al Ponte in Sommacampagna very near Verona is one of the best eating experiences in Italy for 20 buck a head you can have 4 pasta courses plus all the fresh veggies you can eat, dessert plus all the Bianco di Castoza you can swallow--there is another restaurant (Merica) in town too that is supposed to be sweet and very regional cooking also, inexpensive and they have rooms to sleep (thank goodness as Verona food is bad, i dont know how/why)
going out to a fancy restaurant is always fun as long as you get a good meal for your hard earned money--the only factor IMHO is the fact that people are starving in this world and what the effect is on the enviroment to procure these yummy's--that being said we had a true orgasmic meal in Bergamo Italy at the 2 star Michelin Da Vittorio--Bergamo is a beautiful town at the base of the Alps famous for thier Art History etc--thier focus is fish--everyone in the room looked like a millionaire and the room was too poshed up for my taste but the food WOW--a twisted Frito Misto to begin followed by lightly cooked Langostines with very rare Zolfino beans (this was the best dish), than a pasta with mussels and clams that was singing, into tuna with a salad and a veggie medly that eaten together blended like no other i,ve tasted--we drank 92 Chambolle Amourese by Vogue followed by 90 Drouhin Charmes into 85 Daumas Gassac for the 2nd best cheese course in my life, all of them ripe to purrfection and had fruit sides that just rocked--than the fun began--a campari jello with white chocolate froth, followed by rich little multitextured treats and a Moscato from the island of Pantelliera--we were so happy and content but it didnt end--a roasted herbed pineapple came out which they served with some sauce sided with a hot pepper cake--well we said enough NOT, next they removed the flowers and put down a bouquet of lollipops some flavored marshmellow and others were hard and made from mint with red pepper, than they covered the table with little treats everwhere the best being these little balls that explode when you eat them filled with sambuca and coffee beans--i must go back but only after i donate many times what was spent to Oxfarm, Unicef, Earth Island etc.....
"NASA's main goal [in the Mars program]
is looking for life. And so life means looking
for water," said Arizona State University geologist
Phil Christensen. --AP Story
is looking for life. And so life means looking
for water," said Arizona State University geologist
Phil Christensen. --AP Story
Every popular press article on Mars has a similar
quote, or line of argument. Mars-Water-Life.
Mars-Water-Life. (Christensen reversed the usual
order, but whatever.) Journalists fear that if they
don't raise hopes of finding ET in the first
paragraph, the public won't read the rest of the
story ("It's just about boring rocks and stuff"),
and scientists are afraid of losing their funding.
We're desperate, as a species, for an
extraterrestrial Daddy figure who's going to explain
it all to us: God's been something of a
disappointment the past few thousand years, so now
we're pinning our hopes on gnarly little beings with
big eyes and chicken hands. I keep hoping some
scientist will tell the Times, "Look, stop putting
words in my mouth about water and life
and all that crap. Chances are excellent
that Mars and Europa and every place else in the
solar system we're looking at are dead,
dead, dead as fucking doorknobs. Please tell your
readers that what this is really about is
astrophysics, geology, chemistry, and other
subjects they slept through in school."
It'll never happen, but I can dream.
Welcome home Wheel. Look what happened to the food page while you were gone - now it's all about art or something. Good to have you back around. I'm hoping your going to post something about all those italian meals.
'Blow,' 'Pokemon' Open
Johnny Depp plays a cocaine kingpin. And 100 new Pokemon make their big-screen debut.
--from Netscape News
Johnny Depp plays a cocaine kingpin. And 100 new Pokemon make their big-screen debut.
--from Netscape News
Hey, isn't someone supposed to be keeping track? This has been going on for a month, but I had to see it listed in the New Yorker. It's a Paul Laffoley mini-retrospective, and it's up until April 21st. A must for all independent visionaries.
wkcr (89.9)is playing non-stop billie holiday today, tonight and into the wee hours of the morning, so if you are home, tune in. she would have been 86 today.
"I photographed every door or drawer knob, handle, or latch I touched from the time I awoke on Thursday, June 3rd. until I went to bed on Friday, June 4th"
Just keep in mind,there is "no known medical use" for this substance, plus you can theoretically be put to death in the U.S. for possession. Oh yeah, and it's also natuarally occuring in everyone's brain where it plays a key (if not quite understood) role in memory formation.
I say we just cut to chase and lock everybody up. (thanks to bruno for the link.)
I say we just cut to chase and lock everybody up. (thanks to bruno for the link.)
1% er
Ratfink gone
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, godfather of hot rod culture, dies at 69
By Paul Chavez April 6, 2001 | LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose fantastic car creations and anti-hero Rat Fink character helped define the California hotrod culture of the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 69. Roth died Wednesday at his studio in Manti, Utah, said Joe Bennett, a dispatcher with the Sanpete County Sheriff's Department. The cause of death wasn't immediately given. A generation of teen-age rebels across the country found a hero in Roth, whose chrome and fiberglass creations stirred awe at car shows. Many adopted his airbrushed anti-hero, the bug-eyed, menacing Rat Fink, who became a cultural counterpoint to Mickey Mouse. While Roth worked on custom cars in his garage-studio near Los Angeles, youngsters across the country broke out the airplane glue to work on intricate scale plastic models of his "Outlaw" roadster, bubble-topped "Beatnik Bandit," or futuristic "Mysterion." As a designer, Roth was considered a genius and visionary, not only for his radical designs, but also for his pioneering use of fiberglass in car bodies. He was described by author Tom Wolfe in his 1964 essay "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" as the "most colorful, the most intellectual and the most capricious" of the car customizers. "He's the Salvador Dali of the movement -- a surrealist in his designs, a showman by temperament, a prankster," Wolfe wrote. Roth created Rat Fink and a host of wild characters to help finance his car design work. In 1974, he converted to the Mormon church and abandoned his rebel lifestyle, however he continued to work on car designs. "My fanaticism with cars has just destroyed my personal life," he told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview. "It's an obsession, an addiction. Every day I pray to God, `Release me from my calling!"' David Chodosh, a friend and business associate, said Roth was still working at the time of his death and was hoping to tour a new car in 2002. "The guy over the years has epitomized cool," Chodosh said. "Even now, in so many ways, he is still the Boss Fink."
Ratfink gone
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, godfather of hot rod culture, dies at 69
By Paul Chavez April 6, 2001 | LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose fantastic car creations and anti-hero Rat Fink character helped define the California hotrod culture of the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 69. Roth died Wednesday at his studio in Manti, Utah, said Joe Bennett, a dispatcher with the Sanpete County Sheriff's Department. The cause of death wasn't immediately given. A generation of teen-age rebels across the country found a hero in Roth, whose chrome and fiberglass creations stirred awe at car shows. Many adopted his airbrushed anti-hero, the bug-eyed, menacing Rat Fink, who became a cultural counterpoint to Mickey Mouse. While Roth worked on custom cars in his garage-studio near Los Angeles, youngsters across the country broke out the airplane glue to work on intricate scale plastic models of his "Outlaw" roadster, bubble-topped "Beatnik Bandit," or futuristic "Mysterion." As a designer, Roth was considered a genius and visionary, not only for his radical designs, but also for his pioneering use of fiberglass in car bodies. He was described by author Tom Wolfe in his 1964 essay "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" as the "most colorful, the most intellectual and the most capricious" of the car customizers. "He's the Salvador Dali of the movement -- a surrealist in his designs, a showman by temperament, a prankster," Wolfe wrote. Roth created Rat Fink and a host of wild characters to help finance his car design work. In 1974, he converted to the Mormon church and abandoned his rebel lifestyle, however he continued to work on car designs. "My fanaticism with cars has just destroyed my personal life," he told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview. "It's an obsession, an addiction. Every day I pray to God, `Release me from my calling!"' David Chodosh, a friend and business associate, said Roth was still working at the time of his death and was hoping to tour a new car in 2002. "The guy over the years has epitomized cool," Chodosh said. "Even now, in so many ways, he is still the Boss Fink."
Drunken Cowboys (detail)
Bill Schwarz
date uncertain
In this charming image, two hardy sons of the west are shown drinking together convivially. The photo is a rare example of the "emulsotype" process, used in primitive versions of the "instant photo booth," a popular attraction at Western carnivals and rodeos. This image is a detail from a larger contact sheet, which is approximately 8 inches in height and somewhat faded from its original dark sepia hue. Little is known about Mr. Schwarz, the photographer; researches into the better known emulsotype practitioners have yielded ambiguous information. The provenance is further complicated by a persistent rumor that Schwarz isn't the photographer at all, but an "appropriation artist" from the late 20th/early 21st Century. Appropriation, an artistic practice based on the theories of Marcel Duchamp and Karl Marx, flourished for several decades and greatly interrupted and confused the historical record with regard to fine photography. Be that as it may, this image survives, even if little is known about the milieu in which it was actually produced.
I'm thinking that one of these days it would be fun to take a train up to the Harvard museum to see the
glass flowers which are currently being refurbished.
In 1886 the museum's first director, Mycologist George Lincoln Goodale, commissioned Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father-and-son team of German artisians to create the glass models.
Is any one in the treehouse interested in going up there?
In 1886 the museum's first director, Mycologist George Lincoln Goodale, commissioned Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father-and-son team of German artisians to create the glass models.
Is any one in the treehouse interested in going up there?
This letter was in my in box this morning. I've been a fan of Bibliofind for the past couple of years, not sure I'm happy about this merger.
Dear Bibliofind Customer,
As one of our valued customers, we'd like to thank you for making Bibliofind a leading destination for buying used, rare, and out-of-print books. We are proud of the integral role Bibliofind has played in developing rare and used bookselling on the Internet and appreciate the support of our community of dealers and customers. Today we are pleased to announce that as of May 7, 2001, Bibliofind will unite with Amazon.com through Amazon's Marketplace and zShops operations. This move will better serve Bibliofind customers by offering the unparalleled selection and ease-of-use for which Amazon.com is famous, while continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust. As of May 7, 2001, customers will visit a new Bibliofind home page where they can search for millions of rare, used, and out-of-print books presented by a network of independent booksellers through Amazon Marketplace and zShops. Please note that although we are joining our service with Amazon.com's we will not transfer any personal information that you gave Bibliofind to Amazon.com or to any other party. Thank you again for your support of Bibliofind. Sincerely, Bibliofind.com
"continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust." I guess this means not all of them. I thought Amazon was going out of business.
Dear Bibliofind Customer,
As one of our valued customers, we'd like to thank you for making Bibliofind a leading destination for buying used, rare, and out-of-print books. We are proud of the integral role Bibliofind has played in developing rare and used bookselling on the Internet and appreciate the support of our community of dealers and customers. Today we are pleased to announce that as of May 7, 2001, Bibliofind will unite with Amazon.com through Amazon's Marketplace and zShops operations. This move will better serve Bibliofind customers by offering the unparalleled selection and ease-of-use for which Amazon.com is famous, while continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust. As of May 7, 2001, customers will visit a new Bibliofind home page where they can search for millions of rare, used, and out-of-print books presented by a network of independent booksellers through Amazon Marketplace and zShops. Please note that although we are joining our service with Amazon.com's we will not transfer any personal information that you gave Bibliofind to Amazon.com or to any other party. Thank you again for your support of Bibliofind. Sincerely, Bibliofind.com
"continuing to provide access to many of the Bibliofind dealers you already know and trust." I guess this means not all of them. I thought Amazon was going out of business.
hour left on these boys
Thursday at Rivington St.? Bereket; out by 12:00? Opinions, complaints, suggestions, modifications, updates, confirmations, alternatives, questions, lewd comments, propositions, squabbles, rants, or raves?
Someone had suggested we meet at the Top of the World. I like this idea, but I was hoping to invite a few new people along this week, and I fear that might make us a bit too big to be out on the town en mass. But if this, or any other week, turns into a light turnout maybe we should attempt this. What say you Bill, master of the WTC, is the view worth it?
Someone had suggested we meet at the Top of the World. I like this idea, but I was hoping to invite a few new people along this week, and I fear that might make us a bit too big to be out on the town en mass. But if this, or any other week, turns into a light turnout maybe we should attempt this. What say you Bill, master of the WTC, is the view worth it?
Dirty detritus for filthy lucre:
Antiques Roadshow is coming to town! (Does ebay tour?)
Slow as molasses. Yes I know. Made some changes this morning in an attempt at a stop gap solution to the speed problems we've been having. Didn't seem to help too much but your mileage may vary (I can always hope.) Anyway, we are close to a solution to this problem, so with the risk of sounding like a broken record, hang in there for just a little bit longer. I'm going to fix the problem with the only sure fire solution available to someone who's not that good at building faster software - I mean, of course, I'm going to throw more hardware at it. Soon. Soon.
On a related note, I'd appreciate some feedback on possible dates for a slightly larger than average gathering. This would be something like a launch party if this were a real site that did things like have launch parties. I'm thinking sometime after the second week of May. We should be running the new software on new (dedicated) hardware by then. I guess I'd like this to be a Friday or Saturday night. And of course I'd like as many of you as possible to be able to attend. Any late May scheduling conflicts that anyone is aware of at this point? Take your time. Thanks.
On a related note, I'd appreciate some feedback on possible dates for a slightly larger than average gathering. This would be something like a launch party if this were a real site that did things like have launch parties. I'm thinking sometime after the second week of May. We should be running the new software on new (dedicated) hardware by then. I guess I'd like this to be a Friday or Saturday night. And of course I'd like as many of you as possible to be able to attend. Any late May scheduling conflicts that anyone is aware of at this point? Take your time. Thanks.
Uh-oh, you're already missing the People's Poetry Gathering of lower Manhattan. Includes my dad's undertaker Thomas Lynch reading Poe at midnight in a graveyard.
Thought I had a hangover, but maybe it's that sunspot.
Found a Quicksilver page, but no mention of a violinist, as was suggested last night.
Found a Quicksilver page, but no mention of a violinist, as was suggested last night.
off to Italy today will probably not report till back but we will visit the recently 2*'d Arnolfo in Colle di Val d'Elsa (Tuscany), the venerable 2 *'d Da Vittorio in beautiful Bergamo, along with the awesome one * Trattoria Della Posta in Montforte, and lots of non stared local yummy's--SUPER CHOW
when you get an tingle for some old Tempier at the current retail for ten year younger bottlings head up here we had 1989, 1988, 1990 La Tourtine and La Migoua and the very rare 1988 La Louffe--the food is very very good--cellar loaded with many other value (like 1982 Peyre Rose Clos Ciste @ $24) along with fair priced splurg wines (best Tempier is 88 La Tourtine by the group vote)
