In Baghdad, looters made off with a priceless collection of irreplaceable antiquities from the National Museum on Saturday, stripping the building of treasures dating back to the dawn of civilization in Mesopotamia.

"They have looted or destroyed 170,000 items of antiquity dating back thousands of years...They were worth billions of dollars," said deputy director Nabhal Amin, weeping.

we are off soon to California for 42 hours to give support for 2 long time pals....it will include 2 meals out, both at Slanted Door , one of my favorite restaurants in the US:>):>)

day 2 @ WD50 with a pal from bizz world, we ate 4 apps, 4 desserts, 2 mains and i had only 3 repeats from the first nite (1 app/2 desserts), now I have worked thru all 8 (current) app's and 6 of 8 mains and most desserts.....to start the f gras anchovy thing is w/o and ?? the most beautiful dish I have ever seen PERIOD, it also confirms one major love in food (it tasted amazing, Monkfish is also insane yummy), that texture, flavor, color/presentation can all be = to make the "bang zoom deluxe"..... Kai, 66, WD50 are my three best of NYC 2003, these three provide this experience as best as possible, and Hangawi right there also.....

Babatunde Olatunji "...76, the Nigerian drummer whose 1959 Columbia Records album, 'Drums of Passion,' helped introduce African music into the American mainstream, died of complications of diabetes April 6 in Salinas, California."

Skinny, you must have seen him. I did once with the Dead at the Garden. Impressive presence.

Is there a word for a sudden spike in P2P file sharing network searches for recently deceased artists?

the mushroom house

Get your war on. Hot off the press.

Bigwood & Barlow !!

2003
(New York unless listed otherwise)

Passadis Del Pep (Barcelona) 4*
WD50 4*
Kai 4*
66 4*
Slanted Door (SF) 3*
Carballeira (Lleida, Spain) 3*
Uglesich's (New Orleans) 3*
Hangawi 3*
Wallse 3*
Al Di La 3*
El Torreone (Torrisellas, Spain) 2*
Asados Nazareno (Roa, Spain) 2*
Piro (Gratallops, Spain) 2*
Frankie & Johnny's (New Orleans) 2*
Mother's (New Orleans) 2*
Zuni Cafe (SF) 2*
Peristyle (New Orleans) 2*
Kebab Cafe 2*
Itzocan Cafe 2*
Le Bernardin 2*
Botafumeiro (Barcelona) 2*
Milos 2*
Town 2*
Washington Park 2*
Il Gattopardo 2*
Grand Sichuan Int Midtown 2*
Otto 1*
Minnow 1*
Arnaud's 1*
Herbsaint (New Orleans) 1*
Felix's Oyster Bar (New Orleans) 1*
Camellia Grill (New Orleans) 1*
Fuleen Seafood 1*
Counter 1*
Holy Basil 1*
Bao 1*
Felidia 1*
Cambodian Cuisine 1*
WOOCHON 1*
Tommasso's 1*
Restaurant del Remey (Lleida, Spain) 1*
El Agua (Villafranca del Bierzo, Sapin) 1*
Villa Laguardia (Laguardia, Spain) 1*
Every Taverna not listed above that we ate in Athens/Thessaloniki (Greece) was 1* some we would never know the names....

WD50 is opening this week and we had a preview......we were a table of 4 and we tasted 9 dishs plus 4 desserts......all were very good and most were excellente, for me the squid pasta app (available as a main) was insane great, the lamb main course was one of the most yummy things I have eaten all year, the desserts were awesome, aromas and flavors all over the map......the much talked about Foie gras/anchovy terrine was n/a last nite but that is even more a reason for me to go back soon, there is a dangerous guy working the bar making some cocktails, we tasted 3 and they ROCK!!....love the room, love the people.....

Arnauds opened in red Hook and its the 2nd new restaurant to open there in resent time, the first Hope and Anchor is supposed to be good, Arnauds is also....we had a tasty escargot wonton's (they called them ravioli), nice bass, and amazing oysters (Fisher Island)....I love Red Hook....

Vertigo then and now: "before and after images of various San Francisco locations used in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece." (via fimoculous)

snow din

an interview with billy wilder about his noir films. also some essays related to noir.

"Next month, a former factory in a small town an hour north of New York will become the first museum dedicated to the greatest generation of American artists. Not Pollock, Rothko and de Kooning. The next generation, the one that came of age during the 1960's and 70's, the one that includes Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Sol LeWitt, Andy Warhol, Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra. The history of American art is going to need a little rewriting."

mixed reviews for Cowboy Bebop movie.

also mixed are the reviews for neil jordans The Good Thief, a remake of jean-pierre melvilles Bob Le Flambeur starring nick nolte. can anyone think of one successful (critical or box office) remake? heres an article about melville.

pre-matrix history via animation at anamatrix.

made it finally over to Itzocan Cafe....place seats 12, food was excellente (dont miss the dumplings), its BYOB (till they open a new space), will go back soon....

Here's my latest web posting game proposition. Find a post that represents a hypothetically typical post from a ficticious blogger constructed by combining two real bloggers.

Here's my entry from a hypotheitcal Bill Schwarz / Skinny combo blogger.

What, you've got more important things to do?

Colossal squid Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni recovered "virtually intact" from antarctic waters.

Forget the war, the Times has real news: Woodcock courting! I don't see why this isn't on the front page regularly. Of course, being the Times, they get something wrong: although the birds are often in Central Park, they are not generally observed displaying.

peter jackson plans to remake King Kong.

was this that cheap east village seafood joint that was previewed in timeout last fall?

trader joes

strange flavored japanese ice creams

Spring??.....lately for many weeks I am falling in love with the Korean family at the Green Market, in the cold of winter they have had these yummy tiny tomatoes, greenhouse I assume, but they get my #1 vote....yesterday they had some bok choy rabe (they have great bok choy always), thin small cucumbers, and an expanded herb selection.....ORGANIC also:>)