January 2008
65 posts
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“In New Jersey, summer at the shore is therapy; it gets us through the rest of...”
– from NJGuido.com, Understand the Jersey Shore
Bernard's World Travels
I started following Bernard Cloutier’s travels in January of 2006. I was looking for information on a trip I was taking. A link to his site appeared as a search result. I can’t even remember what keywords brought him to me, but that moment was a powerful affirmation that the internet is the most extraordinary tool to aid mankind. Since then I’ve been checking in periodically to see what the man...
I’d like to say this was that time Bernard traveled around the world but he’s done that at least five times, four times since the age of 60. He’ll turn 75 this year. In the past ten years or so he’s visited all seven continents. He took a bus from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. Bernard is currently in Thailand, one of the long list of countries he’s visited more than 6 times. As in most...
“I fly when necessary but I prefer to go by bus, train and boat for I like to...”
Bernard’s site features 8,000 photographs and (by his estimate) 1,400 pages of travelogues, tips, and philosophical ponderings. It is a living document of one man’s singular journey through life. I highly recommend it I emailed him this morning.
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How to make Hotel Delmano better...
I went to Hotel Delmano (N9th &Berry, the old Saved Tattoo and probably a hundred other establishments) last night, a floor-to-ceiling masterpiece of bar-room aesthetics. Some issues I feel need addressing, so the place can thrive as my too-close-to-home cocktail den. A better selection of bourbons. A broader bourbon selection. More kinds of bourbon whiskey. Maybe a bottle of Russell’s...
"Office" Life.
I live in an extraordinary apartment with three great friends, one of whom is also my business partner. The four of us run a social club called the W&L. I also write fiction and collaborate on theater projects with this guy. I used to do all of these things from home. But I don’t anymore, and here’s why. A typical week last spring would go like this. Wake up Monday, set up...
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Stats weighs in on potential Hall of Fame... →
My friend Bryan has gone by the nickname Stats for well over a decade. The name fits the man. His picks for future inductees at Cooperstown years from now are spot on. His percentages for likeliness of induction seem thoroughly researched and well-thought out. I can only tell you that several bobble-heads were positioned according to star alignments, microbreweries were consulted, and Patriots...
Harper's has reposted one of Bobby Fischer's most... →
And its not from his good old days. The man journeyed from national hero to lunatic, and though I agree with nothing he says, he’s a character only America could have produced: brilliant, egotistical, tormented, overly competitive and unglamorous. The stories of him winning the 1972 World Chess Championships from inside a closet will never tire my imagination. His obituary is a wonderful...
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Steph Captures Idiotarod.
I went to the Team Danger Zone after-party on Saturday night, post Idiotarod. Steph’s photos of the race made me rue the day I said, “I don’t have time to help you all with your little shopping cart race in the cold.” Her pictures were linked at Gothamist today (Team Captain William’s were featured yesterday), and they are glorious. These guys and gals (all wonderful,...
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Warning: A T-Shirt That's Making a Statement. →
But I like the cause. I’m firmly against Brunch. Haven’t eaten it in years. I don’t eat brunch because: the food is horrible for your mood, awareness, and well-being. you need vitamins in the morning not alcohol you shouldn’t want to go back to sleep at 2pm physical activities, conversation, and charisma -post brunch- are all nearly impossible. I can see how someone who...
William's birthday party, because he survived...
A friend is celebrating his birthday this Saturday. The guy had a hell of a year From his birthday party invite, a list of gifts: A suit made entirely out of thousand dollar bills. A computer whose computational power is so vast, that it is capable of predicting the future a book about how to make Time Machine All required ingredients for enough Split Pea soup to feed a thousand soldiers…....
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The W&L is featured in this month's Edible... →
We are surprised by the photographs selected for the article, which were not approved by any of us or the writer of the article, and frankly aren’t very good. Lesson learned. The link is a PDF.
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And Congress gives us $300 in cash.... →
Stimulate!
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Bloomberg.
Mike Bloomberg, injecting a healthy dose of potential third party rhetoric this morning in Newsday “They spent most of this decade running up bills with reckless abandon and when the economy started heading for the ditch, the special interest giveaways got even bigger. They ate the seed corn without worrying about the next year’s harvest. Well, the next year is here, and the seed corn...
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Some guy I’ve never met had a website a long time ago. My friend knew him and linked to his site. I still remember this one post I read about the worst Buffalo Bills T-shirts of all time. I did some hunting around. I’m so glad I did. This is a completely fucking enjoyable waste of your time, but as an enthusiast of all things Thrift Store, I appreciate the thorough collecting done...
Williamsburg? Capital of noseblowing.
The sniffles have invaded the neighborhood. My inbox, and now my everyday conversations, are filled with sick-chat (emailed text in italics) I’ve been vaguely, naggingly sick since Thursday. Roommate Norah has been sick since Friday: i am still sick & camped out over at casa jason so as not to infecct anyone else Upstairs neighbor Zach has been sick since Friday. Max is sick: Sadly,...
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On Masterpieces.
Mr. Ledger’s work will outlast the frenzy. But there should have been more. Instead of being preserved as a young star eclipsed in his prime, he should have had time to outgrow his early promise and become the strange, surprising, era-defining actor he always had the potential to be. -A.O. Scott, New York Times. A.O. Scott praises Heath Ledger in today’s New York Times. Ledger, like other...
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Max's coworker Nick Goddard landed the first US... →
On Monday, we got a call from our friend Nick, who - thanks to a Blackberry and a spirit of adventure - is the first U.S. customer to take delivery of his very own Smart. The company even gave him a plaque to commemorate the occasion. It credits him in part with, “Initiating a revolutionary change in the way Americans think about transportation.” -click on the link to continue…
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Nils' →
son Felix, all of about 5 years old, has two songs that he likes to sing. Max and I met up for a pre-brunch coffee last weekend. When Nils arrived with wife and kids, Max quoted the lyrics of the little boy’s songs. First one was English: “Believe in God, but don’t think about it.” The other, French: “Will… not… be…. limited!”
Vandover and the Brute →
Finished Dostoevsky’s The Gambler, the first book I’ve read online. I’ve started an obscure novel by Frank Norris that was published after his death. His McTeague is an American classic of early modernism/late naturalism. So as excited as I am to start this, I’m hesitant to say I love the hours of scrolling it takes to get through a novel on the computer. Google Books link...
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Gil-Scott Heron, Essential Songs.
Gil-Scott performed two shows at S.O.B.s last night and I caught the later set. He performed with a few drinks in him, but rallied to end the set with gorgeous renditions of Winter In America and The Bottle. Most of his set came from the album Winter In America, the one recommended by the guys at the vendor’s stand, and the first album I bought. I also recommend albums Pieces of a Man and my...
Smaller Animals →
…new record over at Cleek.
Rififi to close. →
Max Silvestri’s remembers a strange and beautiful little bar that will almost certainly become a sterile and forgettable bar.
(chocolate) Fried Chicken
Ingredients. Paper bag Chicken thighs and legs Spice blend of (in descending proportions): white pepper, sea salt, garlic powder (sometimes i do a little orange zest, sometimes i keep it simple) Flour blend of: Flour, a little curry powder, paprika, white pepper and salt (should still be white in color). quart of buttermilk cup of heavy cream Godiva cocoa, or good dark chocolate powder (add it...
Doug Glanville in the New York Times on steroids... →
We’re scared of failure, aging, vulnerability, leaving too soon, being passed up — and in the quest to conquer these fears, we are inspired by those who do whatever it takes to rise above and beat these odds. We call it “drive” or “ambition,” but when doing “whatever it takes” leads us down the wrong road, it can erode our humanity. The game ends up playing us.
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Italy, Birth Rates, Spears Family Drama, etc.
The Pope addressed the faithful in Rome today about an attack on family life. The reason is relativism. The Pope uses a cautionary tone to communicate his fears about where society is headed. One of Italy’s main obstacles to success in the 21st century is a low birth rate: a birth rate so low, the country has a zero population growth, and a negative projected growth rate over the next 50 years....
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A Jon Lajoie Top 5.
Top 5 ways to make people say the phrase, “I don’t need a pencil.” #5-Asking someone who is holding a pencil if they need a pencil #4-Asking someone who is swimming if they need a pencil #3-Giving a pencil to the “I don’t need a pencil” guy from a made up sitcom that I just made up #2-Offering a pencil to a person who is starving to death… And, also, he...
Foodscapes →
…photographs by Carl Warner
Setting in D.H. Lawrence →
Writers who use setting to create mood (rather than action) paint for the reader a richer character.
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from the official announcement, "Cigar08"
“I will increase the Salvation Army Santa’s, put one on every street corner, year-round! I will turn the Salvation Army into a blood-thirsty killing machine, and replace the present army with the newly war-infused Salvation Army Regime. We will collect money from all the Santa’s, and this money will fund government and social programs. We will adopt a new policy: “Get what...
Walter Benjamin on Poe. →
… For without exception the great writers perform their combinations in a world that comes after them, just as Baudelaire’s poems, as well as Dostoevsky’s characters, existed after 1900.
Four Points on Bourbon.
What makes Bourbon so extraordinary? I have no idea. I always peruse other alcohols (the middle of 2006 I must have taste-tested over 60 tequilas), but soon come crawling right back. I’m giving a lecture on Bourbon tonight at d.b.a (8pm) for a few novice whiskey enthusiasts, and I’m wavering on whether or not I’ll drink some myself. These days the memories of drinking bourbon are far more potent...