Monday

The Atlantic Antic aka Street Meat Fest '07

While my brother's bloggery tends towards obscure musical links and cool video clips I can only post about the things I know and so herewith I give you more pictures of meat I've eaten outside while drunk. The Atlantic Antic is a yearly street festival that stretches from Flatbush ave to the BQE in the Heights passing through various ethnic and cultural neighborhoods each of which is well represented by the food stalls that line the thoroughfare. Each September I run this gastronomic gauntlet with unbounded enthusiasm that borders on obsession.

This year was no different. Here's how it went:

Woke up mid-morning with a healthy hangover to the twangings of my roommate's mandolin as he prepared for a bluegrass brunch. I had a very light breakfast that doesn't merit description compared to the epicurean maelstrom to follow. Note Matty Dread's face as he bangs away on his guitar. Good morning to me!
After a rousing bluegrass session (and a preemptive gatorade) we took to the streets. The first beer was had. A banh mi was consumed to fuel the push towards Flatbush ave. My hands were still shaky at this point and I was holding a beer and a sandwich so it's a bit blurry but you get the idea. This one was chicken because I can't mess with the foie gras that comes on the "classic".
Further down the road, Jonny Bang Bang stopped here for a pig sandwich and by the time I got back from the beer place he had eaten the whole thing so I can only assume it was good. If you look closely at this picture you can see this is an entire roast pig laid out on the outdoor counter. Yah, that's the pig's head on the right. For some of you hillbillies this is no big deal but keep in mind this is on a sidewalk in Brooklyn. Thanks for saving me a bite, Jonny. You owe me $5 for the beer.
As we pushed onwards we entered the Caribbean and Creole section of town. Sammy Banjo stopped at the Jerk Center while Todd posed for me. That's his Jerk Face. I didn't try the Jerk because I was saving myself for shawarma that never arrived but Sam said it was good. More on the shawarma later.

Some rookie on our squad got a mozzarepa. Whatever, dude.
At this point we're several beers deep and the shawarma's siren song was calling me back towards the other end of the avenue so we did an about-face and followed the column of smoke rising from the middle eastern section of the fair. Once you get that side of Court Street it's halal-ville. If you can't tell by the spinach pies and baklava spilling out of every store front then surely the belly dancer and live Lebanese band should tell you. I would have taken a picture of the belly dancer but that felt skeevy so instead here is my favorite band we saw.
Jonny Bang and I chose our shawarma target by the length of the line and the fact that nobody who worked at the stand spoke English except the 12 year old kid with braces. We stood there for 15 minutes and got hungry so ate some falafel and stuffed grapeleaves while we waited.


After 15 more minutes they had served 1 shawarma and little Jonny was getting grumpy without his beer (no beer in the Muslim section) so we actually gave up and pressed on. I know, I know. I can't believe it either.


Luckily the Greeks have their own version
of shawarma and they have no problems serving it with beer. It is the mighty gyro. Note of caution: Greeks don't like it when you call their gyro a shawarma. It's a fucking gyro, man. Sorry Greek dude. The gyro was pretty awesome. No idea what kind of meat it is but it's served on nice hand baked bread with a yogurt cucumber sauce that spilled all over Tommy.

What can one do post-gyro except take a quick trip to Spain for some paella, chorizo and my perennial favorite, grilled, salted sardines? Holy crap are these good.

It's now 5pm and we've been walking, eating and drinking since noon. Outside my favorite local bar a french rock band is playing laisse tomber les filles (that one's for you, big I) and two semi-foxy girls are go-go dancing on raised platforms. The sun is painting the crowd a glowing red as the smoke from the Spanish grill rises up over us where we sit on a curb to catch our breath. Jonny Bang returns from the beer stand with another round and I decide that this year I will skip the deep fried twinkie from the British fish and chips place. That is my one regret from this year's antic.

Thursday

Haisai Ojisan


Hifana are OK, I probably would have loved them in 1997. Those are surprisingly chesty sea nymphs in the video, but I suppose there are allowances to be made when dealing with mythological creatures. You should see the pantheon of ancient gods worshiped here at Blonde & Precise, what a gang of tramps. I dig this song mostly because it samples Okinawan troubadour Shoukichi Kina. More arty good times (on advertising dime) live here.

Frankly more interesting work along similar lines was done (to death) by Tadanori Yokoo in the 60s, whose website is irritating enough to make me want to finish this post and go get some more coffee.

Wednesday

Something Great, Surprisingly


There's a lot to dislike about LCD Soundsystem. The NY pretension, that dude's hairy face and insistence on wearing jackets with t-shirts, the boring backstory, and more than anything the vastly overrated catalog. So it's with some hesitation that admit that I like this song, and several other songs from this record. Damn. No way I'm posting a picture of dude though, so I just ran with old reliable, the venerable stag beetle.

Tuesday

"Armed With Trombone"


I've been on a big Willie Colon kick of late, having recently copped one of the Fania reissues, Siembra, with Ruben Blades. Classic NY salsa style, with a little disco throw in for good measure. The Colon track "La Murga," which the Internet translates as "The Murga," is a true heater, and may be recognizable to some as the sample from the Rawkus Lyricist Lounge track track "CIA," which featured KRS and Zack from Rage Against the Machine. Also someone named Last Emperor. I remember really liking this track when it came out, but outside of a rather hot beat and the unflappable Chris Parker, it's not aged so well. None of this should be taken as an endorsement of any contemporary Rawkus releases.
Willie Colon - "La Murga"

KRS One, Zach de la Rocha & Last Emperor - "CIA"

Friday

King Kamehameha


So, we've established that anime is lame, correct? I hate that shit. If you're a grown American man and you're professing your love of Naruto, you are a weirdo. And don't get me started on big-eyed anime porn, that's even creepier. I don't care how many 16th century woodblock prints you cite, you are a nutjob. Please don't talk to me.

Anyhoo, it goes without saying that crazy genius films like Lupin III or Tokyo Godfathers are in a totally different category. I also will admit a certain affinity for the things I enjoyed as a kid, like Battle of the Planets, or my boy Goku from Dragonball circa 1986. Which is why I bring all this up. Because there's a brass band covering the original Dragonball theme song. This will be interesting for maybe six people, which pretty much sums up our readership here at B&P. Actually, it's not even interesting to me. I'm out of here.

Gatchaman

Goku Comes Alive

Wheels



I got a new bike. For some reason I got it into my head that I needed a bike that folded, and that I was going to take it on business trips and pedal around Berlin and Shanghai like the urbane little world traveler I purport to be. Thus far I have not folded it except to show people that it can fold. It's like my genitals that way - sometimes I take them out just to prove that they still exist, but their functionality is otherwise irrelevant. A real crowd-pleaser. Dan Carr says this bike makes me look even more like a community college professor from New England.

Tuesday

Meat Mafia

Since its birth in 1994 there has been one organization secretly pulling the strings that influence the way this country is run. It's hard to say how deep that influence goes or how far they will go to maintain it for they follow strict rules of conduct that swear them to secrecy. Many who have crossed them have not lived to tell of it. I risk my very life to bring you this posting. Pull the wool from your eyes! Don't let them control you any longer!

Monday

Cholly


The kind folks over at Afropunk have made a trailer for what looks to be a fictionalization of their excellent (if a bit long) documentary, with the snappy title White Lies, Black Sheep. Their latest email blast contained an embedded thing that didn't work, so I went with an image of perennial favorites, Fishbone.

Sunday

Tough Crimes, Silly Alliance


Chances of mockery from Lydia - very, very high. tough alliance silly crimes

Tuesday

El Alcalde del Mundo


I have never understood dude's weird hat thing, but this record is growing on me, even if it's not breaking much new ground.
La RadiolinaManu Chao
"Me Llaman Calle" (mp3)
from "La Radiolina"
(Nacional Records)

Buy at Manu Chao Pre-Order Store
More On This Album


Music Provided by IODA Promonet

Wednesday

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

Via boy genius and soon-to-be San Franciscan David Day

Gandhi Likes Them Young - UPDATE

Only the Professor Jonny Astro (see below re: Mandy Lane) could pull this off. And now even CNN is covering this fast breaking story. Yah Astro!

Tuesday

Monday

Kind of Like a Fancy Moisturizer, Only Made of Pork Stock


I'm generally loathe to post anything about "wacky" Japan, but here, allow me translate: crazy people take baths in ramen broth.

(via the excellent Japan Probe)

Friday

Next We Take Manhattan

IB & IB in SF, feel me.

Thursday

Mos Def Used to Rap

I'm so glad he's given that up.

Thursday

Tuesday

PM Yawn


I didn't think he could top that depressing crossover single attempt, but Pharoahe Monch's cover of Welcome to the Terrordome is really a bummer. If Chuck D wasn't busy with half-baked digital schemes to resuccitate his career, he'd bumrush the fucking show and put an end to this craziness.

Plus all he (PM) talks about in interviews now is how his brother listened to Sabbath growing up. I liked Organized Konfusion just fine, and "Simon Says" has aged exceedingly well. But rappers who have "always loved classic rock" in the post-Hey Ya-era are almost as bad as aging 90s Alt rock one-hit wonders who think it's ironic to cover NWA songs. Wait, no they're not, Nina Gordon gives me hives.

PE's timeless, brilliant version is un-embeddable because of major label retardation, but is viewable here , and check "Simon Says" below.

Thursday

PERCEPTIONS OF SELF or HOW FAT I AM ONLINE


I know what you're thinking. With my dashing good looks and wild success at the baccarat tables of Monte Carlo, I must surely be turgid with confidence. Then I googled myself. Oofa. In case you can't see me I'm the guy on the right hidden behind my own chin. Also note to self: that inventive facial hairstyle is not cool. Thanks interweb!