Gray’s Papaya (& Mark Sandman)

Gray’s Papaya Baby!!!

http://www.papayaking.com/index.htm

(This first section written sometime in October) à I totally went to my first Gray’s Papaya Monday, October 23, 2006. It is one block away on 3^rd Avenue and 86^th street. And right beside it is a place called something Sliders. I am not sure if they are Nathan’s Hotdogs or not…but damn were they good.

Gray’s Papaya is apparently a freaking famous place. All I know is that is was cheap as shit and a damn good hotdog. I try to eat fairly healthy so I haven’t been to a hotdog stand since I moved here but now I have gone three times to this place, thanks to my friend Network who hooked it UP!!

First time he realized I had one a block from me he immediately got hungry and so we just had to go he said. Again, I try to eat healthy and mostly like to make my own fun foods. So, I have been cooking a ton. I had eaten dinner at this point because I also do not eat a bite of food after 7pm, 8pm at the LATEST. It was freaking 11pm when we made the hike.

We get there and he gets two dogs with chili and a drink, I still don’t know the name but it was a papaya drink. IT WAS SO GOOD. The drink is something I would drink because of the flavor and it FELT healthy haha. But the dog with chili was awesome.

I have given up trying to eat healthy here because I can do that when I am older. However, I do have to work out daily now to combat the pounds. And yes! I am one of those who do not like feeling or looking fat. But DAMN do I LOVE TO EAT – you do what you have to do hahaha. Unfortunately, I hate working out SO MUCH MORE that I tend to steer clear of fattening food and stick with healthy food for that reason – THUS – the vicious cycle that I am trying to break now by just eating what I want and working out –……………..(This is where I stopped typing months ago because it appears I just started to ramble.)

Now today is freaking January 5, 2007……….…I never finished and posted this note back in October when I wrote it and now I have gone back to the Gray’s Papaya so many times 5 pounds of my body has to be a hotdog with chili and cheese and another 5 pounds is Papaya juice!!!!!

The Original Papaya King is two blocks east of my apartment. It’s a five minute walk but I would walk farther for these bad boys!! This is a hole in the wall that is a very tight squeeze. It is a stand up place that can maybe hold ten people at a time. There is ALWAYS a line. I have only eaten about 600 hotdogs with chili cheese, an order of large chili cheese curly fries, which come in a cup and are covered with cheese goo and chili mixed in, and a papaya juice drink.

I, of course, have tried to take everyone who has ever come to visit me because, as you might read below, the place is pretty famous and a staple specific to NYC history. Jessie liked them so much on her visit here she snagged a few brochures about the place.

And The Papaya King story goes like this:

In 1923, a 16-year-old Greek boy named Gus Poulos arrived at the docks of Ellis Island from Athens, Greece, with no contacts and his family left behind. Penniless, but industrious and driven, Gus quickly immersed himself in the spirited mood of the roaring 20's and set his sights on achieving the American Dream. Working at a deli in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, it didn't take long for the hard-working Gus to make his mark. Within three years, he bought the business outright.

Now that he was a business owner, Gus was able to take his first vacation and, like many Americans, set his sights on the sunny beaches of Miami, Florida. When he got there, he noticed the plentiful supplies of excellent fruit: oranges, mangoes, grapefruit, bananas, pineapples and most importantly, papayas. He quickly came to love various concoctions of fruit juices.

When he got back to New York, he went looking for papayas and other tropical fruits to satisfy his newly acquired craving. None could be found. At that time, Florida was a world away by train and most tropical fruits were unknown to New Yorkers. In 1931, after several years of planning and developing fruit sources, Gus decided to sell his deli and open his first juice store, Hawaiian Tropical Drinks, Inc.

At first, no one came. His store piled high with perishable tropical fruits, Gus decided that if he couldn't sell his drinks, he would give them away rather than letting the fruit go to waste. So he hired waitresses to dress up in traditional Hawaiian skirts and had them stand on the corner handing out free glasses of fruit drinks as Gus worked a blender inside the store.

It didn't take long for New Yorkers to get hooked. Soon he had lines forming outside his shop on the days of his fresh fruit deliveries and the legend of his papaya drinks began to spread. In 1935, he opened another store in Brooklyn, and in 1937, he set up his third shop in Philadelphia. He expanded his drink lines to include fresh-squeezed strawberry shakes and coconut drinks mixed with papaya juice. Despite his success, however, he knew something was missing.

Gus' first store was on 86th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, which at the time was heavily populated with German and Polish immigrants. One day while trying to impress a young German-American woman named "Birdie" on his newly purchased roller skates, Gus took a fall and badly injured his ankle. The young lass took pity on him and helped him during his recuperation, bringing him food from the German establishments in the neighborhood. Gus quickly took a liking to all things German, and after he and Birdie decided to marry, he introduced the frankfurter to his juice stand. The rest is history.

As the decades passed, Gus' fruit stands grew in stature and fame. Gus opened several more outlets in New York and even opened restaurants as far away as Baltimore and Miami. Though still officially the Hawaiian Tropical Drinks Company, a regular patron (reportedly a Brooklyn Dodger baseball player who became addicted to Gus' fare) had dubbed Gus the "Papaya King," and customers began to refer to the fruit stands as "The Papaya King."

By the 1950's, the "Papaya King's" fame had spread across the country and the original store on 86th Street began to attract worldwide attention. Early in the 1960's, he agreed to officially change the name of the store to Papaya King. Travel guides began to hone in on the corner frankfurter shop as an essential New York City pit stop.

In 1958, his son Peter, fresh out of college, decided to join in and took over the day-to-day operations of the New York stores. Peter began to influence the business more and more, and opened up another very successful location on 59th Street and 3rd Avenue in New York City. In the 1960's, because the 86th Street store was so busy, Peter and Gus opened up another Papaya King directly across the street just to handle the overflow of customers!!

In the 1970's, Peter's cousin Alex, Gus' nephew, joined in the business. Despite their success, however, Peter and Gus wanted to focus their attention on the 86th Street store so as to spend more time with their families. By Gus' death in 1988, Papaya King was back to its original single store.

Today, say the words "Papaya King" to a New Yorker and hot dogs and fruit drinks will instantly come to mind. Papaya King has been called by Zagat the "best, cheapest (stand-up) lunch in the city", and a "must visit" highlight of any trip to New York City. Critic Ed Levine of New York Eats calls it the "best hot dog in the world." Over the years, Papaya King has become a tradition with local residents, tourists, political and business luminaries, and the jet set of New York society. Papaya King represents the ultimate in quick dining -- stand-up fare and ready-made juice drinks enjoyed as you rub elbows with all walks of people. Papaya King stands for inexpensive fast food made from all-natural products and the store provides a nostalgic visit to old New York.

The Zagat dining guide has called Papaya King the “best, stand-up lunch in the city” and a “must-visit-high-light of any trip to New York City. Critic Ed Levine of New York Eats calls it the “best hot dog in the world.” Papaya King has become a tradition with local residents, tourists, political and business luminaries, as well as the jet set of New York society. Papaya King represents the ultimate in quick dining – delicious stand-up fare enjoyed as you rub elbows with all walks of people.

There is a freaking Sausage thing that is made with bull testicles and other weird things. Chris and I saw the advertisement for the damn thing and about dropped our food. We were going to go back and take a picture but oh well!! I will be updating this blog with what it says when I remember. And unfortunately, I couldn’t find it on the internet! OK….If you are still not sold….THEY DELIVER all over the United States to your damn door step – THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!

Mark Sandman died on July 3, 1999 at 47 years old. During his life time he was not famous, but now….! He was an indie-rock icon, an American singer, songwriter, musical instrument inventor and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead singer and slide bass player of the band Morphine. (They are fun too by the way.) He was also a member of the Boston Blues band Treat Her Right and the founder of Hi-n-Dry, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based recording studio and independent record label.

Some notable Hi-n-Dry artists are Asa Brebner, one of the important figures in the birth of PUNK and Rick Berlin, a guitartist and great storyteller.

His instruments were extensively altered and sometimes built by hand to create unique sounds. In Morphine, he played primarily a fretless two-sting slide bass guitar. He was also known to play a unitar (named after the one-stringed instrument in American blues tradition), and three-string slide bass. He sometimes paired bass strings with one or two guitar strings, creating the "basitar" and "guitbass". Ballew would later use both instruments in The Presidents of the United States. YES!!! POTUS HAHAHAHA…I used to Love saying POTUS!

Jackie's Birthday & The Typhoon Lounge (& Stanton Moore)

So January 2^nd was Jackie Bateman’s birthday and last day here in NYC. We had dinner at one of the neatest little places off St. Mark’s Place downtown in the Village. It is called the Typhoon Lounge. It is officially located at 79 St. Marks Place, New York New York 1003-7955. Phone is (866) 906-1280.

My friend Ned had picked out the place and took us down St. Mark’s to Typhoon. Walking down a few steps to reach the front door, you open the door and have to push aside some weird curtain that is really just a shower curtain on a shower rod and everything. Rings and all. Very very stange. ANd it was not sparkling new either.

Walking three feet into the restaurant the décor immediately changed into this beautiful fun medival feel. In the wall were carved booths made out of stone and looked almost like we should have been in some medieval tavern. I felt like there was an Aztec vibe going on within the Asian flair. It did not feel like a traditional Japanese restaurant until we were escorted downstairs. This is where we all fell in love with the place.

There were little rooms off the main floor that were like makeshift Japanese dinging rooms. The rooms were raised off the floor and had a traditional kneel-at table inside that was made out of a nice large piece of wood.

We explained that it was Jackie’s birthday and got escorted into the second of the tiny rooms. We had to take off our shoes and were seated around the table like an official Japanese family might do. We all had on our socks and out shoes had to rest on the floor outside. We crowded into the little room around the table. Note: Unless you have 6 people, they do not encourage you using those rooms. Since it was Jackie’s Birthday we talked out way into it!!! It is best to go with a big group and reserve a private room downstairs.

Ned did all the ordering and we tried to keep it under $100 for the four of us. Ned ordered an assortment of foods. Everything came out one dish after the other and we shared it all. The first dish to arrive was a dish called Buta-Kimchi. This dish consists of thinly sliced pork (buta) and spicy Korean pickled cabbage (kimchi). That was just delicious and the portion, even though split between 4 of us, gave us each a healthy taste of the dish.

The second dish that came out was the Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is prepared much like a pancake. The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on either a hot plate or a pan using metal that are later used to slice the dish when it has finished cooking. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), nori, fish flakes, mayonnaise and ginger. Our dish was prepared this way.

While we were eating these lovely dishes, our serving of Edamame came out. Edamame is consumed as a snack, a vegetable dish, used in soups or processed into sweets. As a snack, the pods are lightly boiled in salted water, and then the seeds are squeezed directly from the pods into the mouth with the fingers. These are just steamed soy beans. LOVE THEM!!!

The third dish Ned ordered was a Curry Rice dish. This was simply white sticky rice on a side of the plate with a brown sauce with what I gathered was a beaten egg in the mix of the sauce. It was like the sauce was covering scrambled eggs but the dish was AWESOME!!

Finally we got an order sashimi and sushi. The sashimi ($6.00) brought a healthy variety of fresh fish pieces, generously sized and priced at about $1 a piece. The sushi contained a 6 piece tuna roll with four pieces of fish over rice. The fish were salmon, yellow tail, tuna and something else. We also ordered Sake and a Japanese beer called Kirin. The sake came in a round glass that was set inside a wooden red box. You picked up the box to drink the sake. This place is cheap and delicious for those who care for a nice piece of sushi or sashimi.

Here are some other suggestions if you ever want to try the place out: Chicken kara-age (amazing fried chicken, but be careful of the hot sauce), miso kalbi (beef slices cooked with miso), Saikoro steak (cubes of steak with a great sauce on the side and potatoes), omu-rice (kind of like a rice omelette, hence omelette-rice = omu-rice), korokke (potato croquettes), okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake, but you might want to ask them to hold the katsuo-bushi -- dried bonito flakes).

The prices were great. Everything was around $6.00 - $10.00. The restaurant is very affordable especially considering how incredibly fresh the food is. If you want top-notch sushi and don't want to pay ridiculous prices, this is your place. And do not expect a Americanized version of Asian food. This restaurant caters to mainly Asian clientele so that should tell you how great and authentic the food really is!

The service was whatever. When I am with friends, as long as the wait staff keeps up on our beer supply, I generally don’t mind the waiting. However, we had a decent server who stayed on top of our alcohol level as well as our spills caused by the alcohol consumption. The primarily Japanese wait staff is pretty good at leaving you alone. Because they're from Japan this may be partially attributed to the fact that they're used to being called when needed.

Leaving, I was noticed men playing an odd game of what looked like Japanese checkers? They were like mahjong tiles but on a checker board or maybe even a chess board. I couldn’t tell. And the bar to the left was stoked will all kinds of hot and cold sake. For those who enjoy that kind of drink. Then it was back to pushing aside that WEIRD ASS shower curtain. I mean the thing was old and moldy looking. It was one of those weird clear colors that look foggy with white circles on it. What the HELL was that about? I still can’t get over it. Other then that damn strange curtain, the place is awesome: amazing food, great atmosphere, great Japanese beer and hot and cold options of sake.

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WHO LOVES THE DRUMS!!!! I LOVE THE DRUMS!!!!

Stanton Moore, a founding member of the popular “steamroller funk” band Galatic, is a phenomenal jazz drummer. His has three CD’s, my favorite of which is called “Flyin’ the Koop” and I would recommend it highly that everyone go buy this CD.

Flyin’ the Koop is his second solo album. On this CD Moore plays with a all-star cast of groove-minded musicians, featuring bassist Chris Wood (Medeski Martin & Wood), saxophonist Karl Denson (co-founder of seminal acid jazz band the Greyboy Allstars and leader of his own band Tiny Universe), and guitarist Brian Seeger (New Orleans luminary and a member of Moore & More).

Moore also includes saxophonist Skerik and the vocal magic of the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians on "Fallin' off the Floor." The 12-track collection is groove-driven, jazz-informed, and stylistically eclectic, with tunes ranging from rhythmic cookers to straight-ahead jazz launches, from melodic beauties to raunchy funk-rompers.

There is an eclectic variety of sound in this CD. It is jazz music and drumming at its best and I hope even one person reading this actually buys the CD.

As well, with his deeply imbedded jazz roots, Moore has surprised everyone by drumming on the latest record by heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity. He toured with them for a while until Hurricane Katrinia. The tour was cut short so that a member of the band could return to New Orleans and look after his bar.

Finally, Stanton Moore is part of another wonderful side project, a CD which I have had to buy three times because I wore it out. I have since downloaded it so that I may never have to worry about not having this genius group at my fingertips. Garage A Trios is a way out project from the fearsome threesome that Moore brought together on his first CD All Kooked Out! (Stanton Moore, Charlie Hunter, Skerik). “Club-ready but sample-free tracks take you back to the new school in dubbed-out style. Their live shows are legendary, and are often the hottest tickets at JazzFest.”

There is just too much great music in the world.

The Arsenal AKA The Office (& The Beatnuts)

This is just a random amount of information I found about the building I work in. I love walking into the park and entering up the stairs everyday and I wanted to know more. Thank god for brochures!! Now I can always remember how kickass my job really is!

The Arsenal and the Menagerie, c. 1870

Located at 64^th Street and Fifth Avenue in Central park, the Arsenal is home to the City of New York/Parks & Recreation, the Central Park Administrator, the City Parks Foundation, the Historic House Trust, the New York Wildlife Conservation Society, the Parks Library, and the Arsenal Gallery.

The Arsenal is one of two buildings within the park’s borders which predate the park itself (the other is a blockhouse at the north end dating from the War of 1812). It was built between 1847 and 1851 by the State of New York as a storage repository for munitions; the previous state arsenal had been located in Madison Square Park. The project’s funding was overseen by state comptroller Millard Fillmore, who later became President of the United States.

Designed by architect Martin E. Thompson, the crenellated structure, originally stuccoed, and marked by a crenulated cornice, resembles a medieval fortress. Its doorway is guarded by cast-iron eagle made by Daniel Meeker Foundry of Newark, New Jersey.

The building’s military use proved shortlived. Between 1853 and 1856, the State seized the land under it for a public park. In 1957 the City purchased the Arsenal for $275,00.00, removed all arms, and established park administrative functions on the premises. Certain park advocates and urban observers felt this structure was a blight on the landscape, most notably diarist Geroge Templeton Strong who in 1859 referred to the “hideous State Arsenal Building,” and hoped “this eyesore…[would] soon be destroyed by accidental fire.”

The Arsenal, 1864. Photo by: W.H. Guild Jr.

This was not to be, and over the ensuing decades the building served diverse roles. In 1857 the 11^th police precinct was stationed there. The newly created American Museum of Natural History took up residence at the Arsenal from 1869 to 1877, before its current home was built on Central Park West. Exhibits were installed on the second and third floors. Also at this time, B. Waterhouse Hawkins, an eminent British paleontologist, spent time reconstructing the skeletal remains of dinosaurs in a special studio established at the Arsenal.

Beginning in 1859, a burgeoning menagerie was located in and around the Arsenal. Gifts or loans of animals by the likes of impresario P. T. Barnum, financier August Belmont and Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman could be seen in outdoor cages and in the basement of the building. The "great insecurity and danger" of this arrangement, as well as the stench, resulted in the removal of the interior cages by 1871.

A Gallery of Art, later relocated to the former Convent of Mount St. Vincent at the park's north end, graced the first floor space. Prior to moving to the park's Belvedere Castle, the Municipal Weather Bureau's instruments were atop the Arsenal roof from 1869 to 1918.

Various designs for remodeling the Arsenal emerged over time. Jacob Wrey Mould, the Architect responsible for much of the ornamental detail at Bethesda Terrace and elsewhere in the park, remodeled the Arsenal interior in 1870. An Arsenal restaurant existed early in the 20th century; plans for its renovation appear in an official parks report of 1916. Also in that year the Parks Department considered demolishing the building altogether and relocating the weather bureau and police station to the Belvedere and Sheepfold (later Tavern on the Green) respectively.

The Arsenal, Paleontological Studio at Central Park Museum, c.1868.

From 1914 to 1924 the Manhattan Parks Department operated out of the newly built Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan. During this period the Arsenal deteriorated to such an extent that in 1922 a headline in the New York Times read: "Parks Arsenal a Near Ruin." The paper went on to report that this neglected landmark had a leaking roof, broken windows, and missing brickwork among other structural defects.

At that time the City appropriated $75,000 for an overhaul of the Arsenal, including new central turrets and a clock, basement storage for "trees, plant and shrubs," and a conference room for park researchers (later a library).

Most of the space was set aside for Parks Department offices. During reconstruction an underground spring and a secret passage were discovered (the latter possibly from the building's days as an arsenal, for the undercover transfer of arms). The restoration was completed in 1924.

Allen Saalburg painting murals in the Arsenal Lobby, Central Park,
(southeast corner, east wall), 1936.

Having served off and on as the borough park offices, the Arsenal underwent another complete renovation in 1934 as the first and only headquarters of a citywide unified Parks Department. From his command posts at the Arsenal and at Randall's Island, Commissioner Robert Moses set about directing an unprecedented expansion of the parks system and the modernization of New York City's public facilities. By the time he had left office in 1960, total parks acreage had tripled, and the number of city playgrounds increased from 119 to 777.

In 1935-36 the Arsenal lobby murals were painted under the direction of Allen Saalburg. Saalburg researched images of old New York with particular relevance to city parks, and amplified on his studies in a series of scenes depicting recreational activities, notable park structures, and flagship parks.

The project was funded by the Federal Works Progress Administration. Also at this time, a new entryway was designed for the front of the Arsenal, including military drums over the doorway, and cast-iron musket replicas as supports for the banisters.

Bird's-eye view of the Arsenal, 1962

Over time the Arsenal has become a parks fixture, appearing on occasion in fictional feature films. In 1967 the Arsenal was designated an official New York City Landmark. The bronze eagles which presently flank the third floor entrance and conference room arrived in 1981; they were secured after repeated acts of vandalism necessitated their removal in 1962 from the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn.

Since the early 1980s, the central chamber on the third floor of the building has been used as a gallery and space for public forums. Eight to ten exhibitions of fine arts and photography are mounted annually, and preference is given to shows concerned with the natural environment, urban issues and parks history. The gallery may be reserved for private and public functions.

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The Beatnuts are a hip hop crew from Queens, New York. I remember listening to them years and years ago because I had tape of this random group that had been handed out back in the early 1990’s. I believe I was in 8^th grade at this point. I remember the name the Beatnuts and believe that tape is still in my father’s house back in Virginia.

Anyway, I have fallen back in love with this Latino Hip Hop Group. I have been listening to their album Street Level and suggest it to whoever might be reading this!

These guys actually produced an album for Common and Chi-Ali and were praised highly for their work. I am not one for Hip hop but I have always loved Common and The Beatnuts. They just make sense. The Beatnuts yall!!

Starbucks Taste Test (& Al Di Meola)

So, Starbucks is preparing to kick off their holiday campaign with events thought-out the tri-state area and they need to train their field teams. As a great partner of Parks, Starbucks invited Arsenal employees to be one of the first to try their new holiday drinks on November 8, 2006.

At 8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm Starbucks gave us free samples of their Gingerbread Latte, Peppermint Hot Chocolate and Christmas Blend Coffee. The set up their van and tent on the East Drive just outside the Central Park Zoo Garage driveway.

The day was rainy and nasty but the Starbucks people were out there all day handing out free small samples of coffee. I went out at 3pm and tried both the Gingerbread Latte and Peppermint Hot Chocolate. I do not like Chocolate OR Coffee OR latte but I had to try it since it was free and new. Why not right?

I first tried the Gingerbread which was really good but not something I could have handled an entire glass full. I tried the Peppermint Hot Chocolate next and that was AWESOME! I dot NOT like hot chocolate but this was flavorful and just wonderful. I would recommend this drink for Christmas most definitely. However, this was also a drink I couldn’t have handled an entire mug full.

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Al Di Meola holds the most prestigious guitar awards (of any guitarist in the world) from the highest rated guitar poll in the world, Guitar Player Magazine. He has been known throughout the world for the past two and a half decades as one of the most prominent virtuosos in the contemporary instrumental jazz field.

I am currently listening to “Super Guitar Trio and Friends.” The music I listen to is hard to explain in words because I am one of those people who just loose themselves in great instrumentals. There are no lyrics. Instrumental music gives you the ability to create your own feelings and your own stories. Sure, every song has an initial tone that dictates weather it’s a sad or funny or fast or slow song. However, with instrumentals it is your imagination and mind that creates that “tangible” emotion connected to the music or a particular song.

Al Di Meola formed a new trio with the likes of jean Luc Ponty (Violion), and Stanley Clarke (The Rite of Strings). Check that out as well. I will probably profile Jean Luc Ponty next as he is just a fabulous violinist. For those of you who listen to String Cheese Incident, you might recognize their version of Ponty’s song “Mauna Bowa.”

cont.....My first Gallery Opening: Andrei Molodkin (& Elfi Snow and the Tasty Morsels)

Ok this is the 4^th and last gallery we went to on the 5^th floor of whatever building. It was called the Daneyal Mahmood Gallery.

DANEYAL MAHMOOD GALLERY

511 West 25^th Street 3^rd Floor

New York, New York 10001

www.Daneyalmahmood.com

(212) 675-2966

All these galleries were in old warehouses across the street from each other so we only went like to three buildings all right next to each other. A little note for my memory: artists and gallery owners just rent out random floors on these old warehouses and change them into galleries. There are old cats that live there and rats and all kinds of crazy things. You ride up these old big elevators up to the 6 or 8^th floor in some case sand get off. Every time that door opened it was a totally different architecture on the floors – one floor was strange, one was a bunch of galleries, one was an old dark space, one was hallways but looked so old and then you come to another floor with nice white halls and it would be a gallery. Oh, and the halls were tall, skinny and just as white as you can get it. Like right into a hospital. No art work on the walls. Nasty track lighting in the ceilings.

I totally felt that the white walls were “cleansing my pallet” if you will. Because then you would enter one of the little rooms which was “The gallery” and it would burst with whatever color was on the walls. It was very interesting and I loved the playful feelings I got. And I loved the white walls. It made the entrance into the galleries t hat much better.

(Empire At War, 2006 - 2974 Ball point pens on canvas - 106" x 149")

Every room was its own gallery but not all of them were open of having opening nights.

So, I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE!!! I mean, it immediately hit me when I walked in that is was a political statement and a humorous one at that. And the fact that his medium is an ink pen and that the instrument factors into his art just as importantly as his statement, that was interesting as well.

(This was the statement about the pen's on the wall - no title)

The russian artist’s name is Andrei Molodkin and his show was titled “Empire At War.” I mean, look at the pictures for yourself. I mean this is not one that is hard to define right? You kind of know where the artist is coming from and feeling from this compared to the other artists I saw that night.

The central piece that you saw above, George Bush reading from the bible in front of a crucifix (118x157") is drawn from 2,764 ballpoint pens. The number of pens used represents the total number of soldiers killed in Iraq by September 21st, 2006. The project serves as an allegory for death by process - as each pen is used until spent and then replaced with another until the project is completed.

So, I am guessing the above artwork is called "Support Our Troops" since I can't find it anywhere on the internet and I didn't write down the name of the art while I was looking at it. As you can see, I didn't even take the pictures. My co-worker Jason snapped a picture of me signing whatever it was I was signing.

(And again....)

This was the artist's statment on the handout we received when we entered: The hypocrisy of the slogan “Support Our Troops” yields a comparison with ballpoint pens “issued” to a former soldier Andrei Molodkin to produce his drawings and paintings. On the one hand, the repeatedly renewed process of using these dispensable tools linked to the iconography of death. The other idea is about the continuation of the line of the ballpoint pens, in the sense that the used-up set (the dead) is immediately replaced with a new generation. Each of them is destined to fight and work obsessively at any price, until the last drop of ink-blood. The end of this process is “the end of civilization,” or (as they say nowadays) “the end of history.” Therefore, the images of “Sweet crude leaders” (sweet crude commander-in-chief, etc.), responsible for turning ballpoint pens allegory into reality, serve as a symbol of that finale.

This picture was the first thing I saw when I walked into this gallery. I was immdiately aware of his point of view and was floored. I

just looked around at others reactions because I was like "HOLY SHIT." If i wasn't a mature grown-up, HAHAHA, this is something I would totally buy and put next to the dinging room table and have my parents over for dinner just to see thier reactions hahaha. Great dinner topic, don't you think?

It was genius and made me laugh outloud in an understanding way. The work is called Embrace, 2006 - ball point pen on linen. Dude had a thing to say and its said haha. The guys around me started debating on which one started it and which one would finish it...meaning the kiss of course. This was the best show in terms of food too - they had wraps and noone else had food - but thier beer was gross.

The gallery also had this little room in the back that almost looked like where they were storing an old show, and only by researching this artist did I learn it was part of the show but from a past opening or something like that. "His most recent projects have included a series of "liquid" sculptures created by Iraqi crude oil and acrylic. " Hello opinion?? Speak up - I can't hear you!!!

These are three of the peices. Crude Oil in the Form of Jesus, 2006, Crude Oil in the Form of Mohommad and Crude Oil in the Form of 911. This is what I found about his series:

"Andrei Molodkin conceptualizes the ideas of our present day culture in an ongoing series of crude oil sculptures. The artist collects residue oil from the pipelines of national corporations to create his art. In a labor-intensive process, wax sculptures are casts into acrylic blocks. Through means of heat and pressure the wax sculpture melts away - leaving a negative space. The hollow imprint of the mold is then filled with crude oil creating liquid sculptures.

By transforming oil from an organic resource into an aesthetic form, the artist raises important questions regarding the role of oil within our contemporary Western culture. Mr. Molodkin initiates a political and cultural discourse in which he asserts that oil as a necessary commodity substitutes our cultural heritage: “Our Heritage is a process of casting monuments. The memory of Earth fills up forms of cultural memory as oil displaces classical sculpture taking the place of o

ur heritage - our heritage is measured in barrels.” The clash between culture and economy is seen where the artist uses recognizable religious images or cultural iconography as his subject matter. These images are substituted and exchanged into oil icons. For Andrei Molodkin, juxtaposing classical representations with oil suggests a substitution of economy with culture.

In the human body parts series, oil flows within organs, reflecting the depth of our oil dependent society; oil becomes our cultural blood. The artist states that culture is an emptiness we have to fill and affirm with economics – “vacant forms are easily filled with equally vacant content, including any ideology and any discourse.” In the era of globalization, oil becomes a homogenous socio-cultural reference used by Mr. Molodkin as raw material for art."

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Then we have the music that I shall speak about - ELFI SNOW AND THE TASTY MORSELS. OK, so no matter what kind of music it is, when I go somewhere and they have any kind of music to purchase, I buy it – for so many reasons I won’t go into. This was a CD sitting on the counter and I forever knew I would remember this art opening if I listened to the CD. Of course, the music playing in the ceiling was much better but it was just someone’s IPOD and that would have taken much to long haha. So, I buy it. I take it home, and I give it a good hearty chance. This shit is strange.

First of all, the cover has a naked painted chick laying on her side but boobs out in your face. That is it – and it son a puke yellow background. The title of the CD is called Somebody Else. After researching this group, it’s apparently their second CD. The first cover has a naked painted chick as well. GO Them!!!

Seriosuly, I’ll be honest – it’s not my favortie but everything grows on me eventually and that is the best part about music. I'll fuckin' adapt tp it haha. And I am not one to ever say something is bad. If anyone is reading this – you might like them so give ‘em a chance. Her website says she is “influenced by Joni Mitchell, Aimee Mann, The Pretenders and Big Star” – so right there shows she is a friend of mine HA. Take a peek….

http://www.elfisnow.com/.

Wildfires and Americans Lecture by Roger G. Kennedy (And Charlie Hunter Trio)

Now, this shit was cool. By invitation only thorugh the “Uncommon Ground” series, people were invited to a lecture and book signing by Roger. G. Kennedy about his new book Wildfires and Americans: How to Save Lives, Property and Your Tax Dollars. If I had known that I would have been half as interested in what he said as I was, I would have brought my checkbook for the book. Now I have to buy it and not get a fucking signature. I’m a moron UGH – anyway…

“Uncommon Grounds” is a series of events presenting the ideas of thoughtful and visionary planners and practitioners on how the park system of the future can grow and flourish, even against the backdrop of economic uncertainty. The series explores concepts in park and design, recreation and sports, historic and environmental preservation, and public education.

(Oh by the way – I am listenting to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8akmP6Sjv2o .It is yummy and sexy and fucking hot stringy love! Just had to mention the goodness as I was feeling it, as it always goes…)

Ok. Before I talk about Robert Kennedy’s numerous accomplishments, let me first describe him. This wonderful looking man in his 60’s or 70’s comes out from behind the curtain/stiff wall like screen hiding him from the audience of maybe 15-20 people. This was not a big event but by god tomorrow I will be tracking down whatever or whoever made the guacamole. I hope it was a store bought cause I'm going to track it down – that shit was AWESOME!!

Anyway, he was an aged man with a face full of knowledge and wrinkles. He immediately brought a smile to my face and I wanted to hear him speak almost immediately. He had a wonderful BIG bowtie, larger then any I had ever seen. And of course, the spectacles. He reminded me of the old professor with the curly mustache and arms waving in the air because his passion had no where else to go but out his fingertips haha. He was a brilliant mind who was speaking about something I was interested in and I had a smile on my face the entire time. I thought was he said was insightful and it is a large idea to get heard but an excellent topic with well made points.

The man has enjoyed multiple careers in public service, non-profit organiations, and the news media. Most recently he served as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, financial vice president of the Ford Foundation; the host of his own series on he Discovery Channel; an assistant to three Cabinet officers; and White House reporter for NBC News.

Kennedy’s most recent of ten books, Wildlife and Americans: How to Save Lives, Property and Your Tax Dollars (Will and Wang, 2006), is a deeply informed appeal that we acknowledge that wildfire is not a fire problem, but a people problem. Americans are in the wrong places, channeled there by wrong policies. There are no natural disasters, only people in disastrous circumstances. Mr. Kennedy also asserts that Cold-War era policies deliberately emptied America cities and subsidized suburban and exurban encroachment into an increasingly dangerous landscape. And now with potential impact of global warming, the landscape could become even more dangerous.

Kennedy’s understanding of our history of transgressing nature’s limits, his grasp of how politicians and industries stand to gain by leaving the problem unsolved, his familiarity with the science of fire bring illumination and passion to this vital issue. Along with an examination of recent wildfire impacts, Wildfire and Americans presents a sweeping overview of American’s relationship with nature, especially as revealed through the policies and practices of federal agencies such as that Interior Department and the US Forest Service in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. His book is also a poetic reference to the wisdom of naturalists and leaders – men as diverse as Albert Gallatin, Henry David Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh, Ignatius Donnelly, Carl Schurz, Frederick Law Olmstead and John Wesley Powell – about the lessons of fire, and the danger of overstepping natural limits. Indeed, Kennedy argues persuasively that there is a direct line of intellectual descent “from Gallatin, soldier in the American Revolution, through Marsh, Schurz, La Follette, and Ickes to Russell Train, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under presidents Nixon and Ford” in the 1960’s and 1970s. An amazing intellectual lineage, and one in which Roger G. Kennedy is also firmly embedded.

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Charlie Hunter Trio, up until recently, consisted of Derrek Phillips, Charlie Hunter and John Ellis. Unfortunately, John and Derrek have recently left the Trio to pursue their musical ventures solo, thus, my choosing them to be the band that I very poorly profile for my own sake.

With 13 discs, you can’t be all that bad right? They are a jazzy, fun, earthy, musical goodness who a lot of lay people do not give credit to. These guys are full of talent and I suggest trying to listen to their Bing, Bling, Bling album. They cover Nirvana’s Come As You Are. Good stuff. They are a sound that reminds me of good times and the horns are the best part. It brings me back to 20’s reminiscent era, even the cover. If you care for lyrics, you won’t find them here – but can create your own in your head after giving this a chance a few times over.

Told you it would be a poor profile. The only way I can describe music is by feeling it…and I can’t describe feelings.

drunk 17 years old bring back memories!!!

it is 11:50pm on Thurdsay night, November 9, 2006. I am a whole bottle of wine into being drunnk and alone haha....so sad yes but oh well haha. I hear al lthis COMOTION...out side. I go outside like im smoking a cig and find 10-12 young girls being drunk as SHIT trying to take drunk pictures. its gets fun and they take pictures of me and all try getting up on the barrier between me and the garbage hahaha. Then i tell them i will take a picture of all of them from my view and they say i will steal thier cameras so i leave them alone. Then they ask to take my picture again and i say come on up mother fuckers. i have tons of beer and im alone drinking it. Half of them rush my door and the other half asks like a mother and says OH GOD NOOOOOOOOOOOO. I mean, I am so glad I was never one of thoes mother types. I am a fun person and im drunk right now but hot damn I would let those 17 year olds leave with some fond memories of drunken freedom.....no parents....no rules...tons of beer....good times hahahaha. Yeah, they left an im alone writing about this gay shit in my blog. Oh well, a few eeks from now this will amuse me!!! They asked if I went to college and of course i was like JMU BABY!!!!! They asked if i knew some soccer player named christine? Does that ring a bell to anyone? Christine might not have even been her name hahahha....I am in these bitches pictures hahahahahaha

cont.....My first Gallery Opening: Kuno Gonschior and some other artist I can't name

Still at the Stux Galery.

There was a second artist in the back room. This was not half as interesting to me but still interesting to shift from such dramatic pieces of artwork so simple yet, difficult in its own right.

This was Kuno Gonschior’s exhibit titled “10 Landscapes: For Ulrike”. This gentleman is not Asian, as you would immediately think, or at least I did. He is German and this is his vision of modern art. After researching him on the internet, I have found out that he works and lives in German, Berlin to be exact. I also found it awesome that this gallery that I was in was the only one in the nation, for the entire year, for where his work would be exhibited. This was also the first US exhibit the artist had ever had Made it seem like it was a bigger deal then it might seem to some but it is kind of awesome.

cont.....My first Gallery Opening: Nicola Verlato (& Great Big Sea)

A midsummer night's dream - featuring Julie Atlas Muz, Freewheelin Franklin and Davy Crockett, 2006, oil on canvas, 78x54 inches

And then we head to another gallery across the street. OH YEAH. Now, this is weird and much more my style. We were walking past the window and there it was. The most outrageous thing I had seen in forever haha. We of course had to go in.

Mothers II, 2005, Oil on Canvas, 80 x 80 inches

The gallery was named Stux Gallery and it was located at 530 West 25^th Street in Manhattan. http://www.stuxgallery.com/

The artists name is Nicola Verlato. (*****Read further). The title of the show is called O.Z. Paintings. Her opening had been on October 19, 2006 so there was no wine or anything but it was probably my favorite exhibit out of the four I saw that night.

There's no place like home!, 2006, oil on canvas, 78x96 inches

I mean, how would you interpret this? I was immediately uplifted with a smile on my face. Giggling inside the entire time and then finding that I couldn’t take my eyes away from picking out all the weird little things going on in the picture. Pokemon characters, Drain plugs, whips, naked people doing crazy stuff haha, and then the landscape actually being believable below the background of the picture.

Black Hole Sun Wants To Come, 2006, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 60 inches

(I immidiately thought of Soundgarden when I saw the title of this piece.)

What the shit am I supposed to say to artwork like this. I loved and hated it and loved it again? It is insane and I love it hahah. What a weird, destructive, vision. I even felt like I was looking at an artist rendition of a weird view toward fairytales or children’s stories. I found it to draw very childlike memories from me. The masks reminded me of Phantom of the Opera, the toys, the youth of the naked people. But then you had destruction of a tornado and nakedness being a loss of self concealment. I mean it just blew my mind up. As opposed to landscapes haha.

(****AND HOLY SHIT – basically I typed up the above two paragrpahs BEFORE typing up the artist name and information in one of the first pargraphs . I went BACK to do that part. I’m freaking.. haha. I didn't even read about her until after I wrote this freaking blog. How cool is that? I "GOT" her artwork before even knowing what she was intending to protray haha.)

How Does It Feel, 2006, Oil on canvas, 96 x 64 inches

If you are interested in the artist: http://www.nicolaverlato.com/

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So, this artist clearly had the lovin’ for a young fun time. There is something about the band that I am about to name that just gets me bubbly. The songs put smiles on my face the send I hear the first note. The band is called Great Big Sea.

Great Big Sea originated in Canada, specifically Newfoundland and Ladrador. The year a folk-rock band. They are best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island’s 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage. The band also performs original material.

Great Big Sea has been more successful than any other contemporary North American band in bringing Anglo-Celtic folk sounds into rock clubs!!!!!

Some great songs to download are:

“Scolding Wife” - Sea of No Cares Album
“Stumbling In” - Sea of No Cares Album
“Turn” – Turn Album
“The Night Pat Murphy Died” – Play Album

These songs are playful and bright and airy and you can’t help but feel the Irish under tones and want to bust into some kind of jug!

My first Gallery Opening: Keith Jacobshagen (& Al Hudson and the Soul Partners)

On Thursday, November 2, 2006, I attending some Gallery openings and viewings with a co-worker.

The galleries were down in the village and we walked through the Southern tip of Central Park from the Arsenal. We needed to get to the West side to catch the C train to Chelsea (at 23rd Street Station).

It was night and my camera battery was dying so I didn't think to start taking pictures till after we entered the first building. It was an old warehouse and the floor we went to, I think it was 5th, but it was the only floor that had been bought by this "gallery" and converted to show work. There were tons of doors down long white hallways. They reminded me of a scary sterile hospital. NO windows looking out and long bright florescent lighting tracked the ceiling.

My very first CHELSEA (run-down warehouse) art gallery opening. I was soooooooooo excited. I was not expecting anything so I can’t explain my reaction. I was just excited, pumped, freaking out with joy haha. The room was small. There were only about 25 paintings on the walls. Wine table to the left. Info table directly 10 feet in front of us. Small. We immediately made a beeline for the wine. Them the cutest thing happened. The picture to the right if from the gallery's website. This is what the room looked like!

A little paw shot out from under the wine table and started playing with our feet. That was when I was introduced to the warehouse cat. I unfortunately forgot its name but it was so awesome. I was immediately transported back to Chris’s parent’s home and thinking of the cats in the barn. Below, Quonset (Jan., Platte Valley), oil on canvas, 20x42.

I was told that this cat was a stray and became the warehouse cat. While I was being told about the cat, the beautiful baby walked out from under the table with the tablecloth slowly exiting off his back like he was the king of the jungle discarding his robe. He walked halfway into the gallery and plopped down right on to the floor. People were walking everywhere and it was so comfortable. I just loved the feeling I got of how homey the cat made this outrageous converted warehouse in the middle of NYC feel. I was at ease immediately.

The artist was Keith Jacobshagen. The art work was nice. I was shocked to see Midwestern landscape I have to say. I was expecting some outrageous artwork I think. But then again, it reminded me of home a tiny bit, without the rolling mountains. The artist was present and very nice. His name was Keith Jacobshagen. To the right, Cut Brush Fires, Sakt Vakkey, oil on board, 8x9 (one of my favs)

http://www.jcacciolagallery.com/cgi-bin/artistDisplay.cgi?artistName=current&index=00&showBio=no

I was really interested and I wanted to know if the order of his display (the pictures were numbered 1-whatever number). I asked if maybe if I was following some path of a trip he had once taken. He smiled and said that it was on a road from one location to another but not intentionally playing a role in the display. I got an autograph and a .......

The prices ranged from $2,000 - $10,000. Most were no bigger then a 15” monitor. This would not have been something I ever bought for my home but it still provoked feelings and emotions from me and that was great.

(I will write more in the following blogs because i feel like these are to big and long haha.)

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DISCO BABY!!!! DISCO!!!! So, I know my father used to disco dance in the 70s and that just blew my mind. If you knew my father, you would understand that. So, I was thinking about disco music and my father today and thought I would write about that style of music, and who better to showcase then Al Hudson and the Soul Partners.

Al Hudson was a soulful talent who stood his own in the late 70s, forging an up-tempo funk sound that lived long past disco, and which was sort of a platform for groups of the 80s to build a new dancefloor sound. He has led various soul and funk groups since the 1970’s.

Al, who had been playing the local Detroit club scene with a group of fellow musicians and friends, brought Kevin McCord (lead vocals & bass guitar), Cortez Harris (vocals & guitar), Jack Hall (piano), and Theodore Dudley, Jr. (drums) together as his Soul Partners.

The group began life as AI Hudson & The Soul Partners, scoring popularity with songs including 'Spread

Love', prior to becoming One Way Featuring Al Hudson in 1979.

Although he never landed anything remotely close to a big hit, the group consistently recorded through the '70s and into the early '80s. Hudson and the Soul Partners signed with ABC in the mid-'70s and made their debut with the LP ‘Especially for You’.

One Way consisted of Al Hudson (vocals / percussion), Kevin McCord (bass / keyboards) and Dave Roberson (lead guitar). A famous song by the group, and a song that has been sampled by many, is “You Can Do It.” Another title that might sound familiar is “Let’s Talk About Love”