Filmstrip board - Mistinguette [from peruanaanaperu's Flikr page]
the frames on this board can be animated. to see it, click here

Have you seen "Peru Ana Ana Peru" tagged all over the place in Brooklyn and in the L station? I never had any idea what it meant until today when I found them on Twitter. Everyone has a Twitter account. Even taggers.

I was happy to find out that they are not just taggers. They are artists concerned with the art of film and the like. Check out a video called (godard) in chinatown, n.y.c. on their YouTube channel to learn more. Good stuff. Very good stuff.

About (godard) in chinatown, n.y.c.

"this is an enquiry about the future of the cinema."

the audio voice over for this video is taken from a 1982 wim wenders film titled "room 666" which features various filmmakers in a hotel room speaking on some aspect of filmmaking and/or the industry that supports it. in this case, the filmmaker is jean-luc godard, whose entire speech can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hdAcx...

clips are taken from various commercials, tv shows, and films. the eisenstein footage is from 'battleship potemkin' but is re-edited to our liking. the footage that appears during the 'small movies' portion of the voice over is from 'taris' by jean vigo, which can be seen in its entirety here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as4VI8...

the rest of the footage was filmed in chinatown, new york, on a cool late summer day, using two indonesian happen-alongs that were gracious enough to participate.

The tables in the morning. Very peaceful.


The table set-up, with plenty of kibbitzing chairs.

Ping pong pics at Bryant Park, as promised. If you come without a partner, no problem. They'll match you up with the next person on the list. Makes for an exciting nervous wait, let me tell you.

Ping Pong Rules! Click image to enlarge.


Plants protecting with netting. See Rules.

A strangely mesmerizing experience. Berryz Kobo (Berryz工房), or "Berryz Workshop."


I just entered a conveyor-belt sushi drawing (Yushi on 47th and Lex) on Midtown Lunch. I wrote a very heartfelt entry (scroll to the bottom). I hope I win!!!! Anyway, I found Berryz Kobo in the process.


***
If you have now become a fan of Berryz Kobo like I have, click for more videos here. And, if you speak Japanese, and want to make a Berryz Kobo song your karaoke number (which I totally do!!), click here for complete lyrics, both in Romaji and Kanji.

Cool! I really want to learn the words to Genghis Khan. Here it is! Along with the video. Sadly, the "Mongolian Dance Version" video is not online. But this will do nicely.

Jin Jin Genghis Khan
Hey Brother, Ho Brother
Nice Brother, Go Brother
Jin Jin Genghis Khan
Hey Rider, Ho Rider
Nice Rider, Go Rider

Take a look! This is totally going to be my karaoke song.

My current glorious perfect bubble shower curtain.

This is going to be a very banal post about my needing a new shower curtain, so I don't blame you if you don't read it. But I am in a kind of banal mood these days, thinking about what people eat for lunch, and how much they spend, and how much I spend on lunch, and what I should eat for lunch. That type of thing. There possibly will be more banal posts today, but hey, what are you going to do. It reflects my mood right now. Personally, I really like to learn about the minute details of people's day-to-day. What does that say about me? That I'm human I guess. Why is Facebook so popular? I rest my case.

So I need a new shower curtain, and I can't for the life of me find the maker of my current one.* It is perfect in my bathroom. All neutral and pretty. Really thick and great quality. I bought it at Pluto in Jamaica Plain (Boston) back in the day. So here begins my internet search for a replacement. And lucky you, you get to come along on the shopping trip.


*If you have seen a shower curtain like my perfect glorious current bubble one in the shops, please share your finds! In the comments.

Choice #1: Venice! from Target, $24.99
This could definitely work. The black and white.
And I am very much in the mood to travel these days too.

Choice #2: Ice Circles from Bed Bath & Beyond, $19.99
Could this be it? It is a great replacement. So similar.
But now I am kind of hooked on Venice.

Choice #3: Pebbles from Bed Bath & Beyond, $19.99
Also a very fine replacement. No complaints.
Except after seeing Venice, I want a change.

Choice #4: Surfers, from Bed Bath & Beyond, price not shown
I love surfers. This could be a very good option.
Must check out the goods at lunch!

Interesting mix of styles on this watch necklace from Fred Flare. Deco Medallion Watch Necklace, $24. Go ahead. Award yourself.

'wichcraft, Las Vegas-style. Very shiny.
[image from 'wichcraft]

Did you know there is a 'wichcraft in Las Vegas? At the MGM Grand. I'm going to the one in Bryant Park today to try a sandwich. Either tuna or chickpea. Can't decide. And then after that: Ping Pong! I took some good pics on Friday. Will have to upload them to this post later.

***
Update, 7.16.2009
Ping Pong pics are live.
By the way, I had the tuna with shaved fennel on a baguette and it was delicious.

Palo Santo. Latin Market Cooking. South American Wine Bar.
Very inviting. Yes, we thought so too.

Don't these look good? Our entrees: bean & cheese pupusas, $9.
And the last remaining bit of the cornbread.

On the way to the Brooklyn Zine Fest the other week, we found Palo Santo, a small quiet restaurant on an otherwise residential block. Union Street to be exact, close to 4th Avenue in Park Slope. Perhaps the Park Slopers call this the Lower Slope.

Anyway, the sandwich board at Palo Santo said "Brunch," and we obeyed. Happy we were that we did. Atmosphere: very relaxed, as if you are on vacation. Food: very tasty. Service: excellent. Freebies: yes, some sweet corn bread. Brunch menu: beyond plain old eggs and French Toast. We had pupusas, pictured above. Very tasty. All in all, a hidden gem.

Palo Santo
652 Union Street (above 4th Avenue)
Park Slope
Brooklyn
718.636.6311

The interior of Palo Santo. Small but not cramped. Lots of levels.

The backyard. A nice view.


The sandwich board says...Brunch!
You'd never notice this place if not for the sandwich board.

How could you go wrong with such good hardware and construction?

This is a very cute design from Hype, available on Bluefly for $57. Just window shopping for now, but this is pretty nice. I like the tricky closures.

Of course the signage is by Pentagram. Who else? Extremely fontastic in my opinion.

The new Cooper Union building is in the East Village on First Avenue. Have you seen it yet? I kinda like it a lot. Watch it being built here. I think you have to work to FF and the Rewind buttons in the left margin.

[video still from Diller Scofidio + Renfro's new Hypar Restaurant at Lincoln Center]

So this is what they are planning at Lincoln Center. A new restaurant/lawn behind Avery Fisher Hall near the reflecting pool. Lincoln Center Hypar Restaurant, as it will be called when it opens in 2010. What is a hypar, you ask? Why it is a hyperbolic paraboloid of course. Click here. Designed by the same architects who did the High Line, the redesign of Alice Tully Hall, and Boston's ICA. among others. Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Good stuff.

View the video.

The Brooklyn Zine Fest

I loved the way the text looked on the page.
Had to buy it. 25 cents.
[Artist credit to follow]

It was surprising and nice to know that the printed word still means something to someone somewhere. We checked out the Brooklyn Zine Fest at the Brooklyn Lyceum this past weekend. Yes, I was inspired. So was my husband who used to produce a zine back in the good old days. Lots of like-minded people in one place. Writers and artists who have something to say, and who are earnest enough to self-publish and distribute, and who know their way around a copy machine. I was going to buy a simple three-fold treatise called Peanut Butter Pamplet, but the artist gave it to me for free. It was a good read, and one of my favorite topics. Peanut Butter. I bought two other tracts for 25 cents a piece because I liked the postage stamp size and the images on the page. Admittedly, I was attracted to the more visual works.

When your plates look this delicious, you have to raise the level of your cooking.

New and Exciting! Wobbly Plates at the Brooklyn Flea!

This past Saturday at the Brooklyn Flea, I spotted an exciting new vendor: Wobbly Plates by Brigitte Bouquet. These "thick as pancakes" plates are so colorful and pleasingly handmade with blunt edges and lace-like textures pressed right into the clay. They look tasty enough to eat (on). I can imagine a fun dinner party or two or three with these plates.

I like the classifications Brigitte has made on her Etsy shop: these are reserved for cupcakes, and these for crostini. A cupcake and crostini party sounds right up my alley. That gives me an idea... Follow Brooklyn-based Brigitte on Twitter to see when she will be exhibiting her beautiful ceramic wares again! I think I will be purchasing in the very near future.


Brooklyn Flea
176 Lafayette Ave
Fort Greene
Brooklyn
718.935.1052
Get directions

Wobbly Plates by Brigitte Bouquet
Find her work on atelierbb.etsy.com

Boiler @ Pierogi

Maybe you're out of the Williamsburg Gallery loop these days, but no matter. That can be quickly remedied by reading this post, and perhaps a few other choice publications. Back in March, Pierogi Gallery opened Boiler, a satellite exhibition space just down the street in a former factory boiler room (boiler still included). The old giant boiler, a Type H Stirling Boiler built in 1937 by the Babcock & Wilcox Company to be exact, is a magnificent sculpture in itself, and worth a look. Recently on view at Boiler was Jonathan Schipper Irreversibility (through June 28) featuring an installation of a very slow-moving car crash entitled The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle which apparently began on May 15, the first day of the exhibition. We arrived on the last day. Very interesting.

So what's next at Boiler? Recent paintings by Yoon Lee in the Fall.

Jonathan Schipper, The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle

The September Issue Trailer on YouTube



The September Issue. A documentary about Vogue's Anna Wintour. A must-see on my list!!! U.S. Theatrical Release: August 28th, 2009

One Bryant Park
The new location of the new Aureole!

For some reason, I am very excited about the opening of Charlie Palmer's new location of Aureole this Saturday. I guess I am fascinated with One Bryant Park. I wrote about it before, here. And I am fascinated with the restaurant. I once checked out the menu at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and for some reason it has stuck in my mind. The decor was so incredible. And the menu was pricier than pricey. The New York menu does not have the sticker shock as I recalled it. In fact, according to TimeOut, diners save 15% on all checks until September 15. All the more reason to give it a try.


Aureole
One Bryant Park
135 W 42nd Street (at Sixth Ave)
212.319.1660

Just where exactly is Aureole, you ask? I was wondering too, so I took a walk along 42nd from Broadway towards Sixth, and found it right next door to the Conde Nast Building!

See it? Aureole is to the left of the blue oxford shirt-wearing man.


Aureole on Friday at 5:15pm. Not quite open yet, but close!

So close to Times Square that you can see the Target campaign
reflected in Aureole's windows at right.

The intimate dining room just off the bar room.


The outdoor patio of sorts.


In the little alley between the buildings.

[pageprint from the WeFollow Twitter directory]
I am Foodie #218 out of 300. I wonder if I will move up or down?
Oh great, another stat to follow. Oy.

I am really getting into this Twitter thing. I figured out how to do so many more things on Twitter this week. Yes, I am hooked. I just joined WeFollow, a user-powered Twitter directory. It's free, so why not. I categorized myself (you get to pick 3) as a blogger, fashiondesigner, and foodie. I should have picked "fashiondesigners" b/c there are only 2 of them. Easier to find myself. There are 466,395 who categorized themselves as "fashiondesigner." Oh well.


***
Update: Of course I had to find out.

I am "fashiondesigner" #51 out of 466,395!
How did I get such a good number? gee.

Oh I see. The ranking is based on number of followers.

And "blogger" #1006 out of 25,491,839
Not so bad.

Thursday at the Southwest Porch. It was so dark at lunch,
due to the threatening rain, that the lights were on. Lovely!


It started to rain a bit. But we were undaunted.


Around eight people put up their umbrellas and kept right on eating.


Including me.

Yes it's true. I have eaten my lunch every day this week at the Southwest Porch. The fact that they do not serve lunch M-Th has worked out rather well. You can bring your own lunch and it is a very relaxed non-commercial atmosphere. It is really quite wonderful. People who frequent the Porch are very dedicated to it. We are getting to be a tight-knit group. Yesterday, it was threatening rain, but people still lunched. And then it did start to rain. It was a wonderful sight. About eight people, including myself, all put up umbrellas, and continued eating.

Perhaps that was one of my favorite moments in New York.




More posts on the topic:
The Southwest Social
Southwest Porch at Bryant Park Opens Today

Plus a bunch of Tweets.
Wow I talk about this topic a lot.
Follow me on Twitter




This post is featured on Southwest Air Twitter for June 25, 2009