What Sir-Mix-a-Lot Listens To

This is pretty darn hysterical. Anyone know Sir-Mix-a-Lot's "Jump On It"? Well, look at his influences....

Franchia

For as long as I can remember eating in New York CIty, I have known this restaurant called Franchia. I don't remember how I found the place or even the first time I went there, because it just seems like I always have. Not only do they have the absolute greatest food on the planet (no seriously) but the waitstaff is kind to a fault, the prices are decent for midtown and you leave feeling better than when you entered.

As a restaurant, Franchia is vegan Korean but mixed with other asian influences ( they have sushi for example). Their extensive tea menu is to die for, I highly suggest the Plum Tea if you have an upset stomach or any of the green teas for pure cleansing. They have other crazy types for the more adventurous. Franchia has one of the most wonderful menus of any vegan restuarant. EVERY item is delicious (a personal favorite is the Avocado Bibimbap) and they have all sorts of different choices, ranging from porridge to sizzling soy chicken to more than a dozen noodle dishes.

The atmosphere is amazingly zen for being right on 34th and Park Avenue. The subtle music and mood lighting make the place romantic while also very casual. I think I've taken more than a dozen people to this place, some as their first introduction to vegan food. Not a single person has left with a bad thing to say about it, and most want me to take them back. It's become a favorite among me and my roommates and I'm pretty sure the waiters recognize us now.

Long story short, this is vegan food at its best. It's the first place I think of when asked what vegan restaurants are good, and it's my fallback place whenever my friends and I can't decide on a new restuarant, because we know it will be good no matter what. Check them out, I guarantee you won't be sorry!

Schocholautte on WFMU 91.1

In the wee hours of the morning, a 16-year-old DJ supergirl played the first live radio sessions with Schocholautte on Beastin' the Airwaves with Keili. I stayed up to hear it play from 3-6AM this sunday morning. Not only were the sessions good (because I'm already a huge fan of the band) but Keili is actually an amazing DJ, and it being the first time I had listened to her show, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy ALL of the music she played. The show plays both on the radio and you can listen to a live stream on the interweb and enjoy comments from listeners, from Keili and see the playlist, making it impossible to miss a beat. So I am now, not only a crazed fan of Schocholautte, but a crazed fan of Keili, Beast of the Beats.

Feature Shoot Interview

Delayed though this is, I still need to post it. Miss Haley Jane got herself all recognized by Feature Shoot, an online resource for discovering new photographers. I love her work always, and you should too. Check it out!



Haley Jane Feature Shoot

Red Dwarf Returns!

It has been brought to my attention that the cast of Red Dwarf will be back for an Easter special and we will see them making their way back to Earth! Apparently they will be airing a 2-part special for Easter weekend on the digital channel Dave (in the UK). I don't know if it will be airing in the US, but seeing as it was a phenomenon here too, I would hope PBS will be kind to us and bring the special overseas. Bring the Dwarf to the States!

Hair, Hair Hair, Hair, Hair

Well, I just got another fabulous haircut, and I don't think I've done quite enough service to miss Stacey in terms of her talent. Soooo. Stacey Dugliss works at the Beehive Salon which is in Brooklyn off the Bedford stop. North 7th between Berry and Wythe. I HIGHLY suggest her. Seriously, she has done my hair multiple times. Every time I leave thinking I'm the pinacle of the world, so really there's no reason not to assume she'll do the same for you. She's done color too, so clearly she's awesome and I think everyone who needs a haircut should go there. ASAP. And she's a darling, one of those hairstylists who you can really talk to (you know, like in the old times when hairstylists were also therapists, yeah that's her). Miss Stacey Dugliss. Have her cut your hair. You'll love it and her at the same time.

Some Seattle Throwbacks

Okey dokey, seeing as I'm a born and bred Seattlite and I've only posted things about New York really so far, I feel it's only fair to get some home town lovin' on the interweb. I'm a vegan so I think I'll start with a couple of my favorite places to eat in the city. First and foremost, the Sunlight Cafe. By far, the BEST vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the city I think. And, as luck would have it, right near my house. Sweet. Not only that, but a new raw/vegan cafe just opened up around the corner called Thrive. As a good vegan I went and tried it out, and I'll be damned if that wasn't some of the greatest raw food I've ever had. I highly suggest the Warm Grain Bowls, they are out of this world. Another favorite is the Portage Bay Cafe, where they have lots of organic, vegetarian and vegan options. And of course, one must not forget my old stomping ground that is Bagel Oasis. I worked there for almost 2 years and seeing as bagels are inherently vegan (except egg bagels of course, but no worries, they don't make them) I think that Bagel O. is a perfect place to have lunch.

Well, on to things other than food. Here I will just give a good list of places everyone should see in Sea-Town. Numero Uno, the Pike Place Market. Sounds duh right? The wonderful thing about the Pike Place is that it's not your average tourist trap. The locals shop there for their produce and stuff too. What should you definitely see at the market? Rachel the Pig, Left Bank Books, Daily Dozen Doughnuts, Golden Age Collectibles and of course, the absolutely fabulous fishmongers. Yes, the guys who throw the fish. And they really do. They love playing pranks on the tourists, once they even stuck me and my sister into the ice freezer and told us to shovel ice. They left us in there for almost ten minutes. I think they forgot about us somewhat.

Next, while you're down there, go and have a gander at the Seattle Aquarium. Granted, there's no Shamu or anything, but we have a darn nice new aquarium (they just renovated!). Another part of downtown that you should see (because you can do all of this in one day, seriously) is Westlake Mall. Actually, the mall itself isn't that exciting, but just across the street we have a waterfall. Just, go there and you'll see. A waterfall, downtown. But only go if the weather is nice.

So making our way north, my next favorite place would be Broadway. On Broadway, the first thing you should find would be the Tango. Or the Foxtrot. We have dance steps built into the pavement, created by This Guy and they are incredibly fun to try and master, especially while tourists walk by and wonder what the hell you are doing. That might be where people get the ideas that Seattlites are a bit crazy. Travelling farther north, we pass through Fremont, considered by many scientists to be the actual Center of the Universe. In Fremont, we not only have a Troll under the bridge (made famous by the movie 10 Things I Hate About You) and a spaceship, but, also one of the probably few statues of Lenin left standing in the world. Yes Lenin. Maybe that's why people think we're weird.

A bit more north (we keep going north because Seattle rolls isthmus-style, there are only so many directions to go), we end up in Green Lake, which I am partial towards because I grew up there. And like its name, we have a lake, called Green Lake. Sometimes it does turn green, and when that happens they close the lake for swimming. But most of the time the lake is surrounded by joggers, walkers and the like because it's got a perfect size for daily exercise, being about 3 miles around, and we're proud of it because it is so well shaped for activities, yet it is completely glacier-formed. Woot. One thing that you should definitely try and do when visiting the lake, is to rent a paddle boat. You can paddle it all around the lake and when the weather is really nice (like July or August) you can swim in the middle of the lake, although they will tell you not to do this, but if you are a strong swimmer then you're fine. And you should be wearing a life vest anyway fool.

Lastly, we head a little west (I know right?) and find the diamond in the rough that is Ballard. A largely Scandinavian community, there are some of the greatest places to eat, see shows and hang out in Ballard. Two of my favorites: the Ballard locks and Slave to the Needle. The locks are exactly like the Panama Canal, a set of locks that allow boats to go from Puget Sound into all the freshwater lakes. And during the right time of year it's always great to check out the salmon ladder that they installed so the salmon have no trouble traversing the locks either. Slave to the Needle is the world-reknowned tattoo parlor, owned by Aaron Bell. I love it there, it's the only place in Seattle that I will ever get a tattoo at in the future. I've gotten piercings there, they are fabulous. And their name has a double meaning, since we also have the Space Needle in Seattle. Oh yeah, don't go to the Space Needle. It's the biggest tourist trap on the planet besides Times Square. Instead, go to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill, it has a better view anyway.

Here's the thing about Seattle; everyone always thinks that the only things that come out of the city are coffee and Microsoft. Oh and suicidal Grunge bands. So, in reality, Seattle is made up of tons of little places where you can always find interesting people and new experiences. Each little neighborhood has its own little quirks and special features. I know I left out many, many things but half the fun of Seattle is just hopping on a bus and seeing where you end up. I can only spoil so much of it for you. It's a hella good time.

Add to your playlist:
Sandi Thom "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker"
Gotan Project "Santa Maria"
David Bowie "Rebel Rebel"
Beck "Loser"

Sweet Music Website

I have become addicted to this music sharing website called Blip. It's a great twist on a chatroom/playlist community where you are the DJ and you share songs with other DJs who like the same kind of music. Just search for a song, by name or artist and if it's in the database (and the database is fairly large) then you can "blip" it for others to hear. I think I like it because I constantly try to outdo the other users in terms of how awesome the songs I pick are. Also, when you hear a song you like, you can add it to your own playlist and you can also give props to the DJ who first blipped it, to let them know you like their style. It's a nice thrill to see that someone has begun listening to your songs or that you've received props for something. My only qualm is that the songs all come from URLs so when a URL goes under, the song still appears in their database but it just no longer works. This gets a little annoying when you are trying to find a song and have to preview ten versions before one works. Nonetheless, the website is a pretty good way to waste a few hours on the computer. Props to Blip.

Raqib Shaw

During a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was walking through the contemporary art mezzanine, a place I've been to many times before, when I stumbled upon a ménegerie of horrifically beautiful works of art. No picture I place in my blog can ever do justice to the glitzy sparkles and grotesque imagery of Raqib Shaw's pieces. Each painting is made up of who knows how many thousands of small gems, combined with a painted picture. The images themselves draw upon the works of artists such as Hans Holbein, Hieronymus Bosch and Giovanni Piranesi, and are also informed by Shaw's home country of India and the characters seen in ancient folklore.

I found my own modern connection with his work, in their absolute resemblance to American traditional tattoos. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sparkles that reflect every beam of light and then repulsed by the actual scene of brains spilling out of someone's head. The bright colors and delicate painting style seem to be the antithesis of the subject matter, yet it is this exact juxtaposition that makes each piece impossible to walk away from. It has been a while since I have been completely overcome by an artist's ability to enrapture the viewer, and I plan on returning often to let myself get lost in the jewelled fantasies of Raqib Shaw.



Raqib Shaw at the Met

Dog Stars

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Rescued superstars! These are dogs that have been rescued from shelters and now star in movies and Broadway musicals.