30 June 2011
29 June 2011
keekerz speakerz
you might know of him from the portlandia credits, or just indie-hipster-buzz in general.
if you're in the mood to relax, give it a listen.
bk love
98. Book Court: This is the bookstore that writers work for even after they have been published. Cobble Hill's literary gem hosts readings from some of New York's most celebrated authors —but they include out-of-towners, too. Book Court's Cousin Corinne is the shop's biennial publication, featuring fiction, photos, and graphic art.
96. Sahadi's: Since 1948, the Lebanese-owned Sahadi's has been an indispensable source for fine imported foods, nuts, dried fruits, and all sorts of delicacies that can't be found elsewhere on this stretch of Atlantic Avenue. Sahadi's hummus is arguably the best in the neighborhood, and up front there are open barrels of bulk grains and spices, an amazing array of olives, nuts, and dried fruits, coffee beans, and assorted spices. Much of the packaged fare is Middle Eastern, but there are plenty of other exotic foods on hand, plus a solid selection of cheeses. If you're on your way to a picnic in Brooklyn Bridge Park, or just on your way home to eat an entire tub of hummus in your underwear, Sahadi's is unbeatable.
95. Peter Pan Donuts: Fact: The old school Peter Pan Donuts at 727 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint still makes the tastiest (and cutest) donuts in all the land. That Peter Pan dominates the donut game is hardly a secret, especially since Tina Fey blabbed to the press about her favorite: the white-cream-filled powdered doughnut. In an interview, Fey revealed, "I really believe, when I first tried it, if I had a penis, I would put it in this doughnut. I finally understand what you guys are thinking about and what motivates you guys."
87. Prettiest Little Sewage Treatment Plant in Town: You can spot the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint from miles around not just by its smell but also by its dramatic 145 feet high "digester eggs" which process tons of sewage into fertilizer in a complicated scientific process that we'll just call "magic." And if these four magnificent eggs weren't breathtaking enough, the DEP illuminates the eggs with a sensational blue sci-fi light. Take a tour of the eggs, which are also visible from the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, arguably one of the funniest (and surprisingly educational) parks in the five boroughs.
74. Kent Avenue Bike Lane: Hats off to the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, which spent years laboring to create a safe and pleasant way to connect north and south Brooklyn by bike. The DOT finally listened, and this dedicated bike lane now takes cyclists all the way from Greenpoint to the Brooklyn Navy Yards, where it continues on other streets to offer a safer route to the Manhattan Bridge, Park Slope and beyond. As an added bonus, it also doubles as great free parking!
61. The Brooklyn Flea: If you're looking for relaxed weekend activities, it's hard to beat a leisurely stroll through the Brooklyn Flea, where a wide array of clothes, jewelry, tchotchkes, furniture, and foodstuffs abound. In addition to its Fort Greene location, this summer the Flea expanded to the almost-idyllic Williamsburg Waterfront at the end of North Sixth Street on the east river, now accessible by ferry!
60. Bowling: Manhattan can keep their glitzy new bowling alleys; Williamsburg Brooklyn has them all beat with the one-two punch of The Gutter and Brooklyn Bowl. When the atavistic Gutter opened in 2007, it was the first new bowling alley to roll into Brooklyn in half a century. It's still our favorite, and besides the bowling (which is scored on vintage computer modules), they've got a pool table, a wide variety of craft beers, and a small music venue.
53. Smorgasburg: You can't beat this all-food Saturday market at the Williamsburg waterfront. Cheekily named Smorgasburg, it features over 100 local vendors selling everything from homemade mustard to banana-ricotta spring rolls.
50. McCarren Park: Though McCarren Park in Greenpoint/Williamsburg has developed a reputation as hipster central, in reality it's enjoyed by a wide range of New Yorkers. And for whatever reason, the Parks police just don't seem to care about the liberties many parkgoers take with impunity. Stop by on any given weekend, and you'll find families barbecuing right next to "No Grilling" signs, brazen beer and alcohol consumption, and the scent of reefer wafting in the air. Sadly, the pool is no longer for concerts (someday they're supposed to open an actual pool), but McCarren Park remains a great place to picnic, play tennis, softball, and kickball, dazzle the public at the piano, or just drink a beer and sunbathe in your bikini, which we can't advocate enough.
45. Low Riding: Unlike much of Manhattan, Brooklyn has an abundance of low-rise buildings, which means (fact!) Brooklyn gets more sun, which means Brooklyn's fauna is more lush, residents' souls are more buoyant, their sperm is more potent, and their children will one day rise up to rule the world!
43. Franklin Street: This quiet little corner of Greenpoint by the East River is one of Brooklyn's most charming commercial districts. Toward the north end there's TBD, Hayden-Harnett, and Permanent Records; at the bottom you've got the adorable bakery/coffeshop Cookie Road and Gothamist favorite The Diamond bar. In between, there's an ever-increasing number of cute boutiques, antique stores, restaurants, bars, and craft beer purveyors. Because this neighborhood has always been a little isolated from Manhattan (the G is the only subway), an atmosphere of small-town community friendliness prevails. With the new East River ferry service, we sure hope the city slickers don't move in and ruin it!
42. The Open Space Alliance: Formed in 2003, this successful organization partners with the city Parks Department to green up North Brooklyn, and they're damn good at getting it done. Among OSA's achievements: the concerts at the Williamsburg Waterfront, opening Greenpoint's Transmitter park, a kayak launch and mini park at the north end of Manhattan Avenue, a new skateboard park in McCarren, and much more.
28. Ferries: East River Ferry service has been restored to whisk you away to Manhattan, Governors Island, or—even better—points south and north in Brooklyn.
22. Spectacular Views: Obviously, one of the great things about being outside of Manhattan is that you can step back and take in the skyline from a removed vantage point. From the Red Hook piers to the Brooklyn Promenade to the end of India Street in Greenpoint, the stunning Manhattan skyline is right there, seemingly within arm's reach, day and night. It's not just the view from the Queensboro Bridge that, as F. Scott Fitzgerald put it, "is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world."
9. Brooklyn Beers: Local brewers Kelso, Sixpoint, and Brooklyn Brewery have happily become almost ubiquitous in Brooklyn, and even in parts of Manhattan. At the latter brewery in Williamsburg, they've expanded operations so that now most of their product is actually made in Brooklyn. They offer tours on weekends and weekdays, and a $4 Friday night happy hour that lasts until 11 p.m., with your pick of up to 8 draft beers and our growing number of Big Bottles.
8. Brooklyn Heights Promenade: It's not just a made-up place where Ed Norton went to brood in Spike Lee's 25th Hour; the Brooklyn Heights Promenade is real and it is breathtaking. "There may be finer views than this in the world, but I don't believe it," said President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 when he visited Brooklyn Heights. These views of the city skyline are so mesmerizing you'll totally forget you're sitting on a bench above the BQE.
4. Green-Wood Cemetery: Yet another urban oasis in Brooklyn, and this one the dead can enjoy, too! The dramatically sprawling Green-Wood Cemetery is a National Historic Landmark cemetery has been around 170 years, and continues to draw those who come to pay their respects and others who just want to savor its serenity... or its spookiness. The cemetery's website tells you all you need to know about visiting this extraordinary place, which is currently hosting an evening summer time musical theater performance called The Spoon River Project. Come to one of the midnight shows and get a private tour inside the cemetery’s Catacombs, built in the 1850s, normally not accessible to the public.
i hope you'll share some of yours!
you have one hour.
this was my favorite original song.
BONUS:
this was my favorite performance of the night.
so i voted for javier, because he has the most unique / technically good voice, but i also voted for vicci, because she tries so hard.
who are your favorites? voting closes at 10am, and the winner show is tonight!
even bristol agrees
"I think she dresses a lot like my mom. A lot of women have done that over the last few years. I think it's odd, you know? Seeing people with red blazers with their hair up with glasses. I don't know if [Bachmann's] wearing glasses, but you want to be like, hmmmm, 'Do you think that people don't notice you're dressing like my mom?'' (via)
-bristol palin
28 June 2011
"sometimes you need perspective"
You’ve been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time. This is the dressing room rehearsal for American Idol. NO MICROPHONE. No effects.
-Jay-Z
this is the pregame for her american idol performance that was referenced in the nytimes review, and that pitchfork called the best music video of the year.
i was bitten by the winchester goose!
let the idiot parade begin!
It took about twelve seconds as an official candidate for president for Michele Bachmann to say get caught saying something unintentionally hilarious. Speaking to Fox News shortly after on Sunday before her announcement in Waterloo, Iowa, earlier today, Bachmann said, "What I want them to know is that, just like John Wayne is from Waterloo, Iowa, that's the kind of spirit that I have too." As the Washington Times pointed out, movie star John Wayne was born in Iowa — but Winterset, Iowa, which is about 140 miles from Waterloo. There was, however, a famous John Wayne who used to live in Waterloo. His name was John Wayne Gacy, and he was a terrifying clown who raped and murdered 33 young men in the seventies, which is about as far from "heroic cowboy" as you can get. (via)thx joey tony!
history lesson:
sufjan stevens - john wayne gacy, jr.
beyonce review
It should really come as no surprise — Beyoncé has made a career of impeccability, even as she’s swum in pop waters that no longer demand such a thing. But no longer is she interested in taking the temperature of the room. This week she releases “4” (Columbia), her fourth solo album, and one that all but relinquishes Beyoncé’s claim to the pop here and now.
She must be relieved. As modern as Beyoncé has allowed herself to be over the years, from tech-savvy club R&B with Destiny’s Child to the insistent pancultural stomp of “Run the World (Girls),” on this new album, she has always been a torch singer in waiting, anticipating the day when she could just get down to business. (via)agreed. here's a bit of her glastonbury performance that everyone's talking about. stick around for the second song to see some classic beyonce dancing.
This is very sad. You're welx Kylie
Possible motives
Hamilton's motives remain unknown, though there were complaints to police regarding his suspicious behaviour towards the young boys who attended the youth clubs he directed. There were suspicions prior to the massacre that Hamilton's interest in boys was paedophilic with more than one complaint being made regarding him having taken photographs of semi-naked boys without the parents' consent.[8]
He claimed in letters that rumours about him led to the failure of his shop business in 1993, and in the last months of his life he complained again that his attempts to organise a boys' club were subject to persecution by local police and the scout movement. Among those to whom he complained were local MP Michael Forsyth and Queen Elizabeth. In the 1980s, another MP, George Robertson, who resided in Dunblane, had complained to Forsyth about Hamilton's local boys' club, which his son had attended. On the day following the massacre, Robertson spoke of having argued with Hamilton "in my own home".[10]
The professional tennis player Andy Murray discussed his recollections of the Dunblane massacre in his autobiography Hitting Back (2008). The victims were mostly children who were in a younger age group class than Murray, but he has discussed his recollections of taking cover in a classroom.[16] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but, in his autobiography, Hitting Back, he says that he attended a youth group run by Thomas Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car.[17]
27 June 2011
wimbledupdate!
on the gentlemen's side, who's still in?
all of 2Pz favorites: feddy, rafa, djokovic, and that scottish idiot, andy murray. (djv, tell everyone your massacre story, so i can make massacre jokes when he inevitably loses another wimbledon!)
who's out?
every american except mardy fish. (?)
right now:
rafa's 2 games away from defeating del potro.
feddy's up two sets to one on some no-name.
and now you're all caught up!
i bet it's never even been inside a 70's brothel.
thx hannah!
26 June 2011
24 June 2011
Hey Miss USA, should Evolution be taught in school?
Here's a quote that sums up almost every contestant's bet-hedging answer: "im personally a christian so I believe the Bible's version, but you can't push opinions or beliefs onto children so they need to know every side that's out there." Brittany York, North Carolina
I make a living pushing opinions and beliefs on children.
23 June 2011
2Pz dictionary
[pom·uh·neyt·ed]
verb, -nat·e, -nat·ing.
it wont get out of my head
here's the studio version of that maroon 5 song i was telling you about.
commence repeat.
thomas wilhem's birthday wishlist
and here's a question.
remember when cee-lo was awesome? 15 years ago when he was in one of the best southern rap groups of all time, goodie mob?
i do.
"beautiful skin"
"forget you" sucks. and so does gnarls barkley.
there, i said it.
22 June 2011
raise your hand if you like maroon 5's new song (feat. xtina)
mine's raised, jicyww. stick around for xtina in this video. so many mixed emotions.
i think it's official. i don't hate adam levine. in fact, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy.
best friends for EVER
you may remember Suryia and Roscoe from a previous post on this blog (which i cant seem to find). now they have cowritten a book!
look at how suryia tries to get roscoe to eat a banana! omfg.
proud of you, tracy.
tracy morgan returned to splashville to apologize in person for his gaycist rant. i'm happy about this.
check out bun-bun...
...singing my fave track off bon iver's new album on jimmy fallon.
stephen colbert visits jack white.
Summertime
AJV's Gregorian Trance remix
"for me its all about discovery" - jake gyllenhaal
bear grylls, about jake gyllenhaal:
"He said he wanted to to be pushed and afterwards said he'd never been pushed so hard."
don't worry, i am ALL OVER this one. via.
21 June 2011
robot dog
Naki’o's tragic life — his owners abandoned him as a puppy when their Nebraska home was foreclosed, and he lost his paws to frostbite after getting stuck in an icy puddle — took a turn for the best when he was adopted by veterinary technician Christie Tomlinson, who raised funds necessary to purchase prosthetics for Naki’o's hind legs.
via
what is Kismet doing???
Kismet is in recovery; he did lose half his body mass in fluff. Turns out he is still chubby under there though.
sweet tea vodka
20 June 2011
youtube classix
gabe and i used to ask each other for food this way. i taught joel this weekend. he claims to have never see it even though....
guess what started today!
19 June 2011
the grizzlies are the tits.
ESPN the magazine ranked all of the major league professional sports teams in their Ultimate Standings, and the Memphis Grizzlies came in 9th overall.
The overall ranking is based on how much the organization gives back to fans for the time, money and emotion invested in its product, determined by eight categories – bang for the buck, players, fan relations, affordability, stadium experience, ownership, title track and coaching.
Memphis was ranked No. 1 overall in the “bang for the buck” category, gauged by wins over the past two seasons per dollar contributed directly by fans (adjusted for differences in league schedules).
Among NBA teams, the Grizzlies trailed only the San Antonio Spurs (No. 5) and Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 6).
The Grizzlies, the second-highest jumper on the overall list this year, clawed 66 spots higher than last season’s edition, trailing only the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, which moved from the No. 70 spot to the No. 2 position as the highest chart-climber in the Ultimate Standings.
Additionally, Memphis was rated the hottest team in sports in a separate survey by ESPN The Magazine, asking fans to rate recent changes in their commitment to their favorite team.
love the grizz.
17 June 2011
in basevol news...
breezy and biebz
when i listen to this song, i imagine that they're singing to each other.
want some night terrorz?
check out the snake house.
how aggressive
85 miles an hour. cruise control. drunk driving. having sex. in the back seat.
story
from @dantrharne