Jeffrey, sorry we missed each other, i got caught up with a mannequin

Over the weekend, K organized a double-date with Mike and Scot (who we met at violet hour) to check out Lumen. Aoki, DJ extrodinaire from LA was scheduled to spin. Regarding Lumen, the distance from our apartment has always been an for me. It's too short to take a cab but it's way too cold to walk there (which is exactly what we ended up doing).

Doors opened at 9 and we got there at 9:45. I kept telling K, "it's ok, nobody is going to show till 10:30." I figured that getting there 45 minutes before the guest list closes would be time enough.

10:40 rolls around, and I've look down on my fingers to realize that I have sacrificed my digits for Jeffrey (of project runway fame).

10:45 and the guy tells us that they're not letting anybody in the RSVP list anymore... but mentions that he could be "bought" to let the four of us in. K wanted to pay, but she was outvoted by the three of us.

Just to be clear cuz I know K is one of 2 people who read this blog. You're right, I'm wrong; you're perfect, and I'm imperfect; you are fierce, I'm not fierce. I AM SO SORRY.

So instead, we went to mannequin instead down the street. Mike worked his magic and got us in. I don't remember much of the rest because I drank too quickly because I was trying to warm myself up. Oh, we later went back to Lumen to discover that Aoki was sick and did not attend.

Chicago Greek Independence Day Parade

Before noon today, K and I saw a huge semi roll up Halsted with a team of workers in the back laying down a barricade. We had magnificent plans to go to the Super H mart up in Naper. We quickly realized that we needed to cross over Halsted in order to take the highway to Super H. The race was on...

...We beat the truck and had an insanely awesome time at Super H (More on that later). We got back and I head out to capture a couple pics of the parade. Needless to say, there was a lot of blue flying around (I do live in greek town). I posted a couple pics on flickr.

Today was the Greek Independence Day Parade. After 400 years ruled of the Ottoman empire, Greece declared its Independence. ZITO!!

note: I know that I am now completely and undeniably domesticated. My excitement for Sunday was going to Super H mart. I felt like a kid in a candy store

21, the movie

21 a movie based on the book Bringing Down the House comes out in movie theaters this weekend. It's a great story of how a group of MIT kids work as a team to win millions of dollars.

Jim Sturgess an up-and-coming actor plays the lead role. I think the the casting director totally got it right. there's such an uncanny resemblance between the actor and the character that it's really based on.

Side note, Jeff Ma quit the card counting business and started protrade.com

RIP Egg McMuffin inventor

Inventor of the Egg McMuffin, Herb Peterson, has died at age 89. I can't recount how many times I've purchased an Egg McMuffin...

Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89 - CNN.com

My last post on new orleans (for now)

I've posted on a couple famous and hidden eating places in new orleans over the past months. I've got a couple more places to highlight before I move onto other cities.

Cafe du Monde
There's not much to add to the cafe of the world save for the fact that they've got some kick-ass strong coffee, awesome beignets, and they're open late. Great for breakfast or late at night.

Pj's Coffee
Anybody who knows me well, knows that I go through at least a large cup of coffee a day. After a full day of visiting the Garden District, K an I hopped off the trolly and started to walk back towards Canal St. I was desperately seeking a boost of caffeine when we came across this little coffee shop. The coffee is great, but the chocolates are absolutely delicious. If they have 'em available, try the tiger butter. Creamy chocolate goodness that melts in your mouth. I'm not much of a sweets person, but I swear I must've heard angels sing when I put both of 'em together.

Cochon
This place is supposed to be one of the hottest restaurants to watch. To be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed. However, I've got to note that we went with 25 people. It must've been a nightmare to try to get all of our plates out in some kind of synchronous fashion. While some dishes fell flat, some of the other rib dishes were absolutely divine. (it better if their namesake is cochon).

PS. the website is cochonrestaurant not cochon (very different)

Snug Harbor
How can one go to New Orleans and not go listen to its jazz music. Frenchmen street is where all the local cool people go. It reminds me of a cross between U street, DuPont with a tinge of H st corridor (all in DC). Walk down the short street and you'll hear music wafting into the street. Snug Harbor is an New Orleans instituion with nightly shows.

Cafe Du Monde
1039 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

PJ's Coffee
644 Camp Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Cochon
930 Tcoupitoulas
New Orleans, LA 70130

Snug Harbor
626 Frenchmen Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

Blueberry nights...absolutely scrumptious

Wong kar wai, one of my favorite directors, has a new film out on limited release (which means that I won't be able to watch it this weekend). Director of faves including In the mood for love and fallen angels, My Blueberry nights stars grammy winner Norah Jones along with a deep bench of Academy Award winners and nominees including Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and (my favorite) Natalie Portman.

Using NY as a backdrop, Norah Jones plays a sensual woman who sets out on a journey in the pursuit of love. Check out the trailer below:

Top 10 Reasons to Watch New Season Battlestar Galactica (David Letterman)

I will come out and say it. I watch BSG. And no, bears don't beat it.

Early video games are retro cool

I know I just posted earlier today about the Atari print ads, but I've just come across Pontiac's twist on an old NES videogame. In "Spy Hunter," a G8 GT replaces the original car. As the video deftly shows the cars performance in dodging oil spills and spiked-assassin cars, a wave of nostalgia overcame me.

And no doubt, anybody within my age group will remember the add. A perfect ad that pre-selects its audience.

Take a trip down memory lane:

So retro, it's cool (atari print ads)

Atari has a series of print ads that pays homage to its 8-bit style. They have one for tennis and golf. Check out full prints on advertolog.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town...

For many of you, this year's presidential debate has been a very interesting one. With the democratic nominee still up to contention it's been one roller coaster ride. I recently went back home and found my parents deep into politics. Not whether Obama was experienced or whether Clinton could actually implement any change... no, it was about the scandals in the tiny island of Formosa (aka Taiwan... aka Republic of China).

The recent New York times article captures the type of politicking that we've all come to love.

a spin on the modern watergate scandal:

But an unusual fracas last week has lent resonance to the Democratic Progressives’ warnings to voters against giving too much power to the Nationalists. It started when four Nationalist lawmakers roamed through Mr. Hsieh’s campaign headquarters in an attempt to document whether the building lease complied with election laws.

Mr. Hsieh’s aides trapped the four in an elevator, accused them of trespassing and called the police. A crowd of Democratic Progressive Party supporters formed and smashed the windshield of one of the police cars that rescued the four.

Mr. Ma has apologized for the incident repeatedly since then, and the lawmakers, dubbed “the four idiots” by the Taiwanese media, bowed low in apology at a news conference as well.

Behind the big door lies a big monster

K and I were walking home last week when we came happened to come across a mysterious cartoonish door. Actually, the door was so big it was hard to miss. I rubbed my eyes once or twice (I had just come from a "summer" party and had my fill of hotdogs and jello shots) just to make sure I saw what I saw.

Looming behind the door was a monster not much different from Sully from Monsters Inc. Turns out, its the front door to Big Monster Toys, LLC. The workshop creates, engineers and develops the products from inception to finished working prototypes. You can read about more about them in a wikipedia entry here.

You gotta give 'em props for their creativity.


Big Monster Toys
21 S Racine Ave
Chicago, IL 60607

My diagnosis

Starz.com has offers a free therapy session. You're asked to answer a series of questions. It's a bit tongue and cheek and an interesting way to highlight their show "head case," but seems to fall flat in the execution. It's no have it your way chicken.

Spend a couple minutes with Dr. Goode and see what she has to say about it. There are still available slots. I've posted my "diagnosis" below.

Warning: mature content.

Yeehaw, camping near sxsw

In a couple hours I will be on a plane from Midway en route to the great Texan state. As a person bitten with wanderlust, this must be my mid-west year. Barring any delays, I will arrive in Dallas, TX tonight. It's been a while since I've been to Texas. But you've got to love a state where there are restaurants on top of restaurants. I wont' be spending much time here though... only to rest and to take a shower...

Tomorrow morning, me and my college roommate, will be driving to Austin. A city definitely worth checking out, for the past week and for the next two weeks, the city is teeming with people.

Why? Because it's so cool? I'm sure it is, it's because of the annual SXSW festival. three festivals that abut each other--interactive, film, and music. Initially a music festival, this festival has grown in leaps and bounds over the past couple of years.

But, I may not partake. I will be about 20 miles outside of the festival. Away from the hubbub, I am going to go fishing, hiking, and communing with nature (it does have its benefits). We may go in, we may not. I'll report back after I get back sunday night.

Scratch that, i fly back and immediately drive to Jeff's place to watch the season finale of the wire.

Can life get any better?

Black and Gold Falls Flat

Sam Sparro's black and gold was one of my favorite songs in December of last year. And it looks like he's created a video to go with the music. While the song is still one of my faves, the music video is.. well... underwhelming.

It's stuck between a cliché and a disappointment. With a song this good, the video tarnishes the song black and blue.

February beats

Chicago is still freezing. I think that's why I needed some funk and energy for February.

1. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö: Translated, the song means, Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die. The song hit all the Swedish pop charts in 2005. Somehow it got its way into my iTunes directory. Energetic and very pop. Many would say that it borders cheesy. But in these cold Chicago nights, its exactly what i need. You can listen to the track via last.fm
2. *The Lovekevins - Private life of a cat: A fun electropop sound. They channel the Postal Services' that mixes lo-fi melodies with hi-tech beats and bloops. Fun fun fun.
3. *Kid Bombardos - I round the bend: This Parisian rock band just sophisticated style. I think its staccato sounds of the guitar that makes the song.
4. *Steve Aoki - Helicopter: I just found out this month that Steve is Devon's brother. (Go Benihana!)For some reason I never made the connection. With his latest album, "Pillowface and his airplane chronicles," Steve Aoki takes indie music faves from Justice and Klaxons and makes it club ready.
5. *Bufi-Make It Over: Mexico city brings a little funk house to the mix. With its synthetic melodic sound, a great song to end the night or just when you're waking.
   

* Click for download

The orange place (rampart street food store)

Last time I blogged about my escapades in new orleans, I highlighted two institutions of the city. Though those are great places, it's about those hard-to-find places that are worth the journey. Rampart street food store is one of those places. Known simply as the "orange place" by locals including Sylvester Francis, of the Blackstreet Cultural museum, they served K and I the best shrimp po boys we had in New Orleans.

Lemme warn you, its not a restaurant by any means. It's a convenience store. Step in, and you'll be greeted with your basic necessities: vegetable oil, candy bars, and a row of refrigeration units stock full of beer.

Walk to the back and you'll find a window into a kitchen. It may be difficult to navigate through the menu. Don't stray to the lo mein side of the menu, stick with the sandwiches and you'll find the shrimp sandwich right above the oyster sandwich that's been crossed out with a sharpie.
The day we were in New Orleans, it was raining cats and dogs. While we planned to go back to the hotel to consume our sandwiches (you're not allowed to eat there), we couldn't. Finding shelter from the rain under the balcony of an apartment complex, we scarfed down the sandwiches.

I ordered a shrimp po' boy the other night (at bar louie's) and instantly regretted it. It's like trying to compare roller skates with a Ferrari.

The Rampart Street Food Store aka "the orange place"
1700 N Rampart St
New Orleans, LA 70116