Westward Ho!

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Intoxication

 

Spotted today at the Fairway in Brooklyn: The Brewers of Lagunitas "Freak Out" Ale, commemorating the 40th anniversary (as of 2006) of the legendary Mothers of Invention LP. The Lagunitas brewery is in Petaluma, CA -- not sure if it's gotten any distribution in the Southland, but I haven't noticed it yet anywhere around L.A. I'm guessing it won't be on shelves much longer.

However, with this month marking the 40th anniversary of Lumpy Gravy's release, it's an opportune time for a new Ben & Jerry's flavor.

"Time Piece" -- 1965 Avant-Henson

Posting this for no other reason than IT'S WONDERFUL: Laughing Squid gives us a YouTube embed of an ancient live-action Jim Henson short film called Time Piece. I'm curious about the "eighteen-month run" IMDb says it had in a Manhattan cinema. Which theater, and did it preface a feature presentation, as cartoons and newsreels once did? Or was it just shown at MoMA as an ongoing exhibit?

IMDb:

Dislocation in time, time signatures, time as a philosophical concept, and slavery to time are some of the themes touched upon in this nine-minute, experimental film, which was written, directed, and produced by Jim Henson-and starred Jim Henson! Screened for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in May of 1965, Time Piece enjoyed an eighteen-month run at one Manhattan movie theater and was nominated for an Academy Award for outstanding short subject.

Wanting to know what Time Piece's Oscar competition was that year, I went to IMDb's page of the 1966 winners and nominees. For Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects:

Winner:
	Poulet, Le (1962) - Claude Berri
Other Nominees:
	Fortress of Peace (1965) - Lothar Wolff Skaterdater (1965) - Marshall Backlar; Noel Black Snow (1965) - Edgar Anstey Time Piece (1965) - Jim Henson (I)

I wouldn't be surprised at all if these other shorts are on YouTube as well. Guess how I'm going to spend my Christmas!

Minor Threat Sauce: Goes Well With Circle Jerk Chicken?

"We have no plans for a Bad Brains dip," Orren said.

Saints & Sinners

The bar where I had my birthday is number 6 on Gridskipper's LA Bars for Getting Hit On by Unemployed Industry Douchebags. Context: the WeHo Standard is number 7. I feel so dirty...

So as not to be accused of undue sexism, I thought I'd throw in a bar where men can fall victim to the female version of the unemployed industry jerk. This lonely little watering hole on a desolate stretch of Venice… plays host to douchebags from either side of the gender line, and its female regulars will stop at nothing in their pursuit of a one-night stand. Once I was here with a male friend, and a girl he wasn't particularly interested in kept following him around, and when he didn't respond to her advances she threw a bottle at him. It shattered loudly, attracting the attention of the bouncer, and my friend was thrown out in the ensuing chaos. She may very well still be there, which is as good a reason as any not to go.

East Coast Post...

Really more of a bookmark for myself: a list of restaurants that Slow Food NYC has given its Snail of Approval.

Restaurants

Alias
(Manhattan)        

applewood    
(Brooklyn)    

Blue Hill
(Manhattan)        

Blue Hill at Stone Barns    
(Pocantico Hills, NY)    

Cookshop
(Manhattan)        

Craft    
(Manhattan)    

Esca
(Manhattan)        

5 Ninth    
(Manhattan)    

5 Points
(Manhattan)        

Flatbush Farms    
(Brooklyn)    

Franny’s
(Brooklyn)        

The Good Fork    
(Brooklyn)    

Hearth
(Manhattan)        

Home    
(Manhattan)    

Ici
(Brooklyn)    

Il Buco
(Manhattan)        

Lupa    
(Manhattan)    

Maremma Trattoria Toscana
(Manhattan)        

Mas (farmhouse)    
(Manhattan)    

Pearl Oyster Bar
(Manhattan)        

Prune    
(Manhattan)    

Rose Water
(Brooklyn)        

Savoy    
(Manhattan)    

The Tasting Room
(Manhattan)        

Telepan    
(Manhattan)    

The Award For Best New Meme of the Holiday Season Goes To...

Siel at Emerald City for "enviro-grinching."

As for me, my major faux-pas this December will be flying cross-country. Being Jewish, I'm not going to have a tree, nor Xmas lights. The few presents I'm buying will be (a) for grownups (no lead-containing toys from China) (b) minimally packaged. I'll be in NYC, and my parents do have a car that they use on the weekends, but aside from trips with them, my M.O. is to ride the subways and walk everywhere, possibly taking cabs if it's late and I'm drunk. :-)

I'll try to keep the grinching to a minimum.