July 19, 2006

Strange Happenings tonight from Creative Time!

	Reminder! STRANGE POWERS Opens Tonight, Wednesday July 19, 6-7:30pm, and it's air conditioned! Post-opening party at B-Bar: 7-9pm Special Event: Christian Cummings, Séance Drawings, 6-8:30pm tonight, and through July 23rd during regular exhibition hours The exhibition runs through Sep 17 64 East 4th Street (Bowery & 2nd Ave) Thurs/Fri (4-7pm), Sat/Sun (noon-7pm) EUAN MACDONALD, HEALER Plays on the last minute of every hour on The 59th Minute: Video Art on the NBC Astrovision by Panasonic, Times Square Thursday July 20th, the video will play continuously from 7 to 8pm on the Astrovision Screen in Times Square http://creativetime.org/strangepowers

Tags:   art, b bar, creative time, exhibition, healer, strange powers

July 13, 2006

Auf Wiedersehen, Elk Candy Company

Sadly, I’ve just learned of the closing of aYorkville institution. Elk Candy Company, purveyor of fine handmade chocolates, marzipan and gingerbread is now closed. They were located on 86^th street for most of their history before settling into their 2nd Avenue store a few years ago. My mother-in-law was a customer of this establishment for decades, but under an assumed name.

Back in the ‘40s or ‘50s she was strolling with a Germanic friend of hers down 86^th Street around the holidays and popped in to look at the marvelous gingerbread houses. My Mother-in-Law inquired about purchasing one. An indignant Frau behind the counter replied that one cannot expect to order a gingerbread house just a few days before Christmas. Her friend addressed the counter lady in high German and after a few words, the apologetic sales person then offered to let them put in their orders. The German lady offered to put the order in her name, but my Mother-in-Law (who is Italian and has and Italian name) butted in saying, “no, put it under my name – Mrs. Adolph Nichol. (using an in-law’s name).”

Well, after a good laugh she got her gingerbread house. And a year later, she returned expecting the incident to be forgotten. But as soon as she walked in the door, the sales woman greeted her – “Hello, Mrs. Nichol.” My mother-in-law felt obligated to continue the charade, which only grew over the years – when she started bringing her son, “Hans” and when her new son-in-law "Ernst Lederman,” started picking up the orders for her. After the business turned over to Swiss ownership a few years ago, I did spill the beans to them. They enjoyed the story and knew exactly who the counter lady was in the story.

That said, I’ve never found another store with marzipan nearly as creamy and good as theirs. Other shops have beautiful marzipan creations with rich colors that look exactly like small fruits or veggies – they looked better, but usually have a terrible taste (I assume too much food color). And no one could match their gingerbread houses held together with dark chocolate caulking.

Auf Wiedersehen!

(Thanks to "The Blue Apple" NYC.com member for the sad news.)
Photo from the Elk Candy Company Web site.

Tags:   86th street, auf wiedersehen, chocolate, elk candy, german, ginger bread, marzipan

July 11, 2006

Shine on You crazy Diamond - Death of Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett, co-founder of the British art rock band, Pink Floyd died several days ago (news report). Barrett, who suffered from mental illness, left the band several years before the release of the historic Dark Side of the Moon. With the support of David Gilmour and Rick Wright, Barrett released two solo albums -- Barrett and The Madcap Laughs. One of my favorite Barrett songs was The Effervescing Elephant -- a pachyderm who runs around the forest warning all the other animals about the lion only to be eaten himself (as the lion put it "You know, I wouldn't eat not one of you/ I'd much prefer something to chew/ And you're all too scant, Oh Yeah!/ He ate the elephant.) The band wrote Wish You Were Here in Barrett's honor.

Photo from http://www.sydbarrett.net/

Tags:   art rock, barrett, british rock, madcap laughs, mental illness, pink floyd

July 07, 2006

My what a Johnson, Space Center Houston

Houston is a lot like Coney Island.

Except instead of the Cyclone, they have a roller coaster of a highway system with swirling under-and-over passes that lead skyward like a runway into the oblivion of the Lone Star sky. At the highest and curviest points, the small concrete barriers that line the ribbon-like roadways are scuffed-up with tire tracks of pick-ups and SUVs that have come inches from launching over the deadly drops.

Speaking of launching, we headed south out of Houston about 25 miles on I-45 to eastbound on NASA One to Space Center Houston, the visitor’s center for the Johnson Space Center. Our boys had a ball in the exhibits, especially the current Superhero School interactive exhibits where kids can lift trucks, scale walls, and do all kinds of super stuff. We also took the tour of the Johnson Space Center which includes a three-football field long hangar where duplicates of space shuttles and the entire space station are laid out for training and research purposes.

Unfortunately, the kids who drive the tram for the tours aren’t rocket scientists themselves. On our tour, the driver stopped short when he almost missed a red light, sending baby’s heads into the backs of the seats in front of them. Immediately, a din of wailing infants arose from the tram, but no one running the tour walked around to see if there were any injuries. My daughter also bruised up her knees pretty good in the incident.

On the way back to Houston, we got off the highway to ride past The Orange Show. One of a number of folk art sites around the city. The exhibit, which was once someone’s home on an otherwise quite residential block, is a screaming cacophony of orange painted metal. Unfortunately, we couldn’t arrange to be there during operating hours, but I’d love to get back for a tour. Next door we saw a trailer in the shape of a missile titled the "Warehouse of Mass Distribution" - a mobile food distribution center - and a monument to art cars, which are also the subject of a Houston attraction – The Art Car Museum.

Photo: Texas Freeway.com

Tags:   art car, cyclone, folk art, houston, nasa, orange show, rocket science, wmd

July 05, 2006

Los Skarnales do Houston proud

I just got back from a trip down to Houston with my family, so this is the first of in a series of several reports from Space City on food, fun and music from the third coast.

My daughter and I had the pleasure of heading out to the Continental Club to catch some local Houston music. After doing a little online research I e-mailed a few venues to see what was coming up and if I could bring my teen daughter to the show. On recommendation from Pete at the Continental, we took in Los Skarnales. Living up to Pete’s recommendation, the band is a true Houston original. The ska-rockabilly-reggae-punk-mariachi-etc. troupe pumps up the power in a bi-lingual performance that can only be described as high-octane Tex-Mex. Felipe Galvan, the vocalist, gives a heart-pumping performance that could give an early Elvis Costello a run for his money. The accordion stylings of Robert Rodriguez gives the band it’s Chicano heart while the upright base of Nick Gaitan provides a strong rockablilly back beat.

The Continental Club (3700 Main Street) itself is a great little venue. Old roadside signage decorates the walls, three pool tables in the back bar, and (on this night) barbeque brisket being served up. Regular acts include Beetle (yes, a cover band) and Molly and the Ringwalds. Expect to find rockabilly on Sundays and a great range of local acts.

Shoeshine Charlie's Big Top Lounge, just down the block at has the same owners and a similar quirky sensibility. In between, visit Sig’s Lagoon, a truly funky record shop with tiki treasures, vintage clothes, bobble heads, and lots of fun booty. Also rounding out the block is href="http://www.tacosagogo.com/">Tacos A Go-Go for your late night tortilla fix.

Continental Club: (713) 529-9899.

Photo by "Paige" from http://www.hairball8.com/images/skanksgiving.htm

Tags:   accordian, big top, continental club, houston, los skarnales, punk, reggae, rockabilly, ska, tacos, tex mex, tiki, vintage clothing

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