PARTIES: Zune Hip Hop BBQ

So with a timely RSVP you too could have gotten a ticket for the Zune's excuse for direct in-your-face advertisements: the Zune Hip Hop BBQ at the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO. This being my second (third?)musical festival for the summer, I know what to expect by now: overpriced food, the smell of sunscreen mixed with beer and P. Diddy's newest cologne, more fashion atrocities than there are teeth in Flavor Flav's mouth, and a super-secret surprise guest. And all of that came to fruition...However, Zune made it a little different by sticking faithfully to the BBQ theme. There was soul food (I had an oxtail dinner with mac & cheese and collard greens), bubbles, and board games. I won Chutes & Ladders! But I do have to say that between four adults we continually played the game incorrectly.

Now I could go through all the musical guests, et cetera, but I think by now everyone (my two, three readers?) knows I am not a musical reviewer. I read my book (engrossing Victorian novella that it was) most of the day, laid out, watched Megan blow bubbles. I didn't really get into it until the surprise guest came to the stage. It was LL Cool J, I'm not good at building suspense. Somehow my companions and I all guessed it was him beforehand so it wasn't much of a surprise. He rapped all of his old standard favorites, didn't try to work in a lot of new shit, which is what performers of his legendary status often try to do. It was all quite enjoyable and ended promptly enough for us to get back to Park Slope in time for some Los Pollitos.

MUSIC: Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival

So, please bear with me, I know I'm late on this one...

The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival is on it's 3rd year at the Tobacco Warehouse in Dubmo (this is my second year going) and seems to be limping like a three-legged dog at a frat party. Meaning, still fun but not too steady. The entertainment began with the insistent e-mails to pre-register, buy tix online, and donate money that filled my inbox to overflowing, but who couldn't use a reminder? And I have to insist here that if you are attending next year, you might as well donate $5.

New this year, the Brooklyn Bodega made an ambitous move from one day of music to 5 (count 'em 5!) whole days of Hip Hop immersion. Those days included a screening of Wild Style at Brooklyn Bridge Park, book signing at Powerhouse Arena and a Staxx Records 50th anniversary party. The June 21st event "Hip Hop Under the Bridge" featuring Uncle Ralph McDaniels was sadly cancelled, but most of the other events went off without a hitch...except for the actual festival. Am I building suspense over what the big problem was? I hope I am...

This year's BHHF featured performances by a literal drove of artists, including Large Professor, Consequence and headlined by Ghostface with a super-secret surprise guest. The day dawned quite brilliantly sunny, a beastly hot but beautiful cloudless day. Last year we were all huddled under the tent hiding from the rain, but this year was full of sunshine, everyone sat on the field soaking in the sun through their Timbalands. I, as usual, covered myself in SPF 60 sunscreen. So, the first thing I was looking foward to was the festival food, always overpriced but delicious. Blue Mountain Caribbean Delights was slated to provide Rotis and authentic food just like my mother used to but now refuses to make...but they were conspicuously absent. My disappointment over that was abated by the ever dependable Rice, a Thai fusion restaurant that supplies rice, kebabs, roasted corn and flavored lemonade. The one absence that threatened to ruin my day was that there was no beer!

As an event sponsored by the Brooklyn Brewery, usually they are the exclusive suppliers of beer, but it turns out that the Brewery did not file their papers in time to get permits. I don't consider myself a beer fanatic, but it was the perfect excuse to sit out on the grass with all my friends and indulge in a frosty one at 3 in the afternoon. This seems like a huge blunder to me, because no one could bring beer in either. I noticed several people, including some of my companions, making plans to leave, have a beer and come back later. However, around 5PM they implemented a no re-entry rule.

Anyway, irregardless of the red tape shenanigans it was great show for free. Between no Caribbean food and no beer, I was all set up to be cranky...but it was a beautiful day. I'm not much of a music critic, so I won't even go there...I know you're disappointed. I will say that I was so far away from the stage I couldn't see very much at all but it was worth it to sit on the grass. The musical acts ranged from hip hop and rap to jazzy and loungey. Finally, Ghostface took the stage with as many living members of the Wu Tang that could be crammed onto the stage. There was literally no room for anyone else after the super-secret surprise guest came on..it was Fat Joe, he appeared out of no where and it was very surprising. Everyone got to their feet and sung along with all the songs they knew...I never know much past early 90s one-hit wonders so I just waved my hands in the air when asked. Ghostface timed his performance to perfectly coincide with the sun setting behind the Brooklyn Bridge, or at least I like to think that he timed it that way. All in all another awesome summer Saturday in Brooklyn.

LIFE & TIMES: It's my Birthday! Woot!

So I haven't blogged in a month, and if you know me well, then you know that I have been having a massive major post-grad freak out. As Wendy Williams likes to say, Cancers tend to cry on the inside. Well, I cried all over the place: inside, outside, on the dance floor, on my shirt, alone, in a crowd, and in Larue's car. But not on the beach or the farm, see pictures.

Anyway, after all that I came to some realizations, actually one main one. I am 24 today, the big 2-4. Old enough to know better, young enough to still make the same mistakes. I woke up this morning with a face full of stress-related pimples, and it was very high school. Except in high school I wore foundation and today I don't even own concealer.

So life goes on, even when things seem to suck. And when I think everything is shitty and I'm all out of luck, that's never true. At least I have rhythm, an inspirational birthday card from my mom, and great friends!

We all went to Long Island last weekend for a Crabtastic time to celebrate me and Sarah's birthdays on Bastille Day (my favorite non-American national holiday after Boxing Day and Bank Holidays.) We laid on the beach, Akita strategically tanning, me slathering on sunblock and praying I wouldn't, and Lauren doing things that will stay in Long Island...Between berry picking and barbeque, it was one of the most relaxing weekends I have had in a long time. And I still got in some good Harry Potter reading time before the big finale on Saturday. All in all, an awesome birthday.

I promise there are more blogs to come, I still have to back-blog about the Brooklyn Hip Hop festival and the Chromeo/Flosstradamus/Kid Sister show. And those blogs are coming, I swear I'm in a good writing mood now!

My guest photographer today is Miss Akita Kai Plynton. With her polaroid camera she instantly captures the best moments of summer, gently washed and aged in that way only polaroids are. She is a talented surface artist and fashion designer who is currently specializing in intarsia teddy bears. Her preferred medium is the Polaroid camera, of course.

PARTIES: Night at the Museum, not starring Ben Stiller

As a kid, I always thought it would be great to get stuck in the museum at night. And though this idea has been the premise of a few children's books and movies, I suspect my motives were dorkier than most. I hated having to crane my neck to look over taller people's shoulders at the exhibits and I just wanted to be alone so I could learn at my leisure. Wow, what a loser.
Anyway, the weekly newsletter of cultural happenings Flavorpill has teamed up with Nokia and Budweiser select to sponsor One Step Beyond, monthly parties at the American Museum of Natural History (more specifically the Rose Center for Earth and Space). If you remember the parties at the Guggenheim museum last year, you'll know they often featured ridiculously long lines and (my) frost-bitten toes. More people stood outside than ever got in (myself included). In contrast, the Rose Center has about 5x the amount of space, a maximum capacity of over 1000 people, no lines at all and 3 floors to party on.
For those who have never been, the Rose Center's main hall is dominated by an enormous white sphere (not unlike Disney's Epcot center) which houses the new Hayden Planetarium on the top floor. Below that is spiral walkway which details the timeline of our universe, and on the ground floor are smaller mini-exhibits on life on earth and the other planets. There are 3 floors, all of which were open for dancing or general ambling around, and a snack stand with pricey hot dogs and chicken fingers.
The music was supplied by DJ team Devlin & Darko of Spank Rock, and Aaron LaCrate (Milkcrate NYC), whose sets were bouncy if not predictable. The only surprise was that they relied on old and new reggae standards for the better part of an hour to get the party started. In the "Powerhouse", a room on the top floor, Foreign Islands spun punk and rave music for the tightly-fitted pants crowd. Danish artist Hess, and The Bassbin Twins played house, D&B and electronica. The drinks were a bit disappointing: there was only Budweiser Select ($6) and wine ($8), but the prices could have been worse. The main floor was host to a few performers, including 3 professional hula-hoopers, a man in a kimono on roller skates, and girl covered in fake flowers who danced with the guests in a B-girl style.
After feeling a bit tipsy, my friends and I saw the show on the Big Bang, narrated by Maya Angelou, and the show "Cosmic Collisions" in the planetarium, narrated by Robert Redford. The highlight of the show is that they use vibrations to simulate meteorite impacts. It was like being on the best class field trip ever, with all the teachers missing and replaced by bartenders. And I am sure the planetarium has never been host to such a rowdy crowd of kids, they were forced to turn off the projection because of the repeated whoopings, cheers and applause at various spectral events, including the creation of the Moon. Fun Science Fact: Scientists believe the moon was created in only 1 month. Which is rather refreshing since everything else seems to have taken billions and trillions of years.
The only drawback to this party is the $20 price tag. For someone like me, who prefers to party for free, that's a big chunk of change just to dance (and learn!), but for Manhattanites I'm sure that didn't put a dent in their wallets. It makes me feel a bit better to know that a portion of the cover will go to the museum instead of some peroxide party planner, and I got a ticket to the museum during regular hours to boot.
P.S. Sorry it took so long to post again, I started a new job that sucks the life and wit out of me, both of which I need to blog successfully.

BIBLE FIGHT!

Nothing says Happy Mother's Day like Bible Fight. This brand new game brought to you by the fine people at Adult Swim.com brings together two things I love best: sacrilege and a militant Mother of God. You can play as 7 characters, pitting Moses against Eve, Noah against Satan, Jesus against Mary and Himself as a baby...when "Ye are deemed worthy", you can unlock God and play the bearded one against Satan, a.k.a. the ultimate Grudge Match. So it's silly, whatever. And if you believe in such things, it could possible damn you to an eternity in purgatory...I'd say it's worth it, if only to see Noah summon all his animals to trample Moses under their various hooves.

PARTIES: White Tees, White Belts

White Tees, White Belts can officially count itself among one of the best Philly transplants to NY, an ostentatious list which includes cheesesteaks, pretzels, John Bolaris (our former weatherman), and myself. War and Moon imported this fine dance party as the latest cherry on their proverbial sundae of secret location "warehouse" parties and mid-week open bars. Now, I never got to go WTWB while I was in Philly, so I don't have much to compare it's NY version too. However, $15 for an all night Open Bar was enough to get me there, and the DJs (including Catchdubs) spinning various club bangers were enough to keep me there until about 3:30 when I stumbled home. True to their word, War and Moon supplied enough complimentary drinks to last throughout the night---and I am pretty sure it was a bad idea to test them on that. I don't remember much else about the night, and the lovely pictures (taken by Miss Megan Tou) tell a story I think it would be best to forget. I salvaged a couple that I thought weren't too horrible...it says a lot that these were the best ones... Megan Tou is a fashion designer by day, sweaty picture-taker by night. She has a singular talent of capturing the most embarrassing Sparks-filled moments of our lives and publishing them on her Flickr. Her preferred medium is photography, dance, and liquor.

MEDIA: Degradation of Women in the Media or...The Search for New Pussy

Despite the broad strides women have made in the past decades, in terms of occupation, education, and just plain darn respect, ladies are still pigeonholed. Women are either Virgins or Whores; Mary, Mother of Jesus or Mary Magdalene, Prostitute; Hillary or Monica.

If I were to buy in to this conundrum, I'd have to say that the Pussycat Dolls are whores...Fabulous dancing ones at that! I cannot stop watching "The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll" in the way that people naturally slow down to watch a car crash. Within a few episodes, Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin helped the contestants build their confidence by having them dance in lingerie in a glass box. There are two stripper poles on either side of the cage in all performances. The girls outfits almost always consist of a "dress" that I am convinced is really a long top with matching panties. One of the girls, who admittedly cannot sing at all, was kept of the show for weeks because she can kick her leg over her head effortlessly, presenting portions of the female body that I have never even seen on myself! (Might I add, this high kick is perfectly illustrated to the right...)

"where the sun don't shine" High Kick

by Miss Sarah Hoy

Why is it that a reality show in which women (girls of 18-19 really) repeatedly make fools of themselves so entertaining? Watching girls cry, fight and sing off-key is not only hilarious, but engaging enough to waste one hour of my week on. And while I love America's Next Top Model, it is also another prime example of what happens when 9 or so girls are stuffed together in a house. There is always a bitch, a peacemaker, a naive girl from the country, sassy black girl...There is such a thing as creative editing in all reality shows, but why is it so easy for women to fall into the roles pre-determined for us, not just on TV but in life?
I don't think there are any easy answers to these questions, and as a self-professed "sassy black girl" myself, maybe the clue is that we do this to ourselves. And who can we blame when it inevitably makes for great TV? Some of my obviously more mature friends tell me that they switch the channel immediately after Top Model and I wish I could do the same. From the moment I saw glitter, high kicks and feather boas married with such phrases as "She's got that Las Vegas white trash appeal I love" I was hooked. Thank goodness there's only going to be one season...

By the way, let me introduce my brand-spankin new featured illustrator, Miss Sarah Hoy. Her quirky little drawings capture a childlike spirit, maybe because she spends all day working on children's books as a graphic designer. Sarah's preferred medium is hilighters and ballpoint pens on Post-It Notes.

RANDOM AWESOME: New York, They've Got You Covered

As I have often remarked since moving here over a year ago, New York City makes a great effort to entertain and occupy its masses. Never have I attended so many free events with open bars, all varieties of swag (free stuff), and amazing bands and artists that I would actually pay to see (and I'm pretty cheap so that's saying quite a bit). Anyway, there are few forms of entertainment that are at their core free---and you would think sex is one of them. Sadly, with the rising cost of healthcare, even that is no longer free. But wait, here comes New York City rushing to save the day! The New York City Health department has taken a step beyond all the other promiscuous big cities and branded their own free condom. The new, dare I say hipper condom was unveiled on Valentine's Day (also National Condom Day) at the Kenneth Cole store in Rockefeller center. The repackaged LifeStyles lubricated condoms features flashy black foil packets emblazoned with colorful motifs of Subway lines. I could make many an amusing quip about subway sex but it's just too easy. Why not just visit NYC Condom and find out where to get some? The NYC Condom is available all over the city at bars, hair salons, restaurants, city buildings and cafes. And did I mention that they are free? Not keeping it in your pants has never been so easy.

PARTIES: Yo Majesty Graces Bushwick with their Royal Presence

So my first and only experience with Yo Majesty was at an “Ultimate Mega Loft Party” in a converted warehouse in Bushwick and I think I was either too drunk or just drunk enough to appreciate it. This tough girl trio from Tampa started out with "Club Action" a rump shakin club banger that got everyone going. Once Jewel of Yo Majesty started stripping (her signature move) and the Day-Glo necklaces came out I blanked out a bit, but I know the party was awesome.
Unlike most female rappers these days, of which there are few, Yo Majesty relies on bold machismo and grab-your-dick bravado worthy of a crew of construction workers from South Philly. With their wife-beaters, dreads and shades these girls spit rhymes so quick the only words I can remember from Club Action are "club action", but the beat is stuck in my brain.
I've never claimed to be a music aficionado, quite the opposite, so I'll leave the real reviews to those in the know...I copped this from an LA Weekly review Yo Majesty posted on their MySpace, and I find it to be pretty spot on...

"'Daaaamn!' That's all we can say when we listen to the rap riot that is Yo Majesty, three freaky Florida femmes with rhymes spicier than Salt -N-Pepa and bombastic beats that'd make J.J. Fad proud (eat your humps out, Fergie). This old-school girl trio may be naughty — check out the choppy synth bobs and bossy braggadocio of "Kryptonite Pussy" and "Hustle Mode" — but the fierce delivery makes it come off fresh, never forced." - LA Weekly

RANDOM AWESOME: Jay-Z Renews Former Career as Coke Pusher

Jay-Z's label Rocawear has been commissioned to re-design the Cherry Coke and Cherry Coke Zero cans. As part of the deal with Coca-Cola, Jay-Z is also involved in writing commercial jingles and unveiled the new Cherry Coke can during fashion week in February. Now, I don't really care if Jay-Z chooses to whore himself out commercially as much as possible---the man is trying to become a member of the Knowles family. I am excited about Cherry Coke Zero though...

RANDOM AWESOME: Valentine's Day Sucks...

but here are some things that don't...













this awesome new clock I peeped on NOTCOT.org. The face is removable so you can insert your favorite fabric swatch. Since SuckUK is (obviously) based in Britain, they chose a predictable Burberry fabric for the pic. You, however can choose something more in keeping with your decorating scheme. Flamingos perhaps?

Ramblin Worker is an amazing artist who wanted me to be his Flickr friend, I guess because I take close up pictures of cool art. His name is Steve, he doesn't have a bio on his site, but I love everything he makes. Ramblin is showing at MaxFish in May, by the way...

I've been legally allowed to vote for quite some time and I never have. I'm a baaad citizen. So I'm registering in NYC and in keeping with this theme, I love My.BarackObama.com. Now, I'm not saying I'm voting for him but he is a P-I-M-P for cashing in on the MySpace generation. On his campaign website you can create a profile, network with friends, start an Obama-themed blog, check out his Flickr site...does any of this sound familiar?






my new Jockey thermal long undies with a No Panty Line Promise. They are super-soft, thinner than knit stockings and WARM! Go get you some!

and my friends of course, parties and Sparks...they don't suck at all!

DESIGN: Virtual Shoe Museum

designer: Meret Oppenheim

The new website Virtual Shoe Museum features a large glossary of the newest shoe designs categorized by designer, color, focus (ankle, buckle, print, instep, etc.), use, style and materials. Don't expect to find strappy sandals and Manolos here though. These shoes are almost strictly experimental designers you probably haven't heard of. Notably, Vivienne Westwood and Vincent Van Gogh are featured. Irregular Choice is the only designer I found that is actually widely available in stores.

The website was initiated by Liza Snook in 2004. She has searched for designers and photographers to help launch the site and now it boasts some of the most beautiful, precious, strange and impossible shoe designs I have ever seen all in one place.

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designer: Roswitha Van Rijn

DESIGN: Fill in the Cat!

NEL is a collective of designers who collaborate in experimental projects that explore design through materials, techniques and applications. They first showed "Stitch Kit" in Milan, which can be seen on their website.

The project I found the most interesting (probably because I'm a cat person) was "Fill in the Cat", shown in Milan in 2006. The designers carve images of a cat, bird and stack of books from large white blocks. The resultant empty space is then filled with personal belongings, as shown at right.

The use of the objects then changes the space and its meaning generating "a continuously changing story: a cat that reads Italo Calvino, a book filled with coins, a living room where birds come to eat the cake's crumbles… "

PARTIES: Girl Talk at Studio B

Last night Pittsburgh-born act Girl Talk (a.k.a. Gregg) performed his hits at Greenpoint's newest venue Studio B. Girl Talk is super hyped up, and after the show I know why. Studio B was packed to capacity with the 18 and over crowd (making a party 18 and up is a sure way to sell out a venue, especially when none of the bartenders check wristbands). Everyone was excited, drunk, pushing---there was actually no need to dance, just stand still and "everyone can move together", as Gregg often screamed over the crowd.

About 50 people were also on the stage, sweating and stripping down to "I've Got the Power" and Billy Joel's "Rich Girl" played under Lil' Wayne, Jay-Z and LL Cool J hits---all within 2 minutes. Girl Talk is cut-tastic pop, all your favorites chopped and screwed up together making for some awesome party tracks. It's hard to explain how fast each song is mashed together, check out his MySpace for a clue.

Which made it all the worse that I had little to no dance space! As my girl Leah oft remarked last night, Girl Talk would be great at a house party, where the keg and the cheap liquor keep flowing and the crowd is guaranteed to be at least over 20 (not 16 with a fake ID)...All in all, it was worth it just to see the spectacle and the crowd surfing. Oh and the fact that was completely lax security in the backstage area and we hung out there for a couple hours dining on free ham, Brie and those little boxes of SunMaid raisins I haven't seen since I was a kid.

PARTIES: DJ Premier at the Rub!

Williamsburg and Bushwick are chock full of crazy warehouse parties and bars and various other places to get drunk, krunk and whatever suits your fancy. Waaay down here in Southern Brooklyn, we have The Rub. This monthly hip-hop/soul/funk part-ay is a mainstay in Southern Brooklyn, headlined by DJs Cosmo Baker, DJ Ayres and DJ Eleven. It's about the only place, besides someone's under-sized apartment, to really get down.

So...then I want to somehow make people understand DJ Premier 's awesomeness and I can't. But Wikipedia always has the answer.

"Christopher E. Martin, better known as DJ Premier is a prominent Hip Hop producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duo Gang Starr, together with MC Guru.
Most consider DJ Premier to be one of the greatest producers in the history of hip-hop. Many see him as the single best."

Oh wait, and he's worked with EVERYONE...including Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls, Common, Mos Def, Fat Joe, Brand Nubian, Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D, Limp Bizkit(?). I said everyone.

And The Rub plus DJ Premier, WTF!?! On February 3rd, at approximately 1AM, DJ Premier took the turntables at Southpaw and made them his bitch. He played everything I wanted to hear, and everything I didn't know I wanted to hear and we all danced and danced and danced. And now we all know that when The Rub says guest DJ, we should all stand up take notice. And if you weren't there, it so sucks to be you right now.

DESIGN: Ron Mueck and the Brooklyn Museum

Australian-born Ron Mueck's self-titled show at the Brooklyn Museum has seemingly been on everyone's mind (and in Time Out NY) for the past few weeks. I had to work through a major hangover to go on Sunday when I found out it was the last day it would be on view, and it was definitely worth it. Very rarely do I see a show I dislike, but I also rarely see a show that inspires me as much. Mueck's sculptures are all either much larger than life, or very small; what they all have in common is their exquisite details. Each statue looks as though it might shift, breathe, pounce at any moment. Every hair, eyelash, even the creases on elbows and knees are amazingly more than life-like; if it was not for their size, anyone would mistake one of Mueck's pieces for a real-life human being. Please note the size of the woman in the chair next to the work featured above, "In Bed". She is dwarfed by the head alone.

The artist honed his skill during his years working in puppetry and special effects in film and television. Generally using fiberglass and silicon, Mueck sculpts each piece alone, only employing assistance in the largest pieces. He always creates the eyes himself, which I find to be touching; each piece seems to gaze almost accusingly at the viewer, as though to wonder why they are being studied in such vulnerable poses. This is Mueck's last show before the collection moves on to Ottawa, Canada, so hopefully whoever wanted to go went already. If you didn't see the show, there is a video which details how the works are made is up on blip.tv. This video was filmed during the artist's residency at the National Gallery in London. While it cannot compare with seeing it live, it is always amazing to see an artist ply their craft.

If you don't have a high-speed internet connection, there is a short excerpt from the video on the Brooklyn Museum's website.

DESIGN: Design Life Triennial 2006 pt. 2

I went to the Triennial on Saturday, and, surprisingly I have very little to say. Except for please go see it---there are no words. Three floors of the Cooper-Hewitt are literally covered in "experimental designs and emerging ideas" from wall to wall. There is something for everyone and it seems that the designers featured are pulling out the stops to bring us the brightest and the best.

The only downside is that you would think that an exhibit about design would attempt to grab the eye and flow a bit better. It can be a little stagnant at times...especially at the Ipod display...but I still think it's worth it.

I wouldn't want to ruin anything but definitely remember to #1: look up, there's awesome things to see on the ceiling, #2: bring some handi-wipes, your fingers will be covered in chalk, #3: no pictures, please! so if you know how to turn the flash off on your camera phone, use that instead when no one is looking.

DESIGN: Design Life Triennial 2006

Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum is currently hosting the National Design Life Triennial 2006. Now for all of you who have been majorly lax on getting out to galleries and museums, this is the one for you. Boasting the talents of 87 American designers, the exhibitors span from established trendsetters to bright newcomers. Who I'm excited to see: KidRobot (amazing toy distributors and solely responsible of the brightly patterned men's sweatshirt trend), Narciso Rodriguez (monochromatic all-star and SJP's favorite fashion designer), and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (self-explanatory).

I'll make a more formal review once I actually go, but check out some pictures from the Design Life site. Or actually visit the site yourself: Design Life Now because it’s so nice to see people doing what they (presumably) love to do…especially while I’m chasing belt submits from Hong Kong.

DESIGN: It Came From the 80's!

My new favorite site is NOTCOT.org and my favorite item on it is the Optimus Prime Transformer paper robot pictured at left. You can find his awesomeness at Paper Robots 1999.com , complete with instructions and a free PDF color printout. And, oh wait did I mention this paper robot actually transforms? I'm pretty damn lazy so our CAD designer is going to make two and we'll fight them!

Anyway, NOTCOT.org is the brainchild of Jean Aw, a young L.A. designer who apparently spends much of her day scoping the web for some of the most intriguing items I've ever seen. Oh and also traveling the globe looking for "designer hotspots"...did I mention I'm so jealous? Please visit her site, you'll find something awesome to gawk at.

The Bogota Bistro

Pan-Latin Cuisine meets Park Slope

I’ve been ignoring the small neon sign of Bogota Bistro for quite some time now, because from the outside it looks like a bar full of bar food, like gourmet potato skins and chicken wings. Plus 5th Avenue in Park Slope is overstuffed with restaurants --- numerous Asian fusion and Mexican joints that I’ve enjoyed for a year or more. What a fool I’ve been! Bogota, named for the capital of Colombia, features authentic Pan-Latin cuisine, live bands and an extensive cocktail and wine list.

The décor consists of mucho crazy stuff on the walls, but not in a nasty T.G.I. Friday’s way. My favorite was a Warhol knock-off of a pouty Latina. The murals and plastic ice cube encased lights also add to the festive interior. The atmosphere is LOUD, which could be bad for intimate conversation, or great for a first date with someone you aren’t sure you have anything in common with. Or dinner with your boyfriend’s mom or a former friend from high school you definitely have nothing in common with

I started out with a drink because, 1) I just came from work and 2) Happy Hour lasts all night long from Monday to Wednesday. The strawberry margarita is a little more fruity than boozy --- it has frozen strawberry chunks at the bottom. They also feature the Brazilian national drink, the caipirinha. I skipped the appetizers and had the breaded and fried porkchops, sweet plantains and seasoned rice which were all tender, perfect and flavorful respectively. My only complaint is that all the sauces were spicy and a chilli pepper-a-phobe like myself would like a mild option. My dinner mates had roasted chicken with cilantro mashed potatoes and a skirt steak sandwich with a side salad. The chicken was good, not special but the cilantro mashed potatoes were green and extremely tasty, I definitely recommend those.

All in all it was a satisfying meal, and worth the $20 tab. Also notable, you can skip the meal and just get drinks at the (slightly raucous) bar, though missing out on the food would be somewhat of a travesty.

Appetizers: $4 - $8
Sandwiches: $9
Entrees: $12 - $24
Drinks: $5 (Happy Hour) - $9 for cocktails