David Lynch’s Odd New Venture: Interview Project
David Lynch makes films that explore strange places and people. They are often dark, and sometimes punctuated by moments of absurdity. If you’ve seen the TV series Twin Peaks, or films like Mulholland Drive or Blue Velvet, then you’ve seen his work. And those are just a few of his better-known works.
His current project (if you don’t count his AM weather updates on Twitter), is called Interview Project. He’s traveling around the country, talking to interesting people and capturing the landscape of each place he visits.
Each vignette is only about 4 minutes, and is introduced by Lynch himself in his typical style: grainy film, anonymous room, straight narration, and a table with a cup of coffee and cigarette emitting wisps of steam and smoke into air (naturally).
Step Into the Mind of Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste
Ed Droste is probably my favorite person on Twitter. His online persona makes him appear like a genuine and humble guy, grateful for all the success his band, Grizzly Bear, has been seeing this year. I believe that is how I would act if my record debuted in the Billboard top 10 (as Veckatimest did), and so it’s only natural that I want to dive into his head to find out what goes on in the mind of Ed The Songwriter. Ed recently talked to Pitchfork about the temptation to keep adding layers to songs vs. editing them down, among other things. Here’s a snapshot:
Pitchfork: Editing your own work is really difficult. It can feel like cutting off your own leg.
ED: Yeah, I think sometimes I get overly excited about adding things and having new ideas. You forget that more isn’t always better. It’s something we learned from playing out and becoming attached to live versions of things, which are significantly stripped down because it’s just the four of us. I think it’s some sort of amalgamation between our studio ideas and our live ideas and trying to find a happy balance.
Greek Nachos? Sign Me Up.
Mark Bittman, aka “The Minimalist,” wrote about the blandness of ordinary bar nachos, and took it upon himself to update this classic with a slight spin. Pita wedges, hummus, ground lamb, cucumber, onion… you get the idea.
Of course, to make them gluten-free, you’d need a few substitutions… but that shouldn’t be difficult.
NPR Talks Gluten-Free
On Morning Edition, they covered the story about a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105322381&ft=1&f=1001
Make-up + Stop Motion
I’m always excited to see people try new ideas with stop motion. But sometimes, when I’m watching the latest stop motion viral sensation on the internet, I wonder: am I impressed by the use of stop motion or the knowledge of how much work was required to make the video?
How One Man Started A Dance Party At Sasquatch
Whatever you do, just do your thing. Eventually the crowd will come around to you. But it takes balls.
Recommended Eatings: Punk Rock Meatballs at Tiger Tail
Tiger Tail is an amalgamation of Seattle greatness. A first-timer might walk in and see the dark blood-red interior and mistake this place for a swanky cocktail bar. But the loud punk band on the stereo and the people hanging out here will tell you otherwise.
The staff from Sonic Boom Records will drink here after closing shop. On another night, I saw J. Tillman (of Fleet Foxes) and Damien Jurado walk in with their ladies and order some food.
Set along Ballard’s sleepy strip of bars on 65th Street, Tiger Tail offers Asian-influenced small plates, cocktails, and boasts a large selection of beers from the Far East.
Sitting at the bar, my friend and I were looking at our menus. The special was the Tiger Burger, a beef patty served on a croissant with pepper jam.
“It’s really good. You should try it.” said the chef in the kitchen, speaking through the square-shaped hole in the wall connecting the kitchen to the main room.
He ordered the burger. I ordered the venison meatballs, served with orange-peanut dipping sauce. Each dish was served with simple garnish, and satisfied our palette.
This wasn’t my first trip to Tiger Tail, but it had been awhile since my last visit. The menu has expanded, and they’ve focused their decor (they got rid of the arcade games). As I stumbled the five blocks home (another plus), I made a mental note: visit Tiger Tail more frequently.
National Fist Bump Day!
“On June 3rd, 2008, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle took part in what immediately became known as “the fist bump heard ’round the world.” Though it was an intensely personal and affectionate gesture of love and respect at a pivotal moment in Obama’s presidential campaign, it firmly placed the fist bump on the national stage.”
From MetaFilter.
Recommended Eatings: Txori
In Basque country, they do crazy things, like put a T right next to an X and then expect you to know how it’s pronounced. The people in Seattle will take it at face value and say “Tixorry”.
I will save you the embarrassment: it’s pronounced “chor-ay”, and they serve delicious wines, cocktails, and tapas in Belltown. The environment is clean, modern, and friendly. My dining partner and I chose to sit at the bar, where we could see the chefs in action, preparing the small, beautiful plates for the Friday night crowd. They were helpful when deciding what drinks to try (recommended: the red wine/Coca-Coca sangria), and one chef even shared his knife-sharpening tip: 14 degrees.
We tore our way through a half-dozen dishes, ranging from chorizo sauteed in white wine, tender pork shoulder topped with peppers, tortilla Espanola, goat cheese and apple sticks, and much more. All the dishes are reasonably priced, from $2 for the smaller dishes, to $10+ for the more substantial plates.
While it’s no place to get a large, hearty meal, it’s a perfect spot for having drinks, trying a variety of tasty plates, and catching up with friends, old or new.