Hey there you, welcome to my web log! Each week I pick 17 new awesome things that I'm sure you'll love. This week's picks are below, but you can browse the archives all the way back to 2005.
Welcome back! This week is all about the Red, White and Blue. Tough Kentucky coal miners, kids from the Bronx, Apollo Creed, rebel country musicians, big old BBQ ribs, pies from Mickey D's, crude Easy Riders, frontiersmen, and (of course) our most recently departed pop icons all make up the magical fabric of our country. Happy 4th of July!
If you think you have it rough with your job just watch Harlan County, USA and, trust me, you’ll realize that you’ve never worked a hard day in your life. In 1972, coal miners in Kentucky, living in shanties without running water or plumbing, facing the possibility of deadly explosions, slow death from black lung, and a shocking lack of safety and benefits began a thirteen month, bitter and deadly strike. The daring documentarian Barbara Kopple and her crew suffered beatings and guns fired at them to capture the turmoil and drama.
You are unlikely to witness areal life situation so wrought with tension, (even with the incredible Gimme Shelter and the less incredible house wives tables flipping out there). From murder within the union to murder on the picket lines, these hard working individuals are literally willing to die for their rights and, sadly, do. It’s the women, the wives and daughters of the miners who are particularly resilient and fight the most visible battles against the gun wielding strike breakers and scabs.
With images that are both horrific and beautiful and a soundtrack of harrowing local blue grass, often sung by the people on screen, the academy award winning film is more than a political drama about unions, it’s a piece of art that makes you question how far you could go and how much you could endure and fight if put in the same situation.
Random Family is an astonishing, eye opening, heartbreaking and completely engrossing saga – and all the more so because it's true. Author Adrian Nicole LeBlanc spent decades with two families in the heart of the most notorious neighborhoods in the Bronx through considerable hardships: drugs, prison, abuse and triumphs: romance, children, small victories.
The tough streets have long been a topic of movies and books, but rarely is the focus on the women. Coco and Jessica are sadly typical of their upbringing, one has five kids before she’s reached thirty, the other lands in jail after getting unwittingly involved in her boyfriend's drug trade, but both are compelling, if flawed characters who deal with situations most people I know would not have the strength to.
The world they live in, with both the dazzling thug culture and the prevailing hopelessness is not glamorized, judged, or played up for our sympathies. LeBlanc is exceptionally even and fair with her depictions and wisely keeps herself out of the story. For better or worse, the story of their lives are told with honesty by the people who lived it.
Much like the tenement photographs "How the other half lives" by Jacob Riis, Random Family offers a glimpse of the often ignored and misunderstood parts of our country.
I remember going with a big group of older girls to see Rocky IV in the theater for my sister's birthday. James Brown opens the drama with an over the top showgirl extravaganza to stick it to the Russians (aka Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen). But then Dolph ends up killing Apollo Creed in the match and Rocky has to train in the snow and get revenge in Moscow (sans showgirls). He beats Dolph bloody, but decides not to kill him, rather to give a rousing speech instead that ends the cold war.
I'm kind of alone among most of my friends in my love for Willie Nelson, but as a fan of classic country, it's hard not to be swayed by his impressive career. Shotgun Willie is among his best. It features many of his own compositions rather than covers that later made him more famous.
From songs about drowning in a whiskey river, to the dance floor perfection of Stay all Night (Stay a Little Longer), from the lamenting romances of Sad Songs and Waltzes and She's Not For You, this album plays like a wonderfully beery night Donn's Depot in Austin.
Recorded with Atlantic after an opressive relationship with RCA, Nelson seems to be giving his all here on his own terms, and with that independent self expression, he defined a new sound in country.
It’s hard to add anything new to the dialogue about James Dean as an American icon. But on a personal note, when Stand by Me helped usher in a period obsession with the 50’s back when I was in elementary school, my sister and I both got cardboard stand-ups of Dean and Marilyn Monroe from our local novelty and sticker shop, CJ Kard.
Beyond the good looks that still stop hearts (really, has there been anyone quite like him since?), he had an undeniably impressive (but sadly brief) film career. He was a true rebel, not only on screen but with his daringly ambivalent sexuality, angst ridden method acting, and his literal live fast/die young attitude.
He also most best represented some of America’s best fashion statements: white tees, denim, cowboy hat, fisherman’s sweaters, bomber jackets, chinos and trenches.
I think everyone was shocked and astonished by the sudden passing of arguably the most famous man on the planet. While Micheal Jackson may not have always represented the best about American pop culture, back in the day when I was growing up, he certainly seemed to... for a little while. I saw him perform with the Jacksons during 1984's Victory Tour (my brother, then a baby, slept through the whole thing) and it was exciting beyond belief.
It was a rough day for American icons and those of us that grew up with them. Farrah Fawcett, who epitomized blonde, American, smiling sexuality with her ubiquitous pin up poster and role on Charlie's Angels lost her long battle with cancer just before news of the surprise death of fellow superstar Michael Jackson hit the internet.
Giving the world the feathered haircut and agreeing with me and most teenage boys on the sexiness of ditching the bra, there were few women that had more influence on the popular culture of the 1970's than she did.
Hill Country is, and I say this with all my heart and kindly, just a fat assed restaurant. Everything (with the exception of the cheery waitresses) is big and loud: two warehouse sized stories holding huge communal style picnic tables, a seemingly 15 foot TV (blaring sports), a band upstairs shouting countrified 80's tunes (they were actually quite fun), drinks with vodka, tequila, and everything else (mine, the 8 layer dip, also had jalapenos and was rimmed with BBQ rub salt) and portions of meat like you have never seen.
I really did feel like I was back in Austin for an evening (I would have even more so if some of it were outside and the diners were more rockabilly than NYU), which was fun. But all this would mean nothing if the food’s not great and I have to say, it’s the best I’ve had in the city.
The jalapeno sausage and moist brisket were phenomenal! Sides also delivered with the cornbread and chipotle deviled eggs standing out to me (my friends all raved about the slaw too, though I am never a fan, so I’ll have to take their word). The ordering process can seem confusing. You have a meal ticket that you bring to the meat counter where you tell butchers how big a portion you want. I recommend no more than one pork rib, while nice and meaty, they were the least impressive meat dish we had, lacking in flavorful flair, but better slathered in the sauce provided at the tables.
You will feel your indulgences soon after dining and find yourself longing for big bowls of salad for days, but it’s worth it – particularly the sausage and brisket.
You can't get more American than (sort of) fresh apple pie from McDonald's. There's lots of online controversy about the rumor that the nearly seventy year old fast food chain uses potatoes flavored like apples rather than real apples; people cry foul play, but I say: what ingenuity! And what kind of genius can make a potato taste like an apple anyways?
I hadn't had one of these cinnamony desserts in years and years and I thank Jim for waiting patiently while he got cut in line by vicious girl teenagers over and over to get one for me.
If you’ve never heard of Del’s Lemonade, you’ve probably never experienced a summer in Rhode Island. Though the chain has gone nation-wide, the frothy, icy, sweet and tart beverage is still considered a state tradition (even though it's lost the title of “official state drink” to coffee milk) that, like many American foods, was adopted by immigrants who brought the best of their homelands to their new shores. According to the Del’s site:
"Great grandfather DeLucia made the earliest Del's Frozen Lemonade in 1840, in Naples, Italy. During the winter he carried snow into nearby caves and insulated it with straw. When summer arrived and the local lemons were ripe and flavorful, he mixed their juice with just the right amount of sugar and snow."
Recently, on a trip to Block Island, the excellent refreshment got even more spectacular when a beach-side seafood place called Ballard's added vodka. Now that is brilliant.
The quilts of Paula Nadelstern make for a dazzling exhibit of exceptional craftsmanship at the American Folk Art Museum. You are greeted with a huge creation on the lobby level that boggles the mind. Upstairs, more vibrant quilts using different techniques are on display. The labor intensive art is even more impressive when you learn that Nadelstern, a Bronx native makes all her quilts in a small apartment as she says on her own site:
"Historians have suggested that the block-style method of quilt-making evolved in response to the cramped quarters of early American life. My family’s living arrangement in an urban environment created similar considerations which, unwittingly, I resolved in much the same way. For over twenty years, my work space in our two bedroom apartment was the forty-inch round kitchen table".
The most interesting look into the artist's craft is the segment along the hallway that shows the reverse side of the quilting, the literal toil to make such geometrically perfect images on the front. Be sure to peek into the kaleidoscopes by various artists too.
Davis, who (like many folk and outsider artists) rarely sold his work, never looked to his craft for financial gain. As he once said "They're my treasure. If I sold these, I'd be really poor."
I'm not sure what I expected when I purchased a few back issues of Easyriders Magazines, but when they arrived at my office wrapped in descreet brown paper, I figured they were not safe for work.
Crude, nude, and rude, these offer a great glimpse into a truly fringe American culture. You can find vintage ones available on eBay, and keep an eye out on Rotating Corpse as I post more inspiring images.
We really packed a lot into our recent visit to one of America's most historic resort areas, Block Island, that I'll be telling you about it over a couple weeks. I'd like to start with the most unusual and dramatic experiences at Crescent Beach just North of Old Harbor.
As many people can probably relate, less than ideal or seasonal weather put a spin on our vacation and we visited the island (which you have to reach via ferry) during foggy, soppy, and sometimes downright rainy weather. On the plus side this made us feel like we were right in the middle of a Stephen King novel, and never more so than our last evening there when we took a stroll along the beach before sunset.
I can’t imagine it was easy to buck against your roots in Arkansas farm country in the early 20th century, but that’s exactly what Mike Meyers, also known as Disfarmer, did. Having no interest in the livelihood of his family and peers he:
“Taught himself how to shoot and develop photographs, and he soon set up a studio on the back porch of his mother's house… and his belief in his own unique superiority as a photographer and as a human being made him somewhat of an oddity to others”.
It's too bad PBS hasn't delved into the world of reality television more. Frontier House (inspired by a similarly conceived show about the 1900s over at the BBC) was a highly entertaining, insightful, and even educational. Three families were given acreage in Montana to live just as settlers did back in the 1880's. The goal was to be prepared for the coming winter by the end of the series – without cheating, Gordon Clune!
Like any good reality, there's a villain, and here Mr. Clune serves well, but in this relatively good-natured show, even the cheater finds himself better for growing closer to his family. Another family, the Glenns adapt to the harsh lifestyle easier, but their personal relationships are strained.
Available on DVD and Netflix, you'll find yourself more inthralled in the drama of making root cellars and cutting wood than you would ever expect. This is only second to Manor House in PBS's amazing series of historical reality shows.
I might not be giving enough credit to the idiots in other countries, but I believe that terrible, drunken jam rocking by a dude wearing a cat in the hat hat is uniquely American.
Hoogie Boogie Land, though initially familiar in terms of the great American drunk jamming tradition, is like nothing else. You will gape in wonder. No one could try to be this bad. No one.
If you don’t find it amazing the first go round, it will hit you on the tenth viewing, because I promise, you will be somehow compelled to watch again and again.
Yum yum kettle corn! This sweet/salty treat has been praised by me before, but this was my first foray into making popcorn without a microwave. Popcorn is one of those rare foods that has it’s root in America, or at least the continent before it was invaded. According to this article:
“In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.”
Who knew that between human sacrifices, the Aztecs were making the same kind of popcorn-based jewelry many of us did in kindergarten?
