evolution now SALE! FOR BLOG READERS ONLY!

evolution now- antique and industrial jewelry and attire.  if you like old enamel pendant lights, reclaimed factory furnishings and edison bulbs, this is the wearable equivalent.

it's for sale here.  if you wish to shop, use the coupon code: BLOGDISCOUNT

20% will automatically be deducted from your purchase!

birthday on the bloody angle

once ruled by gun and hatchet wielding tong gangs, doyers street is a hidden bending alley in the heart of chinatown. hip sing tong and on leong tong carried out bloody vendettas on this corner and and in the rabbit warren of rooms and hidden passageways in surrounding buildings. it was called the bloody angle, and in 1994 law enforcement officials stated that more violent deaths had occurred here than at any other corner in the united states.  the term hatchet man originated here.  (the history brings to mind the fabulous axe dance scene from the mesmerizing and exhilarating and hilarious martial arts film kung fu hustle- click the bottom right corner of the video to watch full screen.)

nom wah tea parlor opened on doyers street in 1920 and is new york's oldest dim sum restaurant.  it's been the setting for numerous movies, photo shoots and music videos, but reached it's pinnacle of glamour last friday, when douglas michael chose it as the location of his surprise birthday party for reverend evelyn melissen!  rev ev was completely surprised! the party went late, winding up at kgb in the early morning.

new york pictures

some pictures around new york.  me, mike, signs, freeman's alley, our kitchen and bedroom- the other side of the room is our living room!

valentines

"clive." dana lyn. ethan hawke.

we saw the new ethan hawke project clive last week.  it officially opened yesterday.  our friend dana is in the cast and comped us tickets.  we got great second row seats, and talked with the star/director briefly, when he dropped by dana's table after the show.

we knew dana was in the production but it was still a funny / fun surprise to open the sunday times arts a couple weeks ago and see her.

i really dig the play.  evocative atmosphere- squalid urban underbelly, three penny opera. because it's, in fact, based on an early brecht play- baal. but the new group version has a very american, almost southern gothic feel.

rewritten by jonathan marc sherman, the script has a cool back and forth rhythm between rude explicit dirty or just plain bad stuff, and poignant allusions to nature, punctuated by humor. perfectly chosen americana music. intense energy.  at points, very funny!  dynamic chemistry between hawke, who plays a hedonistic rocker of vile raunchy charm, and vincent d'onofrio, who opens the play alluding to the devil but who ends up in a very different place. brooks ashmanskas is just super in several roles, including a swishy (east village?) landlord and even one of a jocular pair of canadian mounties - yes, mounties(!)- who appear unexpectedly, like two shakespearian buffoons! 

to me the production had one shortcoming- the author apparently constrained himself to stick to brecht scene for scene. there's no real story arc, just a spectacular downward vortex.  this makes it hard to get emotionally hooked anywhere.  mike says i have to explain this further so i will, later.

wondered if this could work on screen- the story would have to be fleshed out and probably less stylized?  or maybe totally stylized like baz luhrmann's moulin rouge? i'm imagining club scenes- limelight?  the club in a church would be a great setting for this pilgrimage of depravity!

another thing that makes it fun- the show has a really hip downtowny / brooklyny quality- the music choices, the groovy outsider art set design, the german cabaret theater connection and the vintagey costumes all have a williamsburgish aesthetic.  dana said the guys who designed the sonic sculptures, which are a big element of the set, also picked the tunes. link- grimes.  music plays a big role in the production and dana performs much of it, both on the sonic set furniture, which i'll describe in a later post, and also on violin and piano.  

dana is the last character on stage at the end of the play and she mournfully fiddles the lights down with whatever tune feels right.  we found out later that last week she played an irish air because she knew mike, who's an irish fiddler himself, was in the audience. i love dana's chamber music group yeti camp which i tried to describe here. apparently she also leads a 13 piece burt bacharach cover band- dionne werewolf- looking forward to that! dana lyn link.

i hope to see clive again before it closes- it offers a lot to chew on!

pasta a la bodega!

i made pasta sauce with things from the bodega next door. and special sugar meg gave me.