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» What Does Watered Down Jameson Smell Like…

Dirty armpits. Yup, I’m sad to say but it’s true. Well, I’m not sad that it smells like that. I’m sad that I know what it smells like because there is no reason to know what it smells like. I don’t intentionally water down my Jameson. Yes, I like an ice cube and yes it will melt but people splash water in even the best whiskeys. This was no slight watering down to reduce the bite my friends, this was the dirty act of a shit-head bartender.

OK, it probably wasn’t the bartender’s fault. I’m sure this offensive directive comes down from management, so perhaps I should be referring to shit-head managers. The idea that the 400% markup is not enough makes me so angry. How hard is it to be a little honest?

This is a rare occurrence but having just experienced it forced me to vent. Jameson on the rocks $10. That’s about two shots for what buys you 1/4 of a liter at a liquor store. But I get it, I know a bar needs to make money. And hey, we’re all willing to shell out for it. So at least, please, give me what I pay for.

The ever-elusive Banksy is heating things up in Park City, Utah, ahead of the Sundance Film Festival. His signature stenciling style has shown up on the outside of a few Park City buildings in the days leading up to the festival. The film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” will be the Spotlight Surprise there on Sunday. It documents the futile efforts of a French shopkeeper to meet Banksy. It may or may not have been directed by Banksy himself and features some fellow street artists like Shepard Fairey. Whether Banksy appears in it is, of course, a mystery.

Our review: “A revelation (maybe.)”

Comic book artist Ho Che Anderson – whose combination of style and subject matter can be as revolutionary in nature as his name – will see his masterpiece honored next month. His three-volume graphic biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. gets wrapped into a hardcover with  “King: The Special Edition.” Included are an essay by Anderson, scenes from the cutting-room floor and a pontification on race relations in America called “Black Dogs.” The book gets released on Feb. 2 but if you can’t wait till then, here’s an excerpt.

Out of the mind of Blu comes his surrealist street imagery to meld with the creations of David Ellis.

“COMBO”
Artists: Blu and David Ellis
Produced by Studiocromie

Food world celebrities are banding together to raise money for the United Nations World Food Programme Fund for Haiti. In an atmosphere of Caribbean music and food, Food Network’s Daisy Martinez will emcee and auction off dinner for four with her at Don Coqui. She’ll also personalize two copies of her latest cookbook for winning bidders. The event is hosted by food writer, cookbook author and chef Ramin Ganeshram.

You can join in the effort by attending and bidding. Over 40 cookbook authors and food personalities have donated items for auction. Up for bid will be signed copies of “Julie & Julia” from Julie Powell, food writer and cookbook author Molly O’Neill’s “New York Cookbook” and “Mostly True,” her memoir about growing up in a famous baseball family (her brother is Paul O’Neill of the New York Yankees), cookbooks from Rick Moonen of “Top Chef Masters” and a cookbook signed by its illustrator, The New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren. All proceeds will go to the United Nations World Food Programme Fund for Haiti.

The event is just a train ride away from the city via Grand Central Station. For more information, e-mail foodforhaiti@gmail.com.

As they say in Haiti: Lespwa fe viv (hope makes one live).

Jan. 30, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Hoskins Hall, Saugatuck Congregational Church
245 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880

Video: “Haiti” – Arcade Fire

Christoph Niemann updates his blog all too rarely. I believe he averages a post a month, yet I still check for updates incessantly. The casual nature of his style, as if sourced from an unending basin of creativity, disarms the viewer distracting you from the effort put forth. Fuck, I love his work.