Saturday, February 28, 2015

no complaints










Friday, February 27, 2015

pig heaven




fairway

heblogmocracy.com

Have a great weekend.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

sunshine, moonshine



Moonshine has come a long way since its days in the American south.


Corn is what they have to work with and so “corn squeezin’s” what they make. 

wiki

But sugarcane abounds in Puerto Rico, so they distill sugarcane into Pitorro Rum.


Pitorro is also “moonshine” and is also made unlawfully, but sugarcane has one huge advantage over corn.

westernbeef

Sugar converts to alcohol in fermentation.

Do the math.


So the Port Morris Distillery opened with the simple concept to make first rate, legal Pitorro for a neighborhood largely from the Caribbean.




So far it’s panning out.

pdm

Using state of the art equipment, they are now selling to a dozen outlets in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and in restaurants all over the Bronx including our own Charlies.



Their water-clear standard is 92 proof and not for the faint of heart.


Now they are experimenting with oak casks, allowing the natural vibrations from the Hell’s Gate Amtrak trains overhead to agitate the flavor and color from the wood.



I’m missing Summer.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

borderline, eh?


spindlemagazine.com
Chris Brown won’t be visiting the Canada Niagara Falls anytime soon.


Canadian government has barred him from entering their country.


In 2009 he was sentenced to five years probation for beating Rihanna.

tattoo-kid.com

In March 20011 he smashed windowglass at Good Morning America then stormed out into Times Square without a shirt.

diversitynews.com

He spent a month in jail last April after being thrown out of court-ordered re-hab for a violent rage “throwing objects and breaking them.”

dailynews.com

He pled guilty to felony assault last October for punching a fan in the face in front of a Washington DC hotel.

washington.cbslocal.com

And his probation was revoked by a judge in LA because he didn’t do the community service required by his conviction.

genius.com

Five folks were shot last month during one of his shows in San Francisco.



Tuesday, February 24, 2015

dog day afternoon




1969

Monday, February 23, 2015

crown princess



Hard to believe, but that stretch of Fifth Avenue below 23rd Street was once a row of stately brownstones for the wealthy. 

Here’s the same view in 1889.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, these private homes were considered among our finest and that’s why the Lady’s Mile along Broadway was so high falutin’.




But by 1886 when our ClockTower was being built, that stretch had lost its glamour. 

Rich folks were moving further uptown.


So the quiet brownstone at 166th Fifth was demolished and a “wedding cake” building sprang up in its place.


Designed by the Parfitt Brothers and completed in 1900, this over-the-top 7 story became home to art dealers early and then garment makers later in its life.


It features an oculus window, carved urns and fancy spandrels above elliptical windows. 

A spandrel is that little triangle of space created
 when two arches come together.

wiki


Some doofus in the 1970’s thought it was a good idea to strip the street ornamentation and replace it with sleek granite, now home to Eileen Fisher.


But the glorious cornice remains, 
like a crown on the heir to a throne.


Mellerio dits Meller, 1867

Happy Monday!