google maps street view

holy jesus this is cool...go to google maps and zoom all the way in somewhere and then click on street view in the place where it gives you the option for sattelite or map view. then click on the street and prepare to be amazed. I love you google...

Will Farrell short on a a cool new video site

This is a short by Adam McKay(he also did Talladega Nights) called The Landlord. It shows Farrell getting cussed out by his two year old landlord and it's f*ing hilarious. The most interesting thing about it though is the site it appears on: Funny or Die which is a new video site in the vein of YouTube but with elements of Digg as well. It's backed by Sequoia capital(the brilliant silicon valley venture capital firm with a stable that includes Apple, Google, Yahoo and many others).

There are worse ways to get the word out about your new site than having a short with the hottest comedian alive on the front page...brilliant.

The internet's archive

So this got a lot of press when it first came out and it's still every bit as cool. There's this site called the waybackmachine and they take snapshots of the entire web from time to time so there is a historical archive of every site created. Miss a cool site you used to go to that is now gone? look it up on the waybackmachine.

One if By Land Two if By Sea

But what to do when they become indistinguishable? The rain was literally coming down in sheets. We were all full of piss and vinegar and planned to drive into the city via the Holland tunnel. How painfully naïve did that become as we motored away from the block and into the newly minted river/streets of Hoboken. Tow-trucks were in full rescue mode and the engine was floundering a bit as the water washed over the hood of my sad wet little corolla. Jake is a bit tense and Kristin, our weekend guest from Chicago is amused and probably wondering what the hell we were thinking and I drive up onto the only relatively dry land to be had(the sidewalks). A couple concentric circles around the block are enough to confirm that this will indeed be a dismounted adventure. We stopped back into the appartment for essentials like shopping bag booties and umbrellas and brandy based sidecars and then it's off to wander the mean streets as directed by the document we’d created earlier.

The ground is promisingly dry down first street until it decidedly isn’t. Kristin is up on my back clutching the umbrella and the water is up past my knees. To my left, a swarm of fire trucks are still attending an earlier conflagration that broke out at a local lumberyard. After a second or two or ten we’ve finally crossed the river formerly known as Willow St. But these days, a soldier's work is never done. Jake is still stranded and me being the impulsive wet one, it seems like the upright thing to do is ferry him across too. The wind is howling now and lightning breaks the darkness with a sharp Crack! We’re leaning into it and the Wilton House is coming up on the left. We duck in for one of their eminently reasonable schooners of Coors light. Then it’s the Path and the streets again and a blessed taxi to the Little Branch where the cocktails are always in perfect balance and the people are as low key as the décor.

The next place on the hit-list is what amounts to our living room in the west village. Like every other place tonight, the Fatty Crab is a ghost town. Arcade Fire wails in the background and we know everyone. Even though we’re talking about highbrow malasian street food here, the spicy foreign smells are strangely comforting. We get the fatty duck and Won Ton Mi and a bowl of the most perfectly plump mussels I’ve ever seen...


Now, with dinner out of the way, it's off to the heart of the meatpacking district to a place called Gin Lane. For such a warm inviting name there's a dearth of fine gins to be had. I'm in no mood to complain though seeing as how a $250 dollar glass of congac that was anything but neat found its way into my hand, comped by a bartender who moonlights as a semi-professional skeeball player. It was dark and blustery like the nor’easter raging outside, and just the spirit to lift mine.

Next, Amanda behind the bar is making fantastic ivy gimlets along with other more standard Gin Lane fare and we were all popping off like sparklers and rockets from one of those Chinese street fairs. Eventually things die down and it's time for one of those late night drunken diner affairs at Florent. The grilled cheese sandwiches are fantastic, the mussels not so much (what is it with us and mussels tonight anyway?). It suddenly struck me that I was completely exhausted and really, truly ready for bed. The Path was mercifully punctual and the water has died down enough for a cab to drop us at our door. My bed never felt so good.

The spiders we found in Saddam's bunker

 

I always tell stories about these huge spiders we saw in Iraq so I figured I should provide some photographic evidence...

A great bar in Soho

I was meeting with the reporter friend of mine to talk about Iraq and the state of the world and other such messy things and she suggested a place called the Ear Inn. She said it was supposed to be one of the oldest bars in the city which initially made me suspicious but I'd never been to the west side of Soho so it was off to the ear bar. Here is what appeared in my moleskine:

Light jazz played in the background as I ducked through the front door of this cramped little west-soho bar. The room was dimly lit and comfortable. It's said to be one of the oldest bars left on the island and I believe it. Solid wood bar and antique maritime acoutrements lining the walls create an ambience of relaxed casual fun. The waitresses were friendly and attentive and a couple good baseball games were playing. The beer was cold and served quickly. The food was not amazing but certainly not bad. As the night pressed on, my friend arrived and cold beers continued to as well. A couple recently married were dancing next to the bar still in black tie and white dress(apparently they had met here years ago). If I lived down the street, I might come here every night. As I walked toward the door, a single trumpet lamented the end of the night and so did I.

Me: the nacent wine aficionado

There's this great article in the New York Times that talks about a good way to learn about wine. The gist: go to a good local wine shop(if you don't know ask someone who does) and buy a mixed case half red and half white. Have someone in the shop select the vintages and give a price limit. Take the wine home and drink a bottle with dinner. Take notes. So I will do this beginning this weekend and post my notes here as things progress. This is self development not thinly veiled alcoholism, I promise!