Global Wetting...

It looks as if things for Gaia (Mother Earth) are going from bad to worse to wet...First Gaia got hit by "global warming" a drastic change in temperature across the globe brought on by overweight Americans driving around in gas-guzzling SUV's while eating fast food, drinking sugar enriched soda on cellphones in between puffs of various substances & emitting various noxious gases that polluted the atmosphere. The result...glaciers melted, rivers dried up, oceans evaporated before our eyes. Then seeming out of nowhere "global warming" all of a sudden turned in "climate change" & while Elitists from around the world descended on Davos to save mankind from itself...they had trouble getting home due to snow storms. The Polar Bear went from barely able to find a floe of ice to lie on to greater access to land masses in the Arctic & are now munching on Eskimo's for breakfast, lunch/brunch, dinner. This change from "global warming" to Global Climate change" is most likely due to Gaia reacting to global warming & launching her defenses like any organism to save itself. However...now comes "Global Wetting" as we are deluged by rainstorm after rainstorm washing away all the "global climate change". Most likely this was caused by the chain-reaction of "global warming" to all of a sudden "global climate change". Now please note that "global wetting" is based upon hard empirical evidence. Feel free to Google this yourself but it rained twice as much as normal this March & blew away previously recorded records.

I contacted America's very own Michelangelo Da Vinci..the one & only Al Gore. The man who single handledly invented the Internet while uncovering "global warming" while winning a Nobel Peace prize while VPing for Billy & asked him...after inventing...I mean discovering "global warming" then realizing it was actually global climate change...what's next after global wetting?!? Al told me that even as we speak John Edwards is working with the top ex MIT students who became ex hedge fund algo engineers to discover what great cataclysmic climate event will make him the most money while winning him the most Nobel Prizes...I mean what changes to the earth has man wroth upon himself now?!? Stay tuned loyal readers for exclusive insights into what stocks to buy to hedge against the next climatic event...from the one & only Shia LeBouf who in an exclusive GQ interview has revealed that after playing a Hedge Fund Manager in an upcoming movie he is now the next Steve Cohen, Tudor, Paulson all rolled into one. In the meantime go out & purchase some Wellington's to go with your Gore-tex gear...& good luck out there...

Cup-cakes & Hand-grenades...

This comes from the International stories flying under the radar file. You may have heard of "guns & butter" but have you heard of cup-cakes & hand grenades...I mean what could they they possibly have in common you ask? The Bhut Jolokia affectionately known as the Ghost Pepper from Northeastern India would be the answer. I first heard about them a few years ago in an article in a magazine(I read way too many...so not sure which) . It was rated by far the hottest pepper in the world. Hot peppers are rated in Scoville units & the Ghost clocks in at 1,041,427 Scoville units! To put this in perspective a Jalapeno is a pathetic 8,000 & the oh so hot Habernaro wimps out at 325,000... In other words...ever make the mistake of rubbing your eyes after making salsa with a jalapeno & remember how good that felt...well do the math. I have yet to try ghost pepper hot sauce...but I have had chocolate cupcakes made with them (available at Pirisi in NYC see early blog for details). I love them & if you love chocolate & very spicy food it is a fantasy come true. If you don't love hot peppers & have a high tolerance for pain keep away. The other day I read an article that the Indian Government is going to have their military weaponize the pepper (I'm not making this up) by using it to make tear gas hand grenades. I cannot even begin to imagine how painful they are going to be & seriously wonder if they can do permanent damage. If they are going to use them for Spec Ops against Terrorists...more power to them...my concern is if they use them for crowd control...which I'm guessing they are going to. The ghost pepper...on the one hand...if diluted properly a tasty but for not the faint of heart spice...on the other a PMD...

ArtExpo 2010

While the economy may still be a disaster for most businesses...for the Art World...to quote Lt. Aldo Raine "business is booming! The ArtExpo this year held at Pier 94 was awesome. A great selection of artists representing a variety of styles from around the world. There were red dots(means purchased) all over the walls. I went today the last day of the show because it's not as crazy & the best day to work deals. I ended up purchasing three works(pics attached )from three different artists...

Asencio http://www.crownthornpublishing.com/artist.php?aid=1&page=1 who I think puts a tremendous amount of emotion to go along with the incredible way he captures beauty in his work. His art is classic & abstract at the same time & totally works. Really beautiful & stunning pieces. I didn't get to meet Asencio, but did get to spend some time with Ruth-Ann one of the sales people representing him & she was great(red silk & blue)

Echo www.echo-x.com who when you see the work you figure must be the work of a guy but actually of an attractive woman. She captures women from both a woman's point of view but really gets the male fantasy about women at the same time. The works have a classic element to them as well. Echo also shared with me how she came up with some of ideas for works & I really appreciated that(sun & waves)

Last but certainly not least was Chris Dellorco Dellorcofineart.com whose work I really love. He does a lot with mixing European architecture with classic beauty in many of his pieces. I also like that a lot of his works have a story in them. Great use of rich vibrant colors as well. Chris is a great guy & I had the opportunity both last year & this year to spend some time with him & his beautiful muse discussing his work. I'm looking forward to see his upcoming works featuring couples(sun w.blue silk)

An artist whose work I don't own yet but was very impressed by was Bill Mack. He works with a mix of mediums. check his stuff out at http://www.billmack.com/ . There is also a lot of amazing work coming out of China that I've really been blown away by. I've seen some in a gallery in Soho on West B'way but at the show dandagalleryonline.com was showcasing a handful of artists...I really wish they had a bigger booth & hopefully the will next year. They are opening their first US gallery in SF this year. You really need to check out this website to see the great stuff coming out of China. They were kind enough to give me a book of the various artists works for free & I wish Grace & her team the best of luck. All in all a great show...except for the fact that I spent too much...but cannot wait for the new pieces for my collection to arrive...

Red, White, & Blue...

I've walked past Fish on Bleecker more times then I can count. I've always meant to check it out but always ended up going somewhere else. It's on Bleecker near the James Perse shop I go to buy my over-priced yet awesome t-shirts (plus the sales girls are always cute) & Pure Dark where I buy over-priced yet awesome chocolate(my favorite is their Cinnamon/Chipolte dark chocolate rounds...also like their dark chocolate covered cherries & blueberries) & further down the block is an Amy's Bread, Murray's, some POLO shops etc...anyhow I digress...Bleecker just happens to be one of NYC's most awesome streets...

Anyhow finally popped in since I've been jonesing for a Lobster Roll & it was just the right day for one. It was very good...came with VG fries, a side salad, & slaw. They have a good selection of beers on tap as well & I liked their menu. What I didn't see until after I ordered was that on the huge mirror behind the bar they had some specials. One...the Red White & Blue is 6 oysters with either a glass of red, white or PBR...for...only $8 bucks! The oysters looked awesome & totally fresh. I lot of people ordered them & I spoke with some regulars who raved about them. Not sure how this place was never listed in any of the Time Out, New York Mag, etc...reviews of best places for Oyster specials...hey, keeps me in business. I will be back...it's on my list of places to go now & I will confirm how good their Red White & Blue deal is (then head down to Cones for Brazilian style gelato) God bless America!

Save The Tigers

While many of you may not know this... Tigers are on the endangered list. Another thing about them you may or not know is that they are indigenous to India & not Africa like many think...I cannot tell you how many people saw my pics from my safari in Tanzania & asked..."how come you got pictures of everything but tigers??? I'll blame the old Tarzan movies... Anyhow it's a serious issue. Poachers are slaughtering them in the wild. check out http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ for the list & www.tigerwatch.net to see what you can do. Spread the word...or do you want your children, nieces/nephews, & grandchildren to grow up in a world where Tigers, Polar Bears, Eagles,Panda Bears etc...are CGI characters in Ice Age 15...???

OSS 117:Lost in Rio/B-Slap

Movie Reviews :Spoof Segue

First up, OSS 117: Lost in Rio is the second of the re-invigorated OSS117 franchise. I stumbled on to OSS117 when on business in Paris. I saw movie posters all over the place for what looked like a Bond movie spoof & looked for it when it came to the states. It turned out to be a French version more or less of a Austin Powers like spoof. I really liked it...yet was somewhat blown away how politically incorrect it was towards Muslin's. It did poke fun at the West & it was clear that it was showing the ignorance of the protagonist & French in general...but still surprised. I did some research & it turns out that this character was France's answer to James Bond & goes back to the 50's & 60's where over 90 books were written & many movies made. When they decided to bring the character back they decided to do it tongue & cheek but also make political commentary on how ignorant & prejudice we can all be. The first one took place in Cairo in the 50's & what I really liked was that they filmed it so it looked like it was filmed in the 50's. In this one the story takes place in Rio in the 60's & again the film used, the techniques, the sets, costumes( the highlight being all the high suede boots the female lead wheres throughout the film & she has the legs for them...worth the price of admission for this alone) etc...all from the 60's which I really liked. In Lost in Rio our hero is sent to Rio to get a list of French Nazi collaborators from a Nazi in hiding. He runs into the Mossad & works with them to get the list & for the Mossad to capture the Nazi. Fun is poked at all...again over the top. One of the funniest parts takes place on the beach with a bunch of hippie's. If you love the espionage genre & like spy spoofs you will enjoy this one. Rumored up next is a film taking place in Africa in the 70's.

BIt$h Slap:The Movie is an exploitation movie of exploitation flicks. This is definitely a guy's guy movie but will appeal to the ladies out there that when they come over to your place & go through your magazines find a Playboy or Maxim...& start looking through it at the pictures(you know who you are...) It's all smoking hot women, weapons, over the top fight scenes & raunchy yet no nudity sex scenes... What I thought was going to be stupid was actually clever...the team that did this love this genre. So if you love the movies that this was based on. ..The Russ Meyer, Super-Spy,Film Noir, Martial Arts movies that gave you Sin City, Kill Bill, & Grind House you will love this fun over the top movie. The writing-directing team did a lot of work on Hercules & like B movie TV so it's that feel & you will see alumni of that show. The actresses are beautiful & while Meryl Streep may not have much to worry about they all are good actresses that did a great job. I think this must have been a really fun movie to make...the wome seemed to really being having fun. If you like/love B movies & want to see smoking hot women in over the top fight scenes...crack open a beverage & enjoy...