Having gone to school in Michigan only recently, this is, sadly, the only Detroit I have ever known. Irregardless, even in spite of its turbulence, Detroit is still a beautiful (in an often dystopic kind of way), fun place, if you know where to look. Most importantly though, despite repeated news reports with cries and claims of collapse, corruption, and violence, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an American heartier or more resolutely hopeful than a Michigander. There are many people, like my friend Paul (I’ve linked to his other site in the past on spicy), who simply will not give up on Detroit.
Hypothetically, I think my own would be a recreation of my family’s Good Friday feast: tuna salad, egg salad, eggplant parm, a cheese tray, elephant ears, and my grandma’s handmade “smashed” bread. Then again, a meal from Komi might just be the answer. Or Citronelle. Or Wings Over East Lansing. It’s clear that I’m not meant for this kind of finite decisiveness. Knock on wood, I’m hoping this won’t ever be a meal that needs planning.
(Addendum: New York Times recently published an archive of inmate’s last words. Movie worthy highlight, “I am taking it like a man.”)
“It is common to joke that someone acting in an eccentric fashion could be locked up in Abbasiya [asylum] and forgotten. Unsurprisingly, most patients I meet there do not find the idea funny”
This is a fascinating map that I stumbled upon, care of my friend Paul (at plainpaul). I had no idea that American war money financed universal healthcare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Over at Bon Appetit is a smallish roundup of their favorite root beer. I’ve tried a ton, i mean A TON, of different brews over the course of my life, but was pleasantly surprised to see that their list had a few I’ve never come across. My own list would include Sprecher (side note: their cream soda is unreal) although Bon Appetit gets points for including anything Faygo.
The Yes Men do it again with a “special edition” of the New York Post dedicated to climate change. Last year, in collaboration with Steve Lambert, one of my favorite artists, a similar version was created. Distributed on 11.12.08, with a print date of 7.4.09, special editions of the New York Times proclaimed the end of the Iraq War.
Spicy is now back in business after a dearth of internet access in Morocco and in the UP of Michigan. Expect updates coming this week and a brand new face-lift in coordination with my portfolio at nate.spicybiscotti.com. Booooooooooom.
In the meantime here is (a childhood favorite of mine), “the skeleton dance.”
(^One of the less than lifelike and more than creepy mannequins in Rabat’s medina)
Apologies for this deadspace lately. Things will continue to be spotty for the indefinite future (read: two months or so). Right now I’m in Rabat, Morocco for an intensive Arabic program and the internet connection here is unreliable and elusive at best. I hope to drop some more content soon in shah allah, but no promises.
… and a bonus conversation: I got a haircut a few weeks ago and this is the story that the barber told me. When he was younger, the barber was a soft drink rep. in mid-michigan. One of his favorite clients happened to be an Iraqi man. His name was Hasid and he owned a convenience store in Flint. His party store had done fairly well, but when the Iranian hostage crisis hit, red-blooded American patriotism kicked in and Hasid was suddenly “Iranian.” The reactions sounded hellish. The barber left mid-michigan around this time and didn’t get a chance to say farewell to his friend. Later in life he was in the area and went out of his way to stop by, but found a different party store in Hasid’s location. It was called “Chico’s” and was draped in Mexican everything. A little disappointed, he went inside to get a drink anyways. Hasid sat behind the counter full of tacos and nachos. On his chest was a name tag that read “Chico.” His wife and children had “latino names” as well. Apparently after the hostage crisis Hasid “became” Mexican. He claimed that after the switch business was better than ever.
*Energy drinks continue to blow my mind. For instance there’s the terrifying addition of Spot On energy patches to the already uncomfortable canon of caffeine and taurine.
*”How come nobody does anything anymore, but there’s more energy drinks than ever?” [via This isn't happiness]
^ “The Flytrap/Hull Loss” by Nova Jiang [via WMMNA]
*“There are numerous reasons why I’m now certain that Clevelanders in general suffer from a loser’s mentality. They live in city that went from over one-million people in 1950 to less than 400,000 half-a-century later, send their kids to the nation’s poorest schools, still absorb cheap shots and bullying from other cities that were never nicknamed ‘The Mistake by the Lake,’ and are still reminded on a seemingly daily basis that the Cuyahoga River was so polluted during the city’s steel heyday that it actually caught on fire. In New York, whenever I tell a stranger that I grew up in Cleveland, that person usually gets a sympathetic look on his or her face and shrugs as if to offer condolences. And this reaction isn’t just particular to New York, as I’ve received it throughout the country, in places as varied as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Omaha, Provo, and even Flint, Michigan. This seemingly nationwide negative perception has visibly worn down my hometown and resigned its dwellers to believing that it actually is as dreary as the rest of the country perceives it to be. But instead of rallying, instead of fixing its perilous school system or bringing jobs back within the city limits, the masses seem to hide, only coming out for one reason – to root for its sports teams.”
*”Denim is the infantile uniform of a nation in which entertainment frequently features childlike adults (“Seinfeld,” “Two and a Half Men”) and cartoons for adults (“King of the Hill”). Seventy-five percent of American “gamers” — people who play video games — are older than 18 and nevertheless are allowed to vote. In their undifferentiated dress, children and their childish parents become undifferentiated audiences for juvenilized movies (the six — so far — “Batman” adventures and “Indiana Jones and the Credit-Default Swaps,” coming soon to a cineplex near you). ”
Seriously? My friend Drew put it very succintly, “I think George Will is the least fun person ever.”
“Life in Cairo is a do or die race, in which you trample or are trampled. The traffic here is so bad those of a faint disposition will not long survive the daily commute.
The struggle with overcrowded roads is complicated by a lack of any respect for traffic lights or policemen. There is no semblance of lane discipline.”
I love this writer’s views. Of all the social ills he points out (aging cars, crowded traffic, etc.) it seems he alleges that their root is the average citizen. I’m pretty sure that anyone else who has actually ridden through downtown Cairo would realize that it is a much more complicated problem which extends itself to all parts of Cairene life (for example the bureaucracy alone that one must wade through to renew a license is overhwleming). Also, after getting used to driving in Egypt, you’d be surprised at how safe you’ll learn to feel — though whether or not this is statistically true is certainly questionable.
***Also… the following points have been found in the oldest depths of my potential post reserves…
^ Baker Tweet: ”[A] wiFi-enabled, Arduino-based prototype that one mounts on the wall of their bakery. Items are added or removed via web interface, which you can later select by simply spinning the dial. When the sweets come out of the oven, press the button to Tweet your eager customers and await the stampede. The prototype unit is being used at Albion’s Oven in London.” [via Engadget]
“1. Event organizers: If you respect the artists you are inviting, then pay them. You can’t buy bananas with publicity, so don’t try to pedal this as a form of currency (especially since the artists are also bringing you publicity). If you can’t afford to pay artists, then you don’t have enough funding to host the event.
2. Artists: Airfare, hotel, and publicity are not payment for your time. If corporately sponsored events can’t pay artist fess then tell them ‘no’. By accepting gigs like this, we are just as guilty as they are for perpetuating a system that ensures we stay eating Ramen Noodles until the day we die.
In summary: Event organizers, show some love to those you love. Artists, god gave you middle fingers for a reason, don’t be afraid to use them.”
^ Department of Eagles’ “No One Does It Like You.” Music video collabo by Marcel Dzama x The Directors Bureau [via Cool Hunting]
Today I attended a reception for graduating seniors and had the opportunity to meet my university’s President, Lou Anna K. Simon. This is what she had to say to me:
“Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the food line.”
I couldn’t think of a more demoralizing thing to say if I tried. Ugh. Ugh.
