alright bitches, let's bring this back to williamsburg.
in honor of my third (tercero) visit (visita) to (a) one of the finest eating establishments in brooklyn, i decided to write a short poem to xxxpress my love. el almacen, you have charmed your way through my stomach everytime.
el almacen you are my zen i've come here three times once on a weekend your aji relleno bring me back again
you are mildly over priced as your enchiladas don't come with rice though i love the julia malbec with it's after kicking spice
el almacen i shall try visit you more often when i'm no longer vegan.
in contrast penquena's black bean soup that gave me an uncomfortable feeling for 24 hours, i would say el almacen is the place for latin flavored specialties. particularly when mama nelson is buying the sangria.
as you can imagine with cait's flight to the south and my terrible return to this side of the atlantic, a few photo shoots have taken place over the past couple weeks. this was captured from the picnic spot beside the restaurant that was too fancy for coffee, but before pursuing two bottles of prosecco and a $23 pizza. eat your heart out, dominoes.
it's entitled "can you somersault into the valley?"
it's october, you know what that means...vacation! ok not really. but i'm going anyway. if you need me, i'll be making beautiful memories until further notice.
and don't try to call, there's no phone reception. there WILL be lots of wine, bbq and sun.
enjoy the early onset ny winter.
kthxbai.
ps. just cause it's friday: a winning image from a recent trip to pittsburgh for the g20. i believe this was one of the delegate's rides. i fully support the teal totes obvi.
we are all about celebrating fierce beasts around here and dame bassey's soulful voice couldn't get any fiercer. she was born in wales, and although it's no scotland (come back soon k-dizzle), we'll holla at the uk for now.
for your sunday listening pleasure, some tunes to enjoy whether you're waiting for the mta delays or drinking champagne.
caitlin asked if we could take the kanye hater vibe off the blog as it's clearly a little dated (that is so three weeks ago). to bring this back to recent times in brooklyn, let's check up with the best new music to come out of new york's finest borough: the antlers.
it is understatement to say their sophomore pursuit, hospice, is incredible. a concept album based off the semi-autobiographical experiences of the band's lead singer, peter silberman, tells the story of a man battling a loved one who's battling cancer. considering the record's title, we know she won't make it through the last track.
there are so many falsettos in music these days, so many artists who creep into social isolation and break out with thoughtful work, so many records with the "indie rock" stamp, yet hospice hits a different chord. silberman's words are haunting -- it's all in the details of the story and the honest emotion that takes this album to another place. in "epilogue" he sings:
In a nightmare, I am falling from the ceiling into bed beside you. You're asleep, I'm screaming, shoving you to try to wake you up. And like before, you've got no interest in the life you live when you're awake. Your dreams still follow storylines, like fictions you would make.
So I lie down against your back, until we're both back in the hospital. But now it's not a cancer ward, we're sleeping in the morgue. Men and women in blue and white, they are singing all around you, with heavy shovels holding earth. You're being buried to you neck. In that hospital bed, being buried quite alive now. I'm trying to dig you out but all you want is to be buried there together.
the lyrics could easily be read as prose, which almost seems his intention considering the structure of the album booklet. to accompany the weight of his grief is a voice that simultaneously conveys sadness, anger, and hope.
the impossible task of even penetrating emotions surrounding loss, disease, and watching a loved one die somehow comes together beautifully in hospice. it may leave you feeling shittier than before you gave it a listen, but to feel so much can be beautiful in itself.
