The Merguez Frites Blog

Proxima Estacion Esperanza

2009-01-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

It is a good day

Chinese Coffee Update

2009-01-16T09:43:00.003-06:00

When I first traveled to Taiwan 13 years ago, coffee was very hard to find. In fact coming down from my coffee addiction was a painful event. With no skills in Mandarin, I spent the trip gulping down Isla Formosa's famed tea. Delicious, but you know...not the same to someone who at the time was addicted to Ethiopian Yergecheffe. I vowed next time would be different.

My subsequent visits to Asia have been pretty painless coffeewise as the market has totally changed. While not a super common drink, coffee consumption is picking up in China and not just the Nescafe variety. There are quite a few local coffee shops & regional chains in the larger Chinese cities, plus the obvious Starbucks that has made inroads. This, by the way is one of those situations where I say thanks be to Starbucks. When I'm in China I don't go about missing that much American food. I miss good coffee and draught Ale. Say what you will about Starbuck's contribution to America's cultural colonialism - I'm pleased as can be to order a 4 shot Americano after spending hours wandering the back alleyways of Xi'an. Creature comforts - we all have them. Guilty.

A couple of interesting developments have been coming out of the Chinese/Taiwanese coffee world.

From the country that gave us bubble tea comes Salted Coffee drinks. Developed by Taiwan's largest coffee chain, 85c the drink is basically a sweetened latte with salt in the foam. The combination of flavors plays upon the Asian desire for contrast. In an article on salted coffee in Time magazine, a Taiwanese is interviewed and describes a possible reason for the popularity as follows -

"Taiwanese are greedy," explains graphic designer Xena Wang, one of six friends who recently tried the drink for the first time. "We like to get all the tastes we can in one bite."

Now back to Starbucks. They just announced that they're going to be buying beans from Yunnan province in Southwestern China and will be exporting it to their stores worldwide. Called South Of The Clouds, I believe this will be the first large scale exportation of Chinese coffee beans.

The articles:
Taiwan's Salted Coffee
Starbucks Yunnan Coffee

Thank You Sarah Palin!

2008-11-26T11:23:00.000-06:00

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

wang shi zhi neng hui wei

2008-08-15T21:41:00.001-05:00

Damian Marley - One Loaf of Bread

2008-03-24T16:28:00.001-05:00

Serious

天涯歌女 (李香蘭)

2008-02-15T17:03:00.001-06:00

Song of the homeland

2008-02-15T16:54:00.001-06:00

Coming Soon...

2008-01-24T16:54:00.001-06:00

What are you doing today at 2:00 pm eastern time?

2008-01-08T12:34:00.000-06:00

If you're like me you'll hook up to the live stream from WFMU where Dan Stuart (Green On Red) & Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate) will be yaking about the newly reformed project, Danny & Dusty and their upcoming NYC show. So glad to have Dan Stuart playing music again. See 2008 is starting off nicely.

Back from China

2007-12-13T15:26:00.001-06:00

Here I am wandering around Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province via bicycle.

Oui, j'adore les frites

2007-11-16T13:11:00.001-06:00

Just when you thought it was safe to eat French fries again comes this story of Hester Prynne styled big A banishment. Check this article

In the genteel world of bridge, disputes are usually handled quietly and rarely involve issues of national policy. But in a fight reminiscent of the brouhaha over an anti-Bush statement by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in 2003, a team of women who represented the United States at the world bridge championships in Shanghai last month is facing sanctions, including a yearlong ban from competition, for a spur-of-the-moment protest.

At issue is a crudely lettered sign, scribbled on the back of a menu, that was held up at an awards dinner and read, “We did not vote for Bush.”
By e-mail, angry bridge players have accused the women of “treason” and “sedition.”
“This isn’t a free-speech issue,” said Jan Martel, president of the United States Bridge Federation, the nonprofit group that selects teams for international tournaments. “There isn’t any question that private organizations can control the speech of people who represent them.”
Not so, said Danny Kleinman, a professional bridge player, teacher and columnist. “If the U.S.B.F. wants to impose conditions of membership that involve curtailment of free speech, then it cannot claim to represent our country in international competition,” he said by e-mail.

Remember when dissent was ok? yep, me neither. Things are tough though. We've got that damn quagmire of a war on Xmas going on.

In which CP sends readers away

2007-10-31T21:54:00.000-05:00

In another of "go to this link" posts. I present to you, Strange Maps. Dig in!

After that check out the Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection where you can sink into (among a million other obscurities) a map of a confucius temple in Chufou, China.

And yes...this is what I do with my free time. (while listening to this and this.)

le panique en Afrique

2007-10-02T10:56:00.000-05:00

May I please mention again how happy I am that the blog Awesome Tapes From Africa exists? Do yourself a favor and download the Kante Manfila tape that was recently posted. Sublime stuff.

Hipster Olympics

2007-09-28T13:40:00.001-05:00

There is no response to this

2007-09-18T20:01:00.000-05:00

France 5 - Studio 5 - Holden Sur le pavé

2007-09-03T15:53:00.001-05:00

K7 d'Afrique

2007-08-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

I'm grateful to WFMU for keying me into a great blog focused on obscure African cassette tapes. The guy who runs the site has been converting them to mp3s and sharing them with the nichified fanbase. The focus is pretty wide - featuring music from both francophone & english speaking countries.

I'm not sure what things are like in present tense Afrique, but I do know that from the 70s - 90s, cassette tapes were the main format for music (much of it bootleg.) I've collected quite a few tapes myself over the years from visits to music stands on the outskirts of Parisian flea markets.

So here's a link to my new favorite music blog: Awesome Tapes From Africa

Descendents News

2007-08-26T22:02:00.001-05:00

If you're a fan of the Descendent like I am - it's time to help a bro in need. Bass player, Karl Alvarez recently had a minor heart attack. Like countless musicians - he was without health insurance when it happened. Such a freakin' bummer.

Benefit Page is Here

Quick Pool Mix

2007-08-26T21:22:00.001-05:00

Sunday night action with Salba, Alva, Delgado and the like.

Manu Chao - Clandestino documentary

2007-08-12T20:54:00.001-05:00

If you speak Spanish you're in luck (entreviste en Español)
If you speak French, you're in luck (sous-titres en Francais.)
If you speak English, well...you're not really in luck, but at least you can enjoy Manu Chao's music and the incredible footage.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part5

One Love and Goodnight

2007-08-12T19:46:00.001-05:00

The Sky Above, The Mud Below

2007-08-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

Damn - with the release of this new album, Tom Russell may not remain my little secret anymore. But hey..I'm not one to want to deny an artist their due just so I can stand in the front row without effort. Bring on the grammy! Tom Russell is an American icon.

Tom Russell
Preorder At Hightone

Oh and then there's the Tom Russell train journeys. Of particular note is this one...

2007 Roots on the Rails:
Tom Russell's Tarahumara Train
On board the Sierra Madre Express from Tucson, Arizona to the Copper Canyon of Mexico and return
September 13-20, 2007
SOLD OUT - now accepting waitlist names
DAVE ALVIN
TOM RUSSELL
LAURIE LEWIS & TOM ROZUM
BUTCH HANCOCK
TERRY ALLEN

The Details

And here's Tom Russel with the topical, "Who's gonna build your wall."

You've got fundamentalist muslims,
you've got fundamentalist jews,
you've got fundamentalist christians
They'll blow the whole thing up for you.

But as I travel around this big old world
the thing that I most fear
is a white guy in a golf shirt with a cell phone in his ear.

Zhonghua car doesn't quite make the grade

2007-08-08T21:56:00.001-05:00

Those of you worried about future Chinese car exports affecting the domestic manufacturing base can rest easy for a little while after watching this clip. The Chinese car was tested in Russia and it received the lowest score ever recorded at the lab. There was an article about it in today's Wall Street Journal, but I don't have a link for you since WSJ doesn't allow access to their articles online unless you're a subscriber.

On Tour - It's Pringles Stix

2007-08-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

Dudes don't miss the hottest tour of the summer. Pringles Stix will be hitting 7 cities in the Southeast where they'll be introducing their crunchy sound to select VIP shopaholics. According to their pr firm, "PRINGLES STIX will have you Snacking To A Whole New Beat"

Pringles will hit the road on
August 20 to seven cities in the Southeast to exclusively introduce its
latest crispy cracker stick snack - PRINGLES STIX - in advance of the
product's national rollout in Spring 2008. Consumers will be able to sample
the four exciting new flavors, make their own music video with Electronic
Arts' Boogie(TM) for Wii, and enter for a chance to win a Wii Game Kit*.
This exciting event will entertain family members of all ages.

This whirlwind tour will hit 58 retail locations over 44 days in
Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Montgomery and
Birmingham.

PRINGLES STIX are crispy cracker sticks made from baked wheat with a
one- of-a-kind great taste. Stix come in a 6.8oz box with 10 individually
wrapped packs inside. They are available in four delicious flavors: Crunchy
Wheat, Vanilla, Honey Butter and Pizza, contain only 90 calories per pack
and have zero trans fat.

Don't forget to check out www.pringlesstix.com . Damn I know I'm already there.

the road to good intentions part b

2007-08-06T09:41:00.000-05:00

The BBC has a very interesting and sad interview with Joe Darby, the US soldier whistleblower on the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuses.

Joe Darby knew what he saw was wrong, but it took him three weeks to decide to hand those photographs in. When he finally did, he was promised anonymity and hoped he would hear no more about it.

But he was scared of the repercussions from the accused soldiers in the photos.

"I was afraid for retribution not only from them, but from other soldiers," he says.

"At night when I would sleep, they were less than 100 yards from me, and I didn't even have a door on the room I slept in.

"I had a raincoat hanging up for a door. Like I said to my room mate, they could reach their hand in the door - because I slept right by the door - and cut my throat without making a noise, or anybody knowing what was going on, and I was scared of that."

When the accused soldiers were finally removed from the base, he thought his troubles were over.

And then he was sitting in a crowded Iraqi canteen with hundreds of soldiers and Donald Rumsfeld came on the television to thank Joe Darby by name for handing in the photographs.

"I don't think it was an accident because those things are pretty much scripted," Mr Darby says.

"But I did receive a letter from him which said he had no malicious intent, he was only doing it to praise me and he had no idea about my anonymity.

"I really find it hard to believe that the secretary of defence of the United States has no idea about the star witness for a criminal case being anonymous."

Rather than turn on him for betraying colleagues, most of the soldiers in his unit shook his hand. It was at home where the real trouble started.

The Article
The interview will be on BBC4 tomorrow (and archived online for a week.)

Friday Mambo Fest with Gé Lán/Grace Chang

2007-08-03T15:47:00.001-05:00

Get yer ya ya's out with some Mandarin Mambo from 1950s China featuring Gé Lán otherwise known as Grace Chang or 葛蘭.

The Shanghai Show

2007-08-02T10:40:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to learn mandarin for about 18 months now and I guess you could say I'm making some progress. I'm still lost when listening to Chinese radio stations on the web, but can catch words here and there as well as the phone numbers and addresses during commercials. My learning methods have been two fold - a weekly session with a tutor here in Madison and a subscription to the Shanghai based online school, Chinesepod.com which is based around a series of podcast lessons backed up by serious resources such as interactive grammar guides, dictionaries and a community of fellow learners with whom to share advice. One of the best parts about Chinesepod is the personalities of the podcasters. After a few months of listening, they became like old friends and gave real personality to the lessons as opposed to the dry repetition that I remember from the dreaded french lab tapes I had to listen to in college.

Until recently my week of Chinese studies always took a quasi-break on the weekend with what Chinesepod called The Saturday Show. This was a 1/2 hour podcast (and occasionally video) show that was the baby of Aric Queen, one of the first Chinesepod employees and from what I can gather he was the man who handled podcast production, intros/outros, promos etc... His co-host for the show was Shanghai native & the voice of chinesepod lessons, Jenny Zhu. the Saturday Show was basically about life in Shanghai in the present tense. Driven by a mix of expat and native experience and touching on everything from the underground music scene in China to food, dating, cultural faux pas etc... It was breezy, it was fun and it made myself and others excited about what was happening in Shanghai and at the Chinesepod studios.

A few months ago Chinesepod released a new version of their website which for whatever reason took the Saturday Show off of the main feed (to Itunes and the rest) and even hard to find on the website. A massive surprise to the 1,000s of listeners as it was a real bummer to see that Chinesepod was apparently trying to squelch their most popular podcast. After about a month, Aric decided to gracefully say his goodbyes to Chinesepod and to the Saturday Show. At the time he said to keep an eye out for him in the future and that he'd be putting out a new independent show at some point. It appears that the wait has ended. Below is the first episode of The Shanghai Show. Whoo hoo! Check it out (in 2 parts.)

The Shanghai Show

UPDATE *** Frank Fradella's latest podcast has an interview with Aric. Here's the link

goodbye fangzi hello Dèng Lìjūn

2007-08-02T09:24:00.001-05:00

Watch this...

Then calm down with this video

Is it wrong to love this song?

big up to sinosplice for the house vid

It's A CP Food Wrap Up

2007-08-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve had a food news wrap up –

1) Whole Foods reported earnings yesterday (beat the street, had higher store comps, but lower net margins due to new store openings.) Interesting that they finally admitted that Trader Joe’s is their toughest competitor. You can see that in full effect here in Madison. After Trader Joe’s opened last fall I started seeing more and more price drops on basics at WFs (and items that are well placed at Trader Joe’s.) Heck our shopping habits have totally changed and now we only hit Whole Foods when we need key items that either Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry or do well. Produce & fresh meat come to mind immediately. Of course it doesn't hurt that TJ's is 3 blocks from our house.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an excellent article on the subject

2) In the Eat More Wisconsin Ginger file, the state of California has issued a warning to not eat Chinese Ginger. Big surprise there, huh? Maybe this will give a good shot in the arm to the Wisconsin ginger industry which has been devasted by knockoff Chinese ginger that is advertised by distributors and Asian grocery stores as Wisconsin ginger.

The Link

3) Good news for drunks who don’t want to waste time by drinking low alcohol beer. The Treasury Dept is considering a ruling that beer have the alcoholic content listed on the bottles. Now you can drink that imperial stout with the knowledge of it being 7%. Now if we could just have country of origin listed on our meat we'd get somewhere.

The Link

4) In fake flavor news, Burger King is introducing chips in Ketchup & Fries and Flame-Broiled burger flavors. Ok if you really want ketchup & fries AND you’re at burger king, perhaps you might just want to order the fries. No that couldn’t make sense.

Yum yum link

5) Last but not least, "China's space food set to land in supermarkets." This article is so good that I just had to post the whole thing. This kind of wacky stuff is why I love traveling to China.

"Ordinary Chinese may soon be able to have a taste of the astronaut life when food designed for China's taikonauts lands in supermarkers.

The Scientific Research and Training Center for Chinese Astronauts and a Shanghai food company had developed chocolate and desserts for taikonauts and the products would be on the shelves by the end of the year, said Chen Bin, head of the center's food and nutrition branch.

"The two items will also been added to the space menu for the next manned space flight Shenzhou VII, the third in China's manned space program in 2008," said Chen, who calls himself "the space chef".

Chen's center has developed more than 60 space dishes, including staple foods, meat and vegetable dishes, fruit and desserts and it began cooperation with food companies on mass production in 2006.

"Following our technology and quality standards, the companies produce food at their workshops with their equipment. The production was supervised by our nutritionists," said Chen.

Chen was confident of the market prospects of the space food, which boast high standards on quality and nutrition, and are convenient to carry.

The food eaten daily by China's first three astronauts during missions in 2003 and 2005 weighed around 1.75 kilograms with packaging, less than two thirds of an average adult's daily food consumption, but enough to provide 2,400 calories of energy required by an astronaut.

"They are especially suitable for outdoor activities, such as polar region expeditions, mountain climbing and traveling," said Chen.

He said the center had adopted a series of "strict" criteria in ingredient selection and processing to ensure food safety, which would be another attraction for consumers after a spate of recent food scandals."

The Link

photo of Chinese ginger taken by CP in Shanghai, 2006

Always Dancing, Never Getting Tired

2007-07-31T10:14:00.001-05:00

While I still get excited about new bands and the magnetic pull that a solid single* can have, I find much more fulfillment from the steady output of musicians in for the long haul. This morning the focus is on Mike Scott and his band The Waterboys. Over the course of 20+ years I really cannot think of another contemporary band that has produced such a satisfying back catalog. The clunkers are a song here or a song there, but never an entire album which is a quite impressive accomplishment when looked in the context of the music industry in the 80s & early 90s (hell Lou Reed can't even say that.) Mike never jumped on a bandwagon or tweaked his sound to match the radio friendly needs of the moment. This is not what corporate rock sounds like, but nor is it an atonally challenging. Mike Scott embraces the strength of the powerchord and the rumble of a marshall stack as much as the quiet, whispered breath of a single voice and an acoustic guitar. In his lyrics we're constantly reminded of his Scottish gaelic roots and the power of place as well as the power of love, compassion, the willingness to change and the desire to learn.

The Waterboys are currently on tour supporting the new album, Book Of Lightning and have just performed at the always excellent Cambridge Folk Festival. BBC has a wonderful video from the festival of The Waterboys performing the Raggle Taggle Gypsy. Check it out here.
The BBC also has some audio tracks from the same concert here.

The Waterboys performing You In The Sky off the new album in Tilburg, Holland. March 2007

What an endearing version of Whole Of The Moon. Performed for a group of Irish schoolchildren in 1987

The Waterboys

*recent singles that shake my bones include Arctic Monkeys, "When the sun goes down", Voxtrot "Ghost", The National "Fake Empire" and countless dancehall & one drop reggae tracks.

John Edwards - Hair

2007-07-30T10:46:00.001-05:00

The Edwards campaign does a great job of reminding the media that there are actually more important stories to cover than haircuts.

Live Free Or Die

2007-07-27T10:02:00.001-05:00

Although I'm not much of a songwriter, I'm going to step up and say that Bill Morrissey classifies as a songwriter's songwriter. A folk singer who is loved in that circle yet not tied inside. Comfortable walking the not so definable path of the songwriter who can as easily play a roadhouse as a folk show at a Unitarian church.

His songs are deeply rooted with a sense of place. New Hampshire and cold New England winter days and lonely nights. Fly fishing for brook trout, watching birch wood burn fast in a wood stove and of course the drink. This is the geography of Bill Morrissey songs and he captures it as well as Greg Brown's upper midwest, Dave Alvin's California bread basket and Tom Russell's desertscape border regions.

Bill recently put out a new album called Come Running which is well worth checking out. If you're looking for a broader introduction to his catalog, pick up Rounder's compilation, The Essential Collection.

Bill Morrissey
* photo credit Annie Provenzano

Road of Good Intentions

2007-07-26T15:30:00.001-05:00

Anyone who thinks Bush is "pro life" need only watch this video montage set to "The Road Of Good Intentions" by John Gorka. It didn't have to go down this way, but there weren't enough of us to beat back the nationalist revenge fueled fervor of an American public being lied to by Bush/Cheney and the corporate media. Sadly it's hard to even have an answer anymore. When someone makes what could be the greatest tactical and geopolitical blunder in 100 years it's not like you can just erase the results. It's sickening.

Bend in the Road

2007-07-26T08:46:00.001-05:00

In 1985, masterminds of the LA music scene, Dan Stuart of Green on Red and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate sat down in the studio and laid down tracks under the moniker, Danny & Dusty. Along with other members of Green On Red and a good chunk of the Long Ryders, Danny & Dusty put out an album titled The Lost Weekend. Full of Kerouac inspired road tales set to a sometimes sloppy, sometimes moody, always sincere country tinged rock the Danny & Dusty does not play like a thrown together collaboration. For me at the time, in high school, this record built on the wanderlust that was building up from listening to the first two Green on Red albums, discovering real country, folk & roots music (via & because of bands like GOR, Jason & The Scorchers, Billy Bragg, Rank & File etc...) and reading Neal Cassady, Kerouac, Steinbeck, Hemingway and Woody Guthrie's Bound For Glory. I was ready to see the world and this music was at the right place at the right time. This kind of stuff stays with you as you grow older and here 20 years down the road I was so pleased to find out that Dan & Steve had decided to play together again. They put out a new album called Cast Iron Soul in the spring and have been hitting the European road. The continent being where they've always been more appreciated (you can say that about most Americana music.)

Here's a clip from the current tour. Kids - don't forget to stop here on your journey through Alt Country history as this is the real deal.

Danny & Dusty

《胭脂淚》鄧麗君古裝

2007-07-20T18:01:00.001-05:00

Everybody Sing!

way back machine

2007-07-03T16:27:00.001-05:00

The Style Council Man Of Great Promise - The Tube Live 1984

Icicle Works - Love Is A Wonderful Colour

Orange Juice -I Can`t Help Myself

210 miles of contrast

2007-07-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend a woman competing in the Proctor Bicycle Classic road race just outside of Peoria was killed when she was bumped by another rider, slipped into the oncoming traffic lane and was hit by a truck. The race was not closed to traffic and was following the "yellow line rule" where racers must stay in their lane for obvious safety reasons in traffic. If you live in a cycling city as I do (Madison, WI) you're probably wondering why they didn't have the route blocked to car traffic. Those who live in Peoria or a similar demographic know all too well that this would be a near impossibility. There are too many people in the area who do not want to be bothered or put out by the lycra clad set.

I grew up in Peoria and spent years as a recreational rider traversing the backroads and not so backroads of central Illinois. One thing I learned was that this area is about as unbicycle friendly as they come. Although I was never hit by a car, it was pretty common to have passing cars yell at me, swerve at me and throw the occasional can or garbage at me*. Back in those days (80s - to early 90s) the aggression was mostly by small town, rural kids and rednecks. From what I've read in the Peoria Journal Star and various Peoria blogs, most likely the danger today is from commuters trying to drive 60+ on farm roads on their way into Peoria. It seems that respect for cyclists in central Illinois has only gone downhill since I left.

I won't say that Madison is a bicycle paradise and doesn't have their share of SUV driving maniacs trying to give cyclists buzzcutts - they do. It's just so very very rare and on a level that doesn't even come close to the land of my birth. I wish the folks down there the best, but I'm glad I don't have to fight that battle anymore.

the story:
CyclingNews.com
Peoria Journal Star

related link:
This is what I wish all cities in the US would aspire to become.

I now have a major reason to visit Germany

2007-07-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

For so many years I've poo-pooed the idea of visiting Germany. For whatever reason I've always enjoyed skirting around the landmass. Give me the lowlands of Holland & Belgium, the bicycle paths of Denmark and the anywhere, France. Give me Switzerland - even the German speaking part...but Germany proper? Yes that's been my thinking. Truth be told, in the last few years I've been more open to a visit as Melissa has family in Dortmund, which aside from being the Milwaukee of Germany (although I'm not a lager man the beer still appeals) is apparently a daytrip from Amsterdam. So yes I guess I've warmed to the idea a bit more. That was until today when my world was krautrocked. I DISCOVERED CURRYWURST!!

Why couldn't someone tell me that this existed? I thought I had a good grip on the popular streetfoods of the world. No let's rephrase that. A good grip on the streetfood of Western Europe and a working knowledge of it in the rest of the world. Imagine my surprise when I was flipping through a recent issue of Saveur and came across an article on Currywurst and how it is the latenight snack food of Berlin.

What is it? Saveur describes Currywurst as "thickly sliced rounds of fried pork sausage cradled in a paper tray and drenched with ketchup mixed with curry powder. Dusted with yet more curry powder and eaten with a plastic fork along with french fries or brotchen (rolls), currywurst delivers a happy intermingling of tangy, sweet and spicy flavors."

Coming from a fan of Belgian frites, merguez & poutine this sounds like a can't miss dish.

Check the wikipedia entry for more info and check out these photos of a classic currywurst eatery in Berlin. There is also a currywurst fan club.

above photo credits: lilano

2008 and the Hollywood Elite...I mean DC Elite.. I mean - no he's just a good 'ole boy in a rented red pickup

2007-06-26T14:20:00.001-05:00

The 2008 presidential election has the potential of offering up some historic firsts -
1st black president
1st women president
1st former lobbyist president

whoah...hold on there. What was that? First former lobbyist? Can you say Holy Jack Abramoff!! Yes, that's right kiddies. If Fred Thompson becomes president the ties between big business and the white house that ramped up during the Bush administration (Halliburton, Enron, Energy Task force, No Bid Contracts etc..) will be tighter and tighter.

While Fred Thompson was a DC lobbyist...

"He lobbied for a savings-and-loan deregulation bill that helped hasten the industry's collapse and a failed nuclear energy project that cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars.

He also was a lobbyist for deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was widely criticized for endorsing "necklacing," the gruesome practice of execution where gasoline-soaked tires are thrown over a person's neck and set ablaze."

What's funny about Thompson is that he's trying to play the role of a Washington outsider and a populist candidate when in reality his freakin' mentor was none other than James (don't count the votes) Baker. Yep he's lookin' out for you kids. Go for it! Vote him in and watch the backroom deals continue.

article 1
article 2
article 3

This is eye candy to the CP Sound System

2007-06-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

Here at the CP International Sound System we get way excited about finding obscure Algerien 7"s. Over at Association Bled Connexion they've put up pictures from their sweet collection. They were kind enough to post mp3s of many of the a sides in all their scratchy glory.

The Link

Below are a few of the covers

Hayes is Shafted

2007-06-20T13:50:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to figure out how my music collection can include both a rai version of Shaft in Arabic as perfomed by Malik Adouane and a horn driven salsa rendition by Joe Bataan, but absolutely nothing by Issac Hayes. The CP International Sound System is special indeed.

Manu Chao - new single

2007-06-14T14:13:00.001-05:00

Check out this great interview (in english!) with Manu Chao in the LA Weekly. Conducted by Falling James of all people.

In case you wonder where I stand

2007-06-11T13:39:00.001-05:00

Go Fish

2007-06-06T10:18:00.001-05:00

I’ve been meaning to post some pics and adventures from my November honeymoon, but dang I’m lucky to post anything these days. Slowly but surely I’ll get some stuff posted up.

Melissa and I spent 10 days driving from LA to Vancouver. LA was simply a night at the hotel as we got in late and left the city as soon as the sun came up. The road took us to Big Sur, SF, Marin, Mendocino and Humboldt counties, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. A major trip down roads some seen, but mostly unseen by our ever wide and curious eyes.

Food plays a big role in all of our travels and this was no exception. I’ll spotlight a few places in the coming posts. First up:

Go Fish, Vancouver BC
This fish & chip stand was simply amazing. We had read about a place on the water which apparently served fish caught by local (commercial) fishermen. After some misadventures trying to find the place, we were blown away by the setting. A little inconspicuous shack literally within spitting distance from the commercial fishing docks. It was cold and a little windswept when we got there, but we ate outside like hearty Canadians (actually there is no indoor seating) helped a bit by an outdoor café heater. The fish was clean tasting, flaky and exactly what we were hoping it would be. The batter was perfectly fried with none of the sogginess that can bring a damper on many a fish fry. Served with crisp fries and an Asian slaw. Man it was awesome.

"I'm a happy boy" - CP upon seeing his lunch

This article from Vancouver free press, The Georgia Straight says it best,

"This little blue shoebox of an outdoor café has been a long time acomin' to its patch of federal land at the fish market near Granville Island. Don't blame owner Gord Martin (of Bin 941 and 942 fame); stomp on bureaucracy. Plans were to have the place jumping by summer, but it was late September before the first paper-wrapped bundle came over the counter. Halibut, salmon, oysters, mussels--the seafood here is as fresh as it gets, Martin says, and it comes from the fish boats just down the ramp whenever possible.

The triple punch of carbs, fat, and salt may be anathema to every doctor alive (and also to fans of the deceased Dr. Atkins), but Martin's version, served in bamboo steamers, is so grease-free it practically counts as health food, the batter tempura-light, the fish moist, and the cole slaw satisfyingly crunchy. Nor is the tartar sauce the usual space-creature exudate: it's creamy and sparkles with dill and tarragon. The frites are hot, crisp, tasty, and hand-engraved with marine scenes. Joke. They're chips, for heaven's sake: hot, crisp, and tasty is all anyone wants.

If you do deviate from cod, salmon, or halibut and chips, try the line-caught grilled salmon on a Portuguese-type bun from Tartine Bakery sandwiched with side-stripe shrimp mayo (whose shrimpiness, to be honest, I couldn't really discern) and a cluster of organic greenery. If McDonald's Filet-O-Fish is one end of the scale, this "fish burger" is the other. Still to try are fish tacos, the Cortes Island po' boy, and sundry other delicious stuff. Frites and one piece of cod is $6; lunch for two is under $20, but it's a million-dollar setting, with planters bristling with herbs and edible flowers edging the small eating-area patio with its jaw-dropping False Creek view. Go early to score the sweet seats in the sun and guarantee to get fed: when supplies are gone, staff shut up the shutters and leave."

If we had someone else to take the picture, this would have been a single shot of us enjoying our time at Go Fish.

CP using a visual aid for tender blog readers curious as to the whereabouts of Go Fish. Note that he is not pointing to Vancouver. Perhaps the foodie is trying to keep the actual location of the fabled fish shack a secret.

Hey That's Me

2007-05-31T14:12:00.000-05:00

"from:Last.fm Staff

25 May 2007, 5:48pm

Recent Tracks Not Appearing

There is currently a known bug which means a small percentage of users will occasionally lose their recent tracks display. We are aware of this bug and are working on it."

So what have I been listening to that Last FM has not reported?

Shanghai Lounge Divas
On Point with Tom Ashbrook
Daily French Pod
Chinesepod
The National
Bersuit

to name a few....

CP's 1st FNAC Attack Of 2007

2007-05-10T10:45:00.000-05:00

Readers to the fine blog will no doubt wonder what has happned to CP's habit of ordering cds from French music superstore, FNAC? Has this whole learning Mandarin thing gotten him away from his francophone roots? Is he spending all his time downloading Chinese pop mp3s from Baidu? While true - it has been almost a year since the last FNAC attack the man is still very much clued into the continent. Just not so much FNAC. Earlier in the year, CP's web shopping has taken him to such beautiful destinations as the UK Amazon (new Waterboys CD, Ricky Gervais dvds), Germany's amazingly cool Dancehall Tapes (for rare reggae soundsystem tapes) and Galway Ireland's Mulligan Records (picked up a benefit cd for the lifeboat patrol of the Aran Islands)

So then - here we are with the first FNAC attack of the year. The goodies....
Vincent Delerm, Les Piqûres D'Araignées

Delerm is without a doubt my favorite modern French songwriter. Piano driven pop delivered in a calm, unassuming manner that tends on first listen to hide the lyrics that focus on the complexities of society and relationships beneath a breezy and humerous cloak. Les Piqûres D'Araignées is his third album and again is on the wonderful Tot ou Tard label.

Les Rita Mitsouko, Variety
After falling in love with French and all things as such back in college, Les Rita Mitsouko was the first French band I heard that didn't suck. And that's a big deal, since if you know me - you'll also know that when I get into another language I listen to anything in that language, watch any movie in that language and pretty much hurl my bullshit alarm out the window. It happened big time with French. Before Les Rita Mitsouko's completely au courant Parisian new wave hit me I was listening to Plastic Bertrand's kids records. Since this time I've learned boatloads about French music and Les Rita Mitsouko still do not fail me. They've been around for over 20 years and this new record hits solidly consistent. Not the best record of their career, but that's like comparing REM's last disc to Murmer. When you've raised the bar early in your career like they have all you can hope to do with later albums is to bring a smile to the face of fans. This works.
Florent Marchet, Rio Baril
I honestly did/do not know a whole lot about Florent Marchet except that I've heard him quite a bit on Radio France's FIP fm. The station actually picked it a few months ago as one of their selections of the month. An acknowledgement which shouldn't be taken lightly since this diverse radio station is exceptional with taste. Their playlist oozes 21st century mashups which moves from Big Youth to Chopin to Waits to Cheb Mami and back again all within 20 minutes. A magical radio station and a national treasure. So what about Florent Marchet? So far, so good my friends. This is thoughtful French chanson. Well arranged and flowing.

Links
Vincent Delerm
Les Rita Mitsouko
Florent Marchet

Nica

2007-04-26T12:43:00.001-05:00

Often when the rain falls, mist is abundant and the temperature is working to hit 50 I think of Paris, Amsterdam and the romance of Anywhere, EU. Not today. There's a longing for tropical air and a bottle of tona which fits nicely in one hand while the other is holding tight to the tailgate of the pickup truck. Dodging potholes on the PanAmerican Highway.

Always low prices

2007-04-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

I'm a member of the Rhinelander freecycle yahoo list. To the uninitiated, it's a way to send the word out that you've got some junk that you're willing to give away. You can also put in requests, which on this list at least are often quite funny. Here's one that came in today:

"im looking to replace my kitchen shelf that collapsed that i bought
from walmart. all my cookbooks, etc. are on the floor for now. if you
can help please let me know.
thanks,"

Rub Gets A New Job

2007-04-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

A call to those in the 404. Catch Rubberneck live in leather pants and not hitting the skins. April 25th as it were. To the link you go... Damage Report

Wushar Kari sings of Kashgar, Xinjiang China

2007-04-11T14:50:00.001-05:00

鄧麗君~~鬧花燈

2007-04-11T14:04:00.001-05:00

SMZB - Chinese Hardcore Punk

2007-04-11T13:53:00.001-05:00

Wedding Present - Why Are You Being So Unreasonable Now?

2007-03-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

Classic stuff from mr Gedge

curing Internet addiction kids in china

2007-03-26T22:06:00.001-05:00

Tiken Jah Fakoly (feat Yanis Odua) - Y'en a marre (clip)

2007-03-23T13:52:00.001-05:00

Ndala Kasheba Promo - Check It!

2007-03-23T13:44:00.001-05:00

Los Amigos Invisibles - Playa Azul

2007-03-23T13:41:00.001-05:00

The iRack

2007-03-18T13:43:00.001-05:00

Cultural Revolution-Era Clip Art Book

2007-03-18T12:43:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pics from a very interesting book of cultural revolution era clip art. Scanned in by Oldtasty. Books like this are pretty rare in the states and although they can be found quite easily at flea markets in China, I believe that they're technically illegal to export (unlike mao kitsch stuff which are legal and found in tourist shops everywhere in China and are mostly new production.) That said, I've bought old cultural revolution period records while in China (which are also illegal to export) and have brought them back to the states with no problem so maybe it's not a big deal anymore. All the same, this collection is well worth checking out. Thanks to the WFMU blog for uncovering these gems on Flickr. Here's the link

flickr testing

2007-03-16T11:23:00.003-05:00

Dudes - I'm jumping into the whole web 2.0 jazz by finally hooking up with a flickr acct. Let's start the photo stream with this pic of CP from his left coast honeymoon. Is that Jose Vomito sufing in the background?

Manu Chao Tours North America!!

2007-03-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

I'm floored that global superstar Manu Chao is touring the states this summer and that Melissa & I will get to see him in Chicago. Damn life is good. Pretickets went on sale today, so get 'em quick as these shows will be selling out fast man fast.

Here are the dates
April 29th – Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
May 25th – Vancouver, BC Canada – Commodore Ballroom
May 26th – Quincy, WA –Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre
May 28th – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
May 30th – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
June 2nd- Los Angeles, CA (Venue TBA shortly)
June 5th – San Diego, CA – Bayside Concerts – Embarcadero Marina Park South
June 8th – Denver, CO – Red Rock Amphitheatre
June 10th – Dallas, TX – Palladium Ballroom
June 11th – Austin, TX – Stubbs
June 13th – New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s Uptown
June 15th – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival
June 17th – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
June 19th – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall
June 21st – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
June 23rd- Washington, DC (Columbia, MD- Merriweather Post)
June 24th – Boston, MA – Avalon Ballroom
June 26th & 27th – Brooklyn, NY – Celebrate Brooklyn - Prospect Park Bandshell
June 29th – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
(dates lifted from harp)

presale info

New Album coming out this Spring - whoo hoo!!

Manu Chao- Mr Bobby

2007-03-13T15:19:00.001-05:00

manu chao - me llaman calle (from the new album?)

2007-03-13T15:18:00.001-05:00

人面桃花

2007-02-08T10:02:00.000-06:00

Even back in 1984 when 7 Seconds, The Angry Samoans, Minor Threat & Black Flag formed the sonic landscape of my life, I still had a desire to hear other sounds. Guys like the Beach Boys, Jason & The Scorchers, Bill Monroe, Wreckless Eric, The Specials, Waylon Jennings, The Kinks and the Kingston Trio were all in the blender back then. I really, sincerely never tried to be eclectic or to have a diverse interest in music. It just happened and god knows I got plenty of shit for it back then. Believe it or not it really wasn't all that cool to be drive to a skate spot with your punk rock buddies while blasting Jan & Dean's "Honolulu Lulu."

So in the 20 odd years since then things have kept evolving, churning, changing - yet I'm still obsessed with sound. Currently I'm fascinated with Chinese pop music. Not the super schmaltzy, cheesy modern pop of Hong Kong, but the sugary sweet orchestrated Chinese mainland version of the Carpenters sound from the 60s - early 80s.

Since I cannot read Chinese characters, It's a real struggle to find out who I'm listening to or what the song title is. Although I'm actively studying Mandarin, I'm still at a level where I catch a word here or there that I understand, but seldom a whole sentence of a song. So yea the song meanings have been pretty sketchy for me. Recently though I've discovered that there are flash animation cartoons lovingly set to many of the Chinese classics. Some of these are used for karaoke & others just seem to be for amusement.

Check out these two links to a flash video of one of my favorite tunes. Yes it's a big departure from Nervous Breakdown, but somehow in my life it still fits.

人面桃花 - flash video #1 (click on the little flower on the bottom rt side of the screen to start the video)
人面桃花 - flash video #2

Sumatra

2007-02-02T16:37:00.001-06:00

The Fugs On Swedish Television 1968

2007-02-02T16:04:00.000-06:00

Part 1

Part 2

Bardot - noir et blanc

2007-02-02T15:48:00.001-06:00

Things I never thought existed...and then went out and bought

2007-01-19T13:37:00.000-06:00

Part 1:

Top on my list is a pack of 10 Vietnamese postcards highlighting Ho Chi Minh's athletic pursuits and interests which I bought at the main post office in Saigon.

Here's Ho playing billiards

Ho boating on a visit to Guangzhou China.Ho swimmingHo visits the central high school of sports and gymnastics on 12/14/61.

word fusion?

2007-01-19T13:08:00.000-06:00

In mainland China seeing poorly or oddly translated english on signs, brochures, tshirts, menus is the norm. And you know when you're traveling, it's things like that which make me chuckle. Take a look at this sign that was in my hotel. I have no idea what point they're trying to make by talking about the sea. That sign is actually written in good English. It gets much worse believe me. I just didn't have time to go through my photos to find a better example.

When you travel to Hong Kong, the English signs are a whole different deal. First of all, English is on signs everywhere and for the most part, you hardly ever see things phrased absurdly. The whole Brit influence I suppose. So imagine my surprise when I ran into this bar called the "beer beer the bear bar." wtf?

Is this my idea of emerging market investing?

2007-01-19T13:04:00.000-06:00

Could this really be where I hang my business hat in Vietnam? Custom tailored suit anyone?

2007-01-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

The closer one gets to the equator the more vibrant the outdoor restaurant scene.
This street in Saigon is thick with outdoor dining for about 2 blocks.

2007-01-19T12:53:00.000-06:00

waffle & sweet street vendor in Saigon

Saigon food vendor. Check out those pants

Accidental Fusion

2007-01-19T12:35:00.000-06:00

One of the pleasures of traveling in Vietnam was eating the Banh Mi sandwich. This simple street food takes a French baguette and stuffs it with pickled vegetables and sliced deli style or grilled meat. While I'm not a big fan of modern fusion food, I'm oddly passionate about what I call "accidental fusion" cuisine, of which category this sandwich falls into. Like some of the architecture in Saigon, banh mi is a reflection of France's colonization of Vietnam which is refreshingly positive.
Another French influence on Vietnam is their love of coffee which is served either short & hot (prepared single cup style instead of brewed in full pots) or over ice with a bit of milk. The iced coffee is a great treat in the 90 degree heat even if it does involve having to eat consume ice cubes made with less than clean water. C'est ca

Shandong Province, China Images - Dec 2006

2006-12-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

Video Night Zhonghua

2006-12-19T15:37:00.000-06:00

Sometimes watching Chinese television is like a 24 hour USO tour special. Note the digital captures.

In the we're not in Kansas anymore file

2006-12-19T15:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a selection of messed up photos that I took in Vietnam (with the exception of the Osama scraf photo.)
What can I say about this photo? It's fucked up for starters. I was in the touristy night market in Hong Kong where Osama caught my eye amongst a selection of innocent scraves. What the hell? I actually saw an Osama tshirt in Shanghai, but was thrown off by this.
yes - They're elephant feet. A whole family it seems. Taken at the old presidential palace in Saigon. Right next to it was this character -This sign was hanging in the war memorial museum.

another time zone

2006-12-19T15:08:00.000-06:00

Oh crap, more beer drinking. This time it's in Qingdao where we find CP hanging with a champion Mahjong player. Ever the competitive athlete, CP took on a challenge to out drink his host. Note that the meiguoren is drinking the heavier, stronger dark beer while Mahjong Xiansheng is consuming the lighter and fruity green beer. Yes CP's the tough guy in this party palace of lights, south american dissidents and buffets featuring fish scales.

Saigon nightlife

2006-12-19T14:50:00.000-06:00

This is the way to enjoy a sweltering hot night in Saigon. Sitting on little plastic chairs (seemingly designed for kids) in an alley, drinking the local beer, eating street food and hanging with super cool Vietnamese dudes.

Half of the people I spoke to had Chinese heritage so in lieu of my non-existant Vietnamese language skills, I spent the evening speaking in my weak Mandarin as well as a little French. One old guy kept trying to get me to sing Vietnamese and Chinese pops songs with him. No matter how much I tried to explain that I didn't know the words to Deng Li Jun tunes (although I could hum them) the dude wouldn't give up. He finally came up with a song we could all sing - In English; "Happy Birthday." We both stood up from our little chairs and belted it out together for the crowd. Excellent. The man shortly thereafter almost passed out from the "bia".

Saigon Grilling

2006-12-19T14:10:00.000-06:00

In the midwest we have those steak houses where the attraction is that you get to cook your own steak. This means that after eating at the "fresh" salad bar you get to stand next to 40 year old football fans making small talk and drinking miller. Yes, it's a scene from the American Office. Not surprisingly, I find these places a total bore, yet I was totally intrigued and psyched when I was invited to go to the Vietnamese version of the "grill yer own." The restaurant in god knows what district of Saigon was basically a large open air space with a fibreglass roof to protect it during monsoon rainy season. The place was totally decked out with a non-defined xmas party vibe which somehow worked.
Like in the states, you have a choice of having the masters cook for you or burning it yourself. Here's a pic of the professional grill area. No I have no idea what they're grilling. We did it on our own.

After hooking up with several bottles of Tiger beer (full of ice cubes) we dug into the menu to start the adventure. And hey - guess what - it was in English too. Lucky me, eh? Well kind of ... Once I started reading that they had rat, weasel, mule deer, sparrow, porcupine etc... I kind of wish I was clueless to the choices like I've been in so many other restaurants.

My hosts were kind though and stuck to the tolerable for me. We had wild rabbit, mule deer, lamb, beef and incredible okra and eggplant. Each dish was presented to us soaked in marinade which I was thrilled to see as I'm not one for meat served simply (outside of a tenderloin and other high quality cuts.) We cooked all the food on our own little hibachi grill stuffed with natural chunk charcoal. Every once in a while a dude would walk over and give
us a new grill grate surface to cook on. We called him "Iron Hand" since he'd remove our old grill which was sitting over hot coals with his bare fingers. Dang..

It's was tons of fun though because it was communal cooking and eating. We didn't all just cook our t-bones, sit down and eat. It was a never ending procession of cooking and serving eachother. At the end none of us could barely move. It was truly meat coma time.

That night I got to use the Vietnamese expression for cheers, "Yo!!" (don't know the proper spelling) over and over.
Dudes - you've gotta go.

Pigging out in Guangzhou

2006-12-19T14:06:00.000-06:00

First time I've had pork served a la above. It actually wasn't 1/2 bad, but was incredibly fatty. To temper the fat, they serve it with a plum sauce (similar to beijing duck) and crackers.

editor comment: I should add that this restaurant also served the most delicious dim sum canton style dumpling I've ever had. It was literally a sugar donut stuffed with barbecued pork. Homer Simpson heaven.

lacking

2006-12-19T12:40:00.000-06:00

The other year when American automakers were complaining of being uncompetitive with foreign manufacturers one of the major factors was the cost of health care. I really thought that this would lead to the auto industry lobbying for health care reform and legitimizing the problem to corporate America and our republican gov't. This push sadly never really materialized. That's why it was great to read today about the CEO of Safeway's commitment to health care reform.

"Steve Burd joined lawmakers in Washington this week to support a new initiative for health care reform. At a press conference Wednesday, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced new legislation aimed at providing affordable, quality private health care coverage for all individuals. Mr. Burd was on hand to lend support from business leaders. "Without some dramatic change, not only will the uninsured population continue to grow but the American worker will become less competitive," he said in a statement. "We have a unique opportunity to solve this problem and instill market mechanisms that reduce costs, increase affordability and improve health by assisting individuals in making better health care decisions."

Safeway currently uses a consumer-driven health care model for non-union employees, and in 2007, 70 percent of those eligible employees will be enrolled in the plan, which pays 100 percent of preventive care."

the article

Temple Photos. Saigon

2006-12-12T13:53:00.000-06:00

temple gong. Saigon

Sitting

Saigon - mercado

2006-12-12T13:29:00.000-06:00

Here are a few shots from the large indoor and open air market in Saigon. Half of the market is dedicated to tourist trinkets, clothing and housewares but as you wander to the back you enter rows of stalls selling beautiful fresh greens, fruits, meat & seafood. Having been to China several times and quite familiar with their stacks of browned cabbage, I was overwhelmed by the freshness of the fruit & produce found in Saigon. The bunched green onions, cilantro & basil so indicative of the cuisine and every bit as delicious looking as what one would see in a Paris neighborhood market.

Fresh Vietnamese grapefruit. They serve this with a small plastic pouch of seasoned salt.

The famous stinky fruit, Durian.

This pile of innards is right out of the old les halles market in Paris.

Even the grubs look fresh!

2006-12-08T15:25:00.000-06:00

I'll never understand why Doctore Vomito always calls me a communist. The dude needs to mellow out. I mean come on, what kind of communist would sport dorky shorts and wicking tech shirts?

CP's Vietnam & China Report Starts Soon

2006-12-08T14:52:00.000-06:00

China Times

2006-11-30T18:49:00.000-06:00

The following post was written about a week ago in Guangzhou, China. It showed up for a day and then vanished into etherspace. I had blamed both google (blogspot) and the Chinese gov't for censoring me. Fast forward to today and I'm back in the states doing a little housecleaning on the blog editing and I saw my original post saved as a "draft" post. How bizarro. I have no idea how it ended up as a draft. Anywho - without further ado.. Here's my original semi-interesting post.
______________________________________________________________
News Flash - Blogspot is working from China, but all matters could change in an instant so I'm not going to hold my breath. I can never understand how this supposed super giant player of the global economy can have such crap internet. From my first hand experience, it's much easier to access the web from Nicaragua or Vietnam. To a large degree the main reason the web sucks here is obviously the censorship by the gov. Before somehow getting on the blog, I tried and failed to access my email accounts on aol, yahoo and brinkster. Hell I couldn't even load the main screen of yahoo. Get this - when it does work, it takes about 10 minutes between logging in to my email account and the subjects of the emails to come up. Then there's a 50% chance that when you click on the email to read or respond, the computer will freeze. Believe me my friends, this tiger is certainly growling and growing but until the web works here we've still got some time. Now Vietnam on the other hand....that's the country to watch. Super motivated, friendly people, wireless access in cafes and an odd lack of police in the streets (as compared to fellow 1 party state china which will make you feel paraoid after a couple of weeks.)

Off in a few minutes to the northern province of Shandong and the home of TsingTao beer, Qingdao.

ciao for now

Tokyo

2006-11-25T02:24:00.000-06:00

Ok so I never post to this bloody blog and when I do it's on a deadline. I've currently 11 min and some odd seconds left on an internet computer in the Tokyo Narita airport. Waiting for a connection to Saigon, (Ho Chi Minh City as it were.) As Dr Vomito would say (and has said to me), "Next stop is vietnam." I'm totally psyched, but currently I must admit that if I ever had to get stuck in an airport for a long long layover AND (big and) I had a lot of cash on me, this would be the place to do it. Yes they have all the upscale designer shops, but the fun is really in the people watching. The incredibly high level of customer service is almost shocking. I bought some cool crap for Melissa at this modern design accessory shop called Mono Comme Ca and the woman not only handwrapped everything in protective bubble wrap but then made sure I had extra small bags incase I wanted to give the items as gifts. When I was browsing, I picked up an item and a woman instantly appeared with a little shopping basket for me to use. Damn my country could learn a thing or two. Not that I need to be catered to, but you walk away feeling like shopping is fun and it also helps one deal with the incredibly high prices. In fact it feels worth it.

What a few months it has been since I've last really posted. Lots o travels around the states on business. Then there was the wedding and epic honeymoon on the coast up to Vancouver. Pics will come up when I get a breather. Now here I am on a two week trip to Vietnam & China. I've been waiting for this trip to Saigon eversince hearing Lucky Jim and the InExile albums by The Gun Club back in the early 90s. Can't believe I'm pulling it off. It's not going to be an extended expat life like Jeffrey Lee Pierce got to live, but at least I'll get the taste, the smell and the essence. ciao for now

2006-10-29T16:46:00.000-06:00

Capleton - Jah Jah City

2006-10-29T16:45:00.000-06:00

U-Roy

2006-10-25T09:22:00.000-05:00

1979 DJ Toasting in JA

2006-10-25T09:19:00.000-05:00

Mr Dennis Brown - 1978

2006-10-05T01:49:00.004-05:00

Serge Gainsbourg - Ce Mortel Ennui

2006-10-05T01:49:00.003-05:00

Hoodoo Gurus - Lelani

2006-10-05T01:49:00.002-05:00

Sous les avalanches - Vincent Delerm

un petit clip a celebrer la reunion demain de CP & Doctore Vomito sur la plage.

2006-10-05T01:49:00.001-05:00

vincent delerm- tes parents

2006-10-05T01:49:00.000-05:00

nouvelle vague

2006-10-05T01:43:00.001-05:00

The Waterboys- This Light is for the World live

2006-10-05T01:43:00.000-05:00

High And Dry Trailer

meet tucson

2006-09-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

鄧麗君

2006-09-23T23:36:00.000-05:00

I Like You, I Tell You