Monday, October 31, 2005

A loverly evening ahead:
1) scare children.
2) gorge on candy.
3) go see The Nomi Song at the Detroit Film Theater.

A Huge thank you to everyone who came out to the Warriors Halloween Party at Oslo on Friday; a tremendous success all around. (I can't beleive we're allowed to have this much fun... and get paid for it!) We'll have teh official photos from Mr. Jon Dones later tonight, but in the mean time here are some excellent candid snaps:

from Emma Peel
from Hansel
from the Unabomber

Friday, October 28, 2005

I'm so excited about halloween that I went home and changed into my costume at lunch time.

This is the last time I'm going to say it: party tonight!



Today's childhood flashback brought to you by Mummenschanz.

Better than Chinatown at 3am in August: New York City smells like maple syrup.

Seriously.

The aroma was first noticed in lower Manhattan around 9pm last evening and is apparently in all five burroughs now. The Office of Emergency Management has been running tests of the air since last night with no tangible results.

The Times reports on conflicting accounts to the nature of the sweet sweet odor: "A police officer who had thrown out her French vanilla coffee earlier compared it to that. Two diplomats from the Netherlands disagreed, politely. Rieneke Buisman said it smelled like roasted peanuts. Her friend Joris Geeven said it reminded him of a Dutch cake called peperkoek, though he could not describe that smell."

Over 200 artists and designers are taking part in The Munny Show, a three city benefit event for children affected by Katrina. Custom Munnys by Takashi Murakami, The Designers Republic, Tristan Eaton, Metallica(?), Whoopi Goldberg(?!) and many more will be on the auction block.

Rob: Unfortunately I possess but an mental imprint from the show.
I will go through some possible channels to try to find some tangible trace.
I'll keep you posted-

In other news...

Our favourite scritcher activist, Banksy wrote a book.

[WARNING: gothy-hipster-metrosexual hair dilemma post... move along.]

I just dyed my hair black. (Yeah, for real.)

The question is: do I style it like Nick from Robots or that guy from The Bravery?

(Without lots of wax-based balm, I look like the dorky third Reed brother... should have seen that coming.)

Thursday, October 27, 2005

I wanna be this guy when I grow up

OMGZ


Ganked from Get LowFi

THIS SATURDAY IN NYC




Attention Cranbrook voyeurs: the enhanced podcast Cranbrook Calling: In From the Outs is a weekly unvarnished look inside the Cranbrook Academy of Art 2d Design studio, hosted by Elliott Earls and the academy's graduate students. We talk about our work and attempt to provide a window into our world, with an emphasis on typography, music, interactivity and discourse within the department. Rad.

the excerpt from the mag below rocket me right back to my highschool + ccs years of 88-96...thanks for the memory jog. those were good years.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Sk-1,

Thank you for that brilliant review. That's just what I would have expected, had they decided to tour the states. I'm simultaneously overjoyed and jealous at your experience. Any way you got a soundboard copy of the performance?

And for those not familiar with the album, I rate it highly as one of the best things either artist has ever done in their career. Samples here.

Had the extreme pleasure of attending the Milan leg of the Ryuichi Sakamoto/Alva Noto tour, this past Monday night.

Simply mesmerizing.
Different mediums woven together with unique perfection.
Couldn't open my eyes at times- Couldn't close them at others.
Beautiful, clean- sound sensitive visuals.
Dark bassy undertones under blankets of warm static pulse.
Light, creepy piano scores- that will appear in my carni dreams to come.

Ryuichi moved as though Miyazaki had taken over the form on the stage.
I have never seen such relentless- mad-hatter type possession on a piano before.

Looks of disbelief at the intensity of the close-
Everyone in the place must have been gasping for breathe- when silence hit.

Two encores of reworked BTTB flashbacks- had us floating like fools out of the building.

If you are anywhere near this tour- I highly suggest you attend.
There are a few more Italian dates.

info

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Dethlab [the DJ/art project of myslef and Ms. Toybreaker] is featured in this week's edition of the excellent local arts and entertainment web-zine LISTD! Below is the transcript:

Dethlab and the New Black

We've watched the fickle winds of fashion and favor have their way with genres from house and techno, to electroclash and dance-rock over the past few years. In bleak times like the present, people seem to identify with and take some sort of comfort in a darker, more complex aesthetic. Not necessarily one of despair, but one that balances romantic idealism and the brutality of the real world. Tough and pretty. Most definitely Baroque. The patterns of the social-political climate's influence on the arts are historically consistent, and we are clearly in one of the darkest periods of modern history. We see this in fashion; from established names like Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, to upstarts such as Yoko Deveraux and Morphine Generation. We see it in graphic design; the slick, minimal compositions and "techno fonts" have been traded in for ornamentation and historical references, glitched out and covered in a shellac of time and underscored with a sense that the future we were promised isn't all it was cracked up to be. We definitely see this in music; from the industrial influenced work of Black Strobe and T. Raumschmiere, the brooding funk of Two Lone Swordsmen, the sometimes sinister sometimes dreamy compositions of Ellen Allien, to the urgent, anxiety-laden music of Adult. Even party favorites Daft Punk seem to have traded in their shining space helmets for something more suited to Darth Vader with their latest release, and the summery pop melodies of Pas/Cal are subversively cheeky carriers of often sinister notions. It is perhaps surprising that more DJs haven't connected the dots and recognized an aesthetic pattern much bigger than any specific genre. Enter Dethlab.

It's no coincidence that the pair leading the charge in this next wave of dark dance music are scene veterans who grew up on post-punk, early goth and Wax Trax! era industrial records. Dethlab's blood certainly runs black, and are right at home here. Formative listening preferences aside, these are two cultural commentators who know their stuff well beyond what is expected of most DJs. Dethlab's Bethany Shorb and Michael Doyle list a combined ten years of art school education as their primary influence, with degrees from Boston University, Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Center for Creative Studies. Both are internationally recognized artists and designers and extremely active figures in the creative community. Individually they have lectured around the country, curated art exhibits, have been widely published, exhibited work internationally, and write for several leading design and culture websites. They don't really view themselves as DJs, but rather as curators. With the Dethlab project, Shorb and Doyle seek (and find) cultural relevance for the music, while not losing sight of creating a fun atmosphere. "We do take an artistic approach to how we throw events and play music, but without compromising why people are there - which is to have a good time." Doyle says, "We want people to walk away with a really unique experience. If we're showing a Matthew Barney movie on the wall of the club, or spraying each other with fake blood, its all in an effort to elevate the experience... and certainly much of what we do is a bit of self-parody. You can have serious intentions and still be able to laugh at yourself. I think most people get that. It's equal parts obsessive quality control and complete hedonism - with a dash of slapstick."

Let's get down to it, boppers.

Here are the details for this year's official NYC edition of Warriors Halloween:

The Warriors Halloween 2005
SATURDAY, October 29th
10PM - 4AM (throw in an extra hour for daylight savings)
Free Sparks 10-11

Supreme Trading
213 North 8th Street. Brooklyn
$10 w/ RSVP to warriorshalloween@yahoo.com
$15 at door

DJs:
JDH & Dave P (FIXED / Making Time)
Tim Sweeney (Beats in Space / DFA Records)
DJ Language (Negroclash / BBE)
James F*cking Friedman (Refuse!)
Ilirjana (The Pop Manifesto)
Speculator & Chupacabras
Phil-Two (Fagtronix)

Come dressed in your own gang, with your own unique style, enter the gang registry and have your crew photographed! All the gang shots will be displayed against the main wall - and the best gang wins a CASE OF SPARKS!!

http://www.warriorshalloween.com


And of course... the official Detroit edition is THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT OSLO with Jimmy Edgar, Dethlab, Jonnie O and Alec Metallic!



VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of discipline s, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web. I truly hope this space can inspire, motivate and enlighten any person doing research on this field.

oh yeah..
living(.it)

ps: matthew still needs job k.tks!1

Friday, October 21, 2005

Dorkwave is featured in J3tlag magazine.

We love J3tlag!

A little reminder that Dorkwave is playing the Metro Times 25th Anniversary Party tonight. If you remember the Metro Times Blowout Patry we did earlier this year, expect something along those lines... cranked up! Oh my.

(I'm on a huge PWEI kick right now.)

Greg Wilson
lucky NYC bastards

Mutt Design

(I know what everyone at Focus Media and DTM is getting for Christmas.)

I'm pleased to report that humanity has hit a darling, precious all time new low

Thursday, October 20, 2005




Since self-promotion is the new shy, figured I'd announce a variety of DJ gigs I'll be playing the next few weeks.


10/20
Loose Tooth with Gang of Four and Go! Team afterparties

10/27
Loose Tooth-Suicide Girls Halloween Party

10/29
URB Issue Release Party NYC w/Tommie Sunshine, Radioslave and Spank Rock

11/3
Loose Tooth Eon McKai DVD release party w/Coco Morier of Electrocute

11/4
Avalon Hollywood w/Fischerspooner

more dates and details to come. gigs in Detroit, Chicago and Phoenix soon.

die sichersten Autos Kommen aus Frankreich.

Indeed.

[thanks Chuck!]

As tonight's We R DJ/Dethlab party at Oslo has been postponed, we recommend two other excellent events in Detroit:



The Dresden Dolls are bringing their lively, sexy and cheeky punk cabaret show to St. Andrews Hall. (It's a shame St. Andy's doesn't carry Balvod, because it just doesn't get any more goth than this.)

431 E. Congress, Detroit | all ages | 8pm | $15




Square Root Records' Trevor Edmonds will be performing live as The Chauceworth Aif tonight at The Modern Exchange.

12219 Dix-Toledo Rd., Southgate | all ages | 8pm | $5

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Adult. is performing at North Six in Williamsburg Brooklyn this Saturday night, and our dear friends at Enabler and Crucial Get Down are throwing the official official afterparty at The Lodge.

If you're in New York, GO! You won't be disappointed.

Saturday, Oct. 22 @ PARTY TIME!
The Lodge - 318 Grand at Havemeyer

DJs:
Bubbles (enabler/Phono)
Brett Burton (Crucial Get Down)
DJ Unknown (Crucial Get Down/Monkey grip kung foo chop)
Cowboy Mark (enabler/Crucial Get Down/Phono)

This is Matthew.
Matthew is looking for a job / work.
Hes does great work and hes a good guy.
K Tks.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

OMG GO BUY THIS RIGHT NOW, IT IS AMAZING!

following in the footsteps of many distinguished colleagues i am packing up my freelance career (for now?) and going back into the lovin (payin) arms of 9-5 employment. unfortunately that also means leaving sunny barcelona and heading to not-so-sunny frankfurt to work for HYUNDAI. at least i will be closer to berlin...ulp

Monday, October 17, 2005

Aaron Betsky on the just opened DeYoung museum and the future of architecture in San Fransisco + an audio tour by John King of the San Francisco Chronicle.

[via Archinect]

This Thursday's We R DJ vs. Dethlab event has been cancelled due to double booking. Oops. See you all at Friday's Metro Times Anniversary Party though. The We R DJ gang will be playing the V.I.P. pre-party from 6-9pm.

Adult.'s fantastic new LP and hilarious new video are available from Thrill Jockey Records.



Adult.'s Sam Consiglio made an impromptu guest DJ appearance with Carlos Souffront at this past Saturday's Dorkwave party. HUGE thanks to both Carlos and Sam for a great night and some great records. + gold stars go to Ersatz Audio's Ron Zakrin for his speaker dancing skills, and to Mike Servito for playing PiL's Religion and Front 242's Welcome to Paradise. We're still waiting for cease and desist letters from both Red Lobster and The Vatican.

One, you lock the target...

Front 242 begins their first North American tour [in what feels like forever] on November 3rd in Vancouver.

Other key dates for Burnlab readers:
Los Angeles: Nov. 9, Avalon
Chicago: Nov. 14, Vic Theatre
Detroit: Nov. 16, Majestic Theatre
Toronto: Nov. 18, Guvernment
New York: Nov. 21, Irving Plaza

PSYOP makes extraordinary animated shorts, commercials and music videos. So inspiring is their work that one of Apple's agencies ripped off PSYOP's Lugz ads. Oops.

[via Protein OS]

228 photos from Saturday night's Dorkwave party.

We're all so going to hell.

Saturday, October 15, 2005



First Edition PEZ MP3 Player

And now for a late breaking muppet news flash:

Those in the Royal Oak area this afternoon can be treated to a live set by my friend and labelmate Chris Bissonnette. Chris has recently released his first album on Kranky. Fans of Wolfgang Voigt's GAS project will dig this record for it's similarity in texture (doesn't have that warm kick drum throughout though).

He'll be playing at 3pm over at Neptune records in Royal Oak. Neptune Records is located at 412 E. 4th St. in Royal Oak.

Friday, October 14, 2005

I'm playing records at four excellent parties over the next two weeks.
Not exactly sure how that happened, but not complaining.

First up: The October edition of Les Infants Terribles is tomorrow night!
Team Dorkwave + special guest Carlos Souffront at Corktown Tavern.

We will have a limited number of free passes to the Metro Times 25th Anniversary Party next weekend, AND the Warriors Halloween Party at Oslo Oct. 28th. Exclusively available at tomorrow's edition of Les Infants Terribles.

L.I.T. is free AND we're giving you free stuff.

Its like freakin' Christmas or something.

In addition to the above, Ms. Toybreaker and I have been invited to guest DJ the We R DJ Killing Moon party at Oslo next Thursday. (Clik the link for awesome flyer.) "Come dance in your best death attire."

Luckily I've recently acquired a ton new music I'm totally excited about; most notably, the brand new Neon Judgement compilation, featuring remastered versions of extremely rare tracks from the surprisingly little known Belgian band that invented Electronic Body Music, plus remixes from the likes of The Hacker, Tiga and Terrence Fixmer. So good! Imagine Joy Division meets Cabaret Voltaire meets early Sisters of Mercy meets early Skinny Puppy meets Suicide meets Metal Urbain, all with a dance-pop sensibility that influenced legions of industrial/EBM bands, Front 242 notwithstanding. This might just be the best record I've bought all year (granted, most of it was recorded in the early 1980s...)

And now for something completely different, newly minted NYC transplant Robert Gorrell and Detroiter for life M. Ryan Brogan discuss the finer things in life.Episode 1: where Robert gets his oats.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Keeping It Peel

Yes, this is fror real.
(make sure your sound is on for the full experience.)

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The feel good hit of the season.

[thanks Erick and P.S. 260]

Remember when the first iPod was hyped as a "revolutionary digital lifestyle device", then when it was released you said, "um... it's just an MP3 player?"

iPod fulfills its promise as of today.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

No matter where my influences take me, they always seem to lead back to my first design hereo, Steven R. Gilmore. [This being nothing short of a revelation in 1988.]

I think the monthly anniversary cards he makes for his partner Dana are his very best work. Motivation is key.

Possibly the most beautiful Flickr gallery I've seen yet, by some chap named Liam.

This Saturday.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Amazing.

RSX Institute: a lovely new site for Acura full of 3D goodness and whimsical activities, by our good friend Benny Campa of The Galactica.

Brand new website for Neil Denari

Hot.

[via Archinect]

Sunday, October 09, 2005

It's that time again....



The October edition of Les Infants Terribles is this Saturday night.

Team Dorkwave + special guest Carlos Souffront

This month's flyer by guest designers Secret Pizza Party.

Why a Spanish Inquisition themed dance party?
If you have to ask, you probably wouldn't understand the answer.
(I know I don't.)

Doing some research for work led me to the kinetic sculptures of Tim Prentice. Quite beautiful.

Autumn has finally arrived in Michigan, which means long country drives with the smell of burning leaves in the crisp air and seasonal favorites like Love and Rockets on the stereo, breaking out the extra snuggy blankets and lingering in bed a bit longer on cold mornings, everyone dressing much better, and of course: cold cider and hot donuts! I might actually try to go to a cider mill every weekend from now until Thanksgiving. The Detroit Free Press has very good guide to area cider mills and apple orchards.

IKEA PS

IKEA asked 28 designers to explore and experiment. To test new materials, techniques and new ways of working. But most of all, to have fun. The responded with a cavalcade of ingenious and madly innovative ideas for every home bold enough to be unconventional.

Hella Jongerius' series of vases are quite fabulous, and [as Cool Hunting points out] at $39.99, about $6920 less than similar vases availiable at Moss.

Also culled from Cool Hunting today, J3tlag, a hip new web-zine for "global rompers".

Saturday, October 08, 2005

evidence of aforementioned umpa goodness:

oompa360

Zing boom tararrel!

Growing up, every wedding, funeral and miscelanous large family function seeemed to end up at a Knights of Columbus hall with a polka/umpa band palying Roll Out the Barrel. I assumed this was universal. (Right?!) Quite late in life I discovered that not everyone in the world grew up a Detroit East Side Catholic. That's kind of unfortunate, as a [trashed] umpa band performing said song is quite a marvel to behold, and [apparently] quite a formative experience. Last night's Oktoberfest festivities at the Dakota Inn brought me back to priceless pages of Motown history and childhood memories last recalled as a 15 year old sneaking bottles of cheap red wine out back of the K of C hall in Centerline. [I hope my parents aren't reading this.] Anyway, I highly recommend anyone in a thousand mile radius of Detroit to celebrate the Bavarian holiday of consuming copious amounts of schnitzel and Warsteiner to find their way to the Dakota. Also discovered last night: the love of my life/partner in crime is primarily Prussian, which is [as you historians know] a much deabated territorty between Germany and Poland, hence our equal [read: competetive] tolerance to alcohol. Hrmmm.

Also of note, Oslo now carries Blavod.

Jon O: is it good?
Dethlab: It's black!

Cheers.

We R DJ tonight. Go!

Friday, October 07, 2005

Sweet 3D video from the minds of 1rst Ave Machine.

Elegant and creepy- Can't look away...

[via future feeder]

This evening in Detroit: Oktoberfest is here and we'll be dining on schnitzel and Warsteiner at the Dakota Inn, a truly unique Detroit institutuion since the '30s. We also suggest stopping in to the Majestic Cafe where Walter will be playing some very choice records, then down to Oslo for Ryan Elliott's monthly VAULT, featuring Chicago Dorkwaver and disco master Common Factor.

Saturday night the We R DJ crew present The Things That Dreams Are Made Of at the Bohemian National House in Detroit.

Speaking of the finer things in life, We R DJ attempt to step up the quality of nightlife by presenting The Things That Dreams Are Made Of. "Nothing short of boundless bliss & undeniable delectation is promised; memories shall be made & lives shall be forever changed." Carefully selecting each and every track and note for your ultimate dance pleasure, these are The Things That Dreams Are Made Of. All proceeds from this evening go to huricane relief. [from LISTD]

Thursday, October 06, 2005

DOS STITCH - Cross stitch as pixel art from Kate Pemberton, a.k.a., endfile.

stitcheddos

This is about the coolest, nerdiest use of textiles, conceptual thinking and craftwork I've seen in a while...including the pun. HOT. (upon reading her CV, this work was also shown in the gallery at SIGGRAPH this past summer.)

The tracert DOS command is used to trace the network points that join one computer with another computer on the Internet. The journey is determined by IP addresses of destinations, and how many milliseconds it takes to reach them. This journey from my PC to the endfile server in America has been hand-stitched, it is a contrast to the idea of traditional narrative samplers.

Ms. Pemberton has also been doing electronic embroidery which is quite hot too. Check out all of her work. (Note: Apologies to the artist for the initial gender mix-up. Corrected.)

Make your own wearable LED display

[Via Hack-A-Day]

Websters Dictionary definition for: Technology

1 a : the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area
1 b : a capability given by the practical application of knowledge
2 : a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge
3 : the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor

and with that...

Glitch

(fucking kids and their computers, making what was once a delicate and artful task, easy, simple, and conveniently available in windows VST format)



Some of the most deliberately bad PhotoShop ever done, featuring the best photo of Alec Peterhans ever taken. Larger view here.

We're elated to hear that our good friends Magda and Marc will be home from Berlin halloween weekend, but more than a little disappointed they were booked to play on Friday night. You kids still better pack costumes! ;)

If you've been subject to one of my design lectures (or bar stool rambles) you're probably familiar with the notion of non-design; how both physical and virtual interfaces can facilitate communication in a way so effective that the designer's hand (and ego) is all but nonexistent. Not to be confused with minimalism, the notion of non-design invites invention, whimsy and even absurdism in its goal of connecting people with ideas on intellectual, emotional, sensory and sometimes spiritual levels. In this philosophy, form is a direct product of content.





I recently came across the work of Janet Zweig, who's intellectually provocative sculptures are some of the best examples of this idea seen to date. Amazing stuff. Make sure to read the descriptions.

BCN:

LEM Experimental Music Festival

Beginning this Friday (Oct. 7th)
(various venues)

I plan on catching Damo Suzuki (CAN) - Friday at 22h for sure!

^ Lluisos de Gracia
placa del Nord 7-10
teatre

Later that night...

Shelbono/pan/tone returns to Barca to shake the LOFT/Lo.li.ta (c/ Pamplona, 88).

The Unseen Video is much more than a normal, static music video. It is a video that is affected by the weather and local time from the position of the viewer.

We want to create new synergies between the music, the video and the surroundings of the viewer. Every little change in your environment ensures that you will never see the same video twice. The look of the video might slightly change within an hour, but will have a whole new character in a few months.


watch.

The Columbus Zoo Virtual Safari by elementary school students in Westerville Ohio is cute at first take, and quite impressive on further investigation.

Using technology builds on the understanding that learning is impacted by student-centered environments which encourage dynamic exploration and representation of information; experimentation and problem solving; social awareness and confidence; effective communication; independence, collaboration, and a positive attitude towards the future.

Consider it the contemporary book report. Though, I must wonder what will become of a generation that doesn't know the joys of paste, construction paper and those impossibly dull little scissors.

The $100 laptop, from (where else?) the MIT Media Lab.

Designed for school children primarily in developing counties, the proposed machine will be a Linux-based, full-color, full-screen laptop that will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data. These rugged laptops will be WiFi- and cell phone-enabled, and have USB ports galore.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

How do they know it's "accidental"?

A few excellent photos here of Marco Haas a.k.a. T.Raumschmiere in Detroit a couple weeks ago by Walter Wasacz.

(+ Dethlab's new press photo from the show.)

Ooh yeah! Looky what just arrived in the mail.

dig?

One of the best labels on the planet, Skylab Operations , at some point between the last time I checked their site and now, decided to give away all the stuff of their sub-label Observatory away totally for free. I'm downloading their entire catalog, then I'm probability going to go buy all the releases from the artists anyway. You should too!

Picturesof the anatomy of wood. They are really amazing and look like blood cells in highly structured forms - lush.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Jon Myer: "I am interested in the utopian and authoritarian aspects of digital media. I am particularly concerned with the special relationship between body and image in new media experiences."

Go to Ghostly.com and stare at the spinning Audion circle for about twenty minutes.

Now stand up fast.

Viktor & Rolf just never get old: "Because we're worth it!"

+ not normally the type to covet $100 t-shirts, (I rarely leave the house without a tie, let alone buttons) but Morphine Generation is whole different story.

It's probably best for the pocket book that neither brand is available in Detroit.

Monday, October 03, 2005

edit: MySpace is playing nice with Safari again. Thank goodness.

Iron Chef, Dethlab style

It's been a bit of a gluttonous few weeks here at B'lab HQ, with all our entertainment budget going to exquisite meals at Assaggi, Mon Jin Lau, Blue Nile, Vinotecca (where the petite filet, seared ahi, chocolate torte and Grimaldis quality white pizza - I'm not kidding - are to die for,) and one of our new favorites, the aforementioned Slows, but nothing quite like what we've been cooking up at home.

I don't consider cooking to be really much different than design or making music: you have a palette of ingredients, and granted they are of top quality (absolutely essential!), the fun is all in creating interesting combinations and challenging preconceived notions of context and proportion. Although breakfast has always been my specialty and rarely ever make the time to cook a proper dinner, Tuesday night I was fairly pleased with the make-it-up-as-you-go culinary skills:

Fresh ruby red trout fillets rubbed in herbs, sea salt, hickory, spices and olive oil, pan cooked hot and fast, topped with a nectarine ginger chutney with roasted garlic and shallots. Served with four cheese tortellini, topped with a butter cream basil sauce (one part cream to one part butter) and shaved Manchego. A quality, earthy California red (which I know breaks all the rules, but I do not drink white after labor day.)

Dessert consisted of Wensley with cranberries, aged Manchego and a third medium cheese I forget, with raw honey, dijon mustard, lemon curd, 75% cacao pure dark chocolate and espresso.


Not to be outdone, Friday night I was treated to the following by my partner in crime:

Pear-nectar Martinis, Manchego and aged domestic asiago cheese, smoked oysters, warm baguette, olive oil and spices.

Pan-seared, peppered rare ahi tuna with ginger wasabi cream sauce, on a bed of crisp sesame rice cracker, avocado slices, and purple thai rice gently coated in sesame oil and cilantro, with roasted garlic, shallots, young portabello, oyster and chantrelle mushrooms; fresh fig and scallion chutney; eel sauce; wilted baby spinach with garlic, pignoli nuts and piquant lime glaze. Momokawa diamond jumai ginjo sake.


As predicted, this resulted in immediate food coma (hence our lack of social presence Friday evening.)

The ball is back in my court, and I clearly have some catching up to do.
Suggestions welcome.

How we love it when art and music collide in such lovely ways:

Flavorpill presents First Fridays at the Guggenheim.

Bringing world-class DJs to spin in the grand rotunda, Flavorpill creates a scene in one of New York's most venerated landmarks - the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum. The musicians, mixing with the crowd and visitors to the Guggenheim's magnificent collection and new RUSSIA! Exhibition, will make First Fridays a truly unique New York experience.

First Fridays kicks off this Friday, Oct. 7th with DJs Tommie Sunshine and James Friedman.

Future Performances:
November 4th, 2005: Matthew Dear & Ryan Elliott*
December 2nd, 2005: Funkstorung
January 6th, 2006: Diplo

* warning NYC: very good chance there will be small army from the Detroit office out for this one.

This is amazing.
Crazy Sweeds.

FYI, laddar means loading.

[thanks Alex]

Is it just me or has MySpace suddenly stopped playing nice with Safari over the weekend? Rats. I'd rather go wothout than have to use Intertnet Explorer.

(Sorry for coming as a bit of a snob today. I prefer to say "discerning.")

Nail, meet head.
Too funny.

Speaking of poetic irony and meet... er, meat heads, Team Dorkwave met up at Buffalo Wild Wings last night. (You read that right.) As expected, EVERYthing about the place sucked something awful, with the exception of a decent beer selection and the always precious WTF/absurdity factor, which is truly one of life's greatest motivations and catalysts for creativity.

For some real BBQ in the Detroit area, with a much more comforting art school scene and a stellar selection of (yes, I'm using the word) 'artisan' beers, Slows can't be beat. A much welcome addition to the city's culinary choices.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Warriors Halloween Detroit lineup update:

resdients Dethlab + special guests:
Jimmy Edgar (Warp) presents Creepy Atuograph, live/dj
Jon Ozias (Dorkwave / Blackbx) dj
Alec Metallic a.k.a. Alec Peterhans (WeRDJ / Rhinoceros Red) dj

Friday, Oct. 28 at Oslo
10pm | 18+ | $5

Electro rumble.
Can you dig it?


MORE upcoming event news:

Dorkwave presents the Spanish Inquisition Dance Party
(Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.)
Saturday, Oct. 15 at Corktown Tavern, Detroit
10pm | 18+ | always free

Metro Times 25th Anniversary Party featuring Team Dorkwave
Friday, Oct. 21
details to come




Saw Nine Inch Nails at the Hollywood Bowl last night, and it was somehow BETTER than the amazing Coachella show last spring. They're playing Detroit, Chicago and other points east in the next week or so. For the love of god, spend too much money (Ticketbastard fees and all), go stand around with 25,000 wankers in a glorified shed and rawk the eff out!!!

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Trying to make up for the Spanish time lag, with regards to film release with this.

Nice.

Also: On the Dave Mckean tip.

Patience.