REVIEW: ST. GEORGE ABSINTHE VERTE

Hands down my favorite all around Absinthe. I don't know if it's the different herbs used than with other Absinthe's, but this drink is a thing of beauty. It's warm yet cooling, with a little spice/bite, but without the heavy licorice flavor. It's still there, but not as strong and Good and Plenty-esque as some other Absinthe brands.  I've found with all the other Absinthe's I've tried it was either sickly licoricey, or licorice and with a bitter aftertaste, or just a faint licorice/peppermint flavor - like watered down Scope.

St. George Absinthe Verte has a whole other level flavor.  It's a glass of nothing but goodness.  Maybe it's because the base spirit is brandy and I'm a brown liquor kind of guy (whiskey/bourbon, aged rum, cognac/brandy).  I have no idea, but what I do know is that I now have a go to Absinthe and after testing the waters (5 brands down - Lucid, Pacifique, Sirene, Kubler, Vieux Carre) I'm pretty much done searching.  I'm so sad it took me so long to get to try St. George.

From now on I won't be chasing the green fairy, I'll be following the Monkey!



Get more info. from the official website.

Watch this enjoyable interview with Mr. Lance Winters of St. George Spirits:

THE ZIG ZAG CAFÉ, SEATTLE, WA

Bar at the Zig Zag Café.  Photo from Good Spirits News via Google Images

Hemingway may have had Sloppy Joe's in Key West and La Bodeguita del Medio and La Floridita in Havana, but I've got him beat because I've got the Zig Zag Café when I'm in Seattle.

This is the bar I've always been looking for.  An old school vibe, comfortable, dimly lit, yet classy at the same time.

I loved this place so much that I went every night I could, six nights in a row.  Erik and Ben are not just amazing "mixologists", but the best of old school bartenders.  I can't explain it, but think about every fantasy you had about going to a bar and meeting the best bartender ever, and you'd know how I feel.  Sort of felt like I went through some alternate universe where the cocktail culture of the roaring 20's never ended.  Kind of like a cocktail version of Steampunk, if that makes any sense to you.

Ben of Zig Zag Cafe

The Zig Zag Café 

1501 Western Avenue

Seattle, WA

206-625-1146 

Open 5 PM to 2 AM every day

Read my entire review (and follow me) on Yelp here.

TATTOO AGE

A new tattoo documentary series featuring a series of interviews/profiles of what they're calling "the most interesting and sought-after [tattoo] artists in the world."  It debuts July 13, 2011 on VBS.TV with a profile of a buddy of mine, Dan Santoro.  Although I don't have any tattoos by Dan (yet?), he's a legit artist of all sorts (needle, spray paint, acrylics, etc.) and it's good to see him getting recognized for his talents.  If you like what you see, book an appointment with him at Smith Street Tattoo at (718) 643-0463.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

From the official page:  

Tattoo Age is the new series that takes an inside look at the craft of tattooing through a series of profiles on some of the most interesting and sought-after artists in the world. The series kicks off on July 13th with Dan Santoro, and new episodes featuring such artists as Troy Denning, Mike Rubendall, Freddy Corbin, and Grime will air through November.

REVIEW: TRANSCENDENT MAN

A documentary about "futurist", scientist, genius Ray Kurzweil.  Not nearly as boring as that sounds.  This is one of the few documentaries that I've seen recently that actually made me feel optimistic about the future.  This movie delivers some of Kurzweil's predictions for the future of technology while also telling his life's story, his life's goal (bringing his father back from the dead), and gives some scientific theory/proof on how humans will live forever as part machine, or maybe even part of the machine.  This movie makes me happy about this world, and longing for the future (soon to be the present).  Check out the trailer below.


From the official site:

The compelling feature-length documentary film, by director Barry Ptolemy, chronicles the life and controversial ideas of luminary Ray Kurzweil. For more than three decades, inventor, futures, and New York Times best-selling author Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future.

In Transcendent Man, Ptolemy follows Kurzweil around the globe as he presents the daring arguments from his best-selling book, The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Kurzweil predicts that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, humanity is fast approaching an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and millions of times more powerful. This will be the dawning of a new civilization enabling us to transcend our biological limitations. In Kurzweil's post-biological world, boundaries blur between human and machine, real and virtual. Human aging and illness are reversed, world hunger and poverty are solved, and we cure death.

Ptolemy explores the social and philosophical implications of these changes and the potential threats they pose to human civilization in dialogues with world leader Colin Powell; technologists Hugo deGaris, Peter Diamandis, Kevin Warwick, and Dean Kamen; journalist Kevin Kelly; actor William Shatner; and musician Stevie Wonder. Kurzweil maintains a radically optimistic view of the future, while acknowledging new dangers. Award-winning American composer Philip Glass contributes original theme music that mirrors the depth and intensity of the film. 

ARTIST PROFILE: KINGZILLA (MATTY KING)

KINGZILLA is one of my favorite artists (and people) living today.  His style is unlike any other I've seen.  Old school cut-and-paste to a level of brilliance.  He takes images we see everyday, co-opts them and then morphs them into something new that invokes feelings of anxiety, happiness, depression, beauty, anger...sometimes all at the same time.  Like a cut-and-paste Van Gogh he is.  Brilliance like this comes around only once in while.  Enjoy it while you can.

Check out more images here, and pick up a print before you have to sell your entire record collection just to get a print.

REVIEW: NOT JUST A GAME

A great documentary showing the inherent existence and use of politics in sports, even while sports decries politics.  Great even for non sports fans.  While I don't buy all of the arguments made in this documentary, I do appreciate Dave Zirin's arguments and explanations.  

I really recommend watching this movie (available on DVD or watch a low res version in it's entirety here).





From the official site: 

Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports
We've been told again and again that sports and politics don't mix, that games are just games and athletes should just "shut up and play." But according to Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin, this notion is just flat-out wrong. In Not Just a Game, the powerful new documentary based on his bestselling book The People's History of Sports in the United States, Zirin argues that far from providing merely escapist entertainment, American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles of our time. In a fascinating tour of the good, the bad, and the ugly of American sports culture, Zirin first traces how American sports have glamorized militarism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, then excavates a largely forgotten history of rebel athletes who stood up to power and fought for social justice beyond the field of play. The result is as deeply moving as it is exhilarating: nothing less than an alternative history of political struggle in the United States as seen through the games its people have played.

REALITY 86'D - BLACK FLAG DOCUMENTARY

A Black Flag Documentary covering their last tour. Never released, but due to the power of the internet, now available. Watch the teaser below, or watch it in it's entirety here.

From the official site:

REALITY '86'D

(Shot in 1986 and completed by director David Markey in 1991 for We Got Power Films, approx. 62 min., Super 8 film)

Three bands and crew (a combined total of 13 individuals), 2 Dodge Ram extended cab vans, one equipment truck, one PA system traverse the continental US for six months. A road documentary shot from the inside of the last Black Flag tour ever (the 1986 "In My Head" US tour.) Greg Ginn along with Henry Rollins, Cel Revulta, and Anthony Martinez comprise the final line up of the band. Featuring behind the scenes proceedings and live performances from Black Flag, Painted Willie, and Gone (Ginn's side project, then featuring Sim Cain and Andrew Weiss (later of the Rollins Band) . David Markey was along for the entire trip as the drummer / singer for Painted Willie (with Phil Newman & Vic Makauskas), documenting the six month tour with his Super-8 camera as it happened. Also features roadie Joe ("Planet Joe") Cole, soundmen Davo Claasen and Dave "Ratman" Levine, and the tour manager who kept it all together, Mitch Bury. A crucial turning point in American underground rock. The end of the line for a trail blazing American band.