I first became aware of Kate Singleton of Art Hound and Buy Some Damn Art, when she featured the incredible work of our fabulous friend, and homie, Austin Power.  Kate is a self-proclaimed art nerd whose sites are dedicated to making great art accessible and affordable.  I am a huge admirer of her efforts and am psyched to introduce you to her through the post below which she put together for our viewing pleasure.  Thanks, Kate!  And when you’re finished enjoying the work, go Buy Some Damn Art.

(via Art Hound photograph by Elizabeth Felicella with styling by Katherine Hammond)

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“I thought it would be fun to feature art that’s perhaps a little out of the scope of Art Hound for a change. One theme I’ve seen crop up a lot lately is this minimalism meets 80’s glam hybrid. The emphasis is on playing with materials and juxtaposing unexpected elements. The cuff by FAUX/Real is something I’ve been sort of obsessed with lately. The concept of neoprene jewelry is totally wacky and delightful. All of these pieces are at once restrained and extravagant which is what appeals to me most.”

(Eric Veit)

(Minjin Lee Homeless)

(Laurie Kang Psychogeography)

(FAUX/real WOW – WorkOutWorld Bracelet)

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Keep up with Kate:
Buy Some Damn Art Facebook and Twitter
Art Hound Facebook and Twitter

I first discovered Smart People Podcast, hosted by Chris Stemp and Jon Rojas when our cousin, Juani, talked about the episode with Brené Brown in her Homie of the Day post back in February.  I have been 100% hooked ever since.

These guys have close to sixty episodes interviewing smart people from all over the map and cover an incredible array of topics in a super friendly and approachable way.  Some of my recent favorites include conversations with nutritionist Debra Benfield on mindful nutrition, historian and author Craig Koslofsky on “the history of the night“, and former director of astrophysics at NASA Charles Pellerin on his experiences with the Hubble Space Telescope.

We’re super grateful and excited to share with you today an exclusive interview (download here or listen below) that Chris and Jon conducted for Sister Disco telling us a little about how the podcast came to be and what they’ve learned along the way.  (We’re also cracking up at the shout out on the left white board in this picture.)

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Make sure to stay up to date with the Smart People Podcast at all the usual places: iTunes / Facebook / Twitter

We grew up just down the street from our friend, Sarah, who is now living in NYC and doing really great work in the community health and nutrition field.  We asked her to write a little something on her latest efforts.  Thanks, Sarah!

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My name is Sarah Shaikh, and I manage the NYC Healthy Communities Initiative through Bon Secours NY Health System. Recently, I was awarded funding to tell the story of how America’s large farm and food manufacturing sectors trickle way down to affect the health of seemingly removed urban communities in ways that will result in a shorter life span of our youth compared to our parents. This will be the first reverse trend documented in human history.

My public service announcement (PSA) is called, “Imagine A Child.”

I am a native Clevelander tackling food justice issues affecting the “urban food desert” neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Here, most families live in over-crowed public housing as their incomes fall below the federal poverty line. Most residents are either Black or Hispanic – two genetically predisposed populations at high risk for diet-related illnesses. What is not well understood is that “food deserts” are not always desolate places devoid of enough grocery retail. In the case of the NW Bronx and Upper Manhattan, stores are abundant–and calories are abundant– but access to high quality nutritious food is limited. Space is at a premium in NYC, so we rely on local 24-hour corner stores rather than commuting to larger grocery stores in distant communities. As is typical, candy, processed foods, soda, cigarettes, and beer dominate prime shelf space in these stores – leaving little room for fresh produce, lean meats, and whole grains. Companies like Frito-Lay and Coca Cola rent most of the shelves ensuring that their products are always upfront and at eye-level. They also negotiate control of window space so their advertising is always prominent. This aggressive marketing scheme makes it very difficult for the consumer to make good choices. Not only is nutritious food more expensive, but it’s also hidden in dark back aisles and near the dirty floors. As a consequence, our families suffer from the nation’s highest rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other diet-related illnesses. On the national scale, 23% of our youth are already diabetic or prediabetic, costing us over $120 billion annually in government health care payments. At the same time, my research demonstrates that a majority of local teens are making their own food purchases – mainly in fast food restaurants and corner stores. In short, kids are spending money like adults, but they are not prepared like us….

As a native Clevelander, I still closely follow the community food justice issues of their neighborhoods. My PSA, “Imagine a Child” accurately sums up the experience of NYC youth in corner stores, but the PSA was actually inspired by the story of  9-year-old Cleveland Heights boy removed from his home and placed in protective supervision solely because his mother allowed him to become obese. The press continually questions who is to blame, but the real question is “how do we best heal him?”  To understand this, I took a stab at imagining his experience, then working backwards from that place of hurt to understand what went wrong.  The PSA provides no solutions – just a starting point for educated dialogue. Great solutions already exist in many communities. Some are transferable, many adaptable/replicable. I encourage you to explore what’s already working in your communities, but feel free to reach out to gather ideas from what works in ours at www.bshsi.org/hci.ny and www.facebook.com/BSNY.HCI

Please share the PSA with friends, family, parents, school faculty – anyone. I sincerely hope that you enjoy!

Geoff is one of the best friends that I made while I was in NYC and I am certain he will be a friend for life. I have never had a bad time with him. He is fun and kind. The two best qualities in a friend. So, without further ado, take it away Geoffy!

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It was always lurking around somewhere in the back of my mind. But it was when I saw “The Gleaners and I,” the floodgates opened, the clouds parted and the choir started singing.

(Image found here)

“Gleaners” is a French documentary, by the mighty Agnes Varda.  It’s a touching, beautiful film that inspired me to start dumpster diving. Gleaning has been a tradition for hundreds of years in the French countryside where, after the main harvest had been done, the local poor would go to the fields and take what had been left behind.  Left behind for whatever reason – perhaps because harvesters had missed certain patches in the field or produce was a little beaten up, etc.  The filmmaker Agnes goes on a road trip through France, meeting an assortment of characters, to look into gleaning and its place in modern society. She finds that there are still people doing this in the countryside just like hundreds of years ago – and some friendly farmers are open to it, rather than see good food go to waste.  Then she goes to the city to find gleaners, which is where things started to click for me.  One man gleans at his local farmers market and you’re able to see how much needless waste there is here.  He survives by eating what he finds – and eats very well.

I went on the internet after the film and found a freegan group right here in New York City, who would meet frequently and introduce anyone interested to dumpster diving in the city.  Perfect.  Each time they would meet up in different neighborhoods, right as shops would start putting their trash out on the sidewalks.  I met up with them as they did this in the West Village/Chelsea area.  There was a group of about 20 others, also newbies.  It was a bizarre experience.  The group was lead around the streets, from pile of trash bags to pile of trash bags sitting out on the sidewalks, by a couple of bona fide dumpster diving veterans, who would address the group as if on some New York guided tour for freaks.  They would give tips and pointers along the way (one of the guides had this weirdo sixth sense of what trash bag to open that’d contain the goods).  Most people there, having never done this before, were understandably a little hesitant and somewhat embarrassed (I was anyway).

Walking up to a pile of trash bags on a sidewalk, grabbing one, and opening it up – then rummaging through it is a pretty full on proposition.  It goes against most of the values you’ve been brought up with as a functioning member of society.  It’s like you are breaking a social taboo.  The night wore on and I stood back and watched as others followed the lead, grabbing up trash bags and rummaging.  I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So many people were walking by on the sidewalk. I was a little paranoid and more than a little ashamed.  Finally I reached my “fuck it” moment, grabbed a trash bag, untied the tight knot and that was about three years ago.

Nowadays, pretty much 95% of the food I eat comes from the dumpster, and I have to say – take a look at the photos – I have never eaten this well. I’ve never been sick from this (a common sense approach rules the day – for starters don’t take what smells strange or anything that is bloated).  It’s like going out on a big treasure hunt every time, I dig it.

I think it’s fair to say that I spend more time with Monica than I do with anyone else in my life. She is my friend and colleague and we spend our days sitting approximately four feet from each other. There is no topic too big or too small to be tackled in such a proximity. We know each other’s humor and trigger points. We can read each other’s silences and have thoughtful discussions regarding our lunch opinions on a daily basis. Today, I am excited to say, we are bringing the conversation your way with a guest post by Monica herself. Thanks, Monica! Enjoy!

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Recently I came across this quote and at first glance I thought, really?  (Add sigh and eye roll here). Honestly, it annoyed me.  I thought, that’s nice, moving on.  But something brought me back to it and I began to dig a little deeper.  I stared at the quote and realized I was annoyed because the truth was staring me in the face, and sometimes I can’t handle the truth. (Who in the hell let Jack Nicholson out?).  It was then I understood that the quote is meant to inspire.   Remove some (all is expecting too much) obstacles and appreciate life right here, right now.

Happiness is a state of mind!  It is not a distant destination never to be reached.  Whoever created this idea, and got me to buy into it, makes happiness seem like a remote and isolated place. Sometimes my expectation(s) of happiness is far greater than reality and I am missing out.

The one thing I am sure of is happiness is meant to be to be shared – expressed deeply and fully.  Maybe not everyday all day but most of the time.  It keeps us healthy and begins with self.  There is nothing to wait on or for.

So, I am happy today because I choose to be and I know that ChillBerry (think Pink Berry but with an uptown attitude) will be open when I get out of class tonight.  See, there is happiness in the present and future.

We’re delighted to have our friend, and wine aficionado, Catherine from Grapes of Cath back again (remember her holiday post on the bubbly?!).   This time ’round she’s presenting us with a killer guide to rose wines for your springtime sipping pleasure.  Thanks, Catherine!  Cheers, all!

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My dad sent along a few gifts for my 28th birthday this past November.  In his card he wrote, “something whimsical, and something not.”

The whimsical was this playful painting.

Recognize the rhyme? Hey Diddle Diddle...

Pretty silly, but I adore it just the same.  I hung it up right away, and glance at it often just to remind myself…on days when I start to take life a little too seriously… to never say never, that there are a million things unseen, to believe in the ridiculous.   All because in some place, at some time, there was a cat that played the fiddle and a cow that jumped over the moon.

When it comes to wine, nothing seems to command whimsy like a glass of rosé.  In my world, rosé is a year-round thing- its dusty romance is never lost, no matter the season.  But, here we are in May with new vintages hitting the market, and bottles of it everywhere – just begging to be brought home, chilled, and sipped on a blanket in the park.  Rosé, rosato, rosado, vin gris, blush- dew on the grass- all so new!

The making of rosé is a craft.  Depending on the producer and their practices, it is often more time-consuming then making red or white wine.  Rosé, you see, has to be just so.  Though there are a few different techniques (blending, skin contact, saignée, etc.), each producer has his own variation on the theme.  In the end it depends on the grape, the winemaker, the typical style of the region.  Some are made to last for quite a few years, many are meant to be quaffed just months after they are released.

Generally, rosé can’t really be generalized.  As a category, it is capable of all sorts of substantial and flighty, weak and strong.  As far as flavor, body, and shade go, the span of rosé is vast. If Elle Woods has taught us anything, let it be to give pink every bit of respect as the rest of the color wheel.

Here are just a bunch that I’ve been diggin’ on from across the spectrum – a few somethings whimsical, a few somethings not.

Bandol from Mas de la Rouviere.  About $23

This wine is made almost entirely from old-vine Mouvedré, which shows itself particularly well in the dry, hot, limestone soil ofProvence, along the Mediterranean and nearby the port of Marseilles, in southern France.  Mas de la Rouviere is a small estate owned by the Bunan brothers.  The deep old roots deliver a poignant spice and deep herbaciousness- and has been said to resemble our dear friend Mary-Jane.

Canavese Rosato Rubiconda by Orsolani.  About $15

How to describe this delightful wine coming fromItaly’s northwest region of Piemonte?  Its specific growing area is Canavese, a valley carved out by a large glacier that slid down from the nearby Alps long, long ago.  There are many notable things to say about this location, and this producer as well.  But let’s begin with the grape – it is called neretto and is one of very few grapes out there that has both red skin and red pulp (most pulp is white).  Orsolani, a very talented white wine producer, removes the skins of the neretto grapes just after harvest and vinifies the juices as a white wine.  Because of the tinted pulp, the result looks like a rosé.  Tricky, huh?  Maybe as tricky as the blushing tart on the label!

 Cotes de Provence Cuvée Tradition Rosé by Clos Cibonne.   About $24

Made from an ancient grape variety called Tibouren, this rosé is interesting to say the least.  Produced by Clos Cibonne, an estate in sunny southeast France, it is aged in barrels with flor, a layer of yeast that rests atop the aging wine (traditional in sherry production).  The flor contributes great intricacy, character, and complexity.  Pleasantly-oxidized.  Not exactly pretty – but handsome.  Dashingly-handsome.

Vin Gris de Cigare by Bonny Doon.  About $16

Bonny Doon is a most wacky and natural estate in California’s CentralCoast.  Headed by the equally wacky and natural Randall Grahm, one of the original “Rhone Rangers” (check out his book, Been Doon So Long, for understanding and entertainment).  Grahm’s wines, are excellent – you sip them and the joie de vivre of Bonny Doon translates through the bottle.  Possible?  Stranger things have happened.  This vin gris is composed of typical Rhone varieties – grenache, mouvedre, grenache blanc, roussanne, and cinsault.

Cerasuolo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo by Valentini.   About $80

From near Loreto Apruntino in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, this wine is from the montepulciano grape, and from the mysterious (and maybe genius) Edoardo Valentini.  What is used, and what is done, no one knows.  There is a basket press, there are cement tanks, there is Slavonian oak botti, there are about 8 hectares planted to vines.  The details are fuzzy, but you taste this wine and know something – that this is an interesting wine, a rosé that can withstand the years.  It wins many awards, but that is not what matters.  What matters is that there is a bacon on the nose, tomato leaf too.  Actually, there is a whole meal that you have not even thought to make yet – and the table is beautifully set, and all of your friends are there, and the conversation is full, and in between courses you dance your favorite dance, sing your favorite song, and know that you have found some sort of infinity in a glass.  Priceless.

Muralhas de Monção Rosé by Adega Coop Regional de Monção.   About $8

There are incredible deals to be found in Portuguese wines.  I believe that this is one of them.  This wine comes from the sub-region of Vinho Verde and is made by a cooperative.  Cooperatives have long been common for European wine production – keeps prices down, vintners paid, and bellies full of wine.  Most Portuguese wines come from native grapes specific to the country.  They are usually borderline unpronounceable.  Alvarelhão, pedral, and vinhão are the players here.  Fresh, fresh, fresh.

Viña Tondonia Rosé Gran Reserva by López de Heredia.  About $26

A serious rosé if there ever was one, coming from one of Rioja’s oldest bodegas, Viña Tondonia, and run by family with a long history of love and respect for their land and work.  Made from temprañillo, garnacho, and viura.  Aged in barrels for over 4 years, bottled unfiltered by a winemaker who believes in magic.  Sturdy yet bright.

Rose by Wölffer.   About $14

Made on the Wölffer estate on Long Island’s South Fork by German-born oenologist, Roman Roth.  A little merlot, a little cabernet sauvignon, a little chardonnay, a little cabernet franc.  A lot of peach, a decent amount of acidity, a touch of confection.  German influence, Provence-inspired, New York made.

Sancerre Rosé by Pascal Jolivet.   About $21

Pinot Noir grown in “the garden of France,” that being the Sancerre appellation of the Loire.  This wine is simply really good.  Unctuous, cherry, fresh earth.  Pair with a good G. Dead album.  Jerry!