05/18/2007

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: CITY HALL

Cityhall

Class & classic -- that's JC City Hall for ya. This photo, taken by Eve Rametta, makes City Hall look like such a lovely place to be ... almost makes us forget about what *actually* goes on inside. Almost.

Remember, folks -- you gotta be in it to win it! To be featured as Photo of the Week, and in our constantly updating Flickr badge in the right sidebar, tag your Flickr photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us.

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POEM: OBJECT

My pink Jesus
Leaks blue blood
On Corinthian capital

When I got him last year
He was full
And I was full
And when I asked him
Anything
His answers made me laugh
I could make sense
Of them

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05/14/2007

BUT I DIGEST ... NORTH JERSEY VIETNAMESE SHOWDOWN

Round Four: Two Great Restaurants, Only One Crown
By Kimberly Kaye

For those of you who are just tuning in, “But I Digest…” has spent the last two months pitting North Jersey’s best Vietnamese restaurants against each other in order to crown a champion deserving of your warm weather obsession. We’ve trawled the length of the Northeast Garden State Parkway seeking out competitors, singling out talent from a list of enthusiastic recommendations and documented champions before choosing our gladiators. While by no means inclusive, the list eventually reduced itself to four worthy contenders, including one heavyweight champ, an old-school underdog and a sleeper with a cult following. We’ve sampled soups and salads, noodles and rice, fish and fowl and various cow parts, as well as a small parade of other wonderful Southeast Asian delicacies -- and the results are in.

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04/13/2007

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: APPLES, BAMBOO

Applesbamboo_2

Not sure where this was taken ... "a store of some sort," you're probably saying, and of course you're right, smartass. Lots of lines. We like lines! This one's by Flickr user gypsee.

Remember, folks -- you gotta be in it to win it! To be featured as Photo of the Week, and in our constantly updating Flickr badge in the right sidebar, tag your Flickr photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us.

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK

MOTUS IMAGO: THE FILM USER'S GUIDE

The weekly rundown: by Shane Smith

don't miss:

Volver I'm not a big fan of Almodovar or Penelope, but this is a good one Cinema Village (Manhattan)

don't bother:

Music and Lyrics Hugh and Drew compete for Most Cloying Performance of the Year. cute soundtrack, though.

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POEM: BLESSED IN NEWARK

Orthodox in all but name,
We find ourselves between the apse and nave
Of two worlds where our reflections
Mimic blank expressions
And pepper mosaic windows.

The bus wends its way through Vailsburg,
My spiritual home, our Fatima,
Where we gained strength
On Friday evenings in April and May
And heard the Sodality Sisters gather and sing
The hauntingly beautiful Acathistos service
To the Mother of God.

This annual preparation for the Passion
Featuring sacrificial tin can banks,
Was shattered by a new wave of bloodshed,
The fifth attack in three weeks,
Which sparked a night of rioting near Bethlehem.

The suicide bomber on a bicycle,
Who may have been a woman, died.
When was the reincarnation?

Did I miss the body?

Which turn for Zarvanytsia?

-- Roman S. Ponos

04/12/2007

THE THIRD DEGREE: PAUL MECURIO

Paulmecurio_live By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Paul Mecurio is an investment banker-turned-stand up comic who was on the original writing team for The Daily Show -- he's won an Emmy, a Peabody, and he's performing at Rascal's in Montclair through Sunday. He recently took some time to talk with City Belt about stand up, tough day jobs, and Henry Winkler's onion.

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04/11/2007

THE PEACH PIT: US WEEKLY, KING OF GOSSIP

Usweekly By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

When I saw Us Weekly’s headline “Saint or Sinner” above a picture of Angelina Jolie, I felt like a heroin addict who couldn’t wait for her next fix. My subscription was coming in a few days; there was no need to shell out the money, I repeatedly told myself. Ultimately I soothed my cravings with Star magazine. But that’s like snacking on ice cream when you want crack. (Full disclosure: A grad school chum of mine works at Us Weekly. Holy shit. Is it just me or did that sound so classy?)

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04/10/2007

BUT I DIGEST ... AND THE WINNER IS ...

By Kimberly Kaye

A big thank you to all the dedicated eaters who participated in our "So You Think You Know Food" challenge; you have impressed me with both your imagination and culinary knowledge. While I would love to announce Jess Guyon of NY as our champion (her commitment to wit is unmatched in all capacities – she took the time to list 10 chefs/culinarians with the first name Herbert in response to question 6), we have an indisputable victor: Efrem Oshinsky! A shout out to the wonderful Taqueria, who will be feeding Efrem in celebration of his culinary prowess.

We would like to remind all contestants that the answers given must have been closest to those published in 1935 – meaning that some perfectly correct answers were not quite correct in the context of this quiz (which is wildly dated and often vague – see the author’s explanation of tempura if you don’t believe us).

Stay tuned for more interactive goodness like this in the future, and in the meantime – go eat something wonderful. Answers after the jump:

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04/09/2007

MOTUS IMAGO: GRINDHOUSE

Grindhouse By Nightdreamer

Oh my G! Where G stands for Grindhouse. I was lucky enough to belong to one of the few people who had the chance to watch an advance screening of Grindhouse. The movie theater was packed and I think people would have happily killed for the small magic blue ticket. 

Tarantino is back for good, along with his old friend and usual collaborator Robert Rodriguez. They‘re both back to back with a double-dose packed to the gills with guns, guts and gore. Robert Rodriguez -- the creator of Sin City, From Dusk till Dawn and one of the Four Rooms -- directs a thrilling film, Planet Terror, which works as a dedication to the old zombie-movies school, while Quentin Tarantino (QT) has created a bloodthirsty murderer whose weapon has four wheels and is Death Proof.   

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