Super 88 Market in Boston

Nice East Asian market in the Boston neighborhood of Allston/Brighton.

Coaster from Rosemary's Greenpoint Tavern in Williamsburg, New York

Coaster from Rosemary's Greenpoint Tavern in Williamsburg, New York
Originally uploaded by zedtozee.

Great bar in Brooklyn tended by a Polish lady where 32 ounce styrofoam cups of Budweiser cost only $3.50! These coasters help patrons reserve their tables when they want to step outside for a cigarette.

Back in the Day

I used to play bass with Cosmos Quazar, and I remember when the Arcade Fire opened for us maaaaaaaaan.

Snowing in Outremont

This was in early December, before I moved from the neighborhood (See? I'm spelling American style now!).
It was a great day and the first real snow of the season. I wasn't sure which music to use with this video so I chose both a heavy news theme and a portion of a Billie Holiday song. I think the latter was less dramatic but far more apropos. From watching Woody Allen movies I've learned that any Depression-era jazz will make scenes of urban environments seem beautifully quaint.

Delivery menus from Montreal

Delivery menu for La Plus Belle Province in Montreal
Originally uploaded by zedtozee.

I just had to post some of the Montreal delivery menus I've collected. The food is trashy and delicious. You must be drunk to enjoy it.

Click here for more.

New Boston pictures

Flying out of Boston, Massachusetts
Originally uploaded by zedtozee.

At my Flickr account

Photojourney

Water tower in Mile End, Montreal
Originally uploaded by zedtozee.

Got a Flickr account, oh yeah.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedtozee/

Corpusse live at Zoobizarre in Montreal

Crappy quality cell phone video, but you get the idea.

Fearless leader

Click here for rock hard proof.

Greasiest of 'em all

Ate breakfast at legendary Montreal eatery Cosmos last weekend. Dangerously obese man sitting at the counter eating a huge pile of toast off a plate containing every meat known to man (not shown). Overheard him saying he'd been eating there since age 13. I believed him. Shared their specialty, the "Mish Mash" with S. It contained, and I shit you not, four eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, bacon, sausage, salami, and slices of processed cheese. All mashed up and served with toast. Best breakfast in the city. Also the most likely to kill you.

At The Ex

In Toronto on August 21st, 2006.

Cat in the Park

Saturday night on Parc Avenue

Waited for the bus outside Depanneur Premenstrual Syndrome.


Got on the bus and saw this guy.

Canada Day in Ottawa 2006

Umbrella hats and flag capes on full display!

Some guys get all the brakes!

Sorry blog, I know I've been ignoring you. And then time passes and I feel like it's been too long to bother. But now it's time to get back on the saddle, just like I'm doing with automobiles.

Ten years after most people my age receive their licence to drive, I am now officially a student behind the wheel. I wrote the test at La Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec all way out in fucking Ahuntsic, and despite getting a few questions wrong (Prepare for a school bus to stop a level crossing, dammit!) I passed the exam and was awarded my learner's licence. If I take driving lessons I could be a full fledged motorist by February. Montreal pedestrians, you have been warned.

Michael Jackson trading cards!

S. found these at some store in Toronto.
Click for larger image

Update: SAQ report confirmed!

Distracted Dispatches investigative reporter S. infiltrated the SAQ at Wilderton and Van Horne and filed the photograph above to confirm the liquor monopoly is indeed devoting sections of its outlets to Quebec wine. However, our correspondant says some wines in the Quebec section were from Ontario, perhaps a consequence of the SAQ's market barriers for local vintners. We are ready to give the Société some time to get its act together before sending strongly worded letters to corporate headquarters.

Shocker! Quebec liquor stores to sell Quebec wine!

Given Quebec's strong national identity, you'd think its government run liquor monopoly would help vintners get their products on its shelves. Well, unfortunately, it doesn't. That may all change, however, with word the SAQ is going to give wine makers a break. For more details and reaction, click here to download an interview I did this week with Quebec winemaker Anthony Carone.

Shrimp on Jello

Thanks to my newly aquired $40 scanner, I can share with you the minutiae of intresting cultural artifacts that thrill me to the core.

On a recent trip to Village Des Valeurs, I was perusing through 20-year-old microwave cook books when I happened upon this gem of retro cuisine. I've watched a lot of Food Network but rarely gave much thought to how modern food can be utterly ephemeral. Then I opened the aging pages of The Better Homes and Gardens Encyclopedia of Cooking, Volume One: Abalone to Bannock, and it forced me to realize how episodic the North American palate has been.

This edition of the "encyclopedia" was published in 1970. Elvis Presley was in a jumpsuit, US troops were in Cambodia, and motorists were burning to death in the new Ford Pinto. The food fits perfectly within that historical context.

It was the culinary era of deviled ham and cocktail weiners. Adding MSG to food made it "Oriental". And most importantly, food of almost any sort could be reduced to a semi-liquid form, mixed with gelatin, and poured into a mold. There are many different molds, lots and lots and lots of them, providing "homemakers" with a creative outlet, a way to strictly control the form and change it into something presumably more beautiful than the food itself. Reshaping food was also functional. It's much easier to eat a salmon party log, for example, than pick over a fillet while standing around sipping cocktails with the neighbours.

I could really go on forever, but seeing as how it's Sunday and I'm a bit hungover, I'll conclude with a couple items I really can't leave out. Both involve gratuitous use of bacon. And I'm sure one would go excellently with the other. I present to you bacon butter, an excellent spread for a few hearty Bacon Big Boys.

Bon Appetit!

Hasid Watch

The kosher dep beneath my house has all sorts of heimeshe treats for the Hasids in my neighbourhood. Only recently did I manage to get my hands on this golden piece of Hasidic kitsch, Rabbi trading cards! The New Gedolim Album, out of Brooklyn, are in the style of the O-Pee-Chee stickers I remember from the 90s. One buys an album and places the corresponding sticker in its appropriate place until the entire collection is complete. Four in each $1 pack. Collect all 300 in the series!

(Click image to enlarge.)

Toronto < Montreal

Took a trip to Toronto over the long weekend. It's a cool Canadian city, with better government run liquor stores than Quebec and food that rivals Montreal's. Oh yeah, and it has that amazing sculpture to the left.
But something about it makes me appreciate Montreal all the more when I come back.

Sometimes dreams come true

In reference to an earlier post, this new pen holder is now sitting proudly on my desk. I strongly advise you check out the live stream for Classic Country KSJB!

Saving The Day, The Ninja Way

I love the worst ranked movies at imdb.com.

I can't wait to see 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, starring the Hulkster! The VHS is only $15 on Amazon. DVDs are sold out. Must be a popular movie! Also surprising that Cool as Ice has a better ranking than Gigli!

Chef At Home "remixed"

The latest Food Network Canada show I've become obsessed with is Chef at Home, starring chef Michael Smith. The theme song for the show is so hilarious I felt inspired to compose a remix of the ditty. Download the mp3 here.

The show features Smith at his massive home in PEI inventing culinary creations "on the fly" by following the simple rule of "letting your senses be your guide". Highlights include his trips to Loblaws to pick up ingredients and his interaction with his wife and infant son Gabe.

Smith is also featured in Food Network Canada show called Chef at Large, described as "an all-access backstage pass to the fast-paced hidden world of chefs and cuisines." It's good, but doesn't have the same kitsch value at Chef at Home. Bravo Michael Smith! Keep up the good work.

Shopping for a pen holder

I know it's mundane, but I've been searching for a new pen holder on eBay to replace this monstrosity.


Sure, it looks all shiny and metallic, and it even floats "magically" inside the small chrome donut (the secret is magnetics), but the fact is the pen is too fat and therefore impossible to write with.


Checking eBay for an alternative, I've come across a few strong contenders. All of them are priced under $10. I can't justify spending more than that on a freaking pen holder.


Ashtrays and pen holders both belong on desks. Finally someone had the brilliant mind to put the two together. The only problem is I don't always want a dirty ashtray in front of my face, but my pen must be within arms reach at all times. Well-executed, but a bad idea.


Any doctor who tries to to impress patients with a pen holder that says "First Class Doctor" is either a quack or a pervert. For someone like me, it's good for a cheap laugh. Unfortunately, the cheap laugh wouldn't last long, and then I'd be stuck with a pen holder that says "First Class Doctor". Next.


This pen holder screams the eagle's cry of freedom for every God fearing American to hear. It also has a blank plaque upon which I could engrave a memorable Rambo quote. Breathtaking, but too damn big.


Finally, the top contender. I'm a big fan of vintage radio station merchandise, and in this case, it's hard to say no to a pen holder made for Classic Country KSJB AM 600, in "Buffalo City" Jamestown, ND. Click here to listen live. The city of Jamestown, population 15,527 (2000 est.), should know its country music. It has a tractor tour in June and a rodeo in July. If I don't find anything better in the next couple days, this pen holder will be sitting on my desk.

Update (March 13th): After losing an auction for a WHNN t-shirt, I decided to go ahead and pick up this pen holder. In fact, I'm kind of glad I lost that WHNN t-shirt, even though they have a cool jingle package. I wouldn't want this piece of KSJB history to slip away into the sands of time. Whee!

This shit is cool

Van Horne video

This is the first installment in a series of videos featuring scenes of Montreal scored with my crappy minimalist pop songs.

Click here to download.

Interview with Frito Lay

As a follow up to an earlier audio post about new Frito Lay potato chip flavours, I managed to get company spokesperson Jared Dougherty on the phone to ask why they're not rolling them out in Montreal. I followed up with questions about the flavour selection process, grilled him on whether hot dog chips may be on the market soon, and why ketchup chips are not available in the United States, given ketchup's reputation as America's Condiment.

This is what we refer to in "the biz" as Hard Hitting Journalism. I suggest you sit down while listening. Preferably with a large sack of potato chips.

Click here to download the interview.

New potato chip flavours