Dragon Beard Candy...by Yao

One of the legendary street vendors...located in Chinatown (corner of Chrystie & Grand sts),
sells this unique candy. On a recent trip i decided to document it. Yao was very gracious about the photos and i got 2 batches! The candies are surrounded by a feathery layer of sugar, almost spun...with powdered sugar, the interior is a sweetened peanut mix.
it's awesome!

Infinite Jest - caricatures at the MET

For a fan of caricatures and fine art it doesn't get better than this! The current show INFINITE JEST at the Met features illustrations by artists from Leonardo to Hirschfeld and everything in between (Delacroix, Goya, Lautrec...etc...) This show is stupendous!! As with most great shows, the information about each piece and the trends of that particular time as well as the back story about the artists or subjects really adds a great dimension to the art itself.

After wandering thru the show and seeing so many wonderful works ranging from Old Master time periods and up, you stumble right onto the unexpected genius of Ziegried Woldhek (a Dutch artist) who does an amazing image of George W. Bush as seen thru declining graph charts.

Check out this show....or at least buy the book!

DREW FRIEDMAN art show !!!!!!!!!!! April 27th 2012

Hey people, just nailed down the date of my NEXT Brooklyn Gallery show....
We will be having a Drew Friedman art show in conjunction with the release of the hardcover edition of "Persons Living Or Dead" !!! Friday, April 27th, 2012.... 6-9pm, in Dumbo.

Drew will of course be in attendance.
i'm sooooooooo PSYCHED !!!

holiday ....brrrrr...it's cold outside!

Well, we decided to do a little trip to the Delaware Water Gap (border of New Jersey & Pennsylvania) about 1.5 hrs drive from NYC. We spent 2 nites in a lodge belonging to the Appalachian Mountain Club. It was a bit like camping up there. Very basic, NO frills stuff...but in the heart of the wonderful park along the Appalachian Trail . In case you didn't know ...we're big fans of hiking and camping. A break from the city was needed and this was just what the doctor ordered! We got in 1 really good hike ....because it rained for most of the time. No cel or puter service the whole time (yay)!!! very cozy in the lodge (which sleeps 4 families), but we had it all to our selves. The heat wasn't working for 1 of the days so we were all bundled up to stay warm...but it didn't chill our spirits...we took advantage of the fireplace every nite! I caught up on LOTS of reading (brought my Denis Kitchen biography...plus a bunch of underground comix, and a mess of New Yorkers!!). AAAAAND, as you could imagine we brought some yummy food to cook while there. We hit up Fairway Market and bought all our staples...The highlight was the NY Strip steaks, pan fried to perfection.....baked potatoes and salad on the side...nice bottle of red wine to accompany.

it just goes to show...

That after all the years of hard work and dedication to comic art dealing and art collecting, I finally got what i deserve!!! and I feel like it's finally beginning to pay off! Check out the prestigious award i just won (i got it in my email...so i KNOW it's real!!)
I've made the big time!
i'd like to thank all the doubters and haters for inspiring me to such great heights!
CHEERS!!!

back to BJJ....and a nice reward after!

As some of you friends know i've been "dabbling" or some might simply say "suffering gladly" my way thru the Alliance BJJ school in NYC . BJJ stands for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. A martial art prevalant in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. With injuries (a torn meniscus in the left knee) and work and travel, and more injuries...it's been 6 months since my last class. but that ALL changed last night! I went back and had a great time, and collected my usual trophy bruises and scrapes (including a nice knock in the jaw!...how? ....i don't know). I got to see several students i haven't seen in all this time (progressing nicely....) and to say hi to the head of the school Fabio Clemente, and of course my teacher Lucas Lepri (world no gi grappling champ, and numerous world title holder). While the class was great...i was saddened to discover that Lucas is leaving to live and teach in the headquarters school in Atlanta. While all the students at the NYC branch will miss him, i'm sure we all wish him (and his wife) the best as they settle in to their new life. Luckily for me, i picked a great time to come back as he's leaving this tues!! so....it was nice getting to say goodbye. Enjoy the pic of me eating at Minca (Ramen noodle restaurant)

dave cooper, l'image

One of my fave artists (Dave Cooper) was in town...! He came by for a visit and i picked up some art work ...surprise!!?? yeah right.
We all went out to dinner to our local Italian place (Pepe Giallo), and had a very nice meal. I had the stuffed chicken special (eggplant inside!) with Polenta, and a nice salad. but that's a whole other story! it was great.

After dinner Dave had arranged to interview Steve Gadd for a comic strip project he's working on about drummers (Dave's a drumming enthusiast and player)...pretty natural to combine the 2 interests. The plan was to see Steve in the band he's playing with later that night: L'Image featuring him, Tony Levin (bass), Mike Mainieri (vibraphone), Warren Bernhardt (piano), and David Spinnozzo (guitar). It was a great show at the legendary Iridium club. I'd seen Tony play with the prog rock/fusion band King Crimson back in the 80's ...i said hi after the show, and pointed that out to him. He remembered those shows at the Pier in Manhattan and said it was interesting for me that he noted that they were among the best shows KC did. Tony's still on top of his game and played the Chapman Stick, a regular bass, and a really cool electric upright bass. I had also seen Mike Mainieri play with Steps Ahead (the fusion super group) in the 80's ...um yeah, i loved fusion in the 80's!! Watching Mike play is very exciting, vibraphonists in particular really put on a show. And i had NEVER seen the legendary Steve Gadd perform before so it was a real treat.
Capping off the evening was a nice walk home thru times square round midnight...the city was wide awake as you would imagine...packed with people and street merchants, the energy was intense.