In the last few years, a new subculture has emerged in cities all over the globe. The Hipster is cultured, artsy, enigmatic, pretentious, and annoying all at the same time. In case you are not sure if you or people you know are hipsters, here are common characteristics:
Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon
Unkempt Beards
Enjoys only obscure music and literature
Wears dark glasses from the Eighties (ex: Oakley Frogskins)
Resides in Silverlake (Los Angeles) OR Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
Hatred of anything mainstream
Denial of being a hipster
It’s a tough call with hipsters. They get a bad rap, but there are some positive traits of hipsters. They are usually creative and appreciate various types of art, music, and food. Here are a few of my favorite hipster contributions to society:
The Mandrake - A cool bar in Los Angeles which plays a great mix of hip hop, rock, and oldies music. They also have a great Happy Hour and patio area.
Wurstküche -Rattlesnake and Rabbit sausage anyone? This and most of their other gourmet sausages are solid lunch options if you are in Downtown Los Angeles.
Indie/Progressive Rock - So maybe not all Indie/Prog Rock comes from Hipsterdom, but enough of it does. Wanna fight about it?
OK. OK. I will admit that it is waaay more fun to make fun of hipsters than to search for their admirable traits. It looks like there is plenty of that going on already. Enjoy!
yourscenesucks - No one is safe on this site which takes aim at the trendier subcultures with sarcastic bios and hilarious cartoons.
DieHipster - Ouch, that’s rough. This blog seems to blame all of the worlds problems on Brooklyn, NY hipsters.
Well into 2009, but better late than never. Snowboarding has spoken and Travis Rice is the new Guru. That’s It That’s All is the most entertaining, intense, and terrifying snowboard video to date. It has many other riders, but you know Travis’s tricks because he comes in with twice the speed, hops, and trick difficulty while still riding away clean. Here is the teaser from the video “That’s It, That’s All”, which may still be sold out in stores. Make it through the long intro and you will be rewarded.
For surfing, the “Chosen One” isn’t quite as clear, but some of the best footage that I saw in 2008 was from a POV cam mounted on the back of Brian Conley’s board as he pushes through some lengthy tube rides in the South Pacific. Here’s a teaser for that.
On a recent trip to Canada, I noticed that folks up there had a different type of late night food craving. After a big night in Los Angeles, standard grub is usually a bacon wrapped hot dog (dirty dog) or a carne asada burrito. After the bars closed up there, we saw lines forming outside small cafes which specialized in Poutine. Pronounced “Pooh - teen”, this greasy concoction consists of french fries, melted cheese curds, and brown gravy poured on top. Many other toppings can be added to this dish, which originated in Quebec. Here is my first Poutine from Zog’s in the Whistler Village.
Zogs Dogs
4340 Sundial Cres RR 4
Whistler, BC V0N 1B4
(604) 938-6644
The dish is so popular in Canada, that it is sold in fast food chains like McDonalds, but is also served in fine dining restaurants. There are many regional variations of the dish. There is Montreal, Greek, Donair, and Breakfast styles. One of the more popular versions is Italian Poutine (also from Zogs pictured below) which has spaghetti sauce instead of the gravy.
One of the more memorable Poutine experiences of the trip was at Fritz’s European Fry House which is known to serve the best Poutine in Vancouver. The spot is located in the heart of downtown Couver and is packed with “Poutine-heads”. They also offer lots and LOTS of dipping sauces for your poutine. What makes a greasy dish like Poutine even better? Your choice of Several mayo-based dipping sauces. The one below has a hefty serving of garlic mayo on the side. It was some “wicked good poutine”.
Fritz’s European Fry House
718 Davie St.(at Granville)
Vancouver BC
V6Z 1B6
(604) 684-0811
It is even a verb at some restaurants in Canada. To “poutinized” something, is to add cheese curds and brown gravy to it. One day, I will “poutinize” a dirty dog.
The Coachella Music and Arts Festival turns 10 this year and the 3 day concert is still rocking the best mainstream and indie music acts on the planet. So far, there are 122 artists signed up to play in Indio, California from April 17-19th 2009. The lineup is really a maze of talent which only the most seasoned music buff could navigate. This playlist from iMeem is a great study guide for those interested in getting a taste of the music at Coachella beforehand.
With more on the line, and the level of play much higher, a crowd gathered at the Battle of the Berrics for the Semis and Finals of the biggest SKATE tournament ever.
Here are the final 3 matchups between Mike Mo Capaldi, Billy Marks, PJ Ladd, and Benny Fairfax. I won’t spoil the outcome, but there are some surprise celebrity judges and a special prize for the winner.
Battle At The Berrics Semi Finals: Mike Mo Capaldi Vs Billy Marks
Battle At The Berrics Semi Finals: PJ Ladd Vs Benny Fairfax
Let me start by saying, I have never been there, but I plan on trying it this weekend. The local buzz around these 2 taco trucks (named Verde and Roja) is pretty huge. I like how they are out there bringing interesting food to adventurous diners everywhere. It is also cool is how Kogi is technically proficient with their weekly schedule posted on their website and their frequent articles/twitters about (hmmmm)…rolling around Los Angeles in a Roach Coach filled with Bulgogi and Tofu Tacos.
The Korean style beef, chicken, pork, and tofu tacos are also available at the Alibi Room. In addition to the Kogi Taco Truck fare, the Alibi Room also has some other Korean Fusion bar food on their menu. Rumor has it that the Kogi sensation has revitalized the Alibi Room so get ready for crowds.
Alibi Room
12236 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 390-9300
Here is a cool blog all about Los Angeles “Taco Lifestyle” and this is their article about the Kogi Taco Truck.
The ultimate skateboard directory for skateboarders made by skateboarders - this isn’t another extreme sports app - this is the real deal. This application was made by a network of hardcore skaters from across the world. iSkateboard is an application created to help skaters find street skate spots, skateparks and skate shops. We have listed over 30,000 locations all across the world and are adding hundreds of listings each day.
With iSkateboard you can find a skate shop, street spot or skatepark that is near you with GPS functionality of up to 50 miles. iSkateboard gives you turn by turn car and foot directions from where you are to your skate spot, skatepark or skate shop. You also have the ability to override the GPS and manually search cities for spots.
iSkateboard features a streaming RSS news feed from all the major skate media featuring Thrasher Magazine, Skateboard Mag, Transworld, Fuel TV and more. With iSkateboard you can also contribute skate spots that you know and helping add to the community of people who want to find the dopest spots around.
Countries include: USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, China, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, New Zealand, Japan and many many more
I have never been able to draw, paint, trace, or color. As a child, it made arts and crafts very humiliating. That’s probably why I am fascinated by cool design. Here are a couple examples:
I love the taste of Absolut Vodka..or maybe it’s just that sleek bottle. A great looking food or beverage product can really alter how we perceive taste.
Apple products have always been known for marrying great form and usability. The best things about Apple is that they don’t stop with the product’s appearance. The software is just as beautiful. The iPhone proves my point.
IWC Aquatimer Watches have a slick look. My favorite is the Aquatimer Chronograph from The Lucky Number Slevin.
Japan is leaps and bounds over most countries when it comes to making great design common in everyday life. Sushi is a delicious example. So are those wax food presentations in the restaurant display window (not pictured).
Another company which makes well designed products very accessible is Ikea. Yeah yeah..it is played out; it is cheap college apartment decor; they sacrifice quality for form. BUT at first glance, their stuff does look great. Even if you dislike Ikea’s initial design, at least they have a whole site dedicated to improving (aka hacking) their low-mid quality products. Check out Ikea Hacker.
Of course the automobile industry puts tons of emphasis on design. In many cases people would prefer to have a car which looks fast rather than goes fast. With the Audi R8, you can have both…for an MSRP of $123K. Good design usually costs.
Since restaurant reviews and food articles have been reduced on funkrocks (we had to make more room for younger+hipper content. hah!), here is a website which is a great resource for all things edible. eGullet is an established forum of food lovers, chefs, restaurateurs, and food TV junkies. Their loyal users can be counted for detailed recipes, restaurant reviews, and snobbish commentary. Of course, many of these people are experts in there field so some snobbery should be expected.
The pictures and step by step instructions must have taken forever to assemble, but these recipes are very common on this site.
Aside from obvious experts who post recipes like those listed above, there are also well known figures in the culinary world.
One instance where some prominent food figures mixed it up with everyday egullet users was during an argument over foie gras. The debate wasn’t too thrilling, but if you looked at who was participating, you could spot 2 “celebrities” in the fray.
One was Anthony Bourdain, who has the eGullet handle “bourdain”. He’s actually a frequent poster on eGullet. He was executive chef at NYC’s Les Halles and has appeared on many tv shows: No Reservations, Top Chef, A Cook’s Tour and more. He is also the author of many food and travel books including his classic culinary autobiography, Kitchen Confidential. Interesting Bourdain trivia: he is a rabid anti-vegetarian…so watch out hippies. For more, check out his Travel Channel blog.
Another eGullet user who jumped in the foie gras debate, was author, Michael Ruhlman. He wrote a fantastic book called, The Soul of a Chef. You can read his blog here.
A really heated topic of discussion on eGullet is which celebrity chefs are the most annoying. It is pretty hilarious to see perky Rachel Ray getting brutally dissed by the net grannies on eGullet. She did nuttin to no one!
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