THE KONGQUEST

"Tree of life", Tsavo national park, Kenya (© Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

Yann Arthus-Bertrand inspires us to think about sustainable living on a globally scale through his photography collection, Earth From Above. His gallery will be on display in New York City at the World Financial Center Plaza from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009. All his works are absolutely stunning and gives you a glimpse at how other people are living around the world. You must check out this amazing gallery!

[via The Big Picture Blog]

This has been one of my favorite songs for a while now. At first, you may think the song is about love but it’s not the love you would expect. Sam Sparro crytically spins some existential flavor into this catchy song that will keep you playing it on repeat.

Black and Gold - Sam Sparro

If the fish swam out of the ocean
and grew legs and they started walking
and the apes climbed down from the trees
and grew tall and they started talking

and the stars fell out of the sky
and my tears rolled into the ocean.
Now I’m looking for a reason why
you even set my world into motion.

Cause if you’re not really here
then the stars don’t even matter.
Now I’m filled to the top with fear
but it’s all just a bunch of matter.
Cause if you’re not really here
then I don’t want to be either.
I wanna be next to you.

Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

I looked up into the night sky
and see a thousand eyes staring back
and all around these golden beacons
I see nothing but black.

I feel a way of something beyond them
I don’t see what I can feel.
If vision is the only validation
then most of my life isn’t real.

Cause if you’re not really here
then the stars don’t even matter.
Now I’m filled to the top with fear
but it’s all just a bunch of matter.
Cause if you’re not really here
then I don’t want to be either.
I wanna be next to you.

Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

I was driving home yesterday listening to KEXP (91.5FM), which is an awesome independent radio station in the New York Metro Area, and found this amazing gem of a song! It’s go soul and it’s got a good message. I love songs who keep it badass while spewing social commentary that shows how ridiculous human beings are. Thank you Dave Bartholomew for keeping it real.

The Monkey - Dave Bartholomew

The monkey speaks his mind

And three monkeys sat in a coconut tree
Discussing things as they are said to be
Said one to other now listen, you two
“There’s a certain rumour that just can’t be true
That man descended from our noble race
Why, the very idea is a big disgrace, yea”
No monkey ever deserted his wife
Starved her baby and ruined her life

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind

And you’ve never known a mother monk
To leave her babies with others to bunk
And passed them on from one to another
‘Til they scarcely knew which was their mother
Yea, the monkey speak his mind

And another thing you will never see
A monkey build a fence around a coconut tree
And let all the coconuts go to waste
Forbidding other monkeys to come and taste
Why, if I put a fence around this tree
Starvation would force you to steal from me

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind

Here’s another thing a monkey won’t do
Go out on a night and get all in a stew
Or use a gun or a club or a knife
And take another monkey’s life
Yes, man descended, the worthless bum
But, brothers, from us he did not come

Yea, the monkey speaks his mind
Yea, now the monkey speaks his mind

Since the beginning of email, people have been pissing each other off by sending chain letters to a massive list of contacts. In response, you will always have some jokester or heckler replying back to everyone on the list, basking in the limelight of mass communication. From PopMatters magazine comes a great article on this odd cultural phenomenon. Check it for some great writing and humorous reflection of our electronic culture. Here’s an excerpt:

REPLY ALL is an attention-seeker’s dream: within seconds, we find that our reach and impact has spread like the first sneeze in a second-grade classroom. Providing the recipients bother to open the email – and read it—our voice is being heard not only by friends and coworkers, but by utter strangers around the world. With a simple click from someone who’s bored at their day job in the cube, looking to kill some time, the spot – er, computer-light—is cast upon us.

It is our moment, so we had better make it count; we may as well use all capital letters, you know, THE SHOUT – let’s not forget multiple exclamation points, too. And hey, may as well tell our best jokes, perhaps show off our erudition and cultural savvy with a few well-chosen references to the latest books, movies, or a phrase gleaned from news coverage of international politics.

Link: No Reply Needed

Image by Mark Sardella via Flickr

It pays to be smooth. I only know a small handful of people who have even dared to master the art of tipping to get better service, let alone enjoy paying for great service regularly. Well I’d like to educate and spread the wealth in the power of tipping. The following article by Bruce Feiler hits the nail on the head on the beauty of tipping to get only the best!

Here is an excerpt of the tips he offers:

Tips on Tipping

1. Go. You’d be surprised what you can get just by showing up.
2. Dress appropriately. Your chances improve considerably if you look like you belong.
3. Don’t feel ashamed. They don’t. You shouldn’t.
4. Have the money ready. Prefolded, in thirds or fourths, with the amount showing.
5. Identify the person who’s in charge, even if you have to ask.
6. Isolate the person in charge. Ask to speak with that person, if necessary.
7. Look the person in the eye when you slip him the money. Don’t look at the money.
8. Be specific about what you want. “Do you have a better table?” “Can you speed up my wait?” A good fallback: “This is a really important night for me.”
9. Tip the maître d’ on the way out if he turned down the money but still gave you a table.
10. Ask for the maître d’s card as you’re leaving. You are now one of his best customers.

Link: Pocketful of Dough

This is first post in the series for NYC Restaurant Reviews. I like to explore a wide range of restaurants in the city and Ko was the first to inspire me to write and express my feelings on delicious restaurants. I started writing on yelp but as like most of the things I say or do, there may need more explanation. This series will take my Yelp reviews and put a little more commentary and details to it.

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Momofuku Ko
- 5 Stars -

They say the harder you work, the luckier you get. Furiously clicking the refresh button at 10 AM and arduously searching 1st Avenue for a sign or awning, signifying that I have found the holy grail, may have actually got me thinking that I am lucky indeed.

For a hole in the wall kind of place, I was thoroughly impressed by the way Ko was thought out: the meal was ready to be made for you when you walk through the door, modest atmosphere, first class service staff, unique several course adventure with perfect enhancements through paired libations, and enjoyment for 3 hours, unrushed. What more can you ask for?

Maybe a discount… but such is life.

Every course was amazing with my favorite being the duck dish with the pairing of Ramirez de la Piscina, Reserva Rioja 2001. Your results will vary due to the ever changing menu.

At the end of the night, I felt comfortably satisfied and nicely inebriated. I was ready to go home, lay down, and dream about future meals at this amazing restaurant. Or was this all a dream in the first place?

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We went as a group of 4 and one person in our party was about 30 minutes late. Even though they claim to not allow tardiness, they were pretty laid back because we were the first table of the night. We opted to go for the $85 drink tasting and had the following dishes in our omakase style meal:

Appetizers
1. English muffin cooked with pork fat and sea salt, topped with chives
and Pork rind sprinkled with togarashi
2. Fluke sashimi in a spicy buttermilk sauce and poppy seeds
3. Bacon dashi soup with oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, fava beans, and turnip
4. Poached egg topped with hackleback caviar on top of a onion soubise, and potato chips on side
5. Sweet corn ravioli topped with cochita cheese, chorizo pieces, and pickled onions
6. Shaved frozen foie gras on top of lychee, riesling jelly and pinenut brittle

Entrees
7. Halibut drizzled with a pepperoncini puree
8. Sliced duck in a reduced red wine and cherry sauce with green beans, bean sprouts, and crushed water chestnuts

Desserts
9. Pineapple sorbet with candied pineapples
10. Yellowcake ice cream over peanut butter and strawberries over peanut butter crumbs

Overall, I have to say it was one of the best experiences in my life even though we had a $240 price tag to it.

No more excuses.
No more procrastination.
It’s time to be daring.
It’s time to make mistakes.
This is where the fun starts…