Sweat(er) Shop

The pay-to-show space, Gallery 825 on La Cienega will be having an opening this Saturday from 6 to 9 for "Sweater". They're calling it a collaboration between Los Angeles Art Association members, and Tim Hawkinson.

From the press release, the work looks like a Hawkinson through and through. Above we can see LAAA members who've paid $225. a year for the privilege of installing one of Tim's works.

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My Parents Escaped From a Concentration Camp, and All I Got Was This Lousy Painting

First let's talk economics. There's this thing called inflation, which sounds like something is getting bigger. What that means is that over time--and for different reasons--the value we attribute to currency gets smaller and smaller. My grandfather worked for Pullman Car Company and supported his family on $7.00 a week. Now days I can exchange that same seven bucks for lunch. In a world of constantly shrinking value, the superlative, "most expensive ever," will constantly be surpassed. Why just a few weeks ago, I bought my most expensive tank of gas ever!

In additon to this, we have more rich people than ever before. Traditionally, they've placed their surplus cash in investments like stocks, bonds, and real estate. Currently those investments are showing less of a profit than they have in the past, so some of these folks are funneling their greenbacks into art. And as we've seen with other commodities, the more dollars that are chasing after limited resources, the higher the cost.

Recently the blogsphere has bemoaned the sale (and cost) of the Adele Bloch Bauer portrait, which has elbowed its way to the front page as the most expensive objet du jour:

Here we can read about the triumph of commerce over art.

Chris Benfey at Slate had this to say:
"What's a reasonable price for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece? If the Texas Rangers once paid Alex Rodriguez twice that amount to play shortstop for 10 years, hasn't Lauder gotten his Klimt, which he owns in perpetuity, for a steal? (I'd rather have Adele on my wall than A-Rod on my team.)"

Culture Grrl Lee Rosenbaum laments the Klimt passing into the private domain, and calls the family "fortunate" to receive restitution. As Lee might paraphrase a now headless French queen, "Let them eat Klimt!"

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What Better Place?

Lynn Westmoreland represents the good people of Georgia's 8th Congressional District, an area that skirts the southern outskirts of Atlanta.

He was recently asked about his co-sponsorship of a bill requiring the display of the 10 commandments in congress on the Colbert Report, which includes this exchange:

W: "Where better place could you have something like that than a judicial building or in a courthouse?"

C: "That is a good question. Can you think of any better building to put the 10 commandments in than a public building?"

W: "No."

The video can be viewed here or here.

Westmoreland says, "The 10 commandments is not a bad thing for people to understand and respect."

Perhaps the same could be said of the First Amendment.

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Look Up!

This weekend will be a great opportunity to see the International Space Station as it flies overhead.

As long as you look up at the right time and in the right direction, spotting the station is not as difficult as it might seem. Though it moves at a good clip--almost 5 miles a second--it's only 250 miles up, and its large solar panels help reflect lots of sunlight, making it easier to see.

Normally the best time to spot the ISS is early in the morning or just after sunset, when the sky is dark, and the station is still reflecting sunlight. For two brief periods, this weekend and again in December, the station doesn't pass through the Earth's shadow, making it easier to see through the night.

Here's a picture of the ISS taken Monday, June 12 from Germany:


If you're someplace other than Los Angeles, the European Space Agency links to a web site that will help you spot the ISS as it passes overhead.

In Los Angeles, there will be two opportunities to view the ISS when it's at a magnitude -0.8:

Saturday, June 17 at 9:27 (and 38 seconds)
Here's the map of the orbit path of the ISS
Here's the star chart

Monday, June 19 at 8:38 (and 38 seconds)
Here's the map of the orbit path
Here's the star chart

The times listed are when the ISS first appears in the southwest horizon; it will take about eight minutes to cross the sky and disappear over the hills to the northeast (depending where you are).

Happy viewing!

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Robert's Blog

Robert is away this week, on his second AIDS Life Cycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There's usually a phone call in the evening, and during the day I can read his blog of the previous day's events. If you would like to say hi to him on the road or donate, his rider number is 7147. You can also read about his experience last year.

I could also tell you that Plato misses him, but then I would be projecting.

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Urasawa Omakase Menu

UPDATE (November 10, 2007): It was revealed today that The Michelin Guide for Los Angeles gives Hiroyuki Urasawa and his eponymous restaurant two stars! Congratulations!! According to the guide two stars means, "excellent cuisine, worth a detour, with specialties and wine of first-class quality." Below is our bite-by-bite review of our dinner last year at Urasawa:

A long-time friend of Robert, James, recently invited Robert and myself to dinner at Urasawa. (AKA the-most-expensive-restaurant-in-Los-Angeles) The omakase menu (chef's choice, or literally 'entrusting' in Japanese) is second only (in price) to Masa in New York, which will set you back $350, food only.

Hiro Urasawa is one of two chefs in the United States licenced to serve fugu (blowfish) which unfortunately is only available in the winter months. I thought I would share our once-in-a-lifetime, four-hour, 37-course, exotic and decadent dinning experience (expanded from Robert's notes made during dinner) with those of you who may appreciate it:

Sake

Kubota Manju

Acclaimed as one of the finest examples of the Daiginjo, Kubota Manju's preparation time and craftsmanship exceed that of almost every other sake made. The fruits of 500 years of sake making history in Japan's most esteemed sake-brewing prefecture (Niigata) culminate in Kubota's crowning achievement, Kubota "Manju" (Millions of Celebrations). Part of the exceedingly high cost of producing Manju comes from polishing away 60% of each rice grain.

1^st course:

Junsai (Japanese water shield) in sweet vinegar and yuzu juice; taken as a shot.

2^nd course:

Seasquirt, (hoya) – Relative of the sea cucumber, vinegared ever so delicately. Amazing!

3^rd course:

Abalone marinated in its own digestive juices. A nice resistance to bite. Unexpectedly delicate.

4^th course:

Yamaimo (mountain yam) and shiso leaf in a seaweed gelatin base with uni (sea urchin) sauce topped with gold leaf.

Sashimi

5^th – 7^th courses:

Sashimi of toro (belly tuna), tai (Japanese snapper) and uni served with miniature squash blossoms, fresh wasabi grated on sharkskin, and a julienne of daikon and fresh seaweed. Presented on a hand-carved ice sculpture set in river stones with hydrangea blossoms.

8^th course:

Steamed abalone topped with uni, fresh ground wasabi in a dashi (bonito and kelp stock) wtih kuzu (a sea vegetable) sauce.

Ishiyaki (to cook on a stone)

9^th course:

Toro no ishiyaki: a hot stone on a bed of salt was brought out and toro was served to cook on it. The dipping sauce was a tosazu (a type of vinegar); the texture was incredible!

Shabu Shabu

10^th – 12^th courses:

Shabu shabu: A delicate dashi stock was served in a paper bowl, suspended on top of natural charcoal, just far enough above to prevent burning. A very generous portion of foie gras was fluttered through the liquid just to the point of loosing its firmness, and then eaten. Sea scallops, which were still moving on my plate, were then given the same treatment, finished by saga beef (a ridiculously marbled, obscenely delicious meat that has a price tag to match from the Saga prefecture in Japan).

13^th course:

The delicate while simultaneously rich broth that resulted from the previous dippings.

14^th course:

Saga beef cubes (not some waugu passed off as Kobe beef) seared over natural charcoal topped with wasabi and a drop of yuzu juice with a side of salt, house-made from kelp. Wonderful texture, and after two chews it’s like waking up from a dream and suddenly there’s nothing in your mouth but an incredibly rich meaty aftertaste.

Sushi

A small dish is set out for the delicate house-brewed soy sauce. A generous portion of house-made ginger was set out for the sushi courses, and a fresh rolled hot towel on a wood plank was brought out for wiping one’s fingers between courses. The sushi was picked up in one’s fingers and supposed to be eaten within 10 seconds.

15^th - 17^th course:

O-toro, ju-toro, akami-toro (super-fatty, medium-fatty, red fat belly tuna).

18^th course:

Yakitoro (seared toro) Incredible contrast to the previous three courses. OMG.

19^th course:

Katsuo (skipjack, a striped tuna from tropical waters)

20^th course:

Tai (sea bream; similar in taste to snapper) It was pointed out that all the fish are wild; none were farm-raised.

21^st course:

Shiroebi (Japanese glass shrimp).

22^nd course:

Uni.

23^rd course:

Sea scallops, still moving.

Intermezzo

24^th course:

Pickled daikon

Back to sushi

Flavors go from less to more intense; we’re now starting on the more oily fish.

25^th course:

Spanish mackerel

26^th course:

Sayori (needlefish) cut in a super-long, super-thin strip, and curled and looped into a shape similar to the one Prince used to use for a name.

27^th course:

Odori-ebi (a sweetwater shrimp, apparently the most expensive shrimp in the world, cooked in front of your eyes, still alive)

28^th course:

Grilled shitake, dabbed with a little wasabi, soy sauce, and yuzu juice. Simple, pure, exquisite.

29^th course:

Kohada (gizzard shad, kind of like herring).

30^th course:

Tea break

Back to sushi

31^st course:

Mirugai (geoduck)

32^nd course:

Ika (type of squid) long narrow strips where in the fish case. Shaved away from a paper-thin outer layer, it had a perfect texture, unlike any squid I’ve ever had.

33^rd course:

Anago (saltwater eel – less oily, more delicate version of the common unagi)

34^th course:

Lobster, mountain yam, and glass shrimp custard. Looked like a little square of cake with an incredibly fine grain. Rich and delicious.

That was it. We cried uncle.

Dessert

35^th course:

Papaya with grapefruit gelatin and Japanese mountain fruit. The red fruit looked like tiny leeches nuts, but the knobby red outside was edible.

36^th & 37^th course:

Sesame pudding topped with azuki (sweet red bean) and gold leaf. Hiro prepared a little Japanese tea ceremony using macha green tea (bitter, served with the sesame pudding for contrast).

Digestiv

38^th course:

Hojicha – bancha green tea roasted by Hiro.

Odds & Ends

Bar seats 10; made of a single block of unfinished Maple, sanded every night.

No Tupperware in sight.

Four hours from beginning to end.

Staff of 5 to serve 10: Hiro, a sous-chef, a waiter, a runner, and a dishwasher.

Dinner, sake, tax and tip for three came to $1200.

They validate parking!

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