Wizard World Comic Con 2016
August 25th, 2016 by chocko
After a few short stops on the Blue Line from O’Hare International Airport, Chocko and his sibling tag team partner Young Gunner, found themselves at Wizard World Comic Con Chicago. On a Saturday, probably their busiest day but easy to navigate compared to the huge beast of a Con out in San Diego and the hot mess in NYC. There was plenty of elbow room to dig around and wander the convention floor. Most of our day was devoted to WWE Superstars, Nikki & Brie, The Bella Twins. If you got some extra dough burning a hole in your pocket, it’s totally worth it to get VIP passes. We got to the Bella Twins photo op line which moved fast and with the VIP passes, you get placed in a separate line that goes first before general admission. After a few brief words with Nikki & Brie, mostly stammering, stuttering and twitching, they pose with you then you’re whisked away to where your photo shoots out of a printer and is ready for you to take home, frame and display above the mantelpiece.
Love the Chicago cosplay but Wrestling Cosplay rules! Will Kevin Owens be the next WWE Universal Champion? Maybe with Bombur in his corner! This dude’s KO cosplay gets a Chocko 5 out of 5 elbows off the top rope.
So, bagging and boarding is not enough anymore. If you wanna 1-up your fellow geeks, you have to ship out your comics to companies that will grade them, ship them back to you in hermetically sealed cases with a nifty holographic sticker slapped on it, ready for the auction block.
Suicide Squad cosplay was running rampant in the lobby and halls of the con. Multiple Harley Quinn sightings…no complaints here. HQ killin’ it!
Even Bane got his fanboy on, taking a pic of the Doctor Octopus cosplay.
This trashcan droid gave me a flashback to the 70’s. Loved the action figure. Gonk! More cosplay photos below including somebody dressed up as a Dancing Groot, Wednesday from The Addam’s Family, a Tusken Raider with a baby, The Thing from Fantastic Four, Bombur from the Hobbit movies, The singing plant from Little Shop of Horrors, Lobo (everybody’s favorite bounty killer from outer space), X-Men (Angel and Storm), The Joker and Harley Quinn and Doc and Marty McFly from Back To The Future. Anime and Manga Cosplay was also in the house.
It was an awesome day at the Chicago Comic Con. Less stressful than other cons I’ve attended. Definitely recommended! My only complaint was the food at the snack bar. I’ve never seen pizza so ugly looking. They were out of cheeseburgers too! Your best bet is to pack some food or eat before you get to the convention. Finally, we got our Bella Twins autographs which was pretty fast and painless. Looks like Wizard World has some quality programming too. Hopefully nobody had to sleep overnight in the parking lot to get to any of them. We capped off the day with The Bella Twins Q&A panel. The ladies were running a tad bit late but the host and moderator, Mo Lightning (conSMASH podcast, WrestlingAudio.com) kept the crowd entertained while we waited for the panel to begin. Check out a video from the Bella Twins panel below!
Check out Chocko (njmisfit) and Mr. C (planetchocko) on instagram.
Follow @planetchocko on Twitter. LIKE us on Facebook too. Thanks!
Tags: 2016, Brie Bella, chicago, comic books, comic con, cosplay, Nikki Bella, review, The Bella Twins, wizard world, wwe
Posted in art, chocko, comic books, fashion, movies, photos, toys, travel, TV | Comments (0)
Summer of ’92 at Terminal 5
August 13th, 2016 by chocko
Salt N Pepa at Terminal 5 August 9, 2016
DJ Spinderella
En Vogue
Biz Markie
The Crystal Pepsi Summer of ’92 featured artists from that totally awesome era including Lisa Loeb, Biz Markie, En Vogue and Salt N Pepa with DJ Spinderella. The 90’s party also featured a retro arcade with classic video games, a hair salon to get your 90’s look on point (Chocko got his Cesar cut and sideburns and goatee touched up), a Smells like the 90’s art wall and a bar with an endless supply of Crystal Pepsi. There was a mini 90’s retro mall with free swag…fanny packs, t-shirts with graffiti designs and hats to match. I missed the opener, Lisa Loeb but I heard she sounded amazing and shared a great story about how her break through hit “Stay” ended up on the soundtrack to the movie Reality Bites. Biz Markie and DJ Cool V crushed it on the stage with a mix of old tracks like “Pickin’ Boogers” and “The Vapors” along with Biz Markies’s versions of songs by Rick James (the crowd sang “Mary Jane” at the top of thier lungs), Prince (Biz hitting that falsetto for “Kiss” made me laugh), and Michael Jackson. En Vogue tore the roof off the place with a steady, smoldering set of hits including “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “My Lovin” and “Don’t Let Go” off the soundtrack of Set If Off. The group at this point in time consists of original members Cindy Heron-Braggs, Terry Ellis, and newest member Rhona Bennett. The ladies also performed a new single “Déjà Vu” which was an absolute treat…the single is their first release in over five years. Salt N Pepa along with DJ Spinderella headlined the party and showcased everything we all love about old school hip hop. Their set not only showcased excellent MC’s on the microphone, but there was also tons of hip hop choreography and dance moves. The DJ even got some shine when playing some tunes to see if the crowd remembered some old school jams like “It’s Tricky” by RUN DMC. Spinderella woke up the crowd for sure when she threw on some “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” by Guns ‘N Roses and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. The impromptu dance party on stage while Spinderella played “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper with all the girls in the audience bum rushing the stage was a definite highlight. Another highlight was when En Vogue was invited back on stage for “Whatta Man” which both groups collaborated on in the early nineties. The set concluded with Salt N Pepa throwing on some old school leather jackets and performing their monster smash, “Push It.” Get up on this! Check out below for more photos and videos from the Summer of ’92 show!
Tags: biz markie, crystal pepsi, dj spinderella, en vogue, hip hop, new york city, nyc, old school, salt n pepa, summer of 92, terminal 5
Posted in art, chocko, fashion, music, photos | Comments (0)
Pearl Jam played Fenway Park
August 8th, 2016 by chocko
Pearl Jam at Fenway Park August 5, 2016
Pearl Jam are rounding the bases, nearly completing their 2016 tour but made a stop on Friday night at the home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park. The 3 hour show featured no opening act and a career spanning, 32 song set list that featured covers and surprise cameos from some Red Sox baseball players. In the middle of the epic show, frontman, Eddie Vedder took the time to share some old polaroid photos projected on the big screens surrounding the stage. Most of the photos were of the small crowds that watched the band play their early years in clubs in Boston, Providence and NYC (damn, wish I went to their Wetlands show!). Two other photos were of Fenway Park which Vedder took after climbing a fence and sneaking through some corridors. Fast forward to the present, and here we are in center field and PJ is playing a sold out show in front of thousands including The Green Monster towering over left field!
Former Red Sox pitcher, Bronson Arroyo strapped with a guitar, joined the band on stage for “Black” and Kevin Youkilis made a cameo appearance to hand Vedder a ukulele. The Boston love continued throughout the show when veteran sportswriter Peter Gammons was invited on stage. Pearl Jam dedicated “Faithfull” to David “Big Papi” Ortiz and “Down” was dedicated to American historian and social activist, Howard Zinn. The show features some songs the band rarely plays including Bob Dylan’s “Master of War” which was followed up by a punked up version of Little Steven’s “I Am A Patriot.” Other covers included Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and Aerosmith’s “Draw The Line” which was followed by a little shout out to Joe Perry. The show went into extra innings but the final two hits were also covers: “I’ve Got A Feeling” (The Beatles) and “Baba O’Riley” (The Who). Pearl Jam will be swinging for the fences once again for a second show at Fenway and at Wrigley Field in Chicago Aug. 20 and 22. Check out more photos and some videos below!
Check out Chocko (njmisfit) and Mr. C (planetchocko) on instagram.
Follow @planetchocko on Twitter. LIKE us on Facebook too. Thanks!
Tags: 2016, boston, concert, eddie vedder, fenway park, pearl jam, tour
Posted in chocko, music, photos, sports, travel | Comments (0)
Summer Streets of NYC + Turntable 5060
August 7th, 2016 by Mr. C
(Overlooking 42nd Street and Vanderbilt from the Park Ave overpass)
(bicycles,electric skateboards,runners,walkers,razor scooters and most importantly – NO CARS!)
————————————————————————————————————-
Yesterday, we hit-up Summer Streets NYC 2016 – an annual celebration of our public space – the streets to raise awareness for healthy recreation and to realize sustainable forms of transportation. On the first 3 consecutive Saturdays in August, 7 miles of NYCs streets are opened to the public to play, run, walk, & bike with NO cars or any motorized vehicles on the designated area of Summer Streets which is basically Park Ave from 72nd Street all the way down to Foley Square. There are many events going on besides the 7 miles of concrete slab road for biking, walking, skateboarding, or running. live bands, games, fitness classes, parkour demos, tai chi classes, beachside water slides, zip lines, & many other activities. We were just looking forward to bicycling the 7 miles of the no car zone which was fun enough for us!
Summer Streets NYC goes on for 2 more Saturdays this month, August 13 & August 20th! Get your bike on or at least get your
carcass on the 7 miles of cager free sucker free insanity!
—————————————————————————————————————
(The ride uptown on Park Ave seemed quiet after the 4th ave stretch)
(Approaching the Helmsley Building/Metlife building by 42nd Street & Park)
(The Helmsley Building)
(made a right turn when at the Helmsley building)
(going into the Helmsley building!)
(On the other side of Park Ave by 47th St)
(Checking that Citi bike in before taking it right back out – my bike takes a well deserved rest, too!)
(We turn around on 72nd st to head back downtown)
(Approaching the Helmsley Building again going back downtown)
(Taking notice of the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt – The founder of the New York Central Railroad)
(Demolition of building across the street from Grand Central Station)
(Houston and Lafayette Streets)
(Canal and Lafayette Streets)
(We arrived at Foley Square at City Hall, not far from the Brooklyn Bridge)
(City beach and hammocks?)
(Water slide!)
(Games people play!)
———————————————————————————————————————–
After the ride, we had a satisfying meal at Turntable 5060 in the east village on the corner of E.4th street & Avenue B. Turntable 5060 serves new american food that is Korean inspired. You must get the wings if you come here! The soy garlic is the standard but the hot & spicy is where its at! The wings are crispy and lightly coated in rice flour, I think. The chicken reminded me of Bon Chon’s version which is a good thing in my mind. For the main entree I had the bulgogi burger with a side of fries and a side of tofu with seaweed salad. The bulgogi burger meat was tender and tasty, a bit saltier than I would have wanted but the amazing toasted brioche – croissant like bun that the meat was sandwiched in between slopped up the extra saltiness. I’m usually not a fan of brioche buns because most of the time I find the bread is dry and fluffy. The ones at Turntable were flaky and moist, just like a croissant. The fries were amazing as well. They were crispy and seasoned with just the right amount of salt and dustings of chili or cayan like pepper. The seaweed salad offered a fresh contrast of the sea and crunch along with the tart and wonderful sesame oil aroma. The bulgogi burger and 2 sides was a $9.99 lunch special! What a great deal! Turntable 5060 looks like a very cool spot to hang out in, grab a few drinks and order appetizers all night long! Remember, the wings are a must! Besides the tasty food we had, the decor of the place was also pretty unique and inviting. It had a rustic & modern country feel from the wooden tables, chairs, & stools on the one side of the dining room. On the contrast, Turntable also had a vintage like feel from all the lo-fi retro audio equipment on display in the back including a reel to reel tape player and music albums lined up on the DJ like booth. Supposedly they play music on these reel to reel recorders. We must come back at night to experience the scene here along with the great korean american food!
Turntable 5060
235 E 4th St by Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(The DJ like booth I mentioned with all the retro audio equipment and reel to reel albums & recorder/player)
(Hot & spicy wings – order this!)
(Bulgogi burger + fries + seaweed salad)
Tags: alternative transportation, nyc bicycling, summer streets
Posted in community, mr. c, photos, sports | Comments (0)
Rooftops + Sidewalks show at My Plastic Heart
August 6th, 2016 by Mr. C
Boundless Brooklyn started as a company that had an idea to create a DIY water tower model kit that would be fast and easy to assemble in 10-15 minutes. These model kits come complete with everything you need — no scissors or extra glue are needed. All of their products are made in the U.S.A. from chipboard, a 100% recycled material. The fun comes in when you customize the kits with paint, markers, acrylics, oils, water colors, & maybe other creative ways that I can’t think of now! The water tower model kits did so well that other “canvas” kits were created such as mailboxes, billboards, half pipes, lifeguard towers, & lighthouses.
With that background, a group of 25+ leading and upcoming illustrators customized Boundless Brooklyn water towers and mailboxes for a show curated by Leo Espinosa called ROOFTOPS + SIDEWALKS on display at My Plastic Heart, a designer toy store located on Forsyth Street in the lower east side of Manhattan. All works at the Rooftops and Sidewalks exhibit are for sale! I stopped by today to check out these creations! All of the water towers & mailboxes had amazing designs,eye-popping colors, & crazy detail on them! I can’t wait to start my own water tower creation soon!
The Rooftops + Sidewalks show runs from August 5th – September 2 at MyPlasticHeart.
myplasticheart
210 Forsyth Street
New York, NY 10002
Participating Artists
Leo Espinosa
Bob Flynn
Bob Staake
Loris Lora
Micah Player
Raul Gonzalez
Charles Glaubitz
Jordan Awan
Aaron Meshon
Roman Muradov
Keith Negley
Jorge Gutierrez
Sandra Equihua
Sonni Adrian
Marius Valdes
Himanshu Sharma
Jacob Thomas
Rob Dunlavey
Andrea D’Aquino
Calef Brown
Ellen Surrey
Lisk Feng
Laura Osorno
Robert Neubecker
Claudia Pearson
——————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————
Tags: bikes, boundless brooklyn, graffiti, mailbox, summer streets, water towers
Posted in art, community, mr. c, photos | Comments (0)
my kinda town – rock n roll, kung fu, & new york city!
July 31st, 2016 by Mr. C
———————————————————————————————————-
THE BELLS: A DAYLONG CELEBRATION OF LOU REED
———————————————————————————————————-
Lou Reed left us way too early on October 27, 2013. Yesterday, we celebrated Lou’s legacy on things he loved the most: music, martial arts, poetry, experimental composition, film, his family, friends, & just living life in New York City. Thanks to his wife Laurie Anderson and producer friend Hal Wilner along with Lincoln Center for curating this event – Saturday July 30, 2016 – we celebrate Lou Reed all day long! I would only spend half the day stomping around the grounds of Lincoln Center experiencing the vibe of the gritty & eclectic Lou but I assure you, the events I attended packed a punch …. pun intended!
———————————————————————————————————-
(Chen Style Tai Ji Master Guang Yi Ren leading the class at Lincoln Center)
———————————————————————————————————–
The celebration started as soon as I entered the grounds of Lincoln Center where the iconic water fountain lay with its gushing water flow that spits in a synchronous and rhythmic manner. I can hear and see Master Guang Yi Ren – a teacher of the discipline of Chen Tai Chi, an art form that Lou Reed was very passionate about. He was dedicated to Chen Tai Chi and to the teacher that he looked up to & respected very much in Guang Yi Ren. Master Ren was leading a class to about a hundred on Josie Robertson Plaza in Lincoln Center. You can magically imagine Reed on the grounds practicing just the same.
————————————————————————————————————
————————————————————————————————————-
The next event was just next door at the Damrosch Park Bandshell and it would be a treat! The music of Lou Reed / Velvet Underground would permeate through the park with live performances from luminaries in the music industry that also shared the same training and playgrounds with Lou – New York City! All were inspired by Lou Reed and his many creative forms of expression! The House band with Don Fleming, Sal Maida, Kenny Margolis, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Matt Sweeney, and Karen Waltuch would join forces with special guests David Johansen, Jesse Malin, Bush Tetras, JG Thirwell, Lenny Kaye, Yo La Tengo, Jon Spencer, Joan As Police Woman, Kembra Pfahler, Harper Simon, Felice Rosser, Tammy Faye Starlite, and more! We included some video footage from the show below. See who performed what Lou Reed/Velvet Underground song! The ending with Yo La Tengo and friends doing “Sister Ray” was nothing short of amazing!
————————————————————————————————————–
(Yo La Tengo performs “I Heard Her Call My Name”)
(Yo La Tengo closing out the show with “Sister Ray”)
(David Johansen singing “I believe in love”)
(Bush Tetras performing “Run Run Run”)
(Joan As Police Woman with “Ecstacy”)
(JG Thirwell performs “Men of Good fortune”)
(Jesse Malin with Rock n Roll)
(Jon Spencer performs “Venus in Furs”)
(Lenny Kaye with “I’m Set Free”)
(Tammy Faye Starlite performing Chelsea Girls)
(Kembra Pfahler performing “Disco Mystic”)
(Harper Simon with “Sweet Jane”)
(Felice Rosser)
(Don Fleming performs “Temptation inside of your heart)
(L:Lee Ranaldo R:Matt Sweeney)
————————————————————————————————————–
After the show, I peeked in on Master Guang Yi Ren and his students demonstrating at Hearst Plaza as well as a demo from the Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw Kung Fu School), an organization that Lou Reed had been a part of for many years as well.
————————————————————————————————————–
(Master Guang Yi Ren with Chen Style Tai Ji Broadsword)
(Chen Style double edge straight sword)
(Sifu Jose Figueroa(L) & Sifu Stephan Berwick(R) with moving/stepping Push hands)
(Chen Style Tai Chi Kwan Dao)
(Ying Jow Pai Kung Fu – Spear vs Kwan Dao)
(Master Guang Yi Ren’s senior disciples – Sifu Greg Pinney(L) – Sifu Jose Figueroa(R))
(Master Ren’s senior disciple – Sifu Stephan Berwick)
(Warrington Hudlin – filmmaker, Wu Style Tai Chi practioner, & curator of Museum of Moving Image’s film program “Fist & Sword”)
————————————————————————————————————–
I was running short on time so the last event that I would attend was the Lou Reed DRONES exhibit. It was an immersive sound installation created from six of Lou Reed’s guitars and amps in a feedback loop. Boy, was the sound in there intense! I can so see Reed get down with the noise to inspire creativity, instill peacefulness, and at the same time promote destruction and deconstruction!
(Drones installation – six of Lou Reed’s guitars and amps in a feedback loop)
—————————————————————————————————————
The Bells: an all day long celebration of Lou Reed was such a wonderful way to pay homage to an NYC icon, a pioneer of music and its many forms of creative expression, and to just simply acknowledge one of our own with his courage to live & appreciate life until spontaneous combustion.I hope they make this an annual event from here on in.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Tags: lcoutofdoors, lincoln center, lou reed, new york city, tai chi, the bells
Posted in art, community, mr. c, music, photos | Comments (0)
Bike NYC – St. Marks to Brooklyn
July 24th, 2016 by Mr. C
———————————————————————————————————————
Mondocurry’s son Nathan was visiting from Hawaii last year around this same time and we setup a bike ride that started with having dim sum at the large & vibrant banquet hall in a mall called 88 Palace located underneath the Manhattan bridge. After the canto eats, the bike ride commenced on East Broadway Chinatown > Brooklyn Bridge > Brooklyn Bridge Park > Manhattan Bridge > Chinatown. It was a fun ride despite being the hottest day of the year.
It so happened that Nathan was visiting again this year and we added a few revisions of the same ride and it was a blast! The only difference this year was that we all rode on Citibikes! Last year, I rode on my Brompton foldup bike but I decided that I didn’t want to lug the little brit around on all the stops so I opted to use the Citibike for convenience sake this year. And I’m sure glad I did! This time around, my citibike experience led to much more confidence in using their docking stations to checkin/checkout bikes. It seems like all the stations that I went to on Saturday were all operational as opposed to the experience I had a few years ago. Good job Citibike! The 3 gears on the citibike were good enough to navigate the slight inclines of all the bridge crossings. Come see how we get things started below! This year there was no dim sum. We opted for a lighter breakfast at Panya Bakery on 9th Street, instead. We’re looking forward to our 3rd annual Bike NYC ride next year! If you want to join us, let us know! Maybe next year, we will ride over the Williamsburg Bridge, spend time in Williamsburg > ride over the Pulaski Bridge to Long Island City, Queens > Queensboro Bridge> Manhattan . Just a thought! We welcome any suggestions!
———————————————————————————————————————–
(We all converged on the Astor place – Citibike station. Only 3 bikes? That’s all we needed!)
(here we go)
(We got on 2nd ave past Houston St to head downtown towards the Allen Street bike path)
(Allen Street bike path – love this stretch of bike path to navigate lower manhattan)
(Due to the Citibike 30 min time-limit, we dock the bikes by Cityhall b4 we check them out again 2 min later)
(Brooklyn Bridge bound we go! Too much pedestrian traffic and not much respect for the bike path)
(The road shortly opens up thanks to a few local bikers that voiced there opinion forcefully to the pedestrians!)
(We dock the citibikes at the nearest station on Tillary St/Cadman Plaza after we get off the Brooklyn Bridge)
(Next destination, Brooklyn Bridge Park to dump the bikes off on Old Fulton Street so we can explore!)
(view from Old Fulton street – Brooklyn Bridge on foreground, Manhattan Bridge in background)
(Before we do anything else, must.Stop.at.Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory!)
(Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront)
(We dive into the shady part of the park to get out of the sun and to head towards pier2)
(We run into this – over yonder in background is Pier 2 Sports Complex)
(Nathan surfing the boulder which was actually a big piece of foam)
(View from Pier 2 – Sports complex)
(Rollerskating rink at Pier 2)
(views off Pier 2 – Statue of Liberty)
(Behind us on Pier 2 is the Brooklyn Heights promenade and the infamous Brooklyn Queens expressway)
(We loaded up on fluids and back on the road again!)
(Citibike station by Pier 2 – purrrfect!)
(We continue on the Brooklyn Bridge park greenway towards Red Hook)
(Pier4 beach area)
(BBQ picnic area)
(nice views of a stained glass water tower)
(checked in the Citibikes at the Atlantic Ave/Furman Street station)
(continuing the path)
(This kid on a scooter was going haywire over the hay!)
(We backtrack because we did not want to forge onwards towards Red Hook. We needed to moonwalk to Brooklyn Heights!)
(mural on Atlantic Ave – the kids across the street were step dancing & selling lemonade!)
(We finally made it to Brooklyn Heights/Montague Street)
(We make a quick pit stop at Hanco’s to grab some bubble tea & a bahn mi)
(Back on the road to head back to DUMBO)
(old Fulton Street DUMBO area to check in the bikes b4 heading back to Manhatty via the Manhattan Bridge!)
(See ya Brooklyn – it’s been fun!)
(Mural on Pearl Street)
(Damn Manhattan Bridge, you steady incline uphill right away?!)
(I stop about 1/4 way to snap a photo of this old water tower)
(Afer dashing out of the bridge, we check-in/check-out the citibikes on Canal Street)
(conveniently back on Allen Street again to head for our final reward at 10 Below Ice Cream!)
(Green Tea & Strawberry rolled ice cream)
(Nathan got the Thai iced tea rolled ice cream with roasted marshmellows & plenty of berries)
(Walked it over to nearby Orchard street to see the old Moscot Eyeglass building & Wallplay Arts & Graff before the demolition)
Tags: brooklyn bridge, brooklyn bridge park, citibike, manhattan, manhattan bridge
Posted in community, mr. c, photos, sports | Comments (2)
Paterson graffiti – Respect my name – Please no more Buff!!
July 22nd, 2016 by Mr. C
(Respect my name – no more buff!!)
—————————————————————————————————————–
School 15 in Paterson, NJ has been a holy place for graffiti where the 3 tiered playground and its concrete walls have been a canvas
for beautiful aerosol art for New Jersey’s best urban street artists. In January 2016, I took a stroll to School 15 to get the latest and greatest of 2016 with the 3 tiered layer cake of the graffiti temple and was shocked to find that all the walls were buffed out. Okay, I said to myself – maybe they buffed the walls in order to prepare for a fresh layer of new art for the spring. I stopped by recently and was shocked that amongst some graff & tags, much of the walls were buffed over and many of the existing art bombed over and defaced by vandals. This isn’t what School 15 was known for – the mecca of graffiti – the Temple and holy space of urban art for Paterson. I’m not sure what’s going on with the future of graffiti at School 15 but I sure hope the community and curators of the space can re-organize and get back to what the 3 tiered playground of School 15 once was – a graffiti wall of fame for talented street artists.
——————————————————————————————————————
Tags: new jersey, paterson, paterson graffiti, street art
Posted in art, community, mr. c, photos | Comments (0)
A Rose in Spanish Harlem + Love Warrior + Five Elements Ninja : New York City ups
June 27th, 2016 by Mr. C
————————————————————————————————————-
The triple headed monchhichi crew at Planet Chocko did our fair share of exploring NYC last Saturday as we covered Spanish Harlem all the way
down to Chinatown. Some of the notable events that we attended included stopping by two art exhibits powered by two iconic female street artists.
Hi-ARTS Gallery hosted “A Rose in Spanish Harlem” which featured the works of Sandra Fabara aka Lady Pink. Pink is a legendary 1st generation graffiti artist from NYC,renowned painter,muralist,educator, & just a plain one woman badass outlaw solely responsible for inspiring a whole new generation of street artists – male or female. A Rose in Spanish Harlem includes Lady Pink’s latest prints, paintings, & woodcuts that displays various stages of her creativity these past several years. The subjects she paints almost always involves a strong female figure that emanates the beauty and power of femininity all the while being graceful. Lady Pink’s exhibition will be on display from July 16th – July 30th, 2016. Viewing hours: Tuesdays,Thursdays, & Saturdays 2-7pm
Hi-Arts Gallery
304 E 100th St, New York, NY
www.hi-artsnyc.org
————————————————————————————————————–
Meanwhile, 100 blocks down south on the same Island of Manhattan – lives a fun designer Toy Store on Forsyth Street called My Plastic Heart. Here is where another renowned graffiti artist & designer from NYC – Maria Castillo aka TooFly is having her “Love Warrior” art print exhibition. Love Warrior represents feminine power and a heightened sense of spirituality. The drawings of Toofly’s warrior figure reminds me of the indigenous and tribal type that symbolizes
strength and power! Castillo’s Ecuadorian heritage and upbringing on the streets of New York City serves as the inspiration that helped put her ancestral experiences into a form of art in order to relay the message of love, spirituality, & freedom. I absolutely love the style, colors, & bubble lettering of Toofly and Lady Pink. The flow and boldness of their hand lettering expressed on wall murals in aerosol – amazing! Toofly and Lady Pink are superhero writers in my book!
Love Warrior exhibit runs until July 1st. Get that Native Soul!
My Plastic Heart
210 Forsyth Street
New York NY 10002
—————————————————————————————————————-
(Master Shi Yan Ming + RZA at introduction of Five Element Ninjas @ Metrograph)
To cap off the night, I attended a screening of one of my favorite classic Shaw Brother Kung Fu films directed by Chang Cheh – 5 Element Ninjas (1982) aka Super Ninjas aka Chinese Super Ninjas as RZA would remind us! I knew it as Chinese Super Ninjas from my VHS bootleg copy that I bought from the great 43rd Chamber store! This event was billed as RZA’s dream double grindhouse feature including 5 Element Ninjas + Shaolin vs Wutang. Shortly after the press release, the theater announced they couldn’t get the print of Shaolin vs Wutang on time and House of Traps would be the replacement. RZA was still scheduled to introduce the films and be present for a Q&A afterwords. Throw the WU’s in the air! As to no surprise, 5 Element Ninjas is a blood soaked revenge film with an evil school of renegade kung fu fighters scheming to eradicate another school in order to reign supreme in the kung fu world. Shaw Brothers made sure to throw in the stereotypical anti-japanese sentiment with the ruthless and heartless Japanese ninjas as they dispatch the chinese by any means necessary! Those sneaky japs! 5 Element Ninjas is an encyclopedia of excellent weapons fight choreography with video gamish like battles and background settings. The only thing that wasn’t retro about the screening which I actually appreciated was that the film was not english dubbed but in its native mandarin. 5 Element Ninjas is a vicious little film that displays first rate acrobatic kung fu skills especially with traditional weapons. The movie is filled with wall to wall action, has colorful content, violent with guts and gore, and what else, contains lots and lots of ninjas! Five Element Ninjas is available from various distributors including Tokyo Shock and Celestial. This one belongs in your Kung Fu DVD database for sure! Oh, don’t forget to see and hear what RZA had to say about his experiences
with Kung Fu films and how it influenced him and his Clan at the Q/A after the film below!
Posted in community, movies, mr. c, music, photos | Comments (0)
2016 Big Apple Barbecue Block party
June 12th, 2016 by Mr. C
(Memphis Barbecue and their baby back ribs. Loved the enthusiasm of the pit crew! Ribs were amazing!)
I had a smokin’ good time with friends at the 14th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park on Saturday. We didn’t stay for too long but just enough to sample 5 ‘cue plates that included a succulent whole hog pulled pork sandwich, a pulled pork shoulder sandwich, baby back ribs, smoked wings, beef brisket, & smoked sausage. We noticed that Ed Mitchell and his BBQ team made a triumphant return to the block party this year but we did not have enough room in the belly to get in a round of Ed’s wonderful smoked creations. What we did have was the familiar Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork shoulder sandwich accompanied by their delicious spicy mustard cole slaw. Shoveling their tasty cole slaw in with the sandwich is messy but a necessity! Moist pulled pork with the mayonnaise based white sauce is hog heaven! Our next victim would be another pulled pork sandwich and my favorite from the day and from Big Apple BBQ block party past. Thank you Skylight Inn/Sam Jones BBQ! They served a smoked whole hog with the entire carcass roughly chopped & mixed with vinegar & various spices by a master butcher with knife skills that everyone should be scared of! The double action cleavers that he used to dispatch the carcass and his rebel yells made things interesting and fun! What I love about Skylight’s whole hog sandwich is the moist meat with the tasty spices and crunchy cracklings that randomly get tossed in with the pulled pork mixture. Add that in with the tangy sauce and slaw and hmmmmmm hmmmmmm – words fail me! Another Big Apple BBQ block party favorite is Texas based Salt Lick. They killed it again this year with their tender beef brisket and smoked sausage with cheese. The sausage had a little snap upon contact with your teeth and the smoke flavor was apparent! The Salt Lick BBQ sauce had a happy blend of sweet, smoke, & spice! The white bread was the perfect vehicle to carry or should we say mop up the brisket, sausage, & sauce!
(The Cue crew hard at work minding the bbq block party!)
Our next plate was the tender baby back ribs from Memphis Barbecue. The meat fell off the bone with minimal contact and the sauce was tasty. I just wish there was more ribs to the order! I think I needed a whole rack! The last plate was my least favorite of the day. It was the smoked Alabama white wings from Blue Smoke in NYC. First, I thought the wings were too soggy and gloppy from the sauce. I didn’t like the texture of the wings nor the taste of the sauce. Something tasted gamy to me. Was it cheese or something else? Not sure but I wasn’t fond of the taste. It almost seemed like the wings were stewed in with the sauce. Maybe this dish is far too difficult to execute with the amount of covers they needed to churn out for the block party.
(Skylight meat handler showing his knife skills!)
(The whole hog pulled pork sandwich from Skylight. My favorite of the day. One word – cracklings!)
(Salt Lick BBQ before the storm)
(The Salt Lick team before the opening bell of the block party!)
(TEXAS!)
(Salt Lick beef brisket & smoked sausage!)
(Ed Mitchell’s BBQ team – hard at work)
(Ed Mitchell himself making sure things are smooth!)
(Memphis BBQ with some basting and grilling of the baby back ribs)
(Memphis BBQ baby back ribs with smoked beans)
(Big Bob Gibson’s pork shoulder sandwich – steady & delicious every year!)
(Bakers Ribs hard at work)
(Mike Mills and his 17th Street BBQ team)
(Impressive setup by Skylight Inn/Sam Jones BBQ)
(What a rig of smokers by Sam Jones/Skylight Inn)
(The Dinosaur BBQ street team & Ubon’s BBQ street team in a little bit of verbal debate for competition in which line you should get into before the crowds magnify)
Tags: BBQ, big apple barbecue block party, ed mitchell, food, pitmasters
Posted in community, food, mr. c, photos | Comments (0)
Bolt-Ups and Brooklyn Ups
June 7th, 2016 by chocko
K-NOR is a Brooklyn based artist and who’s absolutely killing it on the streets with creepy images of drippy skulls and skeletons oozing in brighter than day colors. A couple of months ago K-NOR collaborated on some bolt-ups with another Brooklyn artist CB23 and Staten Island’s Robots Will Kill. The bolt-ups were placed in different parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. These small pieces of art were not easy to find…working on subtle clues on instagram and after many hours of Joey Teacups working diligently in the cave in Encyclopedia Brown-mode, we were able to find the bolt-ups locations. The first three photos below are of the tag team bolt-ups and the rest are of stickers, wheat paste, graffiti and street art by talented artists in various locations around Brooklyn, NYC.
Tags: art, bolt-ups, CB23, graffiti, K-NOR, new york city, nyc street art, Robots Will Kill, street art, wheat paste
Posted in art, chocko, photos | Comments (0)
Frankie Cosmos played Other Music
June 6th, 2016 by chocko
Frankie Cosmos at Other Music March 31, 2016
Greta Kline records sweet and shimmering indie pop under the name Frankie Cosmos. Her new album Next Thing dropped a couple months ago and Frankie Cosmos performed a decent chunk of the new record at the intimate and soon to be gone forever, Other Music in New York City. The lineup at the in-store consisted of Gabrielle Smith (eskimeaux) on synths, David Maine on the bass, Luke Pyenson on drums and Greta Kline on guitars and vocals. They played a fantastic set of melodic and poetic pop songs and threw in some synchronized dance moves to boot. Their next show in the NYC area will be at Rough Trade for the Northside Festival along with Ava Luna and Deradoorian. Frankie Cosmos will be playing songs from Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville which should be worth the price of admission. Check Frankie Cosmos on some upcoming dates below.
Sat-Jun-11 Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade (Northside Festival: Playing songs from Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville)
*with Warehouse
*Wed-Jul-27 Baltimore, MD @ Windup Space
*Thu-Jul-28 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
*Fri-Jul-29 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight
Sat-Jul-30 Macon, GA @ Bragg Jam Music Festival
*Mon-Aug-01 Nashville, TN @ The End
*Tue-Aug-02 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
*Wed-Aug-03 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
*Thu-Aug-04 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
*Sat-Aug-06 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Check out Chocko (njmisfit) and Mr. C (planetchocko) on instagram.
Follow @planetchocko on Twitter. LIKE us on Facebook too. Thanks!
Tags: frankie cosmos, greta kline, in-store, live, new york city, nyc, other music, performance, record store
Posted in chocko, music, photos | Comments (0)
