PICTURES OF THE WEEK
I work as a freelancer, and I am looking for my next gig. (Thought I had something lined up, but so it goes!)
This means I have some free time this week and maybe next! Let’s do something?
Thanks to Doctor Popular for sending me this link to a contest in Japan where Landscape Contractors compete to build the best gardens in their mini trucks!
Found this on Melodia’s Blog. More on that on the back!
A Note About Anthony Bourdain
I used to be a subscriber to The New Yorker magazine when I lived in NYC, and I remember reading the article by Anthony Bourdain: Don’t Eat Before Reading This, the article that launched his career, as it directly lead to his book Kitchen Confidential, and well... you probably know the rest about the media empire. I loved that article, and challenge you to stop reading halfway through: the writing is great and really pulls you along. This story also has some interesting tidbits about how that article came into being.
Like so many, Anthony Bourdain had a direct effect on my life: he was the reason I tried my first cheese plate (I thought cheese was American slices, and fancy cheese was cheddar and provolone…), got my first solid knife I could really sharpen (I like Mundial’s), made me interested in fine dining (which introduced me to Restaurant Week, which introduced me to Peter Luger’s, which was the start of the end 15 years of vegetarianism.) I also think there was more than a little of his influence in how I ran the Lost Horizon Noodle Truck. Here’s a photo (by Tod Seelie ) that I think shows some of the inspiration.
I was also impressed by how he stood up for people: he spoke fondly of all the people/personalities he worked with in kitchens, he published a book of reviews of a columnist after her 2012 review of the Grand Forks Olive Garden went viral and was the subject of internet ridicule, his very public support of Asia Argento and her accusations against Harvey Weinstein.
If somehow this every comes across his consciousness: Anthony, I think you are an asshole for leaving early, like everyone else who leaves early. But, depression is real. (And if you, dear reader, ever want to talk to someone about struggling with depression, or want to talk with someone about strategies for coping with depression and sadness, let me know.) Thanks for being a filthy mouthed New Yorker who revelled in the dirty complexities of places, people and food, and appreciated those things so much that your really cared how you showed them to the world.
So long, Anthony, and thanks for all the fish I avoid on Monday’s.
