Drinking Vinegars

I first discovered the exciting beverage world of drinking vinegars when some friends took me to Pok Pok, a Thai restaurant in Portland which immediately became my favorite. If I remember correctly, drinking vinegars are actually a Japanese thing, but the adventurous owners of Pok Pok just had to share them, because no other restaurant was.

I think the flavor I tried that first day was boysenberry, but plum is now my new favorite. Every trip to the Asian supermarket (Fubonn, here in Portland) has me searching for the best brands. They tend to be popular, and sell our very quickly.

Just mix 1-2 oz. with some club soda, and you've got a fabulous non-alcoholic cocktail that doesn't taste like it'll rot your teeth or make you crave the hard stuff.

After photographing these bottles, I noticed the little slogans for each flavor:

"Plum aroma, sweet and sour taste that moisture your throat and quench your thirst."
"Lemon keep youth, beauty and maintain healthy."
"Scent of strawberry is just like the scent of happiness and sweet love."

Each label ends with:
"Sweet and sour, refreshing taste, it gives you a new experience in love."

Tastefully put.

[The cup, by the way, is one of the silk-screened hi-ball glasses that Urban Outfitters made with my artwork on them.]

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I Heart Art PDX + My Day with Visitors from Etsy.com

This past Friday was the first I Heart Art gathering here in Portland, set up as a meet 'n greet networking event for locals to meet each other and learn more about the group. There was quite a bit of networking going on between the 500+ attendees!

If you're unfamiliar with I Heart Art, it's basically a big collaboration between Etsy.com, PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art), the PDX Etsy team (sellers on Etsy), and other local groups that want to offer resources and business opportunities to students, Etsy sellers, and the general public. There will be FREE monthly professional development workshops, one of which I'll be teaching in August!

  

The day after the meet 'n greet event, Vanessa and Morgan (from Etsy.com headquarters in New York) met with Christine Claringbold and me at the Trillium Artisan store to discuss a potential partnership with the Trillium Artisans Etsy team. I'm super excited about the prospects of this collaboration! Christine outlined some great goals that will help our team enormously.

 

After our meeting, I brought Morgan and Vanessa over to Sword + Fern, which is a rad brick & mortar boutique run by fellow-Trillium member, Emily Baker. I couldn't stop photographing the rainbow-colored origami decorations she has around her shop! Emily has tons of stunning artifacts in every nook and cranny of her store, but I kept being drawn back to the bright colored paper.

For lunch, I brought the ladies over to the food carts on 12th and Hawthorne for some crepes. Really, what trip to Portland would be complete without eating at food carts? They're all over our city, and everyone has a favorite. My crepe had figs, prosciutto, chevre and honey. So good!

Spending the day with Morgan and Vanessa was such a great opportunity to learn more about Etsy's goals with I Heart Art, and to share some of my personal feelings on things. I feel like my voice was heard, which is sometimes hard in a group of over 4 million Etsy.com users. Since the majority of my business income comes from my Etsy shop, it's extra important to stay in touch with their company. I can't wait to see what else is on the horizon!

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Lulu Bonanza

My friend, Michelle (a.k.a. Lulu Bonanza), works at New England Comics in Allston, MA. We used to frequent the comic shop as much to buy comics as to hang out with the super friendly employees. Michelle's enthusiasm is completely infectious, and she always has lots of recommendations for every genre, age and interest. She's never steared me wrong!

I'm thrilled that Michelle has started her own blog to publish her videos about comics: lulubonanza.blogspot.com They're silly and she admits that they're "a little odd", but that's why I love them! She's not doing this because she's getting paid for it, or anything like that. She's just sharing her love of comics, which shines through beautifully.

Go, Lulu Bonanza! <3

Also, she's totally right about Bone, by Jeff Smith. Read it! Get it from your local comic book purveyor, or www.boneville.com.

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Die Antwoord

Die Antwoord (which means "The Answer" in English) is a South African rap group, the likes of which I've never seen before. Never has a mullet looked so hot on a girl (or anyone, for that matter). I love their fashion, their "next-level" beats, and their rhymes.

Read more about the band's origins in this BoingBoing article that came out earlier this month, and read the mind-blowing (extremely nsfw!) lyrics to the song "Beat Boy". Their album, $o$, isn't available yet, but you'd better believe that I'll be buying it when it's out.

The video below is "Enter the Ninja", which is extra awesome because Yo-Landi is singing a version of the song, "Butterfly" from Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3.




20 FUN FACTS ABOUT DIE ANTWOORD [from their website]

1-NINJA, YO-LANDI and DJ HI-TEK made all their music, music videos, video stings, photos, and this next-level interwebsite all on their own with the help of some good friends.

2-NINJA was in many weird rap groups before DIE ANTWOORD: The Orginal Evergreens, Max Normal, Fantastic Kill, and Total Confusion on Planet Phunk to name a few. Then one day NINJA tapped into his inner zef and discovered DIE ANTWOORD.

3-NINJA has a secret fairy forest tattoo on left arm that he covers with bass.

4-Just to clear up the rumors: NINJA and YO-LANDI are not in a relationship. They are just good friends. NINJA says: Relationships are fickle, like the relationship you are having with your body.

5-Yo-landi's mom cuts her hair, but she gets her hair dyed at SCAR HAIR. Yo-landi says: It's always important to remember your roots.

6-This next fun fact is dedicated to all the confused retard people out there who hate DIE ANTWOORD but can't stop watching their interweb videos every single fokkin day of their boring lives. DIE ANTWOORD put Puma & Jagermeister logos onto this next-level interwebsite because Puma gives DIE ANTWOORD free clothes and free shoes and Jagermeister gives DIE ANTWOORD free dop. Puma and Jagermeister did not give us money to make DIE ANTWOORD. DIE ANTWOORD was created from nothing using alot of blood, sweat and tears.

7-NINJA likes Dolfins.

8-YO-LANDI likes sexy boys with no front teeth.

9-DJ HI-TEK likes his PC Computer.

10-ZEF is a unique South African term that has been around for fuck knows how long. This term was made famous 10 years ago by a next-level interwebsite called WatKykJy.com.

11-NINJA, YO-LANDI and DJ HI-TEK started DIE ANTWOORD because of WAT KYK JY?

12-JACK PAROW is DIE ANTWOORD'S duk gang$ta kung-fu panda chommie.

13-The 1st time NINJA saw JACK PAROW'S fat rap cap he got goose bumps.

14-YO-LANDI rocks more bling than C3PO.

15-YO-LANDI's best friend is KIMPOSSIBLE who lives in Mitchell's Plain.

16-DJ HI-TEK is a shape-shifting alien from another dimension.

17-NINJA does not sit like a doos with a koki pen and draw every single one of his tattoos on in the exact same identical place every time he has to be in a photo or a music video or a rap show you fuckin idiot, or wait...maybe he does. Jissis!

18-DIE ANTWOORD are busy blowing up faster than the speed of light because they are the freshest, most futuristik rap-rave crew in the world.

19-DIE ANTWOORD raps for the Chosen Ones.

20-Anyone who doesn't like DIE ANTWOORD is a poes.

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Skynet Symphonic

This video is awesome not only because Terminator 2 is one of my all-time favorite movies, but also for the strange coincidence that I happened to watch it last night before discovering this (via Laughing Squid).

Pogo has also remixed clips from other classic films such as Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and more.

Check out his website and YouTube channel.

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