[O Café]

If you're from New York City you may be familiar with Joe Jr.'s Restaurant, a small and popular establishment located on sixth avenue. The greasy spoon hangout closed recently, leaving a bare corner at 12th street and sixth avenue; passing by, one couldn't help but remark how New York City was changing. I hoped it was change for the better.

Jump forward to January 17th, nsora and I decide to check out the café that has popped up in a matter of months. Having peeked in, we knew we could expect pour-over coffee and espresso drinks, but if café visits had taught us anything it was that a gleaming exterior didn't necessarily mean a good cup of coffee was inside.

The café was packed when we arrived, not a small feat, considering the open entrance space and au bon pain-style center table lined with chairs. I took the pile of "Barista" and "Espresso" magazines at the door as a good sign and made my way to the counter. Curious, I ordered a Latte Bahia, an item listed on the otherwise standard menu as "espresso with steamed milk & dark chocolate". Taking notice of an array of chocolates along the counter, I wrongly assumed that the coffee shop might be doing a chocolate/coffee shop sort of gimmick. The latte bahia had perfectly textured milk with a deep rich espresso flavor that was complimented by a very dark chocolate. I couldn't help but feel like it was a little extreme, since the espresso already seemed rich, but the drink was still delicious.

Striking up conversation with the baristas, Leo (pictured above at the espresso machine) and Marcus (pictured at the counter), nsora and I mentioned that he had just recently returned from Japan where he had enjoyed lattes made by the 2008 World Barista Champion. Marcus looked at a triple rosetta we held before him on an iPhone and confidently said "my man could do that, he just doesn't want to show off". I was skeptical. He continued, "you know, this guy's the number one barista in Brazil. If you check out any of those magazines by the door you'll find him in it". We tested this and found that Marcus was telling the truth: these guys knew their coffee. 

Moments later, Marcus proudly walked towards us with a freshly made latte: triple rosetta. I was floored. The milk was perfectly steamed, holding an incredible sweetness that only precise work can achieve. I had never had a latte so skillfully made. We approached the counter again.

"Everything here is Brazilian, it's a Brazilian themed café, even our Barista is Brazilian!" Marcus continued, "He doesn't speak English that well, but he told me he's pretty much bored of latte art now, he's really into cuppings. We've both been baristas for five years and he's always teaching me things." I couldn't help but be charmed by the partnership, and watched as Leo created an immaculately timed pour-over (Brazilian, of course). It's flavor was rich, almost smokey and earthen, but smooth. I left the café with one thing in mind: returning the next day.

Cafés have become a dime a dozen in New York City. High end direct trade cafés a dollar a dozen. It's refreshing to see new energy in a well-run and driven café. I'll say, hands down, that this is my favorite café in the city at the moment. If not for the coffee, and not for the chocolates, make a trip to see Leo Carvalho, a barista champion, at work. Goodbye Joe Jr. but, as they say, Ordem e Progresso.

O Café is located at the corner of 12th St. and 6th Avenue.

More Photos are in our photos section.

[Videos of Coffee]

Here's a throwaway: a collection of scenes that use coffee in great ways. Besides making movies, what else do Tarantino, Godard, and Lynch have in common? Coffee scenes, obviously.

The Big Heat:

Elf:

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her:

Mulholland Drive:

My favorite scene of all time. Period.

Pulp Fiction:

Live and Let Die:

Not only a scene with coffee, but also a great demonstration of manually pulled espresso and witty dialogue.

Makes you want a cup of coffee, I'll bet.

[Idiocracy]

It's not a new movie but, after a few days of being unable to access my own blog, I thought I would delve into a review immediately. Idiocracy was created in 2006 by Mike Judge, the same brilliant mind that brought you Office Space and Beavis and Butthead. Mike Judge's humor isn't appreciated by all, but without a doubt he's received strong recognition as a comic powerhouse.

Idiocracy fizzled into nonexistence soon after its release in 2006. I had heard about it time and again after its release, but never got around to watching it until recently. The film stars Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph as two average people. When the two are put into cryostasis for a military experiment they find themselves in the year 2505. Unfortunately, since Earth's population has progressed as it currently is (lower IQ citizens reproducing far more frequently than high IQ citizens), the two are also the smartest people in the world. Hilarity ensues as they try to get back to their own time.

The film is riddled with the type of humor expected of the creator of Beavis and Butthead, but beneath all that is a harsh critique of society. Judge takes strong jabs at product placement, the American diet, and mass media by blowing out proportion what has become common in our day-to-day lives.

Having said that, I'd like to point out that this is not an intellectual film in the slightest. But, if you think about it, the world's going to shit, huh?

[This is Coffee]

For your viewing pleasure, the most baller video of all time. Note the ridiculously awesome coffee paraphernalia. Especially take note of the sweet syphon coffee maker.

Do not add whipped cream to your espresso in an attempt to make cappuccino.

Do not use canned, pre-ground coffee.

Do purchase super-cool tiny and tall coffee cups for your romantic dates and prepare good coffee.

[Blue Valentine

How Do You Know

Love & Other Drugs

Fair Game

Black Swan

The Ghost Writer

I Am Love

Somewhere]

It's Academy Awards season, and you can't name 10 films that will be nominated for best picture. Well neither can I. You're probably thinking "Gee, The Social Network was pretty good and I liked Inception". Yup, but what else came out this year? What about all those slightly less publicized movies that are vying for Oscar contention? Don't be the person in the conversation who has to bow out with a "oh, I don't think I saw that one." Be the person who instead responds with "I heard that movie was crap." Let me help you.

Blue Valentine

This movie got a bit of buzz over the past couple months because of its quibbles with the MPAA; it didn't think it deserved an NC-17 rating, the MPAA thought it did. Well I don't think it matters very much either way but it does have some pretty pornographic scenes. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams both deliver their roles as an unhappy people with remarkable precision. Do you really want to watch two people being unhappy for 2 hours? That's up to you. I'll admit, there's a bit of charm to the romantic side of the film, but I found myself bored when I realized it would just be more of the same for 90% of the movie.

Scene to watch out for: doctor's office confrontation

Is there oral sex?: Yes

How Do You Know

Since when is Paul Rudd allowed to be up for an Academy Award? I guess I'm alright with it as long as he delivers. Unfortunately, this film isn't as much of a comedy as it is a drama and when you combine comedy actors like Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson it makes one question where the logic was in the casting of this film. Here's the summary: Paul Rudd's in a lot of trouble with his family's company and his dad (Jack Nicholson) is trying to work through the financial trouble with him; meanwhile, softball all-star Reese Witherspoon has been cut from her team and now finds herself at a new point in her life while dating baseball stud Owen Wilson (who has fallen in love, for the first time, with her). The film's a tangled mess of reaching new points in life and making leaps of faith in difficult decisions. Will Rudd or Wilson end up with Witherspoon? You may never know. In fact, I hope you never know, because the film isn't really worth seeing anyways. I'm not trying to be too negative here, but this movie was like watching the embodiment of anxiety; that's not a good thing, especially when it's marketed as a romantic dramady.

Scene to watch out for: Just try to keep count of how many one liners the writer was hoping would end up in a Romantic movie montage at the Oscars.

Is there oral sex?: Yes, under covers.

Love & Other Drugs

This one certainly came out of left field. Jake Gyllenhaal is an alpha male bent on taking the prescription drug market by storm. Anne Hathaway is a young spunky woman. When I started this movie I was sure I had it figured out: ambitious jerk guy meets spunky cool girl, she changes his life, and both find the best reward of all, Love. Well, I was sort of right, but it's not that simple. See, when Hathaway's character is introduced it's subtly slipped in that she's in an early stage of Parkinsons. It's hard to be subtle about that sort of thing, but maybe between the gratuitous amounts of sex the couple has and the making money montages it slipped my mind. Then comes the second half of the film (the interesting half of the film) where things get very romantic and teary and, in my opinion, better. I won't give anything away, but the first half of this movie is pretty much a throw-away about the creation and marketing of Viagra (seriously) and the second half has some emotionally charged and great lines.

Scene to watch out for: Bus stop scene, take two.

Is there oral sex?:  yup.

Fair Game

Here's a different sort of movie, based on a true story. Naomi Watts and Sean Penn play Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, a couple who's life was turned upside down when the government released information about Plame's work as a CIA agent. The first portion of the film (20 minutes or so) is a little slow, building pace to the key event and then running through the emotional difficulties of the situation. Both actors capture their parts convincingly and the story itself pulls the film along. Still, highlights of the film are the international scenes in which we are pulled to the invasion in Iraq and shown the war from a civilian perspective. The shaky camera can be distracting at times in the Washington D.C. portions of the film, but is not so bad that it might stop me from enjoying the movie as a whole. This is a good and smart movie, it's not 'fun', but it's a good watch.

Scene to watch out for: traffic in Iraq scene

Is there oral sex?: No

Black Swan

Most guys will agree that Natalie Portman is pretty good looking. A lot of guys will agree that Mila Kunis is pretty good looking. Yes, to all those guys waiting to see these two actresses do something sexual, that's in this movie. What's also in this movie is a great story, strong acting, and beautiful directing. The film is masterfully shot by Darren Aronofsky, moving from drama to suspense to horror. The film tracks Natalie Portman as her character attempts to transform into the Black Swan, a character in the ballet 'Swan Lake'. The film is grotesque and twisted but beautiful and elegant. I'm hesitant to say much more because I enjoyed it so much. I'll add this though: Natalie Portman's transformation into a ballerina is remarkable.

Scene to watch out for: Practice scenes

Is there oral sex?: Yes

The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer? No, the new Polanski movie, duh. Ewan McGregor tends to be pretty good and, in this case, Pierce Brosnan is as well. If it weren't for these two being so charming, I'm sure I would have fallen asleep during this movie. It's a mystery: the new ghost writer for a politician needs to find out what happened to the last ghost writer and why it happened. The mystery is okay, but the pacing is a little too slow. At no point was I really excited to see what was going to happen to Ewan McGregor's character or find out the answer to the mystery. There are some nice shots in the film, but the most interesting bit is that Roman Polanski wasn't allowed to be in the U.S. during filming. For a movie set in Martha's Vineyard, that meant shooting in Germany for the majority of production. Ha!

Scene to watch out for: I guess the discussions between Brosnan and McGregor...

Is there oral sex?: No, just sex.

I Am Love

Milan. What popped into your head? Food? Culture? Clothing? Beautiful elegant people? In short, I Am Love. With typical European cinematic pacing, I Am Love manages to dish out a basic theme: times are changing, people need to adjust. However, it's not the stories or the relationships that are really interesting in this film, but the beauty of it. Tilda Swinton struts about an staggeringly ornate mansion and travels to a picturesque countryside with long flowing shots rolling into one another. The story, if you must know, is about a woman struggling with an affair while her daughter struggles with an affair of her own. But don't see this film for the story, or even for the acting. See this film for beauty of it: the food, the colors, the movement. There's something dreamlike and calm to the movie which American films often miss with their quick pace and rapid cuts.

Scene to watch out for: No particular scene, the long takes through the mansion

Is there oral sex?: Yes.

Somewhere

Here's an appropriate follow up to I Am Love; Somewhere manages to capture the European slow-paced narrative within the story of a Hollywood actor. Elle Fanning was remarkable in this film, not only pulling off a great performance, but also a full figure skating routine. This is another film that doesn't rely as much on its plot as it does the tone and general feeling of the film. Stephen Dorff plays a superstar actor and leads us around the life of a Hollywood celebrity; not only in its glamour, but also in its mundane high-life routine. Sofia Coppola manages to capture some really beautiful moments with fantastic framing and a sharp eye for color. I recommend this, it's pretty and sort of cute in its own way.

Scene to watch out for: Skating scene

Is there oral sex?: Yes

In conclusion, you didn't really need to go see most of these movies anyways. Yet, if watching a bunch of Academy Award nominated films has told me anything, it's this: the theme of this year's Oscars is oral sex. Specifically, guys going down on girls. 6/8 of these films had oral sex in them! Out of those, 4 were man on woman. I'll have to figure out what next year's theme is and start shooting now... Maybe it'll be something equally classy. 

[Ninth Street Espresso: Kenya Thiriku]

What's this still doing here? I thought this is where I left my blog... Well, if this domain still has any following, I might as well drop a bit of knowledge here too. For Christmas this year, after battling a nasty stomach virus, I received a package of Ninth Street Espresso's Kenya Thiriku. Overjoyed, I still had to wait 2 days for my stomach to fully recover before I could bring myself to try the coffee. Worth the wait.

Now, Ninth Street Espresso is a fine establishment but I've never thought much of their beans. In fact, I've never purchased their beans (I usually spring for Intelligentsia if I'm at a café or Klatch if I'm shopping online). Well the funny thing is, on second inspection of the package, one can find a small "roasted at Intelligentsia for Ninth Street Espresso" on the side of the bag. Aha!

Since my father purchased these beans for me I don't know the cost, and I can't find any way of ordering them online, so this post might be for nothing. Still, it only reinforces my firm belief that the rich acidic and fruity tones of Kenyan and Ethiopian coffees are fantastic when properly prepared. In this case, I prepared the coffee in a Chemex (for one, no one else seemed to want any...). The aroma was incredibly rich, to the extent that my parents a couple rooms away began commenting. The flavor was anything but light; a rich sharp slice over orange, gradually mellowing into lighter fruity tones but keeping that orange peel flavor lingering. I'll admit, the coffee was a bit more powerful than I expected so, as an afternoon drink, it was a bit much. Yet, I'll drink this again tomorrow morning and the morning after, sure that it will pack a ridiculous punch.

If you're looking for this knock-you-out fruity and acidic coffee, you may be able to find it at Ninth Street Espresso's Chelsea Market location in New York City. That's the best I can do for finding a bag, unfortunately.

Happy Holidays to all! Happy New Year, keep caffeinating!.

[The Human Centipede (First Sequence)]

You've heard about this movie and you've been curious about it. I know I was, how could you not be? The premise, as it was told to me: a remarkably talented siamese twin doctor accomplishes his dream when he attaches three people to each other. Ass-to-mouth. If you're like me then you're wondering how this could make up an entire feature-length film. Here's the breakdown.

The fun starts when we see our doctor friend hunting one of his victims. The fun continues when we meet the two ladies who we expect will be his next two victims. And the rest is surgery and torture. 

It's a fairly simple concept, and you'll get (more or less) what you bargained for. My complaint? Not disgusting enough. Yes, there are inserts of the surgery, but aside from the occasional bleeding you can't expect to see many gag-worthy moments. I wasn't too happy with my choice to eat popcorn while I watched, but I was expecting to see the suture between one person's mouth and the other's anus (it's gross, sure, but that's sort of the selling point). Fortunately, Dieter Laser, the doctor, delivers one of the most convincing psycho-German performances I've ever seen.

This is probably better appreciated after watching the film, but here's an interview with the actor in question.

If you like the concept and are intrigued by the plot but don't want to actually see someone's nose buried in someone else's butt crack, here's Daniel Tosh explaining the entire thing.

If you liked Saw or Hostile, you'll probably enjoy The Human Centipede (First Sequence), otherwise I doubt you will. Also, look forward to seeing the Second Sequence, set for release any day now and supposedly far more horrifying.

[Espresso Infusions]

Where's the fun? I mean, yeah, pushing extra hot water through super-finely ground dark-roasted beans is a blast and all, but is that it? The thought of barista after barista tamping, pulling, and steaming in unison is reminiscent of a 1984 Super Bowl computer commercial. I've never been one to fit the mold, so, espresso knowledge in tow, I set out to explore some more adventurous espresso creations.

The first came to me through this wikipedia page, which I occasionally peruse, reading off the long list of espresso drinks and sipping my own caffeinated beverage. About seven-eighth of the way down I discovered the 'guillermo': Originally one or two shots of hot espresso, poured over slices of lime. Can also be served on ice, sometimes with a touch of milk. The perfect start for my adventure. 

I was delighted to note that cutting a lime into eight slices provided a perfect angle for the espresso to run down. I was uses Klatch Roasting Company's "World's Best Espresso" for the experiment, so it already carried a strong body. The result was a subtle aftertaste of lime with a light acidity, balancing out the bold taste of the espresso. Needless to say, I was pleased.

But hey, I wasn't going to stop there. If one citrus fruit could enhance my espresso, why couldn't all citrus fruits?! I grabbed a nearby clementine and set to work, preparing the fruit in the same manner as the lime: eight wedges, poked with a fork for extra juicy goodness.

The result was more disappointing the second time around; while the espresso maintained a hint of the clementine, the acidity was not strong enough to counter the espresso's tannin. Obviously I needed to try again with an orange. Or bacon?!

This isn't a traditional "coffee" post, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. 

What's so interesting and coffee-related about this gripping machine? That's right, it's made from coffee grounds and a balloon.

[Runaway]

Kanye made a movie! And you're all like, "yeah, der, that was so long ago". And I'm all like, "no, not Spike Jonze! Kanye! It's gotta be super artistic and creative! It's gonna be like College Dropout for the silver screen!" And then I took the big shiney slitted sunglasses off my very white face and reassessed the situation. Kanye? A Movie? Yeah, right...

Kanye's "Runaway" is more of an extended music video for his new album than anything. In this case, however, the music video has all the subtlety of a boxing glove to the face minus the boxing glove: watch Kanye escort an alien around Earth to the beat of his own music, ultimately delivering the profound message, 'Earth is a crazy place' or 'Kanye's just trying to get by' (or something like that).

To be fair, the images are impressive. If a fifteen-year-old kid was given some crayons, a piece of paper, and an impressive amount of film equipment it might turn out something like this. The colors are beautiful but the scenes are tied together with an A.D.D. sort of consistency. I guess we should give the kudos to Kanye's cinematographer, Kyle Kibbe, and Artistic Director, Vanessa Beecroft. As far as music videos go, this is generally acceptable. For features? You'll have to be Godard to pull of something like that.

Yes, I'm going to probably end up getting Kanye's new album when it's released, no I'm not especially fond of his filmmaking. Maybe he could become a cinematographer or something. That could be funny.