New!!! No Way Stupidtelligent mix by Jeruniverse a.k.a. Haas

No Way - Stupidtelligent mix (right click download)

I suggest the Right-click option because the sound is way more perfect.

NEW PRADA LOOKBOOK

The New Prada lookbook is online. The artwork was done by Lok Jansen and me. It will also be printed 100000 times in a tabloid format for Prada stores around the world. Check it out here!

OI

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this!!!..What a horrible disaster. The TVCC building in Beijing is burning to the ground today. Thousands of people have worked on that building for many years as it was nearing completion. I have no idea if there are many casualties

From the NY Times:

BEIJING — A fierce fire engulfed a major new building in Beijing that houses a luxury hotel and cultural center on Monday, the last day of celebrations for the lunar new year when the city was ablaze with fireworks.

The building was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and is part of China Central Television’s new headquarters, an angular wonder of modernist architecture that sits astride the city and was built to coincide with the Beijing Olympics last year. The CCTV building was a hugely expensive trophy of Beijing’s pre-Olympics building boom, costing millions of dollars, and any damage is likely to be embarrassing for the ruling Communist Party.

Freehand Cooking

Tomorrow is my birthday and that reminded me that a year ago Hahn got me a Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (George Foreman Grill) for my birthday. So its time for more haute cuisine. Forget the Jamie Olivers and Gordon Ramsays. They are only puppets controlled by the English government because the whole world knows that the British were never known for good cuisine.

Time for 2 recipes with the power to change the world.

1. Freehand Egg Croutonne

First of all take notice that Hahn is not wearing a shirt. A chef has to be one with the heat in the kitchen, besides the food has to feel the chef's authority. One could say the hierarchy between the chef and his ingredients. Nevertheless Hahn is not a fool, he always wears protective glasses. Notice the accidental beauty, the amazing composition in the image to the right...This is what we call "freehand" cooking.

Improvise! Out of the box thinking is essential. The concept of a recipe actually contradicts this basic principle, so make sure you add some personality to the process when making the "Freehand Egg Croutonne". Hahn re-invents the Foreman grill by turning it upside down. The ingredients are given a new perspective, notice (right) how Hahn has upset the egg, reminding it of its position in the hierarchy between ingredient and chef.

Every last detail matters so don't ever get sloppy, even Gordon Ramsay will tell you this. Take notice of any subtle signals from your apparatus. The Foreman Grill signals Hahn that it's ready to deliver with a tiny red light. TV chefs always act pragmatic and cool when their dish is finished. The ingredients could use some praise after their hard work, like a football team after winning a game.

2. Egg in the hole.

I felt so inspired and excited after Hahn's performance that I forgot to take off my shirt. Nevertheless my dish started with an epiphany, a technique never seen before, an idea that came to me in the heat of the moment. A moment disgracefully disrupted by another "hate-call" from Jamie Oliver.

Hahn took over with great eye for detail, respecting my initial concept, all the while showing the ingredients who's boss. The bread, egg, cheese and bacon work together like a well oiled machine.

Nimble, quicker with a blade than Zatouichi, a true master.  Egg in the hole turned out even better than we expected, with an unexpected surprise at the end. Freehand cheese calligraphy.

2008, The year of the barbeque

2008 has been an exceptional year for many reasons. Hahn and I (Haas) spent the year living in Rio de Janeiro making a 2000m2 painting in Rio's most dangerous favela. During that time we experienced many memorable culinary moments, most of them at barbeques. We consumed thousands of kilos of meat and millions of liters of beer at these social events which Brazilians call a churrasco. Lets reflect on 2008, the year of the BBQ.

(By the way, this post was inspired by this song on the new years mixtape put together by my cousin Jesse and his wifey Yula.)
Wendy Rene - BBQ (right click download)

The Churraso is a social event where people, meat and beer come together. The preparations are very simple unless one chooses to marinate the meat which might take a bit more time. 

Hahn quickly acquired fame with his spicy marinated chicken inspired by Surinamese quisine, but people who know Hahn know he was a bbq fanatic even before going to Brazil. 

Other than that all you need is a good selection of meat and very cold beer.

The last is important because a Brazilian won't touch beer if its warmer than -4°C. 

The meat in brazil is very cheap and of excellent quality. One typically buys huge chunks of picanha (rump cap in English), exceptionally tender meat which I have never seen in Holland, lots of linguiça (sausage), with which you keep all the kids happy who tend to flock to your churrasco, drumette (chicken leg) and asa (chicken wing). Oops, I forgot to mention that coraçao (chicken heart) is very popular. 

Picanha is usually prepared with coarse grain salt beforehand. This can also be bought pre-mixed with spices.

The bbq itself is usually handmade. Most bbq's made of old oil drums, gas tanks or the drum of an old washing machine.

Above, an interesting local technique can be seen to prepare your fire, providing more oxygen with the use of an electrical fan. The thumbs up hand-sign is the most common gesture in Brazil which can turn an angry stare into a smile at all times and has got us out of trouble many times.

One more thing which I feel is crucial to the churrasco is the way of serving the food. Unlike in Europe or the U.S. where people wait in line for their burger, in Brazil the meat is cut into small savory pieces and handed out. In this way the guests don't have to get up away from their beer and pleasant conversation to fight for their food. 

A churrasco can make a great party.

Finally lets go back to some of those special churrasco moments.

Eventhough this was new years eve 2006-2007, these guys from Vigario Geral (favela in Rio) deserve honorable mention for frying a whole pig. Pigs run around freely in many favela's so you just need to catch one and kill it to throw a party like these guys.

Churrasco on our friend Don's boat.

This guy is Pitbull, or Valter Nogueira Filho, another churrasco superhero.

You might also wan't to check out this video we shot in 2007 for Bebel du Ghetto, the video revolves around a typical favela churrasco, this time in Cantagalo.

Matar as saudades

While the government is blowing up factories near Vila Cruzeiro, we are getting used to the cold and a million shades gray here in Holland. I've been listening to some tunes from across the ocean to warm my mental. These tunes we heard almost constantly coming out of many shops and houses and at every churrasco in Vila Cruzeiro. Saudades. 

Having problems with this post... You might want to use the right click download function.

Pixote - Você Pode (right click download)

Revelaçao  - Deixa aconteçer naturalmente (right click download)

Pixote - Insegurança (right click download)

(right click download)

Picture of the century

Favela by Storm

Daily Favela

TIM MAIA

Brazilian soul singer Tim Maia made this amazing album in 1975. Not only the album is amazing... so is the cover. I couldn't find a larger image but it has a map on the back of the formation and creation of the world by electric an magnetic energy.

Tim Maia - Contato com um mundo racional (right click download)

Many songs on the album express Tim Maia's infatuation with the religious/philosophical sect called Cultura Rational (Rational Culture) which was founded by Manoel Jacinto Coelho in 1935. He is conidered by the group as the most superior rational man in the world. You'll hear the word racional (rational) in many of the songs and Tim also keeps referring to the book: Universe in Disenchantment (Universo em Desencanto), which is a collection of 1006 books serving as the groups bible so to speak. I haven't read the book but the group claims that it tells you were the universe comes from, how it evolved, where man came from and where man is going. I was always wondering about those things but this song explains the whole thing without having to read 1006 books.

Tim Maia - O Livro Universo em Disencanto (right click download)

The group claims that their rational philosophy has nothing to do with logical thinking or reasoning. It represents a perfect equilibrium between logic and emotion. Sounds pretty stupidtelligent and the cover of the album is definitely stupidtelligent but so is the cover of the book. 

Check out their site www.universoemdisencanto.com. I hope the team of journalists and researchers at www.brendanmcgetrick.com feel the need to indulge more into this Cult/Sect or more likely weedheads....and put up a more interesting and educated post on the subject. You can also listen to this song which tells you all about your origins, your past and your future, in Portuguese.

Tim Maia - Imunizacao Racional (right click download)

Tim Maia didn't live a very healthy lifestyle and when once asked by a reporter about how he felt about a recent diet attempt he said the following:

"Resolvi fazer uma dieta rigorosa. Cortei com o álcool, gorduras e açucar. Em duas semanas, perdi 14 dias."

("I decided to go on a rigorous diet. I quit alcohol, fat and sugar. In two weeks I lost 14 days")

Here a song about blue - the color of the sea. 

Tim Maia - Azul da Cor do Mar

(right click download)

A song he made about hamburgers while he was on a diet.

Tim Maia - Voce

(right click download)

Tim Maia - Ela Partiu

(right click download)

The last song was sampled by Brazil's favorite rap group Racionais MC's

Racionais MC's - Homem na estrada

(right click download)

Finally a track that shows why Tim Maia is one of the worlds great soul singers, spoken interlude included

Tim Maia - Me De Motivo

(right click download)

I'll try to fix the broken links soon, but the right click option does work.

OBRAHMA

Brazilian beer maker Brahma is coming out with a new dark brew called "Obrahma Black". Brazilians just aren't as race sensitive as people in other countries I guess. 

We drove through the whole city on election night to find a place where we could watch the results. Even in the local Irish pub packed with expats the people preferred to drink beer and listen to an awful band playing U2 covers. We finally ended up in the bar of the Marriott where about 5 people were watching. We had to wait almost an hour for the hotel staff to turn up the volume because a couple having dinner complained about the noise. One person I asked about the level of disinterest here explained that Brazilian politics are complicated enough already.

To show our own overwhelming level of excitement we organized an Obama party in a bar called Atlantico where I played a set with exclusively Obama tracks. After doing quite a bit of research to find the tracks I thought I'd post the least obvious most favorites here. Hopefully there are some you haven't heard a thousand times already wherever you may be where people are at least a little excited that Barack Obama is the next president and just as importantly NOT John McCain. 

Cody Chestnutt - Afrobama (right click download)

Obama Obama - Millie Remix (right click download)

(This one is my favorite)

Keith From Up Da Block - Barackdavote (right click download)

Steel Pulse - Vote Obama (right click download)

Ti$a - Imma Vote Obama Way (right click download)

DLake - Imma Vote Obama Way (remix) (right click download)

Double Dz - I am Obama (right click download)

Samba Mapangala - Obama Ubarikiwe (right click download)

Extra Golden - Obama (right click download)

HeMan in the favela

Look what the police confiscated during an operation in Cidade de Deus (City of God). Here's a famous song about the place....

Cidinho e Doca - Cidade de Deus (right click download)

Stupid Complex