"Land Ho!," Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz's sweet and often hilarious road film about a pair of older men who travel to Iceland to reclaim their youth, began as something far less ambitious. "I wanted to go on a vacation to Iceland," says Stephens, whose first two films, "Passenger Pigeons" and "Pilgrim Song," were well-received indie outings. As she researched her trip, however, Stephens saw the opportunity to use the country's breathtaking landscapes for a more creative purpose. She enlisted Katz, the director of the mumblecore favorites "Dance Party USA" and "Quiet City," whom she knew from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, to help write the script and co-direct, and the pair cast Stephens's second cousin, Earl Lynn Nelson, an oculoplastic surgeon, and the indie actor Paul Eenhoorn ("This Is Martin Bonner"), as the film's jocular leads, Mitch and Colin.
"Typically, you would think it would make more sense that these guys would take a vacation to Hawaii or something," admits Stephens. But the directors saw Iceland as the perfect backdrop for their actors' quirky relationship. Starting in Reykjavik and using Stephens's planned trip as a location scout, they mapped out an itinerary following Iceland's Golden Circle, a popular tourist route covering roughly 300 kilometers in south and central Iceland. The route was chosen both for logistical reasons — the shoot was planned for only 16 days — and narrative ones. "It made sense that this is what they would do, especially given their age," says Stephens. (Nelson and Eenhoorn are 72 and 65, respectively.) It didn't hurt that the sights were as advertised. "All this stuff is legitimately amazing," adds Katz. "We're not underselling anything." Here, the directors share their personal photos from the shoot.
Over the course of eight weeks, Ben Towill, the co-owner of the Fat Radish, and the photographer Patrick Dougherty are biking 4,500 miles across the U.S. to talk to strangers about food. Each week, they'll file a dispatch for T about their discoveries.
PhotoKate and Ben enjoying dinner beside American Lake in the Rockies.Credit Patrick Dougherty
If you ever find yourself in La Crosse, Kan., grab a delicious burger at Effie's Place, where the chef is Effie herself. Like the impatient New Yorkers we are, we started complaining about the hourlong wait, only to learn that it was Effie's 93rd birthday and she cooks everything the restaurant serves. After we got over our embarrassment and enjoyed the amazing meal, we headed out onto Route 96 West, the longest, flattest, straightest road I have ever seen, with the majestic Rockies rising far off in the distance. Anytime you have things on your mind that you need to work out, I suggest riding a bike along Route 96 West. Then the climb begins and your only thought will be of pedaling.
SERIES
A Ride Across America
Read more of Ben Towill's weekly dispatches about food and how we eat it, filed as he bikes across the country. More…
In the Rockies, we were joined by my girlfriend, Kate Dougherty, who will be riding with us to the Oregon coast and loves an adventure as much as I do. We decided to spend a few days off the bike and celebrate the birth of this great nation with some all-American campfire cooking. Here are a few recipes from a night camping in the Colorado Rockies, which you can try out on any barbecue this summer. If I can make them delicious using a campfire and a butane burner, with bears lurking in the woods, yours will taste even better.
Colorado Lamb and Chorizo Burgers with Cucumber and Yogurt
Yield: 4 servings
For the burgers: 1.5 pounds ground lamb 2 chorizo sausages, casings removed 4 good pinches salt 2 good pinches of chili flakes
For the toppings: 1 cucumber, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small tub Greek yogurt Juice of half a lemon
1. Mix the lamb, chorizo, salt and chili and form into 4 burger patties. Cook them over a medium heat in a frying pan until golden brown on each side and medium rare in the middle, about 6-8 minutes on each side.
2. Reserve the fat left over from cooking the patties for the warm beet salad.
3. Mix the cucumber and garlic into the yogurt, and stir in the fresh lemon juice.
PhotoClockwise from left: a Fourth of July feast; Kate and Ben on the hike up to American Lake; the grill fired up; sweet potato and quinoa oatmeal.Credit Patrick Dougherty
Warm Golden Beet and Charred Pepper Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Olive oil Salt and pepper 2 red peppers 2 carrots 2 golden beets Lamb fat saved from cooking the burgers 2 pinches of curry powder 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper, and wrap them in tin foil. Cook them directly on the fire (or a grill) for 30 minutes until soft and charred. When cool enough to handle, first remove the seeds and then slice the peppers.
2. Grate the carrots and beets on a medium grater.
3. Pour the lamb fat into a frying pan and get it nice and hot. Throw in the beets, carrots, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 8 minutes until everything is cooked through and full of lamb flavor.
4. At the last minute, add the cilantro and slices of charred peppers.
Sweet Potato and Quinoa Oatmeal
Chef's tip: As breakfast, this dish is great to hold up your energy all day.
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup of oats 1 cup of quinoa 2 baked sweet potatoes, skins removed (*Chef's tip: Cook them the night before) 2 tablespoons of honey Dried cranberries, cashews, sunflower seeds
1. Cook the oats and quinoa in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add the sweet potato flesh and stir well.
3. Divide the oatmeal into 4 bowls, and drizzle each with honey. Top with the berries and nut mix.
*To bake the sweet potatoes, wrap them in tin foil and place in the fire or in an oven for 40 minutes until soft.
PhotoFor the San Francisco-based organization Art City's Way Out West project, artists have commandeered outdoor advertising spaces in the Mission District. Shown are pieces by Jen Stark.Credit Courtesy of Art City
In San Francisco, where tensions between established artist communities and Silicon Valley continue to rise, Luke Groesbeck, a former tech worker and the founder of the fledgling public art organization Art City, wants to help his hometown reinvest in the former. "This is a city with a major arts and cultural legacy," he says. "How do we honor that? Then an idea came up and I got fixated on it: What happens when you turn an entire city into a gallery? Is it possible?"
From now until Aug. 17, San Franciscans will get to find out. As part of Art City's Way Out West project, Groesbeck, along with his crew of curators and organizers, worked with advertising companies and the local creative community to coordinate his organization's pilot urban art takeover. Eleven billboards, four buses and three transit shelters in the Mission District are being resurfaced with works from 20 artists, many of whom have long-running involvements in San Francisco's street art scene. These include the graffiti artist Apex, whose works live on building walls near major streets like Valencia, and members of the Mission School movement like Chris Johanson and Alicia McCarthy, who began collecting praise in the '90s for their Sol LeWitt-like installations of busy, ribboned color.
The project isn't just about the pieces themselves. It's also about what they'll replace: advertising. "Today, San Francisco has about 7,500 ad spaces, which reach tens of millions of people in a given month," Groesbeck explains. "We're doing this to illustrate a different possible future, where in each neighborhood we're instead surrounded by art and contemporary art plays a major role in our lives."
The subject of art versus commerce is a timely one in the Bay Area, especially in the once-gritty, rapidly gentrifying Mission. "Artists, musicians and other creatives that make San Francisco what it is are being pushed out," says Brett Amory, an internationally exhibited artist and local resident who is also participating in the project. "The Mission District is one of the areas getting hit hardest by this change. It's a very appropriate place to have art by local artists displayed, as a reminder of what the city is really made of."
Groesbeck, for his part, thinks the project will help San Francisco remember its roots. "I think this is a way to do something positive," he says, "and hopefully, give back to the city."
PhotoA glass of sangria at the Halkin in London.Credit Como Hotels & Resorts
Sangria recipes are hardly in short supply, but the summer master classes at the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant Ametsa, located in the London hotel the Halkin by Como, are meant to teach guests how to make three of the best renditions.
The restaurant's sommelier Alvaro Preato teaches the sessions, which run between 90 minutes and two hours and take place in the private dining room. He begins by explaining the history of the fruity alcoholic drink.
Students then have the chance to make three different versions–a white wine-based one, one that is strawberry infused and a third named after the boite that's flavored with cinnamon and brandy and uses fresh oranges and lemons and dried figs and peaches.
The beverages are paired with tapas like Iberico ham and fried hake and chips. Ametsa is a year-old spot in London's Belgravia neighborhood run by father-daughter duo Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak, who also own the three- Michelin-starred Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain.
The classes will be held on July 15 and Aug. 19 and are priced at £30 ($50) with a two-course meal at Ametsa for an additional price of £35 ($60) per person.
GiltCity.com, a website that offers local deals on everything from spa services to concerts in 13 major cities, will begin a flash sale Thursday, July 10, encouraging shoppers to get out of town in style, aboard first-class flights on Delta Air Lines.
From 10 a.m. Thursday and running for five days – or until supplies last – the site will offer fares discounted up to 57 percent on two routes in first class: between Los Angeles and Austin, Tex., for $400 round trip; and Kennedy International Airport in New York and Austin for $500 round trip.
One-way fares on the sale routes cost $200 and $300, respectively.
Travelers won't be able to book an actual flight, or check availability on their preferred dates, on GiltCity. Instead, the site issues vouchers that must be redeemed for specific flights on Delta.com by July 20. The vouchers are valid on flights from July 10 until March 1, with the exception of blackout dates roughly corresponding with the Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays.
Shoppers must sign up as members of GiltCity to get the deal.
Despite the half-off price, flyers still get full first-class perks, including a free checked bag, early boarding and food and drink in-flight.
GiltCity.com, a website that offers local deals on everything from spa services to concerts in 13 major cities, will begin a flash sale Thursday, July 10, encouraging shoppers to get out of town in style, aboard first-class flights on Delta Air Lines.
From 10 a.m. Thursday and running for five days – or until supplies last – the site will offer fares discounted up to 57 percent on two routes in first class: between Los Angeles and Austin, Tex., for $395 round trip; and Kennedy International Airport in New York and Austin for $595 round trip (excluding taxes).
One-way fares on the sale routes cost $197.50 and $395, respectively.
Travelers won't be able to book an actual flight, or check availability on their preferred dates, on GiltCity. Instead, the site issues vouchers that must be redeemed for specific flights on Delta.com by July 20. The vouchers are valid on flights from July 10 until March 1, with the exception of blackout dates roughly corresponding with the Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays.
Shoppers must sign up as members of GiltCity to get the deal.
Despite the half-off price, flyers still get full first-class perks, including a free checked bag, early boarding and food and drink in-flight.
PhotoThe museum in Winnipeg.Credit Canadian Museum for Human Rights
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights — billed as the first museum dedicated to raising awareness of national and international human rights issues — will open on Sept. 20 in Winnipeg.
The museum is strategically located at the city's downtown Forks area at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, which has a history of Aboriginal settlement.
Designed by the architect Antoine Predock, the building has four main sections: the "roots" on the ground floor; the "mountain" that houses the exhibits; a glass "cloud"; and the "Tower of Hope" –the structure's pinnacle.
"The design came from an inner impulse," Mr. Predock said in telephone interview, adding that the four sections offer a sensory experience and implicit narrative. Exhibits can be seen along an alabaster ramp that takes visitors from the "roots" section to the "cloud" — an area with bluish frit-pattern windows that symbolize the wings of a dove.
Mr. Predock used indigenous material from the Manitoba region, including 450-million-year-old Tyndall limestone as well as regional prairie grasses.
The "Tower of Hope" lends a spirit of optimism and offers views of the city; a "Garden of Contemplation," located along the ramp, allows visitors to pause and reflect on the issues and events addressed in the galleries.
One of the museum highlights is the story of Viola Desmond, a black businesswoman from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who refused to give up her movie theater seat in 1946 and was arrested.
Stuart Murray, the museum's president and chief executive, said that the "the exhibits allow for conversations on an international scale and serve as a reliable resource for Canadian educators; ultimately, the museum is about inspiring people to live more civilized lives."
Admission is 15 dollars for adults and 8 dollars for those age 7 to 17.
PhotoClassic boats on Lake Tahoe.Credit Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance
The Concours d'Elegance is an annual two-day showcase in Lake Tahoe of more than 70 wooden boats — most of them from the early 20th century — and for the first time in its 42-year history, there is a travel component.
For this year's display, on Aug. 8 and 9, one of the lead sponsors, the Swiss watch brand Frederique Constant, has created a package that includes a two-night stay at the Village at Squaw Valley, an upscale California property with condominium-style accommodations ranging from one to three bedrooms.
Travelers have unlimited two-day access to the marina on the west shore where the boats are exhibited and where the brand is raffling off four of its timepieces inspired by boating.
They also get two tickets to a ceremony in which a panel of boating experts awards the vessels with prizes (one is for the most elegant boat) and get entry to a wine village, where they can sample more than 40 labels.
The package was created because of the show's growing popularity, said the event's manager, Jess Horning. "These are some of the most beautiful and rarest boats around, and they are interesting to see whether you're into boats or not because there is so much history behind them," he said in a telephone interview.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 08 Juli 2014 | 17.36
The Wythe Hotel has established itself as more than a place to stay in Williamsburg. Last month, it set up a chapel on the roof, where gay couples were married over the weekend during New York's Pride Week. And of course there's the location's shop, whose wares change every several months and are usually curated by a local designer or brand. Beginning today, however, the Brooklyn boutique will open the doors to an assortment curated by its first international retailer: the French brand A.P.C.
Catering to both guests of the hotel as well as to Brooklyn residents, the A.P.C. products in store include clothing from the men's and women's spring/summer collections, small goods and an assortment of accessories. For guests of the hotel, there are travel-friendly items like totes and backpacks, leather dopp kits and suede iPad cases; for local shoppers, quilted home items (a collaboration with the designer Jessica Ogden) and scented candles. And perhaps most importantly, the brand's signature denim is in stock, which will save Brooklynites a trek across the river to one of A.P.C.'s four Manhattan locations.
The A.P.C. pop-up at the Wythe Hotel is open through Sept. 1 at 80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, wythehotel.com.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights — billed as the first museum dedicated to raising awareness of national and international human rights issues — will open on Sept. 20 in Winnipeg.
The museum is strategically located at the city's downtown Forks area at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, which has a history of Aboriginal settlement.
Designed by the architect Antoine Predock, the building has four main sections: the "roots" on the ground floor; the "mountain" that houses the exhibits; a glass "cloud"; and the "Tower of Hope" –the structure's pinnacle.
"The design came from an inner impulse," Mr. Predock said in telephone interview, adding that the four sections offer a sensory experience and implicit narrative. Exhibits can be seen along an alabaster ramp that takes visitors from the "roots" section to the "cloud" — an area with bluish frit-pattern windows that symbolize the wings of a dove.
Mr. Predock used indigenous material from the Manitoba region, including 450-million-year-old Tyndall limestone as well as regional prairie grasses.
The "Tower of Hope" lends a spirit of optimism and offers views of the city; a "Garden of Contemplation," located along the ramp, allows visitors to pause and reflect on the issues and events addressed in the galleries.
One of the museum highlights is the story of Viola Desmond, a black businesswoman from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who refused to give up her movie theater seat in 1946 and was arrested.
Stuart Murray, the museum's president and chief executive, said that the "the exhibits allow for conversations on an international scale and serve as a reliable resource for Canadian educators; ultimately, the museum is about inspiring people to live more civilized lives."
Admission is 15 dollars for adults and 8 dollars for those age 7 to 17.
