We Got a Zoo
And a new Sum 41 album!
Do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior of rock, Sum 41? I’ve been listening to their new album non-stop and it is so good. They really gave us new music that has so many callbacks to their classic hits. Waiting on a Twist of Fate and I Can’t Wait are very All Killer No Filler (which is the best pop punk album of all time, prove me wrong). Time Won’t Wait is very Chuck. And Future Primitive was certainly written by The Sums for Does This Look Infected. Dopamine feels a little MGK-coded but I digress. Sum 41 has entered the pop-punk resurgence of the 2020s and I couldn’t be happier.
I was speaking with a friend and likened the journey of Sum 41 (and pop punk at large) to the general journey that I feel like I’ve seen many millennials (myself included) take. We formed our personalities in our late teens and 20s and then spent the rest of our 20s fucking floundering. We did what “they” told us to do - went to college, got corporate jobs, and generally became casualties of society. The 2010s were a dark time where pop punk bands of yore released shitty albums that catered to the “current tastes” - Fall Out Boy’s “Save Rock & Roll”, most of Green Day’s recent stuff. The songs were chock full of autotune and current musical trends, which often didn’t fit with the type of music the band naturally played. It felt forced.
At some point we all collectively realized that we should stop being victims of conformity and start being ourselves again. Fall Out Boy gave us So Much For Stardust, Blink 182 resurfaced, and Sum 41 gave us this goddam gem of an album. The pop punk greats remembered what they were good at and stopped wasting our time with music that might trend on TikTok.
Anyways, I know this has nothing to do with what I usually write about, but I needed to spread the gospel of Sum 41. I’m currently deciding if I should buy tickets for a show on their farewell tour and right now signs are pointing to yes.
1. Learning 🧠
The Bronx Zoo turned 125 years old last month and while I’ve already written about my trip there to find the fountain of youth (new readers, go back to this one) I wanted to spend some more time examining the zoo’s history. Specifically, some of their more questionable exhibits. Zoos will always be controversial and I struggle personally with visiting and therefore supporting them; on the one hand, animals are in cages and that’s bad, but on the other hand I’m able to see and learn about animals up close that I would never see otherwise living in my little apartment in Brooklyn and that feels good? The history of this zoo, and those involved in its creation, is similarly controversial.
The Bronx Zoo would officially open in 1899, just one year after the consolidation of the 5 boroughs into the City of New York. Its first director was William Temple Hornaday, who had a goal of wanting to save the American Bison. Though he started as a taxidermist, he soon moved onto collecting live specimens, providing them with breeding opportunities and reintroducing them to the wild. He was actually pretty successful. Hornady formed the American Bison Society on the grounds of the zoo and soon nine herds of bison were established in parks across the US thanks to his efforts. Sounds like a good dude!
But here’s where things take a bit of a turn. Hornady, along with Madison Grant (who would become known as a eugenicist, and advocate of scientific racism 🥴) created a very controversial exhibit. A Mbuti man named Ota Benga ended up in the US through a series of unfortunate events and eventually made his way to The Bronx Zoo. While Hornady initially claimed that Benga “worked” for the zoo (he was never paid), he would eventually become one of the zoo’s exhibits. Hornady basically shrugged and claimed that this happened naturally - Benga enjoyed being in the Monkey House, so he was encouraged to hang his hammock there. Benga was given a bow and arrow to entertain himself by shooting at targets. And Benga took a liking to an orangutan named Dohong, so the two would often be seen together. One day, Hornady simply put a plaque up outside of exhibit that read:
The African Pygmy, "Ota Benga."
Age, 23 years. Height, 4 feet 11 inches.
Weight, 103 pounds. Brought from the
Kasai River, Congo Free State, South Cen-
tral Africa, by Dr. Samuel P. Verner. Ex-
hibited each afternoon during September.
While there was an immediate outcry over Benga’s exhibition, it was downplayed soooo hard by the press and everyone else involved. Fucking Hornady was unphased and quoted as saying "When the history of the Zoological Park is written, this incident will form its most amusing passage." The goddam NYT wrote:
We do not quite understand all the emotion which others are expressing in the matter ... It is absurd to make moan over the imagined humiliation and degradation Benga is suffering. The pygmies ... are very low in the human scale, and the suggestion that Benga should be in a school instead of a cage ignores the high probability that school would be a place ... from which he could draw no advantage whatever.
Rev. James H. Gordon not only opposed to Benga’s exhibition because, oh I don’t know, fucking racism, but because it seemed to support Darwinism? Apparently placing an African man between White men and monkeys insinuated the Darwinian model of evolution between the three and as a Christian man, Gordon simply couldn’t stand for that. So thanks I guess? Gordon did eventually get Benga transferred to live with a family in Virginia, but his story sadly ends with his suicide in 1916.
The NYT reflected on Ota Benga’s treatment 100 years later and The Bonx Zoo did eventually offer an official apology in 2020. Additionally, a plaque in Benga’s final resting place of Lynchburg, Virginia honors his legacy. Benga’s life encapsulated much more than his unfortunate exhibition at The Bronx Zoo and I definitely recommend reading more about him.
In an interesting turn, the zoo famously displayed an exhibit of The Most Dangerous Animal in the World in 1963.
The words: "The most dangerous animal in the world" were printed in red on top of a cage. Behind the bars of the cage, there was a mirror. The exhibit allowed the human visitors to peer into the cage and see their reflection — marking them as "most dangerous".
Today, the Bronx Zoo is mostly well-respected for its diverse animal collection. It’s part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and it is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). These accolades and the generally favorable conditions in the zoo, however, didn’t stop Raul the peacock from escaping a last and biting a man in The Bronx. Some people [peacocks] just want to watch the world burn.
2. Exploring 🛼
I mentioned that this month’s Beef Fancy Dinner was more of an activity than a dinner and that’s because we made candles at Lanterne Candle Lab! I’ve been here a few times and the candles I’ve made here are by far my favorite ones to burn. Beef is a big fan of the custom Olfactory scent I made a while ago and when he heard he could make his own candle scent at this place, he was sold.
The candle making experience at Lanterne can really be as long or short as you want; each table had a rolodex of instructions on it so you can follow along at your own pace. When you arrive, the very lovely staff will show you to your table which is already set up with a tray and all of the mixers and beakers you’ll need. Your first big to-dos are to choose a jar and smell some scents.
They probably had about 20-25 scents to choose from and it’s recommended that you mix two together. I haven’t been able to make a candle here that is anything but the boba + honeydew scents because I literally cannot find a candle in the wild that smells as good as this combo does. Lorenzo made a nice lychee-based scent and Beef went the super sweet route and mixed cereal + honeydew. You’ll need to measure your scent oils in the little beaker and can go heavier on one or the other if you want.
After measuring your scent oils, the staff will give you a big pitcher of hot wax. Add your small wets to your big wets, mix, and pour into your candle jar. There’s some glitter available that you can add to your wax at this stage and you’ll also get some flower petals that you can sprinkle on top later once your wax starts to set. You can also add a label to your jar with your candle name, a drawing, whatever you want.
At this point, you’ll need to wait about 45 min - 1 hour for your candle to set, so this is the time to walk around and grab a bite to eat. The staff will pack your candle up in a cute bag for easy pickup, but they also offer to ship your candle for $10 if you can’t come back. The whole experience is $50, but if you saved your candle jar from a previous session you can bring it back to refill it and only pay $35. This is an absolute steal because you’re not going to get a candle of this size and quality anywhere else for $35. Not only are their scent oils super high quality, but they also use a nice blend of coconut and soy wax that burns and distributes the aroma super evenly. And they get ++ points from me for using a wooden wick!
I can’t recommend Lanterne Candle Lab enough, whether you’re looking for a fun event for friends or just want to drop in to remake your favorite candle. I also cannot stress how easy and chill the process is. Lorenzo and Beef were both nervous to mess up their candles but let me tell you a little story. Last year I accidentally ate a higher dosage weed gummy than I meant to, went to Chinatown during Lunar New Year, somehow managed to find my friend amidst the crowds, got us to Lanterne, and made a candle and flower arrangement there during one of their special workshops. If I could do this high out of my mind (not recommended btw), then even the most craft-averse human can handle this.
3. What’s Good 😎
NYC beaches are officially open for the season on Saturday May 25! I am not a beach person - I have 1 bathing suit “just in case”, I don’t go in the water (have you seen Jaws?) and I generally cover myself up as much as possible when I’m in the sun. But if you wanna beach, then go beach!
One of my favorite little cafes on the Bushwick/Ridgewood border, La Cantine, is hosting a market this Sunday May 26. There will be jewelry, hair product, cakes, clothing, banana pudding, art and more - they had me at banana pudding 😍
Every year for AAPI Month I have my employees decorate bags and note cards for Heart of Dinner; it’s a super fun crafty activity that’s low effort but high impact for the folks who receive the care packages. Heart of Dinner also hosts some public decorating sessions, one of which is happening at The Standard East Village on May 25.
Send Chinatown Love is hosting a Trivia Night Fundraiser at Shinka Ramen on May 30. Tickets are a little steep at $55, but they include a bowl of ramen and other family style snacks while you compete to win lots of cool prizes. You can also purchase their cookbook, Made Here, which features recipes from chef and restaurants all around NYC’s Chinatowns.
Dumbo Drop is an annual event that I’ve never been to because I don’t like crowds, but it sounds fun so maybe you want to go. This year’s drop is on Friday May 31 and you’ll need to reserve a ticket in order to watch thousands of toy elephants parachute down over Washington St. The event is a fundraiser for Title 1 schools in the area and they’ll also have a separate area with events for kiddos.
Gowanus doesn’t get enough credit for being nearly as weird as Coney Island. On June 1 they’ll be having their annual Creatures of the Canal Art Parade. Similar to Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, anyone can participate and folks are encouraged to dress up as mutated creatures from the Gowanus Canal and parade around with their art. Beforehand on May 29 folks can gather at The Old Stone House to obtain supplies to craft their costumes!
I’ve had The Red Pavilion in Bushwick on my to-visit list for ages and maybe I’ll finally get over there this weekend because they’re offering free GA tickets to all of their jazz shows to celebrate AAPI Month! Use code MDWLOVE at checkout.
Finally, my absolute angel of an esthetician is hiring an office administrator. They need someone 10-15 hours a week, compensation is hourly, and you’ll receive an employee discount on product and free monthly facials. Trust me, the facials alone are worth it. Email admin@pacifictouchnyc.com if you’re interested and tell Nichola I sent you!
4. Noshing 😋
This month’s Beef Fancy Dinner was more of an activity than a dinner (as mentioned above), but food was still consumed! We needed to kill some time in Chinatown while waiting for our candles to set and there is truly no better place to be when you need to grab a bite to eat, though Friday night at prime dinner time is a bit tricky. We had dreams of eating at Uncle Lou’s (hour wait), Cha Kee (hour wait), Kong Sikh Tong (45m wait), Shanghai 21 (they just shrugged). I love that Chinatown is poppin’ again after the pandemic but how’s a girl supposed to get some grub on a Friday night when crowds are this nuts??
We eventually decided to head under Shanghai 21 to eat at Hop Kee. Chinatown has many levels to it (including secret tunnels) and if you don’t check out the basement level eateries you’re missing out. It’s super easy to miss Hop Kee or just look past it and think it’s not on par with surface level dining, but when everyone else kicked us to the curb Hop Kee had us seated and eating within 15 minutes! In classic Chinatown fashion, their walls are decorated with photos of famous folks who’ve eaten there; we must have been seated in the Anthony Bourdain section.
Their menu is fairly extensive, but generally contains all of your Chinese American classics. We ordered a spread of pork fried rice, lo mein, chicken with Chinese broccoli, fried wontons, and fried duck. While I didn’t find any of the dishes to be groundbreaking, the meal absolutely hit the spot. I was also pleasantly surprised by how friendly the service was. I expect to be at best ignored and at worst yelled at when I eat in Chinatown (it’s fine, I probably deserve it), but the staff here was downright kind. I tipped much more than I probably should have because I couldn’t quite tell if gratuity was included in our check and I was afraid to ask and run out my luck.
While everyone in my group loved all of the dishes, I found most of the food to be pretty salty and I’m pretty sure the secret spice was loads of MSG (which isn’t a bad thing, but too much of anything is too much). That said, the fried duck was a total anomaly. It came drowning in the same brown sauce as the rest of the dishes but it somehow stayed crispy??? Not only that, but there were no bones 🥹 Duck always comes with secret bones and just when you think you’re bones-free there’s a random crunchy bit that ruins the bite. These little strips of duck were crispy, sans bone, and it was super easy to eat strip after strip. This was definitely the top item for me.
Lorenzo is a lo mein boy and he really liked that the noodles had some char on them and actually tasted wok fried. This actually was a really nice touch to the noodles, which are usually just floppy vehicles for sauce. I was also a sneaky bitch and specifically ordered the chicken with broccoli with Chinese broccoli instead of American broccoli and Beef really liked the slight difference in florets.
Hop Kee is cash only, but the staff mentioned this as soon as we sat down so it wasn’t a surprise and there’s a sign on the front door. I still don’t think they’d be my top choice of places to eat in Chinatown, but they’re for sure a solid standby that won’t leave you disappointed.
5. Watching🍿
I saw The Fall Guy last week and let me just say that Ryan Gosling’s rizz could power a large country. My man has reached his final evolution and has chosen to use his immense power for our entertainment and for that, I salute 🫡
The Fall Guy was a very fun movie based on an IP that basically no one knew about; I literally learned that there was a Fall Guy tv show during the Alamo previews before the movie and it starred Lee fuckin Majors! The good news is, you don’t need to know that the tv show existed because the movie pretty much has nothing to do with it except a couple name similarities and a cameo at the end. It does feel counterintuitive to make a movie based on a preexisting IP that isn’t overly popular because that’s like the whole point of doing a reboot/remake - you draw in that preexisting audience which makes the reboot/remake a guaranteed moneymaker. And while the unfortunate low box office sales of The Fall Guy are a perfect example of this just not working, I still really enjoyed this movie.
The director, David Leitch, is a stuntman-turned-director who’s brought a really unique style to the screen - he directed Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train, all of which feature dynamic and exciting choreography. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - I’m fuckin tired of everything being CGI and I think we need to dial that shit back and incorporate more practical effects. Leitch is all for that and on top of favoring practical effects over CGI he actually lets those sequences shine by featuring longer takes and less choppy editing, so you get to appreciate all of the skill and work that goes into creating the action. You hear every punch land, you see uncut fight scenes that are intricately choreographed dances, and there’s no question that this stuff was done IRL and not in a computer. This film actually set a new Guinness Record for most cannon rolls performed in a car (8.5).
In this way, The Fall Guy was an ode to stuntpeople. The plot of this film was fine, though predictable, but it really only served as a loose line to connect stunt sequences throughout the film. If you like seeing how movies are made, you’ll enjoy watching this movie and you’ll love watching additional behind the scenes videos about this movie. There is so much that goes into making movies that the audience would never fathom (and that’s the point) but The Fall Guy gives nods to all of the hard work and coordination that goes on behind the scenes. If there was ever an argument for stuntpeople to have an Oscar category, this movie is it.
Not to mention this movie is pretty fuckin funny. As I mentioned, Ryan Gosling is just charming AF and has moved on from his job being Beach to Stunt. Does he even know how powerful he is? I also really loved Winston Duke’s character (he played Gosling’s stunt coordinator and buddy). Being mostly familiar with Duke’s serious character in the MCU, I had no idea how fucking goofy he could be. I do kind of wish Stephanie Hsu had gotten more screentime because her talents felt a bit underutilized. And let’s also just have a moment of silence to appreciate Aaron Taylor Johnson’s abs 😮💨
The good news is that this movie is now available on most streaming platforms. However, that’s also the bad news? Like this movie was in theaters for barely two weeks before hitting streaming. Some people are busy and can’t make it to theaters immediately; that doesn’t mean movies need to hit streaming so quickly! This feels like a conspiracy to make this movie bomb box office-wise, but I digress.
Omg I'm truly excited about watching the Fall Guy. Gonna make a date with myself, RyGos, and Emily Blunt this weekend!