PANDA VS BEAR

I watched this beautiful documentary today on Hulu. Bela Fleck is a very talented banjo player and the music was fantastic.

He  travels across East and West Africa with a Banjo, trying to re-incorporate the Banjo into African music. The banjo carries with it a stereotype of Southern U.S. men, but it actually came with the African slaves.

Here is a particularly beautiful song from the show. He plays along with a Ugandan woman who sings and plays thumb guitar. Her name is Ruth and her story only makes it better. I love the “Riverdance Guy” in the red shirt. I’m not sure about Ruth being called a wizard, but I suppose that it’s better than being called “mudblood.”

Hallelujah (Jesus is the only answer)

You can stream the documentary from Amazon for $2.99 or for free at Hulu.

Another interesting fact about this documentary: John Kitime (the Tanzanian guide and guitarist) is a friend of friends in Tanzania, and is assisting with their recently funded Kickstarter campaign. They are digitizing the Tanzania Radio archives- preserving the country’s history from certain ruin. Way to be, Benson/Erasmus/Rebecca.

(Unfortunately, Youtube won’t let me embed these videos so you’ll have to visit them directly.)

Nas & Damian Marley – Patience 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9VQye6P8k0

I love this remix and this video. I also love that it has the original artists (Amadou and Mariam from Mali) in the video. The production of the video is dramatic and great.

(Original video/song:)

http://youtu.be/-z6EAV-90Nc

Although I had more than my fill of the traditional Halloween treats yesterday here:

This is all the candy I ate this Halloween:

Sur Bilar! Yum. They’re like gummy frogs + Sour Patch Kids.

Bilar is supposed to mean car in Swedish, but they’ll always be sharks to me.

Thanks, Elenalainen!

おいでやす !

jk

But I love Kyoto. Their food is consistently good (authentic!) and their sushi is always fresh and high-quality. The restaurant also has a great atmosphere.

This boiling cast-iron pot of Nabeyaki was the perfect match for the Fall weather we’ve started to experience.

(Nabeyaki Udon from Kyoto- Salt Lake City, UT)

Most dinner entrees are around $18, but for $13 (including wonderful green tea), the Nabe is a great deal. In Japan this would probably feed a group of friends. (Even in America it’s enough to fill one person plus another meal of leftovers.)

Some of the highlights of this one:

• Tempura Shrimp
• Udon Noodles
• Chicken
• Egg
• Naruto

More about Nabe

Try it!

Kyoto Japanese Restaurant

1080 E 1300
Salt Lake City, UT 84105-1859
(801) 487-3525

Seriously?

…Acacia?