The Chronicles Of PiercingKen

In hindsight I probably should have posted these photos when I first took them, but I didn’t because at first I was not too sure what had happened and then when I realized what it was, I simply didn’t want cause alarm among the general populace of my region. Still there is no time like the present and its very clear that had a semi-close encounter with the Incredible Hulk right up the street from our PiercingMetal HQ. Talk about a close call.



Clearly something pissed off the emerald giant, and it was very likely something that we shall learn more about in this weeks upcoming “Avengers” film. As you can see this alarm box was made very short work of but I expected this result in this kind of encounter. Its almost like a metal pretzel.




That being said, its all I have for you today. Be careful out there my friends.

I just happened to be walking past the famous Brill Building the other night and I decided to snap a photo of it but despite my trying, I was unable to get one without someone passing right by me. It’s a single shot I must admit, but its one that still helps you reflect upon the amazing amount of music that came out of this building. For decades this was a veritable song factory that found legends such as Carole King and Neil Diamond working day in and day out to churn out the hits that Don Kirshner would ask them to provide.



To the best of my recollection I have never been inside the Brill Building so I don’t know if there are any other plaques or statuary to its history. Perhaps that is a mission I can undertake for the blog if I put my most charming self in front of me when walking past their doors. If I do that I promise to share it with you here for sure.

Official Wikipedia Entry HERE

I’ve mentioned a number of times how I am a resident of Bay Ridge Brooklyn, which is a nice little area not too far off the beaten path from the island of Manhattan and a space that is often referred to as “Bar Ridge” based on the sheer number of places that one can kick back a pint or three. I admit that this title always amused me as a resident because it really was true and some friends who moved out this way realized that they never needed to go far from home to have a nice time. With this being the case I was actually surprised that it took this long for a pub to open up and use that particular title but here we are in April of 2012 as I proudly broadcast an image of the “coming soon” establishment called BAR RIDGE.



The pub sits in the space formerly occupied by the likes of Antiquities, The Empty Mug and several other names that I have long forgotten. I lived right near there for some time and it seemed to change titles and owners on a regular basis. I will probably check it out to see if there is any worth in visiting when I need a watering hole or if they will be presenting live music since I have so many friends who play, but be aware that my posting this does not mean I have any personal stake in the place. I just was amused at there finally being a bar that played to this little bit of regional status. Its located on 5th Avenue just off 89th street (hence the 8910 in the photo)




As I close up on these thoughts, I have to wonder if the very clear usage of a trademarked image on their awning will cause them any grief going forward. Strangers to our zone probably don’t see it, but this is the exact same logo that is seen on our neighborhood “R” train line. That’s how you best get out this way if you plan on a visit anytime soon. To do that you would need to get this local train and get off at either the 86th Street or 95th Street stop. Mind you the first one is closest to the larger amount of shopping.

This morning while on some errands in the immediate vicinity from my PiercingMetal HQ I was pleased to find the one and only Optimus Prime on point at a local construction site. This really left me with a sense of positivity and security knowing that the Autobot Commander was keeping the region safe from any Decepticon shenanigans.



I knew the leader of the Autobots (or one of the Transformers to you lay people) was in our Metropolis when I caught him at one of the Toys R Us chains a couple of years ago. Below is photographic proof for the skeptics.



Carry on people and know that we are being well looked after.

Or should I have said “I am an egg man”?

Since the PiercingKen blogsite is often about some of the kitchen skullduggery that I involve myself in, I decided to invite you all over for breakfast. Well, in a manner of speaking that is. It was Saturday and the day before Easter and I was not only hungrier than usual for this kind of morning but I also felt like putting a bunch of stuff together and work out a recipe for you all to potentially enjoy. Sadly, I had not thought of taking individual shots of each and every ingredient this time around because not only have I done that before, but how exciting are shots of chopped up stuffs anyway. My goal this morning was to fix up a great omelet and I just love the things in all honesty. Write this down for reference okay? This one used three medium sized eggs, some sliced pepperoni, chopped up mushrooms, pepper jack cheese and salsa (of the medium hotness). I will type out the steps I took after you enjoy the yummy photos. Here is the final result on the plate with a tasty onion Bialey. Looks good right?



Here’s a shot from the side of the plate. I could not wait to sink my fangs into this one and finish enjoying the non-pictured but massive cup of coffee I had made. This was clearly going to get me prepped for the evening’s Metal show. In order to learn about that you will have to monitor my Official PiercingMetal Musings Blog (which I think a lot of you are doing as well).



OK so now the steps. For this particular omelet I used three medium sized eggs as opposed to two jumbo ones, and once they were nicely blended together I toss them into the medium pan. A small pat of butter was added for good measure.

After about thirty seconds of this cooking in the pan I tossed the chopped pepperoni, mushrooms and the cheese right on top to cook a little deeper into the eggs. Then the tricky part of flipping it was done but as you can see in the image I did alright this time. Figures on a day without company it comes out perfect. The insides were nice and cooked and the cheese super gooey.

This was the perfect fuel for the later evening Metal show that I would be seeing. That’s all I have for you now though. Back to your day you go.

I was out for one of my neighborhood walks/observations/inspirations or whatever and after being out for awhile ended up down on the 69th Street Pier. This is actually referred to as such by the area populace but is indeed called the American Veteran’s Memorial Pier”. Please make a note of it.



At the far end of the pier, near the sign I showed you up above, they have the American Flag presented proudly along with a POW MIA flag and I was happy to have timed this perfectly for my photographic needs. It was VERY windy today.



As I took a breather from the long walk, I looked out onto the water and my attention was directed to a very cool looking tugboat that was heading right past us. It was very sleek and modern looking so perhaps there is a new fleet being utilized in the harbor. Take a look. Pretty cool right?



I zoomed in a little too close here but look at the command cabin from here. Looks like this would be fun to be the captain of as you briskly break the harbor waters on your next detail. I wonder if they have WiFi.



I was down here with my good buddy Beehivehairdresser and we agreed that it almost seemed like a submarine based on how close it appeared to be on the surface of the water. What do you think? Have you seen this at any harbors near you? I’m always interested in hearing what you readers offer up. Here’s another, and similar shot as it passed us.



The tugboat is one of the Reinauer Twins models of boats. I placed their link below for you to do some additional reading. Pretty awesome stuff. The boat was quickly almost out of range from the cameras as you can see in my next shot.



Official Website: http://www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=1080

Spring had sprung, and while I did need to finally address my tax paperwork and really knock out some writing and photos for PiercingMetal.com, I opted to use the very clear and beautiful day to do a quick wander. Bay Ridge is known for its walkway that brings you right up close to the Narrow’s (and that’s a straight that leads to the Hudson River) but enough about that. While I walked today I happened upon one of the strangest places that I had ever recalled some of my friends “hanging out” back in those days of youth. The place was under the 92nd street pedestrian bridge and referred to as “under the overpass”. To access this you would climb over a small fence and boom, there you were. Under the walkway and about twenty or so feet away from the Belt Parkway. Mind you there was an incline of almost 90 degrees so you always had to be on your best balance, and mindset. I didn’t keep up with this particular crowd all that long and its not for any negative reasons. This was not a bad group of friends, just ones that I didn’t have much in common with on my day to day life so I moved on. Formative band years I guess was my prime reason, started hanging with the other musicians I knew and practicing a lot more.



I was never quite sure why this crowd opted for this particular space because you could easily slide down and hit the concrete divider or worse if you were a few feet to the left or right. Still during my time no one ever seemed to get hurt. I personally did not like standing at an angle. Give me solid ground any day of the week. Stranger still, had we only voted on moving this little circle across the walkway to the other side near the water, it might have been much more preferential. Take a look at the photo below and you can see for yourself. Spacious, clear, flat……much better in my opinion. Oh well it was not my decision on where the group ended up no one asked me and I was not as outspoken back then if you can believe that. Stop laughing. I swear it’s true.



I was near this spot a couple of days after originally taking the photos above and realized that I had not shown you this space from the other perspective by the Shore. This one lets you see just how precarious this actually was in terms of the balance required. Yeesh. Imagine that the best option was to stumble into the big concrete part. Ahhhh youth.



While I don’t really suggest you readers go to visit the exact same space in this first photo, I do think that you would enjoy the small Shore Road Park section that leads to it and the walking bridge that brings you to the shore. Its very picturesque and sometimes even relaxing. Hope you didn’t mind this strange little reflection. When you live and grew up in an area like this one, you often found your own special places whether they were strange or somewhat treacherous when looked back on so many years later. Thinking of this makes me wonder where some of the oddest places you convened with friends in your youth. The comments are open for you to share your own details so have at it.

It’s that time of the year where everyone’s “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and the wearing of the green can be seen all around you; Especially in New York City. With this being the case I just wanted to post a couple of seasonal images that I found around the command center and wish you a very fun-filled but safe, St. Patrick’s Day. The first photo is a very happy Leprechaun that my Grandmother gave me about ten years ago. “He looks like you she said”. I just smiled at her way with words from time to time. He really doesn’t since I don’t sport a beard.



Speaking of my now dear departed Nanna, she was very creative and had fashioned this decorative ornament to hang in the apartment. It was very nicely made, and all by hand mind you. I’ve tried to keep this in top shape after a couple of apartment moves and so you should still be able to see that its a three leaf clover and there is a small leprechaun on the top of it.



This little guy is my “Lapelprechaun”. Alright, I realize that’s completely terrible but I was at a temporary loss for what to say. Nonetheless this is my little lapel pin leprechaun. He stands a couple of inches high but I don’t wear him out much for fear that I will lose him.



I don’t really have in the way of festive St. Patrick’s Day garb but I did secure this nifty Leprechaun hat when I did the head shaving for St. Baldrick’s a couple of years ago. Before you ask, yes they did give this to me.



I’ll be taking it easy on St. Patrick’s Day because I will be covering a show over at the Gramercy Theatre. It’s not an Irish Metal band but that sure would have been fun to bring to the table. The Dropkick Murphy’s are not in town today and I don’t think Flogging Molly are either so I shall be hitting Hank III. Maybe if I am lucky I will get a couple of green beers. Can you believe that I have not yet tried one of these? I mean, I really don’t think I ever have.



If I am not able to get one of the green beers, I am so making a point of visiting the local McDonald’s to sample their new McCafe Shamrock Shake. They are bringing this new concoction out for the customers and its reported to be very different from the one that I used to love. I will give it a try and if I hate it, perhaps I will bring that to the world’s attention via the blog.




Enjoy the day everyone and remember that lots of water and sleep will help you get back to normal if you overdo it.

Oh and I am speaking of just a preferred flavor of choice and nothing quite as drastic as some of you might be thinking. Anyways, so the reason I am exclaiming this to you is based on a recent shopping adventure where I saw what lies in the photo below. I had never heard of Vanilla Syrup before but I guess it had to exist since I used to get Vanilla soda back when I was a young boy on shopping adventures with my Grandmother. There was one candy store who used to make soda as well and this was one of their concoctions. That and egg creams. Mmmmmm egg creams.



This stuff really upgrades a cold glass of milk if you are seeking something different than the chocolate syrup family. Of course I love those as well as my sometimes expanding waistline tells me. I have yet to sample this delicious stuff in any other offering but feel it might work well over some of the coffee as it brews or perhaps even on ice cream. The trick of using this stuff is to pour carefully as its much thinner in consistency than chocolate syrup and clear so you can easily overload your spoon. Either way, I am glad that I picked this up. I love it.

That’s all I got for you now. Please continue along with your business.

This one was pretty easy and I decided to share the concoction with you all based on my just chilling out one evening and feeling like cooking up something tasty and relatively quick. I love baked potatoes, and I also love “amping them up” or making the eating experience a little bit more Metal. This is a simple one and I didn’t photograph it in a step by step fashion since there was no need to.

Ingredients:
2 reasonably sized Idaho Potatoes (I used two smaller ones since I am trying to watch what I eat every now and again).
4-6 wedges of cheese. For this experience I used both a Sharp Cheddar and a Pepperjack Cheese. The latter one has a nice little kick to it that is wonderful.
6-8 Jalapeno Peppers
2-4 Pepperoncini Peppers
4 slices of smoked kielbasa
4 slices of pepperoni
Salsa of Choice (mild, medium, or hot). I went with Medium. I find the brand I use perfect for this. Their hot is too much so and their mild is in a word, lame.

The Steps:
First bake the potatoes. I use the setting on my microwave and that takes no more than 3 or 4 minutes to get them done. Then let them sit a moment so you can handle them easily. You obviously should thoroughly wash the potatoes and poke them a couple of times with a knife before putting them into the micro.

The rest is pretty easy and just a placement project. I technically made two different kinds of this recipe today and had the kielbasa, pepperoncini, and cheddar cheese on one while the other had the pepperoni, pepperjack cheese and jalapenos. One of these was much hotter than the other. Can you tell which one?



This is a slightly different angle of the whole shebang before I nuked it a little more. I didn’t take a photo of the final product but it pretty much looks the same as this. Only much gooier.



After they are melted to your preference you can put the salsa on the top of them. I don’t melt the cheeses with that on the top and opt to wait until it is finished and ready to be served. That’s all, this takes about ten minutes in total and depending on how many people you have hanging out is how many you will need. This could be considered a two person nosh since we made four individual segments of it. Give it a try.