Monday, September 13, 2010

Lady Gaga inspires Lanes Cove Design’s new “Wear Meat Eat Veggies” campaign

As much attention as Lady Gaga is getting over her meat dress I hate to disappoint her fans when I tell you that she is not the first person to wear meat.  The first meat dress was made in 1987 by Canadian artist, Jana Sterbak called 'Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic'.  The piece is hung in the National Gallery of Canada.  I think this could lead to a new Pro-vegetarian/vegan way of life.  Lady Gaga’s attempt to be “shocking” to say the least worked yet she was not original in her idea or her plan to wear the dress.


Lady Gaga's meat hat
The "original" meat dress

As soon as I saw this I knew we had to start a new campaign called “Wear Meat Eat Veggies”.  The campaign will help get the vegetarian word out there in a thought provoking medium.  See our items on CafePress at http://www.cafepress.com/LCDOddities.
My product design for Lanes Cove Design

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Locally Roasted Artisan Coffee ... Cafe Review

I was walking through the shops area on Essex Street, Salem and saw a cute organic cafe called Cafe Valverde. I went in side and the staff was very helpful and nice.  It was one of the best Mocha Lattes I have had in a long time.  You can't compare them to the corporate monsters like Starbucks.  One of my friends said it best, "The corporate rosters probably have a chemist sitting there with beakers making sure the chemical make up of the product is just perfect."  I have been back a few times trying different things off the menu and I have been fully satisfied.  It has a nice little area to sit inside or a small area outside where the fresh air can be enjoyed.

I was so excited to have a local roaster that I bought a bag of the dark roast for the house to use in a French Press.  It smelled good in the bag but when it was made it had the hint of a burnt flavor and the scent of coffee that had been on the burner too long.  I will stick with my coffee from Berkeley, Ca for the house.  But for coffee around town, they are still my #1 choice.

Ratings: Overall rating is 4 of 5 (««««)
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Not "Just Another Cafe"

 We set out for a change of pace.  We noticed the Gulu-Gulu Cafe this past weekend while we were out and about checking out the night scene.  Yesterday we went in for lunch and a coffee.  A delightful surprise, there is a full menu, full bar, excellent lighting, great atmosphere and there are tons of outlets for laptop power.  Entertainment in the evenings.  Tuesdays are "Best of Anime", Wednesdays are "Open Mic" and every other evening of the week is any number of fun entertaining events such as poetry readings, DJ nights, art from local artists or live music.

So, you want to know about the food...  AMAZING...  We had the Roasted Red Pepper & Artichoke Tapenade with Flat Bread and the Savory Crepes with Portobello Mushroom, Spinach, cheddar cheese and a hint of basil. They make everything fresh in house.  The whole meal was the perfect combination of flavors where nothing was over powering.  The portions are very generous; the appetizers were a full meal for us.  I couldn't even finish all of the Tapenade.  Needless to say, we will have to go back for coffee.

Rating:  A perfect 5 of 5 («««««)
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There is always something to do, eat and drink at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe.