Remember when you learned about new music through those little booklets called "zines"? You read a short paragraph review of a record, took a gamble on it by sending your well-concealed cash to the distro, and a few weeks later the United States Postal Service delivered the record to your door? Well, South By Southwest (SXSW) has been around since those halcyon days, too, but it doesn't mope around and wax nostalgic about the golden years prior to the Internet Revolution. Nowadays, it still organizes a bazillion live shows, as well as a film festival and a surprisingly diverse interactive portion that plays host to a slew of panels, such as those featuring bloggers who want to talk about blogging to other bloggers! Futuristic stuff!

Our pal Stephanie of The Lazy Smurf's Guide to Life has envisioned a panel for vegans to call their very own at the next SXSW in March 2011. Here's the official description of "Internet Activism Vegan Bloggers Take Over the World":

A surge of vegan bloggers has been using the internet to make change in the way people think about animals through new forms of activism. VeganMoFo (the vegan month of food) and worldwide Vegan Bakesales to raise money for causes and promote veganism are just some of the ways that we are breaking out of the stereotypes of the past and creating a revolution. Learn creative ways to promote your message and engage your community on & off the web and more about food activism and using your culinary skills to promote compassion.

SXSW panels are decided by crowd-sourcing, so please vote if you want to see SXSW get more vegan-friendly next year! Voting was originally scheduled to close last night, but it's been extended through this weekend, so cast your vegan vote by 11:59 CST Sunday, August 29th, and your vote shall be counted!

Do you know Puppets in South Park Slope? There's a lot to like about the place: a very vegan-friendly menu, full bar, back yard, late hours, and--most unusually for a veg restaurant--excellent music.

Seriously, live music at veggie restaurants tends to be pretty lousy, right? But Puppets puts the music first, while also providing real good eats. (And don't get me started on the chicken-finger-and-cobb-salad filled menus at typical jazz clubs!)

Anyways, Puppets is going through some tough economic times and they've declaring this weekend "Help Save Puppet's Jazz Bar Fundraiser." If you happen to see this post tonight and can make it over before 3am, go for it. Otherwise, head over on Saturday the 28th between 5pm and 3am (happy hour til 8! backyard til 11!) and have burger or hot dog or salad or guacamole (hell, read their whole menu yourself; it's short). And give them some money. They're waiving all cover charges during the fundraiser and instead just asking for you to give what you can.

Even if you're not a real jazzhead, I bet you'll have a good time. Let's do our part to keep this place open!

Puppets is located at 481 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Whoa! You'd think we were giving away the recipe to Vegan Treats' Peanut Butter Bomb by the amount of folks who turned out for last night's Vegan Drinks. There were a bunch of you there (familiar and unfamiliar faces!), as well as a winning softball team. (Go, Team Crush Management!)

You're reading this because you want to know who made shout outs last night, right? Well let's get to it, in easy to read list format:

Don't miss the last Vegan Drinks of the super humid months! Show up at 7pm on Thursday, August 26th, order a drink (or two or three) and meet some new friends!

As always Vegan Drinks NYC takes place at Angels & Kings Bar in the East Village. The drink specials are CHEAP: $2 off everything until 8pm and then it's $1 off draft beers and well drinks from 8pm to 9pm. Folks who don't drink alcohol are also quite welcome, but you do have to be 21 to get in.

We'll turn down the music around 8:15pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Do you fancy yourself a decent photographer? Or, do you, at least, own a very nice camera capable of taking very good photos? If so, bring it with you on Thursday. Shoot a bunch of pictures. Upload them to our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/vegandrinks.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm to 9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.

I love me some Philadelphia!. (Shout out to Kingdom!) From Vegan Philly Cheesesteaks at Gianna’s to the gourmet gastro-indulgence of Horizons: vegans do alright in the city of Brotherly Love.

Well, the vegan prospects just got better. This Saturday, August 21st will see the grand opening of Grindcore House, a vegan coffee shop in South Philly. The café is located at 1515 S. Fourth St. in Pennsport and will feature a few of my favorite things! Metal! Coffee! Vegan Treats! Upton’s Naturals!

More Goodness: Grindcore House’s opening will coincide with PHL: Printers/Haters/Lovers a philly-inspired print and poster show.

For more information: Follow Grindcore House on Facebook and Twitter.

The Discerning Brute will host a biweekly vegan dinner part-ay at Second Stop Cafe in Williamsburg, featuring chefs you might have heard of making food you'll definitely want to eat. The party starts Friday, August 27, with a fabulous five-course menu from Lagusta Yearwood of Lagusta's Lucious, posted below for your hungry eyes to feast on.

"Featuring a rotating cast of chefs specializing in avant-garde, gourmet, sustainable fare, our series aims to challenge ordinary perceptions and preparations of fine food, expose visionary talent, and celebrate conscientious hedonism," Joshua Katcher wrote on The Discerning Brute.

Tickets are available here, at Brown Paper Tickets.

AMUSE BOUCHE: Baked scalloped local corn in cashew cream sauce.

STARTER: Yellow tomato aspic, red tomato aspic, green tomato aspic, and tomato essence aspic with yuzu juice, micro basil, aged cashew cheese, and smoked Hawaiian guava wood sea salt.

SALAD: Timbale of watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, and Chioggia beets with Kalamata olive vinaigrette and amaranth chiffonade.

ENTREE: “Eggplant and squash, inside and out:” Syrian-stuffed eggplant with deep-fried spaghetti squash garnish, heirloom tomato sauce, and eggplant caviar-stuffed fried squash blossoms.

DESSERT: Local stone fruit pudding parfait with coconut cream

DESSERT: Lemon-verbena pine nut cookie sandwiches with creamy fruit fillings

DESSERT: Chocolate truffles with olive oil ganache infused with Genovese basil, rolled in corn powder

I recently attended a health conference at the Regency Health Spa in Hallandale, Florida, and had a chance to meet John Nowakowski, the spa’s executive chef for the last 15 years. The author of Vegetarian Magic, John puts a healthy, vegan spin on everyday dishes and has been featured in the Sun Sentinel and Vegetarian Times magazine.

Roseann Marulli: Hi, John. Thanks so much for speaking with SuperVegan. You serve vegan food only at the Regency Health Spa. Is this the first vegan food establishment you’ve worked in? Was it a challenge to leave animal products behind?

John Nowakowski: This is my first vegetarian spa, but I was doing “heart-healthy” cooking for five years with Trust House Forte/Gardner Merchant Corporation. Prior to that I had a long and successful career with Marriott Hotels & Resorts as executive chef. It wasn’t a challenge to leave animals behind in my cooking. I just used the motivation to re-create meat-based dishes vegetarian style.

Roseann: Aside from animal products, what are some of the foods and beverages you don’t serve at the spa, and why?

John: In addition to the spa’s being a meat-free environment, because most guests come here to detox, we don't serve alcohol, soft drinks, coffee or caffeine of any kind, and we don’t use enriched products, corn syrup, refined sugars or table salt in our recipes.

I was excited to see Jack White of the White Stripes' side project Dead Weather perform in Prospect Park's Bandshell the other night. But I walked out scratching my head about a couple of things. First, what was the point of the three dead animal heads that his roadie dragged out on stage right before the band came on? Seriously, I know he's a rock star with Michigan roots but I didn't take that to mean he was anything like that other one.

Then, as I was bumping around a dark Port-O-Potty during the set, I heard Jack say "I bet you read Brooklyn Vegan too. Any other vegans in the crowd out there? Come on stage and we'll kill a cow together." And then it sounded like he mentioned something about bringing an Amish person on stage (again, I was temporarily confined in a small, stinky potty at the time). He continued on to say something about people eating only "salmon and avocado," which seemed to upset him so he blurted out "get the fuck out of here."

OK, so a couple of issues: What was the Amish thing about? And since when did vegans eat salmon? (Avocado, well yes, obviously). And finally, WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM JACK WHITE? What did I (or any other vegans in the audience for that matter) do exactly--other than purchase a ticket (with Ticketmaster fees, mind you) and support the Bandshell?

The 27th Vegan Drinks was held on Thursday, July 29th, and although I wasn't in attendance (I was taking the NJ bar exam instead), you all still managed to have an amazing time. (Kudos to Patrick of the Humane Society of the United States for acting as the substitute MC for the evening!)

Craig and Michelle from Terri brought cupcakes,
Thanksgiving, as well as bacon and cheese sandwiches, AND quesadillas. Thank you so much, Team Terri! (Friends, if you have yet to visit Terri, write yourself a note to go there tomorrow. Get a Butterfinger milkshake. It will make you forget Day 1 of the NY bar exam in record time. Promise.)

Folks who lined up to make "Shout Outs" included: Matt of Mercy For Animals (MFA), who encouraged the crowd to volunteer with MFA to help promote veganism in one of its upcoming leafleting events; Stevie from Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (WFAS) reminded everyone to volunteer (year-round!) and attend WFAS's upcoming events while the farm is open for tours (until October!); Ethan of Sea Shepherd talked about the new NYC chapter and its Monday, August 9th benefit to rescue animals affected by the Gulf oil spill, S'more Protection for the Oceans (buy your tickets before it sells out!); political prisoner support collective NYC Anarchist Black Cross invited everyone to Running Down the Walls 2010, a 5K run/walk/jog on August 7th; and, Brooke from Mama Earth Rocks! Earth Friendly Catering plugged her catering and personal chef services.

If you would like to get in touch with any of the folks mentioned above, please email info@vegandrinks.org.

The next Vegan Drinks NYC is Thursday, August 26th at Angels & Kings Bar from 7pm to 9pm. Get on our mailing list!

There is a roof, nice big windows, and air conditioning at Angels & Kings in the East Village where we'll be holding Vegan Drinks this Thursday, just like every last Thursday of every month from 7pm to 9pm.

But most importantly, it's a big pleasant happy hour with your fellow vegans! Come after work, and get some cheap drinks ($2 off everything until 8pm, then $1 off draft beers and well drinks from 8pm to 9pm). Folks who don't drink alcohol are also quite welcome, but you do have to be 21 to get in.

If you have a vegan/animal-related cause/group/event to promote, we'll turn down the music around 8:15pm and encourage people to promote themselves for 30 seconds. Come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and Twitter.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm to 9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.