Machine Project's FRY-B-QUE is this weekend in LA

Machine Project, a wonderful little alt/tech gallery and event space in Los Angeles where we've shot many a Boing Boing tv episode, is hosting another one of their annual holiday season Fry-B-Ques.

Last year, BBtv attended, and we shot the episode above. You're not actually supposed to fry gadgets, and now that a year has passed, fine, I can reveal that we did not really fry a cellphone. It's all Final Cut magic. Fake. Fakefakefake. You cannot fry cellphones, or gadgets, or bailed-out automobile manufacturers, or credit default swaps, or anything non-edible at the Fry-B-Que. There, that's over with. I feel so much better.

Now, then. If you go, here is my advice: do not eat anything for like 48 hours beforehand. Here's the blurb from Machine Project:

Fry-B-Q is here! Please join us on Sunday, December 14th at 8pm. This year there's a new twist – Pie-B-Q! Head to Machine for the fried food extravaganza and live music by Emily Lacy & friends, and then go next door to our neighbors the Echo Park Film Center for screenings of new videos from the Machine Project Field Guide to LACMA, rare Machine home videos and pies. Pies! Starts at 8pm. Admission to the event is free, pay $5 for all you can fry privileges, and $5 for all you can pie privileges. Things to do:

1) Arrive between 8 - 11 pm Sunday Dec 14th.

2) Bring something edible to fry. Our trained fryolater technicians will be standing by, eager to batter and fatify your soon to be delicious snacks. Our extensive testing suggests that almost any item will bring great fried satisfaction - potatoes, fish, vegetables, onions, twinkies, etc. Just in case we bought extra fire extinguishers.

3) prepare for eating pie.

4) Bring cash or checks (or credit cards) small and large and become a friend of Machine Project. We need your help to keep doing what we do, and your membership fee is fully tax deductible. Details on our support page.

Incidentally, Machine Project was written up in the NYT recently, and hey! Look at that. Boing Boing was also mentioned in the article.

• [joelphillips]

  Budweiser? How can that possibly be exciting?

• [IWood]

  Yeah, you tell me that after my frying iPhone exploded in my face, disfiguring me and transforming me into a cellphone-themed supervillain.

• [deusdiabolus]

  I feel thorta thilly…I was actually kind of thinking that you fried a cellphone (and all the while thinking the same stuff that Anonymous said above), but then I realized it was a ruse towards the end (you can’t use a fork to cut into a cellphone, no matter how long you fry it). I am curious as to what you actually brought to be embattered besides the Bubble Tape, not to mention what was the most enjoyable fried item you consumed.

  • [Xeni Jardin]

    deusdiabolus, I am sorry that I lied to you and to all internetdom. We did it for the lulz. I think the first “phone” we fried was a pop tart. We basically picked shit that was sort of phone-shaped. THe next thing was like, some weird fruity italian bread? Or stöllen or something, I dunno. Something fruitcakey, and we cut it into the approximate shape of a Treo. And so on. I don’t eat much fried foods, so I got pretty maxed out pretty fast. The deep fried pannetone was good goin’ down, and so were the oreos. Next day, I felt like I’d swallowed a lead baby head.

• [Anonymous]

  I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but phones and electronics have very nasty chemicals and heavy metals like lead. When you fry something like that, you release that nasty stuff into the breading and the fryer oil.