Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
DEE-SIGH-ner(d)
This vid is pretty awesome. He nails it. I know what you're all thinking... "isn't that you?" uh no... although I admit there are some similarities.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Perfume and Stardust
Lauren picked this movie out from Netflix. We got it in and watched it. I loved it. I wasn't really keen on watching it at first because it was Lauren's pick. We have very different tastes in movies. I never even heard of it in theatres and when I saw reviews of it on Rotten Tomatoes, which it received 53% on, I was convinced I wouldn't like it. My lowered expectations may have been the reason why I enjoyed it so much, but I thought everything was done pretty well. I bet the book was a hundred times better knowing that 1. the book is always better and 2. the movie was about scent which is probably better described then shown. Anyway, it was a surreal, twisted, funny, scary, suspenseful period piece that I liked very much. Probably my favorite movie of the year so far.
We also saw Stardust over the weekend which I enjoyed and Lauren thought was okay. Kind of a darker Princess Bride. I love epic movies of any sort. Both these movies fills that category for me.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Doodles
Man... looking back on my school days it's a wonder I even made it to college. I'm glad I did but I was a pretty bad student. I had the worst time paying attention in classes. I spent most of my time doodling in the margins, on the desk, in the books, etc. Even when I tried to pay attention to what was going on, my mind would drift and I would start doodling. Anyway, my doodles have evolved and nowadays, I get paid to doodle out ideas for things. Of course the quality of doodles I do to get paid is a little better than what I like to do casually but I still like pumping these little guys out just for fun.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Road to Gitmo
We saw this documentary last night. Really compelling. Although I consider myself anti-war/anti bush administration/anti gitmo etc... as I was watching this movie I couldn't help but sympathize with both sides.
It's obvious this movie was made to sympathize with side of the Pakistani guys taken into custody and basically tortured. The movie portrayed them in a way that its very easy to see yourself in the same situation. At least for me coming from an ethnic background. They were early twenty something Pakistani-Brits that went to Pakistan for one of the dude's wedding. In their trip they ended up in Afghanistan and unbeknownst to them taken to a Taliban encampment in the midst of the American invasion after 9/11. They were enventually picked up by the US and taken to Gitmo. No the guys definitly could've used better judgement in their vacationing decisions but their treatment on their way to and at Gitmo was a disgusting real representation of what's going on over there and probably elsewhere.
On the other hand coming from an American standpoint you find 3 guys from England at a Taliban camp and of course you're going to think... Jackpot... These guys are the real deal terrorists that need to be questioned. It's hard to believe the truth that these guys just ended up there on accident.
Eitherway this story is epic and very intriguing. I definitely recommend it to anyone that thinks every middle easterner is a terrorist. It humanizes the face of the supposed terrorists. It's one thing to read or hear about it through a 3 paragraph newspaper article... but its another thing to be taken through a detailed account of what they had to endure at the hands of our government.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Dance to the mUSAq!!!
Okay so normally I'm a rock and roll type of guy. But there was a time when I listened to a lot of electronic music... But then acts like Paul Oakenfold came and killed it for me. I hated that cheesy progressive stuff that you would hear at super chachi clubs. Anyway, this band's pretty cool... Justice. They got a little Daft Punk vibe to them. Their video for D.A.N.C.E. is awesome. I wish I had those shirts.
Anyway check 'em out here!
Another really cool sound is Modeselektor. They kind of have a subversive spirit which I'm all about.
Check them out here!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Lame
So I always remind my coworkers of how big of haters we all are... But this guy takes the cake. I'm an instant fan of his.
The rock ’n’ roll hall of lame
Nirvana, the Beatles, and every other band you worship is overrated
COMMENTARY
By Dave White
MSNBC contributor
Once upon a time, I worked in one of those “High Fidelity”-ish record shops. In fact, I worked in three of them over the course of about 12 years. If you ever bought something from me or my co-workers, you can be assured that we said horrible things about your choices the second you walked out the door. (Except for that one guy named Sean who had impeccable taste in everything and who later became a heroin addict and then stopped buying records, overdosed and disappeared into a Christian rehab. We thought he was awesome.)
But when you work in a place like that for long enough, you realize something very important about popular music. And here it is: everything sucks. Even your favorite band. But especially everyone else’s favorite band. Especially everyone else’s favorite band that people can’t stop contorting themselves into pretzelly shapes over, inventing new ways to kiss their collective, pampered buttocks. Especially-especially bands that end up wildly successful and revered and eventually tenuously re-united for a greatest-hits comeback tour or a museum induction ceremony.
It’s unavoidable. If your music is not instantly dismissible, if it endures, it’s going to be the subject of someone’s over-adoring gaze. Maybe way too many someones. Best-of lists and Halls of Fame and hagiographic films about “the soul of the music.” You’re lucky if you can avoid it. But most popular bands don’t. And that praise-bloat kills.
I’m specifically thinking of The Police, whose main contribution to culture has been the inclusion of their stalker-themed love song “Every Breath You Take” in very confused wedding receptions. Any band whose influence dots can be connected two decades later to Blake Lewis has a lot to answer for.
Who else?
U2
Back in 1980, a friend bought me a copy of “Boy” without either of us having heard the band before. She said, “I know you like stupid new wave crap like this. Here. Happy Birthday.” When I played the record, she said, “They sound like cats mating.” But I liked that. I liked it a lot. And then, about 20 minutes later, came the sunglasses. And the cowboy hats. And arenas and sainthood. Not that I begrudge Bono one second of humanitarian rock-star penance. You have to do some kind of community service to get that record industry b.o. off of you. In fact, I wish he’d quit music and focus on that entirely. But those damn sunglasses still scorch my soul. Also “Vertigo.” And Creed? All this band’s fault.
Metallica
Around the time of the emergence of “speed-metal,” these guys were one of many bands doing exactly the same thing. But they had the breaks and the right publicity team and the right Misfits T-shirts and the grandiose visions of MC Hammer-ish gold-plated bathtub fixtures to keep them reaching for the stars. That their own we’re-in-couples-counseling documentary helped inspire a parody cartoon show (“Metalocalypse,” the best thing on TV) should help keep them off this list. But it doesn’t. Listen to Abruptum instead.
Nirvana
[“Smells Like Teen Spirit”] + [tragedy] x [Courtney Love] ÷ [lawsuits] = Kurt Cobain floating on a cloud in a Doc Martens advertisement. I enjoy fantasizing that if he were still alive he’d be like Joaquin Phoenix at the end of “Walk the Line,” holding a bucket of chicken and enjoying his backyard, oblivious to the fact that he helped pave the way for bands like Puddle of Mudd. It beats thinking he’d end up in and out of rehabs, brushing shoulders with Britney Spears.
The Doors
The most opportunistic of the late ’60s counter-culturalists, they created a toxic and inexplicably popular body of work revered by date-rapist frat boys for decades to come. And it’s the company you keep that ultimately defines you. Unlike just about every other band on this list, I’ve actively disliked them since I can remember, and if I could blame them for the death of Cass Elliott I would. Also? Directly responsible for Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20 and all other neo-swaggering-front-man pop-chart wankers. Exempt from this discussion: the kookoo-bananas Oliver Stone movie about them. That was amazing.
The Clash
Joe Strummer, may he rest in peace, is not responsible for the way this band has been lionized. In fact, I’d say that out of all of the bands here, it’s not so much their music that irritates as it is the chorus of hosannas that, 30 years later, still follows them around like a car alarm that won’t shut off. I happen to live near a musician in a bar band. They practice in their apartment. I’ve heard “Should I Stay or Should I Go” a lot. Enough times so that I think I should get some royalties out of the deal. So actually I take that back. It is the music.
Bob Dylan
A moral and aesthetic struggle. Does he get a pass like Prince or The Rolling Stones for creating brilliant music in the beginning and then sliding into sameness and reliance on back-catalog sales? And here’s why I think he’s doesn’t: because no one runs around telling you how atom-smashing the new Prince or Rolling Stones records are. But Dylan, every single time he burps onto a compact disc, the fogeys are like, “This is the work of an elder statesman! He’s the ‘Lion In Winter’!” And if it weren’t for him I would have never had to listen to Ani DeFranco.
The Beatles
Their musical output was great. You can’t really dispute that. I mean, you could but you’d be kind of wrong (John Waters and his labeling them as “honkies who ruined rock and roll” notwithstanding). And they did inspire an only-makes-sense-to-space-aliens movie version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” that featured Carol Channing dancing to a disco version of the title song. So that’s cool. In fact, if Yoko Ono didn’t exist, you’d have had to invent her to give you something to irrationally dislike them for. But did they appear on a tortilla or a grilled cheese sandwich? Have wars been fought in their name? No, these things haven’t happened. So stop making movies where Sean Penn plays a guy with Down’s Syndrome who only knows about real-life and how to parent Dakota Fanning because of their songs.
Sonic Youth
My personal all-time favorite band. And just about every rock critic thinks they’re incredible. So there’s got to be something wrong with them. I just can’t see it because I’m blinded by love. A guy I know who hates them says they sound like the musical huffing of paint thinner. He’s probably right.
Dave White is the author of “Exile in Guyville.” Don’t bother arguing music with him at www.imdavewhite.com.
The rock ’n’ roll hall of lame
Nirvana, the Beatles, and every other band you worship is overrated
COMMENTARY
By Dave White
MSNBC contributor
Once upon a time, I worked in one of those “High Fidelity”-ish record shops. In fact, I worked in three of them over the course of about 12 years. If you ever bought something from me or my co-workers, you can be assured that we said horrible things about your choices the second you walked out the door. (Except for that one guy named Sean who had impeccable taste in everything and who later became a heroin addict and then stopped buying records, overdosed and disappeared into a Christian rehab. We thought he was awesome.)
But when you work in a place like that for long enough, you realize something very important about popular music. And here it is: everything sucks. Even your favorite band. But especially everyone else’s favorite band. Especially everyone else’s favorite band that people can’t stop contorting themselves into pretzelly shapes over, inventing new ways to kiss their collective, pampered buttocks. Especially-especially bands that end up wildly successful and revered and eventually tenuously re-united for a greatest-hits comeback tour or a museum induction ceremony.
It’s unavoidable. If your music is not instantly dismissible, if it endures, it’s going to be the subject of someone’s over-adoring gaze. Maybe way too many someones. Best-of lists and Halls of Fame and hagiographic films about “the soul of the music.” You’re lucky if you can avoid it. But most popular bands don’t. And that praise-bloat kills.
I’m specifically thinking of The Police, whose main contribution to culture has been the inclusion of their stalker-themed love song “Every Breath You Take” in very confused wedding receptions. Any band whose influence dots can be connected two decades later to Blake Lewis has a lot to answer for.
Who else?
U2
Back in 1980, a friend bought me a copy of “Boy” without either of us having heard the band before. She said, “I know you like stupid new wave crap like this. Here. Happy Birthday.” When I played the record, she said, “They sound like cats mating.” But I liked that. I liked it a lot. And then, about 20 minutes later, came the sunglasses. And the cowboy hats. And arenas and sainthood. Not that I begrudge Bono one second of humanitarian rock-star penance. You have to do some kind of community service to get that record industry b.o. off of you. In fact, I wish he’d quit music and focus on that entirely. But those damn sunglasses still scorch my soul. Also “Vertigo.” And Creed? All this band’s fault.
Metallica
Around the time of the emergence of “speed-metal,” these guys were one of many bands doing exactly the same thing. But they had the breaks and the right publicity team and the right Misfits T-shirts and the grandiose visions of MC Hammer-ish gold-plated bathtub fixtures to keep them reaching for the stars. That their own we’re-in-couples-counseling documentary helped inspire a parody cartoon show (“Metalocalypse,” the best thing on TV) should help keep them off this list. But it doesn’t. Listen to Abruptum instead.
Nirvana
[“Smells Like Teen Spirit”] + [tragedy] x [Courtney Love] ÷ [lawsuits] = Kurt Cobain floating on a cloud in a Doc Martens advertisement. I enjoy fantasizing that if he were still alive he’d be like Joaquin Phoenix at the end of “Walk the Line,” holding a bucket of chicken and enjoying his backyard, oblivious to the fact that he helped pave the way for bands like Puddle of Mudd. It beats thinking he’d end up in and out of rehabs, brushing shoulders with Britney Spears.
The Doors
The most opportunistic of the late ’60s counter-culturalists, they created a toxic and inexplicably popular body of work revered by date-rapist frat boys for decades to come. And it’s the company you keep that ultimately defines you. Unlike just about every other band on this list, I’ve actively disliked them since I can remember, and if I could blame them for the death of Cass Elliott I would. Also? Directly responsible for Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20 and all other neo-swaggering-front-man pop-chart wankers. Exempt from this discussion: the kookoo-bananas Oliver Stone movie about them. That was amazing.
The Clash
Joe Strummer, may he rest in peace, is not responsible for the way this band has been lionized. In fact, I’d say that out of all of the bands here, it’s not so much their music that irritates as it is the chorus of hosannas that, 30 years later, still follows them around like a car alarm that won’t shut off. I happen to live near a musician in a bar band. They practice in their apartment. I’ve heard “Should I Stay or Should I Go” a lot. Enough times so that I think I should get some royalties out of the deal. So actually I take that back. It is the music.
Bob Dylan
A moral and aesthetic struggle. Does he get a pass like Prince or The Rolling Stones for creating brilliant music in the beginning and then sliding into sameness and reliance on back-catalog sales? And here’s why I think he’s doesn’t: because no one runs around telling you how atom-smashing the new Prince or Rolling Stones records are. But Dylan, every single time he burps onto a compact disc, the fogeys are like, “This is the work of an elder statesman! He’s the ‘Lion In Winter’!” And if it weren’t for him I would have never had to listen to Ani DeFranco.
The Beatles
Their musical output was great. You can’t really dispute that. I mean, you could but you’d be kind of wrong (John Waters and his labeling them as “honkies who ruined rock and roll” notwithstanding). And they did inspire an only-makes-sense-to-space-aliens movie version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” that featured Carol Channing dancing to a disco version of the title song. So that’s cool. In fact, if Yoko Ono didn’t exist, you’d have had to invent her to give you something to irrationally dislike them for. But did they appear on a tortilla or a grilled cheese sandwich? Have wars been fought in their name? No, these things haven’t happened. So stop making movies where Sean Penn plays a guy with Down’s Syndrome who only knows about real-life and how to parent Dakota Fanning because of their songs.
Sonic Youth
My personal all-time favorite band. And just about every rock critic thinks they’re incredible. So there’s got to be something wrong with them. I just can’t see it because I’m blinded by love. A guy I know who hates them says they sound like the musical huffing of paint thinner. He’s probably right.
Dave White is the author of “Exile in Guyville.” Don’t bother arguing music with him at www.imdavewhite.com.
Friday, June 29, 2007
It's just metal and plastic!
Here's a picture of the line outside the Apple Store here in Manhattan that I got from Gizmodo. Damn... Maybe with a twinge of jealousy I say this but "it's not worth it!" Not because the IPhone isn't worth it but because the first gen isn't worth it. Apple historically has issues with first gen products. Most notably the first gen IPods and the first gen Macbook Pros. They always go through upgrades, price drops, and design changes within the first 6 months to a year after release. So those people waiting in line are essentially testers of a product almost guaranteed to be outdated within the year. What I see happening is a hard drive bump to at least 10 gigs, a slimmer design, and some unforseen issues tweaked out... as well as probably better battery life and price drop for 8 gig models. I could see them also adding other hardware features... maybe even GPS. I'm not going to lie... I'm going to be really jealous seeing people with their IPhones but within a couple years I should be rockin a more finished model of the already legendary item.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Need to kill time?
This online game is pretty entertaining. Its part of the drink milk campaign. I'm a sucker for good graphics.
Get The Glass
Get The Glass
Friday, June 15, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Will the IPhone change the world?
I think the IPhone will be bigger then the IPod. In my opinion it shouldn't even be called a phone. It should've been called an IPod and considered a new generation of the IPod. When it's called an IPhone, it suggests that the phone is the main feature and everything else is secondary... which I guess at this point it is. However, in a few years, I think this thing will grow up to be an all purpose device that most everyone will want and have. This is assuming secondary apps will be developed as well as apple's own design team will update as fast as they update everything else. This could quite possibly turn into something that replaces everything that you keep in your pockets... ipod, phone, wallet, keys, etc... Anyway, I plan on getting one sometime. I switched from Verizon to Cingular just to do so... and also because Verizon sucks. I plan to wait maybe a year though.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Issey Miyake Watch
I'm afraid of this watch because it may burn my wrist cuz itza so hawt. Damn you Issey... Your watch is off the Hizzey!
More info here... if you can read Japanese please translate for me! Cuz I want one.
More info here... if you can read Japanese please translate for me! Cuz I want one.
pretty pretty PC...
Wow... Finally a PC that rivals a Mac in terms of Design. Although at first glance it seems like a rip of the Macbook Pro, there are a few things going on here that surpasses the detailing of the Macs. Especially in the keyboard. I like how the keys on the outside have a visual surround so it looks as though they're bordered off.
more info @ businessweek.com
more info @ businessweek.com
Friday, May 25, 2007
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
So I find this to be an interesting study into the mind(s) of a creative individual/group.
This ad campaign was done for Doc Martens by the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. It features Kurt Cobain, Joey Romone, Sid Vicious, and Joe Strummer. All of course are dead... and apparently in heaven. So rock fans and christians will, I guess, unite to say this one is pretty tasteless. I can't really comment on taste since I believe that to be completely subjective. I can however relate with Saatchi & Saatchi and hypothesize based on first hand accounts on how something like this occurs.
The creative process, generally and abbreviatedly speaking, begins with an idea. That idea is brainstormed upon to come up with a bunch of ideas based off of that inital idea. From that point it is just widdled down and tweaked until it is exactly the way the "artist" wants it to be. The problem with this is that when working closely on anything, it's always tough to step back and see the work with "fresh" eyes. This is especially tough for creative people I think mainly because even when the project isn't working, the creative person will come up with a "creative" vision on how the work will be received. For instance, when the ad was conceived and executed to what is shown here, I bet there must have been a point where they questioned if the ad was in fact tasteless. They then saw that most people would look at it as a homage to rock idols as well as making a witty observation on the lasting quality of Doc Martens. Great concept for an art piece and maybe student work. However they forgot that people just see dead people being used to peddle shoes. How could they not see this? Because they were too close in on the project. They just saw a seemingly good idea and went with it.
I believe this is how all bad ideas become realized. We see this in Hollywood all the time.... for example, through the randomness of my HBO setup, we've come across The Son of the Mask playing every once in awhile. How the hell did this movie ever get made?! Someone obviously came up with the idea, wrote a script, convinced a lot of people, and made this piece of crap. I bet somewhere in the production of the movie, someone said or thought to themselves... what the hell are we doing? This is going to be worst movie ever made! This segment of my life is being spent on the creation of the audio/visual equivalent of feces! But then ultimately they were persuaded by either the need to make money or by convincing themselves that it may actually turn out to be good.
Anyway, I don't know where I was going with this other then, I've been there Saatchi... and um, Saatchi. It's not entirely your fault. Someone should've piped up when they recognized that the idea was a bad one. In the blindness of creating something, its up to you to recognize when you're getting advice from the one eyed man... or woman.
This ad campaign was done for Doc Martens by the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. It features Kurt Cobain, Joey Romone, Sid Vicious, and Joe Strummer. All of course are dead... and apparently in heaven. So rock fans and christians will, I guess, unite to say this one is pretty tasteless. I can't really comment on taste since I believe that to be completely subjective. I can however relate with Saatchi & Saatchi and hypothesize based on first hand accounts on how something like this occurs.
The creative process, generally and abbreviatedly speaking, begins with an idea. That idea is brainstormed upon to come up with a bunch of ideas based off of that inital idea. From that point it is just widdled down and tweaked until it is exactly the way the "artist" wants it to be. The problem with this is that when working closely on anything, it's always tough to step back and see the work with "fresh" eyes. This is especially tough for creative people I think mainly because even when the project isn't working, the creative person will come up with a "creative" vision on how the work will be received. For instance, when the ad was conceived and executed to what is shown here, I bet there must have been a point where they questioned if the ad was in fact tasteless. They then saw that most people would look at it as a homage to rock idols as well as making a witty observation on the lasting quality of Doc Martens. Great concept for an art piece and maybe student work. However they forgot that people just see dead people being used to peddle shoes. How could they not see this? Because they were too close in on the project. They just saw a seemingly good idea and went with it.
I believe this is how all bad ideas become realized. We see this in Hollywood all the time.... for example, through the randomness of my HBO setup, we've come across The Son of the Mask playing every once in awhile. How the hell did this movie ever get made?! Someone obviously came up with the idea, wrote a script, convinced a lot of people, and made this piece of crap. I bet somewhere in the production of the movie, someone said or thought to themselves... what the hell are we doing? This is going to be worst movie ever made! This segment of my life is being spent on the creation of the audio/visual equivalent of feces! But then ultimately they were persuaded by either the need to make money or by convincing themselves that it may actually turn out to be good.
Anyway, I don't know where I was going with this other then, I've been there Saatchi... and um, Saatchi. It's not entirely your fault. Someone should've piped up when they recognized that the idea was a bad one. In the blindness of creating something, its up to you to recognize when you're getting advice from the one eyed man... or woman.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Car Fire!!
There was a car on fire in front of my building!!! Check it out. Supposedly Conan O'Brian, Calvin Klein, and Cindy Crawford lives in the building that the car is parked in front of. To this day I have yet to see any of those three. I wonder if that was one of their cars... Something tells me no. They probably own gold rimmed diamond encrusted segways or something.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Vitamin Living
Here's some really cool stuff designed by Vitamin Living in the UK. I love their sense of aesthetic. Simple, clean, but still has a lot of character.
Tie Your Shoes!!!
Shoes! I'm not a sneakerhead but I can appreciate what it is that gets people into the whole scene. Anyway, here's a crazy tie...
It's kind of ugly if you ask me but impressive that someone thought of it. This and many other ties can be found here at Ian's Shoelace Site.
I'll probably have to fix myself up with a new tie. Probably go for the Over Under Lace.
It's kind of ugly if you ask me but impressive that someone thought of it. This and many other ties can be found here at Ian's Shoelace Site.
I'll probably have to fix myself up with a new tie. Probably go for the Over Under Lace.
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