Deli Dice

Got what she wanted

2009-04-11T23:30:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you climb into a polar bear's zoo habitat during "feeding time":

Brilliant!

Last day of Feb.

2009-02-28T09:29:00.001-08:00

And the Coen Brothers are hard at work...on a commercial, of all things.

Props to the bros.

Being an idiot

2009-02-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

Haven't updated in over two months, also known as blog suicide. So let's make it up to cyberspace:

Dope.

Microsoft's newest rip-off!

2008-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

The interactive music video games (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc.) are a big hit with kids and failed musicians all over the world, and that's great. But the world's greatest technological suitor couldn't go any longer without getting a piece of the actions, so they decided to employ their copycat skills and create a similar product with a much worse name. Zune ring a bell for anybody?

Their new game, a karaoke-style video game, includes over 40 songs already in its system, but it also has the capability to sync with iPods and Zunes so users can play their own music if they so desire. It's impossible to fail a song, and there are no harder difficulty levels. Everybody's a winner in "Lips"!

Besides the cover, which looks like the album art for an old N*SYNC album, the name is borderline pornographic. "Lips"? The reference is obvious, but do you even really use your lips to sing? Certainly they assist in vocal annunciation, but how can someone expect to be taken seriously when they're sitting around bored and ask friends, "So...er...you guys wanna play with my 'Lips'?"

Microsoft simply didn't think this one through. At least the microphones are sexy to look at and possibly hold. Hopefully, I never have the displeasure.

Britney's back...bitches

2008-12-06T02:26:00.000-08:00

If you didn't already know, Britney Spears - the queen of Pop - has made a comeback. Yes, you could say that she already made a comeback last year with Blackout, which included the Danja-produced banger, "Gimme More." But that was for play-play. Her new album, Circus, is for real-reals.

"Womanizer" has already been spinning as much as Spreewells in South Beach, and from the looks of her latest video, "Circus," it doesn't look like Ms. Spears will be going back into hiding anytime soon.

Britney Spears - New Music - More Music Videos

Now Britney has blessed us with many great videos in the past. But nothing really compares to her latest. The lighting, the choreography, the camera work is all so circus-y and utterly fantastic.

And while many pop artists are employing the circus theme in their music concepts, Britney does it the best...and the sexiest.

She's got fucking lions in her video! Come on, now.

Brilliant...Day Without Gays December 10th

2008-12-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

I often don't like Jack Black. I always love John C. Reilly. I ADORE this video.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Gay is the new black, people. Get on board!

Return of the Sixties

2008-11-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

Ok so the election is long over, but I went to the JFK library this week and found some interesting parallels.

Barack Obama and John Kennedy both were young, revolutionary democrats campaigning against the "establishment" - old people - that represented the republican party. Both commanded huge movements of progressive and enthusiastic youth in their respective periods. Both were extremely well spoken, and had the ability to excite millions merely with a speech.

The republican campaign in 2008 is interestingly reminiscent of its 1960 counterpart. Check the tagline:

Now I'm not saying this parallel really applies to John McCain - lord knows he probably doesn't have the energy to run again, cheat, and win - but its funny how well history has repeated itself.

Of course, for the dichotomy to be complete, Mr. Obama will have to take a fatal ride in a Lincoln somewhere. I don't know how likely that is, but if you listen into the crevices of political gossip, I'm sure there are plenty of conspiracy assasination predictions. Who knows? Racism is certainly not dead in this country despite the leaps and bounds our society has made since the turn of the millenia.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

On the other hand, some Bostonians think Mr. Obama might better represent the potential for totalitarian regime (talk about the crevices of gossip).

"Heil!"

Nickelodeon throwback

2008-11-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

I got really emotional when I revisited "The Secret World of Alex Mack" yesterday.

I was so inspired that I decided to do my final project for the semester on this show.

By the way, to the right is a picture of what Larisa Oleynik, the girl who played Alex Mack, looks like now.

And the show is definitely worth checking out, even just for nostalgic purposes. Several of them are on YouTube, and they are DELIcious.

Just another mash-up

2008-11-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

Jay-Z and Coldplay teamed up for the Terry Urban/Mick Boogie mixtape cleverly titled, Viva La Hova.

Hova is not new to the mixtape mash-ups. DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album - a combination of Jay-Z's vocals from The Black Album and rearranged instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album - was welcomed with critical acclaim from The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, and The Village Voice.

But this mixtape is less innovative, and includes some of Jay's most popular flows on top of mostly unaltered Coldplay instrumentals.

And on top of it all, it looks like the cover's creator spent all of about 10 minutes on it.

But check their MySpace page HERE to form your own opinion.

You Learn Something New Everyday

2008-10-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

A Jew offered me some of her pomegranate today. As she picked out the seeds, she gave me a mini-history of the pomegranate.

Apparently, they grow in places like Israel...no surprise; Israel is pretty warm. That makes sense.

They also apparently represent fertility in Judaism, which makes sense too; there are a ton of seeds (eggs) in those things, just like a woman's ovaries...no surprise there either.

But apparently, every pomegranate has exactly 613 seeds in it. Now this is suspicious, because there are 613 commandments. Coincidence? I think so.

There is no way that every pomegranate has exactly 613 seeds in it. That's just ridiculous.

So while you carry out your "important" affairs of the day, I will be counting pomegranate seeds, proving this silly myth's nonsense.

to be continued...

Iconic

2008-10-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

"Waterfalls" was huge when it came out. I can remember kids singing it when I was in first grade. It was the first big hit I was apart of.

But I forgot how great the video is. Keep in mind, this song/video came out in 1995...pretty amazing, even not considering its oldness.

BOMB

2008-10-14T08:13:00.001-07:00

Chef Ron Brown is keeping them coming with new cooking videos. This one is on filleting a salmon.

Pretty Stuff

2008-10-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Discoveries

2008-10-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

So this is the magazine rack at the 24 hour convenience store near my apartment. Its funny that amongst the issues of Rolling Stone and In Touch are several copies of Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard's guide to discovering the Scientologist lurking in you.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But I couldn't stop myself from reading the flap.

Apparently this book contains "discoveries heralded as greater than the wheel or fire."
Gosh. Why doesn't everyone have one of these?

T-Pain is funny as shit!

2008-10-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm all about autotune, vocoder, whatever you want to call it, but pretty much ONLY when T-Pain is doing it....ok, ok, and Snoop.

But it turns out that besides carrying the music industry almost totally by himself, he's also really funny.

See more T-Pain videos at Funny or Die

T-Pain for president!

hmmmm

2008-10-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

weezy and juelz showin their shit off....

Steel Rods and Cattle Prods

2008-09-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I saw this van yesterday:

And of course the culprit behind the less than blatant message:

So I looked it up. Apparently the Ringling Brothers do beat their elephants, even, the animal rights organization says, to death. But is PeTA - who has brought the issue to court - blowing the case out of proportion?

It's not easy to train an elephant to perform tricks with circus freaks atop their back. For the safety of the performers as well as the guests, it might be necessary to up the stakes in the Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to keep things together.

At the same time, I suppose that animals have feelings too. PeTA looks out for those fragile emotions, and perhaps the absence of a smack with a metal rod or a quick poke with a cattle prod isn't the way to keep a ten thousand pound mammal from rolling over your kid.

But who would you rather take the pain?

Here is a link where you can learn about elephants and even see a video of the circus beating them up.
This is a story about how the animal rights organization applauded several elephants for maiming or killing the abusive monsters in their cage.

Now I'm not saying that animals should be tortured, but if there's going to be a circus, there better be some damn sure ways of keeping humans safe before anything else.

And now for something beautiful.
this is my city.

The Eraser in Love Lockdown

2008-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is Jesse on the fly:

Kanye himself claims to have his finger on the pulse of what the people want. Three albums in, we can't argue--whether or not it's tickled our individual fancies, a Kanye hit hits. In the opinion of this artist and listener, Graduation was a pitch-perfect pop album. Though with it Ye shrunk from his normal creative diarrhea, with results either economically beautiful or uninspired and predictable, he managed to condense a lot of forward movement into thirteen or fourteen beautiful songs, depending on which version you have. And if you listened to chatter before Graduation dropped, you might have heard that Kanye said Thom Yorke's Eraser was his favorite album of the year. And if you listened to Graduation you might have heard a little bit of Yorke's influence in tracks like "I Wonder" and "Drunk and Hot Girls" (and in his choice to work with Thom Yorke Lite from Coldplay... damn a big brother).

Either way you cut it, I look at the recently dropped "Love Lockdown" as a complicated mixture of Kanye's bead on pop culture and his love for the musical sensibilities of Thom Yorke. The frequently repeating melodies wrap back into themselves, cycling and recycling in the same minimalistic fashion which Radiohead introduced to us with their flawless Kid A in 2000, yet the lyrics are not quite up to snuff if you'd like to sniff above your Radiohead listening to this track. For this listener, Ye's sloppy vocoder work and simple musical structure are shout out enough to the giant of Radiohead and its troubled, self-reductive and sensitive lead singer, who will explore any musical possibility only to frown while he employs it. This is Kanye using the tools given to him by Yorke. I applaud him even if he doesn't understand where they come from.

Red

Cluck U

2008-09-22T12:02:00.001-07:00

Spitting regularly is not difficult when you're delivering chicken in and around Chapel Hill. All you gotta do is keep your eyes on the road %60 of the time, if you gotta write shit down do it on your steering wheel and do not be a motherfucker to people. I write my shit down so watch out for a black explorer sport coming around the corner cause I never miss

There's a kid at Cluckster's University Chicken who works in the kitchen named J Nice. If you go to Franklin Street not only does he rap out loud like me, but the motherfucker has a babyface just like Weezy F and he gets comments and asked to take pictures with people, though I've only heard this.

Dollas in the bank isn't a problem either if you'd like to work between 45 and 50 hours five days out of every week. Chill on the Sundays and the Mondays. Football and some nice people. Go for a drive looking for coffee tables (there are none; coffee tables are the table most in demand in this area at least at THRIFT stores)

kick it
red

Without Home But Not Without Soul

2008-09-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I was walking around the great city of Boston when I was approached by a homeless man for a few dollars.
Now this is not an unusual event for anyone wandering the city, especially at night, but this particular vagrant was out of the ordinary.
"I'm the best dressed homeless man you'll ever meet," he told me, and I soon found out why. "I don't beg for money like these other guys," he said, "But Ill sing for you if you give me a few bucks."
I had to oblige.
This is The Singer, as he calls himself, though the kids playing music with him fondly refer to him as "Uncle Ricky."

Here and here are links to videos on YouTube where Uncle Rick had debuted.
He's got some surprising coverage on the web, and it seems The Singer is a growing celeb of the Boston street scene.

Chef Ron Brown's YouTube Debut

2008-09-05T05:11:00.001-07:00

My friend and old boss, Ron Brown, of Encore Restaurant in Charlotte has this to say about Chef salads. Enjoy.

For the masses....

2008-08-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know who this (wo)man is. I don't know where this photo was taken, and I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but this is now the background on my computer, and I would be a total asshole not to share it.

Fuck the haters!!

Potato, potatto

2008-08-19T19:15:00.001-07:00

After rediscovering my love for Mentos, the freshmaker, I soon found myself in an argument with my girlfriend about how to pronounce the minty spheroids.

I pronounce them, 'men-tōs. But she insists that they are pronounced 'men-tōz.

Long story short, I'm the brilliant one and she is wrong...always. Goodness, I wish.

Either way, everyone in the world should enjoy the simple pleasure of dumping a packet of Mentos into a two-liter bottle of soda, preferably Diet Coca-Cola and watching the carbonated reaction, no matter how you choose pronounce the candy.

Golden

2008-08-18T12:51:00.001-07:00

In the past, I found Michael Phelps to be quite an asshole. I had no reason to think that, but I did nonetheless.

But with this recent interview with ESPN (after winning his eighth gold medal in the Beijing Olympics), I can't help but want my unborn daughter to date this guy.

McFreshment

2008-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

In an effort to destroy Starbucks, and thus take over the world, McDonald's is expanding into the coffee industry, with their McCafé concept.

McCafé is a part of a new marketing strategy the corporation has launched to try to modernize its image.

In addition to the McCafés, McDonald's new restaurants are designed to look more like bistros rather than trashy, fast food joints.

I drove past one the other day, and I had to stop. I couldn't believe the beauty of this new world ordered structure.

Inside these "bistros" there are waterfalls, comfy sofas instead of hard, plastic chairs and modern wood paneling and light fixtures.

I must say, I'm quite impressed, Ronald.

The hippest redneck in the South

2008-07-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

This trailer is rednecktabulous.

It's owner, Marcus, was eager
to tell me how he salvaged the back of this pickup truck at a dump for basically nothing, welded the end of it and made quite a functionally sexy trailer for himself.

Excellent work, Marcus. The world needs more people like you.

New site, new pics from Mr. Hoffine

2008-07-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Joshua Hoffine, whose work we've posted in the past, just relaunched his Web site. To celebrate the new site, Hoffine released this new photo:

Check out his new site HERE.

Hoffine's BLOG features behind-the-scenes photos of how he constructs his sets and shoots his photographs.

Jack Thompson

2008-07-26T01:08:00.001-07:00

Jack Thompson is a funny dude. Also, theres a surprise by the end :)

On some Japanese shit

2008-07-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Yohji Yamamoto, a Japanese fashion designer, is damn innovative.

His avant-garde style caught Adidas' attention for their Y-3 collections, which he has designed since its conception. The collections include both men's and women's apparel, footwear and accessories.

Yamamoto has also teamed up with Italian luggage designer, Mandarina Duck, for an accessories line called Y's Mandarina, which just entered its third year of production.

Yamamoto studied law before becoming a fashion designer. He graduated from the Bunka Fukuso Gakuin design school in Tokyo. His unusually practical design style (he likes to use pockets) has gained him international recognition from both critics and his peers. He is currently based in Paris.

New York Magazine contributed to this post.

Kohei Yoshiyuki's candid camera

2008-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

With infrared film in his camera and a filtered flash, Kohei Yoshiyuki's explored Japanese voyeurism and exhibitionism and turned his dirty habit into a cult phenomenon.

Yoshiyuki mostly likes to photograph couples getting frisky behind bushes in his native Tokyo.

Although Yoshiyuki's been on the scene since the late '70s/early '80s, his first show in the United States was last year at the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York.

This reminds me of the Blair Witch Project, but much sexier and more honest.

The New Yorker magazine contributed to this post.

Xbox gaming should be an Olympic sport

2008-07-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

So the Olympics are coming up, and we propose a new event: Xbox.

Come on, if people are adding accessories like this Caps4Stix gizmo (above) to improve "performance" and "grip," and if curling is an Olympic sport, then why can't nerds be included in the Games?

It's not because Olympic officials don't consider Xbox to be a real sport but because nerds tend to not care about their skin and don't photograph well in HD...THAT'S WHY!! So unfair. Vanity runs the world.

But if you want to buy one (or a pair) of these Caps4Stix, by all means, buy them HERE.

Peepal r stuepid

2008-07-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

In case you're a dipstick, Wilson's Leather divides by two for you.

Signs like these are a real indication of our country's population's general intelligence.

In other news, I had sex this weekend (with a girl).

Kids are so restricted

2008-07-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

This is a stroller that shoppers at Concord Mills in Concord, NC can borrow.

But kids are NOT allowed in the bag, which, if I was still a stroller-rider, would be the first place I'd want to go.

Not only is this not fair, but it's also restricting of children's intellectual growth. Shouldn't we be encouraging the munchkins to explore new things and places?

It's also stupid, because a sign telling the children NOT to go in the bag will only make them want to go in the bag more.

I hope parents treat this warning like they treat their children's educations and just ignore it.

Collectables

2008-07-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Patrick Wilson, a marijuana connoisseur, is building a large collection of many different marijuana strains.

So far, his collection includes strains such as Sour Diesel, Grape Ape, and Purple Haze (the real kind).

When asked how he plans to complete this goal, Wilson was optimistic.

"I smoke so much fuckin' weed," Wilson said. "It's like I don't even need to look for it anymore. I sweat THC."

Wilson hopes to have at least 60 different strains in his collection by the fall of 2009.

AC "New Soul" Dir. by Steven Tapia

2008-07-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

an apple inc product lineup in a music video...basically
this shit's ill

How dark the knight is

2008-07-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

First off, this film (like most) cannot be appreciated in its capacity upon one viewing, but this one especially needs to be seen several times, as it is not easily assembled.

Yes, Heath Ledger does an exceptional portrayal of the Joker, but he is only a part of the brilliance of this Christopher Nolan-directed film. The style of the film, the acting (I'm mostly, but not totally, speaking to Gary Oldman), the music, and the story form a sensational cinematic experience. There are twists and turns throughout, which is why multiple viewings are suggested.

The story is classic, the production a masterpiece. 'The Dark Knight' is an epic tale that still triggers your more simple emotions like fear and doubt.

No matter what type of movies you tend to like, you need to see this one. It will take you out of your place, move you to Gotham City, and burden you with all of the destitution of the city.

Your theater becomes a refuge from destruction, but even IT is not safe because the movie plays like a newsreel, informing you of the actual happenings of the day. And when you finish watching it, you leave, but the dark knight follows you home...kidding.

But seriously...

HIP HOP IS ALIVE!!

2008-07-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't get you excited for the art form, you didn't care about it to begin with.

101

2008-07-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

BMW 7 Series - Hourglass Moscow - video powered by Metacafe

bmw sure knows what they're doing.

1-0-0

2008-07-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Priorities first, this is DeliDice.net's 100th blog post. Oh, and John Lennon is still alive.

Untitled

2008-07-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Queen - Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

Shot of old spice

2008-07-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

I was riding in the car, listening to the radio (I had NO CDs), and "Me, Myself, and I" by Beyoncé came on. I forgot how sexy she was(is?). A fine songstress she is too, I might add.

First look, "The Love Below"

2008-07-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

We're in our third (and final) day of shooting our short film titled "The Love Below," and it's looking good...really good.

This photo was taken on the set (Kevin Beaty's room) of one of the three sex scenes of the film :-)

If people want clean water, buy it in a bottle

2008-07-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

This is outstanding, though we have nothing against Republicans.

Because they provide us with endless entertainment.

Rebel Moon

2008-07-06T15:55:00.001-07:00

Voice: Adrian Singerman, Production: Scott Lazes

So bad it's good

2008-07-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Postal - Trailer

I won't actually ever see this movie, but the trailer is pretty entertaining.

Be like Batman and buy this

2008-07-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

A snowmobile on the road is so gangster.

This trike goes for $15,000.

Man's Best Friend

2008-07-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Relative humility...Max, the cat

2008-07-01T19:37:00.001-07:00

My cat, Max, is a badass. He detached his retina in a street fight, real talk, so he had to get his eye removed.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Boone

2008-07-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Jake Troth, who arranged the music for "The Birds," had a funny concept for a short and asked me and and our friend Martha Anna Moye to act in it.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

He shot it using the camera on his MacBook Pro.

WALL·E is off the wall

2008-07-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Pixar doesn't miss...ever. But with their most recent feature, "WALL·E", they disregarded their boundaries and created a masterpiece.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

I was surprised that Disney decided to get behind this movie. It's not full of cute, silly jokes, and it has very little dialogue. It's unlike any other "family" film you have ever seen.

But it's brilliant. It is a social satire, covering issues from environmentalism to consumerism to rebellion, and of course the necessary Hollywood ingredient - love (though it's between robots). And because it's a Pixar picture, it's gorgeous.

I really cannot say enough about this movie. Kids do a much better job of explaining themselves. As I was walking out of the theater with my little sister, I heard another kid in the audience tell his mom that he really liked it, which made me smile.

Because maybe he didn't totally get it, but if he didn't then, one day he will. And until then, he will be a better person because of what he experienced in that theater. That's the best way to sum it up, WALL·E makes you want to be a better person.

GO VOTE! Sorry, I'm just excited about the future.

Making waves

2008-06-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Jay-Z headlined the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, though many people were not down with the choice of Hova as a headline act.

The festival, which takes place every year at a farm in Southwest England, started in 1970, and has traditionally booked indie/folk/guitar-driven acts, but the move to go with Jay-Z was met with much criticism, particularly by Oasis lead singer, Noel Gallagher.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it," Gallagher told the BBC. "I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music. I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."

So Jay opened his show (guitar in hand), covering Oasis' big hit, "Wonderwall," just to spite Gallagher's remarks, and he K-I-L-L-E-D it.

Fuck you, Noel Gallagher. You got smacked by a foreigner in your own country. Just because you didn't play the biggest festival in the world this year doesn't give you an excuse to be a hater. Jay-Z is an ambassador of hip hop, and hip hop is one of the most contemporary performing arts on the planet. Not only was it a good idea to book Jay-Z, it was necessary, because otherwise Glastonbury would have had to take the "contemporary" out of its title.

OH MY GOD

2008-06-26T02:10:00.000-07:00

It's a channel changer :)
This is the best thing ever thought of next to Hot Pockets.
I'm buying this thing asap.
Play.com Channel Changer Ray Gun

Kanye blows it at Bonnaroo

2008-06-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

It didn't take long for skeptical Bonnaroovians to realize that MTV made an epic blunder entrusting Kanye West with a headlining roll at the largest music festival of the summer.

Not only did Kanye bitch his way into the coveted Saturday night slot at the 'roo, he made sure that Sigur Ros and Phil Lesh & Friends were finished performing so that he was literally the only act left in Manchester. Fans began gathering at 2:30 for the critically acclaimed Glow In the Dark act, only to wait until 4:30 for it to kick off.

By this time the audience was vociferating with boo's for the pompous "Louis Vuitton Don," and throwing glow sticks all the while. Kanye, slightly angered, came out with a show that was sub-par at best. In fact, the venerable bluesman Robert Randolph called the performance, "the worst show I have ever seen at Bonnaroo." He even started "Kanye sucks" chants during his sSunday morning show.

I am not one to bash Kanye, I have loved him since The College Dropout, but there is no denying that he had the opportunity to show tens of thousands of fans that hip-hop music is the shit, and he could not have fucked it up more.

Other than his uncanny ability to make beats, the element that grabbed my attention about Kanye's style was his humility, and his ability to relate to the average listener. I would try to sympathize with Ye but his latest blog entry only reinforced the fact that he is a childish, arrogant bastard. Check out his response. Let me know if it doesn't make you sick.

Four reals

2008-06-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

My good friend and architect, Adi Mistri, partner of Mistri-Hardaway Architects, emailed me these pictures today.

Quite outstanding. I wouldn't be opposed to hearing some music here.

"The Zénith concept dates back to the early 80’s when the French Ministry of Culture recognized the need to create regional large-scale entertainment venues, responding to the growing demands of pop and rock culture. Philippe Chaix and Jean-Paul Morel were the architects behind the first Zénith in Paris, opened in 1984. Since then 14 more venues have landed all across the French nation but this one in Strasbourg is the biggest yet."

Photos and text courtesy of worldarchitecturenews.com

NaS about to drop

2008-06-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Although NaS has decided to NOT title his upcoming LP "Nigger," he HAS released a mixtape called "The Nigger Tape," and it's fire.

NaS' LP, now untitled, will be in stores July 15.

Download the mixtape HERE, or listen to NaS shout out Barack Obama on "Black President" below.

NaS (produced by DJ Green Lantern) - Black President

Determination

2008-06-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Richard Lazes

2008-06-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

My old man, Rick Lazes, enjoys doing things. Whether it's grinding at his job, singing while he does his thing on the elliptical machine every morning, or creating art, he tends to keep himself busy.

Now his thing is bending wood.

He's built several test wood-steamers, which are used to "bake" the wood until it's hot enough, and thus soft enough, to bend. Some of them are pretty cool too. He's still working out the kinks, but his goal is to create an entire show out of pieces like the ones shown, only much bigger...naturally.

Get excited for 'Burn After Reading'

2008-06-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

As popular as Brad Pitt and his wifey, Angelina Jolie are, Pitt backs up his status with great work (Se7en, Fight Club, Babel), and this one looks like it could be another one to add to his works of pride.

Burn After Reading trailer

Writers/directors, Joel and Ethan Coen, didn't waste any time since No Country for Old Men to put out another solid-looking film. Oh, and John Malcovich, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, AND Tilda Swinton are all in it.

I can't wait. Also, the Coen brothers are currently working on four new movies.

Russian pride

2008-06-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

I caught a Semyon Faibisovich show at my school's art museum (Zimmerli Art Museum) not too long ago. I thought his work was whatever, but I was curious enough to learn more about him.

Soldiers (from Train Station series), 1989, Semyon Faibisovich

Turns out he likes to focus on the mundane tasks that we all do every day (riding the bus to work, waiting for a doctor's appointment, eating breakfast, and all that jazz), which is something I think about a lot, so after reading that, I interpreted his art a whole lot differently.

For years, Faibisovich, who graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute, worked in design offices while he tried to establish himself as an independent artist.

And he certainly did. One of his pieces, an original painting commissioned by TIME magazine for one of their covers in 1989, sold for $120,000 on Ebay this past April.

Beauty (from the Cycle workers festive march), 1988, Semyon Faibisovich

The jury at the Moscow Architectural Institute said his work, "[combines] astute social criticism with a subtle and sophisticated visual poetry. The influence of [Faibisovich's] architectural education can be readily felt in his meticulously conceived paintings and series, which often subject a disquieting urban landscape to the gentle irony of a wise observer of Russian society."

Photos courtesy of artnet.com

The sounds I hear of Faith.

2008-06-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

When an idea is presented to you in repetition, such as Faith (capital F due to its importance in peoples lives), it can be really hard to ignore.

Over the past 4 days of my european travels, I have experienced a lot. No matter what I do, I am still unaware of where all these train tracks lead. I can go clear across the continent but signs are pointing up.

I recently met an old english couple in Belgium whom, if God exists, were angels. I have never met a complete stranger and felt as if I was already their family. I'm not saying I'm a believer, but maybe it's about time I stopped saying I'm a nonbeliever.

I use music to get away from the troubles of life. I know my troubles may be rations of yours, but troubles are all troubles. I heard the new Coldplay album was on Myspace to be streamed, so I am listening to it this very second. There's a song where Chris talks about heaven and life. How people make crosses but don't see God. This hit me hard because if you're going to believe, BELIEVE.

DO NOT PUT ANY LESS THAN YOUR FULL EFFORT INTO SOMETHING YOU SUPPOSEDLY BELIEVE IN.

If you can't put your all into following a belief, what does that make of your ideas, your thoughts, or even your existence as a person.

I believe in potential, connection, persistence, and music. Music cannot be wasted to earn a dollar. Music's connection is the purpose, and if you can't understand that, there is no potential for what I believe in to be understood by you.

In the words of my new friend George Jarrold,
"Success is not final.
Failure is not final.
It's the ability to try again that counts".

New BMW Concept made of CLOTH

2008-06-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

Chris Bangle at his best.

The car will never see production, but this is pretty goddamn innovative.

In light of the French Open

2008-06-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Since Roger Federer got his ass kicked yesterday at the French Open, it is an appropriate time to enlighten some of those not familiar with French culture.

This photo was snapped at Total Wine, a fine beer and wine chain. The fact of the matter is that the term 'French Champagne' is redundant because champagne can only actually be called "Champagne" if the grapes are cultivated and the wine is fermented in the Champagne region of France.

But it's understandable that the sign-makers of Total Wine expect a certain level of ignorance from their customers.

Snatch & the Poontangs

2008-06-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered an incredibly dope 60's soul band while parousing through the tunes of Rhythm and Blues legend Johnny Otis.

Snatch & The Poontangs, comprised of Johnny, his son, Shuggie, and Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans is quite possibly the most comically perverse group of musicians I have heard, even including rappers like Two Live Crew and 2-$hort. In fact, I think S&TP inspired all of the the lewd hip-hop sex anthems that plague our music libraries today, except they are musically sound.

Check out their albums, Two Girls in Love and Snatch & The Poontang's- EP for some soulful nugs and tasty lyrics.

If you want to purchase one song rather than the whole album, check out my personal favorite, "Big John Jeeter" on iTunes or listen to it below.

Snatch & the Poontangs - Big John Jeeter

Re-Phyto-Lize the whales

2008-06-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

I caught an advertisement in the newspaper this morning talking about marine phytoplankton and how it helped some guy in Alabama beat cancer.

Now I'm no scientist, and if phytoplankton really does cure cancer, that's great. I was doing some research this morning (by "doing research," I mean searching wikipedia) and found that phytoplankton is responsible for most of the oxygen present in the Earth's atmosphere. I also read that krill feed on marine phytoplankton, and most whales' diets exclusively include krill.

So my question is this: if krill eat phytoplankton, and whales eat krill, does that mean that whales don't get cancer?

R.I.P. Bo

2008-06-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Bo Diddley died today in Florida.

I read that Diddley pioneered Rock n' Roll, but all I really knew about him was that he had a square guitar, which was pretty cool.

Either way, he's dead, and that's certainly sad for some people.

New Bible verses!

2008-06-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Cook Out is a North Carolina fast food chain. They have 36 different types of milkshakes including peach cobbler and Snickers.

They also print Bible excerpts on their styrofoam cups and paper bags. These are from the book of Psalm.

Not even kidding

2008-05-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tokyo-based artist, Tomoo Gokita is serious about his nonsense.

In an interview with ANP Quarterly magazine, Gokita, who never attended formal art schooling, said he does what art teachers don't want you to do.

"It's indeed a subtle area of whether it's skilled, or completely lacking in it," Gokita said. "I've been strongly urging to be really bad at it, but it's not so easy to completely get rid of the skills you are already bound with."

Gokita also draws portraits, including this one of Mr. T (right).

'Indiana Jones' is NOT disappointing

2008-05-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Many people were skeptical when they heard that Steven Spieldberg and friends were making a fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series.

But with Shia LaBeouf as his sidekick, Karen Allen returning from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and Cate Blanchett as a villainous KGB colonel, the movie turned out to be a fresh reunion with Hollywood's favorite archaeologist.

Seeing this movie lets you appreciate how much of a dork Spieldberg actually is. The digital imaging and CGI are outstanding, some of the best you've seen. With the silly comebacks and invincibility of the characters, 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' seems more like a video game than a movie, a very fun video game.

Entertainment copycats

2008-05-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Since M.I.A. dropped 'Arular' in 2005, fashion, music, and what hipsters generally dig has flipped, though a lot of people are still ignorant of M.I.A..

M.I.A., above, photo courtesy of Nirali Magazine

M.I.A.'s '80s super-pop fashion sense, tribal instrumentals and post-production vocal effects have created a template other mainstream entertainers have straight stolen. Gwen Stefani's Neptunes-produced single, 'Hollaback Girl' explicitly drew influences from M.I.A.'s style, her neon-colored attire have been seen on boys and girls vying to stay hip, but her music is still foreign to most radio-listeners.

The entertainment industry is made of copycats, especially in mainstream music. But Film, TV, news and sports all jump on new methods or styles to try to stay current.

It is just upsetting when I see artists on the Internet and in magazines robbing M.I.A.'s style. Acts like Santogold, LMFAO and Hyper Crush are totally swagger jacking her, generating popularity and profiting (largely through the Internet) and act like they are something no one's ever seen before.

Clockwise from top left, LMFAO, Hyper Crush, Santogold

While I'm not saying that the aforementioned artists are not talented, I am saying that they are not original. M.I.A. is the queen, and they should all forward her a portion of their royalties since she already did most of the hard work.

For all the haters out there

2008-05-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Believe that! Paying and picking up at the SAME SPOT! That's when you know you chose a good place.

'Iron Man' on IMDB top 250

2008-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

First of all, Robert Downey Jr. is an outstanding actor. And though he nailed the whole rich, brilliant, and thus pompous super hero thing, I can't help but be upset that the film made the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 movies of all time.

While this film was probably the only marketing campaign to match its content, can you really put it above '8 1/2', 'Children of Men', and 'Magnolia'?

Click HERE to see the list for yourself.

Then again, the super hero action flick is a different breed of movie than those previously listed. At least the people swarming IMDB recognize that 'Batman Begins' and ' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' ARE better movies.

The CGI and visual effects were superb. At no point in the film, do you feel like they are too much or look fake. Like I said, it's a great movie, just not worthy of the top 250. And who knows, maybe I'll change my opinion next week.

NYC subway angels

2008-05-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

We've all seen them. They're the guys who post up in the subways and offer to swipe people through the turnstiles, seemingly out of the goodness of their hearts.

What they don't tell you until you pass through is that you owe them two dollars. Only an asshole wouldn't give these angels the ends, but most of the time the tourists even tag on a tip for relieving them of the awfully stressful task of going to the metrocard machine to buy their own damn ticket.

It's like an experiment my Psychology teacher in high school would've tried. Freaking brilliant.

N.E.R.D. on Letterman

2008-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Everbody Nose Letterman Live
by yardie4lifever2

Good look, yardie4life2. N.E.R.D.'s new single, 'Everyone Nose'

This song is hot fiya like aya

Proof that camera phones CAN take great pictures

2008-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

courtesy of Kim Images

Shot with a 1.3 megapixel camera on a Motorola Razr, photo wanderer Jae-Han Kim shows us how it's done on a camera phone.

I'm usually opposed to gadgets on a phone not for communicative purposes, but I went to the Apple Store the other day and played on the iPhone. Now I understand.

I'm trying to persuade Kim to blow up some of his camera phone photos (he has many, but he will only let me post one) and show them. We'll see what happens. Though I'm sure it's already been done.

This picture was taken outside our building, the one we are currently moving out of :-(

THE HORROR!!!

2008-05-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

courtesy of joshuahoffine.com

"I believe that the horror story is ultimately concerned with the imminence and randomness of death, and the implication that there is no certainty to existence. The experience of horror resides in this confrontation with uncertainty. Horror tells us that our belief in security is delusional, and that the monsters are all around us."

-Joshua Hoffine

Check out his Web site because this is just one of many photographs like this.

My roomie next year

2008-05-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is my roommate next year, John Cambridge:

Wanting to prove that he could survive in the wild, Cambridge caught a goose. He didn't eat it though.

Gnarls Barkley - Going On

2008-05-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

I hate to steal from KanYe's blog, but I had to. This video is gorgeous.

Gnarls Barkley plays the pop music industry like a playground. I love how they don't give a fuck about rules, which is why nobody can hate on them. Danger Mouse is musically brilliant and Cee-Lo is so damn soulful.

1-2 punch...beautiful song/video

My boy Shel saves the day

2008-05-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

I was over at my friend Phil's house when I noticed "Where the Sidewalk Ends" on the floor in his room.

So I picked it up and this was the first poem I turned to:

Hug O' War
By Shel Silverstein

I will not play tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

My day was nothing special. Then I got Shel-ed......pretty crazy how timeless this poem is.

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" was published in 1974...buy a copy HERE.

Secaucus, NJ and my hallway

2008-05-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

My hallway, which I will only be living in for another week.

And Secaucus, N.J. just outside of the NJ Transit station in Secaucus.

Seemingly unrelated, but are they...?

My neighbor killed himself

2008-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Arieh Diamond (top right) who lived two doors down my hall ended his life on Sunday afternoon, jumping in front of an Amtrak train at the New Brunswick train station.

A friend of ours told me she saw him crying in the stairwell a couple days before he died. She asked him what was wrong, but he said that nothing was. She said she would be in the basement lounge studying if he wanted to talk, but he never took her up on her offer.

Arieh was a practicing Orthodox Jew, and the Jewish community here, although mournful of his passing, was ashamed of the fact that Arieh's death was self-inflicted.

It's strange to walk past his door now. Since it happened, I've been thinking about his walk to the train station from his room. He must have passed so many familiar things on his way: the Hillel House, buildings where he took classes, the Center for Jewish Studies. This is the closest I've ever been to a suicide.

Something for the headphone hip-hoppers...Theory Hazit

2008-05-07T12:05:00.001-07:00

We can argue about whether or not Hazit can rhyme, but his beats are undeniably fresh.

It's always pleasing to see creative advertising

2008-05-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I took this picture a couple months ago. It's the flight of stairs exiting Penn Station in Manhattan. I don't think the ad is still there. They probably change the ads often.

Harmony Korine's "Mister Lonely" premieres at Tribeca Film Festival

2008-04-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

Korine on what he likes to accomplish in a film

"Mister Lonely" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday night.

The film's director, Harmony Korine briefly introduced the film and stayed afterwards to answer questions.

The film nerds in the audience tried to force Korine to explain the message of the film, but Korine did not budge, insisting that he does not make films to say anything. Instead, he said he creates a collage, assembling images that appeal to him.

I caught a couple words with Korine after the film. He asked me if I liked the film, which surprised me, since I would not guess that audience enjoyment is high on his priority list, but whatev, he was being a nice guy.

Before I left, I asked him, "So were you fucked up last time you were on Letterman?"

(Watch Korine's Letterman appearance HERE)

"What do you think?" he said. "I'll let you figure that one out."

Ray Rice headed to Baltimore

2008-04-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

Rice went to the Baltimore Ravens with the 55th pick of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Good luck, big guy.

The B-52 ejector seat office chair

2008-04-25T14:23:00.001-07:00

Photo courtesy of calibre-furniture.co.uk

"This amazing office chair, available from Motoart, consists of a reconditioned and adapted ejector seat taken from a decommissioned B-52 Bomber. Sadly the mechanism required to vertically propel your boss from the seat has been sensibly removed but this still must rank as one of the coolest office chairs on earth. Prices are only available on request."

Description provided by calibre-furniture.co.uk

Uno mas

2008-04-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

At the State House in Trenton, NJ

2008-04-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

Why is a chair in the bathroom stall?

Dr. John + Rebirth Brass Band full review

2008-04-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Sounds from New Orleans made their way to the northeast at the recently opened Blender Theater at Gramercy in Manhattan with the Rebirth Brass Band and headliner Dr. John.

According to the box office, the show was sold out, but the theater never got more than half full.

Rebirth, an eight piece horn and percussion band, started the evening with a 45-minute set that had the crowd on their feet dancing. Celebrating their 25th year anniversary, the band mixed in traditional New Orleanian instrumentals with some hip-hop styled vocals, and even played a rendition of T.L.C.’s “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls.” The songs were structured so that someone in the band would solo for a while and then everyone would come back together for a blasting horn interlude.

The band ended their set to roaring applause, and after a short intermission, the headline took the stage.

Dr. John’s band came onstage and started the groove before Dr. John himself, real name Mac Rebennack, drifted in with a big smile wearing a royal blue suit, blue sued loafers, and his trademark voodoo links of various animal teeth and beads hanging down to his belly.

They started the show off slowly with jazzy ballads, some from his new album due out in June, which mostly bored the crowd. But after a slow start, they dove into their most popular song, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” which finally got some people out of their seats and up near the stage to dance.

Dr. John seemed to have more political interests than musical ones singing socially conscious lyrics from his new album and taking time between songs to tell the crowd how we need to bring the troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Much to my disappointment, the Rebirth Brass Band did not join Dr. John at all during his set. But even more disappointing was Rebennack’s performance, though nostalgic, lacked energy.

His band made up for some of the lost energy with solid playing and backup singing that sounded more like a full choir than three people.

But that did not seem to inspire Rebennack. After each song he turned the page on his music stand like it was a task he was not enthusiastic to complete. Even when he turned around and stood up to play his organ, he hardly moved any part of his body besides his fingers to push down the keys.

Like many musicians from New Orleans, Dr. John drew inspiration from Hurricane Katrina’s destruction in Louisiana for songs from his new album, many of which he performed. But the lyrics were trite and the music was bland. Even he seemed ashamed to play them.

Though I went to the concert more excited to see Dr. John, I left the theater impressed by Rebirth and sad about Rebennack’s soft performance. If you listen to some of his older albums, the music is funky and energetic, but none of that was the case that night. As much as I hate to admit it, Dr. John is getting old.

Bryony Birkbeck

2008-04-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of bryonybirkbeck.co.uk

"Based on Freud's theory that each individual is made up of 3 essential components which are locked in constant battle to control our behaviour.

The Id being our innate behaviour, the Superego, our learned manners and morals and Ego, the mediator between them."

New Closed Entertainment advertisements

2008-04-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Nice space, but the clothes...not so much

2008-04-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

The Comme des Garçons store in Chelsea is cool to walk through, but there's no music, which makes for a strange shopping experience, and the clothes are nothing special, besides ridiculously overpriced.

Happy Holidays

2008-04-20T09:56:00.001-07:00

artistic vandalism courtesy of Tommy Haselden

My roommate getting owned

2008-04-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

After a flour fight between Jae-Han Kim and John Cambridge, Kim took a shower to wash himself off. Little did he know, Cambridge was waiting outside of the bathroom to nail his ass again. Watch as Kim goes through transformation of clean to dirty within seconds.

Buying flowers

2008-04-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

My roommate is South Korean, so he's good with computers, he scratches himself a lot, and he's super grumpy right when he wakes up. In order to curb his cranky awakening, I went to the flower shop yesterday to buy him some sweet-scented blossoms for him to wake up to. This woman was happy to show me her selection...REEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYY happy.

Fuckable sheep

2008-04-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not making this up. I saw this at a sex shop on 8th Avenue while I was on a scavenger hunt in NYC with my friend Jade (for the record, SHE spotted it from the street, not me). It had a slit just under the tail where one could pleasure this plastic livestock. Notice how the shelf said "WET SELECTIONS." I have no idea what that means.

Dr. John, Rebirth Brass Band, and my new favorite chef

2008-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Good show at the Blender Theater in NYC Friday night. I'll post something more in-depth soon.

And if you're ever on Lexington Ave., check out 'Chez le Chef' between E 28th and E 29th for some serious pastries. Even if you don't like sweets, Chef Frédéric (above), is a funny guy to chat with.

What are you trying to say?

2008-04-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this today when I was buying some bubble tea. Perceive it how you will.

Dr. John in 'The Last Waltz'

2008-04-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

I hope I get to see him this weekend

Funny Marketing

2008-04-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Who's to say?

Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige on Letterman

2008-04-05T01:34:00.001-07:00

Can't Knock The Hustle Live
by yardie4lifever2

I want that jacket.