This is one of the best photos ever, of two of the best people ever: Marina and Raffi. They just got engaged - you heard it here first - and the Beckstar is slated to be one of the bridesmaids, so... good times!
Who wouldn't want to lock down any woman willing to shave her head and dye her skin for the perfect Mr. T costume? Damn right you would!
Now Canada does some great work, but we're not always recognized as a homeland for top-notch design (unlike Croatia, oddly enough). So it's nice to see this work that blew by my desk - from a Montreal firm called Bob.ca that is doing really high quality stuff in print and web.
Of course it's in Montreal, so the site is in French. Question: why are the French so very much more stylish? I don't get it... genetics?
Cool, modern, appropriate and unique. Great stuff.
I should probably mention some other great Canadian studios... but I'll wait for another post.
So if you haven't heard already, the U.K. grafitti/pop artist Banksy has managed to pull off a well-aimed social critique on the Superficiality Superstar herself.
First, Banksy. Check the following images - his stuff is very conscious/informed by social critique, which works really well with the medium of graf and guerilla/underground art. As much as I believe graffiti is an art form, and true 'nuff - it is, it also plays an important political role, as we've seen in the past in places on the verge of political upheaval - Cuba, Northern Ireland, South America, West/East Germany etc., and still see today. So he's actively driving that dialogue forward in the U.K., and his work is pretty kickass:
Now, the Paris hack. So he buys a copy of her stellar debut album, then scans and alters the insert + photos in a derisive way. He burns his own track - remixing quotes of her making inane comments over beats. Then he prints 500 copies of the whole package, and sneaks it into 40+ record stores across England. People buy it unknowingly, the social commentary goes viral, and collective human intelligence breathes a sigh of relief.
As a technophile, and pop culture lover, stories like this interest me greatly. While it's true that Paris Hilton represents a low point in mainstream culture - perhaps not possible 30 years ago, it's also true that this kind of act wouldn't have been possible 30 years ago either, before mass production and distribution of equipment like Photoshop/scanners etc. So we get shallower and less skilled on one hand, but smarter and more equipped on the other.
Anyways, enjoy the images:
Or watch Banksy through the whole process here on YouTube.
I just thought I'd add this photo to the blog, because it's one of my all-time favourite photos of myself as a kid. That and the dozen or so naked painting photos... but we'll get to those later.
I was really shy when I was younger (hard to believe, I know), and this photo is such an accurate portrait of me from that era - just watching quietly, by myself, trying to figure things out.
I also love the way I'm just casually holding Humpty Dumpty's hand, like 'don't worry buddy, I got you'.
I don't know if you, loyal blog readers (AKA me, myself and I), have changed your personality a lot since you were young. I have. But still, sometimes I am struck by how this little, quiet, curious creature is still really who I am in many ways.
Of course, I was also a big spaz, as I am today as well. If I could digitize the crazy dance home movies of me as a kid (the family called me Happy Feet...), you'd all see just how much I'm representin' my roots. Word.
Okay, now back to pop culture and other funniness.
So I went to Bumbershoot in Seattle this past weekend, and boy was it sick sick sick good times.
Among the best on a musical tip:
Lady Sovereign: Grimy electro-clash/hip hop goodness from the U.K. Think M.I.A.'s slutty, cockney-trash cousin. She's coming to Vancity on November 10th, so you best make way for the s.o. - VEEE.
Rishi Rich: sweet Banghra/Desi beats. Some of you may know how much I love this genre. The website is missing in action right now, but hopefully up soon so you can share the love. Some of the Rishi Rich project stuff is a little too R&B slow jam for my taste, but it's 80% good times.
DJ Assault: Booty bouncing ghettotech. He wasn't at Bumbershoot, rather at one of my favourite little Seattle clubs Chop Suey. It's been good times every time at that place... plus random bonus: free drinks from the bartender, who apparently gets mistaken for Jake Gyllenhall, because he thought I looked like his fake celeb sister Maggie Gyllenhall. Ding ding!
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: picture James Brown as a small wiry woman, and you've got the idea. Her dance style verged on the extraterrestrial. Loves it!
Obviously though the best thing of all Bumbertainment was the COMEDY PANEL SCREENING OF TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET. Yes, you heard that right y'all. More details to follow - I'm waiting for photos from a photographer I met from Minnesota who was shooting the event - but damn! It was off the hook!
So my friend Mika has taken to making dance videos. Here is one that features me briefly in the background, although doing some goofy cheesed out clap-step and, yes, some jazz hands.
It's kind of grade-ten 'dance in your basement' steez - good times.
She made it in response to Morgan(who I haven't met as he's in Taipei or some shit)'s crazy wicked dance off films, which you can see below and which would make me want to date him immediately if a) I had ever met him, b) he didn't have a cool and hot girlfriend and c) I knew anything about him beyond sweet dance vid's.
EDIT: Mikala found that last comment controversial. To clarify: I don't want to date him in any way, and his girlfriend really is lovely. But damn - you could bottle those dance moves and sell 'em on street corners. That's all I'm sayin' yo!
Check 'em out - they completely rule.
Top 10 unpatented dance moves - I love #'s 7 and 6
Ultimate Dance Battle - the greatest of all. A concept piece: a man travels back in time to face himself in the ultimate dance battle. Enjoy!
What up my people?
It's been a while - true dat.
Partially because I'm evidently not as self-absorbed as I thought (yay!) and partially because this summer has turned into a big crappy breakup fest (boo!). It does suck when something you believe in ends... really shakes the foundations.
It's amazing though... a person can just settle into a path, without questioning it. Somehow, over the last 5 years or whatever, I stopped considering being with Darcy as a choice... more just a fact of my life. It's good to be reminded that your circumstance, your relationship, your lifestyle, your job, your home - hell, absolutely everything in your life - is 100% a choice you've made, and one that you have complete control over. So, at the end of all this bullshit, I feel... stronger and in better touch with myself. Some of the time.
But who wants to hear about such misfortune? Not me... also because I'm following the advice of one Mariah Carey, trying to shake it off, with a healthy dose of sleaze and excess. It's all good.
So expect to find more photos, pop culture randomness, and all around goodness as I wander these lonely streets.
Also, check out nerdcorehiphop.org for some of the flyest nerd beats ever dropped. I am actually considering writing my own nerd-core track. So far I have some sweet ideas, but, you know, zero skills on the mic, decks or board. We'll see how it goes.
