The Brilliance!

Kanye! I cannot wait for “Late Registration” which is supposed to drop in July. “College Dropout” was definitely one of my favorite albums last year and it was probably one of yours too. Anyways, MTV News has some word of one of his new singles “Diamonds” which Hot 97 in NYC recently played. And hey - Ben and I here at THE BRILLIANCE! have this track and it is good. “Vegas on acid seen through Yves Saint Laurent glasses.”

That’s right - my man Jason over at JB Classics let me know that there’s a live video collage of the MOTUG event with Futura, NYCLace, Doze, Obey, and more now up. Also check out this pair (almost ending) on eBay. Very, very well done video - looked like a fun event…

But this particular watch be a one-of-one. Actually it’s 1-of-100 now. Shawn Carter is so big. Just announced a Shawn Carter x Audemars Piguet watch collaboration thing limited to 100 pieces hit for $24k to about $70k. And in all the best finishes… Rose gold, stainless, and of course platinum. The best part of this whole deal is that the president, Francois-Henry Bennahmias, of AP approached Jay rather than the other way around as we have seen with rappers in the past. No ‘ice’ on this watch either kids. THE BRILLIANCE! loves AP and Jay-Z. He has EVERYONE smashed. So much respect.

Perfect. I’m sure most people who read THE BILLIANCE! have already seen these. For one, they have been out for a while and two, because half of you hang out in the Apple store like it’s your best friend’s loft. I can just see some corny indie kid like: ‘Gosh! Where is my white belt?! I’m leaving for the Apple store in like 10 minutes!!’… Anyway. These are perfect. This is the type of product you could design a whole room around. But I’m thinking like 10 of these all perfectly lined up against a wall sitting on the floor. Bamboo or maybe resin-poured floor. And they’d be playing some chopped & screwed (!). Harmon Kardon is, again, showing everyone how it’s done.

Yes! This is the kind of thing I like to see. Honestly - who has done a shower curtain this hot before? I might get this myself…I definitely want to be completely naked about 4 inches from a large green space monkey while I wash my back and he stares at me. All kidding aside, this is pretty sick and I urge you to buy it. Thanks to Matt for the tip.

If you haven’t heard of or seen Bob Partington’s work before, you’re in for an impressive treat - first - check his site at BobPartington.com. All these crazy mechanical/robotic things that I could never begin to figure out if I wanted to. Anyways, Bob is teaming up with Triple 5 Soul starting May 5, 2005 at their Soho and Brooklyn stores in NY for the VS. project. I’d strongly suggest you check it out if you’re out that way. Via The KDU. THE BRILLIANCE! loves Bob!

Does ANYBODY say “dweeb” any more? I don’t think so.
Anyways - Bounty Hunter has teamed up with Kubrick to make a 400% Boba Fett. I’m not really a fan of Star Wars, let’s just make that clear right now. I don’t think I’ve even seen them all. But this is a pretty cool lookin figure…and Boba Fett always seemed like the baddest dude on Star Wars. Only 1000 pieces have been produced. Release date is April 29th. After that, it’s up to you to find one on eBay for roughly the price of a child.

I have been a huge fan of this guy’s site and work for quite a while now - at least 2 years - this site has gone unchanged I believe, in the way it looks and navigates, and I love it. Nothing gets in the way of the unbelievably beautiful compositions of his work on the site. It’s close to perfect. The photography is nothing short of inspiring either - he can make a brown tile floor look cool, a leaf, random angles, textures, etc…Just really nice. There’s a sharp quality to the color too - whether it’s done post or not doesn’t matter. It looks good. Real clean. Might be old news for those of you who check the regular design portal sites but it’s worth another visit or two. If you haven’t seen it - go now. Just look through and enjoy. So hottt OMG WTF.

The days of Bones Brigade and Public domain are long gone… And for the longest so were some of the classic t-shirts, decks, and patches that Powell Peralta Skateboards put out. Their branding and imagery was, still is, so iconic of that era. The classic ripper skull (as shown) is hands-down one of my all time favorite skateboard images/logos/whatever. So fresh. Until about a year ago your only option was eBay to get those classic Powell Peralta goods… Now you can get the fresh retro-releases directly from the new Powell site. Check your classics game, Powell was the best. Also, check the repeating skull pattern on the top of their site…perfect.

All white. Beautiful in all white. I’ll be honest, when spending thousands on a fine Swiss automatic-timepiece, Chanel is not real high on my list. But this watch is just stunning. Not only is it visually attractive, it is strikingly different from other watches in it’s category due to the fact it’s band and case are made out of solid white ceramic rather than the typical stainless steel. Scratch resistant, non-translucent, and almost mysteriously matte in it’s finish. I believe the J12 series came out in 2000, so its not brand new, but wearing white watches is so fresh right now. Jeans, fresh Stan Smiths, white t-shirts with super light pastel print, and a white watch… THE BRILLIANCE! loves all white watches, you should to.