Remember when you were a kid and it was a big accomplishment to get past the first 10-15 steps in the directions to build your very own ExTrEmE Lego masterpiece? I remember when I was younger (and as I got older too, I had younger siblings) walking around the house and stepping on a Lego that was inconspicuously hidden on the floor somewhere. And I remember some parents would sort their kids’ Legos out by color too, which was always weird to me…We probably all have some fond memories with Legos…or Build-A-Blocks if you were poor, or Lincoln Logs if you were a budding little backwoods goober…ha…(don’t get me wrong, I had and loved Lincoln Logs…jokes, jokes…) But seriously though - Legos have always been about encouraging creativity and building and unique ideas…but this top 10 list of the strangest Lego creations of all-time takes it to a new level. I mean - come on - a “Lego Difference Engine”?! “One of the most imaginative Lego creations ever. Made by Andy Carroll, this difference engine is able to solve mathematical problems (2nd/3rd-order polynomials) and calculate the answers to 3 or 4 digits.” Could you imagine giving that to a kid on the 4th Christmas of his life or for his 6th birthday or something? ‘Look here little Bobby, this only has 8,000 pieces and requires someone 45+ to create it! Have fun!’ But seriously - how crazy is that?? And this - a Lego air conditioner!? That is probably the funniest one to me… Of course, you can’t go wrong flossin’ around town in your brand new Lego Volvo XC90…do you know how many snap-on-hair-babes you could pick up in that baby?! Anyways, check this list out and take yourself back to yesteryear when you were 9 years old and attempting to build your first Han Solo-Frozen-In-Carbonite-Lego.
So I cruised thru the Gucci shop on my lunch break cause I heard something crazy was going on and it was indeed true. I definitely wasn’t rockin’ Gucci as an 80’s baby but I am well aware of those bootleg Gucci shirts you would see in the hood. To my knowledge, I have never seen a real vintage one, so I am assuming they were yesteryears version of ‘AIR’ shoes I see next to the bodega. Anyway truth be told, Gucci is now making real versions of their heavily bootlegged tees. Of course, they are $200 something. Yes $200 bucks for a t-shirt..and no I didnt buy it. I am not rich, but I am immune to sticker shock these days. Hence why I still think the idea is awesome…in their design meeting some lowly intern is like, ‘what if we make our Canal Street version Gucci Tee…give something back to the hood…’ and them being like, ‘Okay!?’ The sad thing is, the $10 fakes are better. Graphic wise, design proportion, and actually cotton t-shirt wise too. The expensive ones are too refined, there’s nothin’ hood about them…but let’s not discourage any intern that wants to send me some Gucci for free. That’s just dumb.
OMA of Seattle Public Library, Prada epicenters and CCTV fame are like the Rocafella of architecture. Both entities are definitely at the top of their fields and represent whats really going on. Just like this hip-hop analogy I am trying to string together the two heads have split. Rem Koolhaas (Jay-z) and Joshua Ramus (Dame) are now making money on their own. I had to tell the back story because that’s how Star Architects get down. You better believe outlandish rumors float around these guys in the architecture world just like Britney and US weekly. Anyways, as authorship of ill projects gets hashed out this Museum Plaza project attempts to get built. Skyscrapers in Middle America are generally nothing to write home about. The Museum Plaza for Lousiville, KY is in the works and is bubbling in the press. Not only because of the soap opera drama but because the design is off the charts. You gotta check out this animation called “how it will be built” under video clips. It tells the whole story. Reminds me of why I got into architecture. Before you know it these guys are gonna be directing Hip Hop videos “like Whaaaaaaaat?”.
What can you honestly say? Just amazing, simply amazing. Mr. Warren Buffet is basically throwing in the towel on amassing fortune, and giving all his cash to world. And when I say ‘the world’ it rings pretty true. His gift, as sized right now, is worth roughly $37 billion dollars. But since he is steadily giving it away it will most likely end up far higher than that number. It wouldn’t be outlandish to think that number could look more like $55 billion when all is said and done. So yeah, when I say ‘the world’ it indeed rings true…an amount that large will, without question, have global impact. I’ve always been a bit inspired by his ability to not ‘care’ about the things that wealth the size of his can bring. Hats off to you Warren Buffet, it’s almost hard to put into words how generous, humble, and level-headed you are for this donation to the world. I certainly wish you the best of luck in achieving everything you hope to with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Wow.
A post from all three of us today - what more could you ask for!!? Anyways, this post is basically dedicated to all the sites you find on Google that are just archived images of old things you can’t get your hands on anymore. Or could, but it would take some searching. Take for example this archive of covers of the Danish punk zine ‘Trust’. I mean, this kind of stuff never gets old to me. So classic, I love it! This is one of my favorites - Steve Pyatt’s Voodoo Venue - a big collection of old music items he’s collected over the years…This dude has some cool stuff - Johnny Thunders autographed posters, photos of Sid Vicious, the D.O.A. beer mugs (Let’s wreck the party!), Buzzcocks stuff, and my absolute favorite - his collection of old punk rock 45’s…I am loving the Drones cover and the N.O.T.A. covers, and the rest are all awesome too of course…Then I found this small but good old collection of punk rock xerox flyers from 77…Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Fear…And last we’ve got these super old skate stickers...Is this NOT the coolest thing you’ve seen all day? All week? All month? All year?!??! Wowzas! Send me links to cool archives of stuff like this and I’ll send you an e-card from Yahoo or something! chuck@nopattern.com. Another good link below…
Ahh…it’s Friday. Just finished up an amazing match of ping-pong…almost time to get this. Jet skiing and pontoon-boat rides mixing your own vodka tonics? Midwestern goodness. Speaking of which, the trio of us we’ll be dropping an interview with them soon. I don’t do the street wear stuff…but I love aNYthing. And if the zine goes for that much, why not sell it on eBay?! I’m never too cool for some PayPal funds. This is not completely worthy of it’s own post, but quite fresh. I’ve been stressing all week…maybe I shouldn’t have stopped taking my Kava. Those new ‘Hawaiian shirt’ looking Vans are so nice, anybody got hook-ups…please let me know. That Jay-Z and Beyonce track is kind of boring. Time to figure out lunch…I’m out!
So a couple nights ago I had the pleasure of eating at none other than your favorite brand’s, favorite brand, Ralph Lauren. Chicago is home to the not only the biggest Polo store in the world but the empires only restaurant serving up “city-club cusine”...I dig the word play and man was it fresh… Good thing I changed before headed out too…a bright Lacoste dosen’t really cut it for the blue-scale Polo clientele…you know the old Polo dudes don’t venture outside that navy polo…The coolest thing for me was the interior that mimics the actual store so it feels like your eating in Ralph’s living room. Smaller set up than I was expecting but real comfortable. The walls were packed with side profiles of rich guys and nature scenes with pointing dogs to set the tone. Of course we were there to eat and the caesar salad, lemon-garlic butter shrimp & wild rice I ordered didn’t disappoint at all. The staff was rocking crispy Polo button-ups and ties, it was a nice white table cloth set up. The service was impeccable, all around it was nice to experience the Ralph Lauren extension from goods to food without a hiccup. Ever wonder what aNYthing’s resturant would be like?
My musical attention span is like .2 seconds and for as much time I spend sitting in front of a computer screen I need new music regularly. iPods are great but I can’t refresh mine fast enough. Funny thing is my solution predates ipods to when I had the same issue with my super-hyped mini disc player. One day I came across the Gilles Peterson show and have rarely missed a weekly show in 3 years. His show connects the dots playing tracks from soulful hip-hop, broken beat to obscure jazz greats. His show is a lesson in music. I basically learn as much as I listen. But the BBC doesn’t stop there. If your are like me and feel like your missing out on the whole NYC mixtape radio listen to Tim Westwood. Once you get used to his humor its actually very entertaining and hilarious. Make your way on to 1xtra too. All the hip-hop
shows are money. Don’t pass up the Garage section either, its where you can here what the UK kids are up to…I’ll do a proper Grime/UK hip hop post later. The clutch thing about the BBC radio shows is that they are new every week and the fact that the music is presented, not just played, it makes a difference. Listen, you’ll get the gist.
It is officially summer! Enjoy it! Go to the beach, go exercise, go sit outside with your laptop on a wi-fi connection for all I care. Just go outside and enjoy the sun! BBQ’s and sunburn and long days and the windows down - nothing like it… Happy beginning to the best season of the year from your favorite dewdskis at THE BRILLIANCE!!!
Oh…do yourself a favor and check the link below….classic
Two posts about sports in one week on a site mostly about vacations and cell phones and artists!? NO WAI!!! I followed the NBA finals this year fairly closely. I went into it rooting for the Mavericks because I like Cuban’s enthusiasm and unique approach and think the team is really solid - Stackhouse and Dirk are so good…anyways, this led me to check out Cuban’s blog, which I think is a brilliant one to say the least. Specifically his comments about cursing and his right to do so…I mean, talk about someone being bold and unafraid to speak their mind… “Then someone asked “Is this your worst loss ever” . What the fuck kind of question is that ? Is this for a VH1 special ? “Worst Losses Ever ?” If it was, then maybe it was a decent question. Otherwise, how do you answer that question…” I mean, come on. That is hilarious…and this is coming from a businessman. He owns the team and represents them to the fullest… you have to appreciate that kind of attitude, love him or hate him… I almost want to compare him to Kanye… Sure, it’s a business and he should act professional and all that, but the NBA has been so void of anybody like this, is long overdue, in my opinion. Anyways, the officiating in the Finals was pretty awful…If you’re interested at all, check this write-up to read about it. Congrats to the Heat and everyone in Miami for the big win and all, but there’s another side to it all, you know? Just my thoughts. I wonder how long it will be until I post about sports again…Maybe something about what it was like to grow up as a kid in the Chicago area in the 90’s while the Bulls were kicking everyone’s asses… still inspires me! Be like Mike!!! (Although…I was always a huge Rodman fan and John Paxson was the man…)
