Yeah, you already heard about it, whatever. First of all, the name is kind of wack, its like…I don’t know, just too chess/computer club status for me. But regardless of what you think about anything…Steve Jobs is the ultimate technology-branding-hustler-extraordinaire. Half these lifestyle technology companies announce their products 6-12 months before they drop…so stupid. The competition gets the jump on them and the market is diluted by the time they drop. See the cell phone market. But Mr. Jobs drops products the same day he announces it to the public. Bananas. Gets people so caught in the hype, including myself, and gives them direct access to it. A sort of exclusivity for the masses…only in comparison to his competition, which is pretty much non-existent. Either way… This thing is beautiful, it really is. I want to see the black design in person. Props where props due. Steve Jobs is Willy Wonka.
I’m still addicted to being connected. Its really getting to be an issue. And then this thing is announced! I will be one of the first to purchase this device…I mean, I cant help myself. It’s got the new Windows Mobile 5 which is more one hand friendly so I can email and drive at the same time…I have only been in one tiny accident because of that! For real, whoa. But yes, nice vibrant screen, Bluetooth and all that, wifi (skype punks!), what else…the slide out keyboard! Hopefully it is as thin as it looks in pictures. My Treo is just too big sometimes. I guess this phone comes out within the next month…late September, early October and will hit for roughly $649. Anyone want my Treo? Sorry I didn’t post more specs and all that…check one of the 2 million nerd phone forums, they got more info than you could possibly want.
I’ve posted about this before and I’m posting about this again, one because I am speaking, and two because it’s going to be good and you should be there. Semi-Permanent 2005 in NYC at the Lincoln Center/Avery Fisher Hall is THIS WEEK! Starting with opening night dinners and parties on Thursday night and continuing into the end of the weekend on Sunday, this conference is going to be huge. With a host of speakers including Fafi, Joshua Davis, The Orphanage, Paul Pope, Skinnycorp, Charlie White, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Insertsilence, Lobo, Peter Sluszka, Visionaire, and myself, this 2-day conference is going to really, really be one not to miss. A huge gift bag for all who attend, fun parties and dinners, a great chance to network and meet new people, and not to mention it’s a good price…Huge sponsors like the Art Director’s Club, Vice Magazine, Superfuture, Beinghunted, HOW, I.D., Flavorpill, and more…I can’t stress enough how fun and inspiring this weekend conference will be. See the site for more information. Ben and I will both be there so if you have a question about THE BRILLIANCE or want to see how white Ben REALLY keeps his shoes, come find us.
The new issue of The Royal, Issue 6: Lost in Space, is now online for you to check out. It’s always cool to look at it online but it’s even better to have a copy in your hands. The new issue has features on Marvel Comics (which is really interesting), idN Magazine, Semi-Permanent 05, James Jean, Sneaker Pimps, and more. Brandon, John, Dave, and the rest of the Royal crew do not fail to deliver in this issue. The content is always fresh and the ads in this one aren’t even too bad. I should point out, especially, the James Jean feature. If you haven’t seen Jean’s work, get familiar, right now. Unbelievable. Anyways, check the new issue and spend some time clicking through one of the only online magazines worth reading (then get yourself a real copy of it!) And then go buy some Arizona Iced Tea with Peach, or Rasberry, depending on what you feel like.
Absolutely unreal. I recently watched an amazing program on TV with a feature on savants and some of the more exceptional cases of both mental capacity and artistic talent. They featured a certain Stephen Wiltshire from England that absolutely blew me away. His pen drawn illustrations of various cityscapes are really beautiful, they have this incredible organic look to them…not to over-shadow or even belittle his incredible artist ability…what makes Stephen so incredible is his ability to remember any cityscape he has ever seen and reproduce with truly unreal accuracy. It’s almost hard to explain. He is autistic and classified as a savant, but his work is art, and he is truly and artist. You can view his work and purchase originals from his site…but his site is kind of limited, just Google him for more info. Wow. And yo, two art posts in one day by me?! I must be too relaxed.
I see ‘intensity’ in his work more than anything else. His paintings are extremely candid and detailed views of how he perceives daily life, both good and evil, in his home country as well as his reflections of global issues and ideals. His lines, detail, perspective and painted words are nothing short of amazing…straight talent. He is an acrylic on canvas painter, but also does prints…both styles come from his time as a billboard painter and his short stint as a comic illustrator for a publication he apparently owned. I’m not going to front, I just got turned on to this guy…and maybe even more important, I don’t know if I really like the majority of his work. But this picture right here, (see photo) which happens to be the cover of his book is absolutely incredible. He is talented, and his aesthetic is so vivid, I really love that. So inspired. Get familiar if you’d like.
Whoa. I would love to have a handful of these. This guy could makes some wild cash selling reproductions of these. But wow, how things have changed. I hate to be that dude like, ‘…man, it was so much better back in the day…’ But honestly, it was truly so much ‘fresher’ back then. So much more fun looking. Just parties, functions, block parties where a new pair of sneakers would get you props…you didn’t have to have a Range Rover and $20k in jewelry…and no mean mugs either! Come to think of it, break dancers always had some super cheese smile on their face. Anyway, this collection is insane; I love the hand drawn stuff, so classic. Really, just classic. Ch-ch-ch-check it out! Cold chilling, cause that’s just the breaks! Thanks to Al Cabino on this.
Legos. Fond memories abound, the pirate series, which I had on lock, was hands down my favorite. I had the forbidden island, my boy had the ship, we had all the little other boats and little palm tree atolls. I had the full airport and the space shuttle one too. Man, the good old days. Legos are this weird culture phenomenon…something about the creativity they invoke in kids that grew up playing with them. I mean, they were like a barometer for who was smart and who wasn’t…I swear, all the kids who played with Legos are mad successful now. Anyway, they have been around for 50 years, check the time-line they have on their site. So wild. Remember Lego Land in Denmark? Neither do I…what kid in the 80’s got to go to Denmark? I’m going to get an iced out Lego ‘guy’ as a pendant…hmmm.
Round 2. I mean, I know I said I would do this on Sundays…but I got invited to a porch BBQ! Let’s do this. I like SoHo, so a lot of my searching takes place in this area. ONE – This one is quite nice for the price, bt 662 sq ft is quite small…either way, I like it, the kitchen is perfect. Maybe too much black leather here though. Location, location though, SoHo is fresh. TWO – This is how you start building a dream spot for real. 2100 sq ft to play with…huge open floor plan, huge art, and a huge black spray painted chandelier. I really like this one. THREE – The LES real estate…new project everywhere. This is a new development/renovation offering 1260 sq ft and crazy low monthly CC/taxes, I like that. New developments are always nice as well, working elevators, crisp feel and all that. I just like this one for some reason. But the Trumpster said it best kids, never let your emotions get involved with a deal. By the way, to my fellow GR dwellers, I got 790 sq ft up for rent in the new Union Square development, get at me!
Ben and I were asked by Clarence Kwan of Dopefiend to take part in an interview with us, him, Adam from Slamxhype, Kevin from Hypebeast, and Nat from A Silent Flute. This ‘interview’ of sorts took place on MSN Messenger. Pretty sure we all felt like complete geeks doing this. But anyways, check part 1 of the interview out. Me and Ben pretty much just joked around the whole time, so it should make for a few good laughs, if nothing else. Highlights include Ben talking about Niketalk’s Girl Problems (No 56K) and me telling Kevin when he arrived late that we were just wrapping up with some prayer. Those are my highlights anyways. Also, there was a thread started on Superfuture about this interview. One person in the thread tried to get after us with this, “Not as good as I thought it would be. Am I the only one annoyed at “The Brilliance!!?!?!”. I just can’t stand reading that site. Even the most benial topics are published as !?Hype!?” Hey brocious, if you can’t stand reading the site, you don’t have to go to the site. I mean come on man. And “benial?” Huh? Haha. I don’t know. And accusing us of posting for the sake of hype all the time…please. Car care companies, tattoos, travel resources, comedians, home/interior products and trends, and even a post one time about Aldi’s, that grocery store. We’re not here to talk about shoes all the time man…we’re just posting what we enjoy. But enough defending our cause. I have work to do, pizza to order, and then more work to do. Go read the interview. “Ben says: i’m wearing Helmut Lang and H&M…Chuck says: you’re wearing a Bape shirt with no pants on”
