May 21, 2007
The New Ridiculously Expensive Maroon 5 CD ...
The widly successful pop-soul-rock outfit Maroon 5 release their second album, titled "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," this week with unusually high financial expectations -- the new CD must sell at least 15 million copies in order for their record-label overlords to break even on their investment i the band. The band's first disc, which was released five years ago, eventually sold 10 million copies worldwide. Pressure? What pressure?
Posted by Supercore at 08:05 AM
May 15, 2007
Street Artist Banksy Gets Profiled in the New Yorker ...
If you're anybody of some minor consequence on the verge of being somebody of major consequence, then you know you've become the latter (or have "made it") when you have been profiled in the New Yorker magazine. Britain-based street artist Banksy is the subject of a full profile article in this week's issue of the esteemed New York weekly in a piece titled "Banksy Was Here" by Lauren Collins. Dubbed "the invisible man of graffiti art" -- a description that would apply equally to almost call "graffiti artists" -- Banksy is perhaps the street artist with the biggest name recognition of them all, at least in the United Kingdom. But his art and his name are becoming familiar to the global art world and pop-cultural cognescenti. Banksy is fast becoming the world's first international street-art star.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
May 14, 2007
Shilpa Shetty Film Premieres in London
From low-brow to high-brow, from Celebrity Big Brother to independent cinema, from launching a curry house chain to launching a perfume, 31-year-old Bollywood movie star Shilpa Shetty has transformed her new global fame swiftly and shrewdly. This weeked witnessed the premiere of new Indian film, "Life in a Metro," in which Shetty plays a neglected homemaker in contemporary India. The movie is a chance for Shetty to showcase her legitimate acting talents to a wider audience. Depending on the film's success and Shetty's performance, Shilpa will either have a long, acclaimed cinematic acting career ahead of her in the West, or she will be best know for running a chain of curry houses.
Photo by Bahl Sonu / SantaBanta.com. Used under Creative Commons license.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:37 PM
Putting the "Lo" in Lohan ... More Juicy Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
Lindsay Lohan in Tongue Fest with Calum Best in Bahamas ...
Critics Dump Hate on New Lindsay Lohan Film "Georgia Rule" ...
Lindsay Lohan to Play Stripper in Next Film Role ...
Paris Hilton Gets No Time From Gov. Arnold Scharzenegger ...
Indian Actress Shilpa Shetty Appeals to India's Supreme Court ...
Jessica Simpson Dishes About Her Sex Life ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:20 PM
May 11, 2007
Video: The Amazing "Automatic Graffiti Robot"!
Love it, mate. Freaking love it! Freaking brilliant! Now we know what we want for our birthday this year!
Posted by Supercore at 10:55 PM
May 10, 2007
Video: London Graffiti Writer in Action!
Caught on tape: Some graf-writing on a train in London. Sick, mate.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
May 09, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers Flash-Tag a Subway Train
This looks a little too staged, a little too easy, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. And the speed and coordination with which this group of taggers throw up these massive pieces of graffiti on the train (while it's still in the station, mind you) is like a carefully choreographed ballet. Impressive, in spite of it being total vandalism.
Posted by Supercore at 11:07 PM
May 08, 2007
Video: Paris Hilton Sentenced to 45 Days in Jail ...
The serious and sober Reuters filed this television news report on Paris Hilton receiving a jail sentence of 45 days.
Posted by Supercore at 10:40 PM
May 07, 2007
Paris Hilton Responds to 45-Day Jail Sentence
Ah, poor, poor Paris Hilton. The 26-year-old hotel heiress ad celebutante has commented publicly about the 45-day jail sentence she received for violating the terms of her probation from DUI arrest in 2006. Paris reportedly is calling her punishment "cruel" and "unwarranted," and is quoted as saying "I don't deserve this." Hilton also took action and fired her publicist Elliot Mitz after her sentencing, in effect, blaming him for her predicament. Whatever. We actualy think Paris is being honest on this one -- this is a matter of mistaken information. But it may be a deserved comeuppance in the public eye. And, frankly, seeing Paris in an orange prison jumpsuit is something the public wants as much as the details of her utlra-jet-set party lifestyle.
Posted by icorsa at 11:16 PM
May 03, 2007
Shilpa Shetty Plans a Chain of Curry Houses
"Controversial" Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is taking advantage of her sudden global fame to start a restaurant chain. Since she garnered worldwide attention as a result of winning "Big Brother" UK (and the racial-abuse scandal that preceded it) and her public kiss of American film star Richard Gere in India, Shetty is under a bigger media glare than ever. She's tasty fodder for the tabloids, taking a lesson from the Paris Hilton playbook on va-jay-jay exposure. And she's the subject of a criminal inquiry in India for her snog with Gere. So what does a transglobal Indian movie star do? Open a chain of curry houses, naturally. The flagship "Shilpa Shetty Dining Hall" restraurant will open in central London, we presume, later this year. Curry, like Shilpa Shetty herself at the moment, is hot!
Photo by Bahl Sonu / SantaBanta.com. Used under Creative Commons license.
Posted by Supercore at 11:19 PM
May 02, 2007
An Interview with Bjork
The Icelandic songstress Bjork gives an interview to the New York Times about her new album. Bjork is a fascinating artist, but her recent output, including the new album "Volta" haven't been received by her fans or public as positively as her body fo work from the 1990's. We've seen a Bjork a few times, once playing a live a set on stage at the Fuji Rock Festival in Tokyo way back in 1998 -- her performance was stellar. (We also ran into her in a cafe in NYC a couple of years ago, but that's another story.) Can a musician who's CDs leave listeners scratching their heads redeem themselves as live performers? Yes, it's possible.
Posted by Supercore at 12:23 AM
April 30, 2007
Juicy Celebrity Gossip Links ...
Courtney Love to Sell Late Nirvana Singer Kurt Cobain's Pajamas ...
Lindsay Lohan Addicted to "Shopping and Sex" ...
Prince Allegedly Humiliates Paris Hilton at Las Vegas Concert ...
Britney Spears Wears See-Through Outfit ...
K-Fed Allegedly Drove Britney Spears to Brink of Suicide ...
Former "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham and Her Nipples Hit LA with See-Through Top ...
Alec Baldwin Rumored to Write Book Bashing Ex-Wife Kim Basinger ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:21 PM
Snoop Dogg Denied Entry Visa to Australia for MTV Awards ...
First the United Kingdowm rejected him when he toured Europe with Diddy. Now Australia too has denied an entry visa to Snoop Dogg. The D-O-Double-Gizzle was trying to make his way Down Under for the MTV Awards, but the grandaddy of gangsta' rap won't be attending since the "Lucky Country" won't let him in due to his attempt to "cover up" his history of criminal convictions in the United States. Snoop Dogg may have "paid tha' cost to be the boss," as it were, but it appears no amount of cash nor hip-hop cred can get him to Oz.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
April 24, 2007
Video: "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse ...
We can't get enough of this song right now. Amy Winehouse definitely has that special sumthin' sumthin'. What a voice!
Posted by Supercore at 01:48 AM
April 23, 2007
Video: A Bjork Performance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) ...
Posted by Supercore at 01:45 AM
April 18, 2007
Celebrity Gossip Linkage to Get Ya' Through the Week, Kidzzz ...
Lindsay Lohan Talks About Rehab ... Says She's Not "An Addict" ...
Paris Hilton Violates Her Probation ...
Britney Spears Fires Her Manager, Faces Possible Lawsuit ...
Britney Spears Blames Paris Hilton for Recent Downward Spiral ...
Sanjaya Malakar Gets Voted Off American Idol ... There is a God After All ...
Baby Phat Queen Kimora Lee Simmons to Get Her Own Reality TV Show ...
Posted by Supercore at 11:45 PM
April 16, 2007
The End of Tonic - The Best Experimental Music Venue of All Time
Tonic, our favorite live-music performance space ever, has closed its doors in the Lower East Side of New York City. The venue was special in part because of the variety of music artists who performed there and because it was one of the few places in NYC to see experimental music. It was a home for many avant-garde and contemporary experimental jazz musicians. An official farewell is on the Tonic website. The club is closing due to the rent increases that have forced may a small business to close in the now ultra-hip Lower East Side, where the pace of gentrification has been mind-blowingly swift and driven real estate prices and rents sky high. A New York Times article published Monday provides the full back story. Over the past few years, we've seen acts as diverse as Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon, John Zorn, Menlo Park, Morricone Youth, Japanther, Arto Lindsay, Yoko Ono, Vincent Gallo, Damon and Naomi, many a Japanese noise band, various incarnations of bands involving various members of Sonic Youth, and more.
Photo courtesy GlobalGraphica.com
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
April 02, 2007
Celebrity Gossip Linkage to Kick Off the Week ...
Anna Nicole Smith's Partner Howard Stern Gives Up Effort to Stop DNA Paternity Test ...
Creator of Life-Size , Naked Choclate Jesus Looks for New Home for His Confection ...
Usher to Get Married to Long-Time Girlfriend ...
Black Eye Peas Singer Fergie Reveals Lesbian Past ...
Sanjaya Markala and the American Idol Scandal in the Making ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:16 PM
March 31, 2007
U.K. Doesn't Like Snoop Dogg
Poor Snoop Dogg can't enter the United Kingdom to save his life. The hip-hop icon was again denied a visa to enter and perform in the U.K. and has had to cancel scheduled concert performances in the country with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. The rap stars are currently on a joint European tour that's already proven costly due to the enormous entourage expenses alone. Snoop Dogg's trouble with immigration authorities in the U.K. date back to a few years ago when members of his group were involved in a brawl at a British airport.
Posted by Supercore at 12:01 PM
March 29, 2007
Dolce & Gabbana Motorola RAZR Phone for Japan
Japanese fashionistas will soon be able to get their Ghetto-fab cell phone bling on when NTT DoCoMo releases a limited edition gold Motorola RAZR phone branded with the "D&G" of Italian design duo Dolce and Gabbana. The phone was jointly "developed" by D&G, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo. Dolce and Gabbana themselves created four ringtones that are unique to the phone. The device is offically called the M702iS DOLCE & GABBANA and will sell for about US $800.00. The Italian label also designed the carrying case for the phone, which will have a D&G-branded screen. Hmm ... no thank you.
Posted by Supercore at 11:11 PM
March 28, 2007
Giant Madonna in H&M Mural in New York
From the Global Graphica file ... there's a bunch recent photos of a new, massive mural being painted in Soho, New York City, that features Madonna in an ad for the H&M clothing store chain.
Posted by Supercore at 12:40 PM
March 27, 2007
Bicycle Polo in New York City
Bike messengers, bicycle enthusiasts and hipsters converge at a park in the Lower East Side of New York City for some urban, two-wheel polo. The game originated in Ireland. If you love traditional polo but can't afford a stable of horse, bike polo may be the next best thing. This realtively obscure sport has its own association, the BPAA, in the U.S. and its own cup competition.
Posted by Supercore at 11:42 PM
March 26, 2007
Naomi Campbell's Be-All-End-All Fabulousness
In her week of community service, sweeping floors in her own glamorous style at the Department of Sanitation in New York City, supermodel
Naomi Campbell proves she is the living embodiment of the fashion world that made her rich and famous. Campbell was sentenced to community service by the court as punishment for an assault on her maid -- the supermodel threw her cell phone at the maid in a fit of rage.
Posted by Supercore at 09:49 PM
March 25, 2007
Mouth-Watering Celebrity Gossip News Linkage ...
Autopsy Results for Annna Nicole Smith to be Released ...
Report of Prince Harry Drunkenly Assaulting Photographer Outside London Club ...
Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy's European Tour Losing Money Due to Costs of Rappers' Massive Entourages ...
Mel Gibson Blasts Expletive at University Professor Regarding Film "Apocalypto" ...
Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan Have Another Bitch-Slappy Face-Off ...
Amy Winehouse Champions Fellow Rehabbber Lindsay Lohan ...
Is Paris Hilton's Boyfriend Stavros Niarchos Cheating on the Hotel Heiress?
Britney Spears Out of Rehab ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 09:01 PM
March 23, 2007
Sneakers From Brazilian Designers OEStudio
These strikingly urbane kicks by Brazilian designers OEStudio are an innovative reconcept on the look and feel of the sneaker, something we're seeing more and more of these days when the variety and volume of sporty foootwear designs and models seems inifinite.
Posted by Supercore at 10:33 PM
March 18, 2007
Sick Kicks: Adidas Adi Color Winner
This is one of the sickest Adidas sneaker designs on the planet right now. The graphical design on this shoe is inspired by a classic Japanese woodblock print -- or ukiyo-e -- called "The Great Wave" by Hokusai. Give Adidas extra points for the high-top form factor on this "Adi Color" series model known as the "Winner." These torquoise-chalk trainers will set headz back a mere U.S. $550.00 from Fight Club New York. (Yup, there that special.)
Posted by Supercore at 01:41 PM
Minimalist "Muji" Brings Japanese Design to New York
Hot damn! Japanese lifestyle-goods chain Mujirushi Ryohin, or "Muji," will open it's first U.S. store this fall in New York City. We're pretty excited about this, being big fans of Muji for a many years.
Over the past decade, we've been buying Muji's minimalist furiniture, clothes, stationary and household goods on visits to Japan, Paris, and London (where Muji opened it's first shop outside of Japan back in the arly 1990s).
For the past couple of years, Muji has been selling a limited line of products in the U.S. through the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) Stores in New Yok City, where they've become something of a cult hit. Prior to MoMA, if you wanted your Muji you had to either go overseas or hunt the stuff down in small boutiques where "unoffically" imported merch (bought by small shop owners at retail prices in Japan and smuggled into the U.S.) could be found for sale at massive mark-up).
The first store in America will be located in the new New York Times Building, which was designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. Mujirushi Ryohin at Time Square will be the company's U.S. flagship shop.
Posted by Supercore at 12:39 PM
Celebrity Gossip Round-Up ...
Black Eyed Peas Singer Fergie Kicked Off U.K. Plane for Being Too Drunk ...
Anna Nicole Smith's List of Prescribed Drigs Revealed ...
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are Freinds Again ... Ahh ...
Britney Spears on Coca-Cola-Guzzling Binge in Rehab ...
Lindsay Lohan Out of Rehab and Back on NYC Party Circuit ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 05:50 AM
Street Art from Neckface in New York City
From the Global Graphica site ... fresh street art from NYC, including new images of works from Neckface on the Lower East Side of New York City. Rock it.
Posted by Supercore at 01:07 AM
March 14, 2007
Appetizing Celebrity Gossip Linkage for the Mid-Week ...
Angelina Jolie Adopts Another Kid, This Time From Orphanage in Vietnam
Paris Hilton Puts her Nipples in Public View Yet Again
Britney Spears in Rehab Romance Fling
Photographer Larry Birkhead Demands DNA Test to Determine Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter ...
Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell Ward Words Heats Up Again ...
Jessica Simpson and John Mayer Have Romantic Italian Vacation
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:32 PM
March 13, 2007
The Designs of Thomas Heatherwick
The work of British designer Thomas Heatherwick relies heavily on engineering and sculptural aesthetics. Heatherwick's creations - a seaside cafe, a canal bridge, and landscape pieces - are mainly works of architecture, but ones sometimes mistaken for art, and there's an argument that some of it is. Sitooterie II (pictured above) is a mysterious and striking object that sits in the English countryside like a giant alien landmark.
Posted by Supercore at 07:44 AM
March 12, 2007
Sweet 'n Savory Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
The "300" Rakes in $70 Million at Opening Weekend Box office -- That's a helluva lot of souvlaki ...
Did Paris Hilton Get a Boob job?
Hilary Duff Dumps More Hate on Paris Hilton ...
Joes Simpson Says Daughters Jessica and Ashlee Will Never "End up in Rehab" ... Oh, Really?
Madonna to Appear on Nip/Tuck
The Rehab Diary of Britney Spears
Posted by Thurston Ali at 07:44 AM
March 07, 2007
And Speaking of Naomi Campbell ....
The ex-supermodel has said that she will never have plastic surgery, unless she was disfigured in a "bad accident." Who gives shit? Well, actually, we do enough for a brief comment anyway...
Naomi Campbell is now 36 years old. That's not even within the "coveted" 18-34 years-old target marketing demographic that advertising wankers are always babbling on about. And Campbell hardly trades in the kind of runway and photo work she used. She is becoming increasingly irrelevant as a media and fashion commodity.
But it doesn't matter -- she looks fucking great! She shouldn't being even thinking about whether or not she needs plastic surgery. Her looks are fine as they are, especially for her age. It's Campbell's personality that needs plastic surgery, not her face and body. She's got to do something about that wicked temper of hers.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:03 PM
March 06, 2007
Naomi Campbell Punished for Cell Phone-Throwin' Rage
Notoriously tempermental super model (or should we say "ex-super model"?) Naomi Campbell has been punished for throwing a cell phone at her maid. To pay for her crime, Campbell will be doing a stint of community service, mopping up floors at a New York City Sanitation Department warehouse on the Lower East Side. (Welcome to hood, Naomi!) One piece of advice, Ms. Campbell: Leave your cell phone at home.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 07:05 AM
March 04, 2007
Rosemary Goes to The Mall
Video and installation artist Rosemary Williams says she had an anxiety attack the first time she visited the famously gargantuan Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an art project and means to deal with her personal mall-shopping issues, Williams created the "Wall of the Mall," an installation made of shopping bags from store in the MOA. She also a produced a podcast series documenting the project, to which the Rosemary Goes to the Mall website is devoted.
The weekly Consumed column by Rob Walker in this week's Sunday new York Times Magazine explores William's project and the phenomenon of the Mall of America as a place that has transcended being just a place to buy stuff to being a tourist attraction in and of itself, comeplte with souvenirs shops and t-shirts.
Posted by Supercore at 01:38 PM
February 28, 2007
Video: Graffiti Writers on Venice Beach
Cool clip of a group of graf writers working on massive pieces in Venice Beach, in Los Angeles.
Posted by Supercore at 11:06 PM
February 22, 2007
Shepard Fairey's Paste-Ups at 11 Spring St., New York City
Over on Global Graphica we've posted a bunch of images from the recent street art exhibition at 11 Spring Street in New York City. Included are these images of massive art works by Shephard Fairey of "Obey/Giant Has a Posse" fame. Good stuff. Check it out, y'all.
Posted by Supercore at 11:47 PM
February 20, 2007
The Mixtape Dilemma of DJ Drama, the Aphilliates and the Hip Hop Music Business
Another great, illuminating article in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine was about the recent bust of mixtape megastar DJ Drama and his posse of DJs and mixtape entrepeneurs, lncluding Djs Sense and Cannon. Drama who is one of hip-hop's most influential tastemakers is perhaps better known to the wider public for his work with rap star Lil' Wayne. His Atlanta studio was raided in January because of his alleged music piracy, mostly in the form of mixtape CDs containing unlicensed music and samples by other artists. The irony is that the bust was aided in part by the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents many of the same recording labels for whom DJ Drama is unofficially contracted by to manufacture mixtapes to promote its signed roster of hip-hop artists.
Posted by Supercore at 11:20 PM
The Coolest Human Beatbox Shtick Ever
From the Kitchen Diaries viral clips collection on British video Website Fame Game. Absolutely funny. And super awesome!
Merci beaucoup to the one, the only, Jess E. for the tip!
Posted by Supercore at 11:12 PM
February 19, 2007
Speed Racer Intro
Speaking of the Toyota "Speed Racer" homage on this past weekend's New York Time Magazine cover, here's a video of the intro to the American version of the Japanese anime series.
Posted by Supercore at 11:08 PM
New York Times Mag's "Speed Racer" Cover
Yesterday's New York Times Magazine ran a massive article on Japanese automaking giant Toyota and how the company has surprassed General Motors as the world's largest producer of cars. The magazine's cover touted the feature with an eye-catching piece of illustration. The cover art shows a salaryman in white suit posing in front of a recent model Toyota. The pose and composition of the image is a direct reference to the iconic still frame shown in the intro of every episode of television anime classic "Speed Racer," known in Japanese as Mach Go Go Go.
Posted by Supercore at 10:49 PM
February 18, 2007
Delectable Celebrity Gossip Linkage for Your Utlra Awesome President's Day Weekend ...
Actor Hugh Grant Splits with Girlfriend Jemima Khan
Anna Nicole Smith is Embalmed
Qantas Hostess Admits to Sex with Actor Ralph Fiennes in Airplane Toilet
Hip-Hop Raptress Foxy Brown Arrested for Assault in Florida
Paris Hilton Bored at Vienna Opera
Nicky Hilton Sued Over Her Hotel Project Fiasco
Recap of the Recent Developments in the Britney Spears Train Wreck
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:24 PM
February 17, 2007
Video: Britney Spears with Shaved Head
Oh, yeah, people, this is television "news." Oy vay!
Posted by Thurston Ali at 04:05 PM
Britney Spears Shaves Head ...
The news that Britney Spears has shaved her head was totally unexpected. The media and those people close to Britney have been suggesting that the pop singer is in the middle of a massive mental implosion, the high-voltage nervous breakdown that many have sensed was coming. Who's to blame for hurtling Ms. Spears towards a perceived meltdown? Paris Hilton? K-Fed? The paparazzi? Oh, the gossip rags are going to have a field day. Between Anna Nicole Smith and Britney, the celebrity-obsessed press is already having a great 2007!
Posted by Thurston Ali at 10:40 AM
February 16, 2007
Rockin' the Denim from "For All Mankind"
We tapped into the Air Massive Premium Denim Fund (PMF) last week and bought a pair of jeans by Seven For All Mankind. We'd been eyeing these for a while, admiring the denim, the stitching, the cut. We tried them not once, but twice, to be extra sure. Our as colleague D.J. explained, finding pair that fit well is the hardest part about shopping for jeans. Due to the financial constraints of PMF, we have to conduct careful denim research before dipping into the fund. The Standard "Brown Munich" jean by For All Mankind is neither brown (it's a deep, dark indigo) nor made in Munich, but it fits extremely well. We deemed it, ahem, fit for purchase and shelled out for a pair. We absolutley love these jeans! The PMF is now depleted, but we've got the rockingest pair of jeans in wardrobe ever.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
Going to the Archive: Top 6 Fave Hip Hop Artist Names ...
1. Chamillionaire - If Donald Trump where a a chameleon and a rapper, he would be called "Chamillionaire."
2. Lil' Scrappy - Who knew? Scooby Doo's little nephew likes to get jiggy with it.
3. Common - Being extraordinary is so overrated.
4. Ghostface Killah - Ghost face, poker face--it's all the same when you're a "killah."
5. Chingy - Cuz it's right thurrr!
"
6. Ol' Dirty Bastard - What can ya' say? ... The name speaks for itself. RIP, ODB. Peace!
Posted by Supercore at 07:23 AM
February 14, 2007
Video: Anti-Advertising by Graffiti Research Lab
Posted this on sister site Global Graphica ...
The folks at the ever ingenious and creative Graffiti Research Lab have made a clip of their recent anti-advertising campaign. The guerilla effort exploits video panels that display commercials outside subway entrances around New York City. The point is that the thousands of marketing messages we are exposed to on a daily basis is the true graf problem urban dwellers face.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
February 12, 2007
"Save Boston" Game Lets Players Smoke Out the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Lite-Brite Mooninites
Somebody has developed a quickie Flash game on the Web making fun of Boston and Bostonians and the whole recent brouhaha over the guerilla ad campaign involving LED light boards to promote the television show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The light boards were mistaken for bombs, and the security response to the supposed terror threat cost the city millions of dollars. Anyway, the silly game is called "Save Boston." It's a whack-a-mole type of amusement that will provide minutes of senseless entertainment on your PC when you should be working.
Posted by Supercore at 11:59 PM
Sweet 'n Sour Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
Anna Nicole Smith Was Planning a Wedding
John Mayer Replies in Japanese When Asked About Jessica Simpson
Ex-Britney Spears Boyfriend Iassac Cohen Kisses and Tells
Paris Hilton's Gal Pal Kim Kardashian to Sue Over Her Sex Tape
Paris Hilton Demands $500K to Appear on British Talk Show
Lindsay Lohan "Loves" Life in Rehab
Mandy Moore Self-Conscious Doing Partial-Nude Scenes
David Beckham's Bodyguards Denied Visas for USA
Kate Moss and Babyshambles Singer Pete Doherty Have Split Up Again, Maybe
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:38 PM
Going to the Archive: 2006 Xmas - Hanukkah Wish List (in Progress) ...
1. Apple iPod Nano - It's sleek, it's sexy, it fits in your shirt pocket.
2. Palm One Treo 700p -The latest Treo with the best form factor and full QWERTY keyboard yet.
3. X-Box 360 - Amazing screen resolution. Wow! Microsoft got it right. Now if only they could do something about the quality of Windows.
Posted by Supercore at 01:30 AM
Going to the Archive: Our Top 3 Favorite Cell Phone Ring Tones at the Massive...
1. "Old Phone" on a Cingular Sony Ericsson T616 cell phone.
2. "Star Wars" Theme on a Verizon Kyocera 3035 cell phone.
3. "Milkshake" by Kelis on a brand-spankin' new T-Mobile Nokia 3595 cell phone.
Posted by Supercore at 01:28 AM
February 10, 2007
Crazy Delicious Celebrity Gossip for Your Crazy Delicious Weekend ...
Anna Nicole Smith Paternity Suite Gets Even More Complicated - 3 Men Claim to Be Father of Her Daughter
Sacha Baron Cohen Will Make Borat Movie Sequel?
Gus Van Sant Sentenced for DUI
American Idol Contestant Akron Watson Kicked Off Show
Paris Hilton Buys Edible Bikini for Valentine's Day
Kim Kardashian Sex Tape Revealed
Nicole Richie "Afraid of Prison"
Lindsay Lohan Buys Marilyn Monroe's Apartment
Posted by Thurston Ali at 10:31 AM
February 09, 2007
The Shocking, Mysterious Death of Anna Nicole Smith
This is a shocker. We're no fans of Anna Nicole Smith and deplore much of what she represents, but her sudden death in a Florida hotel room is tragic and sad. The latest reports suggest drug use on Smith's part may have been the cause of death. Like or loathe here, Anna Nicole was an icon.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 08:45 AM
February 08, 2007
Video: Music by 8-Bit Band Anamanaguchi
Anamanaguchi are one of a dzoen or so bands who make up the nascent 8-bit music scene. In 8-bit, musicians use 8-bit electronic equipment -- old computer, Nintendo GameBoys, whatever from the prehistoric age of basic computing -- to create a sound palette. Anamanguchi run traditional instrument through sequencers and filters to pump out the blippy and bleepy 8-bit sound.
(Domo arigato to Chris for the tip.)
Posted by Supercore at 07:48 AM
February 05, 2007
Monday Gossip Linkage ... Yum Yum!
Paris Hilton Shuts Down Website Selling Her Personal Info and Junk
Actor Ryan O'Neal Arrested After Allegedly Assaulting Son, Shooting Gun
Newsweek Contemplates the Influence of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears on Girls
Beyonce Knowles Voted Most-Desirable Fantasy Girlfriend in Ask.com Poll
Chinese Actress Gong Li Rated More Desirable Than Zhang Ziyi in Ask.com Poll
Kevin "K-Fed" Federline Says He's Sorry About Ad to Food Workers
Compiled by Thurston Ali
Posted by Supercore at 08:30 AM
Without Pockets Graphical Tees Contest
They come from the land Down Under. They're awesome graphical t-shirts for sale on the Web from Without Pockets, which runs an online design contest. Oh, boy ... time to pull out our credit card.
Posted by Supercore at 08:10 AM
February 02, 2007
Fresh Super Awesomely Delicious Celebrity Gossip Linkage for Your Friday Reading Pleasure ...
"Girls Gone Wild" Impressario Joe Francis Claims Paris Hilton is Better in the Sack Than Linday Lohan, Tara Reid and Kimberly Stewart!
Lindsay Lohan Text Messages Pal from Rehab to Say She WANTS burgers and sex.
Miss USA Confesses to Cocaine Use ... Uh, yeah, no kidding!
Jessica Simpson Botches Lyrics to Boyfriend John Mayer's Song at Concert
Nicole Richie May Go to Jail
Mandy Moore Afraid of Dating
Rosie O' Donnell Rants Get Reviewed
Posted by Thurston Ali at 08:29 AM
January 22, 2007
Cool New Volkswagen German VW Phaeton Commercial
Who knew hand-shadow puppetry could be so modern? Super liquid-awesomely cool. Whatever you may think of the Volkswagen cars (or how well-made or not the cars actually are), the coomercials of VW have always been a cut above.
Posted by Supercore at 12:42 AM
January 18, 2007
Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay!!!
Wow! Like this is a shocker. Everybody could see this coming from a million light years away. Yup, kidzzz, Actress, singer, celebutante Lindsay Lohan has official checked into rehab for alcoholism in West hollywood. Looks like Paris Hilton has lost one of her best frenemies of all time. Now, if only there was a rehab program available for pop singers who like to party pantyless and flash their va-jay-jay all about town (yes, we mean you, Britney Spears!).
Posted by Thurston Ali at 09:44 AM
January 17, 2007
In Japan: Graffiti and Street Art in Osaka ...
Over on the Global Graphica website, we've got a whole bunch of new images showing graf, street art and mor from Osaka, Japan. The graf in the picture above is in a fenced-off area in the Kita-Horie neighborhood of Osaka. (Photo Courtesy of Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa Photo. All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 04:04 AM
In Japan: Flipping Through Recent Issue of "Studio Voice" ...
Studio Voice is a Japanese magazine devoted to design and style. The monthly mag is a must-read for Japanese designers and has something of a cult readership among global design creatives working in advertising, interactive media, the graphic arts and fashion. Though we can't read all the Japanese articles, flipping through the pages and absorbing the gorgeous graphics and layouts is enough to tell us Studio Voice is quality.
Posted by Supercore at 03:55 AM
January 10, 2007
The Apple iPhone -- We Want One!
It's here .... it's finally here. Well, almost. The much talked- and speculated-about Apple iPhone was announced at MacWorld by Steve Jobs during his keynote speech. Wow! Wow! Wow! It's a stunner of design. The new phone will be like a video iPod, cell phone and small computer/PDA all rolled up into one. The first phone will be available from Cingular in June. Now, the question is how much of what we're being shown is a reality in terms of what will actually be a functional phone. And will it be buggy? Will it be durable? Nobody is getting a chance to give the device a full test battering yet. We'll have to wait and see. But for now ... yes, we're in love.
Posted by Supercore at 12:16 AM
January 04, 2007
"Cocaine Rap" and The Rise of Young Jeezy and Clipse
In his recent New Yorker magazine article titled "Coke Is It," Sasha Frere-Jones puts in another stellar pop music piece. This time he looks at hip-hop artists Young Jeezy and the duo Clipse. Young Jeezy and Clipse repesent the epitome of so-called "cocaine rap," a style of hip-hop lyricism that's focused on the cocaine culture. Both artists claim real-life experience dealing coke. From the sounds of it, the Bolivian marching powder is still a big part of their lifestyles. According to Jones, while coke has always been around in the music business, it's now making something a comeback.
Posted by Supercore at 10:46 AM
December 19, 2006
MissBehave Magazine Rocks It!
Though we're probably not as a group part of the target demographic, MissBehave magazine has seriously left an impression on us. The new Brooklyn-based "girls" lifestyle mag reads and looks like an editorial DNA-mashup of Mass Appeal, Nylon, and Tokion, but with more of the streetyness and flava' of Mass Appeal. The magazine design is gorgeous, vibrant, fresh and sick. The second issue features the delicious British poptress Lily Allen on the cover and it's a prize. Check it. Rock it. Love it. Be it.
Posted by Supercore at 11:42 PM
December 15, 2006
The Emerging Hip-Hop Scene in Cuba
Cuba has an emerging hip-hop music scene. (Who knew? ) Music has always been a big part of Cuban culture and life. It's great to read that new forms are getting mixed into the country's music traditions and that hip-hop conventions are being refracted through yet another cultural prism to create something unique.
Posted by Supercore at 01:32 AM
December 14, 2006
The Last Stand of Street-Art Landmark 11 Spring Street
The building at 11 Spring Street in downtown New York City has been a landmark and mecca for ephemeral street art, attracting artists from around the world. The mysterious building, also known as the "Candle Building," appeared uninhabited for many years, during which time wheat-paste posters, installation art and graffiti went up, went down, got covered over or faded away in an ever-unfolding ebb and flow of street-level expression. The building was recently purchased by a group of developers who will turn the building into luxury condos. Sensitive to the artistic significance of the building, the new owners have worked with the global street-art massive to to organize one last exhibition of art on the exterior and interior of the building before the rennovation crew come and start re-developing the structure.
Posted by Supercore at 02:31 AM
December 13, 2006
The Year in Ideas
In our opinion, it's the most interesting and stimulating annual issue of any magazine in the English-publishing world. It's the New York Times Magazine "The Year in Ideas." Some of the many ideas explored in this issue that got our attention include "Trash-talk Exegesis," "Jujitsu Advertising," "Digital Maoism," and "For-Profit Philanthropy." Kudos, NYTM, for another great issue.
Posted by Supercore at 01:33 AM
December 12, 2006
Say Cheese, Nicole Richie!
Nicole, honey, damn you look hot even in a mug shot. Sorry to hear about being busted for driving under the influence by the CHiPs in Glendale, CA. But, hey, that's what happens when you take Vicodin on an empty stomach while (allegedly) high and/or intoxicated and then get behind the wheel. (Oops! Did we just say "empty stomach." We realize you have some weight "issues." Tsk tsk, our bad. You see, Nicole, that you hadn't eaten anything substantial in the previous 24 hours was just an assumption on our part.) But back to the matter at hand. You know what also happens when you drive while (allegedly) high and/or intoxicated? You drive onto the freeway in the wrong direction and get pulled over by an Erik Estrada wannabe. (Just kidding ... nobody wants to be Erik Estrada.) Anyhoo, maybe you need glasses? Still, we love ya' just the same as before, after all, you're the funny, "clever" one on the Simple Life, and you've a much more sophisticated and iconic style than that slut puppet Paris Hilton. So kick it to the curb, Nicole. You'll beat the DUI rap, even if it means 300 hours of community service (translation: 300 hours picking up litter with the hoi poloiin Griffith Park).
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:59 AM
December 08, 2006
Deluxe Dose of Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn Split Up! Vaughniston is Over! Vaughnifer Kaput!
Britney Spears Explains Her Panties-Less Party Streak
Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z Say They're NOT Getting Married This Weekend
Heather Mills "Humiliated" at U.K. Airport
Lindsay Lohan and Her Bizarre Crackberry Email Missive
Paris Hilton Denies Rumors of Sexcapade with Britney Spears
Jessica Simpson Blows Kennnedy Center Song Performance
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:16 AM
Bookslut's Best Book Covers of 2006 List
We love great book covers. It's amazing sometimes just how effective a good book cover can be. When the jacket design can grab your attention from across a room and make you pick up a book, especially one that you eventually purchase, that's a testament to the power of design. Over at literary blog Bookslut, there's a list of the best book covers of 2006. There are a few books not included that we would have expected to have seen, but overall it's a pretty good list.
Posted by Supercore at 01:10 AM
December 05, 2006
Fresh Street Art in New York City
From the Global Graphica file this week ... an assortment of fresh wheat-paste street art at 11 Spring St. in downtown New York City. (Photo Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa -- All rights reserved.)
Posted by Supercore at 02:58 AM
More Yummy Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
Rumor of Lindsay Lohan Attending AA Confirmed
No Jail for Babyshambles Frontman / Kate Moss Boy-Toy Pete Doherty, But Singer Fined for Drugs ... Again!!!
George Clooney's Pet Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig Dies ... Sniff, Sniff ...
Paris Hilton Bails on Billboard Music Awards Appearance
Tori Spelling to Write Memoir ... Yaaaaawn!
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:38 AM
December 01, 2006
Funny Japanese Packaging for Frito-Lay Doritos
This has to be one of the all-time greats when it comes to amusing Japanese product packaging. The design for this variation of the "Doritos" bag is ball-bustingly funny. The chips here are touted as having a spicy "black pepper and salt flavor," which, we presume, requires the consumer to have a big pair of cajones. Love it.
Posted by Supercore at 02:57 AM
Lipsmack Ya'! Spicy Celebrity Gossip to Round Out the Week ... Oh, It's Been Too Long ...
Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson File for Divorce ...
... And Borat is To Blame for Kid Rock and Pamela's Split
... But Actually Kid Rock Was Fed Up with Pamela's Party-Girl Ways
... and Yet Borat's Cultural Icon Status Even Greater After Kid Rock-Pamela Divorce
Britney Spears on Panties-less Party Spree in L.A. and NYC ...
Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are New Best Party Pals ...
Lindsay Lohan Reportedly in Alcoholic Rehab ...
Jessica Simpson's Chewing Gum on Sale on eBay ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:29 AM
November 21, 2006
Video: "Kick, Push" by Lupe Fiasco
Lovin' the Lupe Fiasco CD "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor," especially the tune "Kick, Push" and its music video. Rad skateboard moves, ill rhymes.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 03:02 AM
November 20, 2006
Yummilicious Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
TomKat Ceremoniously Get Married in Italian Castle ...
The Fashion Breakdown on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' Wedding ...
Rapper The Game Arrested for Impersonation of Cop ...
Former SNL Cast Member Tina Fey Dishes on Paris Hilton ...
Paris Hilton Allegedly Called Jessica Simpson "Fat"
Lindsay Lohan "Snubs" Actress Keira Knightly at London Bash ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 01:41 AM
November 19, 2006
Turning "Obsessive Consumption" Into Art
In a fascinating, multi-layered twist on illustrating how art meets commerce, "Obsessive Consumption" is an art project inspired by the artist's monthly credit card statements -- actual paintings of her mailed Chase-logoed, computer-spewed statements. The artwork is for sale, naturally, on the Internet, and Obsessive Consumption has become something of an art-cult brand.
Posted by Supercore at 04:39 AM
November 16, 2006
Video: Street Artist "Cheeky" at Work in NYC
The street artist Cheeky was puting the finishing touches on a big piece he put up last night at that famous 11 Spring St. building in downtown New York City. The new work was put up in a massive new wave of street art going up on the building this past weekend.
Posted by Supercore at 12:21 AM
November 15, 2006
Tasty Celeb Gossip Linkage for the Mid-Week ...
Supermodel Naomi Campbell Tries to Plea-Bargain Her Way Out of Jail Sentence ...
Porn Producer Offered Alleged Sex Tape of Britney Spears and K-Fed ...
Tom Cruise Reportedly Too Fat to Fit INto His Wedding Suite ...
Nicole Richie Denies Talk of gastric-Bypass Surgery ...
Paris Hilton Goes Out on Date in London ...
The What Made Lindsay Lohan Call Paris Hilton the C-Word ...
The OC's Mischa Barton "Tired" of Being Skinny ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 11:59 PM
Japanese Versions of Those Clever Apple Mac Vs. PC Television Commercials
Now this is what we call being in control of your brand. For the Japanese market, Apple Computer has rolled out a television ad campaign based on the same 30-second concept the company deployed in the U.S. Like the ads broadcast in America, the Japanese commercials (or "CM's," as our friends in the Tokyo ad world call them) feature two men chatting with each other in front of a white backdrop. One man is a stiff, buttoned-up, businessy salaryman who represents a PC (presumably a Windows-based machine). The other guy is a relaxed, casually hip and slightly smug twenty-something. The commercials are doppelgangers of the U.S. spots, except that the actors are Japanese and naturally speak in their native tongue. The music is the same, as are the themes -- how Macs are easy to use, relatively immune to viruses, and so on. Even if you don't understand Japanese, they're fun to watch.
Posted by Supercore at 11:30 PM
November 12, 2006
Delectable Celebrity Gossip Linkage to Kick-Off the Week ...
BRITNEY SPEARS FOUND K-FED WITH OTHER WOMAN WEEKEND BEFORE DIVORCE
Charlie Sheen-ex Denise Richards Throws Laptop at 91-Year Old Lady ...
Oh, It's On Again: Lindsay Lohan Spits C-word About Paris Hilton ...
Madonna Disses Her Fellow Celebs ...
Snoop Dogg in Trouble with the Law Again ...
Nicole vs Nicole: Nicole Appleton Disses Nicole Richie for Being Too Skinny ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 03:34 PM
The Definition of "Shizzolator"
Just to make gosh-darn sure we're all on the same page with our use of Snoop Dogg-inspired hip-hop patois
here is the definition of "shizzolator," which may differ with some popular, generally accepted interpretations of the term's meaning.
Posted by Supercore at 02:23 PM
November 11, 2006
Yet Another Cool Sony PlayStation 3 TV Commercial
This one is the "eggs" television spot for the soon-to-be-realeased (Nov. 17) Sony PlayStation 3, or PS3. Loving this ad campaign.
Posted by Supercore at 02:44 PM
November 07, 2006
Video: The Workspace "Idea Catcher"
Love what Ethan, a copywriter in New York, has done to his workspace at an advertising agency. With a little help from some colleagues, he's created what has been dubbed the "Idea Catcher," a web of blue tape used to "snag" paper and objects of inspiration. Cool.
Posted by Supercore at 11:01 PM
November 06, 2006
Choice-Cuts Gossip Linkage to Start Off Your Work Week ...
Lindsay Lohan Allegedly Dating Son of Diana Ross ... Baby, baby, baby, baby don't ...
Paris Hilton Would Rather Eat Than Have Sex ...
Nicole Richie Supposedly Stops Rehab for Shopping Spree ...
George Clooney Has the Hots for Cat Deeley, Allegedly ...
Kanye West is a Sore Loser or Prankster at Euro Video Awards Show ...
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:24 AM
Bamboo is the New Black
In this week's "Consumed" column in the New York Times Magazine, Rob Walker looks at how bamboo is becoming known as kind of miracle textile and being used ever more widely by designers and architects. One of the things that makes bamboo attractive is it's eco-freindliness, though in some instances using it when shipped from China might be less environmentally sound than use locally produced lumber. But bamboo's real appeal seems to lie more in its aesthetic and practical qualities.
Posted by Robsam at 12:18 AM
November 01, 2006
The World's Largest Skateboard Mega Ramp ...
Brazilian pro skateboarder Bob Burnquist has built the largest skateboard ramp in the world in the hinterlands of suburban San Diego. It's called a "Mega Ramp." Get this: it's about eight stories tall, 360 yards long and has a 70-foot gap boarders must sail over. Here the video clip that accompanies the New York Times article on the ramp.
Posted by Supercore at 11:06 PM
October 31, 2006
Cool NYC Graffiti and Street Art
More cool New York City graf and street artistry from the Global Graphica file, including a new series of images documenting truck graf and fresh work at 11 Spring Street in downtown Manhattan. (Photo courtesy Ivan Corsa / Global Graphica)
Posted by Supercore at 03:14 AM
Toyota Scion Car Will Be Sold in Second Life
Fo' realzzz, yo ... Japanese carmaker Toyota will soon start to sell digital versions of its popular Scion cars in the online community Second Life (SL). The virtual version of hot box-shaped car will sell for $2.00. The plan to sell the cars in SL came as Toyota's ad agency developed its new marketing campaign for the car, which included advertising and giving away digital Scions in SL. The agency soon realized, however, that people in SL would actually pay to own virtual models. The rest is virtual marketing history.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:03 AM
October 29, 2006
Timeline of Madonna's Quest to Adopt African Baby
Just in case the controversy and ever-changing soap opera-like drama surrounding Madonna and her adoption of a Malawian baby was way too much to absor but simultaneously way too important to ignore, the BBC has a handy interactive, multimedia timeline delineating each micro-event in the ongoing Madonna African baby-adoption saga.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 04:04 AM
Tasty Weekend Celebrity Gossip Linkage ...
Nicole Richie Enters a "Clinic"
Actress Jessica Alba Getting Hot with Boy Toy in the Sea
Kate Moss Chugs Champagne in Her Underwear
Actress Tara Reid Talks About Her Breasts Issues
Ashlee Simpson Has a Bad Hair Day
Posted by Thurston Ali at 03:08 AM
October 26, 2006
The Style of 1993 Lives On in 2006
A New York Times Style Magazine article looks at style trends inspired by the fashions of 1993, when the grunge look emerged from the music underground of Seattle. We're not quite sure we see it. But some of the make-up (or, rather, the lack of make-up) and clothing of the grunge era have become a part of the contemporary style kit. We can't see flannel shirts coming back in a big way anytime soon, but Nirvana's "Nevermind" will always be a part of our MP3 collection.
Posted by Robsam at 11:53 PM
October 24, 2006
Paris Hilton Backlash Vol. 18: Nick Carter Calls Paris Drunken Prude with A Secret Teddy-Bear Stash
Former Backstreet Boy and idle, irrelevent celeb Nick Carter has spoken of that which happens in the grotto, so to speak. Or rather, he's kissing and telling, spilling the beans and dirty dishing on ex-girlfriend Paris Hilton. According to Carter, the Hilton Hotel heiress and celebutante was a herb-burning drunk whose prudish nature in the sack was only overcome with lots of pot and alcohol. Carter has reportedly said that Paris was so addicted to the wacky tobacky that in order to always have it available when traveling overseas, she would stash some in her teddy bear plush toy. And who said she as a total idiot? She may not have class, but she isn't completey stupid.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 09:04 PM
October 23, 2006
The Best Bad Review of Paris Hilton's Music Debut
Leave it to veteran music scribe Aidin Vaziri writing in the San Francisco Chronicle to pen the funniest and best negative review of Paris Hilton's recently released self-titled CD. This is one of the cheekiest and most irreverent pans of an album we've read in a long time. Good one, Aidin.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 07:58 PM
Starbucks "Salon" Brings Culture to the Latte-Set
Satrbucks recently opened a new type of coffee shop called Starbucks Salon. We visited the one in SoHo, New York City, recently and it's a big, impressive, and arty two-floor Starbucks space complete with coffee bar and an added professional performance space and stage. The Seattle-based coffee retailer and chain has been putting and out selling CDs for years and recently entered the movie business. This is the subject ofan interesting New Times article about the "Starbuck's aesthetic." Which makes us wonder about the extent that a business like Starbucks can play a role as arbiter of popular cultural tastes and patron to the arts. For many Starbucks plays a unique role in their lives. It's not only a place to buy and consume coffee but it has become for many people an extension of their living room, den, study or library. The very spaces that we often relax and consume culture in their homes.
Posted by Supercore at 07:38 PM
Celebrity Perfumes Are a Dime a Dozen
The past couple of years have witnessed a sharp rise in the number of new perfumes and colognes being brought to market. As Rob Walker explains in his always illuminating "Consumed" column in the New York Times Magazine, many of the news scents are being launched by celebrities or for some celeb's as a line-extension of their existing clothing label. A lot of new parfums fail and for those branded with a famous actor's or pop singer's name the track record is bad or the popularity of the bottled scent is short-lived.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 07:34 PM
October 19, 2006
Jay Z Gets a Marketing Job for Beer Brand
That's right, homies. Jay Z is taking on another job title, but this time it's for a company of which he owns no part and it's not involved in music, fashion, basketball or vodka. Jay Z, a.k.a. Shaun Carter, is going into advertising and marketing. He's going to become is going to be "co-brand director" for the Budweiser Select beer line at Anheuser-Busch. The company is HQed in St. Louis, which is territory for rapper Nelly and Chingy, so one has to wonder if these guys will feel at all slighted by not being hooked up with one of the great, iconic brands of their hometown, especially 'cause they like it right thurrr.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:39 AM
October 18, 2006
... And the Project Runway 3 Finale Winner is ...
Jeffrey WINS!!! Woo-hoooooooo!!!
Posted by Supercore at 10:57 PM
The Project Runway Finale
It all comes down to four designers showing at Olympus Fashion Week at Bryant Park, New York City. Within the next 15 minutes we'll know who the Project Runway Season 3 winner is. The question is Who will it be: Jeffrey, Michael, Laura, or Ulli. The designers have just shown and are now being critiqued by Heidi Klum and the judges. Some of our thoughts ... So far, we're disappointed with Michael Knight's collection, though there is no doubt he has enormous talent and potential. Ulli's collection was excellent and far more ambitious in terms of her usual range, but it was mostly predictable. Laura's collection is top class and elegant. Jeffrey's clothes are amazing. In terms of originality and craft, we like Laura and Jeffrey for their quality and innovation. We think Laura, Ulli or Jeffrey can win. Michael won't win it, but he's really popular, so who knows. Ulli would sell big -- her style is accessible. Laura is almost too classic and uptown for her own good. Jeffrey is a total original. Our favortie is Jeffrey and we want him to win. Our money is on him. But we're not convinced that he will win. Fingers crossed, kids. Anyway, in the next ten minutes we will know the winner ...
Posted by Supercore at 10:41 PM
October 15, 2006
More New York City Street Art ...
More New York City street art from the Global Graphica file. Heaps of news images, including a new series of paste-up portraits in downtown Manhattan.
Posted by Supercore at 02:20 PM
September 28, 2006
Paris Hilton Backlash Vol. 17: Paris Charged with Drunk Driving
It's now official. Heiress Paris Hilton has been charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and is now a defendent it what will be a formal court process starting with her arraignment in Los Angeles. According to reports, Hilton was charged Tuesday with two misdemeanor counts stemming from her DUI arrest earlier this month. The latest news is that her actual arraignment will be in December after a formal postponement was made by the court.
Hilton could be sentenced to up to six months in prison if found guilty, though we think the chances of that happening are the same as the chances of Ashlee Simpson suddenly not sucking. We speculate that Hilton will get a slap on the wrist, do some community service and -- before you can say "It's Hot" -- she'll be tearing up the streets of West Hollywood again, high on Red Bull and vodka and hunting for the nearest In-and-Out Burger.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 12:14 AM
August 09, 2006
Dude Gets Polo Shirt Logo Tattooed on Chest
Talk about brand loyalty! Some 22-year-old dude in Washington, D.C. chose on a whim to have the Ralph Lauren Polo shirt pony logo tattooed on his left breast, the same spot it appears on an actual Polo shirt. That's original and amusing and a bit clever. But, actually, it's really kind of dumbass, too -- this guy is going to have to live with this polo tat forever. You can check out the Newsweek/MSNBC article and an actual picture of the guy and his tattoo here. This is the kind of stuff that makes over-zealous brand-management and marketing types drool with excitement and drone on and on with all sorts of extraneous blather about the power of brands. Not that we think brands and logos -- and how people use them -- aren't important, powerful, meaningful and interesting. They are. Rather we just dont' think they are to the extent that we have to endure extraneous blather about it ('cause that's just the way we roll, muthafucka'!) ;) Anyway, according to the Newsweek/MSNBC article, tattoo parlors are getting requests for tats of all sorts of brand imagery, including logos for Gucci and Sony PlayStation. Which gets us to thinking: how long is it before companies start paying people (or, not paying them -- get them to do it for free!) to get tattooed with corporate logos and product names as part of their larger marketing campaigns.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 04:04 AM
March 26, 2006
The Exclusivity of Supreme Skateboard Clothing
In Sunday's New York Times Magazine, the Consumed column by Rob Walker looks at the downtown NYC brand and store known as Supreme. The Supreme shop on Lafayette St. in SoHo, in New York City, is the flagship of the clothing maker and retailer. Supreme has opened a store in L.A. and three shops in Japan making it a kind of small but global name in street style. Walker's piece looks at how the brand's success has been, in part, due to its early appeal to a subset of "in-the-know" downtown NYC skateboarders. Its coveted below-the-radar street style, limited edition clothing, sought-after graphic tees, and increasingly expensive prices give the brand and its clothes the cachet of exclusivity on a par with high-fashion couture brands like Chanel.
Posted by Supercore at 10:38 PM
Bathing Ape Gear in Full Effect on Lil Wayne
Rap star Lil Wayne appears dressed head to toe in "A Bathing Ape" (BAPE) gear on the latest cover of hip-hop magazine Vibe. The heavily tatted Houston hip-hop veteran sports the usual array of pink and aqua camoflage-designed gear popularized in Japan by BAPE designer Nigo. Personally, we like the massive BAPE belt buckle Lil Wayne has on. Not everyone can rock a buckle like that. So much BAPE gear on a Vibe mag cover is just further evidence of BAPE's full-on embrace by (or is it "conquering of?") of America's mainstream hip-hop culture. And it's proof that Nigo's brilliant under-the-radar marketing strategy -- like music and style -- plays on a transcultural level.
Posted by Thurston Ali at 02:01 PM
February 23, 2006
Pharrell Miscredited for Early 00's Trucker Hat Fad
A Bathing Ape gets a mention in a Hampton Roads article on Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. / Neptunes / hip-hop fame. Pharrell is from the Norfolk-Virgina Beach area and is heralded as a style-maker in the article, which celebrates his fashion spread in he new issue of GQ mag. The story claims that Pharrell introduced America to the ultra-hip Japanese brand A Bathing Ape, a claim with which we don't exactly concur.
The item also says the rapper-producer was the force behind the trucker hat fashion phenomenom a few years ago. Sorry, but we disagree. That's a style that came from the underground up, from over-educated, under-employed urban hipsters fashioning an iconic white-trash artifact into a new style with an ironic, knowing smile. Sure, by dint of his fame, Pharrell may have helped spread the style after adopting it, but the same could be said for Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton and half the people under the age of 30 living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn between 2001 and 2002.
Actually, Ashton Kutcher probably deserves more cred for spreading the style because many months after the blue-collar mesh-foam baseball cap emerged among the indie kids, Ashton was the first celeb we saw actually wearing truckers hats on TV -- this was when he hosted the series "Punk'd." Apparently, others have made a similar observation.
No dis to Pharrell -- he does have great style and a sense of putting nice things together and looking good. He was one of the first hip-hop stars to champion BAPE, but lets not give the guy too much credit for starting a headwear fad that most of us would rather forget ever came and went.
Posted by Supercore at 11:11 PM
January 01, 2006
Air Massive Graphic T-Shirts Now Available for Sale Online!
The Air Massive graphic tees are here! This first series of four limited edition graphic t-shirts were created by Air Massive and Lower East Side Design NYC and are now being offered for sale online at our web store with Cafe Press, Inc. Check out our fresh "Soho Graffiti Truck" and "Diamond Geezer" graphics tees, or get yourself some Air Massive flava' with our "Cityscape" logo shirt or the "Consuing culture, sppittin' hype" slogan tee!
Essential Linkage
Air Massive Online Store
Soho Graffiti Truck Graphic Tee [Air Massive/Cafe Press]
Posted by Supercore at 06:23 AM
December 21, 2005
Cool T-Shirts by Superstar Japanese Graphic Designer Kenzo Minami
There is a new line tees by superstar Japanese graphics -- and now fashion -- designer Kenzo Minami, an immense talent who honed his chops at Parsons School of Design in New York City before returning to Japan to embark on his career. His design work mostly takes the form of convoluted, often black-and-white graphic collages. Minami has designed for global sneaker brands Adidas, Reebok and Nike. Now he's also designing for himself, under his own name.
Essential Linkage
Posted by Ray Chan at 12:13 AM
December 10, 2005
All We Want is an Incase and DC Shoes Collabo Tech-Skateboard Bag
In the Bathing Ape Massive's continuing series of posts on our holiday gift wish list, our second entry is the versatile and well-designed co-branded Incase / DC Shoes bag. Even though the bag was announced in the summer, we still want one. Incase has been getting a lot of attention for its excellent and stylish laptop bags, thanks in part to placement in Apple Stores throughout the U.S. DC Shoes, of course, is well known for its skateboarding sneakers and gear. The Incase / DC Shoes collabo bag has dimensions, pockets and pouches custom-fitted for size compatibility with the Apple iPod and iPod Mini, as well as both the 15' and 17' Powerbook. But, as they say, that's not all ... the bag is designed to also carry a skateboard (seriously), which is where DC Shoes enters the equation.
Essential Links
Holiday Wish List Item 2: Incase / DC Shoes Bag [Bathing Ape Massive]
Incase Website
DC Shoes Website
Posted by Ray Chan at 03:27 AM
December 05, 2005
Cool IP Phone Designs by Hulger
We've been using Skype so much this past year that we're tempted to permanently disconnect our landline and to rely only on our Treo 650 smartphone and Skype on our laptop for all our phone needs. With the latter in mind, we've got our eyes on a stylish IP phone phone handset than can be jacked into our Apple Powerbook to make those Skype calls feel more like good ol' fashion telephony. The most stylish IP peripheral to hit the market is the Hulger PIP phone. This slim, sexy and colorful series of handsets have a sweet retro-futuristic look to die for.
Essential Links
Posted by Ray Chan at 02:09 AM
February 18, 2005
Japanese "Secret Brand" Designer A Bathing Ape: Exclusive Photos of Newly Opened NYC Store!
In December, A Bathing Ape, the secretive brand of reclusive Japanese designer and tastemaker Nigo-san, opened a store in New York City. The shop is called Busy Work Shop and has hung out its shingle at a newly renovated two-floor space in the heart of SoHo. The space includes a display window filled with a stainless steel conveyor belt (or "kaiten") that moves the latest in A Bathing Ape sneakers in a clockwise circuit of tantalizing rubber-soled freshness. Sister site GlobalGraphica.com has got the exclusive photos of the shop's display, sneakers, and interior and exterior. Check 'em out by following the link after the jump below ...
Related Links
A Bathing Ape Store NYC Photos [Global Graphica]
Posted by typhoon at 10:07 PM
September 01, 2004
P. Diddy Gets Sean John's Bling Bling on an iPod.
Okay, you heard it here: 2004 is the year the iPod became a fashionista cult object. First there was the Gucci iPod case that came out earlier this year. Then there was that outrageaous customized case designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi that can carry 12 iPods. Chanel and Pucci have made iPod cases, as have dozens of smaller independent fashion designers. Then there are all those DIY cases that diehard and style-concious iPod users have made to create personalized music-player couture. And don't forget all the accessories that have been spun out by dozens of little design companies you've never heard of, from chic furniture designers to geeky audio components makers. Do the math: You've got the making of a personal tech device that is as much about style as it is technology.
Now, a ranking member of hip-hop royalty, P Diddy (formerly Puff Daddy or Puffy) has had his name put to a customized diamond-encrusted iPod that brings the bling-bling to the digital music experience. The Apple portable mp3 player is a collabo branded under the HP logo. Called the HP Diamond iPod, the device comes in a black lacquer-like design that sharply contrasts with the current color palette of the classic white iPod and metallic-pastel iPod Mini. Diddy gave the world a look at the player at last Sunday's VMA show in Miami.
P. Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, is a style icon himself and has in the past couple of years developed one of the most acclaimed men's fashion collections to be shown in Europe and New York. In the process Diddy has become the darling of Vogue editor Anna Wintour and the talk of the international fashion press. His clothing label is called Sean John and it is the logo for this brand that is stamped on the HP Diamond iPod.
Music and fashion have gone together for as long anyone can remember, but especially so in an age when a musical artist's style and image--as communicated in music videos--are as important and influential as the music itself.
If you're wondering what an iPod like Diamond might cost, well, let's just say it's very expensive--the device, which was a gift to P. Diddy from HP, contains 120 diamonds. What's more it comes with a customizd matching cradle.
The HP Diamond iPod is sweet and vulgar at the same time. Ghetto-fab and bling-blingy, and yet so utterly, ridiculously and shamelessly luxurious. But it will get people talking. And if people are talking about it, then they're talking about Diddy, and that, in the entertainment business, can only be a good thing. What better way to underscore your image as a fashion and entetainment mogul with inscrutable tastes than to have an mp3 player covered in jewels?
RELATED LINKS
P. Diddy Official Web Site
P. Diddy sports diamond encrusted iPod ... [MacMinute]
Posted by Supercore at 11:02 PM | Comments (3)
August 02, 2004
Underground hipster Brand and Designer "Built By Wendy" Busts Out Best T-Shirts of Summer!
Built By Wendy has always been, first and foremost, an independent clothing label, though the eponymous designer Wendy Mullin received a lot of attention in the mid-90's for her line of cool guitar straps. Her recent clothing collection includes a line of graphic t-shirt designs that are based on the most original concept we've come across in the universe of designer tees.
Mullins' well-made and limited t-shirts and clothes (she creates collections for both men and woman) are sought after and sported by the hipster-celeb-indie-music-style jet set, including downtown indie rock luminaries Sonic Youth and hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys, who sported a Wendy tee design in a recent photo shoot for the cover of Japanese magazine Warp (see above image).
Built By Wendy has always been, first and foremost, an independent clothing label, though the eponymous designer Wendy Mullin received a lot of attention in the mid-90's for her line of cool guitar straps. Her recent clothing collection includes a line of graphic t-shirt designs that are based on the most original concept we've come across in the universe of designer tees.
Mullins' well-made and limited t-shirts and clothes (she creates collections for both men and woman) are sought after and sported by the hipster-celeb-indie-music-style jet set, including downtown indie rock luminaries Sonic Youth and hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys, who sported a Wendy tee design in a recent photo shoot for the cover of Japanese magazine Warp (see above image).
The shirts are silk-screened with illustrated images from popular teen exploitation films, mostly from the 70's and 80's. Or favorite is the design based on the film "Risky Business," which show Rebecca Demornay's sexy, pouty face staring out as a Chicago L train rushes by in the background. Trés cool.
Several designs riff off the 70's movie franchise "The Bad News Bears." Another design is a collection of faces of four bloodied movie characters from four different films, including Adam Baldwin from "My Bodyguard" and Bud Cort from "Harold and Maude."
Mullin's runs a small stylish boutique on one of the quietest, most overlooked and uneventful streets in lower Manhattan, Centre Market Place, behind the old police building and horse stables in the borderland between SoHo, Nolita and Chinatown. Another store is planned for Los Angeles. Meanwhile Wendy is busy designing a special boutique line of clothes for Wrangler jeans, Called Wrangler 47.
--The Kid From Kyoto
RELATED LINKS
Built by Wendy Web Site
Best of NYC [Village Voice]
Beastie Boys Web Site
Posted by at 11:42 AM
June 30, 2004
Taking the Baby Phat Out of Hip-Hop Mogulette Kimora Lee Simmons and Those Magazine Ads
Why is it nobody seems willing to say what they've been secretly thinking for years now: Kimora Lee Simmons is a freak. Perhaps it's the modelling pedigree and the years spent wearing Karl Lagerfeld's legendary couture. That and the jolting image of her mind-bogglingly slim figure, which, if you've only seen recent tabloid photos of her from the neck up, comes as a surprise because her puffed out face and big hair suggest a body of, let's say, wider girth.
Her pro-basketall-player height (6'4") further suggests that Kimora is a classic "Amazon women" all the way. (Ed. note: We think Amazons are super-cool.) But then there are those exceptionally slender legs and that lithe figure, stunningly displayed in a new series of ads for her fashion brand, Baby Phat. One look at the ads and you'll see what Lagerfeld saw and more importantly what hip-hop-culture mogul Russell Simmons saw and later married.
Russell may have married more than he bargained for. Kimora has developed something of a reputation among gossipy media types as a materialistic super beee-otch! But, hey, Russell was an admitted "serial model dater" since way back in the day (for more on model daters, see season one, episode one, of Sex and the City) so he may have been blinded by Kimora's elite status as an international catwalk star. Or, being the savvy entreprenuerial Blackberry-toting dynamo that he is, maybe he was thinking of all the synergistic opportunities as he gradually morphs into the hip-hop Donald Trump.
According to quotes in a recent New York magazine article, Lagerfeld and model Tyra Banks have experienced Kimora Lee at her worst ...
"'It's a wonderful thing I've created with you,' Lagerfeld told her that fall, 'but now you're a $5,000-tote-bag-wearing monster, and for that, I am sorry. Now sit down and be quiet!' Kimora requested Tyra Banks as her roommate in one model apartment, and they tried to visit every Häagen-Dazs store in Paris. 'She always had the new Prada bag and would laugh at me because mine was from Wal-Mart,' says Banks."
Anyhooooo, New York, continuing its march towards greater journalistic content under former Times-man Adam Moss, did a fascinating treatment on the Kimora Lee phenom as the model-turned-hip-hop-wife-turned-entrepenuer ascends the world of high-fashion and luxuriates in the spoils of financial betterment at her New Jersey mansion.
On the business side, what's most fascinating is that recent Baby Phat ad campaign (see photos above). The brand and women's fashion line is a carefully architected spin-off (or line extension, as they they) from hubby Russell Simmons's Phat Farm clothing and retail empirelet. The ads use photos taken in the Simmons's sprawling home with Kimora and her children posing as models while uniformed Latina maidservants look on surrounded by parvenu opulence.
Some non-profit activist group somewhere is just itching to be offended by these ads. We just can't stop gawking at the spreads and trying to deconstruct them and distill the underlying message (see, kids, that Media Theory class in college wasn't a complete waste). But it may be much simpler than all that. Behind the ads is the basic fashion photographer's adage for compelling subject matter: show attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places.
--Instamatic
RELATED LINKS
The New Queen of Conspicuous Consumption [NY Mag]
Baby Phat Web Site
Baby Phat Summer 2004 Adverstising Campaign
Baby Phat Fall 2002 Photos
Big Phat Bid [Vogue Magazine, U.K.]
Phoenix House Honors Russell Simmons [Wire Image]
Brilliant Careers: Russell Simmons [Salon]
Rush Hour [Fast Company Magazine]
Minority Entrepreneurs: Legends--Russell Simmons [Fortune]
Russell Simmons, Unplugged [CBS 60 Mins.]
America's 25 Most Fascinating Entrepeneurs [Inc. Mag]
Posted by typhoon at 08:09 PM | Comments (3)
June 08, 2004
Are Ya' or Ain't Ya' Ghetto Fabulous? Web Site Puts Your Hood-wise Fabulosity to the Test
Okay, so you're thinking about the weekend. You're thinking maybe--just maybe--you'll gussy yourself up and get together with your friends for a dusk-till-dawn marathon of clubbing, hip-hop music-video style, ya' know, sipping Cristal, bling-bling and all that shit. But, oh, what to wear? Dolce & Gabbana? Vuitton? Gucci? Does that Day-Glo blue Kangol hat go with that patterned black-and-lime-colored Versace shirt?
Damn it, kiddies! Pay attention--Getting the couture right is no laughing matter! If you're looking for a look, then maybe you should get your
booty-liscious self over to Ghettofabulous.com, a Web site devoted to weeding out the ghetto fabulous wannabes from the ghetto-fab real deal.
The Web site's tagline sums up the idea perfectly: "Who's Ghetto? Who Ain't? You Vote!" Ghetto Fabulous is a twist on the much-copied "Hot or
Not" idea made famous a few years ago by the Web site AmIHot.com.
There are four categries from which to choose when voting: "Fabulous," "Ghetto," "Ghettofabulous" and "None." On the left hand side of the Web
site is a "Ghett-O-Meter" showing the percentage of votes in each category for each photo and the total number of votes.
But how do you define ghetto fabulous? The site doesn't so much help to define the expression as much as demonstrate how widely opinion varies.
Some times we'd vote someone "Ghettofabulous" when the majority had voted that person merely "Ghetto." Other times our vote was in agreement
with the majority.
A brief sampling of about two-dozen photos suggests several styles. There are the truly ghetto fab, who are authentic and sublime. Then there
are the aspiring ghettofabulists, usually white men in their 20's who come across as a bad parody of a parody--think a clone of Jamie Kennedy's
B-Rad in Malibu's Most Wanted.
Then you've got the the crunky porn-star types, often clad in a thong, covered in still-dripping body mist and legs spread wide apart in a
louche pose. Finally there are the photos of folks who look like they're just doing this for a lark--tall, skinny WASPs dressed in tuxedoes and
standing in a verdant suburban backyard. As Missy Elliot would say, Whateva--Whateva!
After reviewing and voting on over a couple of hundred or so photos, our favorite and most ghetto fab goes to the girl pictured above. Now that,
little ones, is STYLE!
But look, kids, let thee be warned: GhettoFabulous.com is some addictive shit. It really is shocking how easy it is to get sucked into the Web
site and keep voting for hours and hours. It's kind of like Doritos: once you've had one, you just can't stop.
--Ivan "Micropundit" Corsa
Style Column: Beyond Ghetto Fabulous [LA Weekly]
Posted by typhoon at 10:55 PM
German sneaker maker Adidas rolls out a new line of Adidas Originals that will have all the kidz from London's Hackney to Tokyo's Naka-meguro to the Lower East Side of New York City salivating madly to get their mitts on a pair of these. We especially like the Nizza Xtra Hi Camo shoe, pictured above, center. These are sweet, but just remember that these kicks will set you back $175.00. The new Originals shoe line includes an awesome pair of graffiti-inspired sneakers called the SStar Graffiti M (above, left), which sell for $80.00, and the Originals APS shoe (above, right) that comes in "dark sand," orange and coffee colors and retails, like the Nizza Xtra Hi, for a cool $175.00 Of course, Adidas have been making well-designed athletic footwear for a long time. But since they started opening the Adidas Originals concept stores two years, first in SoHo, New York, then in Tokyo and Berlin, the German company has taken shoe design to the next level and heightened its profile through a series of expensive, stylishly clever commercials and hip advertising campaigns. Like Puma, Adidas discovered several years ago that the huge and ever-growing market for athletic footwear was one where consumers were buying sneakers not for athletic use, but rather as a matter of personal style and fashion. Especially popular in recent years were the company's retro sneaker designs. Retro styles not only became popular but have become "classics," with some sneakers having attained vintage status among a growing international legion of collectors. In some case, such shoes have greatly appreciated in value and have sold for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars on Internet auction sites like eBay. And also like Puma, Adidas figured out that it could make a whole lot of money and promote its brand even better by setting up its own limited retail operation in key cities to showcase its latest designs and its fashion-forward style. By the way, in case you didn't know it, Puma is also a German sneaker maker. It was founded in mid-century by Rudolf Dassler, the brother of the guy who started Adidas, Adolf "Adi" Dassler." (Puma was launched after the two Dassler brothers
RELATED LINKS
9 Definitions of Ghetto Fabulous [Urban Dictionary]
Culture: The Meaning Behind Ghetto Fabulous [Mr. Blunt]April 28, 2004
Sneaker Pimpin' in Style with Adidas "Originals"
