Roll on 2009...

My 2008 reviewed in a pictorial. What a great year...Be sure to make the most of 2009 whatever it may bring!

4pm LA time is...midnight in London!

Come on, you can't beat this! World-class!

The new year awaits us...

This time of the year is all about you and your goals for 2009! I've thought about them, but how do you break them down into reality?

Well a quick Google search will land you something, but the Mindtools site is pretty comprehensive even if the video is a bit cheesy :)

Here's a summary of Mindtools' tested advice. It's an extension of the S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) way of setting goals. Go to website for more details.

• State each goal as a positive statement

• Be precise

• Set priorities

• Write goals down

• Keep operational goals small

• Set performance goals, not outcome goals

• Set realistic goals

Boxing Day is for everyone...even the Yanks this year!

Boxing Day is what the Dutchies call the "second Christmas." To the Brits it's another day off and this year *some* Americans get to experience a civilized two-day Christmas break. It's so disorientating this year, especially as it runs into the weekend. So it's a four-day weekend! Ain't nowt wrong with that?!

Old skool This New York Times article explains how Boxing Day comes from St. Stephen's Day (yes, I'm named after a saint!) and is a day when everyone remembers the poor and is charitable. So says the Christmas carol: on the “feast of Stephen,” that “Good King Wenceslas” looked out and saw the snow, “deep and crisp and even.” Boxing Day refers to the gift boxes from employers to their workers for good service during the year. But get this. Workers also expected (and got) tips from Christmas holiday guests! What?! Brits tipping? Never! Hahhaaa :)

Last minute Christmas gifts...Top 5 mixtapes of 2008...holla!

Stop press: adidas Christmas hamper

An enterprising store has put together an adidas Micropacer Christmas hamper...Have you been a good boy this year...?

Risk WCA - LA old skool graffiti "goes gallery"

Even with an ear to the ground I miss stuff that is "right up my street". Last weekend was the opening of Risk's first gallery show. Look at the flyer...dope as old skool graffiti in Santa Monica. And only on for one week.


I went over to Santa Monica and caught the show before it closed and also managed to chat with RISK himself about his history in the graff game and how he's incorporated some of that love into his first '67 Impala. Still a shame I wasn't there for the opening. Check out this fresh interview at La Taco. And URB always comes thru' too!

Food fighter...hiiii-yah!

Recouperating after a late night and a few beers demanded greasy food and lo-culture...MTV reality shows... yet satisfyingly addictive! Then I witnessed this guy...the four-time Nathan hotdog eating champion [drum roll pleaaaase]...Takeru Kobayashi...





The prize goes to...But may be this little distraction from my sweetheart Olivia Munn is more interesting? ;)

I'm king of deflation

"...Pushing the world into an economic spiral" that's what I'm doing by holding off on my purchases as prices get squeezed. I hear on the radio that, as I hold off from spending, I'm causing all manner of companies to tighten their belts until they starve. Yes, s-t-a-r-v-e!

Some things can't wait...$77 for Xmas shipping at the post office, $21 for a haircut, $45 for groceries...oh, an that dope Hit + Run t-shirt for $10 even though it's winter in LA. But, that new mobile phone can certainly be postponed (well, until I lose this one or RIM sort out the bugs in the Storm :) ) Yep, I'm at least the prince of deflation.

One essential that's always defied logic is gas (petrol). Right now it's at its lowest price since I arrived in the States four+ years ago. So why am I only only filling up 1/2 a tank at a time? Because prices are falling. This past weekend I paid $1.95 for a gallon of 91 premium. The week before it was $2.05, the week before that....you get it. Tread lightly my friends.

King of Beats...

The Christmas parties have started, so to get in the party mood here are some beats from the pioneers of beat-making...Prince Paul, Marley Marl, Pete Rock, RZA 45 King, Pete Rock.



More Pete Rock

Glen E. Friedman retrospective

He might not be a household name like Annie Leibovitz or Steven Meisel , but his long-time photographer, Glen E. Friedman, has captured many historic cultural moments.

I'd mainly seen his work as a teenager because of his Run-DMC and Def Jam days and more recently as part of a group show retrospective of Run-DMC photos at Bill Alder's Eyejammie Gallery in New York.

What about the west coast? This weekend at Shepard Fairey's Subliminal Projects gallery in Silverlake will be showing Friedman's Idealist Propaganda. Surprisingly I hear it's his first major retrospective and will include some never-before-seen photos. If you don't know Friedman's work you will recognize his photos of skate (Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Z-Boys), punk (Dead Kennedys, The Misfits) and hip-hop (Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy) subcultures, as well as his political statements from his "Fuck You All" collection and "Fuck You Heroes" and "Fuck You Too" series. OMG?!


Friedman will be attending the opening reception, so I'm planning on going to see the show and maybe get a signed copy of one of his books produced by his publishing company, Burning Flags Press.

Side note Obey has collaborated with Friedman on a collection of prints, t-shirts, hats and clothing celebrating one of the most prolific and icon rap bands in history, Public Enemy. I love this project.

Save the cheerleader, save the world!

To some people the Labour party is their hero...here's a wonderful gaff where UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, confuses himself with Heroes TV show's Peter Petrelli..."Save the cheerleader, save the world..!"

Can you debate with the best of 'em?

View larger map - Brooklyn graffiti walking tour

I remember the first time I went to New York in the late 80s and saw the Lee (Quinones) piece down in a parking lot by Lafayette Street. Then I discovered the Hall of Fame over in Queens. Now it seems that Williamsburg has won the hearts of artists looking for larger spaces and peace and quiet to do their thing.

The "Off Manhattan" blog has an amazing article that lovingly documents some emerging and established artists' work in the fair borough of Brooklyn. It even has a Google map feature which I love. Hope you do too!


View Larger Map

Off Manhattan says: "How to get there: Take the L train from Union Square to Lorimer St - Metropolitain Ave Station. Then proceed on foot at your discretion with the self-guided tour of the featured graffiti sites. Print out this article and the map below to help guide you to the locations. Please note that graffiti is usually not permanent, so we cannot guarantee that all our sites are still in tact. On the other hand, new art is constantly being created—let us know in the comments if you discover anything new in the area!"




Throw-ups and Pieces from old-skooler T.Kid, Ghost, Os Gemeos, Armer, Peek/Funk (Pink and Smith), Diva and Aero/Teo

Murals by Ewok, LA-based Obey, T.Kid and R.Robots

Stencils by my mate Nick Walker and C215

Poster-work Faile, Obey, Elbow Toe, Judith Supine and OHM

Even Bond can't save Aston Martin

I was excited to see the (awfully titled) new Bond film, "Quantum of Solace". It kept the pace started by "Casino Royale", but the storyline got a bit fragmented. And, although we all love Aston Martins, the opening car chase scene couldn't compete with the acrobatic wow-factor of the parkour stunts in "Casino Royale!" Respect to the French...



0-60 in 4.1 seconds The thing that I remember most about the "Quantum of Solace" was the news the day after my cinema jaunt...Aston Martin announced it laid off 600 workers in Warwickshire, UK. That's 1/3 of its workforce! Even the rich are postponing their luxury toys?! Wow.

Recycling Barbra - Secondhand Sureshots

What happens when you get four music producers on board with your crazy dreamt up idea? "Secondhand Sureshots" was conceived as a multi-faceted music/art project and documentary film about recycling. They don't say that, but when you give your producers US$5 to buy dusty vinyl from LA thrift stores to create new tracks (wholly based on sampling and chopping, but no additional instruments) that's the ultimate creative recycling!

Willy Wonka Secondhand Sureshots takes the project several steps beyond by also mashing up the album covers used on each track and then pressing a dubplate of each new track. These new/recycled vinyl creations are then hidden, Willy Wonka-style, back in the thrift store racks waiting to be discovered. Crazy!

Only one of the vinyls created by J.Rocc, Nobody, Daedelus and Ras G have been found to date, so there are three other chances to find a bit of history in the piles of junk!



Secondhand Sureshot: "How do you clean the dust?"
Ras G: "Keep the dust...it's like seasoning!"

Check the clips below...cracked me up....Daedelus said that you can tell alot about a city by the records...and then he broke a world record: 14 Barbra Streisand LPs in the rack of Out of the Closet thrift store! I've never laughed so hard about Barbara Streisand...If there's a run on Streisand tunes you know it's cause of J.Rocc! ;)



At the screening party, Hit + Run were on site printing six dope designs from Secondhand Sureshot. I got my H+R 200 and J.Rocc designs on a fresh yellow t-shirt.

Start'em young...MOP x Sesame Street

Toooo funny!

Back to school...

I wasn't paying attention in trainspotting 101. I downloaded a bunch of original tunes sampled by Kanye West in his productions and there was a tune by Max Romeo..."I Chase The Devil (Lucifer)."

Intriguing...and when I pressed play I got a shock. It's that hook that Prodigy used in their rave anthem. I love that tune...Check out 0.45 secs into the video...Let offfff!



"I'll Take Your Brain To Another Dimension"

Recession? What recession...

The party arty crowd are in Miami this coming week for the annual Miami Art Basel. I keep getting the emails about the events, parties and weird sponsorships (Fage Total Greek yogurt "Discover. Taste. Create" anyone?!)

I'm sure folks know there's cost-cutting and layoffs going on across the country, but when has that ever stopped the party people having a good time whilst pondering the state of the contemporary art market?

Right, where's my check book...?