Sunday, July 31, 2011

Momofuku Ramen


^ picture above of Momofuku Ramen (pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg)

"Many point to the Momofuku classic "Shrimp and Grits" as the breakthrough dish - the precise moment where Chang, colliding Korean ethnicity, Franco-Japanese training, and Virginian roots, found the personal style for which he is now widely known and admired."

Anthony Bourdain's profile on chef David Chang for McSweeney's Lucky Peach

"Oddest College Courses that $50,000 Tuition Can Buy"


Good Magazine - "The Top 10 Oddest College Courses that $50,000 Tuition Can Buy"

  • Lego Robot Design Studio (Middlebury College)
  • Beyond Narnia: The Political Theory and Writings of C.S. Lewis (Brown University)
  • Vampires, Lunatics, and Cyborgs: Exploring the Uncanny Recesses of the Romantic Consciousness (Vassar College)
  • Interpreting Life on Mars: Scientific Data and Popular Knowledge (Wesleyan College)
  • Philosophy and Star Trek (Georgetown University)
  • Ancient Egypt: Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll (John Hopkins University)
  • Super Smash Brothers Melee Theory and Practice (Oberlin College)
  • Divas in Song: Women, the Hollywood Studio System, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Audiences (UCLA)
  • Fundamentals of Basketball (Hampshire College)

Street Art in Brooklyn


Above and below are street art works found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn yesterday afternoon.

^ is Space Invaders. Parisian artist Invader has mosaics posted in more than 39 cities around the world including Bangkok, London, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mombasa, Tokyo and New York. You may recognize his work from the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop.


Below are multiple pieces by Brooklyn art duo FAILE.

Drake - "Headlines"


Drake - "Headlines"

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Nickelodeon Shows

TheAwl.com put together a report on eleven Nickelodeon classics - who created them and what have they done since.

Where are they now?
Checking In with...the Creators of Nickelodeon's Golden-Era Shows

Capricorn Astrology

Taken from Free Will Astrology by Rob Brezsny (The Village Voice).

"For more than 11 years, a New Jersey man named Jesus Leonardo earned an annual salary of about $45,000 by gathering up and cashing in horse-racing tickets that had been accidentally thrown away by the people who bought them. (Read more.) I suggest we make him your role model and patron saint for the coming weeks. Like him, you are in line to capitalize on discarded riches and unappreciated assets. Be on the lookout for the treasure hidden in the trash."

Beats, Rhyme & Life


Sunday, July 24, 2011

Theophilus London - "Flying Overseas"



Theophilus London - "Flying Overseas" (feat. Devonte Hynes & Solange Knowles)

The Making of 'Watch the Throne'


Saturday, July 23, 2011

In Time



October 28, 2011

From the writer of Gattaca and The Truman Show, In Time, stars Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde and Cillian Murphy.


Japanese Water Fountain


Friday, July 22, 2011

Drive


Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Christina Hendricks, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Nicolas Winding Refn was awarded Cannes Best Director.

The film will make its U.S. debut September 16.

ESPN "Draft"


Sadly, there will be no HBO Hard Knocks this year. But, it does look like there will be a season.


The above ad was created by W+K.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Earl Sweatshirt - "Earl"


Earl Sweatshirt of OFWGKTA, 17-years-old, may be the most talented up-and-coming rapper in America and is currently not around.

His mixtape, "Earl," can be downloaded for free @ DatPiff.com.


"The crew’s best pure rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, has been absent from public view for the last couple of months. The group won’t discuss his absence, though the most prominent rumor is that his mother, having heard his music, shipped him off to a restrictive boarding school."


"Earl's father, Keorapetse Kgositsile, is a celebrated South African poet."

-Kelefa Sanneh


*Both above quotes have been grammatically edited to fit context-wise. Content remains true.

"Leopard Mauls 11"


AP - "Leopard mauls 11 in fierce fight at Indian village"

"KOLKATA, India (AP) — A snarling leopard mauled 11 people in an Indian village and terrorized wildlife officials trying to drive it away before it was tranquilized and died of injuries from the fierce showdown."

Jordan "3 Ninjas"



Not actually based on the movie.

Jordan brand is traveling through Asia and will debut the above 3 "Flight Tour" Signature PEs this coming week in Hong Kong.

Dwyane Wade = Air
Carmelo Anthony = Explosive
Chris Paul = Quick



NBA Lockout = U.S. Debt-Ceiling Debate



"Once the mind begins to focus on the depressing parallel, similarities seem to abound. You have in both cases a group of wealthy, unaccountably angry white men (owners, congressional Republicans) insisting that they are the real victims of the current recession facing off against a tall black guy (National Basketball Player’s Association head Billy Hunter, Obama). Women are largely absent from the negotiations on both fronts. And in both cases, the people looking for givebacks are oddly unwilling to admit their own role in creating the disaster."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Otis"

Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Otis"

Produced by Kanye West

Artist: Andrew Hem

BOOOOOOOM! - Andrew Hem <-- Click this link to see best quality

The Amazing Spider-Man: Trailer


Directed by Marc Webb (500) Days of Summer)
Starring Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network).

The first person view is very video game.

Nickelodeon Bringing Childhood Back


Starting this coming Monday cable network TeenNick will be replaying some of Nickelodeon's most successful shows from the 1990's.

According to the New York Times, "The channel says it is responding to the demands of former viewers who joined Facebook groups about the shows — and to the suggestions of some of its interns, who pulled together a presentation last summer to pitch the programming block."


Pretty awesome. The "90's Are All That" original episodes will begin air nightly midnight to 4 a.m.

Classics: Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, All That, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Clarissa Explains it All, Double Dare, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Hey Dude, Kenan & Kel, Legends of the Hidden Temple, GUTS, Rocko’s Modern Life, Roundhouse, Rugrats and Salute Your Shorts.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Magic: The Gathering...The Investment


“As both a collectible and competitive game, Magic: The Gathering has evolved its own primitive stock market,” says [Kelly] Reid.

"Magic cards fluctuate in value based on their use in tournaments played around the world. The game, created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and launched in 1993, now boasts 6 million players worldwide according to Wizards of the Coast, Magic’s Hasbro-backed publisher. The most valuable card, Black Lotus, is currently worth $840, up 16% since the start of 2010. The S&P 500, by contrast, is up 12% over the same time period."

The Art of McSweeney's




"Some twelve years ago, Dave Eggers started a literary journal. It was called McSweeney's. It is now a literary empire... ...Their publications have won oodles of awards from AIGA and Print, amongst many others. Their work has appeared in the Pasadena Museum and in that one museum in Washington, D.C. called the Smithsonian."

Odd Future

Out of the 3 days, 45 acts and blazing hot humid summer weather the biggest takeaway memory of the Pitchfork Music Festival was Los Angeles hip-hop group OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All).

I can't figure out what I really think of them or their music, but their stage presence, personality and swagger won them the entire weekend.

If unfamiliar, I suggest you read everything New York Times Pop Critic Jon Caramanica has written about them...

"There were pieces of the Beastie Boys, MF Doom, the Sex Pistols and more in its act, and yet it felt like something new, in no one’s shadow." (the final sentence of Carmanica's Pitchfork Music Festival review)

11/12/10 - Young, Gifted and Outrageous: Can Odd Future Survive Popularity?
7/17/11 - Pitchfork: Odd Future Pushes Back on Protest

The Dark Knight Rises - Teaser Trailer

How much does that cost?

I unfortunately, don't have an answer, but WSJ did a little piece on the more prevalent product placements in this summer's blockbusters.

Little Dragon

The upcoming third album, Ritual Union, by Swedish band Little Dragon can be streamed for free on NPR.org.


Little Dragon is led by Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano. You may recognize her unique voice as the singer on SBTRKT's hit song "Wildfire" and from Gorillaz's "To Binge" and "Empire Ants."

Friday, July 15, 2011

Trump Tower Chicago


The Trump Tower Chicago, finished in 2008, is the 11th tallest building in the world. At one point Donald Trump had planned for it to be the world's tallest, but after the September 11th attacks plans were changed.

The building was designed by American architect Adrian Smith who also designed Burj Khalifa in Dubai (tallest building in the world) and Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai (the 12th tallest building in the world).


Random fact, the final confrontation scene between Batman and The Joker in The Dark Knight was filmed in the under construction Trump Tower Chicago.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Sherlock Holmes 2



What happened to Brad Pitt or Daniel Day-Lewis as the villain?

Handlebar Moustache


Heineken (client)

Lil Wayne - Sorry 4 the Wait


Lil Wayne - Sorry 4 the Wait (free mixtape)


Tha Carter 4 scheduled for August 29.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Watch the Throne

Watch the Throne, the Kanye West and Jay-Z duet album, has a confirmed tracklist (below) and a supposed release date, August 2, 2011.


1. No Church in The Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean)
2. Lift Off (Feat. Beyoncé)
3. Niggas in Paris
4. Otis (Feat. Otis Redding)
5. Gotta Have It
6. New Day
7. Prime Time
8. Who Gon Stop Me
9. Murder to Excellence
10. Welcome to The Jungle
11. Sweet Baby Jesus (Feat. Frank Ocean)
12. Love You So (Feat. Mr Hudson)

Bonus
13. Illest Motherfucker Alive
14. H*A*M
15. That’s My Bitch
16. The Joy (Feat. Curtis Mayfield)

Also,

The Dark Knight Rises

Teaser trailer to debut in front of Harry Potter 7 Pt. 2 next weekend.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Artist - Rainbowmonkey

Juxtapoz - "Islands by the Rainbowmonkey"

"Not sure about the name Rainbowmonkey, but the German artist created this series of "Islands," floating installation pieces that have tiny, intricate details that make each surface a time-consuming observing experience."

Kenny Powers for K-Swiss


Ron Swanson vs. Food


A great montage of food wisdom from Ron Swanson, Director of the Pawnee, IN Parks Department. (Parks & Recreation)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Devil's Double


The Devil's Double coming out 7/29/11.

"A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son."

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Guangzhou Opera House



The Guangzhou Opera House designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid.

New York Times - "Chinese Gem That Elevates Its Setting"

1980's athlete posters

^ Above photo by Austin McManus for TheFlopBox

Salon 94 Freemans art gallery in L.E.S., NY currently has a nearly complete? collection of 1980 athlete posters by the Costacos brothers.

Michael Weinreb from Grantland wrote up a piece that breaks down Jim McMahon, the Costacos work, the beginnings of athlete/celebrity/pop star and how it led to The Decision and Alex Rodriguez's take on the posters -

“Why aren’t they doing these anymore? These are awesome.”

Where the sidewalk ends...

R.I.P. sign was added by children's book author/illustrator Dallas Austin in memory of Shel Silverstein.

Weekend Reading

^ Above photo of Babe Ruth from TWBE



"As for us? We might lose a season because of their obstinance, which means we'll miss out on Year 2 of "Yes We Did!", Boston's last run with Garnett, Pierce and Allen, Duncan's last decent Spurs season, Kobe's trying to stay on top (and doing anything to do so), Durant and Westbrook continuing their Stringer/Avon plot, another year of Blake dunks (counting his missed rookie season, that means we'd have gone 1-for-3 during this jumping-out-of-the-building apex), contract seasons from Howard/Paul/Williams, our last David Kahn season before he gets fired and becomes my BS Report co-host, our first full Carmelo/Amar'e season, a year of Jimmer, Tyreke, Salmons and DeMarcus impersonating a giant black hole in Sacramento, Dirk's defending his Mavs title, a year of Love/Rubio outlets and Wall/Vesely alley-oops, the remote possibility of LeBrondown III … I mean, have you really thought about what's at stake here?"

How Dogfish Beer Is Made

Photobucket

The makers of Dogfish Head Beer have documented how their making their first gluten-free brew, the strawberry-and-honey-flavored Tweason 'ale, with a series of GIF images known as a "cinemagraph" and described by Dogfish as "journalistic" visual vignettes.

Watch the whole process below

Genius Marketing: Artsy Animated GIFs Show Beer-Making Process

Music to Download

Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra (free mixtape)

J. Cole - Work Out (the first single off the North Carolinan, St. Johns grad debut album, Cole World)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July


US Military - Infographic


Takeru Kobayashi

Interesting profile of 6-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion Takeru Kobayashi by Deadspin.com.

It's unfortunate he won't be able to compete this year against 4-time consecutive and defending champ American Joey Chestnut.

The 2011 competition is tomorrow, 7/4/11 at noon ET on ESPN.


"Today's MLE [Major League Eating] stars train hard for contests and consider themselves athletes.

This is intensely personal. It's primal. Most of the world snickers at these people. To Kobayashi, eating is life."


UPDATE - Though Joey Chestnut again won this year, apparently, Kobayashi bested the world record when he ate 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Friday, July 1, 2011

Heineken - Snakeskin Jacket


How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song?


Headline, graphic and idea all taken from this interesting NPR.org feature on how studios create a hit record. The article uses Rihanna's recent "Man Down" as a case study in this music industry breakdown.

The marketing and promotion (a.k.a nothing to do with the actual creation of a song) seems to be the biggest chunk of the budget.

Snakeskin Snapbacks


Kanye's longtime manager Don C has customized classic Mitchell & Ness snapback hats with actual snakeskin.

Seen wearing them:

The hats are going on sale July 4 exclusively at RSVP Gallery in Chicago, IL. How much do you think they can charge for one of these?



Fourcraft (Risk - Foursquare)


From AdAge.com Creativity -


"New York becomes a gameboard.

The boroughs of New York City become the playing field for a giant game of digital Risk, World of Fourcraft, a game conceived during Game Hack Day NYC 2011, led by NY hacking collective NY Hacker and sponsored by Riot Games.

Fourcraft requires players to log in to the game site and swear their allegiance to a specific NY borough. From there, they check into Foursquare to conquer various neighborhoods."

Mashable - "Clever Foursquare Hack Turns New York City Into a Giant Game of Risk"
Gizmodo - "World of Fourcraft Is a Land Where Risk, Foursquare and Google Maps Collide"