Ghostface taming the seal

I don't know what's better than these pics. Best photos all year. It's young, this 2006, but these are the benchmark.

Sanaa and the new New Museum.

Sanaa are the architects of the new New Museum. Read more about them here.

First Impressions Count

Well, what do you know?

First impressions count on the web!

Canadian researchers have found out what everyone knew already: Look sharp and/or be charming. Always. Yes, even if you have a website.

DIRTY, HEADFONEHAUS & Slow Design

D*I*R*T*Y is an old website; I haven't been there in years, and they still haven't redesigned their blue sqaure layout. But they've been busy adding content and you know what? I think it's kind of ill they haven't redesigned in years. It's liking finding an old friend and being friends again but you've changed and aged and they're still the same and just as pretty.

HEADFONEHAUS is a blog run by Steven, a friend of my friend Matthew over at Unresort. I link up Steven and his mp3 blog partly because he has some excellent music posted and partly because he has a photo of a crocodile up on his blog. It takes a bold man to post a crocodile.

PS. Speaking of DIRTY and they're lack of a redesign all these years, I just noticed this interesting article about slow design by Michael Bierut designer at Pentagram and founder of the design blog Design Observer. Found over at TED Blog.

Give it a read and give me the gist in a haiku.

Pencils are the new Pixels

Phil is killing it, with his hand made typography experiments, over at Lake Relax.

Lampeluna

File Lampeluna under design so nice it makes go woo! And they're Polish to boot.

Rock Me

No Doubt - Rock Steady & Neil Diamond - Rock Me Gently

The two tracks above go together. They're from two very different genres (they're still both pop songs) from two very different generations (1960's vs 2001) - because both songs are essentially on the same topic - and both have this wonderfully amazing funk undertone. The guitar on the Diamond track gets in to a groove and listen for that cheesy synthesizer too. Similar sounds are apparent in the No Doubt track right from the 1st bar. Coincidence? For sure.

Faena Hotel & Universe

Philippe Starck went out and created a designer-iffic hotel in Argentina called Faena Hotel & Universe. Mostly I just wanted to post the above photo. That's hot.

"Staying in" is the new "going out"

Last week, walking along Bathurst I saw some posters for some sort of new theatre production (or something) and it was called "Staying in is the new going out" and I thought it was a fun and clever twist on the way things are supposed to be, how one is supposed to live and how we are supposed to entertain ourselves. Therefore it's interesting to me that I receive this newsletter from trendwatching.com and it's all about the growing trend of the elite middle class and their trend to living it up at home. The array of products available is really interesting, everything from a walk-in-wine-cellar & beer-on-tap to residential-elevators and most curiously private rooms.

It makes me think that some of us humans are living really rich. And we are. But that doesn't stop us from aging and here I digress.

I just turned 29 and I'm getting older, we all are, and I'm on the verge of being 30. I don't really think it's much of big deal. Our culture places a huge premium on youth and to get old is bit of taboo. I personally think it's kind of sad that getting old is this bad and nasty thing that is combated liposuction and chin tucks and multi-vitamins. As baby boomers age, we'll probably just being hearing about this anti-aging phenomena. I don't really know I'm trying to say right now, but I'll some it up like this: Be happy to have life, and a warm bed and remember your whole past and please, act your age.

My temple needs a sponsor

Architecture, design and sculpture conflationist Thomas Heatherwick is killing it. The above is a sculpture called B of the Bang. It's scale alone is impressive. But if you really want to be impressed, check out the Buddhist Temple he's building: crazy.

Riders on the Storm

First post for the oh six and it's music. Old music. Classic western world existentialist themed and everything. I'm posting this song because it goes well with what transpired in my life today.

The Doors - Riders on the Storm

I was showering my sweaty self in the shower after working out, and when I turned off that hot water and dried my wet skin, I went to blow dry my hair because that's what mom would tell me to do. When my hair was dry, I just started to sing along to this familiar song and then whistling to that keyboard solo.

I'm about to have an amazing year. I wish that for you too.

Why old is the new New

I don't know if this allowed but here I go: quoting Karen Wright, Editor & Publisher at Modern Painters, quoting Robert Rauschenberg from an article written by Rosetta Brooks on "Why old is the new New":

"Y'know, there's a moment for everyone when you fall into your own shadow and the fact is that it's your shadow and you're forced to live in it. And this is nothing to celebrate or not celebrate. It simply is."

It sounded smarter when I read Karen write it, then when I write it myself but at least I got a chance to post the BMW 7 Series. Damn beautiful, it is.

the good and the bad

THE YOUTHS ARE SO COLD

*

rockonski says:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670033375/qid=1135830699/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9630478-4955926?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

rockonski says:
i got this for xmas from my mom

rockonski says:
it has big words in it. like "culpable"

rockonski says:
i had to look that one up.

camillo says:
ha

rockonski says:
and i thought, i was part of the 5% - i dunno man

camillo says:
i use culpable all the time

rockonski says:
that dude diamond, he knows alot and has big words to back it up.

camillo says:
the thing is when you take as many english courses as i took

camillo says:
you get tired of looking up words

rockonski says:
ha

camillo says:
and just glean the meaning through context

camillo says:
and end up using them even though you don't fully know what they mean

camillo says:
like i'd look em up after i realized i'd used it in a paper

rockonski says:
haha

rockonski says:
i thought culpable was like capable

rockonski says:
and then i thought to myself: just make sure.

camillo says:
ha

rockonski says:
glad i did.

camillo says:
that's when i realized you can get away with anything

camillo says:
once you write it stylishly enough

rockonski says:
ha

camillo says:
cause they're grading on a curve

rockonski says:
they're skimming too

camillo says:
and someone in the class is still writing sentences like 'i think the author is trying to say...'

*

Just in from Nassau...

The One Love Soldiers took top prize in the Junkanoo Boxing Day Parade. Woo!

*

Also from Nassau, Corey sends these five tracks on the Tribute to the Downbeat Riddim: One Two Three Four Version

Phestive Photo

Unpretentious and dare I say: art. - care of Complex Magazine.

Alive in Joburg

This short film from Spy Films tackles racism and xenophobia employing a fact versus fiction method that makes it worth the 6 minutes to watch it.

Toronto Street Fashion dot Com

Honestly, I don't know who the people behind this are - I found out about their website just now by accident - but their badly designed website is killing it.

OH MY FWIS!

My friend FWIS launched his collection of t-shirts called Square Wolf. And what a beautiful web site they built too.

*applauds

Feel like jumping!

Marcia Griffiths - Feel like jumping

The non-verbal introduction and chorus to this song - with the high pitched woo-ooo-oo and the then the nonsense deep voice jumble that follows - sounds like it could be a Sesame Street tune, but it's not; it's just that fun.

Who goes there?

The heart of the revolution is sampling?

The heart of the revolution is sampling? If so, thank Kool Herc.

Okay, maybe, maybe not, but this is an interesting article about the current shift in culture - happening because of blogging, podcasting and self publishing of all sorts turned on by the internet - asserts that the key to the self-publishing revolution is in fact sampling. Which makes me feel validated because sampling is also part of my own creative philosophy.

Yeah, I just linked myself but if I don't say I'm the best? Tell me, who the hell will?

*throws up a peace sign

P.S. The photo above was taken by Souris.

Vikings are the new Pirates

My good friend Chris found this beautiful music video animation over at Cock Rock Disco and posted it at K10K and now I'm linking eeeeeeeeeveryone up because it's so beautiful.

Stones Throw Xmas

My friend Vip, has alerted me to this goodness. Happy listening on this Monday morning. :)

Dancehall Stylee

My friend, Irene, is having this party to raise some dollars for her upcoming movie. By the looks of the flyer, this should be alright. Free Beer? That sounds fishy but who knows.

Go Canada!

Those mannequins are from the Hudson Bay Company's Olympic Shop. It's nice to see North American belief systems about the human body relaxing to more civilized levels. Nipples in public all over the place like there's no tomorrow. I heart Canada.

My Christmas Wishlist

Just wanted to tell you what I want for Christmas:

NOTHING.

Seriously, I don’t need more things and more clutter. I don’t need you to spend your hard earned money on me. Take your money and pay down your credit card or something. It will make me happy.

If you insist on getting me something, I ask that you make it insubstantial.

If you insist on getting me something material, I ask that it be used or second hand. For instance, a book you already own and feel I may like.

If you insist on getting me something new I ask that you make it something that will help our environment. For instance, I drink tea, so a tea infuser would be good thing for me and the planet.

If you insist on getting me stuff this is a good hint:

My amazon wishlist.

P.S. Save the planet.

Global destruction, ipods and Subways

I watched 2 movies this weekend, both of which were excellent and both of which I highly recommend. The 1st is I heart Huckabees - a good old "what does it all mean" existentialist story - just perfect for Christmas time. *pokes tongue in to his cheek. The 2nd was non-fiction, super poignant, didn't make one question reality in a very existential way but raised one's concern over the state of the planet. The Corporation raises several issues that each of us as human beings should address in how we live our daily lives. The most serious point raised: Our civilization is unsustainable. That point was driven in really hard. The way we live is self destructive and we need to make a change. I believe as a planet, we can still make a change for positive. Each one, teach one.

It was a really touching movie and it's really interesting to read Tyler Green this morning and his review of Art Basel in Miami and his noting that "When, in five days, you see many thousands of works by a couple thousand artists, macro memes become clear. The two most prevalent: artists using maps in their work usually in fragmented ways, a metaphor for globalization and the unimportance of borders; and destruction and mayhem in the world".

Ding!

And lastly, Friday night was the Gladstone Hotel grand opening and it was a great time, too bad I didn't take my camera, so many wonderful people, friends, jokes, laughs, and moments. All hung over on Saturday morning I pretended to be a juror for my sister Ursula who was defending counsel in a mock trial at 361 University. After deeming her client guilty (Urs you were great, but that's the way the cookie crumbles baba!) I took the subway to Osgoode station at Queen St. and as I got off the south bound train, the north bound train was there picking up new passengers and was just standing still for a second. A train unlike any other I had ever seen because it was totally covered in advertising. I had seen ipod advertising before because I'm no stranger to the bombardment of advertising, in fact, most of us aren't. The difference this time is that the whole train was covered in advertising - the way that buses have been covered with advertising in Toronto for years. It hit me over the head - no, it didn't make go out and buy an ipod -I realized how what a paradox our (my) culture has become.

The ipod advert covered subway for me was the antithesis to the roots of graffiti (the most modern vein of the oldest art tradition ever; yeah I said it: the most modern vein of the oldest art tradition ever) . Bombing train cars using paint was and is still illegal as far as I know. In Toronto at least, bombing train cars with advertising is perfectly legal. Manufactured consent. And for the most part, I'm okay with it. What I'm not okay with: is that the Toronto Transit Commission maybe hiking fares again. That is a slap in the face on the left and right cheek.

If him hit you, hit him back.

I'm a Monkeeeeeeey

This track by The Rolling Stones was in Martin Scorcese's Good Fellas but it also has a super ripe intro. You hear my Kanye? You copy cat, you shark. And just look at that cover above? Happy Fridays!

And another thing...

This Top 10 list advises Web Startups (though it could apply to any business, in one way or another) what to look out for... written by none other than the founder of Blogger, Evan Williams.

Art Basel

The best photo's I've found so far can be found here: CLICK ME.