Hustler of Culture

happy 2004!

photo courtesy of michael-from-sweden

i hope you all ushered in 2004 the way you wanted to. because i roll with a super lax posse, nobody wanted to make plans. so at the very last minute we decided to have a game night (of course) at the studio. new faces and old friends mingled over champagne and chips. games included soul calibur 2, karaoke revolution, connect four, jenga and a rather long session of butt darts and schlong ball. thank you to everyone for being a part of our history. peace!

jump for joy!

photos property of the halsman estate

hey friends. it's that time of year where you're all somewhere else but home. so while you're away, can you please remember to take a jump photo and send it to me? if you don't know what i'm talking about, check out my fakefunk jump project. just a friendly reminder.

oh and if you haven't seen it already, wayne bought me philippe halsman's jump book. philippe was a photographer famous for his portraits of celebrities and politicians; most of them ending up as life magazine covers. he had already discovered the joy of documenting jumps decades ago. i hadn't heard of philippe when i started my own project in 2002. although jumping in pictures is not an original idea, i still believe it's fresh.

i'd like to make a little book or something out of all my jump submissions one day. nothing fancy, just a little token of my youth. won't you be a part of the project?

the writing on the wall.

wherever you live, you probably pass a wall on your way to work, school, newsstand, etc. on a regular basis. i'm sure some of the walls you pass have been written on. naturally, the art changes over time but you probably don't even notice unless you're paying attention. and you wouldn't be paying attention unless you knew what you were looking for. that's the thing about writing. it's a message for the discerning few. if you know what you're reading, it's interesting to note, when does the wall art change and who's changing it?

graffiti archaeology, uses time lapse photography to show just how the writing on the wall changes, crediting writers when possible. i wish other people/cities would take the responsibility to do just what these san franciscans did. it'd be amazing to see link ups of graf arc sites around the world.

i've wanted to post about this site for a little while but it seems to crash often. it's a good site and it's getting mad hits; probably some server issues. if it's down when you check it out, it's worth it to go back and check it out at a later time. big ups to graffiti archaeology for taking the time to document san francisco's writing on the wall.

say hello to my little friend.

i'm not a big fan of guns and actually kind of hate them. i hate them because i'm scared of them and i haven't any real exposure to them. all i know about guns is that they are dangerous and most people i know who own them are a little cuckoo. i can only reference guns by the movies i see them in. like, oh that's the kind of rifle they use in clint eastwood movies or that's the kind of gun i saw in boyz 'n the hood. i wouldn't know the difference between a .22 or a semi automatic vs. automatic, only knowing that they can all kill things. my sister, kiki, an avid skeet shooter, recently asked if i wanted to go shooting. i said only if her husband, emil was taking us. he is the head coach of the service rifle team (US army marksmanship unit) and competes for the army in national and international matches. last summer, at the palma championship, he won silver in the world individual long range match. for all you no gun knowledge friends, this is the olympics of long range shooting (it happens every four years). emil knows guns like silvio knows video games.

youth is not always wasted on the young.

photos courtesy of wire image

new line cinema, home of the beloved lord of the rings trilogy announced a creative writing contest for high/middle school children across four us cities last month. based on gandalf's words to frodo in the lord of the rings, "all you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you," each contestant was asked to write a 200 word essay expressing their thoughts.

winners received lotr schwag along with a private screening of the lord of the rings: the return of the king for their friends and family. a $10,000 award was also granted for the purchase of new books for the participating school's library.

happy hols people!

images property of the estate of keith haring

every winter, our mantle is covered with holiday cards. they fly into our mailbox from all over the world. it is the only time of year our home has any decoration expressing a holiday. opening the mailbox is especially exciting. nesting inside may be well wishes from europe, a card from someone i haven't heard from all year and maybe, even a little present! december is the only month i'm ok with the stack of bills; hell i got a stack of cards too!

from thanksgiving on, when we return home from work, it's all ooh, ooh, who sent one today?! in other words, who are my friends, thoughtful enough to send me/us a card? for an old couple, it's cheap thrills.

DJ Jun, DJ Supaspoims, Blakira, Kid America + Bandy (12/22/03)

SUITMAN TOKYO INVASION (01/23/04)

January 23, 2004
7 - 10 pm

TOKION SHOP - KAMI MEGURO
03 5773 8330

Suitman finally hits tokyo with his traveling crew. The show will consist of suitman figures and images of his traveling Photo journal.

NY show pictures posted here.

Alife Heavy Book Launch (12/18/03)

Neverstop and NY creative collective, alife, collaborate on a unique 2-volume book that celebrates the relationship of visual art and music. Heavy is a multi-media tribute to Rock-n-Roll featuring 56 cutting edge contemporary artists such as Reas, Espo, Ease, Shepard Fairey and Futura. The book also contains vinyl with 12 tracks by up and coming musical talents (Glass Candy, The Icarus Line, The Rolling Blackouts, etc...) and Rock-inspired fiction by underground author, Griffin Creech.

tight and girlie.

i just got back from the cynthia rowley store opening in the west village. it's a fancy little boutique for thin girls with thick wallets. cynthia's collection is so damn dainty and pretty. completely not my steez.

anyway, she just opened up a new shop and called on a few celebrity friends to stop by. most notable were alan cummings, illeana douglas, and my personal favorite, philip seymour hoffman. x-2's diablo dressed up as santa and took holiday wishes from guests. mind you, this was the skinniest and tiniest santa on earth. it was fitting i suppose because we were at a fashion event. i wanted to ask him if he knew if x-men 3 would be even better than x-men united. unfortunately, i didn't stay long enough to do this. seeing diablo was cool. cooler was hearing philip speak. he is by far, one of my favorite indie actors. he owns his voice and it's so creepy cool (second only to the serial killer in silence of the lambs). the space was so limited it was hard not to bump into everyone. bonus points for the sweet liquor. they served a vanilla/coconuty boozy beverage along with alcoholic truffles. as usual, we didn't stay too long but long enough to say our hellos and goodbyes.

Cool is Shit.

Always one to hate the game and not the playa, I call bullshit on trendspotters and cool hunters. Next-generation trendspotters made up the phrase "cool hunters" for themselves. Why? To reinvent something already in existence -- it's what they do.

It’s frightful how uncool "cool" is these days. The NY Times interviewed trend forecasters, Zoe Lazarus and Richard Welch of Ogilvy & Mather's new ultra hip consulting arm, Crystal asking their opinions about what's hot...umm, I mean, cool now! In short, they reported that "anti-cool" is cool. Kids, it's a no win situation. Marketers are getting paid too much to tell the world that they should love well, just about everything.

Magazines are distributing a piece of the hipster (remember that word?) pie to a select readership says Newsweek. A readership that is powerful. Select is the key word. Select vs. masses. Cool? Uncool? We cool? Cool.

delayed reaction.

i'm writing because i don't want to go to bed. because if i do, i will lay there and think. i will think a lot. and i will toss. and right now i just don't want too. i'm tired of thinking in general. i think all day and night. is there a way to turn the brain off? i'm laying off the herbs because i'm trying to think clearly. maybe that's not such a good idea. ahh well...

button up, it's chilly outside!

photo property of the quiet life

i talked to loretta saturday and we discussed our scheduled lord of the rings rendezvous for wednesday. i asked her if she was going to wear her button. her eyes got big as she said, "of course!" she's been saving her frodo lives button on her bulletin board for two years now. i don't know where she got it. but she still loves it. she wears it at every lotr's opening. i don't have mine anymore but i've got plenty of back up. buttons are back with a vengeance. everyone's giving them away and you can't turn anywhere without seeing a button on someone's handbag, backpack or sweater. it's nerdy, tweeny, and cute.

17 years ago, i had a beige le sport sac (way before dear gwen revitalized the brand) adorned with my little circular shout outs. it was crazy how i tried to get the whole strap all filled up and more crazy was what the buttons actually proclaimed. i dare not repeat because it's just too embarrassing. but think, just do it; crap like that. i think i actually had a button maker once. you are, you know, reading the blog of an elementary, junior high, and high school class officer. think election, but not so cute, not so smart and not so sexy. yeah, we all learn.

this button thing is a passing fancy i don't mind so much (rest in fucking peace, trucker caps). it's funny cause the buttons i see don't say so much these days. they're just whimsical, pretty little things. don't worry if you feel like you're missing out. there's still a few months left before mtv finds out. just go to the deitch projects in soho and see if any imagine peace buttons from yoko ono's last art exhibit, odyssey of a cockroach are still available. they had them buckets full not too long ago. or visit the quiet life and pick up some smart pins today.

Union, Stussy & Undftd Sale (12/14/03)

beautiful box on the block.

photo property of the ny times/george lambros

the farnsworth house was on the auction block this past weekend. mies van der rohe's modernist masterpiece was built in 1951 and has recently caused purists a little anxiety. lately, there have been talks of destruction and talks of displacement. it seems as though the house has fallen into good hands. good people purchased the house with donations large and small (all generous).

i'm addicted to architecture from this time period. i like the clean lines of these small little boxes. the lack of space forces you to live with only what you need. all over america, small bungalows are being torn down to be replaced by tasteless mcmansions. it's refreshing to see people give to save something so architecturally important and moreover, charming. best of all, they're opening up the house to the public so that we may all enjoy it. how much is a ticket to chicago anyway? anyone want to donate miles?

Wall of Sound "10 year anniversary party" (12/15/03)

Monday 12/15

TriBeCa Grand: Sanctum 10pm - 2am: "Off the Wall"

FREE

RSVP to sessions@tribecagrand.com

DJ's to Perform: Mekon, Alex Gifford of Propellerheads, Junior Sanchez, Mark Jones, And a secret guest

control chaos (12/17/03)

singing in the pain.

just got back from brian's 30th birthday bash. he was able to round up some dedicated friends to meet at winnie's in chinatown. winnie's is a dive bar with a ghetto karaoke set up. the drinks are cheap, the songs are cheaper ($1 tip minimum per song) and the company's eclectic and friendly. music ranges from patsy cline and bon jovi to chinese opera. don't even try to find a recent pop tune here. they don't have it. the selection is small but there's still plenty to choose from. there are some serious regulars at this joint and they're surprisingly accomodating to the nyu students/upper any-siders that frequently visit. the place was pretty empty considering it's always packed on a saturday night.

i've been playing a lot of karaoke revolution recently and so have my friends. i believe this video game has made me a better singer. video games are tricky like that. you do things so well in games, that you somehow convince yourself that you can perform the same tricks in real life. i recently scored 100% on easy for my rendition of new order's bizarre love triangle.

i was excited to try out my newly trained voice in public. unfortunately, my two favorite game songs, norah jone's don't know why and bizarre love triangle were unavailable. there was wind beneath my wings but i wasn't ready to release my masterpiece to the masses yet. i had to make my way through a duet of endless love with loretta. i really do love that song and karaoke duets are great fun! if the song sounds bad, blame your fellow crooner. i unfortunately sang my song selection with a high school sound of music maria and she called my singing bluff. no matter, i belted out my lyrics and still got a lot of snaps. singing in public with your buddies is a great way to usher in your 30s. it's just cool to not give a shit (twenty-somethings are still figuring this out).

Swell Holiday (12/13/03)

La Superette: Orgone Panties (12/14/03)

SUNDAY, DEC. 14TH
1pm to 7pm

LA SUPERETTE: ORGONE PANTIES

Bengala and Ramona Banzaca unveil their long-awaited line of Orgone Panties.

Deitch Projects
18 Wooster (Grand & Canal)