Do you have three minutes? No? Well fucking make  some time and watch this video dammit. Rogier van der Zwaag worked really hard on this video for Nobody Beats the Drum single Grindin’ and I don’t think you understand the amazingness of it all.

Wooden blocks,a shitton of them, spray painted and stop motion shot for what I think is the most visually stunning thing so far this year. Avatar didn’t give me this many tingles. It would also help to be tripping, but I digress.

After your face is done melting, check out the making of.

Google has kept a loose eye on their Android mascot, applying a creative commons license to the little guy, allowing artists and fans to go wild with their creations… I’ve seen little bits of schwag here and there, but nothing compares to the complete set of awesomeness that Andrew Bell cooked up…

One of the secret projects that has been keeping me busy lately. I teamed up with some friends at Android™ to bring their mascot to “life”. Head on over to the Dyzplastic production blog for details![Andrew Bell's Blog]

Created in collaboration with Google and Android Andrew Bell, and produced by Dyzplastic Production, this is the first official blind box series featuring everyone’s favorite open source mascot.  Series 1 features 12 different designs in a case of 16 and each vinyl figure stands just 3″ tall. There’s no word on pricing or exactly when these will drop, but a splash page on the Dead Zebra site shows “02:10:20:10″ which leads me to believe they go on sale at DZ on the tenth of February.

DKE Toys are the wholesale distributor for the series, one of Hero Design’s sources for vinyl crack; I should be able to sweet talk them into ordering a case or three.

Buffalo is freeee-zing 4 months out of the year, and for a pedestrian like myself, a good pair of long johns can help cut the chill. There’s a wee bit of a problem though: for whatever reason, unless you wear tighties underneath, your boys can stick like cling film to the side of your leg.

Saxx Apparel, an innovative underwear company from Canada, said they could solve my problem.

Designed with a thin breathable mesh, Saxx Comfort Side Panels are a design innovation in men’s underwear – providing men with contact free comfort, support and a great feel.

The (2) parallel side panels are made of a breathable Nylon/Spandex mesh which contours to the natural shape of men and is entirely flexible. Never restrictive or tight, they offer support when needed and keep men cool and dry.

The Saxx Comfort Side Panels create an unduplicated environment of comfort.

I told Ryan from Saxx that I’d put them through my daily rigors, and he sent me a pair of performance long johns to try out. The twin mesh panels are a bit to get used to, but I soon realized that’s the feeling of testicular freedom. I’m somewhat of a hairy guy from the waist down, and the athletic grade moisture wicking material does an excellent job of keeping my undercarriage dry. Saxx Apparel make the gamut of skivvies, from trunks to boxer briefs to shirts, and in three different styles: everyday, bamboo, and performance. The most popular style is Bamboo, made from its namesake, and are as moisture-wicking as they are eco-friendly. Each style comes with the unique mesh panels for a comfortable no-cling day.

Saxx cost about the $25-$35 range for trunks and boxer briefs, and the long johns are about $50-$70. I think I need about 3 more pairs to get me through the Winter, and if yer real nice, I’ll see about arranging a contest or something to give one away.

Check out Saxx aparrel online and when you see the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, know that some of the best skiers will be rocking the Saxx underneath.

Wanna see the rest of the nate-in-the-snow-half-naked pics? check out this flickr set

Photos taken by Jason Scott.

I’m sure there’s only a small portion of my readership that enjoys a nice furry husky boy stripping and ripping out of a cheap santa suit… but I sure do enjoy it.

found at Chubarama

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m spending it glued to the couch doing nothing. I can barely stand to type, as it is. Regardless, I thought it kind to alert you to a couple sweet Black Friday Deals..

First off, my buddy Yosiell from ProjectDetonate is dropping this sweet new limited giclee print, entitled  “sleep now for tomorrow may not come.” Based off of a revised old painting, the print is limited to 30 and is printed on Ultra Premium Matte paper (192 gsm). Dimensions, 13″ x 19.” It will be available at the ProjectDetonate shop for $35.00 shipped within the US (intl orders add $7.00). They are hand signed and numbered with certificate of authenticity. Print Drops tomorrow at 11am EST

Next up, KidRobot’s Black Friday Toy is this gnarly sweet Squirrel named Nutter. Fully custom figure designed by Kronk, this 6″ figure will be available at KidRobot Shops like Hero Design at Noon.

Hero Design is having their own Black Friday deals as well. Get all four posters from the Buffalo Art Print Series for $80, and save $40! Or you can buy each print individually and get $5 off. A shitton more good deals at Hero so if yer in Buffalo get down to 93 Allen at Noon Tomorrow, see you there.

courtesy of my favorite Indiana Blog Daddy Bil, here’s another look at Spike Jonze’s new film, this time with something a little scarier, and a littler dirtier… hipsters.

I love Hip-Hop. I’m a white boy, but I know when a beat is fresh or not. When it comes to Mainstream, Jay-Z rules, and Lil Wayne can suck it (no-homo). However, Soulja Boy, T-Pain, Flo-Rida, and even 50-Cent have taken it upon themselves to suck the life out of hip-hop. It’s lifeless, nothing but whips, niggas this, bitches, drugs, liquor, killing folk, nigga that, no-homo’s, killing folks, chains, gold, bling… all wrapped into a hastily drawn beat meant to get people dancing.

WHO THE FUCK DANCES TO HIP HOP LIKE IT’S THE ELECTRIC SLIDE?

American Idiots. Shit, it’s not our fault… We’ve been fed the mainstream soup so much that we don’t know when the recipe changed. I agree, music should evolve, but not for sake of the rhyme.

All is not lost however, you just have to find your hip-hop elsewhere. Where? Get your headphones, and click through the jump, we are going to Europe.

Read the rest of this entry »

Walking into Target today with my rec group, I was greeted by  heavily branded Halloween signage pushing Skelanimals, a new Target exclusive deal. Immediately I was all “OMG, Simone Legno got another deal with Target to do the whole Halloween display! Way to go!” Something wasn’t right, however, as I took a deeper look at the displays and toys, and shirt, and all the other exhaustive merch with Skelanimals emblazed. These didn’t seem exactly Tokidoki, and so I thought that Simone was contracted to design a new line for Halloween, apart from his Tokidoki line. A little bit of research, and I found nothing to show Simone had any involvement with the Skelanimals brand.

It appears the Skelanimals brand, featuring playful skeletony characters in black, was the brainchild of Mitchell Bernal, not Simone Legno. Skelanimals was created in 2005, as was the Tokidoki brand, both in Los Angeles. I’m inclined to believe that Simone was the originator, as he has an arsenal of characters in his brand, and I believe his designs to be straight from his Asian culture loving fabulously gay mind.

Above is an example of Simone’s “Til Death do Us Part” line, featuring Adios, Ciao Ciao, Skelatrino, and Skelatrina. I own every fucking one of these in vinyl; they are so cute.

In the above image, we have a Skelanimals character on the left, and Tokidoki’s Skeletrino. Notice the black fill, white skull, and fangs. Lame.

Art thievery happens all the time, too often (Hot Topic is a major thief), but what irritates me the most is that a few months ago, the same cardboard mod, signage display, every placement of product from Skelanimals, was Simone Legno’s Tokidoki back to school line for Target. Why couldn’t Target give the Halloween contract to Simone? Did he want too much money? If so, did Target say “fuck you then” and went to a cheaper imitation? Simone is a valuable contributor to the vinyl/art/fashion scene, Skelanimals is a tweenage-cute-dead-thing line licensed by a company named Art Impressions Media Group Inc. A quick look at their site and their other brands appear to be conceptual imitations of several other design trends.

I’m pissed enough at the Skelanimals brand, but I’m more pissed at Target for tossing aside a designer, and adding on another line that blatantly borrows concepts from another line that Target carries. Maybe this is why a lot of artists are wary about going mainstream retail, they always get fucked over.

I really want to be wrong about this, I really want someone to tell me Simone has a part in this, that Target didn’t know (HA!) and that this is a big misunderstanding. I don’t think I’ll get that comment.

Awhile back, I tried Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, both dry, and wet, and panned it as Skanka. Well, I’m a bit more open-minded… and since the official launch, I’ve grown quite fond of the little packets of instant coffee. VIA can’t beat fresh brewed coffee, but in places where you can’t get to a Starbucks, like work, camping, or Bradford, PA, VIA works quite well. If you have access to hot water, although it works well in cold water too, then you can set up your very own Office Starbucks coffee Station.

• Go to any Starbucks and pick up a 12-pack of Starbucks Via Ready Brew, I like Columbia, it’s a nice medium roast.
• Ask your barista for 12 short cups. Short is the 8oz cups that they don’t advertise, but have available in abundance.
• Also, ask your barista for the bag of napkins, stir sticks, and sugar packets that come with the Coffee Traveler.
• For $10 (they will give you the cups and goodie pack for free if you are nice about it), you have all the stuff to keep your Starbucks addiction at bay while at work. Life is too short for bad coffee.
• I’m sorry, there is no way to get a badass Starbucks “flower” arrangement like the one I have. It was made by a very talented barista in Buffalo, NY.  I think he only made 3. I’ve had it for a couple years and it has lasted wonderfully.
• If you are able, get a carafe and fill it with hot water and keep it close (the water should stay hot all day), and if you plan on sharing your VIA, you can also get a cold cup from your barista filled with chilly moo, to cream it up.

My good bear buddy Yosiell Lorenzo (AKA ProjectDetonate) never disappoints whenever he drops some new work in my inbox. Right now he has a limited number of Gliclee prints available based off of his “Listen Buddy! I’m in charge here” painting.  They are printed on 8″x8″ Velvet fine art paper (270 gsm) and are available at his shop for $25.00 shipped within the US. They are hand signed and numbered with certificate of authenticity. Oh yea, there’s only 16 of ‘em, so pick one up quick. Do it, and check out the rest of his wares on BigCartel, the very gangster equivalent of Etsy.

update 10/16 – WHOA!!! Yosiell sold out in less than 24hrs… nice.