"strict new controls on the making and marketing of products that eventually kill half their regular users."

I've always hated cigarettes, worse than drinking in clubs because it invaded every ones personal space whether you wanted it to or not. Remember having to shower every night for a half hour to get the smell off your body at 4am before going to sleep just because you went to a club? kids are lucky nowadays, i can barely imagine how much more i would have enjoyed going out if there was no smoking in clubs, i still went out a lot up til the early 90's, but i imagine if there was no smoking in clubs i would have continued a lot longer.

Smokers are some pretty selfish motherfuckers in my opinion, #1 they don't really care for those who love them since they continue to smoke, pretty much assuring their early demise. #2 they effect the air and the health of everyone around them. #3 they think they are rebels by smoking but they are really some of the biggest supporters of corporate culture there are since they continue to buy cigarettes from the horrible corporations and suck up an insane amounts of insurance premiums for health care.

(I read somewhere that Obama still smokes 3 cigarettes a day, at least he does it in privacy, it's a shame that he does not quit, but at least he's not showing it off and disrespecting others personal health).

So that all said it's about fucking time the government let the FDA get involved in the regulation of cancer sticks. Here's a bit of the piece from yesterday's NYTimes

Senate Approves Tight Regulation Over Cigarettes
More than four decades after the surgeon general declared smoking a health hazard, the Senate on Thursday cleared the final hurdle to empowering federal officials to regulate cigarettes and other forms of tobacco for the first time.


The legislation, which the White House said President Obama would sign as soon as it reached his desk, will enable the Food and Drug Administration to impose potentially strict new controls on the making and marketing of products that eventually kill half their regular users. The House, which passed a similar bill in April, may vote on the Senate version as soon as Friday.


“This is a historic step changing the nature of tobacco in society forever,” said Clifford E. Douglas, the director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network, which has extensively studied the health effects of smoking and was one of many groups that have long pushed for tobacco regulation...


“This is a bill not for a one-year or two-year splash, but for a long-term impact,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington advocacy group that took a lead in coordinating support for the legislation."

Read the whole article here in the New York Times.
Or to just check out the slide show they put together of old ads go here.

"I Met the Walrus"

In 1969, 14-year-old Beatles fan Jerry Levitan tracked his idol, John Lennon, from a Toronto airport to his room at the King Edward Hotel. Inside, he convinced Lennon to do an impromptu interview. Thirty-eight years later, Levitan teamed with director Josh Raskin to create and edit a five-minute short film entitled I Met the Walrus based on the interview. Amazing, right?

Using the interview as the actual dialogue for the film, the pair hired illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina to do a pen art work that plays off the interview as the background for the film. Raskin later told the EyeOpener.com, "I just wanted to literally animate the words, unfurling in the way I imagined they would appear inside the head of a baffled 14-year-old boy interviewing his idol."

The film went on to premiere at a nightclub in Toronto and has since played at several festivals, ending with a 2008 Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. Over the summer, the film popped up on YouTube, and you can watch it in full below:

from truthout.org

The Skateboarder's Journal (Australia)

Here's an over sized magazine from down under that I must admit is really well done for a skate rag. After current top of his game skate photog, and all around nice guy, Michael O'meally (who happened to shoot this portrait of me a few years back at the Beautiful Losers opening in Cincinnati) asked me if i would be down, he made the introduction to the editors who were very excited to do a full feature on my work over the years as well as interview. The issue has been out for a few weeks now and i recently got a copy from down there, and I must admit it came out pretty damn cool. They used one of my old 1977 photos for the cover, and although they did take some of my advice on design, someone down there went a bit crazy with the colors and too many blurbs, but it's all in good fun and still looks pretty cool - shit i doubt any of the folks who are on this magazine staff were barely even born when I took that photo! From what i hear it's gotten some good reaction and press of it's own down there. The interview came out pretty cool too, I'll drop in one of the questions below the cover. If you're down there or know anyone down there, you may want to get a copy, the photos printed well and BIGGER than anywhere else before.

SJ: Did you guys have any concept of being on the
forefront of skateboarding history, or was it just
natural progression?
GEF: Forefront? We were kids; we didn’t use words like that. We were just doing what had to be done, skating and punk rock a few years later. Indeed these were natural progressions that were bound to happen in one way or another. Just so happens the people I was hanging with did them more creatively and with more style than anyone ever had or would. In hindsight, there was definitely some ground breaking going on.

Jungle Brothers - more underrated 80's

Just another one of the many incredibly talented groups that came out in the 80's was the Jungle Brothers.
here's one of my favorite cuts from their debut LP Straight Out the Jungle.


And below Because I Got It Like That - a classic that put them on the map here in NYC in the late golden era of Hip-Hop (with a little help from co-conspirator, and major player DJ in NYC at the time, DJ Red Alert).



the Wiki:
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in 1988. With Afrocentric lyrics and innovative beats, the Jungle Brothers were critically acclaimed and soon joined the influential Native Tongues collective. The trio is composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam, an homage to Afrika Bambaataa) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B).

SCREAM - another underrated group from the 80's

Scream were one of the many incredible bands that came out on Dischord in the early 80's. The Stahl brothers Pete (singer) and Franz (lead guitar) were the heart of this band, with a lot of integrity and originality, that had a few different members at different times, notably Skeeter Thompson (bass), and later, Dave Grohl in their last incarnation who eventually joined Nirvana, etc.. It was actually this last incarnation that at one point in 1990 or so had me trying to start my own major label distributed record label. There were problems and it never happened, but the demo we were shopping around was eventually released by Dischord a few years later as their last album, Fumble.


Here are a few of my favorite classics off their debut LP "Still Screaming"

from the Dischord site:
Baileys Crossroads, Virginia lays just a few miles outside of DC, but in the 1980s it was apparently far enough to make it seem like a different world. The Virginia suburbs suddenly stepped up with the formation of Scream. There were punk shows being thrown in the basement of the Scream House, and the DC bands, always looking for a place to play, were making the trek out to what was known as 'BXR'. Scream, like most of the bands in DC, obviously had been extremely influenced by the Bad Brains, but they seemed to be more advanced musicians and had more of a rock and roll sensibility than the others. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian and Eddie to record Dischord's first full length album, Still Screaming.

HOPE (cont.)

You know he's still speaking better than any president we've had in my lifetime. He's not golden by any means, but he's making some good moves saying some good stuff. I can't say that i've said that about any president in a long time, scratch that, ever. I'm now really hoping that he does something REAL along the lines of single payer with health care, because in the last few weeks its looked like he was caving into the insurance corporatists... we'll see.

In the mean time watch this if you haven't already,
(his speech from Cairo, Egypt, last week).

"A New Beginning"
The President gives a speech in Cairo, Egypt, outlining his personal commitment to engagement with the Muslim world, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect, and discusses how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them. June 4, 2009. (public domain)

here's his most recent weekly address on the subject of healthcare:




*UPDATE* *UPDATE* *UPDATE* *UPDATE*

(thanks, Luke)

the Scenario

Even though it was just Planet of The Apes, growing up with scene's like this on the big screen certainly made an impact on all of us.

It's kind of interesting that it'd be Charleton Heston of all people making the statement about our society's attachement to violence, it's his people.
Have a nice Sunday.

I love the Beatles, and just don't play video games.

But this video game "trailer" released about the upcoming Beatles "Rockband" looks cool as hell. I can't imagine the game itself being this cool and dynamic, but what the fuck do i know about video games? (not much if anything-someone clue me in if you feel like it).

If you're one of those people who enjoys the music of the Beatles, then prepare for your head to explode. This gorgeous animated video is the one that'll play when you put upcoming video game The Beatles: Rock Band into your Xbox, Playstation, or Wii this September (watch it bigger here). You know how every fall they blame low TV ratings on people skipping shows to play video games? That will definitely happen again this year.

(hit the full screen view button on the right to watch it here or got to the link above and see the sharper version there)

(from New York magazine - nymag.com - Thanks, Luke)

Previously Unpublished - DANZIG

Here are a couple of photos from the first photo session ever of the band DANZIG (circa 1988). Not one of these was used for the original purpose of publicity, for one reason or another, but when you look back at them it's just hard to believe.


I shot this whole day more as a favor to Rick Rubin than anything else. Rick has always been a big fan and supporter of my work. I actually introduced him to Glenn Danzig at his request, and he signed him shortly thereafter. I even had the idea to introduce them to Chuck Biscuits when i heard they were looking for a drummer, and i had heard Chuck was no longer in any bands at the time (although i probably never saw a better fit for Chuck than the few years he played with the Circle Jerks - not to say he was not totally incredible in Black Flag, because of course he was, i believe he just couldn't keep up the work ethic - and of course you can never downplay his teen years as a member of the groundbreaking DOA) truthfully Chuck adds to any group he's in, hands down one of the greatest if not the greatest punk drummer of all time.

Anyway, unless you have my Fuck You Too book you've never seen any photos from this session anywhere (and there are quite a few more good ones too!)

Let's throw in this poorly scanned still i took from the Tougher Than Leather movie shoot of Rick with adult film star, Lois Ayres, for good measure:

What the?

Praying man gets tazed by police and escapes...
(This certainly wasn't in Los Angeles or New York)

Two police officers pin a man to the ground and try to handcuff him. The man wriggles and prays to Yahweh. Eventually, one of the officers shoots him with a Tazer, which instead of subduing the man, gives him the strength to break free and run away.
(thanks BoingBoing)

Rebel without a cause (?)

from gaurdian.co.uk
Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhist order

As a toddler, he was put on a throne and worshipped by monks who treated him like a god. But the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a spiritual leader has caused consternation – and some embarrassment – for Tibetan Buddhists by turning his back on the order that had such high hopes for him.

Instead of leading a monastic life, Osel Hita Torres now sports baggy trousers and long hair, and is more likely to quote Jimi Hendrix than Buddha.

Yesterday he bemoaned the misery of a youth deprived of television, football and girls. Movies were also forbidden – except for a sanctioned screening of The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy, about a kidnapped child lama with magical powers. "I never felt like that boy," he said.


He is now studying film in Madrid and has denounced the Buddhist order that elevated him to guru status. "They took me away from my family and stuck me in a medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal," said Torres, 24, describing how he was whisked from obscurity in Granada to a monastery in southern India. "It was like living a lie," he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Despite his rebelliousness, he is still known as Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche and revered by the Buddhist community. A prayer for his "long life" still adorns the website of the Foundation to Preserve the Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 centres around the world. The website features a biography of the renegade guru that gushes about his peaceful, meditative countenance as a baby. In Tibetan Buddhism, a lama is one of a lineage of reincarnated spiritual leaders, the most famous of which is the Dalai Lama.

According to the foundation biography, another leader suspected Torres was the reincarnation of the recently deceased Lama Yeshe when he was only five months old. In 1986, at 14 months, his parents took him to see the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. The toddler was chosen out of nine other candidates and eventually "enthroned".

At six, he was allowed to socialise only with other reincarnated souls – though for a time he said he lived next to the actor Richard Gere's cabin.

By 18, he had never seen couples kiss. His first disco experience was a shock. "I was amazed to watch everyone dance. What were all those people doing, bouncing, stuck to one another, enclosed in a box full of smoke?"


(thanks Ryan)

UPDATES
Here's a great piece just submitted in the comments section by Tobester (Thank you).

Read this from Osel himself http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/osel/.

“Don’t Buy Any Food You’ve Ever Seen Advertised”

That's new advice on buying food from “Omnivore’s Dilemma” Author Michael Pollan.


if the video does not play go here.

Michael Pollan is one of the nation’s leading writers and thinkers in this country on the issue of food. He is author of several books about food, including The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and his latest, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. In light of what he calls the processed food industry’s co-option of “sustainability” and its vast spending on marketing, Pollan advises to be wary of any food that’s advertised.

from Democracy Now

(monday) Inspiration.

This just chokes me up it's so great.

Why you should listen to them:
The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra (Sinfónica Juvenil Teresa Carreño) is the national high school age youth orchestra of El Sistema, Venezuela's groundbreaking, life-changing musical education program. To put this ensemble's musicianship in context, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela is the next step for many of these young musicians. That orchestra, containing musicians from 18 to 28 years old, has toured the world with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and has made a number of recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra is the next level below, and will succeed the Simón Bolívar.

Their conductor in this TEDTalk is Gustavo Dudamel, himself a product of the El Sistema. Dudamel conducted the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela for several years, and recently was named the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director. He also continues to conduct other orchestras around the world.

The orchestra's namesake, Teresa Carreño, was a legendary Venezuelan pianist after whom the main theater/concert hall complex in Caracas is also named.

"El Sistema" • Trailer for the documentary film

The film shows the gripping way "El Sistema" functions on a daily basis in a typical nucléo in one of the most dangerous and poorest areas in Caracas.

Visit www.el-sistema-film.com for further information!

OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Yes this is several years old, and I'm a bit lazy this week with the posts, but if you never saw this, it's certainly well worth it.



and just for the hell of it, go to the Faux News Channel for a few more recent choice clippings.

RECOGNIZE

just in case you've never seen this:
(may i suggest the full screen mode, it's pretty cool)



buy the book direct here or possibly discounted at Amazon.

Total shithead list cont.

What a fucking scum bag piece of shit, Jeff Stier. Do some people not have any integrity at all? i mean even a fucking ounce? This guy belongs on the list without a doubt, as Samantha B. from the Daily Show illustrates so clearly below.



and here are a few more pieces of shit from Fox news, and Sen. Tom Coburn (R) Oklahoma, on the fucking disgusting and pathetic side of gasoline guzzling:


Anyone i ever add to this list can get hit by a bus as far as i'm concerned.

Point these people out whenever you can, and don't let them get away with it.
Stand up and be counted.
thank you.

thanks Jon Stewart and the Daily Show,

Christopher Hitchens vs. Ken Blackwell of The Family Research Council

I haven't been a big fan of Hitchens since he flipped many years ago, but every once and a while it's certainly fun to see him argue on the side of the argument we agree with, (particularly when he's sober). I mean he has written some incredible titles: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice where he takes down Mother Teresa! To his latest God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. No matter how you slice him, he's a bad ass, wether we agree with him or not.

Ken Blackwell of The Family Research Council (Self-described as a "Christian organization promoting the traditional family unit and the Judeo-Christian value system upon which it is built") goes up against Christopher Hitchens on the topic of Christianity in America. (thanks, BoingBoing)

The Story of Rough Trade records

This is a very cool BBC documentary on the incredible Rough Trade records in London. Early example of the "Do It Yourself" culture and ethic.

I first went here in the spring of 1980 (after high school graduation). i was told by one of my English DJ friends who now lived in New York, to see a particular person and just buy what ever top few records they recommended. I came home with an early Crass 7" Bloody Revolutions/Persons Unknown, and an early Adam & the Ants record as well as a few bizarre others including Spizzenergi's "Where's Captain Kirk".



(thanks, to Joe Carducci who pointed this out in an e-mail today)

new old cameras

Last few days i've been looking on Ebay and around the internet for some old camera stuff, with some success i might add. The old classics are not really in demand as they were just a few years ago even, deals are there to be found if you're at all interested, but that doesn't stop some folks from still trying to get top dollar off of something that almost no one wants. Sadly, for the most part the old technology is fading a bit quicker than i suspected it would only a few years ago. It's not depressing at all, but certainly interesting.

Anyway while looking around i stumbled on some photos of two classic versions of cameras similar to what i use, but insane special editions. These things are damn near comical, but if it was 1987 and i got a big Def Jam job done, i may have treated myself to one of these, In fact if i showed them to Rick Rubin back then he probably would have insisted that i use one on my next shoot! I mean if Ice-T or Eric B. were at all interested in photography i'm sure I would have had to get them one of these:


So what's the real story on this Pentax LX camera anyway?

" .... It was March 16th, 1981, one year after the introduction of the Pentax LX. The ten-millionth Pentax SLR camera, an LX, came out of AOC’s main plant in Mashiko and was given to the chief designer, then chairman of Asahi Opt. Co. Ltd. Minoru Suzuki. In order to celebrate this 10 million event, on August 25th, 1981 a limited edition "LX Gold" was introduced. It was 18 carat gold plated with brown leather (also-called lizard skin or snake skin) and was equipped with an SMC Pentax f/1.2 50mm lens also with brown leather and gold finish. All dark details of the LX Gold are dark-brown instead of black, including the front lens ring and film chamber, with only the film pressure plate and the small watch curtain in black. Of course, the natural titanium shutter curtains remain unchanged. Also a brown lens cap and everready case were provided with the LX Gold. The package included a wooden box with red lining and white silk gloves to handle the camera without leaving fingerprints on the sensitive gold plating. Both the camera and the case are provided with golden carton boxes sporting 10million logo and 1981 lettering.

Only 300 pieces of the LX Gold were manufactured, 200pcs for the Japanese home market and 100pcs for the international market. Serial numbers for the LX Gold ranged from XM001 to XM300 (XM meaning ten million). Sales started in November 1981 at 850,000 Yen, but not all of them, were sold, as some were either given to Pentax importers worldwide or became prizes for photo contests... Apparently, the LX Gold for the US market had a different type of leather, maybe for import laws about leather of endangered species.

The original article was published on SPOTMATIC magazine #25, July 2000.

for more pictures of this incredibly pimped out camera than you could imagine (four pages worth) go here.

new poll for you

People identifying themselves as Republicans have fallen from 26 percent to 22 percent, their lowest level in 25 years, according to Pew.

Over the first four months of 2009, the Republican Party has continued to lose adherents. Interviews with over 7,000 respondents nationwide so far this year found fewer than a quarter (23%) of the combined total identifying themselves as Republicans. This is down from 25% in 2008, and from 30% in 2004. In total, the GOP has lost roughly a quarter of its base over the past five years.

But these Republican losses have not translated into substantial Democratic gains. So far in 2009, 35% of adults nationwide identify as Democrats, about the same as in 2008 (36%). While GOP identification has fallen seven points since 2004, the Democrats have gained only two points over that period. Instead, a growing number of Americans describe themselves as independents, 36% in 2009 compared with just 32% in 2008 and 30% in 2004.

It's about fucking time. now i wish the green party would start to be included and gain some ground in these surveys.


That reminds me, I watch HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher every Friday night for some entertaining political discussion (where i first heard of this new poll), and i think he's a good moderator of the discussions, i also appreciate that he's a vegetarian or at least tries to be, and often sticks up for animal rights. I even agree with him on the issue of religion. And I applauded him for standing up to ABC for what he said that supposedly got him kicked off the air there. BUT otherwise may i state for the record: what a fucking unfunny smug little shit he is, on the TV show, and in that horrible film Religulous - he was just so condescending and NOT funny - there were several movies out before his that do a much better job at discrediting all the major religions, his was just embarrassing. Honestly 95 percent of his monologues and "skits" on Real Time are NOT AT ALL funny when he's trying to be, and he often blames his studio audience for being too liberal since they don't laugh? DUDE, you got NO jokes, and btw. your music SUCKS as well. And while i'm at it, can you quit trying to hint to the whole world how much of a playboy you are with African American women? I mean i don't care who you like to fuck, but you are so juvenile in the way you like to make your little hints and remarks about it, not to mention your bragging about your pot smoking - what a fucking chump. I appreciate your political skills even if i don't always agree with you. But a stand-up comedian you are not (or, if you want to be, at least once and for all find some good writers!)

Sunday sermon of the month "Our Food - Our Future"

download the pdf here at Earthsave.

Unfortunate related news I only discovered earlier this evening is that DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA author John Robbins was also a victim of Bernard Madoff.

He and his wife of 42 years, Deo, lost 98 percent of their net worth in the vast investment sham that has sapped international banks, movie stars and charitable organizations. As a famous longtime resister of what he calls the "toxic mythology" that "self-worth is defined by net worth," Robbins acknowledged the inescapable irony of losing more than $1 million in a market-driven scheme fueled by old-fashioned greed.

Back in 1987 his book blazed a trail for myself and many others. John Robbins was really an important part of an awakening in this country and the world. While it was obviously not smart of him to put his life savings in the stock market or what he thought was the stock market, (not to mention against some of what he may have preached), it is sad for such a positive man to be effected so horribly. The story quoted above is linked to in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Lot's of the comments are really negative, and that's just a sad commentary on those humans. This is one special human.

I highly recommend any of his books to everyone.

King Tee - previously unpublished shots

These are just a few bad ass shots taken in the parking lot at the Forum in Inglewood, California, that we never got to use.

*actually this last shot was published in a book called Rockin' Down The Highway

King Tee (Roger McBride) was probably one of the least popular hip-hop artists that i shot more than once over the years (i mean there indeed were some less popular, but i only shot them once), but all the work we did was really good looking, and always based around some cool car that he or his friends had at the time. We did three album covers together (and i can't remember how many 12" single covers we got from those same sessions), and i got great compliments for all of them from people of every ilk, I think i like the last one (At Your Own Risk) the best because it was so damn real, and it was all so not set up. The front cover I shot while leaning out the window of Amery's car while on the 101 freeway headed downtown to the L.A. County Jail (to shoot what we thought would be the front cover), it was a one off killer, composition and attitude perfect, the day i got it back from Kodak i knew it was the shot that we didn't plan, but that I'd convince them all to use. Now i gotta admit that wasn't hard, since Ice-T was in fact making a lot of those art/management type decisions with "T-La" at the time, and the shot we got for the back cover with the insets were incredible. On the way back to Ice-T's house, where we all met up for the photo-session, the police pulled up behind the lowered light green Impala '64 and flipped the lights on and made them all get out of the car, we were in the car just ahead of them, so we saw it all happen then pulled over, parked down a side street, as quickly as possible i threw some film into the camera and a long lens, then shot a few photos surveillance style before I walked up and vouched for them. Unfortunately once again white guy with a big mouth, saves the day, but we were in L.A. so some harassment was inevitable. But at least we got a dope shot for the back cover...





* FYI - On purpose, I have not taken a photo with a weapon, in over 15 years, and never plan to ever again. When i originally was doing it, it was before it became common, or worse, a novelty. Early on we were trying to show a particular reality, but once i became aware of the fact that it was no longer just helping to tell a story, share a reality of daily life for some of these lyricists, but eventually seemed to be glorifying the use of guns, I vowed never to create a picture with a gun in it again. The last time i did it was for the infamous 1993 cover of In Gatz We Truss' by South Central Cartel. Besides, shooting pictures with a gun, a cigarette or gratuitous nudity, i came to realize for the most part is just a cop-out, when there's not something else great about a personality, composition or character, just throw in one of those "props" and all sense goes out the window. Too corny and too easy, that's my opinion. Not to mention, I HATE GUNS!

"Be a fucking person!"

Once again Jon Stewart sets'em straight. I mean how many times have you watched these corporate scum bags or political ass holes do something that makes you (you meaning: a person who actually believes in the overall good of human kind), just want to tell some one just "Be a fucking person" - a decent thinking, caring just a bit compassionate human being, BEFORE deciding to shit on another person as though you are better or more important than them. I am looking forward to this new segment and i hope it becomes a catch phrase people start using in business and politics more often.

"Crazy-ass freeway exchanges of the world"

This is a really interesting web site if you're at all intrigued by this type of stuff.

Jebediah says, "This is a photo gallery of strange and striking freeway interchange configurations, including ones like the volleyball, the double trumpet, and the turbine. Many are as, or more, visually interesting than the cloverleaf. Learning all the different varieties makes one feel a bit like a birdwatcher when driving on the interstate. 'Oh, there's a classic diamond! And there's a clovermill!'"

Part 1 from Infrastructurist.com
Part 2 from Infrastructurist.com
(thanks, Jeb and BoingBoing)

For someone who only drives when on vacation i sure do still think about this stuff a lot, and this is even more interesting to me "DIY electric VW goes 82MPH".

I've owned two cars in my life. In my senior year in high school I bought the first automatic Honda Prelude made, with all my SkateBoarder magazine savings. About five years later, in 1984, I had the opportunity to by a classic Mercedes for the price to get it out of the shop that a family friend did not want to pay, so I figured i'd have a Benz all fixed up for $3500, great, until the mechanic took me for a ride that wouldn't end 'til many thousands later, years later. (The Dead Kennedy's song "Trust Your Mechanic" comes to mind quite vividly for me). After i bought that car, by the late 80's i said i'd never buy another car unless it was electric. That car stayed with family in Los Angeles, I never brought it back to NYC, no need at all. A few years ago i sold that car to a good friend who will take care of it out there, it had been running fine for the old car that it is, but indeed care is what it always needs, but it was a cool classic that all my old friends remember fondly.

The Beatbox Battle World Championship "Wildcard"

From the back seat of a car this young lady sends in her video entry as a wild card. Talk about chillaxin'...
from NPR.org

Who's the greatest beatboxer in the world? We'll soon find out, when the annual Beatbox Battle World Championship gets underway in Berlin, Germany on May 28. Each year contestants from all over the world flock to the city to lay down some sweet, human-generated beats in hopes of snagging the grand prize. This year's winner will be crowned on May 31.
In the meantime, the BBWC has announced the winner of its wildcard competition. It's Julia Dales, a 17 year-old from Canada:



Julia Dales took first place as a wildcard, so she gets a shot at winning the whole thing.

(thanks, BoingBoing)

cool ticket coupon from 1984

Here's an interesting ticket from a show i helped put together while I was still managing Suicidal Tendencies.
Obviously you've heard of most of these bands that were playing below Suicidal on the bill, except maybe the Abandoned who i think i remember were a band started by Tony Cadena of the Adolescents after they first split up. Great to see The Chili Peppers opening for Suicidal AND S.S. Decontrol, don't know how they managed to stay above the Minutemen though.

Here's another previously unpublished photo from my archive.

Suicidal Tendencies circa 1983 on the side of the Smith house in Playa Del Rey, California. (Yup, that's Amery "AWOL" Smith on the right).

Hip-Hop in the media circa 1981

From a program i have come to detest over the years especially after scumbag John Stossel came on, here's 20/20's look at Hip-Hop in 1981, from Rap Radar. Crazy bit of cultural science. (pt.2 is the better piece).




(Thanks, Doug.)

TOMS - One For One

Produced by Ken Kokin (Usual Suspects and Sundance Winner, Public Access), the TOMS Shoe Drop experience is beautifully documented to reflect the One for One mission, "For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need." The first Shoe Drop took place in Argentina in October of 2006, when TOMS Shoes Founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie and his team brought 10,000 pairs of shoes to distribute to children in need.

TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about.

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created a company that would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.

Since our beginning, TOMS has given over 140,000* pairs of shoes to children in need through the One for One model. Because of your support, TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.

Our ongoing community events and Shoe Drop Tours allow TOMS supporters and enthusiasts to be part of our One for One movement. Join us.

TOMS SHOES

They do have Vegan options.
And they also did a collaboration with Element Skateboard company.

(Thanks, John )

unrelated: Check out this 100% bamboo skateboard manufacturer while you're at it.

Us Now: documentary about web collaboration

This is a really cool film about this internet thing that i've been talking about a lot lately. Produced by Banyak Films in the UK.

"We made a film about mass collaboration through the Web and how it is reshaping the future of government. "Us Now" features Clay Shirky, Don Tapscott and lots of other clever people. And we made it look pretty too! Better still, it's up for FREE online streaming!"

Us Now (Thanks BoingBoing)

Mike Tyson Documentary - no joke.

We've watched this twice already. If you have ever been intrigued or excited or even angered by this guy this documentary is a must see.



Go to a theater, rent the DVD or find the Bit Torrent, it's an incredible story done well and serious as Iron Mike's fist, pretty great.

I took this photo back in 1987.
Here's Tyson back stage at the Run-DMC & Beastie Boys "Together Forever" tour with Mookie (one of the tour crew - who i heard died recently). Mike had been champ only for a short while at the time I snapped this quick shot. He was dancing on the side of the stage during both sets. We used to see him at hip-hop spots pretty often back then.

Kodachrome, another step toward its extinction?

If you've seen my color photography, you've seen the use of Kodachrome film. Ever since i first got published i have been using this film. Back in the old days it's all anyone with half an once of credibility would use and i was told by Warren Bolster (RIP) the original editor at SkateBoarder magazine that that was the film of choice for the magazine, I have been addicted ever since. Although in the last 10 years or so i have used it less and less since it is less available and more difficult to process. "It is an elaborately crafted photographic film, extolled for its sharpness, vivid colors and archival durability. " Here's a bit from the Wikipedia page for some interesting details:

Kodachrome was the first successfully mass-marketed color still film... and remains the oldest brand of color film currently available.
Since its introduction in 1935 it has been produced in several camera film and movie formats, and was for many years used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.
Kodachrome is appreciated in the archival and professional market because of its color accuracy and dark-storage longevity. Because of these qualities, Kodachrome has been used by professional photographers... Kodachrome was invented in the early 1930s by two professional musicians, Leopold Godowsky, Jr. and Leopold Mannes (hence the humorous saying that Kodachrome was made by God and Man)...

Kodachrome is fundamentally different from E-6 process and C-41 process color films (most commonly used)... its rendering of color and response to light unique. The dye couplers in other color films require thicker emulsion layers that allow light to scatter, whereas thinner layers are generally sharper... Kodachrome's long-term "dark-keeping" stability under ordinary conditions has long been superior to other color film. Kodachrome slides over fifty years old still retain accurate color and grain. It has been calculated that the least stable color, yellow, would suffer a 20% loss of dye in 185 years... The Kodachrome K-14 developing process is very complicated, exacting and requires technicians with extensive chemistry training, as well as large machinery which is extremely difficult to operate, which precludes its use by amateurs or small laboratories, unlike the E-6 process used for developing modern reversal [slide] films... Kodak no longer processes Kodachrome film itself. Dwayne's Photo, an independent facility in Kansas, is the sole Kodachrome processing facility in the world.

So as you may have guessed it, that last line has led me to the title of this post. Although they still do make Kodachrome 64 (my film of choice for all the early skateboarding years), my favorite since then was the Kodachrome 200, which has been out of production for several years now, but i have some on ice i can keep until the lab stops processing it altogether. My current problem is that most recently the place to drop it in New York was a Walgreens pharmacy! If you could imagine, and it was really cheap too, like $6.99 a roll or something, but when i went in yesterday to drop of a roll they told me they no longer will be accepting it. Damn. So now like the rest of the world i will have to send my Kodachrome through the US Mail to Kansas and pay nearly three times what i was per roll to get it processed and delivered back to me in 2 weeks time. Talk about old school.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful i can still use it at all, just hope they are still doing it for a while until i at least finish the dozen or so rolls i have for those special occasions i think it's worth using.

The pizza box of the 21st century

simple and obvious.

Environmentally Conscious Organization (e.c.o.), Incorporated is a design, licensing firm and manufacturing firm dedicated to improving outmoded, outdated and wasteful food packaging. e.c.o., Incorporated is marketing its first product, the Green Box (US Patent 7,051,919), a pizza box manufactured from 100% recycled material. The top of the Green Box breaks down into convenient serving plates, eliminating the need for disposable plates. The bottom of the 'Green Box' converts easily into a handy storage container, eliminating the need for plastic wrap, tin foil or plastic bags. The perforations and scores that create this functionality allow for easy disposal into a standard-sized recycling bin. Made from a standard pizza blank, the Green Box requires no additional material or major redesign and can therefore be produced at no additional manufacturing cost. e.c.o., Incorporated owns the utility patent on the Green Box. Check out the website at www.ecoincorporated.com.

thanks BBgadgets

fucked up architecture.

I love looking at architecture anywhere and everywhere, home and around the world, and even when it's corny, if it's fucked up enough i like that too.
A few weeks ago BoingBoing ran a cool piece and i was inspired by that to turn you onto these places and the sites they came from Unusual Architecture and VIllage of Joy.

Ewok House (Location unknown)

Erwin Wurm: House Attack (Viena, Austria)

Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge, TN, United States)

Stone House (Guimarães, Portugal)

National Theatre (Beijing, China)

Sculptured House (Colorado, United States)

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing this last one used in Woody Allen's incredible 1973 movie Sleeper.

Jay Adams (October 2008 interview)

Well if you're a Jay Adams fan or hater this is going to be interesting to you.

Jay Adams from Kyle Browning on Vimeo.

I found this just by accident on Vimeo

Ten questions to ask your mother now.

Ten questions to ask your mother now

By Judith Newman (CNN)-- "Mom, I have to ask you something," my seven-year-old Henry begins. He stares at me with those solemn eyes and I steel myself.
Considering our unique family, it could be any number of things. Why do you and Dad live in separate places? (We are married but never could stand to live together.)
Why is Gus so different from other kids? (Henry's twin brother is mildly autistic.)
Why does Dad look tired all the time? (My husband was 68 when our sons were born... You do the math.)
I'm ready.
"Do you think spit cleans better than water?" he asks. "You always use it to clean my face."
You know, it isn't a bad question. And, in a way, every burst of curiosity gives me hope that my boys will continue to quiz me about ever more interesting and personal things. Because, as adults, so many of us don't ask enough about our mothers. (Maybe we're scared. More likely we just don't get around to it.)
Yet there's no better way to become closer to a person, even if you've known her all your life. So, after an utterly unscientific survey of friends and acquaintances, I've come up with 10 queries to get you started. Try them out this Mother's Day. You may even learn something about yourself.
1. What's the one thing you would have done differently as a mom? Recently I had this conversation with someone I had considered one of the best mothers I know -- the kind who never missed a kid's concert or a PTA conference. Her children are grown now, and they are neither independent nor particularly grateful.
"I should have let them fail," she told me. "When my daughter forgot to do her homework, I shouldn't have done it for her. When the other one got caught shoplifting, I should have let her spend a night in jail." For better or worse, your mother has probably given this subject a good deal of thought.
2. Why did you choose to be with my father? "Look at him!" my mother says adoringly. "He looks just like Jascha Heifetz!" He does, actually. But Heifetz, perhaps the world's greatest violinist, was one weird-looking dude. And my dad doesn't even play the violin. (Which is a bit like an accountant being the spitting image of Mick Jagger.)
So was there anything else? "Well, he liked smart women," says my mom, who was in medical school when they met in the 1950s. "So many men didn't back then." Not a bad reason to marry someone. I'm glad I asked.
3. In what ways do you think I'm like you? And not like you? Accuracy is not important here; you want to know her perceptions. Does she think you share her best qualities or her worst? (And do you agree?) Are your similarities and differences complementary -- they make the two of you click -- or are they the cause of all your conflicts?
4. Which one of us kids did you like the best? OK, chances are she'll dodge this question. But you'll probably force a compliment out of her -- "You were the one who set the table when you were three" -- and get a little insight into how she viewed each of you. And if she gives a straight answer? Well, you'll all have something new to fixate upon.
5. Is there anything you have always wanted to tell me but never have? The woman who suggested this question had learned late in life that the "aunt" who had lived with her parents while she was growing up was, in fact, her father's lover -- an arrangement that apparently suited all involved. Your mom's secrets might be a little less stunning. But hearing something she has been holding back may take your relationship into (good) uncharted territory.
6. Do you think it's easier or harder to be a mother now than when you were raising our family? We might agonize about working more hours outside the home and competing with our kids' cell phones for attention, but our mothers had other battles. "My mom thinks that if she had had a career, she would have been less frustrated and a better mother," reports one friend. The two of you needn't have a "Terms of Endearment moment over this one, but by understanding what she went through, you may appreciate your own situation more.
7. Is there anything you regret not having asked your parents? In my informal survey, the list went on and on, covering everything from "Did you ever think about leaving my dad for someone else?" and "Did you ever want to just throw in the towel?" to "What music do you want played at your funeral?" People regretted what they hadn't asked -- never what they had.
8. What's the best thing I can do for you right now? My mother is not subtle: "Call every day. If you don't, I think you're dead."
Other friends who had asked this question over the years were invariably surprised. One mom wanted her daughter to teach her to use a computer; another wanted her son, a plastic surgeon, to give her a face-lift. ("I had a moment where I didn't exactly love lifting my mother's skin off, but I thought I could do a better job than anyone else," he says.)
The mom of a young colleague wanted to meet her friends. "I'd always thought she wasn't interested in them," she says. "In fact, my mom was just shy."
9. Is there anything that you wish had been different between us -- or that you would still like to change? This inquiry prompted one mother to plan a trip with her 30-year-old daughter -- their first ever. She and her husband had always vacationed alone when their children were young, and she had felt bad about it for years. Whether you're 25 or 55, chances are there is some dynamic between you and your mother that could be better. Give her a chance to put it out there.
10. When did you realize you were no longer a child? I know what the answer will be for me, and I was startled to hear my mother give the same response: "I knew it when my own mother died," she told me. "That's the last time there would be anyone in the world who always put me before herself." from CNN.com

An anthropological introduction to YouTube

Good friend and producer Eric Matthies sent me this the other day.
from Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Kansas State University. This is really great.

Here's a shorty to whet the appetite

Thought you'd dig this - it's one of the best studies of media culture I've seen yet. 55 min. long so be warned.