Archive for April, 2012
“Remember the beginning of the “Black Or White” video, where Michael Jackson is dancing on the African veldt? Well, that’s pretty much Rihanna’s video for the Talk That Talk club-jam “Where Have You Been,” except that Rihanna’s video is (obviously) way, way sexier, and it sadly doesn’t feature an airborne George Wendt.
In the video, Riri plays some sort of desert warrior princess, and she looks extremely good, which is sort of the point of a video like this one.” If that isn’t enough for you, take a look at the behind the scenes of “Where Have You Been,” the singer showcases some sick dance moves. Watch the singer’s rigourous routine courtesy of choreographer, Hi-Hat.
This great video for Josh Ritter’s Love Is Making Its Way Back Home was directed by Erez Horovitz and involves the meticulous animation of over 12,000 laser-cut pieces of construction paper. Via Etsy:
A team of nearly twenty artists, editors, directors and product assistants ushered the video into being. The group started with storyboarding and computer animation before converting the digital graphics to paper cutouts (frame by frame), photographing those 12,000 cutouts and then stitching them together into four minutes of paper animation.
Tons of people from my home state of New Jersey, ask me about the difference between there, and the Bay Area. Contrary to popular belief, there’s many more types of people than just the Oakland gangsters you hear about on the news, and I found a humorous little collection of pictures that breaks them down. “Your Scene Sucks“, a nice set of illustrations that helps you to never make a mistake, recognize and know the clothing styles, among hipsters, punks, emos, the indies, the post-rockers, nerds, the hardcore geeks and others. The “Your Scene Sucks” are made by Rob Dobi, who just published a book.
Tweet’s video for her first single “Oops (Oh My),” featuring Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott. Nothing wrong with a little self love. “Oh my…”
I never took to knitting. One reason may be that it is accepted that you will have to rip out rows at some point in the process. This alone drives me up a tree. I never let perfection be the enemy of the good and knitting just doesn’t work that way. I’d never have made it on the prairie. Mexican artist Gabriel Dawe spins a yarn with these exciting sculptures. Beautiful and precise. Homeboy’s just got a gift.
Built in 2005 in Mazama, Washington, and designed by Tom Kundig, the Delta Shelter is 1,000 square feet of modernist retreat. It measures 20×20, sits three stories tall, and has 10×18 steel shutters that are opened or closed via a hand-cranked wheel.
REK is a bookcase that grows with your book collection. The more books the bigger the bookcase gets. The zigzag shaped parts slide in and out to accommodate books in the resulting voids. REK will always be full, regardless of the quantity of books. Also the books can be arranged according to their sizes. The narrow spaces are excellent for magazines.
With more and more female emcees in the game as of late, it’s no surprise that some have a different persona than others. Nicki Minaj can be whimsical, and does the pop thing on the side, The Bobby Effect is hard spitting, and lyrical, but can also whip up a banger of a party track, and artists like Precious Paris just have the gangster roll down to a science. Check out her latest video ‘Everything O.K.’ featuring 50 Cent.
Madeon performs Pop Culture live in Nantes, France back in July 2011. Awesome-sauce.
Russian artist Vladimir Kush was born in Moscow and is a surrealist painter and sculptor. He defines his art as metaphorical realism instead surrealism. His paintings are fascinated by fantasy stories. His paintings looks like influenced by Salvador Dali.
I’ve been a fan of Mr. Roth since before the release of ‘I Love College’, but you can’t always predict what any emcee will decide to do musically. A collaboration between Meek Mill and Asher Roth seems a bit off the scale of possibility, but then again, stranger things have happened. Click below to take a listen to ‘Party Girl’ from Asher Roth ft. Meek Mill.
Some photographers are a jack of all trades when it comes to different types of photography, and others are just masters of one particular style. Unfortunately I haven’t seen enough of Michael Kenna’s work to categorize him like that, but I will say that the one style/recurring theme of his collection “Silent World” shows a mastery of his craft. All the photos individually tell an eerie story that depicts loneliness, alienation, and a vast distance from familiarity. Take a look at this collection, and to see more from it, just click here.
The iPad can control all kinds of devices, from your Apple TV or remote desktop or AR.Drone, to slightly more bizarre things like a robotic prison guard. Given that, it was only a matter of time before someone used it as part of an overall badass project, like the Adastra Superyacht.
The $15 million Adastra Superyacht is a 139-foot-long yacht built by Hong Kong billionaire Anto Marden and yacht designer John Shuttleworth. The boat itself looks futuristic, but the coolest part is that you (or somebody) can control it using an iPad. With the iPad control system, someone can guide the yacht from up to 164 feet away.
I imagine it’s a bit like controlling a toy boat, only it’s friggin’ huge. The chassis of the 47-ton superyacht is made out of carbon fiber, with a glass and Kevlar foam sandwich hull. Adastra can travel at its optimum speed of 17 knots–which is around 20mph–for up to 4,000 miles.
While I don’t know much about what’s onboard yet, it would be interesting to see what other tech the boat uses. A fully automated wet bar, perhaps?
Dedicated, passionate and driven, Anaya Hayes says she always knew she would grow to be a star when she sang her first note at the impressionable age of 6. Anaya was born into a culturally rich Egyptian/Nubian household in the diverse city of Toronto. She caught the “stage bug” at age 7 and complimented her passion for singing by becoming an accomplished jazz and ballet dancer before the age of 10. In her teens, Anaya took an opportunity that was presented to her and began modeling. Too short for the runway, this bilingual beauty graced numerous ad campaigns, fashion spreads and music videos. Ms. Hayes was able to use her fame to create the character and personality “Anaya Hayes: Celebrity Event Host” and began coordinating and hosting some of the biggest parties in cities like Toronto, Miami and New York. Always committed to broadening her horizons, Anaya also studied Geriatric Social Work and Event Coordination and later became a monthly magazine columnist. (All by the age of 21.) You can find her in music videos like Drake & Trey Songz’ hit single “Replacement Girl”.
These gorgeous paintings belongs to illustrator, painter, and animator Robert Proch from Poland. Tons more to see on his Behance site so get clickin’ guys and show him some love.
Above are two pics from the ‘Stop Trippin’ video, (the bottom being a quick shot of my assistant Ashley F. and I). Bay Area emcee Jay Cee and R.O.D. teamed up recently with Clayton William to create the track ‘Stop Trippin’. The song circles around the very relatable situation of having your significant other not realizing the sacrifices necessary to stay afloat in the entertainment industry… hence the title. I’m quite excited to see the final result of the video, but for now, check out the trailer, and the making of the track before that.
Freja Beha Erichsen for Harry Winston Jewelry 2012 Ad Campaign.
The more and more time I spend around photographers, the more I get familiar with the lingo and terminology they use on a daily basis. A JPEG, or a PSD file is nothing that I’m a stranger to, but some of the more advanced acronyms and symbols, I need some more getting used to. This collection of jewelry from Photojojo might just help. Photojojo’s Camera Lingo Necklaces feature laser-cut acrylic words and symbols on an 18″ silver chain. Designed by a graphic designer/photog, the lightweight plastic icons have the kind of sharp angles and crisp edges you only get from lasers. It comes in 4 designs: JPEG, CR2, NEF, and a no-flash symbol. Perfect gift for photo geeks.
With Coachella winding down, I was on the hunt for some more impressive footage (nothing can top the Tupac hologram… that may actually be going on tour soon.) But in my search for anything additionally entertaining, I found a message from Dr. Dre to his fans. Check the method below.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word “philosophy” comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means “love of wisdom”. In this case, Max Temkin, the artist, wanted to create posters with quotes that motivated people to think ‘different’. Check the method.
The luxury housing market in Los Angeles, California is vast, and there is never any shortage of incredibly crafted contemporary homes. The team at Ben Bacal were looking to take things up a notch with the construction of this immaculate masterpiece located at 9909 Beverly Grove. At first glance, the multi-colored lighting can be mistaken for that of a plush lounge, and paired with the waterfalls, steel encased bridges, roof top deck and pool, this house is the ultimate Los Angeles bachelor pad. The property features 3 bedrooms in addition to a maids and guest house to make up the 8300 square foot floor plan. What bachelor’s pad would be complete without a custom movie theater and 500 bottle wine cellar complete with a 3 inch glass ceiling built for dancing and entertaining.
It was only about two weeks ago that I finally got pushed into getting on Instagram by the creative director of the Slvstr Design firm, and I’m still not exactly sure how it works just yet. All I know is that people use crazy filters to make ordinary pictures look ordinary pictures with a crazy filter over it, and everyone posts up pictures of their food. But I try and put up unique and crazy stuff I see on there. (If you’re interested, I’m @djstormsf), and I recently found a site called “Prinstagram”, where you can send your Instagram photos in, and they will print out physical copies for you. In a world where more and more becomes digital, and less and less is tangible, it’s nice to have an outlet to turn photos in your phone to photos in your hand. Click the pic above to visit the site.
Italy’s first private high-speed train, launched by Ferrari head Luca di Montezemolo’s company NTV and boasting sleek interiors and a cinema carriage, made its inaugural journey on Friday. The dark-red 200-meter (656 foot) bullet-shaped train — named “Italo” — set out from Rome’s Termini station, taking just over an hour to reach Naples. “Italo has arrived, the competition has kicked off… bringing real advantages to all those who travel,” NTV told its first passengers as they admired interiors styled by celebrated design house Italdesign Giugiaro. The trains have gold edging, panoramic windows, leather seats and wider carriages than the classic French TGV trains. They offer three different coach classes and travel at a top speed of 360 kilometers (224 miles) per hour.
France’s national rail company SNCF owns a 20-percent stake in NTV, which is led by a group of Italian businessmen including Montezemolo, NTV’s president, and Diego Della Valle, the head of luxury shoemaker Tod’s. The company hopes to take a bite out of the national state rail network’s market and gain an advantage with a pricing system where passengers can get cut-price tickets by booking early or traveling at off-peak times. “All our employees speak English as well as Italian, and each station we transit through will have an ‘Italo House’ for passengers wanting information or a rest,” Giuseppe Bonollo, NTV commercial director, told AFP.
Check out some dope behind the scenes footage from Shanell’s newest video titled ‘So Good’ featuring Lil Wayne and Drake.
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