ink work.

just a start... it'll be finished by tonight.

dickey simpkins.

5:30 a.m.

and I can't fall asleep. so check this out.



This is a great piece by Regino Gonzales I saw at Canvas, an art gallery in Los Angeles on 441 Fairfax Ave.



This is an amazing ink piece by Thomas Hooper, a tattoo artist outta New York.


This guy is gonna be at the Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday July 18th @ 6:15. Hopefully it's not one of those fake dooms.

I gotta get some sleep.

Good morning.

insert michael jackson tune here

Sorry about the hiatus kids. A LOT has gone down since the last post. Where to start?

How about, say it ain't so.

I got into LA hours after Michael Jackson passed. Needless to say, you could feel it in the air. This is a shot from Nick's work which is right in front of the Mann's Chinese Theater where MJ's star is. Nuts.



I was pretty excited to hit up Cali for the

fish tacos and

all you can eat sushi!

Friday night we saw this killer funk band, Orgone at a supper club in LA. They pretty much brought the house down.

Earlier that day Joe and I hit up Flight Club and I damn near had a panic attack. This place is unreal with the amount of kicks they have. Literally floor to ceiling, wall to wall kicks. Unfortunately there's no photography allowed inside.

One moment I was really anticipating was hitting up


The Hundreds!

I had a fan boy moment when I met Bobby Hundreds and Joe Hahn (DJ of Linkin Park) who were just maxin outside the shop. Bobby told me I should hit up Hahn's shop Suru then Hahn responded by saying "It's pretty gay." Ha! Super nice guys.

We then hit up the Nebulab where Joe showed me where the magic goes down.


Lord Jag and Frank Nebula.

that's it for now... stay tuned and have a splendid day!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot... I was a guest on TheHappens. Check out podcast 2-5!

i'm going going back back...

tim burton's alice

Some photo's of Tim Burton's Alice were released. Awesome!



Dear Bulls, please don't draft Tyler Hansborough.

What up AZ?

Have yourself a most excellent Wednesday.

listen to wale

pronounced wah-lay.

Wale creates another great mixtape, spilling countless verses over 9th Wonder's canvas on "Back to the Feature". There are plenty of "look who i rap with" guest spots (some better than others) but for the most part all are real mc's. His latest has that same great listen quality as his debut "100 Miles and Running"and his second, "A Mixtape About Nothing" (a completely Seinfeld influenced album). The song "the Kramer" is commentary on Michael Richards' bigot rant that's as chilling as the incident itself.





But don't take my word for it

Download it here.

da draft

What a bum. Hopefully the Bulls don't waste money on their draft picks too.

This Thursday is the NBA Draft and the Bulls have the 16th and 26th pick. There's no question that Chicago needs to beef up their defense. That being said, I hope the Bulls choose (of course if they're still available) Dejuan Blair and Wayne Ellington.



This year’s draft is filled with point guard prospects, but Chicago’s back-court is already crowded. Look for the Bulls to go big with this selection and (hopefully) draft DeJuan Blair. He's super strong and has a shooter's touch (also see Big Baby). Blair has an excellent understanding of where to go on the court to be effective. He’s also a tenacious rebounder and will bring much needed bulk to an otherwise lanky Bulls front-court.



Kirk Hinrich played well along side Derrick Rose during the Boston series, but the uncertainty surrounding Ben Gordon should entice the Bulls to go for the off guard position. Wayne Ellington is a player who helped his cause at the Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago. His timed results and measurements proved he’s more than just a three point specialist.

I won't be mad if they don't get either guy. What's important is improving from last years strong push. I'm not expecting instant contribution from the Bull's '09 freshmen because there aren't many guys in the draft that have a skill set that transfer easily to the bigs, minus Griffin and Steph Curry. This year's sweepstakes is being called a weak draft but I think there's a lot of value to be obtained. So I think it would be in the Bulls best interests to package their picks along with Ben Gordon in a trade for

Michael Dunleavy.

Keep riding that wave Cubbies.

Check out Slim and Kaz's Wadwsworth banter with takes on blazing topics such as avacados and the "Deuche Revolution" at SheptakHappens.com.

Doom. Why? Why not?

Enjoy your Monday.

UP and at them

Do yourself a favor and go see UP in 3D. Pixar is always on point. Literally every movie they've put out is great. UP is so different then anything you've ever seen. It has a great theme about life and love and the story, animation, style, shading, characters... hell just about everything in this movie is excellent.

But of course you may think it's nothing special and that's why I don't give two poops (don't worry won't link "two poops") about your movie suggestions.

Anyway

Hopefully I have some extra cash for



This is always good for a laugh.

I like this Mayer Hawthorne guy. He's bringin back that timeless bare to the bone feel good music. Check him out. He has a 12" single called "Maybe So, Maybe No" on Stones Throw Records. Speaking of Stones Throw, if you're in town for this:



you should go.

Can't wait til these come out, been diggin this blog lately, and I'm counting the days until i'm reunited with you.

have a splendid friday.

oh yea, almost forgot this... awkward.

look at me i'm kanye

in jerred's dreams

thanks JD!

10 Reasons why I can't stand Kobe Bryant

10. His self-given nick-name is Black Mamba Kitana. He chose that nick-name. Three cool words individually. Together? Silly as hell. You're a snake sword Kobe?

9. Speaking of silly... Anyone remember this? I know you do JD.

8. He has conversations with a guy named Sasha... in French. Admit it Zen Master, that shit's annoying.

7. Dear Kobe, no one cares to see you kiss your wife and daughters after every Lakers win. Once again, annoying. There were Lakers players on that stage after they won last night BEHIND Kobe's wife and kids. Don't you think the players deserve to get their time to shine?

6. "Tryin to get that Kobe number... One over Jordan." We get it. You're no longer the player you were when you donned the #8. You've evolved. How poetic. But 24? Really? How bad do you wanna be better than Jordan? oh, that bad.

5. He sold out Shaq and wanted the team to be all his. Not even Phil Jackson's. His. No one likes a sell out.

4. Who's he kidding with that "I'm Kobe and I'm in the zone" face? You look like an idiot.

3. Dirty. Kicks a man while he's down.

2. He's narcissistic. Even Phil Jackson will tell you. The Zen Master goes on in his book, "Last Season" about a therapist he hired to help him through the season: "After receiving a few recommendations, I selected a therapist who has dealt with narcissistic behavior in the Los Angeles public school system. He'll be right at home here." Then goes on about Kobe's selfish behavior. "once we attained permission from the league to make sure the funds wouldn't be applied to the salary cap -- to cover a percentage of his private plane expenses to and from Colorado for court hearings. This will cost thousands of dollars. Kobe was unhappy with the type of plane that was selected; he wanted one with higher status."

1. Written by Sam Anderson for Slate Magazine: "Since he's a Jordan-like talent, Kobe clearly thinks that he's entitled to the Jordan mythology, but he doesn't have any of Jordan's charisma or imagination. As melodramatic and managed as Jordan's career was, there was some authentic core—it was original and seemed to mean something. Kobe exists entirely within quotation marks. Jordan was a master of pantomime. He built his empire largely on iconic celebratory gestures: the tongue-wag, the splay-legged fist pump, the impish "Even I marvel at my own divinity" shrug. Kobe's dramatic gestures are all either borrowed or embarrassing. That's why I can't stand Kobe Bryant." Agreed. Read the full article here.

"Though some of that shit y'all pop true it, I ain't relating
If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hating"

no.

I will continue to say, liking Kobe Bryant is just a show of bad character.

Go Bulls.

LINK!

Damn it. It's June 13th and it's gray and rainy out. What the fuck. All I want is summer. Is that too much to ask? I heard that some parts of the midwest might actually miss summer. Is that even possible? At the end of last October it was 85 degrees out. Hopefully that's the case this year too.

I heard today on Sportscenter that the Bears are trying to acquire Plaxico Burress. I say DO IT. So what he brought a handgun with the safety off into the club in his sweatpants then shot himself? Dude can play. Cutler to Burress all day baby. As long as Turner signs him with a no gun clause, I say do it. It'd make D Hester ten times more effective. Am I wrong for having high hopes for the Bears this year?

As you can tell, I've been testing out the hyperlinks for the blog. I have to admit that I jacked the idea from an artist's blog I've been following for sometime now. His name is David Choe. His artwork is pretty damn cool. Check it out.





Having said all that, I leave you with this.

That is all for now.

Have a splendid day.

I love you.

the ones

The number one pair of Jordans of all time...

2000 - the XV's




SIKE! damn those are ugly.

By this time you know what number one is...


1984 - Air Jordan I







Yes, "the ones that started it all". The first Jordans were banned by the league due to "non-regulation" colors. But Mike rocks them anyway and brings even more attention to his classically designed shoe and takes Rookie of the Year honors.


Haha, look at Danny Ainge.


Last time in the Garden...

and the first time in the Garden.


There you have it. Thanks for tuning in.

Have a splendid weekend.

it's gotta be the shoes pt. 4

2. 1990 - Air Jordan V

Like I mentioned, the first pair of Jordan's I ever owned were the white V's. I remember being 8 and making sure that my fresh J's stayed fresh by avoiding any possible scuffs and it was like I was 8 all over again when I got my retro black V's a couple years back.




Noting the similarities of MJ's circle then attack and aerial dogfight assault, Tinker Hatfield drew inspiration from the WWII Mustang fighter plane.



The clear rubber sole, reflective tongue, and plastic lace lock toggle combine in the classic shoe MJ wore as he won his fourth scoring title and scored an amazing career high 69 points.




Mars Blackmon. Classic.



Sorry Nick, the V's are my number 2. Different strokes for different folks.

#1 tomorrow!

Drum roll please...

it's gotta be the shoes pt. 3

The first time I saw the XIII's, I thought they looked weird. But as they grew on me I realized that they were weird because there was no shoe that looked like it. That's the best thing about J's. Everytime they come out they're so unique and so different but always maintain the Jordan style (minus the XV's).

At number 3 on my all time J's:

1998 - Air Jordan XIII




Legendary shoe designer Tinker Hatfield didn't even know that MJ's secret nickname was "Black Cat" when he designed the XIII with a black panther as it's main inspiration. The jungle predator influence was a no brainer with it's Zoom Air cushioning, carbon-fiber spring plate, and panther's eye hologram. In his last season as a Chicago Bull, "Black Cat" captures his second regular season, all-star game, and Finals MVP sweep, record 10th scoring title, and leads his team to the first ever double three peat.





number 2 in a lil bit...

it's gotta be the shoes pt. 2

Many may say these should be number one. But i have my reasons for putting them at four. Mainly because they're strictly hoopin shoes. Anyway, at number 4 on my all time J's list...

4. 1996 - the Air Jordan XI. Mike get's his eighth scoring title and his fourth ring.





Patent leather makes it's first appearance on basketball kicks and becomes one of the most adored shoes of all time. With a carbon fiber spring plate (sounds hi tech) and polymer-coated upper (?), MJ earned the All Star Game MVP, led the Bulls to seventy two wins, and a NBA Finals sweep.



tomorrow: 4 and 3 on the list.

have a splendid hump day.

it's gotta be the shoes

When i was 8 my dad bought me my first pair of J's. The white 5's. Little did I know that would be the beginning of an obsession. Almost 20 years later (!), the Bulls are finally back on the rise, MJ is in the Hall, and my J count is at 12 and rising (all real, no fakes... JOE).

So here are my top 5 J's of all time.

5. 1991 - Air Jordan VI



Just like Mike's game, so smooth, sleek, and stealth. The 6's were the first to have an inner "bootie" and one of the few that had a visible Air Sole. Red toggles branding the Jumpman logo and the holes in the tongue are also signature features of the 6's. Seven years in the league and in his sixth shoe, Mike led the Bulls to their first championship and takes both regular season and finals MVP awards.





tomorrow... #4.

have a splendid day.

not so lazy sunday

this is what my sunday feels like.

enjoy yours.

many faces of mos

mos givin it up to de la, steely dan, and DOOM.



mos on roger clemens.



mos on puttin his money up against jay-z and lil wayne.



mos doin what he does.



Mos' team up with Stones Throw Records for his next full length album, the Ecstatic is a dream come true. What more do you want then Pretty Flako gettin beats from Oh No, Madlib, and Dilla? The cut "Life in Marvelous Times" may be THE banger of the summer. check it out.



Mos Def's new full length album "the Ecstatic" comes out June 9th on Stones Throw Records.

listen to the meg and jack

jeremy fish

In art class, one of the first lessons learned was how to get rid of bold outlines. Apparently Jeremy Fish didn't get the same lesson. Outta San Fran, Fish's brand of cute cartoony animals and skulls amalgamated into well... everything has become a favorite of mine. Check it out.