HIGH ON FIRE!

Oh hell yeah! HOF is back in the studio working on their 5th studio album and I for one am fuckin' psyched! Hopefully they'll pull out some new stuff when they roll thru town this month with Mastodon, Converge, and animated band Dethklok. Bring it!

RIP JIM CARROL

What's up with everyone dying? And young?

For those who don't know...Jim Carroll, 60, a poet-turned-punk rocker whose book "The Basketball Diaries" chronicled his descent from elite high school basketball star to Times Square drug addict, thief and prostitute, died Sept. 11 at his home in Manhattan after a heart attack. Mr. Carroll's best-known work was an autobiographical account of his years from 12 to 15 when he received a basketball scholarship to Trinity, an elite Manhattan high school, and began abusing cocaine and other drugs. The journal, excerpted in the Paris Review, became highly popular on college campuses and was published as a book in 1978. A 1995 movie version starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Mr. Carroll." from the Washington Post

RIP SWAYZE!

Grasshopper is dead...

David Carradine, star of TV series Kung Fu, Kill Bill, Death Race 2000, etc, etc was found dead of an apparent suicide in his hotel room in Bangkok where he was shooting a movie. Bummer. An investigation is to take place. His rep says that he would never take his own life. Sad.

Dinosauria!

For just over $200 Grand you too could own one of these bad ass dinosaur skulls, joining the ranks of such tastemakers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicolas Cage. Actually pretty rad if you had the money to blow. Seems that what was once primarily the domain of museums is now, like everything else, considered fair game to anyone with the money to buy. Much cooler and rarer than most art in a similar price bracket, these pieces are being bought and used to decorate the homes of the wealthy. Shame that they get locked away where the public will never see them but damn me if I wouldn't totally buy one of these if I had that kinda loot. More here.

Subway Art “The 25th Anniversary”

Re-release of a classic 25 yrs later with 70 additional flicks! Get it here, Amazon.

Holy Shit! Save us Jesus!

Oh wait a minute, you're not looking! Not fair!

Hey Jesus, we're down here and we need your help! All I need is a miracle, all I need is you...

More here.

Midnite Snacks Retraction!

Sorry folks but I've just been informed that the free shuttle service from Bedford Ave. will not be available. Get off at Graham on th L and walk, it ain't that far.

THE NASTY!

Just in time for the Midnite Snacks show! Featuring an awesome interview with Pat "Splat" Berran on his art, singing for ¡APESHIT!, skating and more; a selection of artists from the upcoming Midnite Snacks show, opening this Sat. at No Globe, and a darkly humorous or a humorously dark essay by Paul Ketterman. Just click on the link "ZINE" above and enjoy! Also please let us know what you think and if you're interested in contributing hit us up, here!

The Nasty Sneak Preview!

So the zine is about to drop! Here's a little taste from our interview with Pat Berran...

Pat Berran, artist, musician, skateboarder, and friend. Proudly hailing from Woodbridge, VA, Pat currently resides in Brooklyn, NY after recently getting his MFA from Hunter College. I sat down with Pat to fill in some of my own gaps in who he is and how he got there. We discussed his early beginnings in those areas of art, music, and skateboarding and how they continue to shape his outlook on life. What I found most interesting and informative was how he became involved in all of them at about the same time. By the time he was 8, Pat was already skating, listening to the punk music that still inspires him today, and embarking on a lifelong relationship with making art. Now 20 years later Pat is still skating (and surfing and snowboarding), singing for the awesome band ¡Apeshit!, and making some serious abstract paintings that may just surprise you, coming from someone you might not expect.

A pic of his work...

Suppers
Acryllic, Oil, spray paint on panel
24" x 24"
2007

And a snippet of his rad deck collection...

Pat loves JFA!

More to follow...

AND if you're in Baltimore tonight, Richmond tomorrow, or D.C. on Sunday don't miss...

¡APESHIT!

03-13-2009 20:00 at Baltimore
632 s. montford, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost: $5
w/ 1994!, caestles and one more_House Show!

03-14-2009 20:00 at Rumors
Harrison St, Richmond, Virginia
Cost: $5 (?)
w/ Stink Eyes, one, two more bands

03-15-2009 20:00 at Girl Cave
tba, Washington DC, Washington DC
Cost: Donations
w/ Tideland and more

DO IT!!!!

Also Midnite Snacks Group Show is set to open next Saturday at No Globe Exhibition Space... 

The Nasty is featuring a healthy dose of the artists in the show. It's gonna be insane, some great work! We'll post another teaser on Monday!

Weapons of the Weak! Grass Mud Horse Lives!

Want some weird mixed in with your anti-censorship? Asia rules! Power to the people! Check out these two articles, here and here, and get lost in hundreds more I'm sure as the Chinese use the subtleties of language to stick it to their man. Internet censorship in China is so strict that the government can shut down offending speak with the relative ease of flipping a switch. So the citizens of that country have created an internet sensation out of a children's song (with some beats and rapping!) that uses the similarities between certain words, some innocuous and others with dirty double entendre! Probably helps to know the language but fun nonetheless. And these videos are bizzare especially the last one where at one point it appears that a conference call is going on between a whale tail and a blaxplotation martial artist, with avibrating phone in the middle. Awesome!

David Choe!

From Upper Playground Walrus TV...discussing learning how to spraypaint, doing dirt, and working hard. Great stuff from a cool brand and talented and one of a kind artist, David Choe. And if you're in SF this week or next check out the SF International Asian American Film Festival's screening of Dirty Hands, a documentary almost 10 yrs in the making of David and his work. Awesome stuff.

We Are Not Quitters!

Rousing speech last night from President Obama. Serious history. If you missed it, you shouldn't have. Read full transcripts here. Or watch the video! And is it just me or does Nancy Pelosi smile way too much? Creepy.

Sweet Leaf Legalization?

Yesterday in California (of course) California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced the state's first legalization bill that would tax and regulate the commercial production of cannabis, like alcohol, in an attempt to generate much needed state revenue, end environmental damage done by illegal farming on public lands, and help end a ridiculous war on marijuana. Sounds reasonable and about time. If the rest of the country could just follow suit maybe we could get a little closer to getting out of this financial mess. More here. One criticism though, a proposed $50 tax per ounce grown? Seems steep.

Eyeglasses for the Masses!

So my gf, who never reads my blog (guess she gets enough of me at home), asked me to blog this. It's from the Guardian UK, and is about some inventors who have devised a pair of eyeglasses that don't need an optician in order to change the prescription strength. It can all be done by the wearer, wherever they are, by adding or subtracting water from the lenses. The principal being the thicker the lens via the water the more powerful the magnification of the lens. Pretty sweet. Perfect for the world's poor the inventors have already distributed 30,000 pairs and are hoping to get a mil out to the poor of India. Awesome! And that's why my girl, with the heart of gold, rocks!

Congratulations Alex!

Alex audition tape - 10 minutes from Luke Stiles on Vimeo.

So our friend Alex, from Hibagon (see below), has made it to the Quest for G bootcamp! What is this you ask? Gatorade is looking for a group of atheletes to sponsor in some sort of reality show where they train them to their fullest potential and then let them loose in their respective fields to rip it up. Or so I gather. Alex, who is a track bike racer, sent in an audition tape, gatorade asked for more, he provided and now he's off to their bootcamp. Not sure if this means that he's in, gotta ask him, but nevertheless CONGRATULATIONS! It's awesome and we hope that he goes all the way. You can check out Alex in his own words in the above video and see how rad he already is, winner of many bike races and NY State Champ of Keirin racing.

Is that a DIENASTY bandana he's wearing? Tight.

Can this guy give it a rest already?

Peter Vallone Jr., Queens councilmember and crusading anti-graffiti activist, wants store owners to cover the cost of replacing perfectly good full metal shutters with more see through shutters in an attempt to stop graffiti. Hello Pete, your war on graff is like the war on drugs, ain't never gonna end so stop trying. You look like a dick. Especially to the store owners who are just trying to survive. And anyway aren't most of these only down at night? That's gotta be past your bedtime. Go to sleep! More here.

Wow! Don't know what to make of this...

Random post, never even heard of this woman, but supposedly she was made famous on Big Brother in the UK for being white trash as far as I can tell and now she's about to die from cancer. And possibly on TV from what I can gather. Sad really. Sounds like she has her good reasons for doing so though, money for her kids, awareness of cervical cancer, keeping her mind off of dying. She's getting married this weekend. Congratulations? Read more here.

Shepard Fairey Busted!

Love him or hate him, Boston police came and busted the man behind the Obey empire in his hotel room as he was about to leave for his opening at the Institute of Contemporary Art. And this is after legally intalling a 20x50 foot banner on the side of city hall! Oops! I know Mass. and Boston in particular are cracking down hard on all things graff and street art related but dude's showing at one of your museums! Bringing in dollars! C'mon!

RIP Joe Ades, AKA Peeler Man

The peeler man of Union Square Greenmarket is dead. RIP.

Rot in jail murderer!

So this asshole on the left who shot the unarmed man on the right, in his back, while he was on the ground, surrounded by a group of cops, is hopefully get what he deserves as the law is doing the right thing and indicting him on charges of murder, which is what he did. Thank god. Taser my ass. Tragic.

FUCK THE POLICE!

.
This shit is fucked up and tragic. It's not too late to voice your opinion and outrage on this horrible event. As you may or may not know a transit cop in SF shot an unarmed man in the back as he was face down on the ground! WHAT?! At 2:30 on the video you see in the bottom left the cop pull his gun and at 2:32-3 you hear the shot ring out. Damn. Here are some ways to make your voice heard.

IRAQ WAR ENDS!

Too bad it's not true, but an awesome prank nonetheless.
Check out more from the pranksters themselves, the Yes Men, here.
And a review of a 2004 documentary on the group here.

And the group itself here.