Killa Kombo - Askew x P. Money

Two of New Zealand's finest have teamed up to create a short video that takes gives a glimpse into the process of creating graffiti murals. Askew is the graffiti artist and P. Money produced the beats for the vid. The vision that Askew has is amazing; to have a blank wall and create layers upon layers of images with spray paint is pure art.

Via Contra

Recap of 1LoveTO's Pop-up shop

Wednesday night Josh and I had the opportunity to go and meet Bryan Brock and Tyrone Edwards, the founders of 1LoveTO, in some swanky loft above Nyood on Queen Street West. First and foremost, they were really nice guys. Although Tyrone was attending to other guests, Bryan took the time to talk to us for a few minutes and we got to hear how far they've come and what their future plans are. Bryan is originally a graphic designer and one of his older projects was designing the DVD covers for Degrassi, so he was able to hook up with Drake and they've kept in touch ever since. In fact, they co-hosted his 23rd birthday party and needless to say, the event featured the whole OVO crew and some of Toronto's finest. They have Melanie Fiona on their Blackberrys and Tyrone just recently hosted Kid Cudi's concert at the Sound Academy.

But on to some deeper stuff, the story behind 1LoveTO is worth mentioning. Bryan explained their whole existence in two sentences: They designed their t-shirts for Caribana a few years back, everybody loved them and wanted one. They decided to start a blog and here we are. Ok, I'm not sure it was as simple as that, but pretty close. Essentially 1LoveTO received a hugely positive response right from the get-go and Bryan told me that for their pop-up shop, they had received around 200 t-shirt orders and have now sold 2500 in total.

And if that weren't enough, both Tyrone and Bryan are staff at the Remix Project, a creative arts outlet for youth - a project that Governor General Michaëlle Jean has even visited and endorsed. Tyrone is the Art of Business Program Leader and Bryan is the Creative Arts Program Leader. Although recently marred by financial troubles, the Remix Project was completely rejuvenated upon learning that Paul Gross, a Canadian actor and director, plans on donating the $25,000 he received along with his Governor General's award so that the Remix Project can move into its new location. I'm sure Mrs. Jean is smiling.

It's clear these guys are legit. It was great meeting them and learning what their plans are, and how they came to be who and where they are today. It is my sincerest hope that someday we will be able to work with these guys in any sort of fashion. Until then, the best I can do is wear my shirt proudly.

Sadly, I took no photos of the event besides the one above, but I wanted to show you the venue so all the pictures below are stolen directly from 1LoveTO.

Rihanna - Hard (Feat. Young Jeezy)

On the topic of fascism, Rihanna whips a few good men into shape in her new video. All together it's a decent video except for the shameless Poker Stars plug and Jeezy's lack of on-screen presence. At one point, I was worried he was stuck on that crate but then he stoof up; relief; and then he sat back down.

(New video link thanks to LV)

An interesting H1N1 ad

A friend and classmate of mine, Adrian, posted this picture on his Twitter and I felt it was bizarre enough for a re-post. His caption was "Ontario Health has fascist style propaganda ads for h1n1 shot around city" and seem fitting. This looks like it was commissioned from an old 1930s workbook with the fist clenching and the font/colour combos. I think my favourite part of this though is a toss up between the middle guy's mullet and the "Don't miss hockey" warning. What do you guys think, effective advertising or a misguided message?

P.s. Adrian just informed me that the mullet man is in fact a woman. I disagree but if he is right, she is a tank and her body must be carrying enough male hormones to combine with her female hormones to confuse the disease and remain uninfected.

Looking for that holiday flick?

I noticed Jonny posted a trailer for Alice in Wonderland, and this movie follows the same creepy/trippy/awesome formula. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the story of a magic theatre group who gives its audience the choice of light and joy, or darkness and gloom. Heath Ledger passed away during production, so the director casted Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law to play Ledger's character through the remainder of the movie. Canadian Christopher Plummer also stars in this fantasy flick, which is directed by Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Imaginarium is set for release on December 25th. Check out the trailer below.

A New Twist On A Classic

Although I have no idea who Mister Mort is, I know he has a sense of humour. He recently hooked up with A Continuous Lean to design five New Era caps that put a great spin on classic symbols. Since I hate the Dodgers, despite the fact that my dad is from Los Angeles, I immediately became Mister Mort's new best friend when I saw the bLAh cap. I can only imagine my smugness, and the beating I'd receive, for rocking this cap on Crenshaw Blvd. In the meantime, I'll just sit here and laugh...and also be depressed considering the Blue Jays will wallow in mediocrity for at least the next three seasons.

Nike x Undefeated Puppet Ts

UNDFTD hooked up with Nike to create two T-shirts with our favourite puppets depicting classic cultural moments in their careers. Instead of explaining the connection, I'll just show you. And if you're really interested, read the interview with the UNDFTD's KB Lee here.




Via High Snobiety

Alice In Wonderland Trailer Part 2

This trailer makes the movie look 100000x sicker. Before I was marginally excited; now I'm stoked. Enjoy.

O.G. Japanese Baseball Cards

Technically speaking, these are bromide baseball cards and are part of John Gall's personal collection. He's the art director of Vintage and Anchor Books and also runs a great blog. Gall wrote a whole article explaining the difference between American and Japanese baseballs cards, but all you need to know is that these are awesome. Enjoy the pictures and check out the rest of the collection here.




Via World's Best Ever through A Journey Round My Skull.

The Only Advertisement That Defines This Decade

What are the haps, guys?

I was checking out a list at Adweek that's celebrating the decade in advertisements, most of them didn't interest or entertain me a significant amount, but this was most certainly the best of the bunch, I couldn't stop laughing for at least ten minutes:



Not only is it a hilarious piece (sad funny is always more funny than funny, always), but it's a type of humour that definitely couldn't exist even a decade ago. Congratulations, Skittles, this ad is better than your candy.

Via Kotaku and Adweek.

GQ x Rihanna x Top Ten Cover Girls of the Decade

The cover of GQ's January issue hit the interwebs yesterday and features a (insert complimentary adjective here) picture of Rihanna. And in honour of the new decade, GQ rounded up their top 10 cover girls of this past decade. I think I have four of these issues stuffed in the corner of my room and for some reason, I remember the Lindsay Lohan one very clearly. Check out the slideshow here.

And here is some more of Michael Thompson's Rihanna photoshoot

Take 'Em to Church

One of our fellow bloggers, LV, posted this on his Twitter and I couldn't resist re-posting this. God only knows how he found this...

Gift Guide Item #8: Hand Blown Modern Barware Set

A friend of mine recently bought a very nice watch made out of melted spoons (I hope this is the right link) from Etsy so I decided to take a look at the site. Etsy is a sort of community website where designers can sell their creations to the public and Etsy receives a very small portion of all sales. While browsing, I came across this this set of 8 hand-made shot glasses. Each individual shot glass has a slightly different ridged base, making the set look very real and hand-made as opposed to the usual monotony of shot glasses. Sadly, the set doesn't come with the wood base but nonetheless, this is a gift that any frequent party host would love to receive. Available through Etsy here for $29 USD.

Maison Martin Margiela x Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M., has teamed up with Belgian designer Maison Martin Margiela to create a limited edition piece of jewelry that is seen in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture above. The silver tape features six holes which enables the wearer to really style it for personal use and showcase his/her originality. Altogether, it's a simple, but really cool, piece of jewelry. Watch the preview video below.

Via Definitive Touch

1LoveTO Pop-up shop

Sorry for the late notice guys, but I guess better than never. One of my favourite sites 1LoveTO is setting up a one-day pop-up shop tomorrow at Nyood where they will be selling their T-shirts. Nyood is located at 1096 Queen St. West (Queen/Dovercourt) and will be open from 3-10pm. I've been looknig to get a shirt for some time now so I will definitely be heading over at some point in the evening to pick mine up. They're selling them for $20 and are available in either white or black with (I believe) red, white or blue hearts. These shirts are popular and will go quickly; grab one while you can. Check out the event here and some pictures I found below.

Victim Short Duffle Coat

I'm feeling this jacket over at Victim for a simple reason: because it's short, it won't make me seem any shorter than I am. I'm about 5'8" (on a good day) and jackets that hang down to my thighs make me look like I have stumpy legs - something I don't need. Available in 3 colours, these jackets look sturdy enough to stand up against our current weather (it has a hood) and I really like the detailed ribbing around the shoulders and the two front pockets. Always wear this type of jacket with the collar button undone (it makes you seem a less uptight) and for an even more relaxed look, leave the top toggle unhooked.
Via Hypebeast

Gucci Eyeweb Goggles

Keeping with our theme of designers and sports, Gucci has released two pairs of goggles to keep your eyes protected on the slopes. They come with either a white or black trim around the actual lenses and are held in place by the now-customary green and red headband with Gucci written prominently in the middle. The goggles will be available starting this month at Gucci stores worldwide and will retail for $195US, which, all things considered, isn't even a bad price.
Via High Snobiety

Louis Vuitton Casino Trunk

Maybe I don't understand the appeal, seeing as I'm not a fan of - nor have the money for - the ultra luxurious, but a Louis Vuitton Casino Trunk seems excessive to me. Obviously some toys are hard to resist but let's think about this one: If you're in charge of lugging enough equipment to a friend's house that you need a trunk, isn't it time to proclaim yourself as the new host? However, there is one upside: the trunk comes with all the necessary hardware to play a variety of games, thus ensuring you'll have the opportunity to lose money to your buddies in a multitude of games you're probably not good at. But then again, if you can afford this, you're probably not worried about the money.

Via High Snobiety

Tweet of the Day

This is just weird...

TIME Magazine's Top 10 T-shirt Worthy Slogans

Good on TIME for going balls out on this one (2 of the top 10 were world leaders) considering their iconic status and magnitude. Some are definitely better than others though. Here are my 5 favourite with the descriptions from the website right under them. Check out the rest of the list here and TIME's master list of everything to do with 2009 here. I think #9 is my favourite; his hubris is nauseating.

1. Kanye West: "Imma Let You Finish"
Part of rapper Kanye West's bizarre opening line upon interrupting country singer Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, as she gave her acceptance speech for Best Female Video. He then asserted, "Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

2. Tiger Woods: "Kobe Special"
Hours after what many speculate was a domestic dispute with his wife, golfer Tiger Woods reportedly told a friend that he had to buy one of these ("A house on a finger") at Zales. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers gave his wife a $4 million 8-carat diamond ring after being accused of rape in 2003.

3. Silvio Berlusconi: "I'm No Saint"
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's first public remarks after the release of audio recordings said to be from a night he spent with a prostitute.

7. Kate Moss: "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels"
One of Kate Moss's personal credos, which was revealed after the supermodel was asked by an interviewer if she had any mottos. Critics said the comment could contribute to eating disorders among Moss's young fans.

9. Lloyd Blankfein: "Doing God's work"
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's description of how he spends his time as a banker, in an interview with the London Times.