Run this Town SON!

Timothy DelaGhetto's youtube channel is pretty sweet. However his remix of Run this town featuring KatBadar just took it to a new level. Nice skills, meng. Check it out:

What's in the Boooooooooooooooooooox?

I had seen this film while I was in Burbank a few months back, but a friend's recent interest in it reminded me that there's no good reason why I shouldn't share it with you all. Amazing little short film that leaves me wanting more. Enjoy!

Click here to see what's in the box...



And for funsies:

COMBO!

Recently, I have been delving into the world of time-lapse/stop-motion/animation/live-action etc. videos. It just so happens I've made a few friends recently who share a passion for telling short, intimate stories in varying formats that allow for freedom of artistic expression. Plus it's pretty cool too. The video I'm about to share with you is a collaboration by artists Blu and David Ellis. The music is by Roberto Lange and it was produced by Studio Cromie. You can tell that a lot of love went into the making of this video. I hope you enjoy.

POW: Slow Dance

This week's POW still counts as a performance. A friend of mine had this video on her facebook page and I was amazed at the beauty of the choreography and the feeling these two dancers put into their performance. Consequently I began learning this song on Penny Lane for 2 days straight. John Mayer's Slow Dancing in a Burning Room never looked so good. Enjoy!

My Birthday Gift to You: BattleCat

Happy birthday to me! Normally, I get really excited about my birthday, but this year has been a little rough. Lucky for me I happened upon a video that reminded me of one of my favorite birthday gifts of all time: BattleCat. When I turned 3, or maybe 4, my parents helped me complete my He-Man collection by gifting me with He-Man's trusty companion BattleCat. Thanks to them, He-Man lead the charge against Skeletor and his minions mounted on his trusty tiger of justice. In 2006 artist Robert Burden began doing a series of oil paintings about his favorite childhood toys. He recently put up a time-lapse video of himself painting BattleCat. Click here to see more of Robert Burden's work. The track that accompanies the video, Space Debris by the Blackstone Heist, is fantastic. Here now, is my birthday gift to you: You can download the Blackstone Heist's self-titled EP here for your own price. It really is a fantastic EP so feel free to donate whatever you can. It's important to support artists that are coming up in the world. However, times are tough, and the boys of Blackstone Heist were kind enough to make their music available for free. I'm indebted to Robert Burden for reminding me of what makes birthdays so special. As a milestone, birthdays allow you to look back on all aspects of your life, and even though I've forgotten to recently, I'm starting to look at the positive aspects as well. BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!

Sarah Kruzan: This is not Justice

Sarah Kruzan was sentenced to life without parole at the age of 16 for killing the man who raped her at age 13 and then pimped her out. I do not believe that taking a life is justified but there are extenuating circumstances in any case. In her position would I do the same? Maybe. I would deserve punishment for it, yes, but I'd probably do the same. Where were the authorities when a 13 year-old Kruzan needed their protection? How was this man G.G. not punished for what he did? If she hadn't killed him he'd probably be out there violating other children. Bottom line, this case points to structural problems within the justice system, one of which where the law states that any minor who commits murder can be sentenced to life without parole. I don't necessarily disagree with this law, but it lets prejudiced judges make calls based on their own biases instead of what is right. Bottom line, Kruzan, along with all the other children in similar situations, deserved better from a society that was supposed to protect them. This is not justice. Please put the word out in hopes that this decision can be overturned. We deserve redemption if we take the trouble to earn it.

Dr. Horrible Emmy Winner

Neil Patrick Harris has done the impossible. He made a banal show like the Emmys fun to watch! I know, right?!! After last years reality host debacle, I never thought the Emmy's could have dug themselves out of the hole of of mediocrity... actually that's being kind. Mediocrity was something to aspire to. In his role as co-producer, Harris had a hand in crafting a witty, hip, and entertaining show that helped remove the cloud of the Juanes' Cuba concert for peace that took over the Miami airwaves. Imagine what it did for the rest of the country! Try to catch the broadcast on Hulu and you'll see what I mean. I leave you all with what in my opinion was the highlight of the night, Hammer meet Neil!

Top 10 Break-Up Foods

I had more than a few discussions lately on the topic of relationships. However, the most interesting one linked relationships to food. It's amazing how intertwined these two seemingly different concepts are. It's a rom-com staple to have a woman who just got out of a relationship chowing down on chocolate chocolate Häagen-Dazs while dancing around a living room table with 3 of her girlfriends in PJ's as Aretha Franklin blares from her sound system. Food makes you feel good. That's why many people comfort eat. I present to you the Top 10 Break-Up Foods according to Shine from Yahoo!. Click here for some foodie goodness!

Sodom and Gomorrah

I wanted to share this news story that my friend Ana of Under the Counter fame linked me to the other day. Click here for the Frontline article. I'll let you read the article for yourselves, though I will say this: We must be very aware of the transaction costs of our day to day lives, which includes using the internet. I'm not saying to deprive oneself of anything, I'm saying that every action has a reaction and that we have the power to channel that reaction in a productive way.

POW: Ziggy and the Galagas

This Performance of the Week installment features the Arcade Fire rocking out to their badass song Wake Up with none other than David Bowie! It's a really moving performance that leaves one nostalgic for the carefree days of one's childhood. I can't wait for Spike Jonez's Where the Wild Things are!

Oh What a World, What a World...

I woke up this morning in a pretty good mood. My life, though difficult right now, could be worse. I have my health, my family, and the immediate future is lined with possibilities. Yes, you could say I was feeling pretty hopeful. Then I came across these two news articles:

Grandfather Gets Life; Killed 6-Year-Old Over Watermelon

Cracker Barrel Beating May Be Hate Crime

What is it about the world right now that breeds such hatred and lack of civility in all of us? Can we blame the economy for this? Lately it seems that the news is filled with stories of parents committing infanticide, of racists committing hate crimes, of Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift? Perhaps we lack perspective. It's enough to make one lose hope. I was talking to a friend of mine who restated a lesson I had recently learned: If you expect from others what you expect of yourself you're going to be constantly disappointed to the brink of nihilism. However, is it too much to expect a bit of human decency from our brethren? I'm of the opinion that we all contain the capacity for both good and evil. It is the daily choices we make that determine the type of person we are. How hard is it to decide to let go of our fears and hate and then be free of our fears and hate?

Yes the world sucks right now. It's sucked before, and tomorrow it will probably still suck. We might not get the jobs we want, the other guy might get your girl, your sister might inherit the house instead of you. We are responsible for the choices we make and sometimes there's no excuse, tough childhood be damned. To the bigot at the Cracker Barrel and the murdering grandfather with a thing for watermelon I want to say this: there's no excuse. Your actions have consequences. In the future I hope you make a better choice. I hope, when pressed, we all do.

Nobody puts Swayze in a Corner, not even Cancer

I grew up watching Patrick Swayze kick ass in Road House, Dirty Dancing, and most iconically of all, in Point Break. My cousins and I have recreated the scene where Keanu shoots the sky instead of Patrick hundreds of times. Swayze passed away today from pancreatic cancer. This hits home for me for a variety of reasons. My aunt recently passed away, also suffering from pancreatic cancer. I can tell you that it's not the easiest way to go. Lately it seems a lot of my childhood heroes have been moving on. By all accounts he was a good man; he overcame a bout with alcoholism and apparently took his new lease on life seriously. His career renaissance included such films as Donnie Darko and Powder Blue. Tonight, I'm going to have myself a nice double feature in honor of the man: Dirty Dancing and Road House. I offer his wife my deepest condolences and thank him for his contributions to my life. Click here to have the time of your life.

MJ Medley

I saw this video today and I just had to share. In the wake of the circus that has put up tents after MJ's death, it's refreshing to see some people concentrating on what brought him to the dance in the first place, his music. My one question: Is this split screen magic or has someone had Von Trapp septuplets?

Michael Jackson remix @ Yahoo! Video

Performance of the Week

I've decided to start a new feature on the blog: the Performance of the Week, or POW. Instead of a video of the week, or a song of the week, I thought it would be cool to share artists coming together and performing the hell out of a song. In honor of 09-09-09, which should be declared Beatles Day, I'm posting my favorite Beatles' song, which coincidentally was written by my favorite Beatle. The performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" that Clapton and company rocked out during the Concert for George is nothing short of extraordinary. You don't have to believe me; you can see for yourselves. Truly an epic song. Enjoy!

Monopoly is Taking it to the Streets

In the coolest bit of news I received all month, Google and Hasbro have teamed up to launch a live, globe-spanning game of Monopoly using Google Maps as the gameboard. Here's the link to the article where Pete Cashmore goes into detail about the whole concept. The game starts tomorrow Sept. 9th! I'm-a be the horse!

Do The Hand Jive, Baby!

This one comes to us courtesy of my buddy Eric, whose exploits you can read all about in think. one. love. Look closely folks. This is all one take. The creator of this video is a badass!

The Saints Are Coming!

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day trailer has been released and you can see it here. 10 years after the first film, which made only 30 grand (yes grand as in THOUSAND) during it's theatrical run, fans of the film which found a cult following on DVD are going to get their much anticipated sequel, proving that a film doesn't have to be successful in a theatrical run in order to get part deux green-lit by the studios. I really enjoyed the first movie and I'm looking forward to the second. I will, however, miss William Dafoe who couldn't make it out this time around. The Saints are coming!

Sand Animation Rocks!

I'll let the video speak for itself...

Love in an Elevator?

Life works in mysterious ways. Just today I was having a conversation with my friend Ana (you peeps probably know her from her amazing blog Under the Counter) about photography. It turns out one of her favorite photographers is Robert Frank. Frank was able to remove himself from American society and document it from an outsider's perspective in the post WWII period, an amazing feat. The conversation then progressed to Robert Frank's kick-ass book The Americans.

It just so happens that I came across an interesting article on NPR later on. Apparently the subject of one of my favorite pictures from The Americans, Elevator--Miami Beach 1955, recognized herself in the photograph 50 years later. You can read NPR's article here. I just thought I'd share this with you guys as a testament to life's pleasant little surprises. Enjoy!

Original pic


Modern recreation