Books. Check em out.

Three Books that are all great reads, one is from the present, and 2 are from the past, and well, all of them are great literature.

Fitzgerald's first novel, uses numerous formal experiments to tell the story of Amory Blaine, as he grows up during the crazy years following the First World War. I read this book mainly on trains traveling back and forth from distant places, and at the time I was around the same age as the main character, so the angst and self observation was really relevant to how my brain was working to. For some reason there just became recognition between the book and my life, although there were very few similarities.

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Valentino Achak Deng, real-life hero of this engrossing epic, was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war-the bloodbath before the current Darfur bloodbath-of the 1980s and 90s. In this fictionalized memoir, Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) makes him an icon of globalization. Separated from his family when Arab militia destroy his village, Valentino joins thousands of other "Lost Boys," beset by starvation, thirst and man-eating lions on their march to squalid refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where Valentino pieces together a new life. He eventually reaches America, but finds his quest for safety, community and fulfillment in many ways even more difficult there than in the camps: he recalls, for instance, being robbed, beaten and held captive in his Atlanta apartment. Eggers's limpid prose gives Valentino an unaffected, compelling voice and makes his narrative by turns harrowing, funny, bleak and lyrical. The result is a horrific account of the Sudanese tragedy, but also an emblematic saga of modernity-of the search for home and self in a world of unending upheaval.

The Dharma Bums was published one year after On the Road made Jack Kerouac a celebrity and a spokesperson for the Beat Generation. Sparked by his contagious zest for life, the novel relates the adventures of an ebullient group of Beatnik seekers in a freewheeling exploration of Buddhism and the search for Truth.

Get Fly.

Listen, I stress the basics in fashion. If you cant look at yourself in a photo 5 years from now without a straight face, well, then you probably should start jockriding trends and be yourself.

Here's some hot shit for ya.

Sweaters are YMC, I think the overhead is even crazier, but I know people loven cardigans right now (myself included, but not cause its trendy, cardigans have always been a favorite of mine).

The blue jacket is Trainerspotter, and well would very would be very fly on a rainy day with any type of denim.

All Day I Dream About.......Adidas

Yes. Im obsessed with Adidas sneakers. It once was a joke, it was a hobby, but now, it is lifestyle.
http://www.shopadidas.com/

adidas Originals Conductor HiJeans. Make sho ya lace em right.

Pimp these with hard denim or navy blue slacks.

Superskate High Crêpe

This wallet isnt adidas but i justthought id throw it in there cause it has polaroids of pretty girls on it, love the design (Jimmy Fontaine).Well, maybe cause I love polaroid pics, and pretty girls, but this wallet is fresh.

Cop it here.

Foreign Films: La Haine

La Haine, or translated in English as Hate, is a gritty, black and white French drama that conveys the urban life and frustration of 3 poor young men who all come from different cultural backgrounds, but share the same projects. The film was done in 1995 but still resonates today. The black and white cinematography fits perfectly with the mood of the flick, which sets up a huge battle, between the youth and the cops, and how you look at it, good vs. evil (depending who you are). In case you did not know, class segragation in France is still a huge issue and the poor French youth have had several riots in the past few years showcasing their anger. This film can almost be considered a prelude to the tensions boiling over to those riots. The lead actor in this is familar to some, Vincent Cassels, or, the Swampfox of Oceans 12 and 13. Yea, he is one of Frane's biggest stars and is married to the sexy Monica Belluci. So, there ya go, now go watch it! BTW! It can be an intense watch, so please come prepared.

Listen to: Bitches Brew

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Its important to understand the relevance of this album beyone its sonic explorations. At the time, going electric (using an electric keyboard, such the fender rhodes), was considered a major no no in the jazz world. Miles Davis, happened to be apart of the jazz world hierachy despite his batttles with some.
Regardless, Miles told everyone to kiss off, and put together a bad ass band (Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, etc) to record what is "fusion" jazz first original masterpiece. Im not a fusion jazz guy, but this album has certain pieces that conjure only certain moods that such a distinct sound could.
Recommendation before even listening (to the newbees) Watch this DVD:
Its the story behind the album and the performance of Miles and his band at the 100,000 person strong Isle of Wight Festival.
Recommended While Listening: Scotch, on the rocks maybe, or a dry Red Wine, and a tightly rolled joint of some incredible doulja.

Werd.
OU

BREAKFAST!!!!!!

I came across this record somewhere in blog land a long time ago and never got rid of the link. Anyway "The Sylvers" were a dope group in the 70's and the early part of the 80's. To most they were the only group that could fuck with "J5". This record was sampled here and there but has some untouched pieces on it. I'm gonna try to post up new records at least twice a week, so come by often to see what's new.

-Dante "I Super Manned Your Baby Momma" Lewis

link in comments

GET UP! Sponsered by Brooklyn Bodega, Skatewell.com, coup d'etat

A Blast From The Past!!!

I was really nice at this. I was the man with Ken. I always wondered if it was going to come back. Its rumored but I think Street Fighter may be back for all those who loved this game. I think this game was the driving force in every teenager in the early 90's.


THAT WAS THEN....................................
AND THIS IS NOW/...............................!!!!!



The wonders of technology!!!

Print-

All I Dream About........ADIDAS

Adidas teamed up with jewelry designer Gabriel Urist to design a shoe to be worn by all players at the Celebrity All Star Game. They worked on the TS Pro Model, where the designer added his signature and lots of other small details both on the upper and on the inner sole.
The shoes are now available at Sneaker Politics. After the jump detailed images of the collaboration.

That comes courtesy of highsnobiety

Those are dope, and I would freak the shit out of em, but I also want to stress the importance of the basics, such as the classic Rod Lavers. Now I aint talking about no white/green normal colorways,although those are classic as well, but im talkin bout the brown, blacks, and olives that can almost double as shoes yet still be kicks.

Kids, its important to remember that your clothes and furniture should never go out of style.

So no doubt those kicks up top are hot, but will never age like a pair of these:

Respect.

OU

Show Tonight in NYC!

Matthew Santos of Lupe Fiasco fame and Emily King will be rocking SOB's tonight.

Santos is a talented singer/songwriter with an unique approach to melody, I kinda like em, beyond all the the superstar stuff.

Ive actually performed before with Emily King, and think she is incredibly dope, loved her album too (which was grammy nominated!), and hold no hard feelings towards her although I contacted her through myspace to say watup and she never hit me back. Hahaha. Im just kidding. Maybe.

Regardless, I wont be there, cause Ill be making music myself,

but it's gonna be hot, so go peep that.

Lodown Magazine/Dan McPharlin

http://www.lodownmagazine.com/

Lodown Magazine is a dope mag that comes all the way from Germany. I was introduced this magazine a little while back by a friend and really enjoyed the overall feel of the mag.

Besides the normal swag of music and fashion,it also has in depth pieces on new art

and the artists behind em.

I was introduced to an incredible
Dan McPharlin (who did that painting below)

McPharlin is becoming more famous though for these one of a kind pieces where he hand crafts analog music equipment using cardboard. Their really incredible and very hard to find.

Check a few examples

All Handmade! Dude is not playing! For more of his artwork peep http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmcp/

Enjoy, and thanks to Lowdown!

OU

Flicks: http://www.artcoup.com/

http://www.artcoup.com/ is the site of photographer Boogie, who is well know for taking very gritty black and white personal portrait shots.

He actually has a one of kind book that you can get here:

http://www.powerhousebooks.com/books!/Boogie/

What's truly incredible about Boogie's work is how he never once used a contact sheet,

so as a reviewer puts it, every trip to the negative yields an untold story.

Peep that.

OU