Back In The Saddle Again

Well it sure didn't take me very long to find a new job. I guess my resume speaks for itself. And apparently I do a pretty good job of speaking for myself as well, because I got a call about an hour after my interview with the Patient and Visitor Relations department at Durham Regional Hospital letting me know I got the job. It probably won't take advantage of my entire skill set, but I start on Monday and they will be paying me, and that's more than I can say for what I am doing now, which is sitting on my fat ass playing video games. Speaking of video games, the Sony PSP is being released today for all of you hardcore portable video game junkies out there. It might be a little hard to find this week, and I'm sure they will sell out of their American stock by the weekend. That's what happened with the Nintendo DS and it wasn't nearly as sought after as the PSP. In any case, I'm going to wait for the second generation PSP with hopefully a longer battery life before I even consider buying one.

Anyway, on to the more interesting stuff. I received an e-mail from Jose Luis Serrano, a documentary film director who has "just finished a short documentary about two NYC street artists on a global guerilla project: throwing up fake sneakers all over the world." You can check it out on the website for the new cable network INdTV. The documentary is titled '+he FUTURE BEAUTIFUL :: SKEWVILLE.' Check it out, and if you like it, vote for it on the IndTV website. Personally, I thought it was dope, but then, I love graffiti and sneakers, so combining the two makes me very happy.

Alright, next up, on the toy tip but also on the graffiti art tip, you gotta' check out the new Limited Ed. 12" Jean Michel Basquiat figure by Medicom:



Created in association with Maharishi this figure features the Medicom Real Action Hero body. This has got to be one of the coolest crossover art action figures I have ever seen. And now that I have a new job, I might just have to pre-order it.

Ningyoushi also has available on their website a two foot tall Limited Ed. Biz Markie doll:



If I hadn't already gotten Mike a birthday present when I was up in NYC, and if I could afford $160 for a birthday present for Mike, then I would get him this Biz doll. Biz is limited to only 1000 and comes in a cool cereal box, so get yours before they disappear... like the vapors.

Well, I think that's all for now. I'll start writing on a more regular basis next week when I start my new job. Until then, enjoy!

Watches, B-Ball Shoes, And Sandals For Spring

Well folks, today is the first day of spring and I feel rejuvenated. Since I am not working, and because I have already applied to a hundred jobs or so, I decided to start working out again. Unfortunately, I haven't worked out on a regular basis in a couple of years, so I have been very sore for the last week or so. But that has all changed now that spring has sprung!

Speaking of sprung, check out this shiny shiny new Limited Ed. LED watch by Cyber Punk Made in Japan:



This watch, available from Tokyoflash, even has its own little cartoon spokesmodel. Get yours quick before they sell out. And at only $116.⁶² they will sell out pretty quickly.

Next on the agenda, because it is March Madness time and my favorite team has made it to the Sweet Sixteen, I present these Limited Ed. Duke Blue Devils Nike Terminator Zoom Airs:



Now I know everybody hates Duke. Well, everybody outside of Durham, North Cack that is. Someone has even come up with the charming moniker for them; "Dook." I just think it is hilarious because the only reason people hate them so much is because they are so good. Coach K has also just passed Dean Smith as the most winningest coach in college basketball. Every team Duke plays, in either ACC regular season games or NCAA tournament games, is gunning for them, wants to take them out, wants to kill them. And yet they continue to win. Sometimes it just makes me laugh.

Speaking of laughing, the man Michael Lucas, has sent me this very interesting link to some very interesting sandals from the very interesting country of Japan that interestingly enough made me laugh. From Nikko Co. Ltd. come these Limited Ed. Thunder Gate Original Snow Inferior sandals:

  

My favorites are the Ba-ri:



Not because of the image on them, more because of the Babel Fish translation of the description of them, which includes the classic line, "Being the ladies and gentlemen and the Bali island which are sensitive to popularity the king of the design monkey which is happened to see frequently (monkey king ハヌマーン) it is appearance!" I love anything that has to do with the design monkey and the monkey king. Maybe because of my role as Monkey in the kung-fu classic Fist of the Golden Chicken. Anyway, I'm not sure why you would want to wear sandals in the snow, but apparently that is what these are for. Personally, I think I will wait a couple of months and get some for the summer. That is, if I have a job by then. Until then, or until my next post, enjoy!

Gainfully Unemployed

Sorry I haven't posted anything recently, but as the story often goes, I have been fired from my job where I usually blog from. I was told, not by my boss, but by his fairly incompetent wife, that I have made too many mistakes recently on the job. Apparently, I am not "career-oriented" enough for my Office Manager position. That's probably because I never wanted to be an Office Manager. I took the job originally as a part-time position so that I would have time in the mornings to paint and work on freelance graphic design work. I took over full-time when the woman I was sharing my job with got fed up and quit. I should have known then that things were going to get bad, but I really needed the extra money I was getting working full-time. That was almost two years ago. Now I am back out on my own looking for work. If anyone out there knows of any jobs for graphic artists/designers with plenty of web design skills, I'm looking. And I'm willing to relocate... to New York. I have friends and family there that I can stay with until I can get my own place. Luckily, I will be able to get unemployment until I can find a new job. That will definitely help out while I'm looking. Anyway, enough of my depressing bullshit. On to what you all really want, Limited Ed. shtuff.

Ningyoushi has some great new toys available for pre-order on their website. First off, they've got these cool new Futura Nosferatu Pointman figures:



Produced by 360 Toygroup, these figures, which Ningyoushi describes as "probably the truest form of Pointman as a figure, ever created," come in four flavors; black, white, grey, and brown camo of course. The black one is my favorite, but the brown camo will probably be the first to sell out. Everybody loves camo.

Ningyoushi also has available for pre-order this super-sweet 12" Star Wars Darth Vader by Medicom:



According to Ningyoushi, "This is the second Star Wars 12" Figure by Medicom using their high quality Real Action Hero Body. Darth Vader features a working light saber, cloak, removable helmet, and ultra detailed accessories." I'm not sure how they got the light saber to work, seeing as how there has never been a full-sized working version produced. Trust me, I've been trying to find one for a while. It's been very hard to complete my Jedi training without it. It is cool that the figure features a removeable helmet, so you can see Darth's ugly, deformed face, which in no way resembles James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth in the three good Star Wars movies.

Well, that's all for now. Wish me luck in my job search. I will post again when I get bored of looking for work.

Bloggin' Just Enough For The City

Broken glass everywhere! Haha ha... ha! I apologize for my lack of posts recently, but I have been up in NYC for the open casting call for Artstar:



It was a pretty interesting event. Like American Idol for artists. And just like American Idol, all of the freaks came out of the woodwork for this one. Unfortunately, because I am comparatively normal, I wasn't selected to make it through to the second round. I did get to show my work to the art and culture critic Carlo McCormick, who liked my poster work and took a copy of a couple of my pieces to hold onto, which could prove promising. I also decided to stay in New York a few extra days to chill, hang out with my sister and cousins, and go to a hilarious comedy night at Cinema Classics featuring the likes of Bobby Tisdale, Leo Allen, Eugene Mirman, Demetri Martin, etc. I even saw Todd Barry hanging out in the audience. I recognized him, but didn't realize who he was. I thought he was someone I actually knew, so I went up to him and tried to start a conversation, realizing after I started talking to him that he was famous and that was why he was ignoring me. I also managed to sell a painting while I have been up in NYC. Of course, I sold the painting from the exhibit at Temple Ball in North Carolina that I had work in that ended on Monday. So that makes up for not getting into Artstar, kind of.

Anyway, here's something that might come in handy in the city. According to Josh Rubin, Puma, in association with Vexed and Biomega, are releasing an urban apartment friendly folding bike:

        

I wish I had one of these right now so I could ride around to my favorite toy stores, shoe stores, galleries, museums, etc. in the city. I'd have to have a damn good lock, though! That's all for now. More later.