Toy Version Of Me

Yep, they have finally done it. They have created a toy version of me. Just look at the picture. I have that exact outfit. And I skate. And my hair often looks crazy like that. I guess CoolRain must have seen me around somewhere. Or I just wear the same shit they sell over at Kasina, the street-wear retailer who commissioned this toy line from CoolRain. I'm not sure if these toys are available anywhere, I can't seem to navigate either of the above websites, but if anyone knows, let me know, cuz THEY MADE A TOY VERSION OF ME!!!

Something, Something, Something, Dark Side

Holy crap! New Adidas x Star Wars kicks! The Superstar 2 Star Wars, Game Mid Princess Leia (for my sister Leia), and Superstar 2 Darth Vader are my favorites. I also really like the Stormtrooper Hooded Flock Track Top. Alright, I want them all. Well, maybe just the more subtle designs. I know I'm a huge nerd, whatever. A better colab, there has never been.

Mike Mignola Y'all!

I know it has been forever, but whatever, get it while you can.

Anyway, the artwork of Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, will be featured tonight, one night only, at Secret Headquarters in Sunset Junction from 8-10pm.


Secret Headquarters will also be offering a limited edition Mignola illustrated letterpress print made specifically for this show. The prints feature never before seen Hellboy artwork by Mike Mignola with color supervision by Dave Stewart. These 3 color letterpress prints have been beautifully made by Aardvark Letterpress of Los Angeles.


Complimentary wine provided by Bear Flag.

Also, Kwong Dynasty: Noodle Fantasy will be parked in front of Secret Headquarters for all of your delicious noodle slurping needs.

Now get off my back about posting stuff, y'all! I needs my beauty sleep!

Much Respect, Collect Comes Correct

I got e-mail from Collect, a newly launched t-shirt label out of London, about their new website featuring their Limited Ed. and finely designed t-shirt line. Collect features three styles of tees for men and women: a plain, single-color tee, which is not limited to a certain number of releases, patterned tees and printed tees, which are each limited to 100 printings of each design. The tees come in three fits: fitted, relaxed and vest (what we here in the states would call a tank-top of wife-beater) for women and slim, regular and relaxed for men. So there are a lot of choices, when you come down to it, but only 100 of each design for the printed and patterned tees.

Now let's see if I can make this any more confusing. If you take the square root of the hypotenuse of the right triangle that is formed by the intersection of the relaxed fit and slim tees in the men's patterned tee style and subtract the circumference of the arm strap of the women's plain vest tee, amazingly, you will come out with your own age! It's just that simple.

Anyway, as you can see from the pictures above, the t-shirts are all real pretty and fancy. The prices range from £20-£45. So not too bad if you live somewhere with a good exchange rate. Hopefully, soon I will be getting a sample t-shirt to do more research on in terms of quality and detail, so that I can add an update to this post with more info. Until then, maybe you might want to go to www.collectlondon.com and check out the shirts yourself. You might even want to buy one. If you do, tell them Limited Ed. sent you. You won't get a discount, but it will make you seem cooler.

Futurama Mama

I know, that title is terrible. I just couldn't think of anything clever to use as a title to better describe the adorably cute and great new Futurama mini-figure set from Kidrobot. I love The Simpsons mini-figs that Kidrobot did. They feature great sculpts and quality and feel really good in your hand. They are very solid and heavy for their size. And I'm guessing the Futurama figures will be the same. I'm not sure what the two chase figures are, but when I got my first Kidrobot Simpsons figure it just happened to be one of the chase figures, Snake, actually one of my favorite characters from The Simpsons. Hopefully the Futurama chase figures are equally as cool. Anyway, back to the job hunt. I got some more stuff to post later, so keep an eye out... literally! Just like Leela would!

Broken Boards

Howdy y'all! It's been a while. Good to see all y'all again. Here I am, back in the saddle.

I know I haven't been around in a while, but I have been skateboarding a lot recently. I think it is a result of my move to Los Angeles, my lack of work, Anne being in DC, an early mid-life crisis, a desire for a fun way to get some exercise and lose weight, and my general anarchic tendencies and lack of respect for authority. I am trying to skate for at least an hour a day, two hours if I get the chance or go to one of the local skate parks around LA. And I don't just cruise around on a long board like an old dude, I am trying to learn new tricks, like pop shove-its and rail slides. And I am an old dog, which means I wear knee pads under my jeans when I go out skating around my apartment, so I don't tear up my knees, and if I go to the skate park I also wear my wrist guards so I don't break another wrist. Instead of breaking bones, I have been breaking boards recently. One that Anne got me, that I broke popping ollies behind our apartment, and another that I had for about ten years, that I broke doing an ollie to board slide down in Venice Beach. The ten year old Powell board had been sitting in my parents' attic for about a year, so it may have gotten brittle and broke just because it was old.

Anyway, I have had to replace two boards in the last few months, so I had to find a good local skate shop that I trusted. There is one down in Venice where Anne got me a board for my birthday, but that is too far away. There was also a shop that I used to drive past on Sunset Blvd. everyday on my way to work when Anne and I were living at Seth's place in Echo Park. It is called Maintain, and is the best shop I have found in the Silverlake area. The first time I was in there, I was a little intimidated by all of the kids in the store, but once I met the owner Alex Rodriguez, I was thoroughly impressed by his skate and graffiti art knowledge. Not to mention, his reasonably priced decks. I have gotten two blank decks from him to replace my broken ones. Two blank decks were cheaper than one graphic deck online, so I won't feel bad if I break one of these. But if I did want a graphic deck, Maintain has a wide selection of them at very reasonable prices. As well as trucks, wheels, bearings, risers, and stickers. They also have a wide selection of spray cans, markers, acrylics, and other art needs. And Alex has some of his amazing art up in the shop. His other art can be seen on the walls around the Silverlake and Echo Park areas. Maintain doesn't have a website yet, but hopefully they will soon. Until then, check them out on their MySpace page or go down to the shop at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd. in LA and tell them Limited Ed. sent you.

Now I just need to get someone to take pictures of me skating so that I can prove once and for all that pigs can fly!

Pimpin' It In 3D

Erick Scarecrow and Pimpit 3D have teamed up to bring you 3D online templates of the Shiitakes and Soopa Coin-Up Bros. vinyl. You can check the links below.

http://www.pimpit3d.com/object/soopa

http://www.pimpit3d.com/object/shiitake

On Pimpit 3D will can download 2D templates via PSD and custom them and upload them online. Using Pimpit 3D is very easy...

1. Download template to your computer.
2. Customize and pimp it.
3. Upload and battle.

Sounds pretty fun to me. Maybe if I ever get some spare time I will check it out.

In Our Neighborhood

It is very dangerous that Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go has set up shop at Alife in Hollywood, which is easily within walking distance. Every Wednesday night, 6-9 pm. I'm sad I already ate dinner tonight, and guess what? It was Korean BBQ! Well, I know what I am doing next Wednesday night.

Update: Anne and I had dinner there last night. We thought we were getting there early at 7:30, half an hour after they open, but there was already a line halfway down the block. It took about half an hour for us to get our food, and oh boy was it worth it! Anne had a Korean Short Rib taco and a Korean Chicken taco and I had a Korean Spicy Pork burrito. I will be back next week despite the crowd, that's how good it was!

Lurking

I have been laying in wait, lurking, waiting for something interesting enough to come along to post on my blog. Something, hopefully, that hasn't been killed by everyone else out there. I'm not sure if this is that thing, but I know it is cool, so I had to say something. I just got an e-mail last night from my favorite local Hawaiian kicks shops, not ironically know as KICKS/HI, with information about two new pairs of Vans that are now available in their shop. Vans are my new favorite shoe, not only for their comfort and good looks, but also because they are, in my humble opinion, the best shoes to skate in. Of course, I have only skated in Vans, Nikes, and DC shoes, so I can't say that definitively. Anyway, as I was saying, KICKS/HI has two new pairs of Vans designed by one of my favorite graphic artists from back in my hippie Grateful Dead days, Rick Griffin (R.I.P.). If you don't know Rick Griffin, go look at some rock posters from the 60's, especially those of the Grateful Dead, and you will know man, you will know! It is some super psychedelic stuff. Now his signature ink has been used on a pair of Vans Mid Skool '77s and Old Skool '77s (pictured above, left to right). I don't know which ones I like better. I like the black and white ink style of the Mid Skools, which, if they were slip-ons, would definitely be my preference. But I also like the red suede and patterned textile of the Old Skools. It is enough to make a poor man drool. Unfortunately, I broke my board this morning doing ollies behind my apartment building, so I won't need any more skate shoes any time soon. I guess I will be walking in LA for a while. More pictures below.

Polish Your Vinyl

I got e-mail the other day from Abe over at Vinyl Canvas letting me know about their new gallery. It is filled with custom vinyl toys designed by Polish artists such as FRM-kid, Kobster, *starFil, and Werke. It seems like a nice project. I especially like the Scarecrow Qee Bear [pictured above] designed by Tomasz Płonka and featured on the front page of the website. Unfortunately, it has sold already. There are still several other cool pieces available on the site, so if you need something to do for a few minutes, check it out.

Why So Expensive?

In these economic times of hardship for all, breadlines for some, gov't cheese for others, why, 3A, have you released such a sweet-ass figure at such a high price? I know these things are going to sell out, most to resellers who will jack the price up even higher, but I still find myself drooling as I admire the CCCP logo on the front of the Big Red Martin. It is huge. Also, I am, of course, a Communist sympathizer. Just kidding, good ol' USA! I could never sell out my country, but I do like the aesthetic of old skool Soviet-era propaganda art, a la Shepard Fairey, et al. Anyway, if anyone got three hundred bones to throw my way I would love to own one of these magnificent robots. I can dream, can't I? It is available for pre-order now, so go knock yourselves out.

B.T.W. Happy 420 Everybody!

Coupla' Things

I know, blah blah blah, it's been too long, etc. I've been doing this for five years now people, cut me some slack.


This weekend, those folks close by should head on down to Culver City Saturday night, April 18th, from 6-9 pm for a gallery opening at the Cerasoli Gallery for an exhibit featuring new work by John Grande, Franziska Klotz and Nick Potter. According to Freddi, their fine art work invokes various photographic genres through the use of paint.

"In Gallery One, contemporary painter John Grande’s oil on canvas portraits often resemble archival budoir photographs cleverly interwoven with archetypal gender narratives. German-born artist Franziska Klotz collects, tags, and archives snapshots, which she then reconfigures as paintings that are often contradictory and dreamily abstract. Influenced by the banality of everyday spaces in his native England, Nick Potter’s current works use architectural spaces and images of desire to explore the implicit interrelations between class, materialism, isolation and anxiety."

The exhibit will be running through May 13th. Also going on this weekend, for my friends back in the C'Boro, Wootini will be hosting a Mini Munny Mobile Decorating Party on Sunday, April 19th.

Here's the scoop, according to my man Mike,

"All you have to do is show up, and express interest in decorating a Munny - then we simply give you a Munny Mobile while supplies last. We'll have some tables and chairs, as well as some materials to use to decorate your Munny. Local artist Amy 'LizzPhizz' Richards [will be] on hand to help give you ideas and assist in creating your Munny. Pictures will be taken and submitted to Kid Robot."

I will see if I can hit up the Kidrobot here in LA, but I figure it will probably be some crazy shit going on that day. And I can't miss the farmers' market this week. This economy is stupid. Everybody, recycle your old stuff so you can go out and buy some new stuff to stimulate this shit.

Samberger

I ran into Andy Samberg at Loteria at the Farmer's Market today. He is soooooo much cuter in person than he is on the TV. I had to walk by him when he was at the water cooler and grab some water to get a closer look. He ain't a big feller, but I bet he can squeeeeeeeal real perty. Next time I see him, I'm gonna make him take off that itty bitty shirt... and them itty bitty panties.

Just kidding... I had my way with him right there in the middle of all the market stalls. It was good, too. Real nice and quick, like a cat. Then he wiped off the blood and was gone. What a shame. Oh well, you never know who you are going to run into in this town.

Also, if anyone out there actually believes any of this, other than the fact that I ran into Andy Samberg at Loteria, damn y'all is gullible. He isn't even really that cute.

Awlsum!

I just had an awlsum day. Not only did I get to go see the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic between the United States and Japan, where Japan crushed the US and Seth hurled random Japanese phrases like "I want to eat your baby" at the throngs of Nipponese fans while chugging excessively expensive and large plastic cups full of what would normally be cheap beer (I got a little tipsy myself), but I also got to go to the party for the last episode of Eastbound & Down at Happy Endings where I pulled my usual "Alec the Joke Killer" routine with Patton Oswalt. Luckily, Anne was there to back me up. We were discussing the many advantages and disadvantages of mustaches with Mr. Juice Jr., who has a magnificent waxed and curled mustache and is a rocket scientist, when I mentioned that I had a similar mustache a few years back and it was not at all good for my sex life. Patton said that was a little too much information, to which Anne replied, "next he'll start talking about his daddy issues," which made Patton crack up. Then he slinked off to his table to get away from me and grab some food. It was great. Also in attendance, of course, was Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Ben Best, and Andrew Daly from Eastbound. I even saw Aziz Ansari from Scrubs, I Love You, Man and Parks and Recreation hanging out, but didn't get a chance to kill a joke with him. Maybe next time. Anyway, I gotta' get back to living the LA lifestyle. Catch y'all bitches later!

Holy Ass Cracklins!

I am drunk! Damn! Anne and I went out to Lucky Strikes on Highland and Hollywood tonight to celebrate St. Patty's day and that meant tequila shots and bowling. The best combination of events that could ever coincide with a major Irish holiday. I love those green bastards. I was the big weener at bowling tonight, scoring a combined 232 in my two games. That is pretty good with how much I had to drink. I am glad we walked, cuz I barely remember the walk back. We took Yucca to avoid the weirdos on Hollywood Blvd. and ran into the band Wolf Motherfucker(sp?) on the sidewalk and told them to go get late-night eats at Los Burritos on Hollywood. They seemed cool. I think I passed out on the toilet for a few minutes when we got back. I can't believe that I am coherent enough to type this right now. The bed was spinning a little too much for me to sleep, so I thought I should get up and write a new post, since it has been about twelve years and shit since my last one. Oh yeah, did I mention I went to Vegas for my birthday last weekend? That shit was awlsum! We hit the tables with Danny McBride, Ben Best, Jody Hill, and Jeff Siebenick from Eastbound & Down fame. Not to mention my very own brother, director of the classic Butterfly Effect III: Revelation and the best blackjack player I know. And of course my lovely and brilliant girlfriend Anne, who put up with my buuuullllshit the whole time. Remember, always leave the table when they change dealers. That is just a sign and shit muthafuga. That, and I should stick to Texas hold 'em and not play blackjack. Shwell, I should probably get going and try to go to sleep and not puke now. I got a big day ahead of me, designing websites and editing reels. I shit on your piss you pillow licking lizard fucks! ROCK HARD AND FUCK THE MAN!!!

I Love Gold!

Alife and Krink strike again with this wicked cool Gold t-shirt/mop marker combo [pictured above and below]. I have always been an abuser of Krink's silver mop marker, but as I said in the post previous to this one, I am a huge fan of the black and gold combo, thus t-shirt, gold marker, me happy, Alife store within easy walking distance. Just got paid, Friday night, got a monkey in my pocket, feeling alright. That shit is available now, but it is pouring down rain out, so I might wait a while to head on down there and check that shit out. Be prepared for some gold BizKwik tags, LA!

Me Wanty!

I really, really, really, really, really, really, really want this Sham: Black & Gold vinyl figure from MAD available through myplasticheart! I already have the matching t-shirt from SocialPest that MAD designed. I also have a pair of black and gold Huf Vans to match as well. I love black and gold, being a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan from back in the day (i.e. the 70's) when the Steelers were hot shit and my parents got my brother and I Steelers scarves and toboggans for our Hanukkah postcard picture. I am also a Steelers fan from when I lived in Pittsburgh going to school at Carnegie Mellon University in the early 90's. So I just need this figure to match all of my other black and gold items. Well, maybe "need" is too strong of a word, but as I said, I really want it! So if anyone wants to get me one for my birthday on March 6th (also the release date of the Watchmen movie, which better be good since it is coming out on my birthday!), feel free to do so. For now, with my less than great financial status, I will just have to look and drool.

Aye Me Beasties!

Friday the 13th
at Secret Headquarters
Rain or Shine
Booze and beasts!

If I am not out seeing
Prince Paul and Peanut Butter Wolf
at the Echoplex that night,
I will be there.

Mongolion Beef

Giving me flaming-ass fire! Actually, it was the burritos. Too spicy? Too spicy! Anyway, the next in the line of Snakes of Infinity fight figures from Super7 is their collaboration with Lamour Supreme, named Mongolion and pictured above in all of its prototype glory. This is one sick-ass sculpt by none other than the great Cosmo Liquid. I can't wait for this figure to drop! They have to do one in some sort of clear yellow or orange colorway with a lot of red and gold spray. Ridiculously awesome! Definitely my favorite so far of the Snakes of Infinity series. It debuts in March, just in time for my birthday. If there is anyone out there who hasn't thought of the perfect present yet, this could be it.

Those Are Freakin' Hot!

That was the first thing I thought when I saw these new Limited Ed. Tokidoki for Onitsuka Tiger sneakers [pictured above, right]. The sneakers, not the girl! Damn it, get your head out of the gutter. Anyway, they would look rather nice on some young ladies, and since I rarely write about anything for the fairer sex, here y'all go. I like the pink and green ones, maybe I will get a pair for Anne for Valentine's day, which comes soon after these ship on February 4th.

They also have unisex pairs, which feature a glow-in-the-dark print on the side, in gray and white and red, white and blue, for the guys who are into Tokidoki stuff. I like the gray and white ones, myself. They will run ya' $125 a pair, which isn't too bad, about average for a pair of sneakers nowadays. Well, back to work.

Erasing The Dead

Tonight at 7pm at Secret Headquarters in Sunset Junction there will be a release party for Charlie Huston's new novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. There will be a very brief reading from the novel followed by Secret Headquarters' traditional stupid trivia and prizes. All preceded by cheap beer and good bourbon whiskey. The combination of which greatly improves the entertainment value of the reading and trivia, according to the e-mail that I received this morning.

Apparently, Charlie Huston's visits to Secret Headquarters are some of their favorite events and are not to be missed. I will try to make it out for this, but it all depends on when Anne and I get done with dinner. I'm not a big whiskey drinker, but I do love cheap beer, especially PBR, so this seems quite inviting. Now, back to work!