finished painting

in an earlier post i mentioned that my dad was dabbling in abstract impressionism. i just wanted to post my dad's finished piece of artwork. this picture really doesn't do the painting justice. the painting consists of a large amount of paint that creates a highly marbleized effect. i absolutely love this painting. i personally feel that it is one of my dad's best paintings ever.

song alert: jay-z ft. santogold: brooklyn go hard

Jay-Z on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

this is a new jay-z song that kanye west produced. i think it is pretty cool especially the santogold part. it kind of bugs me that jay-z is rapping like little wayne a little bit, but i figured it was worth posting. i also think this video is pretty creative. it is very simple yet entertaining. supposedly this song is going to be featured in the new notorious biopic.

artist alert: richard diebenkorn

while i was home over the break my dad decided to paint a picture that could be displayed on our living room wall. my mom had been going to every home boutique imaginable trying to find something that could hang on the living room wall. out of my moms frustration, my dad volunteered to paint something that could be displayed on the wall. my mom decided that she wanted something different. she didn't want to display a traditional painting. my dad decided to study some artists in order to gain inspiration for the project. needless to say, my father discovered a true gem. he introduced me to an artist name richard diebenkorn. most consider diebenkorn as an abstract expressionist, but his works that truly interest me are his paintings of cityscapes, people, and objects rather than his large design based abstract pieces of work. please check out his work. you will not be disappointed.

richard diebenkorn wikipedia

artist alert: ray mortenson

i really don't know much about this guy. i was reading through the new york times yesterday and i saw an article about a photography project that he conducted between 1982 and 1984. he basically decided to enter parts of the bronx that were so deteriorated and destructed that they represented war torn areas like dresden. he documented his experience in these ravaged areas through a series of pictures that is now being displayed in new york. the picture i have included is one that i found particularly interesting. i have also attached a link to the article in the times.

ray mortenson new york time article

mustache monday!!!

so over thanksgiving break most of the guys in my masters program decided to grow mustaches. on monday morning when we finally got back to school we got together and compared "staches". i got the award for "never grow that mustache again." i was pretty proud of my accomplishment.

book alert: the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao

since i have had a little extra time over thanksgiving break i have tried to do a little reading. i picked up this book a while ago, but i haven't been able to give it any attention till now. i'm only about 75 pages into it, but i am actually enjoying it. the book incorporates a lot of spanish into the text. for those of you you that don't speak spanish this might be a little bit of a problem. since i have only read a little bit of this book i attached the link to the nytimes review. check out the review and if it sounds cool than definitely check out the book!!!!

ny times book review of the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao

please watch this!!!

i really couldn't resist posting this!!! kanye west is simply amazing. he might say a lot of stupid stuff, but i can put up with it as long as he keeps pushing the limits of creativity. the part when young jeezy comes in is pretty sweet. whether you like rap or not you need to check this out!!!!

please read this!!!

anyone who knows me knows that i am not a mitt romney fanatic, but i do greatly respect the man, and i would be more than willing to vote for him in the future. the recent auto industry situation has begun to interest me a little. as this issue has been forced into the headlines i have started to question the idea of bailout vs. bankruptcy. recently, mitt wrote an incredible piece for the new york times. i especially like what he said about increasing energy research spending from $4 million to $20 million. maybe mitt himself should head back to detroit and put things in order. its not like he really has anything to do until 2012 anyways.....

ny times mitt romney article

video alert!!!

i just saw this on a track bike blog. i really liked it so i thought i would post it here. enjoy!!


Fixed 2 from Charge Bikes on Vimeo.

video alert: brendan canning: churches under the stairs

so i know that i have posted on here about broken social scene before, but i couldn't resist putting this video up. i love the way this video was shot. the white background with the idea of two bands battling is pretty interesting. you got to love kevin drew and brendan canning going at it. its also a pretty good song!!

also, check out brendan canning and kevind drew's solo albums. they are basically extensions of broken social scene. they are both pretty good albums.

style alert: mr. campbell

the other day we were sitting around chatting when kirk walked into the room. we all started laughing when we saw what he was wearing. it was so funny that i had to take a picture of him. pay attention to the baggy sweats with brown dress shoes. i think kirk could be on to something.

p.s. happy 25th kirk!!!!

art alert: basque health department

i saw this on a site and it simply amazed me!!! this is some amazing architecture. this is pure insanity both inside and out. only in europe would the build something like this for the health department building. gotta love it!!!

check out some more pics here!!!!

video alert!!

my friend just showed me this video and it is pretty amazing!!! it is kind of long, but be patient, it is worth it!!! enjoy!!!

song alert: kanye west ft. kid cudi: anyway

oh man, this song is interesting. kanye west has a new album coming out the middle of this month (808's and heartbeak). many have described it as a concept album. most of the leaked songs have featured kanye singing rather than rapping and most of the beats are simple old school drum beats combined with synthesizers. some of the songs have been pretty good, while others have been a little more questionable. i really don't know how i feel about this song yet. i am kind of leaning to the sweetness side as of right now. let me know. just click the link below to check it out!!

kanye west ft. kid cudi: anyway

music alert: bon iver

i had read a ton about this, but for some reason never picked it up. well needless to say, i finally copped a copy and it has been extremely enjoyable. this is some good ole indie folk recorded on low budget equipment in a cabin in the heart of wisconsin. please check out this album!!! the song "skinny love" is amazing

http://www.boniver.org/

art alert: spiral jetty!!!!!!

i was just sitting around with one of my friends and he showed me pictures of a trip that he took to see something called the spiral jetty. this is a piece of artwork constructed on the banks of the great salt lake. after construction it was under water for 30 years before reappearing in 2004 when the water went down. i was completely amazed by this!!!! i had no idea such a thing existed. i think we are going to try and drive out there this weekend before it snows and the water level rises again in the spring. check out the wikipedia entry on this. it is unbelievable!!!! i can't believe i never knew about this until now. can't wait to go see it this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

spiral jetty on wikipedia

artist follow up: frank gehry

a few weeks back i posted some stuff about an architect named frank gehry. i was recently searching the blogosphere and found that kanye had posted a little bit about one of mr. gehry's recent project with the world company building in tokyo. check it out!!! you gotta love the fluidity of this piece!!!

frank gehry bench

don't know who to vote for?? let mr. friedman tell you!!!

obviously i am a huge fan of thomas friedman, so once again i am posting a link to his newest article over at the times. want to know who to vote for??? let mr friedman tell you!!! in this latest opinion piece, friedman simply giver the attributes that the future president should have. check it out, it is pretty interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/opinion/02friedman.html?hp

music alert: black cab sessions

everyone needs to check this out. the black cab sessions basically consists of bands getting in a cab and playing one song in one take. the idea is super simple, but provides for an extremely intimate performance from some amazing musicians. i have attached performances by my morning jacket and spoon, but please check out the website. there is a whole slew of awesome performances. check out sunset rubdown, fleet foxes, and the cool kids. all of these are pretty good.

......does anyone find it weird that jim james is wearing a cloak????



black cab sessions

blog alert: hypebeast

i don't really know how to describe this blog, but it basically consists of just about anything to do with style. it features a lot of shoes and clothing designs, but it also touches upon music and other urban trends out there. i find it pretty interesting. most of the stuff is pretty out there. anyways.....i guess the only way to truly understand is to check it out!!!

hypbeast.com