friendship

Too bad the tiger will start looking at the monkey as dinner instead of friend in a couple months. Some friendships aren't meant to last.

beau sia's open letter to rosie

This has been floating around for a while:

and here's Rosie's response

george takei responds to tim hardaway

I'm sure you're all familiar with former basketball player Tim Hardaway's homophobic "I hate gay people" rant. Here's George Takei's response on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

And here's his hilarious roast of William Shatner:

smiley faces

I know this has been out for a while, but I still enjoy this video.

sunday sounds

This post is sponsored by the letter "K".

k-os - sunday morning

k-os - bed's too big

kelis - trilogy (synth/rock remix)

kanye west (feat. clipse & aura) - crazy

all star weekend slam dunk contest

I've always rooted for the little guy in the NBA, from Mugsy Bogues (Dunbar stand up!) to Spud Webb and Allen Iverson. But after the Slam Dunk Competition, I gotta say - enough of Nate Robinson! Ok, maybe I'm still sore that he stole last year's crown from my man Andre Iguodala (they should've just crowned him after his behind the backboard dunk)

...but last night was excruciating to watch him fail attempt after attempt in the final round until finally making his final try. At first it was frustrating...then I felt embarassed for him. Even his competitor, Gerald Green was rooting for him to finally make it. Dwight Howard really should've been in the final. The "sticker dunk" should've gotten him through on pure humor.

Yes, it was gimmicky....but the whole contest has become gimmicky. Nate Robinson himself is a gimmick, since he gets high marks for his short height alone. Gerald Green has the hops and his Dee Brown tribute was cool...but I was ultimately disappointed in his final dunk. In the end, I wished the judges (MJ, Dr.J, Dominique, Kobe and Vince) would take over.

kozyndan

kozyndan represents the collaboration of a Japanese illustrator and the photoshop artistry of her american husband. I love their work! Below is one of my favorite panoramic works with detailed shots underneath. A humorous twist on the Japanese salaryman's envy of schoolgirls.

"Kin-san's Business Trip"

Hiro / Heroes

Call me cheesy, but I love the show "Heroes". I'm not familiar with the comic book, but the show itself is very entertaining. Forget the cheerleaer...my wife and I both enjoy the Japanese duo of Hiro and Ando (they converse in subtitled Japanese). My wife is constantly amused by Hiro's highly amplified geeky way of speaking the Japanese language. Hiro is played by Masi Oka, who has an impressive background before he started acting. He was on the cover of Time at age 10 as one of the "Asian-American whiz kids", graduated Brown University, and was a digital-effects artist for George Lucas.

chéri cherin

"L'Esclavagisme (Slavery)" (2006)














"Demon-Cratie" (2004)












"Moke: Le Debut De La Fin" (2001)


I saw the "Africa Remix" exhibit last summer and was blown away by the energy and diversity of contemporary African art. The exhibit included paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, multimedia installations, furniture design, music, literature and fashion. I was particularly drawn to the artist Chéri Cherin. His paintings urgently capture the beauty of his homeland and the strength of people struggling to rise above the corruption and violence surrounding his native Congo.

sneaker appreciation - air stab premium

I've added yet another pair of retro running shoes to my sneaker collection: Nike Air Stab Premiums in tan, vegas gold and brown colorway with orange and purple accents and a speckled midtoe. I was able to snatch it for far less than the $100-115 retail price seen in many stores. The Air Stab was originally released in 1988 and combined great design with the latest running technology of that time. I love the mixture of different materials as these kicks sport breathable mesh, suede and leather details. The construction is very sturdy and durable (the wrinkability of my dunks aggravate me)...plus the cushioning gives it a comfy ride.

Chill Mode

Its been a hectic week. New job and new coworkers. Everyone is very nice...and extremely white. I don't mean that in a hateful way, but it has been a challenge to relate to their world (their sense of humor, taste in music and overall perspective eludes me at times). Since I am the only minority and one of the youngest in our marketing creative team, I feel very aware of my ethnicity and the generational gap. I'm sure I'll eventually adapt (or assimilate). Aside from that, these people seem happy go lucky and content with their positions. This type of behavior would be considered foreign in my old department. In fact, when I walk back to my old stomping grounds, the tension in the air is very tangible. I sense that the old heads want to leave as I did. I wish them luck.

So enough with that craziness, here are 3 tracks to ease ourselves into the weekend.
Mos Def - Umi Says

Cut Chemist - The Garden

Roy Ayers - Searching

Game...Colts? Nah, Game... Blouses.

Yeah, yeah, the Colts won Superbowl XLI, but one of the highlights of Sunday's slopfest was the halftime show. Prince killed it! I've been a big fan ever since I watched Purple Rain as a little kid. I got sucked into his performance so much that I forgot there was still a second half of the game. He's truly an entertaining showman - the genius of his musicality is unwavering and he's amazingly agile in his heels. I saw him live when his Musicology tour hit Philly in '04 and it was an incredible show.

Even that hilarious Chappelle's skit on Prince (nobody tells stories like Charlie Murphy) was as much an homage as it was a parody.

reflections and a fresh start

I'm sure you're familiar with that old saying - "insanity is the repetition of the same action hoping for a different result." I think my job was driving me crazy on the path to insanity.

Don't get me wrong - the whole experience over the years was definitely positive - but there comes a time when you've squeezed everything you can out of a job. If you stay for long beyond this realization and your daily grind involves trying to squeeze something out of a nearly-dead end job hoping for growth and opportunity...you begin to go loopy.

My co-workers frequently joke that nobody leaves here. And even a couple of the ones that had left... eventually came back. So how did this department became a black hole? Perks and niceties. Even though the pace was hectic, you can set your own schedule, use facilities and resources for personal use...and the people are really nice. So even as the position began sacrificing creative appeal for productivity, there was a certain comfort level which allowed complacency to set in. The pay made life comfortable and I made some really close friends. Friends that shared the same gripes, became weary of the deadline pace and sensed a creeping stagnation. Yet we therapeutically comforted each other, which may have added to the complacency.

Well, in a rapid turn of events over the past 3 days, I managed to leave. After collaborating on a catalog test cover with the marketing team, I became a wanted man by the head of their understaffed department. So, I welcome the fresh start, the new challenges ahead and a truer opportunity to grow professionally and otherwise.

The only negative aspect is that I'll be leaving my close friends that shared my cubicle space. We even joked that we were like a dysfunctional family. One of them told me as I was leaving - "You're one of the few that made it out...Don't come back"

Weekend Warm-Up

Some heat to jumpoff the weekend:

Sergio Mendes (feat. Black Eyed Peas) - Mas Que Nada

N.E.R.D. (feat. Common, Mos Def, De La Soul & Q-Tip) - She Wants To Move (Remix)

Sharon Jones - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You

superbowl shuffle

In honor of my cousins in chitown:GO BEARS!

Super Bowl Shuffle - video powered by Metacafe

Restaurant Week Pt 2. - Tangerine

Tangerine is a swanky mediterranean restaurant located between 2nd and 3rd on Market Street in Old City. Not suprisingly, we found many trendily pretentious people trying hard to be seen and the restaurant interior is definitely decked out as an accomodating backdrop to their self absorbed preening. Upon entering, you are greeted by a dimly lit hallway which leads to a moodly bar area paneled by mediterranean patterned curtains . It was fairly crowded and we had to wait 15 minutes beyond our reserved time. The wait already placed a bad taste in my wife's mouth.

Aesthetically, I liked how the overall restaurant space was broken into contrasting sections. The dim loungy environment of the bar led to a hallway which empties into the shimmering lights of the main dining room. The overall color scheme, hanging light lanterns, sheer curtains and the hundreds of inset candle shelves which decorate the far wall hint towards the mediterranean flair of the cuisine. The floor plan itself is cafeteria style - fairly crowded yet detached...beautiful but not totally cozy.

I had heard that their drinks are more amazing than their food and I had a nice apples and oranges flavored vodka that did not disappoint. Now, it may not be totally fair to judge a restaurant on its $30 restaurant week menu, but when you consider the exposure gained by this event, you would think they would put as much thought into these courses as in those offered in their regular menu. In my opinion, Tangerine went cheap on the $30 deal and the offerings off their main menu looked far more interesting. I started off with a tasty Lamb Polpette sitting on a visually interesting bed of green Israeli cous cous and mint pesto. I was a little disappointed with the presentation of my second course - the Grilled Beef Brochette. It was little more than clumps of beef with a few pieces of potato and broccoli. It was fairly tasty but slightly dry. I finished the evening with a Chocolate Walnut Tart - again it was good...but it didn't blow me away. We left the restaurant admiring the beautiful interior but was somewhat unfufilled by the food.