summer in BK...pics by Caleb

summer in BK...pics by JK

dream home

103 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY

some day...

Where in the World Cup?

I'm rooting for Higerie, but Angontima has a really good squad this year.

London Pub Life

I don't know why he was dressed up like Sponge Bob. Maybe it was to help soak up all 18 of his drinks.

for JK

wonderful weekend

Krylon Pissing Contest

I've taken a new job that is headquartered in Camden Town, London. On one of my first visits there back around late March, early April, I noticed the above graffiti along Regent's canal on my walk to the office, along with this piece...

Originally, they looked different. The roller-headed stork was erasing some text directed at Banksy about 'it being too late for that, mate' or something referencing an earlier statement. The little boy had hooked a white placard with the image of a fish inside the red circle-slash icon on it. Over the next couple of weeks I noticed these images were being written and painted over, so I asked the team in the office what the deal was. Apparently, Banksy wrote over a very famous and very old tag by old-school London graff god Robbo. (read more about the start of this feud, and Robbo, here) Robbo is more of a proper tagger. He doesn't do a lot of stencil art, mostly just writes his name on trains and buildings. He was very inactive for the last decade or so and is mostly known during the 80's and 90's I think. Anyway, Banksy wrote over one of the oldest standing pieces of Robbo's. That, apparently, is a big no-no in the graff world. So Robbo woke up and started tagging over Banksy's pieces. Now we get to watch them argue along the city's walls! Screw the World Cup! Who are you picking? Banksy's clever, gallery-friendly satire, or Robbo's principled, old-school gruff? Who get's the first book deal out of this? The first gallery show? London, this is war!!

Also, and I find this to be pretty funny, there was a big deal in the neighborhood here towards the end of last week. The back beer garden of this pub down the street was apparently the lastest canvas for Banksy. The landlord was originally furious until his wife explained to him that it was now worth a fortune. Remember King Midas? A coworker took me to the pub friday after work. We asked a cop on the corner where it was, and he jokingly asked if we had spray paint. When we got a drink and went to the back garden, someone made the joke that we would have to pay them 5 quid to look at the wall. I know, these jokes are hilarious. So we gave the wall a quick look, decided it was quite possibly fake, that it didn't matter either way, and sat down at an empty table to talk. In the time it took us to finish our drink, probably 5 people came down specifically to gawk at the wall. A photographer came in to shoot it from different angles and measure it's size. Someone from the bar was showing people around it. We decided a second drink would be had elsewhere. The odd thing was, this place was a completely middle class, quiet pub in a semi-posh neighborhood. This is where Banksy is working now? It's like tagging a suburban Applebee's or something. Seemed odd, but maybe that's the point. Below is an image of the wall. Too me it doesn't look like a Banksy stencil, but what do I know. I recognize the balloon girl. She's one of his characters. The thing that struck me funny is i could see that it was mostly brushed on, not sprayed, especially the parts over the mirrors. The coverage was bad. The writing looks like his, but the rest seems strange. You can decide if it's Banksy or not. The pub has decided it is, whether or not it ends up being denied by his publicist, who at this point is making no comment. You see, having a Banksy on the wall suddenly makes the place cool and worth more.

The guy in black works for the pub, the guy writing on the wall is the photographer making notes. I have no idea why it says "Run For Your Lives!!!". We merely walked out after the first drink.

"And then Dorothy gave the cowardly lion a heart!"

10 books i read this year (2010)

1. We Did Porn - Zak Smith

this book is awesome. it's thoroughly entertaining the whole way through and provides a fantastic look into the porn industry littered with much commentary on the contemporary art industry. i like smith's humour a lot and find him to be appropriately self-deprecating.

2. If I Die In A Combat Zone - Tim O'Brien

i've read all of o'brien's non-fiction and some fiction and i love it all. this is a really touching trip through o'brien's experiences in vietnam. i love war writing and war films and this is definitely up there. i'd have to say The Things We Carried is the best of o'brien's work, but this is a quick and tangible read.

3. Hardwired - Walter Jon Williams

picked this one up bc the cover was totally sweet and the summary made it sound all cyber[unk and post-apocalyptic. it's definitely cyberpunk i guess, but just pales wildly when compared to anything like neuromancer or snowcrash. i honestly wouldn't recommend it.

4. Freefall - Oran Canfield

now this one i do recommend, and heartily. written by my friend oran, it's a riveting journey through his life as a child juggler, musician, drug addict etc., and eventually becoming a really amazing human being. you feel so much compassion as you read and then just when thing seem really dark there are perfect interjections of dry, wry humour. love it.

5. The Ministry of Fear - Graham Greene

i love graham greene and have read quite a handfull of his books thus far. the quiet american is my all-time fav of his, but each one is pretty great in and of itself. this one doesn't disappoint, and yet it seems like greene just wasn't quite there yet the way he is in the quiet american or the end of the affair.

6. Persuasion - Jane Austen

didn't see that one coming, didya? i'm an austen fan, i mean, what girl isn't? this one was pretty good, but no P&P. the main character had this great love when she was younger, they couldn't be together because of social standing crap, then he reapperas years later and is an accomplished naval officer and now it's acceptable for them to be together. but is there still anything there? do any sparks remain? it's entertaining and worth the read for any austen fan, but like i said, it's no P&P.

7. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Seth Graham-Smith & Jane Austen

this book is awesome and completely hilarious. it still has the elizabeth-mr. darcy story at the heart of it, but along with that is a lot of zombie slaying and hilarious remarks about the deadly arts. i was thoroughly entertained. sense and sensibility and sea monsters is next.

8. Bodily Harm - Margaret Atwood

this is the kind of book i'd like to read on a lazy beach vacation or by the pool. funnily enough the main character is on a trip to an island in the caribbean, writing a travel piece for a magazine. but it's not a super tourist-friendly place and she gets involved in local politics and such and ends up in jail. nothing too deep or remarkable, but good pool-side reading. atwood has done better.

9. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

this is more the atwood i recognize. dystopian future, explorations into feminism and what it means to be female. good stuff. it's no blind assassin, but still worth a go.

10. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan

an interesting and fairly entertaining novel largely about stalking, obsession, psychology. some people witness an accident together and in trying to piece some things together one of the dudes becomes obsessed with the main character and starts stalking him. the main character goes a little crazy himself and becomes kind of obsessed with his stalker. this drives a wedge between him and his wife, who doesn't understand or really believe in the stalker. this was my first introduction to McEwan, aside from seeing the movie Atonement, and i'll definitely be back for more.

i drew a shoe!

my first original shoe design. who wants a pair?