FAILBLOG

If you havn't seen any of the hundreds of failblog videos or pics...do your self a favour and check them out...so good.

gyeah.
go here: www.FAILBLOG.org

BoyScouts Log Their Land

Wow -- this is just so sad to see. What we have here is probably the pre-eminent conservation group selling of the lands given to them for educational purposes to make a quick buck. A great example of when an organization can't be trusted to do what is best for the environment:

Scout Council Defends Logging

Image provided by World Resources Institute Staff

The Green Dude

As this is my first post, I thought it might be appropriate to make it an "About Me" post. You can see this same thing on my blogger profile, but what the heck you know? Anyway, this is my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I’m an environmentalist and proud to say it. I also love some things (read: many things) that aren’t good for the environment. This does not make me a bad person. It doesn’t even make me a bad environmentalist. Living a more sustainable life doesn’t mean not lusting after fast cars and juicy burgers; it means supporting the coolest new green technologies in our rides and making sure that when we do eat a burger, it’s grass fed and not pumped full of hormones. It means I can love snowboarding, waterskiing, and mountain biking, while understanding and accepting that there are certain places I shouldn’t bring my board, my boat or my bike. Most importantly, it means that I can continue to love doing the things I love doing, while consciously trying to do them sustainably.

Malia is almost 1 year old

By next week my baby girl will celebrate her 1 year birthday.  She can walk, practically run, use sign language for dada, baby, book, dog, bath, sleep and many more, say a few words like 'dada' and 'nana', crinkle her nose, smile to show her 6 teeth and giggles whenever she does fun things like go to the beach, play with the kitty cat, and sing in the bathtub.  The cutest thing is that she actually dances and has rhythm like her mama and gives big hugs upon request!  Babies are great!

Mark Gonzalez x adidas Campus

Here's an adidas Campus with a unique colorway and upper artwork by skateboard legend Mark Gonzalez. Available here. These are mostly here because I don't want those fucking Kanye abominations to be the only kicks on the front page.

via hypebeast

The Impossible Project: The Re-Invention of Instant Film

Remember when Polaroid made the switch from analog to digital cameras? It was a really long time ago... Like 3 weeks or something crazy. Well it turns out that some intrepid folks in the Netherlands have acquired a former Polaroid factory located in Enschede, NL, and are planning to restart production next year. The Impossible Project is not aiming to produce the same film, but aims instead "to develop a new product with new characteristics, consisting of new optimised components, produced with a streamlined modern setup."

Learn more about The Impossible Project as well as lend your support here. Also check out the archives for a look at Polaroid's new digital instant camera, set for release this year.

via CH

AT&T, Comcast the First to Bend Consumers Over for RIAA

Remember when I told you about the RIAA and how it was no longer going to sue dead people and children? The alternative was instead to place the copyright enforcement burden on ISPs, remember? Well the first step in that process began with the revelation that Comcast and AT&T are working towards active cooperation in this new anti-piracy regime.

According to CNET three sources close to the companies admitted that they were looking at implementing programs to punish broadband users for illegally downloading copyrighted music. The program will reportedly employ a "three strikes" policy that allows you to get caught without too much trouble twice, but the third time you will have your broadband disconnected, you will not be able to reconnect, and you could potentially be blackballed from other ISPs.

I don't know what to say about this. Blackballing people from broadband access for copyright violations? What happens if someone is stealing your cable to download illegally? Wouldn't it be easier and more fair to the consumer to shut out the sites that facilitate piracy? I guess not.

I'm not going to use any violent language because it is after 6 and I'm contentedly eating dinner and watching a documentary on The Flaming Lips who are, incidentally, a great band. Maybe I will get some vitriol flowing later on when I watch this Daft Punk movie that apparently has no Daft Punk music or helmets. I'm fairly certain it will make me angry...I know I was annoyed when I read the synopsis, and thinking about it now has me on the verge of irritated. More details to follow. I know you can't wait.

via giz

Bumpy Pitch T-Shirts

Bumpy Pitch has some vintage football club designs from this side of the pond. They are supposedly a retrospective of important football clubs from the 1890s through the 1980s, but the list seems incomplete without a New York Cosmos shirt. Such is life, though.

$36 here

via uncrate

Seasteading Institute Building Island Lairs For Aspiring Supervillains

While being an entity for less than a year, The Seasteading Institute has caused waves recently (ba dum dum) by advocating construction of a fully self sufficient island platform that could be permanently occupied (pending resupply and/or successful food production one must assume) by a supervillain and his entourage.

From dvice: "This 160,000 square foot deck, held together by super-strong carbon-fiber cables, was created by offshore oil rig designer Marine Innovation & Technology. It's supported by floating, stabilizing pillars to minimize the effects of huge ocean waves, powered by an auxiliary diesel generator that can move it along at 2 knots, and includes a desalinization plant for all your water needs."

In addition to being a swank getaway in international waters or platform from which to launch your tsunami-generating fusion-powered pulse weapon, the Seasteaders insist that with a large number of these leviathans roaming the oceans, the social fabric of our society will become more aligned with 21st century values in that citizens of the world will be able to move about freely and choose to align themselves with 'niche governments' which more adequately address their interests. Mmmkay.

Anyway, this particular platform will retail for about $50 million, which is a pretty reasonable price to pay for what amounts to a small independent island nation. I would name my platform Carl, a nation perpetually warring with its arch-nemesis, Chad. Breeding a little zealotry into the people of Carl will get them motivated and increase production while the threat of reprisals from Chad is negligible given the fact that it is landlocked in the middle of the Sahara. It's a win/win for me as the High Priest of Carl, so who has $50 mil for me? You can have the big bedroom.

via Seasteading Institute and dvice

Kanye West x Louis Vuitton Sneakers Are Fugly

Last I checked, Kanye West is a hip hop artist and producer who makes probably the sickest beats in the industry and babbles on about girls and drugs and whatever else it is that those type of artists babble on about. Apparently not content with his domination of the babbling hip hop scene, Kanye has gone the Pharell route and started designing shoes. Shoes for Louis Vuitton, who are famous because they make luggage and purses for women.

Anyway, the shoes are just disgustingly ugly, so that's the end of that one would hope. Regardless, the reasons I am writing about them are twofold: 1) it's been slow for blog material lately, and 2) because Kanye openly admits that the inspiration for that hideous heel cuff is the collar of a costume from the massive 1984 sci-fi flop Dune. Wow. Talk about a really timeless film that bridges the gap between generations.

I know another story like this: it involves a man named Mugatu and a certain ebony-and-ivory-themed necktie. Kanye's vision to have everyone dressed up like they're cast in bad '80's sci-fi may read like some fantastical plot tangent from Zoolander, but sadly it is quite real. How long this collaboration will perpetuate itself probably has alot to do with the number of people out there willing to pay a king's ransom for ugly shoes. That being the case, I'm guessing I will be reading about this steaming pile of sneaker for some time.

via hypebeast

FLAVOUR SALE - LIKE WHOA!

Yes indeed my friends…sale season is upon us! Flavour is going off the hizzle, so to speak. People still say that right?

It’s getting kind of ridiculous…

50% OFF ‘Cruise-wear’ (summer stuff for vacation)
40% OFF of all seasonal goods
$69 Nikes
$39 Jack n Jones / Only Jackets
$25 Vans slip-ons
$15 Tees

Like whoa!

BR
Flavour Veteran

Like Whoa

WESC ... get learned.

hey doods you need to act like you know...and there is no better way then ACTUALLY knowing...

Rep'd by the likes of: Jason Lee (Ex/Not-ex Pro skater + actor ... see: My name is Earl, Mallrats (and other Kevin Smith classics) and the must own Dreamcatcher...(best/worst movie ever)

WeSC is not merely a brand in the fashion industry, but rather a company within the skateboard culture.

learn more yourself...

Go to WESC's website here.

Shepard Fairey on The Colbert Report

hello. watch this video of Shepard Fairey (OBEY) ... hilarious

eBoy Pixorama

Some eye candy from eBoy's Pixorama series of cityscape pieces. This pixel-based art is visually stimulating and painstakingly done--as well as being open-ended: each city-based portrait is updated occasionally. Check out the shop at eBoy for some really cool posters and gear.

There is no Waldo. I looked for an hour.

via CH

NoPoPo Batteries Run On Pee

According to the product description at HimeaShop.com, the NoPoPo batteries "are rechargeable via a variety of liquids, including water and urine, injected into the battery chamber with a pipette. A mixture of magnesium and carbon reacts with the liquid and produces power up to 500 mAh." Yeah it says urine. Of all eligible liquids, they chose urine for their product description.

So to get to the pee-soaked heart of the matter, 500 mAh is, according to my research, a little on the low end as far as comparable batteries go, and with solar powered battery chargers pretty readily available, I am struggling to find an appropriate time to use these warlocks. Perhaps if you were stranded in the middle of the desert, at night, and you and your portable DVD player are just about at the pivotal moment in The Princess Bride where the Dread Pirate Roberts is going to reveal to Buttercup that he is, in fact, her long lost love? Then I think maybe I would piss into this "pipette" thing and fire that badboy right back up. Wesley is so brave.

Available at HimeyaShop.com for $15

DAY ONE ACTION: RC’S KATIN PRO/AM TEAM CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY JACK’S

Macy Mullen Wins Heat 11 of Pro/Am Round 1

Rob Machado wins Heat 10 of Pro/Am Round 1

Contest Venue Northside, Huntington Beach Pier

I woke this morning to near perfect surf, perfect sunny skies,  and some of the best pro surfers in the world surfing my backyard.  Standouts Rob Machado and Macy Mullen were best in their heats and advanced on to Round 2.  

Other heat winners included: Local favorite Brett Simpson, Bruno Rodrigues, Shaun Ward, Adam Virs, Eric Geiselman, Jeff Deffenbaugh, Kolohe Andino, Ryan Carlson, Jesse Evans, Brandon Tipton, & Nick Rosza.  Look forward to more action on Wednesday,  that is unless the Surf goes flat...

All Images shot with Pentax K20d and DA* 300 f4

My New Happy Picture

It's been 8 years to the day since we last saw a presidential inauguration. Since then, we have lost a couple tall buildings, two wars, and the respect of the world at large. Today is, symbolically, the day when we start cleaning up this mess. Let's hope this new guy's got the chops to lead the way.

Fresh as you would have guessed.

freshie fresh

Shepard Fairey on Obama & OBEY

A Warm Day in Sunny California

I know the rest of the nation is freezing,  but here in Southern California,  it is just like any other day.  Warm Santa Ana winds,  and an encroaching WNW Swell will make this weekend epic.  

*all images shot with Pentax K20 and DA* 200 f2.8

The Best High School in the State of California

This past summer,  my wife and I attended our 20 year reunion and were happy to catch up with old friends.  We took the time to take this photo in front of our Alma mater.

Just today, A friend of mine and alumni from the same High School forwarded this to my inbox. It's always nice to know that your roots continue to strive well after you have gone on.  Whitney High School,  in Cerritos California,  continues to dominate the world of academic preparation continually being named one of the top schools in the nation,  and consistently holding the prestigious title: "Best academic prep school in the state of California".

from Prashant Gopal, Business Week, January 15, 2009:

Do you know where the best schools in your state are? With home prices falling, this might be a good time for parents to start looking for a home close to a great school. We have some suggestions. BusinessWeek.com worked with GreatSchools, a San-Francisco-based nonprofit organization that rates schools and provides an online community for parents, and came up with the best high schools in each state in a number of different categories. We identified the best overall public high school in terms of test scores, the best public high school with an economically-disadvantaged population, and the Best Improved public high school. Here are the best high schools in the biggest states in the U.S.

California

Best Overall Academic Performance: Gretchen Whitney High School
Town: Cerritos
GreatSchools rating: 10/10

Best Low Income: Preuss School UCSD
Town: La Jolla
GreatSchools rating: 8/10

Best Improved: Palo Alto High School
Town: Palo Alto
GreatSchools rating: 9/10

Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Stirling Moss

Supercharged V8. 650 horsepower. 217 mph top speed. 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. Total production limited to 75 vehicles. $1 million plus price tag. NO WINDSHIELD.

Named after a famous driver, this SLR pays homage to the 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR 300, which won some races I have never heard of before crashing at Le Mans and killing 83 people. That is not a very informative sentence, but I felt it was important to demonstrate that I can do rudimentary internet research by finding an article about the car from a website I have never visited before. I am not sure why.

via uncrate

UPDATE:

Here are some new pics from the North American International Auto Show. Disgustingly beautiful.

new images via core77

CES 2009

Despite the slowing economy, the show must go on and CES 2009 came and went with a few obvious differences.  

Less foot traffic:

As with previous shows, the wait for a cab is typically a nightmare.  This show was different, Last year I had to wait over 2 hours to get a cab from the airport to my hotel.  The queue was a nightmare wherever you went, but in 2009 with less attendees, it was the cabs who ended up waiting in line for a fare.

 

Opening day did not have its stampede of media, exhibitors, vendors, sales reps, or consumers but the event was still well traveled.   According to Jeff Bertoluci of PC World: 

"Last week's tech gadget extravaganza in Sin City drew an estimated 110,000 attendees, down 22 percent from last year's audited total of 141,150, according to the Consumer Electronics Association." Read more here.

 

Some of the big players opted for intimate meetings within luxurious hotel suites, as opposed to expansive booths.  This made more practical sense for Photo Companies, being that PMA 2009 is just around the corner in March.

These are my observations and delights from CES 2009.  A few pointers for those who intend to visit in the future:

1. Research beforehand, the products you are interested in and their locations within the convention hall.

 2. Attack with a strategy and a plan each day.  If you wander around aimlessly you may leave the convention feeling that you don’t remember a thing. 

 3. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.  Otherwise, by days end you might find yourself pretty exhausted.

Here are a random collection of things I found interesting at the show…

I really enjoyed the LG booth,  a nice display and layout drew a heavy crowd.

LED flat panels were all the rage.  It seemed that the bulk of the show was a showdown between who makes the best Flat Panel TV,  with everyone claiming to be the "thinnest."

Wireless flat panels for the computer.  I started to wonder... at the rate at which these monitors are going ever so thin, where do you keep the wires?  LG's solution was to make there flat panels with wireless connectivity,  save for the power cord.

I found the Sling Media booth and their "Sling" box to be one of the most interesting items. It basically allows the user the ability to control their DVR device from anywhere in the world via Computer or mobile phone.  

Since I am often traveling abroad,  and miss my favorite TV show "House" or the NFL season, this device allows me to watch these shows real time, or at my leisure via recording and viewing over a high speed internet connection.  So,  no matter where I am in the world,  I can sulk at any moment watching my beloved Cowboys fall deeper into collapse. 

the Slingbox Solo

the Slingbox Pro-HD (rear view)

the LENSPEN original:

A photographer's tool which may prove to be indispensable. One of the most effective ways to clean your optics.  

Why I love the lenspen:

1. Safe: use on all optical lenses, LCD, plasma, and glass surfaces

2. Effective: nothng removes oily fingerprints and dust better

3. Convenient: compact size, no liquids, and easy to use

4. Custom Design: unique designs and shapes for each application

5. Long Life: Cannot dry out, unaffected by temperature and each pen has a lifespan of up to 500 cleanings.

With a patented carbon compound,  the secret is in the chamois tip.  The carbon molecles have a unique ability to absorb huge amounts of oils and contaminants.

-from the Lenspen press kit.

Golla personal electronics bags from Finland:

With a standout booth presence and clever looking bags Golla made a great first impression with innovative bag design and progressive colors.

Gender specific bags and accessories.  This year at CES there was a noticeable trend toward catering to female buying power.  It has ben reported that most of the purchasing influence for electronic gadgets and accessories happens to come from women.  According to Tom's Guide:

 

"At a panel discussion at CES called “Thinking about Sex and Electronics,” a design firm called Smart Design aimed to help manufacturers understand why the vast majority of women feel alienated by many tech products on the market. After all, nobody wants to miss out on this vast opportunity: Women buy 57% of all consumer electronics and influence 90% of all tech purchases."

Some really refreshing items from the innovators at PENTAX:

With the female market consciously in mind, and keeping along with forward minded direction,  Pentax Imaging has come up with a nifty little gem that had mixed reception when announced a few months back,  but I'm sure will prove to exceed all expectations this sales year and cater to a wider market then initially planned.  

The K2000 and more specifically the white K2000,  affectionately dubbed the "stormtrooper's camera"  might draw a following from Star Wars geeks, Hobbyist Moms, and simply everyone who wants to be unique.  Going along with Pentax USA's new tagline, be interesting... this little tech marvel is truly an interesting tool, gadget, or accessory.

The Pearly White K2000, 18-55, & 50-200

My thoughts on the K2000...

"It has rapidly become my most favorite camera to travel and shoot with.  Its compact, its simple to use,  but able-bodied enough to have pro features that a seasoned veteran would require.  As a travel-lifestyle photographer, its refreshing to know that i can travel with a kit so small and lightweight.  Couple the K2000 with a set of DA Pancake Limiteds and you have enough tools to get the job done." -MD

Here is a quote from Nilay Patel over at endgadget: 

"Let's just say this straight out: the white Pentax K2000 is one of the hottest DSLRs we've ever seen. It's seriously lustworthy. Considering how great the reviews have been, we'd say it's definitely worthy of a spot on your list if you're in the market."

one of my favorite shots with the k2000:

The Pentax Optio P70

The lightest Optio in the Pentax line,  with 12 mega pixels and wide angle coverage (28-112mm) this ultra slim pocket cam is well built with a durable feel. The white p70 would be the perfect companion to the white K2000

Finally,  a return to my hotel for some relaxation...

Relaxing at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas.