The King of Pop: Michael Jackson. 1958-2009

Billie Jean Live: Motown 25


Best Dance Moves:


Smooth Criminal


Beat It: Live


Billie Jean: 30th Anniversary Special


Captain EO Part 1


Captain EO Part 2


R.I.P to a Legend and Icon

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Fourth album from the French band: Phoenix. It's very good.

DL: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Buy: Amazon
Review: Pitchfork

The Best Burger, period.

When I was still in high school, my older cousin told me about a 21+ bar that she and her friends would go to. Its name was Father's Office and she said that she would take me there one day.



According to her, the service varied between awful to non-existent. To get a table you would have to hover around a group that was already seated and make it so uncomfortable for them to linger around that they'd quickly eat and scram. And if you're a picky eater and ask for substitutions, well they may just tell you to take a hike or let you sit there starving. Which beckons the obvious question that my naive teen-aged self would ask her next: "...why would you bother going through all of that trouble when there are so many burger places all over town?"

"Because it's the absolute best burger, period."

And just like that I've been dying to go ever since. She never had the chance to take me but I finally made it there this Saturday. Arriving at that doorstep, I was expecting to be intimidated by holier-than-thou workers and a snooty crowd.

What I found was a small, very casual and relaxed, almost a hole-in-the-wall bar in Santa Monica with a large selection of great beers on tap and friendly workers. My experience was much different than the horror stories she had told. True, there is not much in the way of "traditional" restaurant service but it's not really a restaurant to begin with. It is a bar that happens to serve food. The menu items are written on the wall. You walk up to the counter, open up a tab and place your order, take your number back to your table and "service" happens when they bring your food. Which brings me to...

The Sweet Potato Fries served with Garlic Aioli sauce. Yum. Each piece had the right amount of crisp and was not too sweet, not too salty. It had just the right amount of balance. Sometimes they're served in a mini shopping cart, other times they're (disappointingly) served in a metal basket which is the case with ours:



and of course, the whole reason for this venture The Office Burger:


Caramelized onions, Applewood bacon compote, Gruyere, Maytag blue cheese and arugula cooked medium between two slices of a French bun. And the actual ribeye patty. Wow. Delicious is an understatement. It is now the only burger I ever want to eat. And if you order the Spanish Mushrooms (with garlic, vinegar, olive oil) side dish and combine it with the burger, you'll get an even larger explosion of flavor that will spoil all other burgers for your tastebuds, forever.

Amazing that it took me about 7+ years to come here because of scheduling conflicts and the fact that I was afraid it would not be able to live up to my lofty expectations. That is 7+ years of hype that was continually building in my appetite. Yet in the end, it surpassed my expectations.

"Because it's the absolute best burger, period."

Record Club

"Record Club, an informal meeting of various people to record an album in a day. An album will be chosen to be reinterpreted and used as a framework. Nothing rehearsed or arranged ahead of time. A track will be uploaded once a week on beck.com as well as through the web sites of those involved with the project.

For this first edition, after lengthy deliberation and coming close to covering Digital Underground's Sex Packets, all present voted in favor of the 'other' Underground's The Velvet Underground & Nico. Participants included this time around are Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, Brian Lebarton, Bram Inscore, Yo, Giovanni Ribisi, Chris Holmes, and from Iceland, special guest Thorunn Magnusdottir, and myself. Thanks to everyone who helped put this together, and to all of you for indulging in this experiment. More soon." via Beck's Official Site

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico 'Sunday Morning' from Beck Hansen on Vimeo

I think this is a great idea and this cover is actually pretty good especially when it hasn't even been rehearsed or given a prior arrangement.

From Text-to-Movie

Xtranormal is a website where anyone who can type can create their very own movie! It is easy to use and a good and fun way to get your creative juices flowing. Here is my crude first attempt at a short:

2009 NBA CHAMPIONS: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Following this team for most of my life, I am absolutely ecstatic that they have redeemed themselves from last year's disappointment and brought the trophy back where it belongs.

Kobe Bryant finally gets his fourth ring and can put an end to all of the "he can't win without Shaq" naysayers.

Phil Jackson gets that elusive 10th championship ring to push him ahead of Red Auerbach and put him firmly on top as the winningest coach in NBA history.

Now that the season is officially over...

Re-Sign Odom and Ariza at all costs!

See you at the parade!

A Field Guide to Common North American Phobias

A fun book by Julia Icenogle covering 15 fears with cute colorful illustrations.

I personally suffered from the one below for most of my early childhood...

Bogyphobia: Fear of Bogeys

Hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival

"For all you Wes Anderson fans - Alex Cornell created extensive promotional material for a hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival for his grad project. Posters, packaging, even a trailer."

Wes Anderson Trailer from Alex Cornell

Check out the rest of the perfectly detailed and fun project over at BOOOOOOOM!

Well done, Alex Cornell, well done.

Album Covers as Classic Penguin Books

Pretty rad.

By Littlepixel™ <-Flickrstream

Via: BOOOOOOOM!

Crayons Crayons Crayons

A neat retrospective on Crayola's packaging through the years.

Via: TheDieline

How Popcorn Should Be Eaten

Microwave popcorn in packaging that pops into its own bowl? Genius!

Via: playmedesign

The Evolution of Cell-Phones

"Russian doll style cardboard model representing how mobile technology has miniaturised rapidly since the 1980's."

Via: Creative Review

Movies for People with Short Attention Spans

Ever want to watch a movie but find that you just haven't got the time? Well 3 Frame Movies has got the solution by reducing popular films to, yes, just 3 amusing frames so that you get the entire plot and point of the film without having to spend two hours of your valuable time. And best of all, you can "order a movie" to be 3 framed. Once you're at the site, click on one of the video tapes and choose from titles such as Jurassic Park, Juno, Star Wars, and Blade Runner to get started.

Fit to be Tied

Sometimes I get bored and go through my Amazon wishlist and clear out all the items that I now own or things that I no longer want. One thing I realized was that I love and own a lot of ties even though I hardly ever get the chance to wear them. So here are a few of my favorites that I've added to my wishlist over time:


Woven Silk Tie by Burberry

Royal Stewart Tartan Bow Tie from J. Press

Pinstripe Rep Necktie by Band of Outsiders

Red/Black Knit Tie by Band of Outsiders

Linen Gold Stripe Point Bow Tie by Alexander Olch

Blue Anchor Club Tie by Band of Outsiders

Cotton Madras Bow Tie from J. Press

Wool Plaid Tie by Sovereign Beck

Various ties from David Hart & Co.

Tie Bars and Collar Holders are just a few things you can add to give your look some extra pop.


Silver Skinny Tie Bar from the Fine and Dandy Shop

Misfit Tie Bar by Nikolai Rose

Check Tiebar by Burberry

Gatwick Leather-Encased Collar Pins from WANT Les Essentials De La Vie

Silver Collar Holder from J. Press

Beatles: Rock Band

The trailers for Beatles: Rock Band were finally unveiled today at E3 and I am totally stoked. The first trailer is going to be the game's opener which spans the band's career and is especially cool because it's animated in an Anime style. Again, I'm stoked. Afterall, it's...THE BEATLES. I'm going to have to make a Gamestop tomorrow and preorder this.

Here's what the instruments look like:

Woolrich + Converse =

Woolrich and Converse have collaborated to bring Woolrich's famous wool plaid flannel together with Converse's iconic Chuck Taylor's. No word yet on when and where these will become available but I'm keeping my eye out for a pair in red.

More shots over at Hypebeast

UPDATE: Will arrive in stores August 1st.

The Art of Lou Romano

Pixar's Up made 68.1 million dollars this weekend which means there was a pretty good chance that you watched it. And if you did watch it, you were viewing the excellent art direction of Lou Romano who is a member of Pixar's Art Department and was the voice of Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille.

Here are some samples of his work:
from "Up"

from "The Incredibles"


More over at his official Blog: http://louromano.blogspot.com/