Juxtapoz Magazine: Art, Culture, Octopuses

Ain't nothing like a badass art mag. Like how Giant Robot kicked off Kozyndan's famous rabbit wave piece, Juxtapoz introduces pop culture like a multifaceted bombardment that's nearly impossible to dodge. Definitely pick one up today if you're interested to see what great feats modern culture is brewing.

Death at a Funeral Review

Though beginning as a sedate British comedy - the cast is introduced in a way where you'll never really catch onto more than one name - the movie progressively erupts into an off-beat comical frenzy, far more memorable than any funeral you'll ever witness. The adult opera covers nearly all bases: public nudity, sexuality, postmortem issues, and the absurdity surrounding the issue of death. Of course, younger audiences will spit on this movie and label it as dull as hell, older audiences will appreciate its lovely wit, as it hits the laugh out loud vein repeatedly, and reminds us what being human is all about. 8.3/10.

In Comes A New Hope, Deep Purple

After nearly half a decade of adolescent indifference, I recently decided to give Deep Purple another listen. What can I say? Bloody brilliance years ahead of their time! Now, if I can get this guy on Craigslist to sell him his old digital stage piano, I can finally start practicing for my performance of this song on Picnic Day.

Metal Gear Solid 4 Dated, Ready To Rumble

Oh Snakey-poo, how I've missed you. After having such a kick ass time on my Playstation 3 so far with Call of Duty 4 and Devil May Cry 4, another final sequel to my one of my favorite games on the original Playstation is more than welcome. Come, my Best Buy gift cards are awaiting your spectacular arrival on June 12, 2008.

Wallpaper: Aethlet by Imrik

For those looking to mix up their work desktops a bit. Click here to download.

Techshell Rubberized Shells for Apple Laptops

Looking to protect that investment of yours, but have an innate hate towards laptop sleeves? Techshell has you covered with their upcoming lineup of rubberized covers that give it secure protection as well as enhancing it with a spectacular glow that will surely catch the eyes of that hot girl you've been trying to get attention from. Buy it here.

Like Playstation Controller, New Macbook Pro's Keep Design Indistinguishable

Unless you consider cooler, faster 45nm processors, an iPhone-like touchpad, and a bigger hard drive much of an improvement, you'll be looking at more of the same for Apple's flagship line of professional higher end laptops. Buy one here if you've waited just for this very moment to pounce on your long awaited love.

Dance Avec Moi Delta Venus Getdown

As Kid Courageous, Tigerlily and Check McNugal tore up the dance floor with dub, along with the best Italo disco, French pop, and bastard electro the universe has to offer, the mainstage of Davis, CA lit up like a firefly. By far, one of the best live sets ever to skim the surface of this city. 9.5/10.

Listen to their show online Tuesdays, 2:30PM-4:30PM on KDVS.

Hola? He's French, Dammit!

Kid Robot's done it again with their highly anticipated French designer Dunny toy collection, available at their retail stores in San Francisco, CA and their online store. My favorites include 123Klan's red evil flag carrier and the mysterious Supakitch henchman in black.

B&B Italia Modern Bed: Siena

Designed by Naoto Fukasawa in 2007, the Siena is a dramatic narrow, ultra-light, and minimal take on a modern bed, yet balanced by a base that projects beyond the mattress on all sides. The option to be upholstered in leather or fabric is also an invited plus.

Crystal Castles, Estelle, MGMT Light Up The Night

Time for another weekend filled with retro, starlit skies and dance music. Put on some sneakers and get out there in the wild.

Crystal Castles - Vanished (MP3)
Estelle Feat. Kanye West - American Boy (MP3)
MGMT - Kids (MP3)

Nothing Says, "I'm a Fan of Architecture" Better

Enter the tabletop realm with these awesome Floor Plan plate collection. Made for inspiration, and you can make your rice talk to each other from different rooms. Pick some up at Fishs Eddy.

Kidrobot 14 Shiro Kidninja

Although the regular run of Huck Gee designed Kidninja's sold out quickly through Kidrobot before I could even take out my credit card, the designer is set to release a special set of modified Kidninjas on February 22nd at 12:00PM PST through Huck Gee's eBay store. Will I? You betcha.

Honeyee Nintendo DS Lite, Monochrome To Own

Think Cobalt Blue was cool? Wait until you get your hands on this redesign by Japanese magazine Honeyee. Looks more classic than anything you could get your hands on right now, I might just have to import.

Prologue Is Pretty Flippin' Good Looking

As Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's finalized release date (April 17, 2008) comes closer each day, I wet myself every time a new set of screens come out. Will it truly look this fantastic? No Motorstorm bullcrap? Let's all hope so. More screens here.

Via Audio - Say Something Review

A striking dose of indie brilliance I needed to start my week. Their catchy, post-eclectic emo paradise sound is hard to pass up, especially with those male (Danny Molad, drummer also) and female (Jessica Martins) vocals I love ever so much. Come, take a listen. 9.0/10.

Via Audio - Modern Day Saint (MP3)

Survive Style 5+ Review

Marketed as an ubercool overdose of Japanese pop culture, Survive Style 5+ highly entertaining for the first half of the film. After that, you start to wonder where if the directors placed more attention to fashion detail than focusing on any cohesive plotline. Even though calling it a terrible film is definitely shortchanging such a creative body of bizarre avant-garde hipster cinema, mixing up the formula a bit and introducing a story would have saved its second half downfall. 7.2/10.

Claymore Review

Claymore is definitely a great piece, mixed in with cute blonde girls, gigantic swords, demons, bloody guts, and gore galore. With a story filled with so many characters, complete with pasts, distinguishable attributes, and great voice acting, it's a surprise how well everything comes together in the end. While the recipe for Claymore isn't too far off from super original, the execution is what counts and they've certainly deserved two highly enthusiastic thumbs up from fans of action anime all over. Now go, enjoy this masterpiece before the Yoma get you. 9.3/10.

What's an Audiophile?

Guys have issues. They like fast cars, computers, gizmos, and having the best home theater systems. However, there comes a fine line that's deludingly ostensible between an audiophile and a man who simply wants the best of the best.

A regular man will settle with a 5.1 system that blasts enough sound to rattle his neighbor's windows. He'll buy some decent headphones from Circuit City, plug it into his iPhone, and be happy with life.

Audiophiles are different. As one of the last persevering nerds, they're mystical creatures. They aren't into listening to music, playing it, dancing to it, or any of the things you are suppose to do with it - oddly enough, they sit around and listen to music trying to hear differences between one brand of ridiculously overpriced cables and another.

One may argue, "C'mon, stereos shouldn't cost more than your house (or a small airplane for that matter)." Partly, this is true. Music naturally is subjective depending on your mood, what you've eaten, who they're with, etc. And honestly, spending $5000 on a pair of XYZ P-3500 cables for a couple of $600 speakers isn't my idea of smart either.

Now, there's a few reasons to get a good stereo. If you've been in a Honda Civic with flat radio that all sounds the same, you'll know what I'm talking about. When a stereo has a sonic signature that annoys you, that's bad. I'm talking about imaging problems, bass boom, harsh treble, and wildly unrealistic sounding violins. A good stereo should give each album its own personal signature, making it sound as good as it was when you first heard the band live, accurate to the flick of the string.

So what's accuracy? It's kind of like asking, "What the hell is juice?" You won't understand it until you've been accommodated with it. And you probably won't know what sounds good, why there's all those stupid stereo magazines, and why there's some 30,000 measurements just for sound. Honestly, most of it's crap and the lowdown is that you simply must set yourself a budget, be sure to shop around for a couple weeks, and finally take the plunge on a set you like the most.

But, if you're looking for a little more, you can always prowl the forums at Head-Fi. The "noobs" somehow always asks a question that's been answered before, so there's plenty of tips to be help you avoid the audiophile delusion of spending more than $10,000 on any type of equipment.

Although I can probably cover many more topics such as analog vs. digital production, audio system jargon, and how to set up a loud speaker system with an old school preamplifier, I'll stop now, before I scare everyone away.

Tazo Chai Tea Latté Recipe

Looking looking looking, and now I've finally found the perfect recipe.

• 1/2 cup of hot water
• 1 packet of Tazo Chai Tea
• 1/2 cup steamed milk or soy milk
• a hint of half and half

Do the tea thing, making sure it's potent as hell. Think syrup. Steam via expresso machine or microwave the milk/soy for 1 minute. Mix the tea and hot milk together. Add half and half, a sugar cube, or extra cinnamon depending on preference. Enjoy!

Uffie, Cobrasnake, Married to the Mob Pass The Cookie

Married to the Mob teamed up with rapper Uffie and photographer The Cobrasnake to present their latest collection. Check the whole Uffie Spring collection here.

West Elm Cadman File Cabinet Wins Fanciest Office Furniture Award

Everyone needs storage room for their junk. Why not invest in the best? Though the price is nowhere near cheap, it'll hold your paperwork in style, filing it away in a castered, beautiful silver finish, matching any IKEA furniture you've got laying around.

Update: Here's a relatively cheaper alternative, but still ultra-cool: CB2 Trig File Cabinet.

Room & Board Innerspring Mattress

The nice thing about this mattress is that it requires no box springs - it's all right there in one mattress. Though they tend to be a bit more bouncy than others, their sweet looks for platform beds and firm back support makes the relatively cheap price tag well worth a second look. Check 'em out here.

Team 7 Presents Loft Sex in a Nutshell

Got a loft? Got tons of income coming in, despite the dirty recession? Why not play matchy-matchy with Team 7's Girado collection? It's sleek, modern, and has more clean lines than an IKEA closet organizer.

Using a Curtain as a Headboard

Tmenotte wanted to paint her room, but she realized she and her husband would probably be moving within a year, which meant lots of of annoying repainting. Then, she thought up this crazy idea with IKEA textiles and Target curtains, making a very affordable short-term solution to infuse her room with color. With such clever use of fabrics, this is surprisingly the first sucessful headboard replacement idea I've ever seen. Read more here.

4 Ways To Make House Rules Stick

Given enough time living independently from your parents, you realize living like a twelve year old is no longer an option, and maintaining upkeep in household with a population greater than one is definitely not an easy task. Here are some tips to help keep your apartment/home from looking like a frat house:

1. Make your actions speak. Following the rules yourself should be enough to set an example. If you violate your own rules, you're self-proclaiming undeserved authority. Earn the right to command, don't demand it.
2. Explain the rule. Genuine confusion behind rules are not uncommon. Be sure to explain it thoroughly so everyone knows why there is a rule for it; your common sense may not be the same for everyone.
3. Write it down. A short, concise list posted somewhere around the house helps solidfy the rules, making them more formal and permanent.
4. Reward, don't punish. If you feel like people have respected your set of rules, reward them. Like kids, sometimes people just need some patting on the back to know their extra mile is being fully appreciated. Cookies and candy works for everyone.

When Tablewear Goes Aerodynamic

Zoocreative mocks the silly rounded IKEA bowls and takes flight with their new Lorea Bowl. A fruitbowl to be exact, but who cares! Anything placed in this bowl will grow rice rocket wings, impressing all of your friends and family by infusing all your fruit with speed.

Aki Hoshino Sneaker Lover Photo Book

By deftly blurring the lines between the worlds of Japanese gravure, urban erotica, street fashion and the sneaker fanaticism shared by fans of KIKS TYO, Aki Hoshino and Yonehara alike, the must have collection both draws from and gives new meaning to its title “Sneaker Lover.” Buy it here.

Best DS Lite Slot-1 Adapter: CycloDS Evolution

With the horizon hinting at the DS Lite becoming the ultimate portable gaming system of choice, one would be stupid to not get one given the great choices for easily loading game backups onto dedicated Slot-1 solutions. The Evolution, for example, is one of the very best at what it does. The long list of features is too big for this short post, but here are just a few highlight features: plug & play, microSDHC compatibility, and even a slow-mo option if you need to do something crazy.

DsRt Sofa Has Multi-Uses, Camera-like Naming

The DsRt sofa by Vincent Cadena is a sleek offering whose arms can be used as side tables or benches.

Black Book Review

Make no mistake: this is as epic as cinema gets. The visuals are absolutely stunning, the score emphasizes "big production" in every sense of the word, and there are more twists and turns in the story than any World War II genre film I've seen to date. And just when you think that, perhaps, Verhoeven is beginning to stretch the bounds of credulity, you realize that "Black Book" is based on fact. An incredible journey, definitely worth the watch if you have a few hours to kill. 8.7/10.

Macbook Air Review

You can't judge a book by its cover - and you definitely cannot judge the Macbook Air without actually holding it in your hands.

I'll admit, I hated the idea of an ultraportable that's thin enough for me to sit on and break in half. I found the idea of reducing the speed lower than a standard Macbook a dumbfounding step backwards. I also believed the market would be so small for such a laptop that Apple would ultimately have to slap themselves with a flyswatter and come to their senses, realizing they should have just gone with a thinner 12" Macbook Pro.

Boy, was I wrong. The attentive details Apple put into the product is simply jaw dropping. I literally stood there in complete awe as I struggled to grasp how thin and light the laptop was. Upon opening it, I fought my inner child to not replicate the Macbook commercial and putting it into a manila envelope. The screen is wonderful. The keyboard is slick. The smooth aluminum makes it feel like an enlarged Nano.

The problem is the price-tag. Matching the price point of the Macbook would have been a brilliant idea, though very unlikely, and it would have completely changed the way people thought of laptops.

Less is more? How does that work? Basically, the laptop squeezes everything out, be it USB ports, an optical drive, or a dedicated video card, and characterizes itself to be everything Apple represents: creativity, small footprints, and integration into life. If only the price were more encouraging, this would most likely be the best laptop Apple has ever made. 8.8/10.