Nathan Sawaya: The Art of the Brick

"Some artists use paint, others bronze – But for Nathan Sawaya he chooses to build his awe-inspiring art out of toy building blocks. LEGO® bricks to be exact.

With more than 1.5 million colored bricks in his New York studio, Sawaya’s sculptures take many forms.

Sawaya’s art is currently touring North American museums in a show titled, The Art of the Brick. It’s the only exhibition focusing exclusively on LEGO as an art medium. The creations, constructed from nearly one million pieces, were built from standard bricks beginning as early as 2002. More information on the tour, dates and locations can be found here." -brickartist.com

For more on Mr. Sawaya's work check his website at: Brick Artist

People Who Inspire Me, Vol.2: Kanye West

BBC Star Field NYC Exclusive Tee

BBC will release their second NYC Flagship store exclusive T-shirt this upcoming Wednesday July 30th at 11AM. One lucky customer who purchases this T-shirt will win a pair of tickets to the Glow In The Dark concert at Madison Square Garden on August 5th or 6th.

I did it.

As promised, I'll tell you my pwnage 2.01 experience.

I just stepped up to iPhone 2.0 FW last night smoothly and without any problems.

built fw .ipsw in pwnage, entered dfu-mode, restored in itunes and

done

Questions?!
Drop an e-mail

I'm Signed and I Didn't Know It?

So, I get a phone call from my homegirl Rika in Japan about an hour ago. Rika and I have worked on music together for many years now and we know each other well. I've done quite a bit of studio recording, live performance and artist development with her. She was signed to Bay Ride Recordings based in Yokohama, Japan, as a part of the duo IZ. IZ discovered the solo artist Lady May and I began working closely with her on her debut album.

Things didn't work out as planned (I won't get into the details as that's a whole other story.) and all of the work I had invested in the project ended up tied up at the label because somebody went Diva on us all. I talked with everyone involved in the project and let them know about my discontent with the way things played out.

Well, getting back to the phone call, apparently I've been "signed" and I didn't even know about it! Rika calls me and said that she had gone back to Bay Ride with a track I worked on called "Be Alright" with the intent to replace Lady May's vocals and keep mine. The label head was interested in the move, but wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole because, "He's already signed." Rika says, "What!? No he's not." The Label head again says, "Yes. He is. I saw him on the DRP website."

Rika hops on the horn, of course, and recounts the story to me. I'm immediately thrown for a complete loop as I haven't signed shit. I hop online to find the site and sure enough, there's a photo that's NOT in my press kit, my bio and my company logo linking to my MySpace music page. You can check the DRP website here. So now I'm thinking that these people are shopping my music and images around WITHOUT my permission and more importantly without a proper contract!

So now I have to spend time and energy calling around Japan to find out exactly where my tracks and name have been, find out who the hell thought they could just take me and use me and, of course, get my proper come up.

If you have a moment to spare, please check out my OFFICIAL MySpace music page: Fre Gen Productions



All comments, critiques and friend requests are greatly encouraged and appreciated.

8 Years and Counting....

Today, my wife and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary! Seems like just yesterday I met this woman. Traditionally, this is the bronze or pottery gift anniversary. I'll have to see what I can find that suits our tastes and home.

As with any loving relationship, we've had some rough times but our commitment to each other is the real deal. We also have a beautiful son that is now 7 years old. We've laughed, cried, traveled, grown and more together. Here's to many more years!

boy A at Film Forum in New York

I'm not going to be able to catch this film so someone go and see it for me. It's playing at Film Forum until August 5th, 2008. If you're a fan of or interested in independent films, FF is the place to be.

"A HAUNTING BRITISH DRAMA that owes something to the postwar kitchen-sink sensibility pioneered by John Osborne and his angry young men. Can a young man who has spent most of his life in prison for committing a horrendous crime re-enter the world under a new identity and find the strength to redeem himself? Newcomer Andrew Garfield gives a quietly compelling performance as Jack, a young man with a past; Peter Mullan (MY NAME IS JOE) is his hopeful caseworker and Katie Lyons, his newfound love interest. Ironically, a publicized act as a Good Samaritan threatens to unmask Jack’s past. This deeply affecting working class drama could be set in any country at any time in history, for its insights into the fragility of human nature resonate with a timeless quality."

UK • 2007 • 100 MINUTES • THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY • RATED R

Abraham Obama

The owners of a small South End gallery in Boston say they had the best of intentions when they commissioned a famous and often mischievous street artist to install a massive political mural on a construction wall lining one of the artiest strips of the South End. Large scale painter Ron English took his presidential image of Barack Obama and intermixed it with Abe Lincoln. The mural, 13 feet high and nearly a block long is meant, the gallery said, to inspire dialogue.

What does it inspire in you?

More on Ron English at his website, Popaganda.

J. Period & Game Rebellion - Searching for Rick Rubin

This is some wild shit! Very happy to have discovered this online. These cats are out of Brooklyn, NY and, as the name of the band suggests, they are doing something a little different. This is free download but you can opt to send them 5 bucks to support their work. You can get the album at the Game Rebellion website:

Game Rebellion Official Website

Also, preview some music and learn more about the band on their MySpace page:

Game Rebellion on MySpace

CNN presents Black in America

No bias. No bull. That's what they say. CNN has put together a 2 part series of programs focusing on the experience of being Black in the United States. The first episdode, The Black Woman & Family, is on air now. The second episode, The Black Man, will air tomorrow at 9 pm (est).

In addition to the shows, there are extended interviews, community resources and feedback forums available online at:

Black in America Online

Definitely check it out if you have the time.

Hopefully?!

"Shephard Fairey created the poster for the support of Obama.

One of three original works, which is mixed media stencil collage on a 4 x 6 foot cotton rag paper. Fairey donated this piece to Russell Simmons's Art for Life Auction, with proceeds going toward a different good cause, the Rush Philanthropic Art Foundation."

Auction Link

Hope?!

Tru Story Mixtape: Wayne Marshall & Federation Sounds

Dancehall heads are going to LOVE this! Anybody who's somebody in Reggae right now is on this disc. Bounty Killer, Sean Paul, Mavado, Damian Marley and MORE. Click below to download.

Tru Story Mixtape - Free Download

I scream you scream we all scream for......

ICE CREAM!!!!!! Here we are full swing into our second heat wave in NYC so what better time to blog about everyone's favorite cold treat.

Typically I'm known as an "ice cream snob" only eating Cold Stone Creamery since I was introduced to it a few yrs ago. Those ice cream creations made me turn my nose up at all the rest of the ice cream shoppes with their bland monotonous regular ice cream flavors. This summer however, I've become a born again ice cream lover so to speak. I've been completely hooked on all kinds of different brands and flavors of ice cream including mostly new flavors and one old favorite of mine that I had completely forgotten about.

Lets start with the newbies to me that I'm now in love with. First is the Godiva chocolixir. Not technically ice cream but a blended chocolate drink with ice and flavors, it still serves the same purpose. I don't even know where to begin with this or what to say other than these drinks are the best blended drinks I've ever had, point blank period. Only word to describe the drink is crack, and anyone who knows me knows I hate that term with a passion. The second newbie is Ben & Jerry's presents Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream, whew that's a mouthful to say. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered waffle cone bits and a caramel swirl through out the whole mixture is nothing short of ice cream heaven. I was hooked on this for about two weeks straight until an old favorite dethroned it as my reigning ice cream champ of the summer. That old favorite is

Haagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond hmmmmmm. This flavor is a sleeper. You have to let the deliciousness of it all sink in. Upon first eating the simple vanilla ice cream with swiss chocolate covered almonds you think its ok. But once the flavor sinks in, this ice cream has you hooked by the taste buds. I recommend anyone looking for a cool tasty treat check out any of these especially the swiss almond. I hope I don't come off as too much of a fat ass blogging about ice cream but man these ones are just so good and its so damn hot in nyc right now

The roundup...

What up Team?!
I thought, I should post a roundup of what recently has been on my mind.

First off:
The new pwnage tool 2.01 for unlocking old 2g iPhones running Firmware 2.0.

On Sunday, the tool was released by the iphone Dev-Team. I won't post any DL Links here, but I'm sure, you all know where to get that kind of stuff ;) The tool allows you to use the old iPhone 2G with Firmware 2.0 when not using AT&T or any other official provider.

So its an unlock-tool in the first place.

BE CAREFUL: IT WON'T UNLOCK 3G iPHONES!

The layout is self explanatory and very easy to use.
















To be honest with you,
I did not update my iPhone to 2.0 yet.
Simple reason:
No Installer.app available for the new Firmware as of now.
Just the App-Store.

So if you decide to try the jailbreak etc.
here is a tutorial for you all:
tutorial


Second thing that kept me busy the last few weeks:

Fixed-Gear Bikes...

Yeah yeah, i know...
That old hipster :D

I tried to build myself a Bumblebee-Transformers Bike.

Like:
BIKEBOTS, ROLL OUT!

Pics:





That's it so far.

Feel free to comment.

26th Annual MLK Jr. Concert Series: John Legend

The 26th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series presents the incomparable John Legend and the UK's newest soul star Estelle TOMORROW NIGHT, July 21st, 2008. This is a free concert and seating is limited so grab your folding chair, pack a basket of food and get there early. Keep up with the schedule, as it is subject to change without notice, by calling 718-222-0600.

7:30 pm
at
Wingate Field
entrances on
Brooklyn Avenue
(Rutland Road
and
Winthrop Street.)

People Who Inspire Me, Vol.1: Terry Richardson

Terry Richardson is an international celebrity as well as one of the most prolific and compelling photographers of his generation. Known for his uncanny ability to cut to the raw essence of whomever appears before his lens, Mr. Richardson's vision is at once humorous, tragic, often beautiful, and always provocative.

Born in New York City and raised in Hollywood, Terry began photographing his environment while attending Hollywood High School and playing in a punk rock band. And he hasn't stopped shooting since. Mr. Richardson has lensed campaigns for such clients as Gucci, Sisley, Miu Miu, Levi's, Eres, Chloe, APC, Carolina Herrera, Nike, and Kenneth Cole. Terry's editorial work has appeared in magazines such as Vogue, French Vogue, British Vogue, Japanese Vogue, I-D, Dazed and Confused, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, W, and Purple, as well as a host of worldwide
publications too numerous to mention.

Mr. Richardson is also a favorite among famous actors and musicians. His impressive list of subjects includes Daniel Day Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Leonardo DiCaprio, Vincent Gallo, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Sharon Stone, Mickey Rourke, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Mena Suvari, Johnny Knoxville, Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Maggie Gylenhall, Karl Lagerfeld, Pharell Williams, Chloe Sevigny, and many others.

Terry has been the subject of numerous group shows as well as one man shows at such esteemed galleries as The Alleged Gallery in New York City, The Shine Gallery in London, Gallery Emanuel Perriton in Paris, The Parco Gallery in Japan, and most recently, Deitch Projects also in New York City.

Many books have also been published throughout the span of Terry's career. His first book, entitled Hysteric Glamour, was published in 1998; this was followed by Son of Bob in 1999, Feared by Men Desired by Women in 2000, Too Much in 2001, and 2004 saw the publishing of both Terryworld and Kibosh.

Terry has recently made the transition from still photography to film as well, helming music videos for Primal Scream, Death in Vegas, and Whirlwind Heat in addition to television commercials for Tommy Hilfiger and the internet company Wanadoo. His feature film debut "Son of a Bitch," is currently in development and is sure to captivate audiences with its stark portrayal of a father and son's struggle with love and hate.

Whatever the medium, Terry Richardson continues to prove that he is a true American Original.

src: http://www.terryrichardson.com

10 Deep Presents: Kid Cudi- A Kid Named Cudi Mixtape

Click the link below to download:

http://sharebee.com/7e3ff6d8