happy birthday me!

Crappy weather in Boston, had my final presentation weighing me down and got shut down by the girl of my dreams, but these paintings (and some spirits) kept my spirits up on my birthday.

NYC

I ventured up to NYC to visit good ol' Matthew this past weekend. Needless to say, we had a blast.

















This is the $15 bus I took down there... pretty good deal and leaves every hour until 2:30 AM.

















Almost there, hitting the NYC traffic.

















Subways in NYC = hell, hence Matt's expression.






















Evian was a nice trade off from Boston tap water.

















Patsies on 117th, I did some research and this is supposed to be the best in NYC... it was delicious.






































We hung out and sipped on some 18 YO single malt one night.






















1/2 of the lost boys






















Introducing NYC to DOPE.

the Salmon Dance

A cool music video for Chemical Brothers // Fatlip (of Pharcyde) directed by Dom & Nic.

Crazy Music Video

This is the most ADD thing I have ever seen. It reminds me of my imagination as a child and is just as nonsensical.

Boston by night

With the iPhone 2.0 software, I can blog on the go... anytime you see the "Posted by ShoZu" that means I posted it from my phone...

Picture update

Yesterday, I ventured out to Nantasket Beach on my bike (21 miles). Here are some pictures... I got there and jumped in the ocean in by cycling bibs, hung out for a while and came back. I'm gonna go back next week with a book and a towel, and maybe even a bathing suit.


































































A sign I found, personally welcoming me.





I was walking around downtown the week and stumbled upon this. It was the end of a really big farmers market, and there was just shit everywhere and there were a bunch of foreigners running around like it was a drug raid. Very strange.






































I worked at 451 again Thursday and Friday, I wrapped up a few smaller projects and got back to work on the ROSE piece. This is one of the desks I have been at (I switch around following vacationer's desks).

















This is the view right outside the office. The conference room windows also look out here.






















Right next door is the Old City Hall.






















The 2.0 iPhone software came out the other day. I am addicted to Pandora on my phone... unfortunately I always lose it when I am on the T. I just realized that the top bar spells out "geT$", I should start an iPhone poetry blog using applications to say something. The other pictures are of the Boston Apple Store... There has been a ridiculous line outside there and every other at&t and Apple Store in Boston and the surrounding area since the day before the release (as of 5 on Sunday). I imagine sales are doing well.












































Random picture of Jamaica Pond.

4th

A few pics from the fourth in Boston

Tour de France

The next best thing to going to France to see the Tour:

CLICK HERE to "travel" the entire Tour.

Google X Seth MacFarlane

(The song is Give Me the Simple Life by Julie London, more, in 1959, and is featured on this CAFE DE PARIS 2cd set)

In September, Seth MacFarlane (the creator or Family Guy) will unveil Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy in joint effort with Google's AdSense. AdSense's advertising system will distribute the programming to thousands of Web sites that are predetermined to be gathering spots for Mr. MacFarlane’s target audience, typically young men. Instead of placing a static ad on a Web page, Google will place a “Cavalcade” video clip.

The Cavalcade is made up of 50 two minute episodes that MacFarlane described as “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier.”

This is a stepping stone into the future of distribution and by far the largest amount ever invested in online programming, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed.

Air Jelly

Here is another of the videos. Of course, I added the Fred Falke remix of Hot Chip's Colours. The company that makes these flying objects are attempting to break through the clutter of advertising by going airborne and attracting attention through these ultra-light helium blimps with true shape technology using CAD. They are indoor // outdoor and remote controlled. I believe that Street Attack is now offering these custom made flying devices to their clients.

Flying Car

I helped make this as freelance for Street Attack today. It was one of four videos that I cropped down and changed the audio. The company that makes the flying car also custom builds any sort of flying object... I will post the other videos as soon as my Internet is back to normal.



I started my new Italian class on Monday. The class is a lot more intimate (only four students, including myself). We came into the class knowing all the grammar so we are reviewing everything as well as learning new vocabulary.

I am working on an experimental mixtape with IInd Hand right now (hopefully getting Limelight involved soon), having him rap over things like 70's dub and disco and some electronica along with a lot of my own productions. We are aiming to make around 40 songs and cut the list down to 16-20 and putting out an amazing tape for the Holiday season.

Nitro:licious X Dope Couture

First Day at Work

I started at 451 Marketing today, actually had a pretty good time. The first project I had was to pick color ways for an awning that went along with a total branding package for a trendy little strip mall // grocery center in Rhode Island. Kind of boring, but I was expecting worse, and knew I had to prove my talent in battle. Next I helped design a new online application forum mock up for a local engineering school.

Next I updated a flyer for a local restaurant event, as the original "get some in the sun" event was rained out. I then started working on a new piece for the R.O.S.E. Fund (Regaining One's Self-Esteem) which is an non-profit organization that helps domestic abuse victims regain their self-esteem. I am designing a flyer for their annual awards celebration. They are giving me complete freedom on the design, so it is pretty exciting... not the tedious work I was expecting.

They also get pizza every Friday so at least I'm not working for nothing. Today they got some beer to celebrate a big sale. Needless to say, everyone their is very laid back (especially on Friday's). The co-founders are two huge ex rugby players who are very roudy and keep a lively atmosphere. The art-director, Glen, who I work under, is a very nice introverted guy in his early thirties. There are three other creative people that work with Glen as well. There were 2 other interns there today as well and I think they have more part-time interns on other days.

Anyway, that's the run down for this time, should be a good experience though.

Eric Gordon X UNDRCRWN X adidas

In a joint effort, UNDRCRWN and adidas put together a promotion package to the anticipated top 5 draft picks for this year’s NBA 2008 draft. Included in the series was Indiana University's // North Central's Eric Gordon. He was also given a package including UNDRCRWN x adidas track jackets and tees.

So Far So Good

Sorry for the wait, I've just been trying to take over the world, and so far so good. The Street Attack internship fell through so I am going in to 451 Marketing on Friday. Also as part of my senior project I am doing a freelance creative boutique and am available to do creative work including advertising work, graphic design, logo design and branding, promo material, audio and video production. Right now I am doing work with Dope Couture, DJ Limelight, IInd Hand, DJ Jay-O and soon RenoSys. I will be putting up a selection of my work soon.

The fall 2008 Dope line is nearly finished and we are going to hit the boutiques hard this Friday, I plan on focusing my sales and promotions in Europe especially in France, I think they are going to eat it up. There are also several boutiques here in Boston that we are a perfect fit for.

Tomorrow is my last day of Italian 200 and next Monday I move on to 250. On that not, I have to get to studying now.

Here is a good video I recently came across, Skillz ft. Talib Kweli So Far So Good

Earth-like exoplanet discovered

The smallest and most earth-like planet was discovered recently, orbiting the faint star Gliese 581 every 13 days. For more, click here.

Dave Brubeck

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was nothing short of amazing. "A brisk pace" doesn't even begin to explain how exuberant he performed, not to mention the fact that he is nearly 90 years old.

He would occasionally get up from the piano to say a few things to the audience. After nailing one of the tunes, he got up and said, "I just hope somebody has a tape machine- because you ain't gonna hear anything like that again."... or another time when he was introducing his youngest son who came out for the last few songs, he claimed, "I used to be a cowboy... you can tell by the way I play the piano."

Oh, and the drum solo in Take Five was easily the most incredible thing I have ever seen.

Get Ready...

(I would watch the whole song)

Water Music Presents

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Saturday, June 14, 8:00 p.m., Berklee Performance Center

The legendary pianist, who celebrated his 87th birthday last December, came to national attention in the 1950s with his adventurous use of uncommon time signatures and his incorporation of classical approaches in jazz. Observers wonder why he continues to perform at such a brisk pace, when he could be taking in the view from his studio window in Connecticut. His son, Darius Brubeck, explains, "In jazz, if you don't have a working group, you can't improvise. So that's a stark choice for him. Not going on the road means you don't play jazz, and he doesn't want to give that up." Brubeck continues to opt for a smaller venue in Boston, instead of the larger ones he could play, because he enjoys the intimacy, and he thinks his audience does, too. Reedman Bobby Militello, bassist Michael Moore, and drummer Randy Jones round out the group. Click Here for more

Goodbye to the Normals

A funny short, click here for more info.

Gorilla x Phil Collins

Gorilla x Phil Collins from chris mart on Vimeo.

Karmaloop

DOPE is finally up on Karmaloop!

Click here to see it.

Typography

This is a typography piece I did for our Wale collaboration, unfortunately it didn't get the go ahead, but I don't think it's half bad.

The Fall

Tonight I went to Cambridge to see the movie The Fall. The T was running way behind and I ended up missing my show time, but as I had seen a brewery / pizzeria on the way, I decided to wait around for the next showing. And I am glad I did, although the film got mixed reviews (rotten on RT) I highly recommend it to anyone with an ounce of imagination. The director put millions of dollars of his own money into it, and spent four years filming it in 28 different countries.

Radiohead x Microcosmos

Thanks Cullen for the video...

I need this in my life...

Very often coming back home or in our room, clothes are abandoned where they are taken off, infesting chairs, beds, sofas or anything useful for the object of heaping...

WORDROM is an object that invites at throwing clothes as if it were a natural and instinctual act; wordrom is a vertical wardrobe for young and/or disordinate people of the new millennium, a modular flat wall accessory, made of semirigid PU macro-pils made to randomicly home any type of clothes.

Talib Kweli and Gata rockin' DOPE

Talib showing some love wearing our old logo tee that was produced for friends and family.






























Gata out of LA wearing Donald Trump DOPE tee from summer line.

Lookbook preview pt 2

Lookbook preview

Here is a preview of the Summer 2008 Dope Couture Lookbook that Matt and I have been working on... More to come soon!

DOPE on Motivation Blog

Below is from Motivation in Ann Arbor's blog:

"Dope Couture Summer NOW IN STOCK!

We've had new clothes dropping faster than Suge Knight at a club lately here at Motivation and today we got in a large shipment from Dope Couture! This Summer season is Dope's third season out and in my opinion their best yet...plus they added an entire line for the ladies! You will also notice they upgraded their tags and added on a new collar tag as well, which is a nice touch -- details matter! You can also expect us to receive a few more special Summer shirts from Dope within a few weeks too, so be on the lookout. We are one of only about 10 stores that stock Dope worldwide, so while others sleep you know where to get the exclusives at...check them all out below and in-store!"

Sorry for the wait...

I was having problems uploading my pictures but am now back and running. First off, I wanted to thank Poppie for the amazing Peyton gear, I can't wait to go walk around town wearing these.







































Last Thursday I went and visited the ICA Boston to see a contemporary art exhibit (and it is free every Thursday). Unfortunately, the exhibit was pretty small and I don't think very impressive. Here are a few of the works from the exhibit:


































Here are a few nice views of the Charles River



















Boston, walking back from the exhibit.













Here is the basil that Grammy gave me... it was growing very rapidly until the other day when tragedy struck. During a very windy day, the plant blew out of my window three stories. The fall claimed most of one of the plants, while the other two are still thriving.






















My home made dinner the other night (check out the onions!!)






















This is very random, but one of my roommates was checking Google Streetview today and this is the infamous 707 where I lived in Bloomington, equipped with our pool in the front yard... Google couldn't have captured a better moment.










Other than for class, I haven't been going out as much recently, I am working with Matt on getting the Fall line done (it's looking better than ever, I would post some of it if I could) and making music, etc... But this weekend will hopefully be exciting so I will keep everyone posted on what happens!

New Coen Bros.

Burn After Reading

GPhone platform

Should be interesting to see what happens...

A Cool Honda Ad

Concepts

Concepts (in Cambridge) will be releasing their collaborative Nike SB “Lobster” Dunk on Saturday, May 31st. The shoe, inspired by the seafood heritage of New England, will be available in a limited edition set, available exclusively at Concepts. The first 200 pairs, which include the limited packaging, come equipped with a lobster claw rubber band, a tee shirt, a condiment box (which includes lobster shell cracker, fork, bib, an extra set of laces, and wet nap) and a poster, all put into a traditional paper bag used by typical, New England lobster retailers. Not only will the packaging and bag be branded with the “Concepts Fishing Company” graphic, but the release at Concepts will also be catered by Legal Seafoods, who will be providing lobster appetizers. The release will be followed by a raffle for some additional exclusive goodies. The special pack will be extremely limited to 200 pairs, and will retail for $150 USD and the first 50 pairs will come with a special, limited edition wooden box.

Do the Charleston

Memorial Day

Today I really needed to get out of my place so I headed out to see some boats across the river.





View of downtown from across the river














It looked promising at this point, this is the view from the bridge before I had even made it across.

















The USS Constitution... after I got around to it, the entire site looked abandoned. I was expecting at least some people, especially considering it was Memorial Day, but the entire area was completely empty.















So I headed back towards home and ran into some street performers and a bunch of tourists. This guy was pretty good actually.






















Another street performer
















Here are a bunch of street dancers and were pretty good at break dancing. In this pic, a guy is doing a flip over 6 people.






















Here it is blown up so you can see it better (haha, lucky timing with the iPhone shot)

















Genius, they have their own entrance (the specialized hooker entrances are categorized around the other side)

















After I left there, I saw a gang of a dozen or so guys on BMX bikes, so of course I followed them to this place... this lady in the back came up with her mom and asked them if they knew where she could buy some marijuana.















They had found this fountain that was turned off that they would ride into and ramp out of. This was the best pic I got, but they were doing all kinds of tricks and 360s out of this (although most of them were doing 360s from a standstill). They tried to get me to hit it on my Cannondale, but I decided against it.












































The first DOPE sticker I put up in my 'hood.

Thanks DOPE!

Thanks DOPE for the stickers...

Having a good weekend so far, luckily I have a three day weekend, so it is not over yet!

Yesterday I went to Earth Fest to see English Beat and pick up some free goodies from all the "green" companies sponsoring the event.

No class today!

Downtown with a storm a brewin'






















The shoes Scarlett insisted I get
















A Harvard Square street performer








































Bukhara, some damn good Indian food



Pretty hungover today so I went and walked it off in Harvard Square then rode my bike to Jamaica Plain for some dinner. I don't feel too well so I'm just kickin' it at the pad tonight.

Just down the street

I decided to skip Slick Rick to save money and headed to a local bar instead. I was able to hold my own / dominate two Harvard PhD students from Russia (studying irregular brain inflammations) and schooled them on consumer culture / street wear and fashion. I am meeting them this weekend in Cambridge to expand my music collection and pick up a few books they recommended. And who said bars were not a productive place?

Bobby from Boston

Today after my Italian class got out, I headed downtown to the local Hermes Paris store for some inspiration. Got a few ideas from their patterns. Then, despite the cloud storms moving in quickly, I decided to head over to a vintage store I read about called Bobby from Boston.

This was by far the coolest vintage store I have ever seen (I feel bad even calling it a vintage store). In the store was only myself, the owner Bobby (an old black man), and 2 very attractive girls, one who looked strikingly similar to Scarlett Johansson. But no way, I thought, why would she be in a little vintage store in Boston? But when I was waiting to check out (for more than an hour) I came to realize that it was in fact her, and she was there shopping for her Boyfriend Josh Hartnett. I tried on some suede loafers and she told me she liked them and they looked good on me, so of course I added those to cart!

So she and Bobby started talking about everything from good jazz clubs in NY to how his cricket bag was used in the movie Road to Perdition for a gun bag (it turns out Hollywood studios are one of his main clients... I told you this 'vintage' store was legit!). Later Bobby tells us about his warehouse where he has a much bigger collection of old stuff. It is not open to the public, but by invitation only.

After Scarlett and her drop-dead friend left, I kicked it with Bobby for a good hour talking about his collection (and of course how cute SJ was... I think Bobby fell in love), Dope Couture, and how I came for inspiration. Turns out that this guy has such an amazing collection of classic clothes, hats, shoes, watches, sunglasses, ads, banners, jackets, you name it, that all kinds of designers from Ralph Lauren to Gucci come to get inspiration. Genius. So Bobby gave me a good discount on my clothes, gave me the address of the private warehouse and a number to schedule a time to go check it out, and of course (gasp) Scarlett's e-mail so I can try and send her some of the Dope women's line.

By the time I left it was pouring cats and dogs and had to bike back 20 minutes in the rain. Fair trade. Now I am off to see Slick Rick.

Hoodrat stuff for my friends

Sausage Heaven

Yesterday was orribile (that's Italian for horrible). I spent all day trying to get a residential parking pass. First the lady at town hall told me a bogus address to go to. Then my iPhone rerouted me to the wrong place. Once I finally got to the right place (and parked), I waited in line FOREVER only to find out that my car needed to be registered in the state of Massachusetts. So in order to avoid trying to park again, I went back and got my bike to go to the RMV (registry of motor vehicles, aka hell on earth). Then they told me that I needed Mass insurance. So in order to accomplish something after a day of waste, I stopped at CVS for a trimmer (I was getting pretty shaggy). Still don't know what I am doing with my car. I think I will put my bike in it and just drive out of town until I find a spot and ride back. Dumb.

Anyways' today was my first day of Italian class. The teacher seems very nice and not too hard. There are 6 students other than myself, all of whom are young women (duh... I did pick Italian for a reason). On the way back, I got a flat tire and had to hike from bike shop to bike shop but finally got the problem fixed. I stopped at the local liquor store and picked up a six pack and just enjoyed a few of them with my roommates. The one girl next door is a hardcore 80's rock fanatic and bartender at the Hard Rock downtown. The girl down the hall just finished her studies in sculpture and her boyfriend is a GC employee and aspiring guitar player (has a gig at the end of the month).






















This was the highlight of my Monday: an Italian sausage via the street vendor downtown. Something like this will make you believe in a God.



















This is my personal favorite of the local streetwear shops. Dope Couture is soon to be selling right there on that rack on the right. The store is called Bodega. It is located on an off street with no signs and the windows are filled with old TP, soap, etc. When you walk in, it appears as if it is only a local Bodega, but to the right, what appears to be a soda machine is actually a hidden entrance to this store. Very cool idea, not only does it keep out the riff raff but it encourages word of mouth advertising. I mean hey, here I am blogging about this place. But seriously, it is clearly to most popular of its kind here in Boston (there were even people waiting outside before it opened, while the other stores were empty or nearly empty). Guerilla marketing 101.

Mission Hill

Another beautiful day in Boston. Today I opted out of skateboarding and got my bike ready to roll. Cycling around Boston through all the traffic is pretty exhilarating, by far the best way to get around. I got a bus / train pass for June but have not been brave enough to try it... soon I guess, although I don't see how anything could beat the freedom on a bike.

















This is the neighborhood just up the hill from my place, all the houses are obviously real old and mostly filled with other college students or recent graduates.
























I ROCK


















The local park around the corner. Come a few hours earlier and all the babes are out sunbathing. Obviously where I will be studying.

















You can kind of see down town from up on the hill. BU is right off to the left of the shot.

I finally met all my roommates today, it turns out there is one more than I originally thought. There is a couple that share a room in the far end who are both just out of college and working in town, one of them at Guitar Center. They are both very quiet and keep to themselves when they are here. On the other side is a girl who just graduated from college and is a bartender (I think she is taking a break before law school or something but I'm not sure).

That's all for today, back to studying Italiano...

Boston

Today, after finally settling in to my new home (and out of my car), I was finally able to get some things done. So, I decided to get around via skateboard, but Boston and the surrounding area is much bigger than it looks on a map (and the roads are not forgiving).

I ended up skating / walking around 10 miles getting my Italian book, a bike lock and checking out the local street wear shops. My legs are rubber. I fell probably 19 times (the best of which was when I hit something and flew into some bushes). On the brighter side, my street cred here in Boston is on an upward slope.

I ended the exhausting day by stumbling down to the local Irish Pub (met 2 little black skateboarders on the way that I'm gonna skate with tomorrow) and got a salmon sandwich and a Guinness with a side of the bartender's number.






















Driving out (it rained or was wet 15 of the 16 hours)























My skateboard... I like the story behind the graphic. In case you can not see, it is a mermaid crying and holding a little (bastard) pirate / octopus looking baby as the ship (and assumingly the father pirate) sink in the background. The mermaid is also covered in tattoos, my favorite of which says "4 boobs are better than 2".






















This is the view from my place in Mission Hill. Very scary to skateboard down.






















This is one of the paintings in my place. Apparently one of the old roommates was an art student and their work is still here. While this is not by any means my favorite of the paintings, I think it is a great representation of Boston.























Some cool stuff on the BU campus (although for the most part, you wouldn't be able to tell it apart from the rest of the buildings in Boston).

Sorry there aren't more pics, I'll take more tomorrow.

leaving Bloomington

bye bye btown

Beautiful Day

Both this song and this video are on point - and a beautiful day here in btwon as well, i don't know why im inside blogging, but had to post this...



PS- did anyone else feel that earthquake here lastnight... it definitely woke me up, but i wasn't sure if i was just dreaming until this morning.

Paris, Tokyo

Not the most impressive video, but the song is probably my favorite off his album. Sophisticated chill.

bye bye b-town // little 500

bye bye btown // flosstradamus

bye bye bloomington // little 500 (pt.1)

N.W.A.

While I'm on DJ Jay-O, you definately need to peep this tape. Educate yourself. Seriously. I like what he did with this N.W.A. tape, but I'm pissed I don't get a cut... or at least some credits. I mean, he did make the entire tape in my bedroom.

You can cop that on his myspace here. Tell him CMYK sent you and get a 10% discount. Not really.

Lil' Boosie

Check out DJ Jay-O's new mix with DJ Spinz out of ATL, The Hood Champ featuring Lil' Boosie. I've heard a few Boosie tapes recently, but I assure you, this is the only one you will need.

You can get it at here.

Cassette

Check out this French blog that my Shawty Lo remix got posted on...

J'ai la cassette à la maison

It's been a while since high school French class so I went over to babel fish to get a translation of this

"CMYK fait office de scène de closure, un road movie à la française, traversée des océans et des autoroutes de sables, de la french touch bien rassée parfumée pas un pli ne dépasse.
Bien sûr parce que c'est mixé par Alan Braxe et Fred Falke, figurants guests de luxe, on fera une place de choix, et un petit solo à la fin qui rappelerait Carlos, le soleil, et qu'on parle de Shawty Lo en même temps."

and I got this

"CMYK acts as scene of closure, a road movie with the Frenchwoman, crossing of the oceans and motorways of sands, french touch well rassée scented not a fold does not exceed. Of course because it is mixed by Alan Braxe and Fred Falke, observers guests of luxury, one will make a place of choice, and a small solo at the end which rappelerait Carlos, the sun, and which one speaks about Shawty Lo at the same time."

my thoughts exactly.

DOPE // XPOZ

dope couture on the cover of xpoz magazine



























and the spread on p 24... check out the name drop if you can't read the small print:

"...our in-house designer is Chris Mart. He did half of the graphic design for the Spring/Summer line. I brought him into the mix this year to help me expand. He brought some ideas of his own to the line which are very clear in the style we achieved for the new women's line which will release this May."

check out dope here

Limelight

new limelight banner via cmyk... make sure to check him out every thursday at 6 lounge and restaurant.

Stealth mode

here is the dashboard on the Lamborghini Reventón (the most powerful and expensive Lambo on the road... only 80 are being built, one for the Lamborghini museum). it can also be switched to a more classic dashboard. i would obviously roll stealth all the time.

limelight in chi

if you are in chicago, make sure to check out my man dj limelight at funky buddha lounge this friday

and watch out for the cmyk + dj limelight + dope couture mixtape coming this summer!!

Mano remix video

WALE!!!

appreciate the love from wale's blog, elitaste.com ... hopefully wesiman hooks it up with some exclusive a capellas!!

the only place i get my hair did.

Got Sole

Matt and I at Got Sole with owner Mike

Telluride

Magic Las Vegas // Dope Couture

thYyvin'

cloth and canvas party

genius one-piece ski suit at fruition

"The Circus-Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This is the sixth Reich. The ground floor is full of gambling tables, like all the other casinos . . . but the place is about four stories high, in the style of a circus tent, and all manner of strange County Fair/Polish Carnival madness is going on up in this space."
-Hunter S. Thompson

kinkos, aka hell on earth

there's nothing like a 2 lb. sandwich

brice and mr dope himself

outside of magic

rooftop party at the palms

Herbie Hancock

DJ Jay-O

photo by cmyk

stay posted for some funky shit coming from jay-o / cmyk