A photo by Mark Liddell of recently engaged Britney Spears and dancer Kevin Federline, graces the cover of the July 12,2004, issue of People magazine. It hits newsstands on Friday, July 2
jess3 blogs,
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A photo by Mark Liddell of recently engaged Britney Spears and dancer Kevin Federline, graces the cover of the July 12,2004, issue of People magazine. It hits newsstands on Friday, July 2
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The mtv Lloyd Banks Punch Line Poll
Lloyd Banks' solo debut, The Hunger for More, is finally out, and when you hear him brag that we'll be hard pressed to find a rapper hotter than him, he's talking the gospel like Mase on Sunday morning. The Queens native lays it on thick during his album's 14 tracks, making a run for the title of the game's top lyricist with a blitzkrieg of punch lines.
These lines are so good that MTV has compiled a list of highlights. Vote on which one is your favorite, and see if we agree. Like Banks, we can battle you all day!
"I'll be damned if I'll co-sign [vouch for] an old snitch/ That was gangbanging when Jaws was a goldfish" (from "Ain't No Click")
Imagine the open seas' most ferocious body-chomper as an itty-bitty kiddie: Welcome to the devilish mind of Lloyd Banks.
"Don't confuse me with these suckers/ 'Cause when I spit, you hear more 'ooohs' than a 'Skip to My Lou' move at the Rucker" (from "I'm So Fly")
L.B. references one of the most famous And 1 players and pats himself on the back. Multitasking never sounded so good.
"As soon as you ain't around, Jake, you get your ass whipped for chips/ And that's the real definition of poundcake" (from "Work Magic")
Hearing how Banks uses food to describe a robbery makes us cringe at what he'll think of to describe jaywalking.
"A hood rat'll put her future in a fool pants, till she find out you can't buy furniture with food stamps/ A year ago I made a decision before I shut my eyelids/ Pray to God I get shot tomorrow, 'cause I don't like surprises" (from "Die One Day")
The Boy Wonder proves he's never scared while sharing food for thought with the chicken heads. See? Rappers can teach.
"Yeah, he's talkin' sh--, but we can tell he's ass/ Jabs will black his eyes like the R. Kelly mask" (from "Work Magic")
Yeah, that's a hot line. But if Banks wants to really impress us, he'll rap about making someone's pupils bulge like Elton John's diamond sunglasses.
"And them n---as in New York know the man is a monster/ And I ain't from Atlanta, but I'll A-Town stomp ya" (from "If You So Gangsta")
Please, don't let him start doing the Muscle or the Rockaway. There'll be more havoc on the dance floor than Bobby Brown at an Usher party
"I ride on Davins by the pair/ But when you stop, the only thing still spinning is your hair" (from "On Fire")
It's not enough to have waves in your hair if you're a member of the G-Unit: Your wheels have to be up to par.
"Where I'm from, the little kids ain't f---in' with Santa/ 'Cause they love Tupac more (Word?)/ Word to my grandma" (from "Playboy")
"Ho, ho, ho?" No, no, no. According to the Boy Wonder, the shorties around his way would much rather hear "I Get Around" than "Jingle Bells." Guess the only big man in a red suit they want to see is Suge Knight.
"Hounding him is a big mistake/ He won't surrender, he'd rather give up a rib to break/ 'Cause he remembers when they wouldn't lend a helping hand/ 'Till he was sittin' on green like a Celtics fan" (from "Warrior Part 2")
"Banks blows more cake than birthdays." With all the money the G-Unit's made in the last couple of years, we're sure all those hands looking for help are now fully extended.
"When I was 10 years old, I seen a n---a take three to the head/ Probably around the same time you used to pee in the bed/ I stayed awake 'cause my nightmares were seeing him dead" (from "South Side Story")
Lloyd articulates his hard-knock life with a staunch verbal grimace.
pics from carlys camera.. of last weeks drinking.
downlaod the carly aim icon.
Right click to save it.
then in aim, press F3, and go to buddy icons.
;)
Watch Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, kick off the Worldwide Developers Conference with a preview of Mac OS X “Tiger” from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
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**nudity is a good thing**
Models present bikinis as part of Blue Man's 2005 Spring/Summer collection during Rio Fashion Week in Rio de Janeiro, June 27, 2004.
tonight at the dc flash user group meeting, my first flash teacher at corcoran Jim Mole.. Ryan Walsh was in that class
http://www.sealiecomputing.com/retrozone/retropad.html
USB NES Controller - The only difference from the classic Nintendo controller is the long 5 foot USB cable. No modifications are made to the internal plastics of the controller, so the RetroPad is just as sturdy as the original. It can easily survive the throw across the room you know is coming. Even small details like the black cable make the RetroPad look and feel like the best rectangular controller ever.
Standard USB HID Gamepad
Works with MacOS9/MacOSX/WinXP/Win2K/*nix)
No drivers needed
No adapter boxes
No complex or ugly wiring
Only original controllers for classic feel
Black USB cable looks like the original
i studied k10k.. and tried to design a modular jess3.. what do you think?
i am gonna do a small version, medium and super size
reorganizing the content.... for dif browser sizes
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Fahrenheit 9/11
Loews Georgetown 14
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11:30am | 12:30 | 2:30 | 3:20 | 5:30 | 6:15 | 8:40 | 9:15
True devotion : English fans sporting the jersey of soccer idol David Beckham visit the restroom shortly before the strat of the Euro 2004 first round clash between England and Croatia in Lisbon
'Fahrenheit 9/11' Breaks NYC Records!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" turned on the box office heat in its first day in theaters breaking single-day records at the two New York City theaters where it played. The movie, which aims a critical eye at President Bush and his prosecution of the war in Iraq, sold $49,000 worth of tickets at the Loew's Village 7 theater, beating the venue's single-day record of $43,435 held by 1997's "Men in Black," according to distributors Lions Gate Films and IFC Films.
At the Lincoln Plaza theater, "Fahrenheit 9/11" took in more than $30,000 to top the $24,013 set by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2000.
A spokesman for Lions Gate Films said the company debuted the movie in the two theaters to help build good word-of-mouth -- friend telling friend -- publicity ahead of the wide debut on Friday when it plays in 868 theaters in all 50 states.
The film has caused a storm of controversy because director Moore, whose past work includes Oscar-winning documentary "Bowling for Columbine," makes a case that the Bush administration was determined to invade Iraq following the Sept. 11 attacks.
The movie links Bush family members and business associates with wealthy Saudi Arabian families, including that of Osama bin Laden, and Moore clearly wants to see the president fail to win reelection in this fall's presidential campaign.
Groups have organized support for and against the movie, and audiences appear to be keen to see it.
Online ticket service Fandango.com on Wednesday reported that "Fahrenheit 9/11" was making up 48 percent of advance ticket sales for the weekend ahead, compared to 11 percent for "Dodgeball" and 9 percent for next week's "Spider-Man 2."
A detainee in an outdoor solitary confinement cell talks with a military policeman at the Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq Tuesday, June 22, 2004. The American soldiers said that he had repeatedly got into fights with other inmates in the prison.
lloyd banks new album
Rapper with 'Hunger' for hits must escape 50 Cent's shadow
By most people's standards, rapper Lloyd Banks would seem to have it made.
He's part of what is arguably the most successful hip-hop posse on the planet — G-Unit, which is fronted by no less powerful a star than 50 Cent.
Banks, 22, also has earned the respect of hard-core rap fans, after taking last year's Mix Tape Artist of the Year award for his series of independently released recordings. And on June 29, he'll issue his first major-label solo album, "The Hunger for More," which has already spawned the top-five rap hit "On Fire."
But Banks isn't entirely happy about the acclaim.
He says his association with 50 Cent has made the police pay him unwanted attention. His Mix Tape prize has made bootleggers more eager than usual to rip off his recordings. And the hard-core nature of his latest music has him concerned about getting it past the FCC, which has been tightening its strictures on what's acceptable.
"Even my clean version is not clean enough," Banks says with a laugh.
Indeed, Banks has built his reputation on cruel and racy lyrics, brutally stripped music and a cold-blooded rap flow. Mainstream music fans discovered him on G-Unit's debut CD, 2003's double platinum "Beg for Mercy." Some critics felt that his raps, delivered in a bone-dry monotone, even outshone 50 Cent's.
Again on "The Hunger for More" Banks keeps his vocals coldly understated and his words unforgiving. But in conversation, he couldn't be more courteous or eager to please.
"I'll do whatever it takes to sell this record," he says. "I'll kiss babies, shake hands. There's no plan B [for my career]. This has to work."
He has felt that way since he started rapping as a child in Jamaica, Queens. Born Christopher Lloyd, he took his nom de rap from an uncle, a career felon, who always used to say, "That's money in the bank."
Banks' mother, who's Puerto Rican, was still in high school when he was born.
His father, who's black, was rarely around when the boy was growing up. He was serving several long stretches in jail.
Banks began smoking pot at age 11, a habit he says he maintains to this day.
"That's my cigarette," he says. "I use it to calm down."
His rap role models were Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick, who greatly influenced his unhurried, conversational style. Dropping out of high school at 16, Banks developed his own rap sound and soon began appearing on local mix tapes.
Positive feedback gave him the confidence to begin trading verses with two childhood friends — Tony Yayo and 50 Cent. The two suggested forming a trio — G-Unit — which quickly developed a strong local following for its mix tapes.
But the group faded into the background once 50 Cent got signed to Eminem's label and rushed to solo superstardom. 50 Cent's fame came partly from his music, partly from the legend of his having survived being shot nine times.
"I've been shot, too," Banks points out. "And not long after 50."
STAYING IN FRONT
"The Hunger for More" features fewer guest stars than most rap albums. Eminem is one of them, but there's no participation from ace producer Dr. Dre, who has worked with G-Unit, and only a single hook line from 50 Cent.
"The streets wouldn't respect me if I didn't lay it on the line and give them as much as possible," Banks says of his decision to dominate his record.
One of the rare cameos on the album is that of fellow G-Unit member Yayo. He had been incarcerated for most of the previous 16 months on a gun-possession charge, but got out just in time for the recording.
"He went straight from the cell to the studio," Banks says.
Because of his sentence, Yayo didn't appear on most of "Beg for Mercy." He was replaced by Cash Money rapper Young Buck. According to Banks, not only will Yayo now rejoin the group, they'll retain Buck and add a new member, Game, a West Coast artist who makes his debut on Banks' CD.
Over the next few months, a series of G-Unit-related CDs will appear, including solo works from Buck in July, Game in August and 50 Cent in November.
"I got five months for my album," Banks reasons. "Then 50 comes and takes the attention."
ALL BASES COVERED
To maximize his time in the limelight, Banks is involved in a surprising variety of projects. He's providing a voice-over for a Saturday morning kids' cartoon ("Beaver Street Gang"). He's also appearing in a porn flick, "Groupie Love," filmed for his own company. With a perfectly straight face, Banks labels the latter project "educational."
Obviously, Banks wants to keep all the bases covered and, he says, to make as much money as quickly as possible.
"This is the business music, not the music business," he says. "It's all about the marketing." And right now, no one is hungrier to market himself than Banks.
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Jay-Z Performs With Phish
Following a year in which numerous DJs mixed Jay-Z's vocals with the music of the Beatles, Metallica, Weezer and others, the Brooklyn, New York, rapper tipped his hat back to rock fans by performing at two unlikely concerts over the weekend.
The stranger of the two was Friday night during a set by the jam band Phish in Coney Island in Brooklyn, at the group's supposedly final New York-area show. After the veteran rockers played "Wilson," the second song of their second set, Jay hopped onstage and the group backed him on "99 Problems" and "Big Pimpin'."
The rapper made his second unannounced showing the following evening at K-Rock's eighth annual Dysfunctional Family Picnic radio festival in Wantagh, New York, which featured the Strokes, the Darkness, Cypress Hill, Brand New, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others. The Beastie Boys had just finished their set, and fans were on their way out of the venue when a voice blared over the PA warning them not to leave, because something special was coming up that would "blow [their] f---ing minds."
Then Jay, dressed in baggy light blue jeans, a purple-and-white shirt and shades, blasted through "99 Problems" for the thousands of rock fans in attendance.
The stranger of the two was Friday night during a set by the jam band Phish in Coney Island in Brooklyn, at the group's supposedly final New York-area show. After the veteran rockers played "Wilson," the second song of their second set, Jay hopped onstage and the group backed him on "99 Problems" and "Big Pimpin'."
The rapper made his second unannounced showing the following evening at K-Rock's eighth annual Dysfunctional Family Picnic radio festival in Wantagh, New York, which featured the Strokes, the Darkness, Cypress Hill, Brand New, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others. The Beastie Boys had just finished their set, and fans were on their way out of the venue when a voice blared over the PA warning them not to leave, because something special was coming up that would "blow [their] f---ing minds."
Then Jay, dressed in baggy light blue jeans, a purple-and-white shirt and shades, blasted through "99 Problems" for the thousands of rock fans in attendance.
nick and i played poker at matt and lisas apt, with matts boys.. it was fun.. i did lose.. whatever.
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C2
at blockbuster they were giving them out.. it tastes like coke and diet coke mixed together.. both tastes are ther.. its got that nutra sweet after taste.. and a little bit of that sugary Cocoacola taste. i like it.. its got to be cold.. obviously
http://www.cokec2.com
1/2 the carbs (C2), 1/2 the cals (C2)and all the great Coca-Coal taste (C2)*
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'hip hop mickey'
Disney's Mickey Mouse adopts some freshness from the b-boy massive in this limited edition vinyl figure from Worthfield. With only a total of 100 made, you can be sure that this one will be in crazy demand further down the road. Many stores have already sold out of their limited stock. The kid in all of us meets the adult as Mickey sports a dope trench coat and slacks. He's got a second pair of closed fist hands and a b-boy vest outfit. Best of all, he's got his 80s ghetto blaster at his side. Again, Hip Hop Mickey is so limited you can't sleep on it. You can click on the image above to see an enlarged version with enhanced details.
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ENGLAND BRANDED THUGS BY NEW ZEALAND MEDIA
England's forward Simon Shaw makes the long walk to the sideline after receiving a red card from referee Nigel Williams, unseen, for stomping, during the rugby test match between the All Blacks and England at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, June19, 2004. The All Blacks won, 36-12
Referee Nigel Williams, second left, struggles to control a fight after England's Simon Shaw (4) received a red card for stomping during the rugby test match between the All Blacks and England at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, June19, 2004. The All Blacks won, 36-12.
ENGLAND BRANDED THUGS BY NEW ZEALAND MEDIA
New Zealand's media have launched a stinging attack on England's rugby team branding them nothing more than thugs.
Despite the All Blacks winning the Test series 2-0 much of the focus has been on the sending-off of Simon Shaw, the ban metered out to Danny Grewcock for stamping on Daniel Carter and the general indiscipline, which the New Zealand media argues was largely at England's instigation, shown in the matches at Carisbrook and Eden Park.
Under the headline 'Dirty England a disgrace' the Dominion Post's Australian columnist Spiro Zavos said England were "nothing more than a rabble, a rugby equivalent of a lynch mob, intent on playing All Blacks off the ball and angering them into mistakes and indiscretions".
Zavos also turned on Sir Clive Woodward for his comments about Shaw's dismissal saying: "A genuine world champion side, like the All Blacks in 1987 and the Wallabies inn 1991 and 1999, sets the standard in world rugby for the best practice. It does not try to set the standard for 'allowable' foul play.
He continued: "Woodward's attempt to exonerate his players represents a disgrace to the leadership position he is supposed to now hold in world rugby as a knight for services to rugby. Services to thuggery is more like it."
The New Zealand Herald's rugby writer Wynne Gray follows much the same theme arguing England "were shown up in both tests as a group who resorted to bully-boy tactics when their skills deserted them. It has happened to all top rugby sides on the slide. When age hurts or skills deteriorate, the indiscipline escalates".
Richard Boock is also scathing of Woodward's reaction to the Shaw sending-off and likens the England coach to a World War I general.
"The England coach clearly prepared his team to go over the top and then refused to accept the responsibility of his own flawed planning.
"Even worse he showed a distinct lack of integrity by attacking the match officials."
England are now in Australia preparing for their final Test match of the season against the Wallabies.
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Dave Chappelle ** live in richmond / july 1
Dave Chappelle
Carpenter Center, Richmond, VA
Thu, Jul 1, 2004 11:00 PM
ORCHESTRA - FLOOR LEVEL
US $35.50 - US $39.50
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Francis Ford Coppola's winery seeks out a new market
A can, and a plan, for this sparkling wine
Francis Ford Coppola's winery seeks out a new market
Honestly, it wasn't originally supposed to be in a can.
Niebaum-Coppola Winery, owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola, wanted to sell its Sofia blanc de blancs sparkling wine -- named for daughter and fellow director Sofia -- in a 187 ml serving, just big enough for one drinker's thirst and a neat way to enjoy sparkling wine without opening a full-size bottle.
For years, Champagne and other sparkling wines have been served up in 187 ml bottles (about six ounces, or a quarter of a full bottle) known among wine types as splits. Coppola wanted to sell a split of Sofia, but couldn't find anyone to package it in small bottles with corks of the same quality as their full-sized offering, which has been bottled since at least 1999.
Other ideas weren't terribly appealing -- a bottle with a screwcap looked too much like those airline single-servings; not bad, but not the hip image the winery wanted for Sofia. Then they contemplated the can.
"The more we kind of played with the idea, the more we warmed up to it," said Erle Martin, president of Niebaum-Coppola. "We realized we could make a can very cool and very elegant."
Since this spring, the winery has quietly shipped 5,000 cases of Sofia in a can. Rather than target the usual wine shops, it has been trying out the sleek pink cans at high-end nightclubs in cities like Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
The Sofia cans go national this month, and the winery expects to sell 50,000 cases this year, well beyond what it originally intended as a niche offering.
Part of the plan has been to market Sofia not merely as premium wine without a bottle but as a clubgoers' drink: ordered by name, easy to hold at a bar and ideal for resort poolsides where glass is a no-no. Niebaum-Coppola's intention is to target drinkers of beer or alcopops, those fruity mixes like Smirnoff Ice that have supplanted wine coolers as the choice for sweet-palated drinkers.
The cans are meant to appeal to what Martin has described as a "Sex in the City" crowd: sophisticated female city-dwellers, from just over drinking age up to their mid-30s. It's a different audience than most wine drinkers.
Like many wineries, Niebaum-Coppola has been looking for ways to attract younger drinkers who may still have a beer-and-shots preference left over from their college days, or those who have gravitated to punchy drinks like vodka with Red Bull. Initial marketing was word-of-mouth, Martin said, but the national release will include print ads in buzz-generating magazines like Paper and Surface.
Thus the can is upscale but not snooty: almost a fashion accessory, and an excellent sell to twentysomethings hoping to look a bit more grown-up and refined without being seen as stodgy wine drinkers like, say, their parents. The winery wants a small, loyal following that appreciates sparkling wine as an affordable treat more often than once a year.
"I think this product has really got an opportunity to cross over," Martin said.
It may be a good time to be experimenting. Sparkling offerings have become increasingly popular in clubs, both for their taste and as a status symbol. Two French Champagne makers -- Piper-Heidsieck and Pommery -- already market splits of their non-vintage wines for clubs.
Still, most sparkling wine is served in full 750 ml bottles and younger drinkers with lean pocketbooks aren't about to adorn their table with a bottle of Cristal or Veuve Cliquot.
"They don't feel they can finish the bottle in one sitting and don't realize they can buy a stopper to seal in the bubbles," said Berit Holms of MKF, a wine industry consulting firm. "The smaller single serve packages can serve to take some of the intimidation out of the category."
Sofia will be the same in cans and full bottles, so fans can switch up. Unlike the drier French offerings, Coppola's wine is blended from the drier pinot blanc and sauvignon blanc grapes as well as 8 percent muscat, which gives it subtle, sweet overtones that may sit more comfortably on the palates of its target audience.
Cans will retail at $20 for a four-pack. Clubgoers can expect to pay $6 to $10 a pop. Matching straw included.
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The All Blacks beat England 36-12 in a brutal rugby Test
England's Mark Regan is tackled by All Blacks' Chris Jack as Justin Marshall (9) looks on during the rugby test match between the All Blacks and England played at Eden Park Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, June 19, 2004.
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New Zealand 36-12 England
The age-old rivalry between rugby superpowers New Zealand and England
"New Zealand have defeated England 36-12 in the second test after the world champions were reduced to 14 men in the 10th minute. Lock Simon Shaw was sent from the field on Saturday for kneeing Keith Robinson in the back when the All Black was lying on the England side in a ruck."
http://membres.lycos.fr/wucovers/wu_tang_covers.htm
download all the wutang clan cd covers.
all high res.
Buddah Monk - The Prophecy front back
Cappadonna - The Pillage front back inside
Genius/Gza - Liquid Swords front back
Gza - Beneath The Surface front back
Ghostface killah - Ironman front back
Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
front back inside
Gravediggaz - Niggamortis front back inside
Inspectah Deck - Uncontrolled Substance front back
Killarmy - Dirty Weaponry front back
Killarmy - Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars front back
LA The Darkman - Heist Of The Century front back inside
Method Man - Tical front back
Method Man - Tical 2000 : Judgment Day front back inside
Method Man & Redman - Blackout! front back
Myalansky & Joe Mafia - Wu-Syndicate front back
Ol'Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version front back
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx front back
Raekwon - Immobilarity front back
Rza - Bobby Digital front back
Sunz Of Man - Angels Of Darkness front back
Sunz Of Man - The Last Shall Be First front back
Sunz Of Man - The First Testament front back
The Rza Hits front back inside
U-God - Golden Arms Redemption front back
Wu Chronicles front back inside
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers front back
Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever front back inside
Wu-Tang killa Bees - The Swarm front back
light-borne.com
beastie_boys-to_the_5_boroughs-2004.zip
download the new beastie album
shout out to jesse tittsworth for the link.
A double-decker bus owned by Double Deck Tours Limited, based in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is shown on River Road after it sheared its roof off trying to pass under the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge linking Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, N.Y., Tuesday, June 15, 2004. More than a dozen tourists from Japan were injured. None of the injuries was serious, authorities said.
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Two Die At Bonnaroo
Two concertgoers died this weekend at the three-day Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, according to the Coffee County Sheriff's Department.
Twenty-year-old Brandon Taylor of Lowell, Michigan, died Friday, and 22-year-old Amber Stevens of Flatwoods, Kentucky, died late Friday or early Saturday, according to a sheriff's department spokesperson.
"On Friday morning our medical personnel were called to help with a guest who was attending with his parents," said Rick Farman of promoters Superfly Productions. "Our medical team responded immediately, and within minutes he was transported by ambulance to the medical center in Manchester, where he was pronounced dead. ... Because of an ongoing police investigation, that's all I'm at liberty to say."
The causes of both deaths have not yet been determined, and toxicology reports are pending, the sheriff's department spokesperson said.
"We have extensive medical personnel on site," Farman said. "In fact, the numbers of our medical personnel far exceeds the requirements of the Tennessee mass-gathering code by a large amount. The people running our medical operation here are people that handle large events all over the country — NASCAR, football games and large events like that — so we really have an extremely experienced medical staff on hand. In both situations we were satisfied with the response of our medical team."
This year's festival, held on a 700-acre farm 60 miles south of Nashville, featured Bob Dylan, the Dead, Dave Matthews & Friends, Wilco, Maroon 5, Ani DiFranco and My Morning Jacket, among others. The sold-out concert attracted 90,000 fans, up 10,000 from last year.
These were the first deaths in the festival's three-year history.
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airportexpress
Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network. How many devices do you need to do all this? Just one.
Presenting AirPort Express.
Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most — whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go — and it costs just $129.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/auction_detail.asp?id=12392389
"Nice retro leather jacket had lots of wear but still got lots left in it."
my boy in new zealands auction
about
tonight
shannons bbq was fun.
ther was a freestyle battle.. aubyn vs sam.. very fun
shannon is so fun
then we played poker at matts playerville penthouse..
shout out to matt.!
i lost. and i am mad about it.
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Shaq vs Skillz
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488364/20040611/index.jhtml?headlines=true
Shaq Attack On Mixtape Track Has Skillz Striking Back
For the past few years, the most we've heard about Shaquille O'Neal on the hip-hop scene is via references from rappers like Fat Joe on "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" ("You against me, that's like Earl Boykins going against Shaq"). But evidently the NBA's man of steel, who debuted on the mic in 1993 with the LP Shaq Diesel, has regained a Jones in his big bones for spitting rhymes.
On a recent mixtape by DJ Sickamore called Drop Another Day, #34 raps a freestyle about going after the Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett and the Spurs' Tim Duncan and apparently takes aim at Virginia MC Skillz, formerly known as Mad Skillz.
"I don't care how mad your skills is, you can't serve me," Shaq raps. "You don't like Deez, take off my throwback jersey." O'Neal goes on to say, "You're the fourth-best from Virginia/ Guess what? I don't fu-- with scrubs either/ ... I don't know what you look like/ You be spitting metaphors like you're a geek."
"I just thought the freestyle was hot," said Sickamore, who did not want to reveal where he got the freestyle from. "NBA players usually get fined if they curse, but Shaq's being gully."
"I got home and a couple of my friends had called me and said, 'Yo, it's a mixtape with Shaq dissing you,' " Skillz said Friday (June 11). "It sounded ludicrous off the top. Why would Shaq be dissing me? I listened to it a hundred times to make sure. It's evident he was talking about me. I have no idea why, but that don't really matter. He threw the first blow. That's a heavy blow. That's a big dude."
Unlike Garnett and Duncan, O'Neal doesn't directly say the name Mad Skillz, and the Diesel was unable to be reached for confirmation. However, Skillz is sure he was called out by Shaq, and he plans to holla back with his own dis.
"I wouldn't even answer Shaq back if he didn't think he could rap," Skillz huffed. "I think he actually believes he's nice. It's a mismatch. It's gonna be funny."
Though Skillz said his words will be laced with humor, he hopes to remove any smile Shaq may have on his face. He wants to destroy the basketball star's rap career.
"That's what I'm out to do," said Skillz, whose biggest record is probably Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" remix. "People know me as far as rap battles. I don't hold nothing. I'm real serious about my lyrics, and when I come out, I come swinging.
"He's not an MC," continued Skillz, who called Shaq-Fu one of the worst ever on the mic. "I don't think anybody I know respected him or even looked at him as an MC. He's OK. He was OK back in the day, but for him to wait that long before he rapped at all, then rap against me, that's sad, Shaq. You ought to be worried about the [Detroit Pistons'] Wallace boys, not me."
Skillz said he's a heard a theory about why O'Neal might want to throw jabs at him. At the top of the year, he released the underground cut "The Rap Up 2004," on which he made fun of another Laker, Kobe Bryant, by calling his alleged rape of a Colorado woman "the dummy move of the year." Skillz also took a piece of 50 Cent's "Wanksta" for his rap, saying, "Damn, Kobe. In high school you was the man, Kobe."
"I don't know how close him and Kobe are," Skillz said. "What I said about Kobe in 'The Rap Up,' it was the truth. I didn't make none of that up. 'The Rap Up' is a summary of what happens in the year. [Shaq] might have been trying to take up for Kobe, but even Kobe wouldn't have taken up for Kobe.
Skillz said he's had his response written for some time but hasn't had time to record it. He's been on tour with his friends the Roots. "Touring with the Roots and playing with the band, you can't get no better than that as far as a hip-hop band is concerned," he said, beaming. "Performing with them is the pinnacle of performing."
A free agent since Rawkus folded a few months ago, Skillz has a new track called "Take It Back" on the Roots' Okayplayer Presents: True Note Vol. 1 He shot a video for it last week.
about
soja tour dates
http://sojamusic.com
8pm Saturday, June 12, 2004
SOJA W/ MIDNITE!!!
at Kili's Kafe & Nightclub
$20
2009 8th Street NW,
Washington DC 20001
(old 2K-9)
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 17, 2004
SOJA
at Whitlows on Wilson
2854 Wilson Blvd.
Clarendon, VA 22201
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6pm-10pm Friday, June 18, 2004
SOJA
at Champs Americana
$5
11694 Plaza Americana Drive
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 318-7600
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, June 19, 2004
S.O.J.A.
at Ned Devines in Fairfax
(703) 293-9600
3971 Chainbridge Road
Fairfax City, VA 22030
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9pm Wednesday, June 23, 2004
SOJA with Dub as a Weapon
at Starrhill Music Hall
$8
Starr Hill Music Hall
709 West Main Street.
Charlottesville, VA
434 977-0017
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9pm Thursday, June 24, 2004
SOJA LIVE!
at Baylees
117 South Main Street, Blacksburg, VA. phone 540.961.7611
w/ DJ REDEMPTION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:30 Saturday, June 26, 2004
SOJA w/ Bambu Station and Burning Spear
at 9:30 Club
$20
815 V St. N.W.
(intersection of 9th, V and Vermont streets.)
Don't Miss This One. Get tickets in advance at www.ticketmasters.com
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10pm Friday, July 2, 2004
SOJA
at fat tuesdays
10673 Braddock Road Fairfax, VA George Mason University Mall
w/ DJ Redemption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, July 4, 2004
SOJA W/ Jah Works
at Outdoors in Clarendon....
more info TBA
A young boy rides on the back of a wild boar. A wild boar was put down after wreaking havoc at a hospital in eastern Romania, causing many people to flee the facility when it began behaving aggressively.
homepage designs i did for my budddddy fellow corcoraner Lizz.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ? which one is the best . ?
leave a comment -------->
about
tonights crazyness
nick ate a cicada tonight !
i grilled
chillin
then nick ate the big cicada
download the movie of nick eating a cicada.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MOVIE
Lnm927: remmeber freshman year when we went to the art gallery
Lnm927: and you were so impressed by it
Lnm927: and you kept trying to get me to skip class to go to the gallery with you
friday at continental
about
Moving picture ads turn Japan's train tunnels into advertising gold
TOKYO, (AFP) - A new advertising medium that turns subway tunnel walls into colorful motion picture commercials as trains pass debuts this week in the Japanese capital, capitalizing on one of its most plentiful assets -- miles of subway routes.
The motion picture technology -- actually a long series of still images in slatted boxes -- works because a moving passenger perceives the still images seen through slits like a movie projected through a rapidly clicking shutter.
It is based on a 19th century toy, the zoetrope, which creates the illusion of moving images when the cylinder on which they are placed is spun round.
It first appeared as an advertising tool in Atlanta in 2001, according the technology's licensor, Submedia Asia Ltd.
In a sneak preview train ride for journalists Wednesday, the dark train tunnel wall seen through a window burst into color with two interlocked students spinning cartwheels in a sports drink advertisement.
Douglas Woodring, chief executive officer of Submedia Asia, said after Japan, commuters in the rest of Asia and Europe could see such commercials on their subway tunnels in a year or so.
"Subways like this technology because it's actually giving them a new chance for a revenue stream with an asset that they have a lot of, which is tunnel walls," Woodring said.
"People realize there's something out the window to look at that's fun."
Paris, Mexico City, Moscow and Istanbul could see the medium soon, following displays already set up in Atlanta, New York, and, last month, Hong Kong, he said. Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok also offer promising markets, he said.
"Most of Asia has subways. We just have to take it a step at a time."
Some 200,000 riders a day in Tokyo are expected to get a glimpse of the ad when they pass by a 200-meter (yard) long strip of tunnel between Akasaka-mitsuke and Tameike-sanno stations on Tokyo's Ginza line, he said.
Akira Sugita, head of the media department at drinks maker Suntory Ltd. said it became Sunmedia's first Japanese client because of the medium's unique eye-catching appeal without costing "dramatically more" than conventional posters.
Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. and its advertising firm NKB Inc., which are partners with Submedia's Japanese unit, said the moving ads were cost-effective and easy to maintain.
"Compared to liquid crystal display televisions, this is very simple," said Tokyo Metro advertising manager Masakazu Kikuchi.
Submedia would not reveal how much the moving advertisements would cost, but Woodring said "a few" companies have already lined up to use them.
The motion picture technology -- actually a long series of still images in slatted boxes -- works because a moving passenger perceives the still images seen through slits like a movie projected through a rapidly clicking shutter.
It is based on a 19th century toy, the zoetrope, which creates the illusion of moving images when the cylinder on which they are placed is spun round.
It first appeared as an advertising tool in Atlanta in 2001, according the technology's licensor, Submedia Asia Ltd.
In a sneak preview train ride for journalists Wednesday, the dark train tunnel wall seen through a window burst into color with two interlocked students spinning cartwheels in a sports drink advertisement.
Douglas Woodring, chief executive officer of Submedia Asia, said after Japan, commuters in the rest of Asia and Europe could see such commercials on their subway tunnels in a year or so.
"Subways like this technology because it's actually giving them a new chance for a revenue stream with an asset that they have a lot of, which is tunnel walls," Woodring said.
"People realize there's something out the window to look at that's fun."
Paris, Mexico City, Moscow and Istanbul could see the medium soon, following displays already set up in Atlanta, New York, and, last month, Hong Kong, he said. Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok also offer promising markets, he said.
"Most of Asia has subways. We just have to take it a step at a time."
Some 200,000 riders a day in Tokyo are expected to get a glimpse of the ad when they pass by a 200-meter (yard) long strip of tunnel between Akasaka-mitsuke and Tameike-sanno stations on Tokyo's Ginza line, he said.
Akira Sugita, head of the media department at drinks maker Suntory Ltd. said it became Sunmedia's first Japanese client because of the medium's unique eye-catching appeal without costing "dramatically more" than conventional posters.
Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. and its advertising firm NKB Inc., which are partners with Submedia's Japanese unit, said the moving ads were cost-effective and easy to maintain.
"Compared to liquid crystal display televisions, this is very simple," said Tokyo Metro advertising manager Masakazu Kikuchi.
Submedia would not reveal how much the moving advertisements would cost, but Woodring said "a few" companies have already lined up to use them.
An assistant fixes the gown made of fresh green cabbage leaves worn by Filipina model Isabel Roces as she poses for an ad commissioned by an animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to promote vegetarianism on Tuesday June 8, 2004 in Manila. The new PETA ad, to be launched this autumn, is to encourage Filipinos to embrace vegetarianism which they claim to be increasing in popularity around the world.
about
my interview with designographica
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Tell me more about you and your background?
My family is from New Zealand, I grew up in Washington D.C., and northern Virginia. I have spent a lot of time traveling; I also enjoy lots of different kinds of music. From reggae, rock, hip-hop. anything good. I attend Corcoran college of Art + Design ( www.corcoran.edu ) for my Digital Media Design degree. I work for Internet Gravity ( www.internetgravity.com ) a small Flash Web Design Boutique based in Northern Virginia. I also have a cool Siamese cat named Benson.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: You study design in USA. What can you tell me about that?
Studying design in USA is really fun. It’s an exciting time right now. This generation really likes digital animation. and that has been a focus of many of my peers. Schools like Rhode Island School of Design ( www.risd.edu ) NYC school of Visual Arts, Savannah college of Art and Design. are the top dogs.. but schools like Pratt and Corcoran are respected also, there are lots of classes offered now that weren’t offered years ago.. In high school now kids are taking Photoshop and flash classes. That’s crazy to me. But that’s how fast design is taking over. Everyone wants to learn right now. So maybe in a few years we will have too many designers. I dunno
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Do you work for somebody at the moment?
Yes, I work for Internet Gravity ( internetgravity.com ), for my mentor and good friend Jason Siegel. IG won 2 of the 3 web design DC addy awards recently for http://2003.greenbuildexpo.org and http://www.acclaropartners.com. I am really proud to work for IG.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: When did you make www.jess3.com and what was the main target of the site? Only a personal playground?
JESS3 started around early 2002, ( http://www.jess3.com/archiveblogger.html ) I originally had a site on a free server http://jessesaves.s5.com. It all started as a place to store the pics from my digital camera for my friends to see. Pics of concerts and parties. And when I started doing digital art and going to art school. I used it as a portfolio of my work. And as I learned more about html. And flash. I added news stories from the yahoo news oddly enough wire ( http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=757 ) and the most popular, Most Emailed, and Most Viewed news stories.. I like to post things that people are talking about. And that has been my model. I have lots of ideas for the future of JESS3, I would like it to be more like Designiskinky or k10k, and I want to be using more flash.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Yea Flash is good! From how long you are in design? When did you mess with all this?
I took this course on computer tech (I was going to be a tech support) after high school and that had an html class. I was really good at that. And I took an html class at college, and I was really good. And I met this kid Franz, he was from the Philippines. He had a site. And he taught me about blogger. And that was such an eye opening experience. I thought blogger was so amazing. I still do. From there I went to art school, and took a flash class from this guy Jim Mole, and I learned flash http://jessesaves.s5.com/flash. The first site I did freelance was all flash. I was lifeguarding at the time. And I had my laptop with me by the pool the whole summer, and it turned out pretty fu*kin good for my first try. I really am passionate about the future of flash and the future of the Internet. I am now the creative director for the DC Flash Users Group (http://www.jess3.com/dcfug the site is in progress). Which is really cool. We are a group of local flash designers. And we have local flash experts come and talk every month.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What can you tell me about your work? I mean your personal work?
I love collages. (http://www.jess3.com/skylineidea_nite.jpg) I have so much to learn about fine art. In a digital art class we used a wacom tablet and that program corel paint. It’s amazing what technology can do to help artists. I do flyers for friends and family. And edit a lot of personal pictures. And I am now learning final cut pro and video editing. I am influenced by so much. Tokyo is such an inspiration to me. Robots, and crazy technology inspires me. Comic books influence me. Video games. http://www.jess3.com/ispacejess3.gif graffiti. Especially stencil, like Blek, or Banksy. That shit inspires me so much.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What do you think about the online design community?
I think its great, sites like k10k, dik, favoritewebsiteaward, surfstation, pixelsurgeon. People have no idea they exist. And that is the way I like it. hehe I am totally inspired by other peoples work. Gigposter is probably my fav site right now. k10ks pixel patterns has been a life saver.. I would love to be involved with “the online design community” more. Link blogs are so great. My link blog http://www.jess3.com/linkblog.htm is a hybrid of all the sites I like from all the design portals. What is really cool is how sites like swikiri and australianinfront and forthemasses have been able to focus on just one countries design community and not just one program or style.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Do you have any favorite designer?
Hillman Curtis comes to mind. I like Kurt noble and 2advanced. Eboy, kozyndan, ‘boogie’ www.artcoup.com, I like the nobody designers out there that aren’t all hyped up… like. http://vektorjunkie.com
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Your favorite web site?
mtvnews.com –mtv biased news can be a good thing
Flickr.com – cool online community. In flash!
stereotypography.com – 3 link blogs on one page, surfstation, BD4D and pixelsurgeon
gigposters.com – This site is so inspirational to me. I can always find something I have never seen before. And people aren’t scared to be different.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: How much time you are in front of the computer?
TOO MUCH!
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: The things that you hate are...?
Skip intro.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Is there a place that you want to be right now?
Jamaica or Amsterdam. Or maybe a fly on the wall of bill gates office… to work for macromedia or adobe. Or for Hillman Curtis or 2advanced in Amsterdam or something. I would love to be in Jamaica doing websites for all the islands companies. Tokyo, New York, Miami, Rome, London, Paris. Something like that.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Can you tell me five things without you can't live?
1. The internet/web design - what would I do with my free time?
2. Computers/my computers - I have a dell inspiron laptop, a g4 osx10.3, and a pc p4 with 2 monitors.. The Corcoran labs are so nice. G5s and 2 wide screen lcds. Sooo nice (http://www.6forty.com/jesse/thursday/pages/DSC04899.htm)
3. Friends - my friends are such a big part of my web design career because without them. I never would of thought of making a web page. Jess3 is for my friends to see what I am doing, where I am going and where I have been
4. School - taking classes, and learning from other designers. And new teachers.
5. FAMILY - my mom and dad have been such a big help over the years. With everything.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Tell me more about your free time.
I spend all my free time designing. I am ALWAYS on the damn computer. Taking digital pictures, surfing design portals, making flyers for family and friends, listening to music! And making mix tapes, I drink a lot. I spend lots of time at happy hours. With my girlfriend. With whom I spend the rest of my time. MTV, magazines. The usual.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What were the last 5 cd's that you purchased?
I only really buy cds at shows I go to, I download all my music. hehe ..
1. Afroman - Afroholic
2. D12 – D12 world
3. Ghostface – Pretty Toney
4. Jah Works live vol 2
5. The Roots – The Tipping Point
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Your biggest blunder?
I suppose not attending a Virginia university with the rest of my friends. Living an unhealthy lifestyle. Drink water people!, and floss!, and control your drinking!, haha, I don’t have too many big ones. I live by my instincts. The world is yours
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Any final words?
God is in the details.
My family is from New Zealand, I grew up in Washington D.C., and northern Virginia. I have spent a lot of time traveling; I also enjoy lots of different kinds of music. From reggae, rock, hip-hop. anything good. I attend Corcoran college of Art + Design ( www.corcoran.edu ) for my Digital Media Design degree. I work for Internet Gravity ( www.internetgravity.com ) a small Flash Web Design Boutique based in Northern Virginia. I also have a cool Siamese cat named Benson.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: You study design in USA. What can you tell me about that?
Studying design in USA is really fun. It’s an exciting time right now. This generation really likes digital animation. and that has been a focus of many of my peers. Schools like Rhode Island School of Design ( www.risd.edu ) NYC school of Visual Arts, Savannah college of Art and Design. are the top dogs.. but schools like Pratt and Corcoran are respected also, there are lots of classes offered now that weren’t offered years ago.. In high school now kids are taking Photoshop and flash classes. That’s crazy to me. But that’s how fast design is taking over. Everyone wants to learn right now. So maybe in a few years we will have too many designers. I dunno
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Do you work for somebody at the moment?
Yes, I work for Internet Gravity ( internetgravity.com ), for my mentor and good friend Jason Siegel. IG won 2 of the 3 web design DC addy awards recently for http://2003.greenbuildexpo.org and http://www.acclaropartners.com. I am really proud to work for IG.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: When did you make www.jess3.com and what was the main target of the site? Only a personal playground?
JESS3 started around early 2002, ( http://www.jess3.com/archiveblogger.html ) I originally had a site on a free server http://jessesaves.s5.com. It all started as a place to store the pics from my digital camera for my friends to see. Pics of concerts and parties. And when I started doing digital art and going to art school. I used it as a portfolio of my work. And as I learned more about html. And flash. I added news stories from the yahoo news oddly enough wire ( http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=757 ) and the most popular, Most Emailed, and Most Viewed news stories.. I like to post things that people are talking about. And that has been my model. I have lots of ideas for the future of JESS3, I would like it to be more like Designiskinky or k10k, and I want to be using more flash.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Yea Flash is good! From how long you are in design? When did you mess with all this?
I took this course on computer tech (I was going to be a tech support) after high school and that had an html class. I was really good at that. And I took an html class at college, and I was really good. And I met this kid Franz, he was from the Philippines. He had a site. And he taught me about blogger. And that was such an eye opening experience. I thought blogger was so amazing. I still do. From there I went to art school, and took a flash class from this guy Jim Mole, and I learned flash http://jessesaves.s5.com/flash. The first site I did freelance was all flash. I was lifeguarding at the time. And I had my laptop with me by the pool the whole summer, and it turned out pretty fu*kin good for my first try. I really am passionate about the future of flash and the future of the Internet. I am now the creative director for the DC Flash Users Group (http://www.jess3.com/dcfug the site is in progress). Which is really cool. We are a group of local flash designers. And we have local flash experts come and talk every month.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What can you tell me about your work? I mean your personal work?
I love collages. (http://www.jess3.com/skylineidea_nite.jpg) I have so much to learn about fine art. In a digital art class we used a wacom tablet and that program corel paint. It’s amazing what technology can do to help artists. I do flyers for friends and family. And edit a lot of personal pictures. And I am now learning final cut pro and video editing. I am influenced by so much. Tokyo is such an inspiration to me. Robots, and crazy technology inspires me. Comic books influence me. Video games. http://www.jess3.com/ispacejess3.gif graffiti. Especially stencil, like Blek, or Banksy. That shit inspires me so much.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What do you think about the online design community?
I think its great, sites like k10k, dik, favoritewebsiteaward, surfstation, pixelsurgeon. People have no idea they exist. And that is the way I like it. hehe I am totally inspired by other peoples work. Gigposter is probably my fav site right now. k10ks pixel patterns has been a life saver.. I would love to be involved with “the online design community” more. Link blogs are so great. My link blog http://www.jess3.com/linkblog.htm is a hybrid of all the sites I like from all the design portals. What is really cool is how sites like swikiri and australianinfront and forthemasses have been able to focus on just one countries design community and not just one program or style.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Do you have any favorite designer?
Hillman Curtis comes to mind. I like Kurt noble and 2advanced. Eboy, kozyndan, ‘boogie’ www.artcoup.com, I like the nobody designers out there that aren’t all hyped up… like. http://vektorjunkie.com
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Your favorite web site?
mtvnews.com –mtv biased news can be a good thing
Flickr.com – cool online community. In flash!
stereotypography.com – 3 link blogs on one page, surfstation, BD4D and pixelsurgeon
gigposters.com – This site is so inspirational to me. I can always find something I have never seen before. And people aren’t scared to be different.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: How much time you are in front of the computer?
TOO MUCH!
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: The things that you hate are...?
Skip intro.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Is there a place that you want to be right now?
Jamaica or Amsterdam. Or maybe a fly on the wall of bill gates office… to work for macromedia or adobe. Or for Hillman Curtis or 2advanced in Amsterdam or something. I would love to be in Jamaica doing websites for all the islands companies. Tokyo, New York, Miami, Rome, London, Paris. Something like that.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Can you tell me five things without you can't live?
1. The internet/web design - what would I do with my free time?
2. Computers/my computers - I have a dell inspiron laptop, a g4 osx10.3, and a pc p4 with 2 monitors.. The Corcoran labs are so nice. G5s and 2 wide screen lcds. Sooo nice (http://www.6forty.com/jesse/thursday/pages/DSC04899.htm)
3. Friends - my friends are such a big part of my web design career because without them. I never would of thought of making a web page. Jess3 is for my friends to see what I am doing, where I am going and where I have been
4. School - taking classes, and learning from other designers. And new teachers.
5. FAMILY - my mom and dad have been such a big help over the years. With everything.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Tell me more about your free time.
I spend all my free time designing. I am ALWAYS on the damn computer. Taking digital pictures, surfing design portals, making flyers for family and friends, listening to music! And making mix tapes, I drink a lot. I spend lots of time at happy hours. With my girlfriend. With whom I spend the rest of my time. MTV, magazines. The usual.
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: What were the last 5 cd's that you purchased?
I only really buy cds at shows I go to, I download all my music. hehe ..
1. Afroman - Afroholic
2. D12 – D12 world
3. Ghostface – Pretty Toney
4. Jah Works live vol 2
5. The Roots – The Tipping Point
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Your biggest blunder?
I suppose not attending a Virginia university with the rest of my friends. Living an unhealthy lifestyle. Drink water people!, and floss!, and control your drinking!, haha, I don’t have too many big ones. I live by my instincts. The world is yours
DESIGNOGRAPHICA: Any final words?
God is in the details.
about
Bangladeshi UN diplomat recalled after husband's night out at topless club
A Bangladeshi diplomat to the United Nations has been recalled after her husband tried to sue a topless club in New York over charges he amassed on his credit card, a press report says.
Diplomat Mina Tasneem's husband Tauhidul Chaudhury reportedly spent a night out at the upmarket Scores club and then tried to sue the club over 130,000 dollars worth of charges he claimed were bogus, the New Age newspaper said.
The embarrassed foreign ministry of the Muslim-majority country asked Tasneem to return home immediately, the report said.
A ministry order quoted by the newspaper said she was being recalled to Dhaka "in the public interest."
The foreign ministry refused comment on the report.
Diplomat Mina Tasneem's husband Tauhidul Chaudhury reportedly spent a night out at the upmarket Scores club and then tried to sue the club over 130,000 dollars worth of charges he claimed were bogus, the New Age newspaper said.
The embarrassed foreign ministry of the Muslim-majority country asked Tasneem to return home immediately, the report said.
A ministry order quoted by the newspaper said she was being recalled to Dhaka "in the public interest."
The foreign ministry refused comment on the report.
about
Dave Chappelle: The Reason Grandmas Know Who Lil Jon Is
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488068/20040601/lil_jon_1.jhtml?headlines=true
Several weeks back, Lil Jon, Usher and Ludacris were in the "TRL" studio preparing for their performance of "Yeah!" But it wasn't "Yeah!" that was being yelled.
"Whuuuut? Whuuuut? Whuuuut?" Usher kept exclaiming, imitating a then recently aired skit on "Chappelle's Show" in which Dave Chappelle exaggerated the king of crunk's quirky call outs. "Okaaayyy! Okaaayyy!" Usher continued before Jon, who was stationed at the turntables, joined in and imitated Chappelle imitating him. "Whuuuut?"
The joke got so good that Jon started into another of Chappelle's skits, mimicking the comic's impression of funk lord Rick James. "Daaarknesss!" Jon yelled. The catch phrase comes from a skit in which Chappelle made light of real-life accounts given by Eddie Murphy's brother, Charlie, of partying with Rick James, getting into physical altercations, and then making up.
"F--- your couch, n---a!" Jon continued, trying to sound as close to Chappelle's imitation as possible. "They should've never gave you n---as mon-aaayyyy!"
"He's never gonna let that go," Ludacris said with a laugh.
Chappelle's fans, especially those in the hip-hop community, can't let go of the comedian's irreverent brand of social spoofing. Although the second season has come to an end, people are still talking about it.
"I think the best episode that I've seen thus far is him imitating Lil Jon," Usher said. "That was the craziest one. I don't think that it will ever be done better. It was classic. He got him real good. 'Yeeeaaah! Okaaayyy!' "
"This Dave Chappelle sh-- just really put me on a different level," said Jon, who claims to love the ribbing he gets on the show. "He basically has thrusted me into pop culture, and not just urban but white society as well. I was in the airport like three weeks ago, this 60-year-old white lady came up to me and was like, 'Aren't you Lil Jon? ... Don't you do that "Whuuuut? Yeeeaaah! Okaaayyy!" That's you, right?' "
Since Chappelle debuted his show last year on Comedy Central, the comedian has repped for rappers not only by making fun of them, but by bringing them on the program. Wu-Tang's RZA and GZA have been featured in skits, and Kanye West, Common and DMX have performed. "A lot of these guys are my friends, and I'm fans of all these dudes," Chappelle said. "I'm trying to get people who push the culture forward."
He even employs rap-world veteran Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots. "I am music supervisor for the Dave Chappelle show simply because I am a fanatic for Dave Chappelle," Thompson said. "He's a genius. He's a comic genius."
"I think he's good for the community and culture," said Roc-A-Fella mogul Dame Dash, who has appeared on the show. "He's the truth. He knows how to be political in a funny way. You see things from his perspective."
"I just think he took a great opportunity, since nobody [else] is out right now," Cam'ron said, pointing out that hip-hop has few places to be represented in comedy these days, without "Def Comedy Jam," "Martin," "The Chris Rock Show" or "In Living Color" on the airwaves. "There's nobody doing anything decent."
Chappelle has never had a problem making people laugh, standing out despite his small parts in movies such as "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "Undercover Brother" and "Blue Streak." But when he tried to take his humor to TV, dealing with a network led to everything falling apart.
"I tried sitcoms before, and it's something about the way I'm funny that is not for that venue," Chappelle insisted earlier this year during a radio tour in New York. "People would never know the extent of how funny I was. I'd be like Urkel. I'd be rich, but I'd be Urkel.
"I love working here," Dave said of Comedy Central. "They give you the opportunity to actually be a comedian. On regular TV, you end up doing stuff that's not necessarily genuine, that's not necessarily you, just to appeal to a larger audience."
And keeping it real has helped Chappelle skyrocket to fame. Punch lines from his sketches are more often quoted these days than anything from similar series like "Saturday Night Live" or "Mad TV."
"I am totally freaked out," Rick James said, laughing. "It shocked the sh-- out of me. I had no idea that comedy had that much of an impact."
James' real-life phrases like "It's a celebration" and his most popular, "I'm Rick James, bitch!," have bled into popular culture thanks to Chappelle.
"It's helped Dave out, it's helped Charlie [Murphy] out, and it's helped me out," James said. "I've always been able to laugh at myself, the character Rick James. I created it, that extroverted part of James Johnson. I was able to laugh at myself 'cause that's what it's meant for, it's meant to have fun with. It's not meant to be serious."
For the record, James said that the skit's account of what happened "was true, it was just exaggerated. It was really me kicking [Charlie's] ass more than him kicking mine."
Prince, whom Dave also portrayed in a Charlie Murphy retelling, said his segment was also exaggerated. He didn't challenge Murphy to a basketball game while wearing high heels and a purple suit. "That part's not true," Prince said about his game attire. "But the whupping's true."
Though Dave has heard from the Purple One, Lil Jon and Rick James, the comedian said there has been no communication between him and another famous mic controller who found himself the butt of a sketch: R. Kelly. During the skit, Dave sings a song as Kelly, talking about how much he wants to urinate on a girl — something that happens in the sex tape at the center of Kelly's legal woes.
"The thing about it is, I'm an R. Kelly fan, but it's basically a song about peeing on people," Chappelle said. " 'Pee on You' was a doozy. But it's one of those things that it's too funny not to do. You might have a moral dilemma like, 'Should I do it?' But like I said, it's in the spirit of comedy."
"Chappelle's Show" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central, and with another season of original episodes in the can, Dave has hit the road. He's on a stand-up tour through July 3.
[Comedy Central is owned by MTV's parent company, Viacom.]
"Whuuuut? Whuuuut? Whuuuut?" Usher kept exclaiming, imitating a then recently aired skit on "Chappelle's Show" in which Dave Chappelle exaggerated the king of crunk's quirky call outs. "Okaaayyy! Okaaayyy!" Usher continued before Jon, who was stationed at the turntables, joined in and imitated Chappelle imitating him. "Whuuuut?"
The joke got so good that Jon started into another of Chappelle's skits, mimicking the comic's impression of funk lord Rick James. "Daaarknesss!" Jon yelled. The catch phrase comes from a skit in which Chappelle made light of real-life accounts given by Eddie Murphy's brother, Charlie, of partying with Rick James, getting into physical altercations, and then making up.
"F--- your couch, n---a!" Jon continued, trying to sound as close to Chappelle's imitation as possible. "They should've never gave you n---as mon-aaayyyy!"
"He's never gonna let that go," Ludacris said with a laugh.
Chappelle's fans, especially those in the hip-hop community, can't let go of the comedian's irreverent brand of social spoofing. Although the second season has come to an end, people are still talking about it.
"I think the best episode that I've seen thus far is him imitating Lil Jon," Usher said. "That was the craziest one. I don't think that it will ever be done better. It was classic. He got him real good. 'Yeeeaaah! Okaaayyy!' "
"This Dave Chappelle sh-- just really put me on a different level," said Jon, who claims to love the ribbing he gets on the show. "He basically has thrusted me into pop culture, and not just urban but white society as well. I was in the airport like three weeks ago, this 60-year-old white lady came up to me and was like, 'Aren't you Lil Jon? ... Don't you do that "Whuuuut? Yeeeaaah! Okaaayyy!" That's you, right?' "
Since Chappelle debuted his show last year on Comedy Central, the comedian has repped for rappers not only by making fun of them, but by bringing them on the program. Wu-Tang's RZA and GZA have been featured in skits, and Kanye West, Common and DMX have performed. "A lot of these guys are my friends, and I'm fans of all these dudes," Chappelle said. "I'm trying to get people who push the culture forward."
He even employs rap-world veteran Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots. "I am music supervisor for the Dave Chappelle show simply because I am a fanatic for Dave Chappelle," Thompson said. "He's a genius. He's a comic genius."
"I think he's good for the community and culture," said Roc-A-Fella mogul Dame Dash, who has appeared on the show. "He's the truth. He knows how to be political in a funny way. You see things from his perspective."
"I just think he took a great opportunity, since nobody [else] is out right now," Cam'ron said, pointing out that hip-hop has few places to be represented in comedy these days, without "Def Comedy Jam," "Martin," "The Chris Rock Show" or "In Living Color" on the airwaves. "There's nobody doing anything decent."
Chappelle has never had a problem making people laugh, standing out despite his small parts in movies such as "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "Undercover Brother" and "Blue Streak." But when he tried to take his humor to TV, dealing with a network led to everything falling apart.
"I tried sitcoms before, and it's something about the way I'm funny that is not for that venue," Chappelle insisted earlier this year during a radio tour in New York. "People would never know the extent of how funny I was. I'd be like Urkel. I'd be rich, but I'd be Urkel.
"I love working here," Dave said of Comedy Central. "They give you the opportunity to actually be a comedian. On regular TV, you end up doing stuff that's not necessarily genuine, that's not necessarily you, just to appeal to a larger audience."
And keeping it real has helped Chappelle skyrocket to fame. Punch lines from his sketches are more often quoted these days than anything from similar series like "Saturday Night Live" or "Mad TV."
"I am totally freaked out," Rick James said, laughing. "It shocked the sh-- out of me. I had no idea that comedy had that much of an impact."
James' real-life phrases like "It's a celebration" and his most popular, "I'm Rick James, bitch!," have bled into popular culture thanks to Chappelle.
"It's helped Dave out, it's helped Charlie [Murphy] out, and it's helped me out," James said. "I've always been able to laugh at myself, the character Rick James. I created it, that extroverted part of James Johnson. I was able to laugh at myself 'cause that's what it's meant for, it's meant to have fun with. It's not meant to be serious."
For the record, James said that the skit's account of what happened "was true, it was just exaggerated. It was really me kicking [Charlie's] ass more than him kicking mine."
Prince, whom Dave also portrayed in a Charlie Murphy retelling, said his segment was also exaggerated. He didn't challenge Murphy to a basketball game while wearing high heels and a purple suit. "That part's not true," Prince said about his game attire. "But the whupping's true."
Though Dave has heard from the Purple One, Lil Jon and Rick James, the comedian said there has been no communication between him and another famous mic controller who found himself the butt of a sketch: R. Kelly. During the skit, Dave sings a song as Kelly, talking about how much he wants to urinate on a girl — something that happens in the sex tape at the center of Kelly's legal woes.
"The thing about it is, I'm an R. Kelly fan, but it's basically a song about peeing on people," Chappelle said. " 'Pee on You' was a doozy. But it's one of those things that it's too funny not to do. You might have a moral dilemma like, 'Should I do it?' But like I said, it's in the spirit of comedy."
"Chappelle's Show" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central, and with another season of original episodes in the can, Dave has hit the road. He's on a stand-up tour through July 3.
[Comedy Central is owned by MTV's parent company, Viacom.]
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Tony Yayo's Back — And Spending Like A Fiend
Just two weeks out of jail and Tony Yayo has already spent his money like he's not going back. A stop at Jacob the Jeweler's? Check. There's enough ice on his neck to give the man a slouch. The ride? Yayo's already bought two, a Bentley and a Porsche Cayenne. Crew? His people roll three cars deep.
"It feels good to come home to a million dollars in the account, you know?" Yayo boasted to MTV News. "I really didn't do anything, you know? And I got a million dollars in my account so it feels beautiful."
Yayo has re-acclimated to his G-Unit life as well as one would have expected for someone who counts 50 Cent and Eminem as his biggest supporters.
"My boy [50 Cent] took care of me, so I know the love is there," Yayo explained. "Usually when a person's in a bad predicament, their people ain't gonna look out for them. But me? I had to tell 50 to stop sending me money."
Yayo was released two weeks ago after being imprisoned for 18 months. Just one day after finishing a yearlong sentence for gun possession and bail jumping, Yayo was turned in to U.S. Marshals by his parole officer for having a fraudulent passport. The crime, to which he ultimately pleaded guilty, earned him another five and a half months in prison.
Yayo says he knew he had outstanding warrants, even before 50 Cent signed his deal. But that didn't deter him from remaining a fugitive. "When I was on the run ... I went and got a passport made. Me and my brother kinda look alike. So I went and got a passport made so I could be on the run — 'cause I wanted to fly to Barcelona. I wanted to fly around the world."
For some, being behind bars while the rest of your crew is taking over pop music and making millions would breed resentment. But Yayo dismissed any idea that he felt left out of 50 and G-Unit's success.
"I didn't feel left out because everywhere you go, you see 'Free Yayo,' " he said. He recalled Eminem wearing a 'Free Yayo' T-shirt on several awards shows. "It just excited me to see Em with a 'Free Yayo,' shirt. You see 50 with the 'Free Yayo' campaign going on in the videos. They didn't forget about me.
"It made me hungrier. I knew success was gonna come. 50's a star. [Lloyd] Banks is a star. I'm a star. Young Buck's a star. Everybody's a star. I'm on the dream team. We got Dre, we got Em. There's no way we're gonna lose."
And, of course, there was the bank account, which Yayo claims contains a million dollars. As soon as he got out of jail — when he wasn't spending his money — Yayo went straight to the studio to record music with his brethren. He got on songs for both Banks' and Young Buck's solo albums. He's also recording songs for his own album, which he hopes to have out in the fall.
"I'm just working," Yayo said. "I got an album done already — in 12 days. I just hope 50 [is] OK with it. Whatever he likes, he likes. Whatever he don't like, he scraps it."
Against most people's moral judgement, Yayo's intention is to keep things very grimy. "I think my lyrics right now are gonna reflect the prison system. My album is just gonna be street, gonna be 'hood. I'm trying to make the crime rate go up."
"It feels good to come home to a million dollars in the account, you know?" Yayo boasted to MTV News. "I really didn't do anything, you know? And I got a million dollars in my account so it feels beautiful."
Yayo has re-acclimated to his G-Unit life as well as one would have expected for someone who counts 50 Cent and Eminem as his biggest supporters.
"My boy [50 Cent] took care of me, so I know the love is there," Yayo explained. "Usually when a person's in a bad predicament, their people ain't gonna look out for them. But me? I had to tell 50 to stop sending me money."
Yayo was released two weeks ago after being imprisoned for 18 months. Just one day after finishing a yearlong sentence for gun possession and bail jumping, Yayo was turned in to U.S. Marshals by his parole officer for having a fraudulent passport. The crime, to which he ultimately pleaded guilty, earned him another five and a half months in prison.
Yayo says he knew he had outstanding warrants, even before 50 Cent signed his deal. But that didn't deter him from remaining a fugitive. "When I was on the run ... I went and got a passport made. Me and my brother kinda look alike. So I went and got a passport made so I could be on the run — 'cause I wanted to fly to Barcelona. I wanted to fly around the world."
For some, being behind bars while the rest of your crew is taking over pop music and making millions would breed resentment. But Yayo dismissed any idea that he felt left out of 50 and G-Unit's success.
"I didn't feel left out because everywhere you go, you see 'Free Yayo,' " he said. He recalled Eminem wearing a 'Free Yayo' T-shirt on several awards shows. "It just excited me to see Em with a 'Free Yayo,' shirt. You see 50 with the 'Free Yayo' campaign going on in the videos. They didn't forget about me.
"It made me hungrier. I knew success was gonna come. 50's a star. [Lloyd] Banks is a star. I'm a star. Young Buck's a star. Everybody's a star. I'm on the dream team. We got Dre, we got Em. There's no way we're gonna lose."
And, of course, there was the bank account, which Yayo claims contains a million dollars. As soon as he got out of jail — when he wasn't spending his money — Yayo went straight to the studio to record music with his brethren. He got on songs for both Banks' and Young Buck's solo albums. He's also recording songs for his own album, which he hopes to have out in the fall.
"I'm just working," Yayo said. "I got an album done already — in 12 days. I just hope 50 [is] OK with it. Whatever he likes, he likes. Whatever he don't like, he scraps it."
Against most people's moral judgement, Yayo's intention is to keep things very grimy. "I think my lyrics right now are gonna reflect the prison system. My album is just gonna be street, gonna be 'hood. I'm trying to make the crime rate go up."
about
Rane/Serato Scratch Live
this shit is chronic.
Scratch LIVE is the ultimate software and hardware solution for bridging the analog world of vinyl and the digital world of computer audio files. Using regular turntables or CD players, you can scratch and mix files from your Mac or Windows XP computer's CD or hard drive, add in a live mic input for scratching, and even bypass to standard vinyl if you wish. Scratch LIVE is the complete digital solution for the vinyl junkie -- take your entire collection wherever you go and leave your precious vinyl at home!
The Scratch LIVE USB interface connects one or two standard vinyl or CD turntables to your computer. This extremely rugged, portable, high quality, bus-powered USB interface features two switchable phono or line inputs, a microphone input, two line outputs, and pass thru outputs for the phono/line and mic.
The included 12" vinyl records each have a Serato exclusive and unique control signal which allows Scratch LIVE to track the motion of the record, simulating the same movement with digital audio. Due to Serato's proprietary control scheme, the result is a feel and sound indistinguishable from playing vinyl. As a producer and DJ, the track you finished today can be played on a real turntable tonight. You'll never have to cut a dubplate again!
Scratch LIVE is licensed exclusively to Rane. For product information or tech support please contact scratchlive@rane.com.
Scratch LIVE will begin shipping May 2004.
The minimum operating system requirements are either a Mac G4, OSX 10.2.8, or a PC P3-700 running Windows XP, either with 128M of ram or more.
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Usher and Kanye West Tour Dates
Fans embraced Usher when he spilled his Confessions on his latest album. Now, he hopes they'll embrace the Truth just as warmly.
The R&B superstar has announced plans for a summer road trip, the Truth Tour, which will bring his elaborate song-and-dance show to fans across the country. The Truth Tour kicks off on August 5 in Hampton, Virginia, and will wrap up on October 7 in New York.
Usher's opening act will not be fellow Atlanta resident Big Boi. Last week, the Outkast MC teased fans with the idea that he could be joining the tour as the opening actbut according to Usher's management, Big Boi's involvement never extended beyond preliminary conversations.
Instead, Usher will travel with the Louis Vuitton Don himself, Kanye West. The producer and rapper recently finished a headlining tour of his own in support of his recent debut, The College Dropout, and has a number of projects on the boil.
The Truth Tour itinerary, according to a spokesperson for Usher:
8/5 - Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
8/6 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
8/7 - Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center
8/10 - Cleveland, OH @ CSU Convocation Center
8/13 - Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Arena
8/14 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
8/20 - Washington, DC @ MCI Center
8/21 - E. Rutherford, NJ @ Continental Airlines Arena
8/25 - New Orleans, LA @ Superdome
8/26 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
8/31 - Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
9/2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
9/11 - Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
9/15 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Arena
9/17 - Memphis, TN @ FedEx Arena
9/18 - St. Louis, MO @ Savvis Center
9/19 - Kansas City, MO @ Kemper Arena
9/23 - Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
9/24 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
9/25 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Arena
9/30 - Charlotte, NC @ Coliseum
10/1 - Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center
10/3 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
10/7 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
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Jobless man busted for making 9,000 prank calls to police
A jobless Tokyo man who made 9,000 prank calls to police has been arrested, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said.
Takashi Kikuchi, 59, a resident of Koganei, western Tokyo, is accused of obstructing police from carrying out their duty.
By dialing 110, the number for emergencies, Kikuchi made 9,000 prank calls to an MPD command center between early January and mid-April this year, totaling 64 hours, investigators said. He criticized the government for dispatching Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq or uttered abusive words.
Kikuchi made most of the calls while he was drunk, according to MPD investigators. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, June 8, 2004)
A US trooper assembles an antenna during a military exercise near the militarized zone which separates the two Koreas in Yonchon, in this February 2004 file photo. A plan put forward by the US to cut its troops in South Korea by a third by the end of next year has not yet been finalised, Seoul officials said Tuesday.
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MTV to Cut Shot of Eminem Exposing Rear
Rapper Eminem moons the audience during taping of the MTV Movie Awards show in Culver City, Calif., Saturday, June 5, 2004. The scene will be edited-out of the final version of the show to air June 10. At left is an unidentified member of "the band".
(that is funny they actually called d12 a band)
Eminem's moon has been eclipsed. MTV plans to cut a shot of the rapper exposing his rear end to the audience at the 2004 Movie Awards when the show is broadcast Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT, a network representative confirmed.
Eminem, who performed at the Saturday night taping with his group D12, appeared onstage dressed in a long red wig and jeans in a parody of Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose.
He repeatedly groped and flashed a studded codpiece in front of the cameras and the thousands of people in the live audience. Toward the end of the performance, he pulled down his trousers and flashed his bare backside at the audience.
Representatives for MTV, which was slammed for producing Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance, immediately said Eminem's act would be sanitized for broadcast, possibly by blurring out his backside. Ultimately, the producers chose to edit out his rear altogether, the network said Monday.
Eminem's representatives did not immediately return a call for comment.
___
On the Net:
http://www.mtv.com
(that is funny they actually called d12 a band)
Eminem's moon has been eclipsed. MTV plans to cut a shot of the rapper exposing his rear end to the audience at the 2004 Movie Awards when the show is broadcast Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT, a network representative confirmed.
Eminem, who performed at the Saturday night taping with his group D12, appeared onstage dressed in a long red wig and jeans in a parody of Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose.
He repeatedly groped and flashed a studded codpiece in front of the cameras and the thousands of people in the live audience. Toward the end of the performance, he pulled down his trousers and flashed his bare backside at the audience.
Representatives for MTV, which was slammed for producing Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance, immediately said Eminem's act would be sanitized for broadcast, possibly by blurring out his backside. Ultimately, the producers chose to edit out his rear altogether, the network said Monday.
Eminem's representatives did not immediately return a call for comment.
___
On the Net:
http://www.mtv.com
about
The Jesse Burger. recipe
(1 part) chuck, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
(1 part) sirloin, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
sea salt
white pepper
In separate batches, pulse the chuck and the sirloin in a food processor 10 times. Combine the chuck, sirloin, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Form the meat into 5-ounce patties.
my recipe for chronic hamburgers.
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I am redesigning the Luna Grill menu.. and i have been doing some research on menu design
Better by design: the look, feel of menu can make or break a concept - Opinion
Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 7, 2002 by Trip Jobe
Whenever I visit one of my favorite restaurants, I look forward to the evening's "specials" menu. Entrees are described in a single sentence, typeset in an unusual font and printed on an off-sized sheet of textured paper in an interesting and season-appropriate hue.
My immediate response is that "if a restaurant takes such care with its menu, imagine what's going on in the kitchen". I'll order that $32 special-menu entree every time.
My ordering habits are an excellent example of why the look and feel of a menu matter a lot. Restaurant owners should be well aware of the marketing potential of their menus. More than a listing of food, a menu communicates one of the restaurant's first messages to customers, creating an essential impression that lasts well beyond dessert.
Studies show that a menu redesign can boost revenue, adding between 2 percent and 10 percent to the gross annually. Most restaurants redesign their menus every three years, and consider everything from a paper's texture, color and size to the placement of expensive items and desserts.
With the help of California-based menu consultant Gregg Rapp, Neenah Paper recently created an extensive guide to menu design, which included tips on how to use premium paper. We found the following to be considerable:
* A restaurant's menu and its brand identity are intricately woven together.
* A restaurant's image and what it can deliver should closely coincide.
* The menu must reflect what the restaurant is trying to do with its food, decor and clientele and should be part of a complete identity package that includes business cards, letterhead and stationery.
We also found that when considering a menu redesign, the texture, color and shape of the paper is as important as your typeface and the placement of your entree descriptions and pricing.
The texture of a menu's paper is one of the crucial decisions a menu designer makes. We compare a menu paper's texture to an artist's canvas before it has been painted. The artist makes a decision: Do I want a rough canvas to tell my story? Do I want a satiny-smooth finish or a crisp linen finish? Each will communicate something different to the consumer. The same is true with a menu.
The next crucial decision is color. Most menus feature black ink printed on plain white paper because that combination is the easiest to read. But imagine how boring it would be if we all lived in a black-and-white world. Color plays an integral role in our lives, including how we view a restaurant menu.
Certain menu colors evoke certain emotions among diners and can communicate a subtle message without using words. Consider the following colors and their associations:
* Burgundy, deep reds, purple and mauve are associated with elegance, richness and opulence
* Brown, tan and khaki are associated with healthful goods, such as whole-grain products, and indulgent items, such as chocolate
* Beige and lavender are warm, soothing and inviting
* All shades of green are fresh and natural
* All shades of blue are friendly and uplifting
Finally, the shape of a menu's paper can also make a subtle statement. The National Restaurant Association recommends a sheet that is 9 inches wide by 12 inches tall. However, we believe a taller, narrower shape is more distinctive and reminds the diner he is not in any ordinary restaurant.
When determining the paper size for a menu, restaurateurs should consider the following:
* Size of the table
* Area allowed for each place setting
* Ease of handling by the diner
* Space needed for entree descriptions and "white space," which should take up as much as 50 percent of the menu
Remember there is no perfect menu, only one that communicates exactly what you want your restaurant to communicate.
Better Menus Boost Sales
By Hollis Thomases
We see this time and time again. You go into a restaurant, sit down, open up the menu and follow a standard pattern, reading first about Appetizers, then Salads & Soups, then Entrees, followed by Desserts & Beverages. Same old, same old.
If you think this is stale and boring, just remember - your customers do, too. Not only that, did you know that improved menu design and layout and help drive money to your cash register? Now that I've gotten your attention, read on.
Improving menu design begins with some basic human behavioral psychology. Since most languages read left to right, it's natural for the eye to begin reading in the upper left-hand corner of your menu. Therefore, that corner should be consider prime real estate and should be reserved for the most important and/or most profitable item(s) on your menu! Whether your menu is a booklet, a tri-fold or one-pager, this strategy ought to be set in place.
Then, in typical fashion, we humans tend to scan our reading. After leaving the upper left-hand corner, our eye will move across the page to the right, scanning the headlines. If something catches our eye, we'll tend to stop and read it a little more. In a moment, I'll tell you how to take advantage of this.
Finally, after scanning, the eye will return to the upper left-hand corner and continue to read down the page, then up to the top of the next page, etc. The eye's attention is also caught by differentiations - items surrounded by borders, graphics, different colored-backgrounds, different font treatments, etc. Keep this in mind when trying to attract your customer to a particular item.
So, now that you know the behavior your customer will be acting upon when reading your menu, let's think of ways you can capitalize upon this to make money.
I've already mentioned reserving the upper left-hand corner for your most profitable items, but how do you present those? One way is to use it for "[your restaurant's name] Hot Items," listing two or three items that sell well, but that also make you a lot of money. You can even recommend one appetizer, and two entrees, or some combination of menu items. Remember, most people like to follow the herd, and if they think an item is popular, chances are it's for a good reason and they'll order it, too.
Earlier I mentioned some other ways to grab your diner's attention (borders, graphics, colors, fonts). Let us also not forget that people need to be sold on menu items just like they need to be sold on merchandise. A few extra descriptive words of text can do wonders for driving orders of particular menu items. Try:
"A succulent cut of...," or
"Our coveted family recipe.," or
"Juicy and cooked to perfection,…"
Try not to cram too much information onto one page. Yes, menus can be pricey to print, but if by having a more readable, enticing and slightly larger menu you entice a diner into ordering more or ordering higher profit items, the cost of printing will be well off-set by your bottom line.
Two other tips:
1) Your "Chef's Specials of the Day," whether in print or presented by the server should not be created out of items you're trying to clear out of your kitchen (unless you've got a really creative chef). You should plan your specials apart from your regular menu items, creating and pricing them specifically to drive sales. Pay particular attention to making mouth-watering descriptions for them that you will either print on your specials sheet or have the server review with your patrons. When done properly, specials can be a fantastic source of high-profit dollars for you.
2) When having your specials presented by your servers, consider leaving off the pricing. It is generally agreed that your price-conscious patron, if interested enough in a special, will ask the price. If the price is not stated and the dish sounds delectable enough, chances are most people will order without asking the price. Remember, dining out is both a treat and a convenience and people tend to follow their impulses and not their wallets when doing so.
Reading Between the Lines: The Psychology of Menu Design
Restaurants USA, August 2000
Does your menu attract or repel diners? Experts offer suggestions for effective design to help unlock your menu's selling potential.
By Beth Panitz
The menu handed to customers at Chi-Chi's restaurants these days is a far cry from its predecessor. The old, standard rectangular menu was replaced this spring with one that features a jagged edge, warm earth tones and lively drawings of fresh fruits and vegetables. The bill of fare was designed to better showcase 25 new items.
"The new menu has a fun-looking, new-wave shape," says Robert Carl, a spokesman for the Louisville, Kentucky, company, which has 148 units nationwide and is a subsidiary of Irvine, California-based Prandium. The new menu is part of the repositioning message Chi-Chi's is trying to send consumers. "You can tell this is not the same old food," he says. "It's a hip, awesome-looking menu."
Like Chi-Chi's, many restaurants realize that their menu's appearance sends out subtle signals that can affect how customers perceive their operation. "The menu is part of your brand identity," says Bill Main, founder of Bill Main and Associates, a Chico, California, foodservice management and training company. "It's a reflection of who you are in the marketplace. If you have a dirty menu, it sends out a message that you probably have a dirty kitchen. If it's a bright, clean, sharp menu, it looks like you're a bright, clean operation." A bill of fare can also subtly direct customers to order higher-profit items.
A menu redesign can improve sales an average of 2 to 10 percent, according to restaurant consultants interviewed by Restaurants USA. For an operation that brings in $1 million a year, that amounts to an additional $20,000 to $100,000 annually. "Restaurateurs should view menus as an investment not as a cost," says Main. "The driving force behind profits is the menu."
Is your menu as effective as it could be? Chances are there is room for improvement. "One of the things I've found is that 90 to 95 percent of menus can be improved," says Bill Paul, founder of Cincinnati-based The Menu Advantage, a company that helps restaurants develop their menus.
Subliminal messages
If you think customers decide on their own what to order, think again. "A menu should tell a customer what you want them to buy," says Steve Miller, who teaches a menu-design seminar and is president of the Miller Resource Group, in Grafton, Massachusetts. The placement of menu items, the graphics and the item descriptions all send messages about what you want customers to order. For example, in a four-page menu — including front and back covers — Miller says the "power position" is on the inside right page above the center. Menu designer William Doerfler identified this as an optimum position in the November 1978 issue of The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly.
"The placement is very important," agrees restaurant consultant Isidore Kharasch, president of Chicago-based Hospitality Works, citing the example of a microbrewery that came to him for help with its menu. "They were selling mostly hamburgers and sandwiches, and the chef wanted to sell more of the higher-end items," Kharasch recounts. He recommended that the restaurant place the high-end specialties on the inside right page, toward the middle, and move the burgers and sandwiches from that spot to the back page. "We increased the font in that area [with the specialties]. Then on the back, we reduced the font for the burgers and sandwiches. It was a very subtle thing. In the first week [after the change], the average check went from $16 to $21. It's not that people were looking to order sandwiches and burgers, but people were being forced to order them."
A menu item's position within a list can also affect sales. People tend to remember the top two items on a list and the bottom item, says Miller. "Nothing goes in those spots by accident," he says.
Because all locations are not equal on a menu, restaurateurs need to prioritize what they want to sell, says Paul. "That's sometimes difficult for restaurateurs to do. You rarely hear them prioritize what they want to sell. Instead, they say everything on the menu is good."
What items should restaurateurs put in the high-profile spots? "Items that have a high margin and appeal are strategically placed to produce the highest margins," says Lowell Petrie, senior director of brand marketing for Denny's, headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Of course, logic also plays a role in arranging a bill of fare. For example, appetizers tend to go in the top of the left panel — a high-profile position that also makes sense sequentially. "It's a combination of logic tempered with strategy and doability," says Paul.
"The same item on a menu will sell differently if placed differently," says Andy Lansing, president and chief operating officer of Levy Restaurants, a Chicago-based restaurant group with 17 restaurants, ranging from the casual-dining Mrs. Levy's Delicatessen to Spiaggia, a fine-dining Italian restaurant. He notes that the same basic placement principles apply — no matter the type of restaurant concept — but he adds a couple of caveats. "Nothing is going to sell if it's not good," he stresses. And servers play an important role in determining what customers will order. "The menu helps steer people in the right direction," says Lansing, "but the servers are the ones who close the deal."
Avoid a split-personality design
"The font you use, the size of print, boxes, shading — all those things help [draw attention to an item]," says Lansing. "But you don't want to go overboard with all of that; it still needs to look elegant and concept appropriate. You don't want to have a starburst in the margin that says 'Buy this.' . . . But that's what you want to say subliminally."
Menus should be graphically exciting, but first and foremost they should be functional, says Lansing. "We want our menus to be spectacular, but we also want them to be good business tools," he says. "Some people want to create the coolest menu that ever existed." In their quest to be creative, "they forget that people might not be able to read the menu." In other words, forget about winning design awards; concentrate on winning customers.
"By using things like borders, illustrations, symbols and heavier type, you can bring attention to things," says Miller. But he cautions not to overdo it. "Use an easy-to-read typeface in 12-point size. . . . If I had to trade off between selling power and beauty, I'd pick selling power."
At Denny's, photos liven up the menu and sell items. The latest menu, released this spring, "has bigger pictures and more pictures, because we know that pictures sell," says Petrie. "You've got to show it to them to sell it."
Kharasch says photos seem to be effective for casual restaurants like Denny's as well as for restaurants where customers might not be familiar with the foods — such as sushi operations. But photos aren't for everyone; good alternatives include pencil or color drawings of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Word association
Customers won't find any descriptions on the menu at the 15th Street Fisheries in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to traditional seafood, the restaurant offers more distinctive items, such as "Bugs," an Australian crustacean that's similar to lobster. "We want the customers to be talking about the items, rather than reading flowery descriptions," says owner Michael Hurst, past chairman of the National Restaurant Association and immediate past chairman of its Educational Foundation. He depends on his servers to give customers the details. The strategy works great, says Hurst, but he admits that it might not suit every operation. "It depends on the type of restaurant and the distinctiveness of the food."
As a general rule, Miller says, a menu should not describe common, familiar items. "People know what roast beef is," he says. "You don't need to create an ode to roast beef."
Kharasch agrees. "The customer is very sophisticated today. Some items don't need to be described." But if you're offering something special or unusual, it's worth a mention, he says. For example, if your salad features locally grown arugula, radicchio and endive, you'll want to list that. "That way customers will know you're not asking them to spend $8.95 for just a bed of lettuce," he says. But don't give the entire recipe. "The customer doesn't need to know every ingredient. The customer just wants to be enticed to order the item."
And certain words have more selling power than others. For example, "marinated," "roasted" or "cooked in our wood-fire oven" have more allure than "fried," says Kharasch. What if the item is fried? "Then you can say that it's hand-battered. That way you've told the customers the item is fried, without telling them the item is fried."
You'll also want to direct customers to high-profit, high-quality items by making the descriptions of those dishes more appealing than others, says Paul. "You should have a continuum of appeal. Not everything should sound equally delicious. . . . Having everything sound equally attractive doesn't help the guest any more than having everything sound equally bland."
That's not to say that anything should sound unappealing. "If you want to sell something, make it sound as delicious as possible," says Lansing. "Even the ones you don't want to sell should sound good and taste great — they just shouldn't sound as good as your signature dishes."
And once you've written your bill of fare, take the time to proofread it. Spelling errors and typos are two items that shouldn't appear on any menu, says Kharasch. "It says a lot about a restaurant. If the restaurant can't spell hamburger or salad, it makes me wonder how good they are at making those items," he says.
Number neuroses
The final critical element of a menu is the pricing. All too often restaurants arbitrarily select a price for an item without analyzing whether they'll profit at that price, says Kharasch. He recommends that restaurants cost out each menu item before setting the price. "I've heard people say, 'We just don't have the time to cost out our menu.' What that means to me is that you don't have time to make money. People could be putting in 15 hours day, bringing in $1 million, but losing money, because they didn't take the time to cost out items."
Of course, knowing the food cost is just a starting point. Restaurateurs often take their cost and multiply it by three or so to set their menu price. In other words, they aim for a food-cost percentage of about 33 percent. Using this philosophy, an operator might be more apt to push an item with a 25 percent food cost than one with a 40 percent food cost. But that's just one ingredient to pricing. Another aspect is the actual profit margin on each item.
"I focus on the profit, not the food-cost percentage for determining what to sell," says Paul. Take the example of a restaurant that sells a $15 steak with a 40 percent food cost, netting a $9 profit, and a $10 chicken with a 25 percent food cost, netting a $7.50 profit. Even though the steak has a higher food-cost percentage, it still brings in $1.50 more per order.
Denny's also concentrates more on the profit margin than on the food-cost percentage, says Petrie. "When it's a low-cost item to produce, if you only look at food-cost percentage, you won't be making much," he says. "You take the margin to Mr. Banker. Mr. Banker isn't interested in food-cost percentages."
Another factor to examine is what your competition charges, says Hurst. "You don't want to be too far off for an item. If others are charging $12, you don't want to be charging $20." In setting prices, he also considers the value customers place on an item. The price consumers are willing to pay doesn't always correlate with an item's actual cost, notes Hurst. "Some things cost so much compared to their visual impact, that they're not worth selling," he says. Other times, customers will be willing to pay $5 for a drink that costs only 50 cents to make. Items on a menu also should have a relative value, says Hurst. "For example, you shouldn't be charging more for chicken than for shrimp," he says.
And at times, it might make sense to forfeit a profit on an item in order to attract customers. For example, Kharasch recounts that one of his clients was known for its steak special. With a 60 percent food cost, steak brought in a minimal profit, but it attracted a lot of customers — many of them who brought companions who purchased high-profit items. "Designing a menu is like playing chess against the customer," he says. "You have to be very strategic about what the customer is going to order."
Not everyone believes that the loss-leader strategy works. "You should make money on every item you sell," says Miller, noting that each customer is only going to purchase one entree.
In most cases, restaurateurs can round up their menu prices. The practice puts some extra change in their pockets while eliminating odd prices. Paul recommends rounding up items to the nearest 25 cents. "Using other numbers looks bogus and doesn't have an impact. If it's $3.45, that's no different to the guest than $3.50," he says. As an exception, he recommends using numbers that end in 95 cents, rather than rounding up to the next dollar — a point at which customers tend to perceive an item as more expensive. Of course, none of these rules are set in stone.
There's also an art to presenting menu prices. Among the mistakes Kharasch has seen are menus that align prices in a column on the right, leading customers to use the "shop-by-price method." "No matter how nice the descriptions, it forces customers to look at the prices first. The eye tends to go straight to the prices," he says. "And don't put the prices from most expensive to least expensive. People figure that out quickly."
Paul agrees that the placement of the price is critical. "I like to position the price at the end of the description, in the same type, the same boldness and without a dollar sign. This approach helps the reader focus on the product — not the price. Even the dollar sign makes the guest a little more aware of the price."
Analyzing your menu's strengths
Customers spend less than two minutes perusing a bill of fare, estimates Main. If a menu is designed correctly, it can have a significant impact during those few critical minutes. "The menu is the purest expression of marketing," he says. "It's your blueprint for profitability."
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Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93
June 5, 2004.
Mrs. Ronald Reagan issued the following statement from her home in Los Angeles, California:
"My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after ten years of Alzheimer's, at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers over the years."
Just got finished reading the Dre article in the New Scratch Magazine. He says he likes to have 3 or 4 MPC3000's around just because he doesn't like to switch out disks to get different drums.
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Outlawz Exclusive Update and Rocafella News
The Outlawz have signed to Cash Money Records and rumors of Jay Z releasing an S Carter album on Aftermath could be true, Rocafella CEO Damon Dash is looking to move Rocafella to Interscope. More news later.
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DR. DRE INTERVIEW FROM SCRATCH MAGAZINE
http://scratchmagazine.com
Dr. Dre doesn’t even listen to his old music, so don’t think he’s going to tell you what the bass line for ”Deep Cover” is. It shall remain a mystery, as Dre prefers to keep much of his process. He also doesn’t like to talk much. Why should he? The music speaks for itself. Dre is the measuring stick for how far hip-hop’s come and where it’s going. You can’t deny the gift the man has for putting together some hot shit. Truth be told, he makes anyone sound good.
A few years ago, he said, “Fuck rap, you can have it back.” But it’s been three years, and he still hasn’t let go; he’s got this rap shit in a chokehold. This is a man at the top of his game, but after speaking with him, you get the sense that this is just the beginning. Unlike some who feel constricted by the hip-hop format, Dre feels the music has no limitations. He’s about to take this hip-hop thing to another level. Picture him with a 40-piece orchestra at his fingertips, and you begin to realize how serious it is.
We managed to chop it up with him for a minute about beats, his process, and the life of the super producer. He’s sold over 50 million records and influenced the sound of music more than anyone in the game, but he just wants to keep making beats that snap necks. Dr. Dre is a man with vision. He’s trying to help you see it too.
So you’ve decided not to release your new album Detox?
I decided not to do it because I didn’t think it would be fair to all the artists that I want to work with. I’m really hard on myself when it comes to my own record, so it would have taken nine or ten months of my time. I could get two or three artists’ albums done in that amount of time, so I decided just to back off of it. I cut a couple of songs, and I was digging the way I was sounding on the mic. There’s always something to write about. I mean if I didn’t have a label to run, and a lot of artists to put out, it would be a different story, then I could just totally concentrate on self. Building my company and getting these artists out is my main priority right now. I spread out the tracks that I did for the record to the other artists I’m working with. I don’t think anybody’s going to be mad about it after they hear what I’m doing.
Are inspired by anything that’s going on out there?
I don’t think I’m really inspired by anything that’s going on out there right now. I’m not really mad at it, but there’s nothing that’s really motivating me right now except for the artists I’m working with. I’m not just saying that because they’re with my label. These artists are coming in with some hot new ideas so it’s just the stuff that I’m working with that’s inspiring. There’s nothing out there that’s really different. There’s nobody doing or saying anything that I haven’t heard before.
You have a very strong work ethic, spending days in the studio at a time, working on things over and over until you get it right. How do you know when something’s done?
It’s a feeling I get when it’s right, so I just keep going until I get that feeling. It’s like a butterfly type feeling. When I hit it, and it’s right, and the mix is right, that’s when it’s time to come out. Nothing leaves this studio until I get that feeling.
What’s a typical session like for you?
I don’t go out to clubs and party like I used to. I just get up, go to the gym, come to the studio. Usually I get to the studio around 3 PM, and my hours can vary anywhere from two hours to, I mean, my record is 79 hours non stop. As long as the ideas are flowing, I’m in here. I feel when I come to the studio, I have the same energy today as I did 20 years ago when I started. I still feel it, I love music.
Can you tell me a little bit about the collaborative process in the studio?
I use the same engineer every day. I work with the same player or players every day. Once I find something that’s working for me, and I dig it, that’s it. I work with a player named Mike Elizondo, it’s usually just me and him. He’s a bassist, and he’s learning keys and guitar right now. So it’s pretty much just me, him, and my engineer Veto (Mauricio Iragorri) in the studio every day just grinding out the tracks; we just go. Every day I come in the studio I try to lay at least two or three tracks down, at least that, before we start working on vocals.
How important is the engineer in your process?
The engineer is very important. Working with me, the engineer’s almost got to have ESP to know what I’m thinking, and he has that. It’s like body language, he can almost feel what I’m getting ready to ask him for. It’s a building process, and it took us a while to get to that point. We’ve been working together for years, probably since ’98 or ’99.
What is that makes a good MC to you?
Again, it’s just a feeling that I get. It’s a look that I look for, it’s the way that they carry themselves. Of course, the talent has to be there. I look for somebody that when you hear their voice, you know it’s them right off the top, it’s no question. And we have to be able to get along. The talent gets you in the door, the personality keeps you there. I have to feel like I can work with somebody that I wouldn’t mind leaving the studio and going to have dinner with and just chopping it up. That has nothing less than that. I want somebody that’s gonna come in and work, and be ready to fucking really do they thing. Because I’m the first one here, and I’m the last one to leave, I tell ‘em, “You can’t work hared than me, but try to keep up.”
What inspires you?
Just music in general, man. I love making music. This is what I was put here to do, to make music. I love doing this, man, it’s almost like a high for me. If I’m out of the studio too long, it feels funny. I got this feeling like, “Damn, this could have been the day I came up with fucking ‘Billie Jean’ or some shit.” If I’m not in the studio, it always crosses my mind.
Do you know when you have ‘Billie Jean’ or a big hit?
Yeah, right off. Like I said, it’s a feeling. Most of the time that record comes fast. It’s not one of those things where you’re working on the same record for two weeks, usually that record comes in a couple of hours.
Can you talk a bit about some of the equipment you use?
I love using the MPC3000. I like setting up like four or five different MPC3000’s, so I don’t have to keep changing disks. So I have them all lined up, and I have different drum sounds in each one, and then we use one for sequencing the keyboard.
Can tell me a bit about your process of recording drums?
We really take a lot of time on getting the right drum sounds. We EQ the drums before we sample them into the MPC, and then once we come up with the track, we spend a lot of time EQing the drums before we record them into Pro Tools. We take quite a bit of time to get that right, because I know it’s one of the things that people like about my music. I’ve used the same drum sounds on a couple of different songs on one album before but you’d never be able to tell the difference because of the EQ.
You mentioned Pro Tools.
I had Pro Tools right when it came out, but I wasn’t a fan of it because I lost a little bit of my low end before they perfected it. So, I used to just use Pro Tools for sequencing the albums. But now I think they’ve perfected it enough for me to roll with it, so I’ve been using it quite a bit.
But you’re still using a lot of analog keyboards, I saw a Wurlitzer in the studio, a Fender Rhodes?
Yeah, I love the old school sounds. ARP String Ensemble, Rhodes, old school Clavinet, the whole shit. I’m a big keyboard fan. I don’t really dig working with samples because you’re so limited when you sample.
But you came from a sampling background?
Actually, most of my music has been played. Back when we started with the N.W.A. thing, it was a lot of drum loops, drum samples, and what have you. But if we were going to sample something, we would try to at least replay it, get musicians in and replay it. If it was something we couldn’t replay, we would use the sample. I’ve tried to stay away from it as much as possible throughout my career from day one.
Any surprising musical influences?
I’m a big P-Funk fan, that was it for me growing up. Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, I was influences by all of those guys. That’s what really motivated me to use live instruments on my records. Just listening to the way they put their records together. That appreciation came from my mother. There was always music being played in my house when I was growing up, and that’s all I heard was 70’s soul. And then the DJing thing came along.
How did you get into DJing?
What motivated me to want to DJ was Grandmaster Flash. I heard “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” and I was blown away. So, me and a friend of mine at the time decided to tear apart a couple of component sets and make our own little mixer and two turntables. And not too long after that, my mom got me a mixer, and that was it for me. But I would have to give credit to Grandmaster Flash for getting me into the business. We had dinner once in New York, he’s a cool brother.
Do you think your DJing background has made you a better producer?
Definitely. I would definitely not be as good of a producer if I hadn’t started DJing. Because that’s where I really started paying attention to how records are made. I would critique and just listen and say, “I would have done this different.” So that definitely was a stepping stone to what I’m doing now.
When did you realize this is something you were good at? That this is something you wanted to do the rest of your life?
This club I was DJing at at the time had a little demo studio in the back of it. I made a couple of demos, played them in the club, and got a good response. So I just started making it a little bit better here and there, and the next thing you know I had a record out. Everybody was digging it, so I decided that this was the job I was going to take.
Hooking up with Eminem has been a big turning point for you. Did you know he was going to have the effect he did?
I knew it was going to be big. I didn’t know it was going to be this big. I didn’t know it was going to be half this big. I knew people were going to get into him, and love him, and just think he’s a crazy ass white boy. But I had no idea it was Oscar bound. It’s a perfect example of an artist coming in and taking advantage of the situation. That’s what he did, he came in, and he works his ass off. Everybody that came in the studio and really put their thing down, and really put it together has been successful with me. Everybody else that I’ve worked with that’s slacking ends up having to go to somewhere else to do their thing.
So it’s either put up or shut up?
That’s it, you got to come in and go to work, man. I open the door, like I said, you’re not going to work harder than me. The harder you work, the harder I’m going to work. At least I’m going to try to make sure that’s happening.
Do you think it’s hard for some people to push themselves to that level? Do they have different expectations?
I think some people that I’ve worked with expect to come in and for me to wave a magic wand and say, “Ding, hit record!” But it’s not like that. You have to come in and give some energy, and we have to put the same amount of work in on the record. It’s not just going to be me putting my hand in your back and moving you around like a puppet.
Some say hip-hop is a young man’s game, yet you defy that. How?
I don’t think it’s a young man’s game. It’s all in how you’re putting it together, and how you’re carrying yourself. If you feel old, it’s going to turn out like that. I don’t even think about that. I feel like I could turn 50 and still make a hot hip-hop record.
Is there potential for a hip-hop Rolling Stones, still rocking the mic at 70?
I think so. I don’t I want to necessarily see a 50-year old rapper, but being behind the scenes, making tracks, and producing, there’s no age limit on that. It’s all about who’s keeping it hot. You could make a hot hip-hop record if you’re 70, you just gotta know what’s going on in here, and know what the people want. If people are talking about somebody being too old, that means that sound is getting too old. It’s time to start your game over, reinvent yourself or something.
Is that what you do?
That’s exactly what I do; I try to reinvent myself. If you keep doing the same thing, people are going to get tired of it, that’s when it becomes old. So, I gotta keep reinventing myself. Plus, when I put a record out, I think a lot of people are influenced by my music, and I think there’s a lot of shit that comes out that sounds similar to mine. That makes the sound become old a little bit faster, so I definitely have to keep reinventing myself and trying new things.
Have you ever considered producing a non-hip-hop album?
Definitely, I would love to do a rock album. I would love to do a Black rock album. Ghetto Metal. It’s just a matter of the right lead singer coming along. Once that happens I’m off and running. That’s all I need is a singer, we’ll put the band together later. If I get the right front man, I’m going to try that.
Is the music industry ready for a Black rock band?
They’ll be ready for anything that’s hot. If it’s hot and it’s different, and it’s working... Look at Lenny Kravitz. He’s hot as shit.
You seem like a real perfectionist.
I am a perfectionist, but it has a lot to do with the people that are around you. They have to have the same vision, the same motivation. It takes a while to get the right people around you; it takes a long time. But I think I’ve finally done it, I think this is going to be my crew for a while.
You’ve contributed work to a number of soundtracks. Have you ever considered scoring a film?
Yeah, that’s one of the things I want to get into. I started studying music theory, learning how to read and write music. It’s been over two years, so I’m really getting involved in that. I definitely want to get into scoring movies. I have to have the knowledge, so I think in the next four or five years I’ll have it down, I’ll be ready. I’m not even going to attempt to do something if I don’t think I’m going to be great at it. I know for a fact that’s something that I could be good at, but I have to get the knowledge first. That’s almost like learning a new language. I have to really understand what I’m doing, I have to learn that language. It takes a while, and I want to be the best at it, so I’m going to put the time in.
Has learning music theory influenced what you’re doing in the studio?
A little bit. It’s actually broadened the way I look at music and listen to it, just knowing how the notes are placed. I pay attention to all that a little bit more now. A while back, I thought it would hurt me, I thought I would start paying too close attention, and maybe miss something. But I think it’s helping out. And once I really get that shit, “Look out!” (laughs)
You’ve got more money than these dudes out here that are still talking about cars and jewels, yet you don’t focus on that in your music. What keeps you rooted?
I talked about it a little bit when I was younger, but this is a job, man, that’s all it is. I’m serious about music. It’s a job, and I want to get paid of course, but I don’t need to talk about it. If I was a plumber, I wouldn’t talk about the money I was making, I’d just talk about my job. I’d be talking about pipes and shit. All I want to talk about is the music and how we can better it.
How can we better it?
I think we just need producers who are willing to stick their necks out there and try new and different things. I love Outkast and what they’re doing because they’re trying some new and different things, and it’s working for them. They stick their necks out there, and it works and I love that. That’s what we have to get more of.
Anybody else stand out? We spoke with Nottz for this first issue, and he was very excited about having contributed tracks to Detox.
Yeah, I got a couple of things from him that’ll probably be used for somebody else now. I like Nottz. I love Kanye West. I love the Neptunes of course, they have their thing, they’re trying new things. Who else? Just Blaze. Timbaland. Hi-Tek is hot as shit, I love Hi-Tek. This new guy we’re working with right now, we just signed as a producer, his name’s Focus. He’s a new up-and-coming producer, he’s hot as shit.
I understand you’ve recently sent some beats to Burt Bacharach.
We did a little thing together. My piano teacher introduced us. Burt Bacharach came by the studio, and we chopped it up for a little while. I gave him a couple of skeleton tracks on a CD, and he went home and played some piano over it. The next thing I know they had this jazz trumpet player play on the record, and it sounded hot. I think they’re going to put it out. I would like to really get in, and do something from scratch with him as opposed to me giving him a track, and him going to his studio and doing his thing, and us sending it back and forth.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully, I’ll have my music theory down and I can score a movie or two at that time. I’ll definitely be making hip-hop records, looking for new hot artists. I’m really trying to score some movies though, that’s what I’m working on. That’s a big challenge. To conduct a big ass string section doing something that I wrote would be ridiculous. That’s the dream right now.
What’s your legacy? What do you want to be remembered by?
I don’t really think about that. My thing is just coming in here and making records, and hopefully people will go out and buy it and bump it. I’m just trying to come in and better myself when I’m in here. If I had to give an answer to that I’d say that I’d like to be remembered as a person who really cared about his music, and really entertained people with my talent. I just want to be remembered as being the shit.
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Bush Late for Vatican Meeting With Pope
President Bush arrived 15 minutes late for his meeting with Pope John Paul— unusual for a president who makes no secret of his impatience when others keep him waiting.
It was a rare breach of protocol in Vatican City, too, and raised eyebrows in the papal delegation.
"The president is 15 minutes late," John Paul's secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, pointed out to Vatican reporters.
White House aides blamed Bush's tardiness Friday on a longer-than-expected preceding meeting with the Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
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Protesters in the city were yelling "George Bush, terrorist," yet the president was insulated from the anti-war demonstrations, tucked safely away in plush digs behind high stone walls and razor wire.
During Bush's 36-hour visit to Italy and Vatican City, he was staying at the home of U.S. ambassador to Italy, Melvin Sembler. The manicured grounds feature stucco buildings with red-tiled roofs, small mazes of hedges interspersed with roses and gurgling fountains.
A security perimeter extended several blocks out from the residence, situated on a six-acre plot. The blare of Italian sirens drifted over the walls as faintly as if they were miles away. Noise from outside the compound was practically drowned out by the sounds of birds chirping and breeze rustling through pines.
What was unclear Friday was whether noise from inside the compound is audible from outside the walls. Aides said Sembler has thrown parties virtually every night for the last week.
Sembler also summoned tailors Friday from a well-known suit maker in the heart of Rome, Brioni. They brought dozens of suits for the men in Bush's entourage to try on. There was no immediate word on whether Bush modeled suits, too.
___
Bush also managed to avoid the tens of thousands of protesters in his lengthy travels throughout Rome and the Vatican.
In fact, the famously expressive Italians seemed downright nonplussed by the presidential motorcade barreling through their cities throughout the early part of the day.
The heavy police presence did not keep ordinary Italians from getting close to the line of vehicles that trailed the presidential limousine.
As the cars and trucks sped through curving, narrow streets, a woman casually stepped in front of a minibus mid-motorcade. Scooters and the occasional wayward car drifted into the motorcade briefly, then eased back out to let it pass.
___
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offered his verdict on the demonstrations in Rome, declaring them "a flop." Berlusconi made the comment to reporters as President Bush and the first lady climbed out of their limousine for dinner with the prime minister.
___
Two days before commemorating the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, Bush quietly paid tribute to Italian victims of World War II.
Bush visited Fosse Ardeatine, where on March 24, 1944, German troops killed 335 innocent Italian men and boys in an abandoned quarry in retaliation for an attack by Italian partisans the day before.
Bush, first lady Laura Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi trailed a pair of soldiers, who somberly carried a green wreath with a blue ribbon and laid it under an engraved inscription. Bush, alone, approached the wreath, straightened its blue ribbons and bowed his head as a bugler played a mournful melody.
The inscription read in part: "Italians do not curse. Mothers and wives do not weep. Sons, carry proudly the memory of your fathers' holocaust. May the cruel massacre perpetrated against us help, beyond any vengeance to consecrate the rights of human life against the crime of murder."
____
hot shows at 930 club this summer.
Talib Kweli
w/ MF Doom
SUN. JUN. 13
$20.00
Burning Spear
w/ Mt. Nebo Recording Artist Bambu Station
SAT. JUN. 26
$22.00
The Streets
w/ Dizzee Rascal
THU. JUL. 1
$20.00
X-Ecutioners
w/ Northern State & Wylde Bunch
Late Show! 10:30pm Doors
SAT. JUL. 10
$15.00
D12
6:30pm Doors
MON. JUL. 19
$35.00
Just Announced
The above image is an original concept car from 1936, provided by GM Motors. The car was something to behold — pure automotive beauty.
Miss USA Shandi Finnessey (L) and Miss Australia Jennifer Hawkins await the final decision in the 2004 Miss Universe contest in Quito, June 1, 2004. Hawkins, a 20-year-old model and dance choreographer, won the 2004 title at a dazzling ceremony in Ecuador on Tuesday from a field of 80 beauty queens. Finnessey won second place and Alba Reyes of Puerto Rico, an aspiring doctor, came in third.
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