Charm the Ladies
She was completely taken the moment he blew his luscious Tipalet Blueberry cigarette smoke in her face.
Seductive.
The Foreign Exchange
To say that I fell in love literally overnight would be a vast understatement. I’ve been smitten on The Foreign Exchange since the day I heard “Nic’s Groove” off their first album Connected. Who are they? A hip hop duo consisting of Phonte (of Little Brother) and Dutch producer extraordinaire, Nicolay. Their music is a fusion of hip hop, neo-soul, downtempo, and R&B. They kind of grab your heart, lovingly poke at the bruised parts for a while and then kiss it all over and inject it with sunshine before they put it back in your body… which is now left with something resembling a post orgasmic high. They leave you wanting more.
If you quickly become an addict like myself, between both artists there is plenty of music to satisfy. Together they’ve released two albums, the most recent being, Leave It All Behind. (Both are also available as instrumentals) Nicolay has four solo albums including City Lights Volumes 1.5 and 2.0, and in 2008 he teamed up with Dallas rapper Kay (of The Foundation) on Time:Line. And of course, be sure to check out Phonte’s roots with Little Brother.
View two of The Foreign Exchange’s music videos below. “House of Cards” featuring Muhsinah and “I Wanna Know”, both directed by Matt Koza. Next, sample The Foreign Exchange and other dope artists such as J-Dilla and Pete Rock on Pandora. You will not be disappointed. Unless you’re into auto-tune.
Mail Carrier Breaks Into Home, Eats Leftover Noodles
A mail carrier was arrested and charged with public intoxication after she broke into a home along her route and was found sitting on the kitchen floor eating leftover noodles. The 95 year old Iowa homeowner said she was watching TV in another room when she heard someone walk in the front door. She found Kristine Pflughaupt in uniform eating the noodles with her hands.
“I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ and she didn’t answer me. She just kept eating those noodles.”
Australian Club Bans Metrosexuals
A popular nightclub in Melbourne, Australia has placed a ban metrosexuals in an effort to crackdown on violence. Party promoter Scott Mellor says his goal is to eliminate “sports jock mentality”, ensuring that patrons have a good time in a safe environment free of douche bags. (Though, I believe they’re referred to as tossbags in Australia)
Posters advertising Dorcia Fridays at the Ding Dong Lounge warn, “No metrosexual attire, no aggression, no problems.” The website adds, “no snakeskin shoes, no Ed fucking Hardy, no numbered polos, no Axl Rose bandanas.” My dream bar! And to the list I’d like to add: popped collars, jeans with suit jackets (there’s a time and a place), Affliction shirts, tight shirts in general, and skinny jeans with ass sag.
In the event that a tossbag is accidentally admitted due to donning undercover garb, management insists they will be thrown at the first sign of hostile behavior. They will also be photographed for the “Name and Shame” wall located at the entrance of the club.
Brilliant.
Graffiti Artist Runs Out of Purple
"Ran Out of Purple"
That is just so unfortunate, type A.
Sweeter Than You: The Foreign Exchange
Listen…
So hard to read between the lines
Just know you are mine
I am yours
Nothing more
Looking for the way to
Ask you to stay here with me
One more night, one more day
So I lay here besides you
Nothing better to do
What could be sweeter than you?
With nothing better to do
I’m asking what could be sweeter than you?
So much that we can’t understand
Take you by the hand
Love so bittersweet
We agree
Usually
Trying to hold back the feeling
But we both can see
That it’s calling me
Been here a thousand times before
And every time we swear it’s a mistake
Should it be this way?
This is the game we play to lose
Yet, and I still choose you
Nothing better to do
What could be sweeter than you?
With nothing better to do
I’m asking what could be sweeter than you?
Better to do
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Sweeter than you…
Sweeter than you…
Playing With Balls Finally Pays Off!
Ball
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY announced today that the ball has finally made it into the Toy Hall of Fame alongside the Big Wheel and Game Boy. Past inductees include Candyland, the Cardboard Box, and my personal favorite, the Stick. To date, a total of 44 toys have been presented with the prestigious honor. However, a glaring absence remains in the line-up as Rock and Dirt are once again overlooked. Maybe next year.
Congratulations once again Balls!
5 Pros to Beat your Woes about the Hoes.
It’s whore-o-ween again! The sluttiest holiday in all the land! Whoo Hoooo! (Gritted teeth)
5 Pros to beat your woes about the hoes.
1. As typical of the last Friday of the month, Critical Mass bike ride begins at 6PM at Justin Herman Plaza. If you have an opportunity to witness the spectacle, it’s a good month to do so. Last year fools were dressed up in their costumes. It’s better than Dykes on Bikes. Ok, it’s nowhere near as amazing as Dykes on Bikes, but we’re looking for a silver lining here.
2. Día de los Muertos!! (Day of the Dead) You deserve an extended weekend. The annual procession begins at 7PM Monday at 24th and Bryant Streets and ends at Garfield Park.
3. Enjoy an extra hour of sleep on Sunday, because it’s Daylight Savings Time again! Yes, we’ll sadly miss that extra hour of afternoon light, but then again, getting up at 7AM in the dark is painful.
4. Make your weekend a Transbay experience without the fear of missing that midnight train. Bart will run overnight tonight, and likely Saturday if the Bay Bridge remains closed. Just in case you were planning to party in the Dublin/Pleasanton area.
5. After working in bars the last 6 years on Halloween, what I’ve learned is that while douche bags will be douche bags, they’re slightly less likely to “bro-out” dressed in ridiculous costumes. Slightly.
Sanctioned Sideshows?
Three people involved in a sideshow (an impromptu exhibition of car racing/stunts…AKA East Oakland entertainment) were killed earlier this month when their car flipped over on Macarthur Boulevard. The accident injured two others in the car and a pedestrian. In response, the city’s new Police Chief Anthony Batts announced that putting an end to the illegal activity would be one of his first orders of business. Last weekend he increased police presence in a “special enforcement operation”. Presumably due to the media’s advanced coverage, there were no reports of related arrests.
Sideshows may be getting more media attention as of late, but racing, doughnuts, figure eights and ghost ridin’ the whip has been going down in the “Yay Area” since the 80’s. The latest crackdown isn’t the first attempt to squelch the party. In 1995 the Oakland City Counsil narrowly defeated then Mayor Jerry Brown’s plan that would have authorized police to cite, arrest, and impound the cars of spectators in addition to drivers who violate traffic laws. Brown argued that the risk of jail time and fines of up to $1,000 for repeat offenders would discourage crowds and subsequently, no audience would lead to no show.
Four years later, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums says he’s considering sanctioned sideshows in an effort to abate further injury and death to participants. “Is it possible to take the skill that’s involved and take it off the streets and apply safety equipment, put it in a place where it is not endangering the participants and it’s not endangering people who are watching? I cannot say to you at this particular moment whether or not that can happen.”
It could happen, but doesn’t “gettin’ hyphy” in an “controlled environment” sound a bit like an oxymoron? Does Dellums really think that an organized sideshow is going to appeal to anyone who likes to “go dumb”? Hell nah!
At the risk of being completely ignorant (I didn’t attend a sideshow before giving my opinion today because unfortunately, I am a few times removed from that particular social circle), I don’t believe doughnuts are THE exhilarating attraction of sideshows. Are they? Though we called them “whippin’ shitties” where I grew up, it was something spontaneous to do during the 9 months of winter, and it definitely didn’t draw a crowd… mainly because it’s not complex skill.
It’s the rush stupid! It’s the buzz kids get when they’re doing something risky, especially when it’s illegal. Who doesn’t look back and cringe at some of the things we did when we were young? True, most of us didn’t grow up with a threat of violence like that of East Oakland. But when we had our social gatherings (lame bonfires), we weren’t any smarter! Is a sideshow that different from fish tailing down a dirt road in the middle of the night high on 2 tabs of white blotter? When you’re young, you think you’re invincible. yadadamean?
A New Take on an Instant Classic
Dry your tears and dust off that Polaroid camera, because the classic film is making a comeback!
Instant film junkies around the world were devastated when the Polaroid Corporation announced they were discontinuing production. Though still in relatively high demand (30 million cassettes were sold in 2007), the Polaroid film factory in the Dutch town of Enschede shut down in June 2008.
Just four days after the last batch reached its expiration date, Polaroid announced that instant film will once again be in available in stores mid-2010. As ironic, it was a meeting of two connoisseurs at the Polaroid factory closing ceremony that made this all possible. In October 2008, Florian Kaps and André Bosman launched The Impossible Project on a mission to develop new solutions for producing monochrome and color instant film. After a year of researching alternative materials, Impossible developed an “integral instant film” that successfully replaced the old and unavailable components of the 40 year old design.
Polaroid Licensee, The Summit Global Group said they will commission The Impossible Project to release a limited edition of Polaroid brand film. In addition, The Impossible Project plans to release film under their own name. Kaps says a new higher quality instant camera is in the works, and hopes it will also be released sometime in 2010.
If you’re like me, you’ve been hoarding your last cartridge for that end of an era Polaroid worthy moment. I took one photo recently and promptly put it back on the shelf. I knew I only had a few photos left, and I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. And now we don’t have to! Use your stash. Make it interesting. Inhale that amazing warm smell of a freshly developed Polaroid. And while you wait for that first new batch, join an online community of instant photo aficionados, or peruse an online gallery of both established and unknown Polaroid artists. Now go get your fix!
