We first introduced you to the work of James Blagden through the story of Dock Ellis, the only known major league player to pitch a no hitter, while on LSD. Providing the visuals for this extraordinary tale in addition to campaigns for contemporary brands such as Esquire and Uniqlo, Brooklyn illustrator James Blagden has garnered global acclaim for his vibrant illustrations. Bringing various personalities to life through his colorful imagery, the selections below are only a sample of Blagden’s growing body of work. Hit the more to see for yourself.
Cliche though it may be, I think it’s worth restating every once in a while. The destination is cool, but the journey is really what it’s about. Everybody wants to blow up, particularly if they’re doing their thing exceptionally well. But once you’re there, you’re there, and there’s no turning back. As far as Mike goes, I think a lot of us are pretty well acquainted with his journey.
I remember sitting in Ms. Kennedy’s classroom, rifling through sports biographies as fast as I could, absorbing any and all information that might help me become a little more, well, like Mike. Stories about Michael — how baseball was his first love, or how he rocked the number 23 because he just wanted to be half as good as his brother, who rocked 45 — I learned the mythology like Bible-belt kids learn the gospels. Like any good story though, Michael’s is as inspiring today as it is was when I was ten. Just another reminder that sometimes, where you come from is just as important as where you take it to.
History is strange. What can seem like an instant classic may turn out to be a footnote. It’s hard to say what is going to resonate culturally. It’s like predicting the future. All we have are our tastes. But, damn, if I wasn’t blown away by Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. Pulling elements of countless movies both classic and kitsch, Drive is hypnotic in its tone, as we ride through moments that range from melodrama to poignancy. And — unquestionably — Drive is directly from the guts.
Strip down to your briefs, hop on the weigh scale, grab some queens and receive bees. A competition native to the Shaoyang, Hunan province of China, this not so ordinary competition pits two competitors against each other to see who can attract the most bees to their body. Rearing queen bees to attract the rest of the swarm, the competitors stand on a weigh scale for an hour. The winner is the one who weighs the most. The competition pictured above was from a contest between beekeepers Wang Dalin and Lv Kongjiang. In the end Lil’ Wang won out attracting 57 pounds of bees in the hour. Peculiar & extraordinary indeed.
Surely I’m not the only one who’s fallen in love with South Park over their illustrious fifteen season run. I still remember trying to stay awake to watch Kyle drop the famous line, “Oh my god, they killed Kenny!” For many of us South Park has left an indelible mark on our transitional years, continuously killing shit while providing their one of a kind commentary on society at large. Recently, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker surprised a freshman class of NYU film students on their first day, offering insight into the way they construct a story amongst other things. Dropping serious knowledge on how to be successful in the writing game, this one’s important for anyone who’s interested in writing or just looking to tell a good story.
Over the last four decades or so, it’s easy to see why Steve Jobs’ name has become synonymous with innovation. In some form or another, reminders of his enduring brilliance and foresight are everywhere — on our desks, in our backpacks or quite literally in our pockets. Even if you’ve never used a single Apple product, the innovations Jobs helped to bring to the forefront of our culture have probably changed the way you lived, from the way we listen to music to the way we share ideas. Jobs took an esoteric, expert-oriented niche product and turned it into something personal, and something accessible. In all likelihood, you’re reading this off something that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for him. It’s no wonder that today, on the day of his death, some of us feel almost as if he was someone we knew personally.
As impressive as Steve Jobs is for his ingenuity, he’s known just as much for his ability to communicate. The ideas were usually great, but the presentation was always flawless. From one masterful speech to the next, it seemed like every year brought around a press conference showcasing the latest gadget from Apple that would revolutionize some aspect of our lives, and send the competition rushing back to the drawing board. Rather than letting gimmicks speak for the brand, Jobs fostered a culture of straightforward, no-bullshit advertising. He spoke to us. He showed us what these things could do, and why they mattered. In 2006, in one of his most impressive displays of communication to date, Jobs spoke at Stanford’s commencement, reflecting on his extraordinary journey, what he’s learned from his own mortality, and the importance of following your heart. We’ve posted it before, but today, it seems more poignant than ever.
I suppose you never know when you’re going to stumble on an extraordinary place. Luckily for us, members of Vice’s staff seem pretty intent on seeking out some of the strangest places the world has to offer. Perched high on a hillside in the Catalan countryside in Spain lies the life’s work of Josep Pujiula, a giant wooden maze, completely integrated into the natural scenery around it, and peppered with geeked up, psychedelic art.
Trekking out to the labyrinth’s remote location, and even giving it a shot himself (despite some reasonable safety concerns), Vice’s Toni L. Querol got the chance to hang with Pujiula and pick his brain about the strange history of the structure, a piece he’s purportedly destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. Personally, I can’t help but be curious about places like these, and the people who take the time to create and maintain them. A piece of art on a grand scale? An obstacle course? A place to do drugs? Either way, Josep’s labyrinth is worth taking a look at.
The other week I had the best popsicle of 2011. It was one of those mango fruit popsicles that come in the clear plastic wrapper that are in the big blue ice chests at the liquor store. It was delicious. Almost went back for another one. Since then, my appreciation for popsicles has increased ten-fold although I haven’t found one that’s quite wowed me like that mangosicle a few weeks ago. Enter Bar Gelato. I’ll be honest, I’ve never tried one of these, but have you ever seen a better looking popsicle? With flavors like hazelnut, strawberry sorbeto, and madagascar vanilla it’s hard to deny the potential joys of having one of these in your hand. Available at most Wholefoods in California, you’ll probably end up paying two to three more dollars than you want to for these, but then again it may just be worth it.
“Hits Me Like A Rock” is the lead single from Cansei de ser Sexy’s La Liberación, available now. Catch CSS in action this weekend at Filter Mag’s Culture Collide Festival in Echo Park.
“There are a lot of boys that are stronger than me that could be great champions, but they can’t fight temptation. Temptation is all around us! Pretty girls with their chests big and ripe.”
Even before pressing play it was the screenshot that got me. The white and black face paint resembling the appearance of the controversial and often misunderstood band known to the world as The Insane Clown Posse. Garnering a cult following throughout the world, the band’s annual music festival known as The Gathering of the Juggalos draws thousands of fans each year. For the 2011 festival held in Cave-In-Rock Illinois, filmmaker Sean Dunne captured the essence of the experience. Conducting personal interviews with concert goers and fellow Juggalos, Dunne’s 23 minute documentary offers a window into a world that many would label peculiar, but hopefully more will see as extraordinary. A fascinating film, Dunne’s work serves as a reminder of the similarities that unite us despite our physical differences.
All the lights at Coachella were pretty dope. I’m also pretty partial to the fireworks night at the Coliseum in Oakland. Still though, try as we might, time and again, humans just aren’t even close to fucking with nature when it comes to putting on a spectacle. Sometimes it’s on a small scale, and sometimes it’s on the most gigantic one imaginable, but it seems like the natural world is always a source of inspiration if you’re looking hard enough. In her latest project, Belgian photographer Katrien Vermeire took the time to focus on a a heavily populated community of fireflies, capturing them in all their glory. A simple concept executed to perfection, Godspeed is a solid documentation of one of nature’s most impressive displays. Time to find a place like this.
It’s rare that a two-hour-long “essential” mix actually ends up being pretty much essential from front to back. But leave it to one of the most consistently brilliant young producers in the world to provide 120 minutes of heat for the BBC, complete with his trademark pitchfucked vocals, tributes to Gil and Amy Winehouse, and a Drizzy cameo, among many other things. For those of us who have been following Jamie’s trajectory from The xx’s debut, to the Gil Scott Heron remix album, to the slew of phenomenal remixes he’s churned out in between, a chance to get inside his head musically for an extended mix is a pretty exciting proposition. I’m just glad Hass stopped me from sleeping on this one. Honestly, whether you’re stuck at work or throwing a function, throw this on and let it rock. Some serious gems on this one. Download here.
Immersing himself within a world that few if any of us will ever experience ourselves, famed cultural photographer Boogie has recently released a collection of images from his second trip to Kingston Jamaica. And while I can try and relate Boogie’s experience through my words as I sit here in the comfort of my home, I feel it best, to let Boogie take it from here…
“My second trip to Kingston totally made sense. I got a better picture of the city, got to see a couple more neighborhoods, and took a bunch of pictures of course. In a way I have a love/hate relationship with Kingston, my mood there is up and down too … for example, my last day there sucked, I spent all day inside staring at the computer (kingston is not a city where you just walk around and make friends with locals) – but than that night I hung out some serious gangsters, took pictures of guns and stuff, I can’t go into details here. But at the end of the night no one could take the smile off my face.
In Kingston, if the police catch you with a gun, they will most likely kill you on the spot without making an effort to arrest you. So the fact that these guys were letting me shoot them with guns meant much more than just good photo material. Trust and respect. In the end, it’s not all about taking pictures, that part you can learn, for me the stories are equally important. Here I mean the stories that I’ll tell to my grandchildren when I’m 90.”
“If everybody else your age is doing something very different than what you’re doing there’s always going to be someone saying that “You might not succeed, you might not make any money with that,” all of those things will go away if you really focus on what makes you happy.” – Kevin Clash (The Creator of Elmo)
