for all you kanye lovers (and haters)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 12: Kanye West performs live for fans at Qantas Credit Union Arena on September 12, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

after posting the previous “kenya” west post, one of our beloved collaborators and kanye believer, HK, sent me this clip above, and wrote a few words. so in our ongoing attempt to emulate “the pinnacle of pop culture journalism” (that would be fox news: fair and balanced of course!!) i’m posting this pro kanye vid and our correspondence below which you may find funny.

HK: “watch this. you can’t say this guy is not dope?”

DD: “dude i fail to find any substance here… for me at least… i have no doubt kanye wants to innovate and be a true artist in his own right, but sadly hes incapable of that… because hes naive and uninformed, he’s a simplistic child who’s concerns have not gone past chicks, sex, dick, rebellion and self fame, all of which he explores on the very surface… even after his fame and wealth he still remains a desperate and insecure child wanting to be accepted and praised. not only by the millions of fools he already has, but also by the cultural elite… i would give him an A for effort; vanessa beecroft i like, alejandro jodorowsky i like (even though i never took him seriously, with his fashionable multi culti film that became hot again 10 years ago, but sure nice aesthetic – but not a real players to me), david attenborough i like, he even had some sugimoto thrown in there at some point… all references i could appreciate, but it all comes down to “intent”. they are all accumulated and used on the surface (maybe kanye liked the colors? maybe he liked the naked hot babes? maybe he thought sharks are wicked and manly? maybe he heard this is “hot shit right now”?) he uses culture like a tag, a gucci encrusted shirt you wear to show off, never knowing why… all this is painfully transparent, and it quickly evaporates. as for the people involved, i’m sure they all need and appreciate kanyes fortunes. in a way i almost feel sad for him on some level… but then again i shouldn’t! because ignorance is indeed bliss and i’m sure kanye’s happy and on cloud nine at this very moment… he has his millions of fans, i think it’s ok for me not to be one of them. i mean lets be serious, this man looked around, and of all the passionate people involved in literature, arts, science, music, which he supposedly loves, he chose kim kardashian as his soulmate… as the one person to share his life and his “so advanced” thoughts?  let’s not drink the coolaid (i just saw the docu on jim jones by the way)?

HK: ha ha, can’t defend the kim move other then shaped by his up bringing. only bad thing you are not seeing is how he is breaking crazy new ground for the hiphop genre, but also setting a new standard for pop music performance in general. i think probably also you are hating on him bringing all of this into the mainstream realm, you want to have your little elitist heros “only you” know about, and he made it big time so he can pick and choose and brings it to the forefront of pop culture. compare him to any rapper or other pop cultural figure, and take into account his upbringing as a low income kid from south side of chicago, murder capital of the world, where 99% of the people you see are dead, in jail or just mad fucked up and see what he chooses to do, and then you will have to respect him!

DD: love you HK you are such a sweety pie. you know pop culture bores me to death when it doesn’t drive me insane, but sure, u know i sympathize with my brothers, i’ll give kanye credit for not being dead, in jail, or mad fucked up. see i’m reasonable and quite flexible. xx by dd+hk

tell me why, tell me why, tell me why, why can’t we live together…

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timmy thomas 1973 single “why can’t we live together”.

not only a great track, one that sade also covered beautifully, it’s perhaps even more relevant today than ever. and the video is pretty awesome too, could have been done yesterday – lo-fi brooklyn style. also listen carefully and you’ll hear drake’s hotline bling source sample… maybe donald trump can hijack this song too for his next town hall debate? funky days at TS. by dd

very cute: i put a spell on you cause i’m 10!

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just 10 years old – and ripping it!! angelina jordan.

our dear friend, per heimly, in oslo-norway just shot this beautiful little video of 10 year old angelina jordan doing a cover of screamin’ jay hawkins’ “i put a spell on you”. now that would be a tough one to take on if you are a 200 pound black brother, but for a skinny little white girl to attempt screaming jay? now that’s damn courageous girl. well done, we love it! by hk

boom and your in london in 3.5 hrs

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the new supersonic jet to replace the concord for the same price as today’s business class.

meet boom. boom is a prototype for a new supersonic passenger airplane that will be able to fly new york to london in just 3.5 hours, slightly quicker than concorde used to. but here’s the best part, boom states that it is using existing technologies to keep costs low, and the business model is based on flights being about the same price as a current business class is today, that is approx $2500 each way. apparently boom is already in development and test flights are planned for late 2017. fasten your seat belts, were coming to london for dinner. read more about boom supersonic jets here. by ac

Prozac replacement

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30-minute meditation with the transportive power of sound.

with all the drama, screaming, moaning and groaning that we do over here, we occasionally take some time to set our mind straight. these meditations from ‘welcome earth’ are pretty dope, they are free, but you do have to register via email… pop in your headphones and let this one settle in, you can always thank us later. by hk

she’s back

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she’s back and she’s the newly appointed ambassador for puma… i was never a huge fan but i guess this works, for a photoshoot outside of katz’s deli of a girl walking a dog. not too sure what this has to do with puma and their new ‘do you’ campaign, maybe i’m missing something, or maybe it’s ‘fashion’. by lb

friends

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love this video, and the dance. i wanna’ learn to dance like this :))) i just don’t get the black dude on the corner and why he thinks honolulu is in japan? by ars

a lab on fire

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have not tried the perfume yet, but now that frederic malle is sold to estée lauder, i guess its room for another niche brand giving some shine to the nose/perfumer behind the scents. working together with industry legends such as sophia grojsman, bruno jovanovic, carlos benaim and dominique ropion my hopes are definitely up… make sure to check them out here… by kt

KENZO WORLD FRAGRANCE

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kenzo world fragrance commercial by spike jonez.

latest, but not the greatest, from spike jones. it’s a strange character for a brand like kenzo, even though a cool clip, looks like spike jonez had an idea and sold it to the first brand that was willing to pay for it. at least we enjoyed watching a 3.5 minutes movie-like commercial with our little crazy girl. by uh

design to annoy

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a theoretical look at designing inefficient packaging. a project i found online by erik askin that deals with designing “bad” packaging to make smoking more annoying.

what if to discourage smoking, cigarette cartons were designed to be less convenient? in 1940 raymond leowy re-designed the packaging and logo for lucky strike cigarettes revitalizing the brand and bringing great success to the company. the standard flip-top cigarette box is an excellent design. in terms of presentation, accessibility, and branding, a pack of cigarettes is fantastic. currently, cigarette companies are required to put warnings on their packages about the dangers of smoking. what if we took it a step further?

first, what makes the cigarette carton such a good idea? 1) convenience. cartons allow smokers to easily access and store cigarettes, and the design is easy to manufacture. 2) branding. the logo orientation and point of purchase display provides excellent brand advertising and turns the area behind the register into a huge billboard. 3) portability. cartons fill well into our daily lives by accommodating items such as wallets and cell phones, and fit easily into our pockets.

within reason, how impractical can we make cigarette cartons?

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by testing out different orientations, sizes, and flip tops, the least-ergonomic and least efficient design within reason was discovered…

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“the diamond carton”

by addressing issues such as accessibility, portability, branding, and manufacturing, the diamond carton makes life subtly harder for smokers.

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the box’s physical orientation makes it hard to display the logo and brand.

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the orientation and taper of the carton, makes access and sharing difficult (some might say that is a positive thing).

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the multi-faceted sides fit poorly in the pocket.

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the point of purchase, the carton is oriented in such a way that brand advertising is minimized.

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the manufacturing pattern for the diamond carton is more complicated and requires more material.

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the diamond carton is an example of packaging which is meant to make your life harder. while this concept would be tough to implement, it is an interesting look at how by ‘breaking the rules’ of design, we could discourage the use of a harmful product… make smoking inconvenient for smokers. by lb

johnny cash and friends: some strange friends!!!

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justin timberlake? kanye west? johnny cash? they just don’t belong on the same line?

i have to say i had not seen this johnny cash video of the song “gods gonna cut you down” also known as “run on” if you happen to be a moby fan… amazing song, interesting video… it is a cool homage to johnny and nice to see all these current losers tryin to connect themselves to the man. a bunch of em made some sense like iggy pop, kris kristofferson, denis hopper, woody harrelson, mick jones, even bono maybe, keith richards, johnny depp, q-tip, patti smith, and ok fine even jay z. but what the hell are these other guys doin in there? lame-o’s like kanye west, justin timberlake, chris martin, adam levine (maroon 5), amy lee of evanescence, emily robison, sharon stone, and brian wilson? …that said we can always forgive those using kate moss for decoration. by dd

this is calming

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surfing at 1000 frames per second. all images were shot using the phantom flex, phantom miro m-320s and the new phantom 4k flex with arri ultra prime lenses and chris bryan films custom underwater housing’s. by lb