Is there anyone cooler than Spike Jonze?
BMX riders can claim to be the first to know Jonze’s work, way back when he worked with Andy Jenkins at long forgotten “Freestylin” magazine. 
In 1991, he collaborated with skateboarding’s resident art-weirdo Mark Gonzales on the Blind “Video Days” skate flick. His unique photos were also turning up in Transworld Skateboarding. Along with Rick Howard, Jonze co-founded Girl Skateboards and firmly established his commitment to the sport. Not only is he still involved with Girl in a creative capacity, he is said to still “load and unload trucks” for deliveries. Mainstream audiences were finally clued-in with his direction of Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” video. Or maybe it was the Beastie Boys “Sure Shot” that first captured everyone’s attention. There are just too many other great videos to mention. But “Adaptation” seems like a pretty fitting culmination of what this guy is able to accomplish behind a camera. “The Work of Director Spike Jonze” may be a disappointment to some hardcore fans, because it excludes some classic videos from bands such as Sonc Youth and REM. But the oddities and rarities are there, such as that segment from the Girl “Mouse” video when Rick Howard is skating through a forest. Also included is “What’s Up Fatlip?,” a documentary about Fatlip from The Pharcyde. We’re also treated to “Amarillo by Morning” about two kids in Houston who want to be cowboys.
November 16th, 2003
According to Sleepy, the Toyota Scion is the poor man’s mini. I checked out Toyota’s site to see the dope new car but was just as curious to see how they’re marketing it. The homepage of Scion’s site, shows two hipsters sitting at a diner table, with a blurred Scion parked against the curb. The guys aren’t really looking at the car or anything. Scanning down, I notice a list of events that gives the impression that I’m looking at a club’s site. From September - November one can check out the Res Fest, a digital film festival. It also looks like the Ground Battle tour has just wrapped up. Set at various universities and record stores across the country, potential Scion buyers (or “B-boys and “B-girls”) could attempt to battle breakdancing champion, Giovanni, for a special grand prize pack. There is also information about forthcoming “ScionWare.” It says, “Announcing more Scion products to make you feel special. And you thought we just sold amazing cars…” Also displayed on the homepage is a small box below the hipsters that rotates still shots of what looks to be more cool kids who were spotted at the club. The only text there is a header that says “Live.” When you click the box, a page (although it feels like we’re at a new site) loads that is all about “Sugapop.” With light-brown skin, a crazy ass fro, Sugapop sort of resembles Ben Harper. No doubt about it, this guy is genuine. He has soul. The most unconventional page on the site is “About Scion.” So far I have learned about musicians, a film fest, and Wet Party, an event set at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that “brought Ibiza to the wessside!” But I haven’t seen more than a glimpse of the car. After digging, you can find the 360 panoramas, zoom views, and specs. But the main body of the page is all text. Remember, we’re supposedly learning about a new product from the world’s # 4 automaker. The text reads:
“In this brand-heavy world, we are constantly inundated with messages about what to wear, where to go and how to be. However,we know that independent thought doesn?t come from picking and choosing an identity from a series of prefab selections. Although we may like some of the individual elements of what?s available, on the whole we would rather be able to mix and match, choose those pieces that support our distinct qualities as independent creatures. We want to be recognized as unique beings who revel in the freedom of expression. SCION (the car company and the magazine) recognizes the value of the individual and the remix, the re-appropriation of mass culture, and it will focus on the struggle, the challenge and the successes of keeping it real.
The idea of the remix has become more common and now can be applied to entire identities, from music to fashion, from technology to art. The lines have been blurred. The opportunity for independence is vital. We are now active participants in the process, tricking out the smallest details, tweaking the characteristics to fit our lifestyles. By changing color palettes, textures and soundscapes, we can be recognized by our peers for who and what we are.”
November 15th, 2003
Howard Dean’s first “major” gaffe may have lost him a few supporters, but has given me another reason to like him. His crime: announcing “I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.” Sure, it was a clumsy way to make a point, as he later said. But the doctor spotlighted a critical problem for the Democratic Party. It ain’t that popular in the South. And many state-level Democrats are Blue Dogs and are at risk of switching parties. They feel abandoned by the national leadership. From a strategic perspective, it is ludicrous for Democrats to ignore Southerners. Here’s a little secret: it will be impossible for a Democrat to become the next president without carrying part of the South. So here Howard Dean, who has attracted a young, passionate following (who tend to be educated, urban, etc.), has the balls to say that ideologically impure yahoos should come back to the Democratic Party. Let’s hope this faux pas results in a giant head-slap for the other candidates that they must do a better job of erasing any beliefs that they are a party only for “coastal elites.”
This blog entry is dedicated to the memory of NASCAR driver, Dale “3″ Earnhardt.
November 7th, 2003
The South Congress strip has really exploded over the past few months. First Thursday has become so popular you have to wonder if the city will soon need to close sections of the city’s preeminent avenue. The most dramatic change has been the space between Amy’s Ice Cream and St. Vincent’s. The creative and colorful facades of Amy’s, Zen, and Gomi have added vitality to 
what was a pretty dull section just a year or so ago. Two new players, the Texas Music Cafe, and painfully hip n’ modern Factory People (checkout how they put the old “Just Guns” sign upstairs on the balcony) have completed the block’s transformation. A few blocks south is the lifeless Don Mar Motor Court. It is a mystery to me that this classic roadside motel hasn’t been revitalized also. My guess is that many potential investors have inquired about the place and were shocked to find out what the owner is asking. Kate Pierson, of B-52’s fame recently opened “Kate’s Lazy Meadow Motel” in the Catskill Mountains near Woodstock, New York. Here’s how Pierson describes her new venture: “Inside the cozy, rustic cabins, you’ll find mind-blowing mid-century modern/space age/rocket-your-socks-off decor. The suites are filled with authentic 50s-style kitchens turned out with vintage cabinets, Frigidaires and stoves - all in dazzing colors! Wait ’till you get a load of my to-die-for tchotchkes from shopping sprees all around America (hey, a girl’s got to do something while on tour!).” OK. Now someone do this to the Don Mar!
November 3rd, 2003
