Talib Kweli at Occupy Wall Street from Eddie Pages on Vimeo.

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Talib Kweli at Occupy Wall Street from Eddie Pages on Vimeo.

If you find yourself in Seattle, let me suggest two destinations that will maximize your gustatory pleasure.

Shown above :
1) Grapefruit Parfait topped with wasabi dots and grapefruit glass
We finished our meal at Canlis with this scrump-cialescent creation of Chef Jason Franey. Canlis is a 60 year old Seattle institution that has been taken to new heights with Chef Jason at the helm. In fact, his hard work was just recognized with Food and Wine’s 2011 “Best New Chef” award.

2) Guanciale – (unsmoked, cured pork jowl)
From Salumi Artisan Cured Meats in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square district.  Salumi was founded in 1903 by Armandino Batali, father of the world famous chef Mario Batali.

On site, we enjoyed grilled cotto salame sandwiches lathered in a spicy and oily garlic puree. I brought the Guanciale back to my friend’s house and cooked it the next morning. Fried it crispy like bacon and enjoyed along side parmesan reggiano strips, scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, fried cherry tomatoes, coffee, and fresh OJ!

YUM,
-Tonky

Just in time for your holiday gift giving, I’ve completed my limited edition Justin Beaver Print.

Little is know about the North American Justin Beaver other than:

- He has beautiful hair
- He sings purty
- He chews down trees to build his sub-aquatic home
- His last name rhymes with Bieber

Supplies are limited and priced to sell at $30. See more pics and purchase online here:
Justin Beaver Limited Edition Print.

thanks!
-Tonky

Check out the cover I designed for the book The Nature of College by James Farrell.
The Nature of College | $16 | Milkweed Editions
It’s a very nice read and especially worth buying for people in or entering college.

I pitched various ideas to the publisher Milkweed Editions and they went with the “Modern Day Vanitas” concept.

Each chapter sheds light on a different aspects of college life: The Nature of Parties, The Nature of Sex and (Sometimes) Love, The Nature of Politics, etc.

So I created an allegorical still life, much like the Dutch ‘vanitas’ paintings. In this modern day example, each object symbolizes a different facet of the book’s contents. Special thanks to Ward Yoshimoto who photographed the still life for me. The raw hi-res image is simply gorgeous.

enjoy,
Tonky

The still life wraps around the spine and back. Here is the full spread sans text and title.

I recently purchased identical new versions of two products that have served me well. Both were durable and exactly what I needed in terms of style and function.

- New Balance 990 Sneakers
- Perry Ellis Bi-Fold Wallet

The New vs. Old picture is fun and so I  wanted to share it.

Let’s also think for a moment about good design vs. planned obsolescence. Many companies sell new product lines by focusing on how the old version is no longer worth owning. In truth, innovation doesn’t happen as fast as they would have you believe. As consumers become more and more savvy, I hope corporations will focus more on research & development as opposed to the smoke and mirrors of marketing.

-Tonky

Sheisa,

A killer visualization from David McCandless and InformationIsBeautiful.net. Pretty to look at and shitty to think about.

-Tonky

Just tinkering around with my Canon S90’s macro functions and realized how little gummy bears resemble actual furry bears.

Deep huh?

-Tonky

Dear AT&T,

Please take the money you shower upon the hacks at your advertising agency ( BBDO Worldwide ) and instead install more cell phone towers or hire more nerds or do whatever it’ll take to improve your stinkpie of a network. I can’t make calls from my studio in Redhook, Brooklyn so that’d be a good place to start.

love,
Tonky

Background:

2005-
Artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude finally realized “The Gates,” a massive ephemeral art installation covering NYC’s Central Park with thousands of yards of flowing orange fabric suspended from orange plastic gates.

The concept was 20 years in the making and was funded entirely through the sale of concept sketches/collages rendered by the artist.  In the words of the artist, “an expression of joy and wonder.” No corporate funds, no government sponsorship, just pure aesthetics ( open to argument of course )

2010-
AT&T steals the work to sell its snake oil to the masses as part of its sponsorship of the World Cup soccer tournament. Despite a disclaimer stating, “The Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with AT&T” the advertisement is a straight forward pillaging of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s intellectual property.

“Immediate Communication of wisdom from mind to mind.”

Such joy.

-Tonky

DRILL BABY DRILL!!!

Ok another sublime set of photos. I PROMISE the next post will be warm and fuzzy. Perhaps puppy related.

Don’t deny this great followup to the Icelandic volcano. These images posted at AMERICAblog, taken by a DOE (http://www.energy.gov/) contractor  depict the  burning and collapse of the BP owned and operated Deepwater Horizon, the ginormous oil platform that is now sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Beyond Petroleum my ass.

This began unfolding just over a week ago and now an underwater oil gusher threatens the gulf coast with all kinds of black greasy misery.

I really had no idea how big these offshore oil platforms were. Since they drill in water over a mile deep they aren’t actually attached to the bottom with a tower of steel like you’d imagine, rather they FLOAT and are anchored with epic lengths of cable.

Note the tornado created in the weather systems caused by the fire. Reminds me of those alien ships falling at the end of independence day. So big.

All that sweet precious buried sunlight gone to waste.

-Tonky

(link thanks to BoingBoing.net)