Random Thoughts: October 20th, 2010

The Wrestling Ring, by fellow Flickr user Podknox. Used under a CC Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

• Three ropes, fool. I can't tell you how pissed off I get when I see illustrated depictions of wrestling rings with two or four ropes, and I do believe I saw two examples recently.* It really speaks to the importance of having reference around, and a simple Google image search should kill any doubts you may have. Now, having said this, you now have free reign to call me out on the next thing I fuck up graphically. However, there's a chance I actually did my research, so the error can be chalked up to ineptitude.
  So, get it straight, chump: three ropes = wrestling ring, four ropes = boxing ring.
  Two ropes? I seriously don't know what the hell that is.
  
  
• Lack of Francais. I was listening to A Propos on Saturday, remembering the time I made my elementary school French teacher cry.
  No, I'm not boasting. It's one of the many regrets I have.
  She overheard me expressing my frustrations with learning the language, and how I didn't plan on taking it in high school. She lost it. My imposing sixth grade teacher (he's the tall Belgian in the photo Jeope is holding) made damn sure I apologized to her in front of everybody the following day. If I remember correctly, I did take French in junior high, but didn't for the latter years.
  Years later, I can say searching for female nudity on CBWFT during my youth cultivated an appreciation of French cinema**, even though I have to read the subtitles, which I don't really mind. It'd be cool to understand it a little more beyond the handful of words I know, though. Sometimes, I think it'd be dope to try and re-learn it, but I'm still trying to remember all of the Japanese stuff I've forgotten.
  
  
• Don't sleep on Winnipeg. There's a lot of good shit coming through before the end of the year, rap-wise. You already know mcenroe dropped a tight EP. You should also be aware that Yy's new full-length will be coming in December. And via the good folks at Marathon of Dope:
  
  
  • The Gumshoe Strut's Too Long In The Tooth will be available November 2nd. He had a release show on the 15th of this month, compete with physical copies of the EP, and I can tell you that it's very good. It's about being broke down and ragged, so I can totally relate. For the moment, check out this dope video he shot for "On The Move". Man, I love that beat!
  • Birdapres' got some raw shit for ya. This sounds serious, y'all. Of course, I'd expect nothing else from Bird. I'm stoked!
  • John Smith's collab with producer Murdock, It's True Because It Rhymes, is finally seeing the light of day. I've been bugging both of them for so long about this album's release date, that the interlude I appeared on ended up being a cruel joke, so it got dropped.*** All of that doesn't matter, because people need to hear this shit. For the moment, read homie's bio and stay tuned.
  
  That's a tidy, jam-packed list that'll keep tongues wagging throughout 2011. Don't front.
   
• Covered/Repaneled. Covered: Classic/not-so-classic comic covers re-imagined. Repaneled: Same concept as Covered, except individual panels get the treatment. Both rule very hard.

*I won't link to them, because I'm classy. And, uh...I can't remember where I saw them.
**Playtime is one of my favorite films. There's no nudity in it.

Cuckoo Bananas!

From my Flickr photostream:

An April 1st shindig featuring DJs Pump and Hedspin of  The Eh! Team DJs, and my homie DJ Co-op.
Caricature is not my strong point, but it all seemed to work out. Inspiration? Chiquita, of course! When Tim (Co-op) told me the name of the occasion, I was immediately reminded of a blog post about Chiquita's brand refresh, and suggested using their color scheme.
Great way to start off a long weekend, in my opinion.

Also, any of y'all that are attending SXSW this year should be on the lookout for Co-op, and my homies Birdapres and Grand Analog at the OH CANADA party (here's the Facebook event page). Should be a blast, naturally.

Random Thoughts: November 1st, 2009

King Merinuk! Taken at a Dirtbombs show in 2006.

• In the Rubber Room. I'd like to take this opportunity to give my man Darren Merinuk some shine, as he's one of the reasons I'm doing posters. Basically, I just wanted to kick as much ass as he has in the service of good music and all things cool. Lately, he's been tooting his own horn via his blog, In the Rubber Room, and believe me, it's a been a long time coming. As much as this dude does stuff on an international level (record labels and magazines throughout the US and Europe have utilized his talent), he's a rather quiet fellow that isn't known as well as he should be in his hometown, IMHO. Go to his blog, and get familiar. You won't regret it.
  
  
• RAW! My homies DJ Brace and Birdapres recently put their heads together and created the dopeness that is RAW. Bird on the beats, Brace on the cuts. Such a simple formula; RAW is an apt title. You need to experience this, so get your ass on over to http://www.djbrace.com/raw/ so you can see what I'm fussin' about.
  
  
• Peter de Sève interview. This is simply the most entertaining interview I've heard with an illustrator, and the fact that the subject is one of my illustration heroes doesn't hurt at all. Props to the guys at Sidebar for asking all of the right questions. Get it here. Hey, while you're at it, read Peter's blog!
  
  
• Bed time. Peace.