Continue reading RYAN SHER: RANDOM IPHONE PHOTOS →

David Lang has a great “best of 2008″ feature up on his site We Mine Deeper. Check it out here!

FBM wrap up 2008 with a slideshow of memories. Click below to check it out.

Continue reading FBM 2008 SLIDE SHOW →

Check out a Q&A with Sean Burns on TheComeUp.

If you’re like me (and by “like me” I mean couldn’t care less about basketball but love watching Allen Iverson play) then you might be excited about basketball’s baddest player being united with basketball’s baddest team.

Aside from winning the “most improved” award at basketball camp when I was 12, I don’t know the first thing about the game. But there’s something so mean about this guy–not much logic, not much size, just pure raw emotion and effort into each game like it’s the only thing that matters.

A.I. is apparently finally acclimating to the Detroit Pistons team and good things are to come. Check my brother’s blog for two awesome interview clips.

And check out some Iverson magic here.

Got indicted.

Here’s the video.

Everyone has most likely seen this but it bears a second look. I would like to take this opportunity to make the following blanket generalization: In 99% of cases, pretty much F the police.

I saw this on The Come Up a few days ago, but it’s to good to not re-post. This is a montage of Will Stroud’s recent work. Definitely worth a few minutes of your day!

I’m sure Dean Dickinson will be psyched on this article, haha.

Check out THIS ARTICLE from the New York Times about how the home foreclosure crisis is opening up a bunch of pools to skate/ride. The article is based around skating, but its equally relevant for riders.

It’s funny how things like this creep into the “mainstream” media.

Crandall posted up some classic FBM craziness, by which I mean the old Albert Street trailer.

Click below to check it out.

Continue reading Albert Street →

I just came across this book that looks to be pretty interesting. It’s called “For The Love of Vinyl“, and it covers some of the amazing/iconic album art that the U.K. based Hipgnosis team created for some well established acts. I would assume that their most popular work is Pink Floyd related, but I’m sure that reading up on how all the covers came to be would be just as interesting.

It’s funny, I recognize a lot of the covers they have done, but know nothing about some of the bands, is that bad? That may or may not be a testament to how good the covers are, I’m not sure.

Click below to watch a clip of Aubrey Powell discussing the book, Hipgnosis and random cover art tidbits. The bit on “Houses of The Holy” is rad.

Continue reading FOR THE LOVE OF VINYL →

The UK’s James Cox was recently out here in California filming for the United video, so I decided to throw some questions his way about his trip.

Click below for that.

Continue reading Q&A: JAMES COX →

I’m sure most of you are chilling/recovering after the holidays, and/or probably catching up on things after some traveling.

If that’s the case and you need some time to kill (and are into graphic design/photography) you should browse Well Medicated and Smashing magazine. Both sites have interesting collections of random things such as 50 Amazing Gig Posters and Vintage and Retro Typography Showcase, as well as tips/tutorials and interesting bits of info.

These sites can serve as inspiration for sure, so add them to your bookmarks.

Here’s our second round of “best of”s for 2008. We have a huge list of people for our second round and there’s a chance there will be a third! If you missed it, make sure to check part 1 here.

Continue reading Best Of 2008 – Part 2 →

Rich just sent over a sneak peek of Chase Dehart’s Lotek shoe.

According to Rich, Chase’s shoe is based off a slimmed down throwback and will have double thick insoles and a stiffer/more durable sole compound, as will the rest of the 09 Lotek line.

Full pic after the gap jump, and keep checking Lotek for info.

Continue reading SNEAK PEEK: CHASE DEHART LOTEK →

Graphic designer Michal C. Place of Build is featured in this pretty rad commercial for some white out pens… As I was watching this, I was just picturing how cool it would be to have a huge warehouse space like that… I was also thinking how weird it was he was using whiteout pens… I had no idea what the video was for, but once it ended it all made sense… The website is pretty bad, but the video is dope. Via: Surfstation

Click here to check out the video.

Out of all the end of the year roundups, The Fader has my favorite thing going on by far. I posted on their list last year and was super excited to see what they came up with this year. They always have the most random topics and I love how the numbers change… Like “Top Six Celebrity Sightings Near The FADER’s LA Office” or “Top Two Different Dances That Are Actually The Same Dance” how about “Top Fifty Things Lil Wayne Is, According To Lil Wayne on The Carter III”.

Definitely a good way to enjoy Christmas Eve Eve. Check Fader’s Listmania here – Part 1 & Part 2.

Keeping on the subject of the world’s first, and baddest, automaker… a few weeks ago Selectism posted this short and sweet summary of Mercedes-Benz design history from Wallpaper* by Jonathan Bell. The article is great but the photos are even better.

Excerpt:

“Mercedes’ key reputation rests on its saloon cars, traditionally deemed to hide over-engineered excellence beneath sober surfaces and straitlaced proportions.” An excellent philosophy applicable to almost everything in life, in my opion.

View it here.

As a car manufacturer, when the recession hits and supercars are being unloaded for half-price, naturally the strategic next step is to drop an even more ridiculous model than the last.

If the CLK isn’t enough for you, there’s a second Black Series coming to the US. More than twice the price of the CLK Black, and in true AMG form, the SL 65 Black is overkill in every department.

Personally I’d still go with the CLK, which is an understated, blue-collar workhorse compared to this one, but the SL is spectacular nevertheless and definitely worth a look.

Photo gallery

Video

Check the date on this NY Times article. Thanks David Lang.

Read it here.

Continue reading JESSE WHALEY: RANDOM iPHONE PHOTOS →

Continue reading SANDY CARSON @ RANDOM →

To round up 2008, we hit up a bunch of our friends and asked them a simple question: Send us us one good thing that stands out from the past twelve months. Thinking back on 2008, it probably won’t be remembered as the best year, but rather than focusing on the negative, we wanted to keep it positive, so check out what everyone had to say! Thanks to everyone who sent stuff in and check back soon for part 2 and possibly part 3! Also, fell free to add your favorite thing of 2008 in the comments!

Continue reading Best of 2008 – Part 1 →

Those of you Defgrip readers who are automobile enthusiasts are probably already well-acquainted with the Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black Series. About a year ago I saw one of these on the 405, knowing that it was some race or DTM version of the very familiar CLK, but at the time it took some research to figure out exactly what it was. At first I thought maybe I just loved it because it’s right up my alley as a semi-practical, front-engined everyday Benz with unreal performance and exclusivity, but in the last year this car has risen to worldwide acclaim.

A few months ago Harrison and I were riding bikes around my neighborhood and were blown away when we came across a white one parked on the curb. No back seats, 505 horsepower, neck-breaking torque, subdued styling, daily driveability, ultra-minimalist interior, 7-speed auto, bad ass.

I’ll spare you all the car-nerd research and just let you check out UK automobile connoisseur, Top Gear‘s Jeremy Clarkson and his in-depth review of the car.

What you don’t see in this video is that it’s really just the very end of a much longer video where Jeremy reviews a long list of heavy-hitting cars, most of them far more expensive and exotic than the Black Series, finding something negative to say about each and every vehicle, except for “The Black” which wins the battle hands down. Clarkson loved the car and ended up buying one himself.

Thanks to the current economy The Black, which cost $130k when it came out, can be had for around $70k now.

WATCH HERE.

EXPN posted a Jimmy Levan video that Dean Dickinson put together, where he talks about various topics.

Click below to check it out.

Pic from Metal Bikes.

Continue reading JIMMY LEVAN →