Guernica

This is phenomenal! A 3D animated short with obvious influences from all your favorite artists.

Sampled

From the crates of Chris Martin aka DJ Premier...

Sampled for Hov's 1st album. You'll recognize it. Then you'll slap the walls, throw your chair out the window, punch your girlfriend in the stomach... Whatever it is you do when you hear a banger.

Allen Toussaint & The Stokes - Go Back Home

Styrobot

Kevin Kelly saved styrofoam packaging for 5 years and then made this robot out of it. Some call it geeky, we call it gully. Look how humble Kevin is too, standing with his hands behind his back. Click on the pic above for the full story. Recycling is cool, kids!

Dreamo's Certified Heater of the Week

Saukrates' "The Underground Tapes" has been a mainstay in the sheedee changer for many years. Father Time is undisputable and this track definitely brings forth the weekend swagger.

Grown Man B.I. Din Dins

These spots aren't your Johnny's or Esquire jump-offs (which deserve multiple blog entries in their own right). They are grown man B.I. restaurants in the Tdot to be enjoyed with a lady friend. Dinner for 2 with a bottle of vin rouge is approx $150 at both of these spots (click on pics for links to restaurant websites).

Cava

1560 Yonge Street @ Heath Street

416.979.9918

Tapas style with an "artisan" gelato / ice cream shop attached to the main restaurant

Messis

97 Harbord Street: 2 blocks west of Spadina Avenue

416.920.2186

Accessible to everybody - yet fine dining. The patio is official, the atmosphere is comfortable, the food is crazy delicious. Messis is goooooooood.

NASA confirms Windows virus reached outer space

Ah, Microsoft, but let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. And you can't reach a whole lot higher than the International Space Station (ISS), which NASA this week revealed had a few extra astronauts on board last month - a Windows Virus known as Gammima.AG.

This virus, which affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP machines, was first detected on Earth in August last year before heading off on its unexpected journey into space. Gammima AG is widely used to steal log-in data for online games in the Far East, the BBC reports. And the virus was carried to the station on laptops infected by the virus.

Gets better: "Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected."

Probably because the machines on the Space Station are running an insecure operating system, known as Windows, we reckon.

Space news website SpaceRef broke the story about the virus on the laptops that astronauts took to the ISS.

Oh - and it's possible that some of us Earth-dwellers could have been infected by a computer virus sent from space: "The laptops infected with the virus were used to run nutritional programs and let the astronauts periodically send e-mail back to Earth," says the BBC. And the laptops used by astronauts don't have anti-virus software installed.

-- from www.9to5mac.com

Ak's Artist of the Week: Andre3000

Some random, recent verses from one half (the better half) of what some call the best hip hop (and for that matter, music) group of all time. Record sales, respect from the true heads, an ever evolving sound and originality. What more can you ask from an artist?

Click to download dopeness.

school of rhyme

Elzhi breaks down his style and takes wack emcees to school.

F*ck Babylon

unblockyoutube.org is a proxy that lets you hit up sites like facebook, myspace (who still uses this?!?), youtube, etc. that may be blocked by the powers that be where you are.

The revolution will not be televised.

The Old Prince Still Lives At Home

Check out this music video done to look like a familiar show's intro.

Crimson Twins

Recognize Muthafu**as!! How can I not share this. The lyrics are just too jokes.

This will come in handy

60 million rounds per second!

Hypothetical situation: somehow, the need arises for a gun that can fire 1,000,000 (read ONE MILLION) rounds per minute.

PAUSE.

I repeat, one million rounds per minute.

I would almost rather be nuked than to be the target of that gun. You know this world has taken a turn for the worse when we have guns that can fire one million rounds per minute.

The Circle of Life

A classic Apple ad from the late '90s. That guy at the end is set to receive a cool $10 million from Microsoft in a new $300 million 'Anti-Apple' ad campaign.

Maybe they should have used that money for R&D for Vista?

To add even more insult to injury, that ad ran during the final episode of Seinfeld. Microsoft just doesn't get it, do they?

-- from www.9to5mac.com

Dreamo's Certified Heaters of the Week

Heatery comes in many forms. Each heater is respected and loved for a different reason. With this in mind, this week's edition of DCHW is three fold. No matter which direction this weekend takes you, remember your heater:

"Out causin' trouble with the crew" heater

"On my own flex" heater

"Alone with the lady" heater

The Classroom of the Present

Classroom at Abilene Christian University

Does anyone remember using a pen and a piece of paper? Imagine asking that to your grandkids! Imagine seeing their bewildered faces and asking, "you used to write stuff down on paper?!?"

Wait till you get to break out one of your old mixtapes that you dubbed from the radio! Ah the good ol' days... Sitting by that tape deck, waiting patiently with your fingers on 'play' & 'record'.

How many?

If you're down with the Detroit sound then this album is for you.

Second solo release for this Ann Arbor native. Production is handled mostly by fellow Athletic Mic Leaguers 14KT & Vaughan T with a Black Milk track snuck in there (can't go wrong with that).

His debut release is also solid and has guest spots from eLZhi, One Be Lo & Guilty Simpson (to name a few). I'll post that at some point.

Get it

Which Saved by the Bell Character Are You?

Click the pic and find out which Saved by the Bell Character you are.

Related Side Note:
If you're a piiiimp, you're likely Mr. Belding.
Mr. Belding = BALLIN'

"Drop out of school, smoke a ton of weed..."

Seth Rogen's advice from his Aug. 5 guest spot on The Daily Show.

Dr. Nick

It's fun to "pharrellize" yourself. Image if you could "tom-cruise" yourself. Wait... why would you want to do that?

Fantastic Contraption

Fantastic Contraption is an online physics game.

Your task is to use the tools at hand to move into the goal.

Seems simple, but it ramps up in difficulty as you move along.

Emily

Emily was created by Image Metrics in California, the same company that created the graphics for the game Grand Theft Auto.

She is not real.

Emily was produced using a new modelling technology that enables the most minute details of a facial expression to be captured and recreated.

She is considered to be one of the first animations to have overleapt a long-standing barrier known as 'uncanny valley' - which refers to the perception that animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness.

“Ninety per cent of the work is convincing people that the eyes are real,” Mike Starkenburg, chief operating officer of Image Metrics, said.

“The subtlety of the timing of eye movements is a big one. People also have a natural asymmetry - for instance, in the muscles in the side of their face. Those types of imperfections aren’t that significant but they are what makes people look real.”

You are fo real

Ever wanted to drop your current existence and become a super producer / fashion trailblazer / socialite? Click the pick above and "pharrellize" yourself with a couple quick clicks. You were just frontin'.

Even more insanely addictive flash games

More insanely addictive flash games

According to the site, "you'll never in a million years complete this game successfully in your first turn".

Is that a challenge?

I met the Walrus

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.

Lisa Needs Braces

Dental Plan. Almost impossible to stump this map, click on the pic above for an interactive map of Springfield, from "Simpsons" fame. If you can think of a location in Springfield - the map has it.

p.s. Professor Frink could be the most unsung Simpsons character

Taking it back

It's hard to believe that this was released 13 years ago! Are we getting old?

Produced entirely by Pete Rock, this album will have you boppin your head from start to finish. It's smooth, soulful sounds will take you back to the days when Tribe, De La & The Pharcyde graced the airwaves. Radio? Who listens to that?

Don't sleep on this one!

Get it

Keepin em coming!

Second solo release from Lootpack memeber Wildchild.

3 beats from Madlib, 2 from Oh No, 3 from Black Milk (track 11 will cause you to throw your window at your chair... huh? yeah!) and the rest is spread out among others.

Get it

Gangster Donuts

I'm usually not a fan of re-working albums with different beats (not to be confused with mashups) but these are Dilla beats we're talking here. And I said "usually".

You can never get enough of Dilla.

Get it

Sampled

Common has been at the top of the rap game, arguably, throughout his entire career. He just doesn't stop putting out dope music and accompanying videos. And he's not the worst actor out there either.

Knock Kanye for whatever reason you choose but his beat-making talent is undeniable. I, for one, can't wait for The Blueprint 3!

Contains a sample of Honey Cone - Innocent Til Proven Guilty

Just good music

Group consisting of Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline & Stricklin.

This is easy to find elsewhere but you found it here. If you're a fan of any of the above artists, you'll definitely enjoy this album.

Been really feeling Niclolay's drums lately (see track 12). Couldn't find exact production credits for the rest of the album so you're on your own there.

Get it

Choice Cut

Sometimes you don't need to post an entire album.

Track info (with album art) embedded within file.

Robots

That Bimmer looks like it would fit in just fine with these guys.

BMW: Damn, Gina!

GINA stands for "Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations", which basically means that designers from both BMW and BMW Group DesignworksUSA were allowed to throw out the rulebook. This is most evident in the GINA Light Visionary Model's outer skin, which is made entirely out of textile fabric that's pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires.

The skeleton of the car is controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and can actually move and change shape beneath the fabric skin. For instance, the headlights of the concept can be exposed or hidden by the car's skin just like blinking eyes, and the hood opens from the center as the fabric parts to expose the engine. This idea extends to the interior, where BMW designers have made visible only those instruments that are required at a certain time, while the rest of the time the same fabric interior "blinks" them out of view.

(from autonet.com)

Go!

Banger from the Loop Digga and the man portrayed above.

This track bangs in your Pathfinder / Lebaron / Civic / Camry / Maxima / Finch Bus.

Dreamo's Certified Heater of the Week

Slap the walls 'til plaster falls

Hal Johnson on his last minute grizzly

Why does Joanne constantly bust Hal's balls?

Hal was clearly at the office working late and rushing to make the plane, and he is met with some smart ass comment? How about a pillow fluff or the latest copy of "Enroute", Joanne?

Found

Huge 22 track album of energetic hip-hop, funk n’ soul, & downtempo from head turning MC & Producer...

Drawing comparisons to the impact Little Brother's debut caused on the underground scene.

-- from Amazon.com

Get it

Thats minimum, and feminine like sandals

Remember when 36 chambers came out?
A lot of has changed since then.
Can it be that it was all so simple?
Your name is Erica, right? true?

More Goodness

Group consisting of producer/emcee Symbolic One (S1), Myth & Myone ("My Own").

Defying all stereotypes of today’s southern rap music scene, SFP laces their music with soulful and uplifting lyrics layered over jazz- and blues-tinged hip hop beats.

Heavily influenced by classic soul artists like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, their music acknowledges a deep respect for artists who stand up for what they believe in.

And this is precisely what they’re striving to do.

-- from The Movement Magazine

Get it

Goodness

Group consisting of Braille, Othello & Ohmega Watts.

Produced entirely by T-dot resident Muneshine...

"We're talking grooving, engaging, soulful, uplifting music that never falls out of character."

-- from www.rapreviews.com

Get it

Smooth

Group consisting of Phonte (Little Brother) and producer Nicolay.

Nicolay would send the beats to Phonte over email and Phonte would send back his vocals for Nicolay to master. The two didn't actually meet in person until they started touring.

-- from Wikipedia

This ish is DOPE.

Get it

Pause

Watch at 22 seconds. Interviewer plays it off perfectly.

NERD f/ Kanye, Lupe, Pusha T - Everyone Nose Remix

I'm lovin' this video.

AllHipHop.com: Now I know Lupe was on stage talking about filming the Child Rebel Soldier video and there’s a video about the video that’s leaked. This project was really kept under wraps and now the secret’s out, but why was it kept such a secret for so long?

Pharrell: Well I don’t know what you’re talking about. [laughs]

AllHipHop.com: Not fair, even Lupe said it.

Pharrell: What did he say?

AllHipHop.com: He said we’re filming the Child Rebel Soldier video.

Pharrell: Ohh you mean CRS. Ohhh CRS – ohh Ciara, Rihanna and Shakira.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, [laughs] that’s the project I was talking about.

Pharrell: That’s gonna be cool. CRS stands for “can’t really sing.”
That was corny but it worked.

CRS - US Placers

On the amateur video tip - this one is also well done.

CRS = Child Rebel Soldiers = Lupe Fiasco + Kanye West + Pharrell Williams

Sampled

This video is SICK.

The first in a regular series of posts.

Contains a sample of: Steely Dan - Kid Charlemange

No title necessary

You've probably been living somewhere I've never heard of if you don't have this... But if that's you, I'm here to help.

Ripped this myself so the quality is unquestionable.

SOURCE: CD with album art
QUALITY: 224 kbps (vbr)
TRACKS: 12
SIZE: 62.7 mb

The New Westcoast

L.A. based Tres Records has quickly become one of the premier labels in underground rap.

It's been said that Tres doesn't put out bad albums and with artists like Y Society, C.R.A.C., Lightheaded & Shawn Jackson (to name a few) it's hard to argue against.

Tres has what I like to call the "new old-school" sound. If you grew up listening to rap, chances are you'll be feeling anything this labels has to offer.

They seem to be doing something right over on the westside. With fellow underground giant, Stones Throw Records, L.A. is up there with the D and Chi-City as far as rap is concerned.

Amongst all the trash that is hip-pop right now, good music can be found. You just have to be willing to look for it.

Get it

Pleasant surprise

Stumbled across this and as the title of this post suggests...

Get it

See for yourself...

8 people paid $1000 each for this program.

Can you think of ONE better way that $8000 could have been spent?

Just one.

Guess who's back?

Sampled this quickly from Fat Beats earlier...

Definitely liked what I heard and will give it a more of a listen when it drops in a few weeks.

Timing couldn't be worse though, with eLZhi's album already out. That album is pure FIRE.

Massive fire at Toronto propane depot forces thousands to flee

Video Footage: See 1:50 for massive fireball

Which one is real?

Dopeness from Drake

Collabs with Lil Wayne should give him some well deserved exposure.

Brand New (gooooood baby makin' music)
Stunt Hard
You Got Me
Black Magic

Comedian Bernie Mac dies aged 50

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac has died at the age of 50.

Bert & Ernie - Ante Up

Brilliantly edited and hilarious

Opio (from Souls of Mischief) - Vulture's Wisdom Volume One

Backpack sounds.

Dreamo's Friday Certified Heater of the Week

The first in a series of certified heaters to be posted on Fridays - in the sure and certain hope that these musical selections will start the weekend on the right note.

Wow.

And the Award for Lamest iPhone App Goes to...

Developer Armin Heinrich (and we hesitate to call him a “developer”) has made his mark on Apple App Store history by creating what is undoubtedly the most ridiculous application in mobile phone history.

In fact, if Heinrich makes even a single sale with the app we would say that society has collectively failed.

What does “I Am Rich” do exactly? Nothing. It’s a $1,000 app that is intended to be a status symbol; it sits on your phone and displays the odd image shown above when you open it.

-- from www.boygeniusreport.com


8 idiots bought the $1000 image

The LA Times blog is reporting that the infamous, limited edition "I am Rich" application was purchased by six Americans, one Frenchman and one German. That's right. These guys gave the developer, Armin Heinrich, a total of $5,600 dollars and Apple $2,400 for what effectively is a 320x480 pixel Photoshopped picture of a jewel.

Is it Art?...

We could bring up the discussion of whether this is a study in exclusivity in the digital world and a harbinger of things to come...however, it is just too stupid to to put it through scrutiny. It really is too bad that giving $1000 to the WWF or a charity doesn't give people that same kind of buzz and recognition.

-- from www.9to5mac.com

Institutionalized vol. 2

Another dope album.

Get it

The Problemaddicts - The Dark Side of Oz

Sampled this quickly.

Immediate reaction: dope.

Darren Aronofsky To Direct 'RoboCop 4'

MGM is ready to reboot its "RoboCop" franchise. Darren Aronofsky has signed on to direct and David Self is penning a new installment about the hero whose tagline is "part man, part machine and all cop."

"RoboCop," which is being fast-tracked for a 2010 release, becomes the first potential tentpole to come together since Mary Parent took the reins of MGM in March. Aronofsky's involvement has been one of the worst kept secrets, with rumors rampant in the blogosphere that "The Fountain" helmer was eyeing the project.

-- from www.killermovies.com

Unofficial Stones Throw Blog

http://stylesuponstyles.blogspot.com/

Changes

The Whole Earth is My Home

Is this

the abyss

Or is this
listless?
Gone are the days of mental fitness.

But witness
You gotta feel what your heart spits

to get this.
put the fingers to the wrist

its

the business

how your living, what your head gets.


Outside of cigarettes and breaths
There's credit and debts.

And steps


from Chiang Mai
to

Zion Heights Junior High.

No papers burned.
No time to judge what we learn.
But teach it.
Better yet, one should preach it.

There's no peak yet.

It's barely just started.

And the time that you've climbed is barely the hardest.
At this time in our minds we are barely the smartest.

But where the heart sits.
It's paving roads to roam.
And the roots beneath our boots, are from the seeds we've sown.

Where I'm grown...
is the place where you were grown.

As I dash into the space,




The whole Earth is my home.

got a chair? got a window?

Insanely Addictive Flash Gamesies

http://armorgames.com/play/1871/totem-destroyer

Find ish

This engine searches for Rapidshare uploads (one of the more popular online file-sharing sites).

a fine specimen of ooman

more where this came from...

You already know what it is, Dunny

We are stiffarming fools from 1980 to infinity

Streets is watching:

-- "U.S. border agents given power to seize travellers' laptops, cellphones"