Time Keeps On Slipping

This watch by Devon Works is incredible. It's oddly attractive, extremely high-tech, and it has real gadget-like appeal. While I'm far, far, far from a high-end watch consumer-- and even if I were in the market for an expensive timepiece, I'd probably choose something more classic-- I can definitely see the appeal. The technology is cool, but what's even more impressive is the creativity and willingness to think differently displayed by the folks at DW. Read about it at Hodinkee and check out the Devon Works site, too.

Take Me Home

This fantastic song is LCD Soundsystem's "All I Want" from the upcoming album, This Is Happening. Here, as with "All My Friends", James Murphy shows that he is a master at capturing a feeling in 7 minutes of soaring pop magnificence.

Boi Stop!

Wow, Big Boi's "Shutterbugg" is fire! When, oh when, will this damn album see the light of day?!?!?!?!? I'd call all these delays the "OutKast curse" but it seems to happen to every rap album that I look forward to hearing.

Also, Pitchfork mentions an interesting piece of info about the vocoder and talkbox in their review of the song.

City By The Bay

I've come to really enjoy Mayer Hawthorne despite how he reveals his vocal deficiencies at times (all jokes aside his music, with the exception of a couple songs, is really good). Here, he teamed up with Huf and Freegums to release some goodies in honor of the final night of his U.S. tour, which happens to be next Thursday in SF. Ignoring the music for sec, I noticed that in this video, Keith Hufnagel of Huf (the guy in gray) might be wearing his yet-to-be released new shoe. It only caught my eye because after having lost track (and interest) of the sneaker scene and shoe culture, I randomly checked in on a couple blogs recently to find a pretty clean-looking shoe about to be released by Huf. I've been meaning to get a pair of nice, classy gray sneakers and I think these fit the bill.

Would You Share Yo' Dollar With Me?

I like the video for Aloe Blacc's "I Need A Dollar" but I think I prefer the How To Make It In America intro credits, which provide a hopeful, uplifting feeling to contrast the stark lyrics.

Fly-er Than The Rest Of 'Em

The Sartorialist has been posting old photos from other people as a part of his Vintage Photo Contest. I thought I would repost this picture and the accompanying text because the man looks bad-ass and it reminds me of some old photos I have seen of my grandparents. Not that my grandfather wore anything as adventurous as those boots but he was usually looking pretty sharp. It seems like people just had a way a dressing back in the day, which makes me wonder how futures generations may view the way we dress now...



The date is January 3, 1954. Pictured in the center is my grandfather Yukio (known to me as Ji-chan, Japanese for Grandpa). My dad (pictured on left) is 9 here, his brother a couple years older. The three of them are getting ready to leave Japan for the first time and emigrate to California. My Japanese-American grandmother (born/raised in Calif.) had earlier left her family in Japan in order to find a job, a place to live, and get settled here. Then she sent over for her husband and kids to come and join her in the States.

This photo of Ji-chan reminds me of a Japanese Indiana Jones with the leather jacket and fedora, ready to go on an adventure in a far-off land. He always looked sharp when he went out.

Ji-chan was always a bit of a mystery to me as there was a language barrier (he spoke only Japanese) and he was a quiet man. But I really loved him. He would sneak behind my grandmother's back and smoke cigarettes in the garage or in the car. I'd always laugh at him becuase it was so obvious. He would awe me with his yo-yo tricks. When I was little I'd hold his hands and he would let me step on his toes while he'd walk around the house. And he was a highly regarded gardener in the Japanese community and won awards for his amazing bonsai plants. He was in his backyard garden, sitting at a chair next to a little table tending to one of his mini-tress when he passed away when I was 14. When my grandmother discovered him she thought that he was simply taking a nap because he looked so peaceful.