Johnnie Walker launched a new $3,000 blend available only in the Singapore airport… random, right?!? It’s a blend from casks from nine distilleries, including some from the company’s hoarded stocks from long-closed distilleries including malt whiskey from Glen Albyn and grain whiskey from Cambus (both closed in 1983). The whiskeys have been blended and given a final final maturation in a 100 year-old wood cask. Blah Blah Blah… the best part is that it is sold in individually numbered hand-blown Baccarat decanters.
However, if John Walker isn’t quite in your budget, perhaps you should look into Mr. Burglar whiskey. Not sure how great it tastes but that’s not why you’d buy it… The packaging, designed by London based agency called Fantasist, is heat sensitive so that when you put your hand on the bottle an image of a thief appears beneath your fingerprints.
Ever since seeing the U2 Concert Film at Sundance, I’ve rekindled my affection for 3D… which is why I am particularly I’m excited that YouTube added the ability to support 3D video content. Hopefully as their content library grows we will get to see videos that really take advantage of the technology like these YouTube Tests:
The creative developers behind Macro | Sea are breathing new life into Brooklyn’s urban landscape by transforming retired dumpsters into public swimming pools! Construction Chic! And what’s even cooler? … the company’s mission statement: Macro | Sea is a company created to do projects that we find interesting.
Instead of pontificating on election day matters like all those politically charged blowhards out there… I would like to point out that Starbucks is now serving in holiday cups!
Coffee talk sidebar:
How do you feel about the new Starbucks Gold membership that was launched today? Is it necessary to indulge in the Starbucks equivalent to AMEX Centurion? (Probably… although it would be easier for me to swallow if it was Blue Bottle.) Talk amongst yourselves…
Check out these stone ice cubes made of Nordic Rock. Nordic rock is mined from ancient Swedish pollution-free base rock. It is supposedly the purest way of cooling your drink because stones don’t melt which means your beverage wont get diluted with potentially unclean water. Dont you agree they look pretty hardcore… although eerily similar to a sugar cube of pumice stone? (Ew… sorry for that visual) If that wasn’t enough, they are also reusable which makes them all eco-friendly ‘n shit… so whats not to love?
I’m really digging this deviant art trend – urban landscape as inspiration and canvas.
Street artist, Morfai, is responsible for bad-assifying transforming this statue called Seeder in Kaunas, Lithuania.
In addition to the actual piece there is an interesting short video brainstorm of the ideas that Morfai threw around before deciding on the handful of star dust.
It’s here!… Today, September 19th is the second annual Park(ing) Day. Conceived by REBAR, a San Francisco-based art collective, PARK(ing) Day is a one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.
This is obviously a “green movement” but I think it has greater implications. I was lucky enough to walk past three of these exhibits on my way into the office… one of which I had enough time to sit at while enjoying my coffee for a bit and I can honestly say that it changed my morning. If nothing else… it will change your perspective… and only good things can come of that.
If you get inspired and are interested in participating next year, check out the Park(ing) Day How to Manual for hints on how to create your own parking project. Have fun – and send me pics!
Definition: A hard-up very unattractive girl that hangs around in bars/clubs waiting to sexually assult males who are too drunk to defend themselves or know better.
Question – Is this where the term “swamp ass” came from?
If this doesn’t get you pumped to Pop, Lock & Drop It… then I dont know what will.
At least twice a week, Wu Ying goes to a local gym in western Beijing to work out. She joins a group of girlfriends and the occasional guy, and for a couple of hours they train with a dance instructor in a glass-walled room surrounded by treadmills and step machines. The whole scene – some 20-odd people working up a sweat to the insistent beat of hip-hop, under dim fluorescent lights – would be unremarkable if not for the fact that Wu is 70 years old.
Wu, aka China’s pre-eminent Hip-Hop Granny, is a nimble Beijing native who has been performing hip-hop routines since 2003 when she saw the first National Hip-Hop Dancing Competition on Chinese television.
“The competitors were all young people, wearing headscarves, headdresses, hats, and various clothes,” recounted Wu, a retired accountant who was 66 at the time. “I thought that was very fresh.”
Inspired by “the look they had in their eyes, the way they moved their fingers, heads and bodies,” Wu thought hip-hop dancing would be perfect for herself and China’s aged and infirm.
Wu set out to learn hip-hop dancing at a local gym and to study whatever she could about the activity. She also began looking to put together a five-member troupe to promote hip-hop dancing by touring the country and by performing on Chinese TV.
“[People] said, ‘Hip-hop? What is hip-hop? Is that a sport for you? Hip-hop is merely for young people. How old are you? You are 66 and you want to dance hip-hop? Don’t be ridiculous!’” laughed Wu as she described people’s initial reaction to her idea. Even her own daughter was embarrassed by the thought of a hip-hop mom and scoffed at the notion, provoking a rift between them that lasted days.
Eventually, Wu found four other women willing to try out, and they formed a team in February 2004. Six months and many rehearsals later, the Hip-Hop Granny Dance Team made its debut at the Beijing qualifier for the National Hip-Hop Dancing Competition.
The Grannies – whose average age was 60 at the time – faced off people several decades younger. “They were professionals,” Wu said. “We seniors didn’t know much so we were very nervous.” But their daily rehearsal routines paid off; the women walked off with third prize.
They haven’t looked back since, garnering further prizes and accolades every year. Moreover, Wu’s 48-year-old daughter, Guo Zhe, now appreciates her mother’s dancing and even occasionally joins in.
The Hip-Hop Grannies have also drawn many more members. Over the years, they’ve attracted at least 1,000 different women. Among them is a 74-year-old who just began learning – she’s the oldest member.
notice things 
