It’s an uphill climb to the bottom
Skateboarding is fun. I know this because we have one in our apartment which we use to cruise across the polished floorboards to get from room to room. Though I should acknowledge at this point that I use the term ‘cruise’ liberally. In fact, I should probably not use it at all given that, of the five members in the household, only one of us can actually stay on the skateboard long enough for it to count as riding it. And that person, my friends, is me. Yes. And I say that with the healthiest lashings of humility, for my ability on the board is limited. Very limited. Extremely limited. Yet my housemates – intelligent people though they are – remain blissfully unaware. Instead they have been convinced, ever since I first set foot in the cavernous apartment and nonchalantly maintained a steady path across the living room on my first ride upon this great, untamed beast, that I am in fact the Australian equivalent of Tony Hawke. And who I am to disappoint. So it is with shoulders back and head held high that I saunter through our communal space, content in the knowledge that the whisperings and uneasy murmerings I hear behind my back are merely hushed acknowledgments of my skateboarding prowess.
Yessiree. I’m livin’ the life. Problem is that now I’m under pressure each day to better the stunt of the evening before to keep this illusion floating. And all this from someone who has not ridden one in at least fifteen years. Ah, perception really is reality, until reality comes crashing down in a bloodied heap on the floor. Just yesterday, for instance, I spent a good six hours perfecting the art of riding the damn thing backwards. That’s right, cruising it in reverse. Then, when everyone was home for the night, I parked the board carefully near the front door, made some excuse to disappear briefly outside and, upon my return, effortlessly leapt upon it, hands in pocket and whistling merrily as if the sight of a grown man breezing through a roomful of confused, bemused and, most likely, fearful people was the most natural thing in the world. Sigh. It’s a lonely perch on the top of the skateboard ladder. But heck someone’s gotta be there. Now, for my next trick [illustrations by Chiho Aoshima]
Tagged: Brooklyn
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RELATED
So MGMT are set to bring back their flutes, horns and psychedelic falsetto melodies on their forthcoming album, Congratulations. But this teaser track seems to cram every imaginable genre into the space of less than five minutes, resulting in an interesting sound, to say the least. You will either love, hate — or like myself — allow this groove to grow on you in time. [Listen to the new MGMT song Flash Delirium here]
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Acrylics was formed by Jason Klauber and Molly Shea in 2008 and evolved into a trio. Their debut album All of the Fire was produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear at his church-studio in Brooklyn, Terrible Studios. They kicked off their Secret Playlist with the Bobbie Gentry song, Reunion [listen below]: ‘Most famous for her hits, Ode to Billie Joe, and the unstoppable Mississippi Delta, Bobbie Gentry is a sultry-voiced country singer who wrote and produced her own music in a time when it was rare for both women and country singers. Gentry talk-sings the part of a young girl at a large family reunion in this track off her Delta Sweetie album. We first heard it the day after Halloween while driving back to New York from upstate and it made our ride. Starting off with a seductively sparse hand-clap rhythmic figure, Gentry’s Mississippian belle rap, ‘mama can I huh’ enters next. More and more voices and sounds enter the party until we reach a cacophonous fever-pitch. The result sounds like a Charles Mingus arrangement of I Want Candy in a southern baptist church. The song quickly fades back to a whisper before the three minute mark’. Read the rest of Acrylics’ Secret Playlist.
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EXOvault Aluminum iPhone cases
Exovault is a small artist-run company. The aluminum EXOvault case is lightweight and durable, and fits the iPhone 3G or 3GS like a glove. The EXOvault case is machined from solid metal stock in two pieces. Your iPhone will not rattle around or move within the case. And the case will not scratch your iPhone. Handmade in Brooklyn.
Also by ZOLTON
Designed by artist Lise Lefebvre, this reformed vintage wool Persian style carpet gives you a once in a lifetime opportunity to walk all over a grizzly. Just don’t practice on the real deal.
Hmmm, hmmm. Cake Pops are creative little vignettes of sweet, sweet goodness, and they’re springing up faster than all good mouths can eat them. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (3)
Zolton said | 19 September, 2006
now that’s what lost at e minor is all about. bringing people together. ah!
Andy said | 8 September, 2008
Now this is just plain… uh…. awesome! When madly refreshing the homepage yesterday and scanning the ‘We’re Thinking’ section I was hoping for THIS EDITORIAL! I remember when I first read it, and for some reason it was stuck in my mind. I wanted to read it again… somehow it came to me and I wanted to read about Zolt’s skate antics all over again. I knew I could search for it, but I didn’t want to – I wanted it to just pop up and glide into my field of view. And so it did. Damn… I’m just loving this site popping the archives like this!
HAVE YOUR SAY
Artist Riki Takaoka documents every meal he eats by drawing a picture of it, which he then posts on his website, Riki’s Food Blog. Read more
It looks like the New Rave movement is making a big comeback thanks to Carrie Mundane, designer of the UK-based fashion label, Cassette Playa. Read more
I’m enjoying reading the insight and witticisms of the Indie Breakfast Club blog, which casts a wide net over entrepreneurship and what it means to be one and still have a conscience.
Jell-O! Liz Hickok’s latest artworks are based on a colourful, wobbly, mini San Francisco. Read more
Kirk brings Molly to meet his family for a pool party but she doesn’t have her swim suit. Kirk, an average Joe, can’t believe his luck when gorgeous babe Molly falls for him even though he’s the first to admit She’s Out of My League. In cinemas April 1.
The strategy based architectural firm Popular Architecture has created a scheme that takes on the spread of cities. Based on the estimation that London will need to provide housing for 100,000 new people each year up until 2016, this building houses 100,000 in one hit. Read more
Named after the first openly gay politician in US history, Harvey Milk make some rather testosterone-heavy tunes. While appealing mostly to the stoner-rock and indie-metal set, the quintet from Athens, Georgia, aren’t afraid of a little melody, as the almost pop track Motown on their latest album, Life … the Best Game in Town, proves. But more often than not, the band gets down and dirty with some knuckle-dragging sludge rock. Amid the haze of searing guitar squeals, menacing power chords, and seismic bass rumbling, though, are some almost math-rock flourishes that hint at the brains behind the brawn.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Good thing Kris Kuksi channelled the trauma of growing up with an alcoholic stepfather, his disdain for ‘the typical American life and pop culture’, and his fascination with the macabre into obsessive, baroque assemblages, paintings, and drawings. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
French installation artist Baptiste Debombourg made this mural of Icarus using 35,000 staples as a comment on American power. Read more
Dennis Pomales is a man after my own heart, creating impulsive yet detailed, tribal-influenced monsters and aliens using watercolors and ink. Read more
From this artist selection of t-shirts comes this Christina Koustospirou illustration, silkscreened on a limited edition t-shirt, and distributed in a vinyl sleeve, with a biography of the artist on the back of the sleeve. Every t-shirt is numbered and signed by the artist, and comes in organic cotton. Read more
The new Runaways movie looks at the formation of the seminal girls’ group which spawned Joan Jett’s career. We have a Runaways prize pack to give away, including Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, the Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Greatest Hits CD, the film’s soundtrack, and Joan Jett’s photobook with Todd Oldham. To enter, just leave the name of the city you live in! Read more
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Naomi said | 19 September, 2006
hey tom
i just want too say your work is very impressive
keeping it all simple but yet seems so imaginative .. hee hee
hope every thinh all goes well
love ya xXx