RACINGMIX

Interpret in Context

2010-03-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Digital Literacy

2010-02-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

The challenge was to not pipe into the Internet everyday. My peers and I boasted about going consecutive days without logging on or turning on a computer. I'm aware of the long hours sitting in front of a computer screen. The RACINGMIX subtitle reads, Digital Lifestyle & Global Culture. Why am I shocked that people are absolutely addicted to the Internet and seemingly cannot live without it. It's not newspapers that are seen when riding BART public transportation around the San Francisco Bay Area, it's cell phone texting, iPhones, Blackberries and e-reader's. If the ridership was younger, it'd be a portable video game console.

What is the feeling when you bust out a previous generation phone or read a newspaper? It dates you, and that is an uncomfortable feeling that works against the denial of aging for older generations, especially baby boomers (born 1940s through 60s). I see baby boomers everywhere and the fact is, as the biggest spenders and most powerful citizens of our community, they don't know how to use the Internet or technologies that bank off the Internet. Identify the baby boomer - they have a late model iPhone/laptop and are playing card games on it. Ironically, baby boomers are the ones who implemented the technology (both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were born 1955).

I believe in digital everything (8-bit generation); I did go through a brief time jaded before ultimately realizing analog trumps digital every time. But digital and analog need each other like China needs America and vice versa. With that said, step up homie to the 2010-compliant-you or get stomped into the dust of yesterday!

Pharrell in Paris 2010 by Karl Hab

Pharrell, a 36-year-old American musician (NERD) and music producer of the decade 2000-2010 (The Neptunes), joined a keynote discussion at Midem 2010 in Cannes, France in the new year. He touched upon the struggle with technology and importance of digital literacy:

"The real issue is: can we keep up with the technology? It's getting better not by the year, but by the moment. Literacy is an unresolved issue of the past. Technology is spinning things out far more and faster than the public can keep up with. People are not up on it, they're not able to keep up with whats going on. That's the new struggle. Are you able to communicate and are you able to get around on the Internet? Cause if you're not, you're going to be left behind. One of my biggest agenda's is to make sure inner city kids become more acclimated with technology."

Listen to Pharrell on Digital Literacy

Pharrell's discussion was a surprise as I expected him to boast entirely about his accomplishments but instead showed maturity and compassion. He may appear young, he is after all wearing snowboard boots during the discussion, but he isn't exactly young, nor old, it depends who you ask. Pharrell is in his late 30s prime and has a strong team around him to help produce his ideas and visions into the real world. His agenda is bringing computers to the 'hood! Can you believe gang members are still throwing up gang signs and inner city violence exists today? This isn't 1990s gangster rap era, it's 2010! I suppose twittering gang affiliations wouldn't have the same impact. Analog trumps digital every time!

The ODALC Board, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums

The City of Oakland is inner city, Oakland is raw and Oakland has a new organization that already acts and provides upon Pharrell's biggest agenda. A local Bay Area organization that bridges digital and analog real world together:

The Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center ODALC focuses on Oakland's young adults and professionals between the ages 18-35 who are in need of career development. Through teaching computer, Internet and digital literacy, the ODALC supports and enables creative minds to stimulate job creation. ODALC aims to provide up-and-coming productive citizens a vehicle for expression and saleable computer skills.

Find ODALC online through ODALC Facebook and ODALC Youtube.

Mude 2010 Soundtrack

2010-02-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

Stream / Download

Be Well

2010-01-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

I wonder...is this what people mean when they suggest, "Be Well." Illustrating a half-donut bite of a Portland, Oregon, Voodoo Doughnut in the chocolate glazed cream filled variety. Be well.

Storm Troopers

2010-01-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

Whenever it's wet and raining in the Bay Area, it's snowing in Tahoe. Those than don't ride are gloomy and depressed when it's wet out but those that are in the know are stoked when it's storming - so long as the riders can get to the mountains! That's the yin yang perspective. Catch 'ya later at 8,000 ft!

Pruning Outbound Links

2010-01-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

RACINGMIX has been published online since 2000. Ad-free, commercial-free, cost-free, reward-free. Publishing content online takes time and time is money. In the past decade, I've seen many come and go. The following outbound links were removed from the outbound links roll call in the right column:

- 1115: It's quite alive, but it's such a bore. My friend's crew runs this site, but politics get boring, unless there is fighting or gunfire. See Freshjive below.
- 2Flippant: My friend, Ben, from Brisbane, Australia. Good thing the family is up and running!
- A Color: A Blogspot hosted and created site by Dino John, apparently was part of the elite fashion world. Reviews of catwalk shows, basically taking Kanye West's fascination with Milan to the extreme.
- Dzark Design: Some hot stuff back in 2006 regarding graphic design, illustration, digital art. Broken link, but amazingly no back pack girl...yet!
- Element Lounge: San Francisco night spot that hosted the 05/05/05 RACINGMIX CD Release Party. Run by a group of swell guys who struck gold in the first dot-com boom and cashed out to invest in nightclubs. But I'm over parties. Still down to throw down, see deephousesoldiers.com for a mixtape caled "2010 Mude".
- Esteban Sabar: First Friday's Art Murmur epicenter, Esteban ran the best art gallery in Uptown Oakland. His departure from the physical space and art scene, along with partner artist, Marty McCorkle, signified a sad decline in the Uptown Oakland Art Murmur. Esteban brought charisma, class and refinement to the Pabst white-trash gentrification of Uptown. But I'm not complaining about the gentrification, really. It's still better that the scary ghost town that preceded it.
- Euro Tuner Magazine: A link to the VW Double Down article that my brother and I were featured in a full color seven-page spread written by famed The New York Times author, Richard S. Chang, and photographed by Wes Alison! The absolute heyday of the Import Racing scene in California, pre-Fast and Furious. The article was first published in Super Street April 2001, and later published in a second run for Euro Tuner magazine. The link is now broken - Euro Tuner and that whole segment of import mags has undergone so many editorial and publishing ownership changes, I lost track long ago.
- Fresh Jive: What used to be a clothing company for the hip and trendy two decades ago has dissolved. The site is up in a different direction having become a tree hugging environmental movement? However, the splash page flash movie is a rude awakening, who has the source to that humdinger?
- Glutter: Hong Kong democracy girl, behind the original artwork of Chairman Mao wearing a SARS mask, started a family down south and I think she had to put her rebellious ways aside. A long time running blog with quite a reputation in Asia.
- Heywire: Has since become Artst. Although pitched as a guild and community, it continues to pimp Pharrel's photos and his "art", with the community artists offering phone snaps of their finger nail paint if that says anything of the level of art exhibited.
- House Arrest Events: The streaming DJ mixes from past events at this Chicago nightclub featuring House DJs like Derrick Carter, Green Velvet, Diz, Hiroki, Kid Koala, Louie Vega, Doc Martin, Mark Farina, Sandy Rivera, East Coast Boogiemen, and the list goes on! Unfortunately, it's a dead link. Someone has to pay for this service! Support it or die, and I've been around long enough to know that House music is underground 'cause it's broke!
- Jamie Doom: Once part of the Sinosplice network last seen roaming the vast ocean in 2007. 403 Forbidden, son!
- Jeff Jones: Maker of the trickest titanium mountain bike to date ran a blog showcasing his builds for customers in which he chronicle the full build, ride, disassemble and ship the completed bike. Then a report about a customers bike being jacked in the UK - an $8000 build no less! Went into a cold spell and has since reported technical difficulties although the main site is still published.
- Just Jared: A celebrity Hollywood site that did it with just a wee bit more class than Perez Hilton. But who am I kidding reading this bullshit.
- JTuned: Followed "Wilson's Import Racing Mix" to the tee in formula, represented for a year, found out the hard way there ain't no money in feeding eye candy to a bunch of pimple faced teenagers! And without passion, you get JTuned.
- Original Made: See JTuned above.
- Perez Hilton: Like reading a magazine on the shitter, I would bemuse myself with the latest gossip while eating lunch. But the last time it was bemusing or entertaining was when Perez was a fat queen bragging about hanging out with Paris Hilton and broke - it was rude, raw and underground. Then it became mainstream, diluted, and got passed off to assistant(s) writers, turning PG in the process, and needs to be dropped off the face of the planet.
- Stereo NYC: Cigarettes being choked on inside the club. That's VIP New York for you.
- Watch Movies: Used to provide streaming movies that were newly released. Like getting the $3 bootleg DVD sold at the hamburger stand, but for free, on your computer, on the same day as the film was released!
- NJS Frames Supermarket: It was the hotness and source to score an ex-racer NJS frame direct from Japan. Since I ride 58-59cm, I mostly viewed, for amusement, $1000 used steel frames (many times rusted and/or dented) being purchased direct from Japan like hotcakes. One time, a sparkling iridescent blood red 58cm came onto the market at $1300 but with the plethora of boutique builders in the United States that would build a truly custom bicycle at the same price, passed on that. The blog then turned into a store and dissolved into the nothingness of commerce.

No News is Good News!

2010-01-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes, "No News is Good News!"

It's a sign of the times when the newspaper racks report yesterdays news and are half empty or half full depending on your outlook. These abandoned newsracks litter the metro city landscape. RACINGMIX photographed in Downtown Oakland, 19th Street, BART train station.

Things That Matter Most

2010-01-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

2010! Peace to the 'Aughts and hello to the modern adult. "The Generic Man" doesn't need branding and logos to make him feel confident or stylish. He understands quality construction, clean refined lines and the significance of simplicity.

First week of November 2009: Sold the Volvo on Saturday night. Gone car-free, it feels 'effin fantastic to lose 3,000 lbs. Equipped with my single speed steel bicycles, no more pumping gas that feels like money in the bank; movement is powered by the heart, not combustion. I look out on the five-lane freeway from atop the BART platform, the freeway is congested like an ant trail with flashing brake lights, one car after another in file formation. Ironically, I fail to see the "freedom" that the car has been associated with for its marketed life. For excluding myself from the commute of grief, I spread a beaming smile cheek-to-cheek and step through the doors of the BART train. Not the first nor the last, a self-righteous elitist mentality it may be, but I can accept that in exchange for the pros. As the two things that connect me to the lowest common denominator have been eliminated from my daily ritual: the television and the car.

P.S. Thanks to Dave F. of Santa Cruz for showing me the light - we miss you in Concord. Miles' dedication and commitment to Wheels of Steel. Fossil Fuel and Rock the Bike for making me sweat it out Halloween night in the Mission. Thanks to the White brothers of Lafayette for the inspirational proof of cycling's pros for the physical and behavioral. Cotton of Walnut Creek and his essential commuter tips, looking forward to headwinds and rain. Thanks to the family for their support. Respect to those who are green, walking-the-walk, car-free; not anti-car, just pro-bike!

Update March 2010: Google updates Google Maps engine with bicycling directions!

"I was traveling via Los Angeles International Airport LAX last week. Walking through its faded, cramped domestic terminal, I got the feeling of a place that once thought of itself as modern but has had one too many face-lifts and simply can’t hide the wrinkles anymore. In some ways, LAX is us. We are the United States of Deferred Maintenance. China is the People’s Republic of Deferred Gratification. They save, invest and build. We spend, borrow and patch." - Thomas Friedman, March 2, 2010, New York Times

"Since Wisconsin is also the home to Waterford, the makers of Schwinn bicycles, Paramounts litter the streets and are falling from the sky. You just have to catch them before they hit the ground." - Prolly, January 2010"

"Norcal makes L.A. look and feel like Tijuana. - Buscemi, Gourmet, December 2009

"There's an evolution in media moving toward digital. It is just the way of the world. Newspapers performed a huge function for many decades, but the world has changed now: video, photo galleries, all born of immediacy. When people get things on demand, publishing cycles do not work. So it is not a contest of print versus digital but an immovable, unstoppable force." - Harvey Levin, TMZ founder, November 23, 2009

"You are wrong, I'm bone thugs in harmony." - Tiger Woods, October 1, 2009

"I think the better thing would be to save your visual impact for select moments when you want to make a statement. It's all timing. You want to save your moments." - Syd Mead, visionary, September 13, 2005.

"I believe Americans should be forced to work harder and sweat more. Worse, we continue to delude (deceive / dishonest) ourselves. Dunkin' Donuts slogan is 'America runs on Dunkin.' This is ridiculous. The truth is, America isn't running anywhere - America sits on its collective scranus and gets fat on Dunkin. The problem with commuting by bicycle isn't that it's too strenuous; it's that it's too dangerous. Straining makes you healthy. Danger kills you." - Bike Snob NYC, September 24, 2009.

"A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it and you know it.” - Andy Warhol, 1975.

"As in other fields, women seem to break through the glass ceiling just as the air-conditioning is being turned off in the penthouse office suites." - Alessandra Stanley, Good Evening America, The New York Times, September 6, 2009

"Craig Newmark, without wavering, believes craigslist works because people are good. Whether you accept it as true will depend on your standard of goodness. By eliminating marketing, sales, and business development, craigslist's programmers have cut out all the cushioning layers that separate them from the users. Any right they have to teach lessons in public service comes from the odd situation of running a company that is directly subservient to the public. Here's the lesson: The public is a motherfucker." - Gary Wolf, Wired, August 24, 2009

"Michelle Obama does not need to be rescued. She does not need you commenting on the finer points of her body. And she most definitely does not need our permission to wear shorts." - Kate Dailey, The Human Condition, August 17, 2009.

"Because technology keeps moving, it keeps the tension alive between free and expensive, so it never stabilizes. In a sense, this rewards the innovative and punishes those who cannot innovate or change rapidly.” - Stewart Brand, Futurist, 70 years old, July 20, 2009.

"Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, said when he was a college student along with Larry, they invented Google based off of open source, Linux. Morally, Sergey wants to give back to the open source community because it enabled Google. This business would not have existed if it were not for open source technology. So what other businesses can you create on this type of technology? Google has a role is mentoring businesses get off the ground. I think in a very broad view, different from a traditional CFO focused on bottom line and incremental action - not an incremental vision but a many-year, long-term vision. That is one of the reasons Google is successful today, and will continue to be successful. For that reason, I agreed to come work at Google. As an entrepreneur, Google's leadership doesn't block, but rather, enables every one of my visions." - Andy Rubin, July 17, 2009, CNN Money.

"Life is pain and anyone who tells you different is selling something." - William Goldman, The Princess Bride, 1987.

"Sitting at a cafe in the alps and the two dudes next to me are drinking beer. It's not even 10am on a Monday." - Lance Armstrong, Twitter, June 29, 2009.

"We (Founder Craig Newmark and Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster) both know some people who own more than a billion dollars and they're not any the happier. They also need bodyguards." - Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org.

"Shima is known for how and where he does his royales. Brian Aragon is known for his robotic and smooth style plus he's the spin king. Richie looks like he's always about to fall but he is actually so under control. Franky...well, he's Franky! Murda is a weirder black version of Aragon. Broskow is just weird - and solid. Bailey is just stupid because he has a unique style in the craziest spots." bladerboy201, Shima Killer Boots, YouTube.

"I feel like a wall covered in graffiti. Anybody can just run up and leave a mark but the wall underneath remains solid. I need to wash off all the marks - I feel so saturated with everybody's bullshit...I need to get clean again." - David Flores, Artist, Santa Barbara, California, May 26, 2009.

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Stella pictured on Lower Haight Street in San Francisco. You can see the last of the showers in the concrete. Peep the size 13 waterproof gore-tex SB Dunks (vintage 2007). Stomping 2009: good news, those close and in contact know just how stoked I am. It's been 5 years in the making. I consider it a more significant accomplishment than my bachelor's in Literature at Santa Cruz circa 2001. To think that factually, 10% of the population are college educated, yet having a University of California bachelors is dime-a-dozen. It's like the 10% rule: 10% create and contribute, the other 90% just shit on everything.

Finally, the snow base is over 100" and the powder fell from the skies and blanketed everything into a crusty white coral reef. Just waxed my board for the second time this season. If you're headed to South shore Lake Tahoe, Heavenly season pass ticket holder here, so hit a brotha' up!

Tags: Doze Green, Lib Tech, 2006 Pacifier, Lindsey Whittaker, Dragon Motif, Secret Saturdays, RACINGMIX, Deep House Soldiers, Metrotuned, Opus One, 8-Bit Generation, Duck Foot Stance, Fakie Rider, Heavenly Mountain, Bay Area Riders of the Storm.

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"I've always been somewhat disillusioned with the educational system. Some people have said it was originally based on the idea that we're training factory workers, so it was very important to teach them to do some repetitive task for eight hours a day. What's going to be really exciting is when this Nintendo generation gets a little bit older and starts becoming teachers in schools. I think that's going to make a bigger difference than any kind of educational reform ever will. In the future a lot more learning will happen in the home." - Will Wright, Inventor of SimCity, Wired Magazine, January 1994.

Re: BART Police New Years Shooting Fruitvale station subsequent riot protest.
I'm Pissed and Want a T.V. Let's Riot.

"After watching the news this morning and seeing the people rioting and looting in Oakland, allegedly for justice in the BART shooting, I want justice too. (Justice is what I'll name my new T.V.) I'm organizing a riot at the Best Buy in Dublin to protest. I'm not sure how destroying the neighborhood and private property, stealing merchandise, and lighting cars on fire is a protest to what happened. It doesn't matter. The people doing it didn't know either, but if it means that I can get a new 52" 1080p 120Hz Flat-Panel LCD HDTV with DNIe (Digital Natural Image engine), wide color enhancer and CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp), and 2 built-in 10W down-firing bottom-mount speakers then I'm all for it. So here's the plan. Email me and we'll figure out what time to meet up at the Starbucks next to Jamba Juice. We'll probably "get our pissed on" when everyone arrives and start the riot right there. We can start this riot right by smashing some coffeehouse windows, setting those paper sleeves on fire, and looting some white chocolate mochas. (It's gonna get cold out there.) With our bellies full of caffeinated brewed goodness we can move our angst and desire for "Justice" across the parking lot to the Best Buy before the cops get there. When they do finally get there we can "hoot and holla" about nothing in particular while we jump up and down on their cars and smashing windows and stealing more stuff. Gonna be great. We'll need someone to make some signs on 8"x11" pieces of paper making reference to the BART shooting to really make this legit. And if anyone knows how to use an espresso machine, that'd be great. Once they see how angry we are, the Starbucks employees will probably flee. See you tonight! P.S. Will need at least one more person with the ability to lift 80 pounds. Thanks!" - Rants and Raves, Craigslist, January 1, 2009

"Hip Hop used to be about being fearless, standing out. Now it's all about fitting in. Hip Hop is like a big high school. That's why I respect people who can do whatever they want to do. - Kanye West, November 19, 2008, MTV Raw.

"We now have a "Clean House Depression" - you know that TV show where pack rats fill their houses from floor to ceiling with junk they never use or even know they have. The US has plenty of houses, cars, computers, TV's, Appliances, Cell phones, Game consoles and other Junk, most of which were made in China. Some people actually managed to own their junk by runs around the system - most bought their junk on credit that will never be repaid. So we can turn off the Chinese Factories for 10 years until some of the junk wears out. But all those workers will starve. The solution to the infamous depression was to blow up the world's cities and put people back to work building new ones. A mismatch between productive capacity and consumption. Computers and robots will do all the work but robots don't buy the stuff they make, they work 24/7/365, plus faster than humans." - Jet, Nov 22, 2008.

"John McCain said he cannot even send e-mail! We need a President who can send e-mail. I think that sort of thing is important, don't you?" - DJ Z-Trip, 944 Magazine with Shepard Fairey.

"At the end of the day, we are responsible for our own lives. Once you learn that, you're on your way." - Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)

"But I know that time reveals truth and heals wounds. I definitely do miss the Fugees. We were a crazy bunch. We used to do some wild things, we had a lot of fun. But the funny thing about liberation is that once you get it, anything other feels awkward." - Lauryn Hill, August 26, 2008.

"Respect is not creative...Chanel is an institution, and you have to treat an institution like a whore - and then you get something out of her...I'm only interested in my own opinion. If I have a project, you like, or you don't like. There is no second opinion. If you are not 100% sure about what I want to do, you ask someone else." - Karl Lagerfield, August 24, 2008.

"I guess it's bittersweet, you spend half your life trying to become larger than life and the other half trying to just live a real life again." - Kanye West, July 6, 2008.

"Please note that saying 'someone' needs to do 'something' will not be any more helpful on that issue. We are already well aware of that." - Michelle, Drupal.org, June 19, 2008.

"U.S. officials repeated their call yesterday for China to stop subsidizing fuel for its citizens, arguing that it contributes to surging demand for oil and thus higher global prices. Since Chinese citizens pay a fraction of the market price, they have less incentive to pull back in their use of gasoline and heating oil. But while China's population is larger and consumption is growing at a much faster rate than in the United States, the Chinese note that the average American consumes about 14 times as much oil as his Chinese counterpart." - The Associated Press, June 18, 2008.

"Pay respect to the elders and take the suggestions of the intellectuals; treat them as your teachers. Consider those who will not flatter but always criticize you. Because good and bad, kind and evil, and right and wrong are not easy to tell apart. Some things are similar in appearance but different in nature. For example, green bristle grass seeds can look like rice. The hide of the cow is the same color as the tiger's. Bone can be mistaken for ivory and worthless stone for pure jade. All of these are apparently right, but actually wrong. So if you want to distinguish between them, you must observe them carefully." - Duke Wei-Wen, Tang Dynasty Official

"Gavin Newsome + Mary Jane = True Love" - Sarah Hromack, April 16, 2008

"The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low, that every person of sense and character detests and despises it” - George Washington

"...Boning you on my helicopter." - John Mayer, March 7, 2008

"Real mixtapes. Once cassettes died, the music started dying, both literally and figuratively. Mainly, the cassette tape forced the listener to appreciate an artist's entire album of work. None of this skipping-around CDs introduced. And now, you can completely ignore a musician's finished volume thanks to iTunes and single-downloading. You can even forget about the artwork, since the music vendors are threatening to pull tangible CDs off the shelves. So yeah, let's bring back the cassette. The only problem: No one has a tape-player!" - Bobby Hundreds, April 4, 2008

"As humans, we are subjected to an overload of sensory stimulation every second of everyday. We are bombarded with millions upon millions of images and sounds. Yet, we can only comprehend things as they happen. There is so much to take in, even when things seem calm...that is when I wonder, what is important? You can hear, see and feel the most incredible things when nothing is happening at all. The most common occurrences can become events of such magnitude that seem as if they taken years to orchestrate, and who is to say that they did not? Thoughts move through my mind too fast for me to get them down on paper. These thoughts end up manifesting themselves in dreams that make sense only to me. When you spend enough time watching, listening and thinking, you can almost transcend to a place where you believe in anything. It keeps me continually engaged with the pleasures of life." - Jacob, designer & photographer.

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I'm excited about today's opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. From what I've heard from friends in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, they are excited just to have the Olympics over with as the publicity and fever tension of the marketing campaign is exhausting. Either way, having the Olympics on 08-08-08 at 8:00pm is about as blatantly "lucky" of a moment one will ever witness in this lifetime.

Yahoo's Flickr photo hosting website canceled one of my freshly paid pro accounts with no advanced notice, literally erasing 2 years of titles, tags, descriptions, groups, sets, and connections. Of course I have the original photos, but the order and the information I attached to each photo was lost. The portfolio had 400 photos and was viewed over 50,000 times. It consisted of photographs of custom design furniture after it had been delivered to the customers home - a real portfolio of original photographs. When is a collection of photos not a portfolio, not selling something (your lifestyle, skills, style, view, yourself?) The official response from Flickr was: "Don't use Flickr for commercial purposes. Flickr is for personal use only. If we find you selling products, services, or yourself through your photostream, we will terminate your account." If you surf around Flickr and through your contacts, you'll find that the majority violate the terms and that's not a bad thing for the Flickr community. When my Flickr renewal notice came up, best believe I thought doubly about renewing my RACINGMIX Flickr pro account. History of image production output 2006-2008, especially in 2006 when Mr H. Saba sponsored RACINGMIX. Psst: Zen Photo. - wilson@racingmix.com 080808

Deep V Rim Battle

2009-09-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Deep V Battle by Wilson Tai for metrotuned & RACINGMIX

Single speed bikes are an obsession: two wheeled bicycles, welded in steel and powered by a pair of legs - simple, pure, effective. Beyond the freewheelin' single speed is the fixed gear bike. (There is also coaster brake single speed; think 1980s Toys R Us special BMX with bar pads and plastic 5 star rims, ripping 20 ft. skids with the pedals locked back) Although single speed and fixed gear share a common trait - one gear - the fixed gear lacks a freewheel or freehub, thus coasting is not possible. Simply put, when a rider is on the bike, the rider is constantly pedaling in motion either forward or backward or at standstill, a balancing act called a "track stand". To simplify matters, fixed gear purists use bare minimum essentials, less parts, free of cables, derailleurs, cassettes, shifters and even brake levers.

Define fixed gear lifestyle? Ride or die! Just like import racing before it hit the mainstream (pre-2001 The Fast and The Furious), you would instantly connect with complete strangers in the niche - interaction, communication and human emotion achieved through riding, sharing a common passion. You'll find "fixies" on the BART train, local city streets, and if you're lucky, you'll witness a "wolfpack" collective mashing through San Francisco to Los Angeles or (insert your local metropolitan city here) and zippin' around a lit landmark at a midnight session, complete with barspins, skids, wheelies and bunny hops.

You can identify the hipster species for the vintage flannel shirts, all-over-print hoodies or t-shirts, sideways crooked hat, tight jeans (circa 1980 heavy metal mascara smeared lead singer), anodized carabiner keychain attached to the rear right jean belt loop, Vans sneakers (thanks to influence of super producer personality, Pharrell), and a wicked controlled recklessness that is borderline finesse and vulgarity, mixed with a dash of danger.

It's not so much the fashion but the function, after all. For example, out-of-saddle climbing, then bombing down Ygnacio Valley Rd., a massive four lane hill road intersecting Concord and Walnut Creek, in a 42 tooth chainring versus 17 tooth cog, hitting 30mph, the threshold where no longer can the rider maintain the hyper cadence at speed, into a locked skid with cars 2 ft. to the left and sidewalk curb 2 ft. to the right, and living to tell about it. That's an element of fixed gear lifestyle. Thus, the appeal.

Rim trend: I'm not a bicycle parts designer but a custom furniture industrial designer. As with most eye candy, I am intrigued by sexy bikes, and currently, the latest sexy is the "Deep V Battle" targeted at the single speed fixed gear biker. The aesthetic and fashion comes from the super deep dishes seen in the velodrome track bikes or in time trial bicycle races; think Lance Armstrong and his infamous hot twitter'd Tour of California TT bike. The ability to slice through the wind, transfer power stiffness, and feather lightness are ideal traits - thus most deep dish rims are made of carbon fiber.

Because the style looks "damn cool" and because the carbon deep v's cost close to a thousand dollars each, they are appealing to the street riders. To meet the demand, cheaper aluminum versions rocking the deep dish have become the hipster standard.

To add fuel to the fire, I am in the market for deep rims as I possess a pair of 36H Phil Wood & Co. blue anodized disc hubs (hubset), freshly renewed by Bruno @ Phil Wood, and am ready to lace up to rims with "ill steez" that Phil exemplifies.

But because these are going on a single speed mountain bike, I am seeking a wider rim for a wider footprint. Because I'm not pumping the tires to 100+ psi, a narrow rim has a higher likelihood for tire roll off. At the top of the 29er MTB list are the Halo Freedom Disc's, the MTB specific choice at 28mm wide and 25mm deep, stainless eyelets. Considered deep, but not deep enough!

Behind-the-scenes chatter with the big three in the deep V battle, Velocity Australia/USA, H Plus Son China, and Dodici Italy, I can assemble there will be quite the heated competition in the summer of 2009.

The newest kid on the block is the Velocity B43, designed to be the deepest at 43mm deep, built on the proven pedigree of the original street weapon, the "Deep V", at 30mm deep. Not deep enough cried the progressive urban riders! The B43, named after the nuclear bomb, is 43mm deep, 700+g weight, triple chambered for strength, a high spoke count (48 holes versus 28 or 32 holes), and the standard flaming colors (bubblegum pink, antifreeze green, popsicle purple, etc.). Inching it 1mm over the next deepest competition, Velocity B43 will be a huge hit.

Velocity was provoked to release the B43 in direct retaliation to "formidable" H Plus Son Formation Face rims, which destroyed velocity's original champion 30mm Deep V with an astounding 42mm dish (12mm more than the 30mm Deep V), 600g weight, and quality construction (welded seam, G609 alloy).

Then the single, isolated incident of a Japanese fixed gear rider blowing out an H+Son rim destroyed the reputation about as quick as it had stormed onto the market. This was a pre-Domino's Pizza viral social media nightmare on a smaller scale.

Above: A photoshop'd soft taco in a truly taco'd rim, circa, Japan. What's crazier than popping your rim is wearing shoes three sizes too large - now that's deep, son!

H Plus Son is run by a father and son in the classic two generation old tradition vs new modern thinking cliche (I'm no stranger to this!) and sell globally direct from their website. Dodici Italy is run by an Italian vintage pista enthusiast, Jacopo Volpe, and he commissions the rims through Gipiemmi after Model 716. The whole rim line is the single Dodici rim, running 3 chambers, 768g weight with a 40.5mm deep section. Like the competition, the Dodici is 19mm wide.

In one swift blunt hit, the Velocity Deep V successor, the B43, will destroy the H Plus Son and the Dodici rim offerings. If you want to play the geographical game, it's Australia/USA for the win over China and Italy. The problem still lies, what about the wider width for 29er mountain bikes? Big hit!

I was considering ordering 1,200 rims from Dodici Italy with custom XL width and height but thank goodness someone did it before I jumped. Soon to be released, the Velocity Chukker is 32mm deep and 24mm wide and was designed for bike polo, hence the name, "Chukker", bike polo lingo. Though it's not as wide as many 29er riders would demand, it's width is equal to a lot of current 2009/10 29er mountain bike rims and ideal for my build.

A word from MD @ Velocity:

Thanks for your input on the blog and for the kind words. For the record, the B43 was designed for road use, aimed at the fixed gear rider that just wanted more rim. The Chukker is being made for the polo player. The word "chukker" is a polo term meaning one period of play in a match. We have been getting a lot of requests for a wider Deep V style rim with up to 48 hole, so we made one. We suspect the Chukker will appeal to the trick and free ride crowd as well because of its width and strength. Neither rim was designed for the MTB crowd specifically, but if an off road rider finds a use for it, awesome!

John Prolly, of Brooklyn, NY, was chosen to rep an early release of the Chukker's: Profile track hubs, Velocity Chukker's, MKE x BMW 700c urban BMX fixed gear street whip:

Metrotuned singlespeed 29er with production Velocity Chukker x Phil Wood MTB 29er SS wheelset.

Metrotuned: Geekhouse x Igleheart - new school and old school share more similarities under the sun and stay true with their unique principles! In pursuit of the custom rigid steel New England segmented fork. Two custom bike builders in New England push the style fork in their line of custom steel frames and forks.

Metrotuned: Geekhouse x Igleheart from metrotuned.

New School and Old School, both melding true school custom handmade steel bikes. Metrotuned filmed on site in Boston and Wenham, Mass.

California Heart Stopper

2009-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

DJ AM - Adam Goldstein. I'm sorry about his death. He was a superstar DJ, but in the end, only a DJ - total stranger, didn't know him, but c'mon, not another one lost! Guilt-ridden, distraught, selfish, he crossed the line and once that happened, it was game over. He died at 36 from overdosing on a speedball (oxycontin prescription pills and crack cocaine). Other Hollywood public figures who have succumbed to overdosing on speedball's in the past including: Jean-Michel Basquiat (Andy Warhol's peer), Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon, Red Hot Chili Peppers Hillel Slovak, Grateful Dead's Brent Mydland, River Phoenix, SNL actors John Belushi and Chris Farley.

The most all-original photography shout-out to AM is by The Cobra Snake: "DJ AM 'Best in the Business' I love you."

As a DJ, I can vouch that DJ AM's achievements were the top of the game. In fact, DJ AM was the #1 DJ in America: DJ for Hollywood's Tom Cruise and Leonardo Dicaprio, with a Las Vegas Palms weekly residency, DJ AM Fridays, touring with super group, Blink 182s drummer, Travis Barker and DJ AM as TRV$DJAM, dating Hollywood broads Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore, running the sneaker scene with 700+ pairs of Nikes including a design of his own (Nike x DJ AM Nike Dunk), bi-coastal residences in New York to LA where he owned Hollywood's Club LAX and the final project was an MTV show called, "Gone Too Far", in which ironically, DJ AM intervened and attempted to save young junkies. He claimed and promoted he didn't drink nor do drugs.

Not without his own demons and vices, DJ AM was a recovering freebase crack abuser (since age 20), attempted suicide at 24 (but the gun didn't go off), morbidly obese at 324 lbs (since teens until he got gastric bypass surgery at 30), and in 2008, survived a horrific plane crash with bandmate, Travis Barker, in which both were critically injured when the remaining passengers perished in the fire.

He would seasonally DJ the local nightclub, Aura in Pleasanton, CA, and an army of YouTube videos revealed his turntablist skills and his repertoire with Serato vinyl (vinyl DJ platform with notebook PC and virtually unlimited digital library of music) - he entertained the largest global crowds. But at a cost: when surrounded by and serving superficial party goers, many of them wasted, the party nightclub crowd doesn't exactly reward your values. How much longer could it continue on? Every DJ, from the bedroom DJ to the year-out booked, jetsetting DJ, has asked at one point: is the music enough to save you?

Deep House Soldiers + Emcee T Pushin' the Bay TV

2009-09-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

DEEP HOUSE SOLDIERS:

DJing at the Green House with DJ eHash and show host, DJ Suite (of Stanford radio KZSU Big Love Show fame). Direct from Miles' bachelor party weekend in South Lake Tahoe, transported from Tahoe to Redwood City (six hours on the road) to record live on the wheels of steel.

August 16th, Green House studios, Redwood City. The Green House airs weekly with hosts DJ Suite and Mr. Lucky, Sundays 6pm-10pm, webcast live at DeepMixFM.com. Listen to recorded live performance DJ mix "Summer Bachelor" by Will of Deep House Soldiers (M3U playlist)

###

PUSHIN' THE BAY TV PTBTV:

"A collaboration with Chinese-American artist Emcee T, PTBTV leads among Bay rap's current onslaught of YouTube-enabled Web TV, a phenomenon so ubiquitous that I've been on one or two — stand near Mistah F.A.B. long enough and it'll happen. Few shows, though, have a host as charismatic as Ray Luv, which may be why the PTBTV site nets tens of millions of visits — not bad for a one-camera, one-mic production. Even Ray seems slightly surprised. 'Most of our hits come from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America,' Luv says. 'Lately, for some reason, there's been tons from Syria.' PTBTV is a modular affair. Ten-minute interview segments posted on its YouTube channel are interspersed with the occasional exclusive high definition music video, although Bay Area rappers dominate, the topics range from concise histories to new talent and behind-the-scenes in the studio or the music and radio industry such as 106 KMEL or 94.9 KYLD." - Garrett Caples, July 22, 2009, SF Bay Guardian.

Pushin' the Bay TV has the Bay Area hip hop legends on lock! To anyone growing up in the Bay Area, you know you bought all these tape singles at Tower Records! Where's the Conscious Daughters from Oakland at? Source: Pushin' the Bay TV on YouTube. Check out Emcee T's exclusive interviews below:

PTBTV Emcee T interviews B-Legit

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Dru Down

PTBTV Emcee T interviews JT the Bigga Figga

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Mopreme Shakur

PTBTV Ray Luv interviews Young Dre

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Mistah F.A.B.

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Chamillionaire

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Spice 1

PTBTV Emcee T interviews Mac Mall

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Need high-definition HD video for promo, talk show, interview, music video, commercial, advertising, propaganda? Connect to shaun@shauntaifilms.com -or- call direct (415) 235-8786. YouTube HD films start at $500! Check out the latest video project completed, an official music video for Kata Boy - I'm Rockin', filmed YouTube HD.

Emcee T and Oolz - Glass of Milk

Emcee T - Saying I Love You

Emcee T - Thizz

Emcee T - Wiggle Out

Emcee T - Wiggle Out Jonothan Schaferkotter Director's Cut

Emcee T & Chachee - Hitstick ZTY Beats 2009 Edit

###

VIBE magazine presents "The Best Rapper Ever" in the Summer of 2009. Here is my list, with the strong majority from California; looks like 2Pac was onto something during that mid-nineties West Coast vs. East Coast controversy: E40 (California), Daz & Kurupt of the Dogg Pound (California), Notorious BIG, Spice 1 (California), Kanye West, Too Short (California), Mase, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Method Man, Andre 3000, 2Pac (California).

Go Lance! Tour de France TDF 2009

2009-07-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Tour De France: 124,000 calories burned, 3 chains worn, 21 stages and 2241 miles ridden, in 3 weeks. Per rider! The youngest ever to win was 20 years old, the oldest, 36. Lance Armstrong is making us all proud by aiming at his 8th Tour De France victory at age 37. I've been following Livestrong's Twitter since Christmas/New Years when he was bike training in Hawaii - Go Lance! Due simply to the addition of a living legend, Lance brought a 95% jump in viewership through Versus video streams. Back in 2010 with Radio Shack as the corporate sponsor, Lance will put together a dream team to achieve his goal of 8 Tour De France titles. The only thing is, Contador, in his prime at 26, proved he is better in the mountains than Lance ever was at his peak, and Frenchman Schleck taking 2nd at age 24 proves that mid-twenties is the time to win the TDF...Lance's training regime will be more significant than the races next year.

Contador, Cancellara, Evans, Boonen, Armstrong

Tour Heroes by kristofsaelen

Monte Carlo, Monaco, grand start of the Tour De France

Alberto Contador's TT position that won the '08 Giro d'Italia

Astana Team leader, Alberto Contador, trailed by...

ToC '09 winner, Santa Rosa resident, Levi Leipheimer

Lance aboard the infamous Twitter stolen TT bike ToC '09

Lance sporting the Marc Newson graphics TT bike TdF '09

Stage 21 Champs Elysees Butterfly Damien Hirst

Lance & Levi win the Nevada City Bicycle Classic '09

1st Alberto Cantador, 2nd Andy Schleck, 3rd Lance Armstrong

"We are a very unique team in that we have a rider who has won seven Tours de France (Lance Armstrong - USA) and another who has won three Grand tours and is a great stage rider (Alberto Contador - Spain). If it ultimately turns out they are the two strongest riders of the race and no one else can win, it is pretty clear they both want to win. Let them race." - Astana team boss, Johann Bruyneel.

Self-Combustion at Fifty

2009-07-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson: Lovable eccentric? Persecuted genius? Child-molesting freak? http://www.racingmix.com/word/loder.htm, published 2003.

Lawyers are going to make their careers off of the bankruptcy of Michael Jacksons' estate.

This isn't Charles Dickens, it's the Michael Jackson show. MJ wouldn't it have it any other way.

RACINGMIX: Michael Jackson Chocolate Rain

RACINGMIX: Michael Jackson Mirror Remix

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. He was active in show business for over thirty years. He died in 2009 at age 50. "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."

Dragon Motif x Lindsey Whittaker collaboration!

2009-06-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Lindsey Whittaker meets Dragon Motif and Rosewood House, a boutique with preceding reputation of supreme quality, exotic hardwood, hand joinery, custom design furniture and has been reppin' the Uptown Oakland district on Broadway Auto Row for forty years in 2009. Asian motifs abound aplenty in the Rosewood House collection: 100 year, multi-generation, Chinese antiques complementing refined, sleek, custom-spec entertainment cabinets for iced out piano black LCD televisions and brushed aluminum home stereo components that effortlessly disappear into the depths of warm, organic tones.

Lindsey Whittaker, a local graduate of the CCA, came together with Bay Area's Dragon Motif design house to inspire the traditional. Applying her line finesse to the stenciled wood surface of reclaimed Dragon Motif tiles that once lined the ceiling of flamboyant Taiwan estates in mid-century Taipei, 1940-1950. The installation of these pieces can be seen in this Rosewood House twittered spy shot from street side the design boutique headquarters. To learn more, check out Lindsey Whittaker's portfolio through Dragon Motif:

Chinesepod, Shanghai, China

2009-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Sinosplice founder, John Pasden, leads the Shanghai ChinesePod crew. Well over eight years of dedicated Chinese study, mastering the language and thus culture beyond any Westerner I know, John took it to another level when he married a wonderful Shanghai native who is quite the global one herself. The first thing one can do to show appreciation and acceptance of a people and their culture is to learn the language. Why do you think many foreigners who come to America learn English before they come to the country?! I'm real proud of John, it's one of life's dreams to be able to consider yourself peerless, at the top of the game in a specific focus, career, and skill.

I was able to review a 2008 double disc DVD release of their "newbie intermediate" learning material and was amazed at the usability, navigation, simplicity and delivery of the material. Really fun and engaging for what typically is passive monotony. Chinesepod is the fastest and most efficient method to learn Chinese, second only to jetting directly to the mainland for full immersion into the lifestyle, language, people, and consequential culture shock - not to mention easier on the pockets and the heart!

Resource: http://chinesepod.com/

2009 US Vote 2008

2009-01-21T03:03:00.000-08:00

Obama Magazine Covers Compliation

Shepard Fairey Obama Icon: In the online traffic surf I navigate, Shepard Fairey's Obama campaign was massively influential to the overall vote numbers and participation by Generation Y (1978) and younger. More powerful than the 300,000 posters Fairey claimed to have produced were the millions of views online which ultimately is the way Gen Y intakes their brain food in this new century. From slogans "vote" to "hope" to "victory" to "Yes We Did," the posters were bold and modern. Fairey's OBEY Andre the Giant graffiti icon is everywhere on the streets and I was absolutely ecstatic to see TIME magazine adopt Fairey's artwork for their cover after Obama won the presidential election. I had to do a double take in the grocery line. Hit after hit, amazing.

Was at Whole Foods picking up groceries and found stickers on the deli shelves, suggesting we watch/participate in the historic inauguration of the 44th president. That's pretty cool, and the store was packed and the energy collective alive. Seeing Obama on the cover of Marvel's Spider Man comic book and seeing a hipster designer illustrate a fixed gear bar spinning Obama was funny, and goes to show the depth Obama has influenced everything from the mainstream to the subcultures.

"Change is in the air. Change is, of course, inevitable. It could bring good times. It could bring bad times. There’s no reason to think the times coming have to to be so filled with dread that we can’t look for some sport of optimism and hope. There’s always some space for opportunity. I’m thinking this could be a very inspiring time for artists.” - Robert Redford, January 17, 2009, Sundance Festival 2009.

President Obama Inauguration

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is the dream everyone believed in when this record turn out all began. Amazing, I can't wait for an Obama Clinton presidency.

"The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope." - Barack Obama, November 4, 2008.

OBAMA Obey Giant Art Poster

Electrifying the world with Obama and Clinton going head to head igniting the "first African American" and "first woman" Democratic President possibilities followed by Shepard Fairey's HOPE poster artwork campaign, to Barack Obama in Shanghai, to Matt Damon's furious condemnation of Palin, to P.Diddy's YouTube under the sheets horror video about Palin, to Palin's spoof by comedian, Tina Fey, on Saturday Night Live, the 2008 US vote has created a record-setting Rock the Vote.

A black man and woman as Presidential candidates! A first for the USA!

Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin

3rd 2008 Presidential Debate McCain Obama

Below is the 411 on how to get your official vote in.

First, I suggest registering as a "permanent vote by mail voter". This allows you to vote at your own convenience by mailing in an absentee ballot, thus avoiding the commitment of time and commute to your local polling place. As each state is different, set up your registration by searching for "your home state, register to vote".

Once registered, you'll receive the voting materials by mail, written bilingually in English and Spanish (California specific). The Secretary of State will also mail you materials covering each of the measures specific to your county/state so you will be informed when voting. Fill in the official ballot with a black pen (multiple choice). Fold, place in envelope. Stamp the envelope 59 cents for the US Postal Service to deliver. You've just participated in the 2008 vote!

Resources: California voter registration, Find your voting location, overseas living outside of US voting registration.

Sarah Palin vs Tina Fey on SNL

"This Sarah Palin phenomenon is very curious. I think somebody watching us from Mars, they would think the country has gone insane." - Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Linguistics MIT, Spiegel, October 10, 2008.

Dragon Motif x Lindsey Whittaker

2008-10-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Oakland, California. The skateboard shop is defiantly out of place in Oakland's financial district, surrounded by towering office buildings of the pressed white collars where they have meetings about meetings.

Juxtapose the mounting volume of incoming ball bearings spinning, urethane wheels skidding and an ollie pop - US maple plywood – the rebel sound of a skateboard in motion. Inside the skate shop, a wall of shoes, skateboard decks, clothing racks of locally made soft goods laced in metallic silver and gold, adorned with "Love Oakland" and "Broakland", a skateboard half-pipe ramp leading to a narrow hallway opens into a gallery space installation of brightly colored artwork.

A staff note politely asks patrons to resist the temptation to tag the pristine white walls. To the left of the note, "Kakesta" is blatantly tagged – the “Kakes” tag is commonly seen throughout the gentrifying, yet underground, undervalued, Uptown Oakland district. So prevalent is the "Kake" tag, it is considered a landmark - a Flickr photography pool traces the whereabouts and sightings of the homegrown graffiti.

“Oakland is Raw" reads one shirt, but more “Oaklandish” are three rectangle canvases shaped with art deco strokes in a color vibrancy of melting pastel marshmallows. The feeling is legendary old Oakland, gentrified Oakland, and the new vision of Oakland, painted into perspective. The art is by Oakland artist, Lindsey Whittaker. See her collaboration with design house, Dragon Motif.

Source: http://www.dragonmotif.com/uptownoakland/

Everything Old is New Again...

2008-04-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

.. or as Lynn said notably, "The more things change, the more they stay the same (smile)."

First, Happy Birthday to Andy (Oakland, CA) and John (Shanghai, China). Both turn 30, today, April 30th, 2008 and on their 30th birthday, both were in China!

Second, inspired by the passing of 102 year old, Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann, dug deeper into the spread of the LSD psychedelic counter-culture here in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s, the climax and ultimately, the fall. The truth wants to be found:

73 year old, Grateful Dead's Sound Engineer, Mr. Wall of Sound*, LSD Millioniare, one-time Orinda/Berkeley/Point Richmond/Los Angeles resident, Owsley "The Bear" Stanley:

I always trusted what happened on acid. Everything that happens to you on acid is real. Everything you see, experience and think about is real. The thing about it is, the stuff you see is not stuff you see when you're straight, because when you're straight, you're limited. The acid removes the "filters" and lets the noise through. That "noise" is as real a part of the universe as the other part that you do allow to pass through, it just hasn't been important for you. That's a survival issue, we discard a lot of sensory information to make our daily lives simpler. When you open those floodgates and let it all pass, you let in a lot of stuff that's as real, and often more interesting than the stuff you usually let through. The patterns that you see when stoned, for instance, are an artifact of the way the nerves in your eyes are arranged and mapped into the brain. Beautiful noise!

*The Wall of Sound system was a result of my desire to return all the power and control to the musicians, by putting the speakers behind them.

Source: http://www.thebear.org/GDLogo.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley

Icer Air 2007 San Francisco feat. Travis Rice

2007-11-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

DHS Wednesdays Uptown Oakland

Illmatic GT 350

Ill Nana Photog

Walnut Shadows Crew Reppin'

Megan, P.R. Icer Air x RACINGMIX

Vinyl Lives!

#1 DJ Mixer in the World

Emcee T Cameo

Mimi in the House!

fluid.focus on Deck

Still Doin' It Poster

DJ Ric in the Mix

DJ Kuze & DJ M

MC Child on Mic Check

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Travis Rice RACINGMIX video, Icer Air 2007, San Francisco AT&T Giants Park. Afterparty Deep House Soldiers and Still Doin' It, at Anu Bar SF.

Fight for Beautiful...

2007-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true, I'm vain. I like to be surrounded by beautiful things. I like designing beautiful things and I like shooting beautiful things/people. I like to be around people with good taste. I love style and style loves me.

That's not so bad is it? When the world is full of harsh realities, man and woman cannot--absolutely cannot--live with function alone. It is a scientific known fact. There must be something there that stirs the human heart and inspires the soul.

So here's to all forms of artists that roam the earth. As we look around us, the war, the money that corrupts us, the heartache that visits us and the people that abandon us, I believe we do have a purpose. We may not be soldiers or curing cancer, but what we've got is essential for the sake of human existence.

- Hazel, Another Fashion Photographer

Lindsey Whittaker
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

SF Nightlife Meetup
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Metro Tuned Six Pack
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Slopestyle Whistler 2008
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Super Gold Track Bike
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Honor Vitality
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Claremont Taste of France
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

RACINGMIX Choice
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

TheFACESHOP x ZTY Beats
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Deep House Soldiers
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Heidi's Barbeque
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

1978
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Yuppie War
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Captain Seahorse at Clean
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Happy Dog Isabel Point
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Finest Summer Day
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Dyno Battle
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Backcountry Rally Tuning
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

West is the Best
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

30 ft. Fresh Powder
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Uptown Oakland Skyline
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Kara Tsuboi
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Sexy & Sophisticated
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Stunna
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Wiggle Out Uptown Oakland
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Outlook
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Mother & Daughter
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

All Together Now
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

BART Art Installation
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Limelight
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Blazing
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Assault
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Emotional Landscape
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Hint Squint
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

925 Yuppie
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

UC Berkeley Academia
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Whisper
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Warhol's Borat
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

7up
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Phallic Nature
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

DJ: Blowpop Remix
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Climax
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Bring Back The Real
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

99 Cents
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Infiniti: Round Eye
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Birds
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Stuck Behind a Bus
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Jumbotron: Peter Green
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

American Football
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Em-Squared
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Scooby Snacks
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Skinny Dip
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Wasabi
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Thank You BART Riders
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Twice as Nice
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Pot of Gold
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Homoerotic Food Play
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Sutro Tower Pride
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Compassion
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Kanye before Kanye
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

9S: Greenlum
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Rob's Star
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Ken's Whip: Street Fighter
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Litespeed Titanium
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Ebony Carbon Fiber: After
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

Crossroads
RACINGMIX Photo by RACINGMIX.

"Full Frontal" Esteban Sabar Gallery

2007-10-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

Before you come, you may want to evaluate your own confidence and understanding in your sexuality, then check your homophobia at the door.

Six artists come together to reveal the male perception of the male figure in exhibition, "Full Frontal." Show curator, Carl Wolf: "Despite the rapid evolution and broadening of male identities in today’s cultural environment, the image of a naked man remains taboo in our society – especially when it is in public view. Why do we experience such visceral reactions to the image of a naked man? Are we ready to expand our view of men in general and specifically the male figure? And, what are men’s views of all this?"

Artists Featured: Terry Furry (figurative painting), Ross Kennedy (sculpture), Kamal Al Mansour (assemblage), Marty Mccorkle (painting), Russ Osterweil (photography), Fernando Reyes (charcoal drawings).

Come Climax: First Friday, October 5, 2007, 5pm-9pm, at Esteban Sabar Gallery, Phone (510) 444-7411, Address 480 23rd Street at Telegraph Ave, Uptown Oakland, CA 94612.

Sinosplice Propaganda

2007-09-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

Designed in the Peoples Republic of China! Made in the USA! The irony, oh! We are fans of these simple, yet bold, new shirts by Sinosplice:

August Weekends

2007-08-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

The lack of holidays in August means more leisure time. Currently checking in from Vancouver, Canada, with a few images of the historically social month. Enjoy the last weekends of the summer season!

Pups at Play

Stella & Bosco, Doberman & Labradoodle

Garden of Remembrance, Seattle, Washington

Lobster Mushroom, Graffiti Eggplant

Wild BC Salmon, Vancouver, Canada

Jumbo Sea Scallops, Claremont, CA

Chancellor Place, University of British Columbia

Almond Piroshky, Pike Place Market

You, a Museum VIP

2007-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

One of the best, feel-good, quality, promotions, I've witnessed in some time! Bank of America card holder? You can visit your local museum compliments (free, comp, hook-up!) of BofA during the entire month of May. San Francisco museums include the: de Young, Yerba Buena, Academy of Sciences, SFMOMA, Asian Art, Legion of Honor. Find your local museum at Bank of America.

Waiting on the World

2007-01-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

One day, my generation is going to rule the population, waiting on the world to change. - John Mayer

Waiting on the World to Change: Inspired by the recent trip to BC Whistler Blackcomb, talking with the Aussie's, Kiwi's, Japanese and native Canadians in the Whistler Village, headline news of the US Iraq War Occupation Violence-Death-Meat-Packing extension, subsequent blue-collar chat on said topic with Rosewood House warehouse manager, Joel, a late-night conversation with Sinosplice's, John, in China, listening to Jin's "Generation-Y" single, and hearing a soulful live acoustic song by John Mayer at the Apple keynote in San Francisco.

President Clinton was impeached from office for getting a blow-job. No international community disliked or disrespected Americans because Clinton was caught getting a blow-job under his Presidential oval office desk. (Don't hate, congratulate.) The actions of President Bush and his administration running the United States of America have led to 3,000+ American deaths, 22,000+ injuries to American soldiers, and have led to a growing international dissent against Americans. Unfortunately, it'd be hypocritical to attack the administration for keeping the oil prices in our country low, wouldn't it? Being that everyone drives, uses gas, bitches and complains when gas goes up 5-cents a gallon. It's about as ironic as seeing American flags made in China.

Baby boomer, Joel, said there are talks in the Latino community of hanging President Bush. Hearing that, I was in shock and awe, but after careful consideration, it doesn't sound like an improbability. The John Mayer song spoke to me with the feeling of frustration, confidence and hope of Generation-Y and I just had to publish some words about it all.

Side note regarding Apple: S. Jobs introduced the horrendous and obscene iPhone. No thanks, there isn't a pressing need to surf on the phone and my email can wait until I get home. And what exactly is "revolutionary" as Jobs claims? iPhone is like Vista, needless. Same shit, new packaging. Apple has bugged me since Jobs returned to Apple; sorry to all the marketing victims out there that support the Cupertino-based company by buying their mp3 players and the accompanying 99 cent music. It's plain to see through Apple's version of the KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut pimping Pepsi cola, business model. Apple?

Moreover, read this morning on Perez Hilton:

Six years ago, we held off [saying anything negative about the administration]. But considering what's happened, I think we're owed an apology. Anyone with a rational mind and a sense of decency is being positioned as a lefty by the extreme right. I believe in the tenets of democracy, and when they get pushed, it pisses me off. - Robert Redford, at the opening of the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday.

What are your thoughts?