Snow Much Fun

Years.

That's when I last had seen this much snow. I certainly wasn't complaining esp in light of the milder temp. The Celcius meter never really dipped whilst in the nation's capital. I was in mostly in a shell and tee (as you can see), and left my Goose @ the crib. But I also had no real plans on leaving my yard anyhow, if not only to catch up to old friends who had facebooked me (officially a verb yes).

But the whole week was spent sleeping beyond my usual 4-5 hrs of shut-eye, eating like an Egyptian King and laughing with family. Nothing better. My fully naturalized mother was probably the happiest out of all of us to see this much snow as she could show you that Xmas Spirit is a tangible product. ;)

YUL fam was in the house, and they need to get a shout beyond the unconditional love, for linking the salt fish patties. They got run tough!

Fam was the focus indeed. Don't get to see my Aunt like I 1nce used to. Infact, my whole fam escapes me more than not these days, so these events and moments are indeed all the rage and fun.

Same goes for some good friends I have out there that I got to see in a more social setting: The local bar. Good Look.




Ha! I always know I'm in YOW after I order 2 jager Bombs, 1 Heinie and a Gin & Soda and the total is $21. Are you kidding me? @ these prices, I'm glad I left the city. But I held a friendly salute indeed: Family, friends and your boy Cero Ocho who is about to ring my door bell. Say wrd.

These last 10 days were the proverbial calm before the storm. Lemme enjoy it one last time. ;)



Hizzla! (Crank Dat)!

Live Long And Prosper

Years.

That's the the time that's past since I last put my body through any kind of physical activity. As much as ppl do think I'm in good shape as I watch what I eat, I think the ticker could be in better condition.
So my man Romance hits me up and is like:

"Dude. we're going shredding @ Blue. You down?". Hell yea.

I swore that I would go riding this year, and in fact had gone looking for goods from one of my fave brands.

Analog jkt: check
DUB pants: check
Lobster Claw: Check.
Long Js: check.

I was ready to go.



Romance hooked the gear up thru now my man Alex aka Jean Ferré. Good look for the Nitro board and the Raiden bindings dude. All was tight.

Weather was as perfect as it could get - snowy and mild.

After a few rides to shake the cobwebs (well, full on remove in fact), I was able to enjoy the rest of the day - not trying to keep up with the mandem, but def handle mine eventually. Blue Mountain still got the best of me though: I was wiped and hella sore the next day, but a good pain. Needed a Geisha that night in ways you couldn't imagine. Looking fwd to going back out. Gonna try for 1nce of 2wice a week if I may in the new year.





As it happens, I was trying to take a ski vaca this time around. I always do sun and sand. I'll ready to do it up like Jack Burton man. Who's down??

Hizzla.

White on White....

"So much coke, that you could run the slalom" - Jigga Man.



Enough of that white stuff to make both Tony Montana and Alberto Tomba aka Tomba La Bomba hella proud. Yo, we got dumped on - straight up. In fact, I was almost stranded in NYC this past week. Anyhow, I have no contretemps or quarrel with Mother Nature or her snow. I actually think it's fun to get to play in these frozen flakes, as you will soon see. Just hate the fact that I have no winter tires and must remain nearly quarantined and leave my car parked. Sucks.
And all of this has happened still days before the very 1st day of winter - which is 4 days from now I believe.
In anycase, I'm in all likelihood going riding this week. Not been in almost... 6 years?? Ha. This will be a blast!
How fun was it to pull out some old DUB brand pants (what happened to them anyhow?? I just know they were bought out), and I got to wear my Analog Audex jkt. Still love it.






Man. That was kinda fun. Tobogganing must be next. Gunna! Where you @??
I'm all in. I'll leave the broom behind still.

6400kms Close

Dude.

So, sometime this year I believe, I recall transferring some photos from my trusty indigo Sony P100 to my BlkBook ans for some reason, the order of all the shots was off. Perplexed, I took a closer look @ the # system as it should be numeric. And indeed it was. My problem was that I had passed the 10000 photo mark. And since the default # system on most Sonys is 4 digits, after shot 9999, my digi reset to DSC0000. As such, some of my more recent shots turned up buried somewhere in some old archived ones.
Some of which where the ones from this summer.
Which leads me to this...
Ever wonder how ppl from different backgrounds, upbringings, nationalities and GPOS (geographical position) can somehow have parallel and homologous thoughts? Is there a glitch in the Matrix? Maybe not. But this will always fascinate me: ppl that is.
Yesterday, I had a marathon chat w/ a friend online. We chatted about everything under Jupiter's 63 moons, including photography. There was a time where my digi was in the shop, but we both professed our love and need for traveling w/ our camera to capture it as it happens.
Going through her vast array of photos on her myspace, I stumbled on this one (click below):


Whoa. I quickly searched thru some of my own archived shots, only to then pull this up (click again):



She's now convinced I'm the long lost twin she's longed for. As marvelous as these shots were, being a twin might pose other problems - like staring @ infinity (the shame!)... The 6402 kms suddenly seem so illsuory. How long is the drive if I take the 1a?

This summer it is then. Photo shoot pt2 (&3 apparently).

Your Fave Ex Boyfriend.

H!

Special (for you): Stones Throw in NYC

There's something to be said about being @ a show in NYC. Anything and everything can happen. This summer, I got see that 1st hand. So when I got a txt from my man JS telling me that the Stones Throw tour stop in NY would have a very special guest, I started to sulk. Toronto 0, NYC 2. We missed out on Aloe, Guilty, J Rocc and MED only to have more salt by hearing that Erykah Badu showed her pretty little southern belle self in @ the NY show and did new joints (Madlib beats)? Yea, I'm bummed.
I then got an AIM from NY and LAX pals minutes apart with a link to shots of the show.
Turns out the were taken by my man Mel D Cole form around way. Met him a few years back and just kept running into this dude. Good work dude, and where's your dad from again?? wowsers.

Stunning as they are, am obliged to share em.
You can find the shots from the show, along w/ the rest of his work here: Village Slum dot com, or click the image below to get to the site.
Enjoy these sights...



....and now the sound.

MED (Medaphoar) had this banger he did w/ a Badu sample on the hook. Ran this incessantly when it 1st dropped. No indication that they performed this but, enjoy it nonetheless.

MED feat E. Badu (Madlib produced)

Funky Drummer: Karriem Riggins

I still recall separate Common and Kweli tours coming thru Toronto and cats were always linedup after the show outside the green rooms trying to who knows what. I would always ask: Where's Karriem?? Trying to holla @ him real quick and talk about this BBE record + the Riggins produced Club Banger feat Dwele was one of my fave joints EVER. Although that BBE record never took place, he was picked up by Stones Throw for this Supreme Team project and was immediately thrust in the spotlight. How could you not when your partner's the excentric Madlib...
So the 2K8 Bounce Tour came and went, and the highlight was a Supreme Team set which included a drum solo by the diocese of Detroit, Karriem Riggins.

I wish Karriem would put out a instrumental record and/or some breaks. Now's the time since cats are really checking for him. In any case, I'm happy to see him get some of that overdue attention. Top of all that, he's got style, and certainly the most out of anyone @ Stones Throw. I'll never forget seeing him in some hi-cut Y-3s I'd been looking for.. Argh! Anyhow, really looking fwd to that Supreme Team record.
In the interim, here's a sample. Enjoy.

Take the Red Pill Neo (Post King)

I should have done the same - is all I thought to myself reading these same words as they mysteriously appeared on my phone. As much as the weather was starting to take a turn for the worst and it got pretty cold, Friday night started well.
Headed over to LoKi for quick drink and shout to Soul Shack and Soul on Ice for the love. Caught up w/ TR Gunna who was riding shot gun that night - heels + fishnets and all. ;)
To quote NIN:

It was a downward spiral from there.

Catching up w/ King Britt and hearing about his coming projects was amazing. He also added he was settling in Philly for a while as the touring was starting to wear his patience thin. Well, I sorta get it. But the Grey Goose bottle service was eventually offered and well, I obliged. The real problems started @ bottle #2. Simply put, after chaperoning Gunna back to her yard, I somehow made it home as well, unwisely by myself.
As I recall (what little I do):
woke @ 8
stepped out.
went back home.
Popped the blue pills but nothing. Man.



and in bed for all day light and most of eve.


I'll spare you the deets, but this mirrored the now famous Bird and Tangerine episodes. Yuck.
I 1nce again will udergo a voluntary detox.
Shouts to TRG, Dapper D, JonJon, Diamantes, iVana (London, eh??) and King of course... Had a blast!

ASG Test

right click here fi download.

Excess Access: Tools Pt3

In some of my previous posts, the extolment of accessories has been very black on white (or light grey on black here). I will forever consider them key in completing habiliments. But who said that accessories are only for a get up?? Many of you know that I have more recently, and with much melancholy, moved from QB. So I now have had a place of my own to embellish and bedeck - 2 floors.
I've had a little while to get things done, but I've sat back and done absolutely nothing. In some part due to a now postponed move, but mostly due to indecision and some apathy. I will let you in on my theme though: Wi-Fi & Wood. Or, Tech & Teak. A smooth amalgam of new technology and ageless design. Regardless, I have slowly amassed assembly parts for this amelioration and will start to document some of these upgrades. Beyoncé, I'm listening (She is kinda hot). So, would you know that I snagged my inaugural item: simple floor mat. They just came in and could not help but take one home w/ me:

I was looking @ a few floor mats previously and will still get them, but how could I not start it all off with something like this??

Say wrd.

I more recently wanted to also get back to a digital display based timepiece, and after getting an email from my man BeeDub @ Nixon, I trotted over by the dwntwn showroom to browse thru some samples. Bam. Nixon Connect.


Been keeping an eye open out for this one for a minute. I even went looking as we opened the cabinet up. After rawking analog watches for so long, this digital readout's been a fresh change. Butterfly clasp as always, 37 time zones and some good old fashion electroluminescence aka Indiglo. I find digitals to have this interesting strictness and discipline about them. Such irony that I would own one. I may have it on for kicks this weekend. See you Friday @ 22h30.

H!

The King And I

This will be the start of a busy week. I should be concluding things up @ work which I am desperately looking fwd to despite the fact that it's been fun of late. Seriously. It's that time of year where I take long road trips w/ some good uninterrupted music. It promotes clarity. Ha.
But the week's end (and I say this as the week as yet to even start) brings a litany of lavish nights, starting with one of my most anticipated:


My man King Britt is in town to bring us some of that sulty, soft red glow, sweet susurrus, Hotel Victor bizness. Toronto chapter of IML checking in King. I'll be in my best accoutrements, and my worst comportment. Ladies, your Fave Ex BF™ will be there to take your mind off worthless worries and share splendid spirits (double entendre).



Whilst I was Barcelona bound via London this summer, King hits me like "Dude, I'm in Paris for a gig. Come thru. I got you." ARGH! I tried to make the dots connect. No dice. 2wo weeks ago, whilst LA bound and stranded in Philly, I again hit up the Pharoah of Philadelphia himself, and he then tells me that he's having a birthday party the monday night. Again, I was a hair away from confirming plans, but work was hollering with a cut throat deadline. Man. No luck. But it's all love. Good look King. Let's break bread when you're here. Looking fwd to it.

King Britt @ Ultra Supper Club
Friday, November 30, 2007 at 10:00pm
Ultra Supper Club
314 Queen St. W., Toronto.

Say wrd.

H!

A River Still Runs: Nokia N82

Been a while since i covered anything mobile phone related since the iPhone was unlocked, but the world is still turning (to the unknowing of some). The fact that of the matter is that the iPhone is still pound for pound the best offer out there as a mobile: features vs price is what I will use to determine that. Used properly, it will absolutely enrich one's experience. But, I still love Nokia and what they are doing on the consumer electronic end of things. They still have one of the best GUIs and likely the best features period. Just over a week ago, they added to the famed N Series lineup by introducing the N82.



Although the candy bar shape was traditionally the biggest bore, it has quietly become the de facto standard - much like sage advice from a patriarch: it's just right. After skipping over the N82's simple but classic design, you start to look @ what has made Nokia the leading mobile computing device manufacturer: the guts. The interface is still the best out of the known telco manufacturers. The S60 operating system is still the standard if you ask me. So, if you are accustomed to that, this N82 should present no real surprises esp if you know the multimedia feature set that all N Series offer. But, where the mobiles have been forced to distinguished themselves is imaging: cameras. The digital pic has become the axis of the expansive social networking lifestyle. Want proof?? Go to any live performance and look @ all the phones that are pulled out when the headliner takes the stage. Hours later that same footage is going to Youtube, Fickr, FaceBook and various blogs around the net. So, with a 5 megapixel camera, powerful Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, the Nokia N82 delivers remarkably vivid photograph as well as some near DVD quality video.



You're then able to share all of the pics and video via WiFi connectivity to upload to your fave sites. One thing that I have been all over since it was in beta form is navigation and GPS for the mobiles. For a traveler, there is nothing better. The built in GPS will set you straight whether you are from deep Mississauga getting lost downtown, or traveling in EU and finding your way around Barcelona or London like I did this summer.



So if you're looking for a multimedia mobile optimized for photography, navigation and internet connectivity, this N82 is certainly for you. With the tools to discover the places and moments worth capturing, and the capabilities to capture and share them instantaneously, the Nokia N82 will offer photography enthusiasts an enhanced camera experience - and you'll still get to have some casual txt ™. ;)

Here are some pix of the Nokia N82


Created with this.

Heralds Of Change

So a few weeks ago, my man Nik T of CRCL RSRCH hits me up like "Dude, Blk Btlz needs to come thru Rock it w/ Circle Research".

BET.

I had been looking for an outlet sans stifling sound restrictions of one of my fave spots. I was sitting all this new music to run, and you know your boy's a scholar in that Low End Theory. Your boy has been looking to play that new sh*t, as I described before, there's a void that needs to be filled. Helrald of Change?? Not per se, but trying to shape that landscape. I'm just a few parts away. My new laptop is on it's way and I just have to get my hands on a midi controller...

Regardless, JonJon, El Gringo Spliff, George Jefferson and your man Paul Wall came through on the strength to play that far out sh*t.





Shouts to all who came as we were cursed with the season's 1st official snowfall, and i was almost handcuffed by this work deadline. But it happened. Xmas bshment is on it's way. Planning as we speak.

H!

Bounce (C'mon)! Bounce (C'mon)!

I wish I could get out of this rut I'm in. No really it's just been in an exceptionally busy 3-4 months. But I think that I'm finally over it. I will say that mymanhenri.com is still in beta form. I plan to do lots to it over December and get ready for what will be a busy new year. That's almost certain.

In the mean time, the next few weeks will be hella busy. Trying to stay up after that super hectic sched that was RBMA - I feel like I still have trace amounts of it in my blood, which is likely why I have some nights in. Oh yea.. it's cold out now as well. Anyhow, most know that I did LAX a few weeks past. So I hit the Stones Throw launch of the 2K Bounce tour. Went for a few reasons, meetings and greetings, but mostly to see the lineup as it was meant to be: PBW, Madlib, J-Rocc, Percee P, Guilty Simpson, Aloe Blacc, K. Riggins and Supreme Team etc...

As you might know, Dec 1 is the Toronto tour stop for this show (Shouts to Nasty Nav). This show is still a must by all means. J-Rocc and Madlib. Period. Anyhow, here are some clips from the LA gig.



Ahhh... That quixotic Madlib. Here he is doing the robot. This was so classic.



MED with that live sh*t.





If you're a fan of the music, make sure you make it out. Rumors have been flying about some of the merch including some tour exclusives, like Perseverance instrumentals. Count me in dude.

It all takes place Dec 1 @ the Opera House.


View Larger Map

See you there....

H!

(Broad) Casting Couch

Man.

I love my Macs. Plural indeed. Got a Black MacBook aka Blkbk, a Mac Mini plugged to a 42" Plasma, and I just bought a new Blkbk last week. Got a deal. Good Look Bro. Going to get back into music in more ways than one, so I needed to get gangster w/ OSX x Serato.

I love OSX and I speak it's qualities all the time, and have seen the whole world around me jump ship. I was iChatting with a newer user last night:
my girl Hana! Hawllah!

Broadcasting live from the comfort of her couch, heeeeeeeeeere's Hana!

*click below*



Had not seen her since my running (up) of the bills this summer in Barcelona, SPA. I f*cking love that place. Anyhow, I had blast on this 4 way w/ her, Ab and Leslie. It's always nice to catch up to cats man. And iChatAV is the vehicle best used for that. Say Wrd.
Now, go get your iChat on!

Hizzla.

To LAX with Love: Top Shoppin

So indeed, LA was the site of some needed time to decompress. After getting over the rush @ the BUF Airport (which i will still endorse despite the recent influx of Canadian passengers), I was able to make my way to LA - notwithstanding a massive layover in Philadelphia.
Although I had planned to not shop @ all, I was unable to resist the nectars of the shopping fruits. So, I picked up a few things. Well, I was also showered w/ some love:
Shouts to my man Nick Diamond who had not seen inna hot min. After surprising him @ his Diamond Supply Co shop on Fairfax, he immediately blessed me with the Diamond Life tee in both colors as well as the Diamond x DVS joints w/ the tee to match. DAMN.

Por Vida dude. for real.
I then walked over to see my mellow, my man Ty G from HVW8 who I had not seen in like a min as well, possibly since Feb of 07 @ Magic. Anyhow, after buying a sought after DVD, he then blessed me w/ some goodies as well: Some sick tees including a HVW8 x Parra and a lim ed 45. Good Look dude.
I then made my way over to Melrose simply to catch up w/ Marc.
I had been clowned for having a real elastic for a wallet, so I made some changes.

Never had great luck w/ wallets. Lost my last 2 including this fresh Paul Frank one... I like this one though.
After visiting Union to say peace to my man, made my way down to American Rag. Sh*t. I got sucked in. After trying them on, I had to buy some Nudies - Thin Finn no doubt. Again, my last pair were the Slim Jim Tubes and they had served me very well. Was due for a new pair. I must say, these fit me kinda sweet TR Gunna.
I had to exercise restraint as the woes of the US dollar were just way too tempting. On top of that, I had plenty more to do out in LAX....

Untitled

Where are the haters?? click above and read on.