This happens only but 1nce a year my friends.
All the info is on the flyer, and here. You too will believe in superstition after tomorrow night.
We just did a tckt count. Oh boy. This will be epic.
Want to get in the mood?? Here's a stream of the 2008 WONDER-FULL night in Toronto.
Enjoy, and see you sat night.
H!
Say Wrd.
Shouts to both Fred Perry and KamaSUEtra! indeed. The mandem were outfitted in some clean Fred Perry for this party taking place very soon. Can't really spill the beans, but Black Beatles are playing a f*cking Grammy® nominated artist after party. WTF?
Yep. Gonna be kinda nice. June. That's all I will say right now.
Wonder if my most recent diet + the good cycling has resulted in my fitting into a size small. Hmmmm?? Ladies, don't let the smooth taste fool you as I like to say. ;)
Anyhow, I'm pretty pumped.
H!
Yea, I know x 2.
It's been a while. Sorry. I've been spending all my time here, whilst I've been contemplating massive redesign on this end.
But, on another note....
Many if not most of you know that I've been spending lots of my spare time cycling. Love the peace it's offered me along side the cardio that I'm getting from it. It's allowed me to remain full of vim and vigor, maintain my boyish looks as well as keeping a diver's body. LOL. Many of you on twitter know that I'm an ambassador of healthy and responsible diets, and that may have some play in it as well.
All of this however, has allowed me to take on a new challenge: The Becel Heart+Stroke Ride
Did you know that heart disease and stroke is responsible for 1 in 3 Canadian deaths every year? Nuts.
So to help change the afore outlined statistic, I’m participating in the Becel Heart+Stroke Ride for Heart on Sunday, June 7 2009. This is a 50km ride!
I'll mount the infamous W.O.W. aka white on white aka the Wowery (Giant Bowery) and ride the Holy Grail of bike paths in Toronto:
The Gardiner Expressway & The DVP.
What cyclist would pass up an opportunity to ride 50 KMS along this path?? Even more so, this will be for a great cause.
I decided late to join and register, but no better time than the present. I have 6 days to raise what I think is an achievable goal of $600 CAD: 6 in 6. So, with an impassioned and wholehearted plea, I ask for your support.
You can find my donation page by clicking here. Enter a donation amount, and click continue. It can all be done in moments with a credit card.
With a $5 donation from 100 ppl ($4.50 USD, 3£/€ for all my International friends) , I'll be close to reaching my goal. But I feel I can do better. (I'm sure hope our friendship is worth more than $5. And that's cheaper than most Toronto parking!) In fact, if I can raise $1000, i'll cut off (or trim) what was formerly known as a beard, but has now become facial shrubbery. LOL.
Regardless, I'll have a great time as I'll be riding with other members of the fixed/single speed community for an even greater cause.
Look for updates on this one as time goes on.
And thx again for your support, be it moral or monetary. ;)
Wish me luck! I have less than 1 week.
H!
Again, another bout of writer's block. KInda sucks some days. More like, designer's block in fact. Again, been meaning to make some whole sale changes, and I will. But there's not reason for me to not post anything?!?! NO??
Anyhow.... you know how I love to do...
I need to get out to decompress and think a bit. Been a funny week. And what's best is that, although I'm sitting here @ my lap and posting right from it @ JFK, I'll be hella posting from my BarackBerry now. ;)
Anyhow, chat soon.
H!
I can't even get into it right now.
I've not been on this blog of like 1 month?? Been weighing some design changes. Been too long as the same format. +, I will be doing more mobile postings since I find myself spending more time here these days (that's my music HQ btw).
So tonight is the night: We are proud to have DJ SPINNA in the building @ Revival Bar.
I just saw Spinna rip it week before last in MIA and i'm glad to be able to host his return to YYZ.
If you're looking for tckts
They're avail @ play de record, goodfoot, slinky music, rotate this, delphic & soundscapes
I would call 1st but there should be some tix left.
See you tonight, and I'm glad to be posting here again. ;)
H!
It's finally here. Get you most comfortable dancing shoes out. For the ones who were @ the WONDERFUL night.. you know the deal.
Facebook group here.
Make it happen!
H!
For those familiar with Stones Throw way of life, they have released Thank You Jay Dee, Act 4. And most welcomed is the news that it's still free. Say wrd.
You can get it here, but what you should really do is simply get down with the Stones Throw Podcast.
Any you know this...
H!
I ask, what am i still doing here?? The sun is calling me.
Shouts to Computer J, Dam Funk and J1. Good look to Ty G as always.
HVW8 all day.
H!
Pce to Eric Lau.... What a banger that was. In any case, this necessitates no explanation.
So nice, I had to do it twice.
For The D
Saturday Feb 28th
678 Queen Street West (in the heart of QB)
between Euclid and Palmerston on the north side.
Don't forget the tees for Ma Dukes are in Toronto. Cop one whilst you still can.
Free download.
As much as I never do this, take this joint in by my man, UK's own Eric Lau. Dude got bangers. Met him in the UK in summer of '07. Luh dat dude and he produced this title track.
For The D ft Guilty Simpson (produced by Eric Lau)
Or download it here
See you Saturday.
H!
She and I chatted about this last night and she found the link!
This vid makes me smile with no end. ;)
H!
Or would that be Fairey x B+??
Regardless, Shepard Fairey is on fire. After a full year+ of media coverage for a campaign image that has gone down in history and historical archives, he's @ it again. Albeit, in much smaller scale - bordering on minuscule in comparison, but none less meaningful.
He and B+ have teamed up for Ma Dukes as well.
Shepard has taken what can be described as a classic shot of Dilla by B+, and put it through his signature transformations. What has resulted is the following:
More deets here.
This 18" x 24" print will be sold tomorrow, Feb 20th 2009 @ obeygiant.com. Of the 400 available, 50 will be sold @ a Ma Dukes orchestral fundraiser in LA entitled "Suite For Ma Dukes"
Grab yours whilst you can. Hope they ship cross border. ;)
H!
Some of you may or may not have known, but I had been working on the back end trying to make sure that we had some retailers in Canada to carry this tee as there was only 1 out the gate. WOW. That's a long drive where ever you are!
So now, I'm glad to announce the arrival of the 1st batch of tees:
Background: Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, the mother of the late James “J Dilla” Yancey, is currently battling the same disease that took her son’s life. Dough from this tee goes to Ma Dukes. Long time Stones Throw friend Parra banged out the design. This one is getting snatched up left and right and is almost impossible to keep in stock. I was lucky enough to make something happen - big shouts to the Minister of Information @ Stones Throw.
In any case, they should be in stock @ the following store by end of day:
Play De Record
357A Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1S1, Canada
(416) 586-0380
Slinky Music / MOOG
442 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 2A8, Canada
(416) 603-2600
Get yours whilst you still can.
MAKE 'EM NV!
Say wrd.
H!
Say wrd.
On a pretty day riding, I dropped in none other than GDFT in YRKVL. I decided stop to say wassup and stare @ this beautiful wood counter (one that I need).
Lo and behold, looks like H and M is selling Super Bowl rings for all.
I mean girl, is your arm tired from swing around with rocks like that?? If you need to see this one upclose, holla @ my girl Shy T and ask to see the SuperBowl ice.
Wanna see the real ice up close?? You need to peep this and see what I'm chatting about: All 42 rings (not this year's yet).
Say wrd.
H!
Feb 10th indeed.
Shouts to Andy B for the vid. Uk got love. Say wrd.
Dilla a.k.a Jay Dee - My Tribute 2009 from Andy Brown on Vimeo.
H!
I've been wanting to try a similar party for a few years now (and a few jokes), but kudos to my man A.VEE and Prince Paul who've held it down for few years now. All done in the spirit of good fun, brilliant smiles and of course, racial harmony. ;)
Lemme take you out with a clip that I used to see run oft during the BET Uncut years. Have fun, and have fun.
Couldn't have said it any better. Cats know what's up. This one piece of hardware has evolved to define (and possibly re:define) beats and the music spawned from it. The mere mention of the MP and it's maestros will spark spirited discussions and study about it's sound and swing.
It's in the sense become a bit of a state of mind, almost a culture.
With that said, I bring to you a long weekend event that beat fanatics, lovers of that hoodtronica™ and electronice will all enjoy.
Deets are as follows:
THE MPC CHANGED MY LIFE
Feb 15th 2009 @ Toi Bar - 577a College st (upstairs)
Doors @ 10p
FREE
Facebook group is here
View Larger Map
Tell a friend, bring another...
And since it's been hot min since I've hit you cats... Lemme take you out with one my fave cats. Dude inspires me errtime I hear him... PUDGE. Enjoy.
See you Feb 15th.
H!
We know Japan's Junko as she dealt with gyals to hold the Dance Hall Queen title. I was watching bshmnts in FRA and ITA and even the . But I still think that some of the bashiest gyals dem are in the far corners of suburbs... Like SCARBOROUGH! LOL. And really... half the fun is listening to mans toast the mic with foolishness and chat slackness.
Anyhow, here are some random youtubes that I picked from the myriad of motion pictures out there. And you know that every single bashment is on film!
You need to watch this one through the end still... WOW.
EU DanceHall Queen (from FRA)
I've been telling man like Dread that I would reach some bshmnts.... Soon come still.
H!
This is in fact kinda cute esp as she admits not knowing the whole chune. ;)
Never thought that I would have LL x RR post... Q? is more like, would you really wanna see a RR x LL offspring??
WOWSERS. Regardless, enjoy.
H!
Amidst the historic Obama run to the White House, the only things that was, is and will continue to sell are Obama chotchskies (can that be in plural form??). You know what I mean: paraphernalia, stuff, things like tees, mugs, pins, scarves, toques... There's so much of it, you actually cannot keep track of any of it, though I did find this to outline my claims.
As well, during the campaign for highest office, all candidates had made a pact that all familial matters would be positively be off limits, esp in light of the fact that Sen. Obama was father to two wonderful young girls named Sasha and Malia, and that attacks could be very traumatizing @ such a young age.
But what do you do when you have a First Family that's likely more popular than Wacko Jacko @ his prime, and the sweetest First Daughters?? If you happened to be the Oak Brook based Ty Inc, makers of Beanie Babies, you jump all over it and put out 2 dolls of your own.
But wait. The dolls are both called Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. And they're both slender and brown skinned and with brown eyes. But that's just all coincidence. Wink x2.
As we might say around these parts - must tek man fi fool. Thinking about putting out these dolls was inappropriate. Putting them out to market was sacrilegious and inexcusable. Again, Barack becoming a public official of the most highest ranking has come to realize that this is what you must face when in the public eye. But his daughters?? And being that this was a supposed coincidence (and that decision i assure you did not take place over night for anyone that even remotely understands manufacturing of retail goods), why would you not @ least opt for the blessings of the Obama family seeing that there's an uncomfortable parallel?? Well, they knew that the chances of that happening were around Less Than Zero. I guarantee they spent more time preparing PR statements to deal with the assured backlash than they did developing the dolls.
So, like a very caring mother should, Michelle Obama aka the Mom in Chief has denounced the dolls as inappropriate. It's much worse than that. It has exposed what I think is obviously disgraceful and contemptible decision making that likely runs from the head of Ty Inc and CEO H. Ty Warner, right down the ladder to the very staff in charge of R&D.
This was very simple. Ty Inc, like the rest of the world was gripped by likely the most watched political race in the history of Presidential campaigns are taking advantage of the partisan frenzy that ensued. And, certainly, no one has even seen anything of the magnitude of the Obama campaign. So Ty Inc did it: Stooped to new lows in retail marketing. @ this point, somewhere in the trash must be the designs for Piper. Track. Willow. Trig and a pregnant Bristol Palin.... Yea right!
Feel equally as disgusted??? Send your disdain over these dolls to:
contact@Ty.com
or
Ty Inc.
280 Chestnut Ave.
Westmont, IL 60559
IL Tel. 630-920-1515
Fax 630-920-1980
Be heard.
H!
Not since this past summer had I been privy to the sounds of your man and Philly's own Rich Medina. I last saw dude @ the Do Over in LA whilst on a decompression trip.
So tonight, in this week of full of blackness, we are blessed to have your man with the Jump n Funk sound @ the Revival tonight for a Black Presidential event like no other.
Should be tight as hell. Last time I peeped a full Jump n Funk, I was in Miami for WMC. Broad day light. Kinda heavy.
Rich knows how to lead the crowd - like a President do! Whether it be words or riddims.... Say wrd.
Looking for a heavy bshmnt to gwan tonight long side Footsteps and Main Ingredient. Shouts to General Eclectic. Say wrd.
See mans and ladies tonight.
H!
This has been the week to bookmark in history's books. One that will be recalled throughout time and have ppl asking "Where where you when you saw it?"
After yrs of extolling the virtues of 1st Nokia phones and then the iPhone handheld, witness history unfolded:
I finaly picked up my own: The BarackBerry. ;)
Following the early yrs of watching the Wizards of Waterloo release vers after vers of it's ubiquitous gadget, more widely know as the crackberry (and I do know a gang of crack heads), it took the most recent release to sway me to the black side: The Bold. No one does qwerty like RIM does.
But what sealed the deal was the Missing Sync. A software app that will enable you to sync your Mac with the blackberry, flawlessly. That was all I needed to hear.
Nokia's OS was boring me, I was sick of tapping on my iPhone's screen (even though I still think it's likely the best handheld) and the resolution on the Bold is bananas. Oh yea, PIN'ing is tight as well.
Would you believe that in the time that I wrote this, I received an email alert: Nokia's sales are plunging, @ the same time Apple reports better that expected sales, amidst this economic slump. Nokia needs to release this beta soon.
Anyhow, welcome to Qwerty Qalamity v2. PIN me!
H!
Just one day after listening to a rousing speech Steve Jobs gave @ a 2005 Stanford commencement, I and the world stood still in silence for another. For those who would love to keep this archived, I've recorded the audio of the speech (which unfortunately includes the jejune opening prayer) for all to enjoy in your iTunes (et al). Pass it around freely. ;)
Barack Obama Inaugural Speech. (click for download).
Artwork by world renown HVW8
As I sat @ the Gallery last year... Mural by HVW8 of course.
Enjoy...
H!
WOW. I was going thru some older folders and I just stumbled on a classic shot: my old apt in QB (click to zoom)
Yes: my bedroom. I can't believe that I actually lived like this for a hot min. Nuts. But is it really?? Do you mean to tell me that no one @ any moment ever had a lazy week? month?? I had roomies @ this point in time, but that mattered none really.
So to commemorate a lazy point in history, I'm running a contest:
The Hot Mess Contest.
Send me your hottest mess: whether it be your car, your desk (work or home), any room in your house/apt (though I shudder to think you can top mine), anything. Don't be afraid to put your friend(s) on blast either and blow-up their spot by submitting for them. I figure this could be like an episode of Intervention on A&E. You'll just have to be slick with the digi. ;). All you vinyl DJs (if they still exist), all you Nike heads... and you ladies with all your shoes in the closets... I can see it now.
The Rules
So the rules are simple: submit a decent sized shot (800x600 is minimum) of your hot mess. And pls, nothing staged. You can email the photo here: mymanhenri (at) hotmail (dot) com . You can have multiple entries (but if you do, wow. I'll have to wonder about you still). Make sure to put HOT MESS CONTEST in your subject line and send whatever name you want to be listed as.
Deadline is Friday Jan 23rd @ Midnight EST. A week sounds like enough time, no? The winner will be announced Monday Jan 26th. That will give me the weekend to LMAO and confer with the judges. BTW, if you're on FaceBook you can also join in here.
And the prize?? A used can of Febreeze™ and a Shamwow™, long side some bragging rights.
Anyhow, this is all in the spirit of good fun. Have a great weekend - and send'em in!
H!
Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
Steve
The actual letter as reported by NY Times. Nuts. I've never been, but now I feel compelled to go to WWDC
Regardless, my thoughts are with Mr. Jobs.
H!
I still recall going through LRG catalogs and seeing the not so subtle placement of the classic G-Shock on every model's wrist. Not mad. Word was that the 60+ yr old company was pumped that the 20 something G-Shock was back in vogue. I actually have an OG Baby-G @ the crib.
But might this excitement have turned to say... irrational exuberance? Maybe taking a page from New Era Caps, they have gone on a collaborative campaign that is making even New Era blush.
I guess that's how you go about penetrating the market. I just hope they don't go bare back.
As most of you know, I've been partial and still remain faithful to Nixon. Been on them and will remain, with some new models in my sights, I'm pumped about SP09.
Do you have the time btw?
H!
Most know me as a pretty calm dude, and I'm not the vociferous type - but I will express my opinions. I have a particular disdain for injustice on all levels and across all racial lines. Fact is that minorities have long been the target of judicial inequities and @ the very least profiling. Much of these events have long straddled the line between negligent misconduct to actual profiling. Sh*t, it's happened to me.
This start of 2009 has seen two inconceivable cases of police brutality - both involving shootings.
Robbie Tolan, son of a retired Major League Baseball player was heading home @ 2am with his cousin after a nye party and stopping for fast food in his home town of Bellaire. After pulling into his driveway, he's confronted by an officer with a flash light and pistol drawn. The officers, concerned that the SUV they were driving was stolen, were told otherwise by Mrs Nolan who had since come out to clear the matter. Mrs. Nolan was soon after thrown against the garage door, @ which point the 22 yr old Robbie who had been on the ground @ the time raised up to ask what the officer was doing. 3 shots were fired. One hit the unarmed Robbie. He now lies in ICU in a hospital bed with a bullet lodged in his liver - which doctors say is likely inoperable.
When accused of profiling, Bellaire's assistant police chief told reporters, "As far as any allegations of racial profiling, I'd probably say that that's not really going to float." Really?? You followed an SUV driven by a black man to a predominantly white neighborhood? Do you know how much information you can pull from a simple license plate? Registered owner and the address @ the least would have offered all answers. This officer cowboy likely did not even bother doing such. He's on administrative leave while the Bellaire PD remains very tight lipped.
Anything short of a substantial demotion and/or lawsuit with significant damages, i will regard as a defeat. This 10 yr veteran of the police force used astonishing lack of judgement considering his rank. I'm no officer, but I will bet my home that this officer did not follow any kind of protocol or procedure. But the profiling will not float.... right.
Read More.
Certainly adding to Bellaire's mounting problem was a parallel and much more tragic shooting only hours apart playing itself out in California's Bay Area.
After a scuffle on a BART train (subway), 22 yr old Oscar Grant and some others were taken off the train @ the Fruitvale STN by BART security officers. All involved were positioned sitting against the wall.
The exchange that took place afterwards remains a mystery, but the unarmed Oscar Grant was then placed face down, his hands placed behind his back and cuffed.
Then, one of the officers standing over him inexplicably shoots him. Although disturbing, I offer the youtubed events in 2 parts:
Footage 1
Footage 2 (with sound)
Oscar Grant was then rushed to hospital where he later died of his injuries.
Initial reports from the BART spokepersons were that Oscar Grant was not faced down or restrained @ the time of the shooting. FALSE. Officers involved obviously lied to investigators/Internal Affairs from the start. Would you also believe that there are no vid cameras available with recorded footage for BART officials to review ANY altercations?? To their dismay and in the name of justice, the incident was YouTubed by witnesses and the truth has never been so clear.
Witness accounts indicate that Oscar Grant pleaded officers not to shoot or taser him as he had a young daughter.
The officer who fired the shot was placed on admin leave but then, likely under the clear and incontrovertible set of facts, has now resigned.
For some odd reason, much of the chatter still swirls around whether or not 1. the firearm discharged by mistake, and 2. whether he thought that he was puling out his taser or not.
Either way, again, I still present to you lack of protocol and incontestably undue force. You can clearly see Oscar Grant's hands up several times and offering no resistance. In fact, a friend and witness indicated that they had disembarked the BART to get away from the kerfuffle.
Yesterday, shortly after Mr. Grant's interment, a rally in Oakland turned violent as demonstrators grew angry and agitated over what is probably one of the worst cases of police misconduct in recent times, likely heightened by the plain proof that the videos have offered all to see.
Read more.
Let's hope of exemplary and principled punishment - in both cases.
RIP OG.
H!
That's right. Look good, feel good.
NYE was fun night. Making the night special were w/o doubt my man Jonathan Ramos (congrats on the news!), and our beauties - his lovely girlfriend and my fabulous ex-roomie.
But I must thank a few ppl in particular. In company were long time brethren Marc Jacobs (who I had holla'd @ previously) and Paul Smith (who I had not seen in a min).
Looks as though the Marc Jacobs Beau Ties were a triumphant hit (as I had always known). The light lilac Paul Smith blazer contrasting against the laser lime button down was also a stunner. Rounding it all off was a slim grey Top Man denim and a white perf'd pair of leather Prison Issue Vans. The compliments, the acclaim, the honeyed words were all appreciated - best believe. And since I had mentioned a new direction in 2009 and consider this step 1. Bringing my blazers back out (had a convo with a seer suckered Ralph before heading out, said he couldn't make it. Next time). But yea. Although spectacles are very in vogue, I should have kept mine from years back. But no worries.
Shouts to Ramos who was in equally stunning dignitary designate habiliments.
The night would not have been possible w/o our Beauties - Natalie & Banasa. Miss L was spaghetti strapped with a black corset skirt and 1-shade-short-of-opaque leggings to match and what looked like T-bar mid heels.
Banasa was adorably adorned with a black strapless silk pintuck puffball dress. She also wore faux-iguana skin leggings and ankle high suede heels. All of this was topped off with a lustrous gold choker.
Look good, feel good. Beau-ties and beauties indeed. Great Start!
H!
