I don’t really think there is anything I can say about this photo that it doesn’t say for itself. Darth Vader, one of the all time bad ass movie villains, taunts poor Luck Skywalker in a way that would break any mans self dignity. Well done Darth, well done.

Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to picking up women, I fall somewhere between Steve Urkel and Uncle Joey from Full House. I never take that random shot at a stranger at the bar and if on the off chance I start chatting it up with a girl, its probably because she approached me, or I am apologizing for drunkenly spilling my drink on her new dress. I always thought that guys who smoked had it so much easier, especially now that you cant smoke in NYC bars. You have to go out side like cattle in this little smokers section. Seeing these snazzy cuff links makes me almost want to take up smoking. Find other great Cufflinks at RedEnvelope.com. I mean lets be honest, a super hot girl is trying desperately to light her Capri Slim Light when she cant find her lighter. I move in like a stealth fighter jet and break out my cuff link lighter. I could get away with never saying a word to this girl, and still probably go home with her because she would think the James Bond movie series was based off of my life adventures. Cufflinks also make great Anniversary gifts so if your someone like me, pony up the $40 bucks for these and never worry about lacking pick up lines again.

Tanner Goldbeck was born on the 4th of July 1979 in Baltimore, Maryland. He started his art career shooting halftones on stat cameras, cutting layers of rubylith and changing chemicals for diffusion transfer machines. Spending entire days hand drawing type so that it would have the three dimensional layout that press type couldn’t provide was how Tanner spent his Saturdays.

In 1992, he graduated from The Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA. After spending several years working in different shirt shops and picking up small freelance jobs around the east coast he moved to New Jersey (HELL YEAH!) to attend The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Like many artists, that period of time allowed him to dig into New York City and open up to the idea of larger markets.

Shortly afterwards, in 1998 he relocated to the west coast and worked for Powell Skateboards in Santa Barbara, California. During this time of art and babe watching on the Venice pier, he began working freelance for Icon Motosports doing helmet and jacket work, which he is now widely known for. This lead to a gig at West Coast Choppers in Long Beach but after realizing that the morning rush was not for him, he went full time freelance. He currently works from his home office for Icon and is his own words, “does whatever it takes to make the landlord happy.” Check out his video as there is WAY more to Tanner Goldbeck than just some airbrushed helmets.

Damon Dash is officially back in the music business. The Roc-A-Fella co-founder has formed his own, new independent label to release a rap/rock album between The Black Keys and a slew of hip-hop artists, including Mos Def, Jim Jones, Q-Tip, Ludacris and more. Dash said that he never heard of the Black Keys until some of his staff invited him to a concert for one of their birthdays. The show was sold out, so before heading to the concert, Dash started to listen to the Keys, and they soon became his favorite new group.

The album, titled Blak Roc, also features appearances by Raekwon, RZA, Billy Danze of M.O.P., Pharoahe Monch and Ol Dirty Bastard, among others. Set for a release on the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday in the world of retail, the disc will be on a new label started by Dash and the Keys.

When asked what made him return to the music business after all these years, Dash said it was all about the love.

The Black Keys are about real music and all these other people that came through are really good at what they do, and it was more for love really. We didnt know what it was gonna be, we just knew that we just liked making music. And thats really what its about at this point. At least after being in the game this long you dont wana just be doing it for money that becomes obvious. If I was to be a part of anything, it would have to be something like this

Born in 1982, Sylvia Ji has a style all her own. Her art encapsulates a timeless feeling, but is also cutting edge in its subject matter.  Ji’s interest in art was implanted at a very young age when she would look through her mother’s sketchbooks and watch her father paint. In her art, she explores themes of beauty, sexual provocation, and social notions of femininity juxtaposed against the dystopian reality of modern cities to create highly charged paintings of women. Some of her paintings are symbolic reflections of herself, portraits of people she knows or just nameless faces set in a landscape of fleeting beauty. She graduated with distinction in 2005 from the Academy of Art University of San Francisco with a Bachelors in illustration and already had her first ambitious and successful solo show while still in her last year of school. Since then she has been in high demand, keeping continuously engaged in an onslought of numerous shows on the West Coast. Currently, she has works on display in both San Francisco and Los Angeles galleries. Seeing this art really inspires me, especially since Silvia and I are the same age. I think people have a tendency to only look up to or admire people who are older and more established, but there is a lot that you can learn from your peers. Big ups to my homegirl Lanie for turning me on to some of this awesome art!

If all you thought Storm Troopers did was act as the personal army to Emperor Palpatine then you obviously dont know these guys on a personal level. Yes,  carrying out the will of their superior without question, and staying in a nice little formation at all times are major aspects in the life of a Trooper, but they also like to cut lose and party from time to time. Without their Sunday adventures on their day off even the most dedicated and skillful soldiers will start to go a little AWOL. Artist Stefen took a series of photos documenting a Storm Troopers day off. Lets also be clear about this. I am NOT a Star Wars freak. Except for the brief period in my life when I would only sleep with my girl friend when she was dressed like Princess Leia, Im not one of those crazy obsessed fans. Aside from the 7 months I spend getting my Yoda costume ready for Comic Con, the 1 week drive out to the show, and the 2 weeks I spend in full Yoda character, I could really care less. 

Big L was and still is considered one of the most prolific hip hop artist in the history of rap. He strung together words that can only be described as amazing and his song Ebonics is widely regarded as one of the best rap songs of all time. Born in Harlem, Big L was first discovered by Lord Finesse in a record store while rhyming and was soon after featured on his 1992 hit “Party Over Here”. He later signed with the D.I.T.C Crew (Diggin In The Crate Crew) on Columbia Records and went on to release his solo debut Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, in March of 1995. From 1997-1999 Big L worked on his second release, The Big Picture, but sadly, he would never get the chance to see it completed. He was gunned down in Harlem, February 15, 1999. Big L was murdered on W138st in Harlem and was shot 9 times, twice in the face, he was 24. Gerard Woodley one L’s childhood friends, was arrested in May for the crime, but soon after released for lack of evidence. At the time of his death, L had two brothers in prison and a spokesman for the NYPD said there is a good chance L was killed for something his brothers had done, or were believed to have done.

His death remains unsolved.

This documentary gives a closer look into the legend that has grown around Big L’s amazing talent.

Lets be clear about one thing, I am Black Berry for life. All these people jumping on the iPhone band wagon really piss me off, and this app non sense that is going on is even worse. 90% of the apps that are for sale are pointless bullshit that only costs you money and take up space on your phone, but people download them anyway I guess so that they can show off their apps to their iPhone loser friends. With that being said, this is an app I would actually buy. What could be better than the look on some poor saps face when while sitting in traffic, they looked over and saw some crazy road rager squeezing off shots and screeming about traffic. I love how this app even lets you load up your clip before going all Charles Bronson on bystanders.

So I just finished watching The Ultimate Fighter, and sadly Kimbo Slice lost to Roy “Big Country” Nelson. It was a decent fight when they were standing, but when it went to the ground, the 265lbs Nelson was just too much dead weight for Kimbo to defend against. If nothing else, this episode, which was estimated to be the most viewed hour in Ultimate Fighter History, served as a “get to know” Kimbo Slice session. Almost every other fighter or situation was ignored so that everyone in the house could give their 2 cents on how they felt about Kimbo and how they thought he would do against an established MMA fighter. It was nice to see that most of the guys in the house recognized the fact that Kimbo was thrown into the spot light based on some back yard street fights that happened to gain millions of hits on YouTube. He didn’t go looking for fame, it found him, and when you are a father of 6, with no money, you take what is given to you, especially when its hundreds of thousands of dollars in promotional money.

With all that being said, I noticed something interesting tonight. I noticed that Kimbo may not be cut out for the UFC, but you can bet your ass you will be seeing more of Kimbo Slice on the big screen. He is a personality that is impossible to ignore. His appearance speaks for itself, a bald gritty street fighter with a beard that looks like it is made from the wool of a deceased goat. He also just so happens to be the same guy who has a rep for knocking guys eye sockets out. But once you get to listen to him talk, and listen to his stories, you realize that there is more to him then just a lethal punching machine. He has a charisma and charm that is hard to come by. He stole the show tonight with his commentary and that is what I enjoyed watching the most. I would have enjoyed it a little more if he won, but I guess I can’t have everything I wish for. Who knows, maybe Rampages crazy ass is lining up to be his agent/manager. Kimbo was his first pick, after all. And if Rampages recent switch to acting is any sign of the new trend in MMA, then we can expect the offers for Kimbo Slice to be piling up faster than Ari Gold can set up the deal.

Kimbo auditioning for the roll of "Outlaw #2" in a new Western.