August 16, 2006
In a recent blog post, Heidi Cortez reports that her book Heidi’s Bedtime Stories can be pre-ordered at Barnes & Noble. It’s 35 short bedtime stories for adults, and according to Heidi, “It’s not lame boring shit. It’s fun and sexy.” Also inside are some never-seen-before 5×7 photos of Heidi.
Due out in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl looks to be quite the video game. More details on Brawl can be found in this IGN.com article. See the teaser video below.
Name: Jessica DiFeo
Age: 29
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Height: 5′7″
Sign: Taurus
Occupation: Model
Misc: Jessica was in the Girls of MySpace edition of Playboy Magazine
August 15, 2006
Got hairproblems? Get Hairapy. Kinda like the foursome Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Hairapy is three gay guys (Ethan, Robbie, and Micah) on MySpace that offer advice on everything from hair to life. But in reality, it’s a clever promotional MySpace profile created by the consumer products company Unilever that’s designed to subtely promote their Sunsilk hair products.
The profile has a very active forum going, with lots of insightful advice on hair from your fellow MySpace members and the Hairapy gay guys. There are also some downloadable AIM icons and wallpapers. Overall I’d have to say it’s a well-executed MySpace profile and the design seamlessly blends with the gethairapy.com website.
Who knew it to be true? Darth Vader has a less-talented and less-charismatic younger brother named Chad Vader who works in a grocery store as a day shift manager. There’s nothing fancy about this video, but it’s shot clean, and the dialogue is funny as hell. Definately a must see.
Wow, I totally slept on this one. One of my favorite indie hip-hop albums is The Self Science by Self Scientific, which came out back in 2001. I’ve been waiting and waiting for their follow-up album, and it came out back in October 2005!! Now that I’m almost a year late to the party I feel kinda dumb, but that don’t mean I can’t share the new album, called Change, with all of you.
Self Scientific is known for producer DJ Khalil’s dope beats and emcee Chase Infinite’s raw and poignant lyrics that tell a very real story about struggle and staying positive. As with The Self Science, the new album Change contains not a word about blingin’ or ho’s, it’s just more of that timeless hip-hop perfectly executed yet again. Check out their MySpace profile to listen to four tracks off the new album and tell me you’re not impressed.
Name: Vanessa
Age: 20
Location: Santa Fe Springs, CA
Height: 5′7″
Sign: Virgo
Occupation: Student
Tagline: “U KNOW U WANT ME”
We here at SpaceCadetz aim to be as “politically neutral” as possible, but if something political in nature strikes us as unique and post-worthy, so be it. Liberals all across America will love this tshirt company called Electric Tees. They design a number of shirts that cover all kinds of political fare ranging from the war in Iraq to funny George Bushisms. Be sure to add them to your friends because each month they do a tshirt giveaway to a randomly selected MySpace friend on their list. Check out the rest of their designs at ElectricTees.com.
August 14, 2006
SpaceCadetz welcomes an extremely talented graphic/visual/musical artist named John Karborn whose talents truly defy convention. He’s been busy blazing new trails on your computer screen, in your speakers, and on your DVD player. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the YouTube video below that John made. After you find yourself sufficiently impressed, read the interview and ponder his genius.
How’s it going, John? Thanks so much for doing this interview. Why don’t you take a few minutes to tell the SpaceCadetz readers who you are and what you do?
Morning! Well, its afternoon here in London really. I’m devouring some blue cheese with avocado in a beautiful baguette, wonderful.
What I do? I always dread that question, I am never quite sure what to say on that. I perform art and visuals, by perform I mean I don’t just sit in a room alone always painting or working or designing, it’s often in the form of live performance, with gigs and crews as a VJ, mixing, mashing effecting video and visuals live. I bring visual personality to anything that needs it, and I interpret and present ideas and concepts in the form of my pieces and output. I am a catalyst for what I get involved with. I am a freelancer and run things my way, with the people/artists I respect.
How would you characterize your overall style considering that the breadth of work is clearly quite diverse and varied?
Psychadelic montage, a flash of London surreality, very modern. But at the same time, I have a strong lean to the classic, to the romantic, and to the beautiful. I am in love with a million, million colours, and adore both the beautifully simple, and the very complex. The more simple, often being the most effective and complex!
One of your more recent and high-visibility projects was working on Nikelab.com. Could you elaborate on what Nikelab.com was all about and what your role was in the project?
Yeah, that was a massive project, done at the very end of 2004/ beginning of 2005. I think it’s offline now from the main nikelab site now, but, huge! My role in that beast was to assemble, create and mock up elements and scenes for it, as well as writing documentation to help direct the feel of the whole project, it’s music, the way it would animate, from the sky down into the ground and back up out, the macro to the micro. The inspiration was to come from nature, from the world around us. My visuals were deep, complex creatures that each were to capture a very romantic view of nature, and provide depth to the project. More detail than that on the Nike project I don’t want to go into, I have spoken about it too much since it was done, and in all honesty, I am fed up of talking about it now. I almost wish people would focus on other projects, like the John Foxx – Cathedral Oceans DVD, which is coming out soon, or the System Error project, or paranoidplant.com
Simple answer, NO. I get bored easily, I want to touch everything, get everywhere, if I could do art on the insides of your muscles, bones and brain, I would. Actually, speaking in one sense, I can. Brains, bodies and minds, watch out!
When looking back on all the creative projects you’ve done, which is your favorite and why?
The one I am really feeling at the moment, is the John Foxx – Cathedral Oceans DVD, that will be out at the end of 2006, even though my work on it is finished, and the DVD is ready for press, it’s being held up by the usual bureaucratic nonsense that goes with these kinda projects. That is an amazing, beautiful, clever, perfect beast of a project, I can’t wait to see it playing out at Optronica, OneDotZero, OFFF, and all those, because they are all going to get it for playing in 2007, possibly it will start being seen as soon as within the next month here in the UK at a few shows we can catch with preview copies. As for why it’s my favourite, well, you will see why……
You are part of an elite group of creative individuals called the KDU. What is the KDU and why do you guys seem to kick so much ass?
The KDU is a NY based collective, and assembles the best of the creative, in any form, together under one roof. The KDU is also a structure to back with business, together we stand, divided we fall vibes. The KDU, from what I can see as a member and the way we are going about things at the moment, is seriously going to step up as a force in the next couple of years to be reckoned with. Much love to all the members, and especially Gensler and Aerosyn-lex for their management and running that beast.
Same question for The Clarabellas. The group’s slogan is “Not a collective, nor agency.” What is The Clarabellas then?
It’s a unity, that’s all, although I think the Clarabellas is on a kind of ice at the moment, let’s see.
You’re based in London, UK. For those of us the in United States and other countries across the globe, what is the current state of things artistically, musically, culturally, etc. in the UK, as seen through the lens of John Leigh?
You must know your stuff Scott, this must be a favorite question of mine, one that makes mates and people who know me groan, because I’m revoltingly enthusiastic about the UK and what’s happening here, that’s the truth. A beautiful balance here, of many different races, many different peoples, from all over, all collaborating, all in a big melting pot, beautifully simmering together. The music and art and output, energy, enthusiasm and uniqueness I see here in the UK, particularly London, is second to none. More free we are as a society, more liberal than Americans, certainly. The rave, drugs and creativity that came from our massive drive into electronic music, helped by the Jamaicans who always made a big impact in London and continue to do so, living and working here means we do things fast, raw, gritty and quickly. Which is great, being put on the spot and expected to react immediately, no time to think, just time to react, is a truly powerful thing to push the chaff from the grain.
I want to forward the UK visually, in its business sense, in which we have always been weak, for some reason, us British hate business and most of our major creative’s and artists live in relative poverty to their American counterparts, but then we ain’t greedy for money, we greedy for challenge, and to take it forward. So, everyone been outstripped time ago, and were leading, not in guns and violence and politics, but in creativity, collaboration and output. As far as I see it, I would never want to be anywhere else. NY and Japan seem solid enough places to take my wares, so let’s see. Hopefully people will disagree with what I say there, but I think it’s spot on.
I always liked saying this: The main difference between the US and the UK is this, imagine a chemical reaction in something the size of a pond, then imagine the same one in a test-tube….. the difference, is intensity and speed of said reaction.
What are some of your inspirations?
Mostly now, from music, just the emotion of music, particularly the Dubstep and Grime scenes I have been seeing rising up here in London recently, the dark, deep durty, minimal beats are just up my street. Reggae devil worship, as my flat mate called it, haha. Graffiti, nature, people, hate, love, blah blah. The desire for a structural change in society is pushing me along at the moment too…..
How has MySpace been treating you so far?
Dope, actually. I am impressed with this MySpace phenomenon, shame it had to happen on MySpace, get me? It has brought some incredible new contacts for people I never thought I could get hold of, from the most known to the smallest, everyone seems to be there. Take the power back vibes, there is going to be a big change in the balance of control from the major to the minor players, I know people said all this before. But it’s true. Let’s watch it evolve.
What projects are you currently working on, and are there any planned for the future that you’d care to talk about?
I am really busy this time of year, always. I will give a quick rundown of whats going on. I got a number of personal projects/collaborations with other artists, most of which are looking to be completed by the end of summer. My focus on working with musicians and artists is at a peak, I am jamming live with Akira The Don, doing the visuals and mashing that up around the UK with him. I’m still awaiting this project with Amon Tobin, on the Ninjatune label to begin soon, for his new album which is coming out in January 2007 I believe, I’m doing a set of 10 big & beautiful pieces for him.
The System Error project has been a big one, and we really got together some of the best UK/Jamaican MC’s and musicians for that one, The album is looking for launch before the end of this year, the website and first LP, featuring Horace Andy, Earl 16, and Brother Culture, is looking to be out before the end of summer, I do art work right across that project, to the live shows and input on where we are taking it, etc.
Might be something coming up soon for D&G too, they dropped me a line last week, Playlouder.com is looking to have input from me on their new website, in terms of user experience, and I am doing a beautiful large scale piece with Dan, called Nature Is War, huge canvas with crazy fluorescent vibes and warfare in nature on a mass scale. *breathes in deeply* I am also working on a number of personal pieces, those will be out sooner than later, as I have full control over them…..
Re-reading that paragraph, its fucking messy, but yeh, it gives the point, that’s how it actually feels to have it all hanging over me, like a massive balloon of psychic fuzz, mmmmm.
Any shoutouts?
Yep, shoutouts I have. FUCKING HUGE RESPECT to AKIRA THE DON & The Don Squad, playing with you guys is dreams in reality, I swear it. MUCH love to SYSTEM ERROR, and that project, which is pushing out soon. Of course to THE KDU & THE CLARABELLAS. JOHN FOXX, my brain has started shaking so I’m going to stop the shoutouts there, but those of you I miss, each and every time, you know who you are. EVERYONE in the UK music, art, creative scene, without the immense drive here, there would be nothing.
With Borat’s movie on the horizon, it should come as no surprise that a MySpace page has been set up for him. You can check that out by clicking the link here and I’ve posted his first MySpace video blog entry here as well. Izzz niiiice!!
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