The Great Epicurean

Andre

2009-06-12T16:03:00.003-04:00

Artist. Produces the Belvedere Ad Campaigns.

Parisian Kicks are Cooler than Yours (If you have $650-$900 to spare)

2009-06-12T15:55:00.002-04:00

Long story short.

Some french brands have been making waves with their sneakers lately. Notably, Maison Margiela, Lanvin and MiuMiu (the Old Navy of Prada). Fine grain premium leather, undeniable aesthetic and expensive enough that you don't need to explain why they are cool. Plus, they are so simple and refined that whether you're laced up with some jeans, shorts, or a suit - they make you that much more of a man.

You can purchase all of these here

test

2009-06-10T11:37:00.003-04:00

A 10-year-old girl was arrested and charged for fighting in a Texas park with her 13-year-old sister.

The older sister said the fight broke out after her sister refused to follow her instructions.

"She pushed me, so I just walked away from it," the 13-year-old told KDFW-TV in Dallas. "The third time she pushed me, we just started fighting."

Someone witnessed the fight at a Flower Mound park and contacted police.

So the girls, who were visiting family in Flower Mound with their mother, returned to the family home with a police officer in tow.

"'This is criminal, and one of them is going to have to go to jail and it's probably going to have to be your younger one because she was the aggressor,'" their mother quoted the officer as saying. "And I said, 'Are you kidding me?' and he said, 'No, no.'"

Lt. Clay Pierce of the Flower Mound Police said it was being treated as a case of family violence and the girl was charged with Class A misdemeanor assault.

"By state law we are required to take action and what we did, we detained the youngest one," he said.

"Both of them had some injuries. The one showed more serious injuries, so the other one was detained."

The case has been turned over to the Denton County district attorney for further review.

EDITING THIS BITCH.. CHILLL

2009-06-10T11:35:00.001-04:00

Kid Cudi: Heaven at Nite w lyrics cause you must

2009-06-08T10:53:00.001-04:00

Kid Cudi - Heaven At Nite [New]
by Yannicklord

Have you ever been to heaven at nite (heaven at nite)
Have you ever been to heaven at nite
Heaven at nite

Have you ever been to heaven at night
Closing your eyes the feeling so right
At first you might see this one bright beam of light
Crutching your soul?
Happy unites and feelings take flight
Blinds of the evils you give them no sight
Focus on floatin, your focus is tight
Like you be road ass you safe for a class
To pass in the night
Haave you ever seen the ending so nice
You feel so free like your high as a kite
Like how you feel if you drink some bud light
Followed by Jag
Models we smile then tilt our heads back
These are a few of the visions I like
Mixed in with light, these are my favorites to dream in the night
This is my heaven at nite

Have you, ever been to heaven at nite (heaven at night)
Heaven at nite (heaven at nite)
Oh have you
Ever been to heaven at nite (heaven at nite)
Heaven at nite (heaven at nite)

Man
Oh, I need what the world can't give me (cant give me)
Can't give me
Man
Oh, I see what the world can't show me (cant show me)
Can't show me
God
Oh, I like what the world can't give me (cant give me)
Can't give me
God
Oh, I sing but the world can't hear me (cant hear me)
Can't hear me

Heaven at nite
Heaven at nite

Have you ever been to heaven at nite (heaven at nite)
Heaven at nite
Oh, have you ever been to heaven at nite
Heaven at nite

COUNT AND SINDEN: BEEPER (A-TRACK REMIX)

2009-06-04T17:28:00.001-04:00

EWWWWY: BROOKLYN WE GO HARD REMIX FT. SANTOGOLD, FOXY BROWN, LIL WAYNE, WAYNE WONDER

2009-06-04T17:25:00.003-04:00

PARANOID MUSIC VIDEO FEAT. RIHANNA

2009-06-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

KANYE WEST "PARANOID" feat: RIHANNA Dir: NABIL from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

INTRODUCING LITTLE BOOTS - NEW IN TOWN

2009-06-04T16:44:00.001-04:00

Little Boots - New In Town

TOY STORY 3... i'm counting down the days

2009-06-04T12:57:00.001-04:00

Following Through On His Promises... BAMA

2009-06-04T12:51:00.003-04:00

Bin Laden's Obama criticism a sign he is worried
"A day before President Barack Obama is to deliver a speech here seeking goodwill with the Islamic world, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden tried in a new message Wednesday to convince Muslims they should hate him.
The message was the second from al-Qaida in as many days criticizing Obama. Analysts said the PR offensive shows the terrorist organization worries the new president will succeed in improving America's image in the Muslim world and undermine the group's anti-American jihad, or holy war.
"Obama's election is just about the worst thing that could have happened to these guys," said Tom Sanderson, a terrorism expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "They knew right away that his election undermined a key part of their argument that the U.S. was anti-Islamic, that the U.S. was racist.""

-excerpt of recent article by Sebastian Abbot. A service of Cairo's AP.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

OBAMA/SUPERMAN

2009-06-04T12:23:00.004-04:00

Reaction After Obama Addresses Muslims

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sought a "new beginning" between the United States and Muslims in a speech on Thursday but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, an omission likely to disappoint many.

Below are reactions to his speech delivered from Cairo University in Egypt:

NABIL ABU RDAINAH, SPOKESMAN FOR PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT

"His call for stopping settlement and for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and his reference to the suffering of Palestinians ... is a clear message to Israel that a just peace is built on the foundations of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

"President Obama's speech is a good start and an important step towards a new American policy."

ALI AL-DABBAGH, IRAQI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN

"The speech was historic and important and reflects a positive direction for the new administration (in Washington) and it is a new start."

"The use of Koranic sayings plays a big part in a positive change of picture, but there is a necessity for action."

"The government of Iraq is comfortable with the clarity of the president in respecting commitments to Iraq and the timetable for withdrawal stipulated in the security pact."

"I think there is clear support of a right for a Palestinian state, and their right for a life, but Arabs are waiting for pressure to be exerted on Israel so it can stop its violations in Gaza and the West Bank."

HAZIM AL-NUAIMI, ANALYST AT BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY

"He gave nothing new to Iraqis. He gave one promise, to respect the rights of minorites and work with consensus. In all he says, he tries to remove himself from all that happened in Iraq."

ISSANDR EL-AMRANI, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ANALYST IN EGYPT

"I can't say I am overwhelmingly impressed by the speech. The strongest point was probably that the situation of the Palestinians is intolerable. I would have liked to see a more specific addressing of the question of Gaza, and the ongoing blockade of Gaza, the lack of availability of reconstruction materials."

"I think it will achieve its goal of generating some goodwill. I think whether among Egyptians or elsewhere there was a lot of scepticism about the speech, scepticism that contained also a nugget of optimism."

RANDA ACHMAWI, DIPLOMATIC EDITOR FOR EGYPT'S AL-AHRAM HEBDO

"America for the first time is adopting a very wise strategy in acknowledging the other and that was clear in every word chosen by President Obama."

"In this context, where we see an Israeli government who is refusing even the least principles of the two-state solution, he made clear the American vision ... There is nothing innovative."

Copyright © 2008 Reuters (article here)

R.I.P. DAVID CARRADINE (OR BILL)

2009-06-04T12:12:00.003-04:00

U.S. actor David Carradine, best known for his roles in the 1970s TV series 'Kung Fu' and the Kill Bill movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital Bangkok.

Among speculation, a leaked video may identify culprit:

Lily Allen

2009-06-04T12:00:00.004-04:00

One of the most adorable featured artists on Common's Finding Forever, Lily Allen, isn't shy. The girl has talent, anyway you wanna look at it. Here are a few of them:

Common - New Music - More Music Videos

MARK RONSON, LILY ALLEN OH MY GOD ! HI Quality
by gladyoucame

Lily.Allen.-.Smile
by absolut_25

LILLY LOOKING GOOD...
OH, AND HERES LILLY AT HER BEST...

THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

2009-06-04T11:33:00.005-04:00

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.

I think I know what’s going on. For more than a decade now, I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing and sometimes adding to the great databases of the Internet. The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I’ve got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after. Even when I’m not working, I’m as likely as not to be foraging in the Web’s info-thickets’reading and writing e-mails, scanning headlines and blog posts, watching videos and listening to podcasts, or just tripping from link to link to link. (Unlike footnotes, to which they’re sometimes likened, hyperlinks don’t merely point to related works; they propel you toward them.)

-Excerpt from recent Nicholas Carr article conerning his latest book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google, that was published earlier this year.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE, PUBLISHED IN THE ATLANTIC, HERE

HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR CAFFEINE?

2009-06-04T11:25:00.004-04:00

10 Reasons Why Tea is Better Than Coffee

Thinking of switching from coffee to tea? Here’s a list of advantages you may not have thought about before that may help you decide!
- Economic: Tea and coffee both vary in price depending on your source, but many teas (whites, greens and oolongs, and some pu’ers) can be resteeped multiple times using the same leaves, thereby costing less per cup overall than coffee. The spent-leaves can also be used as an excellent mulch/fertilizer for your flower/vegetable garden (though to be fair - so can coffee!)
- Simplicity: To get the best possible flavor out of coffee you must grind your own beans (grinder: $20+) just before brewing and use a coffee machine ($20+) with single-use filters ($5+, recurring). Tea leaves require no preparation, wasteful filters or expensive gizmos in order to extract the best possible flavor - simply drop them in hot water, strain and pour.
- Environmental: Coffee filters can be used only once and are then thrown away. None are needed for tea. Tea companies are also, on the whole, much more involved with eco-friendly, fair-trade and organic projects and processes. The coffee-roasting process also emits particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, organic acids and many gaseous pollutants into the atmosphere. Many types of tea processing involve little more than human labor and sun- or wind-wilting. Baking processes used to complete the drying cycle can emit greenhouse gasses but do so to a far lesser degree than coffee processing, due to the lower temperatures and length of time used in tea processing. Finally, tea weighs much less than coffee, requiring less fossil fuel (on a cup-to-cup basis) to ship and export it around the world.
- Variety: While coffee can be made from multiple types of beans, tea is generally derived only from a single plant. That said, the various methods of preparing and oxidizing tea results in a much wider variety of tastes than you’ll find between different blends of coffee.
- Cultural: Almost every culture in the world has a tea tradition of one sort or another, and these traditions are often central to the act of meeting and greeting friends and newcomers. Having an appreciation of tea and tea rituals can often get you past many language or cultural barriers when traveling overseas. After water, tea is the most widely-consumed beverage in the world. (Take that, coffee!)
- Historical: Tea has been widely used since around 2700 B.C.. Coffee, in its present form, has probably only been used since around 800 A.D.. Four thousand years of tea-drinking has to account for something.
- Cosmetic: Most teas (greens, whites and many oolongs) won’t stain your teeth - black tea will still cause stains, but to a lesser degree than coffee. Some teas have antioxidants and natural fluorides that protect your teeth from cavities - the tannins in black teas hav a bactericide effect that will kill many of the bacteria that can cause cavities (and bad breath!).
- Dietetic: Many coffee-drinkers can’t stand the taste on its own, and must add milk, cream, and/or sugar in order to make it palatable. Tea on the other hand is much less harsh/bitter on its own, and is widely enjoyed without additives of any kind. Tea may also help boost metabolism, which can help dieters lose weight faster.
- Novelty: Tea consumption is on the rise in America, but in many places it is still considered a relative “novelty” (at least outside of iced tea and the usual “Lipton” mass-market offerings). Be the first on your block to introduce your friends and family to the wonderfully wide and varied world of tea!
- Health: Coffee has been linked to a handful of health benefits, but it can also lead to hypertension, caffeine-related problems and heart disease. Tea has dozens of proven and widely-suggested health benefits. The following is just a sampling:
- Tea has much less caffeine than coffee - between 25-50% as much.
- Tea contains tannins and catechins which have been associated with cancer and heart disease prevention
- Tea has been shown to act as a stress-reliever.
- Tea contains the polyphenol quercetin, which may interrupt the oxidation of LDL or “bad cholesterol”. It may also lower blood pressure and blood sugar, suppress aging, prevent food poisoning and skin disease and act as an anti-viral. Quercetin can also act as a natural COX-2 inhibitor, providing pain-relief similar to pharmeceutical versions like Vioxx and Celebrex.
- Tea decreases triglycerides and free fatty acids in your bloodstream, while coffee contains cafestol, a fat-like chemical that actually can increase your cholesterol levels.
- Tea contains EGCG and theaflavins which can suppress the enzymes required for cancer-cell growth, thereby slowing the progression of some cancers. (Some research suggests that the antioxidants in tea may neutralize this effect, however).
- Tea is a digestive aid, it flushes the digestive system.
- Unlike coffee, tea has almost no carbohydrates, fats or proteins.
- Tea contains L-theanine, which has been shown to boost mental alertness and help the body’s immune system.
- Oxalates found in tea can bind with free iron in the bloodstream, which can help the body fight HIV.
- Polyphenols in green tea can reduce intestinal inflammation related to IBD.
- Tea can help prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s
- Tea may also be a significant factor in strengthening bones against oseoporosis
- Tea lowers your blood pressure
- Tea can help prevent kidney stones
- Some anti-venom serums have actually been extracted from black tea!

by Stephen at Teaviews.com (here)

French Open: Gael Monfils IS AN ANIMAL

2009-06-03T11:04:00.001-04:00

Pointer Footwear - London's New Groove

2009-06-02T18:51:00.003-04:00

Let's call a spade...a spade. Boat shoes and street culture kicks are making a comeback and it's not being brought on by skaters and yacht aficionados. Rather, niche brands that coin themselves 'athleisure' (athletic inspired leisure shoes) are on the come up.

Pointer Footwear has been on the frontier and luckily their kicks aren't made for function. Founded in 2004, Pointer is about making quality, functional, casual shoes and their selling points don't involve the words - limited, exclusive or hype.

You can grip em' or just peruse here.

Richard Dreyfuss isn't just schooling sharks...

2009-06-02T14:48:00.003-04:00

Dreyfuss Promotes A Return To Civility, Civics

NORFOLK, Va. - Of all the causes actors have chosen to champion, Richard Dreyfuss admits his passion lacks, well, a certain pizazz: Civics.

"Don't call it 'civics' because 'civics' is easily the most boring word in America," Dreyfuss says. "Call it what it is: political power."

Dreyfuss brings an actor's dramatic pacing and a historian's licks to his cause, erasing any notion that this lesson will be boring. He's bombastic, predictably brash and yet professorial during a 90-minute interview in a bland hotel suite in this seaport, where he was honored at a film festival earlier this year.

Kicked out of college for confronting a professor who criticized Marlon Brando's performance in "Julius Caesar," Dreyfuss recently studied at St. Antony's College at the University of Oxford to develop a curriculum for U.S. public schools.

Called The Dreyfuss Initiative, the curriculum would use scholarly presentations in videos and the Oscar-winning actor "as a storyteller, to engage, enlighten and empower students of all ages in an entertaining way," according to an outline. Dreyfuss said he would work with civic and educational groups to promote the teaching tools.

While the program has not been used in any classroom yet, Dreyfuss has launched a fundraising campaign to produce videos and the curriculum.

"I've got a very simple thing here," Dreyfuss said. "I've got a nonprofit initiative to get K-12 grades back to civics, to give our children real-world knowledge and hopefully wisdom about how to run this complex governance system. That's it. That's enough."

These days, Dreyfuss devotes most of his public appearances addressing the origins of our nation and lamenting a citizenry that he believes has lost its way.

"I stopped defining myself as an actor and I went to Oxford because I believe that America is a miracle," Dreyfuss said. "And I think that there is nothing easier in the world than for us to lose this miracle and to be reduced to words on paper."

Dreyfuss fears just that _ that future generations will view our freedoms as a fairy tale.

"It'll break my heart, and it should break yours," he said.

Dreyfuss, 61, blames a lack of civil discourse, the din of television and any number of distractions for moving us away from understanding our origins as a nation.

Dreyfuss is comfortable discussing the sweep of human history, but he's especially drawn to the drama of the Civil War.

In March, he was the star attraction at a Washington, D.C., event for the Civil War Preservation Trust, which annually releases a report on endangered battlefields. His interest in the Civil War goes way back, and he was recruited as a re-enactor at the battle of Cedar Creek, in northern Virginia, while filming "What About Bob?," which was set at New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee but filmed at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.

Dreyfuss won an Oscar at 29 for "The Goodbye Girl," making him then the youngest male lead to win the trophy. He said the honor wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"I was too young," he said. "I didn't know until later that I am built to be in pursuit. I am not built to have achieved. I'm happiest when I'm on the hunt."

The Dreyfuss Initiative has put the actor back in the hunt _ for a Nobel peace prize.

"Not to be glib about it, because nothing about this is glib, but I'm going for the Nobel," he said. "If I before I get it, I'd rather have a lofty ambition."

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

SPANISH HIP HOP?? check. it. out. (Hocus Pocus Hip Hop ? feat The Procussions)

2009-06-02T14:43:00.000-04:00

Amon Tobin: Foley Room

2009-06-02T14:39:00.000-04:00

If You Are One of God's Sons

2009-06-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Download Mixtape | Provided by DatPiff.com

speaking of Talib... HI TEK ft PUSH! MONTANA

2009-06-02T14:36:00.001-04:00

BLACK STAR GIVE US MORE

2009-06-02T14:23:00.003-04:00

Black Star’s Mos Def, Talib Kweli Dabble in Politics at Reunion Show

Barricades lined the streets of New York’s Times Square Saturday evening. Barack and Michelle Obama dropped into town for dinner and a play (August Wilson revival Joe Turner’s Come and Gone). Just across the street at the Nokia Theatre, a packed house went wild while Mos Def and Talib Kweli reunited onstage as Black Star nearly 11 years after their classic, and only, studio album as a duo.

“Shout out to Michelle Obama!” Mos called out after the crowd sang along with “Brown Skin Lady,” a reverential ode to the fairer sex. “You know Obama’s up the block, right?” Mos asked, going into an Obama bit, acting as if he were exiting the Air Force One. “That’s right whitey! Deal with it!” He yelled, then assured the crowd: “I don’t mean the whiteys in here, you know what whiteys I’m taking about. Crazy whiteys.”

“Yeah, the crazy whiteys,” Talib agreed.

“But it’s a brand new daaay” Mos sang, introducing “Sunshine,” on which he boasted over Kanye West’s production about being a “Slim nigga that casts a big shadow.”

“It took a year and a half to get the deal done,” said show organizer Peter “Oasis” Prudente of LiveNDirect, who plans to take the reunion on the road to other cities. “The biggest obstacle was timing, finding a date that worked for both Mos and Kweli.” The time was right as both ready to release separate albums. Mos Def’s fourth solo album, The Ecstatic, is due out next week. Kweli is recording a Reflection Eternal follow-up with producer Hi-Tek. “Ayo Dante, don’t you have an album coming out?” Kweli asked after “K.O.S. (Determination),” plugging his partner’s new album. “I do got something coming out,” Mos took his cue. “I’m excited about it and you should be too.” Mos offered an autobiographical a cappella leading into a tribute to late producer J Dilla and other fallen rappers, referencing being born in ‘73.” A fan turned to her pal after calculating Mos’ age: “35!”

“We sell, crack to our own out the back of our homes…” All hands and cameras were in the air as Kweli set off his Kanye West-produced hit “Get By.” “When people decide to keep on disguise you can’t see their eyes ’cause see they’re evil inside,” Mos added with emphasis before going into poignant favorites “Umi Says” and “Respiration.”

After rapping about being an extension of their ancestors, Black Star left with a quick but earnest thank you to New York City. A few hours later, they packed a second reunion show at the Nokia, taking advantage of being in the same place at the same time, at least for a night.

Set List:

“Definition”
“RE: DEFinition”
“Brown Skin Lady”
“Sunshine”
“Brooklyn” (third verse)
“K.O.S.” (Determination)
“Supreme, Supreme”
“RIP interlude”
“The Panties”
“Move Somethin’ ”
“Brooklyn” (second verse)
“Get By”
“Umi Says”
“Respiration”

story by Laura Checkoway from Rolling Stones (HERE)