"Why Is This Pirate Smiling?"

(From a NYT article, April '09. It still cracks me up.)

"1. Because he, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, is the only Somali pirate from his crew to survive their attempted takeover of the U.S. ship Maersk Alabama.
2. Because his heavily bandaged hand, which is the reason he survived (he asked to be let off the lifeboat where he and his compatriots were holding Maersk captain Richard Phillips hostage shortly before the other three were shot by American snipers), is healing nicely.
3. Because he knows he's the first pirate to be tried in America in over 100 years, which, let's face it, is pretty cool.
4. Because he knows there are already civil-rights leaders lining up to defend him and attack America for its actions.
5. Because he's only a teenager, and he's already realized his lifelong goal of seeing New York City.
6. Because, duh, when people take your picture, you smile. You Americans are so crazy."

Joe Perry (lead guitarist - Aerosmith)

'80s. I love this man. He helped turn me on to rock n' roll. And for that, I am forever indebted to him.

Aerosmith - Boston 6/16/'09

Aerosmith - Train Kept A Rollin live Boston from AeroCanuck on Vimeo.

Aerosmith opens with Train!!! Show was awesome. Went w/ my big sis Keely (who introduced me to Aerosmith back when I was 11 years old). Have to admit: Steven's slowed down a little. He wasn't spazzing around like he normally does, and he didn't talk to the crowd as much as he used to. That being said, Steven totally rocked, and his attitude & righteous wardrobe were all there. And Joe Perry: still has it all! So f-ing cool.

The band played a lot of their old gems, some of which I hadn't heard live before -- and it all rocked! And by "old", I don't mean late '80s MTV. I'm talking "Uncle Salty", "No More, No More", "Train Kept A Rollin", "Adam's Apple". Gritty, bluesy.

At the end, Drop Kick Murphy's (the opening act) joined Aerosmith on stage for a duet of "Love That Dirty Water", which was fitting as the two Boston-based bands played in their hometown.

All in all, it wasn't the best I've seen from them, but they always put on a great show, and I'm still as obsessed as ever!

Yes, please.

Nike Air Hoop Structure-Triax.

Mario Sorrenti/Dash Snow

Artist Dash Snow (Photographed by Mario Sorrenti)

Dash's studio (looks exactly like mine...)

My first hardcore crush

Just got tix to the Aerosmith show!

Rock on.

Truck 'em.

Cai Guo-Qiang

Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang's "Head On". Exhibition's from awhile ago, but it's something that particularly resonates with me right now. Pictured above are a pack of wolves launching head-on into invisible barriers, their efforts doomed from the start. In this particular installation, the wolves get back onto their feet, suggesting they're caught in a vicious cycle of blindly trusting their (equally-ignorant) leaders & going all-out, only to get smacked down again, unaware of every crushing blow that lies ahead.

"It's a Sneaker Thing"

hahah, this cracked me up -- viral video spot from Footlocker. (i'm not a sneakerhead, but i would probably react the same way...)

Sally Mann - "Immediate Family"

Two of my favorite images taken by American photographer Sally Mann. I love them for their honesty. Nothing manicured, primped, or cheesy.

Diane Arbus - "Child with Toy Hand Grenade"

There are days when I feel like this.

"Velvet" - The Big Pink

The Big Pink - Velvet from rob hawkins on Vimeo.

A video to emo-out to...

Pretty sweet interactive music video - Cold War Kids

http://coldwarkids.mtvmusic.com/ (click here to check it out)
This is the first interactive music video I've seen. It gives you the ability to control what parts of the music you hear by clicking on each band-member.
("I've Seen Enough" - Cold War Kids)

Stages (anti-cancer exhibition)

video of Sheppard Fairey's work being put up (as part of the "Stages" anti-cancer initiative).

Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful from Stephen Niebauer on Vimeo.

You look at my shop!

Xi'an (Jan '09)

Danny Lyon

American photographer Danny Lyon -- "Defeated Demo Driver"

My arrival in Beijing (please ignore the profanities...)

I'm back in Boston. But here is a video clip of my arrival at the Beijing Airport. Quan decided to be a creep & lurked behind a corner. She scared me mostly b/c I thought she was a local Chinese bum. And apparently she missed her cue b/c she thought the same thing about me. (Dad- I'm sorry, again, for the profanities...)

Some pics from Hedi Slimane's diary

Hah, so this last one just reminds me of what I'd wear on a daily basis in China. (Xi'an's pretty dusty/dirty -- it was kinda just more sensible than it was punk.)

I'm in love with this video (James Jarvis x Nike running)

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

PUMA City - Boston

(Even though I've chugged the swoosh kool-aid...) I think this is a pretty cool retail space. "PUMA City" is essentially a movable city made up of 24 shipping containers & holds a retail store, bar, and event space. I'll definitely have to check it out since it's right here in Boston (near the ICA). It'll be up for another 3 weeks in Boston & apparently will host some DJ battles before it moves on to South Africa.

The featured event is the Volvo Ocean Race -- a 9 month yacht race around the world. An article quotes chief mktg. officer Anthony Bertone claiming, "A lot of time people see sailing as an elite sport, but we're trying to give folks an opportunity to see that's not the case." Mmmwhat?!? I'm going to have to completely disagree w/ him -- I find sailing to be nothing but an elite sport. Ok, I'll admit: I went to prep school, and I even spent a season with the Milton Academy sailing team (!!! yeah, I know...clearly that didn't work out...)

Anyway, the project makes sense in terms of Boston sports (for a US city, sailing is somewhat popular in Boston, and there are a lot of universities in the area that have sailing teams). But I have to wonder...DJ battles? Mixing hip-hop culture w/ a rich white kids' sport? Really? I'm not saying it can't be done, but bringing sailing to the streets seems like a bit of a far-reach to me. I guess with a large enough marketing budget, perhaps dichotomous cultures can mingle. Then again, I have to remember that cultures are more fluid today, thanks to the digital world. But hey, I'll have to go see for myself!

Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

2 weeks ago Cary & I visited Cambodia

Playing w/ Ice

More photos from Haerbin Ice Festival (Jan '09)The sketchball on the right licking the block of ice is my dear friend Caralyn H. Quan.

Please cherish your future & reputation...

Wal-Mart in China

Me on the Great Wall

Most of the time I'm the one taking photos of my friends, but I managed to raid Cary's pics...

Some work

Some work - still in progress, though just about done. Keith Richards (~35" x 46")

Colors are a bit off in the photos. But the main gist. Materials: acrylic & oil bar

They think i'm Korean

(...at the risk of sounding incredibly obnoxious...) Normally I don't dress too snazzy here in Xi'an because it's so dusty/dirty. But last week, for no reason in particular, I decided to look good. (and by "look good", I mean matching/colors that hookup from toe-to-head, good pair of kicks, maybe sporting a blazer over a T, and most likely wearing turquoise and/or purple. Ooooo, uhhh did I really just admit all this?...yeahhh, hmm...).

Anyway, several locals asked me if I was Korean, which is the first time that's ever happened to me in my life. I think I'll take it as a compliment -- China still has beef w/ Japan, so China tends to look to Korea for cultural influence (fashion, music, etc.). Basically Koreans are considered really cool. And by association, that would make me....

Stages -- pt. 2

Earlier I posted something about the "Stages" initiative (i.e. Shepard Fairey's work). Here are some of the kicks. (Lance Armstrong/Nike/Livestrong Foundation). Personally, I'm liking the Air Max 90's -- above the grey sneaks in the middle, below the high-tops w/ yellow laces. One of the reasons I like wearing high-tops so much is b/c they remind me of wearing hockey skates.Lance's bike - also part of the "Stages" art campaign. Lance got this bike custom designed by KAWS (a well-known designer/artist in the streetworld).

Thailand/Cambodia

Tomorrow I'm headed off to Thailand & Cambodia for 2 weeks -- I'll be meeting up w/ my friend Cary. Not sure how much I'll be posting between now & April 17th.

Tentative plan:
- Bangkok (1 day)
- Siem Reap/Phnom Penh (~5 days)
- Bangkok/beach (1 day)
- Songkrat festival in Chiang Mai (5 days)

What's hot in China: chicks who look like anime characters

I was hanging out w/ Lei Heng & some of her friends, and they asked me if I thought the actress in 'Slumdog Millionaire' (Freida Pinto) is pretty. And obviously my answer was YES, because that girl is gorgeous. But here's the thing: she's just blah according to Chinese culture's standard of beauty. They couldnt understand why Westerners think she's pretty. And I couldn't understand why they thought Freida's face looks like it's been beat w/ a shovel.

So I asked them what kind of features they considered attractive for girls. Answer: big eyes, small nose, small mouth. Kindof sounds like China digs girls who look like anime characters. (see below. yeah, i don't really know what's up w/ the fishnet stockings, but it's one of the first images that popped up when i googled 'anime character chinese girl'.)