On January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama was sworn in as 44th President of the United States and delivered his Inaugural Address.

During President Obama’s Inauguration speech, I took a photo of this little girl.  She may not understand the significance of today but in the future, I am sure that she will.  As I walked through the sea of humanity by the National Mall, I came across people of all colors and ages. It was wonderful to share this moment with 1.5 million people during this historical event. →

As I sit in my dark room, alone, the voice of our 44th President softly plays through my computer’s speakers. Across the world, these same words resonated with the resounding ideology that has unquestionably defined the American Way. These words inspired millions across a fractured world, marred with the seemingly abject cynicism manifested from the innumerable dismal failures which seemed to cascade catastrophically with relentless consistency. The words softly play through my speakers. I try not to use the words “significant paradigmatic shift” to describe what many feel about the new President after a nation, in vain, attempts to wash the taste out of its mouth of a disgraced man who many would like history to forget. It occurs to me that 22 is half of 44. →

Daft Punk vs. Adam Freeland – “Aer OBAMA”

Just in time for the Presidential Inaugural Ball, the directing duo who simply calls themselves ‘GOLD’ just finished this heart-pumping, neon-bright music video of Adam Freeland’s mash up of Daft Punk x OBAMA. Scenes were shot in our hometown of Los Angeles last month using fun stop-mo animation, a revolving cast of plastic actors fabricated by innovative toy artists: Dalek, Bill McMullen and Kubrick →

Kelly Slater
Chronicle Books
(2008)
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With eight world titles under his belt, Kelly Slater is known throughout the annals of history as the greatest pro surfer ever.  He redefined the parameters of surfing performance and basically carved out a new space.  In his autobiography, Kelly Slater: For the Love you get to meet the real Kelly Slater represented in his own words.  The book is chock full of interesting factoids about what he eats, what essentials he carries with him when traveling abroad, and even delves into his spiritual side and his philosophies →

Babin’s “WHEN I WAS YOUNG / WHEN YOU WERE KINGS”
Honor Fraser Gallery – Los Angeles, CA
1/24/09
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Opening reception begins Saturday, January 24th at the Honor Fraser Gallery from 6 to 8pm.  If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for a warm winter evening of fine art and mingling.  The Gallery is also part of Art LA program, a new international contemporary art fair →

This one-of-a-kind beautiful, hand-crafted jewelry is predicated upon the eco-friendly concept of knitting and sewing together materials and fabric from the textile industry destined for the trash bins.  Yet you would not have known, for designer, Dominique Besanson deftly fashions these ‘scraps’ into the pretty and interesting take on jewelry-making →

Along with the swearing in of our new 44th President, the Obama administration took control of the Whitehouse.Gov url address at 12 pm EST today. And as expected the new site is a far cry away from what was a stagnant Bush White House website, in some ways a rather appropriate symbol of the flailing adminstration. Last Fall, soon after Obama won the election on November 4, the Obama-Biden Transition team set up Change.Gov that became an interactive portal for Americans and world citizens alike to interact with the President-elect and his →

Pressing your buttons never illuminated much except an undercurrent of rage.  But now it can reveal all your excess baggage.  Turned onto the idea by Linda Evangelista who had a love for Arad’s amorphous chairs, Rob Arad and Maurice Ohayon of Notify created a leather and liquid crystal carry-on that lets you peek at all you’re toting with a flip of a well placed switch.  →

Milkmade’s End-of Season Sale
Abbot Kinney – Venice Beach, CA
1/21/09
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Details:
To start making room for our new Spring offerings, everything in the store has been marked down up to 50% off the regular price! Sizes & stock are limited.  Sale starts WEDNESDAY, January 21st during store hours →