Lisa Frank Art

I first heard about Lisa Frank art from my woman. She has been a big fan since her teens.

Lisa Frank, is an American artist and designer who made extremely colorful and creative depictions of real and imaginary animals. In the 1980s and 1990s, her designs were used in school supplies (lunchboxes, backpacks, etc) as well as toys and stickers. Her work was popular among girls of all ages. Lisa Frank is the owner of Lisa Frank Incorporated which still makes products world-wide and releases a quarterly magazine named "Lisa Frank."

I recognized her work because my sister had a binder with a unicorn by Lisa Frank when we were kids. The reason I never knew who Lisa Frank was is because I'm not a twelve year old girl...and I'm not gay.  The type of art she makes has a universal appeal, but it sells more to the aforementioned groups of people. 

Once I got past the rainbow bright color scheme I began to appreciate the fine detail and creativity of her work. Every piece is well drawn, brightly colored and given a child-like quality which is generally termed "cute".  Check out some of her work below, and if you're looking for gifts for your girlfriend, wife, or daughter check out her website. www.lisafrank.com/

Party Season

Summer is almost here and the musical vibe has changed. No more rhymes about drinking in crowded bars on cold winter nights. Now its margarita's on the beach, and watching beautiful bodies in tiny bikini's.

Welcome to party season!  This is a short three month period of festivals, concerts, and massive outdoor events. Speaking of events...tomorrow RA The Rugged Man and Shabaam Sahdeeq are giving a concert in Amsterdam. Both artists were once on Rawkus records and both get busy on the mic. This will be my first time seeing them live, and I'm looking forward to the show.

RA is certified MC who was once co-signed by the late great B.I.G.. He mixes humor with hardcore lyricism to make listeners feel what he's saying but not take it to seriously. But don't get it twisted RA can spit knowledge also but that's not his lane. 

Shabaam Sadeeq aka S-dub is on a different side of the spectrum. He's not a gangsta or conscious MC, his style is a mix of both. He is one of those MC's who can hide the medicine in the candy. What that mean's is, Shabaam can spit some spiritual verses and deliver them so tight that the message doesn't sound preachy.

To honor the coming season of festivities, I posted music from RA The Rugged Man (ft. Talib Kweli), Shabaam Sahdeeq, Donnie B, E Class, PlayBoi Weez, C.M.F (Cream Mob Family), Styles P (ft. Jadakiss), Sensato (ft. Pitbull), and 360 (ft. Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss).

Biggest Black Hole Ever

This post is for all my stargazers and home astronomers. The biggest black hole ever was discovered by a group of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Black holes are intergalactic omnivores. They consume light, stars, planets, asteroids and even other black holes. A normal black hole like the one in the center of our MilkyWay galaxy only occupies 0.1 percent of the host galaxy's total mass. The black hole in galaxy NGC 1277 consumes 14 percent of the host galaxy's mass. 

To put it in numbers you can understand. The NGC 1277 black hole, has a estimated mass of 17 billion suns. (that's billion with a B) "The gigantic black hole is around 11 times as wide as the orbit of Neptune around our sun," researchers said. It's so massive they have to develop a new classification for "galaxy sized black hole systems."

As of right now astrophysics doesn't know what happens to matter after it passed through a black hole. Once something is trapped in a black holes gravitational pull there's no escape. The object begins to spin faster and faster until it disappears. The point when matter disappears in the black hole is called the "Event Horizon." At this point matter gives off swirling waves of X-rays as it disappears forever.

Black holes are difficult to study directly since they consume everything. So scientists have developed a system to measure them, by calculating the gravitational pull on their surroundings. By watching the X-rays emitted by dying matter (imagine watching something really shiny getting ground up in a blender.) scientist can estimate the size, mass and numerous other details about a black hole.

What scientists have discovered is that the inside of a black hole spins at nearly the speed of light. This is a monumental discovery which confirms Einstein’s "theory of  relativity," which theorized that black holes could spin at almost the speed of light. For more information about black holes and new developments based on these discoveries check out the video and reference articles below. 

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/new-telescope-discovery-distant-gargantuan-black-hole-spins-near-light-speed 

http://www.space.com/18668-biggest-black-hole-discovery.html

AniManga: Nurarihyon no Mago

I just finished watching the anime series Nurarihyon no Mago (Nurarihyon's grandson). It's an Animanga that was good... but left me unsatisfied with the conclusion.

The series is broken into two parts. First, there was Nurarihyon no Mago. The grandson of great Yakuza demon lord, Nurarihyon named Rikuo Nura. Rikuo has to take over as Third Head of the Nura Clan at the young age of 12 years old. His father was killed in front of his eyes so he was forced into the position.

The Nura clan are Yokai (demons) which protect humans and keep other gangs out of Edo, Japan. Rikuo is only one quarter Yokai, and can only change into demon form at night. The series follows  Rikuo as he trains to become a skilled ninja fighter while building his own parade of 100 demons. Just like his father and grandfather.

The protagonists in part one were a group of rival demons from the Shikoku area. They knew the Nura clan was weakened by the death of Rikuo's father and planned to take over their territory. The Shikoku group of 88 demons led by its leader Tamazuki, had a sword named the Devil's Hammer. The sword was fabled to be unbeatable. Even with the sword, they get crushed by the Nura clan.

There's also a third group of fighters which are humans named Onmyoji. They are like the Quincy's in Bleach. The Keikain House, are the most famous Onmyoji. They specialize in using Shikigami. Spirit creatures and elements like fire, lightening, water, etc. There job is to protect humans from yokai. 

In part two, Rikuo undergoes more training and learns how to control "Fear" which is demon energy. The Nura clan has to fight a 400 year old demon fox, named Haguromo-Gitsune. Who is trying to give birth to the anti-christ so demons could rule over the earth in darkness.

Part two is way better than part one in my opinion. It gives the complete back story on how Rikuo's father dies. Why he dies. Who orchestrated the hit. The connection with the Onmyoji, and a lot of ninja battles. The fights are fast-paced, with good action sequences. They mix martial arts with magic like Naruto or Bleach. 

The only problem I had with part two is that they don't conclude the story! The series stops on episode 25. They do a recap of the whole series in episode 26. If they did end it on episode 25...I didn't understand it. If you have seen the series or watch it and get the ending. Write it below this post in the comments or send it to me in an email. I am dying to know what happened.

Check out the battle between Rikuo Nura and Seimei the Anti-Christ below.

No More Album Reviews

I've been kinda slacking on the album reviews lately. It took a few emails from dedicated readers to remind me that some people like to get an outside opinion on an album before purchase.

With that said, I will no longer be posting album reviews. I'll still do posts on music but I'm done reviewing whole albums. There's two reasons why I came to this decision. First, I haven't heard an album in a while that I can listen to from start to finish. There's always a few filler tracks that are sub-par and I'm not into giving bad press. As a MC I get enough criticism from half-wit critics who have never written a song in their life. That I rather not critique other artists on a social platform. I want people to listen to the music with no preconceptions and give their own critique.

Second, This blog was created to share my interests in a broad spectrum of fields.There are so many interesting topics to cover in the fields of technology, science, and art. That spending time reviewing another persons material (for free) is a waste of blog space. With that said I leave you with new tunes from my fam in France, DJ Modesty. Also Hynief, Saigon, Gensu Dean, Ruste Juxx, and Tyger Vinum. 

How to Make an Assualt Rifle with a 3D Printer

I’m a big fan of the new 3D printers. Three D printing is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. If you’ve never heard of a 3D printer Google it, because they’re awesome. You can print plates, forks, whistles and all types of items. It’s estimated that within the next decade most homes will have a 3D printer.

The technology that promised to revolutionize how we view printing, has achieved that goal. Although not how the inventors imagined it. Cody Wilson, a 24 year old Law student, is an self proclaimed anarchist and strong supporter for the production of firearms using 3D printing technology. Below is a Documentary on how Cody and his partner create a working receiver (which is the only part of the firearm regulated by the government) using a 3D printer.

With all the debate over gun laws this documentary really opens the worlds eyes. Cody makes the point that regulating firearms won’t stop people from making them, or terrorists from killing. If the terrorist wanted to kill people and didn’t have a gun they could use a car. Then what? Would there be a nationwide ban on SUV’s? The man makes sense and is a highly controversial figure on both sides of the gun control issue.

Jazz Art

This post is dedicated to the only true original American art form...Jazz. The first Jazz music I remember was Duke Ellington. The big band music was alright, but it didn't move me like Hip-Hop. Years later when visiting a friend I discovered Miles Davis "Porgy and Bess" and really became a fan of the genre.

The music was an acquired taste but I've always loved Jazz Art. Most of the paintings are depictions of musicians performing in a smoky cafe with sharp dressed patrons. The art has a certain elegance that the bright, attention grabbing, style in Hip-Hop art is missing. 

Some of the first Jazz paintings I saw were by a talented artist named Justin Bua. He uses a broad spectrum of colors giving his paintings, some of which are caricature a life like quality. Below are some of my favorites pieces of Jazz art. If I have the artists name I will add it to the link list and you can Google them to see more work.