Drive

"Each night when I return the cab to the garage, I have to clean the cum off the back seat. Some nights, I clean off the blood."

- Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1979)

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Charlie is a shy, quirky, introspective 15 year old boy growing up in 1991. He's not the biggest geek at school, but he's not exactly the most popular kid either. He's a wallflower. He observes people and feels very deeply for the experiences happening around him. He's highly intelligent, but he also has a few emotional issues due to some recent and past events involving those close to him.

Through a series of journal-like letters he writes to an undisclosed recipient, we share Charlie's curiosities, his fears, his joys, his struggles, and his secret love.. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is a touching, and at times heart-wrenching story about growing up and self-discovery. More than that though, this book is about moments, and being as much alive within each moment as possible.

"But right now I'm here with you. And I want to know where you are, what you need, and what you want to do." - Sam in The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Se_ Health

Your friendly, neighbourhood sex shop.

Cool Cover

We got a cover story from Cool in Taiwan.

Stuck

Wall vinyls I picked up last time I was in Tokyo. These lovable characters were created by Paris based artist Genevieve Gauckler.

http://www.g2works.com/

The Nose Knows

Last time my friend Jamie was in town, she put me onto this line of scents called Demeter. Their aim:

"Fragrance should make you smile every time you smell it. It should mean something special to you. Scent can make you remember what you like and take you places you would rather be.

Demeter's fragrances are inspired by real life everyday objects and experiences - scents that are drawn from memories."

And to that end, they have all sorts of scents that make you grin as they transport you to a time and place that is familiar and special to you. From Hot Fudge Sunday, to Paperback, to Dirt, to Gin & Tonic, and a zillion others. I picked up Green Tea.

They are all singular scents (vs. regular colognes and perfumes which already combine a lot of different smells), and can be worn on their own, or layered with 2 or more other scents, to create your own unique fragrance.

http://www.demeterfragrance.com/

Lost Love

Something I found on the ground on the way to work..

The Uyghur People

The people of Xinjiang province in Western China are made up primarily of Uyghur (pronounced "Wee-gr") people, a Turkic ethnic group. Because the region shares a border with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the people generally have a very unique, mixed look to them, but they all speak Mandarin. Basically, if you see someone in China who looks kind of Asian, but not really, they're probably from Xinjiang. I don't want to stereotype, but I will: they are perhaps best known for their lamb kebabs and pickpocketing. So keep a hand on your wallet while eating their skewered meat..

Tired Of It All

Sleep - The Dandy Warhols

Shanghai Graffiti

For such a huge city (20 million peeps), there's not much of it.  Some of the first that I've come across..

Go SON!

Follow Me

Wow.. whenever I hear the first few notes of that bass line, it never fails to put a smile on my face. Classic, classic early '90s House track. Look at how happy everyone is! I miss the days of uplifting music and positive messages. Bring it back!

It All Changed In An Instant

It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs is an eclectic collection of life stories which are at once, both monumental and miniscule. They are funny, bittersweet, witty, touching, wild, loving, tender, tragic; but more importantly, they all offer a telling peek at humanity. A few of my favourites..

On love:

Oldest couple on the dance floor. - Lee Anne Auerhan

Love at first sight. Needed glasses. - Susan Holcombe

On marriage:

Bachelor Party. YouTube video. Wedding cancelled. - Daniel Little

On living your life:

Turned lemons into lemonade. Added vodka. - Leah Noble Davidson

Lived a dream riding a skateboard. - Tony Hawk

On looking back:

Aimed for moon. Lost in space. - Anthony Grant Gordon

Should have crossed legs, not fingers. - Sharon Faltisek

On life's surprises:

My father doesn't know I exist. - Rebekah Young

Parents are ministers. I'm Gay. Boom! - Steph Lee

On life's frustrations:

My golden ticket was printed incorrectly. - Lisa Marchal

Life's a tux. I'm brown shoes. - Jimmy Aquino

On things that happened along the way:

Bright light. Drive toward it. Crash. - Chelsea Tran

Fun in the sun. Then jail. - James Cohen

Size Cover

We got another cover story.

Here Are My 15 Minutes..

Freshness magazine interview. Have a look.

My Youth

I remember being 19. Life was carefree.

My music was too loud. I drove too fast. Drank too much. Danced till too late. Got up too early. Studied too little. Daydreamed too often.. I snowboarded all winter and mountain biked all summer. I woke up with a smile on my face everyday. Life was fun.

I had no plan - I wasn't a planner. I was a do-what-makes-me-happy-and-just-go-with-the-flow type of person (actually, I still am). I probably worried you more than necessary, but thank you mom and dad for letting me follow my own path. I think I'm doing ok now?

I Want This Tee

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Oscar is a nerdy, overweight Dominican boy growing up in New Jersey, obsessed with science fiction, fantasy role playing games, and falling in love.. Narrated from both the perspective of Yunior, Oscar's college roommate, and Lolo, Oscar's sister, the story also follows her life, and the earlier lives of their mother and grandfather during the "Trujillo Era" in the Dominican Republic.

Oscar is "not one of those Dominican cats everybody's always going on about - he wasn't no home-run hitter or a fly bachatero, not a playboy" with a million hot girls lined up. He is the complete opposite - lacking social skills, having no real friends, and most importantly to him, no imminent prospect of ever getting laid; instead, Oscar tries to forget his misery by focusing on his writing, dreaming about becoming "the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien."

Full of science fiction and fantasy references, anime and comic book analogies, footnotes on Dominican history, and written with a good dose of urban slang and Spanglish mixed in, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel made for an interesting read. It's street, yet intelligent; geeky, yet endearing; funny, yet heartbreaking..

It Ain't No Trick

One of the tees we did with CLOT, taking a scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In the film, the dwarfs work in a diamond mine and Dopey's eyes go buggy from seeing all that bling. As they work, they sing the song Heigh-Ho, one of the lines being, "It Ain't No Trick To Get Rich Quick". That's real talk. I'm a believer that if you stay true to yourself and just do your thing, put in that time and keep hustlin', that paper will eventually come..