Factory Direct

The factory downstairs from the photo studio we are working out of. Not sure what they actually make, but looks like good honest work. Where you sweat, and get your hands dirty, and go for beers at the local bar after punching out your time card. Kind of like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, minus the bucket of water raining down..

Elevated

"The elevator to success is out of order.

You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time."

- Joe Girard -

Shoot Me Please

We're doing a photo shoot today for our upcoming Mickey Mouse fashion campaign. Setting up our equipment..

DMC China

As part of Nike's Festival of Sport weekend here in Shanghai, they hosted the DMC China finals.

See Horses

As a little kid, for some reason I always imagined seahorses in that same realm of fantasy creatures along with sea monkeys, winged lions, and unicorns. So it was strange seeing these laid out to dry. Shouldn't they be playing in the ocean with The Little Mermaid or something? Instead, they're going in someone's Chinese medicine..

Kowloon Sunset

Travelling Mickey HK Station

We're having the launch of our 2nd stop of the Travelling Mickey exhibition in Hong Kong today. Hong Kong based artist, Eric So, who contributed one of the 10 designs, will be joining us at the opening event. The exhibition is on display at Langham Place Mall in Mongkok. Please stop by and have a look if you have time.

Early Morning Mongkok

Sound Advice II

I accidentally stepped on one of my Nakamichi earbuds while getting out of a taxi, instantly disintegrating it to dust.

Needing a quick replacement, I picked up an inexpensive (around US$20) pair of Philips O'Neill SHO9950 Specked buds. The main selling point is it's tangle free nylon cord. Though it's a collaboration with O'Neill, these ear buds are not waterproof, so I'm not exactly sure how they link to surf..

After having the super bass-heavy Nakamichi's*, these sounded like I was listening to music through tin cans - flat and hollow, and not a lot of punch. But for 20 bucks, you can't expect too much and it's not really fair to compare them with a $100 pair.

The tangle free cord actually worked, which is great because I'm normally trying to pull a tangled mess of wires out of my pocket. But the problem with the textured cord is when you're moving around and it rubs against something, the sound travels up to your ear, which is really distracting. For that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend these.

*You can read my review of the Nakamichi's here.

Beer Testing - Round 23 (Canadian Open, Day 3)

The final day of competition, and Asahi "The Master" Pilsner continues to dominate.

Defending Champ

Name: Asahi "The Master" Pilsner

Origin: Tokyo, Japan

Alcohol: 5.5%

Price: USD2.55/can USD0.73/100mL

With 8 wins under its belt and a score of 8.95/10, who can take down this beer?

Challenger 1

Name: Phillips Brewing Co. Ginger Beer

Origin: Victoria, British Columbia

Alcohol: 5%

Price: USD4.71/650mL bottle  USD0.72/100mL

The idea of a ginger flavoured beer sounded delicious, and it stated on the label, "More Ginger than Gilligan can handle.", so we were expecting good things. On the pour, it had a nice amber colour, and a strong ginger aroma. However, it just tasted like watery beer with ginger added. Interesting idea on paper, but got hard to drink after a few sips, as the novelty quickly wore off. I think we were imagining it would taste more like a strong beer with a hint of ginger ale flavouring, rather than a weak beer with an overpowering spicy ginger sting. Final score 4.15/10.

Challenger 2

Name: Granville Island Ginger Beer

Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia

Alcohol: 5%

Price: USD5.41/650mL bottle  USD0.83/100mL

We tried Granville Island's limited release ginger beer as a direct comparison.  Although it also had a strong ginger smell to it, the taste was comparatively mild, but with a ginger aftertaste.  Slightly better than the Phillips Brewing.  Final score 6.25/10.

Challenger 3

Name: Cannery Brewing Blackberry Porter

Origin: Penticton, B.C.

Alcohol: 6.5%

Price: USD4.89/650mL bottle USD0.75/100mL

A really nice dark colour with a creamy head of foam on the pour, and a rich, berry aroma. Has an aftertaste of chocolate and black berries, but a really bitter after aftertaste in the back of the throat. Final score 4.5/10.

Challenger 4

Name: Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

Origin: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Alcohol: 10%

Price: USD2.99/bottle USD0.84/100mL

Looks like motor oil on the pour. It has a strong, dark chocolate scent, as well as a strong smell of alcohol (well, it is 10%). The taste starts really bitter, but the aftertaste is a bit sweet. However, it gets harder and harder to drink, and all you can taste after a while is the alcohol. Final score 3.3/10.

Challenger 5

Name: La Binchoise Blonde

Origin: Belgium

Alcohol: 6.2%

Price: USD3.46/bottle USD1.05/100mL

Smells like a floral wheat beer. Very fizzy! Not really my thing. Final score 5.95/10.

Asahi "The Master" Pilsner's win streak continues with an unprecedented 8th straight title defence!

Live It

Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker