These spots are sprouting up like Starbucks! Much love to Upper Playground who is opening yet another store in Portland, Oregon. Check them out and be sure to keep up on the grand opening festivities, beginning in early August.

This Prince Paul video might inspire you to "go out there and start politikin." Who can say no to De La, Kool Keith, Xzibit, Sadat X, and then some?

The good people at Archie McPhee sent over a few of their Funky Fresh Corndog Air Fresheners. The packaging on these doggies advertises a “yummy mustard smell.” It’s as nasty as it sounds. The cardboard and mustard potpourri really mimics the scent of a good ol’ corndog. Thankfully, the odor isn’t as pungent as those wintergreen tree fresheners. If you can get over the idea of intentionally leaving something in your car that smells like mustard, they do look pretty nice dangling from the rearview. We set up an impromptu photo shoot with our guy Mastro from freehandtakeover.com. Dee-lish.

“A wine that finishes with a hint of Italian Sausage. A bouquet of mozzarella, parmesan, romano and asagio cheeses.”
    I’ll admit it. When I first came across Pizza Vino I thought it was going to be wine that tasted like pizza. Can you blame me? I mean, Jelly Belly blew my mind with some of those flavors. All praises be to Dionysus, Joe Zaucha did not create a wine that tastes like a hot slice. Joe Zaucha did however create a wine that goes well with one. As I understand it, a good wine does not emulate a good meal, a good wine accompanies it.
    Pizza Vino is now available in a Cabernet Savignon and a Pinot, two reds that are known for their ability to pair with food. Zaucha reveals that these wines “were blended to be fruit forward and not masked by a strong oak presence, making them a perfect compliment to the tomato-based sauces, cheeses and meats found in pizza.” The labeling also declares that “this wine goes equally well with pasta, hamburgers and fried chicken.” Corkscrew in hand, we fired up the hibachi.
    Pizza Vino was a hit. Frank and friends alike found it smooth and fruity, a good compliment to any barbeque. Needless to say, we finished a couple of bottles before  the grill cooled off.  We recommend Pizza Vino to anyone who likes pizza, or wine, for that matter. Read more about Pizza Vino at pizzavino.com.

Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! opens tonight from 6-8 at Gescheidle in Chicago, ILL State. The show was curated by  Anat Ebgi and Jose Carlos Diaz and features both painting and photography by artists such as Colleen Asper, Clayton Colvin, Jen DeNike and Carlton DeWoody to list a few. They promised us good Karma if we blogged this, we promise you a good time if you go.

   Although grills, plated fronts, are generally used to show status, I feel as though a certain element of mouth accessory has fallen through the cracks of pop culture, and with it the fun goes hand in hand.  With all of the goings on concerning gold diamond plated teeth, a big piece of the novelty world may be falling into forgetfulness.  After stumbling through the mounds of web content about artificial teeth attachments, I stumbled across a small web based company named curio city online, which is a database of sorts for curious and off beat gift ideas.  Upon reading a bit, something immediately caught my eye.  “Glowing mouth pieces”.  Wow!  Remember when rave was really cool, and kids would chew on pacifiers and glow sticks?  This is like the next level of that shit.  How did this product not blow up?  Clearly the significantly more high maintenance “ice grill” movement overshadowed it.  In any case I promptly got in contact with Ken at Curiocity, and had it shipped for the following Monday.
    I knew I couldn’t wear it anywhere classy, that wouldn’t fly.  But max fish worked pretty well.  The response was exciting.  I think people were definately psyched.  I feel like people may find some nostalgia in that.  It definately makes me think of my childhood.  The thing is crazy though, the lights are all bugged out and colorful.  I suggest those who haven’t tried it…do so.  Check out what it did to my teeth.

     I actually did see someone that night with an official ice grill.  We exchanged glances awkwardly.  “Pshh…whatever,” I thought,  “This joint changes colors!”
On some real shit, there are tons of fun off beat products on curio city, I couldn’t be more thankful that I found it.  They do good business over there, and have a wide selection to choose from.  Do yourself a favor and give it a glance sometime.

We just got off the FrankPhone with our guy David ‘Skwerm’ Ellis. He called to let us know he’s joined the Rockaway Armada along with fellow
Barnstormers Espo and Swoon, as well as Blek Le Rat, Shepard Fairey, Banksy and others. Help support the Armada’s adventure and learn more at their silent auction tonight 7 PM at Holasek-Weir PJs.

Remember the early nineties, when cell phones didn’t exist.  It’s a shame Chevy didn’t have one, maybe he wouldn’t have run into Nothing but Trouble

The next movement against graff has arrived. Here’s a few people that really want to dead it: Graffiti Tracker’s nice enough to take flicks of all your pieces before they kick your door in. But we like this angry vigilante’s method a little bit more…

Chicago does it again with the ‘fresh out the box’ producer know as Earmint. His debut album, “Another Early Evening” (EV records) is a well crafted album that  showcases the musical prowess of the Chicago underground hip hop scene. This beat heavy album consisting primarily of instrumental tracks, is reminiscent of Prefuse 73, and Daedalus with a Chi-town swagger. Most of the tracks on this album are smoothed out beats with well placed samples, and makes for an overall enjoyable listening experience.  Not to mention the fact that it’s also laced with some ill ass tracks featuring some notable underground names like Murs, Illogic and fellow Chicagoan, Diverse. When I was first handed this album, I didn’t know if it was going to become a coaster or what, but I actually found myself bumping the hell out of this album! At first glance, “Another Early Evening” looks like another anti-backpacker’s nightmare, but after a careful listening, one can see that this is not an album to call it an early evening on. Don’t sleep on this quiet storm, and make sure you clean your ear lint and listen to Earmint! Check him out on the net at www.earmint.com, www.myspace.com/earmint, and at www.evrecords.com.