Hello hello HELLOOOOOOOO from HOOOOOOONG KOOOOOOOONG!!!
This place is a non-stop shopping, eating, walking, smoking, drinking, shopping, eating, walking, shopping, eating, walking, smoking, drinking, shopping, eating, walking, shopping party. Whew! And I’m only half way through my trip! (been here 3 weeks, will be here for about another month)
Here’s the breathtaking skyline of Hong Kong (a part of it at least)!
Here’s one of the many many Nike stores! (they all look different too)
Here’s the entrance to one of my favorite dessert places!
Here’s a street I really like to shop on: (Granville in Tsim Sha Tsui if you must know)
Here’s a panda! Have you really ever seen a panda?
And here’s me at Ocean Park on a Gondola lift overlooking Hong Kong!
Just a quick peek. There’s really so much going on here, it's overwhelming. I’ll be back shortly with more thoughtful info! Stay posted!
I was going through my normal design blogs and came across these photos by an artist named Markus Hofko
Apparently this was done for Adidas. I highly recommend going to his site to check out his other work: http://www.rainbowmonkey.de.
I also came across this awesome shot of a good friend of mine, Jon, rocking the baroke noob shirt.
I think its safe to say that he really does pwn noobs all day everyday with that controller and headset. So if any of you guys want to PWN noobs like Jon here:
1st: Get yourself the Baroke Noob Shirt Here 2nd: Get some l33t skills 3rd: If you can't get yourself some skills, get yourself some H4X0RS. (If you don't understand anything I just said then you my friend are a NOOB)
I was looking through one of my daily inspiration blogs and stumbled upon this image.
Could this truly be a place where dreamers such as I could live out a fantasy of becoming a superhero? Or is this just a sick joke that shatters children's dreams? (Not inferring that I am a child but rather that I seem to have childlike tendencies)
Please chime in and leave a comment if you know more information about this place. If you are in the Brooklyn area, can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE shine some light upon this mysterious yet delightfully fantastical establishment.
So, we here at Baroke have been blessed to the point that we still have jobs, pretty much have school wrapped up, and are able to make ends meet - by the way, thank you for supporting us as always, but especially in such a vulnerable time for small business. Thanks :)
That said, I have been staying in tune with Congress and corporate America at such a pivotal time for our nation. One thing that has irked me of late, is the auto companies' seeking $25 billion. We made a shirt this line, 'the suburbs are killing us,' and that shirt speaks to the physical environment in which the majority of Americans live in today: the suburbs. The suburbs have quite a history- and I want to TRY and stay on topic, so I'll only discuss what's relevant to the video below for now.
Next, the suburbs kept growing (due to de-industrialization and racist FHA neighborhood ranking systems that denied loans to specific neighborhoods, as well as racist realtors). The suburbs grew further and further away from the city center, and as time progressed, it became an absolute necessity to own a car in order to live in these enclaves and low-tax bedroom communities. People lived less and less densely, with McMansions sprouting along the periphery of the region, leeching off of the city proper. These homes need cars, and cars need roads. As I mentioned a moment ago, the residents insist on paying some of the lowest taxes in the entire world. So who pays for those roads and firemen and policemen and water pipes and schools to be built? EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T LIVE THERE! They get the money from the taxes that the general public pays, and then wealthy people move in, taking with them the taxes they paid in their former hometown.
This means that schools on the inner core get less money, and neighborhoods that were formerly populated by the haves fall into squalor for the have-nots. Many automobile and oil producers have squashed electric car development and successfully lobbied congress to repeal the miles per gallon standards that were put in place by Nixon and Carter. My point....
The autoworkers are people I feel for. The auto-ceos are a bunch of shortsighted idiots who leech off of our money and feed us products and habitats that are unremarkable and wasteful. I was taught in 4th grade - and yes, I lived in the suburbs - that we would have oil shortages by the year 2000. That happened, gas prices went up, and people stopped buying SUVs. Gas prices are only low now because of low demand for all the products - i.e. plastics, gasoline, etc. GM's CEO said he didn't see it coming.
So when these morons who we've given too much money to already are asking for more, I say only give them loans if they build air compression or electric powered vehicles. If it wasn't for the jobs (and the fact that I was raised by a mechanic), I would say screw 'em, and let some companies who know what they're doing come in and take their market share. Let the people who deserted their city bring back their tax dollars. I'll shut up now, here's the vid:
A 3 year old buddy of mine, Alex, introduced me to Yo Gabba Gabba! this summer -- an over-the-top colorful tv show with no purpose and unclassifiable characters. I can't really describe the content...couldn't tell what was going on to be honest. It's just no Mr. Rogers thats for sure, but it gets kids moving and grooving?! what? yah i dont know either. They have a deejay - DJ Lance Rock.
Anyway, I was doing some research so I could hook this kooky kid up with some Yo Gabba Gabba! gear for Christmas and realized that they collab w/ Kid Robot and Paul Frank. Geez, finally these companies are hitting the right target market!
Their website is fascinating...like artistically, graphically kinda cool. Pretty colors! I can see why any hipster child or cute-things loving person would eat this shit right up! Its fascinating the kinds of visual stimluation our munchkins get today!
I chose to share this link. There's something really therapeutic about this. Just let it load first. Color Garden
p.s. I know I don't blog much, working on that...this is my start.
I think today was the first day that Chicago finally got some real snow on the ground. What better way to celebrate such an occasion except with a Baroke meeting. Wheeee?
Just in case you all didn't know, we are quite busy people. Individually, we all have other projects and jobs outside of Baroke so getting together is a rare commodity.
Occasionally we allow Baroke Victoria to sneak in some grub.
Lucky for us we got to document such commodities.
Baroke Randy currently listening to - M.I.A. - What I Got
I found this awesome site! Just meandering about the internetting today when I came across fabchannel.com, a site that has tons of concerts for you to watch on it. For free! So far I've watched the Black Keys, SpankRock and some Arcade Fire. Time to check out the Presets show! Then I'll get back to the studying.
-Baroke David currently listening to: the presets - girl and the sea
Randy checkin' in. It's been awhile guys, hope all is well with you. Yes, you the reader who is currently reading these words. Mmmm. I must say, we have been getting some crazy weather around here. There are times when I forget that it is November with this September temperature.
Anyway, I got the chance to get away from the maddness this past weekend. I headed up to Lake Geneva, WI for some much needed rest. I took some time out to shoot some night photos and thought I'd share one with you guys.
It was quite beautiful out there. Alright, don't flame me but...this past weekend was the first time I have ever seen a shooting star. Yeap, I've been deprived. And for you photo heads, that picture was taken at ISO 100 with a 20minute exposure. Yes, it was pretty cold standing in the middle of nothingness.
So with all this talk about Obama and the future it made me take a step back and think about the good old times. Not that thinking about Obama and the future of our country is a bad thing, but just all this future outlook made me think about my childhood. Anyway, to my point. I was recently talking to Daniel and our friend Mary about a past tv show that we all used to watch when we were kids. This may go past some of you younger ones heads but we were discussing the classsic, Salute Your Shorts.
Please don't mind that random guy who comes on every so often. I couldn't find the original version of this but no worries, the words that he sings is the original words that were sung in the introduction. Doesn't this bring a blast of memories? Man, good times. Alright, enough of this reminiscing, time to get back to business. Just wanted to warn you all. IF YOU HAVE NOT GOTTEN YOUR BAROKE SHIRTS YET, DONT COME CRYING LATER WHEN THEY ARE SOLD OUT. WE DO NOT REPRINT. I REPEAT, WE DO NOT REPRINT. Happy buying kids!
So the response to the new line has been awesome! We're all so happy to see our hard work paying off, and truly appreciate the interest shown in Baroke.
Today, however, the world is bigger than Baroke, and unless you've been kept in your basement your entire life by your crazy hillbilly grandparents, you know it was Obama vs McCain, and the United States chose its future (if you didn't vote you still chose). We at Baroke let our shoulders lean to the left for the most part, but regardless of your orientation, I'm glad our voices were heard. So long as you were well informed, that is.
A lot of amazing artwork has come out of this election season, and I wanted to share a few of our favorites here at Baroke.
For more posters and art work check out Design for Obama. If you have McCain art work feel free to post in the comments. These are some that I enjoyed.
Also check out Design Bay for their study of logo design and politics.
On a final patriotic note, I would implore everyone to give a listen to Malcolm X's "Ballot or the Bullet" speech. It emphasizes the need to support local businesses.
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