Great in '08!

I know that right now, everyone is fed-up with "end of the year" recap lists, and so am I. So instead of spending the time to go back and cover what was great, I will focus on what's to come that will become great. Here, in no particular order, is the 1st Annual paulrosenblog.com 20-best-upcoming-great-things-about-next-year-list.

1. The 2008 Presidential Election: I'm not a huge political analyst or anything, but this race looks way too close to call on both sides of the block. I still feel like a darkhorse may be riding to the front. The dollar is so weak and the war is so wack, we damn sure need a change.
2. Superbowl XLII: I made it in person to the last two bowl games... Detroit for obvious reasons (Shady Bowl was the shit) and Miami because my wife's beloved Bears made an appearance. This year we aren't planning to be there in Arizona, but it should be a good one regardless. I predict (ok, hope) that it wont be the Paytriots and Cowgirls.
3. The Detroit Tigers: with Cabrera's bat added to the equation, the D looks to be the team to beat next year.
4. Eminem's Next Album: come on, you didn't think I was actually going to give anything away here, did you?
5. End of the Writer's Strike: hopefully the WGA and the studios/networks can figure this out sooner than later. I'm getting tired of the reruns on late night and no new programming.
6. Detroit Pistons in the Finals: the D has made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the last 4 seasons straight, and they will be there again this year. Call Vegas and bet on that. The difference from last year is that they will make it into the NBA Finals again. Stuckey is back, the starters are healthy and playing great, and with the new blood we are quite deep on the bench. Be afraid.
7. The Wire, Season 5: this show on HBO is hands-down the home of the best acting and writing on scripted television, period. If you haven't seen it, don't be retarded. Go rent or buy seasons 1-4 and then get into season 5. Word to Weebay.
8. NFL Network and Time-Warner Cable: get it together, boys. We don't want to have to go to the bar to see all of the Thursday and Saturday games. This season was bullshit because of it.
9. Whole Foods, Tribeca: the grocery stores in my neighborhood just plain suck. In March of next year, Whole Foods opens on Chambers Street. Thankfully.
10. Ernst Benz PVD Chronograph: this Detroit-based but Swiss-handmade watch company is throwing their hat in the ring to become a competitor with the best. The have a Mario Batali orange-accented piece dropping. But I'm about to cop the sick, black limited edition case with carbon fiber face chrono. Check the whole line out here.
11. 4th Year of Shade45 on Sirius: it's official, Shade45 will be back for another unique year. More of Cipha Sounds Effect in the morning, Rude Jude & Lord Sear's All-Out Show in the afternoons, and mixshows nightly from our very own DJ Muggs, Tony Touch, Clinton Sparks, Kay Slay and The Aphilliates are on the way. Also, every Saturday from 10 a.m.-8p.m. check out 50 Cent's very own G Unit Radio. You might even want to stick around to the end of next year for the 4th installment of Hanukkah Radio, hosted by yours truly (see post below). Go get a subscription to Sirius and check out the uncut, commercial-free hip-hop radio station you've always longed for.
12. Larger Memory Ipod Touch: I'll be frank, I never copped the iphone. I was turned off by the hype and the virtual keyboard, as well as the bullshit EDGE network from AT&T. But, I gotta admit, the wide-screen ipods with the Wi-Fi connectivity are sweet. When they get more memory (than the weak 8gigs they offer now) next year, I'm going to pick one up for sure. Fasho.
13. Albums Dropping By My Clients/Artists: of course, Shady Records and our clients at Goliath Artists have albums coming out next year. Be on the look out for awesome full-lengths (pause) from Cashis, Bobby Creekwater, The Alchemist, Mickey Avalon, B.o.B, The Knux, Blestenation, DJ AM and +44 (you may even see a solo effort from drummer/producer Travis Barker). Sorry, I can't reveal what 50's plans are yet- they are locked in a briefcase somewhere. No, I'm not telling you where.
14. The Dark Knight: I saw an on-line leak of the 6 minute clip featuring Heath Ledger as The Joker and his crew robbing a bank, and it was brilliant. Low-tech, edgy, raw and angry. I'm really looking forward to the second Batman installment from Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale as Batman. This new, modern movie series of my favorite superhero is the finest comic book film adaptation so far. Sorry, X-Men.
15. Palms Place Condos: the gleaming new condominium towers at Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas open in '08. Guess who plucked down duckets for a spot?
16. The Blackberry 9000 Series: as RIM stock continues to surge, there is a new Blackberry on the horizon. The 9000 is rumored to have a fully touch integrated screen a la the Iphone, a 3 megapixel camera, true 3G wi-fi internet connectability, and 8gigs of built-in memory. As a dedicated Blackberry loyalist, I will be copping one.
17. Porsche Panamera: in 2008 (maybe early '09), Porsche will release its first luxury sedan (4 door), the Panamera. Look for some images of it like this on-line, its amazing. Like a stretched out, bad-ass 911 for the seasoned taste.
18. Detroit Lions Firing Matt Millen: this has become some kind of joke. What kind of team keeps a General Manager on board for six straight losing seasons? The Lions showed promise this year starting off 6-2, then proceeded to turn into petrified garbage and lost 7 of the next 8 games to finish an awful 7-9. This is like punching yourself in the face, having it hurt, and then trying it again to see if it will hurt again. Yes, it will. Stop it. Seriously, get rid of this guy for the love of blog. Sign the petition, here. OR, read the article from the Detroit Free Press about this carbuncle.
19. thewingmen.net: as a fat guy, I had the idea of creating a blog or site dedicated to the review and praise of Buffalo-style chicken wings about a year ago. Next year, after collecting reviews and getting fatter, I plan to launch www.thewingmen.net- a site dedicated to the worship of the finest bar food ever created. Bars, pubs, restaurants, dives and diners around the world, its time to step your game up. You never know when The Wingmen will show up and eat your chicken, then write about it.
20. More Rosenblog!: don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll have more random blogging going on for the whole year of 2008, including better photos (courtesy of my new Panasonic Lumix with wide-angle capability), more music, polls, and exclusive information. Thanks for reading and supporting paulrosenblog.com for it's first 5 months!

So, there you have it... the 1st Annual paulrosenblog.com 20-best-upcoming-great-things-about-next-year-list. This was by far my longest post ever. I'm tired of typing. Discuss amongst yourselves, and Happy New Year from paulrosenblog.com!

Vote: Jude vs. RA

The post below Rude Jude & RA on Shade45 has received a lot of attention here on paulrosenblog.com. People all have different opinions on who was in-the-right here. Let yours be known! Here is the first paulrosenblog poll...

Who won the Shade 45 argument on the current state of hip-hop?
	Rude Jude
	R.A. the Ruggedman
pollcode.com free polls

Shady Holiday Card

In case you weren't lucky enough to receive one of these, here's the Shady '07 Holiday Card we sent out. We do our own card every year, I like this one a lot.

Knux "Cappuccino" Shoot

Last week in LA, director Jason Bergh shot the video for The Knux warm-up single, "Cappuccino". The video is a total early 90's throwback style video with classroom hi jinx reminiscent of a De La Soul's "Me, Myself & I". The guys did incredible on their first ever video shoot, as did the awesome actor who played the teacher pictured below (I wont ruin the surprises before I post the video right here in a couple weeks). Check out some flicks from the video and listen to the song below.

Pistons Jingle Bells (Remix)

This is pretty self-explanatory... Rasheed Wallace, fortunately for us Pistons fans, is a much better basketball player than he is a beatboxer. Wow.

50 Rocks Kosovo

Here is a link to the full Reuters story. This is an interesting read, check it out.

In Da Club

I came out to LA to for The Knux video for "Cappuccino" (more on that this weekend when I get time to up some photos), and for the first time I flew on Virgin America. Virgin Airlines was founded by your boy Richard Branson, and before a couple of months ago only flew trans-Atlantic to the UK from NY. Now this has all changed, and Branson (and mostly Americans, because the FAA doesn't allow domestic airlines to be majority owned by non-Americans I learned) has brought his "hip" brand of commercial air travel stateside. They fly from NY to San Fran, LA, Vegas and there are some Seattle and Washington, DC flights in the mix as well. They have super low introductory flights right now (first class to LA was $600 one-way, coach was available for $300).
The photo above shows the efforts by the airline to make the flight more stylish, complete with a purple/blacklight style nightclub'ish lighting system (which kind of became annoying after a few hours) and white-leather seats. The best feature on these planes is the Virgin Red entertainment/media system. There are very recently released to DVD films (I watched The Simpsons movie), a bunch of mp3's from which you can create playlists, video games with a controller and full keyboard, you can order food and drinks from your seat via the menu feature, and they even have a "chat" function where you can sent texts to someone in another seat. It isn't very fun when your movie stops and someone from 15D wants to holla at you, though... I didn't reply when I was contacted for chats. The seat wasn't as comfortable as I remember the Virgin flights to London that I have taken in the past, but the food was decent enough.
Overall I'd say Virgin America is certainly worth trying, and they have made a sincere effort to update and stylize the commercial flying experience. Go check it out, especially at these early introductory rates. Or stay home for the holidays, Scrooges.

Rude Jude & RA on Shade45

Rude Jude, co-host of the All Out Show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Shade45, was without vacationing co-host Lord Sear last week. When Sear is away, Jude finds guests to keep himself and the listeners entertained. This was no exception. On Wednesday, Rude Jude had rapper and media personality R.A. The Ruggedman on the air. Listen below as the fireworks erupted between Jude and R.A. over the current state of rap music, what's pop and what's hip-hop, MC Hammer vs. Joeskie Love, and who has more 'rap credibility' and knowledge. It sounds like it got pretty heated, but I'm sure it was all in good fun. Or was it? You be the entertained judge as the two rap pundits go at it.

Voki

I found this site through a random advertisement for Voki.com. I never click these, but it reminded me of the "Sam" voice generator program on my Commodore64 back in the days. We used to prank people with that thing like crazy. Any way, check it our. You may have some practical uses for it. I don't.


Get a Voki now!

Shady Graff

Recently Eminem's clothing line Shady Ltd. has launched an outdoor marketing campaign (In other words, billboards and the like) with some of the new images from our shoot we did earlier this year with incredible photographer Lyndon Wade.
One of the billboards we hung up in Downtown Chicago on Cicero and 53rd St. was hit by some graffiti writers last week... Our lease on the billboard only runs through January, so we decided to leave it. I kind of like it... Draw even more attention and they left Em and the message in tact. I doubt, however, this was by design, probably more of a convenience thing. Oh well, I guess all the Bunyan71 tags I left in Detroit and East Lansing in the early nineties have caught up with me.
P.S. I have turned on the moderation feature for comments, because some idiot blew it by leaving a post proving their mental midgetry. Sorry, but I'm approving all comments now.

Shorts In Winter

Why do some people think its a good idea or even ok to wear shorts in the airport in the winter? Just because you are coming from or going to somewhere warm? Are we supposed to be impressed? Are you that comfortable or excited that you can't cover your ghostly legs? Hey, its December. We are in DETROIT. Why aren't you wearing a parka and a sweater you jackass?
I'm looking for a photo for this. And I WILL find one.
UPDATE: As promised... snagged one.

The End

On Sunday, we went to Ford Field in Detroit for the Lions season-ending loss against the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, they played hard. Yeah, they finally uitlized T.J. Duckett. Yeah, Kitna didn't fumble and he only had one pick. Yeah, the Lions secondary virtually immobilized the great T.O. But when the chips were down in the fourth quarter, Hansen muffed a field goal and a live fumble couldn't be fallen upon to change possesion and win the game. No surprises here... Another losing season will be on the books for The Roar.
On the bright side, we did score some sweet field passes (thank you Ford Field's Tom Lewand!) for pre-game and we also had some sweet suite passes so we could fly between our regular seats and the box. Some kid wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt got all excited during the game and thought it would be a good idea to rub my head. I told him that he shouldn't do that to a grown man that he doesn't know.
Yes, of course I'll be here next year to watch the Lions with a small rice-grain of hope in my heart. And yes, again I will be the sucker. Wait, I live in NY too... GO GIANTS!!!

Hanukkah Radio Audio

Here it is... the 2007 installment of Hanukkah Radio on Shade45 on Sirius Satellite Radio. We had a great show this year, with special guests DJ AM, actor Jonah Hill, and surprise guest in-studio for Jew or Not a Jew? Marky Ramone from The Ramones. Yarmulkes were passed, dreidles and menorahs were explained, Manischewitz was popped, and we thugged it out in a very jewish way. Our co-hosts Lord Searberg, Rude Jew and O.Jew were a big help, as was our very own Dart Garfunkel.

Please be patient with hour 1, there was a silent patch in the first few minutes for some reason. Wait it out... its worth it.L'CHAIM!!!
(Pictured above, L-R, Reef, Me, DJ AM, Dart Parker & Lord Sear, with some yarmulkes)

Hanukkah Radio Hour 1 & Hanukkah Radio Hour 2

Mr. Right Video

Check out the outstanding new video for Mickey Avalon's song "Mr. Right". The video was directed by Syndrome and features cameos from Paris Hilton and Leif Garrett. Yes, Leif Garrett.

Hanukkah Radio

Every year around this time, myself and Reef from Sirius Radio/Shade45 take over the channel for a couple of hours and do Hanukkah Radio. In the past we have had incredible guest like Lenny Kravitz, The Alchemist, and J.R. Rotem. This year our guests are DJ AM and actor Jonah Hill. Basically we play horrible Jewish inspired or Hanukkah themed rap songs and music, interview people about being Jewish, and play the now legendary Jew or Not a Jew?. Tune in tonight to channel 45 (Shade45) on Sirius Satellite Radio from 6-8PM E.S.T. and get an earful of the festival of lights. Below, check out the new promo we made. Thanks, Jay Z, for making us hot again.

Mahzel Tov

B.o.B

Shady Music Publishing is pleased to announce the signing of Atlanta-bred rapper B.o.B to our venture with Universal Music Publishing. B.o.B is a producer, writer, singer and rapper rolled up into one creative artist- and he's only 18 years old. B.o.B's creative ability is unlike anything I've seen in quite some time, and we are extremely excited for the world to get a taste of what he's capable of. Check out some of his music below and look for his debut in the first half of 2008 on Rebel Rock/Atlantic Records.

"Haterz Everywhere" (Remix) Featuring Rick Ross/Juvenile & "Cloud 9"

Beard.Net

We went out to Atlantic City on Saturday night for a run with our client DJ AM, who had a gig at the Borgata. The Borgata is by far the best thing that AC has to offer, and there are some good restaurants there as well (Do you like your Bobby Flay steak, DJ AM?). Its like a single, stand-along "Near Vegas" complex. Everything else in that town is not... Anyway they have this crazy modern high polish bright white food court downstairs that, what do you know, has a Fatburger that's open very late.
So we went down to get some egg burgers (yep) and the man pictured above was working behind the counter. The strange drape, cape or net covering his beard is one of the oddest things I've run across in a while. Its like it was specifically designed for the Philly cats who were their long-below-the-chin, black-dyed beards a la the rapper Freeway. It has ear straps. Necessity really is the mother of invention. Early!

Shady Re-Up Vans

In December of '06, Shady Records released our official mixtape
Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. In celebration of its release, we collaborated with Vans to create the above sneaker. I think we ordered them via Interscope something like AUGUST of '06. Anyway, they came out great. but verrrry verrry late... They contain logos for Shady Records, Em, 50, Obie Trice, Cashis, Stat Quo, D12 and Bobby Creekwater in a mutated bandanna print with some microphones and skulls and stuff. More pics below. Shout out to Josh Fisher.

Marc LaElf

Please watch my friend and Shady Records VP Marc Labelle get busy here.

Blestenation "The Way It Is"

Check out the new video from Geffen Records recording artists Blestenation. This video was directed by awesome photographer Clay Patrick McBride and the inimitable Fafu. Rapper Werdplay is the one with the Taxi Driver styling and Various is the one with the full hair head.

Blestnenation's debut album Welcome to MmmBugout City due Spring '08.

Hey, what ever happened to...? #2

Donald Gibb
The Revenge of the Nerds marathon was on Cinemax this long Thanksgiving weekend. So of course I took the opportunity to catch pieces of a few of this '80s spawned masterpiece of college film sequels. (There was also a television pilot for Revenge of the Nerds in 1991 that was never aired, sadly enough).
Donald Gibb played a character named Fred "The Ogre" Palowalski in the first original flick as well as Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love. Ogre was conspicuously absent from Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation. One can only assume that the film budget for the 3rd installment was not large enough to afford such a high caliber of classic character actor.
The character of Ogre was basically a massive beer swilling, dim-witted bully from the rival Alpha Beta fraternity. Anyone who has seen the film will remember him well from visual memory as the frizzy maned viking that slapped nerds silly.
After the Nerds films, Gibb was seen on the underrated HBO comedy series 1st and Ten from 1985-1989 as Dr. Death. Also of note, Gibb played Ray Jackson in the Van Damme vehicle Bloodsport (1988).
Aside from that, Donald had many television bit appearances in series ranging Cheers in 1992 to The Facts of Life in 1987. Recently, Gibb played a character called Worm on The Young and the Restless in '03. Since then, his appearances have been few and far between.
How does one go from such esteem to playing bit-parts on daytime television? Such is the cruel world of Hollywood and the life of an actor. There is simply no justice in the world sometimes. Sadly enough, it seems that Donald is now apparently in the twilight of his thespian career at a ripe 53 years of age.
Bonus fact: it was revealed in 1994's 4th installment that Dudley "Booger" Dawson is from Detroit. Makes sense, I guess...
Bonus material: video footage of the Lambda Lambda Lambda rap song from the original classic film below.

Shameless Plug: Nort

Our friend, world renowned modern artist/designer and NY graff legend Stash has a great retail spot on Lafayette and Bleecker in the Village of NYC called Nort/Recon. It is a high-end Nike only seller and also offers a variety of upper-crust streetwear, including Stash's own brand Recon. The store also has accessories for your head and numerous stuff way too cool to just be spoken of. It must be witnessed, just like the store itself. Wait, you don't live in NY? Ok, then. The online shop is supposed to go live real soon. Like today soon!
Here is a link to the live and up-to-date news site. There you will find updates on products, Stash's travels and work related life, and everything related to it. Now the real plug:

Oh, I forgot to mention.. I am partners with Stash and Co. on the Nort/Recon retail effort. Go get yourself some kicks on this big shopping weekend at a deep discount!

Lions on Bird Day

Let's face it. Men watch football on Thanksgiving Day. We snack on whatever our mothers, wives, girlfriends, in-laws, sisters or brothers have placed around the house to deter us from early turkey gorfing, and we drink egg nog and beer. We nurse hangovers from "the biggest bar night of the year" (more on that in a different post sometime)... And we watch football.
For those who don't know me at all and/or haven't read this blog, I am a huge football fan. Further to that, I am a Detroit Lions fan. Ever since ever.



The above is a picture of the late, legendary Marvin Rosenberg a year and a half before we lost him. I took him to see a Lions game at Ford Field on 2003 T-Day in his first, last and only game there. Although Grandpa was a Lions fan as well, he wasn't happy about it. In most of his years (and mine), the Lions had losing records. In fact, in the last 10 years, they are 4-6 on Turkey day alone. In 2003 though, Grandpa Rosenberg got to see his team win, in person- against The Packers.
I know that a lot of you will be watching the Lions take on the 9-1 Packers with an all-of-a-sudden more awesome than ever Brett Favre. I also know that most of you think that the Pack will prevail. I hope you naysayers are wrong, I really do. It would be nice for The Roar to take one on Thanksgiving in front of a live national audience. Marvin Rosenberg would be proud to see the Lions beat The Packers again, too.

King of the Crabs

My friend Jon McDonald owns the fantastic Lure Fish Bar in Soho, NY, where I went for lunch today. Their chef Josh is awesome and he invited me to the kitchen to see the beast pictured above. Apparently, this bastard was caught in Alaska by extreme nutso death wish fisherman. It weighs 7 or 8 pounds, and goes for around $250 wholesale. This is a huge Alaskan King Crab. It tasted really good too. Stop it, I didn't eat the whole thing...

Kinky Cigars

Ersatz politician and country singer Kinky Friedman has released his own line of cigars. This one pictured in my hand is called The Texas Jewboy. I find that very funny. On Saturday, the tobacconist at OK! Cigars on West Broadway in Soho told me that Oliva Cigars makes them, so they probably aren't half bad. Oliva also makes the acclaimed "Master Blend" series, which I highly recommend. Oliva cigars are made mostly from Honduran tobacco. I haven't smoked it yet. Here is a link to Kinky's cigar site.
See, for those that don't know, Kinky is a rare breed. He has a band called Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys. He is a very outspoken and funny guy, if not a bit campy and eccentric. In 2006, Kinky ran for Governor of Texas. A few people even started to take him seriously, even as he went on the campaign trail doing interviews while chomping a stogie and making jewish jokes that he can make. You know, because he's Jewish... "I'm going to be the first Jewish Governor of Texas, and when elected I'm going to reduce the speed limit to $54.95". I will have my own cigars one day too, Kinky.

Detroit Radio

My man DJ Houseshoes hipped me to this site about old school Detroit radio. It has great relics and artifacts from local radio stations back in the days. I've always been into graphic design, so the bumper sticker section is particularly cool to me (WABX anyone?).
The above sticker is from WRIF, Detroit's classic and hard rock station, and is in honor of Arthur Penhallow's signature bellow. WRIF used to make stickers in the identical oval shape to the above with all sorts of bands. In high school, my brother and I collected them. So did everyone else. We had a leg-up though, our next door neighbor was the printer. We had boxes of them.
In honor of the MSU Spartans defeat over Penn State yesterday (a bowl bid for the first time since '03!), here's another one.

Rap Charts

Here is a very clever visual analysis of classic and current rap songs and diction. The above chart, obviously, is based on the Dr. Dre & Eminem classic "Forgot About Dre". If you aren't a pretty serious fan of the music, don't bother linking to this. Many more like the above... good stuff.

This DJ(s)

A friend put me on to this YouTube clip of these very young DJs scratching like grown folks. Or better than grown folks. Rumor has it that these two kids are legendary turntablist DJ Q-Bert's own. Makes sense to me. This is remarkable if you have any knowledge of DJ'ing or if you have ever attempted to scratch. If you haven't, check it out anyway because they are serious.

I know its been a minute since my last post. But, the computer problems are almost fixed and there is s a ton on "deck" so to speak.

The Guy's Got Ball

This isn't as much a lazy post as it is a result of not having total access to my main computer because Dell doesn't like you to upgrade hard drive memory, they would rather make it so difficult to clone your system onto a new, faster, cheaper, smaller, more memory internal drive that makes you so insane that you have to buy a new Dell with upgraded memory. Well, dude, I'm not getting a Dell. I bought a nice new small external drive (because who doesn't need over 100G of music?)...
Anyway, this guy is pretty interesting. He pulled a stunt at the first ex-US regular season NFL game played in London a couple of weeks ago. I mean, obviously its tough to get onto the field of a professional sports game if you aren't supposed to be there. "Butt", to have the "ball" to wear a crotchless referee's uniform and a g-string like this and run around doing some sort of mutated moon-walk with an illegible mess scrawled on your back on an international NFL broadcast is really somethin'.

What were the players on the field supposed to do? I'm sure they want to tackle his
ass, but then they probably worried about lawsuits and whatnot and remembered they were in a different country. But, they seemed sort of oddly transfixed on this dumb mutant...

More Westwood

I was sent this by my friend Greenpeace from across the pond (UK for those that need help) after he read my "Butler" post. This is a perfect companion to the World Rosenblog Exclusive video I posted below. Normally I don't like posting without pics because text by itself is boring, but this one is worth it, BABY BOY! (Insert bomb explosion sound here).

Mahzel Tov!

Shady Records A&R (and the man who brings the world Dick Shitman's 'Hood Newz') Riggs Morales and his long time girlfriend Melissa were wed on Sunday in Miami. It was a fantastic wedding complete with a Candy Shop and Big Pun ("I'm Not a Player" was the theme song for the garter toss).
Interestingly enough, Goliath Artists' own Neil Maman's girlfriend Jen caught the bouquet! Uh oh...

Holla At Ya BUTLER!!!

Sometime in 2003, on a trip to London, I stayed at the Lanesborough Hotel in Jolly London. This hotel is incredible, super fancy, comfortable, quaint, luxurious, and expensive... Along with your room, you get a BUTLER. This Butler handles things, like getting your suit pressed, and whatever else butlers do (I have no clue, I grew up in Detroit).
Anyway, for some reason one night while visiting Tim Westwood at Radio One, we got on the subject of butlers and where I was staying. Hence, a new catchphrase was somehow created...

This went on for some time. It repeated itself at several meetings and radio interviews. Long live Westwood. Long live the butlers!

The Errol Flynn

The Errol Flynn, also known in slang as Earl Flynn, is a Detroit-bred dance that is awesome. Based on a dance developed by a heroin trafficking street gang bred on Detroit's east side in the 1970's, this dance involves elaborate and flamboyant hand moves. It is elegant, pompous and super hood. Here is a video of a young man who has perfected the moves, down to a slow-motion Matrix-style pirouette.

More about the Errol Flynn gang and their demise can be found in this Wikipedia article. Interestingly, as the article points out, Judge Mathis was a member of the Errol Flynns. Also, if you go back to my "2-0 Swagger" post below and peep the "Another One Bites The Dust" Detroit Lions song, Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen shouts the dance out when he suggest that the team might "Errol Flynn in the end-zone". Swifty McVay of D12 is also a world-renowned Errol Flynn expert. This is very special.

Devil's Night!

These signs used to be hung upon public areas and abandoned homes in the City of Detroit during the '90s.

Today, October 30th, is known as Devil's night in Detroit. Read all about the insanity, here.

Halloween Fully Zipped

It's no secret that I'm involved in Eminem's clothing label, Shady Ltd., as his manager. Recently, Shady Ltd. partnered up with the folks at Rocawear for a new manufacturing and distribution deal. The new partnership debuted officially at the February 2007 MAGIC clothing convention in Las Vegas. Our signature piece displayed prominently in front of the booth at this show was our full-zip hockey mask and chainsaw hoodie, pictured here.
Because of manufacturing delays overseas, the details of which I don't fully understand, it took a long time to bring this item to market. In fact, it just got to stores over this past weekend, just in time for Halloween. A certain clothing company decided that they liked the idea so much, that they copied it.

It's hard to make out here, but there are two chainsaws crossed on the front. You can read more about this, and see a detailed video on the subject, here. I will acknowledge that this company had a lot of success and did a fairly original piece with their full-zip skeleton hoodie (althought I think the first full-zip hoodies were put out by BAPE). So much so that I'm sure it inspired Shady Ltd.'s designers when they made our peice. However, thats where the inspiration ends. The hockey mask and chainsaw combo has been used by Eminem since the first Anger Management tour on stage in 2000, shown below.
Sure, the hockey mask is inspired by Jason of Friday the 13th fame, but he didn't really mess with chainsaws. The chainsaw comes from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. Em put the two together, and created his own icon, as shown again by this toy that was released in 2002 by Art Asylum.
The combination of Eminem, the chainsaw, and a hockey mask makes for a visual representation of a character that you all may know as Slim Shady...
Now, we've heard that the designers from the other clothing company claim that the Shady designers actually copied the idea from them, and somehow saw their design prior to our debut of our hockey mask hoodie in February. Really? The Shady Ltd. designers had to copy the idea of putting Eminem, a hockey mask, and a chainsaw together from somebody else? Come on, guys.
Here is me in my Halloween costume from this past Saturday.
I did my own little twist and added a baseball bat axe. After all, imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. So, thank you.

Best. Play. Ever.

This play is unreal, if you've seen it already then too bad. If you haven't, you gotta check it out. For my non-football readers (I wont embarass you) there are 15 lateral passes in order to make this touchdown happen... A lateral pass is a sideways or backwards pass, under or overhand. It seems like the English are getting their revenge for us playing American Football on their turf, innit? Rugby anyone?

Stay Away

Stay away or get away if you see this man in the airport. He sat behind me on my flight from Detroit to NY today.

He starts off slurping his coffee like a cartoon character. Then he chews his ice like it was rocks. Next, he eats his pistachios from his baggie and the sound reminds one of rocks being crushed in a cave. He begins to grunt, clear his throat often, and cough. Finally, he tops it all off with groans and swearing to himself.
I've never witnessed a more disgusting and annoying human sound machine.

David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortenson

If you haven't seen A History of Violence or have yet to view Eastern Promises you are sleeping big time. Director David Cronenberg (Scanners, Naked Lunch) teamed up with the incredible actor Viggo Mortenson (Lord of the Rings, 28 Days) for both flicks. Both are underworld, gangster themed, and graphically violent.
But these are not typical gangster genre films. They are deeply psychological, have unexpected twists, great plots, perfect villains, and above all, phenomenal directing. Cronenberg presents atypical views into the underworld in both flicks, with the Philadelphia mob in Violence and the Russian Vory V Zakone mafia in Promises. In both films, Viggo plays a hardcore anti-hero impeccably. The guy is so convincing and bad-ass in these films that he gives any Pacino or DeNiro classic criminal roles a run for their money. Both also have unforgettable villains, played by Armin Meuller Stahl as Semyon in Promises and Ed Harris as Carl Fogarty in Violence.

Above is a Blackberry Curve on-screen picture of Viggo in Eastern Promises. Both of these films with this team are really worth seeing. I also guarantee, without ruining anything, they both have scenes that will be etched in your memory for quite some time. Ain't that right, Joey?

Travis At It Again...

Check out this video from the good folks at Famous Stars & Straps. This song "Swear They Do" is produced by Travis Barker and features Terry Kennedy, Lil B. from The Pack, The Philosopher and Eddie Rap Life.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think. This looks like a great, quality representation of the Famous lifestyle to me.

Pretty Good...

My friend 3H met Larry David and they took this pic together.

Is it just me or does it look like there may be some sort of genetic sharing?

"Wanna Know" (Remix)

Check out the video for Obie Trice & Saigon doing the Entourage thing for the Entourage Soundtrack, in stores now, on Atlantic Records.

I'm Just Sayin'...

For the first time today, as I decided to walk back to the office from lunch in the West Village due to the balmy 70+ degree weather in NYC, I passed by this street corner.

I've never really noticed this, but a corner of "Gay St." and "Christopher St."? I'm just sayin', that would be like if there was a corner of "Jew St." and "Fairfax" in LA.

The Cowgirls

Let's get a few things clear here. I really don't like the Dallas Cowboys. I also am not a fan of the New England Patriots. When I was a kid, way back in the late 70's and early 80's, there was a time where I liked the Cowboys, sure. Who didn't? It was either that or the Pittsburgh Steelers back then, Staubach vs. Bradshaw.
But when I became an independently thinking adult, I really stopped that nonsense and got my priorities straight. First, there is no such thing as "America's Team". In my opinion, you root for the team from where either a) you grew up, b) where you currently live (for at least a couple of years), c) if there is no team where you are from or where you currently live, you can pick one near by, or d) if the team where you currently live packed-up and bounced to some "expansion" city or otherwise, you can continue to root for that team (shouts out to the Los Angeles Raiders, Anaheim Rams, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Baltimore Colts). Sure, you can prefer one team win over another. You can even cheer for that team playing against a team that you despise. But to passionately root for a team that doesn't fit into any of the categories above, to the point that you wear their gear, sing their praises, and have "sports arguments" about that team is complete BULLSHIT. You know who you are. Stop it.
So anyway, I'm from Detroit, and have lived in New York for almost 12 years. So, yeah, I'm a Detroit sports fan first and foremost. But I occasionally root for the Yankees (when they aren't playing against the Tigers) and the Giants, sometimes even the Jets (I can't deal with the Knicks, and I'm not a hockey fan at all).
Yesterday, the two biggest magnets of the types of fans in the NFL that don't fall in categories a-d above faced each other. It was tough for me, since I don't like either, but I decided to root for the Patriots. The deciding factors were easy, Jerry Jones (Cowboys owner) and Terrell Owens (proffesional douche).
So for all that don't know or follow, both teams were undefeated prior to yesterday (5 straight wins), and both teams are expected to go all-the-way to the Superbowl in February in Arizona. So this was a highly touted match/preview of two teams that a bunch of people love because they are bandwagon, brainless, traitor or clueless type individuals. The Cowgirls got smoked by Tom Brady (5 touchdown passes, a personal record- don't get me wrong, I hate him and his perfect passing too) and Randy Moss.


Above is a picture of Cowgirls owner, Jerry Jones, looking defeated. I've been saving it for their first loss. Enjoy it.

Blestenation DVD Release

Blestenation, the 3 man group we manage on Geffen Records, has released their long in-the-making DVD of their self-made video collection; F@$% A Mixtape Vol. 4.
Last night in a rainy NYC the group performed selections from the DVD mixtape in front of a happy Knitting Factory crowd.
Check out a selection from the DVD "Hear That Their", to hold you over until the release of the official video we are scheduled to film this weekend for "The Way It Is".
For more information, click the Blestenation link on the right.

Scalped in DC

A brave man from Detroit and 2 of his friends took the Acela train from NY's Penn Station to DC's Union Station this past Saturday. The goal (at least for me) was to see the Detroit Lions and their "high powered" offense put a hurting on the Hogs. It wasn't to be.
There were some highlights, such as my first time at FedEx field (which honestly felt way more like a college stadium than anything else, a bit short on the amenities side), seeing some friends at half-time, and a nice supply of Lions' fans (including the beautiful man pictured below, who claimed that you get an American flag with every beer purchase- so not true).
But come on, where was my team? 3 frickin' points? 5 more sacks? This was just bad. We really need the upcoming bye week I guess.

VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors

Last night, I went to the filming of the 2007 VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors. This is the first time I've been to the event in-person, although I've watched every year on Tivo.
This year's show was incredible to say the least. I missed about half of it due to the security being horrible dickheads and an earlier engagement, but what I saw was great. I walked in when Whodini was doing their medley of "Freaks Come Out at Night", "5 Minutes of Funk", "One Love" and "Friends". Highlights other than that were the A Tribe Called Quest tribute with Common, Lupe, Pharrel and Busta. I mean BUSTA!!! Wow did he tear it down... I wont ruin the surprise but it was a return to form, so to speak. Snoop's set was fantastic as well.
Overall, this event was well run, had free booze and food, and was a really good time (except for the aforementioned security). Oh, and I forgot to mention I met Kool Moe Dee and Kool Keith (pictured above). What a kool night.

Doucheblog

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First, Vitamin Water... Now...

Shady Records and Eminem present the new healthy breakfast cereal, EmPower. Part of a complete breakfast with your bottle of Formula 50. (Watch somebody think this is real).

West Coast Snack Chips

I'm in Los Angeles and I'm hungry. Today is Yom Kippur, a/k/a the fasting holiday. I can't eat until 6:51 PM (I looked it up- trust me). So last night I grabbed my last set of snacks at a local 7-11 and I was reminded of what I have noticed for several years- LA has a better snack chip selection than where I'm from.
There are flavors available in LA and I think in California in general that we just don't have in the mid-west and the east coast. A lot of these varieties are influenced by Mexican culture and taste- Chili Lime Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Salsa Verde Doritos, Limon Frito Lay potato chips, Jalapeno chips, etc. These chips are wonderful if you like spice and tangy flavors which I do. Especially when I can't eat all day. This isn't fun.

2-0 Swagger

I am a Detroit Lions fan. It's not an easy thing to be. See, ever since I can remember following football and really understanding it (which is around 1979 and I was 8 years old), the Lions have broken my heart.
In the '79 season, they went 2-14. Then in 1980, when the Detroit defense started calling themselves "The Silver Rush" after their 4-0 season start, the Lions made a theme song. It was a interpolation of Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust", sang/rapped by the Lions' defensive back Jimmy "Spiderman" Allen. Here is a link to a blog that posted this ditty. Unfortunately, the pre-Bears' "Superbowl Shuffle" local hit wasn't enough to "restore the roar", and the Lions went on to not even make the playoffs at 9-7 under coach Monte Clark with Billy Simms.
So, I'll spare you the rest of the sad history, it can all be found here. But, the bottom line is that te Lions have never made a Superbowl appearance. In fact, the only time they were close was when they made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game in 1991, where they were smoked by the Redskins 41-10. Our last playoff appearance was in 1999. Since then, the Lions have the pleasure of having the worst overall record in the NFL.
BUT, I'm going to remain positive. We have what appears to be a solid coach in Rod Marinelli, a dedicated and brave if not too religiously outspoken QB in Jon Kitna, and phenom rookie overall #2 draft pick, WR Calvin Johnson... So with TWO wins under our belt to start the season off, I'm going to act cocky about the Detroit Lions NOW. Who knows how long the feeling will last?

Travis Barker- Soulja Boy "Crank That" RMX

Here is a video of our client Travis Barker playing drums to his rocked-out remix of Soulja Boy's smash, "Crank That". Check the techniques... this guy is incredible, if we do say so ourselves.

Curtis- IN STORES

Yes, you already know but I'm proud to announce that 50 Cent's new album Curtis is in-stores! We went to the Virgin Mega-Store in Times Square tonight and I bought a bunch of copies. It's a good-luck ritual that I always perform when a project that I'm involved with drops. Go out and support Shady Records and 50 Cent and purchase your own! Its the least you can do, I write this blog and entertain you for free, dammit!

My Late VMA Post

So we went to the 2007 Mtv Video Music Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday at the Palms Casino & Resort. I must say that the amount of anticipation and excitement in Sin City was pretty high...
The awards we very well organized but it was weird seeing the red carpet rolled right through the casino floor that I have spent many (too many) late nights losing money in. The casino remained "open" to the public while the glamorous and privileged folks strutted in. It was pretty odd to see so many gawkers so close with so many phone-pda-digital cameras roped off next to the slots and tables. Also, it always happens that when I hop out of whatever hired vehicle I roll up to awards shows in that people are inevitably disappointed that someone glamorous doesn't hop out. Just a big music industry Jewish bald man... (and his gorgeous wife of course- you too Brandon and Tony).
The show was very entertaining, especially the Lee/Rock mini-brawl (yes I did lean over the balcony and yell "Detroit WHAT!?!!). It was a tad confusing on the inside when the coverage switched from the main Pearl venue to the auxiliary performances, but Mark Ronson and his band were killingggg it between the main performances. That Chris Brown kid is super talented (and he really sang too) man he is just getting started it feels like. I was of course pleased as apiked punch with 50's set in the JT/Timbaland suite, as well as the long overdue Dr. Dre ovation.
On the inside it was awesome that each small section of rows was assigned a waitress and the drinks (drunks) were flowing, as well as trays and trays of endless hours d'ouvres (mini-burgers are always welcome by me). We didn't stay for the official VMA after-party though, which I heard was nice.
My only regret on the weekend was staying out too late on Saturday night and not having enough gas left after going to see the late performance at the House of Blues of my clients The Knux (put it in the airrrrr!) opening up for Common on Sunday night to go to more events. I'm getting old... I can't make it 2 full nights of hardcore Vegas'ing in a row anymore... Sad.
I hear the ratings for the show were up over 25% from last year, so I bet that Mtv will return to Vegas for 2008. I'm not mad at that. To remedy the situation, maybe I'll only stay for one night next time!

Hurricane Henriette

Sorry for the delay in new posts here. See, I was supposed to be on vacation with the wife for our 1st wedding anniversary. I say supposed because our trip got entirely derailed by Hurricane Henriette.
We were in Cabo San Lucas at a great resort for a couple of days, and then all of a sudden we started hearing about a tropical storm. The tropical storm, of course (Al Gore might be on to something folks) turned into a hurricane, I took the above photo from our balcony after we were released from 9 hours in a shelter on our third day of the trip. Apparently, we were in the eye of the hurricane, but it only reached Level 1 so it wasn't a complete catastrophe. Then, after things settled down enough, we had to spend that night locked in our rooms so that we didn't get hit with flying debris and people wearing those stupid hats that people wear when they go on vacation (you know what I mean, they are usually some sort of straw concoction and could be a cowboy hat or some floppy lady sombrero)- without room service, and not much in the way of television (when the satellite did get reception, at least half of the channels are in Spanish which I only sort of speak. South Park in Spanish is pretty funny). The next day we were told that all of the restaurants were closed, and that it would be at least 4 days until the pools and beach were reopened. So we bounced.
Anyway don't worry about me I am safe with the wife in the United States at an undisclosed location until we have to be in Vegas for the Mtv VMA's this weekend. That's a whole different kind of hurricane...