When I say “Booty”, I mean “Heine”.
It’s been a long day. Time to make some Ikea drawers and drink a fucking beer.

Sidebar: I need a RedBull fridge in the office.

It’s 9:47pm and I just got home from having a burger and a beer with my homey/big brother Los from LiveStock. It’s been a while since I’ve made the decision to go to bed this early, but after last night’s 6am sleep and this morning’s 9am wake-up, I’m much too exhausted to clean my room, fold my laundry, or finish designing this flyer, let alone do my Plyometrics workout.

The plan is for me to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning and get those things done while my mind is still half asleep. Then I can get to fixing things at the office and getting onto some more design based projects. It shouldn’t be too hard right? It’s just a matter of discipline, I guess.

I left the office around 8 to meet up with Los for food after spending some time doing a design for a few friends of mine. I admit that it was a struggle working on this project. I feel like I’m at such a comfortable point with my own work that I really would like to just be doing what I want to do artistically and creatively. I know, that sounds terribly diva-ish. But the truth is that I feel like I am running out of time to do everything that I have thought up in my head and at some point I’ve gotta step away from doing what someone else wants me to do.

I know that there’s a responsibility that I have to pay my bills and get by. But I also have a responsibility to myself and to my craft. I need a sense of release in my work and plain and simple, I feel like my energy for client work is wearing thin (again). There are equations and equations that I run over in my mind constantly that weigh out the affects of making decisions toward or away from freelancing or personal art projects, and in the end, the answer always seems to be, “You can’t afford to do just what you want right now”.

Ain’t that the sad truth for us all.

I’m definitely posting this on the blog as a release, not as a cry for a response and solution to the “problem”, but I am feeling like I’m going to do something a little out of character in order to not only find an answer, but to find the right solution. Something like writing my own god damn equation.

Until tomorrow,
be.

It’s Toonie Tuesday, and here’s something I wouldn’t spend a toonie on if I had 2 dollars to my name. It’s a french fry holder for your car. Apparently, you insert it into your cup holder and it holds your large McDonald’s fries perfectly snug. This is the perfect way to help fat Americans get fatter while they’re in their vehicles drinking liters of Cola, text messaging their mistresses and running late for their shitty desk job, all the while speeding through school zones and listening to Black Eyed Peas.

You know you waaant it.

Pictures of Rap Songs: Biggie Smalls Dedication
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Biggie Smalls, so I thought it would only be right to dedicate an installment of “Pictures of Rap Songs” to one of the Greatest Rappers of All Time. Sing along if you know the words people. Let’s do it big for B.I.G.!

Rest in Peace B.I.G.

I hope you guys liked this special dedication installment of “Pictures of Rap Songs” and I better not see any motherfuckers biting this idea. Or else I’m gonna start doing “Pictures of Battle Rap Songs”. lmao.

Love&Respect as usual,
be.

TheLegendsLeague: Notorious R.I.P.

I whipped up this quick dedication design for today, March 9th, which as most of you know is the anniversary of the death of Biggie Smalls. Use it on your facebook/twitter profiles, save it to your computers, or just look at it and nod or shake your head or play some Biggie shit to it while eating cheese, eggs and Welch’s grape.

Rest in Peace B.I.G.

Love&Respect,
be.

I took this photo of my homey, Bobby, while we met to talk about what’s coming up from Ideall.

Last Summer, I sat down and asked him to be my assistant with IdeallClothing. He agreed and has since been an enormous help with the brand and getting shit done that I would otherwise pull what’s left of my hair out over if I still had to manage all of it alone.

If I get something done with the brand, know that he’s probably behind why it was possible to make it happen without me dying of stress or drinking 8 days a week.

This is Bobby. Show him some goddamn respect and follow him on Twitter: @ideallclothing

Today, I dropped by Mankind to check out some of their services and consider getting a haircut. They’re a men’s grooming studio in Toronto that I was introduced to by my friend Bryan Brock of 1LOVETO.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Jay, who coincidentally is cousins with a friend of mine and shares a ton of mutual friends with me. I don’t ever go to salons or barbershops to get my hair cut because of my problems with panic and anxiety around people, so it was really tough for me to be there. It’s something that I’ve dealt with my whole life and I’m trying to get a handle on as I get older. So when I considered finding someone to cut my hair other than zaki ibrahim or my young cuz, Vince, I had to really do my best to find a place that would feel a little like home and would provide the type of service that made me feel comfortable.

My anxiety and panic attacks have held me back from so much more than I ever write or blog about. It’s one of the biggest demons I live with. It’s stopped me from getting jobs, made me run out on award shows and work responsibilities, and it has prevented me from doing simple things like have dinner at a family table, and obviously, leave home to get my hair cut. My struggles with it pushed me further into alcoholism and was the reason I would get drunk while I was at work for years. I realize that this can’t continue, and so today I tried to take a step in a better direction to beat this thing; a better direction that mainly deters me from getting back on pills which I used to abuse regularly.

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but being able to get passed today was a huge accomplishment in my life. I don’t really blog about this stuff because it makes me feel crazier than I already am, but I’ve always been honest with my readers and I don’t plan on slowing that down any time soon. Hopefully more things can happen like this and I can start to feel a level of normalcy that allows me to grow to my full potential.

After my cut, I was treated to a mini-facial with a hot towel and facial toner and a paraffin hand wax. I left the shop, shipped out my online orders and came back to shoot some photos of the space to blog about it. I haven’t shot in a little while, but it was the least I could do in exchange for great service.

I want to send a big shout out to Jay and Mya at Mankind for making today’s experience way better than I imagined. I appreciate it a lot.

Be sure to check them out:

MANKIND
grooming studio for men
477 Richmond Street West
Suite 103
416.551.1113
www.mankindgrooming.com

This is their reception area. I love the wood panelling and the glass top on the desk. Very dope. There is also a cut out in the front of the desk of what appears to be a mens collar and tie. It’s a nice subtlety that must go unnoticed often, but can be appreciated when it’s seen.

Today, Jay and Mya were working, but there are a number of other stylists, barbers and staff that help make this place a great option for a wide range of men’s grooming services.

There’s a little seating area with a stocked Red Bull fridge, a PS3, flatscreen TV, magazines, a bar and a leather couch. It feels like being at your rich friends house, sitting in his basement lounge. It’s definitely a place you could end up spending a lot of time in, shooting the shit with your homies and the staff.

I got a haircut. This guy got his whole head cut off. 1 for me. 0 for the moose.

Jay was cutting another client when I came back, but was just finishing up so I wasn’t able to get any photos of him at work. But I like this shot nonetheless.

This is the seat and sink I sat at for my wash, mini-facial and paraffin hand wax. Lucky me. Or lucky seat! ZING! lol.

It looks like an outdoor overground jacuzzi for a gerbil herd, I know. But really it’s wax bath for your hands. You dip your hands up to your wrist into hot wax, remove them and then they cover them with plastic. The wax dries, then is peeled away and you’re left with super soft hands for caressing your wife, or slapping your kids. I’m kidding. You shouldn’t caress your wife with your newly waxed hands. I’M KIDDING!

It was kind of strange, but felt amazing. Highly recommended.

This is Mya. She was responsible for giving me the mini-facial and paraffin hand wax. Jay tells me she’s going to be very famous and has a maniacal plan to make it happen. We’ll see how this story unfolds.

This is the chair that Jay cut me in. He shared a great story about it.

He found the chair in worse condition than it’s currently in, but bought it anyways with plans to rework it, weld some rickety parts and restore it to his liking. The father of a close friend of his saw Jay with the chair and said to him, “You’re gonna be really successful with this”, which humbled him since the man had a very successful business in the hair and grooming industry. Unfortunately, that was the last time he saw his friend’s father, as he has since passed away. But he honors him with a photo placed on the wall next to the mirror at that chair.

This is the father of Jay’s friend. It’s such a stand up move to have this photo in his shop. I loved this.

Shutting down.

This is me in my office with my cleaned up, Inglorious Basterds meets Asian Avenue, undercut fade, karaoke boy band hair. That’s my real face. Don’t make fun of me.

Once again, be sure to check them out:

MANKIND
grooming studio for men
477 Richmond Street West
Suite 103
416.551.1113
www.mankindgrooming.com

Love&Respect,
be.

Cliche photo but I shot it anyway. I need to start using my camera more often..

I took this photo today because it hit me very close to home. lol.

I don’t know what it is, but that Natural Gas has really been getting to me lately. Thank god my girlfriend loves me. :S

I saw this Ren and Daser tag today (looks like part of Kane’s tag got covered), and had to take a photo of it. REN was one of my biggest creative idols growing up and is a graffiti king. I looked at him and the rest of TCM like they were gods when I was 10 years old and finally met him when I was 12, sitting at Keele wall watching him paint. He tagged my royal blue JanSport bag and it was a prized possession of mine until I foolishly threw it out in 2004.

Big shout out to REN and all the true graffiti kings from my home town.