Back in 2010, we actually exhibited the aforementioned golden rabbit wax candle and companion story by writer Neil LaBute at an art show we had with TheFoxIsBlack.com. It looks like this particular object is the cover of the book! Exhibiting the object and the handwritten story by LaBute was an honor in itself, but, to know it’s also the cover… wow.

Now, Walker and Studio 360 is inviting the public to contribute stories to celebrate the launch of the Significant Objects book. Walker and host of Studio 360, Kurt Anderson, went to a thrift shop in New York, picked 3 random and weird items and now are asking YOU to submit stories about them. Winning entries will be read on air! The deadline is April 8th, more info here. Check out the video, you see Rob and Kurt go to the thrift store and pick the items you’ll be writing about!

Find all of the info and complete contest rules at Studio360.org/objects.

We saw M.I.A. a few years back at Coachella, I thought it was a great show, other friends walked away mixed about the performance. A few years have past with little activity, but, this video, with over 4 million views in a few days, has changed all of that.

I had been wanting to see Cass McCombs play live for some time now. For one reason or another, things never lined up for me. I thought it was going to be yet another failed attempt as it was a sold out show at The Echo in Los Angeles. I stopped into my favortie record store, Origami Vinyl, to see if Neil there had any tickets left. No tickets, sold out. But, as I asked the question, a gentleman overheard and had an extra ticket to spare. I guess it was meant to be… the show was rad… Cass McCombs and band played in complete darkness except for the light display providing a back light and silhouette of the band. Live, it sounded just like his albums… perfect.

Here are two of my favorite songs…

Our friend, artist Miki Amano shared this video with us… Feist singing with the Sesame Street crew. So much love for Sesame Street here… who wouldn’t love to live in a world of monsters. As you can see in this video, Feist’s vibe is infectious… so fun and down to earth… Feist is just plain rad.

And, here is our friend, Miki… one of the cutest monsters out there.:)

Listening to the radio the other day, KCRW’s The Business interviewed Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer of Elmo. It was a really interesting interview about the behind the scenes of Sesame Street, the creator of Sesame Street, Jim Henson, and the strong community of puppeteers behind this important television show, still running, over forty years strong.

The documentary, Being Elmo is playing in select theaters now. Having received numerous awards already, including the Sundance Special Jury Prize, this documentary looks great and gives us a glimpse of what happens below the screen of one of the most ubiquitous puppets and puppeteers of our time… Elmo, or shall I say Kevin Clash.

Scary Bento-ing from Catherine of CakeisSweet.com.

Artist, Thereza Rowe… love this.

Victoria of SFgirlbybay.com, always finding the best things.

Nathalie Roland of HeadphoneRecord.com… beware, indeed.

What a trio…the innocent scouts, The Bryants and wicked witch, Kate Bingaman Burt.

So good… The Fox is Black and LA I’m Yours. Or, is that Terry Richardson and Kate Moss?

The studio of Tina Roth Eisenberg and Swiss Miss. They have so much fun there all the time!

Martin Wong of Giant Robot, testing out the Go Go’s…

Our friend Melissa took this one of me ….. frightening!

And I leave you with this classic Disney…

This song below, probably one of my favorites off their latest album.

Aside from making music that moves you, Goh Nakamura has been busy doing the rounds for a movie starring…well… him. Entitled Surrogate Valentine, this indie movie is about a struggling musician named Goh who jumps on the chance to teach TV star Danny Turner (Chadd Stoops) guitar for an upcoming role. Along the way, the pair go on a road trip from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Goh also meets a high school flame Rachel (Lynn Chen), which complicates things. The film is having its long awaited Los Angeles premiere at The Japanese American National Museum this Thursday, September 15th. Goh will also be doing a live performance and Q&A after the screening.

The film got rave reviews at its world premiere at Austin’s SXSW. Our favorite review came from Independent Film Channel, who called it “the kind of film you want to hug.”

Check out this trailer:

This Thursday, September 15th, Surrogate Valentine will be screening for the first time in Los Angeles. Alongside, The Japanese American National Museum and Giant Robot, we’re proud to present a screening of Surrogate Valentine, a Q&A with the cast and director Dave Boyle, and a special live music performance by Goh Nakamura.

The after-screening Q&A should be really fun if this video is any indication. Here’s a clip of Dave and Goh talking about how they met and taking us through some of the behind the scenes of the film. You’ll see they have a very apparent, natural chemistry, and with the success of this film, it’s no wonder that they are already in production on the sequel to Surrogate Valentine.

We’d love for you to come to the screening and, if you do, you’ll know why we’re raving. The movie’s showing at The Japanese American National Museum this Thurs, September 15, 8pm. Get your tickets here.

See you guys there!

JANM, 369 East First Street, Los Angeles California 90012

Last year, we got an awesome surprise when one of our fans took the time to make a video starring Poketo. It was our first YouTube ad and we loved seeing the work of our artists add some style to a simple white tee!

Erik is a student in the Netherlands, that was pretty much all we knew. Since launching this column, we’ve found an excuse to get to know him better. We found that he’s in his last year of school and he’s taking up ICT & Media Design Studies in Eindhoven.

Here’s a little more about Erik:

Erik, could you add to that brief bio I gave of you?
Well, I am a 22-year-old guy with a young face and I’m a multi-media enthusiast. Aside from being a student of ICT & Media Design Studies, I also have a sole proprietorship in the same field – which basically covers branding, photography and websites. I have passion for photography – both digital and film and just recently I started promoting myself as a DJ.

Erik rockin’ Poketo’s Things in My Room shirt at a party.

The only thing we knew about you was that you were in Netherlands. What’s it like there?
I live in a small town called Asten and it’s quite good living here. It’s not that everyone knows each other, but it sure is nice and quiet – most of the time.

Erik’s pinhole camera photography of Asten.

If you had to take a visitor around Netherlands, where would you take them to experience the real deal?
This will probably sound a bit cliché, but from all the cities I’ve been to Amsterdam stuck with me the most. It’s a very nice city to just be in and you can basically do everything there.

We love food, so what should we try if we’re ever in the neighborhood?
If I have to think of one thing that they probably don’t have anywhere else, then I would have to go for the frikandel.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by Like the Grand Canyon.

It’s a typical Dutch snack, usually served with some french fries, and it’s made of, well, almost all the types of meat you can think off. They grind together the leftover meat from factories into one fat sausage-like thing. It may sound a bit nasty, but if you’re in Holland, you should try one – you could also go for a special one, with curry, mayonnaise and onion.

You mentioned working in graphic design. What you’re currently working on?
I’ve recently started branding my DJ alter ago where I use a more personal illustration that I do for clients.

I’m also working on a project for a friend of mine who is opening her own pet salon. I’ll be working on her logo, business cards and website. I always try to create clean, almost stamp like, logos.

With so many things going at the same time, what types of projects would you want to take on in the future?
Pff, now that’s a hard one. I you asked me a couple of years ago I’d say I wanted to work on a project for a big company, something a lot of people would see, and so I could say “I made that”. But as think of it now, it would be quite hard to make a personal piece for such a big player. So now I’d rather work on smaller projects that I personally like. Generally I’d love to do more print and photography assignments.

Who have been your inspirations?
There’s been one studio that has influenced me quite a bit: Peskimo. I like the way they use picturebook-like illustrations to communicate the messages of their clients.

Peskimo has created a number of artworks for Poketo including these!

Even more important, my very first designer toy blind box turned out to be a toy by Peskimo. I later Googled the name, looked at the work of the studio, I found out they sold wallets at Poketo, and with that I found your store. If it weren’t for that little toy, I wouldn’t have known Poketo at all.

Erik has a great collection of designer toys. Here’s a Cubebot he’s photographed.

Oh, so that’s how you found us! Cool. What’s the story behind the Poketo video ad you made?
I made the video for an assignment during my studies. We were asked to make a commercial about a brand we personally liked. I decided to go with Poketo because I knew no one else would pick that. I then thought it would be a good idea to explain the Poketo brand in a video, to make it a sort of infomercial.

What was the most challenging part of the production?
Deciding when to shoot it. I got the assignment during the winter, and since the days were quite short, I was quite hard shooting without good natural lighting conditions, especially with the point and shoot camera (Canon G9) I was shooting with. In the end I decided to just go for it, and the results turned out to be quite good.

Any funny stories during the shoot?
Well, most people think the video is voiced by a little girl, but it actually was my then 18-year-old girlfriend pretending to be one.

Sure had us fooled! What’s the best life lesson you’ve picked up so far doing all of these projects?
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Both good and bad things can happen to you. Sure there are things that I’d wish never happened, but they did, and I’ll have to live with it. And in the end, the unexpected things in life – either good or bad – are the things that I’ll remember the most.

What’s next for you?
I’ll continue working on logos, websites and such for my own little company. But I also have my first real party coming up as a DJ – I’m opening at a an underground party in October – so if that goes well I may be spinning some records in the future. And I’ll probably graduate next year, then I’ll be an engineer in ICT, sounds good if you ask me

Does sound good! Good luck, Erik!
Find more of Erik at edriessen.nl. Check out his photographs too.
The site’s in Dutch though, so you might need a little help from Google Translate.

Know someone we should talk to for our next installment? Send us a quick note. We’ll be glad to hear from you.