HEYO! (for about the third time)

Stay tuned while I get used to this new Blogger format.

After a little life sabbatical, it's about time things get back into gear. Be on the lookout for the same ole from MBJ - Music. Art. Life, and general tidbits in rugby, fitness, and anything this spitfire brain of mine feels like sharing.

Feel free to browse the few old posts still sticking around for little goodies.

Cheers!

- MBJ

you know there's always tomorrow

coming at you like EPIC MEAL TIME

+ MUSIC +

slick new TV on the Radio music video, the song equally as dope:



digging on Wiz Khalifa's album, taking a stroll back to the original KOL with Because of These Times, and roaming YouTube for sneak peeks of new Mum&Sons.

my download for Airborne Toxic Event's new album All At Once just completed. stay tuned.

+ ART +

a final peek at (some of) what's been going on, followed by a trailer for a well-raved film by controversial Lars Von Trier.

me and you vs the world (a) - juniper - me and you vs the world (b)

more coming, including a memorable rendition of this:

Seattle's Public Market Center

+ LIFE+

swell.

new job. freelance clients coming in. "big" move soon.

finding form on the pitch, both on defense and attack, just need to combine the two in one performance. tournament champs this weekend, racking up one less of a handful of tries. cannot wait for a shape-shifting summer. ... the commentating and music for this video are subpar, but here is the RPA/Sunday Times nominations for Try of the Year in the Premiership:


i'll follow that up with a string of highlight from Round 9 of Super 15 Rugby:



before i jet, this is a solid quick read by an artist i scoped on facebook one day.

so raise a glass to turnings of the season,
and watch it as it arcs towards the sun

-mbj

sail with me into the setting sun

quick rip. get dug in. 
keeping busy and loving it.

+ MUSIC +

i wish i could get more of this

Q_List::
adele - turning tables
wait what - juicy-r
plan b - welcome to hell
underoath - vacant mouth
senses fail - rum is for drinking, not for burning
alkaline trio - help me
trevor hall - unity
the decemberists - rise to me
anberlin - to the wolves
the used - earthquake

Death Cab for Cutie is filming an episode of VH1's Storytellers. Good good news.

I'd marry Adele's voice. give her latest album an full on listen.

plan b - she said

+ ART +

knowingly slacking.
here's a couple recent inspirations:

truth.

Ruscha + skyscapes. yes.

[EDIT: just received a commission this morning. anxiousexcitedness.]

+ LIFE+

Rugby's a crazy game full of passionate characters, but this story is a smiiidge much

NYC weekend was a triple success: while the team didn't fare it's best due to low quality players, a couple tries and poaches completed my day. nights consisting of epic reunions rounded out the weekend with a drawn out ride home - the first half of which none of us were coherent enough for.
A friendly against Buffalo this past Saturday was a bittersweet loss - they're playing in nationals this weekend, and losing by a try without a full strength side has it's positives. Resting my knee and not training/playing this week. Big trip to Cleveland next weekend.


Outside of rugby, I'm (hopefully) moving to Rochester in the next couple months - a belated and much-needed move. Started classes at the Art Institute yesterday. Positive path my friends.

+

To see the transcendent being
Must keep both my hands clean
Keep my heart light
Maintain internal heights

-mbj

"Create Tomorrow"

crazy busy couple weeks. rugby, school, work, and a lack of new music.
gonna throw out a cliche moment here and say enjoy the little things.

+ MUSIC +

i've been completely slacking in this area. i nabbed Wolfmother's Cosmic Egg album after catching "New Moon Rising" on the move Due Date. other than that i've still been enthralled with Trevor Hall, the new Decemberists album, and turning an ear to Radiohead's King of Limbs now and again. however i'll leave you with something a little different. this is The Ashton Shuffle with "Your Love" as heard on a recent rugby highlight clip.

+ ART +

much happening here. i've finished 2 abstracts and have begun a third. pics are coming soon, promise.. my digi cam took a shit. connecting the Art to Life section, i will be attending the Art Institute online beginning April 4th seeking my Digital Design diploma - something i should've done over a year ago, but better late than never. besides a professional booster, this will also finally give me the advanced design treatment i was seeking in college.
while i gather pics of the new works, i'll throw in a plug for MBJ Art + Design - "like" it on facebook and check out my portfolio at www.coroflot.com/mbjart. enjoy this little old school diddy as well:




+ LIFE+

opening rugby tournament this weekend in NYC. looking for an epic time as it's my teammate/best mate's birthday as well. an in at a model agency birthday party has things looking pretty decent to say the least. the sports hernia is still a wee tender, so thursday training will be non-existant. as the Six Nations tournament came to a close this weekend, here's a little comparison between Northern and Southern hemisphere rugby - showcasing Ireland denying England of a Grand Slam; and the week's Super 15 picks:





get stuck in!

+

enjoy your weekend. godspeed from the city that never sleeps.

- mbj

Encore

another resurgence.
this time i'm dedicated to quickfire weekly posts, rather than these few and far between epic rants.
so enjoy this last in-depth look at music, art, and life.

+ MUSIC +

went overboard again, flooding my ears with more virgin music they could handle.  the following QuickList is just a glimpse of the more recent standouts.

i'm in dire need of a good concert. mega festival season is coming up (bonaroo, all good, burning man) but i need a show before then.

Q_List ::
tonight is glory - it's never been this quiet
trevor hall - other ways
death cab for cutie - i will follow you into the dark
cage the elephant - shake me down
alkaline trio - do you wanna know?
lil wayne - right above (feat. drake)
the get up kids - rememorable
a day to remember - nj legion iced tea
the decemberists - don't carry it all
jack johnson - you and your heart
trevor hall - house of cards
gucci mane - trap talk (toddla t remix feat. slick don)
snow patrol - if there's a rocket tie me to it

rumblings of new Mumford & Sons, rediscovering Snow Patrol, Trevor Hall (<3 mk),  and my newly downloaded copy of Radiohead's The King of Lambs put a musical smirk on my face.

i'll leave you with some acoustic An Horse with "Camp Out"..

+ ART +

here's where the real resurgence is.

i've been in an artistic drought for quite a few months. i dread even backtracking because i think it's more towards a year's worth. not that my mind wasn't being creative - i have a notebook littered with ideas - but i unmotivated to actually pick up a brush. forced works of art weren't art at all, like my tendons were crosswired. a couple nights spent soaking in A Lust for Life, Pollock, and Matthew Barney's Cremaster series sparked something or another. juices have been flowing ever since, with minor blocks. the first working title of my return is previewed above with much more to soon be showcased.

"All cultures have had means and techniques of expressing their immediate aims. The thing that interests me is that today, painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. They work from a different source, they work from within. It seems to me that the artist cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or any other past culture."

 

+ LIFE +

much has changed, and more is changing after loads of self-analyzing, as i'm having to detox - more than just chemicals. i would love to be like most 25 yr olds right now - just working, hanging out with my friends, partying on the weekends; much of what the majority of my early twenties did consist of. but things change. new life is born and cherised. love is found, and worked hard for. and i've come to accept that i need to undergo a coming of age. midlife crisis adverted.

the beef of this Life section is going to get a lot less personal than i had originally planned, with the base of it revolving around things that touch my life - rugby, sneakers, gadgets, and whatnots - basically a Miscellaneous section.

so for this installment i'll share with you the newest additions to my workout arsenal: OxyElite Pro, SuperPump Max, and MegaMen's Sport Vitapak; and to go along with the new stack of supplements, i also picked up these beauts. with the first rugby tournament of the spring coming up March 26th in NYC, i've been hustling the past 4 months in preparation for a great season. during the first full go practice last week i unfortunately suffered a sports hernia, but just a week off and a few days of light duty will fix that up right nice.

till next time, enjoy these highlights from last weeks Super 15 action in the southern hemisphere! class all around

 +

 LIVE LIFE
- mbj

Well I think about all the other ways I could've played, all the other simple moves I could've made
All the other cards that I could've dealt
All the books I didn't read upon my shelf
All the other ways I could've sung my songs, I realize that none of it went wrong 

It was all play
How could it be any other way

! calling all creatives !

quickfire session. whilst listening to Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and still digesting from Thanksgiving.

+ MUSIC +

check some of this cat right now! eric stanley laying down a violin spread to B.o.B.'s "Airplanes" [originally feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore]. enjoy and explore that.


^+EdwardSharpe@Megan.Klaus

Temper Trap's debut album Conditions lived up to the anxiousness surrounding it's initial listen and is absolutely something to wrap your ears around. The whole album leaves your foot tapping. Gems like the aforementioned singles "Sweet Disposition" and "Fader" bust out, with the boosting "Down River" showcasing frontman Dougy's vocal shine, and "Science of Fear" semi-finales the album with vocal puncuation. Grab a copy now.

Girl Talk's done it again. This time faster/better than before. All Day explodes with a mashup rifling out War Pigs' infamous riff and continues to flow through sample after ingenious sample. Gillis' latest prodigy is broken down for a free listen with the interactive mashupbreakdown.com.

Q_List
my chemical romance - destroya
temper trap - science of fear
girl talk - oh no
chicago - beginnings
jason aldean - my kinda party
the kooks - see the sun
head automatica - brooklyn burning
mumford & sons - after the storm
eric church - smoke a little smoke
kings of leon - no money
gorillaz - empire ants (feat little dragon)
taking back sunday - miami

This week's Quick_list, like ones to follow, stretches timelines as I'm reorganizing my iTunes library which consists of 6,000+ disheveled songs and videos. Prepare for some oldie-but-goodies as nostalgia sets in, while I catch up to new discoveries and releases.

raise it Thom..


*notice the respect in Linkin Park's new video for "Waiting For The End"*

+ ART +

FINALLY began work on the oh-so-talked-about-but-never-fully-initiated obesity exhibition. To those faithful who read this - here's your sneak peak:

"Hot Dog Neck"

I'm aiming for a Pop Art acrylic feel... I'll let your imagination navigate as to where I'm going with the rest of this.

The album art process is coming along quickly and nicely. This is where I need yous alls help! Shoot me a random made-up band name and an accompanying album title - anything that comes off the top of your head - the more random the better! The best ideas will be put to life and just maybe I'll showcase.

I got the chance to catch Inception the other night and was absolutely blown away by the creativeness behind the filming. I couldn't help but be reminded of the master M.C. Escher, infamous for his paradoxical pieces of puzzlement.  Click on the image below and give his images a good exploration.

"Relativity"

+ LIFE +

Yesterday was the sorest I've been after an effective chest and triceps workout on Tuesday. First phase of the off-season program has begun and things should get interesting (read: sore). Legs and shoulders were on the menu today - back squats, single-legged leg press, dumbbell roman dead-lifts, walking lunges; barbell press, dumbbell raises, and shrugs. Tomorrow's conditioning should be a riot..

Blue Mountain State has taken over this week's viewing pleasure. Halfway through the first season, there's way too many one-liners and scenarios to even pick a favorite. You can scope out every episode on YouTube.

Thanksgiving weekend saw more Autumn International action as Wales took on New Zealand, Australia met France, England battled South Africa, and Ireland matched up against Argentina. The following highlight is taken from the Welsh match-up as the All Black's flanker lays out a massive tackle on his opposing lock..




+

mbj

"Unpredictable, life's a miracle"

Act II

Happenings.
To say the least, there's been a ton.
I've been hiding a lot of audio and visual I'll briefly dive into,
which I'm hoping will stimulate like it does me.
Keep in touch while things change around here - constructive criticism from viewers is an absolute plus.

Look. Listen. Enjoy.

+ MUSIC +

As a whole, I haven't heard anything like Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More in quite some time - pure quality. Theses blokes from across the pond went under the american radar in 2009 and have hit the latter part of this year with a ferocity displayed in the frontman's raw voice.

Q_list : lil wayne - wayne on me, mumford & sons - sigh no more, thirty seconds to mars - vox popoli, kings of leon - pyro, notorious b.i.g. vs the xx - one more chance for a heart to skip a beat, jimmy eat world - the heart is hard to find, rick ross - blow (chopped and screwed), anberlin - to the wolves, the temper trap - sweet disposition.

A little more on the Quick_list: the Temper Trap has reached my ears through a couple songs via radio and they haven't gotten out of my head, so I'm eagerly awaiting a first listen to their album ... 30stm hits Rochester on the 2nd of February next year ... and Lil Wayne's No Ceilings mixtape is another gem from 09, almost paralleling Mumford.

+ ART +

Album art. That's become my next focus. Always intrigued by them, I find the idea a titillating combination of two powerful creative outlets. [For the imaginative out there, shoot me some fake band ideas for practice work!]

Loads going on at the freelance front: tees. portraits. & more. Pros: portfolio building. Cons: my head works faster than my hands.

I need a weekend back at MoMA / nyc - Inspiration runs thick there.

+LIFE+

Autumn test matches have begun in the International rugby world, with some absolute class being shown amongst all premier teams and highlighted below. Locally, the Rochester Aardvarks bid farewell to a spring playoff bid after failing to advance from the Final 6, losing to Grand Rapids in Michigan at the Midwest quarter finals. Work rate and endurance were at a personal high during the season as I struggled to find the peak form of last season, almost pulling off a little tiddy similar to this epic 8-man try.

The Other Guys and Eastbound and Down sit high atop my most recent (limited) entertainment rankings, just a ledge up from Call of Duty: Black Ops. Kenny Powers spits out more one-liners than I can even begin to memorize, while Ferrel and Marky Mark spit retarded-ness in a flick where a lot of the humor is found out of focus.

The Holidays are right around the corner. Enjoy friends and family. Watch football. Catch rugby if you can...



Spread your minds.

mbj

"Love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you / It will set you free."