The Brilliance!

HTTP://WWW.THEBRILLIANCE.COM

We’re really internet and we’re really back. A website about things Benjamin , Chuck , Virgil , and various friends & guests think are interesting. Little-to-no specific focus, a bit odd, speling errors, and incredibly culturally relevant.

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GAP Jeans, You Punks!

Dood, OMG, these aren’t limited edition!! WTF? Man, GAP jeans are el perfecto this season. Honestly. The website makes them look sub-par. And usually GAP is sub-par. But I just so happened to be in my local GAP not too long ago…I was impressed. They must have taken some queues from the ever popular Japanese brands (Eternal, LVC, etc.) Honestly, they are really nice…perfect colors, ‘3D’ distressing and wrinkling and all that. And I am snobby, for real, I rock the Japanese LVC stuff. So yeah…no selvedge, no crazy price tags, no logos, no limited editions, they don’t show up on eBay really…just regular-ass, any-one-can-get-them denim jeans. Go to the store though, the website makes them look terrible/boring.

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NP&CO – It Feels Like Vacation!

Chuck Anderson of NoPattern just launched a new print today. It feels like vacation when you look at this print. Honestly, it really does. I call it ‘classic’ nopattern style. Very warm, intricate, other-worldly, immersive, etc. You can honestly just sit and look at this print for a while, kind of ‘explore’ it if you will. It’s also the biggest print he has done to date at 20x30. Thing is, I might actually hang this one up…usually I’m just like, ‘wow dude, looks awesome dude, yeah, send me one dude…’ They all end up in the storage area in my loft. Dusty as hell. I actually used one for wrapping-paper once. JOKING. For real, this is a classic print, Chuck is talented, doing his thing. Buy one before his stuff gets all expensive and you have to buy it on eBay. Chuck is going to buy a solid-gold Scrabble set with the funds from this.

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Farm21! Contemporary rural art!!

I love this. I love it a lot. I am a suburbs kid. Never have lived inside a city or urban area. I’m not far from Chicago, but I don’t live there. So after a while, I can only relate to ‘urban’ design and products so much. So it’s kind of cool to find someone marketing ‘rural’ design, since I live within 2 minutes of miles and miles worth of cornfields. Farm21 started in 2001 to create rural-themed furniture and art, and according to their info page, they did it because they felt that it was an area of modern design that was being neglected. I agree. I think it’s genius to focus on the other end of the spectrum like they’re doing. They’re signature item is the straw-packed plexiglas cube, which is really fresh…the bulk of the organic material they use for their products are sourced in their families’ farm in Ireland. I love it, the natural heritage in the concept really adds to it as a whole. Just go check it out. Got to appreciate fresh ideas like this. Also, tons of stuff on the site, so it’s a good look-through. OK…so I just went back and looked through their site more. HOLY SMOKES. The ‘Feather Cube’ and the ‘Roses Cube’ !?!?! LIKE WHOA. Seriously, these guys get my A+ and gold star for the day. Gorgeous. I will get something from them soon.

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Cobra Turkey Shirts!

I really hope you like what Mark The Cobra Snake does. This dude has the life. Wearing sweaty gear to the best parties and having girls ham-it-up for him to take pictures. All those indie girls. I love indie girls. This shirt…which, honestly, I would have called the Cobra Pigeon Shirt, rather than a turkey…but whatever. $30 shipped, and yes, its going to take a while. Screen printed by the J V H himself. Who, by the way, said he could get me a dinner date with a girl from the American Apparel catalog…ha, yesir. Go buy one of these shirts, never go home before 2am, chat-up girls constantly, write graffiti, and visit The Cobra Snake often. Fools know!!!

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Crude Oils, Banksy!!

Perfect. Really. Check out this video clip for the exhibition/opening of Banksy’s Crude Oil in London. I love what this dude does…I really love the whole execution. The guy put about 50 live rats in the gallery that just roam around the gallery as you observe the pieces. And he also dressed up a skeleton in a security guard outfit to serve as security for his gallery. Pretty brilliant. Certainly one of my favorites in the whole ‘new-graffiti’ movement…steady doing his thing, keeping it fun, keeping it satirical but infused with true talent. Whatever though, this clip is quite fresh, a must watch. Many thanks Adnan and Jake for the FYI. I’m a little under the weather…so I got those ‘Soup At Hand’ things you microwave, so good. **I just wanted to add that I think Banksy and this whole exhibition is brilliant and I love it. Also I just ran out of gum. - Chuck

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Jelly Fish by City Aquarium!

This is nuts right here. It’s weird cause I was just doing research on what it takes to have Jelly Fish in a home aquarium. It isn’t easy. So this company/firm called City Aquarium does just what their name would suggest…they have some insane work they have done. Check their site for more pictures and info. But this particular one which is located in NYC at a bar called ‘Duvet’ (club names are so corny, for real) has a massive but perfectly minimal live Jelly Fish tank. Has this crazy blue glow to it with Jelly Fish wafting around. Too fresh. Something very ‘looming’ and ‘quietly dangerous’ about Jelly Fish. I don’t know. They are like minimalist killers. If they had condos, the Jellies, they would have polished concrete floors…or maybe even resin floors and some sparse but well placed Eames furniture. But since Jelly Fish don’t have condos…uh. Check the site. Info via Luxist.com.

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Jamel Shabazz & Trifling Mental!

A Time Before Crack. It’s a ‘happy’ book with an honestly chilling title. Jamel Shabazz is legendary for capturing the essence of urban living with his camera. Famous for his book ‘Back In The Days.’ Trifling Mental caught up with Jamel for a smart interview on his thoughts around the book, his vision, poverty in the inner-city, viewing his images as fashion photography, and more. Trifling Mental does their thing…very thorough. Check the link below for the interview. Quality stuff. And go get the book ‘Back In The Days.’

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The White Stripes, Michel Gondry, and Conan O’Brien!!!

Wow…there have been some seriously good music videos lately. I’ve been keeping a close eye on all things Mark Romanek of course, and there’s that new Madonna video for “Hung Up” that is really fresh…but this…this is perfect. Michel Gondry is one of the most brilliant minds in film of all-time, no question. The White Stripes are definitely one of the most important music artists today, and Conan is Conan. You can’t not love Conan O’Brien. So yeah, all three of them are part of this White Stripes video and it is hilarious, dizzying, intriguing, and just plain cool. There’s not a better word for it, it’s just cool. Go check out Michel Gondry’s DVD on the Director’s Label series for more of his work. But for the time being, check this music video for the White Stripes “The Denial Twist.” Also, check WhiteStripes.com for all their videos. Ugh. I love it.

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Gordon Gecko x Situationormal

Look. I’ve kind of said this be before…I can’t really get into the whole ‘yo, I’m doing a t-shirt line…’ thing. Not hating, I’ve just been rocking a lot of merino lately. Can’t get mad at that. But Chuck forwarded me a link to this Situationormal site cause they carry aNYthing. What-up A-ron. So I’m checking their in-store line. Qutie impressed. As I’ve stated before I like ‘boring’ or very simple design that speaks loudly. Their stuff is fresh. That Gordon Gecko shirt?! I love that thing. Kind of shirt that looks better the older it gets. They have a couple other classic and some nice creepy ones too. So yeah…I’m giving them some shine. Go there and grab some of the latest aNYthing product as well as some of their own line. Good prices too. I had taco’s and a Coors Light at my sisters place for dinner.

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I got a warrant? I’m in orbit, come after Cam.

You mad Cam? Get mad at college Cam. I love this track. Beat is like 6.5/10…nothing special. And Juelz is just okay on it. Cam on the other hand…yikes. ‘…10 cribs, 8 whips. But the 8 whips I’m about to trade for a space-ship call me NASA man…’ Ha…wow. Only Camron would do it like this. Or talking about only wearing his jewelry once…come on man. That’s ‘ugly’ as the kids say. Whatever…this is a short post. Listen to the track below. Just another Cam track.