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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Dornbracht ‘BigRain’ Shower!

This is what I’m talking about! Perfect. I have no idea how much it costs, but it will be in my next place. I have been talking about this for a while with friends, ever since I saw someone with a rain shower in some magazine. This one is so perfect… The ‘BigRain’ from Dornbracht. Can’t you just see a 400 sq ft. bathroom with this thing (or three of them!) in the middle? Grey slate tile floor or maybe just heated polished concrete floors…super minimal. Some of their other stuff is incredible as well, their faucets are quite nice. I will say that the site is a bit hard to navigate…but in a cool, pompous way. Can’t knock that. And some really great write-ups in their press section, for real, good reads. The rain shower is under the ‘Balance Modules’ section. Big up to Chuck for reading his girl Holly’s interior design magazines.

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Houston is hip-hop’s Seattle!

Awlready. So Rolling Stone has a rather large write-up on the huge Southern Hip Hop movement that has been happening as of late. Houston is hip-hop’s Seattle…that’s kind of wild to think about. Yes, I know Bun-B and everyone else have ‘been dope for years’…but let’s be honest, its really gaining popular exposure right now. And for good reason, its filled with all the cultural nuisances that made hip hop what it is today…the cars, the clothes, the slang, the jewelry, the swagger, the odd rituals and lifestyles. Like it or not, it is quite interesting to observe. Either way, check Rolling Stone’s thick write-up with culture commentary by Bun-B, Paul Wall and Slim Thug on everything from the lifestyle, the music, syrup, and more. It’s actually a really good article, well done. Check the actual magazine, but check the link below for a partial version of it. Chunk your deuces, drop your top, sit sideways…

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Rprsnt Creative Conference!!

Much respect to Australia for birthing two of the best design conferences in the world, SemiPermanent and now this, RPRSNT Creative Conference. This is seriously sick right here. On the first day, October 14, you can see Marc Atlan, Supreme, aNYthing, Neckface, Odd Studio, and more. Wow. Very nice. Then, October 15th, you can check out Mister Cartoon, Rob Abeyta Jr., Estevan Oriol, SBTG, Brand New School, Andy Howell, and more. I mean, you really, really cannot go wrong. It would be worth it alone for Mister Cartoon and BNS in my opinion. Prices are $125 for student 2-day and $195 for professional 2-day. This thing is taking place at Luna Park in Sydney. I don’t know anything about Luna Park but I’m sure it’s a fresh little spot for this. Not only are there some great speakers, but great sponsors too, so surely there will be some kind of cool giveaway stuff. Refill, MINI, Mtv, Nike, Adobe, Vice, and more. Have fun shopping around for airfare though if you’re in the US. It’s about 4 million dollars for a one-way and that includes like 22 layovers and a ride in a Turboprop from your layover in the Ukraine to your next one in Kazakhstan. Give yourself a good month to get there. Should be really $//33+ though. Haha. Oh boy.

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New Alife Retail Space!

I mean…come on. Those Piranhas eating the shirt?! So insane. Lots of good imagery, ideas there. And the pills! Do you guys see this!? For real, a fresh setup. I love what Alife does…classic, the heritage, the respect they demand and all that. Good stuff. So yeah, check them out soon. Carrying their own line, Married To The Mob (shout out to Leah!), and IRAK…as well as some of their Alife x Levis stuff and something about Alife and Cone Denim? That’s wild. I’ll be through here in a few weeks when Chuck and I are in NYC, looking forward to it. Super shout out to Rob, what’s good man? Check our interview with Rob/Jest… Thanks to Beinghunted for their ever so thoughtful coverage of these relevant projects, for real.

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Twista & Pharrell – Lavish!

See, the beat is lavish. Remember that ‘Girls Best Friend’ song that Jay-Z did a while back? How the beat actually sounded like a diamond? Same things with this beat…it just sounds lavish. Now, being from Park Forest/Heights area, I am somewhat required to like Twista, and honestly, I actually like his flow on this track…but I am really feeling feeling Pharrell on this track. …If you look you in the sky and you don’t see your dream, don’t feel defeated, cause trust me you can build it… Somewhat corny, but so fresh with the delivery. For real, almost relaxing. The more I listen to this, I really like Twista’s little chorus as well. Fresh new track for you to listen too…I bet it sounds beautiful in the car as well. Check the Ill Community on AllHipHop for this track. ***Update: This song keeps getting better as I listen to it, good hip-hop music. ...flipping work is just like, flipping real-estate…

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Adapter, Jim Gaffigan, and some other random things! OMG!

I’m back from my vacation in Lake Ontario. I’m really tan now. Upstate New York has some…interesting people…you know. Where I was at was really nice…but when we headed into the closest town (about 45 minutes away), I saw the people that God still loves, but might not have spent so much time creating…you know…NASCAR fans and what-not…Anyways, thought I’d do a random post with some good links. So…
Jim Gaffigan is a comedian. One of my favorite comedians, in fact, and I’m going to see him here in Chicago at the Vic in October. He’s really pretty hilarious. He’s been on Sex and the City, those Sierra Mist commercials, Letterman, and lots of other shows before. Check him out ok!?
Next…this Japanese design company called Adapter. This is hot…these guys actually deserve a post all to themselves. The illustration and design on this site is beautiful. Some of the better design I’ve seen online lately. Easy to use site too, even if you can’t read Japanese. Asian letters all looks like this ###### anyways.
Country Fried Soul - Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop. This book looks really hot…I found out about it in the new issue of XLR8R magazine. Interviews with MJG, 8Ball, Jazze Pha, Ludacris…just a really cool looking coffee table book about dirty south hip-hop that will look great in your dorm room.
OK so this was like 5 posts in one…But I can do that if I want to. Lastly, and I’ll be posting about this again as it gets closer, but don’t forget about Semi-Permanent in NY in September. Link below! I’ll be speaking, Joshua Davis, Charlie White, Paul Pope, skinnyCorp…Should be really fun. VICE/KDU/THE Royal parties! OK!

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Gold Digger video…Kanye and Hype!

Kanye’s little dance is too much. But I love it. I actually like this video quite a bit. I think I saw it like 2-3 days ago for the first time…and I didn’t think the song was unbelievable or anything, but I’d have to say I like it quite a bit more now. The whole color splash theme of video is fresh. Good looking video girls (who cares anymore?!) and all that. Jamie Foxx is funny as always…John Legend does a little cameo getting fresh with a girl. Kanye smashes everyone with the outfits as always…the hands in the pockets of his pleated pants? Too fresh, don’t think you can do it though. I know I cant.

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Engadget!

I’m slightly addicted to this site, its so good…and how do they update it so often!? Some of it is mad corny, like getting Windows to run on a PSP? What, why? But they have all the latest news on fresh cell phones that won’t drop for another 2 years or whatever…all the latest gadgets and all that. And the crazy thing is that they actually get a lot of the pre-release products they cover. I’m still not quite sure how that works. Check this site on the regular…or don’t. Either way, they are doing their thing. By the way, I need that Motorola Q phone. For real, I need it.

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The Specials: The Singles Collection!

How can I be anybody else? We are a taste making site…a definition behind our own pop-culture. That’s why I’m posting this. Basically, you need to listen to The Specials for the first time, again, or more. I used to be the biggest fan of 2 Tone and all that. I have been craving a brief breath of fresh air in my rotation of hip hop…so I threw in some old classics…and The Specials reminded me of how incredible some of the 2 Tone stuff was. It was truly good pop music. The tracks ‘Do Nothing’ and ‘Friday Night, Saturday Morning’ are so fresh. So fresh, right now. Hit up iTunes or Amazon or whatever. Listen to The Specials: The Singles Collection!!! But yo, I still listen to chopped & screwed Bun-B tracks!

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AirCharterGuide.com…I’m still hustling for this!

I’m feeling the travel-based posts today…plus there is nothing else ‘cool’ happening in pop-culture so… Flying private. It’s one of those things I envy. While I have been fortunate enough to fly on a chartered flight, it was not quite the G5 status I was shooting for. Either way, flying somewhere on your schedule and having little-to-no check in process involved is quite a nice thing. I swear they didn’t even ask my name. Either way… In the mean time, to curb me over until I can drop $25k for a round trip from ORD to JFK on a mid-weight jet, I’ll search flights on Air Charter Guide. Basically an Orbitz for private flights…pretty wild, check it out. You GS3? I’m GS4. You in a Lexus, I’m Gulfstream 4. Up in the sky on a gulf-stream tour.