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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Bun-B, Draped Up!!!

Are you kidding me…the beat, the flow, the legend…Bun-B is hitting us, finally, with a solo record. I really don’t care what anybody says, the South is embodying what hip-hop used to be…fresh/wierd trends, fads, slang, fashion, cars, life-styles, etc. So refreshing. It has that ‘dangerous’ feel that hip-hop had in the 80’s and early 90’s. All that aside, Bun-B kills this song. I think the album is called ‘Trill’ and I have no idea when it drops…maybe September? Check the link. Yeah, THE BRILLIANCE respects anyone doing their thing…so brush that hair away from your eye, log-off Myspace and listen to some Bun-B. This track is nuts.

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Lil’ Wayne & A Bathing Ape.

I just wanted to post this… Lil’ Wayne has been rocking some Bathing Ape exclusives just as Pharrell did with the red/blue camo hoodies before they were released. It’s funny, 18-24 months ago, Bape and Lil’ Wayne would have never been mentioned in the same sentence. But as of late, it’s been all he is wearing…and not all ridiculously baggy either. I guess I just find this interesting. Obviously Nigo is supplying Weezy with the gear, but why Weezy? Is Nigo just trying to get more hood appeal? Is it just to move product? It’s just funny to see someone like Wayne rocking Milo shirts and BBC gear with big Versace glasses on. Nigo is either a genius or he doesn’t get it. I’m going to go with genius…simply because I don’t have a glass-walled and tweak wood-floored garage at my condo. Continuing to watch Bape & Nigo’s moves.

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ASF interview, taste making mafia!

Nat at A Silent Flute does his thing. And I love the name ‘A Silent Flute’… Check his interview over at Drooghi…they are also doing their thing, props to them for carrying Gimme 5. Anyway, check the interview. He talks about his writing style, who is wack, getting weight gainer added to his smoothies, and all sorts of other stuff. Good interview, for real. Funny, I met Nat by snatching something related to Levis and Fujiwara a while back (I gave credit!)… Keep your eyes peeled for a t-shirt ASF is doing that you won’t even be able to buy. The interview is in the ‘Features’ section.

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Tablet Hotels!

‘Unique hotels for global nomads.’ That’s their little catch phrase/tag line thing…but see, I always thought of nomads as like Viking looking wearing all sorts of sewn together hides and all that…not people who would be like ‘…Oh splendid honey, look at this new boutique hotel in the Maldives! Jeeves, warm up the G5, its vaca time!’ That little intro I just typed was too long. Anyway, Tablet Hotels is not a new site, but I have recently started using them as a browsing point for cool interesting hotels in both the cities I like as well as far off destinations. Well laid out site, easy to search, good grading systems, decent write-ups…and a good booking system. I like how they keep the first date-range I selected as my default while I browse around. Good thinking with that. I just like what this site is doing, so check it. THE BRILLIANCE! told you to.

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Futura interview with SpineTV - watch it!

It’s one thing to read an interview…you know, it’s always great to read what someone like Futura has to say. However - it’s a completely different thing to actually watch an interview with someone you’ve never met but have massive respect for. This is the case with SpineTV’s interview with Futura. Broken into 3 parts, it’s a really, really interesting interview. It’s fascinating to see the little clips edited in showing him in action doing his work. I just admire this man so much, all his history, inspiration, and work he’s been doing lately. There are not enough good things to say about him. So check this interview out. Now. RIGHT NOW. Stop looking at the internet and eating Pringles…go watch this interview.

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Goyard, again!!!

SO. I’m cruisin’ the e-streets of eBay lookin’ for a purse like I usually do…And I stumbled on these two Goyard purses that, if I was a girl, I would probably shell out the money for and buy. You’ll see the Married To The Mob chicks with these purses, Alex from Neverstop with some Goyard stuff, Henry from ESPN Mag with some Goyard.. So…anyways, check the link below to see some hand-crafted Goyard on eBay, a rare occurance. It’s not cheap though…If you have any Goyard stuff for guys, like a wallet, and you want to sell it, email me because I might want to buy it. Seriously. Nopattern@nopattern.com. I can’t get anything here in Chicago. Update - Thanks to Bobby for sending me the link to the Barney’s site and the Goyard section - quite a bit of stuff on here actually. Goyard on Barney’s. Nice!

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The new flick, Willy Wonka!

Exquisite. For real…just brilliant. I just checked this movie last night and was honestly just blown away. I love whimsical, out-there, type movies. Not science fiction though. But wow, I just loved it. I loved the story line, I loved the flash backs and the simple irony. The sets were nothing short of unreal. For real, so nuts. Johnny Depp did his thing to the fullest. Tim Burton made his style well felt without doing anything over the top. I personally didn’t find it as ‘dark’ as some suggested it might be. This will be one of the movies I’ll actually go see in the theatre again. Am I the only one who sees all the similarities between the Willy Wonka character and Nigo? Shout out to M.

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Borf got bagged, basically!

Borf reminds me of a political Peter Pan a little bit. Saying things like ‘growing up is giving up’ or the stencil tag with ‘grown ups are obsolete.’ I love that. Looks like the man, or youngster, behind it all has been nabbed by the 5-0 early on the morning of the 14th. While I don’t agree with all his political style stuff, because basically I don’t get into all that, I do think he is doing his thing and that is should be respected. We hope everything works out for him. NikeTalk’s General Forum is like a guilty pleasure for real, but this post is too funny, I had to link it, check the Neckface comments. Check the link below for the full Washington Post press release on all this. And a big ‘wow’ at the highway sign he did. Wow.

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J. Money! ‘Cause I like it!

J. Money… I’m not going to front…I don’t really know a whole lot about this label and the most of what I know came from this interview by The Hundreds. Either way, I like what this guy is up to, I like his story, I like most of his shirts, and I like his distribution. The stuff has that playful edge without being corny or over the top. Very few people can do money signs without being corny. J. Money makes it happen. Check for his gear at the link below…along with some new stuff from aNYthing (shout out to A-Ron). I got my mind on cash and my grind on smash. Now a days I gotta count my money by the bags.

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TeenVestor - gettin’ paid!!

I know it’s kind of a corny name, “TeenVestor”...a bit too obvious a play on words…but anyways, this site is for young investors and is really great resource. Not necassarily only for those between the ages of 12 and 18, but for anyone who is on the younger side and is smart or attempting to be smart with their money. I’ve gotten a good amount of info from the site personally, and I’d really recommend it to anyone who might be thinking about buying a house, retiring, getting married, or starting a business at some point in their lives and is just looking to broaden their basic grasp of investments and finances. Breakdowns and thorough definitions of the stock market, money markets, new business ideas/concepts, different types of savings, and more. Parts of the site seem to be a little incomplete but nothing unbearable. Check the “Young Entrepreneurs” section too to read up on some common business mistakes and things like that. Then, check out the sweet picture I used along with this post.