RUFFEO HEARTS LIL' SNOTTY & Unmonumental

marisa Custom Dress

When my friend Marisa Olson, video artist extraordinaire, invited me to the opening of Unmonumental, an exhibit she co-curated with Lauren Cornell featuring artists working with Internet-based montage, at the New Museum next week in New York (VIP, of course), I had to ask what she’d be wearing. “I like wearing custom garments that reflect the concepts I work with,” she said. The exhibition will be available online from February 15 to April 6, 2008 at rhizome.org/montage.

Unmonumental“Cutting and pasting, breaking apart and re-assembling, ripping and remixing, the participating artists extend the radical practice of collage to the Internet, demonstrating how previously tried techniques can engender rich, new artistic practices.” – The New Museum

Accordingly, the piece Marisa will debut is a custom-made RUFFEO HEARTS LIL’ SNOTTY sweater-dress that conceptually, could compare with the likes of recent Prada, Miu Miu, and Balenciaga trends, and reflects Unmonumental’s lo-fi montage aesthetic.

And they do menswear! Never grow up, with big bold slabs and blocks of color, snap-on bandit-bandannas, kitsch prints and florals, rainbows, big-lips patches, and hooded-necks that you wouldn’t mind having to wear a brace under after you get whip-lash from watching someone walk by in one.

Denim Bomber

RUFFEO HEARTS LIL’ SNOTTY is the ironic Tee-shirt that grew up and got political. Each garment is hand-made in a Seattle workshop, and the designers take the fashion industry as seriously as they take consumer-capitalism in general – not very. With a disdain for Urban Outfitters and company, and a tongue-in-cheek sensibility, they prepare us for care-free craziness.

Kaleidiscope Classic Doubel Barrel

In a world where everyone wears RUFFEO HEARTS LIL’ SNOTTY, there is no war – just rock-shows, ridiculous cartoons, scrabble clubs, and fixed-gear bicycles. It looks like an 8-bit, space-age video-game puked all over Peter Pan’s Lost Boys after a Salvation Army run – and I love it!

KALEIDESCOPE NEKKIN BRACE

The best part is it’s made from 100% recycled and re-purposed materials (minus the zips & snaps). The even BESTER part is that it’s all relatively affordable and you can buy some right now on Etsy.com

  • If you haven’t been to Etsy.com, you are so missing out on handmade everything from amazing artists all over the place. Go!

DB’s Etiquette Recommendation: If you want to dress like a big toddler, there is a right way and a wrong way. The wrong way is creepy and makes people feel uncomfortable: Form-fitting overalls with running shoes will do this. The right way is taking the cue from RUFFEO HEARTS LIL’ SNOTTY and turning your attitude towards having fun, quitting your boring job, and liberating your inner-child with geometric art, huge color, and a genuine cohesion.

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TheDiscerningBrute, February 6th 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in art, fair trade, fashion, green, social responsibility

Dude Food: Spicy BBQ-Smothered Tempeh w/ Sauteed Veggies & Warm Dulse-Kale Salad

BBQ Tempeh

Sometimes, the best meals I make are throwing together whatever’s left in the fridge. This dish (I am eating it as I type)  was exactly what I was craving after a long workout at the gym. Lot’s of protein and lots of veggies. Try to get as many of the ingredients organic as possible.

Serves 1-2

What You’ll Need:

  • 1/2 block of Tempeh (I like the one with flax seed in it)
  • tempeh
  • 4 medium cremini mushrooms (for a variation, try shitake, portobello or white mushrooms)
  • 1/4 zucchini
  • 2 medium cloves garlic
  • 5 cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 – 1/2 bunch of Lacienta Kale
  • 1/4 cup dulse (purple seaweed)
  • dulse
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar (if you don’t have this, any vinegar will do)
  • 1/3 cup vegan BBQ sauce (I prefer Annie’s Organic Hot Chipolte)
  • annie's
  • 1 tsp spike (or garlic, onion, paprika, parsley)
  • salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: 

Warm Salad

  • Bring medium pot of water to a boil.
  • Rip the kale by hand, all at once in half, then half again.
  • When kale turns bright green and tender (2 – 3 minutes) it is done. DO NOT COVER GREENS when boiling, as they will turn brown.
  • Throw the seaweed in just as the kale is finished, otherwise it will fall apart if added earlier.
  • drain water, plate and (in a manly-fashion, of course) sprinkle oil & vinegar on top

Tempeh w/ Vegetables

  • crush the cloves of garlic with the wide side of a butcher knife, let sit for 5 minutes
  • meanwhile, Roughly dice the mushrooms and zucchini
  • half the cherry tomatoes
  • slice the tempeh into 2 thin patties
  • heat canola oil on medium in a saucepan, add vegetables
  • heat a separate saucepan to medium, then add half the BBQ sauce. Add the Tempeh, then the remaining BBQ sauce on top
  • when mushrooms have become golden, the veggies are done.
  • When the edges of the Tempeh are golden and crisp, remove from heat and plate it aside the salad.
  • Top the Tempeh with the veggies

DB’s Etiquette Recommendation: There is nothing wrong with preparing a nice meal for just yourself. When no one else is at risk, experiment with food! Combine ingredients, and turn the kitchen into a laboratory. It’s fun and sometimes it’s the road to your best recipes.

1 Comment

TheDiscerningBrute, February 6th 2008 | Posted in food, green, Health, organic, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

LOVE: Valentines Day is Gay

heart

If you are hetero, you can still read the following passage and get some great gift ideas. Same for the single people out there. And none of your bros will think you’re a fag for reading this – unless of course you are – in which case you didn’t watch the Super Bowl last night, like me. I hope that team won – you know, the one with the helmets and stuff…

Valentine’s Day is approaching… er… encroaching! It’s a surprise that the conservative powers-that-be haven’t outlawed Queers celebrating VDay – since most of us can’t actually prove we are in love through a costly and daunting, state-sanctified, ceremony of governmental approval. Thank god!

If you are still single and sick of your parents asking when you will deliver them their grandchildren, use this day to come out of the closet, even if you’re not gay. (At least it’ll get them off your back for a while – and then when you do fulfill the godly-destiny, they’ll be that much more excited to know the ‘gay thing’ was just a phase. Thank god! Again!)

Three Stupid Ideas for a Stupid Holiday
(read this if you’re single and bitter)

1. Send out a fake family photo. Photshop your head into the most disturbing Google-searched family photo you can find and send it to all your friends and family (FYI, that’s my head, not my body or baby or wife or creepy pool-birth-scenario). Like so:
Happy V day

2. Send a custom card or message, like so:
HappyVaDay

rotten apple

3. Call your Ex.

———————–

Three Ideas for the Well-Adjusted, Happy, Single Person

1. Get a friggin’ massage already! No one wants to hear your knot clicking. The men’s spa at Nickel is pretty dope.
Nickel

2. Take a yoga class at Javamukti and be at peace.
jivamuktiblossom

3. Sex toys for men? Yes indeed. Take this day to love yourself. Buy a sex toy and go at it with the person who knows your body best – you! Check out Babeland for the best sex toys in a totally inviting and professional-ish environment. You can even get vegan latex products and eco-friendly vibrators.

anal beadsvibratorprostate

If you’re not in New York, check out The Sensual Vegan for online toy shopping, or for more leather-like gear see VeganErotica.com for the best selection that you can have delivered by Vday without the dead cow skin!

———————–

Three Ideas to Get Your Stupid Girlfriend or Boyfriend or Transfriend or Partner or Spouse or Whatever.

1. Chocolate never fails. Unless it’s filled with pus. So stick to the vegan chocolate.
vegan chocolates

2. Romantic dinner.

veganomicon

Prepare it yourself with this amazing cookbook (and don’t forget the candles). Check out the amazing soy-wax candles at ‘A Scent of Scandal’.

scandals …or go to the most amazing vegan, gourment restaurant on the Upper Eeat Side, Candle 79.

food

3. Adopt a fuzzy friend for your lover from the shelter, or a farm animal from Farm Sanctuary! adopt
then make spring-time reservations to go visit your new animal-friend on a romantic weekend-stay at Farm Santuray in Cali or New York State.

New York Farm California Shelter

3 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, February 5th 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in activism, dogs, food, green, Health, holiday, organic, pets, recipes, restaurant, sex, sports, vegan, vegetarian

© Just Screw It

Adbusters is not just a great magazine. (If you don’t read it, you certainly should.)

http://theicarusproject.net/downloads/Adbusters07Cover.jpg

Taking the momentum from anti-globalization activists of the mid-late nineties and crafting it into a refined movement of ‘culture-jamming’, the Adbusters community focuses on questioning corporate control of…well, everything. Who determines the status-quo? Who has permission to challenge and change it? Adbusters has grown into a Media Foundation:

“We are a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age. Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century.”

http://www.drivl.com/img/articles/Nike-sweat-shop.jpgFamous for making spoof-ads which file grievances with a plethora of coporate scum-bag-ness, Kalle Lasn and the folks at Adbusters Media Foundation are also the brains behind a shoe that aims to ‘unswoosh’ Nike. What’s the beef with Nike? Sweatshops, for one. Add environmental recklessness and the power of a true corporate colossus, and it looks like a real monster. Find out more on why a Discerning Brute should never be caught in Nikes HERE. Can the David that is Adbusters take on a Goliath? Time will tell…

http://www.educatingforjustice.org/nikewages/graphics/nike_ad.jpg

The classic Blackspot Sneaker and v2.0: The Unswoosher are both designed by John Fluevog, known for his cutting edge innovativeness and flair. The shoes comply with vegan standards, and are being monitored by Robin Webb of Vegetarian Shoes in the UK.

Order Blackspot V2

“…the Blackspot, from it’s red toe-tip and hand-drawn anti-logo to its renegade billboards and TV ads, is designed to do only one thing: kick megacorporate ass. We’re going to cut into Nike’s market share, unswoosh that tired old swoosh and give birth to a new kind of cool in the sneaker industry.” – Adbusters

What I love about these shoes is not just things like recycled tire parts (which makes so much sense to use for shoes – designers, pay attention) but the integrating of social, political, environmental, and animal advocacy into a product. Consilience! This is a paradigm shift within the capitalistic model – and a testament to to our generation that says :‘cool’ is not one-dimensional. ‘Cool‘ is comprehensive and multi-dimensional, and should meet our need to take responsibility for things aside from aesthetics or how much money one can make at any cost.

Order Blackspot Sneakers

DB’s Etiquette Recommendation: The fact that a product like this exists is extraordinary in itself. Hold on to your standards! There is no reason to expect any less of the companies with whom you do business than an accommodation of your demand for accountability. You are paying for a product – but you are also paying for how it was made. If you wouldn’t force a child into sweatshop-labor, kill and skin a cow, or destroy a river with chemicals, are you OK with paying someone else to do it just because it’s out of sight?

3 Comments

TheDiscerningBrute, February 2nd 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in activism, environmental justice, fair trade, fashion, green, Shoes, social responsibility, vegan, vegetarian

Soft Spot: 'White Gold' & Partybots

1. PARTYBOTS

Robots

Who doesn’t want awesome, organic tee-shirts with illustrations of dorks, animals, robots and skulls? I know I do…

PartybotsPartybotsPartybotsPartybotsPartybotsPartybots

Karl Addison, designer and artist, started Partybots “out of a love of clothing and art that would break the norm“, and that he did. In 2003, Karl gave two friends tee-shirts with Robots on them. Obviously, this was magical, and the rest is history. His humor and warmth penetrate even the website. Check it out!

“The colors, placement, effects and more continually evolve, the end result being work that’s always one-of-a-kind—even when it’s reproduced. All of my printing, painting and production is done in-house by me. This allows me to use a variety of media—clothing, bags, books, posters, textiles—and easily create custom work.” – Karl Addison

He uses soy inks, water-based glues, organic and eco-blend apparel, and low-impact color-dyeing. Who needs Urban Outfitters (with their right-wing President) when we have people like Karl Addison making original clothing-art? Karl is certainly a Discerning Brute. Thumbs up.

2.WHITE GOLD

“One of the most staggering disasters of the twentieth century” – UN official statement about the conventional cotton industry.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me recently, “whats wrong with cotton? It’s a plant!”. When I think of cotton, I imagine tucking my knees up under a soft tee-shirt, white cotton-candy-puffs growing in a field, and those incredibly melodramatic “cotton, the fabric of our lives” commercials. Whose lives are they referring to? Ours? When we look more closely, we’ll see that the fabric of many peoples’ lives is falling apart due to that fibrous, little cloud-like plant.

cotton

Gentlemen, the switch to organic cotton we see happening in so many clothing lines is not just a hip trend or buzz-word to sell products. I do not believe it is a passing fad either. ‘Organics’ is here to stay – and for good reason. Organic, fair-trade cotton has some real legitimacy when the social and ecological devastation caused by conventional cotton industry is considered. Toxic dust from pesticides and thirsty plants are destroying aquatic ecosystems and causing TB and cancer-rates to skyrocket in Uzbekistan. The social injustices have even led to murdered cotton laborers, who were shot by state security in 2005 while protesting their treatment. Educate yourselves (it’s sexy).

Did you know:

  • Uzbekistan is the second-largest exporter of cotton in the world
  • It takes about 530 gallons of water to produce 1 tee-shirt
  • The Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth largest inland lake, providing the region with fish and water, has shrunk to 15% of its original size due to cotton production
  • Up to one third of Uzbekistan’s workforce is made to labour on cotton farms; denied ownership of the land they work, and forced to labour without reasonable wages
  • In Uzbekistan, laborers are unable to opt out of cotton cultivation — those who try are subject to violence, imprisonment and intimidation
  • Much of the cotton comes from child labor

Watch this video:

DB ‘s Etiquette Recommendation: Read labels and take responsibility for how you vote with your dollar. Refuse to buy cotton products coming from socially and environmentally destructive situations. Spread the word and support fair-trade and organic products.

1 Comment

TheDiscerningBrute, February 2nd 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in activism, environmental justice, fair trade, fashion, green, Health, organic, social responsibility, vegan
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