This is just nasty. I can’t believe that this guy eats 2 Big Macs a day sine the 1970’s. Sounds like some viral marketing scheme to me.

Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald’s track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.

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Sony Pictures is leaving South Korea because of sluggish sales and rampant piracy, The Korea Times is reporting this week. Sony isn’t the first studio to abandon the Korean market; according to the Times, Paramount, Universal, Buena Vista and 20th Century Fox have all ceased operations there, meaning there is no longer a major Hollywood studio operating in South Korea.

Korean DVD sales have been in a free fall in recent years. The newspaper quotes estimates for 2008 of some $285 million vs. $673 million in 2002. At the same time, blazing fast broadband is ubiquitous. The country’s average broadband penetration rate by household hit 90.1 percent last year; in Seoul, the rate was 107.8 percent. Korea’s broadband revolution is often touted as a sign of things to come for the rest of the world, but is the same true for the death of its DVD market?

There’s no question that film-swapping broadband users are behind at least some of the industry’s woes in Korea. In a recent survey, almost 50 percent of Korea’s Internet users have admitted to downloading movies from the Internet, and the typical user is downloading about a movie a week. Copyright isn’t even an issue with the folks that haven’t been getting their Hollywood blockbusters online. Instead, they simply deemed downloading as too complicated.

The slump of DVD sales numbers has also taken its toll on DVD rental stores. The Korea Times is reporting that there were 10,000 of these Blockbuster-type stores back in 2001, but the number was down to 3,500 at the end of last year. Finally, box office sales have been slightly down in 2007 as well, but some attribute this to the changing box office landscape rather than to piracy.

http://newteevee.com/

This little guy is killing em…

The artform of beatboxing seems to be alive and well and quite international as evidenced by the first video from France.

I’m super excited to share the first episode of Zeitghost TV produced by media mash up kings “The Eclectic Method” This is the future now!
Eclectic Method and Reggie Watts combine to bring you a tv show/mixtape/hyper-reality/metamix of Movies, TV, Music Videos and
media of the now. Reggie’s Remix BeatBox comedy commentary meets The Methods up to the minute Media Mix. The whole show is based around what happened just now being commented on by Reggie and then remixing it. Obama’s victory mashes with NERD’s latest Everybody nose, or an alternate view on Oil Prices with Coldplay, Kung Fu Panda and Get Smart and The Hulk come together in high speed movie remix review.

Zeitghost - 17th June 2008 from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Bunch of other sites streemimg Eclectic Method After Jump

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Brooklyn’s indie-electro duo Ratatat thinks outside the box for the “Mirando” video, the latest from their highly-anticipated third album LP3. They match the track up with scenes cut from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s classic 1987 action flick Predator.

Source

Funny article I found @ jilliansjournal.com I added the pix and some comments of my own.

Getting a tattoo, for most people at least, is sort of a big decision. Its one of those life long decisions that isnt easily taken back (and somewhat messily if so). It also has evolved as a way of making a statement about a person. A person stamp indicating the bearers soul, or something like that.

Still, despite the hip factor of tattoos, there are some which can be instant turn-offs to the opposite sex. Below are five of the worst offenders. Getting the below tattoos might speak to your inner soul, but it might speak louder to potential dates, screaming, Run away!

The name of an ex

This one should be obvious. Yes, there is the romanticism of permanently branding yourself with the name of your significant other. Wait, strike that last part. There is nothing romantic about that. Instead it seems to signal a sort of sad co-dependency you share. That’s made even worse when you’re no longer with that person.

The worst thing you can ever do in a relationship is completely subjugate yourself. A tattoo of the other persons name is the adult equivalent of your mother writing your name in your underwear before camp. It signals that left to your own devices you would lose track of whom you belonged to. Youd be better served by instead getting their favorite flower, animal, or line of poetry tattooed in honor of them.

Ed Note - Big business in covering up these tat’s

Anything to do with a band

It can be guaranteed said band thinks far less of you than you do of them. See the above rule. Buy a t-shirt or a second copy of their new CD instead.

ed Note - Super Red Flag screaming “I’m a groupie!!”

Someone’s face

The obvious problem with getting an actual face tattooed on you can easily relate back to one of the issues listed above. Less obvious, at least to some, is that a face is generally meant to look one certain way–the way the person looks. With Mario or the devil there is some artistic interpreting to be done.

So, in about ten years when youve put on a few pounds, that face is going to look bloated. Not just bloated, but horribly distorted depending on the amount of weight gained. Compare that to Mario who looks kind of funny the fatter he gets. Jack Johnson, on the other hand, begins looking kind of scary. This may not be so much a concern for the immediate future, but if you think you might be on the market again, its probably to keep one face per body.

Ed Note - This pix had me rolling!! It’s some English Boy Band Westlife

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thanx to streetknowledge.wordpress.com

Saw this massive list of allegations @ http://www.hitsville.org

R. Kelly is supposed to go on trial in Chicago on child-sex charges next month, more than five years after a videotape came to light of a figure the police say is the singer performing various sex acts with and on an under-aged girl.

Hitsville’s ongoing feature, R. Kelly SexFacts™, has been provided as a public service to the many, many folks who have written about R. Kelly but who seem to have been unaware of many of the, ah, pungent aspects of this story.

Or you can think of it all as R. Kelly’s Greatest Hits—”hits,” that is, in the sexual predator sense of the term.

Now it’s time to wrap up, and present the story thus far.

N.B.: this is a compelling tale, but a little bit barfy as well.

And remember, kids: R. Kelly SexFacts”™ are based entirely on reporting in reputable publications!

r. kelly mug shot

The R. Kelly case started when Jim DeRogatis, the pop critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, and Abdon M. Pallasch, the paper’s legal reporter, wrote a 3000-word story detailing the Chicago star’s penchant for young girls. It was published way back in December 2000—the day before a sold-out Christmas concert by the singer at the city’s United Center!

r. kelly mug shot

The story detailed the first sex suit against Kelly, including the $250,000 out-of-court settlement that resulted. The pair also talked with a woman who said she’d had sex with Kelly as a 15-year-old, and even had sex with him and another girl. Accusations #’s 1 and 2!

r. kelly mug shot

According to the story, Kelly met the girls by hanging out with the choir at his old high school, the scamp!

r. kelly mug shot

A year later, DeRogatis received a phone call telling him to check his mailbox. In it was a videotape showing Kelly having sex with a young girl. The girl’s aunt identified her, and Kelly. In the tape, the singer called her by her first name; she called him “Daddy.” Accusation #3.

r. kelly mug shot

Besides a variety of sex acts, the girl urinates on the floor at “Daddy’s” direction. “Daddy” then urinates into her mouth.

r. kelly mug shot

After the tapes came to light, Kelly’s lawyer said this: “The fact is there is no tape of R. Kelly having sex. There have been reports in the media of different tapes, and none of them agrees with the other. If someone does say there is a tape out there, those claims are false—absolutely false.”
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YOOO, I may have just found the dopest shit on the net. This dude compiled a History Of The BoomBox! About 20 pages from the birth of the Box til it’s death, complete with pictures and descriptions of every model made! Man this shit took me back to when I lived in Hawthorne and used to catch the bus to the Roadium Swapmeet to steal records, Dr. Dre mixtapes, suede addidas, pumas, and fila’s.

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Executive Editor

As a successful producer, marketer and collaborator, Paul Stewart, CEO of Next Thing, has demonstrated a keen eye for both talent and opportunity in the entertainment industry. Def Jam founder and apparel icon Russell Simmons, musician and actor Ice Cube, Academy Award nominee John Singleton, Barbershop director George Tillman, and other industry leaders have come to rely on Stewart’s knowledge and expertise to enhance their projects. On his own, Stewart has discovered and developed creative talent both behind the mic and behind the camera.

Most recently, Stewart’s finely tuned ear for music and story was integral in the creation of the 2005 Sundance Audience Award-winning film Hustle & Flow. Producer John Singleton relied on Stewart to craft a collection of original music by up-and-coming and established hip-hop artists. Singleton leaned on Stewart for the critically-lauded Motown-driven sound of the box-office champ Four Brothers. Their collaboration extends back to the music direction for the Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson vehicle Poetic Justice and the hit 2 Fast 2 Furious.Stewart has also partnered extensively with director/producer George Tillman, supervising the music for the Babershop franchise as well as the period piece Men of Honor.

Stewart’s penchant for matching the right song with the right moment is indicative of his ability to pair promising creative talent with the right projects. Prior to the formation of Next Thing, Stewart founded and ran PMP, a promotions company and record label associated with Island/Def Jam and, later, Loud Records. Stewart also ran the marketing and promotion divisions of Ice Cube’s record label Street Knowledge, distributed then by Time/Warner. Stewart’s tenure with Ice Cube coincided with the development of the smash hit “Friday.”

Through PMP, Stewart discovered and developed numerous multi-platinum musical artists as diverse as Coolio, The Pharcyde, Montell Jordan and House of Pain. Stewart also gave future feature-film directors Dave Meyers, F. Gary Gray, Paul Hunter and Christopher Erskin their first shots behind the camera as music video directors.

Paul Stewart has proved that he is an indispensable ambassador for hip-hop and urban culture and continues pushing boundaries in the medium. Stewart is currently expanding Next Thing’s business several ventures including film production and web development.

Email Paul

Contributing Editor

Che, aka Che Skizza, Skizza, or The Skeez is an artist, writer, producer, marinade master, Spades champion, dominologist, and activist from Altadena, Ca. As a teen in the late 80’s, he developed a love for hip-hop, recording his first song in 1988 in his cousins (a keyboard player for Jody Watley) house in Carson, Ca.

After being in numerous groups, Che hooked up with High School friend and former Madkap (Loud records) member Damon “Coke” Daniels to form the Colored Section, who’s membership at one time included Xzibit and DJ Homicide (from the multi-platinum group Sugar ray).

Through this collaboration, Che met Paul Stewart who was looking to sign the group to his imprint PMP. Eventually signing with PMP A&R Gary Meals indie label 12inch RPM, The Colored Section released their self-titled debut album in 1998. The album was an underground success with the first single earning a spot in Sway (of MTV news) and Tech’s The Wake Up Show’s top 30 Hip Hop songs of all time. In addition, the record charted on HITS, IMPACT, and others, topping such artists as Wyclef Jean, The Wu-Tang Clan, and Scarface. The group opened for the likes of Big Pun and The Goodie Mob, as well as recorded with Eminem and Jayo Felony among others.

Now a solo artist, Skizza’s written and recorded songs for various films, been featured on numerous mixtapes, opened for Eve and Redman, and recorded with Lil Half Dead, Above The Law, and George Clinton. In addition to recording his own music, writing and producing for others, Che is expanding into other mediums, working on scripts for film and television.

His most recent project is a reunion of sorts, collaborating with Paul Stewart and Damon “Coke” Daniels on their film Gangsta Rap - The Glockumentary. Combining two of his greatest passions, humor and Hip-Hop, Che penned the entire album which is featured in the film and soundtrack, and along with Paul & Coke, Executive Produced the soundtrack due to be released on Delicious Vinyl.
Che-Skizza

Contributor

CHEO HODARI COKER is a music journalist, author, and screenwriter. As a freelance journalist, Coker has written cover stories, major features, and reviews for the Los Angeles Times, VIBE, Premiere, Essence, The Face, Details, Spin, Rolling Stone, The Source, XXL, Rap Pages, and the Village Voice. He has frequently been featured as a commentator on VH-1’s popular series “Behind The Music, has beena consultant for the critically lauded HBO series “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry since its inception. Cheo’s screenplays include “Notorious” about the life and times of the Notorious BIG for Fox Searchlight, Living For The City: The Marion Barry Story” for HBO, “When I Get Free: The Life and Times of Tupac Amaru Shakur” for MTV and “Legend” for Warner Bros, and a forthcoming adaptation of Claude Brown’s seminal best-selling coming of age classic “Manchild In The Promised Land”. Coker is the author of “Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.”(VIBE Books/Crown) and with Oscar winning director Bill Condon and Martin Godfried, is the coauthor of “Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical” (Newmarket Pictoral Moviebooks).

MUSIC EDITOR

D.J. SMILES DAVIS was born in the Midwest Grand Rapids Michigan to be exact. Music was an important component of her early family life. After relocating to Phoenix AZ as a child dance and theatre soon became her main obsession. After getting accepted to the super prestigious Alvin Ailey Dance Academy she packed up and went to the big Apple. After finishing at Alvin Ailey she decided to move out to Los Angeles and got bitten by the music bug. She started DJing and writing reviews for Aeomba records. Check her @ smilesdavis

CONTRIBUTOR

For More thn two decades, Eddie Donaldson has erased the lines between street artist influencers and corporations. prior to his current role as co-founder of The marketing Division, Donaldson established the GuerillaOne agency, a company that continues to provide marketing, event coordination, promotion, street tactics, tastemaker influence and much more for corporations seeking to tap into the excitement, influence and creativity of the street

COMEDY SPOTLIGHT

Howie Bell is a funny Mofo! You can see him on Diddy’s the Bad Boys Of Comedy as well as Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza series. When he’s not ripping stages doing stand up he’s busy covering up and coming fellow comics for Next Thing.w

ARTS & ENT. EDITOR

for 5 Seasons, a regular on Jamie Foxx’s LAFFAPALOOZA! comedy festival

Lady Dy is originally from the yay area. She is a dancer, actress, writer, producer, etc and now she’s down with Next Thing dropping in her 2 cents.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Sandy Dee hails from Southern California and is our resident stylist. She is a multi talented artist with photography, graphic design and sketching among her many talents. Sandy has worked in many different creative mediums and we are very excited to have her contributing to Next Thing. sandeenext@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTOR

Expect to see various fly shit from Don “Sneakerman Dan” Daniel Harlem born DC bred. “I don’t like much. Flyest motherfucker on the east coast.” his own blog http://realmangojuice.com/

CONTRIBUTOR

Mike D’Orazio is a writer. He loves to write and has been doing so for several years. Mike has a high interest in everything that is pop culture. He currently resides in his hometown on the east side of Detroit, Michigan. E-mail him at dorazio.mike@gmail.com http://mikedorazio.wordpress.com