John Carpenter screened his newest film, The Ward, this week at TIFF and early reports suggest that it is good. THANK GOD! From 1974-1988, John Carpenter had one of the most amazing streaks in the history of filmmaking (he also wrote a lot of the music for his films, including the Halloween theme). The 22 years that followed They Live weren’t very kind to the sci-fi/horror master. Sincerely hope The Ward is able to deliver.

Here are some of my favs…

Raif Adelberg asked me to help him out with his artist’s statement for an upcoming show at HVW8 Gallery in LA. Here’s a version of it I liked…

Punk’s not dead and Fuck I Love You, Los Angeles is proof of that. Step inside the HVW8 Gallery and see artist Raif Adelberg transform the space into a punk rock flophouse. Channeling CBGB, Barbara Kruger, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, the space Adelberg creates is called The Dead Boys Clubhouse. “It’s an environmental space that pops up around the world and creates this incestuous gang. It’s just about creating this little circus, but on a punk tip,” says Adelberg.

Bratty, caustic, offensive and in-your-face, that’s the surface of Adelberg’s art, where pop and Nazi imagery playfully come together in paintings and silkscreens on canvas, wood, paper and clothing. But look a little closer and you’ll see that Fuck I Love You, Los Angeles is all about perception and free will. “To look at things in a negative light is a choice. When you get upset you’re really relinquishing your power to the subject matter. It’s all about the power of choice,” he says.

While Adelberg’s intent isn’t to shock you, he won’t mind if you are… and you wouldn’t be the first. At a recent London show, bobbies showed up and demanded that the words “Fuck I Love You,” which were spraypainted on the gallery walls, be covered up. “It’s interesting. It’s a positive message but people see negativity because of the word fuck. Sorry to say, but if there wasn’t a lot of fucking, none of us would be here. It’s amazing that with a simple gesture you can get such a reaction,” says Adelberg.

About the Artist:
Raif Adelberg
February 2, 1968, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Raif Adelberg is an artist, fashion designer, gallerist and magazine publisher. He is responsible for the clothing lines Dead Boys Clubhouse, Raif, Richard Kidd, Naked and Wings and Horns. As a gallerist, Raif Adelberg has produced shows by Kaws, Ryan McGinnes, Seen and Kostas Seremetis. He was also the publisher of Made, a hardcover art magazine that was available internationally at stores and museums. Raif Adelberg currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Die Antwoord – Wat Kyk Jy
Wat Kyk Jy
Die Antwoord – Beat Boy
13 Beat Boy

Aloe Blac – I Need A Dollar
Aloe Blac – I Need A Dollar

Blonde Redhead – Not Getting There
Blonde Redhead – Not Getting There

Chromeo – Don’t Turn The Lights On
Chromeo – Don’t Turn The Lights On

Salem – Sick
Salem – Sick

A L’Interieur (aka Inside)
Dirs: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
A very pregnant woman fends off a vicious attacker who is armed with a very sharp pair of scissors and wants to cut the baby out of her belly!

The Lake and Stars F/W lookbook

Dinosaur Attack was an offensive and awesome trading series produced by Topps in 1988. They told a great story of a space station, evil aliens, time travel and dinosaurs— who brutally eviscerate innocent people.

Here are fronts and backs of all the cards in the series…

David Choe is someone you should get to know as he’s one of the most talented artists around. His work can be seen in galleries all over the world, Facebook headquarters, the White House and alleyways behind convenience stores. He recently released a 288-page monograph with Chronicle Books that needs to be checked out for the introduction alone (it consists of disses he found by Googling “David Choe”). We had a chance to do an interview with him via email and jumped at the opportunity. Normally email interviews suck and we try not to do them, but we made an exception because David Choe is as good a writer with a keyboard as he is with a spray can.

Here’s something you might not be aware of: there are large numbers of young people with ADD who spend all day posting satanic imagery on the blogging-for-dummies site Tumblr. At any given moment one of them will post an image of a dead body, an all-seeing eye, a graveyard, a pentagram, an upside-down cross, or a still from Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist. Follow them long enough and one of them will inevitably post a song or the album art of Salem, every Child of the Corn’s new favourite band.

On the cover this month are Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er of Die Antwoord. This high energy, rave rap outfit from South Africa caused the internet to explode back in February when two videos they made, “Zef Side” and “Enter The Ninja,” spread like tuberculosis. The virus analogies can’t stop there as everything about Die Antwoord is totally infectious, be it the music, the tattoos, the hair, the Zef style, or the Afrikaans slang. Given that Die Antwoord translates from Afrikaans to The Answer, it begs one to ask: what’s the question? Probably something along the lines of, “Are these two for fokken real?” After photographing and talking to them as well as seeing their ridiculously awesome live show (their first ever in Canada), we’d have to emphatically say yes!