SAYONARA 2008

MOMENTUM BUSTER

The Los Angeles Lakers finally got their revenge in a win over the Celtics last Thursday in a game that was overshadowed by the Mavericks/Blazers classic that followed later that night. Pity, because this plucky bunch of unheralded go-getters easily deserve a Christmas laurel and a hearty handshake. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lakers are going to take it all.

CHASE THAT PAPER

For lovers of Origami or just fans of well executed animated film making, this piece reflects both a knack of creative genius and a stellar imagination built with a solid foundation of a dedicated craft. Mabona Origami gives us a look into their recent film entitled Pursuit of Perfection, which has already garnered much success with multiple awards.

PAC-Q OSCAR

They were tagging it the "Dream Fight" between the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. Never have I seen an underdog dominate so much. After the first round, you knew the outcome. Pacquiao was toying with De La Hoya all night. Speed and power was the lethal combination that overwhelmed the so called Golden Boy. Filipinos can be proud. Now I want to see Floyd Mayweather "unretire" and fight the "Fight of the Century" to determine who really is the pound for pound best.

BACK TO COOL

Celebrating Nike ACG's 20th anniversary, Nike will be releasing a new set of backpacks and messenger bags. The backpacks come in a variety of bright colors to choose from and feature a graphing pattern design. Being an ACG product, it will have a high-tech design and functions such as waterproofing, a metal strap ring, and multiple-purpose bands. No word yet on availability.

ON THE NANO

THE ONLY SHOW I WATCH

Entourage is a blunt description of the Hollywood, wanna-be lives, doused in understated sarcasm and wit. It expresses the grandiose aspect of fame and glory of being part of the Hollywood industry with all its dark shady secrets of ups and downs. Carefully plotted with gorgeous women and sinningly intense party experiences, Entourage is the wrath of all good and bad behind the scenes of Hollywood glamour. This show is hillariously witty and entertaining.

NO MORE BULL

And so, in the last couple of months, the era of the independent investment bank has ended. Wall Street as we've known it for decades has ceased to exist. Six months ago there were five major investment banks: two -- Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns --- have failed, Merrill Lynch is selling itself to Bank of America, and now the last two are becoming commercial banks. Adam Smith, that great market disciplinarian, was punishing excesses and remaking the American finance long before Congress can get into the act.

PASTELLE PREVIEW

At yesterday's American Music Awards, Kanye West offered a glimpse into his upcoming clothing label Pastelle. Headed by British designer Kim Jones, Kanye is seen wearing his paneled varsity jacket featuring a two-toned blue body with red highlights in the form of zippers and leathers on the sleeve. Is Kanye sporting a black man's Kentucky waterfall?

ON FIFTH

Louis Vuitton  always manages to surprise me by taking whatever they do to the next level. For their flagship store on 5th avenue in New York, Louis Vuitton covers the facade of the building with Takashi Murakami's (one of my favorite artist's ever) signature multi-colored monogram print. The result is a stunning branded landmark that no one can miss. Furthermore, this store features a "bag bar" that is often seen at LV stores around the world but with moving parts. If you're in New York, it's definitely worth a visit.

THE SEARCH IS OVER

My dream carry on is part of the Le Pelle Guccissima... Gucci's latest luggage line featuring a prominent use of mature and subdued aesthetics under the influence of some trademark imagery from the Italian fashion house. Full-leather construction freatures embossed Gucci monograms which is then hand-dyed, polished and treated with wax for special wearing characteristics. The whole collection ranges from Boston bags to little accessories such as travel holders and wallets. These I gotta have. Now I know what to ask my girlfriend for Christmas. I've splurged on her... now it's time for her to splurge on me. I'm so evil.

I SCREAM FOR EYESCREAM

So yeah... I somehow found myself at the Kinokuniya and ended up browsing the magazines. Why am I looking at Japanese mags if I can't read a lick of it you might ask? It's all about the pretty chicks that don the covers. One mag stood out from the rest. The latest issue of EYESCREAM caught my eye. Why? Because of frickin' Chiaki Kuriyama that's why. If I were to be single and running around in Tokyo, I would totally date this chick. Anyways, here is a look at the December 2008 issue as it includes a feature with artist KAWS' signature imagery character. The icon is interactively drawn with Japanese actress, Chiaki Kuriyama of Kill Bill fame.  

IT'S AN OBAMA NATION

ON THE NANO

U-GO GIRL

I'm with this hot Korean chick, drinking straight up liquor. I told her I'm Filipino, straight up hustler. Now, is it just me or do them Uggs have girls' feet looking like sheepskin rugs? Some rhyme with a name or some rhyme nameless... don't try to look at me like I aint famous. My apologies, are you into astrology? 'Cause... um... I'm trying to make it to Uranus. See, that's a little Don Juan game... all across your chest like Sean John name. Brothas tryin' to figure out since Jojo came; who the rookie of the year... me or Lebron James? They say "whoa" don't get caught in the hype... aint no telling if they gonna love you after tonight. Well, if tonight's the night, pop bottles, bone models, spend money til you're broke, my brotha live your life...aha!

DREAM PAD

A few months ago, I visited the Skyscraper Museum in New York, and I saw an incredible aerial photo that shows the evolution of downtown Manhattan during the last century, from the water reclamation to the black towers to the new skyline without the twin towers. Undoubtedly, this city changes its shape very often. And as of now, new residential buildings are bringing new forms to this skyline. The 56 Leonard Street building by Herzog & de Meuron, which entered the construction phase is one of those new residential buildings. This 57-story residential in the Tribeca area will house 145 residences, each one with its own unique floor plan and private outdoor space. This typology makes the building look like a stack of houses, away from the traditional skyscraper form. I wonder how the concrete structure works on this building, which was done by consultant firm WSP Cantor Seinuk (who also worked on the Freedom Tower).

GOLDEN SIREN

There's something about Kate Moss that makes people want to create art based on her. Pete Doherty has shown the world his creepy paintings of her, and now Kate is being turned into gold for a museum exhibit. Artist Marc Quinn has sculpted a gold statue of Kate for the British Museum worth $2.8 million. It's considered the largest gold statue built since the time of ancient Egypt, at 110 pounds. Hey wait! That's probably more than she weighs in real life. Quinn says he chose Moss because she was the closest model to human perfection he could find. Please... I'm gagging over here. He could've used Monica Bellucci as his inspiration.

DEAR APPLE...

Apple has an ordering and paying patent for it's iPhones. How cool would this be for all you Starbucks addicts? Having the ability to order drinks while you're at the back of the line... I swear, we are becoming more impatient by the second. Shoot. I think this is genius. It would totally get a lot of action on my iPhone. I would actually pay for this application. When is it available? I have no idea, but I want it now.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

A hardy perennial in sci-fi movies is the scene where people start firing ever-larger weapons at some alien object, only to see it wobble a little instead of getting obliterated as expected. I'm beginning to see the TED spread (432bp today) as one of those alien objects. I suspect that the probability of a recession is already so close to 1...  that it's no longer possible to significantly increase it. But you know what I mean: Things are worse than expected, and they're likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. We're in a vicious cycle: No one wants to lend going into a recession whose length and severity is likely to be unprecedented in the postwar era. So that's going to keep credit largely frozen -- which in turn will only exacerbate the recession's effect on stock prices. Governments might be able to prevent financial meltdown. But they can't prevent a major economic slump, or its reflection in the Dow. 

JAMIE CHUNG?