Going Sideways

Struck recently won the much needed website redesign for the Miller Motorsports Park. As part of the Discovery Phase for the project (hehe) we went to their world-class track and did hot laps with some of their amazing drivers. I can honestly say there's nothing like it in the world, drifting at warp speed around Le Mans-style curves, hard stops and rocket-like acceleration. Unreal. I seriously could have stayed there all day long. The turns left me hooting and howling.

I actually attempted to videotape a hot lap from the cockpit, but all I got was some bouncy footage of the dashboard thanks to the insane G-forces at play. I do have to give major props to B Money for some killer stills! The sky was awesome that day.

Some New Running Shoes

Yesterday I took the Clubman into Wheelwerks located here in good ol’ SLC for a fitting. Yes, like a tailor-made suit, the Clubman got to try on its running shoes in preparation for spring! They are 18” Primax rims with a matte-black powder coat wrapped in some Nexen high-performance tires. And the good news is, they fit like a glove. In case you didn’t catch that, I just compared my new wheels to three different types of apparel—talk about mixing metaphors, sheesh.

I Can Read Movies. Can You?

Speaking of good old Valentine’s Day… I’m totally in love with Spacesick’s amazing line of “I Can Read Movies” retro-style book cover designs. These ultra-graphic novel covers are beautiful, high-concept compositions that are a blast to decipher. Here’s a glimpse of some of my faves. Click here to enlarge the image.

Bye Bye Bangle Butt, Hello van Hooydonk.

It was reported this week that Chris Bangle, the somewhat infamous head of design for the last 16 years at BMW, has resigned. This was a shocker since Bangle has been the primary visionary behind all of BMW’s major releases including the X5, Z4, the new MINI, and of course the 7 Series and its massive caboose, unaffectionately referred to as the Bangle Butt.

Love him or hate him, no one can dispute the mark he’s left on 21st century auto body design. You name the manufacturer and I’ll show you one or more of their models that bites off the Bangle. He says this was a planned exit and he wants to move on and solve bigger design issues both in and outside of the auto industry.

Bangle leaves his protégé, Adrian van Hooydonk (awesomest last name ever) as Design Director for the BMW Group. He’s best known for his work on the 6 Series, the Z9 Concept Car, the BMW Concept CS and the M1 Homage Study. I also discovered that he was the designer behind the 1997 ACV 30 Show Car for MINI… the unique predecessor to the current generations of new MINIs.

Kinda cool, kinda fugly, I know.

Who Wants to be a Slumdog Millionaire?

Okay, I admit it. I really like Leonardo DiCaprio. So back in 2000, when a film called The Beach came out—I saw it and I loved it. It had amazing cinematography, great editing and a stellar soundtrack. This led me to director Danny Boyle’s other great and explicit work—Trainspotting—again, sweet editing and an unreal soundtrack.

The Danny Boyle circle has been completed with Slumdog Millionaire. I’m sure you know the premise so I’ll just tell you why this is a must-see-in-the-theater movie. Once again, there’s a killer soundtrack that’s mixed by and features the insanely talented M.I.A. I seriously can’t get enough of the track Paper Planes, sheesh. The locations are unreal. Unreal in that you can’t believe that these places exist and unreal in that they are so rich despite being down right filthy. The casting is superb, especially the child actors. They’re completely and utterly believable. Finally, along that same casting note, Freida Pinto, the freshman actress who plays Latika, is a mega-hottie. So go see this flick.

It’s brutal, yet beautiful. It’s graphic, yet gracious. It’s haunting, yet humbling. And you’ll wanna root for something at the Oscars, right?

Sunclubbin’

Ever since Mrs. Kyality and I started dating, we’ve gone to the Sundance Film Festival. As of yesterday, we completed our 10th year of what Mrs. Kyality refers to as "Sundancing"—her and all the blinged-up 65 year-old ladies cruising Park City. Anyways—this year was a massive success, due in part to our mode of transportation. You might have heard by now, but last week, I traded in my beloved Dark Silver R53 MCS for a 2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman—and I’m lovin’ it. One evening about two weeks ago, I was snooping around the inventory of MINI of Murray and spotted a special lease option on a Pepper White Cooper S Clubman. Seeing as how it wouldn’t affect my monthly payment too dramatically, I decided to jump on it.

The Clubman’s been awesome and the new turbo blows the older, supercharged S out of the water. Granted the new R56 Cooper isn’t as raw and gritty as the previous generation, but it's quicker and more refined, which has its pluses too! It's definitely perfect for the canyon run up to Park City to catch a quick Sundance flick. And this year did not disappoint. We saw three films this time around.

It Might Get Loud is a rockumentry fan’s dream come true. It explores the history of the electric guitar through three generations of guitarists, specifically Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. It’s so amazing to see these guitar-gods geek-out over their passion and teach each other the riffs that made them famous. This one is definitely worth adding to a personal collection, even if you're a hipster-Edge-hater.

Five Minutes in Heaven is a unique take on the decades of conflict in Ireland. It shows the reunion of a man and his brother’s killer. It’s brutal, funny and heart wrenching. It explores the psychology of reconciliation, Irish-style. I’ll let your imagination take it from there.

The coolest thing about this year was all Mrs. Kyality’s doing. She scored us tix for An Evening with Steven Soderbergh, one of my all-time fave directors. He premiered an experimental film he's been working on and did a Q&A session. The flick was a non-linear, non-professional actor, non-scripted, structured-improvisation style film. You catch all that? Needless to say, it proved to be a memorable event.

With all the canyon carving up to Sundance, I can definitely say I’m well on my way to destroying my annual mile allotment on my lease. But it’s been well worth it! PS: I also want to apologize to all those peeps out there who Googled “Sunclubbin” hoping to find info about nudist gatherings. I didn’t catch that connotation until after I’d written this post, but I still like it as a title so too bad for you!

Just Because It's Awesome

Sometimes you've gotta post something just because it's awesome. Click here to enlarge.

The 100th Post!

So here it is!!!! After nearly 3 and a half years of random postings on the topics of music, movies, TV, cars and most recently design—I’ve hit my 100th post! I started my blog in order to resurrect my ailing writing skills. And I’ve enjoyed it big time and I hope you have too. I’ve got a lot in store for 2009, starting with some MINI news I’ll be sharing shortly. Let’s hope there’s as many interesting things to write about this year as there has been in the previous ones.

And finally, here’s a special shout out to one Dan Christofferson who, out of the kindness of his heart designed the killer graphic pictured above! And last but not least, I dedicate each and every one of these skillfully placed exclamation points to Mr. Upto12!!!!! Good luck with the new blahg/site thing!!!!!!

I Don't Wanna Follow Death And All Of His Friends... by Upto12

Let's get a few things straight:

1. I like Coldplay.

2. I'm not here to tell you that you shouldn't like Coldplay.

3. I've seen Home Alone 2 three times, WALL•E twice and Kung Fu Panda four times—in the last 72 hours.

If nothing else, remember those three things as we dig into a long-running Kyality vs. Upto12 debate. It's important that you know, that I, Mr. Upto12, own every Coldplay album (I even bought Viva La Vida from iTunes and on vinyl). There was a point in time (around Rush of Blood) where I probably would've put Coldplay in my Top 7 (maybe Top 8) bands. Then XandY happened. I didn't hate it. In fact, I still love a few tracks (if you don't love Fix You, you have no soul). But I couldn't help but feel like the Coldplays (TM: Kyality) had let me down. This was supposed to be a band on the rise, right? The next U2. The up-and-comers ready to take over the world. And, no matter how much you love that album, there's no convincing me that XandY is great. It's just not. It's borderline good. It's comfortably fine. It's decent. It's easily the weakest effort in the Coldplay catalog.

And that brings us to the anticipation of Viva La Vida. The story's been told a kajillion times. Brian Eno! That dude who produced the Arcade Fire! Innovation! Experimentation! Coldplay carries the torch! Military costumes! And, well, that's just what we got. Kinda. That's what we got on the surface, anyway. At its core, however, Viva is just another good Coldplay album. It's got some big beats (Lost!), some overbearing strings (Viva La Vida) and songs that change tempo, key and direction (42). But there's nothing truly fresh and fascinating here. It's good BritPop/Rock. I enjoy it from start to finish. I listen to it frequently. I think the chorus on Death and All His Friends is probably the most arena-worthy anthem I've heard this decade. But I simply can't convince myself that this is Album of the Year material. And I've tried. I really have.

(A quick aside. Maybe the one thing that blows my mind about Viva—and the continual praise the mainstream press piles on—is that I've only heard two other people call this album what I think it really is: A great James album. It's crazy. This album sounds more like James than any other comparison I can think of. Yet it's compared to U2 and Arcade Fire and a dozen other ridiculously non-applicable bands/albums. Just listen to Lovers in Japan again and tell me it's not a James song. Yet another reason you should never read the reviews in crap-rags like Entertainment Weekly or [sadly] TIME. Now I'm just angry.)

Where was I? Probably doesn't matter, does it? Let's try this...

To tragically modify and borrow from an analogy tossed around the Struck hallways... At the 54th Annual Rock n' Roll Torchbearers' Pot Luck, what is Coldplay bringing to the table? Political awareness? Uh, Bono's stashed enough in the freezer to keep us aware for the next 35 years. Good looks? Well, maybe... we all know Kyality's got a fierce man-crush on the drummer, but have you seen Beyoncé lately? A Jay-Z remix? There's a whole truckload out back. Dance moves? Did you see JT's impromptu Weekend Update appearance? Gwynnie? Okay... now we've got something to talk about.

Strangely, the Gwyneth connection clarifies my Coldplay ambivalence more than anything else. Remember when Shakespeare in Love won the Best Picture Oscar? Over Saving Private Ryan? It's a decision that gets more and more ridiculous every year. I just watched Saving Private Ryan last week. It's amazing. A masterpiece. Shakespeare in Love, on the other hand... it's okay. I mean, it's good. It's cute. It's clever and just a little bit sexy. But it's just not a Best Picture. No way. No how. And I think that's how we'll look back on Viva La Vida.

In 10 years maybe we'll be wondering how we ever thought Viva La Vida was better than Carried To Dust (Calexico), Intimacy (Bloc Party), For Emma, Forever Ago (Bon Iver), Visiter (The Dodos), Fleet Foxes (self-titled), The Midnight Organ Fight (Frightened Rabbit), Re-Arrange Us (Mates of State), Rook (Shearwater), Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust (Sigur Ros), Dear Science (TV on the Radio), and even the backlash-ridden Vampire Weekend (self-titled). Or maybe I'm a complete idiot (highly likely) and Coldplay's Viva La Vida will turn out to be more like Braveheart—a good movie that didn't seem to quite merit a Best Picture award but turns out to be endlessly rewatchable and even gets better over time—than Shakespeare in Love.

Time will tell, I suppose. But, living in a time when the world's greatest pop/rock is only a click away, I can't help but feel that we should exercise a little more elitism in our musical selections. Shouldn't we seek out music that challenges us in positive and enjoyable ways? Shouldn't we set the Album of the Year standards a little higher than "a good album that was a nice step forward for a pretty good band"? I'd hope so.

Then again, I'm watching Kung Fu Panda for the fifth time while the world's greatest movies are only a click away. Pot. Kettle. Black. I get it. There's still time to work out my resolutions, right?

P.S. Kyality's 100th post is right around the corner! Stay tuned!

2008: A Year in Review

Thanks for joining me for the third year in a row for my annual Top 3 Faves Lists of 2008. It was an interesting year for sure. I was actually quite a bit surprised at my own results to be honest. I’ll admit, I’m a fairly predictable kinda guy, so I’m pretty stoked that some of my choices are a little off of my beaten path. Anyways, it was quite a year—so here we go!

Top 3 Favorite Albums

3. For Emma, Forever Ago: Bon Iver - This rad little album came out of nowhere with genuine listenability. For Emma, Forever Ago is on the same musical spectrum as the My Morning Jackets and the Bands of Horses albums of the world but with a bit more longing and reverence to it. Apparently these guys are so good, they managed to remain featured as Upto12’s most recent post for the last six months! They are definitely the best “Bon” band since Jovi. Their rad original album cover is what's pictured here. Standout track: For Emma.

2. Kala: M.I.A. - If “favorite” album is gauged by what was in highest rotation for me this year, Kala by M.I.A. has got to be counted as one of the year’s best. There’s nothing like the lyrics to the Pixies’ Where is My Mind? juxtaposed with the combination of a children’s choir and the ringing of gunshots. Though released in 2007, it took a preview for a little movie called Pineapple Express to inextricably embed the track Paper Planes into our collective consciousness. Standout trailer: Watch it here.

1. Viva la Vida: Coldplay - For me (and a lot of other really cool peeps) Viva la Vida is the album of the year. It’s anthemic, yet approachable. It’s striking, yet soulful. It’s epic, yet easy on the ears. In my mind Viva la Vida definitely elevates the good old Coldplays from pop phenoms to rock-n-roll torchbearers—able to draw together fans from all walks of life. They’re able to satisfy a majority of the indie crowd and the top-40 crew simultaneously. That’s a feat few bands are capable of. Standout track: Yes.

Top 3 Favorite Movies

3. Watchmen Trailer - Whether you like it or not, one of the most cinematic pieces of the year is without a doubt the Watchmen Trailer that originally premiered right before The Dark Knight. This preview has been hailed as one of the best trailers ever. What makes this thing so incredible is that it demonstrates the maniacal lengths they’ve gone through to maintain consistency with the graphic novel. On top of that, it’s just a flat-out amazing music video. It’s cut to the tune of The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by the Smashing Pumpkins, which is ironically the B-side to a song they wrote for the worst superhero flick ever, Batman & Robin. Standout scene: The 145-foot Dr. Manhattan zapping a poor unsuspecting member of the Vietcong.

2. Kung Fu Panda / WALL•E - So in the spirit of my last year’s Juno/Dan In Real Life tie for fave film, I’ve got yet another tie this year. Though these two flicks are extremely different in tone, delivery and style—they are inseparably connected by their profound adherence to their respective genres. Kung Fu Panda is an exceptional martial arts comedy that just so happens to be CG. WALL•E is a superb sci-fi romance that also just so happens to be CG (and will most likely win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature). What’s great about these films is that they’re both totally re-watchable in their own unique ways. Standout scenes: Ty Lung’s escape and any scene with EVE in it.

1. The Dark Knight - No brainer, right? Well, not so fast. Compared to my prior years’ winners (all dramadies) an obviously dark, crime drama doesn’t really fit my mold for favorite movie of the year. But there’s no denying how radical this flick is. Thanks to Christopher Nolan’s relentless desire to ground this thing in reality and an indisputably jaw-dropping performance by the Heath, The Dark Knight is elevated from a mere super-hero flick to a full-on epic crime drama. Standout scene: Uh hello, the Joker in drag? Duh.

Top 3 Favorite TV Shows

3. Flight of the Conchords - Though released in 2007 it took the combo of the writers’ strike, YouTube and a pretty sweet Podcast to mainstream Season 1 of this HBO hit. No one can dispute the hysterical hijinks of this particular couple of Kiwis. The tone, delivery and satire infused into every scene really gives you the “Who are these guys?” vibe and it’s fun to see just how far they’ll take it. And watch for Jemaine Clement in the next Jared Hess flick: Gentlemen Broncos. Standout episode: The If-You’re-Into-It episode, “Yoko”.

2. The Office - It can’t not be here. Despite the writers’ strike, the producers of The Office managed to pull off some of their most brutally hysterical and uncomfortable episodes yet. From Creed ridin’ the Red Bull to druggie-Ryan’s ultra-creepy beard, late season 4 and early season 5 did not disappoint. I particularly applaud them for the surprisingly amusing addition of Amy Ryan, as Holly the fem-Michael replacement for Toby in HR. Standout episode: The Dinner Party: “Snip, snap, snip, snap!”

1. 30Rock / SNL / Tina Fey in general - You knew it, I knew it. There was something in the air this year and it was the essence of Fey. She was everywhere and frankly—unlike some—I couldn’t get enough. From an award-winning sitcom to an uncanny resemblance to a particular Palin, Tina capitalized on it. She managed to blerg her way from Weekend Updater to possible political tide-changer. And she’s so hot! Between her SNL cameos and the strangeness that is Andy Samberg, as of this season, SNL is a whole new beast and I’m lovin’ it. The only question is: Can there be too much Fey out there? Standout performance: The Couric/Palin Opening Sketch.

Top 3 Favorite Cars

3. Audi R8 - When you think about it, supercars haven’t changed all that much in the last 20 or so years. I mean a Lamborghini still looks more or less like a Lamborghini, Ferraris like Ferraris and Porsches like Porsches. But the R8 is something completely different. It’s got the all-around performance to match a 911. It’s got styling that rivals the sickest Lambo and if Tony Stark can drive one—then Magnum P.I. can too! Standout feature: Soon-to-come ultra clean burning diesel engine.

2. BMW 135i - Is it the reincarnation of the classic 2002? Debatable. But there’s no doubt about it, this car is a sick little pocket rocket. It’s a 300 hp bi-turbo shoehorned into a two-door without any other purpose than to go fast on a budget. With this power-to-weight ratio, you’re nearing M3 performance at a fraction of the cost. Granted a fully decked 135i can easily double the cost of a similarly equipped MCS or GTI, but if you wanna smoke some punk in a WRX, there’s not a more effective or elegant weapon on the planet at this price point. Standout model: The 1-series based tii concept car.

1. MINI Cooper Clubman S - Okay, I admit it, this one is squarely on the beaten Kyality path. But the Clubman was made for me. I see it like this, if you drive a MINI, particularly a Cooper S, you’ve already proven you’re a savvy driving enthusiast. But when you’re rockin’ a Clubman you’ve now officially elevated yourself to driving connoisseur. The Clubman is an exercise in post-modernism, it’s the intersection of classic Bristishness and next-gen technoratism. Just don’t be too surprised if you see me rollin’ in one at some point. Standout feature: Double barn doors in the back, booyah!

Top 3 Favorite Designs

3. hulu.com - Whenever a telemarketer from a cable company calls offering hundreds of channels, I always ask the same question. How do I get just one channel, so I can watch just what I want to watch. With Hulu, I may not even need that. Finally someone has figured it out. They’ve discovered a format that will give views/users the opportunity to watch hundreds of shows and movies both current and classic in fullscreen with limited commercial interruption. It’s convenient, guilt-free and most importantly it’s extremely well designed. I predict that Hulu will be a major entertainment game-changer. Now if Apple would just stream it through Front Row, we’d be set! Standout feature: The SNL page.

2. Apple MacBook and Macbook Pro - Say it with me now: al-lu-minium. Do this little experiment. Pull up a picture of the latest Dell, HP or Sony laptop and then pull up a pic of the new MacBook. Night and day. Thanks to Jonathan Ive and his crack team of industrial designers, engineers and innovators, we’ve entered a new era of computing function and form. There’s something pretty inspiring about working daily on a slab of aluminum and a pane of glass. The glass Trackpad in and of itself is a massive feat of elegant engineering. When you get a chance, wander into an Apple Store and take one for a spin and in the meantime watch Jony Ive get his accent on here. Standout feature: Seamless integration with the new LED Cinema Display.

1. The Obama Brand - The design world was dominated this year by the brand of a man named Barack. Creativity Magazine had a recent cover story with a headline that read: When a Brand Becomes a Movement. This couldn’t be further from the truth; it’s actually the exact opposite scenario. The Obama Campaign started as a traditional movement. Through the creativity of firms and folks like: SimpleScott, Sol Sender, MODE, Shepard Fairy and Scott Hansen—this simple movement became a hard-working, living, wearable, sellable brand. It’s proof that exceptional design can move and motivate. Let’s just hope and pray that it all pays off! Standout design: Scott Hansen’s Progress Print.

PS: Feel free to check out the reviews of 2006 and 2007!

And a Kyality Christmas to You!

Well, despite 3 feet of snow and more to come, Christmas was awesome this year. Mrs. Kyality got me some winners! The graphic above is a rad new tee she found on the Chop Shop. It silhouettes 55 classic rides from pop culture including some of my faves such as: The Delorean from BTTF, the General Lee, the A-Team van, the Mach 5, Luke's Landspeeder and of course, the classic 1955 Lincoln Futura-based Batmobile. Can you guess the rest?

I also scored this sweet scale model of a sooped-up MINI Cooper Convertible to replace the aging BMW Z8, which has graced the top of my dresser for years now. I totally dig the black rims and red Brembo brakes. And though I seriously doubt I'll ever own a non-S MINI or a convertible, I can still geek-out about them, right?

I saved the best for last... we found this piece for our home. It's a letterpressed print of the Salt Lake Temple designed completely from typography. Utah-based designer Cameron Moll created this limited-edition print and we were lucky enough to nab one of the last ones. We've been told for years to have a picture of the Temple in our home. Now we have a very inspirational pic—in more ways than one!

I'm a spoiled, spoiled brat.

Still gettin' used to the single button glass trackpad. But the raddest thing is that a brand spankin' new Apple LED Cinema Display is on order too. Booyah!

More MINI.

So I’ve lasted a whole month without writing a MINI post. And I’ll admit, it’s been tough. So sorry Team Boo, I’m back on the saddle. This weekend the MINIzilla reemerged for winter, just in time for the first decent snowstorm of the season.

Speaking of wheels, I’ve been curious if the two-piece rims that roll on in the summertime could successfully be disassembled, painted and reassembled. Then I came across these little photos. This guy disassembled the rims, rattle-canned them with five coats of paint, hit ‘em with some matte clear-coat, then reassembled them. The results are pretty amazing.

So now I’m thinking about painting the inner pieces of my rims the exact same color, Dark Silver, as the body of my rod. I just think it’d be a cool, simple way to make my rather common MINI extremely unique. Here's my current rim, thinking I'm goin' grey!

Who Are These People?

When I was in junior high, I discovered SNL. My favorite things on the show were the commercial spoofs. The best usually featured Phil Hartman as some smooth salesman. One of his commercials was for a car that was luxury on the inside and jalopy on the outside.

Well, I think I've discovered a subculture within the Volkswagen enthusiast community who have taken this idea to the next level. It's a unique take on the concept of a sleeper. Basically you find a crummy old Rabbit or Golf, pimp out the engine and the interior, then trash the exterior and strap a bunch of old luggage on the roof rack. And voilà! You've got yourself a super rad junker that'll take almost anything off the line. Seriously, if you know who these people are or what this type of VDub is called, lemme know!

To All You Coldplay Haters Out There...

On Saturday, the Coldplays rocked the Energy Solutions Arena (a.k.a. The Delta Center) in a manner that would do the great Bono Vox proud. The tracks from their latest album Viva la Vida were the standouts of the evening. The entire arena was brought into the action, whether it be through performances from up in the stands, remixes of their own tunes out in the crowd or via a blizzard of billions and billions of butterflies being blown from the rafters.

The show was straight-up surreal in a very, very good way. Granted Chris and company skipped the junior college-sized venues and went straight on to grad school-sized arenas, but they wore it well. Here's the hottest number of the night.



PS: And yes, my non-sexual man-crush on Will the drummer is alive and well.

Thanks For The Blingage.

As promised, HabbenINK came through with some out-of-this-world blingage for the good ol' BMW 2002. Click here to enlarge the spacey goodness.