Trouble Will Find Me

Well, I'm head over heels digging The National's new album, Trouble Will Find Me. And this track and its accompanying video push this album even further up the charts for me. I'm so stoked on this one, that Mrs. Kyality and I are literally passing up Bob Dylan/Wilco/MMJ tix to see them at this year's Twilight Concert Series here in SLC.

Thanks to Upto12 for the heads up on this vid. 

Bagged Bag

A couple of years ago, I spent nearly 18 months in search of my ideal messenger bag. My old mish buddy pinged me looking for bag suggestions not too long ago. He didn't know what he was in for. After a barrage of questioning to determine what his everyday carry (ECD) really looked like, I was able to prioritize a list that really informed what bags would work. 



After no more than about 90 minutes, I found it: the STM Velo. There was absolutely no question. This was the one. My buddy had to agree. Here's some pics of his recent acquisition.

And here's his ECD:
• STM Velo Laptop Bag
• Dell Laptop (company issued)
• Power cord and various adapter cords
• Mail/Bills that need response
• Magazines
• Checkerboad Mighty Wallet
• DVD sets on loan
• Gifts cards I need to use up
• Scout Book with pen and pencils
• Belkin portable mouse
• Opinel Knife – Classic Carbone
• Knockaround Fort Knocks Sunglasses
• Security Badge
• Skullcandy Ear Buds
• Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone
• Lint Roller (just got a dog)

A Hundred and Three 'Arrested' Jokes

The doods at Struck have burned the midnight oil to crank out an ode to Arrested just in time for Netflix's Season 4 launch. Love it.

Indian River Road

Although I wouldn't mind seeing this car haulin' a bit faster down these winding roads... I still love this car's aesthetic against a forested backdrop.

Let Fun Reign

Still can't get enough of this spot by my team at Struck for Lagoon. I went to Lagoon on every childhood vacay from my home in NY while visiting fam in SLC and this captures so much of the essence of those summer evening memories.

Color Scheming a Go-Go

A few years ago, I did a sweet little series of blog posts that I affectionately referred to as Color Scheming. I took each of the MINI factory colors and paired well-designed products with them by color. It was a ton of fun.

For a while now, I've been thinking it'd be cool to do this for a client dynamically. Well, leave it to Nike to do it first. Nike PhotoiD is a tight little web app designed to analyze the colors of an Instagram of your choice. It then applies the colors to a sneaker and beautifully overlays the custom kicks on your pic. It then allows you to share the image and even purchase the shoes.

In discussing the notion of color scheming at work, @magicspoon turned me onto a cool experiment called Matchbook. In this somewhat sassy study, book cover designs are paired with, well swimsuits… primarily bikinis. It's honestly pretty inspiring and definitely not hard to look at.

All this color scheming has inspired me to start a new pinboard dedicated to the art of color pairing. I'll be loading it up over next few weeks, so enjoy!

Sleeping Giant

I recently realized that come September, I'll have three of The Kyality Kids in elementary school. I typically haul them to school in the morning. But the MINI only has two buckets in the back and Mrs. Kyality won't let them sit in the front until they're like 18 or something. Upon realizing this, I told my wife that either I needed to get a new car or else she'd need to take the kids to school in the morning. Her response was brief and to the point. She simply said, "Run the numbers."

Photo by Stopped.

After reviewing my always-evolving next car consideration set, there was only one car in the bunch that had the kid-hauling capacity and cool factor I desire. So, for the first time seven years, I've broken with tradition and made the jump from MINI to VW. The GTI is the ultimate hot hatch, possessing along with MINIs an amazing combination of sport, economy, luxury, personality and style. It actually wasn't that tough of a decision and happened relatively quickly partly because the only MINI I'd consider that has five seats is well over $5k more than a GTI and is not nearly as fast. 

I know I've dedicated numerous posts to my love of MINIs and I still love them, but honestly I was a Porsche guy way before I was ever a MINI guy. And let's face it, Porsche guys are VW guys. So I scored a black four door and I seriously dig it. The GTI has a giant-sized power to weight ratio and is incredible in the curves. It's a much more refined ride than the Clubman, for better or worse. And it's a great looking ride, though it's way more under radar than a MINI. I've learned that MINIs are attention grabbers, where as GTIs are sleepers. Only people in the know can spot a GTI in a sea of Golfs. 

I took my son to baseball the other day and when we got out of the car he goes, "It's freakin' cold!" I kinda just said, "Hey, don't say freakin'." He quickly retorted, "Can I say you have a freakin' cool car?" I simply responded, "Yes. Yes you can." 

I know I'll drive a MINI again one day. But for know, I'm totally enjoying being a GTI guy. And yes, an official photo shoot will be coming soon.

Jay + Urban Outlaw

I recently posted a cool video called Urban Outlaw about Porsche designer/remixer Magnus Walker. Here Jay Leno reviews Walker's signature 1972 Porsche 911 72STR. Despite Jay's chin, it's a pretty amazing look into a very cool custom car. Enjoy!

Manual Designs

Graphic design meets automotive design meets fine art. Love it.

Ultimate Paintball Duel

This is just good fun.

Bimmer Meets Beamers

This just in... Edwin Denim posts a righteous branded vid chock full of Bimmer and Beamer goodness. Make sure you watch this thing in full screen, it's seriously beautifully.

2002 Turbo: A Flawless Specimen

SouthernJ turned me onto this eBay find that is quite possibly the most exquisite vehicle on the road today... and that's not an exaggeration in the slightest.

It's days like these that make me hate the fact that I ever sold this little guy.

Beach House - Forever Still

Not sure if this is considered a short film or just a really long music video, but this Beach House vid by Pitchfork features gorgeous footage with amazing ambiance perfect for accompanying an evening of blogging/surfing. Enjoy!

Color Scheming Comes to Life

A couple of years ago, I stumbled onto pics of a bike that  was basically a two-wheeled version of my Clubman. That spawned a little series of experimental posts on this blog that I called Color Scheming.

Since then I've constantly been thinking about a matching car/bike combo and the designers at Hyundai of North America brought my dream to life with this customized Veloster Turbo.

I've always had a thing for the Veloster and this C3 Concept has definitely fanned those flames.

And I totally dig how they've integrated the mount into the rear hatch.

I'd love to see both this car and its matching whip make it to production. Unfortunately, like all concept cars, that's highly unlikely.

Anyone Up For a Drive?

Stumbled on this pic via StancedAutos and man, I can't wait for a spring drive in a clean MINI. Here's a link to the full photoshoot via Southrnfresh. Click the pic to see this shot in all its glory.

One Car to Do It All

Another awesome video by Petrolicious that's slightly reminiscent the Porsche Everyday work we did at Struck for Porsche of North America and man, does this make me want one. (And that garage too, sheesh.) Thanks for the heads up M. Waissmann.

The Ranger

If you did already know this about me, I'm a sucker for branded social content creation. And on that note, I'm totally digging the production value, art direction, music on this piece by State Bicycle. Not to mention, that's a sweet whip.

BMW Alpinas

These are a pair of strikingly rare and beautiful beasts.

The ABC of Architects

Totally digging this beautiful motion graphics piece and its subject matter. It's designed by Federico Gonzalez a Barcelona-based motionographer. I especially dig the animation of the Frank Gehry museum in Bilbao.

Stripped Down 911

Here's another great little vid all about the 911 being a blank canvas for extreme personalization. This one belongs to the head of design at Bugatti, who compares his 911 to a custom fixie. Great little vid.