Deadstock

For the Ga tribe in coastal Ghana, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. The Ga people believe that when their loved ones die, they move on into another life, and the Ga make sure they do so in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived.

The coffins are designed to represent an aspect of the dead person's life, such as a car if they were a driver, a fish if their livelihood was the sea, or a sewing machine for a seamstress. They might also symbolize a vice, such as a bottle of beer or a cigarette.
A cigarette-shaped coffin is carried in a funeral procession in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Relatives wanted to honor the dead man's love of smoking and his cigarette business.
Shoe Coffin: Prizes for an imaginative coffin vary between five and six million Cedis (about 500 to 600 US dollars).
Beer Coffin:It's not unusual that fatalities are kept in the fridge of the morgue for almost three weeks until the carpenters have finished their shaped coffins to show mourners the profession or the individuality of the casual.
"Air Jordan" Coffin: The literal meaning of deadstock? Coca Cola Coffin: Young carpenters open a coffin shaped in the form of a Coca Cola bottle in Teshie, a suburb of Accra.
Benz Coffin: Affordable when dead: For about 30 years Ghana has earned a special reputation for the world's most colorful and imaginative coffins for their dead.

With a little research we found these coffins have taken ahold in the "Urban" market as well...

Hat Trick

If you're in the city this week go support the arts...

Here's NORM's latest, with the homie SAKE out in Montreal

His & Hers

That video below sucks by the way. Hard to believe YouTube doesn't
have any better footage that captured the nuttiness that was Freaknik.
Those rims were pretty fresh though.

FREAKNIK

RIP

Ironman

Tony Starks is coming to the big screen next year...
Peep the preview
Looks kinda suspect

Andy Warhol eats a Cheeseburger

Banality made into art.

PBS PREVIEWS: THE WAR

Ken Burns' 'The War' Preview
On Sept. 23, PBS will begin airing Ken Burns' WWII documentary, "The War." I've been eagerly anticipating this for the last 3 plus years. For those who can't wait till the 23rd here is a half-hour preview to tide you over:

Shocking

Ya think?

Proper...

The only thing that's missing is some tiny hookers and blood splatters...

Craze Archaeology

1999
2004

Probably on the late train here, but just recently saw this site http://www.otherthings.com/grafarc/flash/view.htm and thought it was worth passing along. For those familiar with San Francisco and some of the site's locations it's pretty bugged out.

Speaking of the Band...

Last year Loss Prevention senior designer SEVER was invited by Kid Robot to customize one of their signature FATCAP figures.
His redesign paid homage to the glorious MANUTE BOL circa his 1985 rookie campaign with the NBA's Washington, DC Bullets. Coming complete with trademark melancholy eyes, lanky muscle-free appendages, knee high tube socks, bo-bo hightops, wristbands, and a basketball.

For the uninitiated, Manute Bol is a seven foot six inch long Dinkan Tribesman/Warrior from the war torn Sudanese region of Africa who as a 15 year old would slay a lion with his spear—a feat his agent would later use as leverage during contract negotiations. At 18 he relocated to the US where he would go on to delight millions, slaying nine angelic seasons in the NBA and earning over 18 million dollars, of which he would donate more than half to help the Sudanese People's Liberation efforts in his desperate homeland. Upon his retirement he would swallow his pride, brush dignity aside, and entertain crowds as something of a side show act. Among other things he became certified as a jockey fit to race horses. He would also briefly don ice skates while moonlighting as a professional minor league hockey player. Most remember the capper being Fox pitting him against Refrigerator Perry in their short-lived Celebrity Boxing Series, which would uncerimoniously end in a draw as nary a punch was thrown.

These are all only a handful of events in the life of a truly extraordinary man. Bottom line, look the dude up, he is off the chain and held in the highest regard. A true hero of our times (minus the beating his wife part I left off) and worthy of a statuette.






Thanx Olan Mills...



Somewhat more relaxed at the crib... and apparently in timeout.

Accompanying tee shirt...

Please salute a true gentleman.

That's right!!!

We're thinkin' about gettin' the band back together...

The Shock Doctrine by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein (No Logo) and Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón (Children of Men) have created a short film to accompany her latest book, "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," whose thesis is that present-day global capitalism took hold when its advocates learned to exploit disasters. After a disaster (war, tsunami, terrorist attack), you can push your agenda for worsening labor conditions, looser regulation, and pocket-lining exercises (Enron, Halliburton) while the reeling, disaster-struck population of the world has its attention elsewhere.
Klein attributes this technique to Milton Friedman, who is reported to have said that "only a crisis -- real or perceived -- produces real change." She connects this idea to the fundamental notion underpinning CIA torture techniques (as reported in CIA interrogation manuals from 1963 and 1983) -- to produce a state of shock in which the victim is out of control of her faculties, a "suspended animation" that can be exploited to get victims to do things that violate their own ethics or beliefs.

The Cuaróns' filmmaking is superb, as is Klein's writing. This is a chilling and powerful 7-minute film, and it made me want to pick up the book as soon as possible.

Kasual Korner

My man Ewok over at Lords of Apathy just remarked the other day about this little ensemble. We were both scratching our heads and wondered how this had fallen out of favor. Collectively we agreed that it's high time someone brought this back. This is a call to arms people.

The Boss

Seen this dude walking outta Lenox Station in the "A" a few years back... Yelled out "WOOOOO" and he threw one back at me

Breakin' and Poppin'

My nomination for the "Exact moment that Hip Hop died" category at this years VMA's. That's Carlton, right?

Kid Ceaze

Loss Prevention contributor Ceaze just got back from M-Town, Ten-a-key and graced us with some treatsies. Peep the dead-stock Mutumbo's size 17.

Rat's Wassup!

Check the Rattitude at the door...

Open Sesame...

via videosift.com

Tight

Stephen Hawking in legos.