If you ask almost any skateboard photographer on who their influences are, most would probably bring up Grant Brittain. Brittain spent a great amount of time capturing the early careers of riders such as Tony Hawk, Danny Way and Mark Gonzales to name a few. Brittain shoots with an intuition that captures the personalities of his subjects. His photo of Tod Swank still comes to mind as one of my favorite images in photography.

Last night, Subtext in Little Italy played venue for LOOK: The Work of Grant Brittain & Josh Higgins. It was a full house — with both the gallery space and patio filled with art-hungry guests and industry folk alike. The snacks (mustard sausages!) provided by the Tractor Room served as a tasty distraction from the unusually chilly summer night. Things also got warmer as Adrian Demain laid down his skills as the nights tunesmith. And this is what I saw…

Edit: The show goes on July 30th – August 29th, 2010. Be sure to swing by and check out the show before its over. Prints are available for sale while they last.

This year’s Comic-Con really stood behind their ComiTRON promotion and even went as far implementing a fully functional arcade with all the vintage games you can think of. I spent a good amount of my time racking up points on the Galaga cabinet before heading to the back room that would make most Tronphilles go crazy.

Disguised as a Pepsi-serving cocktail lounge, the Tron: Legacy-themed space screened the  film’s trailer along with a fully choreographed light show. Below, is some footage that I took.

San Diego artist, Acamonchi and Jyumoku workman, Ted Galvez.

The heavily guarded room exhibiting our favorite existencilist, Banksy.

Above is Otávio Pandolfo, one half of Os Gemeos. They were definitely one of my favorite participants at the show. Be sure to catch a glimpse of their large scale piece on Horton Plaza’s G-Street facade. Some of you sneaker collectors may recognize the Zoom FCs that they designed for Nike a couple of years back. I forget the name of the gentleman below. Nice guy and a pretty good DJ. After I took this photo, he reached down his pocket and handed me a sticker with Andre the Giant on it. Thanks dude.

Last Saturday I swung by the Gravity Shapes art show to check out Jordan Josafat’s (above) “Telekom” series. The collection focuses on a post-apocalyptic world dependent on satellite energy sources. And with all the Mel Gibsons and “spilling” going on in this world, living on a floating island with a remote energy source doesn’t sound too bad, no?

WK12 is an experimental school housed within Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland headquarters. Only open to 13 students a year, the school — disguised as an ad agency, has been able to gather some of the country’s most talented individuals seeking to express their craft under one of the world’s most successful ad agencies.  Known for composing some of Nike’s most innovative campaigns, W+K brought life to the Just Do It, I am not a role model, and Bo Knows spots. Their current claim to fame can be found within their work with Old Spice — which stars a cool, nonchalant and sometimes an equestrian-chic, Isaiah Mustafa.

Now why was I in Portland last weekend? Turns out, I was (humbly) selected as one of the final 26 applicants chosen to spend the weekend in Portland with current WK12 students and W+K staff. Hopefuls from all over the country were flown to The City of Roses to meet, greet and get familiar with brains behind W+K. The weekend also provided as the final stage of the selection process; where 13 members will be chosen to succeed the current WK12.6 class. It was an honor to spend the weekend with so many great minds. Who’ll make the final 13 and be named WK12.7? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

This is Dan Wieden, co-founder of W+K along with his long time friend and collaborator, David Kennedy. He’s the man responsible for coining Nike’s culture moving “Just Do It” slogan. He’s pretty much shaped the way we digest the modern world of advertising. Just being in his presence was inspiring. In an open discussion, Wieden fielded questions about the humble beginnings of W+K and shared his thoughts about the current state of advertising and some of the social conflicts between the advertising industry and its audience.

Wieden also revealed the story behind the Just Do It slogan and its grim connection to the execution of convicted murderer, Gary Gilmore. The story reveals that before Gilmore was sent off to be executed, he was asked if he had any last words. Gilmore simply replied, “Let’s do it”. Wieden felt that that the gusty reply related well with the physical hurdles that athletes face on a daily basis. Wieden then replaced the word “Let’s” with “Just”, and the rest is history.

I have a fondness for well-built spaces. The Wieden+Kennedy headquarters was constructed by Portland’s Allied Works Architecture firm under the direction of Brad Cloepfil. Its concrete laid construction reminded me a lot of the Salk Institute in San Diego by Louis Kahn.

A video of Dum Dum Girls covering GG Allin’s “Don’t Talk to Me”. Captured by lemuchacho via youtube. He or she probably stood right in front of me and I didn’t even know it.

Late afternoon, yesterday, I went and watched Barry McGee for a few minutes as he prepared for the MCASD’s Viva la Revolución show next month. Can’t wait!

Invader has been busy too…

The Regal Beagle Ale House in Mission Hills had just opened up and a few of us headed over for a few pints. The tap selection was pretty atypical for San Diego — where most ale houses lean towards a west coast IPA-dominated selection. Pretty refreshing though. Its good to see a beer list that most people can appreciate.

En route to the Casbah, we tried to catch the Heavy Hawaii set but managed to get there just as they played their last song. All Saints Day (Vivian Girls/Cat power) was on the last stop of their west coast tour and played a 5-song set that ended with a cover of New Order’s Age of Consent. Definitely excited for their upcoming 7″ on Art Fag Recordings.

The Keep-A-Breast Foundation is a non-profit organization that uses art and educational programs to raise awareness of methods of prevention and early detection of breast cancer. They do great things and are definitely a great advocate for the cause.

On behalf of BLENDS, Florito and I made our way to the KaB office to discuss an upcoming project with KaB, Nike SB and Todd Bratrud. Should be very interesting. Super excited and its an honor to work with the KaB staff. Be on the lookout for the Comic-Con Weekend.

North county is beautiful. If all goes right, I wouldn’t mind retiring here. There’s a relaxing calm in the air along this coastal 5-mile strip of San Diego. The proximity to the ocean, the birds, the cyclists… everyone always seems happy in this part of town.

Pannikin Coffee & Tea. The best place to get coffee in San Diego north of the 8-Freeway. Easy. The building was a former train station before making its transformation into a coffee house. Rumor has it that the top floor of the building used to house a brothel. Pretty awkward thought as I enjoyed a slice of a zucchini walnut slice.