Inspiration Black and White Kitchen Interior Design from French by Mobalpa

modern combination white and black kitchen interior design

Modern wooden kitchen design

Here are some inspirational black and white kitchens from French kitchen maker Mobalpa. something kitchen design with combination black and white colors kitchen can be elegant, enigmatic and can give a inspiration room to your home. Decorating a black and white kitchen requires a good eye for balance and placement. The colors, even if slightly off, can ruin the look of the whole room. But if used well together, black and white play off each other’s strengths and will definitely give the kitchen.

Love & Music piece

Had Izreal stopping by to extend his Love & Music sleeve.....bit more work to do on it, some roses and touch ups on the first piece...

Luxury Bed Modern Design by Alf Group Furniture Italy

Luxury Bed Modern Design

Luxury Bed Modern Design

Here is luxury bed design inspiration by alf group italy furniture manufacturers. luxury floating bed ideas from the company was named as “Aladino Up”, a suspended platform bedroom set with nice touches like the upholstered grid patterned headboard, soft touch closing drawers, and orthopedic slats that cushion the platform frame for a comfortable nights sleep.

Top modern bathtub design interior by pearl

modern bathtub design interior

Here is bathtub design by pearl, as comfort is considered top priority at Pearl, Eterne features ingeniously integrated armrests that are perfectly positioned for extra ease and support. Pearl allows you to custom design your at-home spa experience by combining the benefits of five therapies : air therapy, hydrotherapy, heat therapy, chromatherapy and aromatherapy, but for more info about this bathtub I invite you to visit Pearl website.

Top Interior Green Kitchen Design by Mint Value Kitchens

top interior design kitchen

top interior design kitchen

Here is a very attractive design in green kitchen a set of red, brown, black and white and orange kitchens, here is a post dedicated to green kitchens. These kitchens inspire healthy living, not only because of their subtle hues but also because of their designs. The color green signals wealth, prosperity and growth. What better place to install them in than areas dedicated to good food and fine dining. Mint Value Kitchens.

New Skool Tongan Coat of Arm

The thing about tattooing nowadays, it's largely appreciated for its aesthetics value more so than its cultural and historical aspects, most tattoos attempt to maintain some sense of connection to the latter aspects while appealing to fashion and ideas of innovation and newness. This piece is an example, where the wearer wanted to get the Tongan Coat of Arm yet in a new and innovated way...so here's our result...all the main symbols are there yet reorganized to speak in a contemporary lingo...

some evil skull fix-up

Had this very diabolical skull to deal with on Saturday night along with a box of Carlsberg that made a very difficult task kind of not so hard as it actually is....

Renegade - Jay-Z & Eminem (live David Letterman Show)

"...the renegade/ you been afraid/ of I penetrate/ pop culture/ n bring'em a lot closer/ to the block/ with me..."



Don't know why but everytime Em shares the mic with other people on the same cypher, he raises his own level to a point where he is about two levels above them...

MARK LANKIN - FUNHOUSE TATTOO ARTIST

About 8 years ago, the shop was open on Broadway and Ontario. I was in need of another artist to fill a chair and Mark walked in. When potential artists come looking for work, I usually look at their portfolios and take a day or 2 to decide, unless it's real mediocre stuff or poor stuff, in that case, I shut 'em down right there. But Mark was a whole other story. I said "can you start tomorrow?" Ha!! He agreed. Now, we had another secret weapon in the shop to combat any mediocrity in the city.

Every artist has their own style and some artists, these days, don't. They have someone else's style. This can be seen in the trend of repetitive traditional tattooing. Some artists don't travel outa their comfort zone. Mark doesn't have a comfort zone, he's uncomfortable all the time, that's why he does great work like this!!

If I was to categorize his style, I would say it's a cross between action hero comic books and realism. See these dragons he's doing, that's what dragons look like in real life, for your information. And this is what Heather our shop helper and owner of THE GOODS SCREENING AND APPAREL ON BROADWAY AT KINGSWAY just across from the KINGS GATE MALL looks like when she's on the toilet! Go talk to her, maybe you can buff her flamed helmet and then, she can buff yours... if not, go purchase some of their items, or get some shirts printed.

Maybe you're just like the rest of the world and really enjoy collecting fetus skeletons and want to pay tribute to your collection with a tattoo of one in a test tube! Or maybe you are a girl who likes to drive tanks and destroy sh*t. BAM!!!

If so, Mark will do it.

Maybe you want that portrait of your dalmatian. Y'know, that special photo you took of him before he died from smoking may mean everything to you. At least you got one before he died!! And now, you could remember him FOREVER the way he was when he was happiest...before the tar in his lungs turned into tumors and suffocated him to death.

Whatever it is, realistic, Japanese, bio-mechanical, color, black and grey... come down and talk to Mark. Come down and talk about hobos, government, food, Bart Simpson, the dumpster, the broom...christmas socks.

The Tu'i Tonga & Tu'i Kanokupolu

Tonga has undergone several major social changes over the last millennium, which created a complex system of social and family ranking. Prior to the adoption of Western law and government, Tongan society was stratified into 3 classes: Eiki, Tu'a, and Hopoate (High chiefs/Gods, Commoners, and Slaves).

The Tu'i Tonga

The highest ranking and oldest chiefly title in Tonga belongs to the Tu'i Tonga. The Tu'i Tonga line began around 950AD with the last Tu'i Tonga title being bestowed on Laufilitonga in the 1800's. The Tu'i Tonga line was eventually folded in with the current ruling dynasty by Taufa'ahau Tupou I and later consolidated by the late Queen Salote through her marriage to Tungi Mailefihi.

The first Tu'i Tonga was 'Aho'eitu, who was the son of Tangaloa'eitumatupu'a and Va'epopua. He created and instituted this sacred line which eventually led to the creation of two subsequent dynasties--the Tu'i Ha'atakalaua and the Tu'i Kanokupolu. These dynasties would control the direct authority over Tonga, rendering the Tu'i Tonga as toputapu - sacred and deified. This meant that no Tongan was allowed to touch or look upon the Tu'i Tonga unless he/she had divine responsibilities to this chiefly line. This sacred divinity meant that those belonging to the Tu'i Tonga line were tattooed on rare, significant occasions. For the most part, they were never tattooed. Several accounts detail Tu'i Tonga that were tattooed:

• During the 1800s, Tonga was undergoing radical changes, both in power and culture. This was largely due to the growing Kanokupolu dynasty and Christianity. The Tu'i Tonga, Fatafehi Fuanunuiava, vowed to break custom in rebellion against chiefs who were dismantling the Tu'i Tonga's power. In his rebellion, he broke the tapu on his body and got a Malofie. The process was completed in Samoa in two sessions, which gave him the nickname "Fakauakimanuka" commemorating the completion of his tatatau within the two journeys. The first trip was to Manono to begin the process. The second and final journey was to Manu'a where the tattoo was finally completed. On both occasions, the tattooers' bodies were said to have swollen up. Eventually, both died as a result of 'wounding' the Tu'i Tonga's sacred body. Upon completion of the tatatau, two 'ie toga (Samoan fine mats) were given to Fatafehi to commemorate the event and as a gesture of respect to the Tu'i Tonga high sacred rank.

• Fakana'ana'a was the 34th Tu'i Tonga. It is said that he was tattooed on the island of Mo'ungaone in Ha'apai using unconventional tattooing methods of the time.

The Tu'i Ha'atakalaua
For a short period, the Tu'i Ha'atakalaua was created, and the position of Hau - a chief who directed the affairs of governing his people - was created. The Tu'i Tonga title at this point became less involved with the direct affairs of governing, and the 'inasi, or honoring/offerings of first harvest, became a ritual part of honoring the Tu'i Tonga legacy. The Tu'i Ha'atakalaua followed much of the traditions of the Tu'i Tonga and were not tattooed as well.


The Tu'i Kanokupolu
The Tu'i Kanokupolu title became the more dominant and powerful title during the 1500s and eventually overshadowed the direct authority of the Tu'i Ha'atakalaua. The first Tu'i Kanokupolu was Ngata who was born from a the ruling Tu'i Ha'atakalaua and Samoan mother named Limapo (known also by her Tongan name, Tohu'ia). In keeping with the Samoan traditions of its maternal heritage, the Tu'i Kanokupolu instituted the malofie as a mark of chiefly status, and perpetuated the traditions of being tattooed only by a Samoan Tufuga. This was also a gesture to connect with his mother's Upolu heritage.

• Mata'eleha'amea was the 4th Tu'i Kanokupolu. It is said that when he received his malofie, his backside was untattooed which earned him the nickname Mata'ele'usitea.

• Taufa'ahau Tupou I went to Samoa and completed a full malofie in one day. He also had the tip of his penis tattooed completely black to show his ability to withstand pain.

• Chief Vaha'i also wore a Malofie that was completed by a Samoan tufuga tatatau.

Throughout this change in power amongst the chiefly families in Tonga, commoners were continuing the tattoo traditions which had been practiced from long before. It was not till traditional tattooing was completely outlawed in 1839 that Tongans finally began abandoning this longstanding practice. Tongans chiefs and commoners who wanted a tattoo would soon have to travel to Samoa to have one completed. Ultimately, Savai'i tattooing families gained much from this new law as many were paid with fine mats, ngatu, and other forms of cultural payment for the tattoo received.

Hefa Tuita (from Tuita Boys)

We Tongans don't get to see any of our people on T.V, unless its for something to do with current events on the media, mostly negative coverage lol. So when we do get to see a "Tongan" on television for something positive other than sports, we get a bit too excited and there's a sense of pride in being Tongan. Sometimes we tend to make false claims on people that kind of look Tongan but whose ethnic background is obscured at the time...like that time we claimed Mel Meninga was Tongan, or that time my village in Tonga as a little kid believed for a while that Joe Stanley was Tongan, all because while watching a test match between the All Blacks and France or some European country, an old lady was quite persuasive in telling us that the Polynesian-looking guy in the All Blacks was Tongan lol. Nowadays, we are numb to the excitement of the past when an Island-looking person is on the television set because we are all too familiar with those brown faces dominating our rugby and almost every other sports that involves hurting the opposition. This guy though, is quite different, well, may be not here in NZ coz we're used to seeing brown faces dominating the hip-hop and dance scene, but Hefa Tuita seems to have made it quite big in a much bigger (if not the main) platform - the U.S. I've never heard of the guy until him and his brothers under the group/band 'Tuita Boys' released the song 'You Make Me Wanna' which is the little beauty that's been repeatedly requested on Niu fm by listeners for the last week or so. Apparently, he's pretty famous in the U.S for being in numerous entertainment related stuff and also for being in this program. He ain't the most masculine fellah though.....

Tuita Boyz- You Make Me Wana (2009) Island Reggae by urban-kupesi tattoos

Japanese scene

Had John over for a little session on the Japanese theme sleeve we're currently working on. Its been a while since our last session (last year) and there was a lot of making up to do in terms of fitting in the new work with the old...will put up the piece as it progress...

What Was Fascism?

William E. Connolly
Johns Hopkins University

As Karl Polanyi argues in The Great Transformation, a prescient book published in 1944, the very breadth and intensity of fascist movements after the Great Depression means that none can be reduced entirely to local causes. Rather, the collapse of market economies ushered such movements into a variety of states, with only a few succeeding. The collapse of the market image of society in the Depression amplified regional and local resentments already there. As Polanyi says, “It was in the third period–after 1929–that the true significance of fascism became apparent...Until then fascism had been hardly more than a trait in Italy’s authoritarian government...It now emerged as an alternative solution of the problem of industrial society. Germany took the lead in a revolution of European scope...” (p. 252). 

While containing a few socialist ideas at first fascism in power retained capitalist ownership, created a one party system, defined Jews, homosexuals, the Romani, social democrats, Bolsheviks, the incapacitated, and “degenerate” artists as constituencies to be excluded, placed in concentration camps or exterminated, and mobilized the general populace for internal repression and external aggression. Its success grew out of resonances back and forth between local, church, gestapo, neighborhood, police and military interventions, in which local resentments were linked to the larger condition of economic failure.

Fascism is extreme and scary. So today the Right must not allow it to be remembered as a reaction to the failure of unfettered marketeerism. Thus publicists such as Jonah Goldberg in Liberal Fascism now redefine it to mean any large intervention of the state into the economy, even if it is to reduce poverty, respond to recession, regulate capital more carefully, or respond to global warming. Keynesianism, the New Deal, anti poverty programs, are now placed under the umbrella of “liberal fascism”, even though these developments in the thirties actually helped to ward off the fascist potential simmering in several states. Goldberg is the most literate of a band of media talking heads such as Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity who identify the large state as such with the drive to fascism. But why ignore its one party character?  That fact must be avoided to push the equation between state size and fascist tendency. Okay, Why insist that a large state is key? 

That claim allows the contemporary Right to ignore or deny how market failure spurred  fascist reactions the first time around and to insist that a minimally regulated economy is the only way to avoid the danger now. To the extent an underregulated market allows inequality, global warming, and a extreme boom/bust cycle, to that extent all social movements and state actions designed to ward off those effects can now be deemed irrational and counterproductive. Hence the need to evade how unfettered capitalism promotes global warming.

This rewriting of the history of fascism is dangerous partly because of the neoliberal fantasy it protects, partly because of the state repression of minorities it sanctions, and partly because of the orientation to the future it adopts. It is thus also pertinent to see that the Goldberg/Beck revisionism is not exactly new. Its roots are located in academic neoliberals, starting as early as middle nineteen thirties. As Michel Foucault has shown in The Birth of Biopolitics, in the middle thirties a group of German and French neoliberals began to redefine classic market theory: first, to claim that its collapse was not a major source of the fascist reactions; second, to redefine the ideal itself so that rather than the state leaving the market alone (the laissez faire model) the state must now become an active, meticulous supporter of social arrangements to fit workers, consumers, and schools to the dictates of market society; and, third, to claim that an unfettered market provided the best possible organization of society. Friedrich Hayek offered a moderate version of this view in The Road to Serfdom, and others pushed it even more actively.

Thus the story told by Goldberg et al is a radicalization and simplification of a long term neoliberal theme that has now gained hegemony on Fox News, financial TV Shows, numerous right wing think tanks, the corporate right, and a large section of the white middle class. 

It is easy to see why the corporate/financial right supports this historical revisionism and the neoliberal imaginary. It vindicates the extreme rewards to which they feel extremely entitled. But why does a large section of the white middle class buy into the neoliberal fantasy while also supporting anti-minority, nationalizing drives that actually foment a large, active, aggressive state? Perhaps it is partly because that myth is the only story currently available that allows those caught in the pressure cooker of contemporary life to imagine individual ways to escape the binds they are in (by winning a lottery, starting a small business, becoming a great athlete or a beautiful model, etc), while it also allows them to vent their dissaffection on those below them. Whatever the sources--and we must come to understand them better–the result a dangerous constellation of forces and ideas.

So, then, a few “talking points”:

1) Fascism, the first time around, emerged as a response in several countries to the failure of unfettered market economies.

2) Social democrats stood heroically against its consolidation in Hitler’s Germany. But Jews, Communists, homosexuals, the Romani and other minorities were not able to act politically against it(to say the least), while several other sections either pursued or silently accepted consolidation of the fascist state.

3)A fascist state is not any large state. Contemporary states shaped by neoliberal ideology are themselves large–-a fact many seek to explain away. A fascist state is a large, one party, bellicose nationalizing state built around an ideal of purity (racist or religious) that feeds on war and the violent repression of minorities.

4) The right wing redefinition of fascism ignores the historical failure of the neoliberal imaginary as well as deflecting attention from the distinctive character of a fascist state.

5) The intensity of the desire to deny or evade the historical connection between the collapse of the pure market ideal and the rise of fascist movements reflects an imperious sense of special entitlement among the corporate right (not all corporate figures are on the right) and an insistent response by a large section of the white middle class to real binds facing it. 

It may be incumbent upon the democratic left to publicize these points as we encourage the white middle class to redefine the sources of its grievances and the actual remedies for them. The complicated task is to identify the dangers reactionary social movements promote while speaking sympathetically to the binds that usher them into being.