The fashion world is mourning the death of iconic Paris designer, Yves Saint Laurent. He defined how modern women dressed with his elegant styles. Saint Laurent died following a long-term illness at 71. He is said to be the last of a legendary generation of designers, including Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, who made Paris the fashion capital of the world.

Saint Laurent was named most influential and enduring designer of his time in the world of haute couture. He was also able to touch every part of the fashion industry with his iconic pieces and by delivering this high level of dress to the masses. He was recognized at the young age of 17 for a cocktail dress design. Saint Laurent then enrolled in school for a short period of time and was immediately hired by Dior. When Dior died, Saint Laurent was put in charge of the House of Dior at 21.

He empowered women and gave them confidence. He left his mark in the world of fashion forever and will be missed.

So there’s this bum hangout right around the corner from the Synthesis office. It’s like this shelter for young adults who want to sit around all day smoking cigarettes and hanging on the couch in the air conditioning with their pit bull mix instead of, well, anything else. Today on my way to get coffee, Dain and I walked by this young derelict who asks, almost as an afterthought, if he could bum a cigarette. It might have been a cold move, but this was my response:

I think singing one bar of the The Silhouettes’ “Get a Job” got my point across.

Being a dick is awesome.

I just thought this was really cute…

Me and my esteemed colleague Daniel James Taylor have been singing the praises of Prong’s metal masterpiece “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” from their all around boss album Cleansing all day. So I looked up this video and instantly got reminded of the badd assery that Prong brought to the table almost FIFTEEN years ago. This was back when some of the best heavy shit was hot; Pantera, Sepultura, Helmet, Danzig etc. All of those bands still get regular rotation on my itunes, something I can’t say about a lot of the metal that is coming out today. I can’t say that I will be rocking the As I Lay Dying album that came out recently fifteen years from now.

Listen to the molten scooped solid state tone on the crunches and enjoy.

The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the sand puppy, or desert mole rat is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and the only species currently classified in genus Heterocephalus. It is notable for its eusocial lifestyle, nearly unique among mammals (only the Damaraland mole rat shares the trait), and for a highly unusual set of physical traits that enables it to thrive in a harsh, underground environment; including a lack of pain sensation in its skin, and a nearly cold-blooded metabolism.

Anybody else resisting the urge to just beat it off right now?

I recently discovered the artwork of Sheila Metcalf Tobin and I think it rocks. She was trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and now resides in Berkeley, California. Her paintings are of botanicals and are all mixed media done on maple plywood. There are some samples below - for more visit her Web site at www.sheilametcalftobin.com.