New vinyl toy hotness from Kid Robot Black in collaboration with SSUR.  Save up, skully here will cost ya $200 bones but is super limited with only 200 produced.  Check out more here.

SSUReal From the Cradle to the Grave is a 6-inch, matte black vinyl skull featuring gold chrome-plated ABS teeth, articulated jaw, and a unique, embossed sylvan pattern covering the entire surface of the cranium &  features a gold embossed Kidrobot x SSUR logo on the base of the skull.

When I saw Dennis Hopper on the news this week it deeply saddened me and reminded me of how big a fan I am of his craft.  The clip above shows Dennis from his early days.  Currently, in a battle for his life against cancer I prefer to share more of a living tribute and send our well wishes to Dennis and his family.  I can only hope that the rumors are true and the MoCa museum will be featuring an exhibit dedicated to the photographer’s ’60′s period pieces.  Dennis Hopper starred in such film classics as Rebel Without A Cause, Easy Rider (which he co-wrote and won Best Original Screenplay at Cannes), Blue Velvet and Apocalypse Now.  Hopefully, more people will also be able to share and experience Dennis Hopper the photographer, painter and sculpture.

National Geographic COO Digital Strategy, Edward Prince Jr. is interviewed by Rafat Ali from PaidContent.org during the Abu Dhabi Media Summit last week.  Check out the video interview here.

I’m a huge fan of Nat Geo the brand, the magazine, the cable channel, the photography and pretty much everything they have done since I can remember digging through my father’s extensive collection that dated back to the late 60′s when I was a kid.  There is something special about the experience you feel turning from page to page and the remarkable job they have done to curate, archive and share some of the most compelling cultural works of art+science known to mankind.

National Geographic, I anticipate, will also be one of the thought leaders spearheading the way in which content & media companies migrate from old traditional media to new emerging digital mediums and business models.

Edward speaks about the company’s digital strategy and discusses how Nat Geo utilizes its two key pillars; their cable channel and magazine to draw a % of revenue and re-invest into the digital space (Web, Content Syndication, Gaming, Mobile and ePublishing).  While many media companies rely mainly on an advertising revenue model, Nat Geo is developing apps and going into gaming.  Their website is ad supported but they are banking heavily on the fact that consumers will pay for mobility and see mobility as a great value.  I don’t know about you but I’m willing to compare how that full page print photo compares to the on screen version on the iPad.

The Coachella Line Up In Retrospective Competition winning posters: Coachella 1969-1998.  Each winner earned a ticket to the Coachella 2010 Festival taking place in Indio, CA on April 16, 17 and 18.

So, which year tops them all?

Just in time to cure some of your post carnival celebration hangover and in anticipation of the upcoming World Cup Nike drops some supa-dupa dopeness with the Nike Brasil Black Pack.

As a 5-Time International Footbol Champion, Brasil is one of the most feared teams in the world.  Their signature bright yellow, blue and green uniforms and style of play showcase a level of toughness that is proven in their ability to win.  Nike designers followed with one of the most radical concepts to take the Brasilian yellow and turn it black.  “It is the Brasilian Yellow that Scares Them,” A Brasilian player once told the Nike design team.

The entire Black Pack collection is simply fresh but the Packable Jacket (below) is my personal favorite.

Los Angeles based Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight is featuring Castle Greyskull Under the Influence: Master of the Universe tribute art show.  By the power of Greyskull, don’t miss this show the art is disturbingly powerful.

Combining two of my favorite things, Rio and Playmobil – creator Rodrigo Pereira who is a popular art/intervention artist in Rio, Brasil has produced other public installation works in Rio previously but none as playful and creative as this Playmobil parking barricades ‘public works improvement project.’

Part street-art, part graffiti, this is a public art intervention that is not only brilliant but also additive to the community.  More urban communities should welcome and support local artists for more of the same.  I mean who really wants to stare at a bunch of grey concrete barriers anyway?  When I was a kid Playmobil was the shit.  I remember thinking I was so cool for having the Playmobil pirate ship, that was until my best friend’s older brother became completely obsessed and created an entire Playmobil universe in their basement complete with spaceship and castles.  Thanks for the memories.  Check out Rodrigo’s Flikr for more pix.

Animal Collective & Danny Perez: Transverse Temporal Gyrus

This is surely something I would love to see more of: a collaboration by two artistic mediums to deliver an experience that surpasses their individual art.  Psychedelic science. Experimental visual artist Danny Perez and Animal Collective are going to manifest their theory through sound and colors in an already sold-out exhibit at the Guggenheim Museam.  Transverse Temporal Gyrus is inspired by the senses, elements that heighten & affect them, and our reactions.

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Congratulations to Unidos da Tijuca for winnin Rio de Janeiro‘s Carnaval 2010 and taking the show to a “magical” level. Below is the video of the samba school’s parade at Marquês de Sapucaí.  It’s narrated in portuguese, but you can hear the samba enredo in the background and it is a beautiful show to watch!