LEGENDmag.net » We Heard

TODAY ONLY! Purchase indie software and 100% of proceeds go to Haiti relief

kc! Bradshaw — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:58:33 +0000

Looks like those indie Mac developers are at it again! A very large group of software publishers have banded together to offer 100% of the proceeds of their titles to benefit the relief effort in Haiti. In addition to the program’s creators Second Gear and Garrett Murray, some like Delicious Monster’s Wil Shipley, have pledged to personally match contributions!! Good job guys!

So if you have been looking for a good reason to purchase that iPhone app or Apple accessory, now is the time to do it! For the full list, please visit www.indierelief.com!!

TODAY ONLY! Purchase indie software and 100% of proceeds go to Haiti relief is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

LEGENDmag relaunches with a great new look and as always… more great content!

kc! Bradshaw — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:48:33 +0000

After a lot of planning and a bunch of hard work, Rai-mon and I are very proud to present the new online magazine layout.

A lot of the behind-the-scenes changes you can’t see, but they will help us run smoother and better to bring you more of the same great content you have come to expect from LEGENDmag! For example, we transferred to a better content management system—integrating the old “blog” content with the magazine issue content—and we’re adding staff to bring you more tales of independents from around the world!

And this is just the beginning. (We have some big ideas in the works!)

So, continue enjoying your daily slice of independent reporting and feel free to leave your feedback on the new designs below!!

LEGENDmag relaunches with a great new look and as always… more great content! is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

The Foreign Exchange (Phonte of Little Brother and Nicolay) recieve Grammy nomination!

Rai-mon Nemar — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:24:37 +0000

You have to love it when well deserving individuals receive the recognition they deserve and it’s dope that some of our favorites have received the Grammy nod! The nomination is for “Daykeeper” by The Foreign Exchange for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

Congratulations to some of our favorite indies.

Read full stories about them in LEGENDmag issue 19 “Deeper”
>> DOWNLOAD ISSUE 19
>> VIEW ISSUE 19 ONLINE

The Foreign Exchange (Phonte of Little Brother and Nicolay) recieve Grammy nomination! is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Indy Spirits Expo Pours a Bountiful Glass

kc! Bradshaw — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:41:38 +0000

We had the pleasure of attending the Indy Spirits Expo in San Francsico last week, and let me tell you fine alcoholic beverage consumer… we indies are in good company!

As you can see from the photos, the crowd was so thick that we didn’t even get a chance to check out all the vendor booths—but almost every one we tried was delicious! From bikini-booth-babes, to cowboys, to preganant CEOs, the vendors showing for the night ranged the gamut, but all delivered with unique, flavorful, spirits.

Here is a mini-review of some of our favorite liqueurs from the evening:

Hanger One Vodka

Hangar One — We were amazed at how fruity their vodkas were. The Spiced Pear tasted like you just bit into a pear that had been marinating for days. The lime tasted like green skittle. Yet all had a refined flavor. This is one we are going to follow-up with at a distillery tour in Alameda soon!!

Loft Liqueurs

Loft Organic Liqueurs — The President and Founder was on hand with a wonderful display to sample the entire line of lemoncello-inspired flavours and they were all delicious. The brand started out as a pet project, and due to demand has grown from there. Our favorite was the Lemongrass Cello, but even straight out of the bottle, they were drinkable and refreshing!

Veev

VeeV — With big statements about giving back to the rainforest and using all recycled materials (backed up by carbon-neutral company footprint), Veev brought a little touch of hippie in a shiny classy package. The displays were really nice and the cocktails were delicious.

Don Pilar — Walking around to the tequila area we were greeted by a stoic man in a black felt cowboy hat and leather jacket. He handed me a tall glass of aged spirits from a bottle with his picture in the middle. Classy dude, and delicious Tequila anejo.

Choya — Around the middle corner, stood a Japanese man in a suit, among a significant number of dark green bottle with what looked like fleshy fruit inside. When we lifted the glass to our lips we were pleasantly surprised by a sweet plum taste. Sadly these guys are still looking for a distributor in the US, but I swear I have seen these bottles in local Japanese markets. Definitely worth a taste.

Heavy Water — We end our mini tour today with the first vodka we tried in the evening. Straight out of Norway, the Heavy Water girls had bottles of what looked like radioactive water rod core-samples. The vodka was strong and the bottle design is awesome (and designed to help aerate the vodka out of the bottle).

Hope this whets your appetite like the Expo did ours. We will be following up with these and other spirits vendors for more in-depth interviews in the near future! Here are the photos (click through for larger versions):

Photography by kc! Bradshaw

Indy Spirits Expo Pours a Bountiful Glass is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Long-term Thinking, Etched in Volcanic Stone

kc! Bradshaw — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:44:13 +0000

A great video on long-term thinking (as inspired by The Long Now Foundation) executed by White Elephant DesignLab in Austria. The video starts with an introduction by Alexander Rose of The Long Now, and then goes into the Volcano Project documentation. Really interesting stuff.

Lava Project from The Long Now Foundation on Vimeo.

Ps. Happy, Friday the 13th!

Long-term Thinking, Etched in Volcanic Stone is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Time to make New Yorks voting districts "independent" again.

Rai-mon Nemar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:37:13 +0000

If you’re not very familiar with the system of voting districts in our country, it wouldn’t be a surprise as it’s one of the most overtly currupt systems in our democracy. Voting districts are drawn up to make sure R’s and D’s (Rep. / Dem) are stay and vote in the same districts, thus keeping the politicians in corresponding districts in office. In other words our votes are grouped by what party we register with, not by our general interests as a community. The system wasn’t made to do this but that’s how it operates today. It seems that NY (among many other states like California) may be trying to do something about.

Story from the New York Times
“Of all the tricks that New York’s legislators use to hang on to office, the one that works best — for the politicians, that is — is redistricting. Mapmaking in Albany is a dark art form designed to make absolutely certain that incumbents in the majority party are safe from electoral competition (a k a democracy).

In the years the Republicans controlled the Senate, former Senator Guy Velella, a Bronx Republican, had his own war room to choose voters block by block. The result is an inkblot that would confuse even Hermann Rorschach. In the last redistricting in 2002, Mr. Velella even managed to excise the house of a former challenger, Lorraine Coyle Koppell, from the district. Mr. Velella lost his seat after 18 years only when he was convicted of bribery in 2004 and was forced to resign.”

Read the full story at the NYT. If you have the chance to help in any way we suggest you do so. To find out more you can contact our favorite political group, independentvoice.org

Time to make New Yorks voting districts "independent" again. is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

One Fingered Discount Indie Mac Software

kc! Bradshaw — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:23:30 +0000

While I never want to discount the importance of independent developers in the software or hardware technology scene… it is never a bad time to get a deal on some goods!! And with that said, I present you with One Finger Discount! If you are a Apple-loving Mac nerd like me, then get your virtual booties over to scoop up some of the hundreds of indie software titles for sale (20% off!).

Also, related: MacHeist is in it’s final hours for the FREE (yes, FREE) Mac Software Bundle!!! Go now!

One Fingered Discount Indie Mac Software is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

San Jose Museum of Art Presents: Tech Connect FREE

kc! Bradshaw — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:56 +0000

When: Thursday, November 12, 2009 6:00-8:30pm
Where: San Jose Museum of Art
Who: Chuck Close, Ansel Adams, Alexander Calder
What: Free snacks, refreshments, DJ, and art making
How: email techconnect@sjmusart.org to RSVP

San Jose Museum of Art Presents: Tech Connect *FREE* is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

A Little Dragon from Sweden Invades The Independent for a night of Wonderfully Fiery Music

kc! Bradshaw — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:22:12 +0000

We had the pleasure of watching Little Dragon perform last night at The Independent in San Francisco and I am a little lost for words to describe the experience. R&B, Soul, Electronica, Acoustic, New Wave, Pop, Indie… all styles of music that can equally describe a part of their sound, yet none of which accurately capture the entire essence.

The audience was filled with an equally diverse crowd of people too… fratty jocks, hip-hop thugs, r&b cats, electronica geeks, college kids—all of who had one thing in common, a passion for this little critter. Who would’ve expected that a big, white, band from Sweden with a tiny, Japanese singer could pull such a massive audience on a Wednesday night!?

Little Dragon delivered.

As a four-piece band (Yukimi: vocals, Håkan: percussion, Fredrik: keyboards, Erik: bass), I went into the show expecting the keyboardist to be leading the show. But surprisingly, it was the rythm section that laid the musical foundation of most of the tracks. Not that the fantastically bearded Frederik was slacking at all. No, in fact all performers came together as a collective, taking on multiple rolls as the songs required to generate a seamless audio soundtrack to the performance. And honestly, there were times I couldn’t even figure out who was playing what… in the best way possible.

It’s not a giant leap to assume that most people in attendance last night agree: these guys are on the fast-track to stardom. And that’s okay by me. The world clearly needs more musicians in the world like Little Dragon.

Photography by kc! Bradshaw

A Little Dragon from Sweden Invades The Independent for a night of Wonderfully Fiery Music is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

May The Force Be With Albino! This Halloween!

kc! Bradshaw — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:16:09 +0000

If you haven’t gotten your tickets for Albino!’s yearly costumed treat, then now is your chance! On a normal weekend, these guys are known to put on an otherworldly show… but around this hallowed time of year, things get kooky in funk land. Sunddenly, the forces align and we are blessed with the treats.

This year Afrobeat legends Albino! dress up and perform Star Wars on their Halloween tour extravaganza! Joined by Pimps of Joytime or Pleasuremaker (depending on your location), they will put to rest once and for all who is Luke’s sugar-daddy!

10/28/09—Red Fox Tavern, Eureka, CA w/ Pimps of Joytime
10/29/09—Cooper’s, Nevada City, CA w/ Pimps of Joytime
10/30/09—Hopmonk Tavern, Sebastopol, CA w/ Pleasuremaker Band
10/31/09—The Independent, San Francisco, CA w/Pleasuremaker Band and DJ Specific.

Costumes are encouraged, and funkiness is garunteed! See you at the show. Ole!

May The Force Be With Albino! This Halloween! is a post from: LEGENDmag.net