Yea! I received my Zoen Balloon shirt in the mail yesterday. I was happy to find this nice design as I wait for my Pedro Panda shirt to arrive from Bogota. It was the first sunny day in a while, so I wore it to the park to play badminton. Thanks to Sue Doeksen (and Miss Bierbaum for the tip)!
I Love You Too
Just watched Coffee and Cigarettes last night - finally! And enjoyed seeing this nice photo this morning as I drank my cup (via Something Changed, tiphereth, Rhys Isterix, dutyfreesins).
Not Such a Bad Kid
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Y7tr3mBtQ&hl=en&fs=1&](via Kitsune Noir)
If you're the type that will shy away when you see a kid coming your way, especially on a YouTube video, fear not! This little girl is not what she appears to be.
Gegessen Wird Immer
Mistakenly stacked in my To Be Recycled pile was the May issue of Brand Eins, which had a captivating cover made by the Berlin-based artist Sarah Illenberger. Her work is fascinating and in a category far beyond detailed. The squirt of ketchup, the frays on the carrot stems, and the erratic curves of the chili pepper. Wonderful! She has done a lot of work related to food, but also much else. And always with the same meticulous approach.
Maya Deren in the Evening
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPi9i3gfSAM&hl=en&fs=1&] A relaxing evening with experimental film. While studying film history in my undergraduate days, one of the works that most impressed me was the short film 'Meshes of the Afternoon' by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. Created in 1943, it explores a repetitive, fractured narrative filled with symbolic images that invite a psychoanalytic reading. I love returning to it every so often, and thinking each time how the music by Teiji Ito is the perfect complement.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiNyxt71RZs&hl=en&fs=1&]
The Book Seer
The London-based consultancy Apt created a lovely web app called The Book Seer, which recommends further reading based on a recently-completed book. It's simple really, pulling content from Amazon and LibraryThing to make recommendations. But it has that cozy feeling, like good old-fashioned word of mouth recommendations from a friend. In a time when targeted advertising makes consumers cringe and even personalized services are now greeted skeptically, these no-strings attached services are really attractive.
The Seer himself welcomes visitors with a few greetings, including 'Hail fellow', ' O Great Magician', 'Internets!' and 'Ambassador'. When I typed in 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' (which I have not actually finished reading), it recommended the books listed in the above image. Interesting to see what they have in common (or not). For instance, both lists recommend books by Stieg Larsson, but none of the same titles. And only LibraryThing recommends another book by Barbery. Perhaps, without an accessible algorithm that has determined my behavior, preferences, and known languages, Amazon is hesitant to recommend a book in French. Ce n'est pas une surprise.
This Is Where We Live
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S12PaC3X0Gs&hl=en&fs=1&] Hmm, I don't think I can imagine a better world than a world of books. I'm quite enjoying the work by Apt Studio. This video was produced by them for the 25th anniversary of 4th Estate Publishers.
The Simon Façade
A building in Portland stopped me in my tracks last month and gave me a nice moment to think about my wonderful Dutch colleague, Simon, who was probably sleeping soundly on the other side of the world when I took that picture. Unlike this façade, he is more than just a pretty face.
Shiv Shiv Shake
Adam Gnade, lover of fine narrative and still lyricism, was a favorite early on. I was introduced to him back in the day when I was writing album reviews for San Diego Punk. Shiv Shiv Shake, his 2002 EP, was well worn by the time I lost it.
From my journal of quotes (may not be completely accurate):
"And that was then and still they tell me I am not who I am. That I channel, that I lie, that I fake. But the cards are on the table, brothers. Castles are a pretty neurosis all in rows. Panic images killing words. A raw wire, a nerve, a pulse, a death rattle, then nothing. Life of love is a bullfight dear. 'Cheers!' jeers the crowd on Friday afternoon hot under the siesta via wood paneling. Santa Cruz, California. 'Ole!' or 'Madrid!' Tossing green watermelon rinds like Hemingway, failed broken matadors. But it's your destiny, now dance with it son. Sway with the blows. Take the arrows, dodge the slings, everyday can't be a Valentine's Day card."
-- Adam Gnade, Shiv Shiv Shake
Old Jewish Cemetery
Last week, a colleague lost all of the data on his phone, including a journal from his holiday in Curaçao, and it made me want to feel my non-digital journals in my hands. As I was flipping through, I came across this drawing, done on the train to Krakow, thinking of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague. Two girls, one camera, and over 12,000 tombstones.
Camera Japan
In anticipation of the Camera Japan festival, I was scanning the website for news of the upcoming program. Alas, no news yet, but there was an (admittedly old) announcement that their 2008 poster won a prize at the AdPrint Festival. Congratulations!
Cardigan Chic
I was so pleased to hear Bill Cunningham's recent On the Street audio slide show featuring the latest It item: the cardigan. As a staple in my wardrobe, it's great to hear I've been ahead of the fashion curve. Cunningham, the New York Time's candid photographer of street fashion, provides commentary that describes the evolution of the trend and its numerous manifestations. "It's right back to where Chanel started. She took women out of the Edwardian, overdressed like hothouse orchids, and put them into everyday weeds, as you might say...It's the modern woman stepping out of the decorative bondage of fashion and yet still looking attractive." Oh, and there's a nice jazzy intro for each of his reports.
Sand in the Eye
A friend I met while taking a stroll with my mom on the Oregon beach.
To Write a Letter
A recent New York Times article by Penelope Green looked at the continuing art of letter writing. On customized stationery, to be precise. The effort of writing a sincere letter of gratitude and sending it punctually conjures a bit of nostalgia. Like any one-sided act, this could be quite demoralizing when unrequited. Nevertheless, the beauty of the gesture remains.
"...what are still called 'social papers' are thriving, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the prevailing digital culture...Stationery aficionados say the cost is worth it: for the feel of the artisan's hand — cutting the die, sliding the tissue into the envelope, feeding the printing press — married to the effort of one's own hand"
Color Spectrum
The Munsell Hue Test post on Lost At E Minor piqued my interest, and I suspect many people in this era of self-diagnosis would be drawn to it as well. The test essentially rates your ability to distinguish fine differences in hue by giving you a sequence of squares to arrange in order of gradation from one color to another. After I completed the test, I thought my arrangement looked quite nice:
With a score of zero indicating perfection, I was back at 11 (!) flailing to discriminate between hues in the middle region. I needed some perspective.
So, I read the analysis. Apparently, there are people who have perfect hue detection, scoring zero. But then, what's this? Someone scored 1520?! Perhaps they moved one block then quit. An average score would be helpful, but I'm guess I'm happy with where I'm situated on the percentage (?) scale.
Baubike
This beautiful bicycle is a nod to the Bauhaus School, one of my favorite art movements. The Baubike was created by the Danish designer Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen and, with its clean lines and dedication to raw materials, clearly inspired by Bauhaus tenets. The Baubike is being featured at several exhibitions, including Salone del Mobile in Milan and DMY in Berlin. Since my bike is in the repair shop, I suppose I'm free to dream about a new one...
Another Book Begins
"I have often wondered, as I watch him go by with his huge arrogant nose: Can one be so gifted and yet impervious to the presence of things? It seems one can. Some people are incapable of perceiving in the object of their contemplation the very thing that gives it its intrinsic life and breath, and they spend their entire lives conversing about mankind as if they were robots, and about things as though they have no soul and must be reduced to what can be said about them – all at the whim of their own subjective inspiration."
Graffiti in the West Bank
The recent completion of the spraying of an essay by Farid Esack, professor and anti-apartheid activist, onto the West Bank barrier is a strong example of the power of visual art to become a tool of resistance. Of course, this isn't the first wall to be turned into a canvas, the Berlin Wall being just one example. In Palestine, local taggers Faris Arouri, Yousef Nijim, and Raji Najamare are funded through the Dutch organization Send a Message and for €30 they will spray a work of your choice onto the wall. Esack's essay is their largest feat yet. At 1,998 words long, the piece consumed 500 cans of spray paint and 300 cans of white paint. Yet it occupied a mere mile of the 463 mile-long barrier. Esack writes:
Arriving in your land, the land of Palestine, the sense of deja vu is inescapable. I am struck by the similarities. In some ways, all of us are the children of our histories. Yet, we may also choose to be struck by the stories of others. Perhaps this ability is what is called morality. We cannot always act upon what we see but we always have the freedom to see and to be moved.
Akiyoshi's Illusions
The first page of Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka's website says: "This page contains some works of 'anomalous motion illusion', which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick. Should you feel dizzy, you had better leave this page immediately." Great! Not every site is lucky enough to have such a dramatic opening. Akiyoshi's work in the Ritsumeikan University Department of Psychology plays with optical illusions of movement and color and does actually cause a bit of nausea.
Cubanisimo Vineyards
While enjoying some Willamette Valley wine tasting earlier this month, I quite enjoyed the bathroom décor at Cubanisimo. It did pale in comparison to their 2006 Pinot Noir, likely one of my favorite wines. Alas, they do not ship internationally.