Creative Bentos

Those Japanese. So creative, so cute. Now they've taken the bento box lunches to the cutest extreme. Ran across this post on boingboing.net about the new book Face Food by Christopher Salyers. Love it.

Bodum Coffee Press

Love this! Got a 3-cup Bodum coffee press a few days ago and I love it. I'm not a regular coffee drinker so I don't want or need a hunky coffee maker taking up counter space.

The coffee press makes about 1 1/2 small coffee cups of coffee and it is deeeeee-licious. Makes an amazing cup of coffee; plus no need for those wasteful paper coffee filters.

Gia @ the Beatport Lounge

With some healthy encouragement from Mick Finesse, I've been playing out and enjoying the world of proper house music. My last engagement was @ Beta - the Beatport Lounge on Nov. 27th.

DJ Elroy was one of the many that joined us that night - check out his blog post. Thanks for the great review DJ Elroy!

Sobering

I came across this article today on Huffpost. It describes the story of someone's father deteriorating from dementia. I have been thinking more frequently lately, about how things will be when I am older.

I'm in my 20's now; fast approaching 30. This story really makes me pause, slow down the pace of things and really examine the direction I want to take my life. What really matters to me? I don't want life to be just a blur of meaningless sequence of events. I hope this can be an opportunity for you too, to reflect and examine.

Fashion Inspirations

So I'm browsing my usual suspects of fashion blogs: The Cherry Blossom Girl, Knight Cat, and Fashion Toast. Here are a few looks I just love.

Rollip - Create your own polaroids!

I love this site! You can create your own digital polaroids online for free. All you do is choose a layout, upload a photo, and voila! You have your very own polaroid quality photo. Check it out at Rollip.

How far have we really come?

Women's rights and social equality are very sticky topics today; in my opinion this topic is easily discounted and dismissed because the average person whether male or female will lump it in the category of "crazy lesbian feminism". I say there is a very deep rooted inequality in our culture that seeps through to modern culture even though the general consensus is that women now have the same opportunity as men; there is a similar comparison to the progression of equal rights for minorities, specifically civil rights.



I think it is healthy to examine the progression/lack of progression- as this will challenge complacency and laziness. Case and point: House republican Tom Price makes an obscene and appalling scene trying to shut out the Democratic Women's caucus. Unbelievable. Ostensibly, this childish attempt at censorship has other political implications but I won't open that can of worms.

Now compare that with the second video where muslim protagonists argue why "light beatings" are ok and human rights cannot refute what they interpret to be the final "truth" in the Koran. I have to say the comparison between the outburst on the House floor and the strain of thought in modern muslim cultures is very disturbing.

I ask myself how this is relevant to me today in my everyday life and I find it a hard question to answer. On the one hand I live a pretty comfortable life but in order to not regress we need to be critical of civil injustices that seep to the surface. My hope is that we can at the very least keep this debate from being buried and our generation can criticize and challenge the status quo.

Estroe - Elemental Assets

Ok. So I have been in a music kick lately as I've been prepping for my next gig. Ran across this lovely lady; Estroe. Very good chillout and melodic techno and tech-house. I love it. Dutch producer and DJ Estroe is among the top female DJ's in the world. Read more about her here.

Royksopp - Junior

I first heard Royksopp from a mix cd someone was playing in freshman studio when I was at RISD. I was taken by the alure of the music. It really put me in a good mood in the midst of the stress of studio work. It's been a while since I've heard any of Royksopp's newer stuff and they have not disappointed. "Junior" does not fail to bring me back to that place. I love this album. When I need good chill I can always go to Royksopp. Listen to it on their website.

Pic of the day.

I love this picture. Again from Yvan Rodic blog.

Regina Spektor - Far

Love Regina Spektor's new album "Far". It's relaxing, heartwarming, fun, and delightful. Puts me in an all around good mood.

Yvan Rodic

Found this photographer's blog tonight, browsing The Coolhunter.

I love the reality of the photos; so raw yet romantic and beautiful at the same time. Check out all of Yvan Rodic's amazing photos on his blog.

The Complex History of Sustainability

Check this out! The Complex History of Sustainability: An online timeline of trends, authors, projects, and fiction by Amir Djalali. Here's the article.

Miles Maeda

So as you can tell, I go through stints of blogging...it's been about a month since my last post so I thought I'd come back with a great new discovery - Miles Maeda. Special thanks to Lovestar (check out her amazing music blog Trash Menagerie). You can see the full article here. There's a couple mixes for dl as well.

What can I say, I love my chillout music and Miles brings it with the groovy house beats. Great recommendation Lovestar!

Beauty of the Underdog

So I'm sure you've all seen this as it has been the buzz of pop TV this week but I must post this as it has really affected me in a significant way.

Susan Boyle blew everyone away with her performance on Britain's Got Talent. Check out the video. Words do not do her justice. This situation makes me step back and think about how I would have responded to her appearance. I don't think most people are so cruel to judge her physically just to boost his/her own self-esteem (keyword: most). It is more logical to conclude that people are so conditioned by the social standards of how one is to look, act, and think that one cannot give another the same fair shot that he/she would expect for themselves. I think Susan Boyle's performance on the show was a great social experiment.

You see the judgemental sneers and cynical attitudes of nearly if not all of the people in the audience, judges included. It is so apparent it oozes off every one's faces; disgustingly so. When the first few notes are sung, everyone melts. Now...I would like to think that I would not judge a person by his/her looks but quite honestly I probably would have been cynical at the least.

So why do we give her merit only after she has proven her talent? I'd say that the overwhelming emotional response had by all is a result of 1.) the beauty of her singing voice, 2.) the confidence and joy had by Susan Boyle from the moment she stepped on stage, 3.) the power of how everyone can relate to how she must have felt. We can all empathize with the insecurities caused by feelings of doubt. To all the "Susan Boyle's" out there, keep your head up high and fuck everyone that does not have the capacity to see the beauty of the underdog!

What is art?

I think most people dismiss street art as illegitimate but I think it is as credible as any other art form. One of the artists from Lastplak - a Dutch graffiti collective - put it best:

"If you read a book you form your own image of the book and you hear the voices of the people with your own ear. With art it's the other way around. The image is already there but the concept and the philosophy of what it means is shaping in the viewers' head and he's got his own idea of what the meaning of something is."

Check out their website. They do amazing work. Here's the original article from Juxtapoz (great art and culture mag. check it out).

Artist of the Day - A.M. Architect

A.M. Architect, great chillout ambient music. Their new album The Road to the Sun comes out May 5, 2009. Def gonna buy this one. I cannot stop listening to this at the moment.

Exponetial described it best "beauty is subjective, A.M. Architect's music cannot escape being described as such".

Beach Bunny Swimwear Review

I ordered the Rich Girl (aqua/ivory) bikini from Beach Bunny Swimwear online about a week ago. Check out their line. Very sexy, as the name implies. Here is my review:

First off, shipping was very quick! I ordered on a Tuesday and it was delivered on Saturday the same week; this was for the regular ground shipping. Unfortunately I wasn't home so it took another day to get it redelivered but I was surprised it was shipped so quickly. On to the swimsuit. I absolutely adore it.

I was afraid it would look too "lingerie-ey" as it kind of does in the picture, but it isn't. The material is super soft and not cheap feeling. Definitely good quality swimwear. Worth the money as far as look and material. I'm gonna wear it for Vegas in a week and a half. So excited! Any problems I will report back.

Shuella for Spring

I think these are fantastic. Shuella-the shoe umbrella. They are ideal for heels. Fashionable and functional at the same time.

Osborne

Lovin' Osborne's Fire off of his new Hovercraft EP. DL it from RCRD LBL here. There's a few more downloads if you like his sound. Wait A Minute (extended) is available for download as well. Here's an article on Beatportal w/ music video. Enjoy!

Overseas Contingency

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Moment of Zen - Overseas Contingency Operations Budget
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Check out The Daily Show's March 31st episode. Funny shit. I thoroughly enjoyed this Moment of Zen.

I think that this subject of "rebranding" as John Stewart so humorously put it, is a topic of note. Obama is doing the right thing to take these fear-inducing terms like "war on terror" that Bush strategically used so frequently throughout his administration, and label them for what they are.

Where the Wild Things Are

My favorite story growing up. Cannot wait!

Ellis Gallagher!

Meet Ellis Gallagher, street artist from Brooklyn, NY. He creates art from shadows made from everything on the street. Amazing amazing amazing!

Another great video interview on CurrentTV.

N. Korean tension

North Korea is preparing for a missile launch and doing everything it can to make it happen. Two American journalists from Current TV (founded by Al Gore) reporting on North Korean refugees who fled inhumane conditions, were arrested and indicted on charges of "hostile acts" against the communist state. Details on nytimes.com.

All this amidst tensions surrounding North Korea's test launching for a long-range missile. The North claims this missile will carry a satellite and responded to Japan's order to shoot down any missile that enters Japan's airspace; North Korea will consider an interception as Japan waging war on the North. More on current tv. Another report on Bloomberg.com.

This is serious shit. All the while the North Korean people have absolutely no say in the matter. As much as the rest of the world looks down on this country, the real story is the injustice and inhumanity that goes on continuously at the cost of the people. It is not their fault they were born into the conditions they live in. And when reporters try to bring to light these realities, they are used as pawns to further a nuclear agenda by the North's government.

I wish the best for the two reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee. They don't deserve to be punished for engaging the world "in a discussion in a knowledgeable way". This segways into a discussion on the roles of a journalist. Check out this article on the Knight science journalism symposium on reportr.net.

Tjejsaijten

Great photo of one of the Olsens (not sure which...) I found browsing a new fashion blog I ran into tonight. Tjejsaijten. -that word looks like someone just tapped randomly on the keyboard- I definitely am not very knowledgeable when it comes to what's hot and who's who in fashion, that's just not my field of expertise...but as far as I can tell the Olsens are very into high-fashion. Go them. Wish I had the means to live like that.

Last Night's Party blog

I'm in a hotel room with two naked porn stars and a pin-up model, partying. The vodka is ¾ done. It's 2 a.m. The phone rings.
She speaks. So are you serious? You want to take pictures of me?
Yes. I can do it tomorrow if you're around.
Why not tonight? Are you busy?
The girl on the other end of the line is my bank teller from this afternoon. My Washington Mutual teller wanting to come over right now when I'm hanging out with these crazy girls and take pictures. Bad, bad idea.
Yeah, ok. Perfect. Come over.
I tell the girls to get dressed so we don't freak her out when she gets here.
The bank teller calls back.
I'm nervous, you know, my body isn't perfect. I recently broke up with my boyfriend and I gained a few pounds. Is that okay?
She's on speaker phone and the porn stars are making "Oh, she's so cute..." faces.
I like your curves. Don't worry about it. Come over.
More drinks.
She knocks on the door. Shh, shh... She's either gonna freak out or, I don't even know.
I open the door. She looks into the trashed hotel room.
She speaks.
You know, I don't mind if you guys wanna get naked.

Last Night's Party's blog. I can't believe I didn't see this before. Some great entries. Take a look.

Animal~

I really like Miike Snow...great recent find for me. Their new track Animal is wonderful but I'm really digging Treasure Fingers' remix. Free download on RCRD LBL. Check out all of Miike Snow's tracks available on RCRD LBL here. His last.fm profile here. And of course Myspace music page here.

Lebron-mazing!

Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour tomorrow night 8:30-9:30 local time. Let's all pitch into the global effort to slow warming. The idea is for everyone to take one hour out of the year to switch off all our lights. More info go to the Earth Hour website.

Two fav artists: Banksy & Fairey

New auction piece for "undies auction" where celebrities auction off their undies for a charity. Check out the article linked to the image. Arrested Motion is a great new art blog I found. Check it out.




Shepard Fairey is another one of my favs at the moment. He's been around for some time and as a fellow RISD alumni I can relate to his work very easily. As you may know Fairey is suing the AP after the AP released a statement that Fairey needed rights to make his famous Hope poster for the Obama campaign. Here's the story on nytimes.

Check out Fairey's explanation for the lawsuit on his website. It is an interesting read and I agree with him 100%. At that, an artist should not have to explain himself. It is a subjective medium. It makes no sense that he needed permission to use the photo and compensation for its production. Fuck that I say! If that principle were applied, any artist who painted, drew, or represented another object by means of realistic representation should owe money to whomever produced the photo. Nonsense. Inspiration is not a right of ownership.

White House Open for Questions

First ever Interactive Online White House Town Hall. I think the Obama administration is making a great effort to let all of us know that we are the government; making the White House more accessible than ever.

Here's the full transcript on nytimes.com.

Fitness First Ad Campaign

N=5 's ad campaign for Fitness First.  Guilt is an amazing way to get results.  I would head straight to the gym if I sat on one of these benches...

Gay Porn Star Identical Twin: Keyon Goffney

I came across this article on the Details site the other day.  It is provocative to say the least.  Keyon and Taleon Goffney, identical twins from Camden NJ, do what is necessary to make it.  

I think the article, long-winded as it is, emphasizes what it is about Keyon that is so easy to latch on to.  His modeling career is inextricably linked to his bizarre history, but you can't help but relate to it.  

I keep coming back to why it is I am drawn to this story; it is only unique in its specifics.  Bizarre and perverse as it may be to some, the story of survival is in a sense the "American Dream"; in Keyon's words "It's a hustle.  Just like anything else".      

Kogi!

I ran across this story on npr.org today.  This is a must listen!  

Kogi is a tweeting Korean taco food truck (Site-note: the word "kogi" is Korean for meat, it is pronounced Goh-gi).  The concept in itself is a mouthful but apparently it is all the rage in L.A. atm.  So, me being Korean, and in a very non-Korean part of Denver, I don't get enough Korean food to begin with.  When I saw this my mouth just started watering.  

The fans of Kogi twitter to find out where the next stop is and of course twitter to rage all about it.  Lines are hours long and the food reviews are off the charts.  Check out the story on npr.org.  

FREQBOUTIQUE.COM

Freqboutique.com is Denver's new afterhours. Watch out cuz we are finally gonna get what we've been craving for in the afterhours scene. With summer on the horizon it is the perfect time to gear up for what's in store. Finally, there is something to look forward to when you're ready to continue the party.

Up 'til now there was no option for those of us that like to party VIP and in style after the clubs. Post-2AM is non-existent in Denver. Not anymore! Freqboutique is here. Check out the website for upcoming events and promotions.

R U Professional - Mae Shi

I recently discovered Mae Shi. I absolutely love this song/video. Never thought I'd connect w/ an artist that loves Christian Bale as much as I do...

Boob Scarf!

Need I say more?

Big Brothers, Big Sisters...

From Patrick Sandri's portfolio on Behance.net: Big Brothers Big Sisters Big Macs Big Boobs and Big Deals. Something about these images that are both perverse and Warhol-esque.

Perverse in a arty controversial way; taboo subjects are portrayed in a pop-art manner. At the same time they are almost subtle in a way. There are actually photos of some of them in public places and they seem so out of place and humorous yet people walk right by them without even noticing. There is a cheeky dycotomy of ordinary and taboo.

the cobra snake

I absolutely love Last Night's Party. Something about wild and crazy party pictures-even of strangers-that make me feel so good.  The Cobra Snake is another great site along these lines; not quite my scene but great moments nonetheless. Enjoy!

FanBridge

I listened to a very interesting segment on NPR's Morning edition today on the drive to work. It was about an investor Chris Sacca and his latest venture FanBridge. I hate to get boring on everyone and talk business...as I am definitely not the most business savvy person you will meet but there is a lot of relevance to this new idea that is emerging.

I wouldn't do it justice so I will just link you to the article on NPR: FanBridge Makes A Profit Connecting Fans, Band

I think that the interesting part of this story is not in the success of the Chris Sacca but in the innovative ideas that are coming out of and benefiting the artist community. One might be drawn to say that despite the troubled economy, creativity endures; but the truth is as the saying goes:

necessity is the mother of invention.

Electro-chic

I found the most fab site today. De La Sade has the most amazing leggings. I must get some for my Vegas trip! Don't forget to check out some amazing photos on this site as well.

Groovy Clocks

Look at these great recycled vinyl record wall clocks! Great idea by The Grateful Thread. I absolutely love retro-inspired art and decor. Yet another item to add to my ever-growing wish-list.

The IAC Building - Frank Gehry

I can appreciate Frank Gehry architecture for what it is but 'til now I've only seen his works as enlarged sculptures. As visually stimulating the gestural works are, the functionality of spaces seemed generally second-thought.

The IAC building however, has a gestural quality that connects with my subtle sensibilities as an artist. It is a virtual delineation of the layers of functional spaces; the street level that glows with life and vibrance, the shrouded level above offers privacy, and terraces above that which offers tremendous views of New York City.

I feel like I am so far from the world of architecture, as it's been months since I've been laid off at abe, but when I see myself admiring works like this, it brings me right back to the things I appreciate so much in architecture...the fantastic coupling of art and life. Concept and construction. Gesture and function.