What we liked, and to hell with Joan Rivers:
Vera Farmiga - Up In The Air
Anna Kendrick - Up In The Air
Zoe Kravitz - Precious
On March 5, 2010, In Food, By Wes
These are images from the world famous Alinea restaurant in Chicago, owned and operated by Grant Achatz, pioneer of the molecular gastronomy movement. If you’ve got $300 bucks weighing you down, Alinea is a good place to unload it. The presentation is gorgeous.
Just because I love her.
O at Reading.
O at tea.
O at Lollapalooza.
If you don’t know, Karen O is the charismatic lead singer for art-punk/disc0-junk noise band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, bringers of good tidings of great joy and primal screams of feminist ilk. They’re a handful, but you won’t mind.
The clothes are generally made by O friend/fan Christian Joy, whose work can be found here: http://www.christianjoy.us/.
And now, the video for Basis Design’s most-favored YYY jam:
Do you like shelving? Do you also love a good mp3 player? Odds are you’re German. Here’s the latest from the country that brought you Hegel, Kant, and Nietzsche (you’re welcome), the Hohrizontal 51:
It’s a shelf, it’s an mp3 player, it’s a hi-fi stereo system!
Seriously, this is pretty cool. An elegant, slim little stereo system, very high quality, that adapts to your mp3 player and doubles as a convenient, stylish shelf.
Fits in the bathroom!
Looks great in the living room!
What a product. I have a feeling it could try and take over the world someday.
(also, somewhat unfortunately, only plays Kraftwerk)
On January 8, 2010, In fashion, By Wes
So, uh… Frank Gehry, world famous architect, designed a hat. It wasn’t magical.
That hat was designed for Lady Gaga, the unfortunately named but daringly attired pop superstar to wear at a benefit for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. He designed it on his iPhone, which is just too much.
On January 4, 2010, In furniture, By Wes
Apropos of nothing, really, here is the mythical Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mies van der Rohe was possibly the greatest designer of furniture ever to live, if that’s enough for you. Florence Knoll, having left the office of a somewhat dunder-headed executive, joked to her companion: “Where would they be without us?” “My dear,” he said, “Where would we be without Mies?”
Pictured with the Barcelona Table, Couch, and Ottoman
All Mies did was school sucka punks what thought they knew.
On December 31, 2009, In furniture, By Wes
These are some excellent bedroom sets from Presotto Italia, gleaned from the completely absorbing blog of Kanye West.
Members of Broke Phi Broke need not apply.
Some Marvin Gaye, some Luther Vandross, a little Anita...
For when your degrees aren't keeping you warm.
On December 28, 2009, In furniture, By Wes
Some Frank Lloyd Wright furniture and interior design from his “prairie style” homes:
A 100 year old design recently uncovered.
Not bad.
On December 19, 2009, In Holiday, By Wes
The tiny island of Murano, in Venice, Italy, is home to many of the finest and most respected glass blowing shops in the world. This year, a group of Venetian artisans set out to create the world’s biggest glass Christmas tree.
World's largest collection of hookahs (Credit Vinicio Tullio @ trekearth.com)
The tree, consisting of hundreds of hand-crafted blown glass-tubes lit from within, is truly a wonder. At 7.5 meters tall, it accomplishes the immodest goal of being the biggest glass tree in the world as well.
A few words about the venerable Christmas tree:
Originally (and we’re talking the 15th and 16th century here, doll) the only decorations allowed were roses (they symbolized the virgin Mary) or apples (they symbolized the local populace’s desire to eat apples).
In the 1700s, especially in Germany and Austria, the ornaments became so confectionery-centric that they were called “sugar trees”.
Sears and Roebuck were the producers of the very first artificial Christmas tree, just so you know who to send your angry letters to.
President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Theodore Roosevelt was so shocked, shocked I tell you, at the ever-growing practice of evergreen Christmas tree harvesting that he tried to ban it in America. Luckily his son talked him out of it, but he wasn’t the last Roosevelt to get involved with Christmas trees; years later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt converted part of his acreage into a Christmas tree plantation. Today the Christmas tree industry (about 30 million trees are sold every year) is still going strong. They’re responsible too, according to the National Christmas Tree Association – for every tree sold or cut down, one to three seedlings are planted.
Lord love a Christmas tree, and, as we sign off, let’s not neglect to mention the finest tree ever displayed in America:
Hark, the Herald Nostalgia Sings! (© 1965 United Feature Syndicate Inc.)
Happy Holidays!