November 2009

Once Bitten

Teen vampire romances and pale faced virgins are all the rage right now. In case you need any more confirmation of this fact, I read an article a little while ago (and checked it just now) that stated there are 69,400,000 google results for vampire. Holy Robert Pattinson. I started to wonder, when did this all start? How did vampires become the ‘it’ folkloric beings?

Once Bitten Poster

I haven’t found a truly satisfying answer yet, but I did discover that 25 years before Twilight, True Blood and all the other fangbangers, there was Once Bitten.

In brief; a 400-year-old vampire Countess (Lauren Hutton) needs to drink the blood of a virgin in order to keep her eternal beauty. It seems that all is hopeless, until she bumps into Mark Kendall (a very young Jim Carrey).

Once Bitten

Once Bitten

Thus begins a classic 80′s teen comedy romp, peppered with leotards and Ray Bans. Highlights for me included the snaky comments of the Countess’s companion Sebastian (played by Cleavon Little, who you’ll remember from Blazing Saddles), and Mark’s pimply hormonal sidekicks. The interiors of the Countess’s house also make a star turn.

Perfect viewing for a lazy Sunday morning when you can’t be bothered to change out of your pyjamas.

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Viewfinder: Lisa Mitchell

Lisa Mitchell is an Australian singer-songwriter. I interviewed her in September and found her to be a super-charming girl – very down to earth. We had a nice chat over coffee about her new album, Wonder, playing festivals, and what she’d do if she wasn’t a singer-songwriter (something in design or maybe aid work). At the end of it all she yanked off her grape Melissa/Vivienne Westwood shoes at the café table and flourished them for my inspection. A real cutie.

Here’s three of her videos for your perusal. All were directed by Vanessa Casswill and have a sort of twee teacups and polaroids feel to them.

Coin Laundry:

Funnily enough when she performed at an industry showcase in Auckland, the venue was right next to a Laundromat. Coincidence?

Neopolitan Dreams:

Click here to watch the video (unfortunately the video autoplays, so not embedded) – it’s my favourite song on the album!

Neopolitan Dreams

Those of you in the UK may recognise the song from a Surf laundry ad on television.

Clean White Love:

The latest music video, which completely indulges me in all my English countryside fantasies – wellingtons, umbrellas and ponies.

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Forgotten Songs

Hot art tip from my mum, who got back from Sydney last night – “This is the sort of weird thing you’d really like!”

Photo by burning_man

She found a plethora of brightly coloured bird cages strung across one of Sydney’s lanes (Angel Place). There were lots of birds calling, but none visible to the eye! In fact, these were the sounds of Sydney’s lost birds, those that inhabited the area before alleyways replaced trees.

The project is Forgotten Sounds – part of the By George! Hidden Networks 2009 program. I love this idea! Especially the fact that during the evening you only hear nocturnal chirps. You can see more pictures here.

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CFS Loves 43

CFS Loves

CFS Loves 43

  • The Guardian comments on 10 top fashion blogs of the moment. Some of their snarks are hilarious… “And we all know that a call from Kanye is the true measure of modern success.”
  • The Eyewriter is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus + custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis to draw using only their eyes. Super awesome.

CFS Loves 43

  • Cole Rise takes beautiful photos – Wyoming rainstorms, thoughtful cows, the universe, etc.
  • Design Assembly has a great article on colour choice, Watch That Swatch. What culture is leading your colour choices? This might just explain all the grubby baby pink buildings in Shanghai.

CFS Loves 43

  • Wireless Internet Guide to the Top 20 US and 80 Major International Airports. (All I have to say is “boo Los Angeles”. Not only did they charge but they sent my bank into a security tizzy.)
  • Auckland has a new street style blog. Love it. Hopefully we have enough cute denizens to keep it well fed.

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Afternoon Tea

Anzac Biscuit Recipe

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Mini Jealousy

This limited edition HP Mini designed by Studio Tord Boontje is making my HP Mini jealous. It’s used to being the centre of attention – stunning people with its rapier wit and tiny size.

But it pales in comparison (well, no, mine is black, this is icy white) to this laptop, with ethereal illustrations of endangered animals dancing all over the cover and touch-pad.

HP Mini 110 by Studio Tord Boontje

You will know Tord Boonjte from his fantastical light shades, chairs and other industrial designs; and now his pretty patterns have been applied to the Mini using an image technology HP calls Imprint 3D. Basically the layers get built up for an even lusher look and feel.

HP Mini 110 by Studio Tord Boontje If you go to the HP mini-site you’ll get a sense of just how striking this collaboration is (and some free desktop wallpapers).

Most of us look at our computers/laptops all day long, so it makes sense that they should be visually pleasing. But does it make sense for me to get a new one, just because it’s cute? Maybe…

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Photographic Evidence: 23-November-2009

Photographic Evidence - 23 November

Current occupations/obsessions: my camera-phone/pocket-sized recordings (message not the medium), the Siriusmo remix of Chrome’s Night By Night, meeting new people, the word “gang”, spotting the first hydrangeas of summer, walking for miles, buying fresh flowers, postcards from nice girls in far away lands, hot tips (finally located a great leather bag repair place in AKL), coffee roasting, dream cars (lavender paintwork!) and Lesley Arfin’s Dear Diary.

And you?

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Viewfinder: A Town Called Panic

I’m excited for the feature length version of ‘A Town Called Panic’. Why?

A) Plastic-fantastic stop-motion animation makes my heart beat faster.
B) Crude French humour? Yes please.
C) Farm animals and humans living in perfect disharmony.

You can watch many episodes online here, for free.

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CFS Loves 42

CFS Loves

bridge

  • Jason Lewis’s Tokyo Multiples. Things look better in groups, things look better in Japan.
  • Brand Twist: You don’t need a social media strategy. You need a brand building strategy.
  • A rare bird indeed, a decent twitter suggestion for you all: FakeAPStylebook.  Read more about the project here (wait, how long did it take them to get a book deal?!).
  • An amazing article by Sarah Von – Who I Am vs. What I Do. She gives advice to a 24-year-old writer (quit looking at me funny) on how to cope when the labels we define ourselves with don’t quite match up to how we earn our keep.
  • 1AM Magazine features some of New Zealand’s creative young guns – all talented young things who create with their hands (accessories, knitwear, bags). Catch Part 1 and then mosey on over to Part 2.
  • 52 Suburbs is an incredibly beautiful (and ongoing) documentation of Sydney, Australia’s diverse neighbourhoods.
  • Blog of the week – ii ne kore. Ii ne kore is a shorthand version of kore wa ii desu ne, an expression of appreciation or delight in Japanese.
  • Uh, speaking of delightful Japanese things, I like this video. Especially the last 4 seconds. Forgive me, I don’t usually fall victim to these sorts of cat-baby shenanigans, but gosh, look at em:

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Wayne’s World – Party Time

Two Midwestern nerds. On a couch. In a basement. Who woulda thought.

Wayne’s World is the my favourite movie. Ever. And I think I’m about the only person I know who has seen it in the cinema. As I recall, I was hanging out with my friend Melissa during the school holidays. Mum decided that we should go to the movies or something and as I recall, called the local theatre and asked them what was a good film for kids. So that’s how I ended up being one of the 6 year olds  in the world who caught Wayne’s World.

Wayne's World.

In the years (good lord, such time wasted) that followed I watched at least once a week on a shitty VHS copy that someone recorded off the TV. I still don’t have it on DVD, but I don’t really need to invest in it, seeing as I have all the dialogue memorised. I don’t even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack.

I could tell you many intriguing facts (filmed in 2 weeks!), figures (grossed over $100 million) and important cultural references, but I’m sure you’ve all heard it all before. If not, get thyself to a video store and smack yourself in the face with one of the most essential films of the early nineties. You’re wearing the goddamn denim, so watch the film.

So, tell me – what’s your favoruite film?

P.S. In case you’re wondering what happened to your favourite long- tendriled babes, check out their appearance at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards. They may be in their 40′s (and Garth has pubes) but it’s still party time. Excellent.

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Taste Test: Shih-Chuan Fruit Vinegar

So, the other day I was chilling on the sofa the pondering the content of dear old Code For Something. Culture, yes; Style, regularly; Design, mhmm; Travel, CHECK… So somewhat quickly I kind came to the conclusion it was Food that’s a little bit lacking. Cakes are great and all that, but what could I do that was a little more fun for me (and not just adding to my whale blubber)? Investigative cafe reporting perhaps? Oh wait.

Peach vinegar

Then I remembered my recent shopping trip to Tai Ping, an awesome Asian supermarket on Auckland’s Beach Rd, where I always stock up on a plethora of fake meats and tofu delights. On this occasion – probably because it a) had pink foil b) was squishy and c) was on sale at $1.40 – I also chucked a Shi-Chuan Peach into my basket. I have no idea why, but I thought perhaps it would be amusing to see what peachy mysteries lurk within and report back on it. So here we are.

Name: Shih-Chuan Peach Vinegar - Vinegar??

From: Taiwan!

Benefits: “Not only do they taste good, but they are good for you packed with lots of nutrition”.

Special instructions: “Opening the plug and drink directly. It is tastier with chilled water. Deposition is a natural occurence.” – Uh depositions? Where? Plus, an open admission the liquid is going to taste foul without modification. As you can see, this worries me.

suspicious

Drinking experience: It looks a teeny bit like champagne when it’s poured, however turns out to be still. I was hella frightened after reading vinegar, because I’d initially overseen that little word. But on supping, it had a really sweet artificial peachy taste (kinda like drinking a liquified peach Fruit Burst!), with only the slightest hint of vinegar. Not too bad… it would possibly be a great mixer with vodka, but with only 140ml in a pack, the tide is definitely out.

Peach vinegar - in the cup

Rating: 3/5. It would have done better if it was intoxicating in its native state!

So here we are.

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Photographic Evidence: 16-November-2009

Photographic Evidence

The crab may look happy, but I assure you he’s not…

Happy crab

jerms canonet

eye

roses

sparkler

snow

Since I’ve been back in Auckland all my photographs seem to be soft, organic and kind of sleepy. Which is funny because my life at the moment isn’t any of those things. There’s been lots of rushing around – being hard nosed and kicking ass etc. etc. If you can believe it.

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Team Toledo

I always read that in New York you can always find something fabulous, inspiring – and often free – to do, on any night of the week. It’s true! (Read TimeOut NY for suggestions or sign up for nonsensenyc.)

One of the events I made it to was a lecture by fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo. With his wife Isabel accompanying him, Ruben spoke about Art: From Fashion to Literature at FIT (as part of their museum program) one Thursday evening in October.

Rueben & Isabel Toldedo

In particular the conversation explored his recent work for Penguin Classics – he created the covers for the recently reissued versions of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights and The Scarlet Letter.

Toldeo’s Pride and Prejudice cover reflected the strong fashion siholheuttes of the time. He mentioned he thinks in shapes and form, while Isabel is more partial to colour.

Pride and Prejudice

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights took on a soft gothic look. Ruben mentioned he took great pleasure in drawing burning buildings as a child, and in fact Wuthering Heights encompasses one of those.

Wuthering Heights

The Scarlett Letter - with a bright A for adulturey entangling our protagonist. Rueben said he was really inspired by her job as a seamstress:

The Scarlett Letter

dot

I was too busy looking at the couple’s work – in awe – to make extensive  notes, although I wish I had! The Ruben and Isabel have such a fascinating creative relationship – they  have 20 years of collaboration behind them.One cute moment I do remember was when Elda Rotor (the editorial director for Penguin Classics who moderated the discussion) charmingly confessed she used to rip Ruben’s drawings from the back of early issues of Interview magazine and keep them.

For a little peek into their world, check out this Harper’s Bazaar profile and lookbook; and for a comprehensive review of the event, The Fashion Informer took the time to do a lovely write-up.

2010 will see reissues of Jane Eyre, Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray published by Penguin, with the artwork also to be drawn by Toledo. I can’t wait to see them.

Pe.nguin Classics editorial director, Elda Rotor

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The USA Tally

Inspired by Charley, here is a list of consumption and thoughts regarding my trip to the US. I visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York – 7 flights in all. It was a trip of museums, tattoos, wonder, good friends, new friends, chowing down, coffee, writing, listening, dancing, breathing… and pinching myself constantly.

Flatiron

LES door

BOOKS

  • Miles from Nowhere – Nami Mun
  • After Dark - Haruki Murakami
  • Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami (the van was spotted in Soho, just after I finished reading!)

norwegian wood

  • On Writing – Stephen King
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
  • I Love You More Than You Know – Jonathan Ames
  • Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

FOOD OF NOTE

  • Reeses peanut butter cups, holy shit, you’re amazing. Addiction imminent. Peanut butter anything for the win – like Emma’s amazing PB shake at the Shake Shack!
  • Diet Vitamin Water. Now I have a full blown obsession with this drink,  I want the diet version  at home, pronto.

pizza

  • Pizza. In all its glorious and cheesey forms. Root beer (pray tell, what is the root?) was discovered to be a good friend of pizza.
  • Pie crust flavoured soft serve ice cream with toasted marshmallows from Momofuku. It’s as weird as it sounds. Liquid… pie. Does not compute.

MOVIES

  • The Hangover
  • Wall Street
  • Where The Wild Things Are
  • Yes Men Fix The World
  • Untitled
  • Julie And Julia
  • Up
  • Once Bitten
  • … and two others, the names and entire plots of which, I have lost in my brain to jetlag.

STORES

  • Urban Outfitters, I love you.
  • Uniqlo, I love you more.
  • Jumelle, Bedford Avenue. Eclectic, beautiful clothinbg store with loads of thoughtful designers. Go buy yourself a beautiful scarf for winter.

The New Museum

  • I loved everything about the New Museum (Contemporary art! Rooftop zen room! Cute French speaking staff!) but the shop was especially good – think art books and limited edition works. Also deserving of a honourable mention is the MoMA store – so many great gifts! I bought a mug.
  • Strand Books. Aside from a moment when one wayward staff member called me baby, I had a fabulous hour browsing Strand’s excellent selection of art/design/fashion books.
  • Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg. I found a deliciously comfortable French faux leather jacket there. It has amazing power shoulders.

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Pumpkins!

  • The unicorns of Brooklyn – prance little ones, prance!
  • Girls dressed as bright pinatas. I think there was a stick sort of character involved too.
  • Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World (BEST MOVIE EVER).
  • A man carrying an outhouse, which opened up to show a man sitting on a dunny reading. This was an elaborate one person costume and I am 99% convinced the dude was Australian.
  • Edward Scissorhands. There were many Scissorhands but this one was special. He literally became Edward, and stayed in character the entire time – no talking, lots of fumbling.
  • Numerous howling, stomping, Wild Things. Bravo!

Taxi!

Oh, be still my wistful heart. I loved everything about it. It’s a pretty safe assumption I’m going to go back as soon as possible…

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