December 2009

Christmas Photo Project Results

Here are the results of the Christmas Photo Project I undertook with Alex & Lisa. The basic premise = 1 disposable camera and two photos daily for the twelve days of Christmas, tralalala!

It’s harder than it looks to take 2 vaguely interesting photographs each day, plus there’s all sorts of foibles, like low light, forgotten cameras and drunken snap happy fingers to contend with. You’ll see that out of 24 clicks, 2 didn’t even turn out. Good times nonetheless!

Alex’s super photos are here (cute photos of the wife, puppy and ducks) and I’ll link to Lisa’s when she’s done. Here’s my efforts…

Day 1: Westmoreland St + a ginger cat

Day 2: Pohutukawa + a wish

Day 3: I got drunk with Michael + Nikhil

Day 4: Walking to work + a giant Santa

Day 5: Bougainvillea + Soap & Soak

Day 6: Franklin Road lights

Day 7: Sushi at Bonzai + beer at Neighbourhood

Day 8: Bedroom inspiration board

Day 9: Christmas tree

Day 10: Sun + some sunflowers

Day 11: Vineyard + 60 minutes

Day 12: Warkworth Masonic Hall + the end

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Joyeux Noël Etc

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a great day (I’m about to head down to the beach and lap up some rays – we rock a completely non-trad Christmas round these parts) and a wonderful New Year. I’ll be back again around the 5th of January. 2k10, bring it on!

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Scorecard | 2009 Personal Style Resolution

Some of the nice things I've worn/bought this year. Highlights included going wild in Urban Outfitters & Uniqlo(!), the world's most expensive headband from Mimco in Melbourne, a beautiful vintage dress I bought in Manchester and THE JACKET, from Beacon's Closet in NYC.

A new year often triggers a desire to start new habits, try fresh looks and generally buck trends!

Because of the perceived demarcation of time, it’s a good time to set goals and resolve to do thing differently. In particular I like the New Year for reassessing my style for the year ahead – it’s mid season too, so you have a wee bit of thinking and preparation time.

In 2009 my personal fashion resolutions were:

- To wear lipstick more often… VICTORY.

It’s fair to say I met my cosmetic soul-mate this year. ChiChi’s range of lipsticks are infallible and can withstand all the making out and wineglasses you care to subject your lips to. On the colour front I favoured a bright cherry red and a shade of watermelon for the evening; and a neutral pink shade called Blonde Bombshell for the day.

- To buy a pair of Frye boots… FAIL.

I tried, I really did. Something about selling out in my size. However I did buy the boots of my dreams – those chestnut Progetto riding style boots.

- To wear my Chucks less (to work)… SEMI-SUCCESS.

Well, let’s see the first half I was away a lot, hence no work. I acutally recall wearing Chucks on the Great Wall of China! After I went freelance there was a lot more jandal/barefoot/slipper time.

- To go to the gym more often (3x a week)… FAIL.

Turns out I don’t enjoy going to the gym if it’s more than 10 minutes walk from my house. I’ve also travelled a ton this year – 2 months away. Ah! Excuses!

- To wear more hats… VICTORY.

Berets, sunhats and more… I even bought one at Urban Outfitters.

Did you keep your style resolutions or goals for 2009? Are you making any for the new decade?

Infallible

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Lolz | Festive Cat Crackers

Only 1 joke? The whole thing is a joke. I can’t tell if they’re for your cat crazy great-aunt who smells faintly of onions and moustache wax; or for the socially inept internet nerd who has to stop playing Bejewelled on their iPhones for 2 minutes to pull some crackers. Merry Christmas, kitties! Oh well. I love them and feel they represent a very good deal for the princely sum of $3.99. That said, the proof is always in the pull.

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Photographic Evidence: 21-December-2009

A week of parties, gigs, dinners in the summer sun, festive frivolity. Life through the lens etc. On Friday night I was lucky enough to go to a Yacht gig. They played the Summer Song! It was a brilliant show, powerpoint and all. I danced until the sun came up and then we headed to Denny’s for a terrible, albeit cheap breakfast.

I’ll be spending Christmas at my parent’s beachouse. The Christmas tree is outside and the fairy lights are permanently up.

This little dude is a Christmas present for my friend Simon…

True love! I welcome gifts of kittens too – just don’t post ‘em ❤

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Phraseology #7 | Kale, Like The Bones Of Your Enemy

And then came the brilliant part. We had a bunch of monster Tuscan kale growing in the yard this past summer. You’re supposed to wait until the first frost to harvest it, and we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for a frost. I don’t know why you have to wait for the frost, but my wife kept telling me that. And they’re giant. I mean these things are about three-feet tall. I went out and harvested, and I chopped the kale and started sautéing it with olive oil, and I put salt on it. It was just great. A bunch of the leaves were much thinner than others and I thought I was burning them almost, but those were the best parts. It’s almost like it came out like an incredibly delicate potato chip but made out of kale. It was definitely the best part of the meal.

Crunch, you know, is one of those universal human irresistible things. In fact, if it is a universal I’d love to know why. Is it some ancestral memory? Crunching the bones of your enemy? I don’t know why crunch would be pleasurable.

Someone has made kale sound succulent, and it is a miracle. From NY Mag’s Grub Street; Food Historian William Grimes Quaffs Tea, Stands Down Kale in His Garden. Grimes keeps his diary smart and sharp! Food is one of my favourite things to read about; I dive into my housemate’s subscription of Cuisine magazine each and every month, and I’m sure you know I think Nigel Slater is a true poet. Yummy words, specific enough to have you drooling all over the glossies.

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Viewfinder: Going West – NZ Book Council

Going West is a books festival in New Zealand, and they’re going viral with video. The result is an animation of part of Maurice Gee’s novel Going West. It’s very delicate, intricate work, and simply beautiful. My favourite parts are the native foliage – cabbage trees, ferns and windswept manuka. There may have been 1000 paper cuts in the process – everything was made by hand – but it was worth it.

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Cross Street Garage Sale

Hey Aucklanders! The crew at Cross Street are holding a MEGA garage sale next week on Tuesday December 22nd. There’ going to be some nice sounds, courtesy of: Dole Day Rage, Dr Octopuss, Swampy Tonk, Ivy Rossiter and Sam Hamilton.

Entertainment and fooding good times include a vegan BBQ, Dan’s Jerk Chicken Shack, the infamous Cross Street punch, Cleo from First Thursday’s jump rope play team, Mikey from Smoking Hot Bitch Fight’s rap workshop (do not miss this!) and a Cross Street ping pong tournament – MC’d by Damian from Stress Cadet. Phew! You can also bring a tshirt and get it screen printed with Tes.

But wait, there’s more! There’s the garage sale part with stalls and other fun treats in store for y’all. My darling friend Liss and I will be manning a stall of fine vintage goods, other treats – and of course will be facilitating some scintillating conversation with all the punters. Please come see us!

CROSS STREET STUDIOS 27 Cross Street | Tuesday 22 December, 4pm til late.

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Kind Of Amazing | The New Moon Soundtrack

You never thought you would see the world Twilight on Code For Something*, did you? Well today is a special occasion. I’ve found the music.

Here’s a listing of for New Moon – The Soundtrack… It’s kind of amazing – as hard to believe as that is. Indie darlings Bon Iver and St Vincent! Thom Yorke with a brand new song! Swedish hottie Lykke Li! Brooklyn babes geniuses Grizzly Bear!

Death Cab For Cutie – “Meet Me On The Equinox”
Band Of Skulls – “Friends”
Thom Yorke – “Hearing Damage”
Lykke Li – “Possibility”
The Killers – “A White Demon Love Song”
Anya Marina – “Satellite Heart”
Muse – “I Belong To You (New Moon)”
Bon Iver and St. Vincent – “Roslyn”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Done All Wrong”
Hurricane Bells – “Monsters”
Sea Wolf – “The Violet Hour”
OK Go – “Shooting The Moon”
Grizzly Bear – “Slow Life”
Editors – “No Sound But The Wind”
Alexandre Desplat – “New Moon (The Meadow)”

Go, download it (or stream the entire thing on Myspace) and listen. I think it’s rather lovely that because of this, so many fantastic bands are going to get the mainstream popularity they deserve. It’d be an awesome album to play while opening presents under the tree.

*Unless I was making extremely disgusting jokes. Requests for these awful jokes will be taken in the comments section.

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CFS Loves 46

CFS Loves

Three Frames

Three Frames – ooh there’s some endless fun.

A selection of cute vintage Christmas cards – scanned online by Auckland CityLibraries.

Wired Magazine updates some classic infographics: Intelligence Redesigned.

And here are the top 5 data visualization projects of 2009. Interactive icing on the cake! {via Duncan}

The new Yeasayer album artwork! Radical, goopy!

Johanna writes about Avatar and the attention to detail in bringing it to life. Now I’m excited to see it even if the blue-dreadlock-thing is not my cup o’ tea.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Twin Magazine. It’s founded by Becky Smith, one of the Lula geniuses. She says “I wanted to expand and create something more grown up, versitile and stronger. Something that still looked gorgeous but something that really said something as well. It is possible to have the best of both worlds.”

Street Style: A ‘Round The World’ Guide – a little thing I wrote for Orcon – New Zealand’s most stylish internet people.

Lady Gaga in the December issue of Vogue! Hanging out and torturing Hansel and Gretel.

Stylebubble discovers some fantastic fashion creatives – photography, illustration, animation – by the name of Reed and Rader.

A kick ass caramel corn recipe.

Seth Godin has published a free ebook – What Matters Now. “Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year.”

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Tokyo Yearning

Tokyo

Forever Harajuku

lost

This past week I have been thinking about Japan A LOT. Tokyo, most of all… Here’s a ‘Destination Japan’ reading list I wrote for Mausumi (such a sweet, refreshing blog). It’s a few must-read books that involve Japan somehow. Sigh! Where do you dream of from your armchair?

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Photographic Evidence: 14-December-2009

Photographic Evidence

Venn Horses

A perfect sunny Sunday afternoon hanging out with my girlfriends and going horseriding. If you’re near Auckland I highly recommend riding along beautiful Pakiri beach. It’s heavenly.

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More Dash Than Cash | Vogue Shows Us How

Vogue’s More Dash Than Cash by Kate Hogg was first published in 1982. Despite a vintage of almost 30 years, it’s an incredibly relevant and straightforward guide to looking good on a budget.

“Making the effort to look striking costs very little – a fresh attitude and energy are more vital than money”.

After a chipper and suitably stirring introduction, the book covers the following areas:

An Individual Style
Wardrobe Tactics
The Classics
Outside Inspirations
The Alternatives
Reading Fashion Pictures
Inside Style
Characters In Fashion

Here’s some of my favourite spreads:

Vogue: More Dash Than Cash

More Dash Than Cash

moredashthancash8

More Dash Than Cash

Intriguingly, a lot of the looks feel like they could have been shot yesterday – think bloggers in high waisted denim cut offs and Doc Martins; or the latest Stolen Girlfriends-esque Prairie girl look. And oh! Are those some moccasins I spy? (Above in the last shot). New York was going mad for those when I was there last month. Ah, isn’t it funny how the wheels of fashion turn.

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Viewfinder: Animal Collective Collection

Animal Collective played at Auckland’s Powerstation on Tuesday night. It was a great gig; here was no dithering around and chatting – just a constant wave of sound and light.

Animal Collective in Auckland

They layered songs from the albums and the new EP up over and around each other – stretching the new single, What Would I Want? Sky out for 25 minutes. In celebration of a lovely evening with friends, here’s a few AC videos.

They didn’t play Peacebone, so I have placated myself by watching the video ten times or so – it’s very romantic.