This time next week I’ll be in Paris. Eep. Clearly the best way to prepare is to learn choice French phrases from our two New Zealand friends in New York City.
Do you like Flight Of The Conchords? I was a bit dismissive at first but eventually on a flight to Europe, funnily enough, I watched every episode. Now I just wish there was more. MORE. Jacques Cousteau!
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Another documentary I have seen and enjoyed recently is The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters. It’s a 2007 American film that follows middle school science teacher Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion and hot sauce kind Billy Mitchell. Even if you don’t have an interest in gaming, you’ll love this battle of the nerds.
It’s a classic tale of good vs. evil, with lots of laughs and plot twists. It leaves you hanging for more, and pondering whether you could be the next world champion in something… If only you put your life into it.
Want to see it? Watch part 1 on YouTube.
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Last week I stayed at home on a Saturday night. I put my best leopard print PJs on, plumped my pillows and ordered a takeaway. Then, far from the sophistication of writing (my novel) and listening to Smog (so refined), I watched THIS:
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Addictive, unashamedly host and funny, it’s the best documentary series I’ve seen in a while. And of course – those dresses!
I didn’t know anything about Irish travellers before, and this was a great insight into a culture completely different from mine. Someone has put most of the episodes screened thus far on Youtube , so you too can sit back, relax, and enjoy the mayhem of a gypsy wedding in their glory. If you have seen it, what did you think?
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Check out this tropical stop-motion video advertising fruit juice. Super slick and fun:
Boom! I love to see South American creative work. It seems my head is always turned north by those saucy Europeans. I’ve got to work on my Español (and Portuguese) and “see” more of the world.
* Yes, the title references a biscuit disco mashup. Wah, I hadn’t had coffee yet…
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Please allow me to introduce myself , I’m a man of wealth and taste… Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones is one of my favourite songs. A personal top 10 ranking, definitely. Various sources state it was inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, which I have just finished reading. Also – how smooth and wonderful does the video look? It’s the joy of real film.
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Currently on high repeat, Architecture in Helsinki – Contact High, video directed by Krozm:
Now that’s some Patrick Bateman shiz right there. The song is from the band’s third (awesome) album – Moment Bends. I would describe this album as a depressing beach holiday – melodramatic lonely hearts, grooving to tropicana flavoured synth at the resort’s disco. It’s a lot slower than their past efforts. For me, standouts on the album include Denial Style, That Beep (the beep from 2008′s EP of the same name) and B4 3D.
As always, I hope I get to catch them on tour soon! There’s nothing better than bopping to AiH at a live show.
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Down at my favourite watering hole under the stairs (the Wine Cellar), Hazel & Jack have been regularly cranking Toto on Tuesdays. Strictly the karaoke hits – Hold The Line, Rosanna and Africa. Let’s dance!
(My favourite!)
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This is what happens if you whack an ant colony in your scanner, and create images of the the resulting ecosystem every week for 5 years. Wow.
ANTS in my scanner > a five years time-lapse! from françois vautier on Vimeo.
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“I shot a photo roughly every two miles between take-off in San Francisco and landing in Paris CDG to make this airplane time lapse”:
The northen lights look amazing! I hope to fly over that part of the world sometime soon, or even better, leg it to Finland and stay in a glass igloo. In the mean time, this swish little time lapse makes me happy.
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I love these highly saturated, engaging videos for EF International Language Centres. Combining typography with lush cinematography, each video teaches us some bite-sized lingo from the featured city – Paris, Barcelona, Beijing and London.
Perhaps because I’m learning español (I’m three weeks into classes), and I haven’t been there yet, the Barcelona one is my favourite. It makes me want to pack my bags and jet off now.
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Puppy, be mine. Apparently when I see cute things on the street, I coo and say hello in a tiny voice. I just did the same thing at this ad. HELLO! I would love a greyhound, they’re just big old couch potatoes.
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Sampled Room is a slick little composition by Mateusz Zdziebko. I’ve seen a couple of similar experiments that use household objects to create digestible sounds, but none as clean as this.
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I was scrolling through acres of music I haven’t played in yonks, and came across Bossy. Sung by New York’s first lady of neo soul, Kelis (featuring Too Short), Bossy was one of my musical highlights of 2006. I was happy to dig it up – I think it’s definitely on par with Milkshake.
The video is pretty swell , with moments of genius – spotlighted octopus tentacles, flowing Veuve, a blue powder-puff poodle, and a unicorn ice sculpture. As one YouTube user noted, Kelis always looks classy, no matter what she’s writhing in. The Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix of Bossy is also top class; fast paced and bouncy – download it here.
If you like Kelis and Auckland-bound this summer, then you’re in luck; she’s playing at Splore-City in the lush new Aotea Square in February. It’s going to be a banging festival, with other great names like Mayer Hawthorne, Caribou and J-Star on the line up, along with a sprinkling of ambient work & performances.
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Ponyo loves Sasuke! And I love Ponyo. Once again too slow to catch it in the cinema, I finally was able to sit down and watch Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film on DVD. It’s a treat – and my recommendation if you’re looking for something to watch this weekend. The basic plot is that Ponyo is a goldfish princess who wishes to become human after she falls in love. My very favourite part of the movie is when Ponyo licks the blood from Sasuke’s cut:
Fun fact – Ponyo’s name is an onomatopoeia, based on Miyazaki’s idea of what a “soft, squishy softness” sounds like when touched.
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Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
Here I like to talk about fashion, design, food, travel, writing & books, and culture. Everything else (including my photography) goes into my digital notebook.
If you'd like to email me the address is amber@codeforsomething.com
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