From the Sartorialist
11.08.2010
Must See >> Changing Education Paradigms
I love these RSAnimate films. I can't get enough. I think I could watch these and TED talks all day long. Speaking of changing education paradigms, maybe there could be degree programs based entirely on educating oneself through these lectures? We might as well be learning from the experts at the tops of their respective fields, right?
Anyway, have you heard of "divergent thinking"? It basically means thinking outside the box-- creative problem solving. So this test was developed to measure people's abilities in "divergent thinking," and when the test was administered to kindergartners, guess how many qualified as what the test considered "genius level"? 98%. Ninety-eight percent! And guess how many qualified as genius level after five, and then ten years of education? Watch and find out...
It's one of many fascinating things explained in this eleven minute discussion of why the metrics that our education system is based on are setting our schools up for failure.
11.05.2010
Listening To >> Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
I do love a good collaboration, especially in the form of duets, and Isobel Campbell, of Belle and Sebastian, and Mark Lanegan, of Screaming Trees, serve up something wonderful on their album Hawk. And don't let their past work throw you off-track-- you'd be hard-pressed to find echoes of Belle and Sebastian or Screaming Trees here.
If you liked Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris's album, I'm willing to bet you'll like this one. Despite Campbell's Scottish background, the album sounds purely American, seamlessly melding blues, country, soul, folk, and rock. The unlikely pairing of their voices, hers floating, light, and airy and his gravelly, deep, and steady, has an alluring, addictive magic to it.
In fact, I am quite addicted to the song above. If it weren't for their unconventional voices, one could easily think this song was recorded in the 60's.
Willy Mason makes an appearance on this touchingly spare cover of Townes Van Zandt's "No Place to Fall"...
And as a final note, I LOVE the album cover. The typeface and the photo and the simple layout... just so good.
Interiors >> Black, White, and Wood, Pt II
It's officially an obsession.
I can't stop. I keep realizing that so many images I have saved in folders entitled things like "love," "perfect," and "classic," are essentially this combo. It works.
[Images: 2: Domino,
3: APC New York,
4: Lili Abir Regen]
Must See >> Les Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain
I've mentioned Amelie a few times before (it's my favorite movie), but I just discovered the opening sequence on youtube, and the opening is one of my favorite parts.
(It seems the video above isn't working, but you can watch here.)
In just the first ten minutes, there are so many things I love, and revel in re-experiencing every time I watch the movie, that I could probably write a whole essay just on this small part. I bore people to death when I get them to watch it with me because I keep interrupting and saying, "Oooh, don't you love how ____," and pointing out every little thing I hope they're noticing, and not just noticing, but gleaning as much enjoyment from it as I am.
So here, I will restrain myself, and spare you, by putting all the things I hope you're noticing after the jump, providing you the option of reading it or skipping it. Considerate, no?
11.04.2010
Arts Visuels >> Art For a Cause >> Non-Sign II
This new "billboard" installation at the US-Candadian border advertises... nothing. Well, nothing but clean air, that is. Making a strong statement through an obvious absence, the sculpture is meant to pay homage to, and promote the value of, something very hard to capture: the beauty of fresh, clean air.
As one of its designers explained:
"Borrowing the effectiveness of billboards to redirect attention away from the landscape... this permanently open aperture between nations works to frame nothing more than a clear view of the changing atmospheric conditions beyond."
Made of a tangle of steel rods, the piece was designed by Lead Pencil Studio, a firm that blends art and architecture, and you'll absolutely NEVER guess who it was commissioned by. The federal government. More info after the jump...
Click through for more images and information...
Must See >> Stop-Motion Animation >> Bottle
"Animated on location at a beach, in snow, and underwater, this stop-motion short details a transoceanic conversation between two characters via objects in a bottle."
Your heart will break.
You know how I love stop-motion animation. The making-of will give you serious respect for how long this must've taken!!!
11.03.2010
Graphic Fix >> RL Details
These have made their way around the blog world by now, but I love them. Ralph Lauren just nails every detail. Here, a collection of various hang tags from RL jeans. How do they get every little thang right? Right fonts, layouts, materials, amounts of weathering, types of grommets, means of attaching... Many more after the jump.
Ciao Ciao
If you noticed the posting was a little sparse last week, please excuse it, it's because I was here...
Lago di Como
[Pics courtesy of Clark's Bberry]
Interiors >> Bar Carts Pt. III
As I've discussed before, I really love a good bar cart or tray in a home. They just give the feeling that you're always ready for company and a good time. Here, four examples of really lovely styling mixing the bar elements with art, both propped, for a more ad hoc look, and properly hung, for a more formal effect.
Lonny Mag
Thom Felicia
Miles Redd
[Past bar cart posts
here and here]
11.02.2010
Must See >> Bruce Weber's "Haiti/Little Haiti"
Bruce Weber, a part-time resident of Miami and full-time fashion photographer, shifts his focus in a new project about his neighbors in Little Haiti for his first museum exhibition, "Haiti/Little Haiti," which opens this month at MOCA Miami.
Apparently, the exhibition, which contains photos from 2003-2010, is partly as a reaction to the disproportionately aggressive deportation efforts that have been aimed at Haitian residents of Miami. I love that Bruce is using his status to bring awareness to such an issue!
Lanvin for H&M
30 seconds that will make you think Alber Elbaz is adorable.
Love this video of him as well, done by T Magazine (youtube won't let me embed it, but you can watch here). I love that he says his mom talked to his teacher when he was young because she was concerned that he was drawing pictures of ladies and not of things like "tanks," and that the teacher just said to wait and see where it would go... how wise she was to let him do his thing!
Love this video of him as well, done by T Magazine (youtube won't let me embed it, but you can watch here). I love that he says his mom talked to his teacher when he was young because she was concerned that he was drawing pictures of ladies and not of things like "tanks," and that the teacher just said to wait and see where it would go... how wise she was to let him do his thing!
LustList >> Necessary Office Supplies >> Typewriters as Keyboards
If you love typewriters, you need to check out this clever guy I discovered in this month's VF (oh, how I love thee) who is retrofitting typewriters to act as keyboards for your iPad or monitor! Simply with a USB cord!
As he hilariously says on his site, "The USBTypewriter is a a new and groundbreaking innovation in the field of obselescence." HA. I'm going to be laughing to myself about the cleverness of that oxymoronic statement for a while.
10.31.2010
Graphic Fix >> High Design for Low Effort Meals
I cannot believe these are microwave meals. Can. Not. Believe. I saw these and assumed it was one of those really well-designed things you come across online and then the info says "student project" and it turns out it's not actually a real product. Not so here. These are sold in the UK by COOK, and in addition to being so, so beautifully designed, they sound really delicious, and there's a sticker in the top right corner telling you the name of the chef that prepared the meal.
These would be pretty as stationery! So the fact that it's packaging for something generally so commercial-looking, usually using glossy, over-saturated, close-up photos of the steaming meal you are about to buy and big slogans zinged dramatically across the front to grab your attention, these are so refreshingly simple, classic, and photoshop-free.
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