Entry #152: Viktor & Rolf Missing Restraint & Knowledge?

Ahh... a quote to live by for the young designer in training:

"[Designs]...would be more successful if the designers were a little less intent on having a good time. Just because a scheme's wacky and off-the-wall some of the young designers think it is FUN, in big letters, when in fact their very determination to be zany renders the result lifeless. What's missing is restraint and knowledge. What's missing is the Zen of seeing." -Albert Hadley



Viktor & Rolf's Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren placed the word "Dream" (in big letters) front and center. They did not think outside of their boxy letters? I wasn't moved.

Entry #169: Printerrrr up

* Over 1,100 sublimation prints to choose from.
* Ability to customize prints.
* Internationally recognized for designs and production capability.
* Direct and indirect Customers Liz Claiborne, Coach, Todd Oldham, Givenchy and Berkshire, and stores such as Neiman Marcus, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
* Runway Shows: Roberto Cavalli, Moschino, and Todd Oldham
* Celeste Stein Designs produces more than 2 million pairs of printed socks and tights each year.

Check out her website here.

Entry #168: You know, you know.

Newspapers aren’t getting enough love these days with that other medium’s ability to report breaking news faster than your high-speed cable can keep up. The Death of the Paper is an often talked about event in newspaper circles and I too was almost ready to mourn the lost of an era but something telling started to happen.

Network cables’ ineptitude at verification of facts started to surface. Even conservative online versions of the newspaper made false, somewhat deceptive claims, including The Wall Street Journal (ok, the only conservative paper I actually like to read). This up to the second, in yo face homie, breaking news reporting is really made for readers who like the thrill of not really knowing, or readers who in their younger days picked at daisies and recited “loves me so” to “loves me not.”

The paper, on the other hand—is akin to the wise old man who takes a thoughtful look and deep breath before finally speaking deliberately. These are the facts, and I stick by them, he seems to be telling the readers (without a cowboy twang).

But I’m a news junkie. So I follow the thrill of the newsroom. And urhm, I pick at daisies!

And I think all of this yearning for the paper is really just me wishing wishing wishing for self actualization of some sort. If this makes sense, then we belong side by side, like two apples in a fruit basket “hoping for the best for each other.” 1

Today’s Headlines:
NYT: Killing of Sunni militia cause of consternation for America—the militia is a key component of their Plan to Decrease Violence in Iraq.

LA Times: Presidential polls- blaaaah. Good ol HillBill are leading nationwide and the GOP seems even more confused than them Dems.

Wall Street Journal: Influx at the Gaza (national headline) and the stock market

Washington Post: The swingin stock market and wtf are we to do?

USA Today: 76 colleges have over 1 billion in endowment so why aren’t they spending like they should on scholarships and other improvements?!

1. Anne Sexton

Entry #114: History of the Future, Los Angeles

This is a hippie shit take on what the future of Los Angeles should be. It's kinda bizarre how completely optimistic the author is. He begins with, "And then people get together to change their lives."



Very Bizarre Website Here.

Entry #112: Stupid Ad 101

If I were in a critique I'd say, "lacks originality, creativity, & taste."

Ads of the World : Via

Entry #98: The great and the horrific

I am appalled by the Supreme Court! We need a Warren, right quick. Fantastic article in the New Yorker.

On a different note... this is on my wish list (along with the iphone... which one, which one??)...

Entry #80: Semi-secret Show, snip, snip.

Happily Ever After duo Matt & Kim are having a show tonight (go now!) in the good old LBC (Esther Ave + Santa Fe). It's in a semi-shoddy part of town so they definitely have street cred.

But alas, tonight I'm @ the hiz-ouse, peelin potatos and milking cows: i.e. pattern-cutting! The vast amounts of fabric I've ruined because of my poor shearing abilities has me downtown touchin' and violatin' fabrics on a daily basis. This little trek has me practicing my Spanish skills with fabric/textile makers. My curiosity about the beginnings (you see, the silkworm...) will eventually get me to a holier than thou place.

God, can ya save me?
God --> no
doctor --> maybe
pharmacist --> yes
And down the food chain we go.

Entry #79: State of Suspended Animation, Complete Rapture

Yesterday I was posed the question: Are kittens the new owl?

Completely.



In other news, I'm in L-to-the-O-V-E with Dries Van Noten and his fantastic Spring/Summer 08 (yes, 2008) line. The heroin chic look is soooo-x 2004-2008 (and on).

Nomenus Quarterly is a new fashion magazine set to launch July 1st. 300! pages. An article entitled Forever Young is an ode to, what else- nostalgia. (You can read it online, but will have to go through a series of flash- yuck). Not exactly a new theme in the realm of nonfiction and something Cabinet Magazine did a better take on.

As you can see, I completely lied regarding the title. Not enough swooning on my end. Perhaps it will happen on June 9 and 10, when I trek to the Cooper Design Space + New Mart for their Designers + Agents event.

Please say yes and whatever you do, don't feed the models.

Entry #74: Superexcellent Scheme

Presentation, China 2008 Olympic Stadium

Design 1


Design 2


Design 3


Design 4


Design 5


Design 6


Design 7


Design 8


Design 9


Design 10


Design 11


Design 12


And the winner, as recommended by the evaluation panel, is Design 3. I placed them out of order, sorry.

Dammit...I was hoping they would implement a rooftop garden. I don't want the future to be metal and hardware.

Entry #64: Model Turned Photographer, Ellen is Amazing

Ellen von Unwerth is an amazing photographer who gets down and dirty with her photographs.

"Von Unwerth seems less of an auteur directing her subjects than a co-conspirator who intimately knows the inner lives of these girls who want to have fun."--American Photo



"Von Unwerth brings an energetic femininity to fashion photography--call it girl power. The models in her pictures seem to have real identities, and the photos often convey a sexuality without reducing the subjects to sex objects."--American Photo









I adore these collections:
Kate Moss
Brad Pitt

(All of the photos were taken from this site)

Hopefully, the wikipedia on von Unwerth will get updated with more info.

Entry #60: Discipline in Thought and the Pursuit of Simplicity

Cool paper on Delay Insensitive Codes. (note: PDF)

MathMeth's Mission Statement, as stated on their website:
We are of the opinion that thinking is a skill that may be developed like any other. This website is devoted to developing our thinking skills. We choose mathematics as a medium through which to conduct this development. We make this choice because mathematical concepts are completely clear and precise, and hence provide the simplest sort of problems to work with.

that last sentence is a tough pill.

Will all this mathematical thinking lend to better communications/social skills? Probably not... for that, I'd turn to Rawl's Theory of Reflective Equilibrium.

Whatever.

The pursuit of simplicity won't lead to cool stuff like this:


The Color of the Year for 2007, according to Pantone.



Fitting, with the War on Terror and Darfur Genocide currently going on. Word on the street is that number 1 is no longer referring to our invasion as the War on Terror?

Entry #52: Office Space

Consulting project number 1 is to redo the design + layout of an environmental company, located inside of a historical bank. I want to expose some brick walls, install cool partitions, and install track lighting!

I’ve been looking at the red-dot design award’s website to get some ideas, but I think I will be sticking to the tried and true Wilson Partitions for most of my partition needs.

The goal, as stated in my contract, is to:
Achieve a design + layout that is comfortable, eco-friendly, and will lend to a productive and lively work environment.

Design Trend- LED:


More Cool Lights:

Entry #49: Extracting Video From the Brain- Mind Reading?

I had a dream about seeing images from the brain of a dead person and googled the mess to find the following study that was able to reconstruct images seen by a cat using neuronal systems/circuits and a mathematical formula. The above is what they put together. Moral of the story is that dreams lie in the realm of the real.


Professor Garrett B. Stanley of Harvard University writes in a 1999 Neuroscience article,

"A major challenge in studying sensory processing is to understand the meaning of the neural messages encoded in the spiking activity of neurons. From the recorded responses in a sensory circuit, what information can we extract about the outside world? Here we used a linear decoding technique to reconstruct spatiotemporal visual inputs from ensemble responses in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the cat. From the activity of 177 cells, we have reconstructed natural scenes with recognizable moving objects. The quality of reconstruction depends on the number of cells. For each point in space, the quality of reconstruction begins to saturate at six to eight pairs of on and off cells, approaching the estimated coverage factor in the LGN of the cat. Thus, complex visual inputs can be reconstructed with a simple decoding algorithm, and these analyses provide a basis for understanding ensemble coding in the early visual pathway."

The PDF of the article/study can be found here.

I also ran across a message board, and there was a quick link to this BBC article, "Computer uses cat's brain to see," regarding the study.

In other NEWS, The Library of Congress HAS A BLOG (!!) called "Library of Congress Blog, Light and liberty go together."

Entry #48: Ways in Which Nonverbal Messages Interact

I don't deserve all this nonverbal communication given to me by el amor de mi vida.

Speaking of hearts, I googled that mess and came across this medical university website and received a quick dose of dopamine with the image below.



I recently put in my two weeks notice, with thoughts of Africa dancing in my head. Fortunately, the environmental company I work at, will be keeping me on as a consultant.

Entry #31: Fashion and the Worker Bee

Work is tough for the inner fashionista. I want to be simple and lovely, but I generally lack the ability to LOOK simple. I posed this problem to a friend who said that it was because "you look exotic." Ahhh... I see.

I have been wearing lots of shades of black and brown and here is a lovely example:


The takeaway from the above photo are the large sweaters, layered. I will be making a trip to the other coast and hopefully, will get some much needed inspiration.

Entry #30: Fashion kills the designer.

Zara is a clothing company that I discovered in Spain. It was a staple in my European adventures abroad, as the clothes were cheap and stylish. I will make this dress mine tomorrow, as I will take a detour to South Coast Plaza.


Also, H&M recently opened up two stores in South Coast Plaza. To be honest, I've been pretty disappointed with H&M. Madonna's line is horrific. On the upside, I adore their mens selection and bought a few large sweaters from them (perfect with pencil skirts, if you can believe it).

And speaking of ugly, Miuccia Prada is dying, I have proof.




What the hell is going on in the fashion world? Thankfully, we have a great season this Fall 07, according to all the line sheets I've been receiving. Designers are taking a cue from architects like Gehry (haha, or someone) and large weird but strangely satisfying holes and wings are showing up at the Cooper Design Center in Los Angeles. I will explain further in pictures when I have the time to search engine various companies.

Entry #25: Organic Skivvies/ Undies

100% cotton undies are the way to go.. that nylon crap, although may be cute, is not good for the bod or ecosystem. I'm such an underwear fanatic (I buy sets biweekly or slightly more)... but recently I've been on the hunt for organic undies...and can't seem to find a really good one. BOO.



(that's the best I can find) Someone send me to a proper website for organic undies that make me go Ooo!

Entry #24: Tights, urgh.

The past few months, I have been wearing outrageous tights in an effort to get away from dodgy tights that are worn by the cute and un-cute alike... I have even made my own variety out of patterns (O, Africa!) I found to be amazing... but dammit.

yes, it is time to get over a trend when everyone on the streets are wearing tights with flats, tights with dresses/shorts/etc. It's basically, choking REALLY!

But I DUNNO WHAT TO DO! TIGHTS ARE SO EASY to dress with ya know, ya know?

i.e.


I currently like the tights with loose shirt with sweet kicks (o, Nike by day and platforms by night) look... but even that is overdone. The solution is to get rid of tights (except for work I suppose).

Anyways, I like the bag pictured below.


And thank you, American Apparel for all the color that you brought to my life. Tsubi did NOT start the colorful jeans trend, thank you fashion mags. American Apparel brought it back to the masses, but umm.. it was really GUESS Jeans (those triangles!!) that did it. I can't find a picture of those lovely diamonds. O Dear, I think I sorta really want me a pair!

I've been wearing thigh highs a lot more lately. It looks good, particularly with a little ribbon tied around it. Fight the tights (halfway). Anyways, I'm sick of street fashion... but I can't afford the Good Stuff.

Entry #5: Fascination

I saw something on TV about dams.