The Resurrection...

The Stone Roses announced yesterday that they're back together to record a new album, do two gigs at Manchester's Heaton Park and then take it worldwide. And by worldwide I hope they mean Australia.

The first time The Stone Roses were around, I wasn't old enough to appreciate it. I think I would have been about 7 or 8 by the time they'd come and gone. It was only when I got a bit older and broadend my musical horizons beyond the Spice Girls that I really got it and their first album is definatley one of my favourite all time albums. I never had a massive urge or regret that I wasn't born earlier so I could have seen them live, but now the opportunity has come about I would take it, just to see them sing some of the songs I love. Especially this....

I love the bassline on this song, it's moody, it calms me. Llistening to it has makes me consider finding a cheap bass over here, maybe second hand or something. Because I left home in january to move to Adelaide, with a 20kg luggage allowance, I left my guitars at home. I asked the airline about taking one with me but they said Id have to buy a seat for it and at 1000 quid a flight, no chance, especially since a lack of free time means I dip in and out of phases of actually playing like crazy. But now Im getting a bit hungry for it again, so Im thinking my next shopping trip will be of the guitar kind.

Design For The Living Dead...

We've seen the movies and we all know it's only a matter of time before a zombie apocolypse strikes earth. It's just too bad that recent evidence suggests that simply going to the Winchester, having a nice cold pint, and waiting for it all to blow over is just no slice of fried gold anymore. This is an issue that has been globally recognised by designers and architects alike, who have taken immediate action and are competing in the second annual '2011 Zombie Safe House Competition'.  

http://zombiesafehouse.wordpress.com/

The rules are simple, your design must consider the following issues; how many people can you fit in your safe house? How are you handling power, portable water and waste? How are you handling access to your safe house? How many days do you plan to stay in your safe house and how much food and water are you providing? How will you escape in the even of zombie intrusion? And finally, how will you keep zombies out of your safe house?. The site for the proposed designs are up to the designer and there is no set budget. woohoo

The entries are in and the voting process is in progress. There's a lot of entries to consider, my personal favourite is the 'Zombie Ranch', which uses the zombies attempts to penetrate it's defences to generate power to the people living in the verticle units.

Im currently in the process of designing a competition entry for a zero carbon house, but I wish our tutor had given us the option to enter this competition. As important as 'green' design blah blah blah, is, what is the point in preserving the earth if a zombie apocolypse wipes out the entire population.

Take That Progress Live Tour 2011 DVD PREVIEW.....wowsers

By the time christmas comes round, my list is probably going to have destroyed a small rainforrest.  nevermind

Blah Blah Blah Celebrity Blah...

I think the world needs a cut back on celebrities. There are so freakin many. Don't get me wrong, there are so many famous people who interest me and I love reading mindless shit about them, but even I, who reads perez hilton.com more than I read books have my limits. I think there should be some sort of talent quota and if you don't reach it then no fame for you. Maybe an IQ quota as well. If you don't make it, you're out the game. And I think it should be applied to existing celebrities, not just future celebrities.

I like flicking through magazines, mainly for the fashion, but if I read another interview that goes something along the lines of 'i have fat days....I eat healthily, but sometimes il have a piece of chocolate...I like guys with a good sense of humour...I love fashion, I love putting outfits together...launchng my own perfume is all I ever wanted from life...blah blah blah' Il need something stronger than tea to calm me. It's BORING, don't these people have interesting or funny annecdotes....they're supposed to be living the bloody dream. No  teachings? a personality?  Yesterday I went into the newsagents to buy a UK magazine to read over lunch but came away empty handed when I saw the celebrity girl on the front posing next to a clip of her interview that said "my boyfriend has to get along with my mum". I cannot believe THAT's the quote they used to advertise her interview. She did a whole 4 page spread and that was the most interesting, cover worthy thing she said. Was it worth her even showing up. I work hard for my cash and I can't justify wasting it on that.

I can't believe there are actually people in the world who can earn a living, being a 'celebrity' simply beacuse they shagged another celebrity. Imogen Thomas, Im talking about you. Having an affair with a married footballer, that's not a talent. Anyone can do that and it definatley doesn't qualify you to become a tv presenter on 'This Morning' or think you can become an actress, when there are people out there who actually spend their lives studying to act. What ever posessed 'This Morning' to employ her is beyond me, it's so irresponsible for a daytime show to send out the message that girls don't need to work hard to achieve success, just whore yourselves out ladies and make you're mothers proud.

I could go on and on all day, theres plenty of ammo out there. The reason I felt like writing this was because I saw a news link to a story about Imogen Thomas walking around London in a bikini top in October. THATS NOT NEWS. She'd be the first 'celebrity' stamped out by the talent quota, unless the IQ quota gets her first.

Dear Santa...

I have been a very good girl this year. I try to do all my homework, I don't say words I shouldn't and I never fight with my brother...unless he starts it. 

This christmas there are only 2 things I would like:

1. Lego Architecture in Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Falling Water'

2. Architect Barbie

From chesylasswordvomit, 24, Adelaide

ps. Im in Austalia for christmas this year so if you do come,wear sunscreen.

Suck on this, Chill Factor....

As much as Id love to say I spend my winters skiing in the French Alps. I really don't. In fact, Iv only ever been on one snowboarding holiday, a year and a half ago up at Falls Creek in Australia. I spent the whole week on my arse, feeling like Id been sodomised by an ice cube. But despite, my lack of ski skillz, I was still intrigued by the few images Iv recently seen of 'Skipark 360°', Sweeden's newest skiing attraction. Designed by the Swedish branch of C. F. Møller Architects, in collaboration with Berg Arkitektkontor, the indoor ski park hosts a 700m long downhill slope and a drop of 160 m.

According to the architects, 'In addition to the downhill run, the complex will also contain a 3.5 km cross-country skiing tunnel, an arena for biathlon, ice hockey, bandy and figure skating, and a snow park for snowboarding. There will also be restaurants, shops, a spa and hotel and conference facilities, offering panoramic views of the countryside'.

Constuction is planned to begin around 2013/14.

Image Courtesy of C.F. Møller Architects & Berg Arkitektkontor

I have read that the idea for the skipark is owed to the increasing lack of snowfall in Sweeden, thanks to 'Global Warming'. Now, Im no expert on Glabal Warming, but as far as I do know, 'massive construction projects for climate change' is not a solution to the problem , which is why I was pleased to also read that Skipark 360° is intended to be entirely self-sufficient, with renewable energy from geothermal wells, solar panels, wind turbines, and hyrdopower.

Image Courtesy of C.F. Møller Architects & Berg Arkitektkontor

I can apprectiate that the structure could be regarded as a massive imposition on it's surroundings, however, I think the stark contrast of the rigid form and general bulkiness of the skipark, against the natural envronment it's set in is verry effective. It would be intereting to see what an architect such as  Zaha Hadid or even Calatrava could have done with the project, as I imagine a structure, more fluid in form, could make a stunning impact.... All in all though, I like what I see.

"When Jack Whitehall is on stage, he does not walk...he GLIDES"

Iv been watching heaps of stand-up on youtube lately. Heaps of it. Mainly beacuse Iv been a bit poorley and people say 'laughter is the best medicine'. Well I'll tell you this for free, they're wrong. Laughing makes it worse. But some of the videos are worth the pain. Here's a few of my favourites. ..

"Have you seen my theatre singlet Muriel?"

I love Melbourne, but Russell Kane has got it so right.

If my calculations are correct, it has been 6 months today since I moved upside down. It's been hectic. It's been fun. It's been interesting. It's gone fast. Really fast. Iv lost touch with blogging, which must be a massive blow to my 3 followers.

Although Iv spent a lot of time away from home in the past, Iv come to the conclusion this time that I miss England. I REALLY miss England. I miss everything...the good the bad and the ugly. And call me superficial but one of the main things I miss (aside from friends and family blah blah) is the shopping. No where else quite cuts it. I miss Topshop, All Saints, Reiss, Primark, Zara and I could go on. But I wont. What I will say is praise the lord for online shopping...and for the summer sales that have consumed me for the past few weeks. When the prices get slashed the cash gets splashed. Here's my top sale purchases...you know, the ones you can't afford NOT to buy...

Left to Right: Necklace, £20 AllSaints - Doc Martens, £50 Urban Outfitters - Jumper, £39 Fred Perry -  Bag, £175 All Saints - Tights, £10 Henry Holland for Pretty Polly @ Asos - Dress, £67.50 All Saints (Archive)

...and as much as you can't beat the thrill of an actual shopping trip, waiting for the postman to deliver the goods comes a pretty close second.

As much as I like spamming the net with my musings, the last few months Iv been slack. Very slack. As much as Id like to say it's becasue of my wild social schedule, Id be lying. I'll let this article explain...

 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article6875085.ece

There nothing like an optomistic outlook on life, especially when you're so busy studying  that showering is a rare luxury and sleep is too time consuming because you've got deadlines to meet. With just less than 2 years to go of a Masters in Architecture, it'd be nice not to have your efforts shat all over when Im reading the paper with my mornig cup of tea. Unfortunatley, il just have to cling onto the sentiments in the last paragraph.

On another note, while not much has been happening in my life, a very good friend of mine has recently moved to India to begin a career in car design. Having never been there before it's a massively daring step for the lad and luckily he's been keeping a blog of his adaption to life in India...

http://charlespaultrelogan.tumblr.com/

What the Barry (M)...

Barry M's Instant Nail Effects is continuously Superdrug's best selling product . Makes sense...it's like bottled gold dust. It's easy to get hooked...Im at a point in my life where I can't just paint my nails a right nice colour and leave it at that...I have to finish them off with a top coat of the nail effects or I feel incomplete. If you havn't used it or even seen it before, basically the deal is that you paint your nails with a base colour, any colour, and then apply a topcoat of the black nail efeects, which instantly cracks to reveal the basecolour. As shown in the photo below.

But anyway, since it's been around a year or so this is old news. The new news is that they are about to launch three more colours, white, blue and pink. The bad news is, they aren't available to buy in Australia....which means Im going to have find someone to ship them over.

I can't wait to get my hands on these...or these on my hands but I do have a feeling the colours could look a bit chavvy...depending on what basecolour you use. As much as I love the original one in black, when I first started wearing it, I had to listen to a lot of jokes about how my nails looked like those of a hooker (yeh, dead mature boys), but I think that there is the potential with the new colours that this observation would be a little more justified. But hey, I won't knock it till Iv tried it.

Best Bridge in Singapore...

Remember that post when I said I was going to go to Singapore? No? I mentioned a bridge? No?  I wanted to go see it? Still no? Well it happened, and it happened. I spent a total of 24 hours in Singapore, mainly just chavving around the airport and that, but I also made the trip to go see the worlds first double helix bridge in Singapore's Marina Bay...

...and it was fantastic. From what I could see, it was being well used, was working in harmony with the surrounding architecture and landscape, but absolutley held it's own against the abundence of iconic new developments. At the moment, the whole area is undergoing massive development as part of a larger masterplan, so there was still a lot of construction occuring and a sense of  generally being unfinished, but given time the Marina is going to be something a little bit special....in a good way.

tHAIR so cool...

Dip-dye, ombre or whatever you want to call it, is EVERYWHERE! No joke, everytime I walk down the street it's there. Basically, it's a graduation of colour, any colour the choice is yours, from root to tip and who knew massive roots would be a style choice...but they are... and although I don't need to say it cos the images above speak for themselves it looks so freakin cool. Also (and Im sure most hairdressers will scorn me for saying this) it looks like an easy DIY do, I mean how hard can it be to apply the hair dye to only the ends of your hair...probably, a hell of a lot easier than  a full head.

I want it, in every colour, like a colour wheel threw up on me.

Nicki Minaj, Drew Barrymore, MIA, Alexa, Gaga and Fearne

Echo and the Empress...

Arcade Lane is a lane, just an ordinary, run-of the mill lane in Adelaide. Or it was...until the Fringe arrived. Saturday night saw it transformed into a make-shift music venue, with a stage, bar, seating areas, food stalls, rugs and even a pile of abandoned tv's playing cartoons by the entrance. It became discustingly trendy.

A series of local Adelaide bands were playing and one that was particularly noteworthy was 'Echo and the Empress'. This was the second time I'd seen them play and was introduced to them when a friend of mine, Elise, recently joined as their brand new bassist. They are an absolute delight to see live and can be checked out on the Triple j Unearthed website here:

http://www.triplejunearthed.com/EchoandtheEmpress

Got that fringy feeling...

It's all happening in Adelaide right now, because the fringe has officially begun. The Adelaide Fringe is an arts festival held every summer that runs for about a month and would be the largest fringe festival in the world if Edinburgh wasn't stealing their crown. Every year an opening night party kicks off the fringe with a parade and concert. Last year Art vs. Science were playing and they were insane, but a freak day of constant rain threw a spanner in the works this year and the parade was cancelled.

Over the course of the fringe theres heeeaps of cabaret, comedy, dance, theatre, music, and visual arts events to go see everyday. But I havn't even got to the best part of the fringe yet....Im talking about the Garden....The Garden of Unearthly Delights. The garden is basically an area of parkland that is transformed into a magical paradise of everything thats strange and delightful, tents, food stalls, lights, merry-go rounds, performers, bars and awesome.

Future Music Festival is also held in the garden. This year, Chemical Brothers, Mark Ronson, Dizzee Rascal, MGMT, Pendulum and so many more are playing and it's going to be so sick. I went last year, when the Prodigy played and it was too much fun, theres so much other stuff going on aside from the bands, like the silent disco, roller disco and general garden stuff.

This is a month Im going to make the most of...

rAdelaide....

˙˙˙sʇsod ʎɯ ʇıɐʍɐ ʇsnɾ ʇǝǝɟ ʎɯ punoɟ ʌI ʍou 'ʇnq ˙ɐılɐɹʇsn∀ 'ǝpıɐlǝp∀ uı uʍop ǝpısdn ǝʌıl ʍou I ˙plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɟo ǝpıs ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ oʇ ƃuıʌoɯ ʎsnq uǝǝq uǝǝq ʌI ǝsnɐɔǝq ʇnq ʎɐs oʇ ƃuıɥʇou ǝʌɐɥ I ǝsnɐɔǝq ʇou 'ʎlʇuǝɔǝɹ ʇǝınb uǝǝq ʌI

Dance for me building boy...

'Perspective Lyric' was an interactive installation upon the facade of 'Celestins', a former lyrical theatre in Lyon, France. It utilised a microphone and an audio analysis algorithm, where the deformations and figures were controlled by the audience. It's insane. Check it out.... 

Stupidity is not a crime...

...But whoever gave the go ahead for the '163 PRS/Oliver's Place' office building in Preston (North West England), should be locked up. UK based, Moron Architects, errrr I meant 'Moxon Architects' were granted planning permission for this 40,000 square foot office building...

....Pretty ugly right? Right! The exterior is dominated by ‘an array of anodized aluminium fins suspended from tensile rods’, which look not only ridiculous, but really really unwelcoming. If you're not familiar with Preston, then let me fill you in. The place is a hole, the best way to see it is in your rearview mirror so putting up a building like this is going to do very little to enhance the overall aesthetics. It resembles a hedgehog and no one interacts with hedgehogs, do they?

The planning permission was granted in 2009 and Im unsure as to how much progress has been made, but lets just hope Preston ends up with a building to be proud of. Anychance.

Denis Darzacq: The best thing to come out of France since...

....Frogs legs. Just joking, I meant wine. But back to Denis Darzacq, the Paris-based photographer. Id be lying if I said I was familiar with his work as I only just heard of him yesterday, but what I have seen between then and now has fulfilled my one dimensional need of finding something new that interests me on a daily basis. Two of his series in particular caught my eye, "La Chute" (that's "The Fall" to you non French speakers) and "Hyper".

"La Chute"

Inspired by both the bodies of people falling from the World Trade Centres on 11/11 as the subjects of the series and the housing estates in the 2005 French Riots on the outskirts of Paris as the location, Darzacq has captured images of a free falling generation, with no one to catch them. Or at least thats what I get from the photographs, which prompt many questions, but hold no answers. But what do I like about the them? Well, firstly, Darzacq has not romantacised Paris. Secondly, the indifference of the subjects to their situation. Is it that they don't care or is that they aren't aware of whatis happening, or about to happen? I also like the contradiction between the energy of the subjects and the sleepy ignorance of their surroundings, bordered up and oblivious to the truth that something big is about to happen, because essentially, these people aren't going to bounce. And thirdly, I like the fact that no one will know what happens next, which leaves the phootographs open to endless intepretation and speculation.



"Hyper"

This series follows a similar path to "La Chute" and is concerned with the biary between being and having. Unlike the subjects falling towards the ground of "La Chute", there is a sence of gravity defiance in these shots, with the subjects appearing to break free of a hold on them. Theres also a sense of effortlessness that belittles the actual amount of exertion that would have gone into creating the images. My favourite images are the two guys hanging out by the perishables. Im not sure why, but I just like their mindless yet subliminal response to the mindlessness of mass production and consumption....and the well stacked shelves. Thats a supermarket to be proud of.

But the best thing about these photographs? They are completley untouched by the hand of God. And by God I mean photoshop.

I Lykke Li...

Although I have a rough exterior, on the inside I am frail and insecure. Sometimes I cry. I hope you all understand. Actually thats a lie, but if I was then I imaginge this is the kind of music Id listen to. The lady is Lykke Li, a Sweedish singer....from Sweeden.

I heard this song today while I was hanging out with a mate who had the album, and after I heard 'Tonight' I wouldn't leave until he'd played the whole album from the beginning. It's incredible and this song alone is beyond anything...

Told you.

An Awesome Project by an Awesome Person...

... Well, not exactly. When I was at Uni, back in the day, I did shed loads of project work. So to make a change from me posting images and opinions on other people's creations, Im going to post something Iv done. So, to give a brief overview, I did a (BAHons) in Architecture and the image below is a glimpse at the major project I did in 3rd year. In hindsight, theres a lot of changes I would make to the project and if I were to do the project again I think Id take a different route entirely, but theres a learning curve with everything, so as I further my Architectural education all I can do is learn from the negatives and progress with the positives.





A World First...

In 20 days, I have 24 hours to kill in Singapore. Which is fine. But what's a girl to do all on her own in Singapore? Well, earlier this year, I remembered reading about 'The Helix Bridge', the world's first curved double helix bridge. Looks good right...?

....Right! The 280 metre pedestrian bridge was designed by the Australian, 'Cox Rayner Architects' and closes the loop on a 3.5 kilometer pedestrian path around the Marina Bay development in Singapore.

Just briefly, the bridge appears to respond excellently to it's setting and context, in terms of the curved plan of the bridge, the canopy for shade and shelter in the tropical climate, the DNA molecule form and structure, which offers connotations of sustainability and the cantilevered viewing 'pods', extending onto the bayside for watersports viewing. How quaint.

And did I mention it's made of stainless steel? Well thats about all I can say about it, without having seen it. But, as I like a good design, seeped in strong, contextually related concept, this bridge is definatley worthy of my time. 

Yeni Iliniz Mubarek...Thats Happy New Year to my Azerbaijani audience....

....and Happy New Year to you too.

Woooo it's 2011, how exciting...actually NO. It's 2011 and the start of a brand new year, but it's January. The most depressing month of the year, cold, dark, financially restricting, the festivities are over and everywhere you go, you get slapped in the face with self improvenment bulllshit. And, It's also only 1 year until 2012...when the world ends and we are all annihilated.

That aside, 2010 was a packed year, lots was done, lots was seen and lots was learned. New places were visited, old places were returned to and the people along the way were spectacular.

So, 2011, you better not suck. 

Muse(ic) to my ears...and eyes

These days, nothing makes the festive period quite like the annual xmas present email I get from MUSE, usually containing a live video or rare recording. This years did not disappoint, with a 360 degree video of 'Uprising' and 'Citizen Erased' live from the shows they did at Wembley this year, it lets you to click and drag your mouse around various points on the stage to have a nice close look. Smashing.

I was lucky enough to see Muse twice this year, in Adelaide and Manchester and they were easily two of my favourite days of the year. Especially the Manchester show, which was absolute class. I can't even put into words how awesome it was. So I won't bother. Here's the link to the videos:

http://muse.mu/page.aspx?page=christmas2010&sp_rid=NTA4Mzg0MzUwNAS2&sp_mid=36115984&eml=36115984

Merry Christmas

Images courtesy of muse.com from the European leg of the tour.

Go on Matt lad...

I have no TV shame and will watch any crap going sometimes. Now, this is a few weeks late, but while I was away the X-Fasctor final was on. I love X-Factor. Everything about it, the good the bad and the ugly and I love how massive it's gotten in recent years....but this years was by far the best ever. I love the drama.

Me faves were always Matt, Cher, Aiden and 1 Direction. I could not believe that Aiden went home so early on, especially when he was up against that Katie Waissel. She was a right dick. Rebecca bugged me cos she was so effing boring, good voice and that though. Nicolo Festa was fit plus funny, I don't get why he was first out. And I don't get why Wagner were one of the last out. And can Mary Byrne please return to the checkout, that's Mary Byrne please return to the checkout.

The final was immense, and Im having withdrawls from the saturday AND Sunday night X-Factor fixes. Matt was a well deserved winner. Take That stole it. Danni and Cheryl owe their stylists massively for so many weeks of such amazing dresses.

Im supposed to be moving to Australia a month from today, but if that means missing next years X-Factor then Im having second thoughts.

England says 'Heck NOOOOO'....

'Cheese flavour Kit Kat? Anyone....Anyone? '

Recently a guy I work with went to Japan and upon his return I was laden with a couple of boxes of cheese flavour Kit Kats. Yes. Cheese flavour Kit Kats. So, being the good samaritan that I have the tendencies to be, I shared them round the table at lunch time.

The Kit Kats were flavoured with Gouda cheese. I like Gouda. But Gouda flavour Kit Kats? Not so much. Before even eating them, you have to put up a fight with the smell, which was bad, really bad. They are made with white chocolate and infused with the cheese flavour and the combination  is a crime against humanity (Except in cheesecake). The white chocolate is too sweet for the cheese and the result was 7 piles of spat out Kit Kat in the middle of the lunch table.

Why , Japan?

It's not what you know its who you know...

Cambridge Satchel Company is based in the UK and sells handmade old skool style satchels, batchels, trunks and music bags made from real leather sourced in the UK. Whats not to love?  Exactly.

From £71 - £130, available at asos.com

The satchels come in a variety of sizes from 11" to 15" and are available in red, yellow, black, tan, green and purple, pink and navy. Also, asos.com has an exclusive line of 'Best of British' designs ( the 2nd, 3rd and 4th from the left in the images above). You can even get your initials embossed onto the bag...for an extra little fee of course.

Im lucky enough to have a friend working in the right place at the right time and got a generous 40% off my order. Unfortunatley, the 'Best of British' bags had ALL sold out so I went for the 15" tan satchel and it's the best. The VERY best. I slid a plaid cut out from a MAC box into the name space to make it look awesome...er. 

My pride and joy.

Also, did I mention how good these bags smell? no? Well  it's an absolute treat to my nasal passage. But as my mum put it 'try not to keep it near your clothes, cos it is essentially a dead animal'. pfffft

The Shard...

While I was in LDN, I couldn't help but notice the construction of this little building...

The Shard, London

The Shard, designed by the incredibly cool Renzo Piano, is set to be an EPIC building and the tallest in the European Union. Yeh. Clad entirely in glass, the building is to be used for offices, residential appartments and a hotel. I can not wait to set foot in this, when it looks like this...

Awesome Pawson...

The Design Museum in London is currently holding presenting an exhibition on John Pawson called 'Plain Space'. Pawson, a British architect, is often labelled a 'minimalist' and has worked in a variety of scales beyond that of architecture, including furniture, glass, ceramics and cutlery. The exhibition celebrates his work from the 1980's to present day and uses a range of media such as models, photographs, film, sketches, interviews and also a 1:1 scale site-specific space designed by Pawson to offer a direct and immersive experience of his work.

Photos: Marco Zanta

I entered the exhibition with a fresh eye, as I wasn't too familiar with Pawson's work. The space itself, was indicative of Pawson's style, clean and elegant, simplisticly displaying such a comprehensive body of work. Highlights of the exhibition were the study models, particularly the 'Pawson House, London' and the 'Sackler Crossing, Royal Botanic Gardens, London', which were two good lookin designs.

I think that Pawson's 'minimalist' style is beautiful, his work is dramatic, I loved exploring the designs through the various media and despite not being the biggest fan of such intense 'minimalism' I was intrigued by how functional his work was. Would I want to live in one of his designs? no...I like stuff, lots of stuff around me, but I could look at his designs all day. 

And finally, as an architcture student, mid architecture studies, the thing that intrigued me the most about this rather successful guy - he didn't even finish his architectural studies. What a hero.

(s)no(w) angels no more....

The Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern has been carpeted with over 100 million "suflower seeds" covering 1,000 square foot of space- the latest installation in the Unilever Series. The sunflower seeds are actually porcelin and have been handcrafted by skilled artisans who moulded, fired at soaring temperatures, hand-painted and then fired the seeds again over the course of two years . The man responsible for the dreaming up the sculpture is chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Initially, the installation encouraged the public to walk on and touch the seeds, however, shortly after the exhibition opened, the Tate decided that people would no longer be able to enter the work as the dust that the seeds stir up posed a health risk. Unfortunatley, I visited after this rule had been imposed.

Before I go on, I have to say that I think so much art, the meaning and the people behind it, is pretentious wank (not all but some ruin it for others), but I can't help having an opinion and I think that having a sculpture like this is pointless if people can't interact with it. I mean, yeah, fine, it's impressive that all these seeds were handcrafted but wtf is the point in it? why bother? I understand that it could be a health risk, but health and safety is just an excuse for a lack of common sense so if people are aware of the risks of entering the work then why shouldn't they be allowed the choice? how dangerous can it really be? Or maybe there isn't any health implications at all, maybe pikey bastards just went on the rob and ruined it for the rest of us? I can understand that the Tate would be worried if they thought they would have no seeds left by the end of the the installations run time and to be fair Id pocket a few if I had the chance. 

But all in all, the detail of the seeds was incredible, comprehending the time and effort put into crafting the vast amount of seeds is impossible but the fact that you can't go make a snow angel in the seeds is crap.  

The old one's are the best one's.....

There was once a guy called Angus Staffore Gordon and in 1890 he started Gordon's Wine Bar on Embankment, LDN and from that moment on he became a King amongst men. Gordon's wine bar is the oldest wine bar in London, located in a building that was once home to Samuel Pepys (the guy that wrote that diary) and also Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book) for a short time.

From the outside, the existence of Gordon's is so easy to miss, it has no airs or graces about it and it is in no way pretentious, which is pretty impressive for a London wine bar. As for the inside, imagine stepping out of your tardis and you've gone back to the 1800's and landed in a wine bar, but it's wierd because everyone's wearing modern day clothes....so you need a drink, right? Right. They have wine, lots of wine, and port, lots of port and the prices aren't half bad. It gets proper busy in the eveneings so the best time is to go during the day and who doesn't love getting their drink on during the day? exactly. Sitting in the candlelit cellar, it's easy to forget there's a world outside, but when there's such an awesome world on the inside, who actually cares. Plus they do food. 

Drawing, Steve Robb 

Little London Town...

First things first, I didn't make it in London, nobody talent spotted me and as a result I will be back at work tomorrow. But being in the best city in the world (it totally is) has drowned out any disappointment in my personal shortcomings, so over the next few day Im going to post about my best and worst of London. Ha, as if there is a worst.

Ride on Style....

I spend most of my time worrying about where I m going to park my bike. Well, actually that's a lie, Im not even sure if I have a bike, but after seeing Knife&Saw's bike shelf Im going to look into getting one...just so I can store it in a stylish, practical and elegant fashion.



Time for Wine...

French sculptor, Etienne Meneau is known for designing unusual wine caraffe's. The photos below show two of his designs, which each hold one bottle of wine. The design on the right had side is called 'petit coeur/little heart' and I like Meneau's abstract take on reinterpreting a heart with it's valves and arteries into glassware. The design on the left hand side is reminiscent of grape vines and roots. My one criticism would be that, yeh they look good and that but what a bitch to clean. Oh yeh, and the price, I can't afford one.

Fortress of Regret...

You know when you find out about something after it's already happend and it plants a seed of regret in the back of your mind that'll follow you round for all eternity? Well today I found out about a contest that was running in October last year on booooooom.com called 'Wild Things Fort Contest', which was set up in conjunction with the release of 'Where the Wild Things Are' and basically required people to send in photos of forts they had built and the best one won. Simple. And Awesome. 

Heres me faves... 

Photos Courtesey of www.booooooom.com

My only criticism is that a lot of them seem to have missed the most major point of a fort being a impenetrable membrane and have failed to put in place even the most basic of defenses.

London 11.12.10 - 14.12.10. Can't Wait.

But I will miss X-Factore final. FFS

Introducing...

Qatar will be hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and I won't lie, Im not entirely sure where in the world Qatar is, but Im sure their bid was excellent and they are very deserved winners. Looking at this video, which introduces the countries first five stadiums proposed to be built for the event, the renders are very impressive and ambitious - apart from the 'ribbon of friendship' stadium, which is hands down the fugliest stadium Iv ever seen, whoever designed a stadium that looks like a charity shop basket should be shot . But that aside, I like the fact that they all have such strong concepts that are tuned into the context of the country and competition.

It turns out Qatar is a country in the UEA, with a 1.6 million population and 40-50 degree climate in summertime, oh and not to forget that alcohol distribution and consumption is very very limited. Now, Im not exactly sure what the 1.6 million people are going to do with all of these stadiums after the world cup, and Im guessing that they're going to have to build an entire new infrastructure of transportations and accomodation to cope with the influx of footie fans, plus I hope they have jam hot cooling systems in place, but hey, they have plenty of time to get it right.  

I wish I could unhear stuff....

I know dubstep is heaps popular but can  no one else hear what I hear? It sounds like the soundtrack to a faliraki rape scene.

This is much better....

MSTR(of)KRFT...

Every now and then I observe situations that leave me thinking, it's a good thing there are people in the world with such high levels of tolerance and patience and thank god not everybody is running on my low class patience system.

Peter Callesen is a Danish artist with mad scissor skillz and  some serious patience. He's renowned for his paper art, which involves cutting 3D stories into plain white sheets of paper. If it was left to me, the best I could hope to make would be a paper aeroplane, which is why I find it difficult to comprehend the time and effort in precision that must go into Callesen's cretaions.

Callesen creates his papercut artwork on both small and large scale, from A4 sheet paper and in large-scale installations. I like that the 3D creations are always bound to the sheet of paper they were cut from, not just because it tells a short story, but because it creates a sinister and dark side to the 3D creations that are never allowed to escape and breathe for them selves. Iv noticed that the few 3D cut outs that have been separated from the paper are always in a state of decay or death, such as the apple core, 3rd from right in the image above.

All images courtesy of www.petercallesen.com

Crazy Crap.

Snow way out...

I gotta remember to thank the snow for putting me under house arrest and stopping me go about my daily bizznizz. If being cautious means not risking the drive into work then 'safety first' is my bff.



Deja Brew....

I might as well face it... Im addicted to tea. I love it, I really do, a nice sit down and a cup of tea never gets old...but it never gets new either. Or so I thought...

Last week I went to Giraffe and had 'Tea Pigs' peppermint tea. Holy crap, it was, hands down, the best cup of tea Iv had in my whole entire life.

www.teapigs.co.uk

It's like being punched in the face being a ton of mint leaves. In a really good way.

'The ladies love the watch'....

Contemporary French designer, Philippe S+ark has his fingers in a lot of pies, there are few areas of design that he has not yet ventured. Renowned for his work as an architect, interior designer, product designer, furniture designer and more recently fashion designer, his work challenges conventional design while making the world a better looking place in the process. But, it's his collaboration with Fossil inc. to create a collection of 'Philip S+ark watches' thats caught my eye.

About a year ago, I couldn't help but notice the arm candy that a mate of mine was sporting. Stylish, dramatic and futuristic in appearence, it's definatley pushing the boundaries of traditional watch design. The specific watch Im talkin about is the one in the picture below and it's fitness speaks for it's self. Im told it's a regular little conversation starter and apparently 'the ladies love the watch'. I get that. 

Another S+ark watch right up my street is the one shown below, which ‘tells the time through two dials each with a single hand. The hours are on the left and the minutes on the right'.

I have GOT to get one of these watches, cos when it comes to style, these watches do all talking and all I hear is 'Im a super cool human being'.



Sea what they did there...

Public space gets me. Creating a space that is entirely non-discriminatory is a tricky feat, because essentially, designing a space that benefits and aesthetically pleases every single person, young or old, rich or poor, able-bodied or disabled is an impossible task. I think projects that encourage people to engage with space is the most promising solution in the long term to successfully creating a public space. This project, "on the way to the sea" by Derman Verbakel Architects, located in the city of Bat-Yam, Isreal, which has revamped the space lying between the city and sea to become more than just a thoroughfare properly caught my eye.

Photographs, courtesy of Yuval Tebol and Dernan Verbakel Architecture

A series of frames are positioned along the city to sea route, containing movable elements, and hosting public activities. Further elements of the project, include a balcony with a street view, an "unfolded" living space built of elements that can be used as a walking surface, table or chair, and also a flexible structure with movable benches and tables turning around an axis, allowing for different seating arrangements and shaded ‘urban rooms’ that can be used for various social events.

The possibilities for this space are endless and the design has created a space where people can meet, eat, relax and exercise on a daily basis. Sounds pretty ideal to me.

Well Plaid.....

Do you know how hard it is to find the perfect pair of boots? You can spend your whole lifetime searching for 'the one' but never find what your really looking for. Well my search is over. Iv found my perfect match in a pair of Doc Martens Triumph 1914. Im sure we'll be very happy together. 

Doc Martens Triumph 1914 in Black. £129 Schuh

On the plaid page, MAC recently launched their 2010 Holiday collection 'A Tartan Tale' and every chapter is awesome.

A fit mix of posh punk.