Martha's alternative to the traditional jack-o-lantern:
Songs for Sarah
With the election approximately 5 days away, here are some Sarah Palin-inspired songs:
Vlad & Boris: A Song for Sarah (Palin)
Enjoy!
Nanushka: An Eastern European Fashion Find
Sandra Sandor, a Hungarian designer, founded the fasion firm Nanushka (based on her childhood nickname) in Budapest in early 2005. Receiving a dual degree from the London College of Fashion (in Fashion Design and Technology), Sandor's designs focus on the active lifestyle of the modern woman; her designs are not meant to be trendy, but to create "long lasting silhouettes, comfort and functionality, combined with a playful attitude." Her collections feature a monochromatic color scheme, employing high quality fabrics and unique - yet timeless - designs.
Nanushka has an awesome collection for this season and here are some highlights from the Autumn/Winter 2008/2009 Collection:
EEA, Meet FLW
Erick van Egeraat, of Erick Egeraat Associated Architects (or EEA, a prominent Eastern European architectural firm) began construction on his international award winning design for a new chapel at the Universität Leipzig, in Leipzig, Germany. Construction began in summer of 2007 and the unveiling is planned for the end of 2009 - in time for the 600th anniversary of the Universität.
And it's that last image there, that immediately called to mind the Johnson Wax Building (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) in Racine, Wisconsin:
Don't Vote
A video featuring a whole range of celebrities on the subject of the November 4th Presidential election. Watch it.
Rock n Roll Train: an ASCII Music Video
Evidently, I fail at this whole hiatus thing, but this is just too cool not to wait until next week. Watch on in awe!
A Brief History of Communication
We interrupt this brief siesta (haha that's funny) to bring you THIS:
History of communication from DesignTV on Vimeo.
I know it's an advertisement, but the first bit (well, the up until the last frames, really) are spifftastic!
kthnx back to the grindstone
Public Service Announcement: Hell Week
Hey everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that it's hell week (aka midterm week), culminating with Friday night Halloween mayhem and madness and lots of (purely exhausted) working. So what does this mean for you? Well, there won't be any regular posts for a while... I'll try and get things up this weekend, but no promises.
Happy Halloween!
xoxo
k
Move Over, Denmark!
So remember that post on the Danish island of Samsø, and how it was totally carbon neutral? And how Denmark was paving the way as the largest producer of offshore wind power? Well, as of Tuesday (22 October), Britain has declared itself the new head honcho - when it comes to offshore wind power, anyway.
This declaration comes on the heels of the completion of a wind farm off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire, with the ability to increase the UK's wind-generated electricity to 590 megawatts (MW), enough to power 300,000 homes. Cool, right?
Image credit: Vaxomatic via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license
This follows the installation of the first commercial wind turbine just north of Chetwynd, British Columbia on 6 October. The 3 MW Vestas V90 were successfully installed and supplies enough power for around 700 homes. This turbines is just the first of seven to be installed by the end of this year, providing power for homes by early 2009, with another 41 turbine to be installed by 2010. When the project (the Dokie Wind Project) is completed, it is expected to power 33,000 homes in British Columbia. A similar project is being built near Bear Mountain on Vancouver Island.
Some Political News
Isn't the Republican party symbolized by an Elephant? And Miz Palin, isn't the donkey (so prominently featured on your scarf) the symbole of the Democratic party..? Just wond'rin'.
In other Palin-related news...
"Despite a war in Iraq, another in Afghanistan and a world economic system teetering on the brink of collapse, the good people of Washington D.C. are chattering this afternoon about one thing and one thing only: Sarah Palin's wardrobe. As the Politico first reported last night, the Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 "to clothe and accessorize" Palin since she joined the GOP ticket in late August--a sum that includes purchases of $49,425.74 from Saks Fifth Avenue, $75,062.63 from Neiman Marcus, $9,447.71 from Macy's and $5,102.71 from Bloomingdales." After Politico.com (who broke the story) began to comment on the legality of the shopping spree, the McCain campaign said “it was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purchase after the campaign.”(via Newsweek)
Now, I'm sure you're all curious to know exactly how it is the government plans on paying off the recent $700 billion bail out plan. Well, according to BBSpot, there was a little tiny clause in the rescue plan that allows the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to auction off one of our 50 states...
"David Myerson of the Congressional Budget Office said, “We expect to raise billions of dollars no matter what state is chosen by voters except for Oklahoma, that'll bring considerably less. California on the other hand could raise trillions, and boy are we going to need it.”
A list of states determined in a closed session by Paulson and the Senate Finance Committee will be added to ballots around the country. To avoid any conflict of interest, no state on the list will get to vote in the process. “If you don't see the list of states on your ballot that means your state is up for sale,” said Paulson."
*giggle* And my favorite line? "The Bush administration backs the plan as it appears to be the only viable option left."
(Oh, and please note that BBSpot IS a satirical site known for it's fake newsposts - I don't want there to be an misunderstandings here)
Okay, satire'd out. Good night.
New British Designer Making Strides
Nicholas Kirkwood, a new shoe designer on the London scene, is taking the fashion world by storm. While I think some aspects of his designs are... kooky, they've been hailed as 'highly architectural' (Elle), his designs are creative, sensuous and all together gorgeous.
Some pieces from his Autumn/Winter 2008 Collection:
Things that make me want to cry...
Here are some horrifying accessories that stumbled into my browser today...
Stella McCartney's Wedge Ankle Boots, hideously available for $1,395
I know this is some amazing new fad in Tokyo, but it makes me sick. Runway? Why not, I've seen weirder. Halloween? yes. Everday wear? No. My eyes are itching just thinking about it and that first set? They're going for around $50/pair (definitely not worth the trouble, even if they are Viktor & Rolf)
Posso's The Satyr and The Prophet. They're 'Gladiator-style' attachments for your shoes. You can attach them to most flats or even pumps and walk around looking like -- an idiot. I can't imagine a single non-costumed situation in which these wouldn't look horrifyingly ridiculous -- for the oh-so-low price of $315. Oh, and did I mention the tackiness extends to include shades of turquoise and magenta? Ick!
Okay, I'm done complaining now. I just came across all of these today and they have destroyed my recently renewed faith in the fashion industry...
Would You Like Cream or Sugar?
With the recent renewal of my interest in tea and brewed coffee, I've had an increasingly difficult time explaining how much milk/cream and/or sugar needs to be added my tea and/or coffee, and inevitably end up frustrated with too much of one, or worse, both. However! SUCK UK has two creative mugs to help deal with this frustrating situation: the Selector Mug and My Cuppa. While the Selector Mug works by twisting the stainless steel rings to reveal your tea/coffee, milk and sugar preferences - to an extent. While this is super cool and solves the sugar problem, it still doesn't really help with the amount of milk/cream situation and I don't know how many sugars it tops out at, but probably not enough for some.
Conversely, the My Cuppa mug expertly handles the milk/cream ratio by having (labelled) color chips on the inside of the mug: Milky, Classic British, Builder's Brew and Just Tea (or coffee). What better way to explain to someone how much milk or what color than by having something for your tea-sherpa to compare it to? Bellisimo!
Taking the iPhone by Storm
(I know it's been buzzing around on the internet and blogosphere for a few weeks now, but I've had other things on my mind!)
The new Blackberry Storm 9530, set to be released sometime in November, just gained FCC approval yesterday - one step closer to release and acquisition! Muahaha! I mean, ahem, it's almost on the market! Yay! *shuffle*
The Storm (exclusively for Verizon [US] and Vodafone [international], also available through TELUS and Bell [Canada]) is designed to compete with the iPhone (AT&T) and T-Mobile's G1 (the Google Phone), it includes an Application Center mimicking both the App Store and Android Market, feature games and other add-ons, previously unseen with the BlackBerry, helping this previously identified 'corporate device' break into the mainstream market.
Now, I'm a little bit behind the times here, still shamelessly using my iPod Video (yes, the first one) and my recent upgrade from the Motorola RAZR V2 to the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, so the 'touch screen keyboard' concept sort of has me uneasy. I was ecstatic just to go from a standard keypad to the QWERTY mini-keys of the Pearl, and even though I have tiny fingers and the actual physical use of the touchpad wouldn't be problematic, I'm so sensory oriented I'd probably hate not being able to feel the individual keys - I guess I'm just a little old fashioned in this new world of touch screens and "who's-its and what's-its galore..."*
Specs:
128MB of RAM, 1GB built-in memory
1400mAh battery with 15 days standby (yeah right) and 5.5 hours of talk time
Dual-band 800/1900MHz CDMA/EV-DO Rev A
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 2100MHz HSDPA
Features (from the official October 7 RIM press release):
"The BlackBerry Storm, exclusively from Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, also includes the following features and functions:
+ BlackBerry® Internet Service, BlackBerry® Unite!, BlackBerry® Professional Software and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for seamless integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require
+ Edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
+ 3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video; the camera records video in half-VGA resolution (480×320) or at 176×144 for MMS
+ 1 GB of on board memory storage and 8 GB microSD memory card included in expandable memory card slot
+ Media player that can find content on the handset in an instant, display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode in any orientation, and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
+ Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome side-accents that frame its large (3.26”), touch sensitive, glass lens display; its exceptional 360 x 480 resolution at 184ppi, offering the highest resolution display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone, is crisp and colorful with clarity that’s easy on the eyes
+ A sensor automatically adjusts to ambient light for ideal screen viewing and an orientation sensor allows customers to use the handset in a portrait or landscape position" (via)
* From The Little Mermaid, "Part Of Your World" in case you were wondering...
iBangle
The Latest in (potential) Apple Products, the iBangle concept designed by Gopinath Prasana. As Apple products become more and more aesthetic, the theory is they aren't far from transitioning from object to accessory.
They have an inflatable air chamber to create a snug fit around your wrist, wireless earphones and - like all (potential) Apple products - intuitive, creative and all together functional design.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
