Delay...Procrastinate

Update new website

2009-03-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

if anyone's still around to read this....

i'm planning to do a 'a song, a day' kinda thing over at my Tumblr site. so head on over if u catch some new music : )

Beep Beep Moving Out

2008-12-23T04:11:00.001-08:00

Not ending this blog yet. Don't worry. Just moving to Tumblr. Got more fancy functions. And I can get a new/more appropriate domain title.

Head on Over

Ip Man X G.O.D. Woodstand Custom Design Showcase

2008-12-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

Graphic Airlines
葉問 x G.O.D. 木人樁展覽
Ip Man X G.O.D. Woodstand custom design showcase
From 26 Dec 08 to 12 Jan 08
Location: DNM 68 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

2008-12-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Gromit Makes the World Go Round

2008-12-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'
Click here to watch (full)

We Love Stephen Sprouse Website & Interview with Marc Jacobs

2008-12-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

As reported some time back, Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs has resurrected his previous collaboration alongside the late American fashion pioneer Stephen Sprouse, for a new 2009 lineup. With that release now waiting in the wing, an interactive website has become available featuring various aspects of Stephen Sprouse’s interaction with the fashion world as well as his work alongside world renown designer Marc Jacobs. Check it out at Welovestephensprouse.com.

Yay. Whip out those neon colors.

Source: Hypebeast

Cousin Cole

2008-12-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

Cousin Cole - 1/2 of Flagrant Fowl. Other half is Pocketknife.

"I was super psyched to see my Bruce Springsteen remix on Todd Terje's mix for Resident Advisor last week. (Todd Terje is one of the top neo-disco dudes right now and a hero of mine.) Now there's a version floating around that was cut out of the Terje mix, and I figured I might as well send out the full unmixed version at a decent quality for home listening and such."

MP3: Bruce Springsteen - I’m On Fire (Cousin Cole’s Bad Desire Mix) (Direct)

Laid back track. Hope you like. Source: Discobelle

i don't knowwww

2008-12-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

Sigh...It's been awhile. Been quite busy, finals, papers and shit.
Been kinda agitated about the whole 'about to graduate. must find good internship.' thing. i'm a junior but people are already freakin' out about internships cause when senior year starts, people will already start getting job offers by october. fuckers.
this is the 1st time in my life that i feel like i can't see my future. in high school, you know you're heading to college. i know that i'm heading towards a job, but i just can't see what kinda job i'm gonna do. i can't do much with my anthro major in hk and that's where i wanna live, at least for now. so i'm taking finance right now. not interested in it at all.
and i just got an interview for a world music director position at the radio station, not sure how well it went. i applied for music director (who looks over indie rock/pop stuff) and didn't get it. was a sucker punch to the stomach. so i'm not going to hold high hopes for this one. but the truth is, i really want/need a leadership position.
planning your life out and staying on track is overrated. but i can't helpt it because i'm the one whose most 'on track' out of my siblings. there's lots of pressure for me to do well. fuck.
i don't know where i'm going.

Tracy Chapman ft. Eric Clapton - Give Me One Reason (1988)

2008-11-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

Uncertain Industry

2008-11-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

Uncertain Industry: Angel's Bakery from Thirteen.org on Vimeo.

New York’s PBS Channel Thirteen has put together an interesting three part series called Uncertain Industry on the state of New York City manufacturing. Per the website: “New York City was once the capital of American manufacturing. In 1950, the city boasted nearly one million manufacturing jobs. By 2007 that number had dwindled to one hundred thousand. Today’s manufacturers face stiff competition, space constraints, and high real estate prices.”

It's just sad that the market just have no place for small businesses. They've got 2 more videos about the metal and umbrellas manufacturing industry in NY. Check Micheal William's post.

Parra x Incase ‘Curated by Arkitip’ Video

2008-11-02T10:33:00.002-08:00

Source: mashKulture

Joe and Eddie - There's A Meeting Tonight

2008-10-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

From the film Hootenanny Hoot (1963), an entirely different space and time. God, Youtube can seriously do some marvels.

The two's focus was creating harmony with Joe singing tenor and Eddie singing baritone. The rich blend created the sound that identifies Joe and Eddie. Throughout each album, the music stays raw, simple and within the genres of African-American gospel music, folk tunes, and Blues with a little jazz flavor. Songs contain little background instrumentals, since the "main objective was to focus on Joe & Eddie's singing...". This duo was known for their "rapid-fire delivery" and vocal improvisations, as can be heard in the songs "Green Grass" and "Children Go". - Wiki

Simple and Clean

2008-10-28T17:10:00.001-07:00

Band: Whitest Boy Alive

Song: Golden Cage

Hand-Drawn Animation: Geoff Mcfetridge

王菲 - 不留

2008-10-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was listening to this album on my friend's car and it reminded me of home, because my Dad's a huge fan of Faye Wong's (王菲)... Went to her concerts, got her CDs, VCDs, and even youtube-d her... You see dedication when you see a 50+ man try on some new technology... Oh and this is healthy admiration, not some distorted obsession, by the way. Haha, he said he likes her voice and her 'take-it-or-leave-it' attitude.

Anyway, her last album was released in 2003 and last official concert was in 2005. Other than the appearance she made earlier this year for a fundraising effort for the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, it is still uncertain whether she'll return to the music business.

Elliott Smith

2008-10-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 yrs since the passing of Elliott Smith, a singer whose sorely missed for his delicate lyrics and delivery.

"Waltz #2"

"Chris Garneau - Between the Bars (Elliott Smith cover)"

Source: Kitsune Noir

Lykke Li - Breaking It Up

2008-10-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Shot "in one take live in Stockholm" by Christian Haag.

Minilogue - Animals

2008-10-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Directed by Varelsen and Ljudbilden.

Source: Computerlove

This American Life

2008-10-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by Ira Glass. Also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays, memoirs, field recordings, short fiction, and found footage.

If you're totally out of the loop like me and don't know what the hell is going on with the economy, go check out the show by This American Life. Pretty informative. Even though I spaced out here and there throughout the show.

If you feel like this crap is just too depressing and just like all over the place, then yeah... skip it.

Ep 365: Another Frightening Show about the Economy

Subscribe. They put up new, interesting shows every wk. Check it out.

Source: Wiki

I Met the Walrus

2008-10-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview. This was in the midst of Lennon’s “bed-in” phase, during which John and Yoko were staying in hotel beds in an effort to promote peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries traditional pen sketches by James Braithwaite with digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and timeless message.

June Taylor Jams

2008-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

June Taylor has a respect for food that is becoming more and more rare these days...

An example of the lack of respect for food can be seen in a recent scandal in China, where diary products tainted "with the industrial chemical melamine has caused the death of four infants and sickened tens of thousands of others". It's easy to point the finger at capitalism (or even at China, which is commonly perceived as an 'inhumane', authoritative country) and say that all corporate producers care about is profits, profits, profits and could care less about people's wellbeing.

But I think it's also useful to think about how the profit-oriented capitalist system is contributing to our culture of food. Now, it's more common to view food in terms of its monetary cost, rather than its quality. But then there's the problem that it's not like people don't want to buy quality food, but they're just too expensive. Then there're the questions, "Why is our system set up in such a way that quality food is hard to purchase?" and "Are there other ways that we don't need to perpetuate this industrial food system?"

Read up! I recc Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (Wiki, Excerpt of book). Interesting stuff to excite your brain juices.

But on a lighter note, haha this summer my older bro's ex-gf went to France. And to be nice to the family, she bought a jar of orange tea jam for our family of 5. It was so good + exotic that it was finished within 2 days. Haha and my mom told my brother to ask his then-gf if she had anymore. And she was like, '...No...I didn't know you guys will finish it that fast...It'll take me a whole semester to finish that jar...So I don't have anymore...' She doesn't understand that with a family of this size, you have to fight for food. There's the thinking that who ever's the slowest will just miss out, so that just perpetuates the system of food fighting and make the food disappear quicker, bla bla... Haha

Source: Cooling Hunting + Time

Elis Regina - Águas de Março

2008-10-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

This performance was broadcasted in 1973, on a MPB Especial series called Ensaio. Check out the rest of the show here. I love the fact that she seemed to have enjoyed herself in the performance.

Similar to its predecessor, MPB (Brazilian popular music) was born out of an attempt to produce a Brazilian "national" music, thus revitalizing traditional styles. The beginning of MPB is often associated with Elis Regina´s interpretation of the mysterious Arrastão, by Vinícius de Moraes and Edu Lobo. The song was almost censored by Brazil's new ruling junta, because it told the story of a fisherman, while hauling in his nets, prayed to St. Barbara for aid. It was a story that hit a little too close to home for the everyday man.

Bob Dylan played another song of hers on his Theme Time Radio Hour, but recalled that by the end of her Arrastão rendition, Regina posed in a crucified position, with tears streaming down her eyes. This emotional song performance won her awards and widespread popularity in Brazil.

The earliest MPB borrowed elements of the bossa nova and often relied on thinly-veiled criticism of social injustice and governmental repression, being based on progressive opposition to the political scene characterized by military dictatorship, concentration of land ownership, and imperialism.

The conjuncture that created the MPB movement ceased to exist after 1969, but the acronym has survived, albeit with a less specific meaning. Transforming from a left-wing musical movement, MPB became the core of Brazil's urban middle-class music, and the term still indicates a certain aesthetic quality in modern Brazilian music.

First heard about Elis Regina on Dylan's radio show, he played a cover called "Aquarela Do Brasil" that she did with Jean Toots' Thielemans. It's a song that's really hard to find, butttt with my skilllzzz I've gotten hold of it! Just click on the link to the song.

You can learn a bit more about her here.

Source: Wiki + Dreamtime

Bon Iver & Lykke Li

2008-10-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Lykke Li - A Little Bit

Lykke Li feat. Bon Iver - Dance Dance Dance

Lykke Li once mentioned her appreciation for Bon Iver's music and maybe that somehow got them to perform together. YAY!

Source: Stereogum

João Gilberto & Caetano Veloso - O Pato

2008-09-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well, haven't posted in a long while...but 27club commented on one of the entries and I was like, 'Damn, someone still reads this?!' So I've decided to do a couple more.. Haha I guess I need a little nudging...

Anyways, been learning a bit about history of Brazilian music, specifically the popularization of samba under the rule of Getulio Vargas in the 1930s-40s. He tried to promote nationalism through the use of radio and pop culture. Pretty awesome stuff - music as a political tool...

But I'm more into bossa nova and above is a video of João Gilberto (aka 'Father of Bossa Nova') and Caetano Veloso (an equally well-known musician... whom I know little about). It was a movement that lasted from the 1950s-60s.

Hope all is well.

JR JR JR

2008-03-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

TRAILER " WOMEN ARE HEROES"
Uploaded by JR

'“Women are Heroes" project, a collaboration between JR and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Taking his trusty 28 millimeter lens, for the last year JR has been traveling to such countries as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Southern Sudan and Kenya, documenting the lives of a group of incredibly courageous women.

Now, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the full documentation of the Women Are Heroes project is being launched on the web. And not surprisingly, the work is absolutely breathtaking.

This past Saturday, the faces of eight women were placed on walls across Brussels, where they will remain for a month.'

It's so easy to bitch... So easy. But when you compare your daily troubles with those of these women, women who can still bring themselves to put on smiles and funny faces, who are you to piss and moan?

Source: Wooster Collective

Look from Down Below

2008-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Click me!

Source: Fecal Face

Black Eyed Dog

2008-02-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

"Heath Ledger had directed a relatively unseen video for Nick Drake's "Black Eyed Dog," a song titled after Winston Churchill's term for depression. Ledger created the video for an exhibition paying tribute to Drake's work ([whose life] was cut short by an antidepressant overdose [in 1974, at the age of 26]). In the time since, Heath's self-described "obsession" and unfortunate similarities with the singer-songwriter have been drawn out and explored, as has most every other detail speculative or otherwise of Ledger's life. Bits of the video are now available, bundled into this newscast circulating on YouTube. In it, Ledger directs himself spinning in a field and drowning in a tub."

At first I appreciated how the reporters provided some context for the video, but they just dragged on and on and on. Stop milking it.

Source: Stereogum

Accompanying Viddies

2008-02-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

LOVE is a DESERTER

U R A FEVER

CHEAP and CHEERFUL

Some People are Just Born Cooler Than Others

2008-02-25T16:24:00.001-08:00

Source: Official Site

Source: The Stylish Underground

Fashion Rocks! 2005 - Prada/The Kills

Source: United Visual Artists

Wood Suits by Michael Rea

2008-02-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

What kinds of projects can we expect to see from you in the near future?

I am currently working on a piece involving carbonite and myself. I am also interested in making a piece that deals with exorcism. I just confirmed that I will be traveling to Germany this summer to build a time machine. I feel in the new global theater, America should give back. While we received so much help from German scientists in building the first nuclear bomb. The least we could do is help them build a time machine.

hahaha

Artist Statement

Standing on the shoulders of other people's dreams could perhaps be the most pathetic of all dreams. The intent of my work is to create something short of its outcome. My goal is to create the idea of an object that remains a dream. The objects I create are based on fictions, rather than realities. I have always been interested in the ephemeral worlds established in film, or even in popular culture. Fictions or established hearsay allow for a flawed interpretation, which leads to a flawed result. The sublime is unattainable, and not an option. I further amplify this experience by only using my memory to construct my images. Failure is imminent. I find humor allows me to enjoy this experience, and I in turn build humor into the worlds established by my work. I have chosen to depict these states with unfinished wood, and other materials which convey a sense of the temporal. I find the beauty in life lies in between moments. My work offers a sense of what could be and what could never be simultaneously.

Source: Fecal Face + Michael Rea.com

Billie Holiday - Fine & Mellow

2008-02-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Nina Simone - Ain't Got No...I've Got Life

2008-02-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

Nina Simone, in Harlem 1969

The 50s-60s seem like a cool time to live in. People were just so involved in the anti-war, civil rights, counterculture movements. Music was reactive and provided meaningful social commentary.

Got hold of the Feb issue of Mojo, was an interview with Joni Mitchell:

There's a strong undercurrent of discontent in Shine [her recently released album]. What are your feelings about the government these days?

I was angry at the handling of New Orleans and how quick the American people were to impeach a man for sex and how slow to move on other things that made everyone in the world want to nuke America. I was also angry at the inability of this generation to know what to do; their inability to move at all, which is an unusual thing for youth.

What do you mean?

In their youth, my generation was ready to change the world, but when the baton was passed to them in the '70s they fell into a mass depression because all the revolutionaries are quick to demolish and slow to fix. When handed the baton to fix it, they didn't know what to do so they kind of degenerated into the greediest generation in the history of America - the hippy, yippie, yuppie transition from the '60s to the '70s to the greedy '80s and Ronald Reagan.

[...]

Machiavelli said, "People don't know what to do with peace. It always degenerates into fashion and fornication," and that's what we have.

EDIT: Nina Simone - Ain't Got No...I've Got Life (megaupload)

Room in a Box

2008-02-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

Hidden inside Casulo:
"An armoire, a desk, a height-adjustable stool, two more stools, a six-shelf bookcase, and a bed with a mattress."

Size:
31"x47" OR 80x120 cm

(Dis)Assembling time (by 2 people):
~10 min

Additional tools needed:
None

Designed by:
Marcel Krings & Sebastian Mühlhäuser

- Can serve as emergency packages that can be sent to crisis-stricken areas.
- Concern: Whether those materials last long, especially when the design targets those who move around a lot.

Take Away Shows presents Sidi Toure

2008-02-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

#83.2 - Sidi Touré - Part 2
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Sidi Toure strolls down the streets of his hometown, Bamako in Mali. As captured by the Take Away Shows series.

Marling

2008-01-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

Ridiculous! Laura Marling's only 18. She's been active in the music scene since 2006. Damn it! Damn it!!

Source: nialler9

There are Some Great People Out There

2008-01-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking for Ellen Page interviews on Youtube the other day and saw the trailer to an theatrically unreleased film of hers, An American Crime. It really made me feel sick because it was so disturbing. What made things worse was that the film was based on a crime committed by a twisted lady in Indiana.

Don't watch the trailer. It made me feel depressed for the rest of the day. Because it reminds you that there are such nasty-hearted people out there.

Anyway, got hold of a (digital) copy of "The Concert for Bangladesh" the other day. It was a benefit concert in 1971 organized by George Harrison (1/4 of the Beatles who wrote the memorable track: "My Sweet Lord") and Ravi Shankar (an Idian sitar player) for a country that's still amidst of ethnic and political conflicts.

Musicians who lent their help - Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston...

Makes me feel like I've really missed a great time for music. These people were the "mainstreamers" of their time, look at what kind of mainstream artists we've got now... People seemed to be more concerned about social affairs then and wanted to make a change. Now, efforts seem too polished to be genuine, even though we had the whole Live Earth deal.

Source: Don't Think Twice, It's All Right Do yourself a favor and check the link :)

Post II

2007-12-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

There are moments in the early morning where you've got nothing to do but no mood to sleep either. After I've exhausted all my energy to read words, I watch videos. Here are 2:

Adam Freeland - We Want Your Soul (directed by Happy)

Radiohead - Knives Out (directed by Michel Gondry)

Source: Jeff Hamada @ Hypebeast

Artsyy

2007-12-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

AJ Fosik (myspace, I couldn't find his website) + See more of his work. All I can say is...OMGGG!!
Jon Burgerman

Sidenote: You know that person...The person who likes art, but never goes to galleries.... OR really likes music but never really mastered an instrument? I'm that person. So what can I do? Talk about it.

Source: Bunnywax + Jeff Soto @ Fecal Face + Wooser Collective

Happy Holidays!!

2007-12-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry kids, I totally forgot to say "Happy Holidays!!!!"

I think 'happy holidays' is a safer bet compared to 'merry Christmas' because I don't know what you're celebrating... At least I don't really celebrate Christmas, I think it's just an excuse for some Chinese to get a holiday break ('Some' referring to the fact that mainland Chinese don't get those days off).

You can skip the rest of the entry, it's just personal ranting.

Anyway, it's weird coming back to the city. Everything seems to be in a hurry. People, in general, don't seem to give a shit about you and so most of them end up treating you like shit. Got that vibe a couple times already. I think people in college just don't really care, which is quite different from chucking crap your way. My Dad, brother, and I kinda got that treatment when we were at the British Consulate when we were renewing our passports.

The British lady was very impatient with us and verbally abusing us throughout, as if we were some soft-spoken Chinese who were easily pushed around (which we end up being, we couldn't do much to her other than bitch about her in Cantonese).

One instant was that my brother didn't have the right photos, his face wasn't big enough in it, so the lady told him to use the photo booth on the other side of the floor. But we found out that we didn't have enough change. So we were discussing if he should get his passport done in HK or the States, cause the lady said that she couldn't insure that it'll be done before the day he leaves. Then the lady looked up and said, "Why are you still here? Go over there and take the photo." She even gave us a look. As if we were so stupid that we couldn't follow her simple order.

I'm not making a generalization that British people are like this, but I hate it when people in power do shit like that. You're pretty much at their mercy. I hate that. We're cooperating. We're being polite. Why take advantage of that and push us around?

The sad thing is, there's no way out of that. Like, you need a passport. You can't just say, "I'm not taking this shit anymore" and walk out. You need it as a part of your legal identity. You need it to travel. I need it to get back to the States to study. I just felt so dependent.

I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to have pretty bad experiences with government-related people... The lady who took my ID photo and stuff kinda did the same thing.

Well, all I know is: Treat people like people and not like shit. I guess for certain people and certain circumstances, it's easier said than done... But I know I'll try.

Something about the Colors

2007-12-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Calvin Harris - The Girls

Hot Chip - Ready for the Dance Floor

David E. Sugar - Chelsea Girls

The indies are doing 'color-explosion' in their music videos.

The gangstas are doing them in black and white. Talk about

opposite ends of the spectrum.

With all this hype going about mish-mash of colors, American Apparel is certainly one of the vehicles that's moving this trend along. All this hype about the brand is kinda bugging me

though... It's great they're doing this 'anti-sweatshop' thing, but

something nags me about them. I'm not sure what... I feel like

there's this evil monster lurking behind the curtains...Or I've just become a lot more cynical in this past year or so...

Music Trends of 2007

2007-12-21T04:06:00.000-08:00

The crew over at XLR8R compiled a list of music trends of 2007. The best list didn't do much for me, a few were true but weren't that funny. The worst list turns out better...

Here are a few:

Mp3 Blogs
It's a love/hate thing. Blogs do promotion for bands, but also for a lot of shitty music that gets the same attention. The blog is run by some 17-year-old kid who doesn't know anything about music and production, kids download the music in a crap quality months before the release, play it in the club (aaaahhh), and throw it away after a week. That really makes me start to think if the new generation appreciates music at all.
Boys Noize

One thing is that your fame pretty much came from the Internet too... So you're either saying your music's shit or you're kinda being obnoxious in saying that you're one of the better ones out of the bunch.

I think most kids do appreciate music. There's such a wealth of music out there that it's hard for bloggers to consistently refer back to older artists on a monthly basis. This blogging thing started out with the intent to share. This 'come fast, go fast" thing is just an unforeseen consequence, in my opinion.

Haha, here's the link to the Oxford American article that I said I would post before.

Every DJ with a laptop and an internet connection having the exact same playlist.
Mike Davis, Burlesque Design

Justice's D.A.N.C.E.?? Hot Chip's Over and Over??
Oh check out the Hood Internet, if you haven't already, they've got this Girl Talk thing going.

Club Rap
I can't think of anything worse than oversexed fashionista 20-somethings charging promoters $2000 just so they can get on stage and lip-synch to their little MySpace hit. I don't want to name any offenders because I might have to interview them next year.
Mosi Reeves, XLR8R writer

Yay High School Musical!!!

Banner and above info via XLR8R

Friendly Fires

2007-12-21T02:21:00.000-08:00

Nice vid with a slo-mo balloon and a great hook. Friendly Fires' band name just reminds me of one of Sean Lennon's title of his most recent album.

Fine, I'll be nice and provide you an mp3 link too...

Friendly Fires - Paris

Via Good Weather for Airstrikes

Cut It Out

2007-12-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

Must have taken lots of paper...A band called Trenchcoat.

When Your Lost

2007-12-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

Kimya Dawson's "I Like Giants".

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me

But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye

When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants
Especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes
Regardless of their size'

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
And I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole

So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead

When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends

We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky

Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants

It's Almost Over

2007-12-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Juno

2 Days in Paris

Go watch some movies when your done with your finals.

It's OK

2007-12-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sighn is going to produce 1 million hand-made wood cutouts, which is going to take him most of his life to finish.

Check the clip he posted.

I think it's a good word to repeat over 1 million times. It's got this comforting and optimistic tone to it. That it's ok you've made this mistake. Or that it's ok, you shall overcome this hardship.

With finals coming up, and all the stressful shit that comes with it, I'm telling myself, "It's ok. You'll be home in a week." Even though this doesn't change much of the crap that's going to come, it certainly make things look a bit brighter.

Source: Fecal Face

Glitches and Such

2007-11-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just me who's making a big deal out of this. But I just found out that if I don't take my flight on the 16th, I can't get leave St. Louis until 12/28. When I do get back to HK, it'll be 30th. Then I've got to leave and get back to St.Lo on 1/12. Then there's no point in getting back because the tickets are just too freakin' expensive to just go home for like 11 days.

I don't want to spend Christmas here alone, cause all my suitemates are heading back home. I told my little brother about this and he said that it's just Christmas, some freakin' holiday that Chinese don't celebrate. I told him that he'll understand next year, when he's in college. It's not about the holiday, I just want to spend some time with my family. I really miss home :(

Like when I tell my suitemates about this, they said that there'll always be tickets available, it's just the matter of price. But I don't want to waste my family's money, the ticket's like $1500! And I'm not getting a refund for the ticket I currently have.

It's funny. Cause people just don't see your situation as you see it. I'm kinda stressed out right now. I think they're trying to be objective so that I won't get all upset over this. But all I want right now is someone's sympathy. Pathetic, I know.

Well, I hope my professor will move my exam date earlier. Cause he said he stands quite firm on no make-ups unless it's a family or medical emergency. One of my suitemates said I should've lied. Who knew that honesty can be such a bitch.

Sorry if this isn't an entry you were expecting. But one day, I'll read this and just laugh at how this thing unfolded, how upset I got over this little mess up. Life is more than this. I know. People are starving out there and I'm brought down by this?! I know. But little things like these can bog you down.

Kids are Truly Amazing

2007-11-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

DJs Sara and Ryusei, aged 8 and 5 respectively.

Who said all Asian kids learn how to play the piano and violin??

Thank You Seabear

2007-11-28T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's innocent moments like these that remind to step out of my bubble of self-pity and think about the good stuff in life. Ah it's been a bit stressful after Thanksgiving, needing to catch up with work and all. My flight schedule didn't work out that well. I most probably need to extend my stay here until the 23rd, which means I won't get back to HK until the 25th :(. I might miss out on Christmas day with my family.

But it's OK. I love my family and my family loves me. Just can't wait!

Seabear - I Sing I Swim

Patch-em-Up

2007-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Source: Afhakers.nl

Hillman Curtis Shorts: Embrace

2007-11-16T19:50:00.001-08:00

Watch here.
Check out more shorts here.

It's All about RE-Inventing

2007-11-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

CocoRosie brought a Beat Box along

2007-11-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

Never been a big CocoRosie fan, but I really like this take on their song "Werewolf" from their The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn album. The beat box dude reminds me of Kraftwerk somehow...

Source: nialler9

Holy Hail!!

2007-11-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

Check it. A New York 4 piece called Holy Hail. Song's called Cool Town Rock.

Download:
Holy Hail - Born of a Star

What's up with the scene lately? Bands seem to be determined to get indie kids to dance. CSS, New Young Pony Club, Shy Child...

Source: Skatterbrain

Domo Domo Domo-Kun

2007-11-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

I love this seemingly intimidating, but kind-hearted monster.

Source: Toys r Evil

Panda's Hideout!! #202 - Finally Some Rest

2007-11-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

A present for you guys. Hope you find some new gems in it.

Tracklist

Thao Nguyen - Feet Asleep
Pet Politics - In My Head
Ola Podrida - The New Science
Phosphorescent - A Picture of our Torn Up Praise
Okay - Panda
Boat Club - Warmer Climes
advantage Lucy - Miharu
Flipper's Guitar - 3 a.m. op
Supercar - Yumegiwa Last Boy
Entre Rios - Cerca & Extrano
Electric President - I'm not the Lonely Son (I'm the Ghost)
Pandatone - I Forgot if we Dreamed

DOWNLOAD

Martha Sue

2007-11-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

"Imagining plant-life that has evolved monstrous traits, Harris' strange chimerical trees, flowers, and fungi are displayed in their (un)natural habitat. Martha Sue deviant vision of botany illustrates relationships and issues within the plant kingdom, but is equally imbued with insights into human emotion and interaction." - from her website

She was also in the Strange Fruit - Bad Seeds exhibitions, displaying her artwork along with John Casey.
Check out more photos from the gallery via John Casey's blog!

Source: John Casey, Martha Sue

John Casey

2007-11-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

"My creatures are called monsters by some, but I often feel that the connotations associated with 'monster' don't always apply to these little guys unless one can add descriptors like 'vulnerable' and 'fragile' to the definition of monster. Maybe I have issue with the monster moniker because I see my critters as self-portraits. Nick Capasso, director of the DeCordova Museum, once referred to my work as 'little exorcisms' and I like that description. The idea that I expel my inner demons in the form of drawn, painted, or sculpted critters appeals to me." - John Casey

Some work from a recent gallery of his: Strange Fruit - Bad Seeds

The branch-like nose reminds me of the ones you see on snowmen. Or like an alternate take on Pinocchio...

Go check his blog, he posts up some pictures of his ongoing pieces and gallery visits. Awesome stuff.

Source: Oh-so-fabulous Fecal Face

Socalled aka Josh Dolgin

2007-11-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

“Hip hop is all about representing who you are, your crew. I’m this little white Jewish dude living in the country. It doesn’t make sense for me to rap about guns, cars, and hos. I’m not going to rap about hos. What should I make music about? I should try to represent who I am. When I began digging for samples, I found these old Jewish records, and they were a clue about this funky, old tradition that had been forgotten. Yiddish theater, Cantorial music...all kinds of weird sounds…and the records had the most amazing breaks! And I realized that I could make my hip hop - my music from them.” –SoCalled

Download:
Socalled - You are Never Alone (mp3)
Socalled - (These are the) Good Old Days (mp3)

He's got a peculiar way of making music. He's also got a peculiar way of making his MVs.

You are Never Alone

(These are the) Good Old Days

Our Information Age

2007-11-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

It's great that we're contributing and sharing what we know with everyone else in the world. However, we also need to look at all these info with critical eyes. Not everything's credible - including this entry.

Gum-to-Gum

2007-11-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Anna Bullus’s Bubble Gum Bin is made from Gumnetic - a new biodegradable material that's made of sterilized chewing gum and bio resin. So more gum in the Gum Bins will make more Gum Bins!

From what I know, Singapore banned the sale of chewing gum because of how well gum sticks to concrete surfaces, like on the sidewalks, etc. It takes high-pressured washing to get them off, wasting water, time, money, and energy that can be directed elsewhere.

Throw your gum away properly OR to save you all that trouble, don't chew gum at all! I don't think gum does much for me... Get mints if you want to freshen your breath.

Anyway, Anna Bullus also made a cushion to go with it: Gunnetic Chewy Pad. Love the packaging.
Source: Inhabitat.com

Green Street Art by Edina Tokodi + Clips by JR

2007-11-02T05:39:00.001-07:00

"Eco-minded street artist Edina Tokodi is putting a new spin on green guerilla tactics in the trendy art enclave of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tokodi’s site-specific moss installations of prancing animal figures and camouflage outgrowths are the talk of a local urban neighborhood typically accustomed to gallery hype and commercial real estate take-overs. Unlike the market-driven art featured in sterile, white box galleries, the work of Tokodi is meant to be touched, felt, and in turn touch you in the playful ways that her animated installations call to mind a more familiar, environmentally friendly state in the barren patches of urban existence." - Inhabitat.com

Edina Tokodi says:

“I think that our distance from nature is already a cliché. City dwellers often have no relationship with animals or greenery. As a public artist I feel a sense of duty to draw attention to deficiencies in our everyday life."

Street art is constantly transformed and it's exciting to see it's progress. It's not just about marking your territory or reclaiming public space from advertising companies, triggering awareness and the lot; now it's stepped up to artist-audience interaction. Art is a type of one-way-communication, where you just take in and contemplate about the messages the artists are trying to convey. Now you can play with moss! How fun is that?!

Relating to awareness-raising, check out JR's FACE 2 FACE & Soweto project if you haven't.

FACE 2 FACE trailer by JR and Marco
Uploaded by 28millimetres

SOWETO - SOUTH AFRICA BY JR
Uploaded by JR

Source: Wooster Collective

Trevi Turned Red

2007-11-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

"On October 19th, the waters of Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain turned blood red when a man threw paint into the basin in a bizarre act of vandalism apparently inspired by the Futurists of the early 20th century.

The man, reportedly wearing a beret and a light-colored jacket, struck at around 4.30 pm and then disappeared into the crowd of tourists, leaving behind a pile of leaflets. The fountain, which re-uses the same water in a continuous cycle, soon started spurting red water into the air from its jets, providing an unprecedented spectacle which tourists immediately began photographing. Police arrived and technicians briefly shut off the water before restoring a clear flow.

Experts said the baroque fountain was not permanently damaged and the marble statues depicting the sea deity Neptune on his chariot had not absorbed the color.

“There shouldn’t be any relevant damage,” said Eugenio La Rocca, superintendent for Rome’s monuments.

The news agency ANSA reported that a box was found near the fountain containing leaflets by a group that claimed responsibility for the act. The leaflets found beside the fountain claimed that the coloring of the monument had been carried out by ‘FTM Futurist Action 2007,’ a group which has not been heard of before.

The leaflets state that the group aims to battle against “everything and everyone with a spirit of healthy violence” and to turn this “grey bourgeois society into a triumph of color.” As well, the leaflets proclaim that the red paint was a protest for expenses incurred in organizing the Rome Film Festival and symbolically referred to the event’s red carpet."

Source: Wooster Collective

Learn more about the history of the Trevi Fountain - EternallyCool.net
Or about Futurists - Wikipedia.org

Futurology is the detailed critical inspection and reasoning of the state in which things will develop in the future on the basis of existing circumstances in history. - Wikipedia

(I actually found out that 2 of my professors took their definitions off of Wiki. Cause when I was confused by what I scribbled on my notebook, I went on Wiki and found that their definitions were the same, word for word...)

Takashi Murakami

2007-10-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

"Has recently opened his most comprehensive and complete exhibition to date at the MOCA in Los Angeles. The exhibition his showing works from the early days up until now and has a vibrant mix of paintings and sculptures. The ones among you that cannot make it to the exhibition have the chance to get an idea of what there is to see here thanks to the Hundreds."

Don't really know much about the guy behind all this cuteness-explosion?
Jonathan Ross will tell you more about him on Japanorama:

Source: High Snobiety

Plush & MVs

2007-10-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a cute music video of Guster's 'One Man Wrecking Machine'

Plush by - The Monster Factory

The Making of...

Source: Toys r Evil

All that Hype...

2007-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Remember that middle school paper that asked you to choose a perspective and argue for it? Do you remember a particular topic: Technology: A Blessing or a Curse?

The same can be asked of our age of Mp3 blogs, in a time when Information is widely available and easily accessible. Our minds are as promiscuous as can be. We want be in the forefront of the Hype wave, way before it hits the laypeople on the nearby shores. But like all waves, the Hype quickly recedes... so does our interest for the bands.

I think all this is made easier w/ sites like the Hype Machine and Elbo.ws. Cause they have these convenient features that immediately show you the hottest bands, hottest blogs, hottest songs... I think the thing about the Indie Circle is that the more unknown and obscure the bands you blog/know about are (given that they're good too), the more "cred" you're given (or you assume you have). So people are quickly turned off by these "Hot" bands and will go find something else. Then the cycle repeats again.

The intention of blogs, podcasts, and other "bottom-up" media is to give independent artists a chance to reach a wider audience. I'm just unsure whether we are doing a good job of this or not. We do write about them but we are also quick to move on.

What technology gives us is convenience. All that comes with it is easily retrievable and, sadly, easily disposable.

Entry inspired by:
Pretty Goes with Pretty - "Can't Talk; Hyping - Part 1 to 4"
*More related articles to come...