This past week or so has be hectic.  But not so hectic to keep me out of the loop, just out of time to post onto my blog. I have great new things to post in every category listed in the sidebar. Even new links to music, hangout spots, and books. So far I’ve been successfully checking off a list of goals (resolutions) created at the beginning of the year. Included was the creating a blog (success!) and extending a book club for people on the go like me.

Regular constant posting to resume Monday. Happy 4th of the July.

Cheeba feat. Bilal from Plug Research on Vimeo.

Directed by Kahlil Joseph, the video showcases a melody of three songs from Shafiq’s album, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka. Exhibiting advance mutations in hip hop, soul, and jazz, this video captures iconic hotspots like World on Wheels and the coolness that comes from jamming with a couple of friends.

Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you have seen a music “movie” like this? I know.

Two concepts are associated with this piece.

‘Headspace’ – designing objects from constructed smells.

‘MoodMapping’ – using a chemical structure to map various olfactory molecules to non-olfactory characteristics.

If you have a minute, read about the symposium curated by Paola Antonelli –  Headspace 2010: On Scent as Design

Photograph above by JeanCharles Tomas

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Fashion short film showcasing French designer Vanessa Bruno’s latest collection. It’s playful, emotional, heart breaking….it’s living life. Effortlessly chic. Refreshing.

I couldn’t embed the film, but the link above will take you directly to the video.

On a day like this, the work is piling up and my urge to surf the web or dive into some juicy gossip is too strong.  I created this playlist to be the magic pill or  that 5 hour energy drink. I pray that it will keep you focused….Wait, who am I kidding, right?

Put the playlist on shuffle for the maximum effect.

1. As We Enter by Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives

2. Dance Tonight  by Lucy Pearl – Lucy Pearl

3. Strawberry Letter 23 by Shuggie Otis

4. You’ll Disappear by The Phenomenal Handclap Band

5. Seven (Crookers Remix) by Fever Ray

6. Ooh la la (Tiefschwarz Dub) by Goldfrapp

7. I Get Crazy ft. Lil Wayne – Nicki Minaj

8. Saddest Summer by The Drums – “Summertime”

10. Anything with T-Pain. Try it. Create a T-Pain collaboration list.

Here is what The NuArt has to say:

“Murderer Gary Gilmore does the Texas two-step, Master Masons experience spiritual transcendence in the Chrysler building, and satyrs compete in motorcycle side-car teams. While these films have nary a word per half-hour, Barney’s able to create a narrative that sucks you in with its eccentric motifs, highly researched and crafted detail, and carefully casted cameos. Screenings of these films are rare. Screenings of all five together? A one-off New York extravagance. “ – Rozalia Jovanovic, Flavorpill

Event Details:

Tickets are 10.50

Daily from June 11 – 17.

Call the theatre for show times.

Landmark Nuart Thearte

11272 Santa Monica Blvd

310.281.8223

Jamaica Kincaid is an American novelist. A writer of life, her pieces reflect the freedom of being young.

In the video above, she re-reads her published article in the New Yorker.  Written as an inventory of the book reception for the late Economist Milton Friedman, Kincaid was upset that Friedman was an adviser to the Chile government.

Here are some quotes to add to your email signatures:

“Be arrogant and vain when you’re young,” she advises her audience. “That’s the only time it looks appealing — and it’s also the only time it’s forgivable.” – Jamaica Kincaid

Reading her work and listening to her video makes me want to be a writer. I want to sit down on cushion and just watch her write. She’s that good.

Maud Newton

“Influenced by Dada and, especially, Fluxus, [Tobias Wong] questioned authorship through appropriation; held a mirror to our desires and absurdities; upended the hierarchy between design and art, and the precious and the banal; and helped redefine collaboration and curation as creative practices.” (Source)

Early Sunday morning, May 30th, designer and artist D. Tobias Wong passed away. Know for coining the term “Paraconceptual” Tobias helped redefine conceptual product design. Always an admirer of his product designs, I felt his objects were designed with a purpose, a function, or a message. And the best thing about his products, they were affordable and fun.

In the picture above the product names (Left to right): Ballistic Rose, Coke Spoon, Engagement Ring, 24-Karat Gold Pills, Light Switch Watch, Rubber Chandelier, Smoking Mittens, D. Tobias Wong.

His products are available at MOMA, MOCA, and most contemporary musuem stores. Also Citizen-Citizen

Coming off an amazing 3 day weekend I wanted to post two fashion videos that will ease my mood into a state of mellow tranquility. The first video above is by Commes des Garcons called Wonderland for their new fragrance Wonderwood.

“The three minute film was created by The Quay Brothers who came up with the concept of woodland happenings from the view of a porcelain doll after smelling the fragrance.” (source)

The second video is by Prada and it is called Trembled Blossoms (2008).

“The original animated four-minute short, entitled Trembled Blossoms, is the final feature of a body of work that began last summer in conjunction with the design of the women’s Spring 2008 collection that debuted in Milan in September, based on inked drawings (used as wallpaper designs) which depict a lush, slightly scandalous, landscape of flowers and nymphs that evokes Prada’s vision, blending suggestions of Art Nouveau, Liberty, Aubrey Beardsley, and Hieronymus Bosch.”

“…directed by James Lima, produced by Hi! Production, Max Brun, with animation by Sight Effects, L.A. The goal was to create a classic animated film, from Hollywood’s golden era of the 1930s and 1940s, while employing modern animation and motion capture technology.” (source)

Both videos were well received at the Fashion Film Festival. View the second video after the jump.

Keira Knightley in Maze (dir. Stuart Pearson Wright, 2010). Courtesy of the artist and Riflemaker.

Starring the Stuart Pearson Wright and Kiera Knightly as two lovers going in circles. Trapped in a labyrinth, Wright is an artist who is frantically trying to reach his lover played by Knightly.

Two separate projections displayed side by side closes in on each characters’ individual journey and emotional conclusions.

Stuart Pearson Wright – “romantic artist or fickle muse, earnest male or inconstant female.”

Source: Nowness

Update: The sound was distracting to the visitors checking out my blog during office hours. So the check out the video after the jump.