Goodbye Vox, Hello Wordpress!
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New semesters require new playlists, especially if your daily commute involves taking the T-line at 7am:
First of all, merry Inauguration, people.
Now, I'm no political expert, but I'm excited for change in this country -- social change, foreign policy change, educational change, and economic change. I, personally, am looking forward to the economic change that the domestic retail industry needs to stay afloat. And on that topic, kudos to the entire Obama family for their great style (not only the First Lady, although her style is classic and her sartorial influence evocative of the great Jackie O). Frivolous as it may seem, I think that their impeccable public style is more than just fashionable icing on the presidential cake -- one would be foolish to assume that the successes of great public figures exist independently from the images they portray.
Michelle Obama looked great in this J. Crew outfit on The Tonight Show. I can only hope I look that put together at 45.
She also looks fantastic in this Isabel Toledo sheath and coat with green pumps. Anyone else sensing a gold color trend for Fall 2009?
Buy Handmade is an online organization where you can pledge to giving your loved ones handmade gifts this holiday season, thus saving the environment and making you a way better person with something self righteous to talk about. Really, though, how many gifts have you received that didn't get regifted, didn't get donated (although you meant to!), and just ended up rotting in the trash after spring cleaning a couple years down the road? They waste natural resources, plus most of those cheap unwanted gifts are made from harmful materials such as petroleum derivatives in plants that don't adhere to environmental law.
So, this holiday season, try to buy handmade -- it supports artisan designers, and I guarantee your friends and family will appreciate it. You don't have to only buy handmade (consider recycled or repurposed items, too. They're actually better for the environment because they don't use any new materials) , and handmade doesn't have to look handmade. If you haven't already discovered it, check out Etsy. You'll be amazed and what your fellow humans are capable of making with a little creativity and a lot of elbow grease.
Handmade doesn't have to be expensive, but it is usually awesome! Check out SunBasilGarden's maple scented eggs/bacon soap for only $5.50, and LemonLovesPaper's floral gift cards for the same price.
Of course, you can spend a whole lot more than five dollars on handmade items as well. For $2,185 you can take home this nearly two carat blue sapphire and diamond ring in white gold by DesignsByVickie.
There's still time for expidited shipping, so if you're like me and still have gifts to get, log onto Etsy and support buyhandmade.org. Plus, you can get your shopping done from the comfort of your pajamas, which is pretty hard to beat.
Oh intertubes,
How I've missed enlightening the world with my vast sartorial knowledge through your series of... well, tubes. No longer will I deny the world access to my innermost thoughts on VPL seen on BART and Lululemon Athletica as appropriate outerwear (it absolutely, unarguably never is, by the way).
And soon, the world will feel the mighty righteousness of my opinions in print via ONEIGHTY Magazine.
Actually, I have some pretty sweet stories lined up, and I'm greatly looking forward to sprinkling some of their leftover goodness on this here blog. With pictures, no less, because I know the average reader's attention span is now rivaling that of a goldfish in it's astounding brevity.
Next Post: Handmade for the holidays, because no one wants another pair of reindeer socks from Walmart.
Coming up soon: Melissa's-super-duper-anti-Christmas Christmas compilation, for your downloading pleasure.
Questions heard on Monday during a particularly exciting round of 20 questions while tutoring at 826 Valencia:
Are you a nacho?
Do you work in a nacho factory?
Are you a hobo?
Do you sell pirated movies?
Are you more famous than The Pope?
Are you the wife of The Pope?
Are you nine o’clock in the morning?
I love working with their ELL (english language learners, but really it's for all kids) summer program on Mondays. It gets me up earlier than usual and it's a good start to the week. I only wish more people I knew would come give it a try. So, come on, give it a try.
Also, If I'm lucky, Jory John (who manages their tutoring programs) and his art partner in crime, Avery, will be showing some of their clever Big Stone Head work at Double Punch as a part of our August/September group show, "Inklings". It's in the works, so I'll be posting more as soon as we have some flyer graphics and more info. I know for a fact that the opening will be at 7pm on August 30th and the artists involved will be: Deli Fresh, Mark Damrel, Kyle "Pellet", and Mike Lay, so mark your calendars.
Speaking of calendars, I'm thinking of starting a Double Punch google calendar to keep people appraised of coming events. Thanks to Piximix for the great idea -- I'll post a link to it as soon as it's up.
[Edit: <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=rppkm1nqtap134m44691ts9ono%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles">Google Calendar is go! ]
So, my boyfriend’s sister just sent me a link to GoodReads, which seems like a combination of Yelp and Amazon with a dash of extra social network-y goodness (which seems to be the direction that yelp has been moving in lately anyway). It’s got a pretty good database of books from what I can tell, including art, comic, and indie selections, but I do wish it had more comprehensive cover art for my visual-nerd side.
Anyway, if you’ve got some time on your hands and want to cultivate your holier-than-thou nouveau-social-networking persona, check it out. You can even be my friend! It’s also genuinely useful for book recommendations and those with a sincere desire to share their opinions.
Alright, some event updates!
Join us on Sunday, July 13th @ 1pm!
Double Punch will be hositng a book signing with Lisa Katayama (tokyomango.com, Wired Magazine), author of Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan. Get your copy of this handy household book at Double Punch, have it signed by Lisa, and stay and hang out with her in our gallery space where you can check out our latest art show, "Say Hello to Piximix!" on it's last day.
Saturday, July 19th from 7-10pm, Join us for Brad Wilson's opening!
He's a rad artist, cool guy, and recent college graduate, so get his original pieces now and avoid tears down the road when you see him in Juxtapoz and his work is going for 10K! Plus, he's got his own art book, prints, and a line of tshirts in the works...
Don't miss "Inklings" in late August/early September.
Inklings is a group show that embodies the unique personality and characteristics that artists are able to give their ideas, simply by putting pen to paper. Not traditionally considered a fine art, inked pieces can create a broad range of feelings from the action of a comic panel to the intimacy and spontenaity of napkin sketch. Most great ideas start with a sketch, and sometimes the finest ones are completed not with canvas and paint, but with bristol board and a good pen. With the wide range of tools that technology has given artists over the years, Inklings is a nod to the old school; a reminder of the importance of foundations and remembering art's roots.
"Inklings" will include works by Mark Damrel, Kyle Pellet (pictured), and more.
(additional information and flyers are on their way)
"Plush You" will be coming to Double Punch in September. Check back for more details...
Likewise with Ninjatown! Don't miss this opportunity to meet the minds behind Shawnimals and play their new Ninjatown game for Nintendo DS before everyone else does!
Plus, there are plenty of other exciting things coming up at the ol' DP... A little N8 Van Dyke (who was just on the cover of Juxtapoz), maybe a pinch of Gary Baseman, and perhaps even a smidge of Emily The Strange. I'll keep you posted on the happenings.
- M
I’ve just recently become aware of Kopi Luwak, the world’s most expensive coffee, which is partially digested and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet. So basically, it’s $600/lb coffee that has been crapped out by a mountain cat in Indonesia. Consumerism continues to amaze me!
In other coffee related news, I give you Four Barrel!
This Ritual-spawned cousin-of-Stumptown serves awesome coffee out of a custom made counter-cart in their building’s loading dock on Caledonia (near 15th and Valencia). I’ve heard/read some great praise for the drinks, which I definitely agree with, but there doesn’t seem to be any hipster consensus on the origins of this back alley soon-to-be-roastery, so I thought I’d look into it.
Jeremy Tooker (the one standing on the ground), opened Ritual Roasters with Eileen Hassi in 2005. Before being able to begin roasting their own coffee, weekly shipments of beans were being delivered via car from Seattle’s legendary Stumptown (or so I’ve been told). Eventually, Stumptown gave them the roaster that now dominates the back half of Ritual, and expensive hipster coffee was reborn.
Now, a mere three years later, Tooker is opening Four Barrel six blocks away from Ritual, and serving coffee and espresso drinks (with Stumptown beans!) out of the loading dock of his unfinished establishment. I’ve got to say, the line was pretty massive for a coffee cart in an alley (like 8-10 people), and I can only imagine the ridiculous lines once the front end is actually open, but the coffee was fast, cheap, and really fucking good. I don’t know why he left Ritual, but my latté to latté comparison (soy, of course) thinks it’s a good idea. I’m just curious to see a) how packed the place becomes, and b) how Jeremy’s own roast fares after he stops using Stumptown beans.
Anyway, the place already has it’s own Yelp page, so if you consider yourself a coffee snob or a connoisseur of all things hip, you’d better get your ass down there before something else becomes the new coffee or mister Tooker decides to start a New-New-Ritual-cum-Stumptown.
