"wing-it"

I try to read. I don't get as much reading in as I would like, but I came across this quote that I really enjoyed and wanted to share.

"I also believe that creativity is life's insurance, because if you instill creativity even in the smallest children, they will have no fear, because they can improvise. ...Creativity is not about a nice interior or a nice wardrobe, or a sense of design. It's about a very subtle way to think and to realize, if this doesn't work, then I can solve things in another way; confidence and flexibility."

- Li Edelkoort
from Home, 50 Tastemakers Describe What It is, Where It Is, What It Means

I'll take "Things You Put on Your Cat's Feet", Alex for $400

stripes

too many?


- Sagmeister, Inc.

Moleskin Snobs

MOLESKIN SNOBS
a new source of inspiration and visual glory

Fantaisie in Bubblewrap {with espanol subtitles)

"Oh, that does not feel right.....
my face was....
not made for this....."

Fantaisie in Bubblewrap, by Jesse Metcalf

+

BubbleType, by Canhur Aktuglu

via typographyserved.com

Copenhagen Chic-esque

KEEP CALM

What was once a part of British war propaganda, now a part of interior decor and curry advertisements.

Over-use?
Mis-use?
or Awesome-use?


"ORIGINAL"







Toronto Life Magazine, September 2009 issue


Found on Queen Street


Worst culprit?

MADE IN QUEENS

MADE IN QUEENS - OFFICIAL FILM TRAILER

A great discovery at the Toronto Bicycle Film Festival over the weekend.

note to China from China

"WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES, CHINA"

A little memo found on hammer.
Unfortunately the memo never reached this guy:


Taken last July in a factory in Shenzhen, China.

what happen?

SUNDAY:



Squiggle lines in space @ Harbourfront


Lucha Libre @ Harbourfront Centre

WEDNESDAY:

Frightened Rabbit @ Horseshoe Tavern


FRIDAY :

Dress Like a Rapist House Warming Party

tubular-tastic

vacuum tubes [Active Surplus] + ribba frame [Ikea]

une bicyclette jeune!

Born again Shemale

I finally finished[!] painting my bike (also known as Shemale, a term of endearment) last weekend after three weeks and four cans of primer and paint later.

Some man in a white truck told me to, quote, "Get a fucking car!" near Bathurst and Bloor. Unfortunately I didn't make out what he said until 3 seconds too late for a good come back. Ignorance and late well-deserved come-backs make me bitter (still).

Weekend Goal

Build bathroom/hallway unit.

baaaaaaaaaaack!

After a long distraction, here is an enthusiastic list of some new things:

New place!
Stray cat in the house!
Yuppie town, me!
Summer!
Bandsaw and drill press!
Garden and BBQ!
Mojitos with green lemons!
Alien green onions!
Garbage strike!
Shemale is born again!
Exploring Korea Town! Amish bread!

Now you're all caught up!

mouldy Vancouger

Attempt at moulding a branch....the plaster was too thick and bubbly

I spent the past week in Vancouver doing very Vancouger-like things. I learned (sort of) how to drive standard (without burning the clutch this time!), used a pottery-wheel for the first time, did some CSI-excavating and helped pull a deer's skull out of the bush, ate a raw oyster, drank some Granville Island beer, explored Stanley Park, and played with some plaster.


Stanley Park



Worn out bench at the bus station.

I need more walls

Hand printed trompe l'oeil wallpapers by Deborah Bowness

I want to go there:

Place of interest one: WAX Partnership
(This place reminds of that time the press was spinning stories about David Bowie being stalked by a giant pink rabbit)



Place of Interest two: Atelierdorp
Collaboration heaven, albeit probably through clouds of toxic resin fumes. What could be better than nightly dinner parties and 18hour model making days? I want to go there.
via Core77

the end of: too much time on my hands?

Click for vid.

I was sitting on the subway today on my way home when this song started playing on my headphones. As I sat there during rush hour, I couldn't help but think what the video for this song looked like, and lo and behold, it was exactly how I imagined it would be (especially the special effect motion-trailing during the intro....amazing!)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

Click for link to video. [by Lorcan Finnegan]

Spring is almost here, although you can barely tell through the freezing wind, sleet, and snow. Hopefully this video will make the rest of your cold, dark, wintery week a little more colourful.

{cue "Changes" by David Bowie now}

Lady Chair

I was planning on adding this project to my portfolio, but that may take a few more days as I wrangle with Photoshop to put someone sitting in the chair for scale and context. In any case, after Solidworks crashed on me about 18 times in two days (no wonder I left this chair unfinished for 5 months), I figured I might as well preview it here first before I get distracted by other things (like b-day, interview, apartment hunting, new job, and the design collective)

"Feminine movement, gesture, and posture must exhibit not only constriction, but grace as well, and a certain eroticism restrained by modesty: all three."
(p. 68, Femininity and Domination, Sandra Lee Bartky)

The Lady is an observation and socially-driven chair design. The design is constrained and inspired by the way in which women sit and how they became to sit by the social conventions of femininity. Lipstick rouge-stained oak with a laser-cut baroque pattern, the Lady takes up a small footprint and becomes an extension of the lady sitting in it. Whereas women tend to sit more forward in their seats, the Lady has a considerably more shallow seat, encouraging this sitting tendency while diminishing space footprint.

In other words, basically I had this idea for a chair after I noticed how whenever I sat (and most other women), I was only occupying about 6 inches of the edge of my seat, while the back 8 or so inches were left un-sat. Since I am easily absorbed/distracted by what is in front of me, in most scenarios, most of my chair is left jutting out behind me while I perch on the edge. By cutting down the seat depth (from an average seat depth of ~16" down to 7") , the sensation of sitting on the edge is still there, while a more "lady-like" posture is encouraged due to the lack of slouching space.

My mom would be proud that her insistent reminders about sitting up right during my childhood actually did sink in.

the Weakerthans

the Constantines

Two point five Weakerthans

One Weakerthan

The greatest thing about purchasing tickets when they first become available is that after three months, you virtually forget about the show up until the afternoon of and then it becomes a wonderful surprise when you suddenly have a concert to go to that night!

YTO: cut&paste

15 minute rounds of pure short-key brawn. You got your CMD+C, then of course CMD+V. Mistake? Quick, CMD+Z! Now with a bit of CMD+A, C, CMD+D, B, SPACEBAR, Z, ALT-CLICK, and before you know it, the round is over. Cut&Paste spent its first time in Canada at the Sound Academy on Saturday night. Not seeing too much press around town and feeling an overwhelming responsibility to "represent", I rounded up a small group of ID'rs to hit up this first-ever event in the land of tundra.

For those unfamiliar with Cut&Paste, C&P is an international competition where 2-D, 3-D and motion graphic designers compete against each other in a series of timed rounds, cheered on by large audience, pumped by the sounds of a live DJ, and of course, a full bar. Participants are limited to a bag of props that they may or may not have packed that day and photographs that were taken that day during the event. The prizes included Adobe software, Wacom-products, Pantone colour guides, and similar design-related miscellaneous loot (which seemed somewhat minor since most of the people competing probably own half of the prizes already). The main prize of the competition though, was bragging rights and a trip to compete in the international finale at NYC in June.

Standing a little tired and shaky after a impromptu night trip to Ottawa, I was witness to three hours of pure visual pornography and chaos. I saw defrosted bacon, ketchup, and fish, flinging about their juices alongside a row of 21" Cintiqs (*droooool...for the tablet, not the food). I saw defeat and conquer. I saw embarrassing hasty typos ("Never enogh"), I saw nervous competitors sit helplessly as their renderings appeared pixel by pixel with 1.38 minutes to render, but only 8 seconds left in the round. I saw Apple iLife ads pop-up when participants were uploading their photos to iPhoto, and watched their confused faces as they, in dispair, tried to close the Apple trial-ads in pure haste. I saw 2D vomit, and saw what looked like 3D vomit on the huge projection screens.

All in all, the Cut&Paste competition, for the first time in TO, was pretty good. The announcers were....okay, is WACOM pronounced WAAH-COM, or WAY-COM? Maybe WAY-COM is a Canadian thing? Strangely, all the competitors were all male, so next year my goal is to compete in the 2D section. Excuse for a Cintiq purchase? Most definitely.

NOTE TO READERS: My birthday is coming up this weekend......if you happen to have Cintiq laying around?

major apartment renovation and celebration

Never thought that it would be possible for a less than 300 square foot apartment, but I spent the weekend installing a dance floor. It's a dance-off, everybody!


I also made muffins to celebrate the new installation and to fuel the dancing.
Carrot, coconut, and apple-deliciousness.

photo i say

A photo essay of items around/laying around the apt.