The Round up

This webby week:

to check out: I have found a new You Tube swoon and he/she/it is named Thorn2200. Thorn has combined my love of the British comedian Eddie Izzard with my nostalgic want for playmobile. The result? Little plastic people with English accents, or, hilariousness.

Let's see there's Death Star Canteen:


James Bond:


And loads more. Thorn also has boat-fulls of other videos that appear to have humans in them, but I can't vouch for those pups since I only watch musicals or inanimate objects being animate.
If you're not familiar with Eddie Izzard, well, that's lame and get on it already.

In other video news: someone clever made something awesome:



Flight patterns - Long exposures of bugs under a street light by Charlie McCarthy. Via Monoscope. Man, Vimeo is pretty, right?

to read: Young, female Newsweek writers get down to business and take a good hard look at gender equality in their workplace. This editorial honors a 40-year-old gender-discrimination case started by Newsweek employees back in the day. This is personal-meets-historic journalism and thoughtful to boot. Yes, depressing, since there is (shocker) still inequality among working men and women. Though I'll take some lower-pay, inequality and hey, even a little sexism, if I could just get a workplace. THEN I'll show 'em what I've got (in passive aggressive venting ways).

Speaking of ladies, this kid-o is cra-azy: rowing her way across the ocean in little more than a glorified banana peel A-LONE?! Kids these days are full of extremes. On the one hand they're obese, sleep-deprived computer addicts with only virtual friends. On the other they are young, ridiculously adventuresome death seekers. What gives? No, I couldn't paddle my way around the world when I was 22, I was too busy working out my tooth enamel resistance to jugs of carlo rassi.

to procrastinate: web design ledger is always good for losing chunks of time, but their recent post of 30 laugh out loud ads was the clincher.
This Olympus ad for a zoom lens definitely followed through on the headline's promise:



and to cuddle:

this cuddletastic brought to you by daily puppy.



Get in my lap.

xoxoL

The Round up

Ohhhh good things are happening in the interweb this week.

Dear design: Mother Nature may be hinting at spring here on the East coast but that doesn't mean that winter isn't lurking around the corner, in cold closets or under the sheets of the strangely unheated bedroom.

Enter: Happiness in bed's sleeved blanket. I know what you're thinking, didn't this come out years ago in Cookie-monster blue alongside a ridiculous marketing campaign? Well, yes. But THIS guy is new and has gloves! It comes in hipster white to match your squatter-chic decor.



to procrastinate: thanks to flavorwire, I can waste whole hours, if not entire days, on things like Best Dance Sequences. How can it be bad when it feels so good?

West Side Story sweeps, obviously, taking three out of the 35 spots.



Man, ballet has never felt so...inTIMidating. I'm going to keep those moves in mind for when I next find myself defenseless in a dark alley. You want to try me? I'll ballet-kick your ass buds.

There are so many classics and so many goodies that it's really hard to pick. Annie, Dirty Dancy, (ah hem) Save the Last Dance? I have to admit that though I really hated Ms. Stiles/snaggletooth this ballet breakdown is pretty kickin. Is it possible that she's a tamer, earlier version of So You Think You Can Dance?

to long for: I've never let go of my desperate want of cute specs. A few years a go, not being able to resist, I bought a floral-printed pair of glasses that just happened to have prescription in them. The motivation being that IF I wore them SUREly my eyesight would meet the damaged requirements of said prescrip. Sadly, 20/20 prevailed. It's probably for the best, many I'm sure would argue, as this accessory comes with a hefty price.

That was, until, Warby Parker came out with cute AND affordable glasses. Brought to me via New York Magazine.



At $95 I feel like I owe it to SOMEbody to get a pair. But which to choose?! It's so hard. The Huxley with the clear bottoms? Or maybe the Roosevelt with the bold top frame (in blue? Don't mind if I do).

to read: this little bit in the New Yorker is a quick, hilarious treat. Mannahatta, by Yoni Brenner re-imagines the sale of Manhattan by Native Americans to the Dutch in the 1600s ripe with contemporary, classic New York City gripes. Set in a screenplay, this piece is comic genius.

A taste:

LAPOWINSA: (pensive) You know, it amazing how warrior can live among so many kinsmen and yet feel so alone

to check out: This past Saturday was International Night at R's school. Unfortunately, I missed the babies dressed in saris but I did arrive in time to watch a Canadian represent for his/our country. This Molson commercial said it best:



And don't ask, just watch (courtesy Chris Bean - who clearly has a You Tube searching gift)



And, just in case you haven't had enough movie buzz, here are eight famous movie quotes translated into graphics, from the American Film Institute, via The High Definite. This one made me laugh out loud:



to cuddle: Finally, get pumped party people because its Easter time which means...

BUNNIES



and

CHICKs



xoxoL

The Round up

What's shakin' sluggers? I can't figure out this scheduling thing for this here round up so this is going to be a roving round up for now.

Enjoy...whenever it happens (which is totally going to be regularly)

To check out:
I am generally jonesing for clever illustrated design-y type things, which, when blended until chunky with my love of NY, THIS wonderful poster of the NY subway system as seen through the eyes of Julia Rothman is the must have of the week.



The little detailed drawings against that putty-colored background would go so nicely on our orange walls. It's all so tiny and intricate you could stare at it for at least an hour. Awesome (via Oh Joy)

To procrastinate: I'm taking some inspiration from the Olympics with this cuddly video about snow sled dogs. Hello world, it's Isabell, the BLIND sled puppy. I mean if she can do it, I can do...something.

What, the Olympics aren't about dogs? Fine. Here's a clever little video from Steven Heller (YES, the same Steven Heller of Iron Fists by Phaidon Press) about the pictograms of the games over the years. And if that isn't enough there's always Izzy the, uh, whatzit. Don't remember him? There's a reason.

Completely unrelated to that thing that's making my shows go to repeat, this is one of the best/ridiculous video lists provide by Time: Top 10 awkward press conferences. A weepy sandford and blubbering Tiger are definitely better the second time around.

To long for: It's randomly cold in my office so I would live for one of these cuddle monsters:

From Yokoo

Thanks to New York Fashion Week I'm longing for some architecture in my 'fits. Voila, Karen Walker



Perhaps sans the tall knitted hat.

J.Crew is doing this arch thing nicely and (more) affordably. swoon.

To cuddle:: finally, puppy or baby sheep?



You decide and then send it to me nonetheless. Then check out the rest of the best-named-photo-slideshow from Slate: Animals eating

xoxoL

The round up

Not that it's an excuse, but I started working again, hence the lack of blog posts.

[sigh]

I forgot how hard it is to conjure up that ol' writing inspiration after facing a computer all day long.

BUT no need to dwell on the excuses. Let's hit a much delayed round up of internet lusts.

To read: I've been on a military kick. It started off with Jon Krakauer's latest reportage: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Tillman is a man that some of the best and strongest characters are made of so, it would be difficult not to cling to this real-life tragedy.

However, Krakauer's clear and present distaste for the Bush administration muddled my reading of the book, especially in the beginning. But the combination of Krakauer's obvious intense and thorough reporting of the football star-turned army Ranger and Tillman himself shines through. By the end I was tearful and shocked by the guy's inevitable fate.

I became obsessed with Tillman. Googling him and his wife and his family. I came across some good (read: sad) articles just after his death and found (basically what I was looking for) the hope that this would soon be a movie that I could hide behind my hands and watch and weep. Get excited. And by exited of course I mean depressed.

Some time during my deep Google search, my former teacher twittered about this New York Times article about the breadth of first-hand writing that is coming out of the war. The article does, as he noted, have the best lead. How can you NOT continue reading on?

To top it all off it was Presidents Day yesterday and there appeared to be a multitude of soldiers returning home from war footage/photography. Like this one in the Chicago Tribune. [Tear]

To watch: Ultimately all of this war talk led to the dvd that happened to be on the top of our queue: Hurt Locker. It should be noted that this is not my kind of flick as it grossly lacks the romantic/comedy/cartoon prequisites of my movie entertainment. Buuuuut everyone said it was amazing and I still had Tillman on my mind so I sat down (behind my computer screen) to take it all in.

I'm a wimp with movies but this was playing directly at my tightly wound heart strings. Especially when the lead befriends this adorable kid selling smutty DVDs - there's really only one place for that relationship to end and yet I was still surprised when things turned glib (in, of course, the retelling of the story by R as I was in the bedroom busying myself with distractions). Anyhoo, for those of you with stronger stomachs and nerves DO definitely test it out.

To long for and finally, totally separate from any war stuff, how AMAzing is this knitted hat?


I saw some kid riding his bike with it on and I thought: GENIUS. It's perfect for R and his wintery bike-to-school jaunts. I think the 'Grandpa edition' will suit him just fine and will certainly compliment my 'Bunny edition'. Won't we be a sight. Totes happening when I get paid.

finally, FINally to cuddle:
This guy



and this guy



Get into it.

xoxoL

The round up

This week we're on clever overload. Why is EVERYONE trying to blow my mind?

to procrastinate:

Buried deep within the real estate section of the NYTimes (a girl can dream) is this magical place of want and voyeurism: Great Homes and Destinations.

They have a regular feature called "Properties for $____,____". For anyone who has lived in NY this page will be a true depressing delight. $350,000 can get me a two bedroom / two bath, exposed brick apartment loft in Memphis. That includes walk in closets, this swoon-able kitchen



...and, oh yes, shared access to a roof top pool. But then again it's Memphis. But it was good enough for Elvis. And I DID have the second-best BBQ there...

I also got all gooey-eyed for this London house boat that is anchored at the East end of the Thames. This is a problem. Because it's nifty spaces like this



that make me think, completely unsupported by any engineering or design skills, that I too can not only have but make this. Of COURSE I always wanted to live on a boat. That won't get old. Right?

{sigh}

to continue. Further procrastination can happen here - a clever little site that mocks the fashion blog, The Sartorialist, with cats. Purrfection (I know...I'm sorry)

"On the Street...Vintage Tag, Chelsea, NYC"


And finally sleeveface.com for its clever mashup of album covers and people. Genius.

Thanks to Bryan Jones for this - check out his AWESOME paintings.


to eat: alright so I spent the majority of my week hanging with Lola in CT so there wasn't a lot of experimental cooking going on. But last week I tried out this recipe for parmesan polenta heaven (via The Kitchn) and it totes worked out. Voila:



Also, hello soft-fluffy-goodness of a new way to cook an egg. I haven't gone back.

Oh and I long to make this



even though the chances of me whipping up some concord grape ice cream are slim to none. Never doubt the possibility of getting into the slim...

to check out : This week I'm all about the online vids. So here it is:

It turns out one of my former living-on-the-couch roommates Dmitri Simakis was only pretending to be lazy and was meanwhile busy being ironically clever collecting abandoned VHS tapes in an experiment he and his friends labeled 'Everything is Terrible.' It's home to ridiculous 80s nostalgia, bad acting, worse hair and, well, you can see for yourself. Most of them are really hard to watch - I'm embarrassed for everyone involved but it's worth a look. And the Everything is Terrible branded ending to each video is class. You can read more at NPR.

mini highlights:

- I only wish I had this in high school

- I don't know about you but I definitely want to run this kid over with my big wheel.

Alec Soth is an artist, photographer and, now, blogger (Little Brown Mushroom blog). His photographs were featured in Vitamin Ph (Phaidon Press, 2006) and are fantastic documentaries of people just living life - with some nudity thrown in.

Check out his Las Vegas birthday trip slideshow. And for your literary adventures check out the book his 11-year-old self made.

Oh and this video by SVA graduate Katie Armstrong is amazing - animated paper cut outs to the eerie self-sung song Blue by Eiffel 65. When you look at her web site you can see all that went into the 3m piece. I want it to be mine. (via for me, for you - also a treat!)

Video hilarity - clever boy featuring Rachel Dracht in Forest Hills State of Mind.

And finally this woman beat me to something I didn't even know I wanted to do - infographics to ever single This American Life. SO CLEVER. I'm going to do one. I swear.

Finally a little bit to cuddle:

muffin koala



and WHAT THE HELL IS THAT. I dunno but I want it to cuddle into a furry mess for evermore.



both via zooborns
xoxoL

The round up

I'm trying something new here.

Because I spend SO much time on the Internet - searching stories, reading news, snooping pretty blogs and web sites - I thought that I would compile my findings into a weekly round up of things that are lookin' good in cyberspace.

The categories will include but not always feature:

To check out - arts & culture stuff, i.e. visual art, music

To long for - clothes

To procrastinate - a ridiculous type of time suck web site

To cuddle - a stray cute animal photo might show up

To watch - movies / TV

To read - pretty obvious, but includes articles and books

To interACT - cool interactive stuff online

To eat - best of our weekly meals (I usually cook from online recipes, here's my chance to pass on those that actually work).

and, finally, Dear Design - favorite design web sites or blog posts because I have REALLY gotten into them (and there are just thousands of goodies to take away your afternoon)

And it's not like this is set in stone. These categories could change, disappear, multiply, get up and dance. It's hard to say.

But let's get going on this weeks, eh?

First off.

To check out - this music web site The Hype Machine (via Flavorwire).

It. is. awesome. It does the work for you - searching thousands of music blogging sites for the most featured music at this very moment. You can click and listen to the songs - like the whole song - find others like it or just let the player play through a whole bunch of tunes you never knew existed.

What I'm particularly liking is this Danish band called Fallulah - it has a good beat and a sweet female vocal. I feel like there might be some girls wearing white gogo boots clapping along in the background. I could listen to it over and over and over again (and maybe I have).

To procrastinate - I came across this site Rad-Dudes (via LA Times) and spent 20 minutes going through back posts. The best of the best are some vintage photes with short shorts or too long mustaches. Though they're not all rad in my book it's a regular look because you just might get gems like this:



To read - Orion Magazine Jan/Feb 2010, particularly the article 'Diggin In' by Hank Lentfer. Unfortunately, you cannot catch this piece online - they make only a few features available to read for free. So you may just have to (gasp) buy the magazine or, do as I did, and read it in a B&N.

This is a short article about what to do with your body after you die. Dark subject, but it's a reality that the author seems to be endearingly inquisitive about. So he sets out to ask his friends and family what they would like to be done with their bodies after they pass away.

I love the way he opens the story - "The first time I asked my parents..." it hooks you because you already know there is going to be a follow up. You wonder, have they changed their minds? Do they still want to be buried in the family plot, cremated, given to science? It's a simple but effective trick of writing.

Later he talks about his four year old daughter and how, he guesses, she is probably old enough to imagine some probably ridiculous scenario but he can't ask because "I don't have the strength to imagine her death." What starts out innocently enough has its consequences and I like that honesty.

To watch - R and I rented Ordinary People last night before going out to meet up with his school friends. Not exactly a pre-party mood elevator but it was a genuine portrayal of a family going through some hard shit after loosing their oldest child, Buck, in a freak boating accident. The young Timothy Hutton was incredible - sweet, scary, utterly depressing. A real teenager going through unparalleled heartbreak. Rent it. You'll find it in the 'tear jerker' section of your netflix site.

To long for - unruly things is my new favorite web site. It has a contemporary vintage aesthetic and features clothing, shoes, interior design, accessories and other swoon-able items shown in Polaroid-esque images. I want pretty much everything she features.
Suddenly and particularly these crazy Swedish shoes - am I alone on this?



Swedish Hasbeens - check 'em out

And finally To cuddle - I cannot resist a little daily bunny and these two little lazy muffins caught my eye:


That is all for now.

xoxoL