Big Jet Plane

          Last week I posted about a cool brother/ sister duet Wild Belle so this week I'm posting a band called Angus and Juilia- another brother/ sister duet (Australian this time!). This song is mesmerizing! I'm going to lay outside by the pool under the 80 degree sun and soak up my last few rays of the California sun.

Introducing.......

         Drummmmm rollll pleaseeeeeee............MUSIC MONDAYS (cue fireworks and crowds cheering)!!!!! This week the up and coming brother/sister band Wild Belle  is stealing my heart!!! This particular song is very Santigold- and come on, seriously, who doesn't love Santigold??? Happy first Music Monday everyone!!!

Video games

Lana del Rey - Video Games from Chriistoph on Vimeo.

           My last weeks have been spent listening to Lana Del Reys new album Born to Die. Over and over and over again. Have you ever noticed how every year (and always during non-summer months) an album always is released that makes you ask yourself, "Why isn't it summer right now!?!?!?" In 2008 it was Shwayze...Well, this year it's Lana del Rey. This music video kills me! All I need are burning hot days and warm breeze nights spent being happy and lazy with people I love.

P.s. Does this video remind anybody else of this scene in Love Actually???

On connection and vulnerability

              Last week I touched on something a bit personal and I thought I should share a little bit more about it, or rather about why I wrote it. Because of Wabi-Sabi's recent one year anniversary (Pass GO, collect $200) the past few months I've had the chance to look back at a years worth of my life and progress. I can even look at what I was wanting, feeling, admiring, thinking about exactly one year ago to the day- which sort of creeps me out but is also sort of really amazing! The thing that I noticed, though, was that most of the things I was writing about were pretty things and neat gadgets, which are all very important to me but say nothing about who I am.  

           I recently read a post from Cup of Jo that was about  authenticity and her struggle in deciding whether or not she should share something quite personal. She writes that her mother told her that authenticity is saying 'This is what happened to me or this is how I truly feel, no matter what the popular belief is about what I should feel.'  This must have resonated with me because it gave me the courage to share one of my own struggles that I wouldn't ordinarily share with the entire world wide web. AAAND THEN (this is the really crazy part), I randomly discovered this Tedtalks on vulnerability. Brené Brown is ammmazzingly poignant, witty, hilariously truthful in this talk about human connection and the need for vulnerability. So let me break it down to a few sentences (if that's even possible):

In order for connection (what gives up meaning and purpose in life) we must be vulnerable.

Connection is the result of authenticity- the courage to tell the story of who we are with our whole heart.

 We need to learn to let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen.

Ok, so, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that I jotted down two pages of notes from this tedtalk, but believe me when I say that those little tidbits are just a few of Brené Browns amazingly insightful thoughts. They make me feel so relieved that I did decide to share (an albeit very small) personal experience to you all. Thank you for reading!! **gives awkward emotional hugs**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mega(rad for i)phones....

(via honestly wtf)

Megaphone from RACOON_STUDIO on Vimeo.

           These ceramic megaphones for iPhones is genius, awesome, brilliant, crazy cool! Want want want!!!

Oh Land

            I AM OBSESSED with this new band I discovered called Oh Land. So far, Wolf & I is my favorite song, but White Nights is great too! The White Nights music video is soo bizarre and oulandish I can't help but to love it (and it also reminds me of the TV series Pushing Dasies- another thing I am abnormally obsessed with, but that's a whole different story)! And, helloooo- Nanna Øland Fabricius is the cuuuutest. Biggest girl-crush ever. Enormous. 

Goodbye, First Love

           I'm dying to find a theatre in LA where I can watch this! Goodbye, First Love played at the New York Film Festival at the end of last year, but I haven't heard about any showings in LA ( -____- sometimes I feel like NY gets all the good stuff). It's a french film about a young girl going through the agony and ecstasy of her first love. How appropriate would it be (obviously if you were single) to watch this cuddled up with your cat and a pint of double-chip rocky road ice-cream on Valentines day evening. All joking aside, that sounds like a pretty rad night.

        When I was a kid, sometimes I would take my fingernails and press them into the part of the gums that  were right below my bottom teeth. I did this because as much as it hurt, it also felt good. I guess even as a kid I recognized that there is a certain kind of pain that also causes pleasure. Some people say there is a sort of addicting exhiliriating pain that comes with getting tattoos, I like brushing my teeth really hard. Anyways, the point I'm trying to get to here is that remembering a great love is like pressing your fingernails into your gums. So go ahead and on Valentines day remember that first love (yup that one that never really leaves you). Remember that time you were young and unjaded- that irrational, passionate, all or nothing, can't live without you, heart swelling, heart wrenching, absolutely debilitating first love. And then, eat a tub of ice cream. 

The truest kind of love...

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

          I posted this video about a year ago, but it's a beautiful story and perfect for our 14 days of love. This true story is the saddest and happiest thing I have ever seen. Though I can't see their real faces, it only takes their endearing voices to imagine how they looked at each other. It is nothing short of beautiful.

So is it such a problem if he's old...

Lianne La Havas from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

           So, this may not be your typical Valentines day love song, but I adore this quirky little number by Lianne La Havas about a love affair with an older man. I didn't know anybody could make having a sugar daddy sound so darling....

Ice Cube and Eames

          If you live in LA, you should have deffinitly heard about Pacific Standard Time by now. "Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. Beginning October 2011, over 60 cultural institutions will make their contributions to this region-wide initiative encompassing every major L.A. art movement from 1945 to 1980. Celebrate the era that continues to inspire the world." So basically, a whole bunch of galleries (including every damn major gallery and museum you can possibly think of) in LA are holding exhibitions that are dedicated to recognising art and artists from 1945 - 1980 (aka the dawn of the LA art scene and what has led to the wonderful world of LA art that we all know and love today). 

        To promote the collaboration, Pacific Standard Time has posted short videos of musicians and actors giving homage to artist showcased in PST. (Brilliant! Artist celebrating artists!) I have a mild (ok, not so mild) obsession with midcentury design, and my all time favorite is the video above of Ice Cube talking about Eames! It's absolutely fantastic! Who knew Ice Cube studied architecture??!? He just jumped a few notches higher on my cool scale. He talks about the hidden beauty in LA, bougie traffic, and compares making music to making the Eames :

 "It's not about the pieces, it's about how the pieces work together. Taking something that already exists and making it something special- kind of like sampling. In a world full of McMansions- where the structure takes up all the land, the Eames made structure and nature one. This is going green 1949 style, bitch. Buhhleedat. Who are these people that have a problem with LA? Maybe they're just mad they don't live here."

And those are words to live by, kids......

Faber Castell

(Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo)

          I'm sitting on my bed listening to Tegan and Sara, and I'm too exhausted to write anything witty or interesting or pretty, so I'm going to post this video. I'm about to bust out some FB's and lay on the floor, draw, and drink tea. Catch you on the other side, kiddies! 

Zeitgeist 2011

           I love that Google puts together a little video at the end of each year to remind us of all that has happened around the world. Every time I watch this, I feel that swell of tiny tingles inside- the kind where you can't really tell if you extremely sad or extremely happy. I think that more than happiness or sadness, it should give us an intense sense of camaraderie no matter what country we live in or what social class we belong to or even what sexual orientation we identify with. We may not have experienced personally each others struggles, together we have all experienced and lived (/survived) this year.

Bustin' moves

:57
adorable as hell

I wish I had moves like that little boy...if I did, I would be bustin moves all day.

Tipsy Turkey

(The Tipsy Turkey Thanksgiving Cocktail from LEAFtv on Vimeo)

       This girl is going to be one tipsy turkey this thanksgiving. Can't wait to try this out!

What English sounds like to foreigners

     I am a huge blundering fan of accents. The whole idea that each culture not only has their own language but also their own sound is fascinating.  It is especially mind boggling when you come to the realization that you don't speak the "normal" way, that there is in fact no "normal" accent. I have always always tried to imagine how americans sounded to foreigners... and now I know. This short is brilliant... kind of weird, but brilliant.

Mast Brothers

        For LA, this past week has been the first time we have felt the cold crisp air of fall. I love love love the beginning of fall, it is one of my favorite seasons. That is, the "beginning" part not the"fall" bit. The first few weeks of each season are my favorite times of the year. Right now I feel excited and giddy! I can't wait for scarves, crunchy leaves, sweaters, crispy wind, eating pho', seeing everyone's breathe when chat outside, holiday chaos, the sound of the heater running when I wake up in the morning, and (now that I've watched this video) hot chocolate!

      There is absolutely no better season to eat chocolate than the holiday season! I love this dreamy video of  the Mast brothers discussing the uniqueness and craft involved in their chocolate shop Mast Brothers Chocolate. I adore how they convey pride and passion for chocolate making. Their attention to detail and sentiment, from the way they ship their beans overseas by sail boats to the way their chocolate wrappers are made using printing presses, shows their absolute dedication and passion for honest craft. If I am ever passing through Brooklyn, you better believe I'll be stopping by for a taste. 

Air France: Making the sky the best place on earth

(Air France - L'Envol from Air France on Vimeo)

      I'm not all that sure what is going on in this Air France ad, but I really like it. It makes me feel simple, blissful, and content.

A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted

(Miranda July: The Future on Nowness.com)

    Moving. Class. Boxes. Storage. Learning. Growing. Organizing. Work. Cleaning. Packing clothes. Packing seeds. Homework.  When I want nothing more than to distract myself with pretty things, September is brimming with lots of not-so-fun things to do. I guess right now is the perfect time to take a quirky tip from Miranda July...

I'm not the only one...

(SCARFFY from Bri Emery on Vimeo.)

     I wear scarves a lot. In the winter, in the summer, in the spring, and in the fall.... But apparently, I don't wear scarves the way other people wear them. I wear them around my head, in my hair, in one giant long loop around my neck. I tie them in bows and knots and braids and tangles. Sometimes people ask me if I'm supposed to look that way or if my scarf just messed up... So, to everybody out there- Yes, I am a little odd. And yes, my scarf is supposed to look that way.

SCARVES- THERE ARE NO RULES.

Bouncy ball heaven

Artist Peter Funch is selling limited edition prints from the day 250,000 rubber bouncy balls rushed down the streets of San Francisco for the Sony bravia commercial shoot. I can’t say much about the bravia, but I LOVE LOVE this commercial. The music is so endearing- and it impossibly captures so much emotion without the presence of people. It's magical and sweet. It's wondrous and I can’t get enough.




If you haven't seen it, here's the commercial PLUS behind the scene footage! My favorite part was to see the camera men and crew wearing helmets and safety masks hiding behind makeshift barriers!!