And then of course, there's the Filson. The slogan, "might as well have the best", kind of says it all. Just $200 got me this little beauty, and it's absolutely perfect. The zip... oh my god, what action! The thick canvas, so durable! Don't even get me start on the shoulder strap's connectors. They're... perfect. Yup, forget 2323 basketballs. The real collector in me says "buy once and buy right" (and then feels a bit foolish for sounding like an idiot).
It sometimes surprises me how much people spend on 'limited edition' stuff. There's the rare pen, the one-of-a-kind watch, the unique first edition book. All of which is entirely understandable - you want to collect it for its aesthetic appeal and sense of history? Fine. But a. basketball? Nike have made a limited edition Jordan commemorative basketball. Limited because they only made 2323 of them (not 23, but 2323 - ooh what rareness) .
Luxist says: "It also comes with an embroidered sport sack with shoelace drawstring and it sells for $150."
Jack says: "This sort of thing makes me cross. Don't buy 'stuff', buy things that have enduring appeal and may appreciate in value. $150? Jeepers."
The image of Han Solo encased in carbonite is so iconic, "Star Wars" geeks around the world have come up with myriad ways to recreate the moment. Go online and read about Han Solo in Chocolate Carbonite, Han Solo in Carbonite USB keys, and even recipes for Han Solo En-Queso'd in Carbonite (a cheese dish).
But nothing is quite as cool as this mammoth office desk created by Tom Spina Designs, a New York custom sculpture and theme prop company. It took two months to create the desk, constructed largely of steel. It was built for one of the members of Christian rock band, Casting Crowns. As Solo himself once said: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
From The Stylephile.
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Found this on Flickr by one of my 'contacts' (which means I don't actually know him, but I do like his photographs). On a poncey level, I like the way he's put in a blur, and the way the line of the shoulder matches the tracks in the background, and so on and son. Really, though, I just like the fact that the dude's snaggletooth looks awesome, and that he looks so... well, so COOL.
Production ready in seven years, they say (call it 15-20). This is the 'morph concept', which can be worn as a bracelet, clean itself, you name it. It's being made with the help of brainiacs at Cambridge University. Wonder if they'll tie you in to an 18-month contract with O2 before you can get one...
Link. Via Gizmodo.
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...the place rocks at this time of year. Won't be long until the clocks change - you can almost feel the ground waking up. Woohoo!
Haha! Always good to see pictures with a sense of humour.
Indian agency JWT came up with these images for a recent yoga festival. My favourite is the dude on the bench, but the copper and the bike do tickle my fancy. Link.
This may sound patronising (and it's certainly not meant to) but it is great to see ideas from a non-NYLON agency that are just as fresh as anything you'd see from D&AD. All too often when I see stuff from further afield, it seems a bit... inflight magazine-y. This is quite the opposite.
ps - no photoshop involved in these images. It's all real stretching. The yoga festival was held in Pondicherry this January.
Hans Silvester captures in his book 'Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa' the delectable headdresses of the Omo Valley peoples.In the Telegraph he states:
'They can take any material from the plant world - leaf, stem, flower, grass, root - and instantly transform it into an accessory straight from a fairy tale, without the slightest tinge of absurdity.'
Whoopee! Test footage of the forthcoming Where The Wild Things Are movie, directed by Spike Jonze. It won't actually be out until 2009, but I'm hoping for a cross between Donnie Darko and Beetlejuice. Word is the film would have been ready this year, but there are massive reshoots scheduled as it's just too scary. Sacrilege. That was the whole point of the book! Poor old Maurice Sendak must be livid.
So, to the clip, of which Spike Jonze says:
That was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben our vfx (visual effects) supervisor to see if our vfx plan for the faces would work. The clip doesn't look or feel anything like the movie, the Wild Thing suit is a very early cringy prototype, and the boy is a friend of ours Griffin who we had used in a Yeah Yeah Yeahs video we shot a few weeks before. We love him, but he is not in the actually film...Oh and that is not a wolf suit, its a lamb suit we bought on the internet. Talk to you later... - Spike
This clip was originally tracked down by Aintitcool, I think, but it keeps getting yanked by the producers. I love it when the big monster says "Nah, you're right, robots are the best..."
Wikilink about the book.
Listen to a track by The Heroes, also called 'Where The Wild Things Are', here (not sure if I like it or not)
And there's this little early piece of CG from Disney, also based on Sendak's lovely book:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvIDRoO8KnM&rel=1]
The latest issue of Vanity Fair recreates classic Hitchcock scenes in a set of photo spreads with modern Hollywood stars. Whether you love Hitchcock or whether you love A-list actors, you need to check these out.
Seth Rogen in North by Northwest
Charlize Theron in Dial M For Murder
(the last one is Tang Wei, Josh Brolin, Casey Affleck, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Foster, Omar Metwally and Julie Christie in Lifeboat, but it's not my favourite). Link. Got them from www.firstshowing.net.
There aren't enough blogs or websites like this one. Covering subjects such as "how to shave like your grandpa" and "how to survive a bear attack", it fills in many gaps left by the absence of National Service, thrashings and Brylcreem. Link.
Hardest working man in showbiz? Check.
Soul brother number one? Check.
Snappy-assed dresser (with crazy trousers)? Check.
Kick-ass moves? Check.
Dance teacher extraordinaire.....?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdz88MBWomo&rel=1]
Genius. A web page devoted to guys in New Jersey with incredibly dark spray tans. You gotta admire those early adopters. Some good Blue Steel looks on the page too (of course, none of them ever actually smile in photos - very very serious people). Link. Via BoingBoing.
I found this on the TIME magazine website. It dates from the 1930s. What I find most interesting is that, if the same situation happened today, you'd be unlikely to find fashion writing so detailed or thorough...
-----
Monday, Aug. 11, 1930
Men of fashion last week eyed the White House darkly. Warren Delano Robbins, official U. S. arbiter elegantarium, had been caught out on the front steps in formal attire (see cut) which outraged professional taste. "Beau Nash" (Alfred Stephen Bryan) who writes "What the Well Dressed Man Should Wear" in New York theatre programs criticized out loud:
"Why, the man has turnups [cuffs] on his trousers and you have turnups only on a lounging suit! The trousers aren't striped. And the vest has six buttons down the front. Gloves and spats are de rigeur with a stick and topper, you know. That turndown collar and four-in-hand tie are all right in a way but with a cutaway we should wear a wing collar and a bow tie. I hate to say it but I fear the vest is not quite smart. It should be cut quite low. If you wish to be informal, wear a sack suit but if you start out to be formal, you must go all the way. This costume simply isn't smart!"
Declared Jeann Friedman, tailor to New York's natty Mayor James John ("Jimmy") Walker: "I made the Mayor 30 suits a year and never did I see a turnout like that! Why, that's tragic!"
In addition to being the President's social aide and knowing by heart the official precedence list of Washington down to the National Screw Thread Commission, Mr. Robbins is also U. S. Minister to El Salvador. A Harvard graduate, a member of New York's Knickerbocker Club and Washington's Metropolitan, he has had long service as a U. S. career diplomat in Berlin, Paris, Mexico City.
Last week the State Department came to his defense by declaring that New York style arbiters are behind the times. The well-dressed U. S. diplomat had, said the State Department, abandoned spats two years ago. Industrious U. S. correspondents abroad joined the controversy by cabling despatches to the effect that in London nowadays spats are being worn only at garden parties and weddings, but that upturned trousers are distinctly bad form with a morning coat; that gloves should be carried, though not worn; that a stick is optional.
Link.
Right, must dash, off to get some spats for next week's garden party.
Wine labels have always fascinated me. Even as a child, whether gazing at framed collections in people's downstairs loos or looking at the way the paper soaks off a bottle in an ice bucket (a thoroughly louche youth), the way vineyards market their wines totally engorges my grapes.
One friend of my parents has a vineyard (which I think his kids now run), and he has a fun twist to his labels, creating designs for the inside as well as the outside. I think he worked out fairly early not to bother doing it for red wines, but it looks great on their chardonnay.
The real star of wine labels, though, is the Mouton Rothschild (two years ago, 50 cases of the '82 were sold at auction for over $1m). The labels have been going since, I think, 1945. Have a look at some of them here. And now the latest artist has been appointed. Read on to learn more:
"The highly anticipated 2005 vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild has been revealed by the Château. In a tradition started in 1945 a contempory artist has been chosen to illustrate a small space at the top of the label. To date sixty three artists have done it ranging from Chagall to Picasso to Henry Moore, last year Prince Charles who is an avid painter was chosen. This year the Italian painter Giuseppe Penone who is known for his art which connects man and nature was chosen with his painting of a vine leaf and hand." From Sybarites.org.
Pass the champagne. Here it is folks, the Phantom Stretch. Not by the imagination, or even the Rolls factory itself , but by Mutec (the official coachbuilder to Rolls Royce).
It has an extra 110 cm of leg room (48 inches?) and a new section in the middle. The passenger compartment has room for four people in individual seats - fully adjustable, of course. Funnily enough, though, I reckon they don't look as great as I'd hoped, almost a bit pony.
As you'd expect, it's got all the extras you could wish for, both inside and out, and they'll sort out an armoured version for you, too. Just perfect for those long Willesden road trips.
So anyway, that drophead I've got lying around, I think I might take it to Mutec, get them to sort it out and flog it to the right sort of person.
Original link here.
Thailand, and a brutal robbery sends shockwaves around the vibrant capital, Bangkok. A thief stole 200,000 baht from the Ladprao branch of the the Government Savings Bank. Details are sketchy, but several eye-witnesses were able to provide descriptions. Seen him?
Link.
