Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Temper Trap - Fader
The video doesnt do much for me, but I still find the song uber catchy. Lately, I've been enjoying driving/bobbing around Portland to this lil diddy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Robyn - Dancing On My Own
Because she didn't get nearly as much airtime on the VMAs as she deserved..
Mark Ryden: The inspiration behind Gaga's meat dress?
I can't help but wonder if Lady Gaga - clad in a meat dress for the VMAs - drew inspiration from artist Mark Ryden's 'Incarnation'. I'm sure her getup can be interpreted in many ways, and if I'm going to put Gaga in a similar category Ryden, then I'd say her dress largely speaks to the idea of consumption.
Back in April, Mark Ryden explained his "Incarnation" piece: "There seems to be a complete disconnect between meat as food and the living, breathing creature it comes from. I suppose it is this contradiction that brings me to return to meat in my art. It surprises many people to learn that I am actually not a vegetarian. I don’t think it is morally wrong to eat meat. What I do personally is to try to remain aware of what I am eating and where it came from. I am not trying to preach a moral stance on anything in my art, but I find that juxtaposition of imagery can create a kind of distance and then an ensuing heightening of awareness.” I think Lady Gaga does something similar with her work, as she's often making references to/ criticizing/ commenting on consumption and consumer culture. (It's part of why I love her so much -- I can enjoy consuming her on a superficial level, but I also like the challenge of trying to figure out what she's about. And in so doing, she successfully brings awareness to my relationship to her - she makes me think about how I consume her, and consume in general. This seems to be Ryder's objective as well.)
On a basic level, I think her dress screams, "I'm not a piece of meat." Of course, there are additional analogies/interpretations to be drawn from her meat garb, including a criticism of homophobia and the lack of equal rights. According to Gaga, "If we don't stand up for what we believe in, we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're gonna have as much rights as the meat on our bones."
I could talk forever about Lady Gaga & her multidimensionality. But that is all for now. I'm tired. Here's a video of Ryden painting 'Incarnation'. Enjoy. Goodnight.
Back in April, Mark Ryden explained his "Incarnation" piece: "There seems to be a complete disconnect between meat as food and the living, breathing creature it comes from. I suppose it is this contradiction that brings me to return to meat in my art. It surprises many people to learn that I am actually not a vegetarian. I don’t think it is morally wrong to eat meat. What I do personally is to try to remain aware of what I am eating and where it came from. I am not trying to preach a moral stance on anything in my art, but I find that juxtaposition of imagery can create a kind of distance and then an ensuing heightening of awareness.” I think Lady Gaga does something similar with her work, as she's often making references to/ criticizing/ commenting on consumption and consumer culture. (It's part of why I love her so much -- I can enjoy consuming her on a superficial level, but I also like the challenge of trying to figure out what she's about. And in so doing, she successfully brings awareness to my relationship to her - she makes me think about how I consume her, and consume in general. This seems to be Ryder's objective as well.)
On a basic level, I think her dress screams, "I'm not a piece of meat." Of course, there are additional analogies/interpretations to be drawn from her meat garb, including a criticism of homophobia and the lack of equal rights. According to Gaga, "If we don't stand up for what we believe in, we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're gonna have as much rights as the meat on our bones."
I could talk forever about Lady Gaga & her multidimensionality. But that is all for now. I'm tired. Here's a video of Ryden painting 'Incarnation'. Enjoy. Goodnight.
Annie Leibovitz - Mick Jagger (1975)
These are some of my favorite photographs by Annie Leibovitz, not only because of their subject matter, but also because they seem more "real". Touring with the Rolling Stones in 1975, Leibovitz was able to capture moments that strip down rock n' roll's glamorous facade, to reveal the exertion and physical/emotional toll that rockstars endure. While these ugly-beautiful photos arguably speak more to the darker side of rock, they still maintain that rockstar god-like essence that keeps me captivated. 
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Blue, blue, electric blue!
Believe it or not, I used to wear blue eyeshadow back in high school (you know, to match my blue turtleneck-sweater...you gotta hook it up, right?). Anyway, I always got a lot of sh*t from my friends for wearing it. And despite the many comparisons to Mimi in Drew Carey's show, it wasn't until the makeup woman at Nordstroms reminded me that I'm Asian with small/slanty eyelids (therefore defeating the purpose of wearing eye-makeup, since you can't see my eyelids unless my eyes are closed) that I finally put my eyeshadow away. Since then, I've pretty much dismissed eye-makeup altogether. That is, until now.
Meet Kristin Reiter, a creative at Nike (who I had the pleasure of meeting this summer through a fab friend of mine, Cindy.) Upon reading Kristin's kickass blog BLEACHBLACK, I've discovered that she rocks the most radass hue of eyeshadow I've ever seen. Is that too shallow & materialistic of me to say? Oh, F it. (I mean really: How am I supposed to look at these images & NOT want to immediately procreate with some generously-eyelidded significant other, with the obvious intent of bringing normal-eyelidded offspring into this world, for which I'd have a decent excuse to return to makeup counters once again and demand for greatest shade of electric-aqua-blue?! Is that weird? Is that racist? Probablyyy. It's just that sometimes, slanty-eyes can be a b*tch.)
Meet Kristin Reiter, a creative at Nike (who I had the pleasure of meeting this summer through a fab friend of mine, Cindy.) Upon reading Kristin's kickass blog BLEACHBLACK, I've discovered that she rocks the most radass hue of eyeshadow I've ever seen. Is that too shallow & materialistic of me to say? Oh, F it. (I mean really: How am I supposed to look at these images & NOT want to immediately procreate with some generously-eyelidded significant other, with the obvious intent of bringing normal-eyelidded offspring into this world, for which I'd have a decent excuse to return to makeup counters once again and demand for greatest shade of electric-aqua-blue?! Is that weird? Is that racist? Probablyyy. It's just that sometimes, slanty-eyes can be a b*tch.)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Vassup?! I'm Bruno!
My roommate Cem bears a very strong resemblance to Bruno.. 
"Is it a coincidence that all the good people have long hair, like Jesus, and like hippies and you know Rod Stewart?"
"Is it a coincidence that all the good people have long hair, like Jesus, and like hippies and you know Rod Stewart?"
You know what he DID?!?
"..He kicked him in the penis.." hahahah, this is ad cracked me up (spot for Trigon health insurance).
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
He's such a freak, and I love it. All of it - his attitude, the androgyny, and the way his face & body reflect the wear & tear of rock n' roll.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
World Basketball Festival - Harlem, NY (8/14/'10)
Some shots I took from the Word Basketball Festival in New York a couple weeks ago. These are all from Rucker Park events up in Harlem. 
MJ. 
Carmelo Anthony
DWade
MJ, DWade, Carmelo Anthony
Brooklyn team.
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