Radiohead - 'Nude'

Don't get any big ideas
They're not gonna happen

You paint yourself white
And fill up with noise
But there'll be something missing

Now that you've found it, it's gone
Now that you feel it, you don't
You've gone off the rails

So don't get any big ideas
They're not gonna happen

Lana Del Rey - Ride

I've got a war in my mind
So, I just ride

Annie Leibovitz: Cast of Les Miserables

God I love Annie Leibovitz. Here's her shots of the Les Mis cast. I prefer the studio photos -- they remind me of Old Master paintings. And the menswear? YES. Normally wouldn't be giving the Anne Hathaway photos much love, but I've got to respect her for her Batman performance. (I think I'm finally over associating her with that Princess Diaries movie, thank god.)

Me, in a nutshell.

Calvin Harris: "Sweet Nothing" (ft. Florence Welch)

And it's not enough
To tell me that you care
When we both know that words are empty air
You give me nothing

Closets I'd Raid: Kanye West (Paris Fashion Week)

Digging Kanye's getup (and his Elspeth 2012 MADFACE) at Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013. Can't go wrong with a clean pair of AJ1's (or Dunks?), great tux blazer & gold chain (love dem gold chainnzz).

The xx - Chained

We used to be closer than this.

Closets I'd raid: BLK DNM

Facebook x Wieden

Wide awake at 4am (I'm a bit of an insomniac these days), I was very excited to read AdAge's article announcing that Wieden+Kennedy landed the Facebook account, and that they just released a new spot in celebration of FB hitting 1B users. I love Facebook. And I generally love WK's work, & I personally believe WK is the best ad agency in the world (..but what do I know?). To top it off, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (director of the new FB ad), who also directed Nike's "Write The Future" soccer spot for the World Cup, as well as one of my favorite ads of all-time, P&G's Mom/"Best Job" Olympics spot. Needless to say, I had very high-hopes for Facebook's first commercial.

And then I watched it. And laughed. And asked, WTF?! I mean, the spot is beautifully shot. But seriously. Chairs are like Facebook? And doorbells? You just know there's going to be an SNL skit comparing FB to Twinkies, urinals, and tape dispensers because they, too, are inanimate objects that bring people together. Is FB trying to target old, senile people who don't have FB accounts & who spend most of their days sitting in chairs? I just don't understand how this ad is supposed to encourage people are aren't on FB to sign up. Or maybe that's not the objective of this spot. 

Since it's useless to bitch about something & not come up with any suggestions of your own, I guess if it were up to me, I'd focus more on humanizing the gigantic algorithm machine that is Facebook, or show the ways in which Facebook connects its users — ideally both. Show people who aren't on FB that the network isn't just some scary, cold, heartless network (and do so in a way that spares us analogies just begging to be mocked). Or take more of a Google approach, which features the different functionalities that enables friends & families to connect (though maybe WK/FB had to stay away from this approach because Google already did it..who the F knows). 

I do find it interesting to think about how FB can persuade people who don't have accounts. Who are those people? Are they not on FB due to moral reasons, governmental restrictions (e.g. China), economic circumstances (lack of money/access to technology), etc etc? Which of those people are FB going after? Or does FB even care about the non-users, and are instead trying to target current users and maintain the community, who are being bombarded by a gajillion other social networks popping up all over the place? Or does FB care more about targeting brands (e.g. sources of potential advertising revenue)? 

Anyway, supercool that W+K won the Facebook account. Jealous of everyone who's working on that — such an awesome challenge. Not pleased with the latest spot. It's not terrible, I just expected more from this dream team partnership. Looking forward to see what else they come out with. 

Here's the spot:

Hedi Slimane for Yves Saint Laurent SS13

Hedi's baaAAaack! Finally, after taking a design hiatus to pursue his photography, he's back making drool-worthy swag. His latest womenswear seems very witch-meets-Mask-of-Zorro. (Clearly I don't know what the f*ck I'm talking about when it comes to fashion. But I know what I like when I see it.) Loving the jackets, cigarette pants, sheer blouses, & the black white black black black.

Vogue Homme - Japan

Vogue Homme Japan - September 2012. Shot by my favorite, Hedi Slimane. Styled by Nicola Formichetti. Rock on. 

Photo by Cass Bird

Sleigh Bells - End of The Line

HUNGER TV: AZEALIA BANKS - VAN VOGUE

As predicted, Azealia Banks is blowing up in 2012. Here's her latest video, in which she uses a slicker, more fashion label swagged-out look. Big change from the simple hand-held camera & Mickey Mouse sweater approach in 212. But I love 'em both.

Jordan Presents: THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS

Latest TV spot by Jordan (W+K NYC).

Milton Academy: Throwback Athletics

Confession: I went to an East Coast prep school. One of those prestigious, old-school, Exeter-Andover types. I wore the peacoat and the khakis. I attended classes in old brick buildings with white columns. I know what a harkness table is. I guess you could say I was a boarding school brat.  But a sensible brat -- I worked my ass off, spent my $20/month allowance on laundry, shampoo, and a movie ticket, and I didn't have my first beer until I was 18. (Maybe I was just a prude.) Anyway, of course I had your typical prep school classmates, whose parents either invented TiVo, founded Bain, or were members of the Kennedy clan. I also had plenty of classmates who didn't have any money -- which people often forget about. Hmm, I dont know where I'm going with this anymore. Basically, prep school (at least Milton Academy) isn't just for rich white kids anymore. It was a challenging, but fantastic institution where kids from around the world received a kickass education. And for those lucky enough like me, got to have a lot of fun playing sports.

Mustangs bleed Orange & Blue. At Milton, I spent all my time in the library or sports field/hockey rink/weightroom. I was a student-athlete, and I'm proud of that. Being a student-athlete was a large part of my identity growing up. (Which partly explains why I get so offended when people call me a hipster. Hipsters don't play sports.)  Anyway, I found these amazing throwback images of Milton Athletics from the past +100 years.  

One of the reasons I went to Milton was to play competitive women's hockey, which I couldn't play in Portland, Oregon. We did not wear turtlenecks. 

This was probably my dad's era. Look at those old-school Gretzky-esque Jofas. Love it.

Field Hockey: 1920. I picked up field hockey my freshman year, a sport I'd never heard of before attending Milton. No, we did not wear MC Hammer pants, nor did we wear sailor bibs. However, I would've loved to rock an arm band.

This was the location of many painful workouts. I ran for the track team my junior year. I quickly learned that I hated track. All you do is run around in circles. One time I got in big trouble for kicking the baton. I didn't realize that the cylindrical piece of metal had sacred powers, or whatever. All I saw was a shiny object I wanted to kick. Because you kick things in real sports. 

Track: 1920s. Did you know that tracks used to be made out of plywood? I did not. 

Oh, aren't they cute. 

Baseball on the Quad, in front of Robbins House. I guess this really was a long-standing tradition. After  dinner in the Spring, dorms would play whiffleball against each other. I usually got bored and wandered off back into the dining hall to sneak more snacks. 

Cant tell if that's a bear rug..errr

That's a little better. 

Milton vs. Nobles: arch-rivals since 1886. The annual football game is one of the oldest rivalries in the nation. 

Nike: Find Your Greatness.

Nike's Olympic work, created by Wieden+Kennedy. Beautiful.

Steven Tyler, by photographer Ian Dickson