get your umbrella

I don’t know about you, but I am really excited about this year’s Part Time Punks Festival at the Echo. I didn’t go last year, but heard it was awesome. This year’s line up is pretty money, what with Medium Medium, Crystal Stilts, and Kid Congo Powers due to perform (among other highly-anticipated acts). But I’m signing on board just to see the Raincoats. This Brit post punk girl band produced one of my favorite albums of all time–a self-titled album that is raw, edgy, and unpretentious. None of the three band mates are music virtuosos, sure, but their energy is simply infectious and the wailing over the offbeat drumming is decidedly punk. If you get your hands on this album, you have to listen to The Void and Lola (a Kinks cover). Anyway, I hope they deliver.

photo via Smells Like Records

studly

In the past few months to the last year, studded heels have been all the rage. I love studded things. I was the first in my grade (3rd) to get a Bedazzler, which actually became the bane of my mother’s existence. I was a walking pimp cup for a while.

My new thing is “studded” anything but heels. Such as these:

“Femme Fatale” make up palette by Tarte

Belt from Need Supply Co.

get your drink on

“The Clutch Chair” by Scott Jarvie

“Made from 10,000 drinking straws, the Clutch Chair is an exploratory research piece that passes comment on our disposable culture. The development process of this piece also informed that of the Clutch Light, both of which were developed from an observation of the structural characteristics of trees.”

via Selectism

saddle up!

Check out my saddle shoes write-up/round-up on the Nylon Blog. Fun times.

I’m eating nuffin but muffins.

Though I’m taking a break from the Jamie project, I am still trying to maintain a healthy diet comprised of mainly whole grains, locally-grown fresh vegetables and fruits, and unrefined sugars. That last one has been tough. After all I devoted much of last month to this.

Last night, I made a Panzenella (bread) salad that consisted of La Brea Bakery’s pain rustique, grilled vegetables such as corn, bell peppers, red onions, zucchini, and fresh tomatoes, cucumber, tons of herbs, and a delicious dressing made from a walnut oil, mustard blend. This recipe was developed by my managing editor, Katie, who is kind of the queen of delicious grilled salads. I want to be the queen of something too.

Here’s a snapshot of some oatmeal-wheat bran blueberry muffins I made not too long ago. It was sweetened with maple syrup and applesauce, with just a sprinkling of muscovado sugar on top for crunch. These were delicious (for what they were). I’ll post the recipe if I can remember it!

out of site, out of mind

My days and nights have been spent simultaneously improving my website and learning how to build one that’s not an eyesore. Picking up coding again, has been fun. I briefly toyed with website design in 1996, then as a sophomore in high school. My hiatus, what I call the “college years”, debilitated my html/java/css abilities. But like all things that come and go and that eventually return in my life… check out the semi-finished product here. (http://www.oddsplusevens.com).

Web design isn’t my strong suit, but it’s certainly my friend Vanessa’s. Check out her website: vanessalam.net, which she also just completed this past week. She’s a talented designer! Check out some of the work she’s created…

My best friend Diana, now a Berkeley Journalism grad student, also has been working on her portfolio, which can be found here: Systems of Operation. There are links to her other web ventures on the site. My personal favorite is her tumblr, which she updates frequently.

Finally, my friend Robert, Bon Appétit’s esteemed art director, has been chiseling away at his. Robertfestino.com and this here offer a peek into all of the milestones in his design career.

What’s not to love about J CREW these days?

Stole this ad from the NYT or maybe from NY Magazine. Slowly replacing that place in my heart I’ve sectioned off for APC.

riottt grrl

I’ve been deeply intrigued by Chiang Kai Shek’s personal history, his upbringing in China’s Jiang Su province and ultimately, his rise to becoming the KMT ‘s Generalissimo. Chiang Kai Shek’s regime was nightmarish and war-ridden. But it was as important as Mao’s in defining both China and Taiwan’s cultural history.

But let’s fast forward to the truly interesting stuff: Soong Mei-Ling, the Generalissimo’s erudite and scholarly wife number four who was more or less China’s overseas luminary, an ambassador of sorts. Educated at Wesleyan University, she spoke fluent English and thus, did a lot of translating and advising for Chiang Kai Shek. Soong Mei-Ling passed away in 2003.

Say Cheese

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About two months ago, artist, photographer, and Art Center faculty member Stephen Berkman presented his work at the Hammer alongside the Darker Side of Light exhibition, which is over now. I missed his presentation, unfortunately. But since he’s a local figure, I’m sure I’ll get other opportunities to check out his work.

His style encompasses the camera obscura technique and by way of alt photo process, the resulting images evoke wonderfully creepy sepia-toned pinhole photos of centuries past. But Berkman doesn’t just outfit his work in 18th – 19th century garb. Each photo has a very modern, comedic undertone. He references cavemen, funny sideburns, and aliens, yes, aliens.

View more work on his website. Find out where he’ll be showing next. Or just stalk him at Art Center.

A broad is moving abroad!

My friend Amy is moving to the UK in the fall and I am mostly sad, but that sadness is accented with a tinge of jealousy! That’s because she is by default (thanks to her British mama) a citizen of the UK. Becoming a citizen anywhere is difficult, especially in the UK where one would have to meet annoying qualifications and/or be sponsored by an employer for a work visa. For Amy, all it took was a visit to the embassy, and she now holds two passports.

This means that she can:
– live and work in the UK legally
– live and work anywhere in the EU legally
– eat delicious Indian food before going on a shopping spree at Topshop (according to my friend Alice, the London shop is still 100000 Xs better than its NY counterpart)

Her sojourn gets me excited to think about my own, which I don’t have a proper itinerary for but that I know will happen someday, soon?

With that being said, here’s a cool visual from Travel Brochure Graphics via can’trememberwhere but probably here.

Find out more about getting naturalized!