restraint, it’s a beautiful thing

a short film featuring the lovely tiiu kuik by daemian smith and christine suarez. it’s a feast for the eyes, but like most fashion films it’s a bit of a nonsense.  pretty yet random pictures spliced together on finalcut, and the gorgeous track by violinist michael galasso (wong kar-wai’s film in the mood for love) is once again belittled in yet another random clip. i can envision michael roll over in his grave each time this track is used. i am actually not dissing them at all, as i can understand the devastating temptation for anyone to try and want to recreate an ounce of that magic when maggie drifted past the camera to this track. even i contemplated it a few times but the best of me took over. just remember this:

“what makes someone truly great is not only about what they do, but what they choose not to do when it’s most tempting.”

its almost like sex (think about it) or let me put it a different way, it’s like being a publisher of a magazine and “surprisingly” picking yourself to shoot the covers (like rankin did) or putting your mug on every other page (like zahm did), how obvious, easy and lame is that? again i could have done any of that but i didn’t. i always felt that you have to earn it to own it. restraint, it’s a beautiful thing…. you know its been almost 15 years that i have wanted this specific and rather costly chess set.  one day, a few years ago, my mom said “you talk about this so much Ill get it for you for your birthday.” i was crushed.  she didn’t get it, i’m simply not  good enough at chess to deserve that set… but i haven’t given up yet. maybe one day I’ll earn it!  by uh

CATEGORIES: clips, fashion, naughty stuff

Vivienne Westwood: Still Contrary


granted, i’d rather have julian’s handsome face on the shirt rather than vivienne’s, but then the idea wouldn’t have worked, would it?

“I support julian assange because he’s clever and brave and the founder of wikileaks – a brilliant organization in the public interest to expose the facts concealed and misinformation published by the authorities for their own protection. therefore the authorities wish to punish him; they’re out to get him at all costs. wikileaks has had 90% of all donations blocked by visa, mastercard, western union, paypal, amazon and bank of america, so all profits from the sale of this t-shirt will go directly to them.” – vivienne westwood

way to go… $75 at the vivienne westwood online. by xy

CATEGORIES: perfect gift

Hurricane Sandy: Lessons I learned from Hurricane Sandy

15 things to do and a few more not to for the next one… and there will be another… and another, thanks to the state of our planet courtesy of man (and a handful of women). here we go:

1- charlie don’t surf, and xy don’t diss no sandy.

2- don’t buy or rent an apt near the water. (in manhattan, broadway runs at the peak of the island and a good bet, further west or east and you’re lower and closer to the water.)

3- forget hamptons and that’s not just for the shitty crowd any more.

4- consider upstate. love trees but plant them far away from your roof.

5- if you own a car a) park it in the city for quick access when all other forms of transport will be down. b) make sure your garage doesn’t park yours on lifts or elevator access floors. in power outages your car will be as good as a brick.

6- keep bike within 4 floors off the street (smokers consider 2). mine was on the 11th floor with offices shut. who needs a bike on an 11 floors walk-up?

7- a skateboard actually saved my life… but just this one time.

9- no power = no water. if you are in a high building the water towers will run out within hours, and with no electricity to power the pump you’ll be out of water too.

10- fill the tub, not for drinking water, but to flush the damn toilet. this will be your worst nightmare in the event of water failure. your romantic candlelight camping vacation in your city apt will quickly turn into a sewer festival. a full tub can handle up to 10 flushes (based on recent research).

11- stock up on candles. in the event of non-emergency you will always have use otherwise. tearless pillars over tea-light candles any day.

12- forget flash lights. get a LED rayovac lantern for $29. i just ordered 3. a single one will light up a 1200 sq ft apt and will last for days on 3 x d batteries. you may want to get a few pocket lights for trips down the 18 floor emergency exit when elevators are down, either from fenix R5 series for around $50 or your standard mini maglite that doubles as a candle (lights up a small room) for under $20

13- invest in a generator if you have outside space to run it. for us apt dwellers consider a APC backup power for under $200 or a power inverter from black & decker for $60. this will allow you to charge up, if nothing, your damn phone.

14- get some cash and water but you can forget about food… you can always lose a few pounds. buy some nuts if you must.

15- when done move to sweden. hope this will be of help.. by dd

CATEGORIES: earth related, surf-skate

ghouls, goblins and ghosts

i don’t care much for, or adhere to tradition in any form…but today is halloween after all, so here is a tiny informative guide to decipher the attributes and differences between ghosts, goblins and ghouls.

GHOSTS, in case you didn’t already know, are considered to be the souls of the dead, often appearing in a seemingly imperceptible fashion.  you know, those white sheets and all.  any red blood cell lacking hemoglobin is also referred to as a ghost, further enforcing the idea of pigmentation lacking.

GOBLINS are typically nightmarish who at times have the ability to adopt human forms and assault or “trick” people into thinking they are otherwise.  the word goblin is derived from the german word kobold, which is a mischievous and naughty household spirit.   the spirit can either be helpful and amuse children, or hide food around the house and throw temper tantrums when he is not attended to.  sounds like every pet/significant other i’ve ever had.  hmm.

lastly, GHOULS are the most dastardly of them all.  the world ghoul stems from the arabic ghul which comes from ghala meaning, “he seized”.  ghouls have been known to eat both stolen corpses and children.  YUM!  by sv

CATEGORIES: musings, read

danse macabre

the bewitchingly charming dance sequence from jean renoir’s the rules of the game.  hard to believe that he thought this film was a failure, i suppose that is the curse of those with infamous fathers?  anyway, enjoy this as much as i do.  by sv

CATEGORIES: clips, must see films

quote of the day

“water, water, everywhere
and all the boards did shrink
water, water everywhere
nor any drop to drink.”

-samuel taylor coleridge, the rime of the ancient mariner

CATEGORIES: quote of the day