How genius are these? Water & tear resistant.
I want one of each.
A Word From Simon
I read this letter a few week ago that Simon (does he need a last name?)writes to his younger self on for his 50th birthday. He doesn't say anything too mind blowing (sorry Simon) just the usual don't spend more than you have, trust your instincts, take responsibility...
The part that I liked best is the realization that Simon doesn't become the-Simon-that-doesn't-need-a-last-name until he is over 40 years old. For me, that was especially eye opening because so often I get frustrated at myself because I am not where I want to be in my career, tra la la. It was nice to see that Simon felt the same way, but kept at it until one day, after years of hard work he freaking made beyond his wildest dreams. SOOOO the biggest lesson I've learned from Simon's letter is BE PATIENT. Read the letter, it's interestingly weird.
The part that I liked best is the realization that Simon doesn't become the-Simon-that-doesn't-need-a-last-name until he is over 40 years old. For me, that was especially eye opening because so often I get frustrated at myself because I am not where I want to be in my career, tra la la. It was nice to see that Simon felt the same way, but kept at it until one day, after years of hard work he freaking made beyond his wildest dreams. SOOOO the biggest lesson I've learned from Simon's letter is BE PATIENT. Read the letter, it's interestingly weird.
Shed A Little Light
You can always count on Anthropologie to have some achingly beautiful pieces. Love these (and oh, to be able to afford them)!
My Newest Blogger Hero
Meet my pretend friend David Friedman. (He is a real person, just the friend part is pretend.):
He takes uber-cool and often weird pictures
like this:
And this:
He also write a blog where he ponders the complexities of life, such as what if our fingers bent the other way, or the possibilities of a bulb-dial clock.
Sometimes, he even puts up little games for us, like:
(You have to pick the original logo from the one he replaced the font with Arial) Like this:
He also introduces us to way way cool videos:
Why haven't I seen this before? These guys are totally directing my first TV ad. In short, David Friedmana, is one fab find (Via HowAboutOrgange)
Do yourself a favor and check him out.
Unexpected Delights
Sometimes you stumble over a film that is so unexpectedly delicious that you just want to slow it down so you can enjoy it just a little bit longer. Here are some of my favorite little gems:
Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm SchoolIn a line: Frankie honors a dying stranger's request to keep a date made 40 years ago at the Ballroom Dance Class and finds himself finally finds solace from his wife's death
You'll Like It Because: It's touching and sweet with just the right amount of "swing".
An Ideal HusbandIn a line: Based on the play by Oscar Wilde about one reputable couple being blackmailed about past mistakes.
You'll like it because: The wordplay is outstanding, comic timing is perfection, and Minnie Driver and Rupert Everett have the most amazing chemistry.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
In a line: Miss Pettigrew, the dowdy down on her luck nanny, hooks up with Delyesia Lafosse, an American film star, for a day of adventure, learning, and whirlwind romance.
You'll like it because: The costumes and set of the 1930s are impeccably gorgeous and Amy Adams and Frances McDormand enchantingly play off each other.
In a line: Miss Pettigrew, the dowdy down on her luck nanny, hooks up with Delyesia Lafosse, an American film star, for a day of adventure, learning, and whirlwind romance.
You'll like it because: The costumes and set of the 1930s are impeccably gorgeous and Amy Adams and Frances McDormand enchantingly play off each other.
The Tomato Song: This guy does NOT like tomatoes. By Bryant Oden
Sooooooooooo I don't like tomatoes. And the funny thing is that people who don't like tomatoes, REALLY don't like tomatoes.... like enough to write a song about it.
Nice Vid
I'm still a believer in the separation of Church of State, but this video is nice despite the point it is trying to make.
Giambattista Valli - Man (or WOman) After My Own Heart (what does that mean anyway?)
My latest dress crush, found on Gilt, designed by someone whose name I cannot even pronounce let alone spell. But I think it is fairy-tail beautiful.
Ready To Have Your Mind Blown?
Have you seen the un-freaking-believable work of the
Erik Johansson? No? What the hell are you waiting for? RUN to his site. How amazing would it be to work with someone that talented? Erik Johansson, I've got my eye on you!
Spotted on HowAboutOrange.
Maddie's Pin Diplomacy
I loved this photo gallery taken from Madeline Albright's new book:
found on the
For me, Madeline has always been the epitome of strength and success so I loved seeing this softer, more whimsical side of her. It once again proved that feminine and powerful are not contradicting terms. Here are some of my favorite pins and how she describes them:
“Naturally, not every diplomatic encounter demands a sunny attitude. If I wanted to deliver a sharp message, I often wore a bee. Muhammad Ali used to boast that he would ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’; my message was that America would try to resolve every controversy peacefully, but if pushed into a corner, we had both the will and a way to strike back.
High Heeled Shoe, Designer unknown (USA), circa 2002“On my 65th birthday, Elaine Shocas, my State Department chief of staff, gave me 65 pins, each costing less than $3. One of the gifts was in the shape of a high-heeled shoe. This was in commemoration of a comment I made when I was designated by Bill Clinton as the successor to Secretary of Sta
te Warren Christopher: ‘I only hope my heels can fill his shoes.’”
Lion, Kenneth Jay Lane (USA), 1968
“While in government, I thought first when selecting a pin about the utility it might have in diplomacy. This is because some figures are laden with meaning. The lion, for example, has been linked to power and the sun since the days of ancient Greece.”
Isn't her amazing? Wouldn't this be a great book to have on your coffee table?
Point and Shoot
Since I've spent my next 2 months paychecks in the past two weeks, it seems I won't be making any purchases until I've paid by credit card bills off, but that hasn't stopped me from window shopping online.
I haven't bought any gadgets in a while and I think this is what I want next:
It's a 12 megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-T900 recommended by fashion photog Nigel Barker on the Buzz Board of the Daily Beast. I wanted a digital camera since my lil sis broke my last one 4 years ago but never got around to buying one.
This looks like a nifty little piece that I can tote around with me and still get great shots.
(Psst: I take gifts anytime, don't bother waiting for my birthday.)
P.S. The flowers on my coffee table smell like tomatoes for some reason, and I hate tomatoes.
Real World Econ
Anyone who had spoken to me recently knows that I'm pretty obsessed with the study of economics - partly because I have this kick ass professor and partly because I love understanding how things work, specially things as relevant as econ.
Anyway, this interview with Tim Hartford, otherwise known as The Undercover Economist, made me laugh.
Via the NY Time Freakonomics Blog
Q.
My wife and I started dating when we were 18 and were still young when we made the decision to get married. We’re in our young 30’s now. I told my wife that she should feel happy by how fondly I view her, as deciding to get married at a young age means that my opportunity cost of getting married was high, as I had a lot of years ahead of me. She said that’s the second most unromantic thing that I’ve ever said to her. Any suggestions on how I can reword this specific attempt of flattering her? — John
A.
I would recommend introducing your wife to the theory of real option valuation. Point out that the option to marry her was likely to remain open for many years after you originally met. By exercising the option so early, you showed your bride that the net present value of your relationship was large and positive and your uncertainty about the decision was very low. (Translation: your love burned with a strong and constant flame. But why would she need the translation?)
Read more, here.
Bibi, Man of the Hour
I try not to get political here, but this video was too good to resist. He just makes sense, he's not saying he's not willing to negotiate, just that he's not willing to bring the lives of 250,000 people to a halt without some kind of concession from the other side as well. Bibi made me proud.
Hey, They've Got Great Genes
Remember my niece Sara? Here's a spectacular photo taken by the fab Rachel Fellig. And meet her little bro (any my nephew) Mendel. Isn't he edible?
Google Fast Flip
I'm a huge fan of all things Google - my latest obsession:
The Fast Flip, a news aggregator in an easy to read "flipable" format, that lets you flip the pages like a magazine. It gathers the headlining stories of most major new outlets including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Business Week, etc. (and some less scholarly publications like Elle and Cosmo.) You can also flip by topic, such as "business" or "sports".
I rate: Way, way, cool.
Little Boxes Claymation
Dedicated to my sweetie little sis who will not live in a box, or go to university, or be a business executive, or have pretty children that go to school - so don't you worry!
Fluff - ity Tuft - ity
Ok, so today I want a lot of things. So want #2 is a tufted bed. Preferably in a sugary sweet color like the Betty's (image 1 credited to the Daily Beast), or how fun would it be in a bubble gum pink? Image two is super super pretty too, in a somewhat more grown up version found on Heather Bullard.
HOT Pink Dress
So I want a hot pink dress just like Joan's. (Fine, so I admit I want to be Joan. Except for the whole date rape by creepy fiance bit.) Pic Via The Daily Beast, which is way way cool if you don't know that by now.
Glad, Well, May I Call You Malcolm?
Sean Macaulay writes a delightful little article of Malcolm Gladwell's rise to master of the known universe, woops, sorry I meant Great Seducer of Womankind (same difference). Here are my favorite parts:
And these are seriously attractive women, too. The tall blonde he took to Bar Blanc last December was so smoking hot, an eyewitness wrote that Gladwell “made all the guys in the restaurant want to write their own New York Times bestsellers! It was...like the high-school geek landing the prom queen—so wrong, yet so right. “
On his quest to reign Gladwell in for his little project he got this response:
I tracked down Gladwell on his cellphone, amid the hum of coffeehouse chatter, and outlined my thesis. He was very polite and completely mortified. “This is ridiculous. Why would I want to talk about such a thing?”...I tried to say his success with women was a tribute to the fact that he embodied his own principles for late bloomers (10,000 hours of practice minimum!); that he gave hope to lovelorn dweebs everywhere. But it was too much, too late.
”No, no—I don’t think I want to participate in this at all,” said Gladwell decisively, before signing off with his trademark upbeat ending: “But good luck with it!”
Oh, and this is one of the books he wrote:
More Maira Goodness
Apparently my imaginary friend Maira Kalman (I don't really know her, she's just my friend in my head) has a thing for old white DEAD guys first Benjamin Franklin, and now Thomas Jefferson. But because she is my friend, and I love her, I will forgive her of any and all eccentricities and continue to show my support and admiration with posting many many many of her "things" as possible.
UPDATE: I really wasn't kidding about the old guy thing... Here she admits her love for honest Abe:
Oh and I forgot to post a link. Here is her blog on the NYT site.
It's Magically Delicious!
Heeellllluuuu!!! Bon Apetit!!! The next artist I would like to introduce has got me so exited I'm speaking French. So what if the only words I know if from Julie and Julia despite that fact that I took 2 years of it in High School? But I digress -
Presenting:(put on your best Meryl Streep doing Julia Child)Gretchen of ChiChiBoulie! How amazingly wonderful are these paintings? And oh-so-French!
I am so in love with her work that I just had to commission a painting for my brother's new baby! Can't wait to see how it turns out!
She also makes amazing logos... I wish I had something kid-ish to use her for, but check these out:
Besides being phenomenally talented she is also really quite funny, check out her blog.
Is It Wrong To Have Crushes On Married Guys?
Meet Christoph Niemann on the NYT's Abstract City Blog and a total boy genius. He makes pretty pictures and tells funny, smart stories... and we even have something in common - an insatiable love for coffee, but he says it way better:
(and it was really hard just to pick 4, you really, really REALLY need to see this in full.)
(and it was really hard just to pick 4, you really, really REALLY need to see this in full.)
I like coffee so much that I have tea for breakfast: The first cup of the day in particular is so good that I’m afraid I won’t be able to properly appreciate it when I am half-asleep. Therefore, I celebrate it two hours later when I am fully conscious.
I must have been 5 when I first discovered the taste of coffee, when I was accidentally given a scoop of coffee ice cream. I was inconsolable: how could grown-ups ruin something as wonderful as ice cream with something as disgusting as coffee?A few years later I was similarly devastated when my parents announced that for our big summer vacation we would go . . . hiking.
I order large coffees, but stop drinking when the coffee gets too cold. There’s always a couple of ounces left in the cup, so I can’t just toss it into my wastebasket. I dread the long haul to the bathroom to properly dispose of the coffee remains. Hence you will usually find a tower of paper cups on my desk.
Here’s a chart that shows my coffee bias over the years. For good measure I have added my bagel preferences over the same period. (1) Drip coffee, (2) Starbucks, (3) blueberry bagels, (4) sesame bagels, (5) poppy-seed bagels, (6) everything bagels
Please don’t hold my brief affair with blueberry bagels against me. I cured myself of this aberration.
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