Certainly my favorite time of year. I've come to love the frosty breathe of winter's air. You can't find that in San Francisco, but I take solace in counting down the days to when I can once again mark my path in the season's snowfall. I guess moderate temperatures can have its advantages. Sitting outside is more comfortable and it is more likely people will sit outside. Look how they've left seat cushions for people to sit on. It's nice when they consider features like that to make public space more inviting.
University of California, Berkeley claims the record for longest California roll, taking it away from somewhere in Hawai'i. All it took was 102 pounds of dry rice, 582 sheets of seaweed, 67 pounds of avocado, 65 pounds of cucumber, and 167 pounds of imitation crab meat. The whole thing was 330 feet long. Of 57 tables, the last two were vegetarian. It was verified by Japanese Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine. This event was part of a year long celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Center of Japanese Studies.
The window "curtains" at the Plastiki exhibit at Pier 45 in San Francisco. Cool form of of reuse and created luminous mood lighting. Must be difficult to open the blinds.
Happy autumn or fall! To ring in the squash season, I bring you zucchini bread. I love the changing of seasons. California doesn't know what they're missing.
Hello, Academy of Science. After a sunny day running in between and around the convention center, volunteers got free admission and a ride to the after party at the Academy of Science. The line to the planetarium show was monstrous, I'll get to it next time. The sun exited as graceful as ever in a purple glow. The moon shone bright and round from the deck of the green roof. It was lovely.
My brother visited me before he started school because he is on the quarter system and I'm on the semester. He really likes banana bread. I'm actually not sure if this is true, but he will eat it willingly. I will bake it willingly. We are also pizza fans. I wanted to make dough from scratch and realized that yeast takes forever and a day to rise. So we made alternative plans and postponed the pizza-making. We used unorthodox ingredients. It was whatever I had in the fridge!
"There looms, within abjection, one of those violent, dark revolts of being, directed against a threat that seems to emanate from an exorbitant outside or inside, ejected beyond the scope of the possible, the tolerable, the thinkable. It lies there, quite close, but it cannot be assimilated. It beseeches, worries, and fascinates desire, which, nevertheless, does not let itself be seduced. Apprehensive, desire turns aside; sickened, it rejects. A certainty protects it from the shameful-a certainty of which it is proud holds on to it. But simultaneously, just the same, that impetus, that spasm, that leap is drawn toward an elsewhere as tempting as it is condemned. Unflaggingly, like an inescapable boomerang, a vortex of summons and repulsion places the one haunted by it literally beside himself." -Julia Kristeva
I'm on the move. Again. I liked the stuff on their wall. Ordered a falafel wrap. It was salty. Lots of salty. Cute place, though. In Halifax, by the way. But it looks a lot like this Chinese restaurant in NYC. Could totally be the same restaurant.
Often forgotten in the department of interior design are the ceilings. People don't always look up unless something has hit them on the head. Gawkers are often oblivious to ceilings. Such a shame. Here's a friendly reminder from an Indian restaurant in Berkeley to often crane your head skyward.
This is Nancy Zhang. Isn't she the cutest girls you have ever seen?
Her outfits first caught my eye on Lookbook.nu because they're usually accompanied by a cute little picture but gimmicks aside she has great style. They definitely speak volumes about her character. Seeing as I haven't met her, I'm going on the assumption that she's cute, quirky, and very laid-back- someone I'd love to meet.
She embraces trends but also retains a true sense of herself. She often includes unusual details that teeter between costume and everyday clothing which I love. The "blogosphere" seems to be dominated by teenagers who dress like they've just stepped out of a Urban Outfitters catalog which I don't have a problem with but sometimes I just wish there was something more.
People who know me well know that I have weirdly high standards to the point where even I don't meet them all that often and I'm thrilled to find someone with what I think is truely great style. Sometimes I feel I want to dress just like her.
It appears that I have once again fallen prey to ignoring this blog. But alas, I have not left you, my dear. I have returned to you with many things to show and talk about but all in good time. It has been a very long month. For now, I leave you with this image from Fashion Nation's new Manifesto Magazine.
Stephie and Dottie have leapt toward their dreams and have taken their love for fashion to a new level. They are in a way melding their private life with their online personas which is not easy and I applaud them for that.
Someone recently asked me if this was my blog which I for some reason or other flatly denied. I find the idea of people I actually know reading this blog very disconcerting. I will have to get over that in time but yes, this is me and I'm very sorry for lying.
I was at the bead store this weekend when this guy walks in with his son and asks a question. He politely thanks the lady expressing that he is pressed for time, then turns and walks out saying to his son, "Let's go. This is a do-it-yourself jewelry store." Mother's Day was on Sunday. Did you do something nice? I was not at the bead store for my mom (I sent her a card). I was shopping for earring making supplies. I made my roommate this pair of earrings for her birthday. I always end up spending so much more time than I intend on whenever I go to the bead store. And buying so much more. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I'm a student or a jewelry maker. The intensity with which I am procrastinating must be worthy of an award. I've been to the bead store everyday for the past 4 days, and oftentimes more than once a day. I decided they were probably starting to recognize me, so I ventured onto the other side of campus to go to the other bead store. And I've now been there 2 days in a row.
I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will not drink obscene amounts of Russian tea with soymilk today. I will tomorrow.
My first trip into downtown Oakland. One would have expected me to make a visit before two years, but no. It's been almost two years and here is my first trip. Now I have been to Oakland, many times. I've been mostly in the neighborhood communities - the part you might be a little wary for your safety, the part where you would believe that Oakland is the 4th most dangerous city in America. So when I saw downtown - it was a contrast, an interesting one. I always find it fascinating the way places cater to tourists. They construct these elaborate images of what a place is like, but for a resident - that image is completely different. It speaks to the display or spectacle that cities tend to put on for visitors who never get a chance to see the real communities. So when you visit a place, what are you really seeing? How can you be sure it's "authentic"? Enough of this theoretical blabbering. Just a thought. I would like to know what is going on with this contraption, but there wasn't any placard or anything informative. There wasn't even any water in it. I do enjoy the bright colors. It looks like it would be easy to climb. I was so tempted.There was a protest going on in front of City Hall. I regret not remembering what they were protesting about now. I don't think they had very obvious signs either because it took me a while to read them. But it was a good day to protest because there were lots of people circulating the area on account of the Oakland Earth Expo was going happening.
I've got some graffiti here for you. Or maybe it's for me. There's a ship in there. Now I understand that graffiti is everywhere, especially in New York, but there is a difference between art and vandalism. I found the first one on the stairs in the architecture building on campus. And I found the second one somewhere around 17th and Market in San Francisco.
So the weather here hasn't really changed much from two months ago. Aside from the absence of rain and rainbows, the mercury has been pretty stagnant, which I think is really odd because in Chicago there are 5-10 degree differences every month. The rainbow below was from a field trip on a rainy day to the Albany Bulb, a landfill that is now used as a park. It used to be a dumping ground for construction debris and rebar, but some sort of lawsuit stopped that. So today it's a park and wetland habitat. Because of all the debris, a lot of urban art has been constructed (above). Some people call it garbage, others call it inspiration. It's also a popular dog park and there's a homeless community somewhere in there. It's not very strictly regulated by any sort of authority, so the community gets free reign as you can tell by the art and inhabitants.
I love the gradiating colors on the skirt and how it seems at first glace to be composed of shadows. It's amazing how she managed to translate something as mundane as peeling paint into something so beautiful. I absolutely adore her design aesthetic and hope to see more of her work in the future. Plus, she's one of few designers championing the use of eco friendly textiles.
Is it me or are these the most amazing tights you have ever seen? I may be over exaggerating just a little bit but I almost fell out of my chair when I saw them. Well, I'm actually sprawled somewhat haphazardly on my bed since it's 1:30 in the morning but you get the idea. This month seems to but quite full of these falling out of my chair moments.
Anyway, these tights are a DIY project by a Miss Cocorosa. I'm very tempted to try to recreate my own as well as inspired as to what other embellishments I could try adding to a pair of tights. Maybe some patterns using strings of small beads? But alas, it will have to wait until after my exams are over.
It's no secret I love hosiery, especially unusual ones. I'm even somewhat okay with that whole leggings as pants thing... somewhat.
Baking is my attempt to not let school be all there is to life. Or rather, baking is my attempt to procrastinate. Here is my latest experiment. By experiment I mean the edible kind, not the sorting out roots in a lab kind. Though I'm sure the roots are nontoxic and all, but they just don't quite appeal to the taste buds in the same way. Chocolate caramel crackers. Spreading the chocolate was the most fun part. I think next time I'll reduce the amount of caramel on each cracker. They're a bit on the sweet side. I know A doesn't like crackers, but they're more sweet than salty and can be made with graham crackers instead of saltine crackers. See the melty chocolate? Spreading it was the most fun part. Waiting for them to cool was the least fun part.
Today is Velociraptor Awareness Day. Do you know how to protect yourself? Velociraptors are dangerous. They will eat you. They will be unsympathetic to your pleas, cries, and offerings of candy. Watch out for velociraptors. They are vicious and merciless. How can you tell a velociraptor is eating you? It is large. It has sharp pointy teeth and they hurt. It has short arms. It has a chunk of your flesh. Enroll yourself in the nearest velociraptor routine exercise protection program immediately. Tell your friends and family. Let's get together to safeguard the world against velociraptor attacks. Together we can make them a thing of the past.
Earthweek 2009!Earth Day is next Wednesday. Here at Berkeley, we celebrate with a week's worth of festivities. I'm excited. I've been organizing the Green Business and Innovations Fair on Monday and I'm really hoping it doesn't turn out to be a complete disaster. Eep!
Like many, I seem to have at some point developed a love of the way the world was and especially how people dressed in the latter half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century. As a result, I find the livejournal community Vintage Photo infinitly fascinating. People have put up pictures of favorite celebrities of yore, photos from historic events such as the Nazi Olympics or WWI, and even their own family photos that have been handed down through generations.
~ Cherry Blossom Festival this and next weekend in Bay Area ~ Easter this weekend --> candy on clearance ~ Ceylon banana bread in the oven ~ bees buzzing around for nectar ~ closer to home
Created and produced by the amazing Shien Lee, Dances of Vice is a monthly NYC event that celebrates everything about the Roccoco, Victorian, and Jazz Eras. People dress up in thier finest period clothing and enjoy performances from the likes of Voltaire or jazz tunes from Shanghai. You might think the big mish mash of time periods would be horrible but everthing blends well into a common feeling of decadence. Each event also has a theme, the latest being "La Vie Parisienne."
Personally, I'd go for the opulent fashions so whether your vice is Prohibition Era alcohol or Victorian opiates, just make sure you dress your finest. You may not want to outstage Princ Poppycock but that is the point afterall.
This here is the fountain on Sproul Plaza (we don't have a quad, but I guess this is your equivalent). Sometimes it's just water. Sometimes it's a bubble bath. I've yet to figure out if it's administration or students. The other day someone was sitting in there in his swim trunks like it was a hot-tub and he was filming a segment for something. Last week people slept around it to wait for Dalai Lama tickets. This fountain sees a lot.
I think the big goofy grin on the right picture kind of ruins the effect. Her hats really are beautiful in person.
"Children like to think they are less bigoted than ther parents, for example. In fact, they are simply bigoted about different things: fatties, smokers, and people who drive Humvees, rather than blacks or homosexuals" -Lexington, Anger Management for The Economist
Hey, look. It's my first art project from last semester. These were all hand-stitched. I would not have killed for a machine, but would have greatly appreciated one. This one was the biggest effort I gave to all my projects. After this one, I realized that minimal to no effort was more than acceptable. The next projects didn't begin construction until the night before. And judging from the looks of some of the other pieces in class, conception didn't have to begin until half an hour before class. I got a bag of scrap fabrics from Creative Reuse. It's a store full of fun. I gave the hearts to the YMCA nearby. I don't know what they did with them, but I hope it made someone smile.
It was in this warehouse across the street from where I volunteered for the Y-3 show last year. Note: this translates to I did not get lost going there- at least not much. The racks were arranged into little stations. Other than at the stations and the art installations, the place was not well lit at all which equals grainy photos. There were only ten changing rooms and it took forever. A lot of people didn't want to wait and tried things on in the main room. I need to find someone to do these kind of things with.
I really liked this top except for the print on the blue fabric. I'm tempted to recreate my own except I absolutely hate working with knit fabric. It's so annoying. It stretches all over the place and my thread breaks all the time even though I'm using the correct stitch.
This skirt was not made for short girls. If they had it with petite proportions/shorter and with a more nipped in waist I would have loved it. You have to admit, it looks great on the Blythe doll. And the lining fabric was a sheer plasticky type material that I thought was cool but it collected tons of static during the minute I had it on. You need petticoat to make it flare out correctly anyway.
This dress had the same print as the top and it's pretty much your standard 50s-esque strapless dress except maybe a bit punkier with the print and studded belt. I can't be completely sure but I think the belt was real leather which for Target items is almost unheard of.
And lastly, of course I tried on the dress. I couldn't find it on the sales floor but I did see it floating around in the arms of a few women so I knew it existed. Turns out, whenever someone would try it on unsuccessfully, it would get scooped up by other women who were in line for the changing room. The one I tried on was a size too big but this dress was so hard to find, I tried it on anyway. It was beautiful. There's not much you can do in terms of tailoring to make clothing fit people of different heights but I saw this dress on women of all different shapes and it looked great on all of them. If it weren't for the 70 dollar price tag, I would have gotten it then and here. This is just more incentive to find a job. I have until March 4th.
The walls were covered in fresh graffiti(You could still smell the paint when you stood next to the walls) campaign posters and chainlink fences. And then there were the art installations. There were also two videos playing but I didn't stick around long enough to see what they were.
Certainly my favorite time of year. I've come to love the frosty breathe of winter's air. You can't find that in San Francisco, but I take solace in counting down the days to when I can once again mark my path in the season's snowfall.
I guess moderate temperatures can have its advantages. Sitting outside is more comfortable and it is more likely people will sit outside. Look how they've left seat cushions for people to sit on. It's nice when they consider features like that to make public space more inviting.
