I personally find the conversion of over-sized men's shirts to skirts for the ladies through some creative tailoring a pretty interesting concept. That's right girls, it's time to raid ya boy's old wardrobe and steal all those shirts that appear to have a decent colour and fabric... we don't mind... just one less for us to iron anyways. Thanks to
Refinery29 Pipeline for this. First pic taken in Stockholm, second in Brooklyn.
And thanks to
Pipeline again for digging out this little nugget:
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Washington Post Fashion Editor Robin Givhan.
What exactly is Rob saying? Is this... a good thing? Is it... bad? Certainly it's probably better than the proletarian criticism of Laura Bushes $300,000 outfits... but surely having an exceptionally ordinary style is nothing to crow about... surely. Ahhh... I miss Keating and his Zegna suits Labels: fashion, US Elections 2008
I've been blogging a great deal about fashion and the US election so it's time to switch it up somewhat and blog about both... combined... in the same paragraph. I have seen the "Fuck Palin" t-shirt but this is something a little more subtle and not-so-partisan... I (well actually, the trouser makers
Bonobos) present to you... the Obamas and the McCains!
Firstly the McCains:
"We respect mavericks, in all shapes and forms. We hope that you continue to be willing to swim against the current and lead with your best instinct rather than with the special interests that are destroying our nation.
The McCains are our first pair with a liner that doesn't show through the back: as conservative as we get. Navy outside, with a supersoaker liner. No contrast color cross-stitching on the belt loop, either. You asked for the clean cut, you got it. Check out the Obamas for more signature Bonobos flair."
And the Obamas:
"Barack - it's more of a love affair we have with you amigo. You are young, strong and thoughtful. You give us hope for a better America, one where our President is a global citizen.
The Obamas target our charismatic customers - the magnificent tile-style floral mosaic liner screams open-minded, well-traveled, gregarious. In contrast, the McCains offer this highly desired navy trouser with a quietly confident subtle finish."
Despite the fact that it's clear which President I vote for, I think I prefer the McCain trousers... does this mean I'm conservative?
In other news, it seems that Saudi Arabia is having a fashion show...
a men's fashion show... it's first... and of course it's in that liberal bastion of the Red Sea, Jeddah. Oh how I'd love to go to Jeddah. Maybe one day, after I either convert to Islam or work for a big oil company, neither of which is very likely at this point but hey, you never know...
Anyone who's every been to Taiwan knows about betel nut girls. They're the chicks in skimpy clothing, specifically mini-skirts, and tops that look like they involved the deaths of many pink records or crylics (whatever they are) to make, that hawk the apparently addictive and possibly mildly hallucinogenic stimulant betel nut. Apparently there is a new art installation in NY by artist Annamarie Ho, which will recreate a betelnut booth with a hired actress. Her goal is to explore the class and gender dynamics of the betelnut girl phenomenon... no really. Here's the link to
their site.
Labels: art, fashion, US Elections 2008
The US presidential campaign appears to be heating up, McCain who has previously stumbled on the economy and conceded a lead in the polls to Obama over the issue (this might have something to do with the fact that he claimed that the US has a fundamentally strong economy a few days before the collapse) is back in the picture. His recent announcement that he is halting his campaign (including his debate appearance) in order to focus on solving the crisis may have been a master-stroke. As it stands, McCain is not backing down, not attending the debate, and the question on everyone's lips is will Obama be debating with himself in Mississippi?
[update]: There are still questions as to whether John McCain will participate in the first presidential debate, but Barack Obama's top advisers are heading to the event site.
Jeff Zeleney, The Caucus, NYT.Palin, on the other hand, continues to make me laugh. According to
The New York Times' Sarah Wheaton, Palin has actually thrown more fuel on the hysterical fire brewing over her "I can see Russia from my house" remarks. She apparently complained to Katie Couric of CBS that she has been mocked for these comments and has proceeded to clarify them:
"It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state."
I mean... seriously?
Speaking of stupid Republicans, our all time fave went on national TV last night and
decided to blame the financial crisis on foreign investors... I mean... is the American public that stupid? Well ok don't answer that...
And here's
an excellent article from Think Progress' M. Duss, reminding us that the $700b suggested to bailout the US economy is in fact similar to the amount the US has spent in Iraq so far... it also quotes some interesting comments from Bin Laden way back in 2004 about the strategy of "bleeding the USA until bankruptcy". And I quote from Mr. BL
"And even more dangerous and bitter for America is that the Mujahedin recently forced Bush to resort to emergency funds to continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq which is evidence of the success of the bleed-until-bankruptcy plan with Allah’s permission… And it all shows that the real loser is… you. It’s the American people and their economy."
Labels: politics, US Elections 2008, world happenings
A very interesting Danish designer I have just discovered (thanks to
Refinery 29), called
Eksempel, probably a Danish word and yes I have no idea what it means... they have a very interesting new website (linked above under their name) which is simple yet includes very nice runway pics of their outfits (for the ladies only unfortunately) and goes the bold step of also including the original designer sketches of them.
Thanks to
coolhunting, Ive also discovered a new project by fashion designer Solomon Chase and visual artist David Toro - their new avant-jewelry project
Face. Check out the pics of their bindi line. I think it looks bloody ridiculous but you just never know what these design/fashion people will think of next. I mean would you wear weird long white hairs stuck to a blue dot in the middle of your forehead. I think not.
Labels: fashion
So it appears that one trend that has emerged out of London and New York Fashion Weeks is the blatant exposure of nipples. Upon some thorough analysis of several major designers thanks to
Sharon Clott at New York Magazine's The Cut. Some personal favourites in this slide-show are sheer sweater and high-waist grey slacks combo (pic 6), Danielle Scutt's delightful Betty Boop tunic, paired with great glasses and head-piece (not a fan of the jeans paired with it though - pic 9), Ossie Clark's winning navy combination of sheer button-down and baggy structured short (pic 12) and Todd Lynn's svelte tailored jacket and pants with the sheer top... could go ok with a regular blouse perhaps (pic 23)?. Check out the final Vivienne Westwood piece, excellent gold shorts but errr... where's the rest of the outfit? (pic 25).
Abercrombie & Fitch is opening in Milan which is really a travesty. What next? The Gap? Starbucks? I'm crossing my fingers hoping this store shuts within 6 months but something tells me the massive capital behind it will cause it to endure... I just dont want to see Italy's style be reduced to A&F packing frat boys pissing on fences and high 5ing each other. Ugh.
Labels: fashion
Excellent blog post from
Washington Post's Chris Cillizza on whether Sarah Palin may have the 'teflon'-like quality of past presidents Reagan and Clinton, to whom negative stories rarely stuck.
"We wondered whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin might have the same quality. As most recent polls show, despite a wealth of stories critical of Palin and questioning John McCain's selection of her as a running mate, she remains generally popular across the country. Does this mean Palin has the Teflon quality? And if so, can she maintain it all the way through Election Day?"
I personally don't think you can compare the gun-toting, fish-loving (my dad loves to fish, aint nothin wrong with that) Alaskan Governess to Bill Clinton, she has all the charisma of a Barbie doll, as is underscored by her foreign policy credentials "I can see Russia from my house!"
Speaking of the Governess, apparently the Palins are in New York at the moment, as are the Sarkozys, The
New York Observer's Irina Aleksander wonders whether they would meet... and how that meeting might go down
...
"We’re picturing it like a scene from Wife Swap where the two sets of spouses are seated across from each other, having a civil discussion until someone inevitably loses their temper and storms off. And while Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy might be tall, beautiful, a singer, and, ahem, a former supermodel, Ms. Palin was a runner-up in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, eats moose burgers and, she can shoot guns!
Something tells us the husbands might take the back seat in our fantasy. "
Mr. Obama meanwhile is busy trying to fix this ridiculous bail-out "plan" that the Bush Administration has hastily cobbled together with... oh... $700 billion of taxpayers money. Here's my favourite part:
"It is wholly unreasonable to expect that American taxpayers would or should hand this Administration or any Administration a $700 billion blank check with absolutely no oversight or conditions when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess...The plan must include protections to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to further reward the bad behavior of irresponsible CEOs on Wall Street. There has been talk that some CEOs may refuse to cooperate with this plan if they have to forgo multi-million-dollar salaries. I cannot imagine a position more selfish and greedy at a time of national crisis. And I would like to speak directly to those CEOs right now: Do not make that mistake...This plan cannot be a welfare program for Wall Street executives."While all the talk at the moment is that "the US is more communist than China" after nationalising a bunch of companies and bailing out a bunch of others with the above-mentioned tax plan, I think what's a bigger problem is the Bush Administration is going to throw taxpayer's money at an issue (more tax cuts! more defense spending! more war! less medical! less education!) and not even bother to delve deeper into the lack of regulation and oversight that created this mess in the first place. I think it's ironic that the sub-prime mortgage crisis started with a bunch of unscrupulous financial organisations giving loans to people who were never going to be able to pay them banking the entire time on the fact that the property bubble will never burst... and this is being "solved" by an unscrupulous Governing Administration giving a bunch of shady financial institutions a blank cheque (so that the CEOs can keep their multi-million dollar salaries) assuming that the share market bubble wont burst as long as we throw money at it. Ah do we ever learn from our mistakes?
Labels: finance, politics, US Elections 2008
New York Times:"Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last big independent investment banks on Wall Street, will transform themselves into bank holding companies subject to far greater regulation, the Federal Reserve said Sunday night, a move that fundamentally reshapes an era of high finance that defined the modern Gilded Age."
So this means no more US investment banks. The big 5 has turned into the big nothing! This is huge news. This means they will be conventional banks now with investing arms, but it also means greater regulation and disclosure, less risk and less of the high-flying lifestyle for Investment Bankers (boo?). Will this translate over to their branches overseas such as Australia? Will Macquarie and other home-grown investment banks follow suit? At least this will definitely save the market!
Gulf Daily News:"PLANNERS are already mapping out possible rail routes from Bahrain and other GCC states to Europe, via Turkey, thanks to a proposal by His Majesty King Hamad.
A proposed GCC rail link to Turkey could become a reality "in the next five to six years", Turkish Ambassador Osman Haldun said yesterday.
It would ultimately lead to the Gulf region being connected to Europe by rail, he told the GDN."
This is pretty amazing news. I'm not sure if this will materialise but a rail link from the GCC to Europe would be such an amazing opportunity for financial investment, cross-cultural learning and sharing between the two regions and an important cultural bridge between Arabs, "Islam" and "The West". Immediate questions that spring to mind are... will anyone use it? Gulf Arabs generally prefer to travel in comfort, not on 20 hour train rides, and will Gulf women use it? Will this result in a further influx of European backpackers into the region? Will this even materialise, as many of the plans announced by GCC Governments never did... Wow... so cool to imagine though.
Labels: bahrain, finance, world happenings
Some excellent opinion pieces from The Age today:
Irfan Yusuf criticises the current Western attitude towards Islamic terrorism, in response to the recent Marriott Hotel bombing
"Pakistan's Aaj TV news network showed one flustered Pakistani politician facing fierce questioning about how such a heavily secured location in the heart of the capital could have been the subject of attack. "You are journalists. You seem to know it all. Why don't you tell me how we can stop these attacks?" he said. Indeed, it is easy to pretend to know all the answers. In the West, too many self-styled terrorism "experts" want us to forget that this latest attack is yet another reminder that most victims of Islamist terror are themselves ordinary Muslims."
For Melburnians,
Nicholas Low laments the mess that is Swanston St, its importance to our city and his recommendations for what should be done - some of them are pretty cool!
"IT'S TIME for Swanston Street to be properly planned to make it safe for people on bikes, and create more space for people on foot. This fine street is the central axis that in many ways defines Melbourne as a city. It has heritage buildings, it connects St Paul's Cathedral, the Town Hall, the State Library and two universities. It houses two main transport hubs, it is a main retail and entertainment street, it leads to the arts precinct, Federation Square and the river, and it looks on to the Shrine of Remembrance. Yet, at present the street is a disgraceful mess. Last week it also proved to be a danger to life."
And
Bruce Grant asserts Australia's supremacy over the US on matters of global politics and diplomacy. (Thank you Mr. Rudd)
"IT'S a strange feeling, while watching the elections in the United States, to realise that the US is trailing Australia in important respects. America has been for so long the fountain of all that is "new" that to think of it being behind the times, especially as set on this side of the Pacific, requires a wrench of the imagination. But Australia is out of Iraq and has signed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, on both of which the US is still undecided. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The next president confronts a lengthy list of things to do to catch up with the contemporary world."
Labels: politics, world happenings
Review - Rose Garden
The area along Elizabeth St, between La Trobe and Victoria Sts is a fairly seedy place. With such fine establishments as "Fluid Oz Bar" with its glowing blue, yellow and red neon sign "open 3am or later", and a branch of
the
hippy pothead institution
Off Ya Tree which stocks bongs, Bob Marley posters and all things relevant to the magic 'erb shot of the 'erb itself. The area is usually frequented by random backpackers and the sleazy drunken bogans that I normally consider Australia's lowest common denominator (lots of 'em in Queensland and Adelaide). Here's a snippet of conversation I overheard from a guy talking on his phone:
"So what are you, ya dad and ya brother doin? Goin to the strippers?" Charming...
The area does also have a growing population of international students which has spawned a number of cheap Asian eateries, many of which often hold a great deal of promise.
Rose Garden
435 Elizabeth St., Melbourne
One of these palces is
Rose Garden, a Hong Kong style take-away/cheap eating house in the same vein as
Dessert House, offering pan Asian offerings including Malaysian fried kway teow and Thai Red Curry, along with the ubiquitously white Beef with Black Bean Sauce (overheard some white guy getting it takeaway there in fact). Since returning to Melbourne I have heard a lot of good things about this joint so I decided to give it a try.
Immediately upon entering, several things stuck me, first and foremost how bloody packed the place was! Despite it being the fairly early time of 5.50pm, I still had to wait for 10 minutes to get a table for 1.
Other striking things about the place were the colourful menu promotions on the wall, the bright pink Hello Kitty aprons on the waitresses and the din. The place was not only packed but its acoustics amplified the conversations five-fold. Upon sitting down, the din, the waitress' general level of speed, stress and briskness and the dinstinct sound of young people yelling (talking?) at each other in Cantonese all served to remind me of Hong Kong and its distinct food cafe/dining hall culture.
I was immediately impressed by the free tea which was loose-leaf and in a proper teapot with Chinese teacups - not that watered down urine served in plastic cups at Dessert House, Shanghai Dumpling and their ilk. Since it was a Hong Kong place and I could see no roast meat in the window (empty hooks only) I decided to order a tried and tested Dessert House favourite - deep fried spicy chicken on rice. Besides, I saw several other people eating it while I was waiting.
Soon after I placed my order I was joined on my four-seater table by a white dad and his half-Asian son, they seemed to be either going to or coming from the footy. A table behind them freed up, they attempted a move and were promptly rejected... and exiled back to my table with sheepish expressions. the son asked for char siu (chinese-style BBQ pork) and was denied, they'd run out apparently (hence the empty hooks). They ordered some other stuff which I didn't catch...
My meal arrived and I proceeded to be thoroughly disappointed. It was garnished with useless broccoli, the rice was over-soyed, the chicken batter was bland and tasted vaguely like 3 week old onion rings, the chicken was stringy and even the chilli mix was not as refreshing and energetic as Dessert House. Yes, for this was the benchmark, ladies & gents, and Rose Garden failed. Upon enquiring about the quality of my meal, my table partners were told that it was not that good... They then informed me that apparently roast duck and pork is what people come here for - makes sense in a Hong Kong restaurant - but they were sold out unfortunately. I will give the place another try and return for its roast but for now it gets a definite fail from me.
10/20
(On my way out some roast ducks magically appeared in the window. Damn.)
Labels: cheap eats, food+drink, melbourne, restaurant reviews
Three current obsessions
30 Rock
No but really this show is ridiculously awesome. The show's creator and star, Tina Fey, is originally from Saturday Night Live, and the concept behind the show is the behind-the-scenes goings-on of a fictional sketch comedy show called "TGS with Tracy Jordan". Tina's character Liz Lemon has to juggle her work for the show, along with managing the team and keeping the other characters happy including: the clinically insane, extremely unpredictable, very conceited, sometimes completely inane and sometimes very conscious main star, Tracy Jordan; the, neurotic, paranoid, limelight-seeking and desperately aging former main star, Jenna Maroney; the highly conceited, very Republican, very intelligent, decisive, controlling and sometimes misguided big boss, Jack Donaghy (played to a tee by Alec Baldwin).
The show is filmed in a single camera set-up and is extremely hilarious. Here are some quotes:
Tracy Jordan: I learned fried chicken at the school of hard knocks. (when he is upset because Jack is using him as an African-American shill to curry favour with the CEO)Tracy: Affirmative action was designed to keep women and minorities in competition with each other to distract us while white dudes inject AIDS into our chicken nuggets. That's a metaphor!! (when Tracy is getting all self-righteous which he often does in between the inaneness)Jack: Once I set my mind to something I have to accomplish it. 10 years ago I was an inch and a half shorter than I am today. Sheer will power.Liz Lemon: Why are you wearing a tux?Jack: It's after 6 o'clock Lemon. What am I, a farmer?Jack (talking about his divorce): I mean one minute you're newlyweds making love on the floor of the Concorde, and the next your lawyers are fighting over who gets to keep the box your dog defecates in.Liz: You taught your dog to poop in a box?Jack: Bianca did, but I want that box.Wallpaper* Magazine. 
Ah yes my latest love. As per my previous posts about UK GQ vs. US GQ, I have discovered a new magazine which is far cooler, even though it doesn't cover men's issues specifically. The magazine focuses on travel, design, entertainment, fashion and media... but mostly it focuses on really cool things. The design of the magazine is really nice, the photography is more-or-less always beautiful and it usually covers things that are interesting and desirable. In fact, it makes me desire a whole lot of things which I generally can't afford... but that's the sign of a good magazine isn't it?
The magazine covers the above topics from all over the globe, and I mean all over! Not only the normal places you would expect like London, New York and Melbourne (yes I know we're awesome) but also random places too... like Ahmedabad and Reykjavik. Ever wanted to find that little store in Antwerp that sells art-deco furniture? Bespoke tailored suits in Shanghai? The latest hot Japanese restaurant in New York? Or perhaps you're interested in the latest hammam treatments in Morocco? Either way, this magazine will show you the way...
Wallpaper* is published by
Phaidon press and the company also publishes a delectable range of city guides (which cost only $12.95, much cheaper than Lonely Planet titles), all of which actually include all the awesome things you actually *want* to do in a city like hidden bars, edgy restaurants, art, architecture and even some sights (as opposed to Lonely Planet's often dry "The Eiffel Tower was built in... by... etc.")
The sucky thing about Wallpaper* is that to buy the magazine hot-off-the-press you have to pay $19.99 for the air freight issue at Borders... otherwise we have to be content with 2 month old issues for $9.99... which is totally ok with me because the stuff in Wallpaper*, it just doesn't age... and if you're too poor to buy the magazine, check out their super awesome website www.wallpaper.com. I am sure I'll be posting stuff from it on this blog for some time :)
Peppercorn Mortadella
According to
wikipedia: Mortadella pronounced /morta'dɛl:a/ is an Italian cold cut (salume /sa'lume/) made of finely hashed/ground heat-cured pork sausage which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). It is delicately flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg, coriander and pistachios.
But basically it taste's awesome. I especially like the one with black pepper... although Safeway does also sell one with olives which is pretty awesome. The great thing about mortadella is that it only costs like $10 per kg whereas ham sets you back around $16-22 per kg depending on the quality and cut. And it's not that I don't like ham. But basically mortadella is just seriously awesome.
Oh man I really shouldn't be posting about pork during Ramadan... but wait! According to wikipedia again: "In several Arab and Muslim countries, like the UAE, Qatar and Egypt, Halal mortadella is sold, which is made from chicken, beef, or turkey." Which makes sense because I'm fairly sure I used to buy sandwiches from al-Siraj on shawarma street (Ba7rain represent!) with mortadella inside... So there you go, my Muslim friends, you can also enjoy mortadella! :-D
Labels: food+drink, media, teevee
