2001: SPACE SELFIE

This is Aki Hoshide, International Space Station Astronaut, engaging in this uniquely 21st century practice. And I'm not talking about space travel.

Check the camera he's using. 

HALOS OVER ASPHALT

Clarissa Bonet, via

Yesterday, as giant raindrops collided violently with the pavement and rebounded into the air, they shattered into thousands of small droplets that together, suspended a halo of white mist over the asphalt.

If it were a few degrees warmer, the skies would fill with deep, sonorous vibrations. It would become an amphitheater, echoing the crackling explosions that accompany the fury of atmospheric equalization. If it were just a few degrees warmer, wiry tentacles of pure electricity would momentarily reveal a photographic moment amidst the tumult of a clouded sky.

If it were just a few degrees warmer, I might be under a blanket with a friend or two, some of us scared, some of us thrilled, but all of us humbled by nature's orchestral performance.

If this is one of those days....





PLAYLIST

Muslim - Nagamatzu
Don't Understand That Man (acoustic) - U.S. Girls
Golden Hours - Brian Eno
Facefuck - Organs of Love
We are the Axis (Daniel Avery Remix) - The Asphodells
So Many Times, So Many Ways - Mount Kimbie
Abendfrieden - Eroc

BACK TO THE VOID

Daido Moriyama, via

I was amazed to find that the last time I posted on this blog was 2011. The end to my long hiatus was inspired by a few very important friends who assured me that even though I was talking into the void, they were listening. So, I'm back here, ready to take you past the bread crumbs of my Google journeys through the black hole of my router.

This song is how I'd like to re-calibrate my return to the void:

Jee Day's "Sum of Love" came just in time, on an uncharacteristically warm and sunny day in May. It took me on a little trip down Future Summer, where only the heat of a slow sun could replicate the euphoric naiveté of first loves, unguilted indulgence and dance floor climaxes.

It is the seventh release on Tim Sweeney's Beats In Space record label and it's a nice reminder that the best things are always somewhat familiar, unflinchingly optimistic, and always carving out their own transcendental moments in time. 

CROSSING

HEROES

MUNCHIES

Open publication - Free publishing - More bully

SEE LIKE ME || MASH UP

COMING AND GOING

ALL THE KINGS MEN

TAKE ME ON A JOURNEY

THE ART OF JULIA HETTA

Any photographer that aptly represents the spirit of Vanitas in photography is always a hero to me. Swedish photographer Julia Hetta manages to reference a broad spectrum of the legacy of the Dutch Masters, invoking a disquieting depth that stirs beneath the still surface of her portraiture.

Photos of her newest shoot with ACNE PAPER after the jump

PRECINCT 5 IN NIKE DESTROYERS

VIMEO has been eating up my life but I regret nothing. I'm not purposefully plugging NIKE but they know I'm always up for two things: a well made short (film) and a well made jacket. They have both bases covered here, as they film Amsterdam based Precinct 5 running crew in their exclusive Nike Destroyer Jackets. As I just got my hands on a long sought after Varsity, NIKE hit my spot. And good. Although, aesthetics-wise, I think their collaboration with the French Football Federation spawned a more classic jacket and the Virgin Mary knows what I would do for a supple white leather sleeve. But that's just me. Photos after the video....


Precinct 5 Nike Destroyer on Vimeo.

Photos of the NSW X FFF Varsity ....

KICK UPS

A VIDEO BY CHRIS READ AND DANIEL THOMAS FOR i-D

A QUESTION OF EXISTENTIAL CALIBRE

A CENTURY IN BICYCLES

It is my favourite and best looking testament to human ingenuity; it is said to be one of the most efficient inventions in history and, I would argue, the most enduring and the most reified. It retains a charged and complex symbolism that silently declares class, revolution, history, romance, progress - whatever hopes and burdens and ideas humanity has to imbue within such a storied object. An opus of engineering - its energy efficiency is unrivaled (read: little energy wasted and amazing energy input to output ratio) - it enables and empowers us to travel using only the strength and endurance of our bodies. Vanity Fair posted a great retrospective on the most (in their opinion) innovative bicycle designs of the last century, and here we see how it embodies our collective creativity and thirst for beauty. Its formula is unchanged and yet, it changes.

Umberto Dei Giubileo (Italy, 1996)

Smith & Co. Long John (Denmark, 1983)

Sironval Sportplex (France, 1939)
This recumbent bike for one cyclist was in fashion in the 1930s

MFA Lambretta (France, 1960)

WHEN I DIE AND GO TO HEAVEN I'LL GO TO LA MAISON CHAMPS ELYSEES

Maison Martin Margiela, the enigmatic and visionary fashion house, have expanded their aesthetic purview to the world of interiors and the lexicons of industrial and interior design are bound to become richer for it. Their newest venture has been their collaboration with the Parisian boutique hotel La Maison Champs-Élysées where in Maison Martin Margiela was commissioned to design its interiors.

“La Maison Champs Élysées aims to redefine what you may expect from a hotel and bring you a new lifestyle experience, designed with utmost simplicity and yet abundant in details. Maison Martin Margiela is creating a theatrical environment where reality and trompe-l’oeil blend into a surreal atmosphere. The result is an atypical ambience of different harmonies that coalesce into something new, innovating and simply cool.”

- La Maison Champs Élysées

FOCUS ON IT

 These are from the personal collection of Bryan Byczek, who runs a great little blog.

THROUGH THE LENS OF SHAWN BRACKBILL

NEW HAVEN MATH CLUB

Gant Rugger - New Haven Math Club from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

THIS TIME LAST CENTURY

      WAS SU M  M   E    R