8.20.2011

The Way We See The World. Design Studio. NY.





The PHONEKERCHIEF was designed in response to the way that technology is changing our lives; it has become common behavior to put our phones on the dinner table, which distracts us from engaging in the present moment. The PHONEKERCHIEF is a polite way of encouraging others to turn off their phones and helps jump start this new etiquette for our digital world. It is made of a smart material that blocks phone signals and can be worn in any pocket as a symbol of this movement. Brilliant.



Edible cups are biodegradable, vegan cups that are flavored to compliment the drink inside. You can eat your cup as you sip your drink, and any leftover remnants can be composted.COOL.
thewayweseetheworld.com

8.19.2011

Project Aura: Bicycle Safety Lighting System.




Project Aura is actually a really good idea: rim-mounted LEDs that change colors based on how fast you ride—self-powered (by a front hub dynamo) to boot. It's the brainchild of Ethan Frier + Jonathan Ota, industrial design students at Carnegie Mellon Uni who admirably addressed the issue of nighttime cycling accidents with an idea and a Small Undergraduate Research Grant (SURG).
Maybe too 'flashy' for me personally (no pun), but safety first!

Vanishing Elephant. Fashion Design. Sydney.












Spring/Summer 2012 Collection.
...I realize this collection has been blogged about heavily-deservingly so-helps that the model is SMO-KIN.
Vanishing Elephant is designed by Felix Chan, Huw Bennett and Arran Russell. In 2008 the trio decided to join forces with the singular vision of creating a line committed to producing clothing of real quality, purpose and originality. SO Aussie.
The dudes keep an AWESOME blog: HERE.
vanishingelephant.com

8.18.2011

Yotam Ottolenghi. Chef. Writer. Activist. Israeli. London.






Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Sami Tamimi + Yotam Ottolenghi.


Yotam Ottolenghi discusses growing up in Jerusalem and explains the initiatives that he was involved in, which aimed to discourage prejudice between Jewish and Arab children. Ottolenghi, explains the micro levels of macro projects - how, for example, a national project for reconciliation can be played out during meal times at family tables. This is an example of how politics and food are inextricably linked.

Moving to London in 1997 to begin his culinary career, Ottolenghi saw how the relationship between food and politics was universal. From French chauvinism at London's Cordon Bleu to battles over organic, food everywhere has a political persona. Ottolenghi ends with an anecdote of how he discovered that even the location of an Ottolenghi branch in Notting Hill, according to some, is political. Despite the recognition that the Ottolenghi chain is the result of an (admirable) Israeli-Palestinian partnership, some have suggested that Ottolenghi should be ashamed of his assumed Conservative affiliations on account of branch locations. Ottolenghi feels that the politics of food in London is a long way from the politics of food in Jerusalem.



After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he studied philosophy at Tel-Aviv University. In 1997, he moved to the UK and trained at the Cordon Bleu in London. Ottolenghi worked as a pastry chef at The Capital restaurant in Knightsbridge. From there, he moved to the Kensington Place restaurants and eventually became head pastry chef at Baker and Spice in Chelsea, London. In 2002 he established the Ottolenghi deli with Sami Tamimi [1] and Noam Bar.
As of 2010, Ottolenghi has four outlets in London: Notting Hill, Kensington, Belgravia and Islington. The Islington branch is the only branch which is a full-blown restaurant, while the other branches are take-away delis/ cafes.
In February 2011 his company opened NOPI, a restaurant on Warwick Street in Soho, London.[2]
Ottolenghi writes a weekly food column in the Guardian weekend Saturday magazine[3]. For four years the column was titled The New Vegetarian, and in 2011 it was expanded to include other recipes. Ottolenghi published two best-selling cookery books, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, written with Sami Tamimi, and Plenty, winner of a Galaxy National Book Award 2010.[4]. In 2011 Plenty was also published in the US, Germany and Holland.

8.17.2011

Tout va bien.


The recent looting/rioting in London reminded me of this scene in Jean-Luc Godard's Tout va bien (1972) which depicts the French riots of the 1960s-mostly by youth/students-in connection to class struggle...
The visual of this scene made me think of Manufactured Landscapes by Edward Burtynsky...

The Lexicon of Sustainability.













The Lexicon of Sustainability seeks to create a common, accessible language of sustainability. Douglas Gayeton and Laura Howard-Gayeton started the project two years ago, with a list of terms from thirteen areas of sustainability. With the enthusiasm of the community and the abundance of ideas, terms, and definitions, the project expanded to encompass a traveling photo show, a video series, and even an online social network. In short, the Lexicon is a resource for the rapidly expanding pantheon of sustainability. RADNESS.
lexiconofsustainability.com

8.15.2011