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December 29, 2005
Blech.
I need to go dancing. I haven't gone to clubbing since Seattle, and since dancing is my only outlet of exercise these days, my body is once again slowly sliding into undesirable territory. The strike last week was especially welcoming in that the 50-block walk to my work has been good to my legs, but now that the trains are running again I'm going to have to find some other creative outlets of getting into shape. I made three specific goals in what I want accomplished when I moved out here, and one of them was to learn the art of tango dancing. I recently got into tango music--both traditional and neo--and I want to dance properly to the music instead of doing the usual hop-n-skip that I do when I go out.
Posted by Charlie at 01:50 PM | Comments (0)
December 27, 2005
Line Series #1
Posted by Charlie at 06:26 PM | Comments (2)
The Unbearable Lightness of Shopping
Spending the holiday season without the comforts of old friends and family can be a trying experience, but when you're surrounded by a new, growing family then things aren't so bad. I went on a Christmas shopping spree for myself this past week, getting several books, videogames, Paul Smith shoes, and scarves. Moma is having a sale for Yanagi Stools, so I might pick up a few for my place as well. Oh, and there's a Comme des Garçons jacket that I've been eyeing. I like holiday sales.
Posted by Charlie at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2005
MTA Strike 2005: Day Two
Walking in Manhattan isn't so bad if you don't mind the freezing cold. It took me only thirty minutes to walk from Times Square to SOHO, possibly shorter if the tourists weren't all packed standing in the middle of the sidewalks. The strike has totally killed off any plans for last-minute Christmas shopping. Not that I was going to get anyone anything this year though: I was refering to the gifts that I was giving myself, seeing as I'm going to be orphaned over the holidays.
Posted by Charlie at 03:42 PM | Comments (1)
Bambi Eyes, Anyone?
1-Day Acuvue Define is the "first daily disposable contact lens designed to enhance the beauty of eyes in a subtle and natural way." Aimed at the East Asian market, they make the eyes look bigger and brighter by darkening and enlarging the radius of the iris.
Hmmm... I'm still processing as to what I feel about this.
Posted by Charlie at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2005
Mental Throw-Up
From Augusten Burroughs' Magical Thinking, which I am currently reading:
"When I was a little girl my mother used to give me enemas with Dr Pepper. And then make me drink the liquid when it came out! She was a wicked woman. And let me tell you, to this day I cannot drink Dr Pepper. If I even catch a whiff of it, my sphincter tightens up into a little knot."
Dear God in Heaven.
Posted by Charlie at 03:49 PM | Comments (2)
Strike Time
I didn't get into work until 12PM today. Millions of people in New York City walked to work today, many of them crossing the bridges on foot from the outer boroughs in the 20-degree weather. Luckily I had a ride, but I used the strike as an excuse to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Rush hour going home should be interesting. A few days of this will get tiring, however, as I have a lot of errands to run that require the necessities of public transportation.
Posted by Charlie at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
No Work Tomorrow???
The MTA voted to go on strike, so it looks like I'm gonna have to walk to work tomorrow. This should be fun!
Posted by Charlie at 01:33 AM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2005
More Cool Gift Ideas
Some cool gift ideas from Alessi:
The Alessi Pisellino Cotton Bud Holder is just way too cute for words.
Phillipe Starck's take for the tradtional citrus juicer is iconic in utilitarian design.
How 'bout a nice Anna G. corkscrew for those entertaining times? Playful design in many flavors.
Posted by Charlie at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2005
Subway Drama
The most powerful person in New York City isn't Bloomberg or Trump or Thomas; the men and women who run the MTA have made themselves quite known that without them New York City is pretty much at a standstill, delivering a $400million blow to the economy for every day that it is not in service. With the impending strike coming tomorrow, office workers who live in one of the four outer borroughs and work in Manhattan are pretty much fucked, unless they just happen to know someone who owns a car. Who in this day and age owns a car in NYC anyway?! Currently negotiations between the city and the union are at a standstill, so emergency plans are being developed in case a strike actually plays out. But I'm not worried. Those hard-working MTA workers deserve the better benefits and pay for what they do. Way to go for sticking it to The Man!
Posted by Charlie at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
Meet Mickey & Candy
Posted by Charlie at 11:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
Pablo Bel 'Occhio Lamp
Take a gander at this!
Bel'Occhio is both multipositional spotlight and ambient table lamp combined. The spherical acrylic shell is gently cradled in it's base allowing infinite adjustments with a touch of the hand. The outer shade is available in clear with two inner cylinder shade colors, white or orange. Light intensity is controlled with a full range dimmer.
Sexy! Sexy! Sexy!
Posted by Charlie at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2005
"We Grew Here, You Flew Here"
Young men attacked a man who appeared to be Middle Eastern descent on a train in Sydney.
Thousands of white youths attacked people they believed were of Arab descent at a Sydney beach.
(Via The New York TImes)
Posted by Charlie at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
DeLonghi Heater
The gas was finally fixed as of yesterday, and although I do not anticipate another fiasco like this to happen again, I went out and got myself what is quite possibly one of the sexiest space heaters on the market (is there such a niche?). The DeLonghi Retro Convection Heater looks like a cross between a toaster and my PowerBook, and with its stainless steel design, it's a great conversation starter. Me Likey.
Posted by Charlie at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2005
Asian America
It hasn't been a good week for Asians. Firstly, it was revealed that the now greatly-defunct AZN TV Network has been nothing more than a leverage for Comcast to get more than over $500million in cash. The hard work of hundreds of people who poured their hearts into creating programs that strive for excellence has been in vain, as they became mere puppets in a grander (and very much unethical) corporate scheme to get a little more pocket change for private investors. How very tasteless.
Secondly, Memoirs of a Geisha. I loved the book, but I can't still get over the fact that the main character in the movie is speaking with a heavy Mandarin accent while being mentored by someone who has a Cantonese accent. Is this supposed to be a Japanese movie, or am I watching the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? But you know what? This movie was not created to cater to the tastes of someone like myself, but rather to a general audience (read: white, suburban) who are probably not aware of/don't care about the differences of Asian ethnicities.
Thirdly, The New York Times has reported today on "virtual sweatshops" in China, in which affluent game players from the US and Korea "outsource" their online game characters to Chinese workers to play and build up levels for them. Just another example of exploiting the wage differences between rich and poor countries to take advantage of unskilled labor.
As for this Asian American, I am still coming home to a cold apartment (albeit not sleeping in it). My roommates and I fortunately have places to go to for the night. I feel sorry for the girls on the second floor; they haven't showered in three days because they don't know anyone else in the city. All of us, including the first floor, have started legal action against the landlord, writing the necessary letters, taking the appropriate pictures, calling the right numbers. We're going to press for monetary compensation for all of this mess, because we all didn't pay a shitload of money to live in a 40degree apartment.
There is one silver lining in all of this, however. MTV Chi was launched earlier this week, and hopefully they're not fated to go the same route as AZN TV.
Eck, the token office Chinese potato queen is buzzing.
Posted by Charlie at 01:09 PM | Comments (2)
December 07, 2005
Lease
So… after making several phone calls to the landlord and gas company as well as talking with the tenants in the other apartments, it turns out that the tenants on the bottom floor have failed to pay the gas bill for several months now, and that the gas company came yesterday morning to turn off the gas. In New York, however, it is illegal for the gas companies to turn off the gas for heat; they are only allowed to turn off gas for the stove. Unfortunately the company made a huge mistake and ended up turning off the gas line for the entire building, not just for the stove on the bottom floor. The landlord said that he would fix it by the next day, which would mean four very angry people sleeping through a cold night.
Our only possible solution? Get drunk immediately.
Two drinks and a phone call later, I’m blissfully curled up in my bed, totally unaware of the 50-degree temperatures in the room. Life is good, and this experience has been character-building. I’d better come home to a warm apartment tonight though, or hell will break loose.
Posted by Charlie at 12:19 PM | Comments (2)
December 06, 2005
Rent
I few weeks ago, I watched Rent, shed a tear, and left the theater feeling enlightened and exhilarated. That movie came to mind tonight as I come home to a cold home. For some reason gas has stopped coming into our apartment, which means no heat, hot water, stove, or oven. It's cold in here, and everyone's pissed. Five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred minutes..."
To be continued...
Posted by Charlie at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2005
Random Weekend Pictures
Posted by Charlie at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Bo Concept
Sure, it's usually customary to give home furnishings as gifts during housewarming occasions, but who wouldn't want an extra chaise or sidebar for the holidays? Bo Concept is aggressively priced for the IKEA-buying crowd, yet with slightly more sophisticated design. Nothing too ostentatious here, just clean, modern lines.
Posted by Charlie at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)
Wintertime
Sometime in the hours between dropping off Jume and Dave in Queens at 1AM and Sunday morning close to a foot of snow decided to blanket itself on the city of Brooklyn. I looked out the window and everything was white, reminiscent of holiday greeting cards and TV specials. If I had a hot toddy in my hands and two dogs napping at my feet then everything would've been perfect. Oh wait, I did.
Posted by Charlie at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2005
Some Cool Gift Ideas
Looking for a cool, unconventional gift for a friend of loved one? Strapped for cash? All of the following goodies can be purchased at Generate.
This light bulb requires no electrical power; it's solar-charged so it recharges its energy during the day and functions as a post-modern, Jeff Koons-inspired nightlight at night. I wonder if it's waterproof...
I love shapes of shadows created from flickering flames. This lamp holder plays on that by projecting an image of a tree on the wall. As the flame flickers, the tree moves too. Put several of them in your room and you can have a makeshift forest complete with a campfire! Sexy.
Say goodbye to coffee rings--say hello to coffee floral patterns. Having mugs that leave marks like this makes me wanna drink more coffee in the mornings.
Tord Boontje is everywhere it seems, and his Garland Light is one of the many reasons why he is so popular right now. Using laser cutting technology, Boontje has created brass garlands that conform to the desired shapes of the owner. A nice blend of the whimsy and traditional.
Posted by Charlie at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2005
We Need More Guys Here
There is way too much estrogen in the office--I can just feel my cycle starting to sync up with everyone here. Another two months I'll have boobs.
Posted by Charlie at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)