Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope 2010 brings us the best (and a job for me). Cheers to you all and to the great things to come!

The New Paper Bag

Linda and Harriet are featuring the most adorable holiday bags this season. At these prices, $3 a bag, you are better off buying these instead of wrapping paper.

Oh, and who doesn't love a moose design? Happy (early) Holidays...

Turtles Have Short Legs

Best pop song ever. Enjoy the video gem here. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

The Selby's Entrepreneurs

The Selby has a recent addition to his stellar subjects - NYC Entrepreneurs. The gallery is a project that focuses on businesses that take old items and make them new in interesting and creative ways.

Current subjects are The Smile, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons and (my personal favorite coffee spot when I'm on the West side) Jack's Coffee. In today's economy I see more and more creativity coming out of necessity. Recycle, reuse and finding alternative ways to making a profit and a living is the current economic mindset everywhere. It's nice to see inspiration coming out of a desperate climate.

This article added the sprinkle of hope I needed today. Again, thank you Selby.

Record Deals

The Tiki Tones
Dionysus Records
$10.95
Vinyl LP










The Tiki Tones put the exotic in garage rock. This record is like a pop tart; it's an instant classic.

Hey Okay

After a long day of sitting in front a computer and cruise controlling through my emails, websites, resource sites, etc...I can feel definitely like a robot. I've been looking at fonts and typography today mainly; my eyes are tired and I am kind of feeling the above photo from blog Hey Okay.

Kind of appopriate for a Monday, eh?

Save Polaroid

Save Polaroid. Do it.

More Perfect than Helvetica?!

Could there be such a thing?! Image courtesy I Can Read from Fffffound.

VW releases Horchata from Contra

Vampire Weekend's highly anticipated sophomore album, Contra, will be released on January 12, 2010.

In the meantime, the band has released Horchata for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

Brooklyn Flea Design Co-op

Brooklyn Flea
Fort Greene















The Brooklyn Flea (market) in Fort Greene has a new addition: the Flea Design Co-op, curated by the talented Lena Corwin. The design group includes Moontree Letterpress, Lotta Jansdotter, Laura Normandin, Lena Corwin, Marcie McGoldrick, Wayne Pate, Sesame Letterpress and Maptote.

The first week is this Saturday, October 10.

Record Deals...

The Brood

Hitsville

Dionysus Records

$10.95

Vinyl LP

Two words: pure gold.

Dolci Odille

Dolci Odille is my new favorite site to browse. The letter press and design shop/blog has inpsiring photos and the most original stationary designs. This site simply makes me smile.

Grab some coffee and browse for a few hours...

The Weekend...

Rainy September 11 night will be one spent relaxing, unpacking and watching old movies. Saturday is a full day of volunteering and a moment shared at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Sunday is shooting images for the website.

Enjoy your weekends...

Once Wed...

Two great friends have recently become engaged and I have offered my help with planning their simple nupitals and reception. I love easy parties that are beautifully (and very casually) designed.

My latest obsession is Once Wed a gorgeous website that focuses on "designer weddings for less." Browse, browse and browse again...

Photo is from Our Labor of Love.

WFMU to Broadcast ATP New York

Can't make it to the Catskills?! No worries. WFMU is broadcasting live from the 2009 All Tomorrow's Parties festival in beautiful upstate New York from September 11 - 13.

Merci WFMU.

Record Deals...

Los Tiki Phantoms

Dionysus Records

$15.95

Vinyl LP

Aaron Ruell

The amazing images above are from photographer Aaron Ruell also known as "Kip" from Napoleon Dynamite. His work is incredible - beautiful light and subject arrangement. Ruell is brilliant; a real talent.

The Selby

The Selby visits artist Adam Wallacavage's home in Philadelphia. The style is baroque meets seaside scapes with a lot of taxidermy tossed in. It's brilliant. Enjoy the space...

Kurt Vile in NYC

Kurt Vile, Philly's Constant Hitmaker, is playing Cake Shop tonight and then Silent Barn in Bushwick on Saturday evening. Vile just recently signed on with Matador Records and is currently touring the US. Don't fuck this up. Vile is genius.

Enjoy your weekend!

Polvo 2009 Tour Dates

Polvo reunites. Thank God. They played Brooklyn Bowl a few weeks ago and rocked their (and our) asses off.

Expect to hear new sounds from their album titled In Prism on Merge Records. Record comes out September 8. Here is a teeny sample of what is to come: Beggar's Bowl.

Tour Dates:

Sep 04 Southgate House - Newport, KY

Sep 05 Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL

Sep 06 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI

Sep 24 The Bell House - Brooklyn, NY

Oct 10 Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Dog Easy Beat

Best song here.

Vice Photo Issue, 2009

Vice's Photo Issue 2009 is out now. I've finally gotten hold of a copy of the free issue and particularly enjoyed the photos in the series titled Doug Biggert: Portraits on the Roadside.

Other notable submissions are "Five Photos" images by Peter Sutherland and "Russia Today" images by Sergey Maximishin.

LP Cover Lover

I come across many blogs and there are few that stand out and ones that I find myself adoring. My newest favorite is called LP Cover Lover. It is about the design and art of record albums.

The collection on the site is so comprehensive; I found the following categories: Blaxploitation, Cops & Convicts, Karate Kung Fu and my favorite, Incredibly Strange.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Avant-Garde Postcards

Beautiful cards with clean images and beautiful graphics. From Fffffound!'s website article on Modernizing Propaganda: Avant-Garde Postcards.

Polaroid Paintings

Brooklyn based artist Matt Schwartz transforms polaroids into these etheral paintings. The artist peels the polaroid film and then presses the image onto water color paper to create these beautiful images.
Above are just a few of my favorites from his site She Hit Pause. Studios.

Record Deals...

Guided by Voices
Alien Lanes
Buy CD
$16.58
Vinyl EP

A classic. That's all you need to know...

(No) Check Please!

Not Eating Out in New York is a great website dedicated to consuming less and eating more by writer Cathy Erway. As many know, I also adopt this lifestyle ethos. I am a fan of dinners at home - having the comforts of drinking your own wine (without an insane corkage fee) and eating with your shoes off. Eating is comfort.

I recently made the dish Mint Chutney Potato Salad for friends and was very happy with the end result and the full bellies. Erway's recipes are well thought, original and easy to follow. Some featured recipes include Fresh Veggie Korean Pancakes, Peach Watermelon Sangria Sorbet & Tip of the Week: From Instant to Awesome Ramen.

Browse the site and make one of these dishes in your own kitchen this summer; don't eat out New York!

Record Deals...

Dinosaur Jr.
Farm
OMG Vinyl
$14.00
Vinyl LP











Plain and simple: This album kicks ass. This is Dinosaur Jr.'s 9th studio album and listen up kids because this is how rock sounds. Don't believe me, read it here.

Again, thank you J Mascis...

Lo-fi Country Clubs: Brooklyn Style

New York Times article Forget the Trash Bag, Bring a Towel by Melena Ryzik is about the recent lo-fi urban country clubs that are sprouting in Brooklyn.

People are transforming dumpster shells, lining them and filling with water to create swimming pools - VIP style. In addition to the pools you can outfit your urban retreat with lovely acutriments including plants, tables and chairs - IKEA style, naturally...

View the Dumpster Dips NYT slide show.

Flickr

Nanook of New York is on Flickr. I'll be downloading my random shots of Mi Casa, Das Feet and Bushwick's beauty...

Have a great weekend everyone. I'll be listening to Jimmy Wilson and going to the beach on Sunday!

Record Deals...

Beck
One Foot in the Grave
Ebay
$33.99
Vinyl LP









If my house was on fire I'd grab this. A fucking classic.

Scaley Andrew

Scaley Andrew's classic cassette tape, The Soul of Postmodernism, is available on CD now at Teenbeat Records.

Home Tour - Manhattan Loft

Martha Stewart magazine showed off this Manhattan loft some time ago...I love the space so much I find myself coming back to this issue often.

The lucky owners are winemaker Marco Pasanella, former Blueprint editor Rebecca Robertson and their son Luca. Their house, in a former shipbuilders' warehouse built in 1839.

Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile, now signed on Matador, has a new record, Childish Prodigy, coming out this fall. Constant Hitmaker, released in 2008, is on major rotation in my collection. The album is genius, soft, poetic, lo-fi, complex, beautiful...

Listen to Freeway, a track from Constant Hitmaker.

Vile is touring July 17 with summer shows and then a proper tour to promote the new record. Check upcoming dates on Matador.

Sonic Youth

I love concert posters of every kind - elaborate silk screened ones and even simple hand cut and paste on neon paper. I adore this one especially.

Sonic Youth is touring for their latest album on Matador, The Eternal, and above is a poster for the Richmond show tonight, July 8, 2009.

Pocket Workbooks

I think ever since grade school in Dunoon, Scotland I have obsessed with jotters and cute notebooks for writing. The adorable ones above are by the talented Wendy Chung on her Esty site, Dozi.

A set of three go for $24.00.

Record Deals...

The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead
Audiophile
$40.00
Vinyl LP








Happy Fourth of July America! Have a safe and fun holiday weekend everyone. I'll be in beautiful Keuka Lake in upstate New York with good friends enjoying the water, ice cold beers, the sunshine and fireworks!

Together Gallery

There are certain graphics, images, songs, blogs, films, art, stories, friends, strangers, fashion, etc...that you come across and they inspire you in some way. The work above is from FFFFound! - I gravitated towards it instantly.

You will find many amazing works like the one above at Together Gallery located in Portland, Oregan.

Perfect Sunday...

The perfect Sunday is the most coveted day of the week that hopefully entails leisure and rest. A day that I cherish knowing that I have the option to not ride public transportation. A day of doing exactly what I want or doing absolutely nothing.

My day was spent with a friend eating the freshest berries from the Farmer's Market and browsing the New York Times Home & Garden section paired with some killer coffee.

This is how I spell P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E.

Entering a Decor Warp, by Steven Kurutz, is about homes that have not changed their decor for more than decoration seasons - some go as far back as 1974. View the slide show now.

Photo above by Matthew Millman for the New York Times.

Michael Jackson Dies

As reported around the world Michael Jackson died on Thursday, June 25, 2008. This is such sad news. My generation grew up on Thriller and I have always been a fan of the King of Pop.

I still remember the Thriller cassette tape my parents bought for me when I was 5 years old. PYT was my jam. It was the first album I ever bought - Purple Rain came soon after.

Thank you for the music and the great memories Mr. Jackson...

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Save Polaroid

Save Polaroid is a Flickr group that is dedicated to posting their much beloved images for everyone to share and enjoy. Want to do something about saving polaroid?

You can learn more at Save the Polaroid - a darling blog that is actively petitioning and trying to keep the film manufactured.

I just purchased half a case of polaroid 600 film from B&H in New York City. It was pricey, yes, but I am scared it won't be around anywhere much longer.

Help save polaroid!!

Resting in Peace...

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support yesterday. My family loves you all...

Henry Lyons French

September 1, 1949 - June 23, 2008

Photo from Abby Try Again.

KIOSK

KIOSK, Porvoo Beeswax Crayons
$7.00
Beeswax, Pigment
Box: 3" x 2"

KIOSK is one of my favorite shops in NYC. They sell beautifully and simply designed items from Japan, Finland, Sweden and Germany. They represent form and function meets great design.

95 Spring Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY (212) 226-8601

Record Deals...

Moistboyz
1.0 (FUCK NO)
Schnitzel UK
6 BP
Vinyl EP









Quite simply, this EP rocks your ass off.