food for thought.

we gathered at adrian's place and cooked a feast fit for kings. or maybe more accuratley, a feast fit for kings with weird tastebuds? yaya cooked the canto classic of fried egg + tomato, and i made kimchi bokumbap (fried rice). sam and i also made a deliciously bizarre cold thai beef salad, and he also made a really disgusting butterscotch pudding. more cooking in 09, this is the goal.

weekend recap.

loaded weekend. the adidas 60th anniversary party was held in shanghai on friday, shit got wild (and i mean broken glass tumbling over punching in the face drawing blood falling over wild) and around 300 people managed to get through 700 bottles of champagne. special musical guests were squeak e. clean as himself, and then N.A.S.A.. they were wearing jumpsuits? on saturday, i saw BATTLES play at the dream factory and that shit made me lose my mind. say what you want, but i think it was the hands down best show i've ever seen in china.

i also moved apartments over the weekend, i hate hate hate moving. i woke up this morning high from the paint fumes.

barbq yr nuts.

korean dinner in hongqiao.... mmmmmm.

yah everyday hustlin

hello darlings,
very quick post, things have been busy. last night i went to my friend ukachi's 68234th birthday dinner, it was lovely. all you can eat japanese food + mostly nice people. i'm moving again in a couple of days because i got screwed out of a sublet and oh, i fucking hate moving. work is bizeee bees and the weather is starting to warm up and i'm riding my bike ALOT. today i bought a pair of minty green jeans. huh.

seagull.

got photos from my amazing seagull camera back today -- it's got a built in flash! just some funny shit from around the office, late for dinner, write more some other day, so busy go go go xoxoxoxo.

insight x chicks on speed x the source

insight x chicks on speed have put their right brains together in some kind of perfect lovely union of ideas and spawned a bright crazy collab that's out now. the source (158 xinle lu) is the only place in china where you're going to be able to see this shit, so check it out yo. they've got a pretty awesome pop up shop that will make your eyeballs go mad. x

two neat things!

the CONTRAIL, developed by Brooklyn based studio GELARDI, is a small apparatus that attaches to any bike seat tube and applies a thin layer of chalk powder to the rear tire. the result is a streak of colour that traces wherever you ride. so awesome!


SPARK09 kicking off in shanghai on MARCH 28. it's a full-day "ideas conference" featuring speakers culled from a variety of creative, non-profit, and commercial fields, addressing contemporary business, technology, and environment issues. check out the link for scheduling!

just do it.

the start of something.

it's a muggy day in shanghai, gray and smoggy but almost uncomfortably warm. it's making me think of the humid summer that's coming up, where it's so hot you can only lay in bed quiet with the air conditioner blaring.

i've been listening to alot of VOXTROT today, there is something so so lovely and sweet about them & they make me miss and think of my friend merek so much. because i want to share, here are two voxtrot songs for your downloading pleasure:

voxtrot - everyday.mp3
voxtrot - raised by wolves.mp3

weekly mixtape.

holla at me if you want a copy.

internet shoutouts.

busy busy day at the agency, but luckily part of my job requires me to spend time on the internet hunting for cool shit, like the amazing richard misrach beach image pictured above, or kitsune noir's awesome wallpaper project that i came across a while ago.

because how great is the internet, right? there is stuff like iDAFT and SCOTT HANSEN's blog and those hilarious comics from XKCD and so on. yeah internet, i love you. <3

new definition of summer madness.

today i've been listening to summertime by jazzy jeff + the fresh prince, it was so nice out all day i wanted to skivvy off of work and rush off into the sun. i went out during the lunch hour to look at some old furniture my real estate agent thought i might be able to use - that shit was crazy useless but at least i got to walk around the busy breezy streets of shanghai with sunglasses and ipod blasting. are you sure it's only tuesday? i'm ready for another weekend.

(the images above are courtesy of ffffound, which i check obsessively. if anyone knows how to gain membership, pls let me know 'cos those fuckers won't respond to my emails.)

everyone looks german.

dreams of a sex tourist?

shit got ridiculous.

deep breath, the work week has just begun all over again.

it's the weeeeeeeeeekend.

waiting for one last download at the office before flying away to a dinner. that i'm already late for. here's a quickie post before the weekend kicks off. go go go gadget arms gadget legs gadget feet!

we all know there's an economic crisis going on. the E.C., if you will (but don't call it that). the world is crazier than ever though, and we all have needs, god dammit. here, for your viewing pleasure, are some of my favourite GO FUCK YOURSELF recession 2009 moments thus far:

COCA COLA launches a USD90million dollar technology & innovation center in shanghai, with plans to invest a further USD2billion over the course of the next three years. in tandem with this, coke makes USD2.4million takeover offer to domestic drink company huiyuan juice.

ASTON MARTIN unveils the limited edition ONE-77, which has a top speed of over 200 mph. only 77 have been made, and it's a steal at 1.2 million fucking pounds. this makes me wanna puke.

SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL releases an admittedly awesome limited edition 24 carat gold plated bike, complete with a shitload of handset crystals. super limited, retails at USD102,418.60.

SOME DOUCHEBAG concepts the most expensive piece of art ever made (pictured above). it's one billion fucking dollars, stacked on 12 standard pallets. that's 100 million 100 dolla bills yo.

for a bit of local flavour, hotshot boutique design studio JELLYMON and streetwear shop THE SOURCE announce plans (respectively) to open second shops in our neighbouring town of beijing.

ELECTROLUX puts the €15,000 crystal ergoripado vacuum cleaner on the market, making it the most expensive vacuum cleaner in the world. the best part about it is that it's eco-friendly (made from recycled parts!) but also has 3,730 swarovski crystals. yeah, fuck you economy!

switzerland’s ECAL (or more properly, the ecole cantonale d’art de lausanne), has launched a new full time, one year masters of luxury & desigh program, which hopes to arm students with the design skills and associated nous required by the luxury goods industry. as WALLPAPER* puts it nicely, "luxury goods groups need to get their design houses in order as the global economy goes all grapes of wrath on us".

i'm gonna bespoke the fuck outta you.

you know, i'm all for word fads, but this is starting to get ridiculous. am i the only one that's been noticing the word 'bespoke' being excessively thrown around? according to COOLHUNTER.NET, bespoke is the new black. HYPEBEAST has a front page post featuring a nike air force 1 from nike's bespoke program, and i've heard it about 50 times in the last week just wandering around in the office and in meetings. the latest issue of vanity fair has something on something that i assume is bespoke, and a copy of esquire i was recently leafing through had a FASCINATING article about 'be smart, be sharp, bespoke'. oh barf.

mobile web.

a couple photos from my mobile phone: the flagship barbie store in shanghai, and a lovely lunchtime message brought to you by me. xo

so pretty and light.

someone pointed me in the direction of THIS BLOG today & now i can't stop looking at these PHOTOS. they make me want to fly away!



also, how amazing is the new YEAH YEAH YEAHS album? call me fangirl, but i have always really really loved these guys, even if karen o seems to have totally ripped off my friend dandi wind. (i just looked on the dandi wind site, how weird is it that both of their latest albums have egg yolk in it? conspiracy oooh la?)

also, we watched SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK the other night. i think i need to watch it again, there were some really touching, beautiful moments and a sense of complete & overwhelming sadness but the film in its entirety was a bit lost on me. i read a review today that said "you'll walk out of Charlie Kaufman's new movie feeling like a drunk bodybuilder just went bumper bowling with your brain."

ps. here is a very helpful video explaining how the fuck you're supposed to pronounce "synecdoche".

the national shield.

my dear friend C.L. MCLAUGHLIN has a really great band called the National Shield. i've known chris since i was nineteen and first getting settled into living on the west coast, he's really one of my favourite people. i have so many good memories of all the ridiculous mischief we used to get up to, like the time we were walking home from a night out and went swimming in a fountain in downtown vancouver, or when there was a small fire that erupted and nearly burnt down his apartment due to completely irresponsible behaviour on both of our parts. i miss hanging out in his apartment with his two cats!

he recently moved to toronto, and i think he's doing well. he sent me the download link to his latest album today, and i've been listening all day and really enjoying every single thing about it. the songs are beautifully arranged and sweet. DOWNLOAD THE FULL ALBUM HERE.

ps. the first photo i posted is from his facebook page and i have no idea where it came from. the second was taken the last time i was in vancouver, when he & his little friends played at hokos. that night made me feel like i was at prom.

a couple of non-sequiturs.

+ the photos above are from the first week i visited china. they are from jilin province, the first is a sad little amusement park we came across that was completely deserted and in a terrible state, and the second is from changbai shan, which means PERPETUALLY WHITE MOUNTAIN. it was not white, but it was pretty breathtaking.

+ last week, i dreamt two nights in a row about a robot boy and girl who could only stay alive by holding hands and becoming power charged up. the robots weren't in love with each other, but they were handed a cruel fate where one couldn't survive without the other. they couldn't be in a relationship with other people because no one would put up with their power needs. it was a really sad but sweet dream and very detailed.

+ have been making lots of mix cds lately, maybe we should swap one day? these are the latest two: here & here.

wednesday.

lucky cat tells me this year is NOT going to be so lucky. still, i'm hopeful. xo

in the last week....

what i want.

so the spring equinox is coming up very soon!

please send me: tall but not too tall, soft hair, loves small animals, very smart, has a wikipedia page, wants to dance, goes on adventures just because, well traveled, has a favourite drink, looks good on paper, lighting fast reflexes like ninja, remembers his dreams, avid internet user, falls asleep holding hands, knows the lyrics to his favourite songs, funny as fuck, twitter-conscious, knows how to cook, doesn't make fun of canadians, can play an instrument, does a good christopher walken impression, understands blogging, loves his mom, not a dick, rides a bike, knows what it means to chill the fuck out, is never bored at parties, open to new ideas but stands by his old ones, has his own friends, loves to sleep, knows how to draw, has a good laugh, not allergic to cats, is never purposely unkind, knows how to make the perfect snowball, looks at me and makes me feel infinite, is passionate about something, understands good photography, doesn't mind when i work late, is competitive like crazy, says my name in just the right way, wants to get to know my family, enjoys karaoke, isn't a jock, doesn't mind walking in the rain, is good at kissing, knows how to take control but isn't a control freak, is my best friend but has other best friends, likes video games, gregarious, doesn't need positive re-enforcement, understands the art of storytelling, crazy about magazines, likes kimchi, always knows where north is, makes good mix cds, not needy, has a good job, knows how to read a fucking map, wants a family, has friends who would do anything for him, wakes me up in the mornings, has a good grasp of the english language, understands the rules of hockey, enjoys calvin & hobbes, plays scrabble, loves my friends, writes funny stories, knows when to be aggressive, has good cadence, writes a good email, doesn't care if i don't remember an anniversary, doesn't care about anniversaries, playful like kitten, makes me laugh outloud, good at word games, does good impressions, keeps his word, cares about other people's feelings, reads books i actually care about, has no inner monologue, tells me secrets, is good at love.

it's not much, right? also, the photo above isn't of boys i want, just boys who are my friends. and it's true, i have alot of really great guy friends.

moshi maro.

the weather as of late has been utter shit. it's been cold & grey for weeks, raining on and off enough to make a person crazy. it used to be romantic to fall asleep listening to the rain but now it's just annoying, the rain is taunting us. right now i'm scarfing down a dan ta and sniffling due to a lingering cold. my funny little colleague who sits diagonal to me is speaking japanese on the phone and i wanna go over there and hug him. yesterday i ran a bath and sat in soapy hot water and watched movies, the laptop perched precariously on the toilet seat. can you believe it's monday? that it's already MARCH?

i have lots of things to tell you about the weekend, but i left my camera at home and thus cannot upload photos and thus there will be nothing interesting until tomorrow. it was a very fun weekend though, there were alot of funny things that happened. i am waiting for someone to send me a video of something especially hilarious.

here's a funny joke:

knock knock!
who's there?
kareem.
kareem who?
kareem of the crop!

baddoooomshik.