Friday Linkdump

I decided to have a post every Friday (or whichever day I find convenient to my own accord) where I will dump the linkages to all the nice blogs/ sites/ videos/ coconut chutney I could find, hence it’d be called: Friday Linkdump. Pretty inventive eh?

Today would be: why enough sleep is important, Sophie drew out found messages, a game of ‘noticing’, apparently luck can be learned, LIMONE YOU!, the lazy designer’s guide to success,

Christoph Niemann on Bio-Diversity & rabbit in carrots. Wishing you a Happy Eid ul Adha!

All because you kissed me goodnight!

I climbed up the door and opened the stairs,

Said my pajamas and put on my prayers,

Then I turned off the bed and crawled into the light,

All because you kissed me goodnight!

Next morning I woke up and scrambled my shoes,

Picked up my eggs and toasted the news,

I couldn't tell my left from right,

All because you kissed me goodnight!

That evening at last I felt normal again,

So I picked up my mother and called the phone,

I spoke to the puppy and threw Dad a bone,

Even at midnight the sun was still bright,

All because you kissed me goodnight!

(I forgot where I snatched this poem from, it has been in one of my old notebooks long long time ago. Photo of the glass bubble brooch from Shira Keret design.)

Behind enemy lines, tired & cranky.

Late meeting. We are at war, the boss says. We are no longer incumbent, he adds. Customers now have choices, he stresses. We should make things happen instead of waiting to make things happen, he barks. While I’m sitting here along with the others trying not to look too drained and holding in my stomach so that the gurgling sound it makes would not be too audible for the whole boardroom to hear. (Photo from DesignNotes)

Geeky love

When designers go home, they’re still designers. There’s a tendency to shoehorn everything in their lives into some kind of organized system. Including wedding proposals.

And here's another geeky-injected sweet gift: make a totally sweet-ass visualization of your love life data & give it to your new bride. So GEEK! Er, I mean, so SWEET!

Azry, do you

01101001001000000110110001101111011101100110010100100000011110010110111101110101 me?

Stefan's happiness

In this podcast interview with Debbie Millman, Stefan Sagmeister discusses his year away from his New York-based design practice, his personal time in Bali, as well as discussing his new, in-progress documentary film, Happiness.

I wonder how would I react if I ever bump into my design hero in Bali. Perhaps I would faint, or follow him around like a lost puppy, or keep pestering him with questions enough to warrant him calling the cops. (Photo from Ang Sahn-soo)

Kota Bharu trip noticings

We traveled to the moon & back last weekends, and here are my noticings (based on this project) among other things:

Pantai Cahaya Bulan has big boulders lying around the shore, much like the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Not that I’ve ever been there.

Mum made some new friends at Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah, while Azry gleefully had fried prawn the size of his hands, which is, when you look at it, humongous. Also in Kelantan, regardless of your ethnicity, we’re all in this together.

It’s not OK for women (and men alike) to walk around only in your bra but it’s OK to wear t-shirts with rude remarks imprinted on the chest.

I found my favorite coffee shop in Kota Bharu. It’s not Kemaman Kopitiam near the roundabout heading to Kota Bharu Mall, or Tea Talk along Jalan Kebun Sultan, but it’s Kedai Kopi Din Tokyo, a small coffee shop in a rundown building sandwiched by Temenggong Hotel & Kota Bharu Trade Center. It’s a venerable little quaint coffee shop with teppanyaki counter style dining arrangement where everybody huddles around the food operator & with many interesting choices of local specialties like nasi dagang, tapai, nasi kerutuk (sp) & halia madu telur puyuh(honey ginger drink with half-boiled quail egg). They also have funny names for everything i.e 14-pack cigarettes = rokok 2 minggu & forks = Kasim Selamat cocoh mata.

I’m partial of patterns & colors so here are some of my collection for you to see.

Along the way home we were stranded for a few hours due to flooded areas. After a few stops we got bored – we had finished all our travel snacks, I ran out of mixed CDs to sing along out of tune to & Azry finally admitted as the culprit who let out the multiple SBDs (Silent But Deadly) like a hundred times in the car so we decided to create our very own Transformers jokes.

Joke 1:

What do you call Optimus Prime’s mother?

MOTHERBOARD! *laughter ensues*

Joke 2:

What do you call Optimus Prime’s older sister?

CARDBOARD! (colloquially ‘card’ sounds like ‘kak’ which is ‘older sister’ in Bahasa)

Joke 3:

What do you call a transformer with a hot bod?

BOD-YBUILDER! *ROFLWAFFLE*

We finally managed to wade through all the flooded areas but we never expected our journey onwards would cost us another half day, perhaps due to the rainy weather and unfamiliar routes. Tired & bored, we missed KL & at one point of time we went, “enough with keropok & satar stalls, we want to see Starbucks and drunken people along Jalan Bukit Bintang puking on each other’s shoes!”

Anyway, we’re back in the city now after a 14-hour drive, resuming normal life dragging ourselves out of the bed for work & yearning for another vacation.

Clients from hell

We all had at least one annoying client at one point of our lives, and I erupted with laughter when I came across this:

"I sent out a link to the beta of a site I was building for a client. Since it was powered by a CMS, the pages still used dummy content. I got a kick out of the email I got back:

“We love the site, but one thing: maybe our computer is broken, but everything seems to be getting translated into Latin. It just says ‘Lorem ipsum something something’. Maybe something is broken with the site or else do we need to change a setting?”"

Shaza, do you have any stories to share? (Photo credit unknown, if you do know holler me.)

WANT!

Hermes X Leica M7 Limited Edition. Random Hermes fact: Did you know that a custom-made Hermes Birkin handbag can take up to a 6-year queue after ordering, and some of them cost more than our annual salary (sometimes combined)?

Arrivederci!

Here’s the thing: I like to announce my absence although I very well know nobody would give a hoot about where I’m going but I don’t care anyway. Tomorrow I will be off to Kota Bharu, the land of batik and keropok lekor (much to Azry’s excitement) and beautiful sandy beaches and people with unique accents. So before I bid you thee, here’s an assignment, read all of this and do whatever you want with them – bake them, print them out and run over them, crumple them up and swallow them – your call. Just be sure to read them before you do what you wish.

Picasso drawing with light, Space Invaders (literally!), Stephen sketched the entire Manhattan skyline from memory, creative processes (and über-cool studios) of designers and artists, Fritz Kahn and his cutaway schematic of a human form, minimalist posters of tv shows, an amazing blog on the Photoshop’ing of movie posters and their source images and finally, something much lighter; Sandra and her amazing photos (much like the one above). See ya!

Malaysian institutions, I've got a note for ya

Dozens of colleges — including Amherst, Bates, Carleton, Colby, Vassar, Wellesley, Yale and MIT — are embracing student blogs on their Web sites, seeing them as a powerful marketing tool for high school students.

“Blogs can certainly help humanize the process,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “The flip side is that a few anxious high school students may think and worry too much about what someone wrote on their blog, and present themselves in a slightly different way than who they really are. And there’s always the concern about the political ramifications, that bloggers may open up an issue or topic that starts something negative.” But Mr. Lord of Haverford said prospective students’ interest in the summer bloggers calmed his worries.

“High school students read the blogs, and they come in and say ‘I can’t believe Haverford students get to do such interesting things with their summers,’ ” he said. “There’s no better way for students to learn about a college than from other students.”

Back in my university days, I saw blogs as a way for my friends to report on their daily affairs – what they had for lunch, where they went with their boyfriends, how boring the media philosophy class is (I simply found it enlightening), stuffs like that. Simply put, an unlocked, voluntary, personal diary where everybody with Internet access would be able to peek into your personal life. I was never the one to blurt out so many details in a strange virtual world – this coming from someone who signed up for Blogger in 2002 and only had found the light in the birth of bunnehmunches and had been actively blogging for the past two years. Among my early inspirations are swissmiss, russelldavies & gapingvoid.

If I had been able to conceive the bunneh (the blog) five years ago, I’m guessing I’d be a whole lot smarter because at that time I had even SO much more to say and so much to explore. But we might never know.

This is what I’m talking about

Finally, something that caught my eyes after all these hectic weeks: Elle magazine has a blog featuring the daily footwear of its employees. I could go through this blog for hours but sadly I have fiber-to-the-home rollout maps to trace along with the FDC boundaries. (pause) Ah well. It’s OK if you don’t understand; I am having a hard time myself. (via Angus Whines)

How are you?

It seems that I've been having bad luck invisibly imprinted on my forehead for the past few weeks. Anyway, how are you doing? (Photo credit goes to the rightful owner via FFFFOUND)

The hour which belongs to me

Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid fame wrote in his How to Be Creative manifesto posted in ChangeThis: "If I was just starting out writing, say, a novel or a screenplay, or maybe starting up a new software company, I wouldn’t try to quit my job in order to make this big, dramatic, heroic-quest thing about it.

I would do something far simpler: I would find that extra hour or two in the day that belongs to nobody else but me, and I would make it productive. Put the hours in; do it for long enough and magical, life-transforming things happen eventually. Sure, that means less time watching TV, Internet-surfing, going out, or whatever."

I love both reading & writing, and if I haven’t been spending at least half an hour reading anything or constructing any literary piece (if it does count as literary) in a week (the reason I say a week is I’ve gone three days without reading & writing) I guarantee I could go apeshit crazy. So yesterday after work I’ve been planning to stay a little late in the office but as if by some divine intervention everybody decided to leave home early and I was too much of a chicken to stay alone. So I packed up my stuffs, drove off from the building, secured a parking space good enough for me to piggyback on a free wifi & read & wrote away while waiting for Azry to disembark his train. Jolly.

I think I'm sick

Somewhere in a rundown building across the city, a support group holds their weekly gathering.

Me: "My name is Zana.."

Everyone: *acknowledges my self-introduction weakly* "Hi Zanaaaa..."

Me: "...and I have adultitis..."

Everyone: *gets up and rubs my shoulder gently, some coo, some even weep*

Adultitis is a common condition occurring in people between the ages of 21–121, marked by chronic dullness, mild depression, moderate to extremely high stress levels, a general fear of change, and, in some extreme cases, the inability to smile. Patients can appear aimless, discontent, and anxious about many things. Onset can be accelerated by an excess burden of bills, overwhelming responsibilities, or a boring work life. Generally, individuals in this condition are not fun to be around. (via Kim & Jason, photo from Business Week)

The closest lesson

Dave Trott in one of his inspiring posts, writes: “I can learn lessons about creativity from Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Max Baer, Vince Lombardi, Billy Beane, Brian Clough, Tony Adams, Jackie Stewart, Bill Shankley, Napoleon, Nelson, Heinz Guderian, Michael Wittmann, Willy Messerschmitt, Woody Allen, George Carlin, Rupert Murdoch, Richard Branson, Winston Churchill, Norman Tebbitt, Tony Benn, Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, Tintoretto, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, William of Ockham, Jean Paul Sartre, and Ernie Bilko.”

To be honest, half of the names mentioned in that very sentence are those I’ve never heard of. But we get the gist: creativity can be learned from just about anyone.

Here’s a story of creativity I learned from my husband: If there’s one thing I’d describe about Azry is that he is (properly) sneaky. He would excuse himself in the middle of our shopping trip for a puff and returned unannounced whilst running his fingers down my spine. He stalked me from afar if I were to pick him up from somewhere for a good few minutes before showing up grinning. He’s ridiculously selfless, which sometimes contributes to his headaches but that never stopped him caring about other people.

I wouldn’t beat around the bush saying we never had any financial problems like any other couples do. There was this month when our car broke down and we had to spend a hefty sum of money for the hotrod. Our bank accounts for the month could probably last for the petrol going back and forth to work & just some decent meals, skipping lunch or dinner once in a while. Being your beloved drama queen, I kvetched all around. Azry just flipped silently through his comic books, deep in thoughts in which at that moment I was thinking he never gave any blind bit of notice.

Then he announced, “Let’s go shopping.” I rolled my eyes and said, “But we’re skint.” He gave his signature “Don’t worry” look as he ushered me to get dressed. We made our way to the nearest Jusco and the first thing Azry did was to approach the Jusco card customer service counter. I watched as he handed his Jusco card to the lady behind the counter, watched her made a few calculations and handed various colored redemption vouchers to us.

That day, we managed to purchase about RM100 worth of groceries alone, without spending a dime. All thanks to Azry’s creativity and pragmatism. “We gotta make do with what we have.” He said as we wheeled our heavily loaded shopping cart joyfully to the parking lot. (Photo from Sprayblog)

Symptoms of loneliness

Simon Evans' Symptoms of Loneliness, 2009 on pen, paper, scotch tape & correction fluid.

I hope you have wonderful weekends, because I haven't had some proper ones lately. Later.

Mentioning my mum & Dieter Rams in one blog post

I actually had a conversation with my mum about Dieter Rams once. We were strolling around Suria KLCC or something, and I was struck awe by a shelf of Braun vintage radios in one of the stores. As she stopped short in her tracks and rejoined me, she said, "That looks like something your father could have created in his garage. Jom." and took my hands & persuaded me with her signature innocent pleading eyes to accompany her shopping at Jalan TAR.

Design Applause writes:

Dieter Rams (born May 20, 1932 in Wiesbaden) is a German industrial designer closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the Functionalist school of industrial design. Much of Dieter’s work has long seemed more connected to brutalism than minimalism. Let’s say beautifully, brutally, minimal.

* Good design is innovative

* Good design makes a product useful

* Good design is aesthetic

* Good design helps us to understand a product

* Good design is unobtrusive

* Good design is honest

* Good design is durable

* Good design is consequent to the last detail

* Good design is concerned with the environment

* Good design is as little design as possible

Now if I were to mention the name Dieter Rams to my mum, she'd probably go, "Is this man you are talking about, Indian by any chance?" MOOOOM!

Lightbulbs

Today it dawned on me that I’d like to: go kite flying at Kepong Metropolitan Park (the other day’s plan was canceled due to a rainy evening); go on a picnic somewhere on a sunny day complete with a fruit basket & orange juice & white-and-red checkered picnic mat like the one you often see in movies; go on a staycation around Kuala Lumpur, possibly getting aboard the KL Hop On Hop Off bus (I apologize if their official site is such an eyesore) or just walk around the big ol’ city until our feet get all blistered; and get one of those digital photo frames to house our thousands (and counting) digital photos.

And I apologize in advance if I seem to be forgetting anyone’s birthdays lately. I felt like it’s been ages since I celebrated birthdays, be it mine or anyone else’s. Blame Mr W. Ork, he’s been taking whole loads of my time, energy & unfortunately, enthusiasm as well lately.

You still love me despite my forgetfulness & lack of zest as well as literary finesse, don’t you?(Photo credit goes to the rightful owner via A Cup of Jo)

Nose twitch

It’s always lovely to get personal, real emails once in a while instead of the usual Facebook notifications so today when I received an email from a reader asking me to cover more on localized content in my blog, a sort of sentimental swoosh came over me for no absolute reason at all. I went, “HOOO people actually read here?” (and no don’t get me wrong I’m not fishing for compliments because I’ve seen blogs which had like 100 followers and they got at least 5-6 comments per post but anyhow).

It’s pathetic I don’t go out much these days, so here I am linking to KLue’s top 5 places to see Kuala Lumpur’s skyline (Cheras Little Genting featured here used to be my and Azry’s favorite viewing spot). This is the least I could do for now, and hey, thanks for the email, stranger.

All the Angry Ladies

Finally, something we can shove flat on the faces of the people who kept saying, "Why on earth are you so angry all the time?"

The report from BBC News says: An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly. In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed. The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies". Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.

Ladies, print this article out & carry it all the time in your spiky studded handbags, you feisty decision-maker, you. (Photo from Benjamin Pierce)

Words out of my mouth

Every day I notice I read (and write) less and less, and that probably scares me the most now. More than I fear seeing Sascha Baron Cohen in a leotard tutu (Bruno was funny as hell, but I’m not sure if I’m going to watch it twice).

You see, I believe my true love is reserved for these three: ideas, language & Azry. Inspired by the man I married, the love of my life, the bane of my existence; I see/read, I think, I write. Writing serves as my personal outlet to tell stories, to vent things, as a way of making notes, conveying my sentiments, sharing my thoughts, etc. Lately with not having the luxury of time to read and write left me restless. The books & magazines I bought, which were stacked neatly and almost reaching the height of my 8-year-old niece, were gathering dust in the corner. As I flipped the pages of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants for a quick read, I nearly wept when I found most of the words are almost alien to me. I feel like I’m slipping away. I cringe at how average and flat this post sounds. I even hate it when people complaint they are bored because they have nothing better to do.

If that’s the case, could you be so kind to donate me your extra unused hours & unutilized energy so I could read & write more? (Photo credit goes to the rightful owner via FFFFOUND)

Like a chic perfume without a scent

Don’t tell my husband, but I am in love with literature, whoever he or she might be (but in actuality I’m imagining this ‘literature’ to resemble Jude Law). I melt at a piece of well-written article; I coo upon meeting a person who converses so eloquently and I keep a phrasebook in my handbag in which I jotted down new words I stumbled upon on a daily basis.

I was reading on the architectural firm Aranda/Lasch in one of my old copies of Creative Review when I stumbled upon the word avant-garde. Chris Larch & his partner Benjamin Aranda were described as avant-garde architects who incorporate computational design in their works, and had their firm included in Paola Antonelli’s “Design & The Elastic Mind”, a show about the convergence of science & design.

I remember first hearing the word in one of those interior design series on tv many years ago. They were showing a house with a Balinese-influenced interior design and the host kept repeating avant-garde so many times I swear it almost looked like she got paid to advertise the word itself. Back then I thought avant-garde would mean a situation so absurdly cramped, overly decorated & grandeur at the same time, judging from the interior design demonstrated in the show. I wondered aloud how this could be good, which probably meant I am very well inclined towards minimalism in such a young age; until I picked up a dictionary and took a good look at what the word meant & had to fight an illogical urge to call the tv station to help me explain their deliberate usage of the word in the show.

The dictionary in my Macbook had a word note at the end of the definition that says: I met a traveler from a modern land who said: I used to think I knew what avant-garde meant, it meant new art so advanced you can't understand it, like a chic perfume without a scent. An avant-garde poem was abstract you could get rid of commas and capital letters forget making sense dreams were better irony mandatory and meaning arbitrary like poker with blanks instead of cards. It was intimidating and I remained leery until I met A. and his avant-garde smile: “Just do the opposite of whatever's in style,” he said with a wink when he won an award. “You see, it isn't so hard to be avant-garde.”

To find out more about Aranda/Lasch & their computational design, go to its Flickr page.