Fashion, textually speaking

I'm very much in love with written text but most of the times I find it very hard to describe every details without having to rely on visuals. This is why I have the utmost respect for creative writers, poet and the likes for being able to let the readers experience & imagine solely through a wall of text. But think about this, would you be able to indulge in a purely text-based fashion blog?

Minimalissimo describes The Considered Ensemble, a work of Andrew Kupresanin & Belinda Chen, as minimalism meets The Sartorialist. The blog shares a description of what the contributors are wearing without images, leaving more to our imagination. As Andrew was saying,

"With the innumerable blogs competing with one another in showcasing the latest street fashion/fashionistas, we are bombarded with and consume so much imagery without getting past the surface. The Considered Ensemble is an alternative that hopes to fill some gaps.

Each submission is a personal expression from an individual, whether its the personality they inject into their writing style, or the stories behind a special item of clothing. It is a platform where visitors can gain a deeper insight into the thought process and meaning behind each individuals’ outfit, and take time to use their imagination."

But when it comes to my own blog posts, as I was saying, I'd love a little inspiring photo ;) (Photo via meepmeepmeep)

In the middle of nowhere

The first picture is really of someone's workspace - but what do they do? Researching flying squirrels? (I kid, I kid. Apparently the guy's a graphic designer.). And also here's a new restaurant opening in Bali called Sea Circus. It looks fun! When are we going, Azry? (Both ideas via The Whistling Duck)

By the way, today everyone (the nurses, the doctors, the cleaner lady) in the hospital seems to have a hard time believing that I am my dad's daughter instead of his youngest sister, so I played along. Whatever makes the guy happy.

Let me tell you about my town

... although having unofficially left it in late 1990's and returned only for a day or two, I'm not actually the best person to tour-guide you around. But what I love most about my town, which is Sungai Petani, located in the northwestern state of Kedah in Peninsular Malaysia, is that everything around here is accessible in less than 20 minutes. An hour drive up south would take you to Penang, another hour up north would end you up in Alor Setar or Padang Besar (if you drive as fast as my father). We have a Tesco located right in front of my father's house, and if the weather permits we would just walk there to buy kitchen supplies.

My town doesn't have all the skyscrapers like your town perhaps, but one thing I believe about small towns is that somehow everything around seems stuck in the late 1990's, just like how I left them. People still drive at 40 km/h, and that to them the speeding lane is just another extra lane on right, nothing more than that, much to my dismay. We have a vast area of paddy fields, a sight too composed to wake up to, because sometimes I feel like I want to hold my breath and immerse in all its vastness but I couldn't because it was too, well, wide to digest. Sometimes children scurried along the borders playing kites made of newspapers, running past the cow who was too clueless to mind about the meaning of life. The locals, unlike us, leave their laptops at home when they go out to have teh tarik. Flea markets in KL are inferior compared to the ones in small towns (just ask the folks in Ipoh about their pasar karat) their night markets would easily pwned yours. The locals still talk to their neighbors, whereas in KL I don't even know who my neighbors are because I hardly see them! Evenings are made for cendol, laksa & meehoon soup session. And, of course, don't ask further about the food. We northern folks, testimonial-based, are proven to have the best variety of food nationwide.

The best thing is that everyone and everything does not rush, unlike us, unlike me specifically, they seem to be OK to be stuck in time. I can almost imagine them shrugging it all off and said nonchalantly, "So what? Life is prettier around here. We wake up early every morning, but not to escape the morning rush hour like you city folks do."

I guess my father was right at some point when he said, "I think you have forgotten that you were one of us before." (Photo via leilockheart)

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are shooting stars?

I could really use a wish right now - "Airplanes" by B.o.B featuring Eminem & Hayley Williams. (Photo via twentythree)

Oh captain my captain

"We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business engineering - these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love - these are what we stay alive for."

I could watch Dead Poets Society every time and it never failed to tug at my heartstrings. (via freewoman)

Perhaps nobody would carve bad words on these tables if we had them back then

Back in my school days, we used to have similar type of tables like this Night Light Table - except of course without the lights and perhaps the workmanship was a little bit on the rough side. But nevertheless, they really looked like our tables - the ones that naughty kids used to carve or write bad words on 'em with Liquid Paper™, the ones where we kept our books inside the open drawers and when we accidentally left them and returned the next day to find them missing, the ones where some rascals decide to leave their chewed gum in and it stuck to our fingers etc.

Have you got one of those? Now that I am here in my hometown, perhaps I would drop by my old school sometime. Hmm.

New chapter

Three months ago, after much contemplation, I finally found the guts to quit my managerial position in the company I have served for 4 years, to make time for myself & my family as well focusing on full-time writing from home. Here I am, ready to embrace everything come what may, thinking of how 2010 is indeed a life-changing year for me.

Come next Monday, I am somewhat relieved I don't have to join the working committee to wade the morning traffic congestion in order to be confined to a specific place to work. I'm always mobile anyway! My first week of marginal employment is going to be spent at my parents', then we'll see how it goes from there. Wish me luck, you wonderful people. (Photos from campsite & Emily Hayward)

Douche bag, not a douchebag

Lori Fradkin tells what it's like to become a copy editor by starting to correct the term of a 'douchebag'. I'm sorry, 'douche bag'.

The word is douche bag. Douche space bag. People will insist that it’s one closed-up word—douchebag—but they are wrong. When you cite the dictionary as proof of the division, they will tell you that the entry refers to a product women use to clean themselves and not the guy who thinks it’s impressive to drop $300 on a bottle of vodka.

And here's a paragraph I can relate to the most. I have no idea how many times I have mentally corrected Azry's spoken English, not having the guts to tell him because it might hurt him.

The job has its perks—an accumulation of random knowledge, for instance—but it also has its side effects when you unintentionally drink the copy Kool-Aid. Once you train yourself to spot errors, you can’t not spot them. You can’t simply shut off the careful reading when you leave the office. You notice typos in novels, missing words in other magazines, incorrect punctuation on billboards. You have nightmares that your oversight turned Mayor Bloomberg into a "pubic" figure. You walk by a beauty salon the morning after you had sex for the first time with a guy you’ve been seeing and point out that there’s no such thing as “lazer” hair removal, realizing that this may not be the best way to get to have sex with him again.

Having said that, last time I encountered a serious grammatical error in an email from my former company's customer support. It sent me shivers down my spine because I have no idea if thousands of said email were sent using that same copy. It read, "Thank you for keep waiting. We are not forgotten you." and I was literally rolling on the floor trying to refrain myself from having to slap the people who wrote it, and strangle those who approved the copy. (Article via Bobulate, photo via YMFY)

... that's why writing is a lot of work, and demands unflinching honesty.

I'm having trouble trying to snip the excerpts of this article, and I finally decided on this one. Nevertheless, have a read at the article here.

"Long ago I got a rejection from the editor of the Santa Monica Review, Jim Krusoe. It said: “Good enough story, but what’s unique about your sentences?” That was the best advice I ever got. Learn to look at your sentences, play with them, make sure there’s music, lots of edges and corners to the sounds."

and...

"When you’re writing, anything you’ve ever heard or read before is a cliché. They can be combinations of words: Cold sweat. Fire-engine red, or phrases: on the same page, level playing field, or metaphors: big as a house. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Sometimes things themselves are cliches: fuzzy dice, pink flamingo lawn ornaments, long blonde hair. Just keep asking yourself, “Honestly, have I ever seen this before?” Even if Shakespeare wrote it, or Virginia Woolf, it’s a cliché. You’re a writer and you have to invent it from scratch, all by yourself. That’s why writing is a lot of work, and demands unflinching honesty."

In another news, I can't believe today is my last day at the company I've spent 4++ years with. Like a roller coaster ride, at some point you can feel the exhilaration, and when it dashed down the railings you feel nauseous and you want it to get over and done with, but when the ride is finished you are satisfied that you have experienced it altogether and could not wait to tell all your friends about how exciting it was. But life must go on. (Photo from naoppi)

Make it work

Tim, I have a question: Do you miss Andre? (via freewoman)

My short attention span when it comes to reading & a teakettle that sings the chorus of Yellow Submarine

I think I am going to do myself a favor by turning off the computer late at nights and immerse myself in reading, something which I haven’t been doing properly in years. Every time I picked a book and tried to read, it’s like my mind were sabotaging me by being automatically diverted into inane, inappropriate thoughts at such moment such as, “I know what to do with that slide deck!” or “Let’s see what else should be in the checklist for tomorrow’s 9 am meeting” and with those thoughts I’d instantly put the book aside and proceeded doing, well, what was planted in my mind while I was trying to get engrossed in my reading session.

With that, I will start to post opening paragraph to every book I’ve read as well as in the midst of reading. Well, just because. Here’s from one of my favorites, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as a preamble:

“What about a teakettle? What if the spout opened & closed when the steam came out, so it would become a mouth, and it could whistle pretty melodies, or do Shakespeare, or just crack up with me? I could invent a teakettle that reads in Dad’s voice, so I could fall asleep, or maybe a set of kettles that sings the chorus of “Yellow Submarine,” which is a song by the Beatles, who I love, because entomology is one of my raison d’être, which is a French expression that I know. Another good thing is that I could train my anus to talk when I farted. If I wanted to be extremely hilarious, I’d train it to say, “Wasn’t me!” every time I made an incredibly bad fart. And if I ever made an incredibly bad fart in the Hall of Mirrors, which is in Versailles, which is outside of Paris, which is in France, obviously my anus would say, “Ce n’etais pas moi!” (Photo from The Guardian)

Girl crushes

When I told my (younger) office sister, Hani that I kept a list of celebrity girl crushes, she gave me this awkward smirk and said, "You do? Really?" I nodded and she flashed me that cute smug of hers again although I know when she went home she'd prepare her own celebrity girl crush list herself.

You should know by now that Zooey resides in mine. Do you have such list? (Photo via Little Garden)

"You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

I love Eames. Inception lived true to my high expectations, and I think Ellen Page & Joseph Gordon Levitt should definitely get together. Next superstar ambition: The Dream Police. (photo via YMFY)

Not yet

Ilse Bing, or “Queen of the Leica,” 1931. “Autoportrait dans Miroirs.”

“When I was a little girl, children were looked upon as, “not yet” — something not yet perfect. I resented this approach toward me. This world was so colorful and so rich that I wanted never to become a grown-up. Yet, I had to grow up. This childhood experience, however, stayed with me. It made me respect all children as persons complete in themselves, as persons who had to find their own way, with ideas and inner struggles as valid as those of grown-ups.” (via Bobulate)

Going to get Incepted this evening

Heard loads of good reviews about the movie Inception by Christopher Nolan, so we're gonna go ahead and watch this evening. Perhaps you should too.

Softer than clouds & sweeter than memory

I can almost touch the diamond-hard light of stars

and the silky slipperiness of leaves,

almost taste smoke softer than clouds and sweeter than memory,

almost feel God’s breath burn off my sins.

- Bharati Mukherjee,

Leave it To Me

Sigh. If literature is a man, I'd have an affair with him. (Photo from Brigitte Sire.)

Whatcha doin' Ernest?

Oh nothing, just kickin' cans. And oh hey, it's been 3 years since my first post ever (and with a picture of me in it of 15kg lesser)! (via A Cup of Jo)

MOMMEE!!

Aside from Lisha's, Memory Hunting by Ruby is another mommy's blog I could actually stand. Check out her baby's milestone over the months, what a creative idea! P/s: I'm always sold when it comes to little girls with attitude.

Banksy hates advertising

Banksy, prolific British graffiti artist, laments,”The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern Art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.”

Yet, Neil French’s former boss when he used to be a rent collector says, “In my experience, anyone who’s totally useless at everything else seems to go into advertising.” and proceeded to refer him to a friend who owned an agency and made Mr French who he is today ;)

Yet another post on cameras

Yes, from now on all posts on cameras will go under two categories, "Cameras" and "WANT". (via Andrio Abero)

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.

Apparently there is an entire website dedicated to great opening sentences in books (via Bobulate). My all-time favorite has always been The Metamorphosis, where it says; “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” And that’s it. The day I flipped through the book and was about to read it for the first time, I had never expected how straightforward it would be. As someone who has the tendency to be long-winded when it comes to writing (and yes, speaking too) I half-expected it to be something along the lines of, “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he had no choice but to take his time to get himself off the bed. His limbs felt sore; they swayed limply from the end of the bed. He had to compose himself while managing the pinpricks of white leaping before his eyes. As he slowly regained his sight, that was when he realized – he had turned into a gigantic insect.”

See? Anyway, I took this test and it said I write like H.P Lovecraft. Or so it says. Here's a little trivia: from which book is the opening sentence in this blog post is from? (Woody Allen being chased by a gorilla photo via Hamiltonhughes blog)

Sail away from the safe harbor

Mark Twain says, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

At least even if I die, I'd die trying, isn't it? (Photo via YMFY)

Winter doesn't last forever

Tony Robbins from SUCCESS magazine wrote of post-traumatic stress syndrome:

When you face extreme stress you have a couple of options. One positive option is to face that stress, do something and try to deal with that problem in your life. Reappraise your life. Decide that you "have to look at life differently." It's the proactive approach.

And a couple of words of reassurance:

People who face extreme stress, instead of hiding from it, can experience benefits. We are all stronger than we think we are. Winter doesn't last forever and what follows is a beautiful springtime. If you remember that, you can go to work and focus on what you can do to change your life, change your perspective, rather than denying it or living in fear.

Time to get back on my feet again. Article thanks to twittering Janet of 95% - whose optimism I adore like a little girl adores her Barbie!

I spy with my little eye

1950's Steky 16mm Miniature Spy Camera via YMFY. Can't see myself having one of these but the combination of the camera and its leather bag is just so enticing, you see.

Bad boys bad boys

... whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Robert Downey Jr photographed by Terry Richardson (via Cik Senah Ronggeng)

Spaceman, I've always wanted you to go

(This post was written during the first 10 minutes of the World Cup finals - Holland vs Spain. Not that I'm rooting for any teams though, Dad's been bugging me to watch the game with him.) I have to agree with Alex, guest blogger for Kitsune Noir with regards to Hunter Freeman's astronaut photos - where can we get this astronaut suit so we can don it and walk around the malls and have the kids laugh at us and literally kick our ass? (says someone who mixes & matches her wardrobe every night only to put on the most basic clothes to work the next morning because she couldn't find the guts to wear something different. Meh)

Imagine

I spent this morning listening to John Lennon’s Imagine in the patio over at my father’s house and I thought how desperately I wanted to live in the world as envisioned in the song.

Classic Malaysian movies title design & why P Ramlee is cool

While we may have seen an abundance of collection of title design for international movies, Amir Muhammad kindly compiled some of our local movies classic title design, specifically, from Cathay-Keris studio.

Also from Amir, check out another reason why P Ramlee, Malaysian legendary film & music scene polymath is cool: he predicted Facebook.

Design for Film by The Church of London

Outstanding collection of design for films by a magazine publishing company, The Church of London. More in their archive (via Rich Brown). Happy Friday!

Gasp!

You know what, Suet? This obsession with cameras, also like the one we have with Jonah Lehrer, has got to stop at some point. But but but ... (via Life, Code, Design)

Yet another "are blogs dying?" post

From The Economist via Kottke:

"People are not tiring of the chance to publish and communicate on the internet easily and at almost no cost. Experimentation has brought innovations, such as comment threads, and the ability to mix thoughts, pictures and links in a stream, with the most recent on top. Yet Facebook, Twitter and the like have broken the blogs' monopoly."

It's a shame if it's true because to me blogging > Facebook + Twitter or any other social media tools anytime, whatever you kids call them. It allows me to express my opinions without having to flail my arms in front of the whole crowd to be heard, and also because I express myself in written text better than verbally. The other tools are just too busy for me. And if it helps in any other way, Neil expresses his points of how blogging can sometimes lead to employment. I have to agree with him, seeing how I landed a few freelance stints based on this humble, if not, way too verbose blog. (Photo from Behance)

I'm just saying

via Lisa

Quite a spinner

I'm sure you've heard of this: Lomography store just launched this yet nifty, out-of-this-world lo-fi shooting weapon for the color indulgent in all of us: Lomography Spinner 360°! This baby spins & takes 360 degree perspective photo, but here's the catch (or the bad part) it carries along a price tag of, ahem, $220 (approximately 700 MYR bloody hell!). Watch how it works. One day you'll be mine, one day.

Anyway, gotta go to sleep early today. I'm waking up at 2.30 am next morning to watch Germany trashing Spain and prove the boneless oracle wrong for once.

Current earworm

Laura Marling. I’ve taken a fondness to listen to this kind of music now – She & Him, Liyana Fizi, Jewel and also Couer de Pirate (although I have no idea what Beatrice is singing about in French). There is something about all these mellifluous & distinctive female vocals that draws me into my own world, where I feel safe and where I’d like to stay a lot, thank you very much.

Well I dig the chic Bulthaup kitchen but at the moment I aim for attainable dreams

As everyone was blogging about the minimal Berlin domicile that belongs to the typographer extraordinaire Erik Spiekermann & his wife, designer Susanna Dulkinys, where they talk of their 'no-clutter' policy and the 'grid-like quality of the facade', being me, I am instantly drawn to his camera collection (oh look at that gorgeous Leica M8), prettily lining up & gracing the shelf. Because well, yours truly has this attention span of a shriveled raisin.

Article & more photos from Dwell.

We are all poets

via YMFY

Sound & Vision

I'm currently smacking myself on the head repeatedly saying, "Zana go make time to see Ili's work!" Anyway, if you happen to be around the neighborhood, or even if you don't, let's just stop by, aight? (also serves as a reminder for me to make some time for friends)

Please can I be your new hero

I have never been very good at expressing my own feelings, but suffice to say by the end of the month I’m getting what I wanted – more time with my loved ones & pursuing my long-term passion in writing while having to let go of my first ever possession – my car. Because unfortunately in this dog-eat-dog world things do not work according to my idealism (or pure mortal greed) where we can have all we want. But fret not, I am working towards trying to realize that notion, for all of us, so you can have your vacation to Rome as long as you want and eat as much bruschetta as you want while at the same time having an annual income equivalent to Donald Trump’s. As Rumi, the Sufi poet of love was saying, “Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form”.

Wish me luck. (Photo via That Girl)

That's all anyone wants from anyone else

Swing necklace by Johanna Richter (via Angus Whines) and excerpt of one of my favorite books of all time via Le Love.

Intelligence of raspberry jam

Dylan Moran, Irish comedian, writer, actor & filmmaker. An excerpt from his skit What It Is (via YMFY):

“So, yes… death. When you’re young, you think about it… Well, you don’t really think about it, you know — you have the intelligence of raspberry jam — you don’t think about anything. But it’s there, as a mode of force, making you do things. Go and get a job. Go and find a flat. Find somebody else. Put them in the flat. Make them stay. Get a toaster. Go to work. Get on the bus. Look at your boss. Say, FUCK. Sit down. Pick up the thing. Go blank. Scream internally. Go home. Listen to the radio. Look at the other person. Think, WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? Go to bed. Lie awake at night. Get up. Feel groggy. Put the things on — your clothes, whatever they’re called. Go out the door, into work. Same thing. Same people. Again. It is real — it is happening to you. Go home again. Sit. Radio. Dinner. Mmmm. GARDENING GARDENING GARDENING death.”

How profound when you have another Safari tab of 'Understanding Depression' next to the Youtube video.