Hustler of Culture

Good Bye 2008, Hello 2009!

December 31, 2008 - 9:42 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Experimental Gameplay 2009 Call for Participation

Game designer/developer and friend Jonathan Blow would like to remind all of you that the Experimental Gameplay 2009 is now taking submissions:

The Experimental Gameplay Sessions occur every year at the GDC; it’s a two-hour showcase of unusual and cutting-edge game designs. Each designer gives a ten- or fifteen-minute presentation of each game, including a live demo.

We’re now looking for submissions for the 2009 workshop, which will be happening in March. If you make unconventional kinds of games, I encourage you to apply. Our Call for Submissions document discusses everything in more detail:

Experimental Gameplay 2009 Call for Participation

Third Place Sports Influencer: Tony Hawk

Tony Hawk on Japanese television in 1984 (part 1) by Tony Hawk

Forbes has named skate champion Tony Hawk the third most influential athlete in the world beating out other sports megastars such as baller Shaquille O'Neal, race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and multi-Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps. Aside from his winning slab superstature, Tony's rise in influence and fame rose with the help from the blockbuster videogame franchise, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater -- a game my husband Silvio is proud to have been the lead artist for, for the first couple of iterations. What a long way, skateboarding has come. And videogames too.

Good pal and tech journalist Daniel Terdiman interviewed Tony for cNet. Tony talks about technology, entertainment, charity-work, and skateboarding. He says, "More kids are skating than playing little league now... the same cities that are discouraging them aren't providing facilities for them. So I wanted to help bridge that gap and provide skate parks in low-income cities." Huh, really?! Wow, cool!

Last Morning in Paris

December 30, 2008 - 7:37 a.m. - Paris, France
Last breakfast with our extended Parisian family, Team CLC. It was still so dark outside and we hadn't rubbed all the sleep out of our eyes. This time of our holidays is always a bittersweet moment.

Arts et Metiers Metro

December 29, 2008 - 3:07 p.m. - Paris, France

The Paris metro is a joy to ride (well, maybe except in the summer when there's no air conditioning). Many of the stops are beautiful works of art -- exhibiting the characteristics of each neighborhood. I was fond of this stop, as it reminded me of the innards of a submarine or some huge steampunk machine.

SF - "First Things First" (01.02.09 - 01.31.09)

Say Fromage!

December 28, 2008 - 2:48 p.m. - Paris, France

"Jeff Koons Versailles" Recap

December 27, 2008 - 4:44 p.m. - Paris, France

"Jeff Koons Versailles"... what can I say other than that, you had to be there? Sure we've all seen Koons' work in museums and galleries before. But few of us have seen his work juxtaposed in such a way that the art is completely new again. A handful of old-fashioned folks complained. Everyone I attended with cruised the monumental grounds, mouths agape. The 30-year retrospective at the chateau was simply fabulous. I feel so damn lucky to have been able to visit, thanks to a last minute extension of the show. My favorite piece? The Hoover works in the Antichambre du Grand Couvert -- so ridiculous. "Jeff Koons Versailles" is the best museum exhibition I visited in 2008. I'm certain I'll never see a show quite like it, ever again.

Ron Arad "No Discipline" Recap

December 26, 2008 - 1:54 p.m. - Paris, France

British industrial designer and architect Ron Arad is currently on exhibition at the Centre Pompidou. The "No Discipline" retrospective showcases Mr. Arad's talent for manipulating metal and love for amorphous shapes. According to the Pompidou, his work presents "major and emblematic works, prototypes accompanied by audiovisual documents, limited series and mass-produced objects, along with numerous architectural projects." His most famous pieces, the Bookworm bookcase or the Tom Vac chair are nice to look at, but aren't nearly as interesting as some of his experimental and lesser known works. Due to his lack for boundaries, Mr. Arad defines himself as belonging to "No discipline".

Jean Charles de Castelbajac vs. LEGO

JCDC VS LEGO from Four H on Vimeo.

My Paris-based fashion industry insider cousin Lan pointed me to Jean Charles de Castelbajac's whimsical S/S 3001 collection (related to his Spring/Summer 2009 collection). I dig the marriage of high fashion and popular culture (LV and Murakami/Stephen Sprouse) but pray tell, who is the audience for this line?!

SF - Jerome Rothenberg and Jefferey Robinson Book Event (12.29.08)

Happy Christmas!

December 25, 2008 - 12:57 a.m. - Paris, France

"La Coupure: travail in situ" Recap

December 24, 2008 - 2:56 p.m. - Paris, France

French (sometimes controversial) abstract minimalist Daniel Buren's "La Coupure: travail in situ" aka "The Cut: work onsite" is a pretty cool installation currently up at the Musée Picasso. Buren's cut the building in half from front to back and installed a reflective wall that visually confuses, warps, and tricks visitors. For someone who likes to work with traditional architecture, it's quite playful. The mirrored panels caught me off guard and I found myself interacting with the piece. I didn't have enough time to visit the museum to see the interior work but what I'd seen was inviting despite the cold gray skies.

Geoff McFetridge's Nail Salon

Geoff McFetridge's Nail Salon from Alissa Walker on Vimeo.

Alissa posted a video of artist/illustrator Geoff McFetridge's real-time nail salon sign he painted while presenting at GOOD Design: LA impressing the importance of preserving the "one-of-a-kind, handmade objects in our city".

Pain Au Chocolat

December 23, 2008 - 9:30 am PST - Paris, France

While in Paris, I indulge in food. I eat, eat, and then I eat some more. Why? Because I generally only have about a week out of a year to satiate my French culinary cravings. It's the simplest foods, like the breakfast pastry, pain au chocolat above, that drives me craziest. Why oh why can't we have a good Los Angeles version of this chocolate croissant?! It's a good thing for us, our French family and friends are very accommodating and schedule our activities around meals. Bon appetit, indeed!

Bod's Birthday Brekkie!

< December 21, 2008 - 12:20 p.m. - Mar Vista, CA

Theresa hosted a yummy fun proper English breakfast for Bod's birthday. It was delightful, delicious, and fun as hell. Happy Birthday, Bod!

Le Pain Quotidien's Gazpacho Soup

December 20, 2008 - 3:52 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

I've eaten a lot of gazpacho soup in my lifetime and I can confidently say that Le Pain Quotidien's is the best in all of Los Angeles. I don't like my gazpacho too blended or too chunky and they do it perfectly. The chilled soup is super refreshing and I'm curious to know, what secret fresh vegetable or ingredient is inside making me want more, more, more?! Maybe it's the fruity mango?! Whatever it is, it's mmm mmm good!

Le Pain Quotidien
316 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 393-6800

Le Saigon's Nem Nuong Cuon

December 19, 2008 - 7:34 p.m. - Los Angeles, CA

When I'm craving Vietnamese food, I try to hold out for a weekend trip to Westminster. If I can't wait, I'll sometimes hit up Le Saigon in West Los Angeles. It's certainly not the best Vietnamese food, however, it is one of the best on the westside (where there's little competition). The Nem Nuong Cuon or the sweet pork meatball fresh rolls are pretty tasty and I would recommend these to anyone.

Le Saigon
11611 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025-2907
Phone: (310) 312-2929

'The Twitter Film' by CSK

the twitter film (racing north, chased by tweets, chasing tweets) from svanes on Vimeo.

Christian shot his road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco on May 30, 2008. He recently finished his short film about a time lapse journey by car. Christian meant for the clip to move time forward on three levels, "the actual travel that is recorded on film that can be measured in distance and time, while the twitter postings provide an additional register of the day’s progression." Two of my tweets are used in the film, "check your IM chat log PUNK ASS. May 23rd. 6:56 p.m. APOLOGIES good for the next 24 hours," and "according to GOOGLE MAPS, there are 7 car accidents waiting for me on my commute home. looks like i'm taking surface streets from BURBANK!" It's a fun clip, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ray Eames: Notes for a Celebration Recap

December 18, 2008 - 7:24 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

The Eames Office is hosting an exhibition "Notes for a Celebration" to celebrate the art and design of Ray Eames. She was an American designer, married to Charles Eames, who worked in furniture, graphic, and industrial design, film and architecture. What I enjoyed so much from the show were the paper doll cut outs Ray made as a child. Well, those and the incredibly beautiful hand-written notes.