Hustler of Culture

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2009 - 11:30 p.m. - Venice, CA

Thanks to Carlito and Camellia for the pre-party dining! Thanks to Geebaum and Amanda for hosting a wonderful New Year's party. Thanks to all our friends for being you. Happy 2010, all!

Ocean Seafood Restaurant

December 30, 2009 - 1:51 p.m. - Monterey Park, CA

links for 2009-12-30

• 10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010
  "First of all: It’s going to be another interesting year."
  (tags: Trends Lists 2010 Business TrendWatching)
• L.A. Homeowners Fight the Glare of Digital Billboards
  "After a recent court ruling, residents see a chance to pressure the City Council to pull the plug on the signs that disrupt their peace and quiet."
  (tags: LosAngeles Politics Business Advertising LATimes)
• John Mackey and Whole Foods
  John Mackey at a store in Austin, Texas. To “the people that really dislike us,” he says, “Whole Foods is a big corporation, so they think that we’ve crossed over to the dark side.”
  (tags: WholeFoods NewYorker Business Food Sustainability)
• Yasumasa Yonehara
  A look inside our friend, Yone Chan's work/live studio (he has several).
  (tags: YoneChan Art Japanese Japan Photogrpher Photography TheSelby)
• In Case You Missed It: Events And Trends Of 2009
  "Vogue Magazine film critic John Powers talks about the year in media: the major events, the trending topics and the evolution of social networking."
  (tags: NPR Trends SocialNetworking PopularCulture)
• Wired’s 20 Favorite iPhone Apps of 2009
  "The Wired staff has chosen its 20 favorite apps, broken into separate categories: productivity, games, hobbies, and travel and outdoors. These are apps we deemed exceptional either for their innovation, elegant design, usefulness or a combination of all these qualities."
  (tags: Web2.0 iPhone Wired Lists BestOf 2009)
• The Best Album Covers Of 2009 - All Songs Considered Blog
  "We get several hundred CDs in the mail each week, and as we quickly sort through them, we can often eyeball which ones we're going to like."
  (tags: Music Art NPR AllSongsConsidered 2009 BestOf Lists)

Akiyoshi Kitaoka's Trippy Art!

Don't freak out! The art in this post is supposed to look (and feel) like it's moving! Animal Collective’s 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' album cover art above, is brilliant. Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Professor at the Department of Psychology at Ritsumeikan University studies visual perception, visual illusion, optical illusion, and trompe l'oeil. Armed with the knowledge, of how the brain sees things, he creates stunning pieces of eye candy. Some say the art is on par with "tripping out". Umm, I agree!

Another example of his other well known work, "Rotating Snakes" is below:

Not too dizzy? Can't get enough?! You can trip on this work, all day here.

Christien Meindertsma: PIG 05049

In this TEDxAmsterdam video, Dutch artist Christien Meindertsma discusses her project PIG 05049, a book documenting all the products created from different parts of an anonymous pig called 05049. Her research uncovered the obvious but to everyone's surprise, it also uncovered much, much more. Frankly, I was surprised to learn how many things had gelatin in them and also how much you could make with pig bones. Christien's last statement is poignant:

"... I really made this book because I love raw materials.  What I think this book tells us is that we have no clue what is in our products. I think if we want to take care of what's behind these products, for instance, natural resources, the people working on all these products, as well as all the livestock behind it, we really need to know more about the stories behind our products."

Just last week a stranger stopped me at the market to ask me what plant I had purchased. I answered, "These are brussels sprouts still on the stalk."  The person was a little embarrassed and surprised as she'd never seen brussels sprouts in "the wild" before. In a world where we hardly know where our food comes from, it's amazing to learn about where so many other things we use might come from too. Christien Meindertsma's body of work is truly breathtaking. I hope you enjoy her research as much as I did!

RD and LMPP

December 29, 2009 - 2:24 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Pho 99 Noodle & Grill: Spring Rolls

December 28, 2009 - 1:13 p.m. - Los Angeles, CA

Musha: Aski

December 27, 2009 - 6:29 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Home Cooked Hamachi Kama

December 26, 2009  - 3:03 p.m. - Brentwood, CA

Happy Christmas!

December 25, 2009 - 8:55 a.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Christmas Eve Dinner

December 24, 2009 - 7:05 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

We hosted a Christmas Eve potluck dinner for our orphan and non-Christian friends. It was a family-style affair without the usual family banter. Happy holidays to all!

Under Cover

December 23, 2009 - 8:01 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Santa Monica Sunset

December 22, 2009 - 4:45 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Hugs

December 21, 2009 - 8:19 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

Walrus TV: Herbert Baglione

I met Herbert Baglione  in 2001. Here's a photo the artist took of us at dinner with Os Gemeos, Lost Art, and Doze Green back then. I remember Herbert didn't really speak English, but he smirked a lot. I also remember him being pretty excited to be in New York City. America was new to him. Fast forward eight years. Herbert's beautiful work has been exhibited all over the world. More people are enjoying and learning about his art and him. I've been watching his career blow up and it couldn't have happened to a more talented artist.

If you haven't already done so and you're in the Bay Area, be sure to check out Herbert's new show, "The Dark Wave" at Fifty24SF Gallery!

Zev's 'Liquidated Chanel'

I'm loving the drips in 'Liquidated Chanel' by Zevs.

Type: print

Edition: 50

Year: 2009

Size: 70 cm x 50 cm

Price: £200.00

Material: Screenprint on Somerset Black Velvet 280gsm

Other: Signed, stamped and numbered

Madeleines for the Middle East

December 20, 2009 - 11:45 p.m. - Santa Monica, CA

I shipped these cookies to my brother-in-law who's stationed in Afghanistan. Let's hope they make it.

Copenhagen's Bike-Friendly Culture

Check out this video of Copenhagen's kick ass bike culture/lanes/way-of-living by Street Films! I wish every city in the world would take the initiative to implement the infrastructure needed for such bike-friendly living. Aside from the obvious benefits to society, bicycling more would certainly also help reduce obesity and  air and noise pollution. [Thanks @lostart]

Lemonade Lunch

December 19, 2009 - 3:17 p.m. - Venice, CA

links for 2009-12-19

• All Songs Considered Listeners Pick The Year's Best Music
  "We've got the top 25 albums of 2009, as selected by NPR listeners in our online ballot, listed now on All Songs Considered. You can hear songs from each album and some brief comments from host Bob Boilen."
  (tags: NPR Music Lists 2009 BestOf)
• Winter Solstice Monday: Facts on First Day of Winter
  "Monday is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21."
  (tags: NationalGeographic Science Astronomy)
• Holiday Gift Ideas 2009
  Elise's picks for kitchen gift ideas.
  (tags: Lists 2009 SimplyRecipes Cooking)
• Domains - At Home With Jenny Holzer, the Artist
  "There’s someone pretending to be me on Twitter. At least they’re using my stuff. I wouldn’t tweet. I like when my work is anonymous and public."
  (tags: Interview Artist Art NYTimes Women)