spring stunnas

mama nature is being so crazy right now. yesterday was grog city, and i found myself sporting layer upon layer just to abate the wind and continuous rain. today, however, has been beautiful and i just wore my jacket and was a-ok. but when the weather does start to find consistency then i'm going to be stylin' and profilin'. here some of my five favorite spring trends:

(1.) floral prints: i used to associate florals with my former seven year old self, wearing this crazy little dress (with a crazy bow in the back) to my grandparents house on easter. but nowadays, florals seem to make an outfit warmer and more welcoming. (charlotte ronson, left)

(2.) fringe: great way to look casual but at the same time trendy. except try not to go overboard on this. keep it to one fringe accessory per outfit, unless looking like a cowboy, or native american, is your intention. (hermés, right)

 

(3.) gladiator sandals: the romans who battled to the death for caesar's entertainment definitely went down in style. gladiators looks great with everything and they add flair to your look. if you can find a comfortable pair then you should be set for spring.

(4.) wayfarer sunglasses: i refuse to give robert pattinson credit for popularizing this trend. so whoever brought wayfarers back from the 70's and 80's, bravo. if you don't have the means of getting the real deal ray bans then don't freak out. you can find identical shades if you look for them. i know for a fact you can find them at urban ouftitters.

5.) destroyed denim: actually, just the other day ame and i hit up a resell shop and bought some ripped men's jeans. i cut them up and made a pretty sweet pair of shorts. destroyed denim (especially in a light wash) give you an edge and can be worn pretty much anything. (diesel, left).

signing off, rasmatazzz.

Stop Motion Love

I have a new obsession; the tedious, beautiful, whimsical world of stop motion animation.

I started searching you-tube to understand what stop motion is, how it's made. I came to realize it's created by making tiny movements, shooting each move, and making the final product look like a fluid movement or gesture. I sounds so easy, right? Well, the videos are labors of love, all time consuming labors of love.

In particular, one artist stands out for amazing stop motion short films, PES. I found some of the work on youtube, check out this 2009 "Honorable Mention" at Sundance titled Western Spaghetti.



I love the way PES uses objects like yarn as cheese, or pick-up sticks as raw noodles, its sort of Michel Gondry-esque. I have so much appreciation for this art form. Looking into it further, I discovered that stop motion is used much more than I thought. Here's another piece PES did, for Sneaux Shoes.



I didn't realize that tons of ads I see are done in stop motion, probably because the actions are so perfected, they look like they were done with conventional film. Some of my favorite movies, like Coraline were done using stop motion. I cannot even fathom how long a feature length film would take to shoot.

I am in love with the stop start stop start stop start world of stop motion.

stop.
ame

See more of PES's wonderful videos here.

ungodly hours

it's 12:41 and 29 seconds. now 39. now 47. pretty soon it will be 12:42 (oh wait, it's now 12:42 and 33 seconds) and i will still be awake while normal homo sapiens rest their heads and descend into REM dreaming. i however, will most likely remain awake for a good deal longer. it's past the point of even trying really.

the thing is, i'm staying in this dinghy hotel where the room is freezing, the sheets smell like a crapppy hotel, my dad is snoring, the curtains are threadbare and i can see every light emulating through the window and honestly i am just not tired anymore. there's always that phase where you try so hard to fall asleep. you get comfortable, remain motionless, count sheep, or even listen to soothing zen-like melodies with track names like "stone garden" and "moonlit snow".

i tried everything. so i've given up on zen, let's talk about techno.

i'm pretty glad that radio stations are starting to spice up their variety instead of relying solely on thick rap resuscitations about sex and "gettin' paid", because hearing a pulsing bass and catchy synth beats every now and then is splendid.

my mom just yelled at me to go to sleep. i just told her it's fine. she probably already forgot about it by now being she herself was half asleep when she called me out.

so anyways, if you're looking for something fun, or something different, try out these tracks:

(1.) DotA- Basshunter

(2.) We Are Rockstars- Does It Offend You, Yeah?

(3.) Seventeen Years- Ratatat

(4.) Love Games- Lady Gaga

(5.) Somebody's Watching Me- Mysto & Pizzi

  ^ Geico commercials, anyone?

(6.) I Wish (Skee-Lo Cover)- The Secret Handshake

(7.) Je veux te voir- Yelle

(8.) Nth Degree- Morningwood

(9.) Love is Gone- David Guetta

(10.) Bettina, zieh dir bette etwas an- Fettes Brot mit Modeselektor

   ^haha, ame you know what i mean.

okay i'm going to lay motionless in this shitty bed now. hope everyone sleeps well, because i sure as hell won't.

ras.

Beach Day

I woke up in some sort of weird-beachy funk today. Maybe it was the sudden change in weather (snow has melted!) but I felt this urge to hit the sand. I just wanted to slather on the sunscreen or hop on my banana bike into town for ice cream. Of course, I am nowhere near the eroded pile of sand called a beach, but hey I can dream can't I?

Maybe it's what I associate with the beach that makes me want to go there so bad. For me it means care-free days of summer, mostly from when I was little. Back then, my only job was to listen for the ice cream truck to come by. I used to have no problem with going door-to-door asking if kids wanted to play. All summer long I would be this pasty white, due to my mother coating me in water babies SPF 60. I used to spend weeks at the Jersey shore each year with my family, what ever happened to that? I guess we all grew up.

Now the time we used to use just to play is now used to build resumes and make money. I feel so much pressure now to excel in life, to make something out of myself. I'm fearful for the eventual death of summer. What will happen when I get a "real job" (not babysitting) and I no longer have those two glorious months?

So today, instead of worrying about the future, I made my own little beach day at home. I sported the flip flops and began a good book (Invisible Monsters which I borrowed from ras). I took a little day for me, and I don't feel guilty at all for not accomplishing anything.

surf's up
ame

J'dore Mr. A-Z

"did you get the birds?! coo-ool."

please tell me why Jason Mraz is the best thing ever.

look at him just trapaising around the streets of france puttin' on a show. and the thing i love about him is his voice is so genuine, and he actually has a voice. so he can get away with a street show like that. i had the honor of seeing him live last year and his stage voice is exactly the same as his voice on the cd.

but another thing i wanted to talk about is that i'm currently sitting in my house wrapped in two blankets a hoodie and sweatpants. why, you may or may not ask? well yesterday it was snowing here. and i'm not talking little flurries, i'm talking fat juicy coagulations of snow pelting my windshield as i attempt to navigate the dark barren roads that should be lined with petunias and not dirty snow and street salt. that's what's up. snow during april. 

i want this.

Spring Break: Good and Bad

Holla,
please excuse the lack of postings, its SPRING BREAK for the neon youths! i was out of town this weekend, but i'm back for the bulk of break to give you my take on the good and bad of spring break '09.

GOOD

1. Sour Gummy Octopi- i had these friday night for the first time and am now obsessed. they're better than worms because they have 8 legs and such instead of just one slimly body like those silly sour worms.eating these always reminds me of when i was little and i would ingest sour candy until my tongue was numb. i still seem to make a mess of sugary sweetness all over my shirt when i eat them. leave it to me to list a sugary food as a spring break essential, i just have to have my sour-like candy fix. these little critters are cute and fun to eat.



2. Adventureland
- i am so excited to see this movie! i haven't gotten to it yet but i hope to see it this week at the drive-in! yes, the drive-in, the only good way to see movies in the summer, you don't even have to leave your car. this looks like the perfect way to kick off the way summer season, even though it reminds me how horrible summer jobs are (i wonder if i can just get paid for blogging all this nonsense). i think its going to do very well in the box office, considering kristen stewart's ever-loving band of "twi-hards" (more on that later). also, coming from the director of superbad means there has to be a few good laughs in there. the cast (bill hader, kristen wigg) looks hilarious at least. i'll let you know what i think when i see it.





3. Bright Swimsuits- i know its not really the weather for pool time unless you're
sunning yourself on some remote island (in that case, i am very jealous of you),
but now is a good time to look before everything gets back ordered. i love the loud prints for this season mixed with a solid color top or bottom.
matching is not necessary for the latest beach season. get a fun print like this one i picked up from victoria's secret. make sure you're suit fits , there's nothing i hate more than having to see someone tanning with her underboob exposed. remember also that less is not always more, don't show too much skin in the sun. it means more area to burn, and you can look like a major skank. it's better to pick a fun suit where you don't have to worry about something popping out.






4. Phoenix- okay so i don't know if i'm just really behind the music curve, but i'd never heard of phoenix before i saw them on SNL this weekend. i really like their new EP that was released last week, specifically Lisztomania. they have a really cool sound, sort of like vampire weekend mixed with a little spoon. i don't know much of their older music but i highly recommend their new EP, its really fun, the perfect edition to my spring break mix, which also includes:
Lily Allen- F*** You
MIA- Bamboo Banger
The Kinks- This Time Tomorrow
Kings of Leon- 17
TV On the Radio- Shout Me Out
Little Jackie- The Stoop
Carolina Liar- Save Me
and a few others. what else should i add?



5. Greek- the new season of greek started last weekend on ABC Family. now, don;t just shrug it off because ABC fam usually does pretty crappy shows. i love greek and its in its third season and i don't miss an episode. the best part of the show, clark duke, it a bit underplayed (if you don't know clark duke, check out his work with michael cera here, its pretty funny). the show takes on a part of life that is rarely seen on tv, college. there are basically high school soaps, then this big gap, then cop shows for an older demographic. greek sort of fits into a genre of its own, and its pretty funny as well. there's a new episode on mondays at 8!






BAD
1. Gossip Girl- Okay before you come after me with pitchforks and flames, the show is not bad, its the fact that new ones are never on! it has been forever since 3 new episodes have aired in a row. i'm sick of this stopping and starting. i want my new gossip girl! my hunger is slightly appeased by the appearance of the cast on the cover of rolling stone (in stores now).


2. Weather- this is a huge bummer. here i am, searching for swimsuits and its snowing outside. something is seriously wrong with this weather system. however, i refuse to accept defeat, and i plan to wear flip-flops all break, even when its -10 outside.



3. Miley Cyrus- listen, i know she is releasing some big movie that is supposedly a tween's wet dream, but does she have to be on the cover of every magazine? i do not understand why a 16 year-old is on the cover of this month's glamour (my favorite mag, by the way). "over exposure" must be missing from her vocabulary.miley will also be on the cover of next month's teen vogue. it makes me feel like everywhere i turn i will see her face (fact: i just turned around and saw her new movie poster).



4. Twilight- sigh, i used to be the biggest fan of twilight, but i've decided to give it up. i hear these obsessed twi-hards (told you i'd come back to that) yammer on and on about Edward Cullen. i completely understand, he is the perfect man, but he is not actually real. girls need to get a tough dose of reality and dispense with the obsession. i watched the movie for the last time with my friends last night, and i refuse to re-read any of the novels. (however, i will go see new moon in november, i'm only human). for now, i am sworn off twilight.


so, those are my goods and bads for spring break. now i'm off to get some sour gummy octopi after a rousing game of tennis with ras (we looked completely disabled, by the way). i hope everyone else is having a good time off in blog land.

peace
ame

Criminal or Beautiful? Decide for Yourself.

Okay first of all, Where the Wild Things Are looks incredible. Thank you, Sal.

Anyways.

Let me just say that I think street art (what most people slug as "graffiti") is mankind's gift to, well, mankind. It really is under appreciated. Specifically, this British artist who goes by the name of Bansky. I was just browsing around when I found myself looking at his work and I was blown away. I just wanted to share it with everyone out there.



When we think of graffiti, we typically think of poorly scrawled tags dripping illegibly from the rusted slate siding on some freight train. This stuff is not like that. Not at all.




I mean, it's inspiring to me. Wouldn't it be awesome to sneak around the streets (illegally) producing this kind of stuff? Knowing that people everywhere are passing and gawking and staring at something you produced but they'll never know it was you. I love it. I want it.


--> ras.