I know it's an ad but so what. Happy Friday!
via the bedlam of beefy
12 June 2009
when the going gets tough
the tough eat chocolate!
Askinosie Chocolate has a heart and a conscious. I want to buy some just because the packaging is so cool, the chocolate has to be great!
via oh joy
Where Navajo Tales and Rugs are Woven
ACCORDING to Navajo creation stories, the first holy people passed through three worlds — Black, Blue and Yellow — before settling here, in the White, or Glittering, World. They emerged through a giant reed and, shortly after, established the four sacred mountains that mark the boundaries of the Navajo homeland, an area that extends far beyond the present-day Navajo Nation.The Navajo Nation covers 27,000 square miles (about the size of West Virginia) over a large chunk of Arizona, part of New Mwxico and a swath of Utah . More than 250,000 Navajos, or Diné (the people), as they call themselves, live in Diné Bikéya, or Navajo Land. For anyone seeking to learn more about this country’s largest native population, there are ample opportunities to spend time with the Navajo.
NY Times :: read more here
11 June 2009
Pierre-Jean Verger
These are from French photographer Pierre-Jean Verger. Unfortunately I can't read (or speak) French so I don't know anything about these interiors except that are mesmerizing. They combine vintage, industrial and modern, which I love.
10 June 2009
09 June 2009
poppy propagation
EVERY June, California gold turns to California brown. The fluttering orange petals of the state flower drop, the leaves turn brown, the stems black. What weeks ago were thrilling stands of California poppies are on their way to becoming tinderboxes.
You could do what the fire crews do, which is weed whack. Or you could do what the dedicated poppy gardener does: strategically prune to harvest seed and thin out deadwood. Within this tinder lie secrets.
And more poppies.
Poppies look so lacy, they flutter so fetchingly, they seem as ephemeral as spring. Little about their appearance hints at their sturdiness, or that there might be enough plant to prune. Yet, provided that poppies have enjoyed the same kind of life cycle that they do in the wild, these "annuals" have enough oomph to live for two, even three years.
Their life starts in the fall. Seeds sown or spilled from other flowers the previous autumn will have put on just enough growth in October and November to send down deep tap roots -- up to a foot, according to James Curtis Clark, the state's foremost poppy authority and a professor of biological sciences at Cal Poly Pomona.
Rooted by winter, the poppies begin to produce their signature lacy blue-green foliage only after rain. By March, the first buds shoot up from the green frill and the blushing succession begins. By summer solstice, the show's over -- unless you cut them back.
The first step is to collect seed. Ripeness is vital. While on the outside, the stem and leaves might look silver and dying, the pods might still be ripening. All a poppy needs to photosynthesize and to create enough nutrients for the seeds, says Clark, is the chlorophyll in the pod casing.
He advises waiting until plump green pods begin to collapse so the casing looks and feels distinctly ribbed. Once they pass a visual and touch test, sacrifice a few pods by splitting them to check the seeds inside. If they are still green and wet inside, they are premature and will not germinate. Viable seeds will be black.
The other option is to wait to harvest the seeds until the pod turns the color of ripe wheat. This is foolproof for ripeness but offers a fresh pitfall. By this stage, poppy pods are ready to explode in a breeze, and a mere touch can send seed scattering beyond the reach of fumbling fingers.
Clark picks his pods green but ribbed, tosses them in a bag and lets the final browning occur there. This carries the advantage that when the ripe pod does burst, the contents are caught.
Chasing poppy seeds outside of a bag is a fool's game. A single 3-inch pod might contain 70 seeds, a single plant more than 400. If you want additional poppies where the previous ones grew, by all means harvest the pods brown and allow them to burst, or leave the plants to explode by themselves.
One morning the pod might be drying nicely; by that afternoon its crescent shape has changed. There has been a jail break. The casing has split in two, standing open on the stem like a taunting joker's cap while the seeds have escaped.
Now the work begins. The chore in editing a poppy garden lies in dispensing with the drying stems and so much shriveled foliage that it looks as if a passing vandal has shredded cardboard over the flowers. By this time, the stems are turning a sooty color. This is the work of an ambient fungus called Alternaria, one of nature's undertakers, always on hand and dressed in black to begin degrading of dead vegetation.
Alternaria begins its work when a plant is not quite dead. Even the blackest stems are capable of sending out a fresh green shoot in this bittersweet interval. Clip them anyway; there's a reason Death carries a sickle. That darkening stem is on its way out.
Soon the juices, carrying water up to the leaves and nutrients down, will dry up as the stem's cell structure breaks down and the stems hollow out to kindling state.
To make the cut, gather the drying foliage in a bunch and prune as low to the base as you can while respecting the prospect for regeneration. Cutting 3 inches above the base should be safe.
There, if the poppy is well established, might lie a bright cluster of new leaves. Pruning across a poppy bed, you should find enough of these to provide a dapper little garden to rebloom throughout the summer.
Where you will stop finding the clusters is in plants grown in mixed shade. They will be leggy. All their energy will have been expended in a search for sun, and these poppies will be doing well to have set seed. They will not regenerate.
You don't have to clear all the old growth to be finished. You know that you're done when you've tricked the eye away from the stubble to the new blossoms, fluttering brightly once again.
This second flush will be smaller, and, says Clark, the flowers paler, more yellow than gold.
"If you brought someone back between blooms, they might think it was a different flower," he says.
It will be a new garden in other ways too. Even the sounds change. Lizards, which only weeks ago slipped silently through supple growth, now make crunching sounds.
Plants interspersed in the poppy gardens regain stature subsumed in all that spring frill. The agave again stands proud, yarrow spreads and luxuriates, artemisia expands.
The question then becomes: To water or not to water? My instinct is to give the bed light weekly showers, as much to clear car exhaust from the plants as to nourish them.
The seeds have been unperturbed by unseasonal water. Clark explains that somehow California poppy seeds are programmed to wait for cooler temperatures, shorter days and gathering autumnal moisture before they germinate.
If the result of trimming is too much stubble, too many rough brown spaces for your taste, by all means pull the plant instead of pruning. Whatever seeds fall in the clearing will thank you for an opportunity to land in slightly undisturbed soil.
However, try to resist planting in midsummer. Places where poppies thrived in spring are no place for juvenile plants in summer. It's too hot.
Try filling the space with a birdbath or sundial, or wait until the autumn crop of new poppies from split seeds crests the soil line.
At that point, you can cut out the repeat bloomers. Or if you leave them, for the next season or even for another full year or two, these lacy soldiers will regenerate again.
Emily Green, Times Staff Writer
via LA Times
08 June 2009
Coast Modern - a documentary
The trailer for the new film capturing three generations of West Coast Modern Architecture in America, from the early 20th century, through the post-war and unto the modernist renaissance today. This film speaks with the architects and their patrons, and asks if Modernism's time has fianlly come or . . . did it ever really go away?
Coast Modern Film Trailer from Coast Modern on Vimeo.
something to do
For more information go here.
These photos are from the Brooklyn RCF that happened this past weekend. Read more about it here.
via sub studio
05 June 2009
life in topanga
What's up with this weather - it's almost summer? It looks like it's going to get better!
trailer dreams
Julie sent me the Craigslist link to this cute little trailer that's for sale in San Diego. I challenged her to sell her house, buy the trailer and go on the road, living off the proceeds from the house. Have some adventures and then write about her experiences. She wrote back asking what would she do with all her pets: cats, dog & horse. I say "minor details". What do you say?
bamboozling ourselves - part 7 - final
The bigger the lie, the more willing we are to believe it.A post-war looting investigation report on Goring's "aquisitions" was made. There were at least 150 paintings traded for Van Meegeren's "Vermeer". The list above shows 125 of them.
What seems so extraordinary is the casual way that literally thousands of paintings were stolen, sold and bartered so that even more could be stolen. The Nazis even had their own organization dedicated to the task at hand - the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the ERR. A vast criminal network dedicated to plundering art - a network in which Van Meegeren operated with consummate skill.
A closeup of Van Meegeren at work.
NY Times :: the final installment of Errol Morris' tale of the Nazi-era artist Van Meegeren here.
04 June 2009
03 June 2009
new store
Elizabeth Edwards (wife of John) plans to open a furniture store in downtown Chapel Hill called The Red Window. You go girl!
a home with style
Trend Bible is a small trend consultancy based in the UK, specialising in forecasting home trends up to 18 months ahead of the season, detailing the social and cultural events that influence design trends. For the Autumn/Winter 2010/11 season, the influence of the global financial crisis is creating new spending patterns as consumers start to redefine value and make more considered decisions. Watch out for a new positive, can-do attitude, where consumers feel empowered, want more for their money and aren't afraid to complain when standards aren't met. Faith and belief are important as people seek more from life and revert back to traditional family values in time of financial insecurity and political/commercial mistrust.Luxuriance
This trend has evolved out of the global recession creating a newfound desire to stay at home. It s about trading up, investing in quality pieces, built to last, that create a soothing environment within the home. Introducing calming, peaceful colours but also instills luxury and glamour.
Antidote
This trend is about independence, fun and strength of character. Inspired by the positivity of New America and the charm of the post war 1950s era. Spirited, charming, offbeat brights are mixed together in stripes, patchwork and embroidery. The vivid emotive palette makes us feel good and brings carefree comfort to the home.
Celestial
This trend looks at faith and spirituality. Becoming aware of the lack of certainty in our lives we search for comfort and reassurance. Celestial emanates peace and calm inspired by a recent conceptual exhibition Between the Sky and My Head by Yoko Ono. Diaphanous layering of fabric and paper, poems, inspiration writing and blurred photographic images mixed with intricately woven textiles and lustrous metallic finishes creates a mystical, dreamlike retreat from the world.
Recollect
This trend is inspired by a sense of nostalgia, which reassures people in times of hardship. Witty, cheerful slogans, vintage florals and needlework create an eccentric British look. A happy, optimistic palette works well for mismatched florals and stripes clashing pretty pinks with oranges and yellows. A vintage, handcrafted feel is imperfect and mismatched works well with this trend.
02 June 2009
something to do
It's time again for the Abbot Kinney First Fridays - the first Friday of the summer months, stores are open late. This is a poster from one of the stores - "Urbanic" posted on their blog Parcel Post - but it applies to the entire street. Friday June 5th from 7 - 10 pm.
diy - postcards
What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp.
{author unknown}
Follow the directions here.
bamboozling ourselves - part 4
"Mealtime at the Farm" by Hans Van Meegeren
"The Lacemaker" by Johannes Vermeer
Forgery timeline
NY Times :: Part 4 here of Errol Morris' story of masterpiece forgery.
01 June 2009
29 May 2009
major eye candy - peonies
You say Peony, I say Paeony - either way - the Greek myth goes down like this:Asclepius was the god of healing and medicine. Peaon was his wingman. Peaon got so talented that Asclepius got all jealous. To save Peaon from Asclepius’ wrath, Zeus turned him into a flower; the Peony. Asclepius later got caught raising folks from the dead in exchange for gold. Zeus struck him down with a lightning bolt. I’m not sure who was left to do the healing after that.
Anyway now is the season for these showstoppers. We can get peonies year-round - flown in from New Zealand and Holland - but they’re not the same. Not as full, not as fragrant.
Two weeks ago the really good peonies starting showing. Varieties? Bowl of Cream, Big Ben, Crinkled Linens, Charles Burgess…shall I go on? Festiva Maxima, Felix Krause, Paula Fey, Pillow Talk. The price deflates this time of year from upwards of $15 a stem down to $6 or 7. You don’t need a lot. One or two. Unless you’re trying to appeal to an angry girlfriend (10 full-blown stems packs a wallop and makes a huge bouquet worth drooling over).
But you’re not the type for drama like that, and probably just want something pretty for your table. Put some sprite or sugar in the water to feed the cut stems.
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