Monday, April 28, 2008

Yes, I am an avid internet stalker.

This post was stimulated by the Lightspeed Champion song, "Galaxy of the Lost" which has been stuck in my head for too many days. I'll admit, I love the song, but the hater in me had to figure out how ex-Test Icicles band member Dev Hynes could go from this crummy song:

BTW, I did actually enjoy this song back in the day.

to this masterpiece:


Some Wikipedia-ing revealed that Dev's got the talented Miss Emmy the Great and an impressive Saddle Creek orchestra (including members of Bright Eyes and the Faint) backing him up. Well figures! If I had those people, I'd make mind-blowing music as well.
I know what you're thinking, "Yu-San, why do you have to ruin EVERYTHING?!" And the answer is, I DON'T KNOW. But to make you feel better, I really do think the kid's got talent. Check out how much he owns the Klaxons:

Funny how the Klaxons are making money off of this cover.

Furthermore, were you aware that Hynes is a pretty good photographer? I found these photos on his Flickr:






Okay, he's now officially good-in-my-book because I just discovered a "30 Rock" reference on his Myspace profile.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

creepy crush

Shhh, you have to promise to keep this post on the d/l because my love for DJs is a little creepy. Anyway, as some of you may already know, Turntable Lab has pretty much ruined my life. Every month, my life savings goes to that damned store. Not to mention, I spend way too much of my time browsing the Turntable Lab website and reading the Turntable Lab Blog a.k.a. My Guilty Pleasure. All the blog contributors are Turntable Lab employees by day and DJs by night, including Michna, who I've come to adore only for the mere fact that I LOVE his blog posts. For some odd reason I can always tell which entries are written by him; I guess I'm just that into him. What a total babe:

(taken from Michna's Myspace profile)

The last time I was up in NYC (October 2007) I saw him at a party and he was dressed in all white --like an angel. I totally swooned, but SHAUN wanted to leave before I got a chance to hear his set. Today, as I was getting my daily dose of TTL Estoy Con Estupido, I found out that Michna just got signed to Ghostly International, which is crazy awesome news. Moreover, Michna's "Triple Chrome Dipped" is the first track on Ghostly International x Adult Swim's newly released compilation. It's so good (especially the last 41 seconds). There's even a super cute animated video that goes along with the song. You can watch the video and listen to/download the whole album here. I'm really diggin' the entire comp so go check it out!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ebay bashing

This is a ranting entry, so if you can't handle it, move on to the next post. : P. Anyway, every time I check out vintage clothes on Ebay, I always get really ticked. The amount of money people are willing to spend on shitty thrifted clothing is obscene. Take these few examples:


1. From Lullie Vintage:

This $86 dress is ugly as fuck. The model ain't all that either. Plus, the dress is UNHEMMED meaning it was waaay uglier before and that's why you didn't even bother picking it out when you saw it for $1.99 at the Goodwill.

2. From Maki Maki Vintage:

Whoever came up with this print was trying too hard to make it look like an animal print without it being an animal print. It's so unpleasing to the eye! You and I both know that this dress sucks and so does spending $93 for it.

3. From Nasty Gal Vintage:

Ummm, why would one spend $71 for a crappy skirt when one can get a similar skirt of similar/better quality from H&M for $5? It's not even a designer brand! Ugh, how this bothers me so! Oh, and is it just me, or is the model's outfit ALL WRONG?

4. Also from Nasty Gal Vintage:

This one definitely takes the cake. Whoever ends up paying $112+ for this "dress" is an IDIOT. It's a fucking ugly-ass night gown that was donated because the woman who wore it could not seduce her husband with it and subsequently had to get a divorce. Perhaps the dress worn in combination with the $71 blue skirt (as modeled in the photo) will give better results.


Yeah, yeah, I'm a total hater. The girls are super bangin' and obviously people are putting down a lot of money partially due to the sexy photos. I can only hope these suckers will buy my stuff too when I start selling clothes on Ebay again.

Friday, April 18, 2008

pretty eerie stuff

In other news, crazy shit goes down in Texas. Currently, a trial is deciding whether 416 seized children should be returned to the families of a renegade Mormon sect. Read more about it here. I don't normally care about news like this, but this picture gives me the creeps:

"Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints arrive at the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas."


Um, I think they may be trapped in a "Little House on the Prairie" time warp.

"motherf*ers is mad"

It's times like these that I'm glad I don't watch TV. Word on the street is that yesterday's Philadelphia Democratic Presidential candidate debate was a travesty. I love how the audience started boo-ing (how Philly!). As mentioned on Ugh News, even Soulja Boy is pissed:



Wait, you don't know what "YAHHH!" means? WATCH THE VIDEO IN ITS ENTIRETY. YOU'LL THANK ME.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

another "chloe" entry (sorta)

Spring is here and Summer is just around the corner. You know what that means, right? It's time to bust out the sunglasses! I don't have money to blow, but maybe you do. Check it: the LA-based (now relocated to NYC?) jewelry brand Alex and Chloe has branched out into the world of sunglasses for the masses. Although I think vintage Ray-Ban mimics are somewhat past their prime, I'm really digging this orange:

My fascination with Chloe Sevigny

I have a little side note before getting to the actual post: as I was researching for this blog entry, I was simultaneously chatting with a dear friend, Michael Patrick. To my surprise we were randomly looking up the same thing! While the saying "great minds think alike" is debatable, I know for a fact that Michael has a great mind. Thus, I will now take the opportunity to shamelessly promote Michael's music: Designer Drugs. You can read his most recent interview at Mochi and Beats, or download some new tracks via Discodust. Okay, now onto the entry...

Is anyone else having a love/hate relationship with Chloe Sevigny? I only ask this because she's been EVERYWHERE recently (at least in my sad, little world). She was on the cover of last month's Nylon magazine and is conveniently one of the new faces for the Chloe fragrance:

Photo from Work in Progress.

Maybe I'm the only one that feels this way, but Sevigny (left) is simply not up to par with Anja Rubik (middle) and Clemence Posey (right). And look here, Chloe is part of the new ad campaign for Japan's leading clothing retail chain, Uniqlo:

Photo from hypebeast.

Am I missing something? Sevigny is just as dead ugly as this candid(?) photo of her watching a tennis match:


She appears to be on the heavier side in real life, which, thinking it over again, makes me glad that she's actually deemed a model. I'll also give her plus points because I too am a fan of stuffing my face with popcorn (case in point: I bought two bags of popcorn at Trader Joe's a few days ago). As Michael hinted, there's just something ephemerally sexy about Chloe. Maybe you will find this photo of her and ex-lover Harmony Korine (director of "Gummo") as charming as I did:

Photo by Mario Sorrenti

Besides looking pretty, I guess Chloe has plenty of other things going for her. For one, she babysat Topher Grace (aka Eric Forman on "That 70s Show") [1]. Also, her brother Paul Sevigny is the owner of the exclusively hipster NYC bar, Beatrice Inn [2]. Okay but seriously, she's actually quite the impressive actress. I'll admit, I really liked her in Larry Clark's "Kids". Oh yeah, and who could forget that she got the chance to suck Vincent Gallo's big, fat penis in "Brown Bunny"? Unlike somebody who will remain nameless, I will spare you that image.

[1] Wikipedia
[2] Michael Patrick

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

speaking of London...

I really want to go back to London RIGHT NOW! London is so much fun, and there are so many things I never got the chance to see. While I was visiting in January, I was fortunate enough to see the "Pop Art Portraits" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. Obviously, the exhibit had several works by Andy Warhol, which is fine and dandy, but I also got to see this Andy Warhol-esque screen print by Richard Hamilton:

"Swingeing London 67(a)": Portrait of Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser being arrested for illegal substance abuse.

This was one of my favorite portraits in the entire museum; in fact, a postcard of this is actually sitting on my desk at work. There are actually some other things sitting on that desk: a deer temporary tattoo, stickers of dogs, another post card of "Portrait of Juan Gris" by Patrick Caulfield, and the Periodic Table of Elements. Whoo, so exciting!

On a related topic, I LOVEEE this new Louis Vuitton ad campaign:

Photo by Annie Leibovitz

The person who came up with the idea of mixing Keith Richards with high-end fashion is a genius. I want more!

my new favorite toy

Now that I have lots of time on my hands, I figure I should spend more time doing my favorite hobby: COOKING! This obviously entails spending money on fancy kitchenware that I've always wanted. Several days after my preliminary exam, I went to my favorite local kitchenware store (Foster's for those that are interested) and got one of these babies:

a stove-top espresso maker FOR ONE! This has been the best $20+tax I've spent in a really long time. Plus, I finally can use the espresso coffee I accidentally bought in London. I'm so pleased; although the stove-top espresso maker doesn't make cafe-quality espresso shots, it beats the hell out of the gritty coffee that my IKEA French press spits out. The best part of this purchase is that now I can make my favorite dessert tiramisu. Mmmmm, I've expressed so many favorites in one entry.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

"Terrorism Affects Tourism"

I stumbled across the following topic on the Paper Magazine website. Apparently M.I.A.'s sister, Kali Arulpragasam, is a London-based jewelry designer, who also presents political issues with her art. Kali's Spring 2008 collection "Tourism" represents the beauty of nine war-torn countries in the form of necklaces and earrings. Take a peak:







To download Kali's Spring 2008 catalog or view her past collections, visit her line's official website: www.superfertile.com.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Spring daze

Today is Philly's first hazy day of 2008! It's officially Spring when the sexy Penn undergrads start teasing me with their short shorts. Sadly, I'm a not-so-sexy Penn graduate student, who had the misfortune of wearing a polyester long-sleeve shirt in 70 degree weather. Oh well, screw scandalous clothing, I need a coral-red turban and matching lipstick!



A sweet romper and long legs yellow sunglasses would be nice, too.

from Temperley Spring 2008

Team Ryan McGinley


I'm sure you've all come across this on other blogs, but seeing how this is also a blog, I figure I should follow suit. The photo above is from Ryan McGinley's new exhibit entitled "I Know Where the Summer Goes". Apparently, 50 images of the 150,000 photos that McGinley took in Summer 2007 are on display at Team Gallery (83 Grand Street; New York, NY 10013). Don't the photos looks AMAZING on McGinley's website?! Who wants to come with me to see this?

You're lookin' like a meal.

I love this video for the following reasons:
1. Breakfast is the best meal ever. In addition, I'm eating breakfast as I'm typing this.
2. Parra just so happens to be one of my most favorite contemporary artists.
3. Hello... French "ghettotech"!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Popsicles and Parkas

This is my new favorite disco song:


I don't have the mp3, so this youtube video will just have to do:

These bodysuits kinda rule.

Yeah, the following picture may be old news to some of you, but shiz, I love Brian Lichtenberg, and it's my blog, so deal with it.


Photo by Beatrice Neumann, from Issue 20 of Big Shot Magazine - "The Best DJ magazine in the Galaxy"

Speaking of holograms, I have a funny anecdote. In sixth grade, my teacher made my class write business letters to companies of our choice. I wrote to Kodak and told them I was wondering how they make holograms. A few weeks later, Kodak sent me this HUGE package with everything there is to know about making holograms. Even though my puny sixth-grade mind could not comprehend any of the information they sent me, I was amazed that someone actually took the time to respond to my letter. Sometimes I contemplate about writing fake sixth-grade business letters to get free stuff.

Congratulations, it's a blog!



It's official: I've started a new chapter of my life. Since I will never have class work EVER AGAIN, I can blog my heart out. I know, I know. I already have a livejournal, but no one wants to read that BS --not even me. Let's see how easy it is to blab about interesting things that do not pertain to my personal life. This should be fun.