uomo
angelo
Cristo
8.30.2011
8.28.2011
self-made men/women
As I was taking cover for Hurricane Irene yesterday, I decided to watch "Coco Avant Chanel"- a biopic depicting the early life of Coco Chanel.
It's amazing to see how this girl who was practically an orphan was able to overcome the traps of poverty & a rigid, chauvinistic society and build one of the largest fashion dynasties in the world. And it was interesting to see the influence of the men in her life from the Baron, whose life and kingdom she weaseled her way into through the most aggressive means, to Boy Capel, the love of her life who gently encouraged her to pursue her gifts.
In a world where woman weren't supposed to work and were only seen as accessories to men, she was able to revolutionize the fashion industry by becoming the first female designer and entrepreneur. In a world of excess and frivolity, she was able to showcase a style based on simplicity and elegance (i.e. the little black dress, two-piece suits).
"As soon as you set foot on a yacht you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom."- coco chanel
I've been going on a binge of reading up and researching these type of rags-to-riches stories, specifically on people who come from less-than-fortunate backgrounds and truly pursued what they loved. With all the recent news about Steve Jobs stepping down, I started researching (or googling) on his life, and I was blown away by his story. From being an adoptee to being let go from his own company to suffering from cancer and other health problems, this brilliant man has gone through a helluva lot. But his technological prowess, his emphasis on aesthetics, his hunger for innovation, and his love for his craft pulled him through even the darkest of times.
Unlike his rather 'square' contemporaries, Steve Jobs has the unique gift of knowing what consumers want in their products. I still remember my brother criticizing me for getting my first iBook when I was 18, saying that the only reason I wanted it was because it was "pretty." Which was entirely true (though I didn't admit it at the time), and Steve Jobs knew that.
My friend sent me this clip of a commencement speech he gave back in '05:
I know commencement speeches can be a bit gimmicky and "for show", but listening to this speech made me want to re-evaluate my life path. It made me really think about what I truly value & love and how these things can translate into a career. I'm still thinking.
It's amazing to see how this girl who was practically an orphan was able to overcome the traps of poverty & a rigid, chauvinistic society and build one of the largest fashion dynasties in the world. And it was interesting to see the influence of the men in her life from the Baron, whose life and kingdom she weaseled her way into through the most aggressive means, to Boy Capel, the love of her life who gently encouraged her to pursue her gifts.
In a world where woman weren't supposed to work and were only seen as accessories to men, she was able to revolutionize the fashion industry by becoming the first female designer and entrepreneur. In a world of excess and frivolity, she was able to showcase a style based on simplicity and elegance (i.e. the little black dress, two-piece suits).
"As soon as you set foot on a yacht you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom."- coco chanel
I've been going on a binge of reading up and researching these type of rags-to-riches stories, specifically on people who come from less-than-fortunate backgrounds and truly pursued what they loved. With all the recent news about Steve Jobs stepping down, I started researching (or googling) on his life, and I was blown away by his story. From being an adoptee to being let go from his own company to suffering from cancer and other health problems, this brilliant man has gone through a helluva lot. But his technological prowess, his emphasis on aesthetics, his hunger for innovation, and his love for his craft pulled him through even the darkest of times.
Unlike his rather 'square' contemporaries, Steve Jobs has the unique gift of knowing what consumers want in their products. I still remember my brother criticizing me for getting my first iBook when I was 18, saying that the only reason I wanted it was because it was "pretty." Which was entirely true (though I didn't admit it at the time), and Steve Jobs knew that.
My friend sent me this clip of a commencement speech he gave back in '05:
I know commencement speeches can be a bit gimmicky and "for show", but listening to this speech made me want to re-evaluate my life path. It made me really think about what I truly value & love and how these things can translate into a career. I'm still thinking.
8.17.2011
my sentiment exactly
"une femme est une femme"- my first jean luc godard film. it was so light, cute, and silly. and anna karina is just gorgeous. i thoroughly enjoyed it~!
8.15.2011
matt. 10:16
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
8.14.2011
artist spotlight!
hasisi park. i have such a girl crush on her!
she did the f(x) cd album pics!
self portraits:
edit: okay, 2 hours later, i'm still on this site.
They have the most awesome clips on different artists from all across the globe... i discovered uram choe (amazing Korean artist who creates moving machine installations). they even have g-dragon! And here's one on phoenix. Reeeeally wana go to a concert. agh!
she did the f(x) cd album pics!
self portraits:
edit: okay, 2 hours later, i'm still on this site.
They have the most awesome clips on different artists from all across the globe... i discovered uram choe (amazing Korean artist who creates moving machine installations). they even have g-dragon! And here's one on phoenix. Reeeeally wana go to a concert. agh!
8.09.2011
movie night
I watched "Sliding Doors" the other night (otherwise known as the movie where Gwyneth debuts her blond pixie 'do)... I remember watching the movie back when I was in grade school and even at that young age, I remember really liking it. I think I have an affinity towards any movie, book or tv show that centers around this concept of fate (that would explain why I clung onto "How I Met Your Mother" much longer than I should have). The film basically takes you down two different paths of Gwinnie's life depending on the seemingly minute detail of whether she made the subway or not.
Living in a place like NY and taking public transportation every morning and evening, I seem to be in these split-second predicaments all time:
Should I try to run and make it on this train or should I just wait for the next one?
Should I get off at 34th and walk the rest of the way to work?
Should I take the bus or the subway?
Should I take the R or just wait 5 more minutes to take the N?
In fact, even today, I decided (since it was a nice balmy night and all) that I would walk from Tribeca to 32nd st and take the bus the rest of the way to Long Island City. I wish I could say that I ran into the love of my life while I was at the bus stop (in fact, it would make this entry a lot more interesting), but 'fraid not.
Anyway, I think I'm diverging from my point, which was not to get into this huge bloated discussion about fatalism, but it was simply to say that I still really enjoyed the movie, and I forgot how kind and endearing John Hannah's character was in the film. I love the scene where Gwyneth's character Helen awkwardly runs into John Hannah's character James after they've both been waiting for the other to call.
But I had to say the movie left me feeling a bit funny, so I tried to end the night on a light note by watching "Heathers" (with the lovely Winona back in her hey-day), but that movie ended up making me feel a little strange too. So I had to resort to my current go-to mindless, feel-good film, "Easy A." Watching movies is like eating food. You want to end the night with something light and fresh to cleanse your palate.
Living in a place like NY and taking public transportation every morning and evening, I seem to be in these split-second predicaments all time:
Should I try to run and make it on this train or should I just wait for the next one?
Should I get off at 34th and walk the rest of the way to work?
Should I take the bus or the subway?
Should I take the R or just wait 5 more minutes to take the N?
In fact, even today, I decided (since it was a nice balmy night and all) that I would walk from Tribeca to 32nd st and take the bus the rest of the way to Long Island City. I wish I could say that I ran into the love of my life while I was at the bus stop (in fact, it would make this entry a lot more interesting), but 'fraid not.
Anyway, I think I'm diverging from my point, which was not to get into this huge bloated discussion about fatalism, but it was simply to say that I still really enjoyed the movie, and I forgot how kind and endearing John Hannah's character was in the film. I love the scene where Gwyneth's character Helen awkwardly runs into John Hannah's character James after they've both been waiting for the other to call.
But I had to say the movie left me feeling a bit funny, so I tried to end the night on a light note by watching "Heathers" (with the lovely Winona back in her hey-day), but that movie ended up making me feel a little strange too. So I had to resort to my current go-to mindless, feel-good film, "Easy A." Watching movies is like eating food. You want to end the night with something light and fresh to cleanse your palate.
8.05.2011
bamgoogled
I've started to read "Googled: The End of the World As We Know It" by Ken Auletta. I told myself I had to start reading some non-fiction books (my head can't be in the clouds all the time), and I got bored of the book written by the Baja Fresh guy (and got turned off by its ridiculously huge font size). I figured I work in the digital advertising world, specifically search marketing, so why not learn more about the foundation and growing dominance of the greatest online advertising company of all time?
Few things I learned in the first two chapters:
Also, whenever any other company pulls off something innovative and successful, Google either buys them out (i.e. YouTube, Blogspot) or tries to replicate and one-up them (i.e. Google Offers with GroupOn, Google+ with Facebook). How can a company so menacing and monopolizing not be evil?
Easy- by having cute and clever google doodles every holiday.
Hey... where'd that exclamation point go?
and for ol' time's sake:
I remember back in the day when Facebook was called thefacebook, and there was that non-descript shadow of a man (Mark Zuckerberg, is that you?) overlaid with cryptic numbers. It was oh-so-exclusive, and I felt somewhat special to be on it. But now everyone and their mom's (literally) are on it, and it somehow lost its appeal to me (Anyone else a lil' surprised that UC Davis was among the first 30 schools with early admission?)
Few things I learned in the first two chapters:
- Both founders Larry Page & Sergey Brin come from brilliant (as in highly intelligent) families that started from very humble beginnings
- Google was originally going to be called Backrub, then the Whatbox (but sounded too close to wetbox), then Googol (which means the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes), but that name was taken so had to settle on Google
- Google gives their employees X amount of hours a week to work on their own individual projects (quite awesome)
- Their slogan is "Don't be evil" (I'd raise an eyebrow to that)
Also, whenever any other company pulls off something innovative and successful, Google either buys them out (i.e. YouTube, Blogspot) or tries to replicate and one-up them (i.e. Google Offers with GroupOn, Google+ with Facebook). How can a company so menacing and monopolizing not be evil?
Easy- by having cute and clever google doodles every holiday.
Google back in the day:
Hey... where'd that exclamation point go?and for ol' time's sake:
I remember back in the day when Facebook was called thefacebook, and there was that non-descript shadow of a man (Mark Zuckerberg, is that you?) overlaid with cryptic numbers. It was oh-so-exclusive, and I felt somewhat special to be on it. But now everyone and their mom's (literally) are on it, and it somehow lost its appeal to me (Anyone else a lil' surprised that UC Davis was among the first 30 schools with early admission?)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)