As last week headed to a close, it got quite dismal. Not only was the dreaded haze back in full force -- wrapping our little part of earth in a horrendously polluted atmosphere, a young man about to be married to his girlfriend (who is pregnant with their two-month-old) was found dead under very suspicious circumstances and in a very politically/racially charged climate.

I can't quite explain it but I find myself grieving the loss of this total stranger. I suppose it's not unlike how total strangers mourn the death of someone they can identify with, or whose death feels totally unnecessary and of such tragic nature.

Anyway, I should be able to get myself back into shape for a post before the week's out. In the meantime, let me leave you with this. A solar eclipse -- the longest in the 21st century -- will happen sometime on the 22nd. If you can figure out when it occurs at your time zone (I haven't explored this site which seems to be able to tell you), remember to check it out. It doesn't happen everyday. And life is definitely too short not to stop and smell the roses (or witness a solar eclipse)...

The "E" Word

I read this piece at the NYTimes' site today. (You may need to sign up, I had to log in to read it in its entirety). I was surprised but thought it rather nice of the children to have been supportive. What's your take on it?

I believe partaking in that route should be a personal choice. But the danger of it being a choice is that not everyone has the capacity to process this sort of decision. This kind of quagmire isn't new to our species though, is it.

Sorry for the downer of a post, folks. But it is what it is for today. Cloudy days are my favorite, but they also put a melancholic spin on the day, I'm afraid.

Josef Schulz

Currently being 'wow'-ed by Josef Schulz's photography. I am a big fan of the illustrative Bernd and Hilla Becher, whom I learned from a little digging that Mr. Schulz had studied under, so I guess it's not all that surprising that I was bowled over when I first came across the images above :-)

On a totally unrelated note, if you want to ogle at some beautiful photos of old Japanese farm houses preserved in an open-air museum, check out this posting at Ouno. Fantasizing about a luddite existence is a favorite past-time of mine. Is it yours too?

Happy Friday!

Do you ever think that your empty milk cartons could be more than just trash? Here's proof.

Mr. Fix-It turns Macgyver. Ok, Macgyver-ish, to be fair :-)

Dish rack for the adventurous lot.

Those throw-away plastic knives? They could be your next art project.

Use leather bags with a less guilty conscience.

Scrapbooking from trash can be a good class project.

And lastly -- behold the little eco-friendlier cabinet that stole my heart!

Gulp.

Stumbled upon something else that rendered me thought- and speechless. Then again, this one could be due to sleep deprivation ;-p

Tableware casted from artist's own body -- found this at Dezeen. Gotta love the fact that they milked the concept for all it's worth in this image :-)

No vida, no loca

I don't know this dude, but whoa, it's like he pulled the thoughts out of my head. But when it's all said and done, I'll be damned if I weren't still missing the city like the proverbial phantom limb, though. 

Elsa Mora's papercut patterns

I've posted about the amazing talent that is Elsa Mora before. She's now come out with papercut patterns for sale on etsy, and has posted a free tutorial for those new to the craft. I like how she makes it look so effortless, definitely encouraging.

Never say sparse

When I wrote "sparse" in yesterday's post, I didn't think I would be squirming with delight at today's web findings :-) So delighted that I have to write about it pronto.

I'm not usually a big fan of beads, not quite sure why. But it's rare that I would see beads and clasp my hands together in awe. Never say never, I guess, for I'm swooning over Laura Lumaka's beaded jewellery. (via 18kt)

Another find that absolutely, and I mean that, made my day is of Maru the cat. I miss having a cat companion, and since it's really not viable to have one at the mo, sites like Maru keep me going. Many thanks to Maru's guardian(s) for sharing.  (via ii-ne-kore)

Wow, can't believe it's been so long. Anyway, I'm just stopping in to note a couple of things I'm liking.

Whitelines Notebooks and

Dainippon Wooden Type Toy.

And yes, the lameness of recent posts is duly noted :-) Am in the midst of mental re-organizational activity and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find space in my head for this little ol' blog o' mine. Hope you'll pardon the sparse postings in the meanwhile....

Mourning Objects by Anna Schwamborn

I've decided another posting is in order today, to commemorate the fact that I can see the green mountains peeking out from the haze :-)

Anna Schwamborn's Mourning Objects managed to stump me. For the first time in aeons, I find myself unable to process what I feel/think about something, which I am pleasantly surprised about. I had been finding it increasingly easy to have opinions on matters, which I equate to being in somewhat of a mental-growth rut. 

I think the idea of incorporating pieces of the body (think teeth, or even skulls) into something wearable has been around for ages. But they are usually restricted to remote tribes or primordial cultures (at least as far as I know, but then again, please be reminded that I've stressed before in this blog of how little I know). Anyway, this is the first imagery I've seen of human remains (her pieces include hair as well as cremated ashes) that borders high fashion. I mean, the jewelry actually look like items fashionistas could covet while flipping through Vogue or the likes.

Anyway, go to Dezeen to read about it and ogle at more images of the jewelry.

Ta for now!

Balloon Breakfast

This blog's been reading like a weather report lately, hasn't it, but I just can't help it. It rained last night, so while the view of the horizon is still obliterated by the cursed haze (can we come up with a more technical name for it already???), it's a lot more survivable today, it's cooler and there's even the occasional breeze. Calls for a celebration, no? Hence a posting today ;-p

The image above made me smile.

via ignant.

Via Buzzfeed, I found this information graphics showing Iran's political system by Nicolas Rapp. I kowtow to graphics that illustrate complexities with such simplicity and clarity. To me, haughty as it may sound, this exemplifies the purpose of good communication design.

Ugh, the murderous heat is making it impossible to be a properly functioning human being. It's 95 F, muggy and on top of that, hazy with pollutants in the air. That's not the whole story as to why there haven't been any updates. Truth is, I hit another bump where I just can't find anything worth the trouble to blog about. Not that there aren't some seriously good shit happening that excites me, it's just that nothing feels worthy when compared to what I have to go through to blog about it. The soap-melting heat (true story!) makes firing up the ol' computer a major-ass chore. First, all fans in the room have to be turned on and trained on the computer, then the electricity to the computer itself has to be turned on and finally a damp cloth for the underside where the battery is capable of getting so hot it causes the wooden table to give off a scent. Nothing seems worthy of this kind of strain, you know what I mean? Yea yea yea, I'm a complainer, I've heard that before :-)

So anyway, we got a bit of relief from the drought today, which makes it tolerable so here I am, explaining my absence with a chokeful of words. Also, got a couple of finds to share, the kind of things that gets me excited. Wordnik (a contemporary word dictionary, I love the idea behind it) and Fotopedia (an encyclopaedia of images). Hope you like 'em as much!

Panos 2013 at Lyon

Digging this collaborative street art - Panos 2013.

Sorry I'm Late

Loving this stop-motion animation! I'm a big big sucker for all kinds of stop-motion. 

Sorry I'm Late from Tomas Mankovsky on Vimeo.

via changethethought.