Idol

Saw that on TV just now? Haha!

Make Everyday Fabulous

Has everyone seen this fantastic campaign by IKEA?

It must’ve been to publicise the temporary concept store that they set up in Manhattan, called Everyday Fabulous.

“In preparation for Design Week in NYC, IKEA teamed up with Deutsch to make ‘everyday fabulous’ for New Yorkers. With more than 650 different experiences during this 5-day, city-wide guerilla marketing event (including padded park benches in Union Square, oven mitts in the #6 train, bus shelters designed for comfort and flair and doggie bowls for our four-legged friends) IKEA proves that good design can make every day even better.”

So maybe design can really change the world.

I wonder if they had to get any permits.

Love Hate Relationship

Be a complete indecisive psycho bitch with this ambigram t-shirt. via neatorama. Btw, the font used for the words neatorama — yes, it’s a font — is candybits.

Guys can be the complete psycho with this one. “You don’t love me? I hate you!”

Tale of Two (Hundred) Dumplings

This weekend saw me in a bak chang wrapping frenzy — two sessions, one at Amy’s and another at my mom’s. But despite this high level of participation, I didn’t actually learn how to prepare any of the ingredients. You see, all the ingredients need to be prepared the day before the “wrapping” and I somehow missed both the sessions.

So while I would be competent enough to wrap my own dumplings next year, I haven’t much clue how to get any of the ingredients ready.

Love Cloud

Also via neatorama: The Heart Cloud. Neatorama’s neat indeed.

Les Amis Feast

One Friday night a couple of weeks ago, we converged at Les Amis together with LH, YK, Jo and Amy for a specially prepared dinner featuring a Spring menu by Chef Gunther. It turned out to be THE best meal me and Karen have ever had.

Singapore Portraits

Darlene Lin, a NY-based portrait photographer, is this month’s Objectifs artist-in-residence. Come down to her solo exhibition-cum-installation at Basheer Books Gallery, for a taste of how she views people who live, work and play in Singapore.

Portraits were taken at BooksActually earlier in the month.

You can try to spot my photo.

And if you have the time, go down to BooksActually… for books actually worth reading.

Paper Dreams

I’ve long admired these intricate yet sculptural papercuts from Ampersand Duck’s flickr album and wondered who made them. Neatorama tells me that it might be Peter Callesen.

I might have seen it in More Paperwork too. I’m quite sure that I saw the single-use wedding dress in there. I thought that that was pure genius, conceptually and aesthetically. It packs flat for delivery, features Miyakean pleats, and can be recycled when you’re done with it. What more can a designer bride ask for?

Oh. While I’m here, I might as well post this extraordinary papercut book as well.

Caroline

I hear youre driving someone else’s car now
She said you came and took your stuff away
All the poetry, and the trunk you kept your life in
I knew that it would come to that someday

Like a sad hallucination,
When I opened up my eyes,
The train had passed the station,
And you were trapped inside
Yet I never wonder where you went
I only wonder why
I wonder why

Well I hear youre using someone elses number;
She said she saw you in the store today.
It doesn’t matter whose address
You’re listed under,
I only know they’ll never make you stay.

Like a memory in motion,
You were only passing through
That is all youve ever known of life,
Thats all youll ever do.
There’s a dream I have where I sail away;
Looking back I wave at you
And I wave goodbye

In another life I see you
As an angel flying high,
And the hands of time will free you
You will cast your chains aside
And the dawn will come and kiss away
Every tear thats ever fallen
From your eyes
Behind those eyes

If you think museums are boring, we’re sorry

International Museum Day ‘06 is happening from now to 28 May with over 60 events at some 30 museums all around Singapore.

It’s your chance to check out some fascinating activities free or at greatly discounted rates, and to enjoy free shuttle buses that will pick you up from MRT stations and drop you right at the museums!

Full details at www.museums.com.sg

Blueprint

Got a copy of Blueprint from Kino today. I kinda like it. Some readers have complained that it lacks depth. But to me, I covers almost everything that I’m into.

However, I’m not too crazy about the design of the Fling masthead. I looks a little anemic / anorexic to me. For the insides, they used a bit of kursivschrift, so I guess they were trying to create something that went with that. It looks like the result of a focus group.

Note: Now I’m not so sure about the kursivschrift, could all just be fling.

Oh yes, I also bought a copy of Denyse Schmidt’s Quilts. It’s such a lovely book.

The BBQ

Apparently, we’ve all turned 72 overnight! Cos it looks like the BBQ is finally happening. As of now, the date is not confirmed.

Possible dates:
This Friday: looks ok so far. I’m not working. In fact I don’t think I’ll be working on Thursday either.
June 1, 2, 3: Some Manics (Ben & Sheryl) won’t be around
Monday, 22 May: current best bet

The food (so far)
Meat (wings) — Josh
Meat (steaks) — Ern
Meat (more wings) — Jimmy
Fruits — Dawn
Salad — Randy
Tiramisu — me
Mudpie — Sheryl
Otak + Bread — Jimmy
Satay — Ben
Mashed Potato — Jinghui
Kick-ass fried rice — Josh (Phew! I’m finally convinced that we have enough food.)

Drinks
Malibu — Randy
Vodka — Randy
Rest of alchie — me
Mixers & Drinks — Yit Keong
Icebox — Jay
Ice — Manic

Don’t forget:
Gas + plates + etc

To be updated. See you there!

Dated May 2nd

An open letter from Flea of Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ fame to the intraweb.

when i woke up this morning i was was confronted with the news that our record has been leaked to the internet it does not come out til may 9 but now it has leaked and not that i know alot about this kind of thing but i guess now it is possible to down load it for free if you want well that’s not very nice if you down load it now off one of these file sharing sites you will be getting a pale imitation of the record it will be of the poor sound quality of the technique they used to get it on there and that will break my heart it will break john frusciante’s heart it will break anthony kiedis’s heart and it will break the heart of chad smith yes, we worked for a year and a half to make the epic record of our lives and it is sad to me for the business reasons of course i think we are selling something really cool and we put all we had into it, 28 songs, 2 hours of the best that we can offer and i think it is a fair deal for everyone and for people to just steal a poor sound quality version of it for free because some asshole stole it and put it on the internets sad to me but, equitable business reasons aside the thing that really bums me out is we worked so hard, and so thoughtfully, all of us, for so long to make this record sound as warm and full from top to bottom as was possible we spent day and night for a year making sure every little sound was just right that they were all put together in the most beautiful way we could we did not leave a stone unturned in doing that work i can not put in words how much this record, stadium arcadium, means to us how sacred the sound of it is to us and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could and now, for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor sound quality it is a painful pill for us to swallow let me tell you this bums all of us out and i know that, as sensitive as john frusciante is about sound the idea of anyone getting and hearing this thing that way will devastate him for people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be will really hurt him deep inside and all of us will hurt yes, it is stealing from us, and that is lame everyone has to live with their own conscience on that one let it be your guide but to take a version that has been defiled sound wise a version in which some idiot has taken our year and a half of soul baring work and pissed all over it that will break our hearts

sincerely,

flea

via YayHooray!
_______

I’m pretty neutral on piracy but the dude has to stop whining and learn how to write properly. This sure won’t go down well with our MM.

Election Day

It’s been more than a month since I last blogged :-P Halfway between busy and lazy and I think I forgot that I had a blog.

Thankfully I have two ex-interns have been keeping the blog alive with some really great typography posts. Thanks Randy! Thanks Josh! Where’s Ernest?

Two wonderful interns have also come and gone and left us a huge lot of snacks and even gave me a bunch of links which I will now backpost (so scroll down, scroll down). Hello girls! Where are your websites?

So you see, I can skive for a while more.

Tomorrow, or later this morning, I get to vote for the first time in 30+ years.

Helvetica

Can’t agree more with this.

But don’t quite agree with this.

Taken from Helvetica: Homage To A Typeface via here. And I really really should be sleeping… like a normal human being.

Jinghui’s Links

Twenty-seven links, ladies and gentlemen! Darn, should’ve asked her to do the linking too.

Illustration
drawn
thewurstgallery

yamauchi
lotteklaver
cooverart
penelopeillustration
careysookocheff
mikiamano
youyesyou
lisa-alisa

Pretty Stuff
jillbliss
birdinthehand
peggyporschen
ilovehansel
paper-source

Design
2manydesigners
superfamous
misprintedtype

beadesigngroup
30gms
non-format

art-dept.com

advertising-
frederiksamuel
adsoftheworld

typography-
Flickr

So here they are, uncensored, unchecked, and unedited.

Flickr Faves

While I’m on a roll, I’ve also decided to start a new thread on my favourite flickr sets. So far they’re
Vintage aprons
Treehouses, ooh! lovely.
Pincushions, some of these look edible.
Backtack

French

The past 3 times I’ve been to Kino, this book has never failed to grab my attention. I know close to nothing about cooking but would get it just for it’s beautiful cover and oh-so-sexy ligatures.