February 2006
Design Anarchy is the latest book by Adbusters founder Kalle Lasn, Design Anarchy, takes an unflinching look at contemporary art and design, implicating its seemingly innocuous practices in crimes against our culture and our planet." View a flash presentation at Adbusters
And you have never read Culture Jam, Kalle’s previous book , then go buy it now and read it. You can also pre-order Design Anarchy at Amazon.com
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Inka Essenhigh has aptly described her paintings as “about America : Fake, fun, pop, violent, but also quite attractive.” He work has a beguilingly alien appeal: antiseptic yet expertly rendered, flirting with both abstraction and representation but committing to nothing more than visual intrigue. Slickly designed and intricately painted, Essenhigh’s pieces whimsically marry seductive visuals from cartoons, mythology, suburbia, the World Wrestling Federation, nature, product design, and basically anything elses that appeals to the eye. Her latest show in New York convincingly asserts that shallow is the new deep and cuts the very latest edge in one of the most traditional of Media
303 Gallery 525 W. 22nd St. New York City March 4 – April 13
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In 1934, Le Corbusier set out to renovate his Paris flat, and from that endeavor emerged the LC5.F Sofa, a sleek, convertible bench supported by a skeleton of polished chrome-plated steel. Le Corbusier wanted furniture that reflected developing technology, and with its lightweight form and structural sophistication and simplicity, the LC5.F embodies the industrial advances of the era. Available in black leather, the sofa comfortably accommodates three people and transforms into a daybed or a bed by simply flipping the seat back over the chrome frame to enlarge the bench into a sleeping surface. Each piece is signed and numbered and, as a product of Cassina’s Masters Collection, is manufactured by Cassina in Italy under exclusive worldwide license from the Le Corbusier Foundation.
Buy it online @ DWR.COM
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The ' target=_blank>Dominus 2001 Estate has a deep ruby color with a complex nose of cloves, blackberries, and dark chocolate. The structured tannins are enrobed with an enticing aroma. This wine explodes in the mid-palate, with essences of spices and worn leather. The long, lingering finish displays a harmony of tobacco, coffee and fruit.
This wine is a blend comprised of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. We recommend decanting the wine prior to serving to allow it to develop its full potential.
From the Wine Spectator: “The impeccably made 2001 Dominus boasts a dense plum/purple color in addition to a fragrant, promising perfume of cocoa, cedar, coffee, roasted herbs, and copious quantities of black fruits. There are 7,000 cases of this 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot blend. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with sweet but noticeable tannin, a layered mid-palate, and a long finish with obvious tannin, it will require 3-4 years of cellaring. It should last for two decades.”
Buy it online @ ' target=_blank>Wine.com
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The gadget of the month is Samsung’s new YP-D1 Pocket DSC MP3 Plater, which debuted at CES. It’s an MP3 player and a digital camera all in one. Forget about crappy camera phones and use this two megapixel, 4X zoom instead. It shows pictures and text files on its 1.8” color screen and uses its USB connection to hook up to your TV to reveal all the docs on a larger screen. Besides holding hundreds of MP3s it also has an FM radio. You can’t buy it yet but it will retail for $299
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Next month, renowned 17–story circular building in the heart of LA’s post Brentwood community will be unveiled as the new handsome new Hotel Angeleno. Embracing a sleek interior design accented by polished wood and modern earth tones, the botique hotel geatures 209 guestrooms and suited with the latest modern amenities, including 300–count Italian linens, wireless internet access, flat screen TV’s and private balconies. Guests can also take advantage of four exceptional meeting places, a full fitness center and heated outdoor pool. At penthouse level, Lounge offers authentic Italian steakhouse style dining and one of the finest panoramic views in the city.
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Inspired by the original version in Amsterdam, the visually stunning, all-white decor of San Francisco’s Supperclub echoes and alternate universe of theatrical imagination fused with fine cocktails and cuisine. Before dinner, step into Le Bar Rouge, where guests gather to mingle in anticipation of the evening’s live performances. Later in La Salle Neige, billed as the main dining room, performance space and “escape pod”, guests dine on five courses of Latin and Pan-Asian-influenced cuisine while enjoyinh evening-long live entertainment. Shaped like a white box theater, La Salle Neige showcases everything from ariel dancers to acrobats, contortionists, and victorian-style drag queens, all synchronized by a live DJ.
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If you have a wine collection worth showing off, there is no better to display it than on this beauty of a rack designed by Anders Noergaard for Rosendahl. It is made from brushed aluminum, holds 18 bottles of your best vintages, and looks both sculptural and functional. Minimalistic in its design, the wine bottles themselves form part of the design. 35.5" height, 9.5" deep.
Buy it online at Unicahome.com
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Tired of carrying around the laptop, PDA, and cell phone? Then combine them into a single device. Thats what the DualCor has done with their cPC handheld PC. At 6.6” x 3.3” x 1.2”, the cPC is a tiny, fully functional PC that features a reasonably fast 1.5Ghz processor, a 40GB hard drive, a whopping 1GB of RAM, and 800x600 touch screen as wekk as USB and CompactFlash ports.
And while other companies such as OQO have released similar tiny computers before , the cPC has a pretty impressive trick up its sleeve: it runs both Windows XP and Windows Mobile. In other words, it can function as a PDA for on the go usage, and still be able to switch into full-on PC mode for heavy duty computing tasks like web surfing, graphics and all the other stuff you usually leave at home or in the laptop bag. The cPC will retail for around $1500 and should be available in the first quarter of the year.
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Just 100 meters away by escalator from the ski runs and cable cars of the Silvretta ski arena in Ischgl Austria is the Hotel Madlein, the most extraordinary place in the Alps. This first-class hotel offers every luxury that one can imagine: cuddle room, family apartments, and now, new designer suites. A traditional Austrian chalet on the outside... but inside you'll Þnd a totally unconventional Zen-inspired interior. Rooms are light, spacious and airy, with swish modern furnishings. The loft-style designer bedrooms have bathrooms whose walls are made from frosted glass. The emphasis throughout is on stone, glass and wood to reflect the mountains, which you can see everywhere, from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the Japanese garden. There's entertainment at Pacha nightclub, and a Sushi Lounge and gourmet restaurant.
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If you haven't experienced the Lomography Horizon Kompakt Panoramic Camera yet, you're in for an incredible treat. The sole purpose of this cream-colored, retro-communist-designed camera is to give you dead-easy and endless panoramic snapshots. With a fixed aperture and focus, all you have to do is aim, point, and shoot, and before you know it, you'll have a 120-degree panoramic shot with perfect clarity. A fast setting for day and slow setting for night let you take this camera with you any time day or night. There's nothing quite like the Lomography Horizon Kompakt in the world of photography.
Buy it Online @ Amazon.com
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The Iron Horse 2000 Russian Cuvee is the same base wine as Classic Vintage Brut, but with a richer dosage, which makes it more opulent, slightly sweeter and heightens the fruit. Originally designed for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ending the Cold War. According to USA Today, "an intertwining of the arts of diplomacy and gastronomy".
Delicious before, during or even as dessert. Especially fun with a handful of pomegranate seeds bobbing in the glass
Buy it online @ Wine.com
Email | Bookmark | Link "World's Best Awards" from the editors at Travel + Leisure magazine. I have yet to experience any of these airlines, and have always heard great things about Cathay Pacific. But I am most surprised by the fact that not one Domestic American airline is in the top six.
Singapore Airlines
800-742-3333
www.singaporeair.com
Cathay Pacific Airlines
800-233-2742
www.cathaypacific.com
Emirates
800-777-3999
www.emirates.com
Thai Airways International
800-426-5204
www.thaiair.com
Virgin Atlantic Airways
800-862-8621
www.virgin-atlantic.com
Source: Travel + Leisure magazine
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The Tumi Electric Adapter makes going international easier now with this innovative design: it has 4 adaptor configurations in one unit. Works for laptops, cell phones and small appliances in 150 countries. Features a replaceable electric fuse and convenient case. Most travel adapters are ugly and bulky but this travel adapter is something no international jetsetter should be without.
Buy it online @ Flight001
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Designed to mimic a gentle rain shower, the Rain Sky by Sieger Design for Dornbracht integrates into the ceiling for a truly minimalist effect, doing away with bulky heads in favour of a sleek planel set into the ceiling. The newest and most innovative member of an extensive collection of fittings and accessories conceived around the notion of water as it is experienced in nature, Rain Sky is available in manually operated and electronic versions. You can control the amount, strenght and pattern of water fall, as well as fragrance, mist colors and soundtrack levels. ($7,000 to $14,000.)
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While no task chair is perfect for everyone, designer Jerome Caruso’s new Celle Chair is a solution that suits up to 95% of the population. A mid-priced seat designed with cutting-edge ingenuity, the Celle functions like a responsive and adaptable skin to both support and resist the sitter’s weight. Founded on a patented system of cells and loops that are smaller at the interior and larger toward the outside, the pli- able polymer construction customizes to the sitter’s body and flexes as the body moves. This is a chair able to respond to the endless adjustments that we make throughout the day with a harmonic tilt mechanism that mirrors large movements, to keep gestures fluid and muscles relaxed. The Celle also offers vital pelvic stabilization, which is fundamental to maintaining proper posture and comfort. By allowing air to flow through its cellular suspension construction, the Celle offers the ultimate in thermal comfort. This original is an authentic, fully licensed product of Herman Miller, Inc.
Buy it online @ Design Within Reach
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Covering only six square miles, the Provenance Vineyards unique soil, sun exposure and climate make it the ideal site for great Cabernet Sauvignon. Andy Beckstoffer grows our grapes in deep alluvial fans washed down over the ages from near by Mount St. John in the Mayacamas Mountains. The vines are all 10 years old or more, grown on the historic vineyard once owned by George Yount (the first person to grow winegrapes in the valley) and later Thomas Rutherford.
The richly structured Provenance Vineyards 2002 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon spent 17 months in the barrels—the 15 percent American Oak at work here are most likely responsible for its charming woody element. It's rich but not abrasive with a nice, full plum and sweet raisin finish. Give it a some years or, if you want it now, enjoy with cheese or a serious meat dish.
Buy it online @ Wine.com
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The NEC L1 is the thinnest mobile phone in the world. If you are a Blackberry/Sidekick user who carries a second phone for primary voice use, or if you just want an ultraslim phone, the NEC L1 is a must have.Our favorite aspect of the L1 is its speed; some tiny phones seem to lack processing power leading to slow response-time. But the NEC L1's response is instant. The made-in-Japan L1's rock solid quality and fast response time make it a joy to use.
Another neat feature an included cable that allows you to use any headphones for handsfree; use the Amadana 117 bamboo earphones for style, or use noise-cancelling headphones to combat a noisy environment. There is also an integrated 1.3-megapixel CCD, 26mb internal storage, integrated Bluetooth, external OLED display, and an MP3 player. Please note that the L1 has English menus but a Chinese file structure (ex. the folder containing MP3s has a Chinese name). There is a useful software suite (English) loads your own videos, photos, and sounds/MP3 files, to use as ringtones.
You can buy it online at Celluloco for $954
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Rocio Romero's LV series is a line of homes inspired by her first prototype the LV home, built in Laguna Verde Chile in 1999. Since debuting the LV home as a prefabricated home to the masses her line of work has expanded, we now have other homes including the LVL, LVG, LV-150, and LVM. Each LV series unit has been thoughtfully designed to exist on it's own as well as be combined with the other units. All of the homes in the LV series are customizable, you can reconfigure the interior as well as the exterior.
The LV Home kit provides you with materials for the exterior envelope. You and your contractor will need to supply the foundation, roof, windows, and the interior finish out. Neither plumbing nor electric lines are included, allowing for the home to be constructed in adherence to local building codes. Leaving these materials out also ensures that the entire kit can fit on a single truck. And yes, the cost of these additional materials will add up, however the price is still quite reasonable. For a complete LV home, including transport, labor, site preparation, finishes and equipment, Ms. Romero estimates that it will run just under $100,000.
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Courtesy of the same minds that brought us Mexico City’s Hotel Habita and Condesa DF, as well as Playa del Carmen’s neighboring Deseo, Hotel Básico is a high-design boutique hotel — but, like its sisters, a highly individual one. In this case it’s a concept that’s far from city glam, with floors made from recycled tires and twin rooftop pools made from converted oil tanks.
Unfinished concrete walls and exposed ductwork lend an industrial feel to the guest rooms, like something from a Bond villain’s island stronghold. Raised platform beds sit at the center of each room, surrounded by the sort of accessories you don’t often see in a hotel room — flippers for diving, a soccer ball, a Polaroid camera. A live video feed brings the beach conditions right to your plasma television, in case you need to check the surf or the scene before venturing out.
For all the funkiness, though, the Básico is anything but basic; the Caribbean view from the rooftop pools is stunning, and the pool deck cabanas come with built-in mattresses for luxurious lazing. Downstairs, an open-kitchen restaurant fashioned after a traditional puesto serves fresh and authentic Mexican seafood on a patio shaded by leafy trees
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Sited further north than any other wine producer in CEntral Otago, Mount Maude lies in the Maungawera Valley between Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. Its dry, taughtly structered Riesling and weighty, deeply flavored Pinot Noir are both rewarding. The 3.5ha vineyard is draped across a steep, terraced, north facing slope, looking towards Mount Maude. In gravelly soils with seams of clay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay are the key varieties, with a smaller plot of Gewurztraminer. The first wine flowed in 1999. At 600 cases in 2001, Mount Maude’s output is still tiny; some of the grapes are sold to a much bigger winery. THe Riesling is lemony and minerally, tight and dry with crisp, strong flavours. The Pinot Noir is full-bodied and ripely flavoured with oak complexity and very satisfy depth of plummy, spicy flavour.
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A Practice For Everyday Life (APFEL) is a graphic design practice formed by Kirsty Carter and Emma Thomas, graduates of the Royal College of Art. APFEL creates design, publications, exhibitions, editorial, installations and art.
APFEL’s work is born out of a mixture of commercial and personal work where they allow each to constantly inform the other, thus motivating an energy and creativity in inventing solutions. They are a graphic design partnership with a conceptual bias, working both as designer and/ or author. Their work is deceptively simple and aims to evoke feelings, twisting what is often taken for granted. Their work does not look obviously designed, but in reality, it is of course wholly designed to the finest detail – sensitive to type and image to intrigue and be functional to users. They like to collaborate with a client to develop a thorough understanding of the requirements of the project, before creating something which is always multi-faceted, investigational and playful. Thoughtful, sensitive, problem solving, honest and charming; APFEL create work which is both appropriate and engaging to the situation and client.
APFEL were nominated as one of the Creative Futures 2003 (hosted by Creative Review Magazine.)
Check out the Tate Modern Games
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With separate drivers, for high and low frequencies the dual driver design of the UE-5c delivers the same mind blowing listening experience your favorite artist and professional audio engineers demand during a live performance. Manufactured in a solid material, the UE-5c's are built to last. These earphones have performed flawlessly under the most extreme conditions that exist during a live performance. Cables are detachable and replaceable and available in clear, skintone beige, skintone dark brown, black, and white.
They aren't inexpensive, and the fact that they're custom-made to fit each customer's inner ears means you can't sell them on eBay if you don't like what they do. But I doubt that that option will occur to those who buy Ultimate Ears' UE-5c. The smooth midrange and highs and the powerful low frequencies are addictive. Yes, the UE-5c could have done with a tad more ultimate dynamic range in the bass, but that minor fault, I would imagine, is solved by Ultimate Ears' UE-10 Pro. Recommended. Highly recommended.
Buyt them online @ Ultimate Ears.com
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Secrets of Paris is a free, monthly e-newsletter started by Heather Stimller-Hall back in January 2001 as a way of sharing her latest finds with friends (both French and foreign) living in Paris. Through word of mouth alone it has become a very popular source of alternative Paris information for both residents and visitors, with subscribers from 24 countries.
The newsletter is completely ad-free, and includes tips on upcoming events, where to eat, shop, sleep and go out at night, as well as money and time-saving hints. Basically, it includes anything she finds interesting about Paris that isn't in the mainstream press. Topics include everything for drinking and dining to book event and hotel news. For anyone taking a trip to Paris or if you just dream of living in Paris, this is the newsletter to read.
Heather is also the author of the The Adventure Guide to Paris & Ile-de-France which you can buy online @ amazon.com
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Purple South’s wonderful range of tableware is hand-crafted from Wych Elm sourced from a managed New Zealand forest. The unparalleled qualities of this hardwood include good natural resistance to fungi and bacteria. Therefore, this tableware will make your food look better while keeping it fresh longer. The genius design of 70 CM Fruit features four different ways of food presentation in an unusual and beautiful way.
Purple South is New Zealand's international design label, producing and marketing furniture and accessories that are developed in co operation with renowned local and international product designers. The vision of Purple South is to supply the local and international market with high quality and globally competitive designs that have a distinctive New Zealand style.
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Lunar Design thrives on creating innovative and original products that make a meaning full difference. Lunar is regularly listed in the top 10 IDEA winners in Business Week Magazine and has been recognized repeatedly by ID Magazine, Good Design, iF, AIGA, Print Magazine, Cooper-Hewitt Museum among others. One of my favorite designa of theirs is the Lunar Cake plate. Lunar’s 20th anniversary commemorative cake plate with a debossed area for the cake slice and a candleholder. Moonshine thinking solves the age-old problem of where to put the candle once the song is over!
Also check out Icon-O-Cast : Lunar Design’s Podcast. The rececntly had a recap of CES and discussed the environmental aspects of sustainable design
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K West is a bit out of the way; its Shepherd’s Bush location is not exactly glamorous, but still just minutes from Central London by subway and a short hop from Notting Hill. In fact, we picked this hotel for people in the music industry as it is close to venues and studios. As such, it is reasonably priced with a cool vibe.
A recent redesign has found K West looking rather contemporary, yet not severely modern. The style of the moment is “less is more” — the palette is restrained, earthy, and the decor minimal and a bit bland in the least expensive rooms, lending to the slightly Zen aspirations of the hotel.
Relaxation is key, after all; the full name is K West Hotel and Spa, and the philosophy is: if circumstances prohibit an escape to Bali or Thailand, then settle into Shepherd's Bush for the next best thing. In reality, Spa is a bit of an overstatement, but these services may just the thing to rehabilitate a damaged psyche.
Continue reading "K West Hotel ~ London" »
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Apollonia Morrill creates color site studies of places of transition and historic sites in flux. Morrill uses photography to explore the tension between representation and abstraction, creating intimate portraits of place that the artist likens to visual geography. On view will be works from her series of San Francisco's Castro Theatre that was recently exhibited in Bay Area Now 4 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. These beautifully resonant images focus on interior details of the building such as its plush velvet seats and elaborate light fixtures. Also presented will be a new series of Kalaupapa, a Hansen's disease (leprosy) settlement on the island Moloka'i in Hawai'i, where Morrill looks at the location's singular history through its domestic, government, and religious spaces. Morrill was born and raised in San Francisco, received her BA from UC Santa Cruz, and MA from Brown University. She lives and works in Berkeley, CA.
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The AngelShare wine cellar is a single bottle wine cellar for your 1996 Château La Mondotte Saint-Emilion 1996 or if you have a small apartment. Ths sleek pod preserves one bottle at serving temperature and at the right humidity to keep the cork from drying out. There’s even a tinted window that lets connoisseurs ogle their treasured vinetage while it blocks UV rays from ruining the wines flavor. The manufacturer, Device Style says there isn’t adequate demand for for it in the U.S ( its made and sold in Japan) but Compact Impact will import one for you.
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Brooklyn based David Weeks began designing lights because he didn’t have enough room to make furniture. Happily, his impeccably made, mid-century inspired lamps were an instant hit. David Weeks received a degree in Painting from RISD before moving to New York to work for several artists and designers including jeweler Ted Muehling. In 1996 Weeks established David Weeks Lighting (DWL) and developed a collection of retail and custom lighting fixtures. DWL products have been featured in numerous design publications and exhibitions. In 1999 DWL was awarded the Editor's award for Lighting at the ICFF in New York City. DWL has expanded to include a line of furniture available at davidweeksstudio.com. All light fixtures are now available exclusively through Ralph Pucci International.
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Most all-in-one stereos look like the tech equivalent of a toaster oven, but the XL from Geneva Lab raises the bar. Its slick, 23.5 inchi tall piano lacquered wood housing conceals a CD player, and FM radio and 600 watt amp, a ste of tweaters, mid range drivers, and subwoofers, and a flip-up docking station for your iPOD. No buttons mar the glossy surface; a remote controls it all. Sound quality is better that average, though not quite as astonishing as promised by the manufacturer. THe unit also delivers a solid imitation of surround sound for DVD movies. Also come in whit or black
$1075 @ Genevalab.com
Email | Bookmark | Link Whenever in Bali, Indonesia, you should try the reflexology treatments offered by Chill Out Spa, in Seminyak district.
Located in a shopping area nearby the beach, with several hotels and Villas in its surrounding, this Spa has a modern and minimalist decor and offers a relaxing combination of relexology and acupressure. Therapists will relieve stress (and jet lag), helping to make you feel more balanced for the rest of the day.
It is also very unexpensive when it comes to US dollars or Euros. The 1 hour treatments cost from 80,000 iRp to 100.000 iRp (less than US$ 10).
Their address:
118 Jl.Kunti,Seminyak - Bali, Indonesia
Open: 10.00-22.00 (last rsv. at 20.00)
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Frey Norris Gallery presents "Eat Me," an exploration of consumer culture. "Eat Me," will feature the work of five west coast-based artists: Susannah Bettag, Ema Harris-Sintamarian, Kenneth Hung, Kate Eric and Trek Thunder Kelly. Exhibition runs through Saturday, April 15.
Has consumer culture completely subsumed Americans' lives? Can this consumption sustain us in any lasting way, or is it the empty cycle of binge and purge that the rest of the world often assumes it to be? We really do love to binge eat, binge drink, binge on sex and pornography, binge on cars and vacations, shop for religion, shop for happiness and a sense of belonging.
Over thirty five new works will be unveiled including interactive digital media, "consumer" objects utilizing knives, condoms, and lunch bags, oil and acrylics on canvas and works on paper.
Gallery Reception Thursday, March 2 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Frey Norris Gallery 456 Geary Street, San Francisco 415-346-7812
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On January 26th 2006 over a year since the introduction of the E-300 Olympus revealed the 7.5 million pixel 'live view' successor, the E-330. The E-330's biggest differentiator to any other digital SLR is its capability to deliver a live view on the LCD monitor (in the same manner as a prosumer / consumer all-in-one digital camera). For those new to digital SLR's this is difficult to achieve because of the mirror / shutter mechanism, the mirror is in the light path in view mode to provide an image to the viewfinder, this means that no image can be projected onto the main sensor. Additionally most large D-SLR sensor don't have video out capability. Other changes over the E-300 include a flip-out LCD screen and a range of feature improvements inherited from the E-500.
Its not on sale yet but will retail for around $1100
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On October 30, 2006, a small group of far-sighted travellers will set off on a unique journey. They will visit a remarkable selection of South America’s most exciting and important destinations—places that embody the mystery of lost civilizations, the diversity of modern city life, the vigor of traditional folkways and the power of untrammeled nature. They will enjoy the unparalleled luxury of fine hotels, elegant resorts, and gala dining and entertainment events. They will fly point-to-point aboard a private jet exclusively dedicated to their comfort, convenience and safety. They will never forget their Circumnavigation of South America, 2006.
Your Own Private Jet
On every point-to-point flight of your itinerary, you’ll travel on board your own private, custom-reconfigured 757 jet. It’s the ultimate way to travel. Routes and schedules are chosen for your convenience: You fly direct, with no layovers or connecting flights, bypassing hectic airport lines and delays. Because your capable 757 can land at smaller, less crowded airports on its own timetable, remote destinations are suddenly within easy reach. Boarding and luggage-handling are expedited, as are Customs and Immigration formalities on cross-border arrivals. Your baggage always travels with you.
Access to the jet and its baggage hold is monitored and controlled at all times, under the careful scrutiny of the plane’s staff and security officers.
At $44,000 this isn’t for those of you with a full time job. You need to have already have made the big bucks to take a month off and pay $44,000 for you and your significant other. Or you can just order a brochure
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Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe is one of the Rhone’s greates estates. It is run by Frederic and Daniel Brunier, the great-grandsons of the founder Hippolyte Brunier. Vieux Telegraphe itself occupies 70 ha entirely sited on the hot and stony plateau of La Crau. The soils are covered by the galets roules, the large rounded stones which are classically associated with the vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape, although they can also be found in other areas across the south of France. Beneath these stones there is more organic soil, and then red clay. The vines average an impressive 40 years of age, with a significant proportion old enough to draw their pension at 65 years. The oldest vines are Grenache, which account for 70% of the vineyard area. There is also Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut and some white varieties including Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and BourboulenThe Bruniers also now own the 28–ha estate of La Roquette and are part owners, with Kermit Lynch, of the 25–ha Domaine les Pallieres in Gigondas.
The leading wine here is the red Vieux Télégraphe, a classic Chateauneuf blend. The wines declare "La Crau" on the label but this is not a special bottling, all the wines come from this plateau. The Brunier brothers do not intend to produce a premium cuvée as many other local producers have done. Rather they have introduced a second wine which helps to keep the quality of the grand vin high. This is called Vieux Mas des Papes. Neither wine sees any new oak, with old foudres being the most the wines will see in the way of wood. The white Chateauneuf can see some oak, with some varieties vinified en barrique.
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Proving that size really doesn’t matter, Arab-kitsch cocktail lounge Andy Wahloo draws a formidably fashionable set crowd in here and fight for a coveted place on an upturned paint can .Andy Wahloo - created by the people behind its neighbour 404 and London’s Momo and Sketch - is Arabic for ‘I have nothing’. From head to toe, it’s a beautifully designed venue crammed with Moroccan artefacts, and enough colours to fill a Picasso. Quiet early on, there’s a surge around nine and the atmosphere heats up as the night gets longer.
Address: 69 rue des Gravilliers, 3e, Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-71-20-38
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Anj Smith, 27 is a fine art graduate from Slade Goldsmiths. She lives and works in Vyner Street, a non-descript road overlooking the Regent’s Canal near Victoria Park. The street forms the main artery of the East End art scene in London, which now has around 120 galleries and an estimated 10,000 artists. Smith paints small detailed pictures, often of women and clothes in hybrid landscapes, and she has had various solo shows solo shows, as well as being shortlisted for this years inagural MaxMara Art Prize for Women. Anj is currently represented by IBID Projects in London. She was in a group show in 2005, of emerging young talented British artists, at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in Zurich. She was featured in “Art Review”, July 2004, as one of the 20 most promising graduates in England, as well as in Time Out London.
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Futuba is love seat/ coffee beautifully design by Akemi Adrienne Tanaka. If you are a person who has a small apartment but likes to entertain this piece is for you. Futaba was the Akemi’s graduate design project at the Pratt institute. As many green aspects as possible were included including- bamboo plywood, non-VOC polymerized linseed oil, Carnegie fabric (a company that is eco-conscious), minimized material and waste as much as possible, non-toxic, water-based adhesive. She is currently in the process of bringing Futaba to market and hopes to have available for sale by the beginning of summer if not sooner.
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The Presidential is the most expensive media player in the world and it sets the tone for a whole new level of prestige. When they first considered creating a luxury media player, they realised that it had to be more than just beautiful; they would need the finest components, and the most advanced technology. The final product was an instrument both advanced and breathtaking. The Presidential is something that everyone wants to have but few can afford. Its cost: $45,000
There is a choice between white gold and yellow gold for the exterior. Once the colour has been decided, you then choose a diamond configuration from their Hansel&Gretel™ range. In terms of distribution, they deliver the Presidential to your door using our own private escort. Once you own a Presidential you can enter into their VIP club where you gain access to a range of benefits and can organise services such as maintenance and insurance.
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Lewis Baltz is an American photographer, Paris and Zagreb-based, who became influential as part of the "New Topography" movement of the late Seventies. Baltz realized a "counter aesthetics" by revealing with a dispassionate eye desolate landscapes and forgotten places. Baltz studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and received a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate Schoolin 1971. Currently Baltz works on information architecture day, exposing the crisis of technology. His works have been exhibited world-wide in museums such as The Museum of Modern Art Paris, Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki, San Francisco MOMA, Los Angeles MOMA, and the Whitney Museum of American Art New York.
His entire work is focused on the counter-aesthetic of photography, searching beauty in desolation and destruction. Baltz images describe the architecture of the human landscape, offices, factories, and parking lots. His pictures are the reflection of control, power, and influenced by and over human beings. His minimalistic photographies in the trilogy Ronde de Nuit, Docile Bodies, and Politics of Bacteria, picture the void of the other, in 1974 he captured the anonymity and the relationships between inhabitation, settlement, and anonymity in The New Industrial Parks near Irvine, California
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Alder over at Vinography has a great review of Pazzo, one of my favorite California Sangioveses. I fell in love with this wine after talking to the wine makers and giving it a taste at VinoVenue in San Francisco. I also like that I can buy it in a half bottle at my local Whole Foods. Anyway, here are Alders’ tasting notes.
“Medium ruby in the glass with hints of bronze, this wine has a soft nose of dried cherries, vanilla, cedar and the barest hint of dried strawberries. In the mouth it is medium-bodied, with dusty dry tannins which envelop flavors of cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and redcurrants threaded with a slight hint of sweet oak and bittersweet chocolate which fades nicely in the moderate finish.”
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