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Sunday, September 21, 2008
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” -- William Morris
When we went to Versailles, I was really thrilled and amazed the grandeur of the palace. I couldn't believe the opulence and scale at which everything was arranged and designed--French Baroque, you had me at bling.
Even the vast expanse and detail of the grounds was extraordinary. I fell in love with the entire place, especially the delicate wall details, and the gorgeous silk covered chairs; the magnificent bronzed statues, and just the over-the-top, flamboyant Rococo spirit of the main rooms. This, along with the large-format French paintings we saw during our trip, made me even more enamoured with the art period.
AJ recently saw Marie Antoinette and it got me thinking about different design aesthetics. Yes, I loved the splendor of Versailles and that sensibility, but I don't know if I could completely commit to it. I am still drawn to Baroque's opposite-the Japanese aesthetic (and just for now, I don't mean Hello Kitty et al. Gomen).
Anthony Bourdain on the Japanese approach to cuisine, from A Cook's Tour:
No cuisine, broadly speaking, makes as much sense: the simplest, cleanest, freshest elements of gustatory pleasure, stripped down and refined to their most essential. Unlike Tokyo's streets-and much of its popular culture-the traditional sectors of food and relaxation are austere, uncompromising, devoid of all distraction and repetition, beautiful in the manner of a single long-stemmed calla lily: unknowable and serene.
The ideals, heavily influenced by Buddhism and Shintoism, portray the beauty of transcience and incompleteness.Though the root of this is supposed to communicate an appreciation for the individual element, I find that modern interpretations emphasize the beauty of the collective, of order.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
you got the right stuff, baby
they're kind of grody old men now, especially in the videos, but...
heeheeeeeeeeee!
when NKOTB fever hit in 1989, by default I "got" to like donnie, only bc my best friend at the time had claimed Jordan. I secretly harboured a fondness for Jon, and I think it was my precocious talent for spotting future handsomeness, I knew Joey had potential hahahah. Poor danny always got the short end of the stick, but success is the best revenge--he's the vp of a private jet company now hahaha!
sigh =)
new single: "Single"
they're kind of grody old men now, especially in the videos, but...
heeheeeeeeeeee!
when NKOTB fever hit in 1989, by default I "got" to like donnie, only bc my best friend at the time had claimed Jordan. I secretly harboured a fondness for Jon, and I think it was my precocious talent for spotting future handsomeness, I knew Joey had potential hahahah. Poor danny always got the short end of the stick, but success is the best revenge--he's the vp of a private jet company now hahaha!
sigh =)
new single: "Single"
Monday, September 08, 2008
just a little longer...
it's 1238 am, and i should have been sleeping over an hour ago...but if i go to bed, this time-travelling dream will really be over, and i'll really have to wake up and face the day, the office, the weight of responsibility and the empty space beside me.
it's 1238 am, and i should have been sleeping over an hour ago...but if i go to bed, this time-travelling dream will really be over, and i'll really have to wake up and face the day, the office, the weight of responsibility and the empty space beside me.
