Welcome, Jack

Welcome to the world Jack Charles Luce.
(click to view larger image)



Happy Halloween. Here are some entries from our pumpkin carving contest held earlier this month. (click to view larger image)

An Elegy

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-W.H. Auden

A Great Loss...

Dr. David Gong
1949—2005

7:50 a.m.

Amber Nude

Last Spring Estée Lauder, Inc. announced a partnership that sparked excitement in the beauty industry, hoping to reinvent itself and attract a new younger customer —a problem that has plagued the company for years. Estée Lauder has long suffered from the "grannie" reputation with its seafoam packaging and bubble gum pink color palette.

Renowned designer Tom Ford, formerly the creative director at Gucci, and responsible for reviving both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, was tapped by Estée Lauder executives for the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the newly-created TOM FORD company.

The first phase rolls out this fall, under Lauder's flagship brand, with a color and fragrance group, christened 'Amber Nude'. The collection is to debut at 250 upscale specialty stores, such as Neiman Marcus, Saks and Bergdorf's (available next month).

The golden-themed collection will feature a revamped Youth Dew Amber Nude (the original fragrance was Estee's first big success) and a sizzling take on the golden compacts, along with a very sexy ad campaign modeling spokeswoman Carolyn Murphy in gold body paint—nude. No, this is not your grandmother's Estée Lauder.

Phase two will be launched in Autumn 2006, when Ford launches his own stand-alone beauty brand. Ford joins Lauder's other impressive portfolio of celebrities: Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Sean Coombs, Beyoncé, André Agassi, Donald Trump and Enrique Inglesias.

Did you know?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
"The pink ribbon is one of the world'’s best known charity symbols. It has helped to remove the stigma that previously surrounded breast cancer, and also inspired huge fund-raising efforts around the world for research into breast cancer and support for its victims.

The pink ribbon was the first initiative of The Estée Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. It was created in 1992, in conjunction with Alexandra Penney, then editor of Self magazine. To date over 45 million have been distributed worldwide.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has raised nearly US$100 million to support the work of leading investigators at major medical facilities worldwide. In 2003 it awarded US$14.5 million in grants to 80 breast cancer researchers at medical and academic institutions in the US, the UK, Spain and Israel." -The Moodie Report

Fresh Fonts: News and Happenings

Optical Art & Your Keyboard
This month, Emigre Fonts introduced 'Puzzler' designed by Zuzana Licko (co-founder of Emigre). Her exploration of pattern design has now been arranged into three dizzying categories of fonts: 'Puzzler Halftone, Puzzler Geometric and Puzzler Floral', all of which turn your keyboard into paint palette and you an abstract artist.

There is an endless possibility of 'Puzzler' combinations and your fontabulous creations can be used as background images on web sites, design elements in a page spread, basically—anything you can think up. MMjjnnOOhhh....Uh-huh. Puzzler Font Package, $95

Holiday's in the House
The hipsters over at House Industries were put off by amateur display typefaces and overused system fonts of the merry season. Their new typefaces include: 'Holiday Gothic, Holiday Sans', and my personal favorite- 'Holiday Script'. Timeless Gems, $140

The House folks also added a blog, Show & Tell, to their web site, chronicling their font dalliances.

Finally, Vitaly Friedman, a web designer in Germany, was nice enough to compile this tasty list: 20 Best License-Free Quality Fonts

Face Study:
Lancôme's Custom Script Font
Designed & developed by Christophe Badani.

In his words...
"The Lancôme typography reflects a handwritten writing. The drawing is uniform, extremely fine, like a hair or a wire. The forms are irregular & sometimes awkward, sometimes very round & flexible, sometimes right & dynamic, all these marks bring a particular esthetics, they evoke also femininity, the naturalness & frankness."

Learn More:
France's Top of the Notch Foundry: Typofonderie
Powell's Typography Section

CNET: Submit Your Video's

In the wake of video Ipod (my new lemming) CNET downloads.com has free hosting for your video's.

Beta features: Video of the Day, Editor's Video Picks, and What's New in Video's. Topics cover the usual media hits: News, Music, Movie's and more....

Toi Maori The Eternal Thread

Looking for something to do this weekend?

"Five renowned Maori weavers are in Salem, Oregon, USA for the opening of the international touring exhibition ‘Toi Maori - The Eternal Thread’ at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. Accompanying them are two ta moko (Maori tattoo) artists and a carver. As well as demonstrating their art forms, the Maori artists will meet with native weavers and carvers from the various tribal groups in Oregon, in an exchange of art and culture."

We've heard some really great reports from the San Francisco show, and discovered a member of the Weaving delegation is from my husband's hometown, Whakatane, located on the Northern Island of New Zealand (Bay of Plenty). I'll be reporting back here next week on the show and probably include some visuals from our visit to Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua last fall. This one's not to miss!

Street Address: 700 State Street, Salem, OR 97301
Telephone: 503.370.6855

Exhibit is open Now until December 22, 2005
Tuesday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

"Ki mai koe ki a au,
he aha te mea nui tenei ao:
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."

"If you should ask me what is the greatest thing in the world,
the answer would be:
It is the people, it is people, it is people."

Super Crafty Book Release Party

Tuesday night a friend and I headed on down to the Doug Fir to check out PDX's Super Crafty's new book, Super Crafty, Saving the World from Mass Production! Containing over 75 amazing how-to projects.

There was live music, raffles, a make-your-own pasties table (which was very popular) and serveral craftista's enjoying glittertini's, the cocktail of choice.

In honor of the launch the girls have listed some special packages on Ebay this week.

The book contains lots of fun crafting idea's, the author bio's (how they came to crafting for profit), and a handy resource guide. Some of the more notable projects are the Pasties, a retro Flamenco Tiara, Soothing Salves, and the Love Spell Mojo Box. They cover topics ranging from glass etching, working with vinyl and sewing your crafts; from beginner friendly to advanced. They even recommend some gift packs for specific occasions, all fresh, original idea's.

Its a lot of fun, especially before the gift-giving season arrives. You can find the book at Sasquatch Books or get more info on crafting for profit on the PDX Super Crafty web site.

Did you know?
The DIY Lounge offers several local crafting classes and is a fabulous way to meet new people.

Reviews: Novoandina Cuisine at Andina

Portland's first Peruvian restaurant, Andina (in the Pearl District), serves up our first taste of novoandina cuisine—a blend of Peru's contemporary cooking and older, deep-rooted Inca themes, such as quinoa and purple potatoes, and let me say... it is GOOD!

When they say Andina wakes up a lot of things, they mean it. The food combines local peppers with Pacific seafood, all while incorporating the Chinese and Japanese influences from the Pacific Rim. The hand-crafted cocktails are a delight (we tried several and ending up passing them around the table).

My favorite:
Sacsayhuaman
Rocoto pepper infused vodka, passionfruit pureé, sugar-rimmed martini glass and cilantro. Served up. Amazing!

The envirionment is sophisticated and possesses a lively energy, featuring Peruvian art, textiles, photo's and live Brazilian or flamenco music.

Andina entreé's are dramatically presented (the chef is also and artist), and food is sculpted like a mountain range on a plate. Aji, or hot pepper, finds it way into most sauces and dishes, sometimes as a teaser and sometimes as the main event. There is over 300 varieties grown in Peru.

One of the best elements is the staff. Top notch service from the moment we stepped in the door, and our night concluded with the creator, Mama Doris, personally thanking our table and sharing with us a bit about Peru’s traditions and stories. A very nice touch, indeed. Don't hesitate to ask for recommendations, they were right on each time. Its no wonder The Oregonian selected Andina's as its 'Restaurant of the Year'. We'll be back.

Located @ 1314 NW Glisan, Portland. Oregon 97209.
p. 503.228.9539

Did you know?
A LITTLE HISTORY...
Traditional Peruvian cooking is a hybrid of Spanish and native Indian foodways. Many staples, such as potatoes, corn, peanuts, chiles, and fresh seafood, date back to the Incan empire, which flourished in the Andes for thousands of years. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, they brought European-style desserts and ingredients such as chicken, beef, and citrus fruits. Later, African, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants added to the mix, forming the spicy cuisine that is still cooked in many homes and restaurants today.
-Epicurious.com

Memoirs of a Geisha—Book, Movie...Makeup?

December 2005, Sony Pictures Entertainment brings us the feature film of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. As an extension of the film, Fresh introduces the Memoirs of Geisha Collection based on the Asian traditions of beauty. The collection compliments their Fresh Rice and Sake collections. Some of the more tempting products offered are the shimmer powder with crushed pearl and the Eau de Parfum that "mingles a subtle blend of sheer jasmine flower, pure rose absolute, sparkling langsat fruit and white peach with gentle undertones of iris root, white sandalwood and musk." The color palette's reflect the film's visual elements, such as the exquisite kimono worn by Ziyi Zhang.

The Memoirs of Geisha Collection is being carried in Fresh stores, Sephora, select Bath & Body Works, and online at Fresh or Beauty.com. Prices range from $20-125 USD.

Hung Up: Her Madgesty Madonna

Ok, I'm going to tell you a secret... I'd LOVE to see a pink Material Pod in the new Apple lineup (crosses fingers).


Release Calandar:
10.17.05: Radio debut of "Hung Up" - Madonna's new single.
10.18.05: "I'm going to tell you a secret" Fans Screening in NYC.
10.19.05: "I'm going to tell you a secret" preview on MTV's Overdrive.
10.21.05: "I'm going to tell you a secret" World Premiere on MTV.
10.24.05: "Hung Up" video debut.
11.03.05: Madonna performs "Hung Up" at the EMAs.
11.07.05: "Hung Up" - Madonna's new single.
11.07.05: "Confessions On A Dancefloor" on MTV The Leak.
11.15.05: "Confessions On A Dancefloor" - Madonna's 10th Album.

Weta Workshop brings Kong to life.

To digitally create the giant gorilla, Kong, and the environment of Skull Island in Peter Jackson's feature film (theatres 12.14.05), Weta Workshop utilizes a process called Motion Capture.

Take a sneak peak into Weta's special effects studio down in Wellington, New Zealand, and watch this Quicktime to learn more about the technology.

Andy Serkis (who portrayed the CGI Gollum in Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy) provides a live performance, both on-set and for motion capture, to the title character, Kong.

Playlist of the Week (10.11.05)

1. Fight, Sons and Daughters
2. Lay Lady Lay (w/Gemma Hayes), Magnet
3. David, Nellie McKay
4. Precious (Wah Wah Synth Remix), Depeche Mode
5. The Littlest Birds, Be Good Tanyas
6. Cotton, The Mountain Goats
7. Loose Ends, Imogen Heap
8. Suffer Well, Depeche Mode
9. Stronger, Lamb
10. Air, Ephemera

Did you know?
Playing the Angel is Depeche Mode's 11th studio album. The first to include songs written by frontman, Dave Gahan. The recording is already being cited by those that have heard it as one of the defining albums of the bands illustrious career. True synthpop fans rejoice.

Sunriver Stables

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.
-Robert Bresson, French film director

Central Oregon Landscape

10.04 @ 3pm, from the Lava Gardens. On the left, Mt. Bachelor, and to the right, The Three Sisters. (click to view a larger version)