Emigre revisits Puzzler

'With the Puzzler Prints series, Zuzana Licko revisits and expands upon some of her earlier forays into decoration and geometric constructions of abstract elements. Licko created the Puzzler elements in digital font format, which she then used for composing these images.'

Playlist of the Week, 03.23.07

1. Fire It Up - Modest Mouse
2. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) - The Decemberists
3. Tenderest Moments (Union Street) - Erasure
4. Space Maker - Air
5. Forgive Me - Lynden David Hall
6. Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now - Joss Stone
7. Movin' On - Elliott Yamin
8. Wait for You - Elliott Yamin
9. Burnt By The Sun - Sophie Solomon
10. Incinerate - Sonic Youth

Did You Know?
Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has collaborated with Modest Mouse on their seventh album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Sank. He's also signed up for the tour. The Shins James Mercer also appears on the album.

Scentless Perfume

"For $112 you can now buy a perfume that smells like ... nothing. The "perfume", which has virtually no scent, is to go on sale at Selfridges this month priced at £40 ($112) a bottle. The creation by trendy label Dadadandy contains 100ml of liquid made from an alcohol base which, when sprayed, has only a slight smell of alcohol which soon evaporates. The "non-perfume", called Choix, goes on sale as part of the store's surrealist-themed event."
-New Zealand Hearld, Sideswipe, 03.13.07

"Choix is a dressing table artwork, a collector's item that will appeal to lovers of surrealism and objets d'art, and is an affordableway for our customers to buy a piece of Dadadandy's work."
-Karen Wells, Selfridges

Pencil Smencil

American schools have discovered Smencils for fundraising. Smencils are gourmet scented pencils that are made from rolled sheets of recycled newspaper instead of wood. Smencils come in flavors like Bubble Gum, Strawberry, Orange, Cinnamon and Grape. How cool!

"Saving tree's, one pencil at a time."

Free City Audio Guides

MP3 audio guides are a very cool way to tour a city, or listen in on while at work. For your iPod or mobile phone. Here's some places to find them,

More than 20 free guides at:
iAudioguide.com

Rick Steves:
Parisian Tours

The tours can also be found in iTunes podcast section, under 'society and culture'.

Beijing's 2008 Olympic Venues

For the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, China will host its first Olympics ever. They intend to make a bold impression with the construction of several new venues for the event.

Bird's Nest: The Beijing National Stadium


The stadium was designed by the architects Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, who are based in Switzerland. The pair also designed the Tate Modern in London and the The M.H. de Young Museum (commonly called simply The de Young) in San Francisco.

The Bird's Nest cost $500 million and will seat and estimated 100,000 during the games, and 80,000 once the games are over. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympiad, as well as track and field, and soccer events.

It is round, curvaceous and feminine.


To contrast the National Stadium China will introduce the blue, square, masculine Watercube - Beijing's National Aquatic's Center. Designed by PTW Architects from Sydney, Australia and CSCEC International Design and Arup.



The overall vision is to display a duality between fire and water, male and female in the design. A Yin and a Yang.

Watercube's concept combines the symbolism of the square in Chinese culture and the natural structure of soap bubbles. The stucture will use solar energy to heat the pool and recycle rainwater to top off the pools and conserve water. The transparent 'skin' is stronger than glass and lets in more sunlight. To cool the stucture, there is a vented cavitity within each bubble that deflects energy as well, so the building will not overheat. There are six pools within.



The Watercube will have a seating capacity of 17,000 during the games and 6,000 after.

Two iconic venues, inspired by the world that surrounds us – where harmony as science and nature unite.

Did You Know?
In 20 years, China will be the largest economy in the world.

Currently, they use half the world's supply of concrete and 210,000 gallons of crude oil per year.

Shanghi is 8x's the size of New York City.

Calligraphy is a major art form in China, more highly regarded than painting and music.

The Four Great Inventions of ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.

Your Home: 2010

Top Ten Trends for the Home of 2010:
1. Breathing easy: indoor air quality
2. Home-based medical monitoring, diagnosis, and care
3. Monitoring and sensing for home safety and personal protection
4. New appreciation for electricity: absolutely reliable and high-quality power
5. Whole-house water safety systems
6. Healthy food quality and safe handling, storing, and cooking
7. Financial clout fends off aging- a built-in market for healthy home products and services
8. A war against mites and mold
9. A single cleanser for all surfaces and one appliance that will clean all fabrics, washer/dryer that does it all in one appliance
10. Sterile surfaces: germ-resistant materials, coatings, and fabrics

On the Horizon:

Bedrooms: seek extraordinary night's sleep with state of the art bedrooms. Emphasizing relaxation over sex.

One large multi-purpose room: transforms into whatever you need at that moment. Furniture is downsized, no more clunky consoles. Smaller, more energy-efficient homes, around 2000 sq ft.

Bold Color: Intense color palette's replace neutrals. Ethnic backgrounds influence bold, bright colors (red, blue, purple). Cameleon colors gain popularity: colors that transform with the light of day.

Bathroom: Soaking tubs (out with the noisy, uncomfortable whirpool tubs)

Bamboo and cork flooring. Bamboo is a tough sustainable natural resource.

Kitchens: a renewed interest in teak/medium toned woods for cabinetry. Metal colors copper and zinc to make a big splash. Grantie remains. Wine coolers become the standard as trash compactors are a thing of the past. Wine coolers open the door to cheese refridgerators - the popularity of artisan cheeses require specific humidity and temperatures.


Kuppersbusch Electric Honeycomb Cooktop:
The heating elements can be arranged into a wide variety of layouts. The system uses a series of honeycomb-shaped pads that are able to be recessed flush with the surface of your counter-top. One of the honeycomb shapes works as a touch-sensitive interface, and with no unsightly knobs or buttons, cleanup is a snap.

Spartan Glory in 300

This weekend I watched Frank Miller's 300. The visual effects are amazing and the Spartan warrior's—sizzling! Gerard Butler - wow, just wow... I can't believe the same actor played the Phantom. Shot on a bluescreen to duplicate the graphic novels imagery, the dialogue runs thin but the action sequences are gripping. Not to miss.



Did You Know:
The history, Battle of Thermopylae

H&M launches M by Madonna

In stores March 22nd

The interaction on the website is fun. I stayed and looked through the whole collection - that never happens! Check it out: M

The background track is rumored to be a leak of the new Madonna/Orbit collaboration due out later this year,
titled "Purdy".

Playlist of the Week, 03.07.07

1. Happy Ending - Mika
2. Writer's Block - Just Jack
3. Asa Branca - Forro In the Dark
4. Me and Mr. Jones - Amy Winehouse
5. Menina - Chimp Beams
6. Pictures - Sia
7. Different Sound - The Teddybears
8. Feeling Good - Nina Simone/Verve Remixed
9. Crosses - José González
10. Champagne - 311

Discovery & BBC present PLANET EARTH

A landmark 11-part high-definition television event by the Discovery Channel and BBC Video that captures life on earth like never before. Airs on consecutive Sundays from March 25 through April 22, 2007 on Discovery Channel and in high definition on Discovery HD Theater.

PLANET EARTH was created by the team behind the award-winning natural history series BLUE PLANET, with an unprecedented production budget of $25 million. Sigourney Weaver narrates the series which took more than five years to create.

"PLANET EARTH is natural history for the 21st century," says Discovery Channel Executive Vice President and General Manager Jane Root. "The sheer scope of the locations and brilliant clarity of the images, captured using revolutionary film techniques, will immerse viewers into a majestic world that only Discovery Channel can deliver."

The preview clip I saw showed a starving pack of 30 African lions hunt and kill an elephant at night ~ sent chills through my body. The series also raises important environmental issues and what the future may hold.