Thursday, December 23, 2010

aar, here be treasure!

Sorry, but this post is not about pirates. Instead, it's about the Etsy Treasury, where you can browse people's 'collections' of Etsy stuff they love. It's pretty inspiring, especially if you're female, 30-something, and can't fall asleep. Here's how my favorites among others' favorites ended up clustering....

Category I: Art-Deco Something Or Other


This dress makes my jaw drop. Into the apartment below mine. My floor now has a gaping hole in it, but I still love this dress. It is a love that hurts, and not just my jawline.


Could go with the dress, I suppose. Not that anyone would notice. But hey, it's admittedly pretty nifty.


This gorgeous lantern makes me think of Casablanca, hence the 1930s tie-in. I adore any light fixture which turns your walls into art.


Category II: Postmodern Woodlands Girl


Yes, it's a dirndl. Shut up.


And I'd wear the aforementioned dirndl with a crisp white shirt and this visually delicious scarf. I would totally order this scarf for dessert, if only as a dessert for my eyeballs.


Is this locket darkly romantic or what? Love it.


And it would nicely complement the rustic charm of this ring.


Category III: Whimsically Geometric


These pants might try to go off to Beginning Ninja classes without me, but I'd be willing to take that risk.


This shirt is pure Astridness, distilled into textile and witty silkscreens. I'm actually ordering this one.

And finally, for the sheer category-defying fun of it:


Soap! Lends whole new meaning to the phrase 'cute as a button'. I'd be terrified to actually use it for anything as stupid as washing my hands, though.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

shopping list

My boyfriend left me alone with his shopping list. It said:

- Trader Joes
- poptarts
- cereal
- AA batteries
- sponges


I added

- elephant
- sassafras
- Herbert Hoover
- ferns


Perhaps I've been reading too much MAD lately; lucky for me, my boyfriend thought my additions fabulous. Mainly, I'm just impressed that I remembered how to spell 'sassafras.'


Friday, December 3, 2010

sweet dreams are not made of this

Watch this if you want nightmares about monstrous mushrooms out to devour you (and worse!):




But if you'd prefer nightmares about wacky driving, try this instead:

Beyonce as performed by Pomplamoose

I can't stop listening to these people! They are too hep for words.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

art lesson for today

Examine the work of Shigeo Fukuda. The man was quietly amazing.


fun with GIFs!

Check out Nico Nico Douga. These are some of my faves:






































Wednesday, November 24, 2010

why am I so obsessed with earlobe adornment?

I may have gone mad. I really can't explain this sudden fixation on earrings.









Enough is enough. I only have two ears, how many earrings do I really need?


Aisle v. Window

This is intriguing:

Hunch Blog: Aisle vs. Window, the Great Debate

What does it say about me that I don't care where I sit on an airplane, as long as it's near the wings for greater stability? I do seem to be a blend of both types mentioned in the article, with a slight preponderance of Window Sitter traits. Hm.


when fashion and comedy collide

I've been getting interesting fashion-promotion emails lately, hence my fashion kick. Apparently, Juicy Couture (very low on my personal list of Good Fashion) is now selling very charming charms. Trouble is, I don't do charm bracelets (hello eighth grade!), but these would make terrific earrings.

Darn Juicy Couture, creating neat things for the wrong parts of my body.

Anyway, there's this:



Which reminds me of this fabulous Kids in the Hall sketch (see 2:29):



And in case you give a crap about charms which also ought to be earrings, here are several more for your edification:









O, the cuteness!


Monday, November 15, 2010

Kick kick hooray

LOVE THESE:



And to wear with them:



And over that, this:



And in my hair:



And that, folks, is how you dress like a deranged lady with an MFA.

Friday, November 5, 2010

video games for health

I'm so sad that little media + tech + health (outside of Bayer's Didget) seems to be moving out of research and into the market. But hey! Since we're here, let's watch a kid review the Didget games:



I don't know about you, but I find this pretty dang inspiring. Is there any reason we're not doing more of this for adults, in addition to exergaming (exercise gaming)? Sure, there's the Wii Fit array of games, but most folks I know are letting their Wii Fit games/devices collect dust, mainly because the workouts just don't seem worth it:



It's really in the best interest of insurance companies to unite healthcare with entertainment providers, because the more fun people are having with maintaining their health, the less sick they get, and the more money the insurance companies make. Perhaps, as an example, you could tie games to pedometers, and even get discounts on your insurance rates the more you walk.

Or am I a crazy person?

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Stop - It's Hammertime! (only with bindis and dupattas)

    When I'm not doing micromarketing or calculating inventory, I prance about like a Bollywood star in MBA talent shows. This seems to astound and impress the Indian students, who think that no American would ever be caught dead shaking her groove thing in front of 110 people to "Desi Girl" or "Mauja Hi Mauja". In your face, dubious Indian students! You're not the only cool, dancing-type people to hang out in business schools! So there.



P.S. The Rockettes we ain't, but we still brought the house down. This was quite possibly one of the most awesome experiences I've ever had, at least since that one time I was duct-taped to a wall.


Monday, February 1, 2010

"Sneakers" and Astrid-kicking, not necessarily in that order

    Despite my original plan, I never did devote this blog to the ups, downs, and sideways (sidewayses?) of business school. This is because it took me only 24 hours of orientation in September to realize that I could never, ever write anything about the UC Irvine faculty, administration, or my peers without everyone immediately finding it and hating me for my lack of discretion.

    And so I channeled my energies into kooky things, like studying. And wearing blazers with pearl earrings. And discussing things like "incentivizing". Amazingly enough, I've learned a lot and met lots of great folks and have generally been having a fab time, sometimes even with nachos and beer -- which is why it IRKS ME TO NO END that I can't write about it! Well, I could, but then people would kick me.

    So, with all the potential Astrid-kicking floating around, I kept my mouth shut for several months, but TODAY IS THE DAY I BREAK DOWN AND START BLOGGING AGAIN. This probably won't last long, since I'm still swamped with work and trying to balance that with a social life, but you know what? I really miss writing.

    And here's how I'm kicking off my return to blogging: Artists of the Film "Sneakers".

    For those of you who've seen the film "Sneakers" and love it as much as I do, you'll understand completely why I'm writing about this ever-important topic. It's a very stylish film, and it features some rather bizarre art. Even more interesting, I hadn't realized until last night (after re-watching for the tenth time or so) that all the artists in the movie are listed in the credits! Holy cow! So, here they are:

    Jonathan Borofsky


    This sculpture is in Venice, California, and it always creeped me out, and I had had no idea that its creator had his work featured in "Sneakers". I have no idea what work of his was in the film (maybe this?); so if you DO know, then please let me know. You know?

    Robbie Conal


    I'm just as clueless about Conal in "Sneakers". Again, post any leads if you've got 'em.

    Sonia Delaunay


    Clueless.

    Helen Frankenthaler


    Really clueless.

    Robert Mapplethorpe and an Artsy page about Mapplethorpe


    LOVE his work -- but still don't recall any of it in "Sneakers". Huh.

    Dan McCleary


    Judging by what I can find online, I think he did the prints of flower vases in Liz's loft.

    Tatsuo Miyajima


    I think he did the LED wall art in Cosmo's PlayTronics office.

    Mark Stock


    No clue about his "Sneakers" connection.

    Donald Sultan


    Still clueless.

    And here's the ultimate question: who did those awesome zeppelin prints in Cosmo's office?