Cai Guo-Qiang

Cai Guo-Qiang is an artist who works with explosions. Fireworks, gunpowder, spectacle.

His work deals with the intersections of Communism and modernity (see below for Berlin Wall reference); spirituality and destruction (see left).

His 2008 show at the Guggenheim, I Want to Believe, was like a good movie: thoughtful, with clear themes, exciting, well-paced, and of appropriate length--I walked through in 1h30.

Tavi: The Style Rookie

Tavi Gevinson teaches me how to dress for fun, in times when I find the management of my appearance to be only an expensive and overly-serious affair. She has a delightfully distinctive sense of style that she never imposes upon me--she leaves me to my own aesthetic, reminded of what I already knew.

Her blog The Style Rookie deals seriously with feminist issues as well as personal style. I'm glad I'm reading now, and I only wish I'd had Tavi around in middle school.

Let it Sway - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

This band just makes me want to put on my favorite sweater, drink a favorite beer, and talk to my favorite friends.

Sounds like The Hold Steady, except made of nice boys from Springfield, Missouri who probably bake cookies when they're drunk.

If you're in Springfield, the band is playing Saturday night at Randy Bacon's. If you're not in Springfield, check their tour schedule because they're probably coming to you soon.

At time of publication, the new mp3 album is going for $5 on Amie Street.

The first single can be downloaded for free:

Sink / Let it Sway - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Alexander McQueen - Fall 2010

Alexander McQueen's last collection speaks to the royal dignity of the individual. To some this may seem incongruous, given the circumstances of Lee's death. Yet I would say that an insistence on the truth of individual dignity is what allows someone to fight as long as Lee did.

The automatic dignity and worth of each individual is, without a doubt, the value I hold most dear. I've learned that others don't necessarily hold this value, especially in regards to their own self-worth, which many think to be earned. As of now, this is the point of view I'm (earnestly) working hardest to be able to relate to.

The Container Store

I grew up in Springfield, MO where Wal-Mart is a one-stop for most of one's needs, from orange juice to trampolines. My first year at school in Manhattan, I remember feeling as if I was wasting vast amounts of my time going to separate stores for groceries and drugstore needs.

The Container Store is a place so specialized in its merchandise that it always feels to me delightfully, maddeningly Manhattan.

The Container Store is having an Organized Traveler Sale. This exactly reflected my container needs a few days ago. I went to the store, held travel-size bottles and vials and jars of various volumes in my hands, and imagined the empty spaces filled with the liquids that structure my daily routines.

White Noise

I read the first 50 pages of Don DeLillo's White Noise online.

I bought the book at left this morning. I feel I am reading a different and better novel now.

The big difference is that I read more slowly in print, and so the book proceeds at a conversational pace, rather than a mad dash of witticisms.

The Counter-Protest

Columbia University is famous for protests. 1968. Ahmadinejad's visit. Hunger strikers. Need I say more?

I don't even want to post a picture of this on my blog, but last week, Westboro Baptist Church members were present at our neighboring Jewish Theological Seminary, holding hateful signs. Westboro is often in the news, as members of the church often like to make and hold signs that say that God hates a lot of people, including homosexuals and Jews.

The Columbia student counter-protest made me feel proud to be a Lion, and so that picture is included in this post (photo credit: The Bwog). The signs read, "God is Love," and that is a rainbow flag in the corner. The counter-protest was organized by the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

Style Statement

The idea of verbalizing a "statement" to define your personal style isn't new. What's unique about Carrie & Danielle is that they're not into superficial Spice Girls labels like "Sexy," "Sporty," or "Posh" to describe your style.

Style is a broad word for Carrie & Danielle. It's the shoes you wear and your wildest dreams. It's your favorite movies and the way you organize your desktop. It's who you are and who you want to become.

This book will help you sum it all up in two words.

My style statement is at the top of this page: Sound Flow. The first word of a style statement represents your foundation; the second word represents your creative edge.

Whether I'm buying a new t-shirt or recentering myself in the middle of a busy day, I've found my style statement to be incredibly helpful in my every day life. In Sound Flow, I find affirmation, challenge, and ultimately inspiration.

It's both my aesthetic and how I tick. This blog is devoted to everything that says Sound Flow to me.

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Lucy Sun is on vacation until Monday, September 28, when regular posting will resume.

Psych Studies @ Columbia University

Here are the two most interesting and lucrative psych studies I have participated in this school year thus far. Both studies are both looking for more research subjects, so contact these labs for an appointment:

Learning Lab at Columbia

Experiment on memory and learning

$10 / hr, approximately 90 minutes long, with an opportunity to win extra money

Contact: CULearningLab at gmail dot com

Social Psychology Study

Open to students over 18 years of age

$15 for approximately 90 minutes of your time

Contact: psychstudy09 at gmail dot com

Music & Arts Library @ Columbia University

A few hours ago, this Economics major set foot in the Music & Arts Library for the first time in her life. A gorgeous space with good lighting (including excellent sunlight), minimalist decor, and chairs that are comfy but not too comfy, this library is the perfect study space.

There are also study kiosks with CD and record players. Headphones can be borrowed for free from the circulation desk. Needless to say, it's a music library, so check out whatever music helps you study.

The place is unbelievably uncrowded. The Music & Arts Library is located on the 7th floor of Dodge.

Feel Good @ Columbia University

Feel Good is an on-campus organization that makes grilled cheese sandwiches and keeps business expenses low. This way, we are able to give lots of money to The Hunger Project, which pursues development initiatives in struggling economies around the world.

How you can help:

1. Eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Starting in October, Feel Good will grill every night in JJ's Place in the basement of John Jay. Our classic American cheese sandwich is always on the menu, and this year we are expanding into gourmet sandwiches: think apple and brie, or tomato mozzarella basil.

2. Make grilled cheese sandwiches. You can sign up for a one-hour shift once a week, with a friend.

3. Come to the first general body meeting, Wed, Sep. 16 at 8:30 pm at JJ's Place. The meeting will be short. At this meeting, you can sign up for grilling shifts, get to know the e-board, share your ideas, and eat free food!

4. Let us cater your events and club meetings. We can even create and name a special sandwich for you.

5. Join our Facebook group

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Chromeo + Yo Gabba Gabba

In preparation for flu season, there are lots of scary signs on the Columbia University campus about how it is necessary to wash your hands in order to stop the spread of disease.

I think the most effective public health campaign would be to play this video on a jumbotron on the lawn--Nice N Clean, techno hip-hop band Chromeo's song for children's show Yo Gabba Gabba.

Yo Gabba Gabba is coming to Columbia University on October 4 for the annual Great Children's Read.

Green Porno

Green Porno is a series of very short, Sundance award-winning films in which Isabella Rossellini dresses up as various animals and explains how they do it.

Season 3 opens today. All episodes are available for free viewing through the Sundance Channel.

Farmville

A strange sample of my facebook friends are playing Farmville, from my high school geometry teacher to a high school acquaintance who is now a (very glamorous) drag queen.

At first, I didn't really understand the appeal of Farmville. Players maintain a virtual farm on facebook. The only object of the game is to grow your farm the way you like, with crops, animals, buildings and decorations of your choice. You buy seeds for crops with fake money, and you make a fake money profit when the crops are harvested. None of it is very complicated.

As it turns out, the appeal is in the element of choice. Although there are "levels" you can climb within Farmville, "winning" is not defined. You define "winning" by raising a farm according to your own preferences. Much like how "winning" is defined in real life.

As a tutor, I have used Farmville to teach basic math and economics to middle school students. In addition, Farmville is fun--at the center of my farm, there is a very cute duck pond.

Fashion's Night Out

Tonight (9/10) is Fashion's Night Out in New York City. Hundreds of participating retailers across the city will be open after-hours, in a citywide effort to restore consumer confidence and have fun while doing it. Many retailers will take clothing donations for AIDS-related charities in the city.

There's something nice about shopping at night--perhaps it's because many of us do indeed feel more confident at night than we do at strange hours of the afternoon.

I tend to make better purchases in the evening than I do during the day.

Kraft Clothing Pantry

There is a perpetual clothing drive going on at the Kraft Center for Jewish Life, located near the Columbia University campus on West 115th Street (between Broadway and Riverside, across the street from Schapiro).

To make a clothing donation, simply walk into the revolving doors, tell the person at the lobby that you'd like to make a donation, and he will direct you to the Kraft Clothing Pantry.

H&M in Harlem

When H&M first opened a store in the heart of Harlem two years ago, I didn't know how it would last. Ohn two separate occasions, I saw peaceful , passionate protests in front of the H&M, during which the protestors yelled that the store did not hire black people. I looked into the shop window to see a skinny blonde girl hanging up clothing.

I visited the Harlem H&M yesterday and was greeted by a black doorman. Locals were employed in the store, and other locals shopped joyfully. The store is doing a good job of prominently displaying the clothing that looks particularly good on black skin tones. Along with Harlem residents, Columbia students made up a good portion of the shoppers. There were no signs of discomfort--H&M has found a way to become an expression of Harlem, rather than an intrustion upon Harlem.

Choose A Free Song from Amazon MP3

To celebrate its one millionth twitter follower, Amazon MP3 (@amazonmp3) is giving away a free download credit to anyone who wants it.

The download credit must be redeemed by Sunday, September 6, 2009 at 11:59 PM PDT, so jump on it!

Michael Jackson Glove by La Crasia

As Michael Jackson prepared to kick off his worldwide tour this year, he chose Brooklyn glove manufacturer La Crasia to make his signature silver glove.

In honor of Jackson's life, supermodel Agyness Deyn wears the La Crasia glove on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Fall Fashion issue. The silver glove has made its mark on pop culture, and fast--for a limited time following Jackson's death, Facebook users were able to send each other a virtual silver Jackson glove.

La Crasia is still making the silver Jackson glove. You can order it for $40 plus shipping ($5 flat rate to anywhere in the US). The exterior of the glove is encrusted with sequins, so the glove is not the most comfortable in the world. Also, the glove sheds sequins from time to time, so wearing the glove everyday is, unfortunately, a no-no. Wearing the glove to parties is, however, a daring go-go.

Artisan Cheese Crackers - Wheat Thins

I did not think that these would be a good idea.

Turns out, they're a great idea.

The new Artisan Cheese Crackers from Wheat This are delicious. I'm usually not a big fan of cheese-flavored snacks (I find most of them too "orange cheesy"), but Wisconsin Colby Wheat This are a perfect blend of real cheese and nuttiness.