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.

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.

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.

*

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

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.

Written on the City

written on the city is a website devoted to graffiti that sends a message.

At left--graffiti from Honolulu.

Cities from all over the world are represented on the website.

I only wonder why Springfield, MO isn't represented yet. We have great graffiti.

Charm Bracelet

Springfield, MO artist Denise Kozal makes a delightfully simple charm bracelet.

Charms include Scrabble letters, Mah Jong pieces, inspirational words, and more.

Kozal offers a lifetime guarantee on all her original jewelry.

Denise Kozal is stationed at the Farmers' Market at the Battlefield Mall on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 8:30 am to noonish.

Miller Theatre + Melissa Smey

Miller Theatre of Columbia University just got an awesome new director, Melissa Smey.

Miller Theatre has always been the place to see great performances of classical music, as well as the occasional avant-garde ballet, at a reasonable price (especially with the $7 student ticket price).

Before Smey, the Theatre was never really the place for students to hang out on a Friday night. This year, it will be. The 2008-2009 season starts out with the Wordless Music series, in which musicians collaborate to paint landscapes and memories.

Season standouts for the month of September alone:

Th, Sep 10: Do Make Say Think + Charles Spearin's "The Happiness Project." $20, no student discount, tickets available online.

Wed, Sep 23 and Fri, Sep 25: Kadinsky's "The Blue Rider" In Performance. In collaboration with the Guggenheim, there will be lights, music, and dancing. $7 - $35, student tickets available when purchased in person.

(Photo Credit: Angel Franco for The New York Times)

Harper's Bazaar: Fall Fashion

The September issue of Harper's Bazaar is the best Fall Fashion issue I've seen in my life. I've always admired Bazaar for their clean layouts and, more generally, their ability to clearly communicate the moods behind trends, so that all readers can adapt what they see to their personal budgets and styles.

This issue contains Susan Boyle's first high fashion photo shoot (she looks gorgeous), solid pieces for shopping in a recession, and fashion designers photographed with the cast of Sesame Street.

As always, there's Bazaar's trademark advice: invest in basics. Add a little bling bling, and you're in style.

(On newsstands now)

imgfave

imgfave is delicious.com for images. Bookmark the images you like and come back to them later. It's perfect for saving design and fashion inspiration, funny images, and anything else you enjoy. Like delicious, imgfave gives you your own webpage filled with the things you've saved, so that you can share them with friends.

WARNING: imgfave can sometimes (but not always) become a stockpile of softcore porn, depending on what other users decide to "fave." Don't visit imgfave at work or with your grandparents.

imgfave is a more accessible knockoff of ffffound, the latter of which is an elite image-bookmarking website popular among professional designers. Images on ffffound tend to be a great deal more lovely than those on imgfave, but ffffound is invite-only, while anyone can start an account on imgfave.

Here's a link to my imgfave.

Homeless in The Sims 3

Alice and Kev is the story of a family of two homeless Sims. The blog follows their lives from the day they became homeless, and the story is still going.

What makes Alice and Kev a worthwhile read and not unvarnished digital cruelty is that the author of the blog and player of the game, Robin Burkinshaw, is telling a story, not just performing an experiment. He's created two compelling characters, and he doesn't control every aspect of their lives--in The Sims 3, created characters come with more "free will," so to speak.

Alice and Kev reminds me of one of my favorite plays, Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. The idea in that play is that once created, characters each posess their own "plot drive," and basically tell the story on their own. Alice and Kev are two characters so interesting that they're just overflowing with plot drive.

Alice, a young girl, is kind-hearted, but clumsy and not very assertive.

Kev, the father of the family, is mean-spirited, inappropriate, and clinically insane. He hates children and has a nasty temper.

Although it may sound over-the-top, it works, and well.

Kinetic Man

Besides my own house, Jordan Valley Park is my favorite place in Springfield, MO. Prime water fountains for playing, excellent hills for rolling, AND A GIANT ROBOT.

Kinetic Man is the work of Missourian artist Russ RuBert (all photos are from his online portfolio). Whenever out-of-towners come to visit me in Springfield, I always take them to visit Kinetic Man. He's simply lovable!

To see Kinetic Man in action, you have to turn a wheel that looks like it could steer a pirate ship. As the wheel turns, Kinetic man's arms and legs move as if he's walking. Also, his square head rotates a full 360 degrees.

If Kinetic Man could talk, I feel like he would be a wise man. He would be a great listener and a great storyteller.

Long Live Kinetic Man!

Free Summer Playlist

Nylon Magazine and iTunes have put out a rockin' free summer playlist, and anyone can tune in. Like Nylon Magazine itself, this playlist sounds like windowshopping in Brooklyn with your hip, Williamsburg-dwelling friends, who are cooler than you but (usually) don't rub it in your face. Your friends are dressed fabulously, of course--a bit cheaply, as they're in college, but always classy and fun.

Actually, this playlist pretty much sounds like my own hip Williamsburg-dwelling friend, Ari Botsford (the link goes to her delightful tumblr).

The Coffee Ethic: Trash Art Contest

The Coffee Ethic in Springfield, MO just kicked off a Trash Art (Recycled Art) Contest. Entries are due Sep. 1, and the top 15 entries will be on display for the October Artwalk and put on silent auction.

No element in your piece of art can be purchased, and nothing can be painted.

[More details]

High School Musical 2 at the Vandivort Theatre

(Photo credit: Mark Shiefelbein for The News-Leader)

Ever since I started being more honest with my Netflix ratings about what movies truly entertain me, I've been a lot happier. My Netfix movie suggestions have gone from wads of pretentious movies that I would watch in theory but not in practice, to "Hey! Want to watch High School Musical 2 again?"

Why, yes! Yes I do.

Lucky for me, High School Musical 2 is playing at the Vandivort Theatre in Springfield, MO through Aug. 2. Gretchen Teague directs a wonderful cast, and together they bring out all the campy fun (and more!) of the original movie.

Sally Trtan and Micah Scoggins play Gabriella and Troy, and in addition to having wonderful voices, the actors are great at capturing all the giddiness of teen romance.

Paige Deragowski plays the rich bitch Sharpay better than Ashley Tisdale ever did. Deragowski's Sharpay is a complex character--dominant and demanding but clearly fragile and insecure. Tisdale's Sharpay is pretty much just annoying.

I thought that the flamboyant character of Ryan would be the most difficult for an teenage actor to play, but Christian Cook does a fabulous job, with sweet dance moves to boot.

The chorus is delightful, and includes cheerleaders, poolboys, and Sharpettes (girls who follow Sharpay around). The antics of the chorus make for extra humor in the Vandivort production that was missing in the movie.

Special props go out to Malia Hu, who plays a Sharpette named Blossom. Despite not being the official understudy, Hu played the role of lead Gabriella at a moment's notice when Trtan fell ill during last Saturday's performance.

For more information on how to get tickets, check out the Vandivort's website, or RSVP to the Facebook event.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Slow and Steady Wins the Race is a label that is part fashion design, part witty repartee.

Every two months, the designers at Slow and Steady Wins the Race release several pieces based on one standard wardrobe staple, pushing the envelope all the while. If the topic is "the sweatshirt," they'll make a sweatshirt blazer. If the topic is "the white button-down shirt," they'll make a white shirt with a zipper down the middle.

One of the label's favorite approaches is to strip a wardrobe staple down to it's most basic recognizable characteristics. An oxford shoe is reduced to its standard shape and large, loopy shoelaces--no embellishments. A high heeled-shoe is covered in unbleached canvas. The signature quilted Chanel bag becomes a quilted cotton bag attached to a gold-colored chain.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race loves blending the line between lo-fi and hi-fi fashion. While a Chanel bag gets totally stripped, a grocery bag is made out of alligator skin and sells for $1,000.

Mike Birbiglia

Mike Birbiglia is a funny man.

There's a casual style to Birbiglia's comedy--his sketches are almost like listening to a story told by your funniest friend. Of course, every one of Birbiglia's gestures is well-planned in advance, but he makes his audience feel like they're his old friends.

If you want to listen to Birbiglia tell a story, he has a segment in this episode of This American Life, starting about 8 minutes into the broadcast.

If you want to see Birbiglia on a glowing rectangle, he's on youtube.

If you want to see Birbiglia on stage, he's going on a nationwide tour, I'm in The Future Also. Tickets for some cities are already on sale. Tickets for his performance in New York City (Nov. 5) go on sale in August.