Educate Yo'Self!

"F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, 'hot chicks are not like you and me'". Check out the latest Target Women with Sarah Haskins - Current TV

I have had my daily dose of money envy after looking at these photos of the Paraty Houe - Contemporist via Apartment Therapy

Check out these photos of Hemingway's beautiful home. I especially love the exterior shot - Lost by Vic

Roller Derby is one of my favourite things in life, so I was a little apprehensive about Drew Barrymore (of all people) directing a movie about it. Turns out it's not that bad, and maybe even a little sweet... phew? - Salon

As someone who lived pay to pay for years, I can say with confidence that being poor is not fun, and those fetishizing financial struggle because their investments took a hit last year can go shove it - Jezebel

John Lee Anderson discusses his latest piece on the gangs in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in this affecting audio slideshow - The New Yorker

A Very Retro Summer in Red

Red Crepe Wool Drape Front Dress - US$1655 by Alexander McQueen (a girl can dream!)

Miss Scarlet Dress - US$74.99 at ModCloth

Getting to Know You Dress - US$59.99 at Modcloth

Flutter Hem Dress - £125 at Boden

Angelique Dress - US$198 by Peta Pledger

Annette Dress - AUD$180 by Tiger Rag

Stop Staring Cheesecake Dress - US$99.95 at Daddy-O's

Stop Staring Swing Dress - US$79.95 at Daddy-O's

Vintage Tulle Homecoming Dress (size extra small) - US$228 at Unique Vintage

Vintage Polka Dot Skirt & Coat (size small/medium) - US$25 from Etsy seller Zwzzy!

Red Diner Shirt - AUD$89 by Tiger Rag

Retro Cherry Top - US$42.95 at Daddy-O's

Vintage Infinite Jest Ascot Blouse (size medium) - US$29.99 from Etsy seller Persephone Vintage

Tulip Petal Skirt - US$34.99 at ModCloth

A Line Wrap Skirt - On sale for AUD$98 by Fooism

Vintage High Waist Skirt (size small/medium) - US$18 from Etsy seller Ceicei Studio

Esther Williams Polka Dot Bikini - US$70 at Unique Vintage

Vintage Floral Bathing Suit (size extra small) - US$150 at Unique Vintage

Alegra Heels -  225€ at Chie Mihara

Snap Heels - On sale for 180€ at Chie Mihara

Ellie Peep Toe Platform Heels - US$74.99 at Unique Vintage

Paddington Ballet Flats - US$28 at Fred Flare

Juliet Heels - AUD$169.95 by Tony Bianco

Blooming Skull Cap - US$28 at the Village Hat Shop

Rose Ring - US$10 at Fred Flare

Ollipop Rose Ring - US$30 at Vintage Inspired

Vintage Bakelite Hoop Earrings - US$19 from Etsy seller La Dolce Vita Vintage Jewelry

Wallet M Red - 59€ at Collected by Tas-Ka

Vintage Red and Gold Clutch Purse - US$12 from Etsy seller Vintage Connoisseur

Frou Frou Umbrella by Boston Umbrellas - AUD$59.95 at Raw Space

Educate Yo'Self!

Gabby Sibide, star of the new film Precious, seems like one cool, confident lady - New York Magazine

Charlie Brooker hates Windows but the cult of Mac scares him more than any system failure. Hmmm - The Guardian

Also, he's not a fan of Art Wanker Damien Hirst. Now that's a stance I can get behind - The Guardian

A homeopath and his wife were jailed Monday for failing to provide adequate medical care to their infant daughter, who died as a result of untreated eczema. Not a happy ending, but a necessary one, given the circumstances - Ninemsn

'$16m youth mental health centre to open in Sydney'. As someone who struggled with mental illness throughout my youth this seems like a good idea to me - ABC Online

Sometimes I falter in my belief that every generation progresses a little past the previous generations' prejudices. Articles like this help to restore my faith - The New York Times Magazine

Educate Yo'Self! Weekend Edition

If I was the designer of this US$125 dress, I'd be less worried about the vagina dentata, and more worried about the fact that it is fucking ugly - The Consumerist

As part of his 'The New Cult Canon' series, Scott Tobias watches Napoleon Dynamite for the first time and comes out a little empty - The A.V. Club

Super excitement! Arj Barker is performing in Brisbane almost every night for two weeks this December. Maybe I'll go twice. Live in Australia? Check out his tour dates to see if he's performing in your town or city.

I really don't know how I feel about these cocktail forks (possibly negative) but I like this take on them - Nerd Approved

'The truth about child vaccination in Australia'. Or, to put it another way, it's free and saves countless lives, so shut the eff up and stick the needle in the kidlet already - Young Australian Skeptics

 A heartwarming car ad? Say it ain't so - Trend.Land

Fonts and Kerns and Ampersands, Oh My!

Typography is, as our good friends at Wikipedia explain, "the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs". In other words, it's making cool fonts and arranging words on a page (or screen) in a way that looks good. Typography designers and fans are passionate folk, and fair enough - once you get around the shallow view that "eh, it's just letters and shit", there is a lot to appreciate in a well-designed typeface.

To kick things off is a true heavyweight on today's type scene, Alex Trochut. With clients ranging from The Rolling Stones and i-D Magazine to Cadbury and even British Airways, his work is eclectic, eye-catching and thoroughly modern:

On the other end of the spectrum is the divine Yulia Brodskaya, whose painstaking paper creations are a prime example of what can happen when great art and great type collide:

Sigh, so pretty! However, my favourite graphic designers at the moment is Jessica Hische. She creates creates enchanting typefaces and designs by hand and computer. Take a look and try not to fall in love:

Some Type Of Wonderful is an annual celebration celebrating the best of international typography. While the STW10 prints are yet to be unveiled, this is an example of last years' lovely work (featuring Jesse Hora, Hellovon & Luke Lucas) :

 

And finally, to further whet your appetite for some quality typography googling time, here's an incredible video produced for the 5th Typophile Film Festival. It's CG-free and probably and best 3 minutes 41 seconds you'll ever spend watching a video.

Further links:

• I Love Typography blog
  
• Flickr Type Pool
  
• Typography on the Behance network
  
• Typophile Film Fest 5 (with more amazing videos)
  
• Typography Served ("fresh works from leading creative professionals")
  

Educate Yo'Self!

This video is everywhere lately, and no wonder - there are kids in it and they are acting all cute - Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

My adoration of Micheal Ian Black goes back to when I was a kid and Ed was one of my favourite shows - I loved all the fast talking. Apparently Abraham Lincoln is (was?) a fan too - Michael Ian Black

This is my favourite dress from the Emmys - Go Fug Yourself

This is a brief selection of my least favourites - Hips McGee, If you're taking red carpet fashion tips from Brian Boitano, something is wrong, Stumpy Milkmaid

Sarah Palin gets paid $300 000 dollars to give her first speech on fo'rain soil, surprises no one by having it closed to the media - Jezebel

Alex Wodak discusses the failed experiment that is drug prohibition - The Age

Tattoo Porn

I love tattoos. Adore them. Can't get enough of them. I am constantly ogling perfect strangers in the street to get a closer look at their tattoos, which probably makes me seem a wee bit creepy, but not as creepy as I could be if I also tried to surreptiously take photos. Social taboos and general decency prevent me from becoming a fully-fledged tattoo stalker, but thankfully the internet can help me out here.

When I was younger, I was very much under the impression that the only people who got inked were bikies, juvenile delinquents or prison inmates. Oh, not to mention people with a penchant for shaded portraits of celebrities and Jesus.

Yep, he's laughing right at you, kid.

Sexy

Needless to say I was not a fan, and by the time the tribal armband/Japanese character/tramp-stamp-fest of 1990 onwards hit its stride, most tattoos that my young self saw were pretty hideous and nothing to aspire to. However, both the quality of the inks and the artists themselves have increased exponentially over the years. Anyone can get anything tattooed anywhere (for a price), and while this has lead to a strangely high number of men decorating themselves with stoned copulating unicorns riding a rainbow of ecstasy (or shitting out a rainbow of ecstasy, you know, whatever floats yer boat) it also means that people are getting some pretty gorgeous and alternative work done. So enough with the bad - we all know what a bad tattoo looks like - let's get on to the awesome.

This chest piece isn't my style, but my god it is incredibly pretty. For more photos, clicky clicky here.

Scott Harrison is fast becoming one of my favourite tattoo artists, due in no small part to amazing pieces such as these (I want me some hinges like #2). He works out of Portland, Oregon so for now I'll just have to admire from afar.

  

Kiwi lass Rose Hardy has some super incredible work with a cool original vibe. She occasionally works down at Chapel Tattoo in Melbourne, so fingers crossed I can book in with her one day. (That chestpiece? HOLY SHIT I WANT IT NOW.)

On the Australian front, we have the very lovely derby queen tattooist Miss Manners (this is one of my favourite sleeves ever):

Dude, there's a veritable cornucopia of awesome skin art out there, and I'm sure there will be many more posts from me on the subject. Get googling, y'all! There is much inky goodness to be seen. But for now, here's a picture of one of my favourite tattooed models, the slammin Miss Cherry Dollface. Her portfolio is well worth a look for her tattoos alone.