“I can see you have a great deal of water in your personality. Water never waits. It changes shape and flows around things, and finds the secret paths no one else has thought about — the tiny hole through the roof or the bottom of the box. There’s no doubt it’s the most versatile of the five elements. It can wash away earth; it can put out fire; it can wear a piece of metal down and sweep it away. Even wood, which is its natural complement, can’t survive without being nurtured by water. And yet, you haven’t drawn on those strengths in living your life, have you?”

— Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden

9:33 pm  •  27 November 2012

“So much of modern music,” Spektor told me later, “is this very simple formula, where it starts out with something” — she beat a basic rock beat — “and then it expands. But it’s always in these blocks. When a song like that starts, you feel it instantly. You’re like, Oh, you’re this song. Just the way that if somebody comes up to you and they’re wearing tons of Drakkar Noir, it comes with a vibe. A lot of it comes from the fact that people don’t listen to adventurous music. It doesn’t mean that you won’t write a simple, pure pop song. But that I think is the difference between the Beatles and Queen and all these awesome bands. You could hear that they were listening to Irish music and classical music and jazz and rock ’n’ roll and blues and also symphony. It’s all in there.”

-photo from my seat in Beacon Theater earlier in the fall, watching Regina Spektor live in concert. serves as a reminder that to be great, you really have to broaden your influences, constantly soak up different things.

11:53 pm  •  26 November 2012

“It’s boring to surround yourself with people that agree with you.”

— anthony bourdain (on what it was like to hang out with ted nugent haha)

3:09 pm  •  26 November 2012

a perfect outfit. [ via hanneli ]

3:38 pm  •  21 November 2012  •  1 note

“Growing up, people always asked “What is Taiwan? Is it China? Is it Asia? Is it Pacific Islander?” Taiwan is Taiwan. It’s weird, it’s hysterical and loveable. I think it’s the pound for pound greatest eating city in the world, but tons of shows take you to night markets but don’t capture what it’s like to kick it with the people of Taiwan and for me it’s non stop spit your soy milk out funny. The most under appreciated aspect of Taiwanese culture is the humor. The island isn’t oblivious or stupid, a lot of it is intentional and the awareness is charming.”

— great insight on taiwan from eddie huang. i’m loving the video episodes of his show, “fresh off the boat”, as well - shot in a really interesting way, and i like how it includes little mistakes and unintentional moments.

12:55 pm  •  21 November 2012

a photo i took of dumbo, brooklyn, during the arts festival. i love how the bridge perfectly frames the building.

8:07 pm  •  4 November 2012

Story 1. A senior citizen + plucky child braving it in Coney Island.

Story 2. A girl looking for love in the UES has to provide shelter to a guy she just started dating. (WILL THEY MAKE IT THROUGH 3 DAYS??)

Story 3. 2 people find love in a food shelter, bonding over a shared electrical outlet.

Story 4. A gay couple tape their windows/have witty banter in their bakery/art gallery in chelsea.

Story 5. (Provided by Tiff) Overworked reporter gets romantic wake up call from down to earth meteorologist.

Story 6. 2 strangers (boy/girl) forced to evacuate Dumbo look for transpo in the dead of night - end up romantically on the brooklyn bridge overlooking a half-darkened manhattan.

Story 7. A dramatic evacuation of a major hospital involving some brave nurses.

HOW THE STORY ENDS:

Romantic couple on the brooklyn bridge watch as lights suddenly start flowing back to the skyline. Fire returns to Statue of Liberty’s torch. Girl in romantic couple on the bridge makes a grand statement about what she’s learned. People in rooftops cheer. People at Canal Street hug a policeman. Some heroic shots of firemen, a 9/11 reference, people making out.

Starring Cast: Lea Michele, Andrew Garfield, Sophia Vergara, Whoopi Goldberg, the dudes in Modern Family, Chandra Wilson, Emma Roberts, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Donald Glover, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis, Mindy Kaling, Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, James Franco.

Random Cameos: Julia Roberts, Metta World Peace, Louis CK, Anderson Cooper, Jack McBrayer, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Hanks, maybe Oprah.

12:18 pm  •  2 November 2012

heavily debating getting a cactus for my room…

cactuses also remind me of a joke I love from demetri martin.

“About a month ago I got a cactus. A week later, it died. I got really depressed ‘cause I was like, damn, I am less nurturing than a desert.”

[photo via more&co ]

10:32 pm  •  6 October 2012

shihlun:

Shin Yanagisawa: Urban canyon, Shinjuku from the series “Tracks of the City”, 1960s

12:25 pm  •  27 September 2012  •  4 notes

philippe malouin, “bunting”, at the london design festival.

1:03 pm  •  21 September 2012