nydailynews compares kanye west to urkel.

hey! i didn’t dole out the haterade this time. don’t blame me. oh, and if i was urkel? i would be really angry right about now.

p. g. wodehouse would LOVE these pendants.

 

the jeeves and wooster pendant lights pictured below are by english designer jake phipps. phipps cleverly takes the sartorial symbols of master and servant from the p. g. wodehouse novels and spins them into fabulous lighting.

for those of you who aren’t fans of wodehouse (shame on you!), the jeeves is the bowler and the wooster is the top hat. once the m0ddie/miggle show is moved across the pond, perhaps we can score a couple or more of these witty fixtures for the new digs. at about $500 each, they’re worth every penny to a diehard wodehouse fan. for philistines? not so much.

this is the best climbing wall EVER.

 

lane sipahimalani

neal sipahimalani

 

 

 

 

 

i know two spider monkeys, male, 16 years old. they are my nephews, lane and neal sipahimalani. they first climbed at a sport store 5 years ago. that same year, they were participants in the national comp for top roping.

this incredible athletic talent yields yearly appearances at national bouldering and rock climbing events. my thoughts: if they had an amazing coach, they would could easily qualify for international competitions.

one item in my bucket list is to video the two climbing the wall illustrated below. design group nendo visually redefined the indoor climbing wall that surely impresses even the most pedestrian observer. accoring to oki sato, nendo mastermind, the wall was designed to ”reconstitute the everyday by collecting and reshaping small moments hidden in our everyday into something that’s easy to understand.” (the wall is located in the illoiha fitness center, omotesando district, tokyo, japan.) 

in the climbing world of my nephews, fiberglass stone and mock rock overhangs reign ubiquitous. the amazing wall illustrated below is the nendo interpretation of a chic interior of baroque picture frames, mirrors, deer heads, bird cages and flower vases. lane and neal’s climbing experience in this space would be where my life and their lives intersect. design and climbing. 

please note: the persons photographed in below are not taking any safety precautions. as a climbing enthusiast, i would NOT recommend this!

only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled,

which leaves a STAGGERING 86% that can be classified as landfill, litter and/or garbage. [i do not buy items packaged in plastic if there is an option. and, to hold water, i use a stainless steel container that will last until i lose it. no plastic water bottles for this household.]

and while everyone who recycles can pat themselves on the back for being virtuous and earth-conscious, the sad fact is that plastic degrades each time it visits the recycling center. water bottles cannot be recycled into new water bottles. they become another, less useful plastic. even the act of recycling bottles into fabrics has pitfalls: the fibers are small and can become airborne, putting anyone near the fabric in danger of inhaling said particles. not healthy.

and, we must also examine the carbon footprint of recycling. does it consume even more natural resources and does it add to the already polluted atmosphere?? i’m just asking. take my advice and read “cradle to cradle” by william mcdonough. that little eco-conscious bible presents some ugly truths but also some very intelligent and creative solutions to recycling. run, don’t walk to get this book…and read it.

some interesting ideas are hitting the world of design as water bottle alternatives. my favorite thus far is this [innovative new packaging from brandimage. they are responsible for everything about this bottle, including concept development, branding, prototyping, engineering, and product design. The 360 Paper Bottle is the first of its kind in the world, and a true environmentally-friendly solution to the problem of plastic water bottles: 

The 360 Paper Bottle is a sustainable vision of the future. It is the first totally recyclable paper container made from 100% renewable resources. Versatile in its range of consumer applications and made from food-safe and fully recyclable materials, it decreases energy consumed throughout the product life cycle without sacrificing functionality. It is paper packaging that stands up to all liquid categories (quoted from www.dieline.com).]

trash into art long before we were greenwashed.

tony cragg began his art career making sculptures from refuse. the act of repurposing others’ discards automatically provided cragg with thematic concerns that sustained his work for decades. early in his career, he constructed sculptures by stacking, splitting and crushing discarded construction materials. circa 1978 he began to collect plastic fragments [found rubblsh] and arranged them into color categories (my personal favorite period of his art). these sculptures took on a 2.5D quality; all were mounted on floors and walls that created silhouette-ish images. this period of cragg’s ouvre consists of broken pieces of found rubbish and when first shown, were interpreted as a commentary on the economic difficulties face by england at the time. we can now reinterpret the work as prescient commentary of the current global warming, resource gobbling and polluted world in which we live.

cragg’s current work has unfortunately succumbed to that of the successful artist: bronze sculptures. while they are conceptually interesting, none pack the powerful eco-conscious thought of the previous works. (tony cragg [b. 1949 in l'pool] is a british born sculptor and artist who has lived in germany since 1977.)

 

early work: 1975

a view of the UK of the north

 

universal image

ubiquitous image of artist

 

subtle lunar image

policeman from early '80s

self-portrait??

 

more current work, commentary of hollow interiors. (social commentary?)

concept: brilliant simplicity.

 

“dead pixel in google earth” by helmut smits, 82 x 82 cm burned square, the size of one pixel from an altitude of 1 km.

 

meeus serves up gorgeous space savers for the bathroom.

sinks and bathtubs both use faucets, so why not share one? while i can safely say the meeus tub/sink combos are on the high end of bathroom fixtures, the idea is great and more space can be saved. check out the soft integrated lighting; always welcome in a room where one is meant to relax in a nice warm bubble bath.

interesting too, because most of us have only experienced tubs and sinks installed near or on a wall, where the plumbing is easily accessed. this type of fixture could be installed in the center of the room, allowing space all around. i’m definitely a fan. now i have to wait for knockoffs to hit the market , dropping the prices.

mmm. love me some bananas. free chandelier with bulk purchase.

this is definitely a “came-out-of-left-field” kind of thing, but amusing, fun and an appropriate monument to the perfect food: the banana.

looking forward to downsizing? YES.

i am moving across the pond soon, so my eyes are peeled; they’re hungry for space saving ideas. to say that we will be downsizing is an understatement. all my friends and family that are used to luxury accommodations? that era is soon to end.

these rooms are made for children, but the clever ideas can be easily translated into adult sized solutions. not too daunting for DIY, either:

more origami, more tesselation. more love.

oh, what a humble piece of paper is capable of doing! i uncovered more origami/tesselation love. getting closer to quitting life and devoting it to making this kind of stuff:

daniel piker who *has* devoted his life to this worthy cause: http://spacesymmetrystructure.wordpress.com/

daniel piker videos: http://vimeo.com/user798992/videos