Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Owl Wrap



A brilliant solution for preventing pesky chord tangling. Available at Etsy. I just bought two.

NES Mouse



"This is a foam model which were modeled in various ways for a project in school. I chose to make a Nintendo Entertainment System mouse in which I took much of the design language from the NES system and gamepad." via: mousevomit

This is rad.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

A Dose of Anna Karina

Just because.



The scene is from Jean-Luc Godard's Une Femme est Une Femme.

Obamarama.




The White House has set up an official photostream of President Obama and his first 100 days in office. There are some really great and interesting shots in there so check them out on Flickr.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Kobe Doin' Work: A Game in the Life



"Kobe Doin' Work: A Game in the Life" is a documentary directed by Spike Lee and is an unprecedented glimpse and insight into what Gameday is like for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. Utilizing 30 cameras and a microphone on Kobe himself, audiences will get a chance to see how Kobe prepares for a game, how he handles himself on/off the court and hear how he inspires his teammates on the bench, his banter with the referees and opposing players. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and have been following Kobe Bryant's glorious career since he was drafted 13th overall in 1996 so it should be no surprise that I am very excited about this project. It is currently playing at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York until May 3rd and will air on ESPN, Saturday May 16th at 8PM. It will also be released on DVD, May 19th and you can preorder a copy here.

For now, catch the trailer below:

or head over here to watch it in HD.

The Brothers Bloom

Rian Johnson, who previously gave us the neo-Noir Brick, directs The Brothers Bloom, a witty Con-man film starring Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as two brothers that have made a living out of conjuring grand schemes and heists to swindle cloistered millionaires, which in this case is played by the always lovely Rachel Weisz who turns in a fun and quirky performance as Penelope Stamp. Rounding out the group is Rinko Kikuchi as the cute and aptly named Bang Bang, the spontaneous bomb expert.

The release date for this film has been getting delayed and moved around for the past two years but I was lucky enough to catch a sold out viewing during the AFI Fest at the Arclight Theater a couple months ago and was left wondering why this movie kept getting jerked around by the studios. I felt that the movie was smart, funny, romantic, and charming. Well, fingers-crossed, The Brothers Bloom is finally getting a nationwide release date for May 29th and I definitely recommend buying a ticket for this.

Here are the opening 7 minutes of the film:


Bonus Fun Fact via IMDB: "Weisz learned how to play piano, violin, accordion, and break-dance, to juggle, do karate, play Ping-Pong, banjo, unicycle, and even skateboard for her role as Penelope." There is a great not-to-be-missed montage sequence in this film that shows off all of her amazing skills!

Visit: Official Site for more trailers and other information.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A Wolf Loves Pork



"At first I photographed stop motion animation. And I displayed the photographs in my room and photographed it again. Enjoy a connection with the world of the room and the world in the photograph." - dokugyunyu

Saw this fun stop motion photograph video on YouTube.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Lupe Fiasco



DL: Food & Liquor
Buy: Amazon



DL: The Cool
Buy: Amazon

"I've been in the poem of many a poet
and I reside in the art of many an artist
Some of your smartest have tried to articulate my whole part in this
But they're fruitless in their harvest" - from 'Put You on Game'

It is in my opinion that Lupe Fiasco is a supremely under-rated talent. I just think that these are two fantastic hip-hop albums that should get more recognition so check them out.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I Think I'm in Love

This is the Corvette Z03. I've always had an affinity for the Corvette Stingray but this is just beautiful.




"UgurSahinDesign recently partnered with tuner Mallett Cars to finally bring the beautifully designed Corvette Z03 to life. Tweaks for the Z03 were made to increase engine cooling and improve downforce. To fit its see-through hood concept, its headlights were redesigned for a better fit. As for the engine, the base will be a supercharged version of GM’s LS7 V8 that pumps out 700hp. However, there’s also an optional engine upgrade to 999 hp with your very own twin turbos. Making modifications like this will surely be costly, so definitely be ready to see the numbers go up to six figures for a truly rare Vette."
via: Swipelife and Autoblog(more pics and specs there)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Pizzeria Mozza

This weekend I made my second venture to Mario Batali, Nancy Silverton, and Joseph Bastianich's Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles.



At first this restaurant struck me as pretentious with its up-to-one-month-in-advance reservation policy, the snobby looking wait-staff, its hip Hollywood crowd, and the fact that all the names of the food items on the menu are basically a list of that dish's ingredients...by their Italian names. Worst of all they italicized the ingredients words they knew the average person would not know. I've never taken Italian nor did I remember to bring an Italian dictionary which meant having to go down the entire menu and ask the waiter exactly what each and every item was. That was not fun. However, the food changed most of my preconceptions of Pizzeria Mozza.

The first time I was here, I ordered the fried squash blossoms as an appetizer plate which were just delicious. The second time around, I ordered a plate of prosciutto with asparagas and a plate of the roasted bone marrow which came with bruschetta, roasted garlic in olive oil, and salt flakes. Initially I felt that the bone marrow was lacking in flavor until I put it together with the other ingredients on the plate. That is when I realized that dish was very tasty and the garlic was so soft that it spread across the bruschetta with the greatest of ease.



Anyway, appetizers are not the reason to come to Pizzeria Mozza. It is, of course, the pizzas which are some of the best that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. The greatness of the pizza lies in its crust which is very thin and easy to chew in the center but very crispy and bubbly at the edges. The ingredients are unique and full of flavor. They are light on the sauces and made with organic ingredients so they don't leave you feeling like your arteries just clogged right after you finished eating.

The "Fennel Sausage, Panna, Red Spring Onion and Scallions" is really really good and is one that you will never go wrong with ordering.



Below are the pizzas I tried this weekend: "Prosciutto di Parma, Tomato, Arugula & Mozzarella," which is decent but not great. The "Ipswich Clam, Garlic, Oregano, Pecorino, and Parmigiano" however, is interesting and delicious.



The "Squash Blossoms, Burrata, and Tomato" was good because of the tomato sauce but was easily a disappointment compared to everything else tried so far.



The "Funghi Misti, Fontina, Taleggio & Thyme" pizza is the very first pizza I tried at Mozza. It is topped with mushrooms and two different cheeses. If you like those ingredients then it is just wonderful. Definitely my favorite.



For dessert, we ordered the "Espresso Granita with Espresso Gelato and Chocolate Dipped Honeycomb" and the "Butterscotch Budino, Maldon Sea Salt, and Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies" accompanied with a glass of Moscato D'Asti. The Espresso tasted like French iced coffee but the addition of granita made it taste bitter, which I did not like. The chocolate dipped honeycomb that came with it was dark chocolate and tasted ashy as I bit into it. In fact, my first reaction was that I was eating a pack of lit cigarettes. I do not recommend getting this dessert.


The "Butterscotch Budino" (above) was touted as the absolute must-try dessert with its mixture of caramel, cream, and a hint of sea salt. I found the cookies more enjoyable but perhaps it was overhyped and did not quite meet my expectations, although it was still very good.

Overall, I would say that the prices at Pizzeria Mozza are fairly reasonable. Pizzas range from $15-$22; Appetizers: approx $8-$12; Desserts: $9

If you plan to visit, I highly recommend trying to book reservations at least a week and a half in advance if you want to have a table at a good time. I never recommend coming here without a reservation because you'll either be out of luck or waiting for hours just for a bar seat.

641 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 297-0101

I would definitely come back again in the future and recommend this place to anyone who enjoys pizzas or anyone looking for new flavors to arouse the senses.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Arcade Fire



"Miroir Noir," directed by Vincent Morisset, is a documentary film that follows the brilliant Arcade Fire through the making and touring of their second full-length album: Neon Bible. For one week only the entire film will be streaming in its entirety over at Pitchfork TV.

It will be available for purchase on April 7th, 2009 here.

And just as a refresher, here are their two great great LPs.

DL: Funeral
Buy: Amazon



DL: Neon Bible
Buy: Amazon