Posted in no but seriously, tagged brooklyn, craigslist missed connections, new york, the new york times, williamsburg on June 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »
the nytimes tells us that the L is the most romantic line in all the subways in all of new york city. in true scientific fashion, this info has been gleaned by scouring craigslist missed connections. an accurate and apropos scientific inquiry and methodology.
there is some sexy williamsburg romance a-brewin under those payes.
[ stefanie ]
Posted in books, no but seriously, tagged books, camfed, engenderhealth, feminism, global fund for women, global giving, half the sky, kiva, microfinance, nicholas d kristof, novo foundation, sheryl wudunn, the new york times on June 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »
have just finished reading half the sky by nicholas kristof and sheryl wudunn and i cannot cannot recommend it enough. i first heard about the book while reading this fantastic article in the ny times magazine last summer, and while the article definitely gets the point across successfully the book is still absolutely worth a read.
the book discusses sex slavery in southeast asia, rape and murder in the name of honor in africa, unimaginably high rates of maternal mortality all across the world, fistulas, female genital cutting, and the benefits of education and microloans; since studies have shown people respond with more compassion to stories of individuals than to mind-numbing statistics, each chapter is punctuated by photos and narratives of women’s lives. best of all, the authors don’t just present the sad state of affairs in the world today and then leave you to feel shitty all day — they repeatedly describe organizations and philanthropic efforts that WORK and also introduce opportunities for the reader to GET INVOLVED and SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO CHANGE THINGS. thank goodness, because it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed when faced with an overwhelmingly shitty situation.
( at one point while i was reading the book i was telling a friend about it when he scoffed a little and asked if endlessly talking about inequalities makes them worse rather than better — the whole ‘post-race’ argument that was continuously brought up during the 2008 election, that if we would just stop talking about black or white or male or female then slowly differences would fade from our collective consciousness. i think mostly he was trying to be a dick on purpose, but just in case, i definitely do not think that not talking about it is the solution. when women are honor-raped every day, when girls are systematically prevented from educating themselves, when female sex workers are kidnapped from their families and kept prisoner by beatings and drug dependencies, the absolute worst thing we could possibly do would be to not talk about it. i think a lot of us don’t quite know the extent of how difficult and dangerous it is to be a woman outside of america/europe/developed nations in general, and learning about the scary reality is the only way to motivate oneself to take action. )
while the authors respect legislators’ efforts to solve inequities through laws, policies, and UN bodies, they repeatedly point to overwhelming evidence that the far more effective route is one that emphasizes grassroots, localized organizations founded or run by local people who understand local culture and customs. microfinance, for one example, has been shown to be hugely successful, changing entire communities through $65 loans to individual women. so, here is a very short list of some websites and organizations mentioned in the book that are worth checking out and contributing to:
of course there are tons more avenues to examine if you, too, are impassioned and eager to help. very worth the research. now go buy the book, now.
[ stefanie ]
Posted in fashion, shopping, tagged accessories, adeline adeline, alternative transportation, bicycles, fashion, new york, spandex, the new york times on April 15, 2010| 1 Comment »
my father, an avid cyclist who’s been wearing spandex and shaving his legs since the early 70s, insists that adeline adeline (profiled in today’s nytimes) can’t possibly be a real bike store.
we beg to differ!
adeline adeline (147 reade street) was founded by a graphic designer who did not want a racing bicycle or a fixie and thus was forced to open her own store. the bicycles are super pretty — they’re inspired by the lovely vintage type bikes stylish ladies ride around amsterdam — and are meant to coordinate well with pretty dresses and shoes (bicycles can be accessories like any other) while also providing a comfy and enjoyable ride. (to prove it, customers are allowed to test-ride bikes around tribeca and in the nearby park before buying.) so the aesthetics of bike riding are fully embraced.
even better, for those of us whose concerned cyclist fathers are lurking in the background, there is a full service repair shop downstairs to prove that, although super stylish, adeline adeline is a real life bike store concerned with function as well as fashion.
BEST OF ALL the bicycles come in sizes, including sizes small enough for the shortest of ladies (eg under 5′ 3″, which hopefully includes those who are a mere 4′ 11 1/2″).
oh oh and, even better than best of all, the bicycles are really very affordable. the dutchie 1 (pictured below), for example, is only $399. hooray fashion!
[ stefanie ]
Posted in books, tagged dave eggers, david foster wallace, philip roth, portnoy's complaint, the new york times on March 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »
(by paula scher at nytimes.com)
follow the link for a lovely essay on the evolution of narcissistic, aggressive, sexual masculinity in great male authors’ prose.
[ stefanie ]
Posted in design, tagged christoph niemann, legos, new york, the new york times on February 4, 2009| 2 Comments »
Posted in fashion, tagged balenciaga, big love, chloe sevigny, floral print, hbo, karin nelson, manifestos, mini skirts, moustaches, pencil skirts, style.com, the new york times, vice magazine on January 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »
i am told by a friend that chloe sevigny is bitchy and acts entitled when standing on line for a club. which is fine, and also, whatever who really cares; nevertheless ms. sevigny remains my top choice for actress-i-would-most-want-to-play-me-in-the-movie-version-of-my-life.
(this will someday happen, i am sure. and she will dye her hair brown and shrink a few inches and the film that ensues will be lovely and well-received by critics and fans alike. also the soundtrack and costumes will be fieeerce.)
(photo from nytimes.com)
when questioned in pulse, karin nelson’s ny times column, she says, “I’m not feeling these modern, futuristic looks. It’s too hard. I love a frilly floral, and I always will. And I like minis. I tried to do a pencil skirt, but it looked too old. Lately I’ve been trying to dress sexier, but my version is still a little sad and frumpy and alternative.”
oh man, it is only a matter of time until we run into each other on the street and girlishly squeal over our mind-bogglingly similar style manifestos.
due to a lack of tv and/or hbo, i cannot watch my life twin on big love, but i saw this clip of her on vice‘s website once and have enjoyed it ever since (because she is snotty and know-it-all-y and i really like that about her):
as a girl who spends too much time on style.com, her actual knowledge of fashion trend history makes me really really happy. as does her companion’s moustache. as does the idea of having an expendable income big enough to buy a pair of balenciaga pants.
the end.
[ stefanie ]
Posted in art, books, fashion, music, photography, shopping, tagged balloon animals, big sur, cate blanchett, coffee and cigarettes, comme des garcons, digital photography, france, gus van sant, h&m, hannuka, interview magazine, irony, jack kerouac, jack white, jeff koons, paranoid park, rei kawakubo, richard prince, Sculpture, the new york times, versailles, william eggleston on December 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »
the latest issue of interview, is superb. it is the so-called art issue. inside find interviews with richard prince (who owns the original scroll of big sur by mr. jack kerouac), jeff koons (more on him in a sec), cate blanchett (interviewed by jack white, which brings to mind coffee and cigarettes, and also the two of them are quite witty with each other), william eggleston (who is color blind?), rei kawakubo (have you gotten a chance to shop for comme des garcons at h&m yet?), gus van sant (i fell asleep during paranoid park but still claim to have really liked it), AND MORE!
jeff koons was all, “i don’t think my shit is ironic, or tongue-in-cheek” (that was paraphrased, badly, by the way) and i was all, reeeally? because you sculpted a giant balloon animal and put it in the palace at versailles… but then jeff koons was all, “living at versailles must have been like living in a fantasy, where you could go to sleep one night with a garden full of blue flowers and wake up to find a garden full of red flowers, because a staff of gardeners had been up all night uprooting and planting your fantasy, fuckin louis xiv, and my pieces relate to that fantasy in contemporary ways” (again, paraphrase-age) and i was all, hey i kinda like that, way to go jeff koons, this is the first time i’ve ever had tender feelings towards you and your art.
(photo from nytimes.com)
and then i was all, happy hannuka, and stuff.
[ stefanie ]
Posted in fashion, no but seriously, tagged allison arieff, bicycles, mini skirts, oil dependency, skinny pants, sustainability, the environment, the new york times, the sartorialist on November 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »
from allison arieff’s blog on nytimes.com:
For a couple of months there, it was sort of exciting to witness how dramatically higher oil prices were affecting human behavior. Ridership of public transit was up, homeowners were swapping exurban houses for urban condos, S.U.V. sales were down, people were walking. T. Boone Pickens threw cash at a wind farm. But in more recent weeks, as oil prices dropped, I started hearing indications of backpedaling on all of the above. With gas back down in the $2 to $2.50 a gallon range, there was talk of this all being less urgent, something that could be addressed later. Pickens even scrapped plans for the wind farm (for now). This is such a strange notion: that an interim price drop somehow solves the larger issue of our dependence on oil.
isn’t that sort of terrible? dependency on oil is always a scary concept, and it shouldn’t only be scary when it gets expensive. whether filling up your tank costs $15 or $50, it is always (always always) a better idea to bike or walk or subway or bus. petroleum is not sustainable, and never will be, no matter how much of an impact it may make on our wallets at any given time.
(not that it should be about style, at all, but we feel obligated to admit, that there is no better way to be kind to the environment while looking positively adorable, than riding a bicycle. just ask scott schuman.)
[ stefanie ]
festo 