Wednesday 31 March 2010

Some inspirational words...

I came across Milton Glaser's 10 Things I Have Learned - The Secret of Art on the Art Print Issues site. The whole thing is interesting to read, but I found some parts of it really inspiring.
Take a few secs to read through this...

Some people are toxic, avoid them
[And] The important thing that I can tell you is that there is a test to determine whether someone is toxic or nourishing in your relationship with them. Here is the test: You have spent some time with this person, either you have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn’t matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you are more energised or less energised. Whether you are tired or whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished. The test is almost infallible and I suggest that you use it for the rest of your life.

How you live changes your brain
Thought changes our life and our behaviour. I also believe that drawing works in the same way. I am a great advocate of drawing, not in order to become an illustrator, but because I believe drawing changes the brain in the same way as the search to create the right note changes the brain of a violinist. Drawing also makes you attentive. It makes you pay attention to what you are looking at, which is not so easy.

On aging
The first rule is the best. Rule number one is that ‘it doesn’t matter.’ ‘It doesn’t matter that what you think. Follow this rule and it will add decades to your life. It does not matter if you are late or early, if you are here or there, if you said it or didn’t say it, if you are clever or if you were stupid. If you were having a bad hair day or a no hair day or if your boss looks at you cockeyed or your boyfriend or girlfriend looks at you cockeyed, if you are cockeyed. If you don’t get that promotion or prize or house or if you do – it doesn’t matter.’ Wisdom at last.

Love their style!

Some cool pics of cool peeps. Really dig their style :)
Seen at we-are-awesome.

Awesome illustration!

Today my eyes fell across the awesomeness that is the illustration of Julian Callos, a Los Angeles-based illustrator.
 Really love his illustration style, wicked cool stuff. Check out more on his site.

Monday 29 March 2010

Love this pic :)

Drawing from above

Doodles of boredom...

New music!

So I've been hearing quite a lot about the band Yeasayer recently...
According to Wikipedia, The name is pronounced /ˈjeɪseɪ.ər/ ...eerrrmm...ok then. Is it just me or does that really not help with the pronounciation at all? Clicking on that takes you to a table that's supposed to decode it. Humph. Anyway, I pronounce it Yay-sayer (like Naysayer, but YAY instead). The name was what attracted me in the first place, I liked that it was the opposite of naysayer :)

So the band is from Brooklyn, New York and classified as experimental rock, although I wouldn't really call it that. The band describes their sound as
"Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel".. which sounds a bit more accurate to me. I came across this video and this is the first and only song of theirs that I've heard so far.. and I really like it :) The video isn't mindblowing, but it's kinda interesting... weird face-changing people and a skinny, deranged-looking Indian dude in a cage thing, some odd dancers...

Have a listen and let me know what you think :)



Listen to more on their MySpace

Monday 15 March 2010

How apt :)

Trinkets from India!


My grandmother recently went to India (for like the 5th time, she loves it there) and brought me these stuffs :)

Amazing choc-chip biscuits!

I made these on Saturday... they're sooo good :)

Here's an awesome very quick and easy recipe for some incredibly yummy biscuits!

Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat 125g butter with 150g soft brown sugar. Slowly mix in 1 beaten egg, then 50g cocoa powder, 175g (1½ cups) flour, ½ tsp vanilla essence, a pinch of salt and ½ tsp baking powder. Fold in 200g dark chocolate chips and place spoonfuls of the mixture 5cm apart on greased baking trays. Bake for 12 minutes, then cool.

Some tips:
I didn't have soft brown sugar at the time, so I used castor sugar instead - it doesn't make a huge difference although I think it is a bit better with the soft brown sugar (sometimes called treacle sugar).
These biscuits are very rich and I personally prefer them with slightly less chocolate. About 150g is good. I love dark chocolate, it makes a huge difference to the taste.
It makes roughly 2 large trays. They spread quite a lot so don't make them too large and give them enough space :)
Also, don't let it stay in any longer than 12 minutes, they'll get dry. They're supposed to be a bit soft on the inside.

Enjoy! 
And I'd love to hear what you think of it if you try it :)

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Rocking the 80's!

Haven't posted anything in a while... life suddenly got trés busy!
Anyway, went to my awesome friend's awesome 80's party and here are some cool pics! The cake was in-freakin-credible, so much yumness!
Looking around in shops recently, an 80's fashion revival doesn't seem too far off! Eek! Let's hope those hairdos don't come back too!
 (Lotsa exclamations in this post!!!)
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