Kings And Pioneers

a couple of things to read

Luxury Brands Stake Out New Department Store Turf- WSJ.com

Le marché du luxe devrait croître de 8% en 2011, selon Bain & Co- Fashion Mag.com

You Can Dress Like Your Mom- WSJ

Anoraks!- WSJ

Is It Wearable?- WSJ

Sites That Send Shoppers What They Might Like- NYTimes

The It Bag is Out- Independent

the history and what its become summed up in this new york times article. It is a bummer when things become trendy- can they ever regain their original meaning? Or is it forever tainted by the 'fashionable' credentials?

Dinner This weekend

Ingredients:

+some chicken, olive oil, balsamic, and tortillas. I didn't take an after picture...which leaves a lot more room for the imagination...what would you make with what you see here?

extra + beautiful weather, a table on the terrace, and great company = just about as lovely a picture as I can imagine

finger control

I have been trying this guitar exercise, because I think that I really need to go back to the basics a little bit before I can actually easily play the things I want to play. So I am doing this exercise that goes from each finger to the next on their respective frets maintaining the beat 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 and the control of the finger to hear each note as loud as the original sting pluck. Starting with two finger combinations, and then going into three finger combos and then all four. Up and down the scale. I have no idea how confusing that must sound. It is not that confusing. But my fingers seem to think I'm telling them to tie my shoes.
Practice makes perfect, no?

no need for the catalog?

A woman in her 70s with her family was behind me as I took a picture at the DOGON exhibit at the Musée du quai Branley.
She says something about how it is such a nuisance that people take their pictures at the exhibit, so they won't need to buy the catalog, or just buy the catalog, or something along those lines.
But these photos are mine, they are in the space, they were from my experience there.
It is true that the catalog was beautiful and the sculptures are not interrupted by reflections on the glass cases inside which they all sat.
Anyway, I get what she's saying- I never really thought about it like that. My camera is more like my notebook, that is one of it's functions anyway, less artistically, it is a tool for documenting things that I don't want to forget when I get home and then maybe every once in a while there is a pretty image in there as well.
Here are a couple of my clandestine photos...

People in Paris

One sided windows

Taken from the inside of the 'Navette' that takes you to the new shopping center in Aubervilliers, right outside of Paris.
The mall is advertised on the sides of the water bus, thus the perforated effect. And from the outside, all you can see is the image.

I've been thinking about re-blogging and the challenge to not re-blog what other people have blogged. What are your original thoughts? Are they post-able? Or do you keep them to yourself? Sometimes it seems self indulgent to do any of this, but what is the point if you are not sharing a point of view? I think I have played it very safe, and maybe it is time to be a little more opinionated. But I don't want to share too much, either! What if I give away my secrets!