Songs for the weekend:

Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses

The Count & Sinden ft Rye Rye - Hardcore Girls (Remix)

refunite.org

"A global search engine based on self-sufficiency and anonymity
Refugees United has created a unique search engine designed to simplify the process of relocating family members and loved ones all over the world.
Living in a foreign and new world it often proves an insurmountable obstacle for refugees to find anyone from back home. No central registry has been established to provide interlinked communication and many refugees are afraid of contacting authorities; in addition millions of refugees have never been granted asylum and are therefore living as stateless people.
Most of them endure the knowledge that somewhere children, siblings, parents, spouses and other loved ones carry on lives somewhere in the world wishing, as they, that they could somehow get back in contact with family."

I can not stop raving on & on about the brilliance of this site and the impact this has on millions of families around the world. There is an estimated 32 million refugees scattered around the world with very little or many times no chance to find their families due to  logistical breakdown, prior to refunite.org there was no global registry.

This search engine enables refugees to seek from country to country, last name to last known location, where the engine intelligently narrows down the search with just mininal knowledge to anyone of their origin that matches their criteria.

Like most things that aim to make a difference in the world refunite.org is a non profite organisation founded by two danish brothers David & Christopher Mikkelsen.

Please make sure you lend your support to the cause as most of you out there prepare to spend the holidays with loved ones.

www.refunite.org

WE THINK YOU ARE A JOKE

shove it  feat Spank Rock by the ever so cleverly indie Santogold is the song of the day.

You worry about the wrong things, the wrong things

Ok so I've had this discussion with just about everybody I know, and I DO NOT CARE what you say, it's all about 808's & Heartbreak. Some food for ya electronic soul, know what I mean? and not just for your gangsta. Its a grown up thing for the ones of you that you don't get it I promise you will catch up with the rest of us.It's gonna take about a year and half at least.

You'd have to be completly Heartless ( get it; how could you be soooo heaaaartless?)to not feel the desperate honesty of Love Lockdown, Amazing, Streetlight & Bad News, especially Bad News and Streetlight ooooh and Paranoid.

Re-wiiiiiind

you can always count on youtube

Random youtube comments for India.Arie's 'Ready For Love':


alasiasmith14 (2 days ago)

i feel da same dude but i guess i have tyme lol cuz im only 13 but wen i thought i waz in luv but i got hurt but i dnt even kno wat it is but i want to b in luv so bad 2 but it seem lyk it neva happen....

kgordon22586 (2 days ago)

me too, i want to be inlove so bad, i feel like it's never gonna happen.

wendyluvsart (5 das ago)

Wow!!! I'm impressed! I once felt dis way... I love it because all dat dis song says I have found in a man... and ironically my loves name is "ART".....To a man who loves music, a man who loves art, respects the sprit world, and thinks with his heart!!

jewel811 (5 days ago)

This is truly a beautiful song! Preach it sistah, preach it, cuz I am ready 2!!!

Lady0Z (6 dayas ago)
nie nie wyjasnijmy sobie Lenda nie zaspiewała na pewno lepiej od oryginału ale tez ma inna barwe glosu i przekazała wiele wiecej emocji niz India Arie ;))

..................

I know I keep disapearing between posts for a while, but life is hard for a final year uni student so cut me some slack. Between styling/creative directing photoshoots, exhibitions, disseration and final year project I havent even had time to breathe!.Just trying to get things happening before I graduate into this nightmare economy. Can somebody get me a job in Magazines? please? :)anyways, posting will occur much more regularly so peace out

Vicky, Christina ,Barcelona

It's like Penelope was born to play the role of a psycotic, missunderstood /artist/jelous ex-wife.
Beautiful, passionate, funny and intelligent. Don't want to give to much of the plot away. But Scarlett and Cruz's darkroom make out session is one of the hottest this year.

Oh yeah and it is by Woody Allens return to form.

Good Morning America - there's some light at the end tunnel

The USA "baracked" the vote yesterday as expected by the rest of the world, by electing senator Barack Obama as their new president. Finally Americans have woken up and smelled the coffee. Let's just hope Obama continues on the righteous path to right the wrongs of Bush.

I don't wanna be a hater but......

I know everybody has been pretty much going crazy for Lady Gaga, a 22 year old electro/dance, New York based singer. She is going to be huge, she kind of already is I guess.

Electro beats thumping and fashionable outfits does not make up for lack of originality miss GaGA. Don't get me wrong I'd rather have her "Just Dance" song being overplayed than most other artists, yet I cant help but think the world (americans) need to hear the orignal artists instead of her Akon label-signed-swedish-produced sound. I mean you got Robyn, Roisin Murphy, Annie, Bertine Zetlitz, miss Grace "motherfucking-rock-attitude" Jones etc so forth, and on and on. It all sounds like stuff I was partying to in underground after clubs about 5 years ago.

What im trying to say is the European electro sound is fucking the American "electro" in the arse royally. 

Yepp I said it and it's out in the open now.

www.ladygaga.com

watch "just dance" here

En la cama [In bed]

My friend Claudio showed me this incredibly erotic and serious 2008 chilean movie, In Bed (En la Cama) that follows two casual lovers that meet at a party and decide to rent a motel room and fuck each others brains out. Starting of like a sexualized version of Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset"  with Ethan Hawke, this movie wonders into the darker side of passion and casual sex as the characters take a break from all the love making and start to interact.

Needless to say the dialogue is nothing short of amazing. It's honest, pure, simple and ironic.

Without sliding over to the overly romantic vibe of "Before Sunrise", yet intimate.

The way the director creeps up close to the characters with his camera, depicting every inch of desire and seduction both characters experience throughout the night is just pure genius.

The actors lay it bare and play their asses off. Looking seemingly comfortable naked.

Definitely one of the best scripted and shot movies I've seen in a long time.

And probably contains one of the HOOOOTTEST sex acts filmed.

If you can get a hold of it here in Europe is well worth a watch.

Farfetched Fashion

Farfetch.com is a new online "boutique" that gathers Europe's most respected independent boutiques that carry interesting up and coming designer names and labels to the finest luxury established designers have to offer.

Farfetched has united 20 boutiques from 10 cities around the continent, like Maria Luisa and Olga in Paris, B store and beyond the valley in London, V-store, ParisTexas in Copenhagen and many,many more.

Farfetched.com's collection is split into three departments; Luxe – for high-end designers, Lab – for experimental or new designers and Cult – for diffusion lines, premium denim brands and unique labels with an inventive take on fashion.

The online boutique also offers an editiorial section where some of the industries heavy hitters provide shoppers with need-to-know style inspiration through a variety of weekly features, trend prediction written by respected journalists, buyers from partner boutiques giving dedicated fashionistas their favourites of the season.

At last somebody has brought boutique into the world of internet shopping. Farfetched indeed.

www.farfetched.com

Ryanairs attention to detail.

Ryanair has a lovely eye for detail. I found this on the toilet on a on board a Ryanair flight Stockholm from London yesterday. Makes one wonder how many things are 'overseen' by mr Ryan Air when buying old american planes. Guess it's just another way of transporting the animals

Headware

Saw this on Sunday Upmarket in Bricklane and completly fell in love with it, wrong colour but beautifully crafted.Very Isabella Blow.

 The picture does no justice to the piece really.

It's a damn shame my pothead mind cannot remember the name of the designer as he had no business card to give(everything is business man!).

Vote for black president

I saw this on a street just off Kingsland Road, in London and just had to document it. Lovely and relevant to our times.

WiFi for the people

Ok so we got this flyer in our mailbox the other day that said: Free WiFi for all Shoreditch.We said GREEEAAT!.There's nothing better than free internet!.

BT is teaming up with FON to give away 1000 free routers for the residents and shops in the Shoreditch area.

Shoreditchwifi.com is a project to create a Free WiFi area for Shoreditch, so that local businesses and residents can share their WiFi with their neighbours and surf the Internet for free.

FON is the world's largest WiFi community, and with your free router, you will get free access not only in Shoreditch, but to hundreds of thousands of WiFi hotspots around the UK and the world.

visit the website now and make Shoreditch the biggest Wifi area in the world.

http://shoreditchwifi.com/

Veenu Leather

I was walking randomly, together with about 20,0000 ppl (give or take) 'round Brick lane and Sunday Up-market on Sunday (duh!) when I stumbled upon this lovely leather goods (bags!bags!bags!) brand, Veenu leather.

Every Veenu leather bag is handmade in the Thar Desert in India, therefore avoiding the pitfalls of factory produced goods ( exploitation of labour, child labour & quality). There are a lot of variations in the leather and the person that crafted them, making each bag unique

The goods are also traded in an open market where makers negotiate a price that is fair to the labour they put in to making the bags.

The bags come in 4 different models and start at £30.

http://www.veenu.co.uk/

I've decided not to blog on the current financial crisis as I'm guessing you are all, like me half shitting their pants, and half not really faced by it, as it (the crisiss) has only begun to trickle down to us every day dopeasspeople. We are urged not panic yet panic stricken the panic stricken media all paint a doomsday picture of the state of the worlds economy. Buhu! people have lived on less before and will continue to do so in the future.

However point is that, no matter how big the crisis will be, there is no excuse for PM Gordon Brown to cheaply make use of the already wrong-on-so-many-levels anti-terrorist laws that have enabled him to freeze Icelandic banks money in the UK to protect UK savers money.
It completly proves that all anti-terrorist laws are just a massive load of bollocks to control and target individuals or those rare moments when a corporate slip-up is so massive it demands state action.
Big Brother is indeed becoming reality in the UK.

Michael Moore - Slacker Uprising

As the US election draws closer, desperate attempts from supporters of both political parties have emerged to swing votes to their side.
Michael Moore has released, Slacker Uprising, a film that documents the failed attempts of Mr Moore to swing votes the Democratic way at the 04 election.The fim follows Moore's 62 city tour of the Swing states in that years election.

Slacker Uprising is Michael Moore's attempt to get the slacker generation off their asses and vote, by bribing them with noodless (?), and shouting very loudly at very publicisized, and very american pep-rallys.

Slacker Uprising is available for free on http://slackeruprising.com/. Ive tried about a 100 times now to download the documentary from this very populist "super-sized super-star" filmmaker, however the film is only available for Canadian and US residents only. A bit puzzling given the fact that the Press Material available on the website states that this movie is "for the fans".
However dopeasspeople salutes mr Moores populist showman politics that aim to get the American people to make the right choice and "Barack" the Vote.

Slacker Up is available for download & order online here

Grace Jones Q Awards

Grace Jones has always been one of the most dope ass people/artist/model and most influetial for fashionistas world wide, so it's no wonder that when miss thing decided to grace (pun intended) the Q awards in London this week, she stole the shine like only miss Jones at 60ish years can.

Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms.

Okay so another Andy Warhol exhibition is perhaps not the most exiting art to see in Londono as I'm sure there must of been about a 1000 of them over the years. Let the man rest!
However Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms exhibition at the Hayward Gallery (We love) takes on the impossible task of trying to unmask the man behind the highly influential art.
Presenting films, screen test, videos and television programmes, along with the more famous paintings and installations, the Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms brings to light the amazing creative processes and combines rare archive material to capture the unusual spirit with which Warhol worked, including oversexed films from the imfamous Andy Warhol factory.
Organised in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Museum in America, the exhibition is certain to bring some stunning pieces of his work to London.
This exhibition kicks some serious ass and worth checking out.
I saw it in Stockholm this past Easter at the "Moderna Museet" and can truly say that although mr Warhol will always remain an enigma, there is a trace of what Warhols pop-mastermind could of been like

Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms,
Hayward Gallery 10am - 6pm,
late night Fridays until 10pm,
7th October 2008 - 18th January 2009.
Tickets are £10.00.
Southbank Centre

Dope Ass Music: Robin Thicke - "Something Else"

Listening to Robin Thicke is like giving a full body massage to your ears. His voice soothes, aches, challenges and gets the party started like nothing else. Having finally earned long overdue respect from the music industry and the acceptance of lovers from both sides of the pond. "Something Else" is the talented mastermind brother of the smash album" The Evolution of Robin Thicke" (released on Neptunes label "StarTrak"). On "Something Else" Thicke let's loose and gets back on top form to croon us with his best Marvin Gaye falsetto, keeping us warm throughout the darkness of winter.

Robin Thicke plays Shepherd's Bush Empire on 27/10/08 book tickets here

"Something Else" is out in the UK on Oct 13th

Raf Simmons is a genious

Raf Simons is a motherf#@£$ing Genious! just finished looking at Jil Sander S/S 09.... will post pics later on this week

Intimatly ass kissing

Am I the only one that finds it extremly annoying that the Beckham Intimacy "line" of fragrances is worth a staggering £109.
Mrs Over-exposed spice has been quoted saying " I'm proud of myself because I've worked for it and I don't have to". Spoken like a true WAG at heart indeed. I'm sure setting up the label meant, Victoria kissing ass(Marc Jacobs, Roland Mouret) at many fashion parties.
Who knew chavness was an international phenomenon with spending power.

M

Best of New York Fashion Week S/S 09 Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang proved his ever-present grunge girl could be a bit more colorful, a bit more 80's and a tad more grown up.

Best of New York Fashion Week S/S 09 Rodarte

Outlandish Rodarte stayed true to it's nature and designer sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy's obsession with nature.

S/S 09 saw the sister revisit the knits and greccian gowns of a/w by use of different fabrics and brighter colours.

A beautiful, and very intelligent show, that proves that fashion can have a brain as well.

Best of New York Fashion Week S/S 09 Proenza Schouler

It's much tougher," said Jack McCollough, of Proenza Schouled. It's not so much about toughness," Lazaro Hernandez, "as it is about confidence." said Lazaro Hernandez, the other half of the New York Based level. The show carried a strong eighties vibe in the form of big shoulders, high-waisted tapering pants, parachute silks, and a heap of jumpsuits with cascading hair to one side. Very Jerry Hall.

Best of New York Fashion Week S/S 09 Marchesa

Designer Georgina Chapman of Marchesa explained that she "tends to go with her instincts instead of belaboring references.". Well the references for S/S 09 are clearly, best-dressed-red carpet-a-list-hollywood-glamour wrapped up in a princess-from-a-very-far-far-far-away-land-luxe-materials.

How Lovely

Best of New York Fashion Week S/S 09 Phillip Lim

Phillip Lim took Victor & Rolf and made it sort of wearable this season. Cute, Sexy, Nerdy and highly fashionable

Gone For A Minute

I havn't updated this blog in a while, as I took days off to party a bit, started an unexpected internship at Alberta Ferretti Press Office and doing stuff for London Fashion Week, this week.

I'm sure I was deeply missed.

Dope Ass Photographer: Sarah Ahrens

Okay so I have this friend/collegue/classmate who is going to blow up big in the photography scene, so I thought I'd promote her on my site as she has finally been published in a publication worthy her talent ,V Magazine, check out her published pics here. Make sure you check out her website featuring some of her best work, including images styled by me and Alex W for Stark Magazine (our little baby!) here

Dope Ass Site: Invisiblemadevisible.co.uk

As I was looking into the whole Chilean Graffiti scene i stumbled upon this amazing website on East London based street art called Invisiblemadevisible.co.uk. On this site you can find photographs of some of the LDNs best street art. Worth checking OUT!.

BOOK: Street Art Chile

I've been saying forever how much I love Latin-American communist propaganda paintings, leaflets, flyers and posters that can still be seen on murals in many Latin countries, especially Chile, who has been a radical centre of Latin-American propaganda painting since 1940s.

I remember being fascinated with these huge paintings as a kid whenever we would go back to visit our family in Valparaiso.

To my surprise, and shame of not having discovered this before, as I haven't been in Chile for almost 6 years now. Note to self: VISIT THE MOTHERLAND!. There has been a huge surge in political graffiti drawing inspirations from it's complicated political past resulting in "...political engaged street art cross-fertilized with graffiti to create a multi-faceted and rapidly developing panorama of politically didactic and post political street art."

The book "Street Art Chile" is a collection of images taken throughout the country with a special focus on Santiago and Valparaiso (My birthplace). Published by 8 books and written by Dr Rodney Palmer an art historian, writer and critic who has worked on Latin American art since the 1980s,"Street Art Chile" is one heck of a book that will blow you street art sences.

Obsessive? Definetly

Dope Ass Project: FAVELA PAINTING PROJECT

Reading the August issue of Trace magazine I was blown away by a project called Favela Painting Project run by Dutch artists, Jeroen Koolhas and Dre Urhahn of the Firmeza Foundation.

The Project aims to produce art work in places where people are left socially excluded, such as the many favelas (slums) found in and around Rio de Janeiro. Around one 5th of Rio's population live in some 700 favelas.

Jeroen and Dre collaborate with the local community to find a painting that the community as whole can take pride in. By teaching the local children different painting techniques the organizations hopes to keep the kids out of reach of the local drug lords.

The organisation hopes to fight social exclusion, combat prejudice, contribute to the education of the local youth, create sustainable solutions and attract the art worlds attention.

The Favela Painting Project finished it's first major artwork in 2007 in one of Rio's most notorious favelas, Villa Cruzeiro entitled

'Kid with Kite'.

visit Favela Painting to find out more about the project and how you can support the cause.

Future Exhibitions

As the summer turned "early Autumn" yet again here in London I was bored. And as you do when bored in ever-so-rainy London, you try and catch an exhibition, and preferably a free one!. So I applied my best at typing in the words V&A on google that led me too the V&A museum website . Where I found the most exiting thing to happen since the Golden Age Of Couture Exhibition, "Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones"

Stephen Jones milinery extraordinaire, has helped the V&A make an anthology of hats:

"Working with radical hat designer, Stephen Jones, the V&A will present an ‘anthology of hats’. Drawn from V&A and international collections and ranging in style and period from a 17th-century Puritan’s hat to a 1950s Balenciaga couture piece to hats by Jones and his contemporaries including to the latest creations by young milliners such as Noel Stewart, the exhibition will investigate the cultural and historic importance of millinery. The exhibition will be arranged in four main themes - Inspiration looks at the myriad of sources including historicism, exoticism and the natural world; Creation explores the techniques, materials and processes; The Salon focuses on the buying and selling of hats and the millinery shop; and The Clients which will examine the wearing and etiquette of hats and will feature headgear worn by well known clients of some of the world’s top milliners including Audrey Hepburn, Isabella Blow, Anna Piaggi, Dita von Teese."

Nedless to say I am a big fan of headwear, and over exited!

DOPE ASS ACCESORIES :MADE

I was recently told about a

new and exclusive brand of unique accessories, called MADE.

They produce fashionable, funky and inspirational pieces whilst being committed to the principles of fair and ethical trading.

The majority of their products incorporate a fair trade element; raw elements, craftsmanship, or the complete piece. made products are designed in England by influential designers, then sourced and created within the developing countries of Africa and Asia.Using precious metals, stones and indigenous materials MADE creates distinctive, original and desirable jewellery.

Every purchase supports and empowers developing communities to improve their lives and to work with dignity. MADE accessories are for fashion conscious people who want their money to make a difference.

My favourite include the 'Single Chain Disk Earrings' for only £20 ( The Natural Store) and

The 'Bead And Bird Necklace' £60 (Whistle's)

Made @ Whistle's

Made @ The Natural Store

Future shades

My version of the YSL shades as seen on Interview Magazine's 'Paris Nights' Shoot.

Although I have to say mine were slightly more Grace Jones-ish. That's a good thing trust me
These were found in a tiny vintage shop in Stockholm last year and cost about 90 kr which is is about £5.00.

Interview Magazine: Paris Nights

images courtesy of Fashion-nation.net

On the latest Interview Magazine I found fashion story perfection in a shoot entitled 'Paris Nights' styled by Karl Templer and shot by Anthony Maule.

The story represents the best look of the Autumn/Winter season '08. A sort of chic YSL meets Grace Jones meets blade runner meets Balenciaga.

It's almost too fucking Chic pardon my french!

Oh and I love ,love, love the YSL Shades.

Jay Z and the Blue Print part 3

Some people simply don't know when to quit (The word Prime is not in their vocabulary). And then there's people who disappear reluctantly into cult obscurity.

Few are the ones that actually know when to quit (while you're ON TOP for the rest of you who don't know). And some people just try to quit, telling themselves that this is, indeed, going to be the last time. For Sure. They PROOOOMISE.

Jay Z my friends belongs to the last category. The husband, record executive, and at some point, legendary rapper, swore he was quiting "the game" when The Black Album (2003) was released.

Well it's been about 5 years and instead of growing admiration and gracefully assuming his role behind the scenes, we have seen the demise of a legend.

And there is much more to come apparently!.

According to Billboard.com Jay Z confirmed rumours that he is recording an 11th (4th post retirement)and final album that will be released via Def Jam Called The Blueprint 3.

Seriously Jay, for the sake of Hip-Hop, just stop recording, I mean you discovered Rhianna for god's sake.

There is absolutely no street cred in discovering the Umbrella-ella-ella girl man.

Russian invasion of Georgia

As many of you know, Russia invaded Georgia on the 8th of August, after a feud regarding oil pipelines and South Ossetia reached it's climax.

I find it competly unacceptable that yet again another super power of the world, is allowed to rage and savage another country and it's inhabitants, in hope of gaining control over oil, while the rest of the world can only stand by and look.

Therefore it's important that we all take a stand and say, it is not acceptable. It's not justifiable.

And help out as much as possible.

"The conflict has caused civilian casualties and more are at risk,It is essential that humanitarian agencies be able to reach the affected and the displaced, and that those trapped in conflict areas be granted passage to safer areas as soon as possible," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

UNHCR

Red Cross

I will update the section on how we can all help as I find more info.

R.I.P MR ISAAC HAYES August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr was charismatic soul and funk singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, composer and actor. Mr Hayes first shot at fame was when he released 'Hot Buttered Soul' in (1969) and 'Black Moses' (1971). He went on to release a number of succesfull albums in the '70s that went on to create the urban comtemporary music genre.

Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records , where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter.

during the mid-1960s.

Alongside his work in soul music, Hayes was very successful film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft earned Hayes an Oscar for Best Original Score ,the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.

From 1997 t0 2006 his career took yet another path, as he voiced the character of "Chef" in cult show, "South Park". Hayes Left the cast of "South Park" in 2006 after he an episode that he felt had ridiculed his religion, Scientology.
In 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district.

Hayes was found unconscious in his home located just east of Memphis, Tennessee on August 10 2008 as reported by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff's Department. A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy responded to Hayes' home after his wife found him on the floor near a still-running treadmill. Hayes was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08pm

Mr Hayes legacy will live on for many years to come.

Rest in Peace.