New Journal... you WILL be mine

...One day!
Yes I say that a lot.
Much the same way I say "One day I will go through and finish all those other journals I started and wrote half way as a teenager".
Maaaan they're scary things.

I found myself starting the journals in a happy head space, getting distracted by life as only a teen can, then only picking them up to write when things on my chest got a little too heavy.
Eventually I'd ignore them completely as I noticed everything I was writing was actually too depressing to even read back to myself! (Heaven forbid someone else actually stumbles across them after my death :P I'm attaching warning labels)
Press stop. Rewind. Press play... and so it loops.
Ridiculous.

It seems I've successfully convinced myself that "if life starts to get you down... toss your old journal into the back of a cupboard and start a new one!" It's a physical put-things-down-on-paper way of starting fresh!

To date my life is documented by about 7, half filled, journals and this blog. And may I once again say, "bless you Internet". You're a magical space where I feel obligated not to moan too much and where wonderful new discoveries wait for me every day to lift any kind of heavy heart.

Or you know... I could just BUY THIS and stop writing altogether. Life is easier to absorb in pretty pictures anyway.



found via The World's Best Ever

Also I was attracted to this because the person is drawing a robot. It makes it THAT much cooler.

I'm not Knit picky

I love google reader, but mostly I'm glad I'm such an obsessive blog follower!

How else would I have found two beautiful projects, so very different and yet both using knitting?

#1. Ginormous knit used to upholster stools

Claire-Anne O'Brien has used a combination of hand and machine knitting to create dramatically oversized patters as upholstery

#2. Teeny Tiny two-year project

Anna Hrachovec embarked on a two-year project after knitting a tiny brain. She's now made over 100 tiny designs and written patterns for some of them! Amazing madness! If you'd like to read an interview with her there's a great one on Craftzine where I found her.

What I would love to be doing right now is reading a book, with my feet happily resting on THIS stool, and THIS cutie-pie of a donut lovingly attached to a silver chain. (or any of the characters from this big little collection - I'm not picky ;))

Move it or Lose it!

We're moving offices this Friday! FINALLY.

This is something that the powers that be have been dangling as a carrot for, oh, about 2 whole years.
Only thing now is we've been told we can pack a box. One. Each. One box will hold all our notes, files, our "help me remembers", our multi-coloured highlighters and pens so very necessary to survive this office jungle. Most disastrous of all, this box will have to hold all our reference magazines.
IMPOSSIBLE.

I wonder if they'd consider me bringing some chairs with me to my new little "pod person" space.
Hmmmmmmm.

This is brilliant and I think I could do with some at home as well. That might just JUST help me out.


by Sut Kutusu
Via Swiss Miss

Oh Hello Monday. Oh? Uhoh... Boom!

Not a Monday person.
I think that will be one of the things said about me one day when I'm gone.
I'm one of those people whose mood actually starts to plummet on a Sunday evening in anticipation of the horrors I suspect are lurking in the next day.

So this is just a quick post for these beautiful pieces (via The Given Collective) by Zach Johnson.

THIS is what I feel like at the beginning of every week!
(or at least it's pretty damn close to what I keep imagining I must look like when the day's tasks POUNCE! and cause my poor unsuspecting brain to explode.)


Boom.

Better than Barbie or Barney fo' sho

Contradiction...
One of the things I try very hard not to be is a hypocrite and yet some days I find little inconsistencies which tug at my brain going "hey... but yesterday you were moaning about that VERY thing!".

Here's an example. I haven't always been treated kindly by my chosen profession. Design is a harsh and fickle deity to worship and loves reminding you that you'll never quite be able to completely absorb or understand everything. So I hate telling people I'm a designer. Absolutely, utterly, hate it. I always feel like they immediately put you in a box. A very pretty creative box, sure, but I've never really felt comfortable there. Don't get me wrong... I still LOVE design (my posts should show a little of that at the very least), but I find the pressure and other people's expectancy to be cool a bit much. (flashbacks to high school *shudder*)
SO I do what I always do... try to ignore it. Deny it. Only buying things I really like and not things just because they're currently fashionable. Sometimes just plain hiding out in the suburbs helps quite a bit. You know that old trick of signing up to be a library monitor on your first day during lunch because you KNOW it's the wrong thing to do but you love books? - That's what I'm still doing.
Ridiculous? Yes! Childish? Yes. I have no excuse.

So here I am coveting these...
Dammit.



If you like them as much as I do you can get the whole LOT of them as part of their launch special over at Tattly

Unbeleafable!

In my defence, I'm surrounded by people who make it impossible not to leap at the opportunity of cheesey wordplay.

These peices are so intricate and beautiful that part of me really itches to try create one... Then my reality returns and the overwhelming thought is WHO HAS TIME? Crepes!

Amazing Cut Leaves Art via Craft:

"Natural leaf carving is actual manual cutting and removal of a leaf's surface to produce an art work on a leaf. The process of carving is performed by artists using tools to carefully remove the surface without cutting or removing the veins. The veins add detail into the subject matter of the carving. The material or most common leaf used in leaf carving is the leaf of a Chinar tree. The Chinar tree is native to India, Pakistan and China. Chinar leaves have a close resemblance to maple leaves."

These next three don't use the Japanese style of keeping the veins of the leaves in tact but are still beautiful! (by Lorenzo Duran via Design Boom)

(Of course I coooould considerrrr spending less time scouring the internet for cool things... Erm... Nah.)

READ it!

This little bit o news on Gizmodo captured my imagination.

It's not that I'm a fan of zombies... I mean who is? (If you are that's definitely not an invitation to meet you as I suspect you're nuts.)

But I am a big fan of this book!

I find it so well written that I describe it as "terrifyingly bloody-well believable!"

But why should I go into a more detailed description when I've found a nice person named Duncan who's done it for me!

World War Z: an oral history of the zombie war is the second zombie book by Max Brooks (Mel Brooks’ son). The first was The Zombie Survival Guide, which I’ve not read, but I believe is basically a lightweight spoof of other ‘survival guides’.The scenario is there was a worldwide zombie outbreak, which pushed humankind to the brink of collapse, but after several years we overcame the walking undead. It’s set in the immediate future, i.e. there are references to current world leaders etc. It’s structured as a series of interviews with some key survivors, ranging from those who first witnessed it, to soldiers who fought in conflict against the zombies.If you ignore the basic zombie plot, this seems to be as much about topics like environmental catastrophe andgeopolitics. The chapters are all set in different locations worldwide, and for the most part are convincing in their attention to detail. There were only a couple of instances which didn’t ring true.There’s lots of nice little surprises along the way too… mainly the way certain country’s fortunes change due to the zombie war, with a few slightly satirical moments to savour....

read the full review on his blog here!

and then READ the book. It makes ya think...

Psst...

Hey you. I know if you could, you would walk around like this the whole day. Masculinity be damned!

Yeah you know who you are... ;)

via Favim.com

Must'ave Mustache

Right interwebs... where can I find these puppies? All I have so far is an image I stumbled upon on a tumblr account. Eep.

I'm assuming (ah assumption. you mother of all...) you can buy them as they have numbers next to them giving a catalog effect.

Thats both the wonder and the problem of this monster we've created. You can find almost anything, but that doesn't mean you're going to necessarily be able to track it down and have it for your very own. This is going to seriously stretch my cyber stalking capabilities, but here goes. If I track them down I'll try to remember to let you all know.

Happy Anniversary X

Here you go... (not that you read my blog :P but just in case you stumble across this my love) THIS is our new unromantic and at the same time romantic song.

And don't judge it on the bad youtube vid. It was unfortunately the only one I could find that wasn't MUCH worse. Find it on your playlist ;)

You are the hole in my head

I am the pain in your neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are living where things are hidden

You are something in my eye
And I am the shiver down your spine
You are on the lick of my lips
And I am on the tip of your tongue
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are buried up to our necks in sand

We are luck
We are ]fate
We are the feeling you get in the golden state
We are love
We are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away….
Walk away

Well you are the dream in my nightmare
I am that falling sensation
You are not needles and pills
I am your hangover morning
We are tangled
We are stolen
We are living where things are hidden

We are luck
We are fate
We are the feeling you get in the golden state
We are love
We are hate
We are the feeling I get when you walk away
Walk away
Walk away

You are the hole in my head
You are the pain in your neck
You are the lump in my throat
I am the aching in your heart

P.S

Thanks for my breakfasts!

Oh I'd DEFINITELY make space for these!

Could I please have all of these for Christmas? These paintings by Jeremy Geddes are so absolutely beautiful they actually make my chest feel tight.

Via The Given

------------------------------------------------

If I were more adept at "assembling" and technical things I would so make one of these for the Foo-boy. Noone I know is more fun when it comes to organising the watching meteor showers or spotting iridium flares. It would be a great gift for someone who keeps you aware that there's a universe out there and we've got our tips of our toes just dipped in.

ISS Lamp Alerts You When Space Station is Flying Overhead @Craftzine.com blog

"The International Space Station (ISS) is a marvel of current technology and humanity. Sadly, we often forget it's there.
This light sits on a desk and lights up when the space station passes overhead. It stays lit as long as the station is more than 10 degrees above the horizon.

Being reminded that there are astronauts doing science over our heads every day helps reconnect us with our space program."

Pandamonium

As Swiss Miss says "there are some serious Panda Loving People out there", and my mum is certainly one of them.

I don't know too many women who'd buy a box of cereal just because they're called panda puffs (or whatever) just because of the name and picture. Good thing my cat seems to love them because none of the humans in our house have been lured into trying them yet.

I found this cutie and thought about how cool it would have been back in the day for the playschool that my mum used to run. Of course ipods would have needed to have been invented 15 or so years earlier as well, but hey, if time travel existed then this would have been the perfect gift!

Panda Pal

panda-monium |ˌpandəˈmōnēəm|
noun
wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar : but with cuteness
Panda-monium broke out at the playschool

;) look at me playing with words...

Braided Typography

So this popped up in my reader today via TrendLand

What a great reference for practicing my drawing of hair - something I need to do more often. I'm trying to encourage myself, instead of obsessively doodling little arrows pointing North, South, East and West (yah I'm not sure what that's all about myself...), to try drawing actual things I see in meetings or on my desk while on the phone.
So far I have a very rough brown pen drawing of an earphone. Not much but it's a start! I'm taking my doodling back from my subconscious... it's way too boring these days.

Braided Typography is the outcome of Teagan White’s semester-long research project on pre-Columbian Native American culture for my Ideation & Process class.

(...) Read More about Braided Typography (6 words)

Crass, crude, but still often charming

Crass, crude, but somehow still often charming – that's how I would describe the one blogger I follow called Coke Talk.

Honestly the things that come out of her mouth are like a shock and awe tactic on my brain. Most of the time though, I find myself thinking similar things and we do seem to share similar interests if you manage to minus the c-word etc from her posts

Here's one of her much much milder posts called "Otherwise known as “The only way you’ll ever survive..."

"Pahsties" and "Paysties"...

"Pahsties" and "Paysties"... That latter pronunciation has lead to several people being nearly chased out of our house. Mostly of course when my gran is visiting.

Having a Cornish gran and heritage is something I'm quite proud of. Don't get me wrong I love being South African, but I also love the culture, history and beauty of Cornwall. One day (holding thumbs it's soon! November maybe?) I WILL go there and see it for myself. It's a big one on my bucket list.

Pasties have always been a favourite in my family and it's a tradition passed down from mother to daughter even if my surname is very afrikaans. I can braai... and I can make pasties... watchout people. Elite skills these.

I wish I had time to make them more often just as I wish I could see my gran more often. She's such an amazing woman. Brutally honest, quick-witted, hysterically funny and puts up with all of her crazy grand kids only to a point and then you meet her sharp tongue. My mom does keep reassuring us that she definitely still loves us though.
I like to think of Granny June as having plenty of gumption. I've decided on that word in the end to encompass all of the above.

Here now is some pasty love as a sort of dedication to gran's visit last month. Can't wait to have you visit us again!

OH and don't forget. It's PAAAAAHSTIES! ;)

I also managed to find this little guy via Pasties and Cream
A great blog which manages to always trigger my dreams of a visit to Cornwall even more acutely.
Meet Teddy Pasty!

Teddy Pasty™ from Emily Fishpool on Vimeo.

Lazer Blast it all...

Lazer Blast it all! THIS is how i should have tiled my bathroom! Ah well. There will be a next time I'm sure. I just hope I haven't matured by then.

Chances?

Star Wars Shower Tile

Just when you feel a little low

Just when you feel a little low you can always depend on the internet to serve up little titbits to keep fuelling your mini melancholy.

Good thing this particular serving is quite pretty!

The Greatest Writer Alive

CIVILIZATION

The leaves have grown thick
atop the monuments
erected in memory
of horrible men
who amassed by horrible means
all of the wealth needed
to cement their legacies
as heroes.

—Dallas Clayton

We <3 Infographics

Actually, I'm pretty much contractually obligated to say something along those lines these days.

I do in fact like infographics a lot and always have, but the obsessive nature with which art directors and editors have fallen in love with them, leaves me with a little chill running down my spine.
Someone far away (apparently in Brazil) announced to the rest of us that they're the NEXT big thing in publishing for delivering content to our readers. Now a large group are treating the idea as a shiny new one that popped out of a box.
Weird.
Luckily infographics have been around for quite a long time and there's plenty of inspiration out there. So have hope all you designers and we shall weather this "new" pictorial pressure... I will survive and hopefully so will my appreciation for a cleverly illustrated idea. Eek.

As a form of encouragement for myself I'll pop up any new infographics I heart onto my blog. Well look at that. Here's one now!

Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions
by Shell Greenier via Information Is Beautiful

"Robert Plutchik also created a wheel of emotions. This wheel is used to illustrate different emotions compelling and nuanced. Plutchik first proposed his cone-shaped model (3D) or the wheel model (2D) in 1980 to describe how emotions were related.

He suggested 8 primary bipolar emotions: joy versus sadness; anger versus fear; trust versus disgust; and surprise versus anticipation. Additionally, his circumplex model makes connections between the idea of an emotion circle and a color wheel. Like colors, primary emotions can be expressed at different intensities and can mix with one another to form different emotions." - Wikipedia

Today I had my lovely performance appraisal. That wonderful thing that always turns out to be torturous and beneficial all at the same time. I would say, tentatively, that it went alright. It didn't exactly go terribly wrong from what I can tell so that's a bonus.
What I realised again, while discussing my future and past, is that these kind of situations really show me over and over again that I live in a bubble of extreme emotions. In that long meeting I think I could have coloured in QUITE a few of the segments of this wheel.

Six months to the next one... THANK GOODNESS! Now to achieve all the things I came up with that I should be achieving... doom doom doooooom.

Earth Hour 2011

Do not forget people, it's Earth Hour this Saturday 8pm!

Last year, at the B residence, we sat in the bottom flat, in the pitch dark, with bottles of wine and watched as whole sections of the the pinpoint light carpet I love so much blinked out. It was fantastic!
And not just because I consumed way more wine than was necessary...

There's nothing to do with the lights out, except to sit still and appreciate the company you've found to spend that hour with. It's a moment (if you're like me) to just take a breather and let your head quieten. Listen to something or someone else other than the whirling craziness that can take over inside. If you know us personally, you'll be shocked to hear that it all seemed so hushed and calm that the B girls even spoke in whispers and tried to giggle as quietly as possibly. I did mention there was wine right?

This year The Dad has built a deck and I'm thinking that could be the new spot for this year.

There will of course not be ONE light on in our home. No way. Because don't think the scenario in this youtube video hasn't occurred to me before... *shudder*

quiet screaming desperation

With the potential for everything from your colleagues, to the parking your fought hard to get, to the milk in your canteen fridge being under threat of "restructuring" these days, I've been thinking a lot about what we're willing to sacrifice so as not to meet the same fate.
The problem is you can't really predict these things, not even in the media industry where current knowledge is meant to be a click away and often gets typed up by the person sitting next to you. So we end up giving up more and more just to dig our fingers deeper into the crags and hang tight.
We're now at a point where we're given teeny tiny perks such as casual Fridays and flexi-time and we're so very grateful for these things if we have them and horribly jealous of others if we don't.
Yesterday was Human Rights day here in South Africa, and sometimes it's hard to remember through all this chaos and on a deadline that we all have a simple right to go home to our families at 5:00pm. Use it :)

Nigel Marsh says...
"...the reality of the society that we're in, is there are thousands and thousands of people out there, leading lives of quiet screaming desperation, where they work long hard hours, at jobs they hate, to enable them to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like. And it's my contention that going to work on a Friday in jeans and t-shirt isn't really getting to the nub of the issue."


Via swissmiss
How to make work-life balance work: "

Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. At TEDxSydney, Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity — and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen.