As the temps begin to cool and daylight begins its slow retreat, I look back wistfully on a great summer which included 5 beautiful days on this beach in Maui! I found myself pre-occupied with everything except Art this summer, but it felt good to give my blog a little vacation during the last two months.
I spent more time outdoors with some cycling, took some new fitness classes and worked through 60 days of P90X. After all that work my muscles were the only thing in “Shock”-forget Culture. On the flip side of fitness, I enjoyed some amazing restaurants over the last couple of weeks; so much so, that I decided to work more restaurant posts into my blog. With Dine L.A.’s Restaurant Week returning to Los Angeles in the next few weeks, I have a laundry list of new places I can’t wait to try. I wrote reviews for years for a nameless review site; and while I don’t miss posting to said site, I do miss musing on Macarons, finding the best Red Velvet cupcake and debating why I think Yogurtland won the FroYo wars (based on branding alone).
In the wide world of Web 2.o, I’ve been following some new blogs related to design, fashion, beauty, food, music and art, and I look forward to sharing my faves with you all. There are some really talented folks out there and it’s been great to see them flourish while finding creative ways to share their work on-line. One of those folks is Issa Rae. I’ve become a huge fan of the Stanford grad’s Web Series called “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”(for mature audiences only). This is a riotously funny and cringe worthy show about the exploits of a young, black awkward woman named “J” who navigates her awkward world with annoying co-workers, unrequited love and one evil nemesis. Imagine if Larry David and Wanda Sykes bear an awkward love child on “Curb Your Enthusiasm”… (now THAT would have been a great ep!). She’d have all the neuroses of Larry along with Wanda’s biting observational humor-that’s “J”. Throw in an ensemble cast a la “the Office” (BBC Version) and you have comedic gold. The series is by far one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time, and they are coming off a highly successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com. You heard it here first, she’s going places.
In the world of Haute Couture, I don’t claim to be a fashion maven, but I adore it from afar. I dutifully read through all 758 pages of Vogue’s September issue, obsessed over the Missoni launch at Target (but didn’t buy anything), and made my first Louis Vuitton purchase for my milestone birthday in September (I’m not saying how old). The Art Angle? I have a love hate relationship with Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Takashi Murakami dating back to the MoCA show in 2007. I won’t elaborate on it here but it involved a Louis Vuitton store contained in the exhibit. I cringe thinking about it now.
Anyway, this all changed for me when I saw clips of the Autumn/Winter 2010 Ready to Wear show during Fashion Week in Paris last year.
Since then I’ve been saving and planning for my purchase and I LOVE my new bag. That’s one other thing about me. I’m slightly obsessed with handbags (so much more than shoes!). Art Angle? According to September’s edition of Art+Auction magazine iconic bags like the Hermes Birkin are making a name for themselves in the auction market. Handbags as an investment? Like it. I think it’s time to diversify my portfolio!
There’s a lot of ideas floating around here, but that’s what I love about vacation. It gives you enough time to relax, regroup and approach life with a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective. My blog will take some cool twists and turns which I promise will be fun! Hope you enjoy the ride!
Culture Shock Art 