Summer and Surf

Found out through Elizabeth Anne Designs that H&M has a new line out - Garden Collection. Yay for fun florals and bright colors. I can smell summer right around the corner.

Birthright - Saw this beautiful clip by Sean Mullens this weekend through church. His friend Michael talks about freedom and being who we were meant to be "au natural." Kayaking clips paired with The Album Leaf's Broken Arrow make this really lovely.

Footsteps by *jackieocean (Jackie Sullivan) on deviantArt. Watercolor of foxes in the snow for Valentine's Day.

I unfortunately won't be able to meet my deadline (close but no cigar), but man, were you guys praying for me? Cuz I was crazy productive today even with the lack of sleep. Thank you!

Currently listening to: Whatcha Say/Nothin On You (Jason Derulo/B.o.B.) - Tyler Ward and BeatboxHitman, Mouthful of Diamonds - Phantogram, and Break Your Heart (Taio Cruz cover) - Tyler Ward and family

Too Much Work, Too Much Procrastination

How did I miss the new Lifehouse LP Smoke and Mirrors drop at the beginning of this month?
It includes their single Halfway Gone that I posted about last year. Same great sound from the band. My favorites:
Had Enough


Falling In


All In


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The word dungeness , as in the crab, always makes me laugh. I don't know, but something with how the word is split is funny. Silly syllable stress. Confirmed - work has made me insane.

Some virtual e-Hui Lau San (Healthy Desserts) for you. [Photo source: IronEaters]

MD~ made these super fun Oreo truffle pops to celebrate the birth of her friend's daughter, Chloe. Love the color and the ample dose of sprinkles! Also yay to the nice photography.

Sometimes I look up to see the time is already ten minutes past when I last checked and I think, "Whoa. How come time has gone by so fast and I haven't made any progress on my work?" And then I look down to see that my screen is on YouTube or Blogger. Oh, right...

Currently listening to: Unity - Trevor Hall ft Matisyahu, Always (live) - Switchfoot, and All Night Long - Alexandra Burke

Ready to Walk, Eat, or Party

Fun packaging for a little pancake kit from Yamazaki Bakery that I got recently.

Complete with butter and syrup. A bit denser and sweeter than American pancakes. They reminded me of dorayaki (the red bean pancake "sandwich" that Doraemon likes).

It's really hard to balance a camera and drizzle syrup at the same time but I tried.

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New York-based artist Maya Barkai created an installation of 99 different "walking men" - pedestrian traffic light icons - from around the world. [Source: r3d]
Located at 99 Church St in Downtown Manhattan. They've gotta have Berlin's famous Ampelmännchen. Maya was born in Jerusalem and studied at SVA (School of Visual Arts) in New York.

Random cute of the week: Random party cat comic [Source: Little Beard > Optimus Rhyme]

Currently listening to (songs about breakups): Closure - J.R.A., My Hands - Leona Lewis, and My High - Jonna Lee

Exhausted

This is sorta how I feel right now.

So posting will be abbreviated. It's been a long day.

(Some e-sugar to wake me up.)
Teaser poster for Shrek Forever After. Yay animal crackers and gingerbread! [Source: Just Jared]
Vanilla ice cream in a lovely ceramic bowl. Photo by Food Librarian on Flickr.

Check out Yahoo!'s Earth Hour photos from around the world. TVB's Jade (news station) reported that 100 more businesses in Hong Kong participated this year and that the daily lights show was cancelled for the night.

Currently listening to: Hey, Soul Sister (Train cover) - Chris Ellis, Animal - Neon Trees, and Break Your Heart (Taio Cruz cover) - Jake Bruene, Frank Sacramone, Kurt Schneider

On My Mind

Random musings from today:

I went to a photography workshop today and sat next to a Nikon user. Unfortunately. Just kidding. We actually got to chat about camera stuff, so it was a lot of fun.

While talking to said Nikon user, I was trying to explain something but couldn't remember the English word for it (it was "stand," as in elevated platform). So I had to say it in Cantonese, which fortunately he spoke. This is the first time this has happened to me. Usually it's the other way around where I don't know the Cantonese word for something in English. Further proof that my English is deteriorating.

I heard Lea Michele belting out Journey's Don't Stop Believing over the radio. Is Glee coming to HK?

It seems like there is a plethora of strollers around lately. Is it baby season and I missed the memo? There was a couple near me who had a very cute baby girl. I watched as they shook a ring of keys and their daughter's face lit up with a joy. When did we cease to be amused and satisfied by simple things like that?

Bananas bound in a bunch make little squeaky noises when they rub against each other. Try it!

Earth Hour! Complete with the annual dish washing session.

Currently listening to: Gravity - Pixie Lott, All Day - ZE:A, and Into the Light - Fady Maalouf

Hug the Earth and Some Sushi

Perfect for pack rats and the environmentally friendly - Euro RSCG (Milan)'s print ad for environmentally-conscious Legambiente (League for the Environment), which shows that every calendar is reusable after 28 years. [Source: Found through MG~> Ads of the World]
Copy: "Don't throw away what can be used again: even an old calendar becomes new again every 28 years. Start the new year with a resolution: recycle. Please, don't waste this page. Remove it and hang it on your wall."
I like where this is going. Pancakes roadside signage photo by Keith Davis Young. Road trip, please! [Source: Design Crush > Booooooom]

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Sushi you can hug. Handmade sushi plushies/cushions by Cornstarch on Etsy.
California Roll
Ikura Maki (salmon eggs, which always make me think of Ponyo)

Sushi with wasabi and ginger

Sake Maki (salmon roll) with sprout
Inari Kitty Sushi (fried tofu pouch)
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Yes please. Mother's Cookies frosted animal crackers. Photo by Food Librarian on Flickr. [Source: Tiresome]
Remember tomorrow is Earth Hour. Turn off your lights at 8:30 PM!

Currently listening to: Try - Schiller ft. Nadia Ali, Impossible - Shontelle, and Ghosts (live) - Laura Marling

Video Vault

YT was down for about an hour today, and, while I know it went by mostly unnoticed, I semi-freaked. With Google and GoDaddy's pull out of mainland China recently, it had me worried YouTube was in some way following suit. Thankfully Hong Kong has not been affected.

I can never get enough of the info graphic style. AC~ clued me in on this lovely art directed piece Japan - The Strange Country by Kenichi, who created this as a final thesis directed towards the Japanese public. I can't agree with some of the portrayals, but the illustration style is a lot of fun. Watch the Japanese language version here. I have to warn you that the suicide part is a bit sad and you might want to avert your eyes at the "Love" section (09:06 - 09:38), as it is a bit risque.


A fake game show in France recreates psychologist Stanley Milgram's famous 1960s shock administration experiment. Not much has changed.


New full trailer for Despicable Me. In (sigh) 3D and out July 9th in the US. Yay Steve Carell!

Currently listening to: Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover) - Rae Henry, Skinny Fingers - A Lull, and Baby Love - Nicole Scherzinger ft. will.i.am

Poster Perfect

I was having a Titanic moment earlier today (bear with me) and found this great old fake trailer for a sequel to the movie. Ridiculous and amazing at the same time.

Kid Sister's Daydreaming mv just dropped. Single lands April 19th.


UK movie blog Ultra Culture noticed the plethora of movie posters that use blue and orange color schemes.

I'd love to be doing this right now. Maybe with ice cream and sunglasses. Photo by Sølve Sundsbø for Harper's Bazaar Feb 08. [Source: Dustjacket Attic]

I really enjoy it when advertising makes fun of itself. Tampon TVC for U by Kotex. Reminds me of Sarah Haskins' commentary style (you might remember her chocolate one or check out her birth control clip).

Finally getting a chance to post these eight luscious screen printed travel posters of major US cities by design/illustration shop The Heads of State (Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers). The printed look is always so nice. [Source: Design Crush]

Currently listening to: Rambling Man - Laura Marling (just dropped), Parachute - Cheryl Cole, and Need You Now (Lady Antebellum cover) - Ahmir

Ice Cream and Puppies

Today is free cone day at Ben and Jerry's. Grab yours if you have a chain nearby.

Fun engagement photos of Jenna and Steven by Kim Le Photography. Can't go wrong with ice cream and lollipops. [Source: Style Me Pretty]

Lovely wedding shot and purple shoes from Kimberly and Mark’s wedding. The Oscar de la Renta dress is so much fun! Photo by Maloman Photographers. [Source: Elizabeth Anne Designs]

Found this great slow mo (1000 FPS) TVC by TBWA Toronto for Pedigree dogs through SH~. Jumping for treats. 0:57's dog (a boxer?) is a winner. Plus a shiba inu! And although TK~ reminded me that it's basically a rip off (homage?) of Flying Dogs with Lasers, this is still fun to watch.

Flying Dogs mv

And because you can never have too many golden retriever puppies licking your face, an oldie but a goodie that I found through Little Beard.

Tonight I had one of those intense moments of nostalgia for my fine arts past. I miss that.

Currently listening to: I Made It (Cash Money Heroes) - Kevin Rudolf feat. Birdman, Jay Sean & Lil Wayne, Make It Shine - Victoria Justice, and How Deep is Your Love - Akcent

Hot and Cold Beverage

I'm gearing up for Earth Hour, which will take place Saturday (27th) at 8.30PM local time. The 2010 promo vid features a bit of the event's history and footage from cities around the world that took part last year. Points for a Hong Kong shout out and also running Coldplay's Fix You (which they also used last year). Get ready to switch off your lights, everyone!

(Past Earth Hour posts: 2007, 2008, 2009.)

I approve of these (environmentally friendly) reusable stainless steel straws from Brook Farm General Store. [Source: Lushlee]
SC~ clued me in on North Carolina-based photographer John Carey's blog, Fifty Foot Shadows. The best part is that Carey makes his images into downloadable wallpaper to share.
Even though we're barrelling into spring, I like this pic of a maple leaf at dusk from last Fall.
And this espresso cup bathed in green light. Lovely bokeh!

Random cute of the week: Anteater baby hitching a ride on his mom. Credit (AFP/Vanderlei Almeida). [Source: Yahoo! News]
Total side note, but do you guys have any advice on domain and/or web hosting sites? I'm a bit lost!

Currently listening to: Stylo - Gorillaz ft. Mos Def and Bobby Womack, Fallin for You (Colbie Caillat cover) - Chris Ellis, and Taylor Swift Medley - performed by Tiffany Alvord and written by KurtHugoSchneider (great compilation)

Start and End

Happy Persian New Year (Nowruz) and first day of spring (or autumn, depending on where you are), everyone!

Today is also the closing ceremony for the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. TC~ was telling me about the very cool sledge hockey. Looks really intense but a lot of fun!

The Canadian team tearing up the ice and earning their gold at the 2006 Paralympics. (This year, USA beat Japan yesterday for first place.)

Some more fun work by magicbeanbuyer, who I posted about yesterday.
Rocket pop and butterscotch earrings

Breakfast Brooch complete with eggs and bacon

Shishkabob Charm

Totoro and Cat Bus
Twitter bird-like Bitty Blue Bird Hoops earrings

Cool cephalopod ink. Cuttlefish tattoo photo from aayla* on Flickr. [Source: Tiresome]

CCM - Manafest's new mv for No Plan B. Shot in Tokyo.

This looks amazingly unsanitary but is sorta just what I want right now. Last December, the American Dairy Association tried to break the record with this giant cup of hot chocolate that holds almost 500 gallons. Credit: AP Photo/American Dairy Association, Diane Bondareff. [Source: The Big Picture]

Currently listening to: I Just Call You Mine - Martina McBride (sweet song), White Flag Warrior - Flobots ft Tim McIllrath , Wild Horses (cover) - Katie Stevens (from American Idol)