The Litmus: Late Edition
Sorry about the delay folks, it’s been a Hell of a day.
Tongue-in-cheek typography (Bravo DDB, bravo!) [DDB via I Believe in Advertising]
A pop-up book for adults or very forward-thinking children [Rizzoli New York via Cool Hunting]
Kehinde Wiley’s first solo is a must see [Studio Museum Harlem via TAC :: BLOG via HIGHSNOBIETY]
Monocle’s Things to improve your life [Monocle]
Science! officially makes my favorite t-shirts! [Science! via Uncrate]
From G’s to Gents: Play or Be Played
(Episode 3) People do not like Kesan. Even after he apologized at the end of the last episode, the other gentleman-in-training are after him. It certainly does not help that Cee is playing Machiavelli and is painting Kesan in a bad light. So the day ends with ever more antagonism in the house.
Now we get to move on to my favorite contestant to forget, J-Boogie. Everybody wonders if he’s even a G at all, but I think these words from the man himself should put any questions to rest, “Don’t let the tight pants fool you, I’ll snap at you if you come at me the wrong way.” After this morning dose of Haterade, we find the Gs in the chapter room. No one is quite sure what is going on, but E6 puts it best, “I see my name and some preppy shit.” They are informed that today’s challenge centers around sportsmanship. Shotta does bring up a good point, “What kind of game do you play with polo shirts and a sweater vest on?” For those of you who don’t know, it’s the finest remnant of colonialism, cricket. I think it’s good that the Gs and America get to see what cricket is about, but what bothers me is that the expert they hired was an English bloke. As counterintuitive as it may sound, the English aren’t really good at cricket; this is definitely a case where an Indian instructor should have been put to use.
On to sportmanship, Mr. Bentley describes the concept in the following manner, “A true gentleman doesn’t just play to win, he plays with honor.” I found the scenes where the Gs learn to play cricket quite funny; we’re even treated to an America’s Funniest Home Video-inspired moment when Shotta get’s hit in the family jewels. Unsurprisingly, J-Boogie is excellent at cricket because he grew up playing golf. Really J-Boogie? Is he even a G or is he a wanna-G? All signs point to the latter. Kesan, who’s my favorite to win the competition, gets the gold star because he realizes that “Sports makes people forget their differences.”
It would be too easy if all the Gs had to do was learn about sportsmanship, lucky for us they have to apply their lessons on the basketball court. This shouldn’t be too hard for the likes of J-Boogs, as basketball is apparently what he does when he’s not working in the laboratory. Before they get to flex their muscle on the court, Fonzworth Bentley informs them that they’ll be judged not only on the points they score, but also on how well they follow the rules of sportsmanship during the game. They get one point per basket, but they lose a point if they display unsportsmanlike behavior. Let the hilarity begin. Oh and before I forget, I would like to introduce you to Paul, the etiquette referee.
The basketball games, which features Kesan and D-Boy’s respective teams against a team of street ballers, are horrendous. The Gs aren’t very athletic and they, for the most part, forget all the gentlemanly behavior they’ve learned. However, Kesan, being the shining beacon of hope that he is, realizes that his team has to act better and it’s because of his intervention that his team wins -7 to -8. Oh yes Kesan’s team wins on the etiquette tip. One would think that with this victory, Kesan’s situation is on the up-and-up. He has no such luck, Cee brings up the fact that Kesan spit on D-Boy’s bed and all Hell breaks loose. The Gs split into two camps, there’s more G-checking and posturing. With the heat turned up, Kesan decides it’d better if he leaves the mansion instead of risking violence. Cee is clearly the antagonizer and he seems to really enjoy his role as such. Shaun, on the other hand, wants to make sure he has a chance to talk to Kesan out of leaving. All I can say is that they have a moment, but more significantly Creepa steps into the picture with his hater-blockers off. Woo, this shit is serious. I have to admit though, that Creepa has some good advice, he’s really looking out for Kesan’s best interest.
But lo and behold, after all the drama that he helped start, Cee has a moment of regret. This G apparently has morals and starts to feel bad, this is getting…hold on give a minute…so real, so real. Don’t worry folks, Kesan is talked into not leaving the house by a shockingly un-dapper Fonzworth. Mr. Bentley gives some sage advice during his talk that we all can use, “A real champion knows how to fail and knows how to get back up.” Wait, isn’t that a line from George Foreman’s Guide to Life? One of the best moments of the episode comes when we see Cee talking to his ex, Gina. Before I move on, I have to take a minute to scold MTV. Come one MTV, couldn’t you have found a less stereotypical Italian G than one with a ex-girlfriend named Gina? He might as well have been eating chicken scallopini when he was bearing his soul. All right, back to the review. We’re treated to a side of Cee that almost seems human; he really wants to change but doesn’t seem to possess the means to accomplish this goal. I feel for you Cee, I really do. Elimination isn’t too surprising and once again Mr. Bentley makes the right choice. This gentleman knows what he’s doing.
You can catch the full episode on MTV’s Overdrive, and hear more from Mr. Bentley on his Swagger Assessment.
Notes:
Shaun makes the astute observation that the closest thing to cricket they have in the hood is rocks and two-by-fours. Now if he could only see what the hood is like in India, he’d be eating his own words.
Cee describes lab work as “Squirtin’ rats in the ass with somethin’.” My question is who told him about my research?
The Litmus
For all you design nerds out there, TeeFury has the shirt for you (Today only) [TeeFury via NOTCOT]
Adventures in Flash [Mr.doob's blog via FormFiftyFive]
Clever and darling are two words I never thought I’d use when describing a dish rack [Yanko Design]
In Praise of Sartorial Individuality by Winston Chesterfield (the author’s name evokes such class) [Men's Flair]
Wingtips made casual [In Her Eyes]
The Litmus
I think I’ve found my heaven [Dunhill via men.style.com]
J. Crew’s selling Rolexes? [The Pipeline via The Frisky]
LEGOs go to space [UNR via Engadget]
Fantastic Photographs: Nathan Schroder [Nathan Schroder via Communication Arts]
The Litmus
Kitchenware like this might get me to start cooking again [Morph via Fubiz]
Business cards meet style [Funnel Paper Goods via Design*Sponge]
For those in the Chi, the Palmer House is on the right track [Palmer House via men.style.com]
Mad Men Milanese [The Sartorialist]
Who wears short shorts? [LATimes via NOTCOUTURE]
The ∪nion
This is the first of what I’m hoping becomes a weekly post on science, design, fashion and technology. More specifically what happens when science and technology influence fashion and design, and vice versa? For those astute readers out there I have used the union symbol (∪) to replace the U in union. I know, I know, I’m a huge nerd.
Today’s edition of The ∪nion focuses on the usb flash drive as a fashion accessory. I know what most of you are thinking, “You mean that thing that I store stuff on needs to be pretty?” Well does it? I think they ought to be and luckily Tonia Welter agrees with me.
Ms. Welter is a Berlin-based designer who has put together a line of USB jewelry with jewelry designer Julia Reymann. She describes them as being both modern functional tools and high quality fashion accessories. My favorites in her line are the bracelets.
This is good example of how people can take ideas from fashion and apply them to technology to yield something that’s utilitarian and aesthetically pleasing; I think I’ll make up a new word for pretty technology, aestethtech perhaps?
Note: For those of you who are more artistically inclined and would like to pimp your USB drive, Instructables has an informative post.
The Litmus
Sharp Beats
Today’s edition starts off with Carmensita, a Bollywood-inspired video by Devendra Banhart. It’s pretty obvious that his first name is Indian, however I don’t know if that gives him the right to use Hindu myths as a source of kitsch. Oh well, maybe I’m being too harsh, the video does star Devendra’s cute as a button girlfriend Natalie Portman. Thanks to the folks at Ultrabrown for the video.
My new favorite Youtuber BunnyGreenhouse has put up his newest video, it accompanies Girl Talk’s In Step. I must say that it’s the best one yet.
Gnarls Barkley’s new video for Who’s Gonna Save My Soul? just got released, it’s brilliant and surreal, Chris Milk really outdid himself. I can’t find a Youtube link that works, so here’s the video from Chris Milk’s site.
On Inspiration: Mad Men
With the second season of Mad Men coming up, three days and counting, I could write about Mad Men’s influence on style; but there are already plenty of pieces written on the subject, including a recent GQ spread featuring John Slattery. I’ve actually been more interested in the show’s portrayal of office culture, in its gin-soaked, sexist glory. Now I can’t exactly engage in sexism as I’ve been raised in a household that features generations of strong and awesome Indian women (I love you mom), and more importantly I would probably screw it up and end up sounding like an idiot. So that leaves being gin-soaked or to put it simply, integrating libatious activity aka drinking into the work day. I could try spending the entire day nipping at a flask, but that’s too clandestine and reeks of alcoholism and not to mention whiskey; and drinking openly would be frowned upon and would play havoc with my sterile technique. Sure, there’s the ever popular happy hour, but that’s a cop out because it takes place after the work day has ended. That leaves the three-martini lunch as the only reasonable option.
For those of you not familiar with three-martini lunches, they are leisurely and indulgent affairs over which business is conducted, therefore any and all alcohol consumed is covered as a business expense. This is now considered an anachronism unfortunately. I admit that I don’t have a particularly good reason for a three-martini lunch other than as an homage to my favorite show and to engage in some indulgent behavior. Considering that we’re in the middle of NY Restaurant Week, this may be the perfect time for taking a few hours off in the middle of your busy work day and throw back some silver bullets.
Silver Bullet
6 oz Gin
1 drop Vermouth
Shake all liquid ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass and add garnish, I generally prefer three olives.
Note: I know that we’re in the middle of tough economic times and many of you may be brown-bagging your lunches. Do not worry my friends, I have the solution. Behold the martini lunchbox:
Now you and a colleague can enjoy a peaceful three-martini lunch from the comfort of your break room. This beautiful contraption can be purchased from Bisou.
The Litmus
The labs come out at night, the labs come out at night [Seed Magazine via Josh Spear]
Trapped in the Closet with The Sartorialist [men.style.com]
Our Legacy S/S 2009 [h(y)r collective]
Feudal Japan meets the skateboard [The Moment]
Gorgeous illustrations by Alan Witschonke [Alan Witschonke Illustration]
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