scribbles 05.13.2009

[left, center, right]

Liu Wen by Li Qi for Vogue China June 2010

via Fashion Gone Rogue

Michael Tintiuc by Vincent Nord for Vanity Teen

via The Fashionisto

Tom Nicon & Jono McNamara by Junji Hata

'Sometimes Nerdy' for Popeye June 2010

via The Fashionisto

Having a long childhood background in art, I still sketch on a regular basis (usually to keep myself awake in class). I focus mostly on fashion illustration now, and am terrible at faces.

Virginity

My Twinkie virginity, you pervert. I wouldn't talk about the other virginity... well, with anyone.

(It'd be a miracle if I got to that stage in the first place... having aphensphosmphobia/haphesphobia/chiraptophobia/general-distaste-of-people-physically-coming-into-contact-with-me, in fifty years I'm going to be Susan Boyle, ideally without the pudge and the funny accent but with all my limbs, a small menagerie of hypoallergenic cats and a vivacity that keeps me relevant despite my medically-necessitated lobotomy due to a detrimental habit of sniffing permanent markers botched murder attempt by jealous professional colleagues in the skullduggery world of think-tankery. I have a bright future).

Anyway, growing up as a first-generation Asian-American (that's where your parents hopped over the Pacific Ocean & you were born in the States), I was oft denied the delights of the traditional sucrose-stuffed sweets, and having a health freak conscious mother, was denied many a Chinese sweet as well, and so it is till now, I have not yet ingested any part of this cultural staple of gustatory Americana:

Two Twinkies. You should know that. Image via Esquire.

And so, on impulse, I decided that today I would lose my Twinkie virginity, and finally see what all the fuss about these 'golden sponge cake with creamy filling' is all about:

First bite... this is an intriguing texture.

Mid-chew... still intrigued. I like the word 'intrigued.'

I've been chewing for too long and my mind, having the miniscule attention span of a GenYer, has decided that any food requiring more than a minimal three chews before swallowing is too much. And it tastes funny.

I have set down the rest of the Twinkie, pondering whether or not I have the gustatory... guts to finish it.

I now understand the Chinese incredulity when they see a Caucasian man stuffing his face with these cakes as he's waddling down the street in Shanghai I witnessed two years ago, but in regards to my Twinkie experience, I'm both relieved and slightly disappointed--relieved because I won't gain a massive amount of weight from ingesting these (not) scrumptious delights, and disappointed because my nostalgic, childhood reverence for this once-forbidden confection has really no reason to be help up in such high esteem.

(I am still intrigued by deep-fried Twinkies, however. The New York Times says they're delicious and saporous.)

Your thoughts?

New Purpose, New... Direction

Totally stolen from Glee with that title, but in today's world, everything's both cliche and original anyway; the title's purpose is to serve as an indicator of once again, the revamping of this blog and my irrationally renewed hope for a sustainable, cyber-based log of my interests and thoughts.

Maybe because I'm now 19 and legal to drink in Canada, some miraculous change will overcome me as I go to bed tonight and I'll know how to be persistent when I wake up, or maybe wake up a la Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30 and be blessed with a cushy job, a sweet wardrobe and fabulous hair.

Image via http://adwor.blogdrive.com/

(I haven't actually seen that movie, but based on my sister's (and mother's) ravings, what little I know about Jennifer Garner, and the movie screenshot pasted in above, I think it's reasonable to say my predictions of a ridiculous vision are accurate).

This last year, in short, has been... enlightening.  The knowledge that I have no study skills has been repeatedly reinforced, that I'm a passive eater has been heavily emphasized, and my predilections towards staring at shiny entrancing objects when I should be reading or doing homework or sleeping have carried me to where I am now--narcoleptic, caffeine-driven, sporadically-eating, TV-obsessed, news-oriented and a shoe-whore clothes horse online-shopping lurker.

My goal for the next year, then? To accomplish... let's say, three things a day, accomplish encompassing some basic obligations, such as:

• Not skipping eating when I'd rather stay curled up in bed, or...
• Doing all my reading and homework for the next day
• Doing some significant research for my internship
• Not sleeping paying attention in class
• Writing a blog post (3+/week is the class minimum)
• Sending out e-mails when I'm supposed to (a biggie)

My parents would probably like to add 'calling them everyday' to the list of things I should do everyday, although it's always... well, been a pain to talk to them on the phone. It seems to run in the family (skipping over me, of course) that my mother, my father, my sister and grandparents and aunties and uncles and cousins MUST shout into the phone, because the person on the other end (me, of course) has hearing problems.

Or, if you're like my dad... well, the typical phone conversation goes like this:

爸爸：哦，你为什么没给我打电话？ 我就是想跟你说话,听你的声音! ='(
Me: I called three hours ago and you said that you were driving and couldn't talk.
爸爸：那时儿我在忙!
妈妈：(对爸爸) 今天是她的生日!
爸爸: 哦?! O___O

Give this guy a yellow cast and a little paunchier around the middle and you have my dad. Image via Getty Images

Loosely Directly translated, here's what happened; for greatest comedic effect (and most accurate representation), have a small child play the father role:

Father: (petulantly) Hey, why haven't you caaaaalllled me? I just wanna taaaalk to yoou, hear the sound of your voice...!! ='(
Me: I called three hours ago & you said that you were driving & couldn't talk.
Father: (protestingly) But that's because I was busy!!
Mother: (in the background, to my father) Dude, it's her birthday today. Get off the phone; give it baaack to me.
Father: Wait... what?! Seriously? O_____O

So, Dad, thanks for the birthday wishes and for your genes; whatever I forget in the future, I'll always have hereditary amnesia.

Daily Reads

The accumulated articles compiled by my Google Reader in the last 24 hours... yes, 1000+.

Reworked

Spring semester at the University of Michigan has started... and that means instead of frolicking in the sunshine with nothing to do, I'll be cooped up and studying in Ann Arbor for the next seven weeks. However....

My three classes I'm taking this semester have, in my opinion, really taken off. Psych111 (Intro to Psych) is one of those basic classes that... yeah. Basic. Bleh. But ok.

Comm101 (Media & Culture) is my most exciting class, because it's about the two things (besides books, ice cream and shoes) that I like most: media and culture. Which means we're told constantly to watch more TV (like 20 hours/week isn't enough for me...) and to analyze how different media impact viewers and vice versa. Like I said on Twitter, I spent 10 minutes arguing the presence of phallic symbols in a DKNY mens ad. And the professor said I was right.

SWC200 is a 'New Media Course,' and the 'new medium' we're exploring for this class is blogging, so you will, for the sake of my grade point, be getting more updates on this blog. As in at least three posts a week. I hope you'll like them. =)

Sue Sylvester, Dance on Air

My apologies for the lack of updates; school is revving up to the final stages, and I am writing currently to avoid studying. Today's focus:

You betcha. This lady is indubitably one of the driving forces behind Glee, the hit musical-comedy television show on Fox that if you don't know about, you're clearly very, very behind on what's current in pop culture; played by Jane Lynch, Sue Sylvester, cheerleading coach extraordinaire, leading citizen, Madonna fan and blackmail expert is the driving force behind many of the evils that befall the students of an Ohio high school glee club as part of her mission to stay top dog. She is unabashedly rude, racist, elicit, terrifying, egotistical... you get the point. She's ballsy, she's out there, she's the biggest, baddest, best bitch of them all--and still very much three-dimensional. Even in the most seemingly-insensitive of speeches, there's a wit that makes you laugh and adore her:

Sue Sylvester is an extremely endearing character, however, whenever she's around her Down-syndrome-affected younger sister, and in this last week's revealing 'The Power of Madonna' episode, you learn why she always rags on Will Schuester for "[having] enough product in your hair to season a wok." Earlier in the season, her brief crush on a local newscaster also brought forth a softer side that hopefully, we'll see again in the future. Jane Lynch really pulls forth the perfect combination of outrageousness and believability in crafting her character, which is why Sue Sylvester has so quickly become a pop culture staple.

Sue claims to be... 29, but whatever her age, she can really pull off a tracksuit--she knows that any kind of full-length sportswear in velour is just fugly, and you can check out a gallery of best outfits @EW. Or read some of my favorite lines:

• If I have a pregnant girl doing a handspring into a double layout, the judges aren't going to be admiring her impeccable form, they're going to be wondering if the centrifugal force is going to make the baby's head start crowning.
• I, for one, think intimacy has no place in a marriage. Walked in on my parents once and it was like seeing two walruses wrestling.
• I empower my Cheerios to live in fear by creating an environment of irrational, random terror.
• I like minorities so much, I'm thinking of moving to California to become one.
• I don't trust a man with curly hair I can't help but picture little birds laying sulfurous eggs in there, and it disgusts me.
• GLEE CLUB! Every time I try to destroy that clutch of scab eating mouth-breathers it only comes back stronger like some sexually ambiguous horror movie villain. Here I am, about to turn 30, and I’ve sacrificed everything only to be shanghaied by the bi-curious machinations of a cabal of doughy, misshapen teens!

• I’ve always thought the desire to procreate showed deep personal weakness. Me, never wanted kids. Don’t have the time, don’t have the uterus.
• When you hear your name called, cross over to my side of this black shiny thing. Santana, Wheels, Gay Kid. C’mon, move it! Asian, Other Asian, Aretha, andShaft. See, Will, I don’t want to participate in a group that ignores the needs of minority students.

My personal favorite line from 'Glee'? Brittany's, "Did you know that dolphins are really just gay sharks?" Your favorite lines? Why you love Sue?

Wired May 2010

It's not a fashion cover, but Wired's May cover is ballsy in a somewhat similar way to those provocative haute couture ads you see stuck in the pages of Vogue & Elle. What's intriguing is the blatant use of 'geek,' not only embracing the stereotypical idea of the smart four-eyes at school with a sweater slopped over a collared shirt, a pocket protector & always a calculator... in his head, but connecting it with the word 'power,' implying... well, power, which, admittedly, in our world, generally brings up an image of a testosterone-driven buff guy.

Of course, another reason why this works so well is that Wired knows full well who their customer base is--the younger, savvier crowd of the 'Me Generation' that, like the title, fully embraces their geekery, and really, revels in it.

If you, ironically, can't read, that's Bill Gates & Mark Zuckerberg, the former an awesome brainchild, founder of Microsoft and the world's most epic billionaire philanthropist, the latter responsible for why you're addicted to the Internet, as he created/runs Facebook.

Here's the full cover:

Liu Wen for Estee Lauder

Estée Lauder just signed models Liu Wen (left... duh) & Constance Jablonski (right); congrats to both, as they're the first from either country to be signed to the cosmetic giant.

The signing of Wen is what really makes this a great move--beauty ideals are really taken seriously, almost to an extreme, on the 'Eastern' side of the world; whereas in Western countries there are pages devoted to facial regimens and skin care, in countries like China, Japan, and Korea, you have entire magazines devoted to a single aspect, such as nail art, painting the perfect pout, and especially whitening the skin.

Wen's success as a model on the international front--the first Asian to walk for Victoria's Secret, the first Asian face for EL & 49 shows this last season!--has definitely resulted in major props & pride on the home front in China; for Estée Lauder to sign an Asian face for representation is a definite sign of the globalization of 'beauty' and a sort-of affirmation of the beauty of Asians, which will undoubtedly up their cache in Eastern countries against brands that have not 'held out,' so-to-speak, in not featuring Asian models, such as Shiseido or SK-II (which are also based in Japan).

Essentially, a European company embracing a Chinese gal = happy Chinese people & even more Chinese girls aspiring to be like Liu Wen = saaaaaaaales & $$$$$$.

Via StyleList.

Louis Vuitton & the Cosmic Blossom

Louis Vuitton has most certainly tapped into the eerie obsessiveness with cuteness that is undeniably Japanese, and the new prints and collection from their collaboration with Takashi Murakami screams 'kawaii (kah-wah-ee).' The cuteness definitely aims towards the younger demographic, especially with the eye-popping colors & sweeping, sports logo that the 'Louis Vuitton' imprinted on the bags has been reinterpreted in, and seeing Daisy Lowe prance about surrounded by beaming, adorable... daisies is an extreme fashion fairy tale for any girl/feminine boy under eight. The bright monochrome wash of much of the collection brings more elegance to the table, though, allowing it to still appeal to the older crowd (as well as the older crowd that pretends to be younger than it is).

FORM//Via Cadmus.

Good God. That Hair.

Spoken by one of the people I know who couldn't care less about fashion, which really goes to show how awesomely hilarious the hair on this model from the 3.1 Philip Lim 2010 S/S Mens really is: