thyme flies

Christmas gift spending against GDP per capita, per country. Luxembourgers spend the most, although that’s way above what they would be predicted to spend based on their wealth. GB, CH and IE are high, DE and GR low, and the Netherlands are rich, but stingy.

Source: The Economist

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Journaling Sound

http://www.ubu.com/sound/aa.html

Capturing moments and experiences through sounds appears to be one of the trades of Alejandra Salinas and Aeron Bergman.

You can listen to their productions there. A couple of personal highlights:

“Museu das Rendas, Vila do Conde, Portugal.

In this small, tidy museum dedicated to the local lace craft, there is a very curious permanent installation: 2-8 older ladies sit making lace from 9-5, Monday to Friday. Some of the women work on a municipal salary. The sounds resemble many wooden wind chimes, or perhaps rain. Produced by Circular with the support of Museu das Rendas and Maria da Guia, head lacemaker. ”

http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/sound/aa/Bergman_Aeron_Salinas_Alejandra_Imperfect_Reliability_2008.mp3

“We cut Doctor Martin Luther King Junior’s voice out of the archive recording of his speech “I have a dream”. Leaving only the sounds of the audience in an aging recording, maybe we can remember what he said.” 

http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/sound/aa/Bergman_Aeron_Salinas_Alejandra_MLKJRBLVD_2007.mp3

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This is a good piece of American journalism on the Wall Street protests and how they were quashed by police overstepping their authority. Just a couple of days ago when someone mentioned this I said something along the lines of ‘oh, but police don’t just attack civilised protestors, there must have been something different between these protestors’ conduct and the usual Wall Street protestors’ conduct’. Well by the looks of it, I was wrong and I gave the US police more credit than they deserve for being just and reasonable.

I can understand (although obviously disagree with) small town nobodies becoming policemen then going on power trips. It shouldn’t be allowed, but you can see how it happens. But in New York, the city? The huge city? That takes a completely different kind of person.

(Source: allenfalkner, via xtynn)

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- Robyn Hitchcock

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Arguably, this is the first ever photo taken of a person. The exposure time was 10 minutes, and in its own right, it’s an incredibly beautiful person. However, little did the person getting his shoes shined know that he was being immortalised… (Paris, 1838)

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- Adam MacQueen, Private Eye

She looks really similar, even today. I wonder how many people compare that well, past and present.

(Source: lejazzhot, via vintage-royalty)

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reblogging my post! in a very björky mood today.

costumerism:

Björk in one of a set of images taken for the cover and singles of her upcoming album, Biophilia.

In the Biophilia, the Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer and conceptual style icon has built huge, bespoke instruments such as the Gameleste to aid her on-stage performances and recordings, has created an innovative series of apps, and is taking over museums over the world in order to put on contextual music lessons for children she never had herself. 

Her outfit here blends the organic with the artificial with the cosmic in such a way it’s difficult not to gaze at. 

Other images in the series can be found here, here, here and here.

Photography: Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Art Direction: M/M Paris

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bluesigloo:

Slapp Happy.

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matchado:

(This post is written as a draft for what will eventually be an entry in my Tea Column for the KCL in-house paper The Roar)

You may have seen some adverts recently. Well, in all probability you’ve seen hundreds, but I’m referring to one campaign in particular. “Yorkshire Tea – let’s have…

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