Sugimoto Seascapes

 

 

Confucius

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."

America

 

 

Heima

Bill and I spent a blustery autumn afternoon watching this majestic film. We have listened to the joyous music of Sigur Ros for many years, but we hadn't watched this film of their homecoming after a global tour. It is shot with such splendid affection for their homeland; their people, their landscape. The simple beauty of everything that surrounds us. We were bewildered by their talent, honesty and integrity. I urge you to watch this. Dubbed by some as the best music documentary ever, it is just lovely. Take sometime and share yourself.

Magical

 

We miss the dark, otherworldly stories of our childhood. Trolls, Ogres and Red-eyed Witches. This book Anna & the Witch's Bottle collects a group of mystical beasts and strange lands, a real return to children's fairy tails. Beautifully illustrated and accompanied by a bleak soundtrack from a member of the Doves rockband. The first print project by Blackmaps independent label. Only 300 available at £30.

Buzzing around town

This electric bike is for those who need to scoot about town but don't want to work up a sweat. Ideal for getting to those meetings in rush hour. Or for business parks where parking can be 2 miles away from your office, get your boss to provide a pool of these little critters. the Mosquito designed by a pair of German Design Graduates weighs 34kg and can go 60km at 50kph. It costs about 50p to charge and will cost around £3000 when it becomes available next year.

Gross National Happiness

In Bhutan people are 97% happy. Well that's what the national survey deducted in 2005. Gross National Happiness is derived from four pillars; sustainable development, preservation of cultural values, conservation of nature and good governance. These pillars are the divided into 9 domains; Time use, Living Standards, Governance, Psychological well being, Community Vitality, Culture, Health, Education and Ecology.

What kind of foundations are these for a blossoming democracy? Shouldn't they be more concerned about political correctness, manufacturing output, inflation/deflation, the stock-market indices, unemployment and Big Brother?

In Bhutan 30% of the population enter life as a  Bhuddist monk, inheritance is directly to the females, 70% of the land is forested and 45% of the population are under 15.

This is the land created by 100,000 angels.

Refuge

Dutch photographer and artist Baz Princen is one of our favourite architectual photographers. His images of buildings really pose questions and cause tension. Some are almost biblical. These images are taken around Los Angeles 4 or 5 years ago and when we first noticed his work. He has a new book coming out with Sun Publishers called; Refuge. Five Cities Portfolio. The book explores the architectural tension  in the ancient cities of Istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Dubai. We look forward to receiving our copy. In the meantime here are a selection of the images that first drew us to Baz.

 

 

 

Greek Hackney

Peter Barber architects continue their stark white designs with this Urban Greek-style mini-complex in Hackney. Squeezed into a slim 4.5m wide slot the building has a retail unit downstairs and two maisonettes with an open courtyard. A snip at £350,000.

 

 

Foto8

We have just come across the Foto8 photojournalism contest that shows in London HOST gallery from July through September. This winning entry by Richard Wainwright captures the mood of the contest perfectly. A pair of homeless children emerging from their subterranean hiding place into the bitingly cold Mongolian winter of Ulaan baatar. The images submitted to the contest must convey a story and raise questions. We saw the theme in all the images of everyday life, no-matter how off-kilter to us. They show how hard, beautiful, mundane and fascinating the world is. Here are a selection of the images exhibited...

 

 

 

Get your entries ready for next year...