Obama’s loss traced to Yuko Shimizu

WE'RE SUPPORTING

New York-based photographer Michael Lavine took the iconic photo of Kurt and Courtney for the cover of Sassy magazine back in the early 1990s. We asked him to recount the story behind the shoot: ‘We shot the photos at my Bleeker St loft on the Bowery. I remember that my friends Andrea Linett and Janet Billig were there. I remember the ridiculous twelve foot silk lighting setup I used. I remember people having to go out and score dope. I remember Kurt telling me that the reason that he loved Courtney so much was that she was the only girl he knew that would stand up at a party and smash a glass table to bits just for the hell of it. I remember thinking that was a pretty odd reason to love someone’. There’s an extensive interview with Michael Lavine on the Feature Shoot website.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

There’s a shop on Smith Street in Melbourne where all young designers go to live. In.cube8r supports all things craft and handmade in Melbourne, running like a long-term market, with the gallery divided into different areas that the artists lease for a tiny cost. There are more than 75 of Melbourne’s top crafters on show and the gallery is always looking for new designers.

WE'RE WEARING

Ok, so I’m speaking from first-hand perspective here because as I type on this warm morning, with the faintest slither of sun creeping its way through the privacy blinds in my living room, I’m wearing the very same t shirt that the dude in this photo is wearing. Yup, the same damn one. Perhaps I’m not looking quite as groomed as he is, but hey, it’s a start. Australian fashion label Das Monk is my new favourite t shirt label and this t shirt is more comfortable to wear that a thousand pairs of Ozone socks. Das Monk? Yes it is.

WE'RE THINKING

With its long history in poster design and with a younger generation of artists who grew up with both Eastern and Western European influences, the ‘new Poland’ is booming. I had a blast when I visited Warsaw about a year ago and met all the movers and shakers in design. My friend just sent me a link to Tymek Jezierski’s amazing comic works. They’re so fresh! The only problem I have with them is that I don’t read Polish.

WE'RE READING

Says Yuko Shimizu on the artwork of legendary Japanese illustrator Katsushika Hokusai: ‘I was just at Kinokuniya Bookstore [a Japanese book store at Rockefeller Center in New York] a few days ago and bought The Complete Hokusai-Manga Sketchbooks [published by Shogakukan]. It was $150, but worth every penny with its mind-blowing works of art by Katsushika Hokusai from cover to cover’
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Sometimes we need an ad to remind us of what’s important. Normal is beautiful. Keep our oceans alive. Vote. Be more fearless. The Whitehouse Post is an international post-production company whose projects are damn fine. In fact, they are the scary mix of wit and aesthetics that makes any message convincing. Long live Coca-Cola.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

One of the most dynamic new acts to burst into our eardrums in years, Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls have just released their debut self-titled album, which combines Phil Spector-ish Wall Of Sound harmonies with fuzzy melodies, as reflected on this track, Where Do You Run To. We have it available for free download in the Music Download section of Lost At E Minor. Hooray! [psst, it's in the third column of the site]