Behind Castro’s Carribean Curtain, La Habana, Cuba
|There’s no place in the world like Cuba’s colourful and crumbling capital. Riddled with contradictions, it’s a foodie’s worst nightmare and a photographer’s paradise. People really do dance in the streets, drive 1950s Chevvies, and smoke big, fat cigars. However, it’s all set to change. In December last year, while Cuba celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its revolution, President Obama said he’d soften America’s trade embargo, and Raul Castro said that he’s ‘ready for talks’ with the new American government. While this could mean long-overdue relief for Cubans, it could also leave one less truly fascinating place on the globe to visit. So go. Now.
Tagged: Cuba, President Obama
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For the first time since he took office, President Obama’s approval rating is sitting below fifty percent. It’s sure to decline further now that he’s committed more troops to leave for Afghanistan. So what better time, folks, for a novelty gift commemorating the forty-fourth President? This holiday season, give the gift that keeps on giving: an Obama Chia Pet! I might be dating myself, but say it with me: Ch-ch-ch-chia.
Baldomero Fernandez’s Cuba series
We asked New York-based photographer Baldomero Fernandez about his Cuba series and whether there was a particular mood that he was looking to capture: ‘Usually I tend to photograph quiet scenes that are empty and have a feeling of solitude. The surreal part that comes through is usually more because of anachronisms, or maybe something is just out of place. It’s not straightforward surrealism. Reality usually tends to be far stranger than fiction’. There’s an exclusive interview with Baldomero Fernandez on the Feature Shoot website.
Also by KATRINA WHITEHEAD
For anyone travelling with young kids, the thought of a plane trip — particularly an international one — can induce heart palpitations. The very idea of enduring a public meltdown in a cramped space 30,000 feet above the ground, while other passengers ‘humpf’ and deliver pointed stares, is enough to send any parent into a state of sleep-deprived anxiety. Read more
It’s a grey, rainy day here in Sydney and with nothing particularly inspiring on the brunch menu, I’m dreaming about a recent breakfast I had at La Lucciola in Bali. Situated right on the beachfront, this vast, open-air, thatched restaurant always seems to score rave reviews from tourists, and is refreshingly and romantically basic, with tiled floors and comfy wicker chairs. Read more
By day, Buenos Aires is awash with super stylish, well-heeled porteños going about their daily business: shopping, chatting on their cells, or tucking into scrumptious steaks bigger than their designer handbags. After dark, in fact, way after dark, as is the Argentine way, you’ll find a fair few of the city’s beautiful people head to a gorgeous and dimly lit wine bar in the stylish barrio of Recoleta. With its funky interior and decadent wine list, you’ll never find yourself short of a tipple — or a pleasant view — at Gran Bar Danzon. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (1)
HAVE YOUR SAY
After becoming frustrated with the Amazon website when trying to buy a Kindle from Australia, I decided to document the awful process I went through, and provide my idea’s in the form of a redesign.
LEGO this, LEGO that, LEGO and make something clever, just like British artist Aaron Savage did. He recreated seminal album covers out of his childhood obsession. Hmmm, Aaron, please do a LEGO version of Coldplay next. It would probably have more charisma than the real thing. Read more
This is really amazing, a poignant and richly textured video and sound piece from Brooklyn-based artist, Alex Itin. Read more
Only in Japan? Well, maybe. Though Oklahoma may be a close second on the radar. Apparently, in this time of recession, Japanese men have taken rather fondly to inanimate objects rather than the real thing as a less expensive way to, err, fulfill their needs. Well, ok, each to their own, so long as their own is made from rubber and latex. Read more
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Originally hailing from Kendal, Cumbria and now based in Leeds, the Wild Beasts foursome are the next hopefuls for Domino Records, who sent the group out to Sweden to record their first album, Limbo, Panto, released on June the 16th. The new single — The Devil’s Crayon — shimmers in wide-screen around a sense of location, melody and wonder at the scale of things. Indeed, it sounds like the theme song to a new kind of very English road movie.
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‘NaCo was created in 1999 by Tijuana’s Edoardo Chavarín and Mazatlan’s Robby Vient, schoolmates at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Read more
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Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
The Arquebus Clothing Brand, based in Brooklyn, is dedicated to designs that are self-expressive and meaningful through imagery or typography. They are bold, positive, inspirational, motivational, witty, philosophical and very wearable. We love these pieces inspired by nature, history, and everyday living. Some favorites can be found in the Lost At E Minor store.
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pingpong said | 6 April, 2011
You can see that life is there in Cuba,let the US gvment remove the blockage so the beauty can bee nicely appear