FOR WEEKLY INSPIRATION Why

Cool Travel

November 6, 2009 | Cool Travel | by The Uncool Hunter |

The owner of the Bone Room had worked in a store that sold reptiles, cobras, and spiders since 1987. Now he’s running his own business where he sells bones of all kinds: from human skulls written with the corresponding natural record to different kinds of animal bones, skulls and even embalmed laboratory rats and dissected insects. Read more

November 5, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Zolton |

Hmmm, hmmm. I’m heading along to Cook Eat Drink Live in New York this weekend to indulge in a three-day modern food and wine event at The Tunnel and La Venue, at which there will be a sampling of ‘ultra-premium gourmet foods and spirits, plus appearances from some of the city’s premier chefs’. It’s going to be an event of gastronomical indulgence, so I’ll be fasting for at least, errr, three hours in anticipation.

November 2, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Caitlin Zaino |

Having been raised a proper Italian-American girl in New York, I was taught from a young age how to spot a good cannoli: those tasty desserts made of hollowed fried dough stuffed lovingly with creamy, sweet ricotta and topped with a marvelous dash of powder sugar. Yum. These tiny Southern Italian treats are not the stuff of nouvelle cuisine. Or are they? Enter Stuffed Artisan Cannolis. Read more

October 29, 2009 | Cool Travel | by The Uncool Hunter |

Shattering the phrase, ‘don’t shit where you eat’, the Taiwanese restaurant The Modern Toilet offers the option of eating on a toilet, as well as eating from plates in the shape of toilets, bidets or bathtubs. Luckily there’s food inside. In the restroom, you answer nature’s call on dishes and clean yourself with napkins.

October 29, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Zolton |

The Laneways: By George! project runs in Sydney until January and has seen eight laneways along inner-city George Street transformed with ‘creative, innovative and inspiring high quality temporary artworks, encouraging people to explore these forgotten spaces in the heart of the City. Some of the lanes include a canopy of birdcages and forgotten birdsongs, a prosthetic skin with heartbeat, a pop up kitchen and nightclub, a seven metre bar highlighting climate change and a magical infinite’ forest’ [above]. Sounds like a very clever use of an otherwise indistinct strip of Sydney.

October 28, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Zolton Highly recommended by the LAEM team. |

Monsieur Cabinet has been making the mundane beautiful by emphasising its natural qualities, as reflected in these wonderful drain artworks. Read more

October 23, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Gerry Mak |

Gaming blog UK Resistence just posted rare photos of an arcade in Pyongyang. The dingy, poorly-maintained building and game consoles remind me a lot of an arcade I went to in Beijing in the early 90s, although slightly more depressing.

October 22, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Katrina Whitehead |

When Barcelona’s ‘it crowd’ are hankering for some good tucker, I’m pretty sure they head straight to Cuines Santa-Caterina. And why wouldn’t they? Located inside the actual Mercat de Santa Catarina (a fresh produce market) this hip restaurant/bar serves up tasty cuisine from breaky right through to dinner. Ranked as one of Barcelona’s top places to eat and be seen, it’s got several open grills — and you can either sit at the bar, peering into the kitchen, or at large communal tables. Head there early for a tapas-style breakfast, or choose from three oddly grouped cuisines for lunch or dinner: Vegetarian/Sushi, Mediterranean and Asiatic. Thanks to the Scandinavian-inspired decor, you feel like you’re inside a giant warehouse, surrounded by giant shelves topped with boxes, wine, olive oil and vinegar. The prices are surprisingly reasonable, the staff are welcoming, and if you’re there for breakfast, you can hit the market with a full tummy afterwards. Read more

Cool Travel / The canyons of Peru

October 21, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Jessica Parra Nowajewski |

One of the deepest canyons in the world is located six hours away from Arequipa. This amazing Peruvian landscape offers you old villages, terrace cropping, condor birds, and a surprising oasis near the Colca river. The best tour option is three days trekking downwards and then climbing more than 1,200 meters in three hours from 2,100 feet over sea level. Or you can always do it by yourself without taking a tour. Just ask the locals for information. [Photos by Jessica Parra Nowajewski] Read more

October 20, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Ilana Kohn |

Next time I find myself on my fifteen minute walk to the C train, I plan on cramming a little Halloween in. New York’s Merchant’s House Museum has a new hotline where you can call up and simply listen to the cell phone audio tour, Tales Of The Strange and Inexplicable, featuring some of the Museum’s most notorious ghost stories. Should that whet you appetite for something more tactile, the Museum is currently holding candlelight ghost tours and will even be hosting an authentic 19th Century funeral — antique coffin to be physically borne down the Bowery and all. The hotline is 1-877-646-1832.

October 19, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Andres Colmenares |

Two months ago, a very special and unique place opened in Barcelona: TAKE IT EASY, an anti-stress space. Inspired by The Eagles song, Ramón Regada created a comfortable area in the district of L’Eixample in which people can unplug and take a short nap in hi-tech massage chairs. It is aimed at workers with only short time after lunch to take the famous siesta. And all for just five Euros. Regada asks each customer to write down a phrase or word after taking the nap and each week he selects one as a banner in the front window of the space. Read more

October 18, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Gerry Mak |

Normal’s Books and Records is a Baltimore institution, a point of convergence amongst the city’s artists, musicians, and literary buffs. Specializing in great used books — their art, design, science fiction, and literary sections are particularly good — the store also stocks local zines and hosts The Red Room, a weekly improvised jam session run by the collective of avant-garde musicians behind the annual High Zero festival.

October 16, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Chris Rubino |

Chemically inconvenienced, distinguished, at peace with the floor, every single ‘-faced’ prefix, all phrases amongst the 2,964 synonyms for being totally wasted. DRUNK, The Definitive Drinker’s Dictionary by Paul Dickson, has been illustrated by former New York Times Art Director, recent GOOD Magazine Guest Art Director and current temporary Stockholm resident, Brian Rea. His hilarious and whimsical pieces are hanging right now in Brooklyn’s own Melville House. Stop in for a look, check the book and exit immediately to the nearest glass of whiskey. Being drunk never has been so explicable. Read more

October 13, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Michelle Wilding |

Brad Eastman (aka Beastman) has made my running errands around Darlinghurst, Sydney days all the merrier thanks to his recent blue faced mural which graces The Recordstore’s side wall. It looks amazing on the street, so swing past the corner of Arnold Lane and Goulburn Street for a mesmerising geeze.

October 12, 2009 | Cool Travel | by The Uncool Hunter |

In an attempt to have a more comfortable life, Sim Jae-duck, a Korean activist from Suwon, south of Seoul, decided to build a house of extraordinary proportions. The result is a 4,508-sq-foot toilet-style structure in the shape of a toilet. It’s a symbol of Korean hygiene. Sim Jae-duck, who is the President of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association, nicknamed his home, Haewoojae, which in Korean means ‘the place or sanctuary where you can solve your problems’. It will be available for those who want to enjoy its facilities for just U$50,000 a day.

 

We love the work of American illustrator, Hope Gangloff. It captures the disposable elements of pop culture in an irreverent and witty way. We interviewed her recently. Read more


ADVERTISEMENT

The Sound of Animals Fighting again unleash their experimental blend of progressive electronic hardcore rock. Known only by their animal names — Nightingale, Walrus, Lynx, and Skunk — and wearing masks for their rare live appearances, TSOAF have released two albums. Their latest, The Ocean and The Sun, offers an intense mix of genres, as delicate Brazilian-inflected melodies careen into shattering guitar workouts.

Our online store has been kicking along nicely for a while now, featuring prints by Andy Smith [pictured], tees by Das Monk and jewellery by This Charming Man to name a few. We have visitors from all across the globe and some of our pieces have been racing out the virtual door faster than we imagined possible. Aw, shucks! Now it’s your turn. If you design, create, or distribute products and artwork that fits with our style, and you’d like to see your goodies stocked on our shelves in time for Christmas, drop us a note introducing yourself and we’ll take it from there. Psst … we’re planning some Christmas gift ideas and subscriber offers too. We reckon you’ll like them.


ADVERTISEMENT

Herzog and de Meuron, the Swiss architects, have led the way with this re-use of the existing building fabric of CaixaForum in Madrid. Rather than being slavish to the existing openings, the building has been cut away for a contemporary practicality. We think this is an example of heritage not getting in the way of progress. Check out a similar concept of a previous post re-using the city fabric, where we were dreaming of such thing.

Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.

These scarves designed by Sarah Swash and her boyfriend Toshio Yamanaka always feature their whippet and play on a sense of urban sophistication inspired by the surrounds of their East London studio. Definitely a justified indulgence.

Monique Easton runs a blog called Baby Got Framed where she cataloges barely remembered evenings and cute hipster zombies. Read more

WE'RE RESPECTING

WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST

Thumb

Paolo Ventura

Italian-born, New York City-based photographer Paolo Ventura creates fairy-tale like pictures out of amazingly constructed, miniature dioramas that almost trick the eye into thinking he’s a tilt-shift photographer. Read more

Thumb

Almanac Market

Almanac Market in Philadelphia is slightly pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for. Offering fantastic bread, cheeses, produce, and cured meats such as sopressata and pepperoni, it was a great pit stop when my band played in town, and definitely more economical and tasty than hitting a greasy spoon for road snacks.

Thumb

Charlie Immer

Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more

Thumb

1970s and 80s Soviet Union buildings

Cambodian born photographer Frederic Chaubin is the editor of French magazine Citizen K. His photo series on bizarre buildings built in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 80s is absolutely fascinating. Read more

Thumb

Sparrow Vs Sparrow

Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more


ADVERTISEMENT

Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more

Originating in Shanghai, the Feiyue sneaker first appeared in the 1920s. This small shoe made of light material that has guided the paths of all social classes in China, has crossed continents, arriving in Europe in 2006 where it was picked up by a team of French enthusiasts, fascinated by sneakers and urban culture. Read more

FOLLOW US

Follow Lost At E Minor on Facebook Follow Lost At E Minor on Twitter

[Advertise here]


WHAT YOU'RE DOING

What are you doing?

CAPTCHA

DISCOVER MORE

SO...


SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..

IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?

We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.

If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.