WE'RE SUPPORTING

Afghanistan has always been famous for rugs. The impact of several decades of political turmoil has left its mark on this national art. However, Turkmen weavers have been weaving what are known as ‘war rugs‘ that depict weapons, military vehicles, and even the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Notice the dove in the center, indicating that the rug’s maker isn’t celebrating the attacks.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

I stumbled across the Hello, Blue Roses track, My Shadow Falls, the other week and it set my ears alight, this subtle but beautiful song and its cascading melodic line which will at once ingrain yourself in your inner-ear iPod and then disappear out the other end, leaving only the sweetest of memories. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

I managed to swing by the SVA Graduate Illustration show the other night and couldn’t believe how much amazing work there was. One particular illustrator I couldn’t tear myself from was Youngsun Liu. His work is pure texture and color, just the way I like it.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

As a child, gold mining towns were exemplified in my mind by boring theme parks populated by out of work actors in naff colonial costumes. My parents used to drag us along in our overheated datsun because they couldn’t afford to take the kids to Disneyland. As often happens, I now appreciate the destinations whose mentions used to prompt a whole lot of whingeing about seatbelt buckle burns and compensation payouts of McDonalds. Walhalla is one such beauty. Set in the misty foothills of Australia’s Baw Baw ranges, it was once a gold era boom-town, but is now home to less than 20 residents (not counting the ghosts). Read more

Animator Mathieu Labaye created this short film in tribute to his late father, who had been in a wheelchair for the last 15 years of his life. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

I think Anne Geddes spent ten years in the desert with Dr. Seuss doing hallucinogens. She woke up one searing Nevada morning and decided her new name was Peggy Noland. Then she moved to Kansas City and released the line that is currently featured on her website. At least, that’s what I think.

WE'RE READING

We invited Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, who aside from being the DJ of the moment is also the remix whiz behind tracks from Beck, Tokyo Police Club, and Grizzly Bear, to give us a rundown on the songs he’s wearing out right now for our sister site, My Secret Playlist. He started off by propping Beyonce’s anthemic single, Single Ladies [listen below]. Go figure! ‘This is one of my favorite Beyonce tracks ever. It has so much energy, and the chorus gets dark in a great way. The clapping never stops. The video is a flawless execution of a performance style clip. It’s perfect’. Read the rest of Girl Talk’s Secret Playlist.