The ultimates of the week

This entry is inspired by a recent comment by Laura of Applied Glamour on my post for the Tell Me About Yourself Award. In the post, I said that one of the things about me is that I am in constant search of the ultimate everything in life. I want to find the best book, the most amazing perfume, the most inspiring quote, etc. 

But my mind often switches quickly and without warning, and before you know it I'm off on some completely other thing, so it's often a struggle to keep up with my own likes and dislikes. Laura asked me what my 'ultimates' of the moment are, and I thought that it would make for such an interesting blog series. I want to make a list of Ultimates each week to share what's reached the toppermost of the poppermost for me. Please check out what I have collected and tell me in the comments section what your ultimates of the moment are. Also feel free to ask me if there are any other ultimate things that you're curious about and would like to see on the list. 

Here are my ultimates for the week of 10/15:

The ultimate makeup product / perfume: Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana

My roommate owns this perfume and I can't even count the number of times I've borrowed it from her. It's so addictive. It has a slightly citrus-y scent to it, layered over peppery florals that remind me of both Tartine et Chocolat and Blush by Marc Jacobs.

The ultimate album: "The Ghost Who Walks" by Karen Elson

By no means a brand new album, but I've been listening to her tracks nonstop this week. I love the gothic beauty of her lyrics and the southern influence in her sound. Obviously the title track is one of my favorites, but I also love "The Truth Is In the Dirt," "Pretty Babies," "Lunasa," and "Stolen Roses."

The ultimate book: Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

Whitehead recently came to speak at one of the lectures for the course that I am taking called Living Writers (it is what it sounds - we read the works of writers who are living) and he was one of the funniest men I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. The book tells the story of Benji, a fifteen-year-old boy spending his summer in the Hamptons who emerges at the end of the summer Ben, the young man. The text is Mrs. Dalloway-esque in its plotlessness, if Mrs. Dalloway was a Smiths-loving, Converse-wearing, introspective New York City teen. A coming-of-age tale by a man who professed to hating coming-of-age tales, Sag Harbor is peppered with wonderful references to 80s music and pop culture, and has a delightfully funny narrative voice. 

The ultimate clothing item: American Gold Sympathy for the Devil burnout velvet bell bottoms

Lucia of Who the Fuck is Mick Jagger wears these pants a lot on her site, and that does little to curb my obsession with them. I want them, nay, I need them in my wardrobe for London.

The ultimate movie: Un Chien Andalou, by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí

Having seen the film twice this week for two different film courses, I am reminded of the reason why I thought this film was so fascinating when I first watched it. A delightful foray of Surrealism, the film's most lasting images are the most disturbing ones. Anyone who has seen the first scene of the film knows what I am talking about, let's just leave it at that. 

The ultimate quote: Apple Inc.'s Think Different campaign

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." 

The Story of Nike

Title: The Story of Nike (Spirit of Success)

Author: Scott Hays

Publisher: Creative Education

This is a children’s book that comes in a hard cover that I really liked because it is very easy to read and it gives a real quick overview story of how Nike was started. What I really liked the most about this book was most of the pictures it has from Nike. Some of my favorites include pictures of Steve Prefontaine running for Oregon (in Nikes), Michael Jordan not wearing Air Jordan’s, Phil Knight in his office, Phil with his wife (Penny), and an over head view of Nike headquarters in Beaverton.

Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Nike-Spirit-Success/dp/1583400060/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

the british (birds) are coming!

This photo is a testament to my supreme nerdiness; and to assure that this moment - as captured on my computer - will not be used against me as blackmail in future I am sharing it with the entirety of the interwebs. Also, because I am a bragging lil bitch. 

Today I experienced my version of Christmas morning - I received a copy of the much sought-after, hard-to-find coffee table book / dolly girl bible Birds of Britain in the mail today. As you could guess, I am beyond excited about it. The copy I purchased in excellent condition that it doesn't look like it's been around for almost forty-five years - the pages are unwrinkled and the binding is in great condition (this is the nerdy vintage archiver in me coming out now). The photographs are so excellent that they surpass all of my expectations and anticipations. I have seen many of the photos on various websites and blogs discussing the book by John D. Green (or as credited in the book 'John d Green' ... yeah, the sixties were too cool for proper grammar), but the images are such high quality works of art that my retinas are exhausted just looking over the book from cover to cover. 

What I love a lot is the text here - it's amazing on so on-the-nose about all of these girls and the scene they were a part of. The inner flap of the book starts, "Miniskirts and the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and now the Birds. That means girls - feathery and soft, swinging and defiantly independent. London has cracked out of its sober chrysalis into an ultravisual supersonic capital-of-all-the-arts, whose theatre annually swamps Broadway, whose fashions ripple down the Main Streets of the world, and whose girls are its most visible assets." And those are just the first three sentences! I wish I could write that gorgeously all the time - seriously, the mind reels. How can so much excellence and beauty be in one book?! Yeah, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest.  

Tomorrow and the next few days, I will start covering various aspects of the book - including photographs and text regarding this "incandescent maelstrom" of British birds. 

Transformers Vault

I’ve said it numerous times on this blog, that I am a newbie when it comes to Transformers. Although I did watch them as a child, only until recently have I become interested in them. I started off watching a few episodes on DVD a few years ago and those brought back a lot of memories. I also started buying the toys, though I prefer displaying them in auto mode. However I was still confused about the whole story behind the franchise, so I decided one day to go online and read up on them. This didn’t go very well because there were pages and pages of stuff to read that was all confusing. As a result I gave up, and just stuck to watching a few TV episodes at a time and buying a toy once in a while as well.


Then one day I went online and discovered that someone had written a book about the entire franchise that contained many cool features and that was an easy read. The book is called ‘Transformers Vault’ and is written by Pablo Hidalgo. The book comes in a protective hard cover, features great art work, the writing is informative (gets to the point) and brief, and best of all it covers the entire franchise from where the Transformers started to the animated TV series, comics, toys, and even movies. I bought my copy on sale, and with all the goodies it comes with I would definitely recommend it to anyone that loves the Transformers.


Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Vault-Showcasing-Collectibles-Memorabilia/dp/0810998688/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8gHybsmyhA

In Cold Blood

This book has been on my must read list for many years. I bought it way back in high school because it dealt with crime. I’ve always been fascinated with crime books and movies. The funny thing is, when I first saw it I thought it was some contemporary piece that would be similar to any drug store paper back that you find in a convenience store. But once I looked at who wrote it; Truman Capote, I just had to buy it. Besides being known for his high-pitched voice, Capote is a brilliant writer who has written other amazing novels such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Other Voices, Other Rooms. Although this is a novel based on a true even, (the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas) Capote decides to tell it from the perspective of the town’s people and the actual murderers. Capote demonstrates his talent of how the written language can express sentiment by writing sentences that seem genius when he puts them into words. His style of writing is easy to understand and concise, which allows for characters that are believable and important to exist. While he has been criticized for extending the truth about what really happened, his approach in how he wrote his novel is what I value the most. Focusing on the murderers of the Clutter family, Dick and Perry, Capote takes an unbiased approach to telling their story. One would assume that a story like this would make Dick and Perry into monsters that cannot be related to or understood. Yet it is Capote’s honestly that makes these characters, despite their evil deeds worth reading about. I think its part of the human condition to assume that the existence of fairness in this world should be about what one deserves. For example, people that commit a crime should be punished. However what is harder to accept is what follows, that this same criminal deserves to be judged in a fair trail. And I think this is what Capote has done, for as chilling as the violent acts have been, he has given these same individuals a chance to tell their story in a world that preaches balance through fairness.

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blood-Truman-Capote/dp/0375507906/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305852374&sr=1-1

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight

Title: Bill Bowerman & Phil Knight: Building the Nike Empire

Author: Keith Elliot Greenberg

Art Work: Dick Smolinski

Publisher: Blackbirch Press

Sometimes the way I like to find books to read is by looking at the bibliography of a book I have read and seeing what similar titles I would enjoy reading. This is how I happened to find this book, Bill Bowerman & Phil Knight: Building the Nike Empire. My next step is to look in the library catalogue to see if they have it, that way I don’t have to buy the book. Luckily I was able to find this title, but was surprised to find out that it was a children’s book when I went to go pick it up. Regardless of that fact I still decided to read it. The book is about 48 pages long and is pretty easy to read. Like most kids book’s it gives a general overview by showing how Nike was started, focusing especially on Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Although it is short it does include many interesting facts about Bowerman (serving in the U.S. Tenth Mountain Division and taking a pair of sneakers) and Knight (using his mother’s laundry room as an office). The book also comes with drawings that are paintings, something that I’m sure kids will enjoy. This is a great book that I recommend for kids and children of all ages.

Amazon link to buy:

http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Bowerman-Phil-Knight-Building/dp/1567110851/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_7

i’m thinking i should take that volume back up off the shelf, and crack it’s weary spine and read to help remind myself

I recently picked up a copy of Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters (Stanley F. Buchthal, Bernard Comment) - a really splendid book that compiles different notes, telegrams, letters, and to-do lists that Marilyn Monroe wrote during her life. The book looks at the writings about Monroe that are far beyond the headlines and gossip columns. Reading the book reminded me of all the wonderful images that I've seen of Marilyn either reading or writing. She was often captured reading wonderful books - collections of poetry by Walt Whitman, epic novels by James Joyce and Hemingway, and biographies about profound figures as diverse as Goya and Abe Lincoln. Despite her dumb blonde image, Marilyn was highly literate and sought her entire life to educate herself. 

Title: from "Expo '86" (Death Cab for Cutie)

Driven From Within; Michael Jordan

Title: Driven From Within
Author, Editor: Mark Vancil
Publisher: Atria
Driven From Within was released around the same time that the Air Jordan XX sneaker hit retail stores. At the time, the book reflected on the 20 years since the Air Jordan line had been created. It not only talked about the past and future of the brand, but went deeper by providing exclusive interviews with the people that helped create the brand. The book also comes with 2 foldout posters, various inspirational quotes by Michael Jordan, and numerous pictures including sneaker sketches. The combination of Tinker Hatfield interviews and pictures of his sneaker sketches is my favorite part of the book. Tinker Hatfield has been the lead Air Jordan sneaker designer since the Air Jordan III and has designed most of the sneaker line.


In his interviews he provides a detailed background as to where he got the inspiration for all of his designs. In one interview he talks about the day when he first showed Michael the Air Jordan III, at a time when Michael was unsure of whether to extend his contract with Nike. His design was so amazing that Michael decided to stay with Nike, and thus Tinker was credited with saving the Air Jordan line, and more importantly Nike. In another interview he talks about what went into designing the Air Jordan XI. Here you could see how creative Tinker can be by taking inspirations for the XI’s design from things such as high-end backpacks, the Denver International Airport, and even a yellow lawn mower. It’s one of those books that really remind’s me of how much I love sneakers and especially Air Jordan’s. This book does a nice job of describing how each Air Jordan sneaker was created and I highly recommend it for any sneaker fan.


Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Driven-Within-Michael-Jordan/dp/B001SAREBE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292464167&sr=1-1