Monday, June 16, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Waterfield bags and cases are unique (updated)
Waterfield bags/cases (SFbags.com) are handmade in San Francisco. This obviously does not make them the cheapest you can find, but does, indirectly, make them unique.
I have a clear feeling that they (the founder Gary) do not make a new product unless they think they have a new slant on it, something which gives it a natural place in the world.
On top of that they put unusual amounts of thought and aesthetics into every product, and make them in solid quality. I have several of their products (from a wallet, over their smallest bag, up to their largest), and I would be surprised if any of them lasts less than at least a decade or two.
I just bought two new ones, their new backpack, Staad, and duffel bag, Outback. I'm looking forward to getting them next week.
If you feel like treating yourself, I recommend them. (And and the smaller products won't break the bank.) Say hi from Eolake, they know me.
(I'm getting the left one, dark leather accents on 'ballistic nylon' which is really light and strong.) (I've petitioned them to find other colors than black for the "ballistic" as they call it, as a gadget fan, almost everything I own is black, it gets a little monotonous.)
Update 17 June: Today I got the Outback.
It will replace my old travel bag, which I bought a decade ago in a chinese shop for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes! As a matter of fact, it's not that badly made, and was certainly high value for money. But there's just no comparison. The aesthetics and the quality of the Waterfield makes it an ongoing pleasure to use, instead of a merely-functional item. It's stronger too, and the flexible division makes it highly useful.
I took photos of them together. Sadly they can't show the feel, but maybe they can show some of the quality difference. The leather, the metal connectors, etc.
Update II: win a Waterfield in our photo contest.
--
Below is one I admire, the Rough Rider, but probably won't get because I have enough messenger bags and brown leather is not for me (the black is, and it has a great feel. But very few products of theirs are made in that). But it shows their design aesthetic to the fullest. (Though it's perhaps the only one of their bags to not have their nice "golden" lining which puts light inside the bag when you need to find something.)
I have a clear feeling that they (the founder Gary) do not make a new product unless they think they have a new slant on it, something which gives it a natural place in the world.
On top of that they put unusual amounts of thought and aesthetics into every product, and make them in solid quality. I have several of their products (from a wallet, over their smallest bag, up to their largest), and I would be surprised if any of them lasts less than at least a decade or two.
I just bought two new ones, their new backpack, Staad, and duffel bag, Outback. I'm looking forward to getting them next week.
If you feel like treating yourself, I recommend them. (And and the smaller products won't break the bank.) Say hi from Eolake, they know me.
(I'm getting the left one, dark leather accents on 'ballistic nylon' which is really light and strong.) (I've petitioned them to find other colors than black for the "ballistic" as they call it, as a gadget fan, almost everything I own is black, it gets a little monotonous.)
Update 17 June: Today I got the Outback.
It will replace my old travel bag, which I bought a decade ago in a chinese shop for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes! As a matter of fact, it's not that badly made, and was certainly high value for money. But there's just no comparison. The aesthetics and the quality of the Waterfield makes it an ongoing pleasure to use, instead of a merely-functional item. It's stronger too, and the flexible division makes it highly useful.
I took photos of them together. Sadly they can't show the feel, but maybe they can show some of the quality difference. The leather, the metal connectors, etc.
Update II: win a Waterfield in our photo contest.
--
Below is one I admire, the Rough Rider, but probably won't get because I have enough messenger bags and brown leather is not for me (the black is, and it has a great feel. But very few products of theirs are made in that). But it shows their design aesthetic to the fullest. (Though it's perhaps the only one of their bags to not have their nice "golden" lining which puts light inside the bag when you need to find something.)
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
All hail the mighty weather gods
Man, I find it difficult to get used to hailstorms in June. Right now we have little lumps of ice falling from the sky, while I still have the air conditioning on! That is just cwaaaazy.
Great Chinese State Circus - Swan Lake
Talking about athletic dancers...
It's incredible what the Chinese can do with their bodies. I guess part of it is that they tend to train six hours a day since their previous owner. LOL. Dictation technology, sorry. I actually said "since they are three years old."
I doubt I would like to have a woman standing on tippietoe on my head or my shoulder. Neither metaphorically nor literally.
It's incredible what the Chinese can do with their bodies. I guess part of it is that they tend to train six hours a day since their previous owner. LOL. Dictation technology, sorry. I actually said "since they are three years old."
I doubt I would like to have a woman standing on tippietoe on my head or my shoulder. Neither metaphorically nor literally.
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Kewl Ukrainian pole dancer
One of the best pole dancer I’ve seen. Even the women love her, because it’s so skilled and athletic.
And notice how she is sexy without being seductive or slimy, which is great. (Sex is associated with much guilt/shame, so it’s difficult to retain your innocence if you work in a related field.)
Friday, June 06, 2014
Save the poor, troubled Super Bowl!
Apple Chips in $2M to Help Offset Tax Payer Super Bowl Expenses, post.
Apple, Google, and several other tech companies have chipped in US$2 million each to help defer taxpayer costs for Super Bowl 50, which will be hosted in San Jose. The contributions are part of a $40 million fund started by the Super Bowl Host Committee.
As a European, I am more than a little confused. How can the most successful sporting event in the world, with the highest ad prices anywhere, be *losing money*??
I'm serious, how the heck does this work? Can somebody explain?
And by the way, wouldn't two million from Apple be better spent going to a children's hospital or whatnot, instead of subsidising sports? Or maybe more exactly: why would the superbowl need taxpayer's money? If the fans don't care enough to keep it afloat, why save a commercial entertainment even with public money?
Apple, Google, and several other tech companies have chipped in US$2 million each to help defer taxpayer costs for Super Bowl 50, which will be hosted in San Jose. The contributions are part of a $40 million fund started by the Super Bowl Host Committee.
As a European, I am more than a little confused. How can the most successful sporting event in the world, with the highest ad prices anywhere, be *losing money*??
I'm serious, how the heck does this work? Can somebody explain?
And by the way, wouldn't two million from Apple be better spent going to a children's hospital or whatnot, instead of subsidising sports? Or maybe more exactly: why would the superbowl need taxpayer's money? If the fans don't care enough to keep it afloat, why save a commercial entertainment even with public money?
Danke Schoen, Ferris Bueller
What a great flick. I can't believe they didn't make a sequel.
Danke Schoen* is a great song. And Twist and Shout reminds me how great music is at rousing joy and fun.
*Though you'd think that if you're going to sing a major song with a title in a foreign language, you'd at least get a coach in to make sure you can pronounce it right. It seems a bit disrespectful not to.
Danke Schoen* is a great song. And Twist and Shout reminds me how great music is at rousing joy and fun.
*Though you'd think that if you're going to sing a major song with a title in a foreign language, you'd at least get a coach in to make sure you can pronounce it right. It seems a bit disrespectful not to.
More proof censorship doesn't work
The Amazon.com of the Middle East is launching a “banned books” section to confound the censors, article.
In the four years since he launched Jamalon, an online bookseller for the Middle East, Ala Alsallal has been noticing something. “Any book sold in the Middle East normally becomes boosted when a government bans it—it becomes a best-seller,” he says.
The funny thing is that they have to be aware of that by now. But like stubborn four-year-olds, they just can't help themselves.
In the four years since he launched Jamalon, an online bookseller for the Middle East, Ala Alsallal has been noticing something. “Any book sold in the Middle East normally becomes boosted when a government bans it—it becomes a best-seller,” he says.
The funny thing is that they have to be aware of that by now. But like stubborn four-year-olds, they just can't help themselves.
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
Teenage prayer, Crybaby, Amy Locane
This was for me the high spot of the Johnny Depp movie Crybaby.
(Sorry for the low image quality, it was the only version I found. Also, it's cut off, but in the movie it's only a few seconds longer, sadly.)
Funny enough she had another song (in an off-green dress) later, after she "went to the dark side", and I'd guess that one was meant to be the sexy one, but I found the white dress song to way more appealing, and funny enough way naughtier. There is nothing "innocent" about the way she moves!
In 1990, by the way, Johnny Deep was known mainly for his role in 21 Jump Street, and he could see himself "becoming a lunch box, and thereafter just vaporize" (Actors Studio). Both for Johnny and for director John Waters, Crybaby was a way of making fun of that teen idol image, helping Johnny to escape it. Johnny said the film was sent from heaven. He has always since then struggled against becoming a canned product for Hollywood, by for example refusing to become Leading Man in romances.
(Sorry for the low image quality, it was the only version I found. Also, it's cut off, but in the movie it's only a few seconds longer, sadly.)
Funny enough she had another song (in an off-green dress) later, after she "went to the dark side", and I'd guess that one was meant to be the sexy one, but I found the white dress song to way more appealing, and funny enough way naughtier. There is nothing "innocent" about the way she moves!
In 1990, by the way, Johnny Deep was known mainly for his role in 21 Jump Street, and he could see himself "becoming a lunch box, and thereafter just vaporize" (Actors Studio). Both for Johnny and for director John Waters, Crybaby was a way of making fun of that teen idol image, helping Johnny to escape it. Johnny said the film was sent from heaven. He has always since then struggled against becoming a canned product for Hollywood, by for example refusing to become Leading Man in romances.
Monday, June 02, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Star Wash thoughts
I was just a kid when I read in a Danish sunday paper a big article about Star Wars. So at first I thought it said "Star Wash", maybe because it rhymes with car wash.
So what's the deal with everybody getting a hand cut off? Is that a symbolism I don't know?
They sure look good on blu-ray, particularly the newest ones. I don't really understand those who are not satisfied with cinema video quality, these films were made with some of the earliest cinema-resolution video cameras ever created (they were even prototypes developed in concert with LucasFilm), and the result looks just great to me.
So what's the deal with everybody getting a hand cut off? Is that a symbolism I don't know?
They sure look good on blu-ray, particularly the newest ones. I don't really understand those who are not satisfied with cinema video quality, these films were made with some of the earliest cinema-resolution video cameras ever created (they were even prototypes developed in concert with LucasFilm), and the result looks just great to me.
... And the electric version
CalgaryMark found this electric version, could be cool if you have no hills or thermal upwinds.
(Who invented that company name? What a mouthful.)
(Who invented that company name? What a mouthful.)
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