Things I Love #30

Wow, I have been a terrible blogger this week.  After we got home from Splashy last weekend, I spent so much time fussing and procrastinating over my essay that I totally forgot to blog!!  Anyway, I am back, my essay is almost finished and I have the 30th edition of things I love ready for your consumption.  Enjoy:)

Does Pop Culture Have a Responsibility to Educate?  An interesting read from xojane.  What do you think?

Here is a much better Rise Against Interview from MK Ondergrond:

Check out this amazing paper art by industrial designer Irving Harper.  I like the owl the best.

So, as you know, My Chemical Romance have broken up:(  Gerard Way and Frank Iero have both released letters with their take on things. You can find Gerard's here and Frank's here.

I love this Afro Lion series by Japanese artist Mountstar.  Some of them look so distinguished!

In a delayed celebration of Easter, here are 10 creepy pop culture bunnies.  Some of them are very disturbing!!

On a related note, how creepy are these real life Easter bunny photos?  I shudder...

Here's an interesting Salon article about naming your novel.  Or rather what happens when you have to change the name of your novel.

And, on the subject of book names, here's a list of rejected titles for classic novels.  I am so glad F. Scott Fitzgerald came to his senses and went with The Great Gatsby!!

This collection of awful library books makes me wonder.  How did these guys get a publisher??

The Dog Booth app lets you have your very own puppy face.  Cute!

Oh my gosh!  There is such a thing as chocolate wine!!  I can't think of anything more perfect.

I just love these pop culture mice sculptures by Quernus Crafts.  The little Harry Potter ones are adorable!!

Look at these magical floating faucet fountains.  I think this is an awesome idea.

And lastly, here is the video for the new Alkaline Trio single I Wanna Be A Warhol:

Found anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments.

Things I Love #25

Let's pretend that today is Sunday and I didn't forget to post Things I Love shall we?  Although pretending today is Sunday makes tomorrow another Monday and that's not exactly a good idea either.  To be honest, I didn't actually forget.  My brother-in-law was here from Chicago for a few days and it was a crazy, crazy, busy week and we needed all of yesterday to recover.  It was a fun visit though and totally worth the exhaustion that has followed!  Anyway, enough rambling, here is Things I Love #25:

South Africa is currently hosting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.  Last night Bafana Bafana played Morocco and drew which earned us a quarter-final place for the first time since 2000.  Big, awesome news!!

Scotland really knows how to get people like me to visit - put cute, fat ponies into jerseys.  Super cute.  Here's a video of those cute, fat ponies being put into their jerseys...I die from the cuteness:

Paris is a beautiful city.  Here are some awesome colour photos from 1914 to prove it, including a picture of the Moulin Rouge.

This Totoro bed tutorial is awesome and, by the looks of it, quite easy to do.  I want one.  Now to convince Jason!

While we're on the subject of DIYs, this Spike Comb tutorial from Honestly WTF is next on my list.  Check out the rest of the site too, there are tons of great DIYs and just all round interesting stuff.

The Daily Bunny is one of my favourite sites ever.  Mostly because it provides me with a daily dose of bunny cuteness.  They recently did a two part GIF dump full of super cute images. This one is my favourite:

I love this quiz from The Vulture that makes you pick between Jay-Z lyrics and lines from The Great Gatsby.  I'm proud to report that while I know nothing about Jay-Z, I really do know my Gatsby.  I'd also like to add that despite my initial concerns about Jay-Z writing part of the score, I really do think it's a good fit.

Would you look at this awesome Life Buoy Handwash campaign called You Eat What You Touch.  The pug loaf and the hamster cupcake are my favourites!

Eventually winter will return to Durban so I am keeping my eyes peeled for interesting tights.  Like these ones from Nylon Journal which feature a New York City Subway map.  Or these Middle Earth themed ones from Black Milk Clothing.

The other day I made the mistake of googling sad pugs and was nearly overwhelmed by the cuteness.  Here are 35 sad pugs (in costumes!!!!!) so you can see what I mean.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company has released a Single Malt Scotch Whisky that features a Velociraptor fighting a shark on the label.  Can we say awesome?  If I drank whisky, this would be my whisky of choice.

Ever wondered how people writing period novels get the language right?  Well this author has created a Jane Austen Word List to assist with her latest novel.  This is such a cool idea.

This clip is actually a music video for a song called Little Octopus by Parry Grip.  I mostly like it because it has a teeny, tiny octopus climbing over a rock:

I haven't seen Moonrise Kingdom yet (sadly) but I am still intrigued by this beautiful pdf version of the screenplay featuring illustrations and shots from the movie.  Now to resist reading it until after I see the movie.

Oh Bulldogs, why are you so cute?  Just look at these 1905 pictures of Bulldogs in fancy dress.  I'd also  like to take this moment to apologize to my future outfit wearing dogs.  It'll be the internet's fault.

Timothy Leo Taranto has created some really great literary puns using the names of authors.  My favourites are Ernest Lemingway and DF Wallace and Grommit.  Oh and the Brontesaurus Sisters.

Look at these awesome Adventure Time crests by Mr.Caput on Tumblr.  So, so cool.

And lastly, my new favourite tumblr Pokemon and Fashion.  The creator adds Pokemon images to high fashion photos and the results are really great.  

Seen anything you like recently?  Feel free to share in the comments:)

Things I Love #18

It's time for another list of things I love.  I don't have much to say as far as introductions go this week except my birthday is 4 days away (not counting today) and I have a short week ahead of me...yay!  Now, let's begin:

There were so many pretty things at this month's I Heart Market that I am quite relieved that I left the house with hardly any money on me. I did get this super cute French Bulldog pin though.  Best part?  He only cost me 20 bucks because of the teeny defect on his leg:

This article on harnessing you inner FOMO or Fear of Missing Out made me smile and cringe.  I think I have this....

My friend sent me this link a to make everything okay and I highly recommend everyone click it.  At the very least it will make you smile.

I am a huge Law & Order fan, especially Law & Order SVU.  I stumbled across this tumblr called Law & Order & Food and it's awesome!

This article on Rethinking Sleep is pretty interesting.

Ever wondered what The Avengers and The Hunger Games would look like if Time Burton was involved?  Wonder no more.

Have you seen the Philosoraptor meme?  He's the "ponderous reptile that asks deep, existential questions."

The Hipster Starter Kit will give you everything you need to get started as a Hipster, including an ironic mustache, mix tape and owners manual.

Jaws is responsible for my life-long fear/fascination with Great White Sharks.  These behind the scenes photos from the movie are really great.

These murals and illustrations by Jeff Soto are an awesome combination of graffiti and pop surrealism.  I like.

Did you know that cute animal pictures on the internet might actually boost your work performance?  I think they should be an essential part of everyday.

I would really like to eat an ice-cream moon cake inspired by Le Voyage dans la Lune.   There is an Orange one with chocolate, nut and salted carmel flavour and a white one with macadamia nut and raspberry...yum!  

These DIY Bunny jars are just too cute.  Definitely going to have to make one or ten of these:

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The Screenshots of Despair tumblr makes you realise how brutally honest software/computers/the internet can be.  It'll probably also make you laugh.

I love macaroons but these anatomical macaroons by Miss Insomnia Tulip somehow don't look as appealing.  

Swaggers Glasses come complete with an attached mustache.  I can't help but laugh at them.

I think donkeys are super cute.  As far as farm animals go, they are second only to goats.  Apparently, you can teach your domesticated donkey to play dead.  

A Hello Kitty Tie Fighter?  I'll take one of those.

Li Xiaofeng makes the most amazing porcelain fashion using shards of traditional ceramics.  I am kind of blown away by these to be honest...

I love these photos of Tokyo's Club Kids in their baths.  The photographer recruited them from the underground bars in Shibuya and Kabukicho and most of the time, they posed in their own bathrooms.

Lastly, and I think I have saved the best for last here, these pictures of Star Wars characters holding bunnies are the perfect combination of my favourite things:

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Seen anything you love on the internet recently?  Feel free to share:)

Things I Love #17

Is it just me or is this year passing very, very quickly?  My birthday is roughly three weeks away and Christmas decorations are going to start showing up in stores any day now.  It's weird because every year around this time, I start thinking about all the things I wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the year and how many of those things are still unfinished.  I think my mission for the last few months of 2012 is to try and get as many of those goals/ideas/projects done as I can.  Anyway, that really has nothing to do with the randomness I have found on the internet over the last two weeks so, without further ado, here is Things I Love #17.  Warning, its a long one!!

First up, this article about why weird experiences boost creativity.  Turns out they don't even need to be that weird.  

The amazingly cool Star Wars Force Glove.  I need this in my life...please...

Vintage Confections on Etsy make planet lollipops.  Really.  Filled with edible glitter to give them that space feel, you can now suck on the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  If these could survive the trip to South Africa, I'd order them now.

Sam is back from London!!  Hi Sam!!  Anyway, being the good friend that she is, she bought home Lego Star Wars key rings for us.  Yay!

On the subject of Star Wars, these handbags have officially earned a spot on my wishlist.

Want to see Banksy's street art come alive?  Click here to see some awesome animated GIFs.

My Chemical Romance, one of my favourite bands in the world, is releasing some new-old material in an amazing boxset called Conventional Weapons.  I just wish it wasn't so pricey *sigh*

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Also music related is the new Deftones single!  Download it for free here.

Not one but two friends sent me the link to this Gradient Nail Art Tutorial (thanks Shannon and Miss V).  I can't wait to try it out.  It's the perfect excuse to go out and purchase some new, complementary nail polishes.

What eyes would look like without pupils.  Creepy and cool all rolled into one.

I got some super cute new summer shirts this week.  One with bunnies and the other with apples.  I like them a lot.

Is the pursuit of happiness a bunch of bullshit?  An interesting read from Gala Darling.

Sad Etsy Dogs collects pictures of dogs who are modeling their owners' Etsy creations.

I absolutely love this collection of 60 Freaking Awesome Animal Emotions.  There is no way you can look at these pictures and not smile.

These necklaces contain teeny, tiny pieces of regurgitated animals.  Designer Trixie Khong hand makes these vials using the remains left over by a friend's pet owls.  The site also makes it clear that no animals were harmed to make these necklaces.  Not sure if I think these are awful or amazing.  What do you think?

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On the subject of jewellery, this Bazinga Necklace is to cool for words and would totally match my obsession with The Big Bang Theory.

These illustrations give us an idea of what our favourite movie creatures might look like on the inside.

This week I mentioned my new found love for Terrariums.  While I still have plans to build my own, I'd still love one of these cute terrarium necklaces.  So unusual.

This article about how to get pumped about your work is worth a read.  Also, the site is called Unicorns for Socialism which makes me smile.

Religious icons really appeal to me.  Not necessarily for what they mean but just for the aesthetic value.  I know that some people may not appreciate them but I think these alternative takes on the Virgin Mary by Soasig Chamaillard are really great.

I got my first birthday present yesterday!  Another Genevieve Motley necklace which I have had my eye one.  Thanks Gill:)  Also this super cute bunny brooch.

And lastly, I have the best Dad.  He bought my mom and I these nifty hand and nail care sets and now my nails are shiny and awesome.  Thanks Dad!

Things I Love #15

I can't believe that we are heading into the last week of August.  Next week Saturday will officially be Spring here in Durban but considering the fact that it was 40 degrees outside yesterday and we spent this morning on the beach, you'd think it was here already!  Which brings me to the first item on the list:

Spending the morning on the beach.  We only live about 3 km's from the main beach in Durban but we never seem to get there.  This morning we up early(ish) and we decided to make the most of it!  

Lego birds by Thomas Poulsom.  I think these are really great and if you agree, you can support him here and hopefully, Lego will make them into an official set!

The Power of Being an Introvert in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  Interesting article.

Ever wondered what Pokemon would look like if Tim Burton created them?  Click here to find out.

This Sharky Floating Tea Egg is amazing.  Definitely earned a spot on my wishlist!

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These Dough Portraits by Soren Dahlgaard are weirdly amusing.

I'd love to be able to visit this Confessions exhibition by Candy Chang.  Luckily there is an equally intriguing exhibition at the KZNSA called You and Me.  Local artist Skullboy has collected stories of people's first times and converted them into artworks.  You can check out the tumblr devoted to the project here.

These vintage photos of tattooed woman are amazing.  It must have taken real guts to be that tattooed in that day and age.  I can't help but admire them!

The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab creates scents inspired by Labyrinth, Neil Gaiman and Hellboy.  Sounds pretty awesome to me.

After hearing my brother raving about Infamous, I have finally started playing it myself.  I have to admit that his hype was totally justified.  

American photographer Camille Seaman takes the most stunning pictures of dying icebergs and dramatic clouds.  I don't know about you but pictures like this leave me slightly in awe of nature.

I am pretty much in love with these Star Wars talking plushies...so cute!  Out of all of them, I would choose Chewy.

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Have you heard of Dog Shaming?  Before you get tense though, it's just some guilty looking pups posing with signs confessing their sins.  Having had some naughty dogs of my own, I am very familiar with some of those faces...and their crimes.

Aurora Jungle Juice is a cocktail that glows pink and aquamarine under a black light.  Kind of like the Aurora Borealis.

The Daily Bunny has the cutest slow motion bunny flop you ever did see.

My copy of The Bell Jar has finally arrived and I can't wait to start reading it.  Just as soon as I finish reading Catching Fire and Mockingjay (finally)!

Another thing on my wishlist?  These super cool Adventure Time Mimobot flash drives.  Pity there isn't a Marceline one though...

And lastly, I had a prawn sushi salad for lunch on friday.  It was amazing!

Seen anything you love?  Feel free to share:)

Things I Love #14

Oops!  I forgot to post Things I Love yesterday.  I don't even have a good excuse aside from the couch was very comfy and I was very sleepy:) 

First up, more Labbits!  This time they are Smorkin' Mini Labbits.  I know I keep posting about these but I really love them.  They are cute without being too cute and if you know me well, you’ll know that I have a weakness for the cute and useless:

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One the subject of bunnies, or things that look like bunnies, how cute are these bunny ear rings from the new Mr Price online store?

How to keep your inner jerk in check.  Even the nicest people have an inner jerk and mine seems to be rearing its annoying head more often these days *sigh*

This article on Pinterest, Tumblr and the trouble with curation is really interesting, especially because I am pretty much obsessed with them both!

Beautiful bird huddles…these are just the cutest.  I’d love to have a fat little birdie of my own.

Now you can be a superhero unicorn…haha…I really want this mask!

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This article on How To Write made me smile.  My favourite line is: 

"...when writers put their work out into the world, they’re like kids bringing their broken unicorns and chewed-up teddy bears into class in the sad hope that someone else will love them as much as they do."

This Is Now is an awesome site that uses instagram pics to show what is happening at any given time in some of the worlds biggest cities. 

Kyla Roma shared this super cute hedgehog nap in one of her posts and it’s so cute that I have to share it to.  Seriously, my heart just melts when I watch this:

There amazing accessories by Ana Rajcevic let you experience what it might be like to an animal.  I'm not sure if I'd ever wear anything like this but they are definitely eye-catching.

I'm not really a cat person but Alana McCarthy's superhero cat pictures are awesome.  My favourites are the Star Wars one (obviously) and the Cat Avengers one.

This Tetris lamp would be awesome in our lounge.

I know the whole Keep Calm concept is a little over done but this one is definitely on my Etsy wish list:

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This Miyazaki Club T-shirt would make me very happy!

And lastly, how great is this mug that my dearest mother gave me?  Love it!

Happy Mini Labbits

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A little while ago, I mentioned the Happy Mini Labbits series by Frank Kozik and Kidrobot.  They are a blind box collection of 1.5 inch vinyl toys.

When I first read about them, this was the description that caught my attention (aside from the little dude above with an anchor and a mustache): "If you like blowing bubbles, eating ice cream, or have a thing for swashbuckling buns, you'll love these merry mustachioed mammals."  Sounds awesome right?

Anyway, my mom and dad decided to order me some for my birthday.  Kidrobot sadly doesn't ship out to South Africa but they have an official stockist called ToiToy in Cape Town who ship country-wide.  The Labbits arrived just before we left for Malelane and, because they are such nice parents, my mom and dad let me open one early.  Way early considering my birthday is only in October! Here's the one I got:

I guess he is the bubble blowing one!  They are much smaller than I thought (although 1.5 inches should have been a giveaway) but I am really happy with it!  Now I have to wait patiently to get the rest.  Only 2 months, 29 days to go...

PS.  I've been looking at the rest of the Labbit range and there are so many cool things including plushies and Labbit hats.  I also came across the product preview for the 8 Deadly Sins Labbit Series.  They look amazing and they are designed by an artist called Kronk who is actually South African!  I see more Labbits in my future.

Things I Love #6

What a crazy week and a half.   I’ll explain exactly why another time but suffice it to say that I am very glad that things are back to normal (more or less).  Here are the things that were cool enough to catch my eye from amongst the chaos:

My favourite Adventure Time character, Marceline the Vampire Princess, is getting her own comic book series!  Yes!!!  Its going to be called Marceline and the Scream Queens and it’ll be written by Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie.  And speaking of which, I'm really enjoying Octopus Pie.  I followed the link and then ended up reading through the ALL archives.

I am a huge Tarantino fan...here is a teaser poster for his new movie Django Unchained.

How long would you survive in a horror movie?  I would be dead in the first half hour...

The PokeBag.  It would be even better if it came with a Pikachu!

The iphone case dilemma is solved and I officially have bunny fever.

And speaking of bunnies, these ones are Kung Fu fighting:

Check out these hyper realistic mosh pit paintings.

I love my Converse All Stars but these take love to a whole new level.

This article about rolling like your ancestors is brilliant!

Hungover Owls.  Need I say more?

Label M Resurrection Dust.  Every time I go to the hair dresser, he puts this stuff in my hair.  Not only does it have the most amazing name but it has the most amazing effect too!  One day I will splash out and buy myself a bottle.

Coloured skinny jeans....I wish I had a pair in every single shade.

Proudly One Sided make some awesome paper toys.

Baby seal Avengers....so cute!  Looking forward to Thursday and the South African release date!

I really enjoyed this article about what it means to be a geek.

And lastly, Hello Kitty deodorant.  I'd probably never use it but it still made me smile: