The Bloggomist: Why I Love D.C.
Cultural Opinion

Last year, I read an interesting article written by William Norwich that referenced DC as the new social capital. Norwich wrote, “Sorry to break this news to any Manhattanites still in denial, but Washington, D.C., is the new New York. Even under the heavy blanket of recession, whether you are Democrat or Republican, there is energy in our nation’s capital that you used to feel only in New York, the blissful to the bumptious all in a D.C. minute now, a kind of youthquake, or “youthfulquake,” if you want to be generous about the ages”. →

The Bloggomist: Design in the Blood
Design Opinion

This past weekend I was home – at least at one of them. Not quite the 24-odd-hour trek to get me to Australia, the journey from Chicago to Detroit is by comparison a pretty easy one. Having studied at design school in Detroit meant that the most intense 4 years of my life were spent in one of the country’s most desolate cities. Like Los Angeles there is both a sense of emptiness and activity in the metro area that is in a constant state of flux. Like LA also at times it feels like a city anchored by its unique and marvelous architectural center, and at other times unsettlingly dispersed. →

The Bloggomist: The Local Boy
Film Opinion

There’s a lot of trash flooding the box office these days.  I swear it wasn’t long ago where you could randomly drop by the movies once a week and catch something half-decent, but those days are gone like gas under $2 a gallon.  Luckily, if you’re spoiled like I am and have a theater like LA’s Landmark providing screentime for more deserving features that lack mainstream clout, there’s still hope.  There are two particular films that recently released are worth taking the time to hunt down or request at your local box office: Un Prophete and Bong Joon-Ho’s Mother.  And trust me–they’re worth the effort. →

The Bloggomist: Genre Hound
Film Opinion

In celebration of the success of recent films that explore themes related to madness and distorted reality (Shutter Island, Alice in Wonderland), I’d like to recommend a vintage “undiscovered” gem titled Lilith from 1964. The film features a brilliant, haunting performance by Jean Seberg and a strange, subdued turn by a very young Warren Beatty.

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The Bloggomist: Design in the Blood
Design Opinion

I’ll admit it doesn’t happen too often, but today I’m speechless. I usually have to look far and wide for examples of dubious design that should be punishable in a court of law…or at least punishable by ridicule and a loss of face. Sometimes I can pull a good example from a mental checklist of past observations, but not often does a multi-faceted specimen of frivolity fall on my lap so neatly, confirming all along that the realm of celebrity design has reached its peak of pointlessness. In this situation however, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

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Bloggomist: Today’s Dish / Yesterday’s Spam
Political Opinion

Two weeks ago, Canadian authorities were notified by an Xbox live gamer in British Columbia that one of his Modern Warfare 2 teammates had threatened to gun down classmates at his high school. According to Kotaku, the teen had planned to obtain weapons “from a friend in the Marine Corps,” claimed he would shoot a pregnant classmate and his best friend, and “make the headlines so that people would remember him forever.” →

The Bloggomist: The Local Boy
Culture Opinion

I’m blessed with a job that affords me the opportunity to see in-person the people we gawk at on TV.  Some I see randomly, others are consistent visitors.  It’s nothing worth name-dropping; I don’t delude myself–it’s not like they came to see me–I’m just the lucky bystander who happened to cross their path.  I chat with them, show them the collections, bring them pieces, and do my best to not look awkward while I stand by and watch them browse obliviously through the store.  It’s not much, but I still feel lucky.  Those moments are still a world more than most will ever get to experience. →

The Bloggomist: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Music Opinion

In the last days of Jay Reatard’s life, there were no signs of impending self-destruction. The 29-year-old garage and punk rock musician seemed to be picking up his life, having recently bought a new home in Tennessee and released a full-length record on New York’s Matador Records. His last Tweets contained little of the vitriol he frequently leveled at antagonists →

The Bloggomist: Genre Hound
Film Opinion

The genre of war film has been sorely lacking in recent years. Rarely do independent films rise to the occasion of rivaling classic studio releases in the war genre. Films like The Best Years of Our Lives, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, The Dirty Dozen and Bridge on the River Kwai have traditionally featured big stars and big budgets. 2009 marks a year when two independent studio-based films,  up for Best Picture, represent polar opposites of the spectrum regarding this specific genre →

The Bloggomist: Acorn & Oak Tree
Fashion Opinion

Tonight I’m watching the first round of Olympic women’s figure skating. As these teenage girls, weighed down by pancake makeup and pressure well beyond their years, parade in front of millions in precarious footwear, I can only think how different it is from that other world cultural event going on right now: fashion week. →