I’m Starved For You?!

Okay, Margaret Atwood releases a book (Tomorrow, March 7th) called I’m Starved For You seemingly out of thin air and only for Kindle. Am I reading this correctly? I have my glasses on and everything. I don’t own a Kindle, what’s a girl to do!

The description of the book is nearly killing me with anticipation. “This dystopian fantasy takes you inside a social experiment called “Consilience,” a preemptive strike against the chaos that will surely ensue if America’s forty-percent unemployment rate remains unchecked. But how to come up with all those jobs? Simple: volunteer to go to prison.“

My super-fan nerd mind is going a mile a minute right now. Must. Read. This. Book. Tomorrow. Cover. To. Cover.

UPDATE: Nevermind, all is right – discovered Kindle for my iPhone! Going to go read the book now! Review to follow.

My Little Bookshelf

Video + Quote: Suheir Hammad

“I will not dance to your war drum, I will not lend my soul nor my bones to your war drum, I will not dance to that beat, I know that beat, it is lifeless, I know intimately that skin you are hitting it was alive once, hunted, stolen, stretched. I will not dance to your drummed-up-war, I will not pop, spin, break for you, I will not hate for you or even hate you, I will not kill for you. especially, I will not die for you, I will not mourn the dead with murder nor suicide, I will not side with you or dance to bombs because everyone is dancing… everyone can be wrong. life is a right, not collateral, or casual.”

Simply beyond.

The Scarlet Letter

“Destroy! destroy! destroy! hums the under-consciousness. Love and produce! Love and produce! cackles the upper consciousness. And the world hears only the Love-and- produce cackle. Refuses to hear the hum of destruction under- neath. Until such time as it will have to hear.

The American has got to destroy. It is his destiny. It is his destiny to destroy the whole corpus of the white psyche, the white consciousness. And he’s got to do it secretly. As the growing of a dragon-fly inside a chrysalis or cocoon destroys the larva grub, secretly.

Though many a dragon-fly never gets out of the chrysalis case: dies inside. As America might.”

- of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

(As I read from Studies in Classic American Literature by D.H. Lawrence)

I do not need to say a word about this.

“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.”
— Sylvia Plath

venus&virgo

I believe very strongly in the power of our star-signs, and the energy of the universe. It is a belief that has never failed me, that has never made a fool out of me. It doesn’t create trial in my head, it doesn’t make me wonder, it simply let’s me “know”. I read my horoscope from time-to-time (I try not to get too caught up in it) but sometimes it tells me what I’ve been thinking about, it joins a place in my mind that I’ve already put there. Today my horoscope read: The astral energy is encouraging you to open up more to your world, culture, and ways of thinking, Virgo. You don’t have to go off alone in the desert to reinvent everything. For you, this would be the easy way out, because it would allow you to hide! Develop your curiosity about what exists in this society. Your opinion will carry weight later on.

And on a separate note, I’m very happy to have came by this video:

4FAVE: design books & mags

As a young creative, it’s important to me to not only stay inspired but to be in a perpetual state of learning. I’m absolutely obsessed with owning books and magazines, which makes the contents of my bookshelf my prized possessions. That being said, I’ve begun to accumulate quite a large collection of print, graphic, and web design literature. Though it was a bit difficult to narrow it down, here are my top 4 favorite design books and magazines:

1. Atlas of Graphic Designers by Elena Stanic and Lipavsky Corina. This book is probably the most inspiring to me than any other. It’s a huge collection of graphic designers from country to country, beautifully showcasing an array of inspiring work and studios from all over the world. Because of this book, I was really able to narrow down what I really loved about graphic design. It’s also so interesting to see how technique and concept varies depending on culture.

2. 1000 Graphic Elements by Wilson Harvey. I love flipping through this book, mainly because it focuses on every little detail of a design as well as everything is beautifully photographed. It narrows down into 6 graphic element categories: Printing techniques, surfaces, binding, add-ons, unique materials, and graphic devices. I’ve seen pieces in this book that I’ve never seen before, so that to me is inspiring.

3. Computer Arts Magazine. I love Computer Arts mag because it fuses my computer geek side with my artsy designer side. This magazine feels like it was built to instill every bit of knowledge in young designers that it can. It stays very true to it’s tagline, which is: “Inspiration, Technique, and Great Design”. It always has a handful of really practical tutorials using the Adobe CS3/4 creative software. Did I mention how gorgeous the covers and layout of this mag are? So mint.

4. Grafik Magazine. As far as magazines go, this one is content all the way. It produces work from some of the most appealing graphic designers and artists I’ve seen to date. The articles, artist profiles and special reports are intellectually and creatively written. I also really enjoy that it is completely immersed in design culture. If you’re looking for something both inspiring and intelligent, you should pick up a copy of Grafik mag. I love to sit down with this mag and read it cover to cover, twice over!

I could really go on forever on this topic but I thought I’d keep it short and sweet! So that’s it for my favorite design books and mags. I hope you check them out because I’m sure you’ll love them just as much as I do.

Art On Paper: Ceased Publication?

I am currently mourning the discontinuation of my favorite printed magazine.

Art On Paper was a New York published magazine, which started up in the late 60′s under the name The Print Collectors Newsletter. It was based on art culture, exposing inspiring artists, stories, and mostly print-based art of all types of media. I absolutely adored the compact format of the magazine, which I recently learned was so to cut down on printing costs. The layout was simple and airy, the articles were carefully and thoughtfully written, and it was nothing short of quality from cover to cover. (Not to mention at 9 beans a pop, it was a real steal!)

Of course, like a crazed and heartbroken lover, I am looking for someone or something to blame! Art On Paper served a narrow niche market of collectors and art enthusiasts. I suppose this, and with the demolishing effects of the recession, it has simply just fallen under. I do, however, find it just a bit ironic that the discontinuation was announced on the eve of Apple’s iPad debut. As technology such as this rises, we find printed media sinking hopelessly below it. It’s truly heartbreaking.

I’m really going to miss this beautiful mag and I hope that one day it’ll find its way back on the shelves!

Support the Right to Read

I believe that literature is a blessing that all Canadians should have the privilege to possess. Because someone is visual impaired, it does not mean this wonderful means of enjoyment should be kept from them. CNBI libraries need to be restored and audio/brail literature needs to be made more accessible. Let’s get the ball rolling. Click the following link to send a letter to Premier McGuinty and to find out more: righttoread.cnib.ca.
Let’s make time to make a difference.