Nani?

Travellers to Japan will know that dining out in Japan without Japanese language skills can be a real challenge. Although English is taught to most Japanese from a very young age, this doesn't necessarily translate to a population with excellent English language skills - or maybe they're just really coy about showing off their English. And of course when you're going for the authentic Japanese meal experience, I think it's safe to say most of us steer away from restaurants with the somewhat off-putting plastic toy depiction of menu items sitting in the front window.

At Tokyo's top sushi restaurants, it's typical to take the omakase course, where the chef decides the menu and explains what everything is as it is delivered to the table. In Japanese. To assist travellers who'd like to know with certainty what they're eating, Sushi University recently launched, which enables customers to dine at a sushi counter with a translator by their side. As the website states:


In SushiUniversity, we offer escort interpreting services so that you can not only tease taste buds, but you can gain deeper knowledge of the culture and history associated with sushi, seasonal sushi neta (topping), Sushi Chef’s relentless pursuit of sushi perfection and his bar’s tradition and you can ask questions you feel at that time. Have a memorable time with a feeling the Chef’s passion and dedication contained in each piece of sushi at this Sushi Bar.


Ok, so the English isn't perfect, but the concept is!

Happy Friday: CRIPES! (Let's Go to New York)

Holy bejesus-bottoms it's December! I'm not sure where the year went, although I believe it flashed by while I lived in remote South Australia, up the duff and unable to really enjoy all the glory that South Australia has to offer (that would be wine). There were a bunch of trips to China in there but, like my current workplace, the location was not remotely glamorous and I was wearing safety clothing and steel capped boots rather than dancing the night away on sparkly, Shanghainese dance floors after eating my fill of dumplings. Admittedly, I have eaten a lot of dumplings this year, but I put that down to pregnancy. Let it be known that a pregnant woman can sniff out dumplings wherever she is.

This year's top Christmas gift award is taken out well and truly by Gilt (purveyor of beautifully curated, highly covetable, heavily discounted designer goods). For a paltry AU$4,500 you and a friend (i.e. me) could be winging your way to NYC to enjoy individualised 2 hour styling sessions at Gilt, a $1,000 Gilt gift card and (best of all) 2 tickets to the Kate Spade new York's Spring 2017 fashion party during New York Fashion Week on 8 February 2017.

There's a bunch of other stuff, including goodie bags, accommodation, tickets to MoMA and a Kate Spade gift bag, but frankly I shouldn't need to go into all that detail:

New York. Best friend. Shopping spree. Kate Spade.

New York, I love you

If they threw in "free babysitter", I'd be there 😉

Happy Friday: It's Not All Bad

Of course there are some plus sides to this pregnancy caper... Such as a new mode of dressing for a few months. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant myself, but I have noticed a tonne of celebrities getting themselves up the duff or having babies of late. Blake Lively and Chrissy Teigen are the most visible of late, and they have had some great maternity looks...

Not giving up on heels just because she's pregnant

Pregnancy #2 - at Cannes last week

Then of course there is the Duchess of Cambridge, whose Dalmatian print jacket sent me into raptures long before I fell pregnant.

Admittedly, her outfits are generally covered by wintry coats

There's also obviously a plethora of independent bloggers who are nailing maternity looks, with best of the bunch here in Australia being Nadia Bartel of shopping heaven website The Con-nection and WAG and weather girl Rebecca Judd.


As you can see from the looks above, the main thing about maternity dressing is to not try to hide the fact that you have a bump by dressing exclusively in muu-muus. I am sure there will come a time when there is a place for such an item (at home, alone, cramming peanut butter into your hungry mouth) but generally speaking simple, clingy dresses in a block colour are going to get you through. Not wanting to spend a huge amount on a wardrobe that has a short life span, I have been loving the slim-fit dresses (can I call them sausage dresses? that's what I call them in my head) from Cotton On.

While previously I would have thought twice about a skin-tight dress (back when I hallucinated that my flat stomach was sticking out...), nowadays I am loving wearing skin tight dresses. I can eat as much as I like and you can't tell what's baby and what's taco and quesadilla! It is so liberating!


Atmos&Here (stocked by The Iconic) and Witchery also have a bunch of dresses, stretch tees and tight leggings that do the trick, and of course Asos and TopShop have what looks like a pretty great range of maternity gear also (although I'm resisting wearing maternity clothes at this stage, and frankly hoping to put it off for as long as possible!). I have also found that Country Road jeggings - which have always had a larger waist and never fit me previously - are working their magic in the pants department (so far).


Bartel also recommends long line coats and vests, which serve to elongate the body and balance the proportions somewhat of a protruding bump.




Job done.

Finally, as we see from all the ladies (and provided there aren't any health reasons to prevent it) keep wearing your high heels. A little extra height never hurt any baby... ;o)

Ditch the slippers!

Ivy Park Has Arrived

As a tragic Beyoncé fan, I have been waiting, waiting, waiting for the launch of Ivy Park, Beyoncé's ath-leisure range (catch up!). And now. It. Is. Here.


Although the range was developed in collaboration with Topshop boss Phillip Green, it is being sold at a range of outlets in Oz including Myer (which not at all accidentally is home to capsule collections from Topshop) and via the terribly addictive The Iconic. In the USA it is also available at big names like Selfridges and Net-A-Porter. Girl has reach.


Of course Ivy Park is no fluorescent pink range spouting girl power quotes. And why would Beyoncé need "I run like a girl" when simply her brand is powerfully feminist enough?

Icon made

The tone of her promotional pictures are so wildly divergent from most fitness campaigns as to continue to cement Beyoncé as one of the most unique style icons of this decade (OK, I'm really starting to gush now).

Not only is the collection instantly desirable, happily enough for this little shopper, the pricing is infinitely reasonable (in fact considerably cheaper than Lorna Jane).


Of the Ivy Park range, Beyoncé has noted that: “True beauty is in the health of our minds, hearts and bodies. I know that when I feel physically strong, I am mentally strong, and I wanted to create a brand that made other women feel the same way.”


I love this theme of strength that seems to follow Beyoncé - the body is not waif thin, and the mind is strong. It's a nice change from the #fitspo world which lauds thin bodies and seems to gloss over any mention of a woman's mind, ambition or strength of will.

Happy Friday: For the Lovers

Garance Dore has recently become engaged (you can read all about it in 4 instalments on her ever-lovely website here), and I just loved how she described that moment when a man proposes to a woman - it's so true. 

It was beautiful, touching, imperfect, and really really really moving. For hours and even days. Moving to the point that we had a hard time having a normal conversation after that. It unleashes so many profound emotions and stirs you all up inside. And you look at this man next to you and say he’s going to be your family. And you love him even more because he had the incredible courage to do that, to ask you to marry him. You know it won’t change anything and it will change everything at the same time. You hope you’re ready and up to the task.

Each year since I've been married, I've made a New Year's resolution to try to be a great wife. I think it takes a lot of work to keep a marriage dynamic, healthy and on the right track. It's easy to take people (especially the kind ones) for granted. I am terrible for that. I always try to remind myself that all that handsome hubby does for me comes from a place of deep love, and that I should respond in kind with great love - and patience. It can be hard when I'm running at a rate of knots, my mind is focused on a million different things. I often very unfairly expect him to be on my wavelength always which is so crazy. We are so different, and think so differently. I didn't marry someone similar to me for a very good reason - too annoying! Too impatient!

While I had to not-so subtly remind Handsome Hubby that it was Valentine's Day and that the perfect way to celebrate was to give me a voucher to my favourite nail bar, I still know our love is deep (in spite of his sulkiness at being forced to buy in to Hallmark-generated events). 

Happy Friday to all the lovers. x

Innovations for the Film/Podcast/TV Series Tragic

Inadvertently telling someone the ending of a film or TV series, or giving away a major twist in a storyline is one of those things that, depending on your friend's demeanour, can spark either fuming, flame-spitting rage or (worse) mortally wounded you-stole-a-baby's-lolly, puppy-dog faces - possibly even tears depending on how attached to the narrative they are. Sometimes it's intentional (and evil) when you drop spoilers out there, other times it is a genuine mistake.

Last night, Handsome Hubby went to the midnight screening of Star Wars (geek alert) along with not only 20 of his closest mates, but also most of Australia it would seem based on social media, TV and radio this morning. He mentioned that one of his mates in the Northern hemisphere had made a semi-cryptic Star Wars reference on Facebook that part-way through the film made sense and was also something of a spoiler which, as Hubby commented, was almost a "de-friending offence". WOAH. That's serious.

But then I thought about that time I made a comment about Will Gardiner's fate at the end of a season finale The Good Wife episode, and the vitriol that came spewing at me from one particular friend, and I realised that you are skating on the edges of friendship when you make such pronouncements on social forums of any kind (including the oldest forum of all, in-person) - no matter how cryptic you think your statement is! And let's face it, there's always going to be a friend who makes a non-cryptic comment against your cryptic post, and it blows the storyline wide open and before you know it, friends are at war.

General thoughts on people who take pleasure in issuing spoilers via social media

Today I am issuing an edict to Zuckerberg and his Facebook-coding illuminati to go out there and resolve this first-world crisis and devise a filter which enables you to filter out stories and status updates regarding [insert guilty pleasure / TV, film, podcast addiction] so you may never have an ending spoilt again. In this age of NetFlix and binge TV series watching - where no one is really watching at the same time as anyone else, this invention must be developed. The sooner the better!

It was so hard on my poor little thumb as I furiously scrolled through Facebook in April this year to not see Mad Men spoilers before I had the opportunity to lock down access to that final season* (thank you, Qantas in-flight entertainment). More immediately, I am currently listening to the second Serial podcast, and finding it very hard to not read all those damn articles about Bowe Bergdahl that keep popping up in my newsfeed.

By the by, I believe this ingenious filter I have devised (that I'm sure no one has ever conceived of before), could also be used for blocking stories and photos certain people in your life you would prefer not to know a dang thing about but whom politeness dictates you cannot defriend (I know there is an Unfollow filter, but does that block photos of them with your friends? NO). This is so ingenious, I can't believe it doesn't already exist.

You may have a newborn baby and generous paternity leave to attend to Zuckerberg, but I think this is far more deserving of your attention. After all, friendships are at stake here.

* It was excellent, harrowing, beautiful. Please watch.

Photoshop-Palooza

To maintain her sanity, the woman of variable self-esteem should remind herself of the word "Photoshop" any time her gaze rests upon the impeccable beauty gracing the cover or advertising pages of most magazines. That's a given.

Sometimes though, photoshop or timelapse videos can be used for more intriguing purposes. This week there have been a few rock-solid examples of the informative power of photoshop. Elle UK has used photoshop as part of its #MoreWomen campaign to create the video below, illustrating the deficit of women in positions of real power around the globe.

Emma Watson looks damn lonely at the UN all by herself... As well as pointing out the gaps in representation, the campaign also aims to show that successful women are not one-off individuals: "Our new initiative #morewomen, will celebrate the global power of women's collectives in a playful, engaging way. Smart, successful women are too often portrayed as one-offs: fierce individualists concerned with their own success" Elle's campaign page reads.

"The story of how women in positions of strength continually support and empower each other is consistently ignored while the myth that we pit ourselves against each other perpetuates. We want to change this narrative in our feminism issue and create a more positive conversation – to reflect the power of women, and to support and grow each other as we push for global equality."

On a less serious note, an Instagram artist known as SaintHoax has created videos indicating the level of alteration the Kardashian women seem to have undergone to become the gorgeous, seemingly-flawless creatures they are. Saint Hoax, using the tag #pumpingupthekardashians has created time-lapse videos which show the progression of Kim, Khloe and Kylie Jenner from the time they entered the reality TV spotlight until now. It's an important reminder for us mere mortals that photoshopping, surgery and a whole lotta make-up and professional style advice goes into the visage of effortless perfection that is trotted out daily by gossip and fashion mags and which at times can become a tad unbearable for those feeling less-than-perfect as these images are beamed on to us while we sit at traffic lights, read news/fashion websites, turn on the TV or simply go grocery shopping. 

Please note, this is not to say I don't still think the Kardashians are a beautiful bunch - they surely are. It's just important to remember their beauty has been enhanced in ways those of us with boring 9-5 jobs and tonnes of commitments and bills to pay simply cannot attain for ourselves. 

Designer Bircher

As I spoon another mouthful of artfully plated toasted granola with vanilla bean yoghurt and fresh seasonal fruits into my mouth,  I ask myself why I'm spending $13.50 on something I really could have whipped up at home for 1/8th of the price.

A huge part of the reason is so I can see the dear friends I never get to see in an environment that is not my own home (read, I don't have to tidy/vacuum before they drop by). Another is that breakfast, like many other comfort foods in life - I'm looking at you toasted cheese sandwich and Vegemite toast - is better when someone else has made it for you. But equally up there is the ambience factor of a really good cafe. No amount of So Frenchy, So Chic playlists can recreate the vibe of a bustly, beautiful and fabulously popular coffee shop. In particular, there is something very loving about a resplendently designed coffee shop - it's like a very public, warm embrace from Mr Too-Cool, which simply by association renders you invincibly well-loved and hip for the day.

As part of the annual Eat Drink Design awards is (naturally) the Design component. While a beautiful restaurant or bar is all well and good, there really is nothing better than a gorgeous cafe ensconced in subway tiles, exhaling ground coffee beans, and generally being the lighthouse for your Monday morning.

Some of my favourites from this year's cafe design award shortlist are below.

Adelaide's Abbots & Kinney

Perth's Alex Hotel Lobby Espresso & Lounge Bar

South Brisbane's new arrival, Gauge (it is very beautiful) - another cafe from the creator of Sourced in Teneriffe

Harry's at Bondi

Hutch & Co, Lilydale Victoria 

The Kettle Black, South Melbourne

Happy Friday: Tutu Appreciation

Every year, the Queensland Ballet hosts Tutu Day. Essentially you bring along your adorable daughters all tizzied up in a tutu and allow them run of the place to live out their wildest Sugar Plum Fairy dreams. I highly recommend attendance, and would give any adult $50 to show up in their own tutu. I still have a black tutu lying around and always think about wearing it... and then chicken out at the last moment because I think it would seem very strange indeed for a daughter-less woman to strut around in her black tutu simply because she can.

Garance Dore recently snuck behind the scenes of opening night for the New York Ballet Company's day before the opening night (as well as opening night, but those pics aren't up yet). The photos are glorious. Check them out here. Or below, because I have stolen a few shots for this blog's benefit.

Speaking of ballet... Have you seen Birdman? To me, Birdman is almost the male version of Black Swan. While it's less intense, there is still that theme of that inner voice - demonically personified - pounding its owner to reach great heights of perfection, success and personal achievement. It's an interesting film and has received a bunch of Oscar nominations. Worth watching and really interesting to see the "art" of acting (Edward Norton is so talented), but I really thought Emma Stone stole the show. She had that tragic air about her, and I found myself on edge waiting for something dreadful to happen. She also suffered some highly unflattering camera angles, but it didn't distract - she was fabulous.

Shoesday: Christmas Post

Still struggling to figure out what you want for Christmas? Is your better half still bugging you to tell him/her what you want for Christmas? Stop them in their tracks with this gift idea from Net-A-Porter: a pair of shoes, every week for a year.

That's right. For a measly $47,500 all these shoes (and plenty more) could be yours. A gift every week! Delivered to your door!

They'll never make the mistake of not knowing exactly what you want for Christmas again... ;o)

Things We Love

Some days, it really is the simple things that make you happy.

For the girl who is still working all the way up to Christmas (Hi!) she would know that there is nothing better than freshly sharpened, soft-lead pencils with adorable, golden words scraped in to their pink sides and a coffee mug to power her through the afternoon with words of inspiration and dreams of world domination.

Meet Miss Poppy Design, a Melbourne-based graphic designer with a penchant for the pretty side of life. You can thank me after you've raided her on-line store. 

Happy Friday: Chrismukkah

For anyone out there who watched The O.C. in their teenage/early-20s years, Chrismukkah requires no explanation. For those who missed out on Ryan, Marissa and the cutest couple ever (Summer and Seth), Chrismukkah is basically a blend of Judaism's Hanukkah and Christianity's Christmas.

One of the great things eaten over Hanukkah is the jam doughnut. Even though I generally am not a cake/muffin kind of girl, doughnuts and jam doughnuts just KILL me. I love them. And let's be perfectly clear here: when I talk doughnuts, I am not talking that shit you get at Krispy Kreme or Donut King. I am talking warm, just out of the deep fryer and into the cinnamon sugar bowl and into a paper bag kind of doughnut. I am a very out, and very proud doughnut snob.

Bring it on

Jam doughnuts have lots of names - sufganiyot for those hailing from Israel and consumed during Hanukkah, Berliners for those from Germany (I had these home made for me by the daughter of a family friend when I was about 8 years old and it was this moment that got me thoroughly hooked), Paczki in Poland, Pampushky in the Ukraine (eaten these too, also delicious) and in Italy they are adorably called Bombolini. Shall we travel the world and taste them all? I think we should. Bucket list now updated.

So for today's Happy Friday, as I am bound to find myself in the kitchen for much of this weekend cooking for BBQ's we're popping in to, please see the not-so-healthy recipe for jam doughnuts from Smitten Kitchen.

Jam Doughnuts
makes 16 x 2-inch doughnuts

Prep time: 1 hour, 45 mins
Cook time: 10 minutes
Eat time: 2 nanoseconds

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (180 ml) lukewarm (not hot) milk
2 large egg yolks
Few gratings of orange or lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons (30g) butter softened
2 1/4 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
Vegetable oil for deep-frying, and coating bowl
1/2 to 2/3 cup jam or preserves of your choice
Powdered sugar

Make the dough: In the bottom of a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and milk. Let stand for 5 minutes; it should become a little foamy. Whisk in yolks, any zest or extracts you’d like to use, then butter. Don’t worry if the butter doesn’t fully combine.

— By hand: Add half of flour and stir with a spoon until combined. Add second half of flour and salt and stir as best as you can with a spoon, then use your hands to knead the dough until it forms a smooth, elastic round, about 5 minutes. Try, if you can, to resist adding extra flour, even if it’s sticky. Extra flour always makes for tougher/dryer doughnuts and breads. Sticky hands and counters are always washable!

— With a stand mixer: Add half the flour and let the dough hook mix it in slowly, on a low speed. Add second half of flour and salt and let the dough hook bring it together into a rough dough. Run machine for 3 to 4 minutes, letting it knead the dough into a smooth, cohesive mass.

Both methods: If the dough is already in the bowl, remove it just long enough to lightly oil the bowl. Return dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour, or in the fridge overnight.

On a lightly floured counter, roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds; no need to re-roll scraps unless you wish; I like to keep the odd shapes for getting the hang of frying before cooking the final doughnuts. Or, if you’re vehemently against scraps and re-rolling, you can make small square doughnuts, which are surprisingly cute. Let cut dough rise for another 30 minutes, loosely covered with a towel.

Fry the doughnuts: Heat 2 inches of oil to 175°C in a cast-iron frying pan (I like using one because it so delightfully re-seasons them) or heavy pot. Use your dough scraps to practice and get an idea of how quickly the doughnuts will cook. Then add about 4 doughnuts at a time to the oil, cooking on the first side until golden brown underneath, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip doughnuts and cook on the other side, until it, too, is golden brown underneath, about another minute. Drain doughnuts, then spread them on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra oil. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Fill with jam: When doughnuts are cool enough to handle, place jam in a piping bag with a round tip with a 1/4- to 1/2-inch opening. You can fill doughnuts from the tops or sides; I did half with each. Press the tip of the jam bag halfway into the doughnut, and squeeze in the jam until it dollops out a little from the hole. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Finish doughnuts: Either generously shower doughnuts with powdered sugar on either side, shaken from a fine-mesh strainer, or roll the doughnuts gently in a bowl of powdered sugar.

Eat at once. Don’t forget to share. 

Happy Friday #GIRLBOSS

BOOM!


Sophia Amoruso has taken the women's business-book world by storm with her book #GIRLBOSS (it helps that the title is terribly Instagramable and Facebookable too...).

"I stopped feeling like I didn't belong anywhere, and realized that I actually belonged anywhere I wanted to be."

—Sophia Amoruso

Emerging from being a high school dropout, flaky shoplifter, unbalanced home life runaway and with multiple diagnoses for her short attention span (depression, ADD, the usual grocery list for teens who don't feel satisfied or who appear to be "lost") - Sophia Amoruso found something that grabbed her attention: vintage shopping and eBay ... (and hashtags, obviously)

From the illustrious confines of her now ex-boyfriend's apartment, Sophia Amoruso started an eBay store selling a highly curated selection of vintage pieces - which were also meticulously styled and, when sold, packaged and delivered to her quickly growing band of eBay customers. In just five years, the shop became an international style source that outgrew both eBay and multiple, ever-expanded warehouse facilities. #GIRLBOSS tells the story of how Sophia had her moment of clarity - during a moment of sloppy shoplifting and the possibility of a criminal record taking prime position on her CV - and her subsequent propulsion to starting her own international online store (www.nastygal.com) with loads of staff, a cult following, and of course lots of shiny gold coins in her bank account.

I am 3/4 through the book, and loving the frankness of her story, and the energy that so obviously oozes out of people with entrepreneurial flair. Although it doesn't offer up as many gems of wisdom as, say, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, I think it's a pretty great story about how you can turn around your position in life, if only you try. She is clearly one brave mo-fo, doing most things by the age of 19 that most of us will never do in our lives. I also like the unconventional nature of her life - I think lots of people in the modern world feel constrained by how we're "supposed" to do things and Amoruso's path has been anything but conventional. I do like that she says she wishes she'd gone to university, but the reality for many is that they don't get that chance. It's great to see a story of someone spinning relative adversity into an ability to see clearly where life may take her, to change that course and to identify a talent that became a genuine passion (and happily a great money spinner).

I also really like her attitude to money - she's proudly frugal, doesn't pay for anything she can't literally pay for in that moment, and notes that she was too busy building her empire to be out on crazy spending sprees anyway.

If you're looking for a fun way to wile away a rainy afternoon, this book may just be it. Also, check out the #GIRLBOSS blog for some more great #girlboss stories.

Happy reading!

Happy Monday

 

If you don't follow some ridiculous feed on Instagram that depicts adorable animals being adorable (animals in bow ties is particularly great) you are dead to me. #justsayin

Seth's Assorted Tips

Does anyone else out there subscribe to Seth Godin's daily emails? A friend of mine put me on to them, and I really enjoy his emails - they are little morsels of food to think about either for half a second or half a day. Regardless, he gets the cogs in your brain turning...

Absolutely ages ago, he sent this one out - full of random tips. I like them all, especially #3. This is the year of sorting my finances out. Eugh! And #4 in my opinion is so, so true.

1. No stranger or unknown company will ever contact you by mail or by phone with an actual method for making money easily or in your spare time. And if the person or company contacting you asserts that they are someone you know, double check before taking action.
2. Don't have back surgery. See a physiatrist first, then exhaust all other options before wondering if you should have back surgery.
3. Borrow money to buy things that go up in value, but never to get something that decays over time.
4. Placebos are underrated by almost everyone.
5. It's almost never necessary to use a semicolon.
6. Seek out habits that help you overcome fear or inertia. Destroy those that do the opposite.
7. Cognitive behavorial therapy is generally considered both the quickest and most effective form ofaddressing many common psychological problems.
8. Backup your hard drive.
9. Get a magnetic key hider, put a copy of your house key in it and hide it really well, unlabeled, two blocks from your house.
10. A rice cooker will save you time and money and improve your diet, particularly if you come to like brown rice.
11. Consider not eating wheat for an entire week. The results might surprise you.
    
12. Taking your dog for a walk is usually better than whatever alternative use of your time you were considering.

Jak + Jil for Oroton

Check out more here. I love how this brand has reversed its fortunes!

Hey!

It was Ali's birthday during the week!

Happy birthday! I hope you had a fabulous day! We love you and your blog here at Snapdragons. xo

This Visual Life

I love how shady he looks at certain moments in this... His line of work seems so solitary.

I'm just going to digress for a moment and brag that I've been photographed by street photogs twice in my life: once at a music festival, by some chick for a London fashion blog (no idea what it was called - annoyingly!); and another time in New York. Sadly, it wasn't Scott Schumann.

You didn't want to know that, did you? Let me just take my ego outside.

Media Watch

It’s been a big week for media.

Not only was Julian Assange announced as preaching to the masses at Splendour (irritating!), and not only has the mysterious (to tech-tards such as myself) Google+ been launched, but the Murdoch empire has been facing some serious scrutiny into its methods of “investigation” (aka stalking, harassment, bribery and blackmail) and reporting. The Murdoch saga has even snaked its way to the doorstep of 10 Downing Street: British PM David Cameron’s media advisor is a former News of the World editor (likely to beat out used car salesman in this year’s “least trusted profession” polls) who is suspected of knowing about the use of phone hacking as a creative new source for its journalists. Furthermore, Paris Hilton has cracked it at suggestions she may be well past it, and Kim Kardashian is suing Gap – over a look-alike model and an unathorised breach of the IP in her image… Interesting. How similar must one look to us before we can sue for an infringement of our personal IP? I have a double walking around Sydney and Brisbane. This might be my ticket to the big bucks!

Not only all of those things, and arguably more importantly…

…Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of late media theorist (and visionary), Marshall McLuhan. The Canadian is credited with coining the phrases “the global village” – which he described as extreme concern with everybody else’s business – and “the medium is the message”. He also described what we now know as the internet – 30 YEARS before it existed. (He probably wrote sci-fi novels in his head, too).

He suggested that radio and TV – the mediums of the day – would become an “extension of our central nervous system”. I think given the extension of our hands to our mobile handsets with internet connectivity, that we could safely suggest that the internet – and its various modes of delivery (handset, iPad/other tablet [is there one?]/laptop/etc) – is most definitely a part of our collective central nervous system today. In fact, if I’m without internet, my nervous system becomes awfully agitated!

Constantly wired... Even when running!

His words are still so apt – particularly his comment that media would result in the electrical re-tribalisation of the West. Much like Google+ Circles, we clump together based on interests. We may dismiss a potential date or new friend based on their “Info” on Facebook, and form friendships that may never have existed through a blog that encapsulates common interests and concerns (like… dating and shoes!). There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, however we probably should recognise that media plays a fairly significant role in our foray into how and who we socialise with. One possibly dangerous element to this re-tribalisation may be a tendency then to only use the Internet – with its infinite possibilities for information sharing and the spread of ideas – for limited purposes that suit only the “tribe” – less openness, more closure to those who don’t belong or feed us the information we want to hear? I suppose the Assange’s of this world are here to ensure our tribes face a few ugly truths, and that we continue to question who provides us with our news. I still don’t think he belongs at Splendour, though… It’s about music, not politics!

McLuhan also warned that an “age of anxiety” would be upon us, driven in large part by the loss of privacy associated with the new age of electronic media. Is my FB cool enough? Is my blog funny enough? Why am I doing nothing tonight, when I know that about 80 of my friends are out partying (according to Twitter)? and on and on. For example. :o)

All this at a time when a new report suggests that although Gen Y is more connected than ever, we also are lonelier than ever.

In celebration of his cleverness, ABC Radio National is running a series of broadcasts as part of its McLuhan Project.

Please, please check out some of the archives here. (Seriously well worth watching if you have the time – even if it is just to look at the fantastic 70s clothes and hair!).

The anniversary of his birth is a great time to pause and reflect on how we use the Internet – are we getting dumber and more narrow-minded because we have built whole communities that validate our ignorance? Are we meaner to people because our bullying is less proximate physically? etc... And where might we be going in the future with the use of the internet? Will it be used for good or evil?

Do we need to venture out a little more - from the safe confines of our "favourites"?


Thoughts? (Apart from: WHOA that’s some heavy, garbled shit right there).

I would also like to note that McLuhan's comment that radio people are far more literate than TV people is probably still very accurate today.

Tofu Or Not Tofu?

That is possibly the worst title I've ever had... Apologies.

Among my New Year's resolutions for 2011 were no more pad thai or hash browns for the entirety of 2011. Madness, clearly. Both of these resolutions have resulted in some new learnings, however. First, a hash brown is also known as "potato rosti", and I can eat it, because technically it is not called a hash brown, despite being very similar to a hash brown in flavour and appearance (lawyers thrive on semantic technicalities, after all). Second, instead of eating my beloved pad thai when I go to a Thai restaurant, I have opted for tofu dishes. And do you know what I have discovered? Not a single male that I have eaten Thai food with likes my tofu meal (more for me! mwahahaa), and secondly: I LOVE tofu. I would never have known this had it not been for my wildly ambitious NY resolution of 2011...

Non-lovers of tofu proclaim it has no flavour, and/or that it is like eating rubber. Yes, it may be a little rubbery in texture (although I've never eaten through a pencil eraser with that much ease), but it absorbs flavour like a mo-fu. A restrained and classy mo-fo, in fact. And this is why I love it. My mouth can be searing with a piece of chilli I've eaten by accident, by the tofu just slides right in there and with its delicate flavours, removes the pain of accidentally-eaten chilli. The best Thai dishes in Brisbane are - and will always be, in my opinion - from My Thai in Rosalie.

My Thai also now has its very own stand-alone take-away restaurant (My Thai Kitchen) which is also home to My Thai's uber-popular cooking school. Brisbanites who have never eaten there are doing their tastebuds a serious disservice.

Anyway... This tofu discussion was really just a clever segue-way into a new foodie blog that I'm sure you will all love... Running With Tweezers! Running With Tweezers also loves tofu! Like most foodie blogs, the pictures are amazing (Tami, the author, is a food stylist after all), and there are some fantastic recipes (including tofu ones!). Bon appetit!

All pics are from Running With Tweezers.