JULY 2015 FINDS

july 2015 finds comes a little late. but i’m sure you don’t mind! so, allow me to share this month’s highlights:

10. i watched midnight in paris by woody allen again. i liked it because the main character leads a second life featuring his personal heroes. i see myself in him, i also allow ghosts in my life. watch it for paris and for the dreamer in you!

9. i read we the children of bahnhof zoo by christiane f. in one day. i picked it up when i found it translated into romanian while buying tickets for the triggerfinger concert (see bellow). it’s the story of a 13 yo berliner who prostitutes herself to support her heroin habit. i’m pretty sure i’ve picked your interest, lol!

there’s also a 1981 film based on the book featuring david bowie as himself. i’ll check it out asap!

8. i picked amanda palmer‘s book, the art of asking; or, how i learned to stop worrying and let people help, by chance. i knew the story but i still i read the book really quickly. i liked it and i recommend it! you must know that this is not a self help book. this is just amanda’s story, how she became a kickstarter phenomenon and a ted speaker w/ many million views after being an indie artist w/ the dresden dolls.

i am not her biggest fan but she does get a lot of things right. i cannot seem to agree with her attention seeking ways since i’m an introvert, but after several years of couch surfing and trying to connect with people freely, i know how it feels to rely on the kindness of strangers. and how receiving makes you give more. her system may not work for every artist out there but at least we should agree that it’s not a bad idea to interact and give and receive willingly. we should forget about our comfort zones and go out to make friends. the book made me tear up a few times and that very rarely happens. read it and live it!

7. i bought the current issue of monocle magazine the morning of my home bound flight, at 3 times the original price. that’s switzerland for you. it was also because of the unbelievable price of 30 CHF (28.3 euro) that i did not also pick up the escapist (monocle’s sibling) although its tag line, journal of places less explored, sounded appealing.

as usual, monocle offers a tight volume of content spanning travel, style and an endless range of advice for the world around us. if i sound like i’m rolling my eyes back, it’s because i am. they sound pompous but i’ll agree that at least you get a lot of relevant info for your money, which is not the case with many other magazines. have you ever read the eerily similar good life? a tip: just don’t. it tries so hard to be monocle and it fails miserably…

anyhow, i pick up the occasional copy of monocle but i do not buy into their whole curated existence creed. i know they need to sell stuff to keep on publishing, but i guess i am just not their perfect customer: i do not believe that hoarding pretty objects will make my life better. all bitching apart, i enjoy going through the magazine since i think it’s a good source of info if used to complete others. and i really like their annual life quality survey. how can i not when two of my favourite cities won this year? i mean tokyo on the first spot and vienna on the second.

6. i have recently seen triggerfinger live for the first time. they rocked! i was lucky to have a little moment with the unreal ruben block. it’s not only that he’s an insane performer who loves to do guitar solos while crowd surfing on his back. he’s also a very kind person who knows how to connect without any need for words. as if i needed to like him any more? crushes aside, i came across a documentary about the band. i believe it’s in flemish but i’m so impressed with their fire that i’ll watch the 90 minutes anyway!

5. i have just found that rene redzepi will move together with his entire staff to australia for a noma pop-up. this will happen at the beginning of 2016, just like they did this year in japan. i will be following their effort!

4. i have just come across hang gab lee‘s beautiful wander in porto. click here for the vimeo profile of this south korean to check out his other videos. i love his style!

3. rolex learning center was the only entry that mattered on my list for lausanne. it’s a space located in the campus of the poly-technical school, open for everybody who wishes to spend time there. the japanese duo sanaa designed the building. check out the cover picture for a beautiful bird’s eye view of its location. since i have already posted my pictures, i leave you with two videos!

2. spoon & tamago is one of my favourite blogs. i would share each of their posts: they are always japan-related and the topics match my taste. check it out!

1. the skinny bib is definitely the best blog i have found recently. it’s all about the travels of a japanese foodie. the episodes are often depicted in manga form. i love it!