UP!

Last night I had the pleasure of watching 'UP', Pixar's 10th animated film. Being a HUGE Pixar fan, I couldn't wait to see the newest cinematic treat, in 3-D nonetheless. I had to blog about it since I feel it is truly the best Pixar film to date.

Besides it's fantastic can't believe your eyes digital animation, the story-line really cinched it for me. The film combines a bittersweet coming of age story with unexpected friendships and surprising adventures along the way.

The movie plot was completely original and seemed light-hearted enough for kids, but also somewhat dark with many adult themes (aging, loss, separation and unfinished promises). There is a very memorable montage towards the beginning that is so poignant, I literally started to well up.

There are many very funny moments but overall, this picture really stands on its own and is hard to compare to its Pixar predecessors. Go see it!

Nobu Hotel (?!)

Okay, so I am a big Nobu fan. I have been to a couple of different locations and oyyy, I fall in love every time. Not just with the superb, delicate, mouthwatering food, but with the interiors! David Rockwell is a design maven and each restaurant showcases his striking conceptual abilities.

Nobu restaurants are currently in 15 locations around the world and are now expanding into hosplitality. There are two Nobu Hotel and Residences being built. The first in North America will be located at 45 Broad Street, in New York. The second location is on Israel's Mediterranean coastline and is just minutes from Tel Aviv. Both are being designed by The Rockwell Group which will create both hotel interiors and their respected restaurants. Thus, I will be anxiously awaiting the arrival where I can be in 'eat/sleep' heaven.

Nobu Matsuhisa says that he was inspired by, "the traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan, which combines the impeccable attention to detail characteristic of Japanese hospitality with modern amenities and sophisticated luxuries." With partners like Robert de Niro, the group isn't aiming small:

Rendering of New York location.

Sucker for a good drink...

On a recent excursion, my friend and I were urged by our lovely waiter to try this new tequila. Being a tequila lover, I had to try what he described as floral and slightly sweet.
Fruity tequila?!? Who knew?

Anyway, after a shot (I promise I'm not an alcoholic), I ordered a Rosangel Margarita which might just be my new favorite drink.

Made by Gran Centenario, the blush colored liquor is characterized by the brand as a hibiscus-infused tequila that features subtle fruit and floral notes, as well as a hint of vanilla.
Nevertheless, I highly suggest the next time you go for it and drink tequila, try this one out.

Scrap Chairs

Scrap chairs are the pure result of using trash to create elegant, useful products. the chair of layered plywood scraps follows earlier versions of cardboard and newspaper.





The chairs are made by a company called graypants that has also created scrap lights and other fun furniture designs.
www.graypants.com

Heres to you, Ms. Donovan

Using common objects found within a culture of mass-production, Tara Donovan creates large-scale sculptures with a mystic quality. Her use of building pieces through accumulation and detailed assembly of mass quantities, each identical, make her vision all the more interesting. Layered, piled & clustered, these products form new lives of their own.

From a far away glance, each sculpture is something natural, like a cloud or an ocean full of waves. As you begin to look closer, you begin to see past the illusion and figure out what each component really is.

Toothpicks, buttons, plastic cups, paper plates, and disposable cupcake cups, as seen here, create a phenomenal visual impact.

Her use of angles and textured curves amazes me. She creates scenery, as the shadows and lighting creates mountains and valleys, its incredible to see.

When it comes to assemblages of a repeated single stroke, Tara Donovan is one of the best artists around.

KNIT THIS

PHAT KNITS is a series of giant threads used to create, knitted or not, interior products. The designer behind this,
Bauke Knottnerus, turns knits into sculptural type pieces that can even act as furniture. Besides looking oh so comfortable, I can just imagine sitting in one and feeling as if I turned miniature. Love it.

HUNDERTWASSER

So, even thought it's already May (how?), it seemed that the common thread for me over the last few months was Hundertwasser. Somehow, his name kept coming up. So, I decided I had to spread the love about Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

"A world full of colour", says Friedensreich Hundertwasser, "is synonymous with paradise". This begins my joy of his work. But I have come to discover he is more than just a great painter and architect. He was an intellectual and thought deeply about the human condition and nature, the importance of individualism, rejecting straight lines. His work incorporates natural features of the landscape, which I find the most breathtaking. His work is irregular, but seem to fit just right to me.

(and those are just the beginning)
I need to get to Austria to check these out in person.