The freedom of a jaded world
"Maybe it’s not a good moment to shock people, because they won’t be shocked anyway. Maybe it’s not a good moment to please people, because they won’t be pleased all the way."
-- Raf Simons, who recently assumed the role of creative director at famed fashion house Dior, on his latest collection, which has been praised by critics for "clothes with exceptional beauty and calm, especially for today"
This specifically was said about fashion, but I think it can apply to a lot of different areas these days in our media-saturated and always-on society. Viewed from a pessimist's perspective it could seem like this would spur a "who cares" kind of apathy -- but with a glass half full approach, this kind of world can actually start to sound really freeing.
Can't argue with that
Bryant: "No. Why? I know everything there is to know about me."
This whole interview with Kobe Bryant is pretty awesome, and I'm not even a huge basketball or LA Lakers fan. It's just that 17 years into his pro career he seems to have settled into being totally honest about his talent (and his corresponding huge ego) which I think always makes for a fun read.
The woman who waits
"The woman who waits for something magical to happen will die beautiful, ignored, overlooked, curled in her 'shell,' jabbering in three languages, never realizing the potential she possessed all along."
-- from Elle Magazine's February 2013 "Ask E. Jean" advice column, in response to an overachieving, conventionally pretty tri-lingual reader who has found herself faltering in her late twenties after years of excelling in forums such as school.
I can say without hesitation that E. Jean Carroll's column is the number one reason that I continue to subscribe to Elle. She is just an absolute gem.
Her advice in this instance also dovetails very well with the recent Harvard Business Review article which I discovered thanks to the lovely Laura Oppenheimer, entitled "Women Need To Realize Work Isn't School."
A year in smartphone snaps
At year's end, I like to take time to look back on all the photos I've taken during the past twelve months. It can be easy to forget the places you've been and all that you've seen -- looking back makes me grateful for highlights that might not have been at the front of my mind otherwise.
I took a crap ton of photos of drinks -- some healthy, most not so much:
I tried wearing bright lipstick -- and I used my phone as a makeshift mirror to check on it obsessively while out and about (still trying to get used to that look):
I window-shopped -- for clothes, sunglasses and shoes -- and sometimes tried stuff on (pretty sure I didn't buy any of these things):
I saw and snapped pics of a lot of cute animals. Mostly dogs, but also peacocks, mounted elk, and baby ostriches:
I took very blurry photos of Weezer, Third Eye Blind, and Jay-Z on stage -- all of whom I saw perform for free at various work events (who said there's a tech bubble?)
Also in that vein of humble bragging (or just brag bragging), I took cellphone photos of some pretty fun firsts: Appearing on TV and getting ready to test-drive the car of the year, the Tesla Model S:
There's a lot more where that came from (I had an extremely nasty pimple inside my ear back in January 2012 that I documented very well) but I will spare you from too much TMI.
Anyway. Here's to more naval gazing moments in 2013. Auld lang syne to you all.
This year I also looked at the photos taken with my smartphone, which turned out to be a different kind of retrospective. I don't have an iPhone, so my camera phone kind of stinks -- I use it more to look at things from another angle than anything else. "Real memories" I try to use a proper camera for.
So going through my mobile photo album was equal parts embarrassing, boring, yet also weirdly entertaining -- like cleaning out your belly button or looking back at your search engine history (have I really Googled 'did Anne Hathaway have a nosejob' and 'cash out big booty lyrics'? Yes, yes I have.)
Anyway, just for kicks, I thought I'd share some of the trends I've found from my past year in dumb smartphone photos.
Perhaps more than anything else, I documented my experimentation with a lot of new nail colors:
I took a crap ton of photos of drinks -- some healthy, most not so much:
I had a lot of meals -- the majority of which were apparently eggs benedict:
I tried wearing bright lipstick -- and I used my phone as a makeshift mirror to check on it obsessively while out and about (still trying to get used to that look):
I window-shopped -- for clothes, sunglasses and shoes -- and sometimes tried stuff on (pretty sure I didn't buy any of these things):
I saw and snapped pics of a lot of cute animals. Mostly dogs, but also peacocks, mounted elk, and baby ostriches:
I took very blurry photos of Weezer, Third Eye Blind, and Jay-Z on stage -- all of whom I saw perform for free at various work events (who said there's a tech bubble?)
Also in that vein of humble bragging (or just brag bragging), I took cellphone photos of some pretty fun firsts: Appearing on TV and getting ready to test-drive the car of the year, the Tesla Model S:
There's a lot more where that came from (I had an extremely nasty pimple inside my ear back in January 2012 that I documented very well) but I will spare you from too much TMI.
Anyway. Here's to more naval gazing moments in 2013. Auld lang syne to you all.
