Saturday, October 03, 2009

Raja Petra Kamaruddin- a man in exile.

"Famous Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin speaks for the first time since his alleged escape from Malaysia. Now branded as a fugitive, he talks about his experience with the Malaysian police and the Special Branch, solitary confinement in the Kamunting Detention Center, his meeting with murdered Mongolian model Altantuyaa Shaariibuu's father and other topics that are sure to keep Malaysian's talking about this controversial figure." -C4Production House

Friday, October 02, 2009

Jelly Belly Bean Boozled (TM)- "Dare to compare!"



"These are just FANTASTIC! It's like Russian roulette with very poor odds. And like Bertie Bott's Beans in Harry Potter, you're guaranteed to get some weird and wild flavours! Each box of Bean Boozled contains pairs of identical Jelly Beans - In each pair, one is tasty and the other is revolting. No, you can't tell the difference by smelling them, the only way to tell is to actually EAT THEM! And there is something compulsive about just trying one more ...! The perfect stocking filler and bit of fun!

Try your luck to see if you get one of the delicious jelly bean flavours, or if you’re unlucky enough to get earwax, pencil shavings, black pepper, mouldy cheese, baby wipes or bogies flavour to name but a few. They're made by Jelly Belly, so the quality is terrific. And the flavours, we're sorry to say, are perfectly captured!"

-Source: http://www.thepresentfinder.co.uk/tpf/1306/p/d/bean+boozled+delicious+disgusting+flavoured+jelly+beans+jelly+belly/pid/7900866

Centipede!!!! Skunk spray!!!! Toothpaste!!!!! Barf!!!!
Check it out:

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Problems in the suburbs.

Not everyone has a garage or a garage large enough to accomodate all their cars on my street here in North Shore suburbia. People love to park their cars on the kerb over here- maybe because there isn't enough car theft to deter them from parking on public property......

So that makes life difficult for those of us who park our cars in our garages. It's so hard to negotiate your way around these gas guzzling monster 4WD's (the vehicle of choice in these neck of the woods) on my street. See diagram below for a hypothetical street plan (Not to scale):

People are usually sensible and park their cars to allow for oncoming traffic, but sometimes you get idiots who like to park their horses right in front of their castle (illustrated in red).

To further illustrate the problem, click here for something similar. Except I'm in favour of these people getting fined.
This is such a granny rant, I'm almost embarrassed.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Men to marry vs. Men to have sex with (Part 1)

Man to marry: Actor Simon Baker from TV's "The Mentalist" and "The Guardian".... bankable husband and father material.


- Australian actor based in the US, down to earth and low-key father of 3, married to the same woman forever.
- Rugged bloke- doesn't take himself too seriously and does not buy any of that hollywood crap.
- Looks like a REAL man, not a pretty boy. Looks like he belongs in a Ralph Lauren ad.

Man to have sex with: Actor Jude Law. Strictly NOT marriage material. Great for an affair, though.

- Not a great track record, really. Cheated on his then-wife Sadie Frost, then cheated on then-girlfriend Sienna Miller with his (3 kids!) children's nanny and now fathering a child with a woman he's not in a relationship with. A bit of a cad.
- Beautiful and artistic- yep, the kind of guy who takes his art seriously and all that.
- Look at how intense and smouldering he looks. He looks like he's be right at home in a D&G ad.

And there we have it- two very similar men, very different er, functions.
Which man would you choose?
Can you suggest another pair of MTM vs MTF?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Frou frou post..... aack.


Got hair extensions on a whim.... will see how I like it as the days progress.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Rais Yatim is an embarrassment to Malaysians



This guy is your Information Minister?
REMEMBER THIS AND VOTE HIM OUT IN 2011.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Those @#%$#! "Things I Want to Achieve" lists

Saw this on the blog of some [rich ex politician's kid who's pushing 40 yet still lives at home because he/she has fluff for career] self indulgent drama queen's blog:

"Things I Want to Achieve" and then obviously crosses out what's been achieved.
Pfffffttt.

HILARIOUS. SO FUNNY. It proudly sits on that person's sidebar like a joke.
If I wanted to look like an achiever of any sort, my list would look like this

1. Wake up in the morning. (DONE)
2. Clip my toenails (DONE)
3. Have a coffee (DONE)
4. Brush my teeth (DONE)
5. Empty dishwasher
6. Pick up drycleaning (DONE)
7. Check my mail
8. Switch on the TV
9. Call my travel agent
10. Spend 10 days in Chiva-Som.

Wah soooo hard lahhh. Such a high mountain to climb lahhhh
And look how faaaar I've climbed!
*pats self on the back*

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

O Malaysian Politician, will you ever learn?

My absence from blogging has been due to the fact that I needed a break from the renovation drama around me and I wanted to spend some time with my family.
The family time was great- we all enjoyed our time together. Uneventful and happy.

Over a family meal in KL, I spoke to a relative who is currently the long standing MP of a certain seat. I've always been close to this relative (I use that term in the broadest sense- take it anyway you want it.) For the nth time, I asked him when Malaysia was going to come out of the dark ages and change certain things in the constitution such as "Malay rights" and ISA. When will Malaysia become a secular state? You know what his answer was this time?

"Why should we change? Just because countries like America want us to?"
No, I said- because your own rakyat wants change. Your voters change.

"How do you know that? *irritated* Nobody has told me that they want change. People still vote me in."
Noting that he had suffered a cut in majority votes in the last election, frankly I was shocked that he still had the arrogance/defensiveness to say this instead of learning from the experience of losing votes. So I said, "Well, that's only in your constituency and only the x% of voters who bother to vote. How do you know what the remainder thinks?"

"That's their own fault if they don't want to come out and vote then."
I said, that's why there are so many protests going on that create political awareness amongst Malaysians.

"If the opposition want to go ahead and "buat bising" for no reason then let them lah."
OMG. I was exasperated because what was coming out of his mouth at this point, I considered ignorant. So I said, "If the government continues to view these protests by the opposition as nothing more than noisy irritants and not listen to them, then you'll never be able to win votes over from them."
I am still recounting his words. I grew up respecting this man- he received a liberal education in the west as he grew up. He was a success in his own field before his long standing political career. He was a respected man amongst many. Too many years as a politician. God help those Malaysians living in Malaysia now. Too many think like him.

Malaysian politicians have forgotten that their boss is NOT the PM, their boss is not their own political party's power hierarchy... their ultimate boss is the PEOPLE. ALL PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY VOTE YOU IN OR NOT, YOU STILL SERVE THEM.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Down with the dreaded flu

Today, I am very crook.

Going to see the doctor soon. I'm worried about passing this flu onto my baby. She's still so little. Even the nanny looks worried to be in my presence. Worry is the keyword here.

Been too preoccupied to write a blog post of late.
The weather has been sunny and crisp lately so I've been out and about quite a lot. Twittered a lot lately, too though.

Gah. Will twitter kill blogging?

Monday, July 06, 2009

Have you ever lied on your CV?



What's the biggest lie you've ever seen on someone's CV?
Big-ass, hairy, great lies. Lies so big you can't see the forest for the trees.

Scenario: Malaysia, mid 90's


I was lucky (read family connections) as an intern to land myself in the midst of mega project teams (this was during the Mahathir era) in big name firms.

I knew an expatriate (who flocked to Malaysia, just like they're flocking to Dubai these days) A, in one of these firms. His CV is online (email me for his URL), proudly displayed in macromedia flash- some highlights below:

  • He says he has worked in those megaproject teams that I was in. WTF? He was in the same building, yes but not on the same team! (Email me for his URL)
  • In his flashy portfolio of works, A claims to have worked with an American firm known for resorts, a famous international Australian firm- he even got the name wrong. (I later ended up working there and NOBODY has heard of him. Email me for his URL)
  • Here's the BEST one: he went to grad school at an IVY LEAGUE college in the States!!!! OMG, totally priceless! RFOL!! I heard he was working for someone I know (NOT IN THE STATES) during the time he supposedly went to grad school in the states. (Email me for his URL)
  • His one man band "International business network"..... !!! I'm SURE I'm not the only one who finds this absolutely hilarious....(Email me for his URL)

Listen, A: You're in your mid 40's but you can still do with learning a few life lessons. The industry here in Australia is pretty small. People basically already know you and your bosses. You'll know that they know you're lying if your phone isn't ringing. Sit there and digest that in your rented condo with your family in tow.

Now, as a Management Consultant (VERY part time these days). I proudly leave my INSEAD transcript in my CV, but no one's interested in looking at it, really. They're more interested in 3 rounds of interviews and a psychometric test.
All I have I experience with one M&A situation.
I LOVED every second of it it gives me goosebumps, but I can't put that on my CV.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Self-censorship.

Lately, blogging isn't what it used to be.
I used to spew forth all my guts on each post. Let it all hang out. Fun, actually.
That was 5 years ago. I was about to turn 30.

That was a year before I took my MBA hiatus (from blogging and from my life).
When I started blogging again, I was so lost.
BUT during my hiatus from life, I DID change.

I sensor myself a lot more these days. For example, I don't talk about my husband, my marriage or my baby in any sort of depth anymore. I draw a protective boundary around what I hold dearest. Another reason: I deal with issues that come up very efficiently and "file them away" in my mental compactus even before I write a blog post about it.

I've met some people that I have come to respect as fellow bloggers- some who regularly drop by and leave a note and some never comment on the blog but do it via email. Some emails go regrettably unanswered because I wish to remain anonymous.

I talk in abstract most of the time EXCEPT for when other bloggers and events inspire me.
It's sad that blogging (to me, anyway) isn't the creative outlet it used to be.

I think I'm more honest in my Twitter page than I am on the blog because writing a blog post forces you to think about what to write and edit it over and over again. Tweets are just spur-of-the-moment thoughts.

More honest? Twitter vs. Blogs, discuss.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Facebook-induced syndrome.

There should be a name given to all these new social situations that we're put in just because we have Facebook now. A sign of the postmodern world we live in, eh?
Ghosts of the past come out to haunt us. And every one of us has a past we'd rather forget.

Curiousity got the better of me tonight when the wanker-banker husband is working late and I'm working on a few bits and bobs (I've mentioned a start-up on my Twitter, but will blog about it when things become more concrete).

I was the one who went around the internet to dig up what I now realize I wish I didn't know.
Out of a smug feeling, I wanted to feel that I was better off than him, seeing as I have all that I have in my life now. I wanted to find out that he was still unhappily single, old, fat, ugly, poor or better yet, dead. But he looks happy. He's looks like he's got all that he never had when he was a workaholic who spent too much time living it up in Bangsar.

It is now in this moment of weakness that I'll say it's lonely behind this facade.

My life. My choices. Deal with it.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Door to door sales people. Don't even try.

Now that I no longer live in a secure building and I'm in house in the burbs, I have one extra headache to deal with- besides fussy old neighbours and their protests to council against the renovations to our home messing with the "character" of their street, AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!

At around 4-7pm everyday, there will be a variety of door knockers (from salesmen, charities who want a donation, school raffles, neighbourhood petitions) who usually interrupt either when I'm breastfeeding or making dinner or on the shitter. Usually I'm pretty polite and quickly turn away salesmen- but one particular cocky little shit got my goat one day.

This is how it went, more or less:

Salesman: Hello how are you- I'm ABC from XYZ and wow- what are you cooking for dinner? Smells SPICY!
(So he sees I'm somewhat asian in appearance and so automatically the guesses are that I'm cooking some asian dish, right? This is one of my pet hates about sales pitches- get familiar and try to identify with me, eh? EH?)
Me: I'm making Spaghetti Bolognaise. Not very spicy is it. What is it that you want?

Salesman: XYZ are having a special limited offer for DEF plus JKL for X weeks only. This is only available to the residents of GHI.
Me: No, sorry we already have DEF. That's enough for us.

Salesman: Whaaat? You don't want JKL? Come oooon, you're asians! You can QWERTY your ASDFGs! You guys would love it!!!!!
(I think steam is escaping from my ears at this point. Oh just because we're asian we all have to love ASDFG????)
Me:......*Slams door in his face*

I'm a mix of asian but I am asian in appearance. I hate to be stereotyped.
Just like urban Australians would hate people who thought that they were all like Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin. Right? Get it?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Food: details and Kano's Customer satisfaction model

Been going out for meals quite a fair bit lately. I found myself unable to resist grabbing my camera and taking a picture of a dish that I want to remember.
Sometimes I think asian people in Sydney like certain asian restaraunts here only because they WANT to like it, not because it's actually good.

Presenting the Kano customer satisfaction model:


source: http://www.gembapantarei.com/2007/07/top_10_improvement_tools_named_after_lean_sensei.html

A great tool for quantifying customer needs.
Like a good little consultant, I did a mini survey and used the Kano model to plot out what I thought were order winners that keeps customers like me going back to the same places and ordering the same items.


At a Chinatown eatery that is a Singaporean and Malaysian institution: The trio of sauces that go with hainanese chicken rice.
Detail: These three MUST be together.


At a Thai family dinner: Crab and glass noodle salad.
Detail: Parts of crab flesh are pierced with spring onion leaves. (don't ask how they did this. If you knew you'd spit it out....)


A popular Japanese haunt in the north shore: Sashimi.
Detail: Good, heavy rustic earthen crockery. (So good that it chips off in dishwashers. Ooops)


At a famous Malaysian eatery on the outskirts of Sydney: Nasi Lemak (steamed coconut rice with side dishes of deep fried peanuts and anchovies, boiled egg, sambal and rendang/curry.
Detail: Curry leaves deep fried together with peanuts and ikan bilis (anchovies).

Friday, June 12, 2009

Factory Girl

I recorded Factory Girl on Foxtel IQ and finally watched it.

The synopsis:
"FACTORY GIRL imaginatively unfolds the comet-like rise and fall of 60s “It Girl” Edie Sedgwick, the blazing superstar who came to define both the glamour and the tragedy of our celebrity-obsessed culture. Sedgwick appeared to be the quintessential American princess, with her blue blood, her trust fund and her Harvard education, not to mention her ethereal beauty and vivacious charisma. But she was also a lost and fragile little girl; and when she met up with counter-culture anti-hero Andy Warhol, everything changed. Suddenly, Edie found herself at the center of a Pop Art universe bursting with sex, drugs, style and rock ‘n’ roll -- and a mad rush for fame and fabulousness that was destined to spin out of control."

"Arriving into the chaos of mid-60s New York, Edie (Sienna Miller) is taken under the wing of the famously deadpan artist Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce) who sees in her untamed vulnerability the makings of an irresistible muse. Warhol invites Edie into the wild world of The Factory, a former downtown hat factory he has transformed into a bohemian paradise. Here, a rag-tag mix of musicians, poets, artists, actors and misfits gather to create avant-garde movies during the day and throw glam parties all night long. Edie quickly ascends to become the star of Warhol’s movies, an idol at The Factory and a media darling. She is on top of the world when she falls in love with a larger-than-life rock star (Hayden Christensen). But when Edie becomes caught between Warhol’s world of sexy surfaces and her new love, she winds up rejected by both – and once again, set adrift in the modern world."


It's the ultimate story about a fag hag gone wrong.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Impulse buying in Surry Hills

Spent an afternoon with my best friend and his husband in Surry Hills.

I come back with one Alessi and two Marc Newson for Magis objects d'art.




There should be a danger sign hanging around gay interior designers' necks.....

Friday, June 05, 2009

An anonymous email

I received yet another anonymous suggestion as to what my identity is.
I have had a few emails like this one in the last few years I've had this bloggie.

But this one suggestion was something I took some offence to.

"Anonymous" suggested I was a daughter of a politician from the "old guard" who fell from glory in a very spectacular way. Now, I actually know the daughters and sons (use the term loosely because there has been an adoption here and there). And this particular daughter that I purportedly am, is exceptionally talented, smart AND she is a great writer. She is also a pretty little thang for her age. She is still single, too.

So why do I take offence?

Maybe it's her useless siblings close to their 40's who still live at home, leech and sponge off whatever's left of their old man's fortune. Maybe it's all the wealth they enjoy in, courtesy of their old man's illegally acquired millions and corrupted ways, so as a result, NONE of them are "exceptional earners" (as Britney Spears put it so well in "Piece of Me", haha).

Well. That's why I take offence: I chose to live here, NOT in Malaysia where I can gain so much from using my Dad's name. I make my own legit money.

And I (ahem) married into money.
*sheepish*
*runs off*

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Ladies (and bubs) luncheon





Yummy mummies of the lower north shore (TM).........
hoping to make it into a reality TV show really soon.




We're the ones with bugaboos and Phil n Teds parked next to our table.....
We're dressed in Jigsaw or Veronika Maine.
We're the ones who take turns popping out a boob (or two) to feed our hungry babies.....
We're the ones with a noisy (but well dressed) toddler or two in tow......


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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Food blogging corner








Tapas for three:
salsa verde, roasted garlic and bread entree, sofritos, polenta biscuits, lamb, deep fried zucchini flowers, grilled cheese, artichoke hearts, tapenade, quail, zucchini, tuna stuffed pimento.... etc.

Perfect for that mid afternoon pick-me-up.

Delicado Foods
2/134 Blues Point Rd
McMahons Point NSW
2060 - (02) 9955 9399
Open Mon-Sat 7am-7pm; Sun 9am-5pm


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Sunday morning pondering

Husband is away for meetings in London HQ.
Probably to go over the head count during the next round of job-axing here in the colonies.
All the bankers here are shaking in their Florsheim shoes, I tell ya.

So here I am updating the blog again.
Wee hours of Sunday morning. Reading the non-news sections of the weekend paper.
Spotted these little ditties.

The SMH's Domain: "Concrete Castle" about an off-form concrete dream home in Lane Cove...... looks like this was an enjoyable process for all involved: it took a year to design and two years to build.

As an ex-project manager and architect, I say PIG'S ARSE.
What is this, a university student's project?
This is a real world. This concrete castle was probably built before the recession. Who wants their project to run over budget and over time? No joints and lines? Hello. What about using render-on blockwork???? Like I said. Pig's arse.



If I ever moved back to an apartment again, I wouldn't go back to The Rocks, I'd look to North Bondi- where Bondi Icebergs is.
That's out next goal. An uninterrupted view of the water.
We are currently near water but don't see any. WTF. What's the point?
Like a mantra that I tell myself over and over again. Renovate. Add value. Wait for the prices to go up again. Then sell.

Ok- that aside, I'm going to make breakfast now. It's miserable and rainy outside.
I'm gonna try this:

Has anyone out there tried this?
How does one get pancakes that thick?
Hmmm.

I wish I could cook like Karen Martini in the Sun Herald's Sunday Life magazine:
"Filo egg tarts with cured ocean trout, caviar, chives and dill"


Dream on.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Should Jon & Kate Plus 8 Be Taken Off the Air?
This once-endearing show about raising twins and sextuplets has turned into a spectacle highlighting Kate's inability to handle the daily stress caused by her many hang-ups. Meanwhile, Discovery is essentially condoning her abusive tendencies...
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/506701/should_jon_kate_plus_8_be_taken_off.html

Kate Gosselin could learn parenting lessons herself | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Kate Gosselin could learn parenting lessons herself | detnews.com | The Detroit News

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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Just gonna blog. Not sure what this post will be. It's 4am.

I can't believe my insomniac ass is sitting in bed trying to waste time.

That line is soooo early Green Day. Early albums like Dookie and Insomniac.



Wasting Time

Wasting time down a bum fuck road

And I don't know where it'll go


"All The Time"- Green Day

Many of life's biggest regrets resurface from the murky depths at 4am.
Life is short, who'd want to spend it sleeping, right?

Helloooo Google Maps!
The streetscape is fugly (architectural term).

Um, I wish I'd ventured into Shinjuku ni Chome's clubs with my best friend instead of old stick-in-the-mud-wanker-banker. Which ones?

To be specific:

Dragon Men
1/F Stork Nagasaki, 2-11-4 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, 3341-0606

Arty Farty
2/F 33 Kyutei Bldg, 2-11-7 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, 5362-9720


Advocates
7th Tenka Bldg. 1F, 2-18-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, 3358-3988
I passed by- great music, great crowd.


Baarn Kirao
2-12-3 Shinjuku-ku, 3352-1070

Yeah. Um that's it. OKthanksbye.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Sexy chairs

I wanna talk chairs. I spent 5 years training as an architect. 6 if you count my year-out.
Then I spend 12 years working as an architect (design, construction, planning... you name it, I did it) and getting my licence. So I think I can talk about design with some authority.
Align Center

The Corona chair by Poul Volther.

This is a great investment, if it's in leather- and you'd only need one for your study.
BE that evil genius that sits on his throne twirling his moustache going "MWAAA-HAAHAA-HAAA" at every little bit of planning that he does- like designing your own home. Pretty sad, really. Not the chair, though.... the chair's pure sex. Get it!


Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen

If this ain't a mod classic then I dunno what is. The funny thing is, I remember when I was very young, my Dad had one of these. In black leather too, baby. Back then it wasn't a big deal so me and by siblings (3 kids all under 4yrs, whoa) totally destroyed it. Then came our cat..... I can't remember what eventually happened to the chair- must've been taken to some random dump near the 50490 hood.


Marshmallow chair by George Nelson.

YES. Get this for your hallway or for your boudoir (or walk-in-closet as us normal folk like to call it). Not comfortable, but you'll only ever need one piece, so this is a great buy.


La Mama chair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia

Who can resist resting on an ample bosom and thighs? I know I can't. I have spent many a saturday morning drooling over this chair at Space Furniture. I love its organic lines. Love its "embrace". Get this if you've got a few K in your budget, and you'll only need ONE because it's pretty darned big.


The Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe- furniture which the architect has designed for his Barcelona Pavillion.

Like Le Corbusier's chaise lounge, chairs and sofas, DO NOT get this unless you have the entire lounge set or you will risk your guests thinking that you bought a cheap imitation from China.

And these have been bought to death by any and every DIY wanna-be interior designer.
My years as an architect tells me NOOO.

The Tulip chair by Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen is an architect that epitomized 60's coolness.
His other work of art was Dulles Airport in Virginia, USA. (completed 1962)


In the winter of 1995, there was a snowstorm in January- and I was booked on a very stupid route that stopped in Dulles Airport to LAX instead of O'Hare to LAX. Of course there was a delay (biiig surprise) and I wandered the airport for a few gorgeous hours.
But this chair looks great as a bar stool, so yes you'd need a few of these.


Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer

Composition VIII by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923.

Designed for Wassily Kandinsky the russian constructivist artist by Marcel Breuer of the Bauhaus design school. What prompts a man to design a chair for another man?
My favourite- not necessarily as something to sit on, er, but I admire its architecture.
Just look at the way it's constructed! Need I say more? Get these as your dining table chairs- make sure it's a glass dining table and the retro-retro (double because it's 80's retro on 20's retro) look is complete.

Eames chair by Charles Eames

For tree-hugger-veggie-burger wood, Charles Eames and Alvar Aalto is the BEST. IKEA ain't got nothin' on Alvar Aalto, the godfather of scandinavian design.

Original Aalto chair

You think IKEA's Poang chair was original? Pthtptthhh!!!!!
Gawd, IKEAphiles crack me up. YEAH, YOU.
Have you heard the conversations/arguments/sniping between couples with opposing aesthetic ideas in IKEA? Go there on a Saturday for some comedy- that's when all the trash bring their brood out for a cheap meal and to pick up some plastic twat thingy that will make your life so much like those people inside the IKEA catalogues.


The Heart Chair by Verner Panton for Vitra

Gorgeous kitsch appeal just like the Lips sofa. From experience, this one wobbles waaaay too much after a few months of use. The function outweighs the form when the form is too lightweight.


Cafe Costes chair by Phillippe Starck.

Starckie has done MILLIONS of chairs, and the most well known one is probably the Ghost chair for Kartell. But I like this one best because there is some sense of craftsmanship to the end product. The wood is gorgeous. BUT I still wouldn't get it because the frame looks shit-house (Australian technical term). If it wasn't powdercoated aluminium and stainless steel then that would be better.