1 million Malaysians reject the proposed 100-storey Merdeka Tower.

Any Malaysian with a facebook account has probably come across this Facebook page with the same title.

Malaysia was once a young, new nation eager to prove its worth. Malaysia gains respect in the international arena in the 80's, buoyed by an economic boom, under its ambitious leader Dr. Mahathir. He urged Malaysians to "Look East" (post-war rise of Japan as an example to follow) and oppose western-style globalization. The leader embarks on mega projects-at first, infrastructure developments, then commercial developments. In the 90's, it became obvious some projects moved from ambitious to ridiculous. Many of these projects were handed over to companies owned by political cronies. But that's another story.


The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers had supposedly "put Malaysia on the map" in the mid 90's, just before the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Malaysia had the tallest building in the world- lasted all of a year before the next few buildings like Taipei 101 and Shanghai World Trade Centre took over.... etc- you get the picture.



Nations in economic boom tend to produce phallic symbols of their supremacy in the form of these skyscrapers. This is true for China and Dubai UAE, both nations which experienced huge amounts of growth in every sector in every financial quarter in the last few years.



Now, just as the Burj al Khalifa in Dubai has finished, Malaysia announces in a fit of kiasu-ness plans to commence building the 100 storey Merdeka Tower next year. Read more about it here and here.
This tower will cost RM $ 5 billion or roughly just over US $ 1.6 billion. Who ultimately pays for it? The problem is: Malaysia is NOT experiencing growth rates like that of China or the United Arab Emirates.

A popular hypothesis is that skyscrapers are often seen as economic indicators for a financial downturn-
"Of course economic booms tend to coincide with real estate booms, if not bubbles. I think that the moment project developers start planning a new "tallest skyscraper" the beginning of the end is at least not far. It means that hubris has become a factor again and that money has become too easy."Ivar Hagendoorn writes about the correlation between architecture and finance here.

And, looking at the price tag, it's enough to send Malaysia into recession.
Beware.


The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel. (1563)

Tom Ford

Tom Ford is born with the maximum amount of design talent in a beautiful package.
His most memorable collection, to many was A/W Gucci 96:



I was obsessed with my long velvet jacket with wide lapels in the 90's. Dark maroon. I think I took a photo of myself for a blog post in that jacket last year. Yes, I'm still wearing it. I still have big hair. I love heels to death.

I am still faithful to the Tom Ford silhouette today, despite the assault of skinny jeans, harem pants, ballet flats and baggy tops. I'd have to be dead before I wear harem pants.

Women in the 90's were arguably split in two fashion camps:

Glamourpuss Gucci girls. Powerful girls and androgynous boys.

Arty farty Prada girls. Androgynous girls AND boys.

Tom Ford heavily objectifies women. But in this world, let's be honest- women WANT to be objectified.













In his campaigns: Images that make women and men BUY his products, into his philosophy, into his image of us. In his world, women are beautiful, luxe sexual objets d'art. And we BUY into it, big time.

He has been with his partner, Richard Buckley (former editor of Vogue Hommes) for 23 years.

Question: How does he see the men he designs for?

He designs for men only these days..... and recently showed his first line of womenswear since his Gucci days in a secret show for womenswear.

http://www.tomford.com

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.

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.....

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.

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.


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.

The Oscars 2009

My best friend may be someone's partner now, but I'm still his hag, and I have my duties to him- such as watching the Live Telecast of the Academy Awards Red Carpet with him and his man. The gay equivalent of the Superbowl.

Thanks to the magic of Foxtel IQ, I recorded it and we watched it together after work hours last night. We three and a half people ordered in and had dinner in front of the TV because....
A. I have a baby at home.
B. My husband is away overseas again.
C. I live near the city (where work is).
D. They'd use any excuse to swing by this area.

They left to have a drink at The Wharf. And I'll try and get the riveting highlights down.

His pick for best dressed: Marisa Tomei in Versace

He thinks that it's "pure drama-rama, baby". Gorgeous pleated details, so well constructed. She had the right hair and accessories, too.
I think that it's a great dress on a great body. It would be perfect if it was in a more daring colour. Like Red. She can wear any colour, really. This is playing it too safe.

His pick for worst dressed: Jessica Biel in Prada.

He thinks the dress had no shape and she was wearing black closed toed shoes with this white dress! "OMG, MAJOR CRIME!" Her hair was kinda "blah- like what she would wear to the mall." "What a waste of a Prada!" He went on and on....
I think that the dress is very architectural- a great dress BUT she could've played up her voluptuous figure in a better dress. Think Versace.

My pick for best dressed: Alicia Keys in Armani Prive.

I think it's a classy overall look. The dress is very flattering because it skims her curves where it needs to be skimmed and the dress is very structured where it needs to hold her in. It's a great colour on her. She usually picks Armani Prive and it always works.
He thinks that the best thing about the dress is the hair. There's too much unnecessary ruching going on in the bodice, adding too much bulk on the torso, but not enough bulk on the bust.

My pick for worst dressed: Nicole Kidman in L'Wren Scott

I think it's awful. Are those feathers or fibre optic wire fountains on her dress? It does nothing for the dress at all, especially the ones on her cleavage. Everytime she chooses white, she manages to look all washed out. Like a tall glass of milk. And what's with that hair? Is it a bob or not?
He thinks: Ditto. "Boring, boring, boring! NEXT!"

Honourable mentions:
Penelope Cruz in vintage Pierre Balmain

This is what you're supposed to look like when you're a 16 year old at the debutante ball. Check out the prom queen hair. Oh God, get a stylist. She rocks the sexy vixen look. The demure, innocent look just doesn't work on her.

Tilda Swinton in Lanvin

Age-appropriate and very flattering. I love, love, love the draping. In fact, I'm going to buy that black skirt!

Heidi Klum in Roland Mouret

She's a gorgeous woman who can wear anything in the world and still look good. It looks like something the designers at Project Runway cooked up for a challenge.

Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab

This is one designer who knows how to flatter a woman's curves. Great choice. And the green earrings and ring looks SO striking against a black dress like this one. She's just a beautiful woman- with her, it's not about the dress, it's all about her.