Only In New York: Can I Be There Now?

When I first saw these images I was like: "What a funny-looking tennis court?" but then I read what it was all about. The Hypar Pavilion, located on New York's Upper West Side, is an ultra-luxurious restaurant and at the same time, an awesome green urban park. 

Designed by New York-based interdisciplinary studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro (who, apparently, did some amazing stuff) the park is open to the public and not just the clients of the restaurant... Can I just beam myself there now?

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Phonofone III

In the next few months don't wonder why many posts will be about interiors, furniture, objects and things that define the character and feel of a space. Consider it a part of my research for stuff I would ideally want to have in my new working/living space, the one I am planning to set up in a couple of months. 

So, this awesome sound amplifier is a handmade ceramic beauty which multiplies the (mono) sound of the iPhone by 4 times. Science & Sons has a whole series of these ceramic, very eco friendly (since they run on pure nothingness), sound amplifiers. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get one of these right away since they go for approximately $190/€145, but given that they're handmade and ceramic kinda justifies the price. 

Ayten Alpun Yilmaz

Ayten Alpun Yilmaz shot these amazing pictures part of a meticulously impeccable fashion editorial for the November 2010 issue of the Turkish Marie Claire. 

I was stunned by how perfect these photographs are and by how painting-like every single shot is.

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Apparently, You Can Tweet From Outer Space

And while we're in the things-that-freak-me-out neighborhood I thought I should post these awesome, yet scary, photos tweeted live from outer space by Douglas H. Wheelock (A.K.A. Astro_Wheels). Even more awesome (and creepier) photos live in Wheelock's twitpic feed.

(Top Picture: The Mediterranean Sea, and in the black space in the center of the image, that thing that hangs in the middle is where I am now, Cyprus. Bottom Picture: Japan)

Swimming Over New York

So, deep swimming pools (if not all swimming pools) freak me out. Heights freak me out even more. So you would never see me anywhere near this swimming pool, even if I know that the floor of the pool is actually just an aerial photo of New York.

This swimming pool located in Mumbai, India and is part of HSBC's £50 million "green" project. HSBC is the first carbon neutral bank. 

This was a concept by Ogilvy & Mather and it has created such a buzz that HSBC is considering creating more pools around the world.

Wear the Tron

Items from Opening Ceremony's Tron Legacy Collection

In just a few weeks Tron Legacy will be in cinemas around the world, and in a few days the soundtrack will be out (Daft Punk!). So, it could be said that tech freaks and electronic music fans alike are feverishly awaiting for Tron to "happen". Well, it seems that it's not just them; fashionistas and style cravers have just boarded the Tron-train.

Opening Ceremony in colaboration with Disney, released the Opening Ceremony Tron Legacy clothing line. The line features clothes for both men and women. The OCTron Legacy garments are dominated by bright and neon colors, are rendered by plain futuristic designs and cuts, introduce laser-cut details on dresses, and include neoprene sock-boots and bomber jackets amongst other cool stuff.

Also, there will be a Pop-Up Shop inside the Royal/T Art Space/Cafe in Los Angeles (November 19 - December 23) with Tron Legacy fashion items by designers such as TomTom (cuff above), Jerome Rousseau (shoes above) Hayden Harnett and Rotenier. 

Pilates For Men

Composition: Artémis Psathas

Sporadically, I might post something fitness-related. So, I guess, this is one of those posts. 

I've tried many types of workouts over the past 12 years I've been training. I tried all cardio, cardio+resistance, all resistance, pilates, aerobics, body combat, yoga, power bars, body pump and so on, and so forth.

I have to say that the one type of workout that had me coming back was Pilates. In the six years I've been doing pilates, on-and-off, I've tried cardio pilates, traditional mat pilates, balance ball, pilates ring and most recently I've been obsessing over the Pilates For Men 10-20-30 Challenge.

So, Pilates For Men is a great 3-DVD set designed by Joshua Smith at the Pilates Sports Center which is located in Encino, California. I've been a fan of pilates before, but this made me a bit more enthused about the whole thing. I mean; a pilates workout specifically designed for men zapped any possible doubts I had in regards of whether pilates could be used as a standalone workout for me. Each DVD contains a challenging 30-minute workout (traditional mat / resistance band / ball workout) which renders you exhausted well before the 30 minutes are over. Note that the set comes complete with a resistance band and a small ball.

I'd say that this was probably one of my best purchases of 2010. Now, if the music was a bit less aggressive, but I guess it's there to give you a push to go all the way. 

I did have a hard time finding a way to have it sent to me over here, but at the end, like in most cases, I got what I wanted.

Indestructible - Robyn

Just because, or maybe because "Indestructible" is something more than an impeccably awesome song, and because the third part of the "Body Talk" album trilogy is coming out later this month!

The video (directed by Nils Ljunggren & Max Vitali) is pretty cool too. The fluid in the tube-dress (by Lucy McRae) is a very matching visual with the way the song flows. I am obsessed with this (in a similar way I was obsessed with "The Girl & the Robot".

The T-Mobile Welcome Back

No instruments were used in this film. Amazing! More here.

I couldn't help but being a big lump of emotions when watching this.

(thanks Maria)

Typographic City Maps

Texas-based Axis Maps created unbelievably gorgeous typographic maps of Chicago and Boston. Chicago is a very well structured grid-like city; it just lent itself (or should I say: begged) for such a treatment. According to the creators everything was done manually, so as a graphic designer, I can imagine how hard making these must've been.

Anyone with a drop of typographical awareness will have their heads explode when they see this! I was blown away for two reasons: a) these are extremely detailed b) Chicago!

I want a Chicago print for my future studio wall. Thank you.

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