dan hilier's moleskine.

i've been writing more lately, and it's inspired me to look for a really nice notebook i can carry with me everywhere to jot things down in. fourtypercent is great for blogging, but for things that are a little more personal, i like a pen and paper. plus, having all of that written down no matter where i am is great preparation for the fourtypercent zine i'm working on with some of my lady friends.

i stumbled across this moleskine on skulladay.com. the graphic is absolutely gorgeous, and it's a genuine moleskine. i love the combination of olde style illustration, and sea life. who doesn't love an octopus? the artist is dan hilier. a quick visit to his Web site had me developing a bit of an art-crush. i love artists who combine animal traits with humans - and i've yet to see one who does this so artfully as mr. hilier. absolutely beautiful work. check out his whole web site for more examples of his work.

///40% Mixtape Vol. 2: youas22.

tracklist:

1 papaya year // high places
2 renovo // mahogany
3 unknown // tujiko noriko
4 boundary addiction // geodesic
5 night // the field (fourtypercent edit)
6 the companion // the mary onettes
7 canal // atlas sound
8 bruises // chairlift
9 supervitesse // mahogany
10 from stardust to sentience // high places

sorry for the lack of knowing tujiko noriko's tracktitle. it was just really pretty and i couldn't leave it out of the mix. here's the link to download it: download fourtypercent's YOUAS22.

first day of fall soundtrack.

and also by mahogany,











thanks to cfs for no kids & simon bookish's "everything/everything" (out on tomblab october 28, 2008 in north america). much loved.

maybe i'll start djing again.

still alive.

Portal - Still Alive typography from Trickster on Vimeo.

i don't know what this is for. i hope it really is for aperture. but it's so so so good.

joseba elorza.

joseba elorza is a freelance illustrator and sound designer from spain. i came across his work on changethethought, and was impressed mostly with the above image. the color is ridiculously perfect, as is the integration of the old photograph. i love how his style throws together traditional photos of the past with apocalyptic imagery - very cold war paranoia meets modern design theory.

but what i most loved were his soundbits. i play around with sound design a bit myself (link goes to my geodesic myspace). this is mostly because i kind of suck at composing songs that are anything but ambient. i admit it. check out love me que here. it's very broadcast-like, which cannot be ignored.

joseba's blog gives some insight into his methods, and who exactly is using his work. if only i spoke spanish...

El Mundo Unido por Un Balón.

i spent a lot of time with lost-and-found friend, juanita, over the weekend. friday night was really more of the same "let's go pretend we want to dance at the wave!", but saturday was the piece-de-resistance. she picked me up around 4:30ish and we went to her house in norview, where her god parents, god brother and mother were staying with her. her mom had cooked up some fantastic stir fried tofu and vegetables over rice that i couldn't have been more thankful for. during the course of my little visit, her godmother and mother gave me a Thai nickname: Tha. i haven't been able to find a literal translation of the word anywhere on the internet, but i'm told it means something like royalty. if anyone out there speaks Thai and can tell me if that's true, i'd love you forever.

but the really great part of saturday happened when juanita had to drive me back to my car so i could go pick up my room mate from virginia beach, where she was stranded. i don't remember why, but i was looking in her glove compartment and i came across the amazing sunglasses you see above. after a little research, i found out they're sunglasses that were sold at the 1986 World Cup, which was held in Mexico City. besides being the second time Mexico had hosted the World Cup since 1970, the UN had also declared 1986 "international year of peace," which gave way to the unofficial motto: el mundo unido por un balon (the world united by a ball). some other trivia about the games that year: canada, denmark and iraq all qualified for the first time; argentina won the cup; iraq played all matches on neutral ground (meaning away games i guess) due to the iran-iraq war; Mexico City was rocked by a massive earthquake only 8 months before the cup; denmark was dubbed "the group of death" because of their 100 percent record in round 2 of the cup.

juanita said they looked better on me, so she gave them to me. i'm seriously in love with these sunglasses. they're vintage 80's (i know, i know. i totally blasted 80's fashion last week), and they've got a great backstory to boot. i feel good when i wear them. so be jealous that you're not friends with girls who have great sunglasses to give away, kids.

a fourtypercent fall.

i am fighting the first sickdays of fall right now, and as a result can't sleep very well at night. so i figured now was as good as time as any to start mapping out looks for the fall that will make me feel as though i won't get sick anymore this season. (here's hoping!) i'm a huge fan of rainy days, especially between late september and the end of november, so hunter's wellington boots top series one of ///40% fall.

1. hunter wellington rain boots. i've had a love affair with rain boots for the longest time and have been waiting for them to catch on with actual people. not that i think they have, but my friend beth wore some out the other day and it made me so happy that i hunted down a pair for myself. they're a bit expensive, so i'm saving up for them, but they're available from jcrew for less than $100, which is very exciting. having not really taken my cowboy boots off since i bought them, it'll be refreshing to have another knee-high boot to rock when it's wet outside and i'm feeling slightly more whimsical. check 'em out. 2. WeSC Eddie Herringbone Duffle Coat. this is one of those coats where i actually did say out loud, "omigosh, it's amazing." the first time i heard about WeSC was the last time i was in california visiting my good friend bobby from kitsune noir. we stopped into their boutique, and i have to admit i wasn't too impressed. at that time, it was a new brand, and they appear to have come an awfully long way since then. at $258, this coat is an expensive addition to your fall/winter wardrobe, but damn if it's not worth it. if you can't afford something like this, sub it with a great peacoat or even a trench. i'm making this part of my official "bring classy back" movement. all of this 80's ironic hipster fashion is starting to make my head hurt. 3. any large, overstated, patterned or brightly-colored scarf. i have a "desert" scarf like the one pictured above in a green and black houndstooth pattern that i can't wait to start wearing all the time again. contrary to popular belief, scarves are not out of fashion. (as a point of fact, not much is out of fashion these days. it's about how you wear it.) throw a similar scarf in with the mix to spice things up a bit and draw attention to the way your cheeks and noses are turning red in the cool temperatures. 4. cheap monday tight unwashed jean. i know, i know. tight jeans are getting a little old. but as long as i can keep pouring my legs into them, i'm going to keep on wearing them. plus, they make wearing boots so much fun. cheap monday's skinny jeans are an exceptional find, as they're relatively cheap (in this case, only $65) and they fit like a glove, reinforced with a bit of spandex for movement.

obviously this look goes best on a particularly chilly day, flask of hot cocoa mixed with peppermint schnapps in hand. man, that sounds good. i can't wait until my body likes that stuff again.