All posts by TrendEngel

Film, Food, Meinung, Reisen, Restaurant

City of Gold – A Delicious Documentary

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cityofgoldposterThe first food critic to be award a Pulitzer Prize, Jonathan Gold is esteemed for his perception as a cultural observer as well as a culinary expert. Laura Gabbert’s “City of Gold” neatly echoes that appeal by amplifying its native Los Angeleno subject’s love of both gastronomic diversity and his wildly diverse hometown itself. You needn’t be previously knowledgable about either to be charmed by this ebullient documentary.

Gold is a “failed cellist,” a former L.A. Weekly proofreader and a music writer/editor who first seriously investigated his love of food with an epic quest to sample every eatery along 15-mile Pico Boulevard from downtown to Santa Monica. That alerted him to the intricacies of the sprawling megalopolis’ populations, where immigrant pockets can create a miniature “Tehrangeles” or a locus for specialties from a particular Mexican region.

Jonathan Gold is a genius and one of the best writers of modern america. This is a documentary no one should miss.

Architektur, Bücher, Design, Konsum, Kunst, Meinung, Reisen

Rock The Shack – This Is What We Dream About

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rock-the-shack-cover rocktheshack_web_2 Rock the Shack takes us to the places we long for. For the first time in the history of humankind, more people live in cities than in the country. Yet, at the same time, more and more city dwellers are yearning for rural farms, mountain cabins, or seaside homes.
These kinds of refuges offer modern men and women a promise of

rocktheshack_web_2 what urban centers usually cannot provide: quiet, relaxation, being out of reach, getting back to basics, feeling human again.
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Rock the Shack is a survey of such contemporary refuges from around the world—from basic to luxury. The book features a compelling range of sparingly to intricately furnished cabins, cottages, second homes, tree houses, transformations, shelters, and cocoons. The look of the included structures from the outside is just as important as the view from inside. What these diverse projects have in common is an exceptional spirit that melds the uniqueness of a geographic location with the individual character of the building’s owner and architect.

Food, Konsum, Lifestyle, Reisen

Brennivin – The Drink for the Tough Guy

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547f442c2a3d21fa285cc2d8_unusual-liquor-brennivin-iceland The caraway flavored aquavit has been a favorite among Icelanders since 1935, and is continuing to gain popularity around the globe. This is really strong stuff. Made from fermented potato mash and flavored with caraway seeds. The name Brennivin, which literally translates into English as “burning wine,” is also known locally as “black death.” With a name like that how could one not be intrigued? More and more bars around the world carry Brennivin. Finally.
While modern Iceland is known for nightlife, the country has had a temperance tradition since the early 1900s. Prohibition was enforced 1915 through 1921 for wine and until 1935 for alcohol. Surprisingly, beer was prohibited until 1989. According to my bartender, on the first day that beer was legalized, more than 350,000 bottles were sold — more than the entire population of Iceland.
It turns out that Brennivin’s lethal nickname stems from the temperance movement. In an effort to scare consumers, the Icelandic government placed a skull and crossbones logo on all liquor bottles. With its stark black label and skeleton, Brennivin became known as “black death.” brennivin-image0Today, the label sports an outline map of Iceland in lieu of a skull.

Architektur, Ausstellungen, Design, Kunst, Lifestyle, Meinung, Reisen

The Broad – The World’s Coolest Museum?

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images the-broad_photo-by-iwan-baan_4911_custom-d8f6606ba939a799a9b4bde69c9f8dea84069a9b-s800-c85Traveling up through the middle of The Broad in the round, glass elevator you can peek inside what’s known as “the vault”— an entire floor storing the Broads’ collection of more than 2,000 paintings, photos and sculptures.

On the top floor of this new Los Angeles landmark, diffused natural light pours in through skylights. There’s work here from Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Keith Haring, Cindy Sherman and Chris Burden. There’s an entire room for Takashi Murakami.

kusamaThis is the gift to the world made possible by Eli and Edythe Broad. Forbes estimates Eli Broad is worth $7.4 billion. He made his fortune building suburban tract homes, and also running an insurance company. He and his wife bought their first artwork — a van Gogh drawing — and then quickly switched to collecting contemporary art. He says they liked buying works with social or political meaning. And along the way, they’ve gotten to know the artists personally.
Called The Broad (pronounced brode) and housed in a $140 million, three-story building by Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it enshrines the collection of some 2,000 works. There are 2 main stars: The building itself and the Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, a mirror-lined chamber housing a dazzling and seemingly endless LED light display,  Just beautiful to put it mildly.

Musik

Eagulls Reinvent Themselves – Wave Is Back

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Eagulls-620x400Eagulls are on of our favorite bands. Their return couldt have been more delightful. Life in Rewind os the song of the moment Eagulls will return on May 13th with their sophomore LP, Ullages, through Partisan Records. Thus far, the UK post-punk outfit has shared “Lemontrees” and “My Life in Rewind” as teaser tracks. Now, they’ve delivered another pulsating preview in “Skipping”.

When Eagulls announced the new record, they pointed to influences like Cocteau Twins and 1980s-era The Cure; “Skipping” puts those sounds on full display. It’s a pounding, anthemic cry of chugging bass and guitars that build walls of sound ever higher as the track goes on. “‘Cause all I ever wanted was an answer,” vocalist George Mitchell calls out on the final chorus. “But all I ever got was this broken record skipping.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrnbB50f0Q4

Lifestyle, Meinung

Creativity Journal – Put Some Fun Into Your Day

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37427374_000_fThis is a bit of fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously – However this can make your life a whole lot more exciting. Don’t let another uninspired day pass you by. With the help of Do One Thing Every Day That Inspires You, you’ll be trying new things and creating new opportunities for yourself that you never dreamed possible. Filled with little bits of wisdom from sagely artists, architects, photographers and more, you’ll be challenged every day to get outside your comfort zone and live a better life.

Design, Konsum, Lifestyle, Mode

Novesta X Universal Works – The Summer Shoe from Slovakia

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novesta_navyNovesta x Universal Works Star Master Navy are the summer shoes you need.
Hand made in Slovakia, they use only natural materials processed by the same machinery used in 1939.
Universal Works brings strong colorways for a casual and eco friendly shoe. This beautiful shoe is giving Converse and Vans a run for its money. Not as adolescent and more grown up – overall more beautiful.

Musik

Dilly Dally – Canadian Rockband Takes SXSW By Storm – Desire

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Dilly_Dally_5The Toronto four-piece Dilly Dally’s debut oozes with female desire. In almost every song, Katie Monk unleashes a dive-bombing scream that drops like a flare down a well, her band reinforcing the squalor of her voice with a heavy swagger redolent of some of the best ever alt-rock. Their debut was released last year almost unnoticed. But suddenly everything seems to change. Every music exec going to South by Southwest tells us that Dilly Dally are on top of the talent list. We certainly agree. Hey hey my my – dirty rock can never die…The song desire: