Category Archives: Lifestyle
Graffiti of the Week – Street Art Nr. 206
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Really
First of all apologies that TrendEngel didn’t present you this book earlier. This isn’t a trend we spotted early but rather late – Having said that: We don’t care.
“In this book, I have summed up how to put your space in order in a way that will change your life forever.”
This is the ambitious first sentence of Marie Kondo’s best-selling manifesto, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Direct and devoid of clutter, this sentence rings true to her philosophy. Unlike most self-help books, there are no extraneous words, no pandering—the lack of “wink wink” gesturing reads as an appealing, authentic statement.
This is what she says: People should focus on the present, and in tidying, this manifests in the form of using present-day valuations of all of one’s belongings. People are wrong when they think that pair of jeans will ever fit again, Kondo is arguing. They’re also wrong when they think they’ll read that book again. These optimistic predictions keep people from getting rid of things they don’t need.
Sounds stupid? It isn’t It’s really fascinating.
Graffiti of the Week – Street Art Nr. 205
Stumptown – Sellouts or Coffee-Gods?
When legendary New York coffee brand Stumptown was sold to Pete’s Coffee last year the reaction in the social media hemisphere was drastic:
“Sellouts”
“Everyone is for sale at the right price.”
“It’s a sad day. Another Starbucks story in the making. Great for the owners but bad for the coffee quality.”
“what the effing hell. is nothing sacred?”
“Scratch stumptown off my list of coffee places to go. It’s been nice knowing ya’.”
“This is a travesty.”
Well, the truth is, Stumptwon does produce TrendEngels favorite coffee in the US and the cold brew available in select super markets in the US makes any european cold coffee product look stupid. Fact.
Graffiti of the Week – Street Art Nr. 204
Brennivin – The Drink for the Tough Guy
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.” 
Today, the label sports an outline map of Iceland in lieu of a skull.
The Broad – The World’s Coolest Museum?
Traveling 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.
This 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.
Graffiti of the Week – Street Art Nr. 203
Creativity Journal – Put Some Fun Into Your Day
This 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.