Arcade Fire for Nostalgia

After a markedly low point one evening, my dear friend, Francesca Noero, shared this link to a small group of our friends.  Needless to say, after we each visited our childhood home, the air lifted and the commitment to a beautiful proceeding set in motion.  We ended our evening watching the sun rise over the San Francisco bay.

This month marks the one year anniversary of Arcade Fire's release of its third album, titled The Suburbs.  Chris Milk, in collaboration with a number of creatives and their friends at Google, wrote and directed a "video" of sorts featuring the Arcade Fire song, "We Used to Wait."  As you enter the site, you will be prompted to enter in your childhood address of where you grew up.  Tip: if at first the engine does not recognize your address, enter another address from where you grew up (such as your school) or just go ahead and proceed... it should find something nearby. 

Below, find the link to an interactive viewing experience conducive to epic bouts of nostalgia.

The Wilderness Downtown

My postcard: "Keep doing what you're doing, and trust your heart.  It will lead you to the right place."  And as the sun rose later that evening, I couldn't feel more sure that I am in the right place.

Florrie // "Experimenting with Rugs"

If my style and my best friend, Nasu, had a baby, it would be Florrie in this video.  Love the editing, love the hair and makeup, love the styling, just plain loving Florrie.

Louis Vuitton // FruitStripe Zebra

While getting my dose of Vogue Daily, I came across a pair of shoes for which I swooned:

I am enamored by the sense of levity exuded by these jaunty numbers - not to mention the prospect of mirthfully stepping out of a cab in these lovelies. Needless to say, these Fruit Striped Zebras from Louis Vuitton SS11 now grace the wallpaper of my BlackBerry.  You can see more of Phil Oh's street style snaps from summer market for Resort 2012 collections in the Vogue Gallery.  Also consider checking out his street style blog, Street Peeper.

Wait, back up a second... "Fruit Striped Zebras," you say?  Yea.  Remember this?

 If you don't remember Fruit Stripe gum, it is either because you weren't a kid, or didn't have kids, or grandkids, or didn't babysit, and maybe just didn't own a television, in the mid '80s and through the '90s.  It was fruitier and more sickeningly sweet than Juicy Fruit, and the time for which it took the gum to loose all its malleability and feel like a rubber ball in your mouth was about a tenth of what would be considered the norm in sugar-loaded gum.  But damn, that gum was sexy.  The pack was tantalizingly multi-colored, the gum itself had colored Zebra stripes corresponding to the flavor of the stick, and best of all, it came with tattoos.  From what I can remember, these lasted about as long as the flavor of the gum.  Oh memories...

Back on track, these Louis Vuitton Zebra heels are available for sale in a gold/deep red/merlot color palette, as seen on Emma Watson.  However, as much as I do enjoy the stylings of Miss Watson, I personally prefer the heels in the FruitStripe "magenta" color combo.  And, unlike the quickly fading flavor of FruitStripe gum, I could enjoy these here and there for years to come.  Throwback thrown forward.

"Sunshine" and Rhythm // my dream feat. Rye Rye and M.I.A.

I can't help but think I would have much better rhythm if this was my playground beyond the first few years of my childhood. I am proud to say, though, that I currently own, or have owned, a version of almost every article of clothing and accessory featured in this video. Safe to say that where I missed out on acquiring enviable rhythm, I compensated with more than enough late '80s / early '90s prints and gear. The one thing I do not own, and although I probably would never wear it, I'd like someone to own it: M.I.A.'s shirt that says "Fuck Google, Ask Me." She's a bad ass, and Rye Rye is totally adorable. What else can I say?

Journal // Comfort

 >>one of those nights where you all of a sudden realize where you are... realize where you were a year ago... it's like black and white, then and now... and you wonder, could now and then possibly be any more different?  the comfort ceases to exist when reminded of what was once comfortable.  tonight... suddenly, i'm out of my element.  i am where i was then, but stuck in now... wondering how and when everything changed.  where was i when black turned white? a split second incognizable to the conscious mind... or a gradation of shades so infinitesimal that a distinct point in between is unidentifiable... where the drastic change of black to white is discounted to a gray state of consciousness - vague to memory, and in the essence of every moment.  tonight is a night where all i have is white, and nothing will suit me but black.<<

I journaled this thought on the 23rd of January, 2007.  Despite all cards in hand being entirely different, I couldn't feel more similarly at this very moment.  Looking back on the cards in hand then and now, something tells me the feeling will be more transient on this day than it was four years ago... but it could not feel less so at the moment.  In moments like these, the magnitude of feeling behind the flow of consciousness is such that you cannot, in your heart of hearts, mind of minds, imagine feeling any other way.

One of those nights... where you find yourself... incapacitated.