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Existential crisis v.2011.

As the brilliant George Michael wrote in his song, “Waiting for that day”:

“Now everybody’s talking about this new decade
Like you say the magic numbers
Then just say goodbye to
The stupid mistakes you made
Oh, my memory serves me far too well.”

2011 doesn’t mean shit. A new year just means you get the opportunity to snowball all the crap from the previous year to a new one – just so you can see how you evolve it. Life is only measured by the big stuff (weddings, life, death) and how often does that happen to you at any given time? All it is, is just a day-to-day shot of doing the same bullshit – OVER AND OVER AGAIN. There was nothing new about 2010 that didn’t happen in 2009. It might have looked a little different but that’s just its outfit. Don’t be fooled.

So, this existential crisis I’ve been having for a while, jumped on my back right into the new year with me. We even kissed each other at midnight. It’s the start of a beautiful friendship. What defines a person? A marriage? Or a happy marriage? How many happily married people do you know? Kids? How many parents do you know long for a weekend of freedom from their kids or a quiet moment? Jobs? How many people do you know love their jobs? What else is there in life? Partying? Hobbies? What the hell else is there in life and how do I get it?

Is it my job situation? Did I make the right decision to stop working for anyone and work from home, for myself, instead? No-one thinks I’m doing this right. They think I should go back into the work force and save freelancing for when I have my elusive children. This choice has been an odd split of conscience for me. On one hand, I’m completely self-satisfied because regardless of what you think, I am in an enviable position. I get to work from the comfort of my home, on my own personal time and without idiots of colleagues. On the other hand, something obviously turns your brain to mush without the constant interaction of clients, colleagues, suppliers. Are we just programmed to work or have I just not found the right formula for me?

Is it the kind of work I do now? Small, personal projects? I did enjoy working on nationwide design and branding campaigns. It’s always nice to open up the national newspaper and see your full page ad. I have to also admit that I like the quiet appreciation I have for the work I do now. It’s making a different to these little people, who genuinely seem to value the work I do for them. It’s very small work but I like feeling like I help them. Of course I miss having a team of design minions that used to do all the work while I came up with the big ideas, then YouTubed for the rest of the day – but do I miss them enough to take this small business further?

Money is also a big thing in my life right now. I used to love having a disposable income – I used to love high-end brands and only took cabs to get around. Now, I walk past Gucci without stopping and only take the train and buses. Yes, I take the bus. I fucking hate the bus. But I take it. Money is good – but at what cost? I had nice bags but also a severe gastric problem that caused me to throw up everyday until my teeth are permanently sensitive (because the enamel wore off).

I haven’t dated in months. My justification is that I am sick of dating morons, dicks and generally people I have nothing in common with or no interest in. Hey, what’s life without rationalisations? Would I want to date? I suppose so – why not? And yet as I keep retreating into myself – how can this possibly happen? I very rarely make eye contact with guys who smile at me now because I am not eager to just be disappointed or be a disappointment. I’m essentially cock-blocking myself.

My life is vastly different from what it was 2 years ago.By choice, by accident, by displacement, by me.

I’m still trying to figure out if “different” is a good thing or a bad thing. Almost everyone I know thinks it a bad thing. How can everyone be wrong?

And just to have a picture, here’s the only picture of me at New Years with my friendly hand-friend. Thumbs up to 2011.

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The Vampire Diaries – really? (Yes, really.)

Honestly, I’m still torn between admitting this one. I’ve recently fallen in love with The Vampire Diaries – it’s almost like a justifiable guilty treat (like Tim-Tams). Although, I’d watch (and recommend) this any day over many other shows out there – like House or Grey’s Anatomy. Why is Hugh Laurie still being nominated for the Globes?

Anyway.

In my desperation for something new to watch (Big Love and Californication only start in January) – I decided to try out The Vampire Diaries. I had tried out Haven, based on Stephen King curiously alone – and seriously sucked balls. Cheap production, bad acting and generally over-amplifying the mystery with very little follow through – I barely made it through half an episode.

I’ll admit it – I’m a vampire person. Remember when this used to be cool – maybe a little goth and scary and not all sparkly-tween? Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still my top pick for tv shows (Joss Whedon is just a genius) and I love True Blood. Remember the short-lived tv show, Kindred? Blade, Ann Rice, Bram Stoker, The Lost Boys, Vampire in Brooklyn (half-kidding), Fright Night (not kidding) – all these wonderful stories completely demolised by one Stephanie Meyer. So, when I read about the premise for The Vampire Diaries – high school, small town, vampires and wolves centred around one female character – I was extremely apprehensive. I did a little research (read: Wikipedia) on the backstory of this tv show and found out that they’re based on novels written in the 90’s. So, ok – a little street cred there. Let’s try it.

Here’s my list of pros and cons for The Vampire Diaries:

CONS

  • The first few episodes need commitment. The budget was obviously lower but more importantly, the writing, directing and acting were trapped a box of stereotypes. It used effects like fog and a crow to be eerie, when really it’s just unnecessary. Somewhere along the 3rd episode, they dropped this nonsense and realised that the actor and good writing were enough to effectively portray the evilness.
  • Ian Somerhalder, who plays the antagonistic brother, Damon Salvatore, over-did it on the “bad guy” acting, completely typical pauses. Now, he just opens his eyes up a lot and that’s getting kinda tiring. He’s still quite hot though. I wish they’d do a better job with hair – what’s with the centre parting and straight fringe?
  • The main character, Elena Gilbert is played by Nina Dobrev and to me, she gets the job done but is nothing spectacular in this role. She’s got a pretty good opportunity (given that she’s playing multiple roles for this show) but lacks the chops to completely pull it off with a “wow”. Instead, the writing and scenes carry her through. She’s no Liz Parker (read: Roswell) – and I find her really skinny – her face is shadowed by her hair most of the time. I still don’t understand why the Salvatore brothers are obsessed with Katherine/Elena – the role is mostly responsive so it’s very hard to see the draw.
  • There’s too much vampire whizzing about to create suspense.
  • I love seamless blending of scenes and cliffhangers to new episodes and this one ends up being a little choppy. True Blood does this amazingly where (for most episodes), every episodes starts perfectly where the last one ended. I hate when there’s a cliffhanger scene and the next scene, the characters are talking about it. I’m like, “WTF happened during the ad break? Did they make up?”
  • Lots of lingering, emo, teen stares and smiles.

PROS

  • Once you get past the first few episodes, the goodness starts to come out and I literally finished 33 episodes in 3 days. By the way, each episode is about 40 mins long. I was also hungover at the time, so everything came together for me to breeze through this show.
  • It’s slightly unexpected in the sense that people I don’t expect to die, do and the ones I think are dead, aren’t.
  • Candice Accola, who plays Caroline completely grows into, and owns her role. She starts out as a seemingly superfluous character but blimey, she starts to kick ass and becomes fun to watch on screen. I’ve started to love her in scenes.
  • There’s enough storyline to go around and keep you occupied. Although, this show does add convenient plots as additional sub layers and backgrounds – this isn’t CNN, so just roll with it.
  • It gets more gory, and less teeny when it hits the second season.
  • It’s so ridiculously predictable but I want Damon Salvatore to be good! And he’s consistently bad, which is great for the story line and continuity.
  • The vampires are pretty basic – no special skills except for biting, strength and speed. They do have day-walker rings though, which is cheating but better than sparkling. Basic vampires are a pro. True Blood has cornered the basic vampire (biting, no sun, sleep in dirt) market though.

 

Basically, if you like vampire shows, give it a try. If not, don’t even bother – go watch Gossip Girl or something (what a waste of Blake Lively, she was fantastic in The Town).

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Christmas Gifts I’ll Never Get.

A couple of years ago, I tried sending out lists to gift-givers as a suggestions of things to get. I’d always appreciate people sending lists, because there are the people who are impossible to shop for. However, I realised that no-one ever uses this list and so, I’m doing an open one – since I won’t get anything off this list either.

Uber Geeky Pen

This super cool pen is a pen (obviously), pencil, highlighter and ruler all in one. I’m a designer = I’m a geek. How cool is this?

Milk Frother

I love tea lattes, and I work from home, so I need to improvise on my own Starbucks. Simple, easy, happy.

Supa-fly bicycle mirrors

Yes, that’s from Ke$ha’s video. I loved her gold bicycle in it, especially the cool rear-view mirrors. Throw in some glittery tassels too, and I’ll be a happy rider.

Random other stuff love:

  1. Accessories for either my iPod or iPhone
  2. Bed linen
  3. Female maintenance vouchers (spa, wax, nails…)

 

This Christmas, my usual recipients can look forward to simple gifts, with lots of thought in it – so please don’t spend too much on me. Ho Ho Ho!

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The TV Round-Up

So, it’s coming to the close of 2010 and subsequently, the end of the a bunch of tv show runs. So, here’s what I think about a couple of them. Spoilers ahead (this isn’t the Sixth Sense, what’s there to spoil? By the way, Bruce Willis was dead all along)

Boardwalk Empire – Season 1

I stayed away from this show for a couple of episodes because period dramas aren’t really my thing. I didn’t want to get into some Scorcese “Gangs of New York” indulgence, but I finally got round to it and my god, what a brilliant series. Steve Buscemi holds the show together almost single-handledly with his consistently note-perfect performance throughout the entire season. He is officially Enoch Thompson to me. He commits completely to a thoroughly diverse and complex character of quiet depravity and sociable cruelty. Season 1 has barely scratched the surface of his evilness and Boardwalk Empire has created the perfect antihero. Always seemingly in control of his emotions, he lets this break free (the torching of his father’s home) occasionally to let the audience glimpse some semblance of a soul, which I admit to holding on to through his next cruel act. I constantly question his motives and intentions. The writing for this show is truly amazing and on form for almost all characters.

Its one letdown (for me) would have to be Michael Pitt. I found it difficult to stomach his acting throughout the entire show – and he does have a pretty big role to play. He looked uncomfortable in every scenario (he looked awkward playing the lover, the fighter and the Judas). I constantly wished that someone else was cast in his role because it’s truly an interesting and complex role (war past, young father, budding criminal) and his deadpan style and glassy eyes does absolutely nothing for me. He seemed like a poor man’s Ryan Gosling to me and as much as I hate shows that do this, I would be more than happy if they did a complete body swap for the second season.

Two supporting cast members that stick out for excellent contributions to the show would have to be Paz de la Huerta as Lucy Danziger (Nucky’s once-paramour) and Jack Huston as Richard Harrow, the marksman turned gangster. Their performances are so spot-on, emotional and believable. They added great value to the show. This show really has it all for me: quick pace, complex storylines, lots of cursing and sex. If you like boobies, this show is for you. It makes me remember HBO, in all it’s glory.

Sons of Anarchy – Season 3

It’s no secret how amazing I think this show is. Beyond its completely stellar and comfortable cast, it’s got plot aplenty and it makes one hour feel like 10 minutes. I’ve described this show as a “mind-fuck” and it was a constant ride from the first to the last episode. There is a serious level of commitment to each and every episode, down to Celtic-ising the theme song, when a bunch of episodes took the team to Ireland. I loved how the show took me uncomfortably close to Jax sleeping with his sister (unknown to either of them) and it got me thinking, “Oh, god, are they going to make us watch this?! What if he’s actually Clay’s son, which is why this is happening?”.

But here’s what I love most about this show. For something so modern and kick-ass, most of its mystery and appeal lies in its past and not always in the future. With Sons of Anarchy, you get a feeling of a deep-rooted and twisted past, which occasionally bubbles to the surface. And while the storyline careens forward, it keeps you looking in the rearview mirror to see what’s happening behind. To support this brilliance, was the iPhone app released a couple of months ago that delves into this dark past and sheds a lot of light into the founder(s) of the MC and is a total accessory to understanding the show. I always appreciate that the characters are true to form and life – and are never flat or one dimensional. They personify both good and evil in one being. Take the matriach, Gemma – a brilliant mother to all but she is one cold bitch, and as the final episode left off, apparently a lot more capable of darkness than imagined. And every character has this duality that draws them further away from being typical “bikers” – even Tig has a soft spot for his little puppy. 🙂 What a sweetheart. I love Tig. If you haven’t started on Sons of Anarchy, stay in on a weekend and trust me, you will go through 3 seasons in 2 days.

Weeds – Season 6

I have no idea why I’ve continued to watch this show, past season 3. Or whichever season it was that weed stopped actually being involved. This show should now be called “Self-Indulgent Woman with a little hash on the side”. Whatever saving grace and magic the character “Nancy Botwin” had is long gone. This show is officially over for me. Doug is obviously a crowd pleaser but his character is tired and should have been retired, along with Celia. Andy is over-used to compensate for Nancy’s whininess and the dwindling humour in the show. Shane is the bad guy? Are you serious? The little kid that totes the Tex-Mex baby around and steals a pram? Silas, to me, is the last bastion of hope for the show and he was completely way sided for the introduction of Richard Dreyfuss, whom was a mildly distracting element but nothing can hold this show together anymore. It has ripped at the seams like an old dimebag. The best episode of this season was the last. I’m sick of the whole lot of them.

The Big C – Season 1

I thought I’d give this one a try – things were a little slow and honestly, it’s not that bad but it’s not that great either. Laura Linney is a great actress but I don’t think this was the role for her. Basically, this role is Nancy Botwin with cancer, instead of weed. Mary-Louise Parker, however, is a truckload hotter than Laura Linney, which makes it believable that every man wants to fuck her. I have no clue why her oncologist is in love with her – or why Idris Elba is nuts over her. Her character is so fraught with insipid complexity that it feels fake. There is no depth or personality given to anything – not the environment, the town, the neighbour, the son, the brother or her family life or past. Basically, it’s a woman who has been diagnosed with cancer and then plays skip-rope with it (Do I want to be mean? A good mother? A mother with no boundaries? A whore? A good wife? Spend money? Save money? Die? Live?). Frankly, the show gave me no reason to care to begin with. Oliver Platt is the only bright spark throughout but let’s move him to another, more enjoyable show. His talent is wasted here.

Glee – Season 2

Sorry, cast of Glee, but I’ve stopped believing. What was this season – the summer of Kurt? Look, gay people are fine, but this effeminate over the top wanker has got to go. If he stopped for a second to stop whinging, he might realise he gets all the attention – in both schools, and even at his father’s wedding. Good jeepers, how many songs does Kurt get – sitting there, can’t believe his luck that the song is for him, the annoying faux-twinkle in his eye. Any more episodes, and I would have slushied him in the face myself. After 2 seasons, absolutely nothing has changed and no character has grown. Rachel is still the Jewish hooker with the heart of gold (didn’t she get too much into Christmas?), Schuester is lost, Sue is mean, Mercedes is fat, Artie can’t walk, Tina is Asian, Santana is a slut, Brittany is stupid, Puck is a delinquent and Finn is still the singing jock. 2 whole seasons and they did nothing with it except sing into the asses of Britney, Gaga, Madonna and godknowswho else. The episode with Gwyneth Paltrow was like watching a Celine Dion Live dvd while getting a root canal. Every episode is convenient, poorly written and has no purpose or value. Go Glee, go. No seriously, just go.

The Walking Dead – Season 1

Sigh. I had high hopes for this one. I love a good zombie flick as much as the next chick but this one went as fast as the zombies could walk (which is very slowly) (oh, I’m sorry, they’re called “walkers”) and I finally shot this series in the head after episode 3. That’s right – it only made it as far as 3 episodes for me. That’s how far the initial gore rush went. This series could have used a little more strategy. Yes, we all like the gore value but shit, it’s got to tell a story and show us an endpoint. I had no idea what was going on, how they were going to survive and what the endpoint was – but here’s the flaw of the show, I didn’t care. From the first episode, all that mattered was the Sheriff getting to his family, so once episode 3 came round, and they were reunited, I really didn’t care what happened after that. I don’t like cheap plot twists (stuck in a tank… oooh, here’s a voice from the wilderness. Need to get out of the building, oh by the way, rub guts on yourself so they won’t recognise you’re alive) – they make me feel stupid for not knowing the answer the writers didn’t know themselves, 5 minutes ago. If I get really bored over the holidays, I might catch up on this one but I doubt it.

Married To Rock – Season 1

Is this when my credibility vanishes? I am loving Married To Rock – an E! reality tv show featuring the wives of Perry Farrell, Duff McKagan, Steve Stevens and Billy Duffy. Firstly, I love those guys so I appreciate any glimpse into their lives. Perry Farrell for god’s sake! It’s fun, sexy and a great way to pass half an hour. It’s also amusing to see Steve Stevens turn up at his wife’s door holding a Hello Kitty toy. Steve Stevens! BLS! This show is just 3 episodes in, so no critique just yet but you can’t really critique a reality tv show – they’re mostly guilty pleasures. I actually watch Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. Enough said.

Coming in 2011

Big returns to the tiny screen for 2011 – everyone’s favourite bad boy, Hank Moody, returns for the 4th season of Californication. The Borgias starts for everyone who asked “Now what?” at the end of The Tudors and Big Love returns in full force for a 5th season. Big Love has consistently been one of my favourite shows (multiple, complex plots – that’s where it’s at, for me).

Hope this mini-critique helped anyone trying to decide what show to catch up on/drop for the holidays!

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We Don’t Need Another Logo.

(Yes, the title of this post is set to that Tina Turner song)

As a designer, one of my most disliked pieces to create, is definitely the logo. Some designers and agencies do no more than indulge their passion for logo and identity design – for me, I am not a fan. And this is not because it’s something I’m incapable of doing, but I’m a fan of branding beyond the logo. If you’re looking to start a business, and want to create an identity, the logo should ultimately take up about 10% of your vision, and the other 90% going into their branding. Yet, a lot of people I interact with, place about 80% of their time and vision into their logo and the remaining 20% into their branding.

Here’s where I see the problem.

A lot of focus goes into the trying to make the logo define the business – the directive is usually, for the logo to represent the business activities, its business motto, its ambitions and value. For goodness sake, it’s a logo, not a holographic personality. To illustrate my point, here’s a couple of logos where the brand recall (see, it’s “brand recall”, not “logo recall”) is infinitely more powerful than just its logo.

Good ol’ Coke. Who the hell even cares about their logo? All I care about is that it ain’t blue (Pepsi). When I think about Coke, I don’t think about it’s font-patented logo. I think about its bubbly, gassy, deep brown, refreshing goodness. I think about it on a hot day. I think about my teeth rotting sometimes. When someone asks me if I want a Coke, its logo is the furthest thing from my mind. It’s branding and extension of personality have far exceeded the limitations of a “logo”.

Everyone’s favourite brand to bring up, when branding is discussed. Nike. A brand more powerful than it’s swoosh. Ok, in the late 80’s and 90’s, the “swoosh” was a huge thing – mostly because it was a great experiment in branding. Nike released products with only the swoosh, and left out the “Nike” word. Brilliant. The brand survived. Turns out – they made something so good, they didn’t need to get by on just their name. They built a brand based on endurance, perseverance, and sportsmanship. And what survived from all this? Their tagline. Do I even have to say it?

Look at the Ikea logo. Really look at it. You could put this logo on anything and it would still make sense, or no sense at all. And yet, when the word “Ikea” is mentioned, your brain conjures up: Modular, Swedish, meatballs, the scent of inexpensive pine, allen keys, seemingly simple assembly and the inexplicable reason why you never leave Ikea empty handed.

If asked what’s the first thing I think about when someone mentions “Singapore Airlines” – it’s definitely not the bird logo (you mean you didn’t realise it was a bird?). 9 times of out 10, it’s the Singapore Girl that’s envisioned, followed by service and quality. I honestly do not think anyone thinks of the logo.

———–

Moral of the story: The logo is not your business’ glory point. Look at it this way: Your logo is equivalent to your name. And yet, there’s more to you than your name. There’s your personality, how you handle bad times, how you laugh, the friends you keep, the tv shows you watch, the shoes you wear. All these parts exceed the sum of your name, and by extension, your logo. Think of your business as your child. You spend at most a couple of months deciding its name and, then the next 18 years shaping its person. Look at that in relation to your time spent on the brand. Stop worrying about the font – and worry about what the sentence is. Stop worrying about the colours – and worry about the vibrancy of its personality. Once you have all this set in place, find the designer that understands how translate your branding language, visually, and you’re on the right track.