cultural blah blah.com

contemporary architecture, design, music, photography and more!


Deutsche Oper in Berlin Cancels Idomeneo due to protests and threats from Muslim Groups

Let the battle of the iPods begin...

After years of being the hottest MP3 player on the market apple's popular Ipod may have a run for its money...Yesterday Microsoft, a fierce Apple rival, announced that it was launching its own MP3 player which looks very much like its rival and will be priced just the same. It only has two differences: 1 - it will work with Microsoft's own MP3 service and 2 - it will include WIFI for document transfer!
For more check out:
Microsoft's 'Zune' to spark war of the iPods with Apple
Also check out Microsoft's teaser site:
https://www.comingzune.com/

Istanbul's Kanyon Mall....it has its own climate!!!

Wallpaper* City Guides by Phaidon

Wallpaper*, one of the world's best and most important magazines for Design and Architecture and Phaidon, a leader in the world of publishing of Architecture and Design books have joined forces to bring you Wallpaper* City guides. This collection of 20 guides include: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, Loas Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney and Tokyo
Here is what Phaidon has to say about their guides: Wallpaper* City Guides present a tightly edited, discreetly packaged list of the best a location has to offer the design-conscious traveller. Here is a precise, informative, insider's checklist of all you need to know about the world's most intoxicating cities. Whether you are staying for 48 hours or five days, visiting for business or vacation, we've done the hard work for you, from finding the best restaurants, bars and hotels (including which rooms to request) to the most extraordinary stores and sites, and the most enticing architecture and design. Wallpaper* City Guides enable you to come away from your trip, however brief, with a real taste of the city's landscape and the satisfaction you've seen all that you should. Wallpaper* City Guides are compiled by the magazine's travel experts, both by in-house editors and correspondents who actually live in the highlighted cities, providing up-to-the-minute information. They are published on the occasion of the magazine's 10th anniversary and highlight its mission to present the best in new design and sophisticated travel. For more information go to www.phaidon.com/travel

Interesting Links of the Day

Interesting Links of the Day

Venice Biennale Superblogs!

Have a look at these two blogs - interesting stuff!
www.contessanally.blogspot.com
www.venicesuperblog.net

Interesting Links of the Day

Interesting Links of the Day

Eco friendly design

Have a look at this website that lexus put together for the launch of their new sedan - great expose on eco friendly designers. Also takes you on Hybrid Living tours of three cities: NY, LA and SF. http://www.articulate-sf.com/Lexus/

Interesting Links of the day

Built NY - accessorize the wine bottle with style...

Check out this interesting piece of design for anyone bringing a bottle of wine to a dinner party or on a picnic - they even make bags for baby gear! builtny.com

New release: DK’s “Pick me up – Stuff you need to know…”

“Pick me up – Stuff you need to know” is about nothing and everything all in the same time. Published as DK’s first information book for young adults it was written in order for teenagers to be able to discover the history, nature, science and geography of the world around them. It contains loads of fun facts ranging from everything about Japan to a section called “Where does God Live?” which explains how many of the world’s religions interpret their existence of God. In DK’s own words the creation and design of the book was “inspired by the internet, styled like a video game and informed by pop culture.” Sure to be a great read for young adults! Pick one up in the Children’s section of your local bookstore starting October 2006. For more information: http://us.dk.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780756621599,00.html#

Museum of the Moment: Musée du Quai Branly - Jean Nouvel’s Masterpiece on the Seine

The Musée du Quai Branly, recently designed by architect Jean Nouvel, houses an amazing selection of arts and artifacts of civilizations from Africa, Asia, the Americas and more. The building itself does what in today’s world can be described as an unusually terrific job in housing the collection. By this I mean that most museums today are architecturally beautiful from the outside but in the inside all you see is white walls and a stale atmosphere. Take for example the Moma in New York or the Centre Pompidou in Paris, both museums with extremely interesting exteriors housing beautiful collections but with no story to tell. When entering Nouvel’s building you get the sense that every detail was thought out and designed by the architect, everything from the colors of the exteriors to the glass column in the center of the main part of the museum that holds a part of the museum’s collection of ancient instruments for everyone to see and that goes through every floor of the building. I would also like to point out that the museum also houses a very beautiful library that is worth the visit. As mentioned before many of today’s museums are built without the actual works in mind. They are designed by architects to make a statement in an architectural language but not tell a story. Jean Nouvel did an amazing job of creating a building that would come together with the work it houses and tells the story that it’s meant to tell. I highly recommend visiting the Musée du Quai Branly even if you are a novice in this specific art world like myself. For more information: http://www.quaibranly.fr




Check out our archives for more!


"Without music, life would be a mistake." Friedrich Nietzsche