1.15.2009

Todd Selby of TheSelby.com

So I think Todd Selby might be my secret soul-mate...don't tell my husband. Just kidding honey! I am totally obsessed with his website TheSelby.com though. It combines so many of my favorite things: cool people, art, design, interiors, interviews...I could go on. And on top of all that the sight is just beautiful to look at. My little Blogger template can't quite keep up, but I'll get there one day. 


And check out his post and interview with one of my favorite artists and all-around cool dude, Dustin Yellin. 

* Photo: Melissa Hom/ New York Magazine

1.14.2009

Vivienne Westwood's 10 Questions


TIME magazine just posted their interview with the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.  To see it click here.

I'm going to keep posting these weekly 10 QUESTIONS articles, because I think they are an easy way to get into the mindset of cool people, but as they are a little light on content I will also attach other interviews with the subject. 

Here are two articles from The Gaurdian where Vivienne talks about her views on fashion and art. While I really don't agree with a lot of her statements on modern art and think she is more than a little hypocritical when it comes to her views on consumerism, she is a strong and opinionated woman and I am always drawn to that. I would rather someone have something interesting to say and a strong perspective than care what other people think and maintain the status quo. And there are already too many fashion designers out there who can only talk about fashion!

Here is the first interview from May 12th, 2007. It's great because her wacky manifesto AGAINST propaganda is attached. As the interviewers say, she's basically calling for people to watch less TV, read more and be more cultured. Um, yeah, that would be nice, but can't I have my Proust and watch Desperate Housewives too??

And here is the one from this year.  This one is great and a little less pedantic than the first. Even though she seems a bit pompous, she must be a really fun person to argue with...as most pompous people are. Haha!

* Photo Credit: Nancy Coste/Corbis

1.13.2009

The Obamas 1996

* Photo by Mariana Cook, 1996

As anyone who is reading this blog at this point already knows, I recently got married. I think it's a very human thing to do when you're in a relationship, but I always find myself studying other couples. Trying to see what keeps them together, to see what kind of spark they have. 

I don't think I'm alone when I say that I am fascinated and completely inspired by the Obamas. I can't remember the last time, in my lifetime, that a family has embodied the best of American values and invited all of us to see how they keep their family healthy and connected. 

Jason Kottke at the Kottke.org blog posted a link to this amazing interview excerpt with the Obama's that The New Yorker was featuring. I will try and track down the full interview, but it may not be online. 

Even though it's short, this excerpt is so touching and shows how strong their partnership and marriage is. I really look forward to featuring more interviews with them in the future. I'm sure there are bound to be a lot of good ones coming up! 

Art:21 The Series

As a lover of art history one of my favorite things is to hear artists talk about their work and how they move from inspiration to the final product. As is the nature of creativity, it is always different and unique for each artist. While I don't think we should ever base our appreciation of art on how the artist describes it, I do think we are extraordinarily lucky when we have access to artists that are willing to talk about themselves and their work. 

PBS has produced one of my favorite series on contemporary artists in America called ART:21. The series is in it's fourth season and I highly recommend watching all four seasons. The show consists of interviews with the artists in their studios and taking you around their work. 

I have added the DVDs to my bookshop in the Best Interviews section, but you can also rent them on Netflix. I recomend starting with season four and working your way back. 

Here is a clip from the segment on one of my favorite artists Louise Bourgeois. She's a firecracker and you'll love her, if you don't already. (Her segment is from season one)

1.12.2009

TIME Magazine's 10 Questions for Hugh Hefner



It's really fun to watch interviews and see what other people are asking and all, but have you ever wanted to ask your own? Well every week TIME magazine has an article called 10 QUESTIONS where readers can ask their famous and interesting subjects anything they want. 

This week it's Hugh Hefner, so if Hef's your hero then pop over to the site and find out why three playmates are better than one. 

Bon Iver



New Favorite Artist Alert!!!! 
Check out this interview with musician Justin Vernon of Bon Iver at The New Yorker online. He has a killer sound and seems like a pretty cool dude. Love the Northern Exposure reference. I freakin' loved that show.

His new Album can be previewed at the bands MySpace Page


1.11.2009

George Soros

George Soros is without a doubt one of the most important and influential financial minds of our times. The Hungarian billionaire philanthropist is known for, among other things, using his vast fortune to promote Democracy and open societies around the world, and fighting against oppression and censorship. He is a fascinating man and an insightful capitalist. I think you'll really enjoy these interviews.

In 2004 Soros gave $27.5 million dollars of his own money to try and keep George Bush from being re-elected.  In an interview he said that he would gladly have given 100% of his money away if he could have gotten Bush out of office because he believed, "- it would have made a tremendous contribution to mankind". Isn't that the horribly sad truth! 

In a more recent interview with Charlie Rose in April of 2008 he talks about his latest book The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means . He talks about the cycle of financial bubbles and how he thinks that economists and the government need to bring back a healthy balance of free-market enterprise with prudent and responsible regulation, so that the naturally occurring bubbles will never get as big again or cause so much devastation. He gives a clear picture of the greater world financial situation that I found easy to grasp.

What I love about George Soros...besides the fact that he is brilliant, is that I can see that he genuinely cares about people and humanity and, luckily for us, America too for that matter. 'Cause lord knows we wouldn't want to be on the bad side of, 'the man that broke the Bank of England'!

I recommend watching both of these interviews. They give you a very accurate idea of how on the money (pun intended) Soros was in predicting this financial collapse and hopefully how right he is that we can come out of it stronger if we act with better judgement in the near future.

Here is the 2004 interview. As an added bonus there is a second interview with Arianna Huffington in the second half where she talks about the importance of being fearless in today's world. Her message, I think, relates to Soros' financial philosophy quite nicely. To watch both takes about an hour, but these two people are so facinating and wise that I highly recommend it. 

And here is the more recent, April 10th 2008, interview with Goerge Soros. This one is so intersting as well and really gives the full picture of the crisis we are in and what he thinks we need to be doing to get out of it. 

* If you are curious about the books of George Soros and Arianna Huffington check out my Amazon store here.  They are both fantastic writers and I highly recommend reading them.

Hear Wyclef Yele


Wyclef Jean is giving a great interview tonight at 7p.m. ET/PT on 60 Minutes about his amazing organization that supports children in Haiti called Yele Haiti. 
Check out the video here.

1.10.2009

Alice Waters and Obama's Kitchen


Alice Waters is another cool cool woman that I've only just gotten familiar with over the past year, but she's been causing a ruckus in the kitchen for quite a while now. She was one of the first advocates for the Slow Food movement and is famous for her Organic, locally grown, seasonal only restaurant Chez Panisse, in Berkley CA. 

She and bunch of other farmer's market advocates recently sent a letter to President Elect Obama urging him to choose a Secretary of Agriculture who would work to promote healthier agricultural practices and try and bring healthy eating habits back into the American homes and schools. 

In this interview with Tara Parker-Pope at The New York Times Alice talks about why this appointment is so important to her and why it should be to all of us as well: 

* Photo credit: Even Sung for NYT

Iconoclasts



Iconoclasts is one of my all-time favorite shows. If you haven't seen it yet go to iTunes and download the second season or check it out on The Sundance Channel. The second season starts with the AMAZING pairing of Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam, hanging out with legendary big wave surfer Laird Hamilton. 

As the show so incredibly accomplishes episode after episode, the chemistry and synergy that happens between these two people is so much fun to watch. There is just nothing cooler than seeing how two people from very different paths of life can inspire one-another. 

In each of the episodes the two subjects take the other through a day in their lives. What happens is always amazing, entertaining, and not surprisingly, the common ground is much easier to find than one would think. Life is always so much more interesting when you step outside of your comfort zone and look at things from a fresh perspective. Iconoclasts is the perfect example of what happens when you put two visionary's together...and in this case just add water!

Before the Who the How



One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was because there are so many people that I find inspiring and that I know have influenced a large part of society outside of themselves, either through things they have created or by ideas they have propelled. Interviews always have an awesome way of leading me to a new person, a great book, a movie, or an album that I might never have come across otherwise. 

 We all love to read and hear about what successful and interesting people are up to, but how they become those people is, most of the time, an equally interesting question. 

Macolm Gladwell's newest book Outliers takes a look at the process of success and what pieces need to be in place for someone to become the best at what they do. Is there a formula to becoming a rock-star or a tech billionaire? 

He recently sat down with Charlie Rose and talked about the ideas in the book and if there is a formula for success what it might look like.  I loved this interview and think his belief that passion, obesessive dedication, and a healthy dose of circumstantial luck are, while, in that truly Gladwellian way, a little obvious, right on the money.