Bike: The Duke by Mojo Bike

If you're like me and you've been waiting up till 2:00am to watch the Tour de France every night for the last three weeks, you'll be experiencing what I like to call the 'cycling bug'. After watching Wigins power up the french Alps you can't help but be inspired to jump on a set of wheels yourself and go for the yellow jersey. But before you race out and buy yourself a new bike, first consider what you want your bike to say about you. Like anything else, your bike should reflect your own style. Therefore, over the next couple of weeks I'll be introducing you to some great bikes that wont just get you from A to B but will also look good too.

That brings us to The Duke by Mojo Bike. The Duke embodies noble, gentlemanly style with an air of heritage craftsmanship. The Duke features 4130 Chrome-moly frame with sweeping lugged forks, leather saddle and handgrips, elegant wheel guards and optional rack and saddle bag. The  Dukes' power comes from a Sturmey Archer 8 speed internal rear hub. The duke is perfect for those wanting to ride to work everday whilst still emodying the urban-street style. It's vintage look is timeless and luxurious.

Mojo Bike is all about individualism, offering customers the chance to customise their own bikes, ensuring that no two bikes are exactly alike. Mojo offers a range of shapes and sizes from which customers can chose and apply their own colour scheme. Mojo then builds and ships the bike straight to your front door. Mojos' classic bike designs and huge colour range guarantee you're bound to find the bike for you.

 

To visit the Mojo Bike online store click here.

Nixon Time Teller P

Strong lines, bold colours and simple design make the Nixon Time Teller P a great statement watch. Whether you're taking on the waves or the slopes, the Time Teller P's Japanese quartz movement insures precision. I personally own the Indigo Time Teller P and take it wherever I go.

Nixon is a Californian accessories company specialising in watches for the surf, skate, snow market. Nixon was founded in 1997 by Andy Laats and Chad DiNenna with a small line of custom built watches. Nixon then expanded into accessories and limited softgoods in 2000.

To visit the Nixon online store click here.

Steve Carell urges for more human contact and less technology

Steve Carell delivered the keynote speech to the graduates of America's prestigious Princeton University this year and shared some great advice. In his brilliantly comical way, Carell demonstrates how we 'don't 'look each other in the eye anymore', opting instead for texts and tweets. He urges for a return to our 'analogue' past, suggesting that texting simply insulates and protects us from the truth; it 'protexts' us as Carell so eloquently puts it. 

Carell's' speech will resonate with anyone yearning for a return to a simpler time (and yes, I do see the irony of sharing this via a blog). He closes with the philosophy to 'do something kind, make someone laugh and don't take yourself too seriously'; great advice for anyone, no matter what stage of life you're in.

The Dimitri Satchel by Seventy Eight Percent

The Dimitri Satchel from Seventy Eight Percent is the perfect briefcase for lovers of urban street-style. The mix of leather and canvas give a luxurious yet earthy feel. The Dimitri satchel features an A4 document holder, a 6 pocket organiser compartment and padding to protect your 13” MacBook Pro. Seventy Eight Percent have used Italian top-quality vegetable-tanned leather and Japanese wax coated canvas produced from Egyptian cotton. This satchel is professional and refined without being pretentious. It's versatility makes it the perfect bag to take to work every day.

Seventy Eight Percent create all their bags with the philosophy that they should be ergonomic, functional and stylish. Founded in 2007, Seventy Eight Percent make a wide range of bags and accessories using only premium quality materials. All of Seventy Eight Percent's bags come in a wide range of color combinations. I particularly like the Wood/kahki combination shown above. All of Seventy Eight Percent's bags are hand made, with production taking up to fifty hours to assemble one bag.

To visit the Seventy Eight Percent online store click here.

Ilott Vintage Cameras

Ilott Vintage collect and restore vintage rangefinder cameras to create stunning, unique cameras that are works of art themselves. Illot Vintage replace the traditional leather casings with premium quality wood vaneers crafted for each individual camera. These cameras are  also fully functioning and used by Ilot themselves to produce the images for their gallery.

The traditional leather cases of vintage rangefinder cameras are often worn and damaged and have to be removed for repairs. In rejuvenating these cameras, Ilot use durable real wood veneer sealed with Danish oil to give each camera an elegant, hand-crafted appearance. The result is an intriguing mix of the natural and mechanical. 

Ilot use both Mansonia and Mahogany for their wood veneers. Mansonia is imported from Western Africa and commonly used for high quality furniture work and joinery. Mahogany is a richly coloured wood sourced from South America.

All the cameras are fully functioning and use 35mm film which is still readily available. They are also entirely mechanical so they don't require batteries. Whilst these camera's are probably out of most budding photographers price range, they are an exquisite piece of design and Ilot's webpage is fascinating for any photography enthusiasts. 

To visit the Ilot Vintage webpage click here.

Vanishing Elephant

 

Vanishing Elephant is a great Australian brand producing classic, high quality men’s and women’s clothing. Arran Russell, Huw Bennett and Felix Chan started the brand in 2008 as a men’s clothing line and the trio are set to release their first women’s line in July this year. This Sydney based brand plays upon classic aesthetics, introducing their own modern take.

The Vanishing Elephant line is full of great pieces and gentlemanly style. In their own words, the line is ‘a collection of classics, made to love and last’. I particularly like their black desert boots, featuring a leather sole and lining with suede upper (view here).

In November 2010 the brand was awarded GQ designer of the year. In late 2011, the brand opened their first retail store in Melbourne (despite being based in Sydney). Vanishing Elephant is available throughout North America, UK, Europe, Japan, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

Check out the documentary above made by I Dig Your Soul Man, a great little vid about the brand.

To visit the Vanishing Elephant online store click here.

Altadena Works

Altadena Works is a Californian bag manufacturer that produces high quality goods made solely in the USA (quite rare in today’s outsourced world). This creative partnership employs simple and straightforward design to produce subtly luxurious bags. Altadena’s bags are constructed expertly for functionality and durability, using the highest quality materials including heavyweight Cordura ballistic fabric, military spec nylon webbing and leather custom ordered from Horween (one of America’s oldest tanneries). Altadena’s collaborators have channeled the outdoor equipment of the 1970’s, using a minimal design and slim profile.

These bags are beautifully constructed. Altadena employs seasoned American artisans with over 30 years experience. It is clear that this collaborative team has extremely high standards for their products and state that they don’t make anything they wouldn’t wear themselves.

I’m a massive advocate for small start-up brands, especially ones that produce products of this quality. The bags come in a range of unique styles and color schemes but my personal favorite is the 801 Teardrop Navy Oak pictured above.

To visit Altadena Works’ online store click here.

Prometheus

I thought long and hard about what should be the focus of my first post and decided that it had to be a film. Film has been one of the great passions in my life. Ever since I saw Disney’s Aladdin in the cinema as a child, film has captured my imagination and continues to fascinate me. Once upon a time I studied film critically and had thoughts of entering the film industry in some capacity. However, I found that I far preferred to simply watch films and enjoy them for what they are. Therefore, if from time to time films are the focus of this blog, it will not be in the form of a critique but simply a discussion. I don’t claim to know what makes a film good or a bad, I’ll just talk about what I liked.

For my first post I’ve chosen to discuss Ridley Scott’s latest sci-fi epic Prometheus. I chose Prometheus for several reasons; it’s currently the topic of much critical debate, it’s associated with Alien which is one of my favourite films of all time and it features Michael Fassbender who is currently one of my favourite actors.

Let’s face it, Prometheus was destined to disappoint to some extent. Any film mentioned in the same breath as Scott’s seminal sci-fi/horror pic, Alien, is never going to measure up. In my opinion, Alien is one of the most expertly crafted films in cinema history. Some will argue that Aliens (the sequel to Alien directed by James Cameron) is the better film but for me Alien wins hands down. From its masterfully claustrophobic atmosphere to its brilliant character development (Ripley has to be one of the greatest film heroes of all time), Alien is a cinema classic whose success will probably never be matched, by prequel or otherwise. So why compare them? If you get over the fact the Prometheus was never going to be Alien, Prometheus is a fascinating film in its own right.

Prometheus begins with Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discovering a series of ancient cave paintings pointing to a distant planet (LV-223) that they believe holds the truth about the origins of mankind. Shaw and Holloway lead a crew, including the android David (Michael Fassbender), aboard the spacecraft Prometheus to explore LV-223. However, it soon becomes apparent that this mysterious planet is not what they thought it was.


I used to read as many critical film reviews as I could but I found it took away a lot of the mysticism of the films I really enjoyed. I find that critics often get so wrapped up in analysing a film that they forget to enjoy them. After seeing Prometheus I allowed myself to seek out quite a few critical reviews, as I was interested to see how others had interpreted the film. Prometheus has been received with very mixed reviews and I actually agree with most of them, the good and the bad. However, I feel that the bad ones have gotten so caught up in Prometheus’ shortcomings that they’ve missed its hidden depths, which is where Prometheus really shines.

Many of the negative reviews claim that the problems with Prometheus lie in its script. Largely this is true; yes it has pacing problems, yes there is little character development. Many of these reviews also claim there are too many unanswered questions. They’re right, there are a lot of unanswered questions but that’s what makes Prometheus so interesting. We’ve gotten so used to Hollywood films laying out all the answers for us that we’ve forgotten the joy of looking for answers ourselves. Alien itself was full of unanswered question, which is why it lends itself to a prequel in the first place.

Alien played upon the ‘mother’ motif to deliver its unnerving concept of ‘the host’. This motif was then developed further in Aliens, only to be lost in later sequels. In Prometheus, Scott returns to this original premise but takes it further. Prometheus explores the notion of ‘creation’ leading to questions of faith and the human condition. The title, for example, is not just the name of the ship but refers to the whole idea of Prometheus. Prometheus was a Titan in Greek mythology who created man from clay. He also stole fire from the gods and gave it to the humans, enabling the humans to develop. Prometheus also embodied the quest for scientific knowledge as well as the risk of overreaching and unintended consequences (funny they should name the ship after him then). This idea is the main theme of the film. what happens when your creation is not what you thought it would be? What happens when your creation turns on you? We see this not only in the Engineers whose own bio-weapons have turned against them, but also in David, mankind’s creation whose motives become more and more questionable. Not only this, it also becomes apparent in the film that these engineers who created us changed their minds and planned to destroy us. Why? What was wrong with how we turned out?

In one of the films best pieces of dialogue David asks Holloway why man created artificial intelligence. Holloway responds ‘we created you because we could’. David replies coolly, ‘can you imagine how disappointing it would be to hear that from your own creator?’ This epitomises the philosophy behind Prometheus; not all questions have answers, some questions just lead to more questions. Prometheus is full of great moments like this and, whilst I agree that it’s a shame that these moments aren’t supported by a sturdier framework, I can’t help but feel that those who were disappointed with Prometheus where too focused on getting answers rather than enjoying the search for them. I went to see Prometheus with a group of friends and after the film was finished we could not stop discussing it. The general reaction that I’ve gotten from people is that, whilst Prometheus is not without its faults, it is without a doubt fascinating. From its spectacular cinematography to its grandiose themes and nagging questions, Prometheus is nothing if not interesting.

Fassbender delivers another magnetic performance as Prometheus’ resident android, David. In a film lacking character development it’s ironic that the most developed character in the film is in fact a machine. David is played superbly by Fassbender. He is innately likeable as we watch him taking care of the human crew during their cryo-sleep and we feel sorry for him when he quietly takes their underhanded taunts. However, we soon begin to distrust him as he becomes coolly malevolent, single-mindedly pursuing his own answers. Fassbender doesn’t miss a beat. He delivers more of the ominous brooding he delivered in Shame and X-men: first-class mixed with the sly wit he displayed in Inglorious Bassterds. This combination proves to be one of the most intriguing characters I’ve come across in a cinema since Heath Ledger smudged his lipstick. Fassbender has quickly become my favourite actor currently gracing our screens and from what he’s shown us so far I think we can expect great things.

Rapace too offers a fine performance. However this doesn’t really show through until about half way through the film when her character is thrown into some tricky situations. Rapace particularly shines in what is easily the films best scene involving some … aah, ‘gut wrenching’ surgery. Rapace shows just how underutilised she was in the mediocre summer popcorn flick Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Rapace too is another actor from whom I think we can expect to see good things.

If I had my way, there would been no sequels to Alien and it would have been left to stand on its own as the great work of cinema that it is. The Alien franchise took a steep decline after Aliens, firstly with the troubled Alien3 and ultimately resulting in the downright shameful Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (I’m loath to even mention it as I don’t really consider Alien vs. Predator to even be part of the Alien franchise). Considering the trajectory that the Alien sequels took after Aliens, I think any addition to this franchise that may return some of its credibility is welcome. If nothing else, I respect Scott for what he has attempted to do with this film. Scott watched as one of his earliest and most acclaimed works of art was degraded time and time again by underwhelming sequels. What Scott has done with Prometheus is say ‘I’m taking back my creation and I’m going to at least attempt to restore some of its former glory’, and I commend him for that.

It seems to be a trend of late to take cherished franchises and attempt to reboot them (undoubtably due to the guaranteed returns they generate despite the actual quality of the films). I found that generally with these films you leave thinking ‘should’ve left well enough alone’ (e.g. Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal skull). However I don’t believe Prometheus is in the same vien. Prometheus isn’t a sequel; it’s not even really a prequel. Prometheus is an entirely new story that simply takes place in the same universe as Alien and this allows the film to go in entirely new directions. It’s not the masterpiece many where hoping for but if you let go of all those expectations and go into Prometheus with an opened mind you’ll leave with plenty to think about.

What am I doing here?

Today is the 2^nd of June, not an especially auspicious date other than the fact that it marks the exact mid-point of the year. It is because of this that I have chosen to officially start my blog today. I began this year, as I do most years, with great plans to completely revolutionise my life and ensure that this year would be far better than the last. These plans usually last a month or two (if I’m lucky) until I fall back into the same old pattern of behaviour. Whilst I feel that I have in fact made many big changes this year, I still haven’t achieved quite what I set out to do on New Year’s Day.

This year has brought about a number of big changes in my life (some good, some bad). This is the last year of my 5 year university degree; the end of a lifetime of studying. At the same time I’ve signed a contract to start my first full-time corporate job in January next year; the start of my career. Whilst this is exciting and I will be working for a great organisation, I’m also wary of what this holds for me. Two months ago my girlfriend and I ended our 2-year relationship. The break was essentially mutual but these things are always complicated and needless to say it has been another big change in my life. I always find it interesting to reflect back and think about how much has actually changed in only six months. It’s incredible to compare where I was on New Year’s Day to where I am now.

Having signed a contract to enter into my career at the start of next year, I decided that I needed to make some choices now about where I want my career (and my life) to go. I’ve watched as friends and family have rushed into their careers and have gotten lost, become disillusioned and begun to drift. I decided that I would not do the same, that I will not get lost in the corporate world of glass buildings and grey suits and that my life will be my own. So I've decided to stray from that path and forge my own way.

To that end, I decided I needed to work out what I wanted my life to be. As I’ve always known, I wanted to create something of my own. I don’t know exactly what that is yet but I’ve always had a strong urge for creative expression and largely that is what this blog is about. I see this blog as a building block that may turn into something big or may not. I decided that if I wanted to create something of my own, I needed to lay the foundations now. This might all seem a bit cryptic, but that’s probably because it’s not all entirely clear in my own mind just yet.


I plan to talk about what I like and hope that others will like it too. In this way, I suppose I am also exploring where I want to go and where this blog might take me. The things I like are film, music, photography and style so you can be fairly reassured that these will be the focus of my blog. I don’t consider myself an expert or an authority on these topics, just a fan.