Plants vs Pollution: the Showdown for Clean Air

For those of us who work in a city, we walk amongst a fog of polluted air that our lungs can barely filter. We breathe, we smell, we travel in a sickly environment created by ourselves. 

Sure, we stopped smoking, but haven't done enough to clean our air. 

We go home, slam the door and feel we are safe. But maybe not as much as we thought. Some parts of our home can be contributing to the pollution problem. To make our homes more eco there are things we can do like, choose paint wisely, make sure there is enough ventilation space surrounding large appliances, and create indoor gardens that can improve air quality, 

The best weapons/plants to use in the war against polluted air in your house are as follows. 

Aloe Vera. It can remove volatile compounds like benzene and formaldehyde from the air and acts as a real air quality indicator. If dark spots appear on its leaves, it’s a signal of high indoor air pollution. 

Plant a peace lily somewhere too, it  has the capability of absorbing mold spores, that it uses as nutrition.

 Keep a snake plant in your bedroom as it releases oxygen at night.

Got allergies? A spider plant cleans allergens from the air.

Whoo! We can breathe a little easier knowing we're doing the tiniest bit to keep our home's air clean... now let's tackle that city pollution. 

Author of the Goldfinch Crowned as a Fashion Swan

Successful authors are usually praised for their mastery at storytelling but today one is lauded as a new fashion icon.

Donna Tartt, author of the best seller "The Goldfinch" is now perched among fashion's most influential as she lands gracefully on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed list of 2014 -among style heavyweights Cate Blanchett and Vanessa Getty.
It's refreshing to see a respected wordsmith join the usual suspects of actresses, royalty, models and socialites in the world of Fashion.
See the entire list (men and women) here at Vanity Fair's website but here are  few faves of mine.

2014 BEST DRESSED: WOMEN

Cate Blanchett:


Lupita Nyong'o:


Emma Watson:

Prison Break Peacock

A Peacock escaped from the Bronx Zoo and is on the loose. It has been spotted on Morris Avenue and at a subway station and all attempts to net it have failed.

Apparently, the peacock has found an iPhone and has been leaving Tweets for Zoo Staff. @bronxzoopeacock tweeted: Slipped out~ Making my way to Wash Heights.'

One Bronx resident was quoted as saying: "Somebody is going to steal it and keep it as a pet. It's the Bronx, man." And that made me think of stealing that gorgeous plumed color palette and making it an interior design scheme. 
The peacock blue teal color cheers up the walls of this room...  

 ...and wallpaper makes a royal statement... 

...while just some plumage-patterned lighting can chirp up some boring beige walls.     

Break free from plain block-colored room designs and ruffle up some of that Bronx Zoo Peacock rebellion. The princely pattern and jewel hues are a welcome sight in any city.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

As the Christmas season snows down around us, some are comforted by warm thoughts of hot cocoa by the fire while others melt with fear that someone might wanna rob them of all the goodies under the tree. Paranoid preppers will need to protect the pretty wrapped parcels (and their family) and what better way than with a shiny new firearm!

Even if all your gifts are sucky and no one wants to take them, there's always the option of taking down one of Santa's reindeer mid-flight.  How fun!

Anyone that thinks this way would have loved living in decades past when the idea of finding a Gun under the tree was considered yuletide cheer.  Let the self-defense companies cash in.

This ad says it all.  A little Holiday Suicide might sound like a good idea after too much eggnog.  Happy Holidays! 

You Know Dasher...

Reindeer herds and herders In Norway's far north area of Kautokeino

Captured by American Photographer Erika Larsen who became one of the family's beaga- a woman that cleans and cooks for the family- in order to entrench herself in the culture.  

Hear Me Out

Most guys would cringe at getting a tie as a gift.  But they'd listen to this. Tell him it's made from recycled cassette tape ribbon.  The super sonic fabric was created by artist Alyce Santoro and the tie? It's hand sewn by designer Julio Cesar.   A sound investment at $120.  

Quoted

The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open. 

-Chuck Palahniuk

Skullful Art

Alastair Mackie is yet another London artist to use taxidermy in the most fascinating art. This "painting is actually comprised of Hornets pinned in tight rows (see right).

This orb is made from mouse skulls digested by barn owls.

Any indigestible parts of an owl's prey is regurgitated as a compressed pellet. From these pellets, the skulls are extracted and a sculpture is born.

Fluorescent Flava

My ideas come to me as fireflies, usually when I'm on the brink of falling asleep, causing me to flit up and find a pen and scribble in the dark what I think of as brilliance. The ideas in the notebook I wake up to are a tangled string of electrifying fairy lights.

The lightning strike of thought, the flash of blinding color is something I am playing with when I think of home design accents in my room. A fluorescent flavor adds a punch that could land an upper cut of stimulus that wakes up the synapses in my brain with a jolt.

These clocks add just enough pop to electrify the brain stream in the office.

And when caffeine alone just cant keep those eyelids open, I pour it in a super bright pantene mug.

Working too hard dulls everything, so I keep the brain cells radiant by taking a break and putting my feet up on a coffee table that practically glows in the dark.

Adding a vivid touch to the office helps keep me motivated and wanting to burst out more ideas. 

The End is Near

Finally our government is taking the threat of a Zombie Invasion seriously. The CDC website posted a Zombie Survival plan Wednesday. It, of course, causied the site to crash with citizens clicking like crazy, needing to know what to do when the undead shuffle up their driveway.

We are comforted in knowing that "if zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation." 
That's a direct quote from their website. 

Sea and See

To promote awareness of the diminishing reef, an underwater Sculpture Museum was built in the waters of Cancun. More than 400 human clay sculptures adorn the sea floor near the Manchones Reef.

By luring divers to this area, it will give the reef time to recuperate from hurricane damage, increase fish populations and promote the growth of new reef.

Art and Superheroes

Kids as superheroes- their imaginations the backdrop.

Nature against the urban world.

The work is by Los Angeles-based Artist Sage Vaughn who is opening a solo show in London at Lazarides Gallery titled Children of a Lesser God on May 6, 2011.

White (Natural) History Month

Albino animals from Museums of Natural Histories around the country.

Alligator:

Rattlesnake:
Blue Jay:
Raccoon

Sex and the Country

The curtain has closed on Milan fashion week and the best collection was by far DSquared2.

Their cowboy inspired looks were spectacular enough even for their most famous fans (try: Christina, Justin, Fergie, and Rihanna). They sexify the LL Bean outdoorswoman to perfection. Makes me want to go camping.

See the video footage of DSquared2 and all of Milan, NY and Paris at:

FirstComesFashion.com

Ceramic Gore

UK Artist Jessica Harrison creates macabre imagery from damaged ceramic ladies she finds online.

The extravagant poses of the female ceramics makes the exhibition of their insides more interesting.
Jessica says she chooses the women because "It is traditionally and consistently the male figure that has been used to describe the anatomy of the human body. In my sculptures the female insides are as visceral and intestinal and as real and gory as their male counterparts."

Check out more of Jessica Harrison's work at jessicaharrison.co.uk

Santa Waiting in Line for Santa

During the last week of November, midtown New York streets are flooded with Christmas Cheer in the

Annual Parade of Santas.

Here's a shot from the 108th Annual.

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Best Xmas Present Ever

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave the city of Bern, Switzerland these Brown bears Mischa and Mascha. What an awesome gift!

Take Note of this Invention

About to be invented: The paragon of recycling- A Smith Corona Antique typewriter turned Waffle Maker.

A student at the School of Visual Arts (Chris Dimino) created this prototype that I hope will be available in stores. Not only does it make use of one of the most brilliantly utilitarian designs, but the waffles come out as keyboards! It's hi-tech and antiquated at the same time. Oh, and Yummy too!

Measure Your Success

They say to Measure twice, cut once. This inspired master designer Christian Louboutin, who created these amazing shoes. He can make a crisp utilitarian tool very sexy.

The minions (like me) who could only dream of owning a pair of Louboutins, can translate the trend more practically . Some cost-cutting measures of the fad- Brooches made of the tape (lianakabel.com) Stash all the $ you save from NOT buying the Louboutin's in a wallet by Undone Clothing at Etsy.

And make your own bracelet on the cheap.