For the Record: Leslie Yang of Feisty Elle
Visiting a talented creative in their habitat is always a treat, so I naturally jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the world of one of my new favorite peddlers of cute accessories, Leslie Yang; she’s the exuberant owner and designer at San Francisco based Feisty Elle.
I first met Leslie through my friend Isabel after stopping by the DIY/indie Renegade Craft Fair in July, where Leslie was working a table. A few months later, I ran into her goods once more at doe-sf, which also happens to be my former workplace (owned by the very cool Kati Kim). Serendipity, or 7×7? Hmm.
After some lovely twitter chit-chat, Leslie kindly allowed me to tour her charming Bernal Heights abode one Sunday afternoon, where she lives with her equally crafty, rocket-engineering boyfriend. There, we talked about where she grew up, felting, her commitment to balancing creativity with activism (she has a full-time job as graphic designer at a non-profit) and had a little photography session. I walked away some new envy-inducing ear adornments for myself, and the both of us made a well-earned trip to Mitchell’s ice cream. Leslie totally recommended the Mexican Chocolate. Yes, it is tasty.
Recipe to Reliving Your 90’s Childhood
OK, fine- my 90’s childhood – but as with any recipe – add or subtract rainbows, favorite cartoons (we all loved rocko and the power rangers) and psychological abuse to taste.
5 Cups of Mall Photos.
Unless one was some sort of junior high god, prom photos were but a wispy dream in a middle schooler’s mind. Instead, younguns rolled deep to the mall, made a stop at Cinnabon, then headed to a mall photo studio (probably called PhotoMagic) to take a pale-faced group photo. The preferred look for females: color-coordinated outfits, matching over-tweezed eyebrows and bangs split into two strands of seductively gelled hair. Having such a photo as social trading card was the surefire way to cementing one’s place in the in-crowd- and eventually, a boy’s wallet! Because it is only courteous to provide your 7th grade soul mate with solid proof for his friends that: a) you have no unsightly blemishes, thanks to ethereal post-processing, b) yes, you have hella friends and are not a social reject, and c) you hang out at the mall without parental supervision (super attractive points) and d) your love will last forever, according to the note on the back: “II my 1 and onlee- love you baby 4eva.”
The Dark Side of Our Creative Leaders
San Diego Comic-Con! Nope, wasn’t there last weekend. But at least I had the brief pleasure of being in the presence of one of the biggest greats in visual storytelling- Hayao Miyazaki, known for “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Princess Mononoke.” My momentary fangirl experience was peppered by juicy commentary on the director from a friend who had been to a Miyazaki-centric symposium earlier that day.
Despite his polite, grandfatherly demeanor, she told me- according to biographic reports, he’s not always such a sweet, artistic dude after all. “He’s hot tempered… apparently very strict on everyone who works for him… he sees himself as the representative for Japan.” Which, of course, he kind of is.
So as he answered audience questions in a modest fashion, shelling out the normal advice to other aspiring artistic masters, I thought of something: other than “just work really hard” and “immerse yourself in your craft,” no one ever gives you the other keys to creative inspiration, i.e. the non-inspirational, unsavory side. Perhaps we could learn more by example. Here’s some advice taken from the actions and quotes of the big bosses of our time:
1. Steve Jobs – Do you need an introduction? – Rule #1: Play your part.
So Apple markets itself as being all laid back, but its CEO likely isn’t so chill.
Jobs may be a celebrity CEO, but he doesn’t jump out of airplanes or traipse around Africa with bundles of cash. He is always in character and always on message, so much so that when late-night TV parodies him, he’s invariably rolling out some new iProduct . Jobs gets called mercurial, egomaniacal, a micromanager. If that sounds a little like a CEO doing his job, maybe that’s because he is—and a mighty fine one.
It’s Almost “Hump Day” …
So, how do straight men feel about gayness?
You’re probably not going to get a substantial answer from “Bruno,” or the straight-guy buddy movie “The Hangover,” even though they both tackle gayness, manliness, and straightness in their own special ways. But you will get some pretty good insight from this just about scriptless, unintentional comedy directed by Seattle filmmaker, Lynn Shelton. The story is improvised by the married, picket fenced-in Ben (Mark Duplass) and the nomadic artist, Andrew (Joshua Leonard). The latter play two best friends trying to playfully one-up each other as they transition into thirty-something manhood- each man insecure about their own positions in the world as compared with their old friend. Said competition leads them to one drunken night when they make an inebriated decision to film an amateur porn, starring themselves, as they push the limits of art, straight masculinity, and their own egos. It’s not gay porn, they agree. It’s a very serious and thought-provoking art project.
The comedy is subtle; you’ll have to pick it out of the naturally flowing improvisations that volley between the two actors. And the whole film, in the words of the director herself (she attended a question and answer session after the screening) is very experimental. They shot each scene in order, and none of them knew how it was going to end. The actors themselves had to feel their way toward the ending. Did they feel these characters could actually go through with it? Are they pushing the limits of art, or are they the biggest morons in the world?
And even with all the freedom and exploration allowed in terms of the script- the movie never feels lost or jumbled. It feels real. The cast and crew may not have known where they were off to- but in the end, it’s practically perfect.
Humpday is in select theaters now.
This Year In Sci-Fi
There’s no better time to escape into dystopic fantasies than in the year 2009, where money’s tight and huge celebrities are dying right and left. It’s all OK- cause the entertainment industry is there for us more than ever! We’ve already been treated to light fare like Star Trek, Transformers, and The Watchmen (alright so maybe the last one was not so lite), but the year is not over yet…here are some of the (hopefully good, deep and heartfelt) sci-fi films coming out in the near future:
1) MOON: A guy lives on a moon base, and then bad things start to happen. Harry Knowles says its good. I will watch anything that Harry Knowles approves:
2) DISTRICT 9: South African alien refugees. Immigration metaphors. Peter Jackson. Why is it not getting more attention?! Well, Harry Knowles just got excited about it, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing some twitter-hype shortly.
How One Person’s Funeral Is Everyone Else’s Feeding Frenzy
I’m surprised the coverage and memorial reruns are still going strong. I’m pretty sure most of the public has had its closure- now let the King of Pop and his family have theirs…
The Hangover
Zach Galifianakis is on the radar thanks to The Hangover, meaning one thing: creepy might officially be the new trend in comedy (scroll down to the videos below to see what I mean). The movie stars Bradley Cooper, who will always be known to me as Will Tippin; Justin Bartha, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. Together they’re four friends who bond over crazy debaucherous adventures that they don’t remember at all, and it is awesome for a few reasons:
Fast backward in time
