Broken Promise...

I don't really want to admit it, but I have failed.
I have failed to keep this blog alive with my ideas. Yes, I've made promises, but as you can see now, I haven't updated this blog in quite a long time. That post about Isabel Marant I wanted to write about? Gone amidst thousands of things occupying my mind right now.

Yet, I sort of have found a new sanctuary, namely, Tumblr.
Sometimes I'm tumbling about nonsensical thing, but it's easy and fast. And, sadly, it has shown how my attention (or rather, writing) span now got shorter and shorter.

So, check it: http://niconovito.tumblr.com

I might come back here one day...

Regards,
Nico

BLOGGING HIATUS IS IN HIATUS (HOPEFULLY, FOREVER)

It has been a looooooooooong time since the last time I updated my blog. I can imagine Beyoncé saying to me, “You’ve been a very bad boy—a very, very bad boy, Nico” (cue to Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video). Yes, I might probably have been one. I can exhaust many excuses for this act: heaps of assignments (academic-related and not), meetings (I’m now involved in a Model United Nations club and a MUN competition—who knows I can be so MUN-esque?!), you name it. And when I got home, all I want to do is sleep, that is, when I don’t have to stay awake all night long doing my literature reviews.

And, strangely, I feel that having a 24/7 Internet connection has been a main culprit in my blogging hiatus. It seems like I’ve become merely a consumer rather than a writer. When I open up my laptop and click on Mozilla Firefox, the routine goes straightly like this: E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, NYTimes.com, NYMag.com (they have the best entertainment and fashion blog ever), Style.com, and so on. I keep  clicking on links after another. I don’t even really read the whole thing—just skimming through the pages. God, it’s true what they say: this generation has become a short attention span generation, and it’s just damn bad. And due to a lot of time I’ve not written anything for my blog, I’m afraid that my writing skill has been decreasing.

Therefore, to avoid the worst thing from happening, I try to write again in this somewhat sunny and hot Saturday afternoon. I have been stricken by some cold, so I stay home all day long, although, admittedly, the shadow of paper outline is still looming large before me. Well, let’s set that aside for a bit, shall we? But, what to write now? Hmm, getting a little confused here because once in a while when I read (or see) something interesting, I always think, “Oh, I’m so gonna write this in my blog,” but, you know how it ends eventually: my brain’s Recycle Bin. So, let’s try to restore them back to my hard disk…. (random, but hopefully interesting nonetheless)

1) The virtues of Blogpost vs. Tumblr

By the time I write this, I’m using Microsoft Word, because I can save my writing for a while if I’m out of idea (but I swear I’m going to finish this off now!). I currently have two blogs right now: one Tumblr and one Blogspot. At first, I decided to use the Tumblr as a “side” to the “main dish” that is my real blog. In Tumblr you can post photos, video, or whatever it is (very user-friendly) and my post is usually short. And you can also follow people, just like in Twitter. While in Blogspot (or Wordpress and any other blog site), I tend to post a longer writing. So, if I may hypothesize, Tumblr is sort of a mini-blog, standing between Twitter (super-duper micro-blog) and the real blog. And, because this looks to be a long writing, I’m going to post it in my Blogspot (and make a preview of it on my Tumblr. Tee hee…).

2) I love Google Translate

It’s one of the most helpful tools ever, especially if you want to know what your Facebook friend is really saying (Whoops, busted!). I can pretend like I’m a polyglot, although not a flawless one. Yes, it has errors but at least it brings us to understand each other better. Aww, aren’t I just one peace lover? :p

And by the way, there are also some interesting Google tricks that you can check here. 

3) “Glee” is soooo good…

One of the best TV cast ensemble nowadays!

I’ve once lost a whole day having a marathon of this musical comedy TV show. It’s gleeful (hence the name), witty, sarcastic, heartbreaking, touchy, funny—all in one! I reckon you have been familiar with this show, but if you don’t, it’s basically about a glee club (sort of like a choir club) in a high school and the lives of its members and a Spanish teacher named Mr. Schuester who becomes the mentor for these kids. There are the dumb jock, knocked-up cheerleader, Broadway star wanna-be, Beyoncé wanna-be, a flamboyant gay kid who is able to dance “Single Ladies” and at the same time excel at being a kicker in a football team. So you get the picture: it’s stereotyped high school life in steroid. And because in high school, grade is important, I’m giving “Glee”  A+.

4) My fashionable (not!) betrayal

What used to be the heart of the blog has become the last priority. Oh, sorry, fashion world to have let you down. When I first made this Blogspot, I have a fashion blog in my mind. I want to be the next Bryanboy or Tavi. I want to be featured in Vogue March 2010 issue and meet Anna, Grace, Tonne, and Sally! But maybe it all has to wait for a moment. I don’t know what really happens, but I start to feel confused when I try to write about fashion, as if I’ve lost track. But, no, this cannot be, I want to pursue a career in a fashion magazine, right? Maybe now I’ll start looking for ideas (by scouring the Internet, of course *sigh*). Hmm, maybe about fashion and technology or that new(ly) famous designer of the moment, Isabel Marant? We’ll see…

There you have it! Finally, I write something, and although it’s totally random and kinda crappy, I’m just happy that finally this humongous amounts of procrastination have been stopped and fingers crossed I’ll produce many more posts in the future! :D

Milan Men Fashion Week Day 2

Day 2 highlights from Milano...

Prada Fall 2010

Miuccia Prada is known as one of fashion intelligents because she always manages to send some savvy cultural reference into her collection. She’s also the reigning queen in reinventing something basic in a man’s and a woman’s closets into something luxurious and coveted. This time she does it once again with a collection, that has been dubbed as one of her best in years. In this look, the blazer and the pants might be, well, quite normal. Yet, the “wow” factor here lies on the sweater which is cut very short and comes in such a bold fuchsia color. Besides this one, there are also some cool new takes on topcoats and knits. A Prada man knows that his look is different (and sometimes quirky) but he knows that he’s the best-dressed in the room.

Bottega Veneta Fall 2010

Under the direction of Tomas Maier, this fashion house has become on par with Hermes, luxury-wise. Maier, known for his minimalistic approach, hit the right chord once again by showing us quite a more casual and low-key (yet still expensive) collection.

This look above seems to evoke the laid-backness of a man on his weekend. There’s a simple cardigan and t-shirt in tonal blue, and I love how the jeans are rolled up (my favorite look nowadays). Yeah, maybe the crocodile (or alligator?) briefcase is a little bit too much, but our man here has earned it and he just wants to have fun.

(Photos: Andrew Thomas/gq.com)

Newsflash from Milano

It might be a little shallow to talk about fashion especially in the midst of a horrible catastrophe that the Haitians face right now (my deepest condolences to those affected). But sometimes we need a little of escapism from the sort of gloomy world we live in right now.

Enter Milan Menswear Fashion Week. From yesterday until about one week ahead, the best menswear designers in Milan will show their Fall 2010 collections. Yes, it's still wintertime, but designer being designer, they always live in the future. These are the highlights from Day 1.

Dolce & Gabbana

(Photo: Andrew Thomas/gq.com)

As usual, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana bring down the house by showing one of the most interesting collections in the city. For this season, it seems that Dolce shows that Italian—or more specifically, Sicilian—farmers can pack quite a luxurious outfit. This being winter, there’s a lot of knits with dark palette going on, like in this coat over here. And that silver sneakers make me drool. But there’s one unique thing here: longjohns as outerwear? Hmm… Maybe the underwear-as-outerwear trend from women’s collections has also invaded menswear. Overall, this collection is Italiano at its best.

Burberry Prorsum

 (Photo: Andrew Thomas/gq.com)

Since Christopher Bailey became the creative director of Burberry in 2001 (in 2009, he became chief creative director), he has injected style into the British fashion house, well-known for its signature plaid pattern and trenchcoats. As far as I'm concerned, Bailey's menswear collection always has rock 'n' roll feel to it, which is evident in the edgy boots donned by this model. Speaking of model, it looks like the Burberry guys are always rail-thin with shaggy hair, which seems to be the scene on London streets. But never mind, it's the clothes we're talking about here.

The star of the collection is, of course, the outerwear--something that Burberry is famous for. The overcoat here has some military influences, what with the army green color, the epaulettes, and the brass buttons (once again, menswear designers apparently take a lot of cues from womenswear where military trend is huge right now). All in all, this season, Christopher Bailey has successfully managed to make his venture to the military world without ever leaving the British roots of this fashion house

Time, Newsweek, or The Economist?

It’s my first post in 2010. I know, it’s been a while since I made the last post due to my holiday laziness syndrome or whatever it is. Well, not anymore. I’m kind of confused about what to write here. This is supposed to be a fashion blog, initially—although not exclusively about fashion. But then looking at my new post here, I’m not even talking about it. Maybe it’s just my multidimensional self (like my multidiscipline university major).

ANYWAY, as an avid consumer of magazines, I’m interested on how people have their own preferences when it comes to weekly news magazines. I reckon there are three major international newsweeklies: Time, Newsweek, and The Economist. Here’s my assessment on these three great publications:

Time

The first thing I like about this magazine is its sharp yet delightful design—not to mention its signature red border on the cover. Its writers are great, and especially I like to read the last page (“Essay”) where you can find interesting opinion about current affairs. The photography is also breathtaking. The other thing that Time has to offer is its special double-issue editions—“The 100 Most Influential People,” “Person of the Year,” “Heroes of the Environment”—which are always a great company for rainy Saturday afternoon (Why do I get all melancholic like this?). It is a well-edited magazine: 50% politics and economy, 50% human -interest topics, which means fun for me…

Newsweek

As its name suggests, Newsweek  offers analyses about what happened throughout the week. What I like the most from this magazine is its editor, Fareed Zakaria. His article and opinion page are always insightful and witty, yet he never comes across as being aggressive. He’s simply a pragmatic. I recently got its “Interview issue” where they held conversations with “people who matter,” like Hillary Clinton and Hamid Karzai, and it’s fun to read. Overall, if you’re looking for straightforward articles and sharp analyses, get a copy.

The Economist

 

This is my International Politics lecturer’s favorite magazine (he’s talking about it, like, every week). A little different from the aforementioned two, The Economist doesn’t really offer much opinion pages, but rather, it has news analysis. And more interesting thing is that it rarely mentions the writers of the articles, so I can’t tell if there’s any writer I like from this magazine. Since it’s an English publication, it’s nice to read the British spellings which add a sort of London vibe to it. The other thing that also interests me –although this is not what you can find inside the magazine—is the “Economist Debates” section in its Website, where two experts are arguing over a certain topic (if you’re a debater, this is a must-see).

Of all those three above, the one that I buy frequently is Time. I’m a sucker for great layout, and I think Time’s is the best. But don’t get me wrong, I also like it for (obviously) its articles that span from serious (Joe Klein et al.) to hilarious (Joel Stein, hands down). I also think the entertainment section is better. It’s just more—how you say it?—pop culture-esque.

Postscript:

Honestly, right now, if you want to get a piece of new information, thanks to Google, you can just type and click your way to it. But there’s another sense of satisfaction when you are reading a great magazine in the corner of your room. There’s Kindle and all other e-book readers, yet I think print publication is still here to stay…