The C'art of Shopping

Read "A La Cart" by Hillary Carlip.

When I see things like this I'm at once filled with joy and envy. Joy that someone takes the time to notice the little things in life, so much so that they reincarnate them. And envious that I don't make the time to follow through on all the stupid, quirky ideas I've had that could have been something had I just done something with them.

Hillary Carlip began collecting found grocery shopping lists. Then built characters around them, creating entire stories around each list's author. Simple, yet genius. Fun and funny. And most definitely cool.

For those of you have "don't really read much anymore," here's one to get you back in the habit.

Props to Hillary, one cool chick who one day, many years ago found one little list, written by one little person who started one little idea (and never even knew it!) And now today, Ms. Carlip has her readers examining life's mundane tasks in an artful, intriguing way.

For more on her story...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93022254

Stuff Your Ears

To bulk up my music offerings, as has been requested, I have decide to let this entry jam for itself. A simple list of some cool ass tuneage:

Sebadoh, Bubble and Scrape - oldie but greatie

The Wombats

M Ward - If you thought no one could outdo "Let's Dance" by David Bowie, you were wrong!

Frou Frou

Ganga Gang Dance

Dirty Projectors

When you're done all that, I'll give ya more. Go explore my peeps. And turn off Clear Channel!!!!!

Camp Crusty for Local Yokels

Attention all Tampa Bay area coolsters! Very cool event happening this weekend in downtown St. Pete. My favorite mixed use art-and-all-things-cool space, Studio@620, is hosting a 'Summer Camp' weekend.

Looking for something to beat the heat? Why not not take in an exciting tale of love and honor?Like that of the all girl rock band "The Kelly Affair" traveling to LA for fame and fortune in "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls."

Studio 620

My love for camp knows no bounds. Now I just need a babysitter!

P.S. There is a door prize for those who got my 'rocker chick' reference in the image posted!

Spectacular Cymbals

My choice selects for today's hungry listeners...

Yeasayer's "All Hours Cymbals"

MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular"

Neither heavy nor somber, both of these bands play somewhere in the middle and do a fantastic job of making you want to scream because they are so f-ing awesome! These albums spit in the face of anyone saying no good music is being made today.

Both play with voice and sound. MGMT's "Electrical Feel" is reminiscent of Mick Jagger's falsetto "Emotional Rescue." The entire Yeasayer album blends smooth pop, indie, acoustic, world music, electronica and a bit of experimental and makes it all totally palatable.

She's Crafty

I just figured out a new way to give y'all links to the cool stuff I'm dishing up. An astute colleague of mine shared her skillz of the internets and so now you'll have easier linkage. (Props Sarah!)

For today's pleasure, check out Etsy.

Great for all things handmade and customized. This site runs the gamut from awesome accessories to kick ass kids gear. They are all about crafts and making stuff from hand, hence the "handmade."

So quit your Target & Walmart shopping and shop for something different - and something NOT made by tween Chinese girls who have to sleep on cots with their fingers bleeding at the end of their 18 hour shift.

Postcards from Paradigm

With Wifi infecting the globe and everyone toting around some kind of pocket PC or iphone these days, you wonder why postcards even exist anymore. This little gem of a site found a great reason to keep this tidy yet fun form of communication around. An art project/voyeur community of sorts, 'postsecret' is a collection of postcards sent in from strangers who divulge a secret on them. 

http://postsecret.blogspot.com

The project delivers three things: (1) a study in how very differently and creatively each of us, as humans, choose to express ourselves visually and (2) the idea that very few words can deliver a powerful message - sometimes an entire life story and (3) how oddly, we're all very much the same. Despite how different our secrets are, they are at the same time very similar.

So next time you pass a Spencer's in the mall or a cheesey gift shop on a trip, remember, there is a perfectly good use for the beefcake guy in a speedo on the beach telling you "the weather's here. Wish you were great!"

Room to Groove

I considered starting this entry off with "tired of looking at beige on beige?" But clearly my fellow coolkeepers have color on the walls, no?

Well, if you haven't jumped on this bandwagon that left the barn about a decade ago, it's time to do so. In addition to color, you can add zest to a bare space without the hassle of wallpaper glue, stencils, sponges and other such nonsense.

www.whatisblik.com

My office walls are dancing with the colors of "Eames Crosspatch" boxes. Be careful before stickin' em down tho. The bubbles are a bitch to fix.

Also, for general decor products and ideas, consider cb2, Crate and Barrel's younger sister who lives in a funky warehouse loft downtown (instead of a proper colonial in the burbs.)

www.cb2.com

Happy homing, my little pigeons!

Have Bag, Will Travel

One of the things that is so cool about being me is that I have a pipeline to cool stuff in many cities. Call me cosmopolitan, but I indeed have a national - even global - cool view. 

My sister-in-law source in CO has alerted me to a must have for this coming fall (thanks Leeanne!). Look no further for next season's "it" bag.

www.tutelahandbags.com

Here at Keep Your Cool, we believe that despite what tired fashion hags from Vogue, Elle and other traditional rags try to sell you, a great bag does not require a famous designer name with a $500 price tag. In fact, it is rather uninspired to sport a sack with D&G or Fendi graffit'd all about. It shows little effort.

One of the blessings of the internet is to allow access to a plethora of chic choices for us fashion-forward folks, especially any of us sequestered in unhip locales. That plus, when you buy from a place like Tutela, you are supporting cool entrepreneurship, and two smart women out west trying to make a go of it.

So when thinking of bagging your next bag, go west! Or at least go to the internet.

Wildlife, Mythical Figures and Death

Summer's here and it's time for...movies! Since our options in theaters currently include summer blockbusters where Ed Norton and Tim Roth embarrass themselves turning green and grunting, I recommend updating your Netflix queue and sitting out the theater all together. Besides, who wants to deal with fat teens texting and awkward first dates all around you?

My must-see list of the summer includes some older and some newer bad all different genres.

First, "Eagle vs. Shark". This film is brilliant. It features the funny Australian guy from those short-lived Outback commercials where he sat by his lonesome in Outback, wore funny glasses and mastered self-deprecation. It's an 80's period piece and art directed as such to perfection. It's a quirky love story and you will be laughing hysterically, cringing for the characters and then wanting to reach through the screen to hug them all - not in that order.

Next up is "Pan's Labyrinth". It's dark. Very dark. But you won't find a richer aesthetic and a better produced fantasy movie blended with reality. This one's subtitled people so break out your smarty pants before watching. 

Finally, there's "Death at a Funeral." "Four Weddings and a Funeral"'s funnier, cleverer cousin. British and brilliant. Lighthearted yet smartly written and an absolute stitch. The leads in this are from a favorite BBC series of Greg and I - "MI5" (aka "Spooks" in England. Another thing to add to your must see list if your a TV-series-followin' kind of chap!)

Hollywood is hurtin'. And if you count on major theater releases to keep you entertained - and cool - then you know why. Indie films all the way people. Don't be afraid. They don't always make you think harder or make your read or make you cry. But they will make you much, much cooler:)

 

Rain Rain Stay

It's rare in Florida to feel a sense of gloom from the weather. Long spells of gray and rain are rare. But we've been under a big ass cloud for several days now and to be honest, I rather enjoy the quiet reclusiveness it begs for.

Bon Iver's "For Emma Forever" is the perfect soundtrack to sitting on your patio during a dark afternoon with thunder rumbling in the distance. Way on the quiet side, it's a haunting album that seems as though it was produced in an empty church. The hollowness adds to it's stripped down moodiness.

Other rainy day favorites include Sigur Ros and Yo La Tengo.

Music for the minors

So I probably should wait 'til further on to start in on kid stuff already, but I'm so taken by the new CDs I just bought that I must share now. 

It our duty as savvy hipster parents to raise our kids with some sensibility for music that does NOT involve the Jonas Brothers. And selfishly, I don't want to listen to crap while toting her ass around town.

While it's true most kids music is totally uninspired and obnoxious, there is a wealth of cool music for kids that is fairly untapped. 

The series "For the Kids" is a must. Any band that can pull off a song about poop going in the potty and have it be really, really a genuinely great song, well, they are just the shit. On "For the Kids 3" Over the Rhine is just one of many brilliant musical artists that pull off kid's music with such sophistication that you are not embarrassed at all by singing about lint, puppies and the letter "L".

All three CDs in the series are fantastic. In addition, there is a "Jazz for Kids" compilation that features Louis Prima crooning about the banana man, way before he was so un-PC-ly cast as the monkey king in Jungle book. It warms my heart to hear Hazel sing about the Muffin Man with Ella's velvet voice. 

A final note, there is a show on now called Gabba Gabba. I love it for it's trippy British club style. (I want that guy's fuzzy hat.) The music is reminiscent of Cibo Matto and electronica combined. It's got such a bizarre, almost Tokyo youth yet London lounge like aesthetic, that while you are watching it (with your kid of course!), you are slightly tempted to drop a tab of E. But then you realize that you have to go do laundry, take the kid to the park, and do some work online so you choose an Odwalla instead.

Numerology

Cloud Cult's "The Meaning of 8" has you pondering not only about that answer, but also about the meaning of why bands like Papa Roach and Creed are allowed to be called musicians. 

Ethereal, thoughtful and rockin' all at once, this album is a great backdrop for filling out timesheets and filing expense reports. It lets you do your work without making you feel like your soul is hollow. If you don't have access to itunes at work (or some kind of electronic music player), get it now!

Also my list of recommends for today: anything by Neko Case.

 

News travels

My first logging of coolness. So check 'em out. www.theshirtproject.com.

These really smart news junkies were so disheartened with the continual decline in newspaper readership, they thought why not take hot or important news stories and make them into graphic tees? That way you can "read all about it" on someone's shirt instead of being visually assaulted by messages like "I did your girlfriend." So now news travels maybe not fast, but certainly different.

In addition to being way hip, this is such a great example of how we as a  collective continue to find new ways to push ideas and keep communications creative. And while you may argue that this somehow cheapens true journalism by not conveying a full and objective story, at least it's getting news in front of people who may not otherwise even know there was a crisis involving Burmese monks.

Also, a tip to make anything you wear (including purses or even shoes) more interesting. Vintage button application! Let's call it the "bedazzler's" younger, hipper sibling. Michael's has bags of vintage buttons found on the floor room of old clothing factories. I just bought my first bag. None of them match. But that's kind of the point.

I'm thinking of clustering some on the corner of a tee shirt (perhaps one about the recent oil crisis), or onto a cheap thrift shop bag I just picked up.  Now I just need to learn how to sew.

Inauguration

This is for the Gen X-er out there who woke up one day in her late 30's, looked in the mirror (age spotted face and heavy hips), and realized she had no idea what happened to her former self. The self that knew all the cool bands - including which indie label they were on. The self that knew where to find a fabulous outfit - not from a mall. The self that heard from a friend about a hot artist doing some cool shit. The self that knew a great place for kick ass beers on tap. The self that was young, carefree, and had the time to stay up on all things "cool."

Careers, bank accounts, wives, husbands, divorces, kids, dogs and everything else got in the way. And now look at ya. You got no idea that there is anything decent to listen to other than lame ass faux alternative bands like Linkin' Park and NickleBlink311whatever the fuck. And the only "funky" fashion you're finding is at a place called Forever 21. And honey, you ain't 21 anymore.

This site is your key to freedom. You may want just a taste of cool, so you feel like all is not lost. Or you may be full on ready to live cool again. Either way, you'll find what you need here. Music, movies, media, politics, fashion, culture and - of course - drinkin'...I'll do my best to bring it to you byte sized. 

Times have changes since our days of  making sure you knew which gate to meet your friends at for the show or you were screwed. Perhaps it's made the next generation lazy and less responsible, but regardless of your take on technology, it's here to stay. You can either embrace it or not. I've chosen to use it to - in the face of tee-ball games, bath time and boring-ass meetings - somehow keep us cool.