All posts in: This or That

Life
10 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • These Are the Rioters Who Stormed the Nation’s Capitol [The New York Times] I hate this, by the way. I did, however, think that this piece was well done.
  • User Not Found – Bottega Veneta Goes Dark [Substack]
  • ‘Sex and the City’ Reboot Officially Confirmed [Hypebae]
  • 7 Questions to Ask When Cleaning Out Your Closet [The Every Girl]
  • Who Cleans Up After A Coup Attempt? [The Cut]
  • Jamiroquai’s Lead Singer Is Not A Pro-Trump Viking Rioter [The Fader]
  • Shake Shack Introduces New Korean-Inspired Items [SF Gate]
  • Cherry Blossom Trees in Japantown Vandalized [Hoodline] WHYYY
  • The End of the Golden Age of Silicon Valley Cafeterias [Bloomberg]
  • The Silence of the Damned [NY Mag]
  • 21 Trends That Will Define the Lives of American Men in 2021 [InsideHook]
Culture
09 Jan 2021

McDonald’s Japan Has Healthier Happy Meals

https://youtu.be/MDaJhkqUwK0

Growing up, there was no such thing as a healthier Happy Meal from McDonald’s. In fact, healthier eating for young children wasn’t as prioritized back then as it is now so it’s kind of refreshing to see such a change. In order to promote healthier eating with kids, McDonald’s in Japan is introducing new side offerings including yogurt, a side salad and a medley of corn and edamame. Yum! We’d take this option as an adult if we had the choice. The main dishes themselves will not change, but if you’re a kid not wanting fries, at least you have options.

[Source]

Culture
04 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • The Astonishing Duality of BTS [The Atlantic]
  • How the Pandemic is Forcing Women Out of the Workforce [Vox]
  • The 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2020 [Bon Appetit]
  • 5 Small Changes to Make for a Happier New Year [The Every Girl]
  • Remembering the Startups We Lost in 2020 [TechCrunch]
  • Money Lessons From A Truly Terrible Year [The Cut]
Uncategorized
02 Jan 2021

How A Rug Filled A Void

[5′ x 8′ Athena Shag Rug] $298 – $149

When I moved into my San Francisco apartment, I was obsessed with my hardwood floors. Three different apartments on my own later, the move to hardwood made me feel like I was aging into a real adult. After years of living here, I thought that appeal might wear off and someday I would upgrade to getting a rug. However, in reality, a rug felt like an unnecessary purchase as I’ll have to take extra care of it; even with the help of professional cleaning services similar to this Carpet Steam Cleaning Melbourne, it felt like extra work. Did I really want to be covering my hardwood floors with something else? I want them exposed and for everyone to see them! Could I use this money towards something else I needed that wasn’t purely “decorative?”

As many of us experienced, the pandemic and staying at home influenced us all to think differently. This is the longest period of time that any of us have ever spent at home. Details that didn’t bother me before became an eye sore to look at every day. The biggest realization I had was that life before pandemic was me living in a place that didn’t feel like home. I had a pantry that was filled with cleaning supplies and a fridge and freezer that were 20% full.

As hopeful as I am for 2021, I know life at home isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With Kevin’s help, we found this rug above. I wanted something in a neutral tone to match the rest of my living room furniture. And most importantly, it needed to feel soft and cozy to bring out the warmth in this space. What a difference living with this for a week has made! My living room actually feels warmer – temperature wise. While I typically sit on my couch, I have no problem getting comfortable on the rug if I so choose. Even in a week, I’m left wondering why it took me so long to make the leap. I’m now the biggest rug enthusiast you’ve ever met.

Uncategorized
30 Dec 2020

The Cutest Workout Weights

If you think that these are ordinary plushies, think again! They are actually the cutest workout weights you’ve ever seen. Honestly, you would think by now I would’ve acquired weights at home, but I’m still using jars and cans of soup. These, however, might push me to get real ones and maybe these ones to be exact. Inspired by Rilakkuma and friends, Japanese sports company, Mizuno, has designed the most adorable weights at one pound each.

When you’re not using them, they can simply be used as home decor. To get a set of your own, you can buy them [here] retailing at $38 USD.

[Source]

Design
29 Dec 2020

Hype Simulator

This desire to know what it’s like to be viral is so sensationalized that an app was designed to create that experience for users. Using [Hype Simulator] people will have the opportunity to see what it’s like to have 15 minutes of online fame. After downloading the app, you can choose between viral or celebrity. The app itself helps you generate a TikTok username that you decide on and within seconds, you will be bombarded with likes and follower notifications. Why this is something that people are wanting to create for themselves, I’m not so sure. However, something seems to be working because a few works ago, this was a top-rated app. In addition to follows and likes, you’ll also receive DMs similar to what people would write on the TikTok app. The entire thing is baffling to me still.

[Source]

Life
28 Dec 2020

Why People on the Internet Can’t Be Nice

I spend quite a bit of time thinking about this. 2020 as a year especially has caused people to have even more of a love / hate relationship with social media than ever before. If you love it, you likely turned towards it during the pandemic by creating a second account and leaning into the possibility of being an influencer. In a time where people were forced to be more alone than ever, online validation filled that void. If you hate it, you deactivated your account or stayed off entirely. Your feed and your stories became overwhelming and you chose not to participate. In my case, nothing drastically changed. I added another platform so maybe there was just more volume. If anything felt different, it was that I started to look at the behaviors of people I follow in a new light. I paid attention to posting habits and what engagement looked like.

On my own, I love my social media when things are good. However, when things take a turn for the worse, it can crush your spirit. I don’t know why users leave comments that spread negativity or wish harm on someone. After months of observation, I’m convinced that no one can truly be strong enough to overcome this entirely. This is the part that I can’t control about social and it’s undoubtedly the worst. As a content creator there are two things I care about: I want you to like what I put out and I want to make sure I don’t offend anyone ever. Shortly after trying out some new content, I was met with criticism from random users. “STOP.” “She ruined this.” “This is terrible.” Sometimes I forget that my content gets distributed to people that a) don’t follow me to begin with b) don’t ask for it.

You would think that criticism from people I know would sting more, but criticism at all can make an impact. I shared June’s post above because it resonated with me and this post that I’ve been wanting to share for some time. June and her husband are expecting twins at the moment. They are sharing their journey on their own platform and while this is a new adventure for them, surprisingly it’s not always being embraced from their followers as seen from her caption. It begs the question, why continue following if you don’t like what you see? We all can make these choices and decisions on our own, but instead people choose to pass judgement (and not silently if I may add)

Tonight, as I was doing a live workout with Revolve, I watched the comments roll in from users. Men, who were clearly not there for the workout, instead, left sexualized comments about the instructor. It was unwanted, disgusting, and I wished in that moment that it could have been monitored better. I was glad that the instructor was occupied with teaching the class that she didn’t have to see these comments. However, she may afterwards. I don’t have a great way to wrap up this post other than that I’m heading into my 12th year of doing this and while I feel energized at certain moments, other times, I feel exhausted and discouraged by the way others behave on the internet. There is so much good that can come out of being online; why people choose otherwise I won’t understand ever.

Design
27 Dec 2020

Iran’s Hormuz Island

If you’ve grown up in a big city all your life, you often times forget about how different living spaces can look across the world. This [post] on Iran’s Hormuz Island stopped me dead in my tracks because of how unique and colorful this communal living community was. Designed as a multi-purpose project called “Presence in Hormuz” the vibrant bulb structures sit along the Persian Gulf.

Each structure serves to be used for a different purpose whether it is communal dining, laundry or for prayer. When asked about the intentions for this project, [ZAV Architects] answered:

In a country where the state struggles with political disputes outside its borders, every architectural project becomes a proposal for internal governing alternatives, asking basic questions: What are the limits of architecture and how can it suggest a political alternative for communal life? How can it attain social agency?

In our current climate, this type of living doesn’t seem possible. However, once we’re past COVID-19 it will be interesting to see whether or not ideas like this could be executed upon. And through the pandemic if other types of living are more accommodating.

[Source]

Culture
25 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020 [Paper Mag]
  • The Year Instagram Became Facebook [The Verge]
  • Some Cities Will Pay You $10,000 to Relocate [NPR]
  • The Missed “Magical Negro” Trope in “The Queen’s Gambit” [Bitch Media]
  • Steve Yuen on the Honesty of ‘Minari’ and His Eclectic Career [Variety]
  • Meet Pdogg, the Musical Dynamo Helping Shape BTS’s Greatest Hits [Fast Company]
  • Your State’s COVID-19 Epidemic, Explained in 4 Maps [Vox]
  • The 100 Best Songs of 2020 [Pitchfork]
  • The Best K-Pop Moments of 2020 [Teen Vogue]
  • 10 Remote Airbnbs As Stunning As They Are Secluded [Architectural Digest]
  • ‘The Bachelorette’ Stylist Shares How the Fashion Came Together for this Unprecedented Season [Fashionista]
  • The Journalist and the Pharma Bro [Elle]
  • Why Dave Chapelle Doesn’t Want You to Stream Chapelle’s Show [Vox]
  • Best House of 2020 [Arch Daily]
  • My Unusually Normal Life in Taiwan Amid the Global Pandemic [Bloomberg]
Design
24 Dec 2020

My Thoughts On Micro Apartments: Then and Now

Like [Doobybrain] I once loved the idea of a micro apartment. I remember first being interested in them when I was college and learning that my neighborhood was planning on building spaces specifically like these. At the time, I was constantly on the move. The studio I was living in wasn’t more than 400 sq feet, maybe 350 at most. Since I was between school and work constantly, I was really only in my apartment when I wasn’t at those places or to sleep.

I loved the idea of staying minimal. Having a smaller space meant that I needed to be better at managing my own belonging and knowing when to get rid of things. It’s 10 years later and having gone through a pandemic where I’ve spent the majority of my time indoors and at home, I’ve had a change of heart. Watching a video of these micro apartments doesn’t evoke the same kind of desire I had for them once before. In fact, it’s much farther than what I actually want. Even as we shift towards a more remote workforce, I still am not sure if these will be as appealing.