Published March 31, 2008 by

Ikea Aspelund disappointment

ikea aspelund bedIt’s a nice bed isn’t it?

Try this. It breaks, it tries to eat you when all you are doing is innocently sitting on it.

Geoff bought this bed when he moved out. It is now our bed. It was fine for ages. Then it turned evil. And one day a slat broke – okay… so we hiked into Ikea, spent another $50 or so and replaced it. Then the next week or so the midbeam ripped out of the foot of the bed (Stop thinking married thoughts!) because it did just break. We’ve tried fixing it and it lasted for about an hour then the slats started continuously slipping out until we jammed them in with cardboard. Cool. The bed works.

Then today the midbeam ripped out of the very sad looking screw holes again. Tonight we are sleeping on the floor.

Ikea, I am unimpressed. I am calling you tomorrow, but being 8 months on I no longer have a receipt, you have a three month returns policy and so I don’t really feel very hopeful. I’ve read up online and others have had the same problems.

The bed looks nice, but the design sucks.

It really does afterall emphasise the definition of design: in that design is about solving problems. This bed is my problem.

Design

Published March 31, 2008 by

Your ideas

For a uni thing I have to create a 3x double page spread on ANYTHING. Restrictions state that I need to use found text (not text that I’ve written) but I must create all my own imagery/photos.

Any suggestions as to what I should do it on? I’m open to everything.

Design Uni

Published March 31, 2008 by

Starred Posts: Late Jan – July (Design)

Crikey, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this, and I’m going to pay because there are 60+ well worth going-to posts sitting in Google Reader waiting to be shared. I think I’ll should make this a monthly/bi-monthy effort. But hey, I’m on this beautiful new machine so I might as well hit the list.

To change it up a bit this time I’m going to somewhat categorise the links. As you might have guessed I do read particular types of blogs, design features up there oddly often in the shape of interiors (rather than graphics) I think it is my secret lust of pretty yet functional things. I’d love to have a house I could do anything to and the money to match. Alas I shall for the moment content myself with saliva inducing photographs. Anyway as I was saying, design isn’t probably the highlight of everyone’s day – regardless you should at least venture in to just ONE of these posts if only to expand your mind even if it constricts and flees with horror.

Design/Art/Interiors/Creativity

And that’s all for the design line up this time around, more ‘other’ coming later.

Blogging Create Design

Art Blogs blogs worth visiting Design good reading Links starred posts

Published March 31, 2008 by

Op Shop Dali

dali bookWhat better way to get used to the weirdness of the new WordPress backend than to talk about someone weird.

Salvador Dali.

In truth I know very little about him, but I did manage to score a nice looking Phaidon book about him today. Some of the work is familiar so I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of my invested $3.00.

Books Culture Op Shop

Art opshops salvador dali surrealist art

Published March 30, 2008 by

No rules

Writing a post now is some kind of evil-forced reflection on the past week.

I have been up at Soul Survivor for it’s entirety, bar the last afternoon/evening and one night session hiatus for a 21st. This is the third year in a row – I think. It could be the fourth. It’s always interesting seeing what goes on. God generally uses it as a grand old chance to mess wildly with my head. Last year’s highlight was found in leaving a ‘main session’ going off on a walk and having God speak pretty clearly to me after catching my attention with possibly the most mind blowing moon ever (the same one that frequents your night sky actually). Nothing so gobsmackingly obvious and beautiful naturalistically this year.

Here’s the bare honest truth. I love Soul Survivor for the chance to step out of my ‘daily patterns’, I love the people, I love watching my youth kids pray for eachother, rally around others (and they around them). I love watching people change and grow. But I pretty much spend the whole time, every time frustrated in trying to work out what the hell is going on. Not so much in a bad way – it’s hard to explain. I guess I have this enormous dissatisfaction at the moment with the type of stock standard basic life that I live and although I know, I know there is stuff I do that is good and hey stuff that even is a bit on about bringing about God’s kingdom – I struggle to see it. And even when I do, I don’t think that I’m quite on the right track.

My (kinda) friend Steve Said ran some seminars about the Kingdom of God and if you ever get the chance to hear him do. I’m sure he’d be happy to assist busting some misconceptions. I’ve heard him before, but I needed to hear it again. The VERY short version:

The kingdom of God and following Jesus is not about what you eat – it’s not about prescribed rules at all.

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” – Romans 14:17

And before you approach that directly, go and blow the brains out of your standard understanding of righteousness, justice, peace and joy. Erm… take some time and learn Greek and have conversations with lots of wise people or shortcut by going and buying the recordings off the seminars.

Prescribed rules are easier but I don’t think they’re what I want.

(and that my friends is why I’m going to add this stupid little mid-post footnote – calling you my friends – and saying that I think you’re a tool if you think you can go to church on Sunday, lead a “moral” little life, don’t swear and think that you’re following Jesus. Harsh? Hey well I need to hear some of it too and I really wanted to use a different word than tool btw… but I figure I’d better keep this vaguely respectable.)

The other thing I was reminded about was the word Vocare (oh yes, remember that thing I started and pulled out of due to wedding insanity?)

Vocare (latin) basically is on about vocation – where your deepest passion meets a great need in the world. I’d really like to be living my vocation, vocare.

If someone could tell me what my deepest passion is, I’d be greatly obliged.

Christianity Holidays Life Relationships Social Justice

kingdom of God Romans is a good book Soul Survivor Steven Said