Planned Obsolescence, Perceived Obsolescence

Here's a very interesting video about consumerism and how product designers sometimes design stuff to break, so that we'll go and buy a new product.

The makers of this clip didn't want the clip to be embedded anywhere (assholes), so I'll give you the link here.

methods of investigation.

HDC002 Methods of Investigation: Sean Adams + Design History from Dori Tunstall on Vimeo.

Have been sick with a tummy virus for the last couple of days and spent yesterday entirely in bed. Which meant that I missed class, something that reminded me about being 7 and being upset about being sick from school for the first time. Good thing that uni has Blackboard, an online platform where most things from class and other discussions are available. Apparently, last night, they had been watching this video of Sean Adams. I found it pretty interesting and thought I might share it with you. Enjoy!

oscar predictions.

Well, just because I'm an Academy Award freak (I sort of have a database of passed winners in my head along with other super geeky facts about the Oscars), I thought it'd be funny to predict the outcome of Sunday night's big event. This is my list of who I THINK is going to win and (in brackets) who I WISH will win.

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network
(I didn't like this movie, it f*cking sucked, but since the Facebook guy became Man of the Year in Time Magazine, I reckon their useless movie about it will win. The real best movie of the year, and possibly of all time is, of course, Black Swan. No doubt.)

BEST ACTOR, LEADING ROLE
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
(He really deserves this, he was beyond amazing in The King's Speech.)

BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale
(I think that Bale will win because he's in a film about boxing, the Academy loves that shit. I really hope that Geoffrey Rush will win for The King's Speech however. The movie would have been nothing without him. He's also from Melbourne, which makes me wanna vote twice for him.)

BEST ACTRESS, LEADING ROLE
Natalie Portman
(Natalie Portman. No doubt. F*cking best performance I've seen in my life. If she doesn't win it's a scandal.)

BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING ROLE
Helena Bonham Carter
(This is a tough one, because there are two other nominees from a boxing movie in this category. But I think Carter will win because she's portraying an historic person, and of course she does it pretty damn well.)

BEST DIRECTING
David Fincher, The Social Network
(Bullshit movie, again, but critics seems to love it to bits and its topic is sooooo important, so of course Fincher will win. I hope of course that Darren Aronofsky will win for Black Swan.)

I think it's completely outragous by the way that The Social Network has been nominated in so many categories (Best original score? Are you f*cking kidding me?). If I haven't mentioned it enough, I'm just saying that the plot, idea and movie itself is stupidly pointless. It's a movie about Facebook, for crying out loud! Facebook is not the best invension of all time, people. It's a bloody website! It didn't have enough drama in real life to carry a big movie like this. I saw it at the movies and didn't understand what all the fuzz was about. I then saw it again at home, but then I liked it even less. The Social Network is a hype movie, which is why it will win. It's a motion picture landmark of what was talked about in 2010. But that doesn't make it a good movie. A good movie, in my opinion, is a movie that stays with you, that makes you think. I've seen two movies this year that has left me with this; Black Swan and The King's Speech. They deserve to win, not an unnecessary movie about Facebook.

If you ever wondered how you go about winning an oscar, just watch this trailer. The Social Network has used a lot of these things and actually reminded me a lot about it.

swinburne, here i come.

Crazy, life-changing things can happen in a matter of days. Just about two weeks ago I found out that the deadline for the Master of Design course at Swinburne University of Technology was on February 16. This gave me about 5 days to prepare a pdf portfolio. Normally I would have just given up and not even bothered the stress. But this time I had a very motivating boyfriend by my side who told me I was better than good enough, and puched me to apply. So I worked by ass off for the application and handed it in in person a few days later. Then a week passed. My hopes for staying in this country were not very bright. But then, when I was on my way home from the city, I received a phone call. The person on the other end told me I had been eccepted to the course. When I hung up I could feel my face radiate such happiness I could not controll myself. I wanted to kiss and hug every single person on the tram. I called my boyfriend emidiately and then Mikaela, who were equally as ecstatic. Then I jumped off the tram outside Spudbar (where I work) to let everyone, anyone know that I had done the impossible, that I had been accepted to study Master of Design. My work-buddie Rick were just as happy; "So this means you don't have to leave - that's AWESOME, mate!". The next couple of days were filled with stressful paperwork, talking to the right people, filling out the right forms, applying for loans, going through medical examinations and even x-ray scans. And finally, yesterday, I managed to enrol at uni. I have still things to do, but the worst is definitely over. Now I can finally focus on getting my Masters. You have no idea what a relief it is to be able to do that. You have no idea what a luxury it is to be able to study exactly where you want to study, to dedicate 1,5 years to exactly what you want to do. For many people, I reckon, studying is something that you just do because everyone else does it and it's part of how we live our lives. For me it means the world. I can finally take back what I felt I lost in confidence and skills while doing my Bachelor in England. I can finally study with a clear and mature focus on what I want to learn. And this time I will study somewhere where I want to live, at a place where I'm inspired and motivated. So, the professional development of Stingosaurus continues... First class starts on Monday. Let's see what happens from there on.

mixed bag stuff.

Just wanted to show some stuff I've done lately. I designed the logo, the gift certificate and the flyers for Mixed Bag Productions. Pretty sweet, huh? Mixed Bag consist basically of my friend Leonie who is an amazing singer, both in various bands and works as a teacher. In case anyone would like to learn to sing, let me know and I'll pass your details along, she would like some more students.

doll tee.

I designed this t-shirt for my brother Gustav quite a long time ago as a Christmas present. You know, it's all about the brother-sisterly love. Now, many years later, it has been picked up by an Australian t-shirt company, based here in Melbourne, and you can buy it as a t-shirt or singlet here.

australia day.

Last week, on the 26th of January, it was Australia Day. I celebrated this by going to a sweet gig where Crazy 88 were playing, with the supporting act of Jude.

great ocean road.

This is another trip I made recently with my friends. We went west from Melbourne and out to the Great Ocean Road, which is an amazing road to take. We stopped by in Apollo Bay, Torquay, Wye River and Lorne. Along the way we saw wallabies, an echidna, a koala and penguins.

sydney.

Here you go, folks! Some snapshots from my little trip to Sydney a few weeks ago. I took some lame photos of the Opera House as well, but for some reason I find it more interesting to photograph tourists who in turn photograph this highly overrated piece of archetecture, so no photos of that here... I learned however that the granite tiles that cover the building's roof is all imported from Sweden. Wow. Good to know. This trip to Australia's biggest city (not capital city) was a nice one, but confusing. The roads did not make sense and I constantly felt lost while trying to find the way to places. However nice the city was, I have to say, when comparing Ausralian cities, I'm TOTALLY Team Melbourne.

black swan.

In high school I used to get obsessed with a couple of movies. They were beyond favourite movies and I could sometimes completely dissappear into them, I guess like a typical teenager who seeks escapism in a small town. I've been longing for a movie like that; a movie that could completely sweap me away, to take my mind elsewhere and send it into a new direction. I've been craving it. Which is why I feel so excited to tell you about this movie I saw the other day; Black Swan. What can I say other than that Natalie Portman deserves at least two Oscars for her performance. The story is quite simple; Nina is a ballerina. She gets the part as Swan Queen/ Black Swan in the ballet copany's new take on Swan Lake. She is the perfect pick for Swan Queen; innocent, perfect and beautiful. But to do the role as the evil twin Black Swan, she has to go into the scary territory of letting loose. Which turns into more than just a role, obviously. What I liked most about this film was the complexed yet simple psychology of Portman's character. I really didn't like Nina because she was so annoyingly weak, but at the same time I felt for her. She works so hard and she never gives up, you see her pain and feel her worries. As the movie builds up toward the end things get crazier and crazier. You wonder what's real and what's not real. Only because it explores the realities of a crazy person, and to some extent the mind of somebody creative who wonders into the darkness for the love of the art. This is a new take on Swan Lake but in the form of a psychologic thriller. Just like when "Oh Brother, where art thou" used The Odyssey as the base for the story. I just love it when movie makers does that; turn old and told stories in a new way and create lovely little analagies. It makes you see things differently. The familiar becomes forreign. As for the hero of this story, she is not sweet and innocent. In my opionion, the greatest moment of this movie is when the Black Swan enters the stage and change our perception of what a hero is.

new year, new adventures.

Wohoo! Two thousand and eleven. Hells yeah! January. Summer. Hot weather at this time of the year is something that has never accured in my life before. But now I'm in Australia, so anything could happen. I reckon this will be a very interesting year. So many new things, changes and opportunities. I won't tell you what I'm up to this year just yet, because I don't wanna jinx anything. But I can tell you that I'm going to Sydney for a quick visit this week. It's a bit weird that I've been in Australia for almost a year and I haven't been to Sydney yet, so here I go. It's gonna be rad! Photo opportunities, exploration, inspiration, good food, maybe some beach time and meeting up with the best dude in the world. Did I tell you I'm pumped for it!

julafton.

Christmas Eve (julafton) is the big deal if you're from Sweden. So we gathered some Swedes (and a few Aussies) at my friend Mikaela's place and enjoyed traditional Swedish Christmas food in the Australian sun. It was my first summer Christmas ever and probably not the last. Merry Christmas!