What do a wedding dress, an opera house, some purses, and a torch have in common?

"Olympic Torch Voted Design of Year Before London’s Games"
Farah Nayeri, Bloomberg (April 24, 2012)

"The Olympic torch was voted Design of the Year in a U.K. contest, as judges chose to reward the sporting emblem in the year of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Designed by London-based Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the tapered rod has 8,000 holes representing the 8,000 bearers who will carry it over 8,000 miles (12,874 kilometers). Runners-up in the 'Design of the Year 2012' announced today included Catherine Middleton's wedding gown, a Zaha Hadid opera house in China, and Vivienne Westwood handbags made in Kenya...."

The Bloomberg article doesn't say how folks judged the relative merits of a ventilated torch, a wedding dress, an opera house, and some handbags. Sure, they were looking at 'design' in each case: but design criteria for an opera house and a wedding gown aren't all that similar. Come to think of it, though, the torch and the handbags may be roughly the same size: and both are designed to be carried.

Maybe that odd lot of entrants isn't so unrelated, after all. Still: a wedding dress and an opera house?

Here's a photo of the opera house in question. Looks pretty cool, in the Lemming's opinion.


(Iwan Baan/Design Museum, via Bloomberg, used w/o permission)
"The Guangzhou Opera House, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid. The building is nominated for the Design of the Year award, organized by the Design Museum in London. Photographer: Iwan Baan/Design Museum via Bloomberg"

The Guangzhou Opera House looks very impressive from this angle, but the photo raises some questions. Is the camera at eye level? If so, why aren't there any handrails on the left side of that - is it a walkway? And if that's a reflecting pool to the right, what does it look like when there's a breeze?

Oh, well: It's still a cool photo.

Related posts:

• "Olympic This, Olympic That, and Chobham Academy"
  (March 14, 2012)
• "And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon"
  (March 7, 2012)
• "Eco-Bridge or Not, This Looks Like a Good Idea"
  (February 20, 2009)
• "The 2008 Olympics 'Water Cube:' Looks Cool, Retains Heat, and Keeps Itself Clean"
  (August 22, 2008)
• "China's Cool New Buildings: Eco-Aware, Too"
  (October 15, 2007)

And Now, for Something Completely Different: Dying Yarn With Kool Aide®

"Homestead Series How To Dye Wool Yarn With Kool-Aid"

HomesteadAcres, YouTube (September 23, 2009)
video, 11:25

"A new hobby of mine is dying yarn. You can easily dye wool with kool-aid or food coloring. In this video I'm using kool-aid.

"Step 1. Put 1 to 2 inches of luke warm water in your crock pot and a 'glug' of vinegar. Place your skein of yarn in the crock pot....

The narrators tell you that this isn't the most color-fast dyeing process around: so you'll have to be careful about washing the yarn later.

These folks do something the Lemming wouldn't have thought of: using two different colors in the same bowl. The yarn is being dyed red on one side, green on the other side of the bowl. Since the bowl is nearly full of yarn (and water), there's surprisingly little mixing of the two colors.

The video talks about another time, when there were four colors: green, orange, blue and brown. That could have been one colorful set of yarn.

This process isn't likely to put commercial yarn dying outfits out of business: there's a lot of labor involved. But as a sort of home craft project - particularly for folks who knit some of their own clothing - this looks practical.

The Lemming appreciated the last words in the video: "Have fun."

(Kool-Aid^® is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods. And has its own website: Kool-Aid.)

Terry Cloth, Dobby Looms, and All That

"What is Terrycloth?"
WiseGEEK (September 8, 2010)

"Terrycloth is a type of pile fabric which is famous for its softness and high absorbency. It is often used for towels and bathrobes, and it may be utilized to make athletic warmups and other accessories. Many department stores carry items made from terrycloth, and it is also possible to purchase this fabric by the yard for the purpose of making custom towels, robes, and other objects. Many sewing suppliers carry terrycloth, and it can also be ordered online or directly from manufacturers....

"...Industrially, terrycloth is made on a dobby loom, a specialized loom which allows for greater control of the tension of the threads. People can also knit or weave it by hand, using several different techniques, although handmade terrycloth is time consuming to make. Industrial methods of manufacture have been in use since the mid-1800s, which is around the time that this specialized fabric began to achieve widespread popularity...."

It's a pretty good discussion of what terry cloth (AKA terrycloth) is, but doesn't tell much about where it came from, historically speaking. Happily, the Lemming found this piece:

"Terry Cloth"
OUTLETSHIRTS.com (June 8th, 2009)

"Terry cloth, also know as terry, is a fabric with loops that can absorb more water than a traditional cloth. There are many types of terry cloth in the market today....

"...Towels are a woven fabric made of Cotton or a Cotton-Polyester (Cotton-Poly) blend and are a usually loop or pile pattern. Special looms called Dobby Looms are used to weave the fabric into the finished product. Modern looms are fully computerized and make the job much easier than it was in the past.

"Early in the history of Terry cloth nearly everything was made by hand. Due to the time it took to make this cloth towels were usually reserved for the wealthy. Towels were generally smaller and most were hand and facial towels. ... By the end of the nineteenth century, weaving became automated and the terry cloth industry was changed forever.

"After the mechanizing of looms we started to see a greater variety of materials being used and a greater market for towels because they were less expensive. This also created a large market for Bath Towels for the first time. Like most textile cloth throughout the manufacturing process everything is bleached a bright white before it is dyed its final color. This is almost always done to the fabric in large rolls or yards before any weaving or other alteration takes place. Terry cloth is woven on a dobby loom, which means that it has two steps or processes. The first one is referred to as the ground warp and forms the body of the towel or cloth. The second one is called the pile warp, which forms it forms the terry loop or pile...."

There's quite a bit more - some of it a bit on the promotional side, letting readers know how many products are made of terry cloth. Naturally enough, since the page is on a commercial website.

Hats off to OUTLETSHIRTS.com for this backgrounder on terry history.

Late 17th Century Clothing

Nicole Kipar's Late 17th Century Clothing History

I found this website while looking up European clothing of the 17th century. It's visually impressive, and - after a little nosing around - I found a pretty good set of written resources on clothing of the period, and how it developed.

You probably won't visit this website for the same reasons that you check in at Dilbert or The Weather Channel, but if you're doing costume design for a period piece, or writing a story set in the court of the Sun King, you might find it worth studying.

In my case, The Lemming was just curious.

Old Style, New Fashions - and They're Not Hideous

"Yunjin brocade makes the latest fashion"
China Central Television (December 29, 2009)

"One thing that will not cause any controversy is the beauty of Chinese embroidery, one of whose great examples is Yunjin Brocade. Originating in east China's Jiangsu Province over 1500 years ago, Yunjin Brocade was the most luxurious and valuable fabric in ancient China.

"It became famous for its beautiful cloud-like patterns hence the name Yunjin, or Cloud Brocade. In October of this year, the weaving technique for the fabric was listed on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Over the weekend in the provincial capital Nanjing, finely produced Yunjin costumes were featured in a fashion show...."

You might think, reading some of my micro-reviews on Oddly Enough posts about the weird side of high fashion, that I think all fashion designers are psychologically-challenged - and possibly color-blind - wannabe artists. Not so.

I have a great deal of respect for fashion designers who realize that clothing is, primarily, something that human beings wear in order to enhance their comfort and appearance.

It looks like some of them live in China. I can imagine a woman wearing some of those outfits, without being paid outrageous sums to do so.

The Truth is Out There: Why China is Highlighting Yunjin Brocade

China does have a hidden motive for this fashion show. Not all that hidden, actually - but it is on the second page of the article:

"...Yunjin Brocade is in dire need of artisans to inherit the skill...."

Seriously? I wish them well. It'd be a shame if creating Yunjin Brocade became a lost skill.

The CCTV article includes a video (1:52) in English, and two photos.

'In Space, No One Can Hear You - - - TWEET?!'

"In Space No One Can Hear You Tweet"
Twitter Tees by Threadless

It's a black T-shirt with a slogan, ah, inspired by the first Alien movie's tagline.

---

A tip of the hat to dragonblogger, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this URL.

Vibram FiveFingers Running Shoes? Gloves? or "Plastic Gorilla Feet"

"Plastic Gorilla Feet Give You Twinkle Toes"
Wired Product Reviews (July 10, 2009)

"Minutes after wiggling my feet into these five-toed monstrosities I was creeping across a coworker's desk like Spider-man. Sadly, Vibram FiveFingers don't actually let you stick to walls and ceilings, but they are wickedly fun to wear.

"Vibram FiveFingers are little more than flexible plastic soles with just enough cloth to hold them snugly on your feet. They have little individual pockets for each toe, making the FiveFingers into a sort of foot glove. The resulting footwear feel less like shoes and more like tougher, more invulnerable versions of your feet.

"Traction is incredibly good, due to the grippy material, the separation of the toes, and the addition of siping, or tiny zigzag cuts etched into the soles that expand into little treads as the sole flexes...."

There's some of the compulsory 'don't act stupid' advice in this article, but for the most part it's a pretty good review of some of the strangest footwear I've seen.

A point I appreciated in the article was what the writer said about being able to feel what you're standing on: "...Your toes, freed from their typical leather prisons, act like a tiny topography sensor array...."

It's been a very long time since I've worn shoes inside - partly because I prefer being able to feel the surfaces I'm on.

The bottom line is that the new running shoes (gloves?) look funny, are really good for running, and take a bit more time to put on than conventional shoes.

The price - between $75 and $85 - doesn't seem so bad, for a specialty item with that much detail required during manufacture.

How to Fold a Shirt in 22 Seconds: A Japanese Video

"how to fold a shirt in japan"
Beta 1.3 Infectious Videos (November 24, 2006)

I don't know more than a handful of words of Japanese, but I think I could follow the instructions of this 22-second video, anyway.

A very elegant topographic exercise.

I've been told (but haven't confirmed) that Japanese households often fold their dirty laundry. Amazing!

Cool Shirt: Literally, a Cool Shirt

"Who Needs Air Conditioning When You’ve Got Ice-Cold Water Running Through Your Shirt?"
ecomodder (April 27, 2008)

Seems that this fellow "thought something along the lines of 'wouldn’t that be a sweet thing to wear in the car on the way to school instead of blasting my (non-working) A/C!' "

This thing looks like it might actually be practical. The tubes seem rather far apart, though.

Magic T-Shirt: Just Add Water!

"Compressed Magic T-Shirt"
Styleo / "not Just another Design Blog" (April 23, 2008)

"This is the magic T-shirt which is compressed into the size of a hand with special technique. All you have to do is to put it into cold water for a short while and it will get back into normal size."

I am not making this up.

A series of photos shows how it works.

'Let Them Shop Walmart' - Good Point, Stupid Message

The Apathetic Lemming doesn't do 'issue' posts very often, but I'm going to make an exception for this matter.

"E-mail fires up Florida parents"
Unoffical E-mail message from Jay Wheeler, Osceola County School Board
MyFox Orlando (April 25, 2008)

School Uniforms Required

Here's the deal. The Osceola County School District decided that they'd insist on school uniforms. Nothing particularly fancy:

"--Navy blue or khaki pants, walking shorts, slacks, skirts, skorts, jumpers, or similar clothing made of twill, corduroy, or denim fabric. (A small logo is acceptable)

"--White or navy blue shirts with collars such as a polo, oxford, or dress shirt (A small logo is acceptable)"

School Board Member Knows About Parents

An Osceola county school board member, Jay Wheeler, says that parents complained, saying they can't afford the uniforms.

Jay Wheeler knows better. He sent an email to parents, saying:

"Everyone can afford Wal-Mart and if they cant they need to think about turning of their cable TV or stop buying alcohol or cigarettes and spend their money on their children." [emphasis mine]

Reality Check, Please!

Two points.

1. Spool bored minters shad chick they're spilling:
   • The contraction of can not is "can't" - not "cant"
   • One turns off cable TV, one does not turn of much of anything
   (I'll concede that we could be looking at transcription errors at the Orlando station, but two? When it would be easier to copy and paste?)
2. The assumption that "Everyone can afford Wal-Mart" - if only they'd lay off booze and smokes - may not be completely accurate

Here's a Look one Underclass Household

This family buys at Walmart, when we have to go upscale, but most of our clothing budget is spent at rummage sales (garage sales, or yard sales, in some parts of America) - and at second-hand clothing shops.

I will admit that we have cable TV (this part of central Minnesota isn't exactly inundated with broadcast channels). We also fritter our money away on telephone service, and (obviously) an Internet connection.

Booze and smokes? We can't give those up, since this household is dry and smoke-free.

Given what seems to be the attitude toward people like us, I'm glad we don't live in Osceola County.

We could cobble together a school uniform or two, as defined. The correct colors could be hard to get, since there'd be a run on appropriate clothing, but we might be able to bleach and dye our way into compliance.

It would take work, though.

Your Attention, Please! Not All Poor People are Shiftless

What irked me about the email is the apparent assumption that there were two sorts of parents:

• Those who simply go to a retail store and purchase the required clothing (several sets for each child, unless the household does overnight laundry)
• Shiftless ne'erdowell spendthrifts who waste their money on liquor and fast living

The possibility that there might be people who don't make as much money as he does - and are not wastrels - apparently never occurred to him. And still doesn't.

Mr. Wheeler "says its time for parents to focus on their kids. Saying it's time to stop being politically correct and start being serious about education.

"Finally adding, "I just told the truth and parents need to take responsibility and put their children first!' "

Urging parents to be responsible, and put their children's education before their own pleasures: Good idea.

Assuming that parents who can't afford multiple sets of school uniforms don't care about their children: Mind-numbingly, world-class-stupid idea.

Be Careful About What You Ask For: a "FoxTrot" St. Patrick's Day Comic

"FoxTrot" (March 16, 2008)

Featuring Andy Fox, whose kids should have remembered what "green" means to their eco-friendly mom.

Better Ideas From Japan: Vending Machine Skirts and Other Strange Fashions

"The Strangest Japanese Styles"

"Japan has always been on the edge when it comes to hairstyles and clothing; however the styles that are popular now are very strange to Westerners."

Description and photos of Japanese styles, from Vending Machine Skirt (no kidding) to Ganguro Girl, by way of Gothic Guys.

This stuff is quite seriously weird.

More ideas - good, dubious, and strange - at "Better Ideas From ... "

You, too, Can Wear a Really Geeky Tie

"The ThinkGeek 8-bit Tie"

This clip-on tie is - unique.

Unusual, anyway.

"For the 8-Bit Office

"A few of us monkeys at ThinkGeek had this great shared dream a few months ago."

Necklaces and Leaves - or Maybe a Nautilus

"Enchanted Earth Washable Textile Art Garden - Necklaces"

These necklaces all look very organic. I think that they'd look better displayed on a wall, than around someone's neck, but that's one opinion.

The one called "autumn leaf" looks more like a live nautilus to me.

And You Think Your Job is Hard!

This is another not-a-blog post.

But this one is too much fun to skip.

Channel 4, Belfast's, "The Worst Jobs in History" is an entertaining look at grungy British jobs from Roman times to the Victorian period.

The jobs I read about, from Roman miner to Tudor groom of the stool, Stuart nip picker, and Victorian navvy, were entertainingly - and fairly accurately - described.

I wouldn't take Ireland's answer to "Dirty Jobs" as an authority on culture during the Medieval period. Their summary of social and economic conditions, "while noblemen and their ladies flounce around in sumptuous clothes and are entertained at court and tournament, an army of unlucky souls toils away in some spectacularly hideous employment," isn't entirely complete, or accurate.

Much of our impression of the Middle Ages comes from the colorful excesses of very late Medieval and early Renaissance periods. That period makes excellent cinema, but isn't typical of the half-millennia that came before.

Here's a little about the clothing angle:

• "Medieval Textiles" (.pdf). The emphasis is on Russian clothing, but a few illustrations show what peasants and upper crust wore.
• "Clothing / What was it really like to live in the Middle ages?" at Learner.org is a very brief description, with almost no illustrations: but is a good introduction.
• "Some Extant Clothing of the Middle Ages" gives a pretty good picture, literally, of European clothing from 1000 to the 1500s.