Kiliii Yu for Another Escape Magazine by elias.and.theresa.carlson on Flickr.

Won't You Come Over | Devendra Banhart

Lana Del Rey is on the cover of Complex August/September issue.

There was a time when leafy ferns were de rigueur in the domestic bathroom, and many a sorry leaf dropping, brown tinged plant ended its life huddled round the cistern. After that short lived flash of glory, houseplants became the horticultural equivalent of elasticated slacks. It’s taken the surreal, reptilian aesthetic of succulents for plants to barge their way back in. The perfect word to describe succulents would be edgy, but sharp edges are the one thing they tend to lack. Their plump and fleshy leaves retain water, and their rounded stems offer less surface area for moisture to evaporate. In evolutionary terms, you can only admire the succulent. It works its natural advantages as ferociously as an ambitious Broadway understudy. There are literally hundreds of varieties ranging from the beautiful Sedum Matrona, to the frankly hideous Ponytail Palm, but it’s the ground hugging glories of Hens and Chicks, Burro’s Tail, and Cobweb Houseleek that have tap danced their way into our hearts. (via Cereal)

The fine folks behind The Great Discontent, Tina and Ryan Essmaker are taking the plunge; they are making what started as a side-project their fulltime gig. I am *so* supporting that! Join me in backing their Kickstarter? (via)

Little White Lies are arguably one of the most creative magazines out there. Every issue is lovingly created by a team of designers and illustrators, headed by creative director Paul Willoughby. This issue was particularly special, as the entire issue's design, from the cover to the introduction pages, was hand-carved from Japanese plywood.

When we look far ahead—10 years, 50 years, 100 years into the future—we have the luxury of assuming that things will be radically different. We are free to take wild guesses and push the imagination without factoring in political and financial and cultural constraints. The distant future is ours to play with. The not-so-distant future? Not so much. The only way to see what’s on the horizon—the next day, the next month, the next year—is to stay firmly grounded in the present. And while the long view will never cease to inspire, there is a certain power in what’s next. It’s where today’s reality meets tomorrow’s potential. -GOOD

"I think there are people who want to be looked at.

As a writer or observer, I'm more interested in looking."

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Title: Paper Planes Artist: M.I.A. 

The Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

Bradshaw rode what was, at the time, the largest wave ever surfed. Later he told me it was like skiing down an avalanche chute in the mountains. He said, “You know that feeling you get when you’re going over a cornice and it’s just straight down after that?” He counted the seconds. He went, “One. Two. Three. Four!” Already it was a long drop, and the wave kept rising higher. “Five! Six! Seven! Eight!” He went, “Holy shit!,” and kept dropping. He went, “Don’t fade! Don’t even imagine it!” He got toward the base of the face, still well above the bottom, and rounded out of the drop as the surface curvature allowed. Bradshaw had never seen such wave expanses before-huge fields of sloping water to the right. He was aware of the mass gathering above and behind him. He went, “I gotta get out of here, now!” He dug his right rail in, banking the board hard against its will, and held it with all of his strength into a carving right turn. The turn was slow because the board was fast. Bradshaw kept at it, however, and went slicing up the wave face almost to the crest. He was briefly elated. Technically he had “made” the wave, but he wasn’t done with it yet. From the crest he turned again and went angling back down the face. He intended to perform a full cutback toward the break, but no sooner had he started than a roar erupted behind him as the wave formed a giant barrel. The barrel spat spray at him from its throat. There was no way into that barrel from his position, and it blocked any turn back toward the core of the wave. The ride was almost over for Bradshaw. It had lasted 30 seconds, or hardly more. He exited straight ahead and over the wave’s shoulder. He was angry with himself. He thought that he should have been in that barrel, and that he would have been if he had not shied away from the peak at the start of the ride. He did not care about having made history-and did not consider it until others began to insist on it that night. He did not even think that this had been a great run. He thought, Shit, I should have faded. ---Vanity Fair

Try this:

While sitting at your desk make clockwise circles with your right foot. (go ahead no one will see you) 
While doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

 Your foot will change direction.  =]

On Language

The New York Times Magazine's On Language column, a weekly reflection on current usage of English language. Five years and well over two hundred contributors later, the column has become a showcase for contemporary typography.

Language is more than the words, and by giving visual form to these verbal constructs, the artists individualized the concepts, making each phrase into a veritable logo. While the letterers were given considerable interpretative freedom, they were still required to fulfill requirements of legibility and readability. As abstract as the lettering style could be, the result was not art for art's sake. Total abstract form was proscribed by function.