Volkswagen XL1 Concept

The Volkswagen XL1 Concept is the car of the future. It looks futuristic enough, with its lack of a rear view mirror and sleeky design, complete with hidden rear wheels. Heck, it even looks like the Jetsons' family car. But what truly makes it the car of the future isn't its fancy gulf wing doors or Bugatti-like body kit. What makes it the car of the future is its outrageously green mileage. With just 0.9 litres of diesel, the machine will take you a whole 100 kilometres. That's about 10 times the average car.

Remember that song that goes "girls don't like boys/ girls like cars and money"? Well usually this isn't true. Usually... This might be an exception though; sexy, functional and environmentally-friendly.

To Lee, With Love, Nick

Tomorrow will be the first anniversary of Lee McQueen's tragic passing. Fashion house Alexander McQueen's driving force was a visionary and his bold designs drew the likes of Hollywood and beyond.

So as a little tribute to the designer, here's a snippet of To Lee, With Love, Nick, a short film by photographer Nick Knight, featuring Bjork.

La Blogotheque

If you're stuck on indie music, then you probably worship La Blogotheque. The French site and main man Vincent Moon have revolutionized the idea of the music video, by bringing bands into the streets and out of their comfort zones for stripped down performances, all caught by the La Blogotheque team's talented bunch of sound and camera folk.

One of their recent features is Southern California band Local Natives.

A bunch of good-looking guys, sleek camera work, amazing music and a stunning view of the streets of Paris; what more could you ask for?

www.blogotheque.net

2011 Superbowl Ads

The Superbowl was this past weekend, and although Green Bay brought home the gold, there's a wealth of laughs in the Superbowl commercials.

These 30 second to a minute spots sell for at least US$ 3 million, but regulars like Doritos, Budweiser and E-Trade come back every year with bigger and better ads aimed at your funny bone, and commercial time during the big game has become the Holy Grail of comedic and marketing genius.

My favourite this year is Volkswagen's Darth Vader commercial.

Spoiler alert! The idea is simple: kid dressed as Darth Vader tries out 'the force' but can't seem to work his jedi powers. Dad comes home in the new Volkswagen Passat, and just for kicks, humours the kid, who can't believe that he just used his mind to power the Passat. It's great; very very funny.

Lanvin F/W 2011/12

Lanvin puts a modern twist on the cowboy look in their latest Fall/Winter collection. Wide-brimmed hats, interesting outerwear and turtlenecks worn under collared shirts all contribute to the 'wild wild west' feel of the collection, and intricate tailoring is perfectly paired with rugged elements like boots and leather gloves for the sexy, dangerous James Bond vibe.

(images via coutequecoute)

Katy Perry Collection by OPI

Part of every girl's Teenage Dream is to always have a great manicure. Having pretty fingers makes us feel like Fireworks and although we might be stuck at work, one glance at our nails and it's almost like we are California Girls Waking Up in Vegas.

Her five-colour collection is exactly what you'd expect from the vivacious singer, who's known to heat up the red carpet with outrageous outfits covered in anything from sequins to feathers to lace.

Teenage Dream is a bright glittery pink, sure to match your cherry chapstick, Not Like the Movies is an alluring silver, and Last Friday Night is an electric blue with electrifying glitter. There's also The One That Got Away, which is a dark magenta, perfect for those dress-up nights, and Black Shatter, a revolutionary new top coat that creates a cracked pattern resembling a wild leopard print.

Eat Drink Tea(R), bioactive Pu'er essence; at the forefront of the new health movement

Renowned food connoisseur Chua Lam just underwent a balloon angioplasty procedure late last year, but even with a New Year approaching, he still holds onto his love of unhealthy foods and has no plans to change. In fact, Mr. Chua wouldn’t even entertain the thought of reducing the intake of his favourite fatty foods and joked: “as long as we eat whatever we want, the new year will be a happy one,” staying true to his food-loving nature.

Chua Lam, whom from young acquired his love of cooking with pig’s oil as the essential ingredient, coined the phrase “猪油美味“, which translated, means ‘pig’s oil is the epitome of good taste’. He jokes that in the heart of all old food enthusiasts is the love of lard and reiterated by saying that pig’s oil symbolises a good start to the New Year, and cannot be foregone in the celebrations.

“A lot of my good friends are worried about me. But it’s difficult to enjoy food, yet eat healthy. I’ve always believed in the benefits of drinking pu’er tea and its ability to rid our digestive systems of excess oil, and I recently discovered Eat Drink Tea® - bioactive Pu'er essence, which is suitable for my food-loving lifestyle. Earlier, I joined Amanda S and the director of Eat Drink Tea®, Mr. Simon Cheng, for some tea tasting and found the product very much to my liking,” he said, “It has 8 times the polyphenols than in regular pu’er tea, and it is even easy to carry around; incredibly convenient for someone like me, who is constantly on the move.”

These days, many do not understand what truly constitutes ‘tea drinking’. Chua Lam explains that it has origins in the language of ancient China, and to “go tea drinking” actually means to “go eat tea”, emphasizing the Chinese tradition of appreciating tea completely by both eating and drinking.

Cheerfully dishing out some New Year’s advice, Chua Lam said that in this especially cold and bitter winter season, the best way to celebrate Lunar New Year is to gather around the fire, drinking tea and enjoying the company of close friends.

SOGO Causeway Bay

555 Hennessey Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Lomography Spinner 360

The Lomography Spinner 360 takes the panorama camera angle up several notches, with its ability to capture a full 360-degree view of your surroundings.

For a cool US$145, which just in case you're wondering, is about the price of a Ray-ban Wayfarer/Clubmaster, you won't ever have to settle for shaky-handed videos to capture a complete view of everything around you (including you).

Head over to http://asia.shop.lomography.com/spinner-360?___store=asia_english&___from_store=asia_chinese if you feel like dropping some cash on the super cool new gadget.

Blog Faves: Jak & Jil

Jak & Jil is exquisite. With unlimited access, an eye for detail and breathtaking photos, Tommy Ton's blog is your instant fashion gratification site.

Head on over to www.jakandjil.com/blog and let your eyes savour the magic.

(images via jakandjil)