opheliaswims

Danny is an alum of Art Center College of Design, he majored in Product Design. He showed his silicone condom to us, and we were all spellbound. Not only is the design revolutionary (it was all in the design and folding, brilliant idea) but it was “now why didn’t they do that before”? Couple of reasons, money and a disenfranchised group that the corporations did not care about. The condom is undergoing clinical trials now by the FDA, and funded by the National Institute for Health ( the same group funding AIDS and other health related issues in the US).

From Dan:
ALso, regarding the condom, the pre-clinical lab testing done on it showed 0% failure for virus smaller than HIV as compared with a Trojan latex condom that had a 5% failure in that test. This test was conducted with two methods; 1. as whole condoms and 2. condoms with pinholes punctured into them. What is interesting about the Origami Condom is that because it is thicker/softer and has more elongation than latex, it self seals any pinholes from the pressure / thickness of the material that squeezes a hole closed.(if that makes sense). Also, if a hole occurred in the package after manufacturing it would re-bond to itself in a couple weeks and eliminate any trace of a hole. I was WOWed when I heard that.

Here’s the stats on Latex Condoms:

Holes in Condoms . . .

STDs are very tiny organisms, minuscule in size compared to sperm. These super-small viruses can get through a hole in a condom much more easily than sperm can. For example, HIV (the AIDS-causing virus) is so small that two million of the disease-causing agents could crowd on the period at the end of a sentence.

In 1993 the University of Texas analyzed the results of 11 different studies that had tracked the effectiveness of condoms to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus. The average condom failure rate in the 11 studies for preventing transmission of the AIDS virus was 31%.

One reason condoms fail in preventing the transfer of AIDS is that latex condoms have tiny intrinsic holes called “voids.” Sperm is larger than the holes, but the AIDS virus is 50 times smaller than these tiny holes which makes it easy for the virus to pass through [Source: Dr. C. M. Roland, editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology]. To give you an idea of how easy it would be for the virus to pass through these holes, just imagine a ping pong ball going through a basketball hoop.

Art Center College of Design Alums, faculty, admin and OutNetwork students party on a nice sunny Sunday at my house. I am exhausted. I had so much fun that I will be smiling for the next week. More later, I am going to pass out now.

The menu for the Sunday in the hills of Los Feliz:
Samosas
Papadam
Raita
Palek Paneer (spinach and tofu)
Basmati Rice
Cuban Pastries – chicken and meat pies, potato balls
Cherry tomato, scallions and basil salad
Cucumber and Fuji Apple Salad in rice vinegar and mirin
Organic Chicken sausages – two kinds, gouda and sun dried tomato
Plantain chips with garlic oil dip
Sage Cheddar Cheese
Peterson Stilton Cheese
Triple Cream brie
Walnut and Raisin bread
Baguettes
Fruit plate – pineapple, black berries, local strawberries, watermelon
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
Strawberry Cheese Cake
Sangria, mexican beer, sodas

Just ranting here. This was an email reply to a twitter friend who had death threats made against them (threats in bad taste, not really meaning it):

Some people still don’t get the permanence of a statement. No matter even when it exists for just a nano second. Some people think so highly of themselves to reply in such a way that they don’t think will affect them is ridiculous. We are all accountable to our words. And I believe that with the spread of SN we are all going to pull inwards, because we need a space between them and us. You can google someone and find out their address, weight, schools, political beliefs etc. until every rock is overturned and exposed to the bright light called Public Knowledge and Judgement. We are going to have no glass houses left intact; we are so busy throwing rocks at each other, that we will eventually build walls of brick and take down the remaining bits of our lives out of the public space.

There has to be some accountability for our words. Conferences have degraded into shouting matches between audience and speaker. Why? Because we have lost our sense of boundaries. Politeness has gone out the window and thoughts have to be broadcasted immediately, because we fear that to not to, will let the guy behind us say it.

Image: Double Meaning / © ophelia chong / on flickr

thank you michael masterson, emily wong, danh hoang, leslie marcus, daphne vardakis, derrick jefferson, mary bergstrom, tom flemming and alberto forero. And most of all my family.

Dear Ophelia Chong,

My name is Alessandro Zanchetta, I am an editor at maomao
Publications.

maomao is a Barcelona-based publishing company specialized in Design
and Fashion. Our clients include Harper Collins Design, PageOne,
Taschen, Rockport…

(www.maomaopublications.com)

We are currently working on a book entitled Source Illustration Book,
600 page compilation of approximately a hundred of contemporary
illustrators all over the world. It will provide a complete study of
the most diverse forms of expression that could make justice of the
variety and complexity of the illustration in the world today.

Source Illustration Book will be published in English and Spanish and
distributed internationally by our client Harper Collins Design
(www.harperdesigninternational.com).

We’ve had the pleasure of seeing your work in (su website) and we
would like to know if you are interested in participating in this
book.
Allesandro

From Danh Hoang of SpicyBeef:
Stuff Asians Like: Being called “Doctor”
Stuff Asians Like: gambling.
Stuff Asians Hate: Expensive anything.
Stuff Asians Like: FREE
Stuff Asians Hate: FREE
Stuff Asians Hate: Being asked manicuring advices.
Stuff Asians Hate: Annoying customers
Stuff Asians Hate: “B” on the report card

From Wendee:
Stuff Asian Girls Always Do on Online Pics: Stand pidgeon-toed.

From me:
Stuff Asians Like: Fruit scented car deodorizers that stick to your dashboard.
Stuff Asian Engineers Like to Wear: polo type shirt with khakis and man purse.
Stuff that Asians Like: bringing their own snacks to the movie theatre (asian moms will also bring their own sodas)
Stuff that Scare Asians Across the Board: excessive body hair.
Stuff Asian Girls Always Do on Online Pics: Peace signs.
Stuff Asians Hate Hearing: Do you eat dogs?
Stuff Asians Like : Regifting
Stuff Asians Like: Going Out of Business Sales.
Stuff Asians Like: Banana Republic (end of season sales).

Photo: Shanghai 2004 / © Ophelia Chong

I submitted a tshirt design for a contest. Yes, I also fill in cereal box entries for prizes. This design went to Springleap, I am a fast enough photoshopper to create something and throw it into the bucket. This design is from a series of wood block and display fonts that I printed on the Vandercook press. The other design says “No”. I am all for “Yes” at the moment.

A design group in Taiwan approached me about permission to use my images for their online magazine (downloadable pdf). Here is Issue 5, I am also in Issue 6 coming up in May 08.