Here’s Deborah Soloman in conversation with our latest tastemaker, Deepak Chopra!

As a leader of alternative medicine who was born in India and raised as a Hindu before opening a wellness center in California, what led you to write your new book, “Muhammad,” a fictionalized biography of the Muslim prophet?

I had previously written “Jesus,” and I grew up in an environment where the kids in my school were either Muslim or Jewish or Zoroastrian. New Delhi has a very eclectic mix. There wasn’t any animosity. Having said that, my grandparents were prejudiced and Islamophobic. If a Muslim’s shadow crossedmy grandmother’s body — she lived with us — she would go and take a shower.

No!

Yes! My father was a doctor, an army cardiologist. He was very secular, and we discussed how prejudiced my grandparents were and how we would never be like that. So that was my upbringing. I was always interested in going deeply into the life of the Prophet.

The Muhammad who emerges from your book is not completely admirable. He’s a fearful and illiterate orphan who runs from his visions before he finally becomes a warrior. Are you concerned someone will issue a fatwa against you?

I wrote the book factually and with respect. Beyond that, I can’t control anyone’s reaction.

You are pretty inventive in a chapter narrated by Eli, a Jewish scribe who is employed by Muhammad to follow him around and write down his every observation.

Medina had a Jewish population. The Jews were the ones who knew how to read and write. The Arabs, including the Prophet, were mostly illiterate. A writer of historical fiction has poetic license.

Do you think it is possible that the Koran was actually written by Jews?

How come there are so many references to Moses and the prophets in the Koran? I would not be surprised if Jewish scribes inserted a lot of that.

The Persians, too, were very literate. They gave us the poems of Rumi, the Sufi mystic.

Everyone says there are no Muslim moderates, and if there are, they never speak up. TheSufis are indeed the reformers. Imam Rauf and his wife are Sufis and reformers and have been doing great work for years.

You refer to Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is overseeing the planned Islamic center in Lower Manhattan. Are you saying Sufism represents the reform branch of Islam?

Yes. Traditional Islam is a mixture of all obedience to Allah, and if that requires militancy, so be it. Whereas Sufism exalts beauty, intuition, tenderness, affection, nurturing and love, which we associate with feminine qualities.

Do you see any parallels between Sufi and New Age philosophies?

New Age is such a mixed bag. I don’t like the term because in many ways it bastardizes some of the great traditions.

How do you define your practice?

I was trained as a medical doctor. I went to medical school because I wanted to ask the big questions. Do we have a soul? Does God exist? What happens after death? And so I gradually moved in the direction of what I can only call a secular spirituality.

Do you think God exists?

Yes, but not as a dead white male.

How would you define spirituality as opposed to religion?

Self-awareness and awareness of other people’s needs.

If someone asks what religion you are, what do you say?

I say God gave humans the truth, and the Devil came and said, “Let’s organize it, we’ll call it religion.”

At least religion is free to worshipers. Isn’t it costly to attend a meditation retreat at the Chopra Center?

I hardly break even. It’s very labor-intensive, and insurance does not cover it, although there is some progress. Religions take donations and don’t pay taxes. Look at the wealth of the Vatican!

Should insurance companies cover meditation classes?

Yes. If insurance companies paid for lifestyle-management classes, they would save huge sums of money. We need to see that alternative medicine is now mainstream.

Click here to get Deepak Chopra’s new book, Muhammad, and here to view the original article.

“I think advertising should be like poison gas. It should grip you by the throat, it should bowl you over.” – George Lois

“One look at a great advertisement should knock you on your ass – your eyes should tear up and you should gasp for air…” – George Lois

Danny Trejo aka Machete lowriding with Mister Cartoon from SA Studios Global on Vimeo.

Here’s another killer – time lapse! – video by the same creators.  On July 22nd, the “Machete” cast – Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, and Robert Rodriguez – took over a parking lot in San Diego during Comic Con and served up over 3,000 tacos to fans and media from this truck.

MACHETE Taco Truck Time Lapse Video from SA Studios Global on Vimeo.

Jada, Adrian Grenier, Danny Kass, Dingo and her friend Nina on “the most exciting day of my life” at an Oakley event when she got to snowboard with Kass. “Watching him in the Olympics was part of the reason I started snowboarding,” Jada said.

What were the last five magazines you purchased, and which one / for what reason did you most enjoy reading?

In my dreams, The Economist, The Atlantic, Esquire, Wired, Rolling Stone, Real Simple, VeloNews, Transworld Snowboarding, a variety of British music magazines, and all the cool ones with pretty pictures, like French Vogue and I-D. But then I’d be broke and buried under a pile of magazines. In reality, the last five magazines I bought were probably all Us Weeklys—mostly for Who Wore It Best, because it’s amazing so many celebrities choose to wear the same ugly dress, and Celebrities: They’re Just Like Us, because even if the celebrity has no makeup and is pumping gas, she’s still gaunt and driving a Mercedes and carrying an Hermès bag and is very much not like us. Blogs I read constantly, but I guess those don’t count. The New Yorker I subscribe to and GQ, Glamour, and New York (obviously) come to my office, so they don’t count either, though I read them all and clip out articles like a dork.

By what writer do you feel interested in reading an essay about food?

Bill Buford on Mario Batali, Susan Orlean on backyard chickens, and David Foster Wallace on the Maine Lobster Festival were all pretty memorable. But rapturous essays about food I’m not eating just make me jealous, for the same reason why watching Top Chef depresses me unless I’m cooking something delicious simultaneously, which becomes even more depressing since I can’t cook. I like reported pieces about the people who make food, or restaurant reviews so I can figure out if I want to go eat the food, which I always do.

Jada at the Democratic National Convention

What are some memorable moments you have had while reporting a piece for New York Magazine?

By far the best experience I’ve ever had reporting was going to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the Inauguration. I had to navigate three strange cities and a bunch of highly strange events on my own and get good stories that the ten billion other reporters also there weren’t doing. Turns out it wasn’t that different, reporting-wise, from landing in a party and accosting celebrities. I happened upon police tasering protesters in St. Paul, interviewed Rahm Emanuel and Barney Frank in a concert hall lobby, made buddies with The Daily Show guys, shared a terrifying and very funny car ride with Jill Abramson and Maureen Dowd of the Times, saw Sarah Palin transfix a room for the first time, and somehow managed to snag a first-row seat (as in, many, many rows in front of Jay-Z and Diddy and Beyoncé) to Obama’s Inaugural speech. And when the Inauguration was over, I randomly befriended Sonja Sohn (Shakima Gregg from The Wire) and she sweet-talked all the cops into letting us skip the barricades so we could get home faster and soak our frozen toes. It was awesome.

What person’s thoughts do you feel interested in knowing?

Bill Murray. The man goes into college kids’ rooms and does their dishes. It’s like his whole life is one broad experiment in messing with people’s heads. I’ve interviewed him at least three times and I always feel like he’s cool and then suddenly he’s done with me. I’d like to know the exact moment I piss him off.

Jada and Snoop, the third time she met him!  ”The first time was the infamous pot smoking story, the second was at a hip-hop awards thing,” she said, “and this was at the Adidas store when he launched the Luke Skywalker sneaker.”

If you could be fiction or non-fiction, which would you be and why?

Non-fiction for sure. There are plenty of real places I have yet to visit, real people I have yet to meet, real experiences I have yet to have. Plus, if the Hunger Games Trilogy is any indication, the fictional future is way more of a bummer than the real one could possibly be.

Watch her “Happier” video and go to the A Fine Frenzy website for tour info and more!

I can’t remember how I came across the website, California is a Place, but I sure wish I knew so I could give credit – it was another website or blog, that I’m certain of! – where it’s due. Most of the MYMAG team works out of Los Angeles, although there are a few of us who are on the other side of this densely diverse country. Wherever you are, you know a little something about California; there’s the sunshine, the beaches, Hollywood… These videos reveal the underbelly of California, the darker and rather complex sides rarely portrayed in film.

The creators said this about their project:

“California is loaded. From Disneyland to farmland, we’ve got Scientology and superstars, Silicon and silicone, crips and bloods. The border. Krumpin’ Clownin’ Jerkin’. The surf and the turf. The boom and the bust. California is humanity run amuck, and then packaged, branded, and sold. California Cuisine, California Love, California Casual, California Gold, California Girls and, of course, California Dreams. If it exists in the world, it exists here, and it does so with pizzaz. Obviously, we love this stuff. That’s why we’re doing this project. Simply put, California is sensational. And the closer we look, the better it gets: words and images, stories and songs, opinions and ideas. This project is ongoing. We hope you like what you see and say so. We plan to post often. So until that day, when we finally float off into the Pacific, California is a place. Stay tuned.”

Good for GOOD for rounding up these titles:

Original post:

Gourmet, the magazine that brought us Junot Díaz’s “He’ll Take El Alto,” David Foster Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster,” and Daniel Zwerdling’s “A View to Kill” has plans to resurface this fall. Gourmet Live, as it’s being called, will be different. On one hand, there’s no paper involved. On the other, Conde Nast says the site will be offering more content than most magazine apps.

While more and more magazines might be headed towards digital content innovations aimed capturing the massive amounts of food-centric user-generated content on the internet, there’s a bumper crop of smaller, lesser-known publications, many of them independently produced, that are dedicated to producing high-quality food writing on paper. And hopefully these magazines won’t be going away anytime soon.

From top left:

Swallow – Gastronomica – Meatpaper – The Art of Eating – Fire & Knives – The Diner Journal – Simple Cooking – Condiment

See for yourself!

What were the last five magazines you purchased, and which one / for what reason did you most enjoy reading?

Monocle, World of Interiors, Eye, Apartmento, and the The New Yorker. I always enjoy World of Interiors, but I think I enjoy the intimate feel I get from Apartamento. Maybe it’s the format, paper, and photography that gives it such a personal vision. It’s not styled, at least by the Editors, but presents what I think is an honest representation of individual creativity.

By what writer do you feel interested in reading an essay about food?

I actually don’t read about food.  When The New Yorker has an article about food, I will usually read it without regard to the author. One blog I do read about food is gluttonforlife.com.  Always fresh, like the best food.

What person’s thoughts do you feel interested in knowing?

He died almost two years ago; David Foster Wallace.  Otherwise, I like to know what makes people happy, and how to channel positive energy when I don’t have any.

If you could be fiction or non-fiction, which would you be and why?

Non-fiction. What is interesting me is a real story. Whether it’s a book about salt or the evolution of why we’re here, to me, adds to better conversation and I love the esoteric.

How important, to you, is the cover of a magazine?  Have you ever purchased a magazine purely based on its cover?  Have you ever put down a magazine you were planning to buy because you were disappointed by the its cover?

I have purchased a magazine based on the cover.  It is the cover that urges me to pick up the magazine. If I have picked up the magazine because of the cover and I not familiar with it, I will look through it to see if it’s worth buying.

Take a look at JP’s blog, Amass.  About his blog, JP says:  ”I started this blog at the urging of my friends and fellow designers who were familiar with my manic collecting. My collections are varied but generally have to do with typography or design. I endeavor to find what’ special in the mundane and highlight what makes it so to me.”

To see more photographs, check out JP’s Sight Unseen profile.

Here’s a summary of his interview with Kathleen. To listen to the full-length interview, go to The Kathleen Show website.

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You

I look forward to Linefeed’s Reading Lists, narrated and visual rundowns of the latest and greatest print publications.  Thankfully for us, their latest List went live last week.

From Linefeed:

It’s been an age but the Linefeed Reading List is back and there’s a bit of catching up to do. This first (well sort of second) edition for 2010 features Little Joe [littlejoemagazine.com] / Arc [rcamagazine.co.uk] / Fire & Knives [fireandknives.com] / Put an egg on it [putaeggonit.com] / Ideas Illustrated [ycnonline.com] / Sup [supmag.com] / Article [articlemagazine.co.uk] / Gym Class Magazine [gymclassmagazine.com] / Fun [greatenjoyment.com] / Pin-Up [pinupmagazine.org] / Map [davidgarciastudiomap.blogspot.com].

Grab a copy and send us a picture of yourself with it… we might even post it

Golden Apple Comics

7018 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

323-658-6047

I haven’t gotten my hands on a copy yet, but the nineteenth issue of Rouleur, published in July of 2010, includes: 148 pages of racing photography taken in Britain, an interview with living legend Bernard Hinault, the second part of a Rouleur series on the life of a young aspiring rider, as well as images (the cover is spectacular!) from world-renowned photographer Nadav Kander. Besides Kander, the photography in this issue was taken by Gerard Brown, Taz Darling, Ben Ingham and Nadav Kander.

The September issue debuts a new W logo and full front-to-back redesign, as well as a triple gatefold cover shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, which features eight up-and-coming actresses: Kat Dennings, Jessica Chastain, Yaya DaCosta, Greta Gerwig, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Roberts and Zoë Kravitz.

It’s no secret that the Condé Nast fashion title has been suffering on the stands.  Does Tonchi have the golden touch?

Here are some highlights of Tonchi’s interview with WWD, in today’s issue:

WWD: Do you feel like the magazine is more general interest?
S.T.: It’s more about fashion in the context of contemporary culture, and that’s really the definition that I like to use. At the end, everything we look at is in the key of style, and that’s why I defined the content of the magazine as the who, the what, the where, the when, the why in the world of style.

WWD: What other specific changes have you made?
S.T.: Starting from the new logo and typefaces throughout the magazine, and we also really completely changed the structure of the front of the book, which is now organized in departments. The departments are the five Ws, and they are all very rich in information from different areas — the world of entertainment, music, youth culture and contemporary art and design and architecture — all things that are part of what is fashionable today. The ‘whos’ are the people that you want to know about this month. We have a story on [Kazuyo] Sejima, the architect who is the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale, which opens on the 26th of August. In the section “when,” we have all the best things to do in September. It’s five pages, and you go from a show in Minneapolis, a release of a new record by Ryuichi Sakamoto to a fair about food, an exhibition of the designer Marc Newson or another exhibition of John Pawson to a book about Island Records to an exhibition about Yul Brynner.

WWD: When the old guard left W, some people wondered if the magazine’s biggest photographers, such as Bruce Weber or Paolo Roversi, would leave, too.
S.T.: Paolo Roversi had a fantastic story in the August issue and wants to work for the magazine, so he will again. Steven Klein — we have not had a project for him right now, but we may have a good project for him. Juergen Teller — we’re going to work with him again in November, I think. But in this issue, we have some of the photographers who have been identified with W recently, and at the same time we brought in some new people like Tim Walker.

WWD: When will the makeover be complete?
S.T.: Probably in six or eight months the readers and the audience will have a more clear idea of the magazine and where it’s going. We also have to see how people react to it, how the media community reacts, hearing from the readers, how the newsstand does, how the advertising community judges the magazine and how even Condé Nast, as a company, reacts to the magazine. So far, what they saw, they were incredibly happy with it.

Read the complete interview here.

As the creative director of the edgy, world renowned fashion label 55DSL (and son of iconic Diesel founder Renzo Rosso) it’s no surprise that Andrea Rosso has excellent taste in, well, almost everything. His epicurean taste in all kinds of things is showcased in the newest edition of MYMAG, “Hello My Name is Andrea Rosso.” In his magazine, Rosso samples from some of his favorite publications, including Dazed and Confused and Tokion to bring you his picks from the worlds of music, fashion, art and more. Rosso IS 55DSL, and this MYMAG will give you an insider view of just exactly what that means.

You can order the issue HERE.

Our friend ASKA has a new website. Join her mailing list and receive a free download of her song “There Are Many of Us” which was recently featured in Spike Jonze’s short film I’m Here.

Click HERE to her mailing list and receive your free download. Watch the trailer for I’m here below (you can view the whole film on the www.imherethemovie.com).

The artists formerly known as Pearl Harbor are young, blonde, and kind of killing it. Mermaid haired sisters Piper and Skyler make soft, slow music perfect for summer (and fall, winter, and spring). If sleepy, nostalgic lo-fi is up your alley, then you’ll love About the Chapparals the band’s debut EP, released on Mexican Summer last year. A modern twist on Brian and Dennis Wilson, these girls are the California Girls of Beach Boys yore, except now they’re the ones making the music too.

You can check them out HERE and on tour this summer with Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti.

Cultist is having a blow out sale brunch, and you’re invited. Last chance to get your hands on some great vintage and new goods at amazing prices. If you’re in the LA area, come by! You can also shop online HERE.

Saturday July 24
11am-5pm
7920 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Goods from:

The Secret Shop Vintage
Lindsey Thornburg
CLAWmoney
KOVA&T
Love by YAYA
Hellz Bellz
Married to the Mob
Made Me
Insight
Cheap Monday
CTRL
Darkhorse
and more!

Vice Magazine‘s annual photo show starts July 22, and this year they’ve chosen Jerry Hsu, professional skateboarder and amateur internet wizard, to show a selection of his work. If you like pictures of people eating alone and graffiti inspired by The Hills, this is the show for you. Or if you just like really good photography. The show is presented by Scion and curated by Hsu and Jesse Pearson, and runs through July 28.

1. Purple

2. Ten

3. AnOther

4. Visionaire

5. Dazed and Confused

6. POP

7. Arkitip

8. Monocle

9. Interview

10. i-D Magazine

Last night PETA and Last Chance For Animals gathered at the Staples Center to protest the opening of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and they were joined by MYMAG Tastemaker Olivia Munn. Munn is an ardent animal rights supporter, and specifically has been involved in rallying people against the abuse of elephants in the circus. If you want to get involved, you can write a letter to your local newspaper via this PETA website. Help Olivia save the elephants!

There are still a few copies of Olivia’s MYMAG left HERE, grab one before they’re all gone!

I was going through one of my seventy boxes I have stored in my parents’ garage the other day (contents include but are not limited to: 5th grade bike rodeo prizes, my family tree en espanol, and no less than twelve college notebooks). Nowhere in these boxes did I find a photo I had taken under the tutelage of Helmut Newton or fashion sketch inspired by my teacher Calvin Klein. Because they DON’T EXIST.

However, kids lucky enough to attend Aaron Rose’s Make Something School in New York City will have the opportunity to take classes like Documentary photo with Ari Marcopoulos, Costume design with Cassette Playa, a mural workshop with Os Gemeos, as well as (NO BIG DEAL) shoe design with Nike designers. So when they open their memory boxes a lot more than just multi-colored plastic lanyard keychains and notes from frenemy Jenny DelTorio will fly out. Screw you, future generation.

Classes and workshops run through August 17 and if you’re lucky you can still get your prodigal son (or daughter) into a few by signing up HERE.

Want your hair to look like Faye Dunaway? Yeah me too, but with this unruly mop of dred-curls that’s never going to happen, so instead I will live vicariously through Coco Young, who was lucky enough to get her mane tamed by Shu Uemera hair ambassador Conrad Dornan.

Check out Hair Play, a new collaboration between Dornan and director Crystal Moselle on VMagazine.com.

Michelangelo once said “A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.” This sentiment rings especially true when examining the life and work of Michele Kambolis. Both a practicing clinical therapist and a fine artist, Kambolis used unorthodox mediums like glass and porcelain paints to evoke the power and beauty of the landscape of Western Canada. A believer in the psyche’s need to access nature for balance and energy, Kambolis uses texture and color to create gripping pieces that engage both the senses and the mind. Michelangelo could hardly ask for more.

Here’s a sneak peek into her psyche:

1. Who inspires you?

The children I counsel – some of which have been in dozens of foster homes, lost their parents to addiction, been abused or abandoned. Their courage is humbling and inspiring at the same time.

…BUT, I also have this incredible circle of friends, who each inspire me in different ways. Plus, my art and life generally are inspired by the unexpected – I must admit to thriving on the unexpected.

2. What is your biggest flaw?

I have the attention span of a drunken monkey (not that I’ve ever actually seen a drunken monkey). I just read in Scientific American that artists are far less focused than others (Surprise!). But with that comes a boost in happiness – so I’ll take the trade off!!

Flaws make us! I love the fact that I have areas that require a bit of extra attention… my little “challenges”.

3. What next?

ART… EVERYWHERE! Art should be all around us – in hospitals, schools, correctional facilities and available to everyone. Right now, I’m working on a massive painting for the inpatient mental health ward at Vancouver General

4. What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

September issue of Vogue – it’s a guilty pleasure and all I have time for. I’m also a word nerd, so I like to spend a little time with Webster’s Dictionary. I’m trying to inspire that same love of word in my sons who find it all completely annoying.

5. How would you like to die?

That’s dark. I remember having the thought when I was caught on an island in the Bahama’s during Hurricane Noel (which killed 163 people) and I foolishly decided hurricanes don’t apply to me SO I went boogie boarding. A wave violently threw me to the bottom of the coral reef and I took the blow at the base of my neck. I remember having this surreal and curious reaction thinking, “Are you serious!? THIS is how I’m going to die!?” I think I may have had a similar thought during the delivery of my second son.

SO, I have decided nothing violent or painful, but perhaps dramatic, sudden and instant… surrounded by art. Maybe a mountain of canvasses will fall and crush me!

You can see more of Kambolis’ work and learn more about the artist HERE.

The new music video from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward for their band She & Him is all sorts of grainy and beautiful, and much like their music, smacks simpler times. Watch the younger versions of the two romp through the fields and try not to be distracted by M. Ward’s sombrero:

She & Him – Thieves from Merge Records on Vimeo.