Funny mascots that don't make sense

Winter Olympics is just a few months away! For all the winter sports fans in the US and Canada, this is the best opportunity to root for the home teams and watch stars  capturing the gold. While Roomorama wants to remain impartial, we can’t help but cheer for the team USA and our home girl Lindsey Vonn!

Lindsey Vonn kicking butt

For fans traveling to Vancouver, the time to book your accommodation is NOW!

Tips to our Olympics traveler -

1. Don’t wait until the LAST minute to book your accommodation – hotels will only get more expensive, not less – Book your accommodations now and get the best rate/location!

2. Find hotel alternatives, home-stays, or short-term apartment rentals http://www.roomorama.com/short-term-rentals/Vancouver

3. Can’t find what you are looking for? Post a “ShoutOut” on Roomorama and have our Vancouver hosts contact you with the best offer – http://www.roomorama.com/room/allshoutouts

MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: Don’t wait until the last minute! Get your butt off the couch and find your accommodation today.

Frizzy hair? Check. Over-proportioned nose? Check. Incredibly full eye-brows? Check. Incredible sense of style? Check. 

See, no one needs to use the equine reference for things to click.

Sarah Jessica Parker’s sisters in Paris! Found by the ever sharp Sartorialist

By releasing a sub-par, annoyingly difficult to use, and fat program that is the Vista, Microsoft may have just come up with the most counter-intuitive genius strategic business choice ever. They basically charge a premium for the XP now by introducing a “computer virus” to our computers – the Vista. Now they can charge the price of the Vista PLUS $99 to use the XP as we knew it.

 

Nestled in the east village, at the corner of 13th St and Avenue B, lies our favorite cafe. As anyone who lives in a big city knows, there are just too many cafes to choose from, and adopting one as “home”, to announce to your friends as your favorite, is a complex task requiring checklists, multiple visits, many deep breaths, and a library of books to test at each cozy corner in the cafe. Some cafes are great for the NYTimes Sunday section (large tables), some for textbooks and note-taking (bright and with square-end tables), and others for regular “cozy-ing up with a good book and a cup of coffee” (soft, warm lighting and tables made of weathered wood).

You get all of that at B-Cup because they have segmented areas for each of your moods. We also like the zany painting on the glass. We like the cozy areas, free Wifi, killer pastries, and amazing coffee. But you can find all of that at many places. What really did it for us were the barristers:

Ohad on the left looks like ____ (for reader to free associate; provide creative interpretation of his look in comments), and Omer on the right looks like a really good boy. And this is important because we feel very safe in their cafe. Seriously, do down to B-cup and order something from these dudes: They are friendly, warm, and helpful (we always ask to refill our water bottles).

Jane of SeaOfShoes showed us her vintage necklace from Tulsa. Yeah, nice. But I am not looking at the necklace.

But this time, we are a little more sheepish about spreadin’ the good word. We were recently featured by the very smart Jim Hopkinson of Wired magazine in a podcast interview. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a great interview, Jim was a great interviewer, and I felt we made a good case for Roomorama and it’s relevance today. But I still can’t decide if listening to the playback of my voice or listening to fingernails drawn across a blackboard for an hour straight will drive me to deranged self-mutilation faster.

As Obama went into the nitty-gritty of his health care plan, I found my brain slowly shutting down, leaving ample brainRAM to observe the visuals on screen. I noticed all the other men using those reaction dials where going into slumber as well, as indicated by the flat green line in the picture above; while the women got all wet over the idea of universal healthcare, or whatevs Obama was pandering on screen. 

Why? Do women just like the idea of details being pounded out? Or are women more inclined to worry about their health in the future? Or perhaps women in households plan the families healthcare and insurance needs?

But also because only start-up people know that business inspiration starts from within. And the start-up soul is best nourished through art, and “spaces”. And nothing says “spaces” like a good ‘ol museum with modern art. Check out the sunlight through the facade grillzz — so chiaroscuro we couldn’t stop giggling. And hee hee hee we did, all the way through the cavernous space-age halls. 

I stared at their website for like 5 minutes. I thought about the name. I thought about all the strange objects on the site. On and on, line after line, I kept thinking of the best way to talk about this convention. I contemplated talking about how the name was probably democratically voted amongst 50 board members. I tinkered with an opening line exploring the difference between “Functional Art”, art, and furniture; and “Sculpture Objects”, sculpture, and objects. I considered an essay on the abusive use of the word “international” in societies, clubs and events: How really does “the international expositions” differ from “the expositions”? Does the word serve to conjure images of Discovery Channel, openness, and non-insularity? I don’t know. I really don’t know. I decided it was best to leave it to the About Us section, which I reproduce here: 

SOFA CHICAGO, the largest and longest continually-running art fair in Chicago, is a mainstay in its cultural and social calendar. Mary Daniels, senior arts writer, The Chicago Tribune, wrote, “New art forms never before seen and rich artisan traditions come together in a synergistic explosion of creativity at SOFA CHICAGO… A sense of discovery and surprise always permeates this show, one of the most anticipated cultural events in this city.” Jim Yood, critic and historian, Art + Auction and Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ-FM, said, “SOFA’s high-end, cutting-edge mix clearly has global appeal. It’s a really wonderful art fair.”

Wow.

Only one thing we really care about: Check out our Chicago listings to find a place to stay. Don’t stay in a hotel–rent a room on Roomorama.

And save your money for some high-end, cutting-edge never seen before international sculpture objects or functional art inspired by rich artisan traditions that have come together in a synergistic explosion of creativity. *phew* *wipes sweat off brow*