Contributing Editor Nam Kim

Hi this is Nam. I will be the “guest editor” for the next few “issues” of New & Improved Cindy. If you folks are wondering how I got this job, I created the position and asked nicely. I just thought it was so unfortunate this Blog came to a complete halt due to technical difficulties/busy schedule/blah blah blah. Why should the blah blah blah get in the way of all of us keeping up with Cindy?

So last Sat. Cindy and I ended up at the Community Center… (if you remember from previous New & Improved Cindy entry, it's what a few of us call Linda and Winnie’s apartment… great location, clean bathroom, nice sized TV and they let you keep your toothbrush there too.. again, if you ask nicely) Winnie had few of her fellow grad students there for dinner, and Cindy and I knew right away if we didn’t put our coats on as we were cutting the cake and didn’t put our shoes on as we were savoring the last bit of cake… we would end up there until 4 am. So like terrible guests, we got up and left once we saw the bottom of the plate that was once filled with mounts of food. Swallowed the last bit of frosting as we got on the elevator. Sorry we left you with dirty dishes, Linda.

Next day Cindy went to Church in the morning and then like a very, very good girl went to volunteer for Children’s Hope Foundation. Taught teenage girls how to knit and crochet while showing them the value of volunteering their time for a good cause. All of that sounded agreeable to me except for the “teenage girls” part. So I accidentally but intentionally didn’t make myself available to go volunteer. I think she understands. I was involved in a volunteer group that had teenage girls once and everyone learned really fast except for this one girl. She actually thought if she got the metal sticks to touch each other and if she rhythmically moved her elbows, the string of yarn was going to turn into a beautiful square knit piece. Why am I being so harsh you ask? Because she didn’t try. I have taught/failed to teach people but they've all tried. I don’t give up on people who try. I don’t make fun of people who try. I am harsh on people who don’t try and then without even trying, give up. That is so not my style… (so that was me giving you the Cindy report and then easing into me mE ME…… that wasn’t too bad, was it?)

o.k. so an article in this month’s Detail Magazine made me really happy and I actually typed out the whole thing for a friend who needed some happy thoughts since she is desperately looking for a job in London.(<- long sentence) With all this ctrl+c and ctrl+v we do these days, I didn’t realize how much of a big deal it was for me to type out half a page of magazine text. Feel’n all accomplished and sh*t. So now I share it with you. I think it makes me happy because Yohji Yamamoto is this old little Japanese man with wild hair and here he is, talking about what's sexy. “Stop! Please! That’s perfect.”

(from DETAIL)
Yohji Yamamoto on What’s Sexy:

I believe that there are three conditions to a woman’s beauty. First, you must realize that not all women are beautiful all of the time. Sometimes beauty comes on a subconscious level. When she is in love, or has met someone new and exciting, she shines. Second, you must understand that life is unfair. Beauty is something that, for some, must be worked at. The third condition is luck. Some women can just be lucky.

my role in all of this is very simple. I make clothing like armor. My clothing protects you from unwelcome eyes.

color, for me, has too many stories wrapped around it. I like black, white, gray, and navy. Like a uniform.

life is better for beautiful people. You can become lucky if you are beautiful, you can become rich. But there is no truth in this definition of beauty.

if you feel strongly about someone, go up to them. Pursue what you want in life. Why be shy about something like that?

you can tell what a woman is going to be like in bed just by looking at her. there is a feeling about someone that comes from experience. When you’ve seen it once, you will recognize it again.

fashion cannot make you sexy. Experience makes you sexy. Imagination makes people sexy. You have to train yourself, you have to study, and you have to live your life.

I love the back. A beautiful back makes a beautiful front. When you slouch, think about what happens to your front. You have to keep your back in the right position. This is where your spirit lies.

men’s clothing is about tiny details, and I hate that. I am very small and I look stupid in a perfectly tailored suit. I want to be able to wear things that don’t fit perfectly, with the sleeves far too long. I wish clothing came with no sizes at all. It would be much better that way.

the biggest mistake you can make in fashion is imitation. If we keep on like this, fashion will die. There was a time when I used to fall in love on the street every day. I would see someone with such a way about them or such a flawless item that I would have to say. “Stop! Please! That’s perfect.” That never happens anymore. Everything is too similar. Soon it will be only a t-shirt and jeans.

I don’t think we should try to make space our own. I believe that as modern people we should live in mobility. We should always be moving.


P.S. I don’t need to remind all of youz what day tomorrow is, right? (Hint: CAKE DAY….. New & Improved Cake Day…. hmm)


Signing out.
Best,
Nam