Knitting for a new generation.

If I could knit, I'd want to knit this. Oh, and I'd also want to look like that while sitting on my knit motorbike. (While dreaming, always dream big, right?)

Find out more about the creators, Knittaplease, and watch the corresponding video here.

Photo by Mike Piscitelli

[via Insight]

Obsessions: Barbie + Christian Louboutin create a new modern classic.

Barbie is classic. Christian Louboutin is classic. Together, they are a force beyond reckoning with.

Next month, the world's most celebrated shoe designer and famed bobblehead beauty will release a collaborative doll that trades out Barbie's usual blond tresses and good girl looks with a red do and a leather ensemble on the verge of X-Rated.

For more info on this Barbie doll you'd be best to keep away from your children, visit Barbie Collector.

Obsessions: toys, ponies, and parks

Remember those toys you had when you were young--the ones that had you dreaming of moving into fantasy lands, eating ice cream all day, and living on a cloud? Be it a dollhouse or a maze--the toy land seemed magical and far more fun than real life (later on, you would come to realize this was entirely true and regret not spending more time playing Candyland, but that is neither here nor there).

Well, I don't know if I'm just having Neverland-related fantasies from all the Michael Jackson hype, or if this is actually the coolest toy set known to child. But I'm just head-to-toe excited about this My Little Pony Ponyville Sweet Sundae Amusement Park Play Set. Not only is the name so long it could entertain you for hours, if not days, but check out some of these highlighted features...

• It’s just another day at the park for you and your pony pal—the amusement park, that is—with this fun-filled play set
• Park includes a pony figure, an ice cream parlor play set, a roller coaster play set, a Ferris wheel play set and play accessories
• The fun and surprises don’t end until you turn out the lights at this adventure-filled amusement park
• Manufacturer's Suggested Age: 4 Years and Up

Well, color me excited and older than 4 years old--I want to move in! I vote for a life size build-out of the whole shebang.

* The website for Hasbro--maker of both Candyland and My Little Pony seems not to be working. Which makes me wonder--have they gone belly up like every other business in the 50 United States?

Obsessions. Michael Alig.

It takes a good deal to stimulate my interest [or at least to hold it for more than a moment if something shinier comes into view]. But when something grabs me--it fascinates me.

Michael Alig. Anyone who's seen Party Monster has a faint idea of the madness that overshadowed the New York club scene--long past Studio 54's heyday and well into the 90's when queens still reined king and freaks ruled the velvet ropes of NYC's hottest parties. But unless you lived through it [or at least passed by the parties, just beginning each night when the rest of New York was heading home to bed]--and I didn't--Clubland is mere fantasy, a period piece that happened just a decade ago, in full costume in the streets of Manhattan.

Michael Alig was a fixture in the chaos. A flamboyant, outrageous character who might have faded into obscurity--fighting and drugging his way through the downward spiral, mind you--had he not murdered his drug dealer, chopped him up, and later deposited the remains into the river.

Black Book's new columnist, Steve Lewis--another character from the club days--recently visited Michael to make amends and shared his visit's anecdotes.

I was engaged, but I realized the account to be lacking depth. I found New York Magazine's profile of Michael, also written after an encounter with the man in prison. It portrays a man, young and crazed and on top of the world--the character we judge but all wish to play--and his descent. It struck me. More, I think, because I wish he'd remained on top. He would've stayed such an idol for those of who desire to live our lives wrecklessly. But know better. And sometimes regret it.