The signage at Rockefeller Plaza is probably some of the most amazing lettering I’ve ever seen in my life.
Commendably, it looks like they’ve managed to keep a lot of it intact.
The escalators are old and super tiny, and from so long ago that people actually used the word ‘grasp.’ Thanks to CJ for the great tour.
More shots.
Who knew when you combined the OXO vegetable peeler, farfalle pasta and a rump roast it would create a fragrant bouillabaisse infused with literary delight? Last night was the latest of SVA’s D-Crit design criticism reading nights at KGB, presided over by the program chair—and my dear friend—Alice Twemlow. (You can read more about Alice and D-Crit in a new interview at Subtraction.)
Akiko Busch almost brought me to tears with her touching meditation on the OXO vegetable peeler, which she says was created out of an act of tenderness from a industrial designer to his potato-peeling wife. Then the adorable Paola Antonelli read her deconstruction of pasta design, in which she revealed the true beauty of such readings: You can revert to the original version of your piece, without the “nasty edits.” And then Paul Lukas brought down the house with his survey of butcher charts, which included two changes of costume (one, his Meats shirt above; later, a shirt of a cow slicing itself into perfect t-bones) and a packet of expressly prohibited visuals, which included this gem I like to call Meathattan:
I must admit got a little googly eyed being in the room with so many famous design writers. I sat across from the lovely Karrie Jacobs, met Ralph Caplan, saw hot pants-wearing Emilie Baltz from Core77, was surprised to see one of my editors from Fast Company, David Lidsky, and ran into Keira Alexandra (who I first met in Hawaii, of all places). Not to mention all my old and equally famous good friends. Maybe this is just how New York is; a constant state of googly eyes?
Predictably starving, and craving some kind of beef pasta with exquisitely shaved vegetables, we settled on Congee Village where heaping plates of most of the above cost less per-person than some drinks I’ve purchased in Manhattan. From our spoken word appetizers to watermelon wedge desserts laid over a rice-flecked table: It was an extremely satiating night. But I almost debated stopping here on the way home. Burgers Gelato? Talk about a marriage of food and design!
So it appears that I have my work cut out for me. If you have a moment, I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at my architectural hit list and let me know if there’s a must-see I’ve forgotten. Or perhaps you know of some supersecret locale you can only divulge via email. I’m especially in need of design-y eateries.
Or, on a more personal note, places that serve really good gelato.
Here’s a direct link to my Google Map.
What is probably my most favorite article [PDF] I’ve ever written was published in the LA Times on the same day I took a flight home to St. Louis. I waltzed from vendor to vendor in the American Airlines terminal, pausing to admire the various shelving systems upon which the LA Times was displayed. While all my copies of the piece were filed like federal documents in my carry-on, it was amazing to see hundreds more copies stacked haphazardly under countertops, spilling onto the floor, awaiting their readers. After I took my seat in the waiting area I squirmed with delight as the man across from me opened the Calendar section and totally read my piece! But that was nothing compared to the swelling of my chest a few minutes later when he got up and threw it away!
It’s an awesome feeling to know your words are so widely distributed that they’ve become, well, disposable.
Such is the humbling nature of today, when I have four pieces published in the LA Weekly’s annual People issue. Except that the LA Weekly is free. It’s so free that for the next week, LA Weeklys will fall over the city like a light dusting of snow. My stories will be abandoned on bus seats, stuffed between Champagne flutes in moving boxes, wrapped around a dozen pink tulips at the farmers’ market.
So think of me sporting this wide, goofy grin when you come cross an LA Weekly this week. But before you use it to Windex your car windshield, be sure to read my pieces on Mathew Cullen and Javier Jimenez of Motion Theory; Ben Goldhirsh of GOOD; Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of various Awesome Shows, Great Job; and Jonathan Wells of Flux.
And please recycle.
For the next few days I’ll be live-blogging the Art Center conference over at Core77. The theme is Serious Play and last night’s opening was pretty seriously fun. Should be a good time; as you can see from this illustration Jeff Decoster drew of me at the last Art Center conference, I just kick back, relax, and type 1456 words a minute for twelve hours at a time until my fingernails pop off.
While you’re at Core77, check out “La Tour Awful: The Truth Is Rendered” a piece I wrote about that Eiffel Tower proposal that got everyone buzzing a few months ago.
Okay, back to raking my bloody fingers over the keyboard.