The sun sets a bit differently out in Crested Butte compared to the typical view out my studio window. Back to my normal warm-weather programming tomorrow.

More photos.

If you remember a few months back, I posted about a very exciting new grant I received from a new creative placemaking foundation called ArtPlace. Getting a grant is at once an exhilarating and terrifying thing, as you are basically handed a very large check up front then you have to actually do things! In this case, we been charged with coordinating five big events featuring five creative teams solving five urban challenges proposed by five civic leaders in five different cities in the first six months of 2012 (yes, it’s like I’m planning SIX weddings this year). But the whole process has been exceptionally smooth, thanks to our great partners like CEOs for Cities and all the amazing people who have been helping us on the ground in our first two cities.

And speaking of those cities! We’re excited to announce that GOOD Ideas for Cities will be in Portland on February 16 and St. Louis (my hometown!) on March 8. Details for the Portland event have been posted, and I’m really looking forward to what I know will be a very entertaining evening talking about the city’s future. I’m also excited because we’re launching a student program that night in partnership with Portland State University’s Department of Graphic Design, thanks to professor Nicole Lavelle. The student will be working on their own solutions to Portland’s problems and presenting them at a separate event in March. We’ll have an event page for the St. Louis event soon, but that will be held at the Contemporary Art Museum and we’ve got some pretty awesome surprises planned for the evening.

We’re about to announce the next two cities and we’re very excited about those as well. You can stay up to date by following @IdeasforCities for updates. Here’s more about GOOD Ideas for Cities, and we’re always looking for new opportunities—let me know if you have an idea for where we should bring the program next!

My friend Gregory just tagged me in one of those chain letter-type posts where if you don’t answer 11 questions about yourself and forward it along to 11 more people someone close to you will be severely maimed in a freak photography accident. Oh, wait, it’s not one of those? Okay, well, I’m still going to answer the questions. Better to start the year off on the right foot.

RULES:

• You must post these rules.
• Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
• Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
• You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.
• Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.
• No tag backs.
• No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Seems easy enough. Here are the answers to the questions that Gregory asked me. I just took some NyQuil so this should be extra good.

1.  What is your favorite piece of artwork and why? highly prized by Sister Mary Corita, a serigraph we have hanging in our living room. I wrote an essay about why I love it for the book I Heart Design: Remarkable Graphic Design Selected by Designers, Illustrators, and Critics.

2.  Can you remember the name of your first crush? Scott Fudemberg, kindergarten, Mason Ridge Elementary. Funnily enough, his wedding was featured in a “Vows” column in the New York Times a few years ago. Oh great, now he’s going to think I’m stalking him. My mom sent it to me, Scott! Tell your wife not to worry!

3.  Given the opportunity for super powers, would you like the ability to fly or be invisible? Fly. I can already make myself invisible when I want to be.

4. Where is your dream destination for 2012? Standing on the top of a mountain in Crested Butte, Colorado, getting married to my fiancé Keith Scharwath. And after that, embarking upon a tour di gelati in Italy.

5.  If you could make people see the truth about one thing, what would that truth be? Driving sucks. Riding the bus is fun. Walking is like taking a brief, beautiful vacation in the middle of your day. Okay, that’s three things. But it’s essentially the same truth.

6.  When cleaning, are you someone who cleans and organizes the big things first, or focuses on the details? If it was up to me, I’d focus exclusively on the organizing and someone else could handle the cleaning. Wait, maybe it is up to me.

7.  How many icons are on your desktop at this moment? Counting my toolbar? 29 icons and 10 folders.

8.  Let’s pretend you’re in the witness protection program. You’ve been asked to give yourself a new name. What’s your new identity? Walker Texas Ranger. (They would never suspect I’d use part of my name in the new name, right?)

9.  Shoes on or off inside your home? On. Shoes are a big part of my life.

10.  What’s the longest you’ve gone without saying a word, talking to anyone? That’s a tough one. I guess when I lived by myself and was on deadline that I might have gone a full 24 hours without talking to anyone. But I probably had 15 iChat windows open and sent a dozen text messages during the same period.

11.  What’s your favourite object in your home right now? And please share a photo of it. I love my home and there are too many favorite things in it to list. But each morning I wake up to the view of my closet, which makes me happy every single day. I guess if you aren’t having fun getting dressed then what’s the point really of getting out of bed in the morning. This is a photo of it taken by Justin Sullivan for an awesome interview with me over at LA, I’m Yours.

My 11 questions for 11 people are as follows:

1. What’s the strangest or most surprising thing on your desk right now? (You can take a photo if you want, unless it’s too embarrassing.)
2. What is your earliest memory?
3. How did you come to live in the city where you currently live?
4. What was the last meal you cooked for yourself?
5. Where do you fantasize about visiting?
6. When was the last time you drank too much?
7. Do you feel as if the way you currently earn money is your true calling?
8. What song do you sing to yourself when you need to psych yourself up?
9. How do you manage your to-do list(s)?
10. What new skill would you most like to learn in 2012?
11. What is the view out the nearest window? Take a photo, please.

And I’m tagging these 11 people: Steve Portigal, Marissa Gluck, Colleen Wainwright, Sonja Rasula, Jessi Arrington, Beth Walker, Jen Walker, Mike Nugent, Souris Hong-Poretta, Chris Pouy and Nathan Davidson (and if you don’t have a blog, yes you can answer on your Facebook page using “Notes” function that can be found on your page).

Happy 2012.

Last year on this day I posted my own version of a year-in-review with my 13 favorite stories of the year. (Why 13, everyone wanted to know? Was I superstitious? Unlucky? Honestly, it just worked out that way.) This year, I couldn’t help but do it again, but with a twist: I picked my favorites, but I’m also handing out specific awards in different categories (yes, giving prizes to myself—all in all, it was a pretty boring awards ceremony). So while you’re out this weekend drunk walking or choosing a parking spot or curing a hangover with a prairie oyster, please enjoy some of the best, worst, funniest, weirdest, most popular and least popular stories I wrote in 2011. Happy new year!

Most Fun to Research
Nike’s 23-Year Journey To Make McFly’s Shoes Real, Co.Design
When I got the assignment to cover the release party for Nike’s Air MAG shoes, inspired by the ones from Back to the Future, I think I traveled all the way to the Montalban Theater in a montage set to “Power of Love.” Here’s a franchise that was so beloved to me growing up—I even did a dance to the “Back in Time” song at the neighborhood talent show one year—and I got to attend this detail-perfect themed event to celebrate the films. But talking to Nike’s Tinker Hatfield unfolded another incredible story almost as unbelievable as time travel in a De Lorean, as Nike worked on the concepts for the original film and then spent the next two decades making the shoes a reality. AND—this was the kicker—all to benefit Michael J. Fox’s foundation to battle Parkinson’s disease. Now that’s the power of love. Here are some more photos from the party.

Least Fun to Research
How My iPhone Was Stolen on the Train, Gelatobaby
Um, yeah. But on the bright side, I imagine that I saved dozens of phones from similar “apple picking” incidents this holiday season. You’re welcome.

Best Anniversary Party
My LAX series of 10 stories celebrating 10 years in LA, Gelatobaby
If I had one piece of advice to writers—or any creatives for that fact—it’s to celebrate specific milestones in your own life. When I was on my vacation this summer (ah, my sweet, sweet vacation) I came up with the idea to somehow commemorate my ten years in LA, and by the time I was back home I had started writing the pieces. It was an assignment no one would have given me, and it gave me a fantastic reason to examine the place I lived and how it affected my work. I covered everything from weather to secret staircases but my very favorite piece is on how I gave up my car.

Favorite LA Thing to Write About
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Why We’re Pro-Carmageddon, GOOD
Besides the fact that I finally learned to spell “armageddon,” I had the absolute best time writing about the apocalyptic closing of the 405 freeway as a positive event for car-bound Angelenos. After I wrote this story I was asked to appear on the WYNC show The Takeaway, and—when people did, indeed stay off the streets for the weekend—I followed up with six more “-ageddons” I’d like to see.

Best Continuing Education
The Insider’s Guide to Art in Los Angeles, Details
The best kinds of stories are when you have to actually learn a whole bunch of stuff that you’ve always wanted to know, just to write the story. When I was assigned one of my first stories for Details on Pacific Standard Time, I was thrilled to jump in and try to make sense of this sprawling art-stravaganza about to descend upon LA. In the process, I got a seriously intense Los Angeles contemporary art education, thanks to some awesome interviews with the Getty’s Andrew Perchuk. This week I was on the KUSC show “Arts Alive” talking about my story and how PST has affected LA.

Best Per-Word Rate
GOOD Design is Growing: Announcing GOOD Ideas for Cities, GOOD
Not for the article itself, of course, but because I was writing about receiving an incredible $85,000 grant from ArtPlace for the GOOD Ideas for Cities program I co-founded three years ago. I can’t wait to take the event series to five cities, including my hometown of St. Louis, in 2012.

Best Stumbled-Upon Story
A Hidden Oasis Grows on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, GOOD
A perfect example of keeping your eyes open and your camera on, even when you’re out for a walk. I discovered this community garden on Hollywood Boulevard several years ago but it was only during a late-night, post-club visit that I realized it was a story just begging to be told. More on how I found it here, including photos I’ve taken of the garden throughout the years (before I even knew what it was). Street Journalism in action!

Best Stumbling
Enduring Spirit, Gelatobaby
Yes, I ran a marathon this year. Yes, I tweeted photos at every mile. Did I mention it rained the ENTIRE TIME? Did I mention that for the most part, I didn’t train AT ALL? Well, I hope you enjoy the story as I RISKED MY LIFE FOR IT.

Most Uplifting Subjects (I Believe the Children Are Our Future Award)
Middle School Students Tell LAUSD: No More Styrofoam!, GOOD
If you are ever feeling sorry for the state of the world, go visit the sixth graders at Thomas Starr King Middle School who not only got their school to stop using styrofoam trays at lunch, they raised money to buy reusable trays for every student who wanted one. After my story, the kids were featured on the local news, made dozens of videos, and worked with 826 LA to write about their experiences. Absolutely amazing.

Most Overwhelming Response
The Top 5 Things That Bother Me About This Headline, GOOD
When I pitched this little essay to GOOD for their Data Issue, it was mostly to vent about my own frustrations when writing “for the internet” compared to writing for print. But in the hands of guest editor Starlee Kine, it became a highly personal examination of my own transformation as a writer in the age of data—someone who, I realized, is almost addicted to page views and retweets. Ironically, the story was a traffic smash, and I’m still getting weekly emails and seeing it pop upon Twitter about it over six months later. Mostly, people thanking me for being honest about how hard it is to do what writers do.

Most Underwhelming Response
How Weeds Became a Marketing High For MIT’s Bike Wheel, Co.Design
After I noticed the Copenhagen Wheel in a recurring cameo role on Weeds, I jumped on this story, interviewing both the Wheel’s design team and the Weeds showrunner. I thought the incredible, slightly racy tale of how Weeds chose to include and work with the creators of this environmentally progressive bike concept would be a sure hit for cyclists and potheads everywhere. The story didn’t do that well, which I guess illustrates that data doesn’t always win. Or that potheads are an unreliable audience.

Most Beautiful Thing I Wrote About
An Almost Life-Sized Version of L.A. Made Entirely from Cardboard, Co.Design
Gosh, maybe one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, period.

Most Delicious Thing I Wrote About
Don’t Call it a Pop-Up: Felix Barron’s KTCHN 105, KCET Food
Best brunch in Los Angeles, with a unique experience that matches the food.

Best Service Journalism
The Best Way to See the Hollywood Sign, Gelatobaby
After a group of Beachwood Canyon residents decided they didn’t want tourists prowling their streets in search of the elusive Hollywood Sign, I wrote this story outlining several alternate routes that actually produce better views than if you’d parked in some snobby asshole’s driveway. A big part of what I hope to do with my writing is to help people navigate and understand LA better, and if I can do that at the expense of wealthy, closed-minded Angelenos, even better.

Proof that You Can Make Money Riding Buses
“Mass Transit”: A Dance Performance Inspired by Riding L.A.’s Buses, GOOD
What Happens When You Put a Coffee Table at a Bus Stop?, GOOD
Is LA’s Public Transit a Joke? This Comedian Sure Hopes So, GOOD
Take that, cars!

Most Hate Mail
Do You Double Space After Periods?, GOOD
I had no idea that taking a stand (along with many other writers) against double spacing after periods would net me the most emails I’ve ever received for a single story. The emails that I received also happened to contain the poorest grammar and spelling I’ve ever seen. And every email was dutifully double spaced, of course.

Happy new year!

While hiking on Christmas Day (IN THE SUNNY, 72° WEATHER) above Burbank we stumbled across this little tree all balled up for the holidays. We were so delighted to come across a festively dressed baby pine tucked into the canyon on the most perfect day possible. It added a Christmasy air to a day that, honestly, up until that point, felt more like mid-June. (BTW: Is there a name for this? Guerrilla Ornamenting?)

It reminded me more than a little of this Slim Aarons photo, which my friend Yosi just happened to post to Facebook the next day. I have never been anywhere for Christmas that wasn’t cold (or supposed to be cold) and I was a little nervous. But after spending this week in LA, I can’t help but feel a swelling of pride for the way we (meaning Angelenos) celebrate the holidays. Sitting in the sun, lounging by the pool, taking long hikes under ornament-blue skies. I didn’t miss the nipping at my nose.

More Christmas in LA.

Should you stay at the Royalton Hotel in New York City, you will find my architectural walking guide, City Walks Architecture New York, right where it belongs. The Royalton must have read my blog in order to organize such visionary and apt product placement. How did they know that I wrote the book fueled almost entirely by tequila, vodka and whiskey?

Thanks to Stefan Bucher for snapping the photo, and for the signature wit that accompanied it. It gave me a great idea for a new kind of walking tour… more of  a stumbling tour, if you will.

Did I mention City Walks Architecture New York makes a GREAT stocking stuffer? With or without the Johnnie Walker chaser. Buy it here!

During our de LaB bike ride in Long Beach Sunday—long before my iPhone was snatched on the train—I couldn’t help but admire the festive beach cruiser belonging to April Economides. Who knew that Christmas lights could double as safety lights! As the sun went down, she was definitely the most visible rider on the streets.

More biking in Long Beach.

This is what I was doing. In fact, this is what I’m always doing when I’m riding buses or trains. But tonight, as I was riding the Blue Line home from a fantastic day riding bikes in Long Beach, someone plucked my iPhone right out of my hand and sprinted off into the night. Just like that.

My friend Molly and I had spent plenty of time choosing our seats for the ride home. Since we had our bikes, we picked seats at the center of the car, so we could stick our bikes in that funny accordion-like space, and sit right in front of them. Funnily enough, earlier in the day we had figured out we were both reading the same OMG SO GOOD book, The Marriage Plot, Molly in hardback, me on—what else?—my iPhone. We had agreed that because the book was OMG SO GOOD, and because the ride back to LA was so long, we were both going to read all the way home.

At the Grand station, just one stop away from where we were getting off, and just when I was getting to a really, really good part in my book, a single black knit glove plunged across the page and gently took the phone from my hand.

It took me a moment to figure out what happened. I remember reflecting on what a brief, graceful gesture it was.

And then I looked up to see a man swiftly exiting the train with my phone in hand.

I ran after him—and I was fully prepared to break into marathon-mode and chase his ass all the way to Santa Monica—but I paused at the door as it closed, realizing that my bike and my purse were still on the train. Would I have ran after him if I didn’t have my bike on the train? I think I might have, which may have been even stupider.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article (via Daring Fireball), iPhones have become more lucrative than wallets, and more thieves are resorting to violence to get them: “It’s the modern day purse snatch—with better odds,” says one officer. So I thought it was a good time to review a few basics when it comes to your phone and riding transit. Maybe you know this stuff. But it’s always good to get a reminder, so here goes.

Hold your valuables responsibly. Duh, right? I thought I was good at being aware of my belongings. But look at how I was sitting tonight. I held my phone up in the air, at eye-level, in the aisle seat, a glowing, tantalizing treat. I didn’t even have my purse over my shoulder, which he very easily could have grabbed as well. I could have moved to the window seat and cradled my phone in my lap, which might have made my phone less appealing—or at least less visible.

Pay attention. Phone suck us in and force us to tune out the rest of the world, which makes us very easy targets. I was so enthralled with my book—because this book is awesome, you guys—that I was completely oblivious to anything around me. Headphones make the situation even worse; I actually never wear them in public for this reason. But maybe on those long, late train rides it’s better to put everything away and just focus on what’s happening around you.

Yell something like “That man in the black hat stole my iPhone.” As the guy took off down the platform, here’s what this eloquent, articulate professional writer screamed: “FUCK YOU!” To everyone around us, it probably looked like we were having some kind of relationship drama. I should have been more specific about why exactly I was chasing this guy, and then maybe someone on the platform would have at least seen what was happening and helped slow him down.

Ask everyone around you for details about what just happened. The reason why you have to ask them is because you probably won’t remember a thing. Luckily my fellow riders were supremely helpful in this department. The people behind us explained what they saw (unfortunately, not much). About five minutes late—but better late than never!—I suddenly something clicked in my head and I snapped into journalist mode, gathering information. I remembered to take note of the number of the car we were in and some basic details about what the guy was wearing.

File a police report. I wouldn’t have thought it would make any difference, but just before we got off the train, a guy encouraged me to find a Metro policeman and file a report. When I stepped off the train, I saw two LA County Sheriff officers and told them what happened. They were very helpful (and, thankfully, very funny). They said they actually have some luck finding iPhones with the Find My iPhone app, and they took me out to their truck where they had a computer I could use to trace it. And that reminds me…

If you have an iPhone, enable the Find My iPhone app. Find My iPhone is a GPS-enabled device that can not only locate your phone on a map, it can lock the phone and wipe your data remotely. But did you know that the Find My iPhone app now comes standard with your MobileMe/iCloud/whatever-Apple-is-calling-it-today account? Okay, I did. But what I did not know is that you actually have to register your device, so my phone couldn’t be found this way. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s totally worth it. Do it. In fact, do it right now. I’ll wait.

I’m still pretty pissed off about the whole thing, but on the way home I realized if I could pass at least one piece of advice along to someone out there who rides transit, then at least I could look at this situation as a learning experience. And I’m very lucky: I didn’t get hurt, I was never in danger and I’m glad I had Molly for support (thank you, Molly!). Honestly, mostly I’m just mad that I can’t read my book tonight. (I’m telling you, IT’S A REALLY GOOD BOOK.)

But on the bright side: Siri, tell me who’s getting a new iPhone tomorrow?

Update: One more tip! I purchased a new iPhone from AT&T and they now have phone insurance. For just $9/month you’re protected against physical damage or loss. This is a new feature that I didn’t know about, so if you purchased your phone more than four months ago, call AT&T and see if you can add it. With the way my phones have behaved this year (dude, I went through FOUR PHONES!) it seems worth it to me!

As you may remember around this time last year, I packed my bags and moved downtown for a spell as part of an intense immersive experience for the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. Last year, I and my fellow fellows were carted all over LA, dipping our toes to the “distinct cultural cauldron” that is Los Angeles:  spinning teacups, hiding in Ed Moses paintings, playing Julius Shulman and eating scorpions.

I’ll be glad to see October end on Monday. Not just because that day is also the greatest holiday of the year. But because it will signify the end to the pink-hued month of awareness about breast cancer. I hate breast cancer, as I’m sure you do as well. But what I hate almost as much are the misguided attempts to “fight” breast cancer—which have now gotten as frightening as that end-of-the-month holiday.

As I flew out of LAX last week, I was horrified to see gate after gate decorated with reams of pink tulle and ribbon that look like they were filched from Barbie’s Dreamhouse. No signs. No information. Nothing that says “Hey, breast cancer is really bad, and you should do something about it.” No real message at all. Unless transforming my airport into a prom nightmare is supposed to subliminally remind me of the ugliness of breast cancer. Which it certainly did.

This “decorating for the cure” also annoyed Mary Ellen Havard, a writer and friend of my mom’s who has battled breast cancer for 11 years. In her book, Breast Cancer: One Illness, Two Women, Four Seasons, she writes about this plague of pink:

“Seems like everywhere you look, you see cute pink items designed to bring awareness to breast cancer. Since when is breast cancer cute and soft and pink? And why is the illness represented by a delicate pink bow? The true colors of cancer are puke green, necrotic black, blood red. There’s nothing soft and sweet about cancer.”

The rose-colored scourge is nothing new, of course. Nearly every woman-targeted product on the planet can now be found in a perky shade of pink. A decade ago I even bought a Kitchen Aid standing mixer in a Pepto-hued pastel (to be fair, I really do like the color). I was pleased at the time to see that a portion of my proceeds supposedly funded research. But after ten years I’m pretty disgusted at the types of products that are pushing pink power. There’s even a name for it: “pinkwashing.”

But when I was recently walking through the aisles of Safeway (or Vons out here in LA), I realized that fighting breast cancer could actually be bad for you.

As you’re shopping at those stores this month, you’ll pass shelves flagged with pink tags signifying which products are participating in some kind of revenue-sharing program with breast cancer research. The more foods you buy, the more you can help cure breast cancer. Great, right?

Unfortunately the foods which are highlighted are largely the foods which are proven to cause other diseases, like obesity and high blood pressure. IF YOU EAT THESE DONUTS YOU WILL BE FIGHTING THE BATTLE AGAINST BREAST CANCER, BUT YOU WILL BE LOSING THE BATTLE AGAINST DIABETES! ENJOY!

I didn’t see any pink tags in the produce section.

I can see how this strategy is a nice gesture on Safeway’s part. You’re buying the crap anyway, you might as well pay out some cash to a good cause. But once you get to the checkout, the message transforms from befuddling to downright wrong.

So let me get this straight. If you choose not to buy your own selection of high fructose corn syrups, artificial flavorings, and empty calories to help battle breast cancer, you have yet another chance to win a FREE BOTTLE of them. In a plastic container full of BPAs that have been proven to cause—you guessed it!—cancer! Don’t worry, you guys. It’s pink!

I agree we need more awareness about breast cancer. But awareness doesn’t mean forcing free strawberry soda down our throats. So what’s my solution? Ditch the pink. Entirely. Capitalize on the fact that October is also the month we put up our most terrifying decorations. Let’s put breast cancer in a ghastly house of horrors. Let’s make breast cancer a revolting one-eyed monster. Let’s see those colors that Mary Ellen Havard talked about—the “puke green, necrotic black, blood red”—in a campaign that gets people to think long and hard about the very serious choices they’re making when it comes to their health. I want a breast cancer campaign that freaks people out.

It’s time to remind everyone that breast cancer is not about buying a dozen sugar cookies dusted with delicate pink nonpareils or walking through an airport terminal that looks like it was sprayed down with cotton candy. It’s fucking scary.

I’ll take that message over a pink ribbon any day.