Feb 28, 2013

flavin and judd


are you in new york city? go to the flavin/judd show at david zwirner's new poured concrete building on w 20th st at 11 ave. on the ground floor, pay close attention to the ceiling. don't forget to visit the small but lovely exhibition on the second floor, featuring beautiful and serene steel pieces by john mccracken and fred sandback. as you leave, saturated by the experience of art, try to ignore the clumsily drilled holes with which the handles are mounted onto the carefully constructed doors.

Feb 22, 2013

the entire staff



it continues to be my privilege to be acquainted with the entire staff of kat ran press. this week, i paid a too-short visit to its tastefully appointed, digitally warmed offices on myrtle street in cambridge, ma—a visit which demonstrated that while bad taste is ubiquitous, the exception proves the rule. the kat ran checklist you see above, under a copy of dogs are OK, is a catalogue raisonné containing a tough-minded, superb essay on design that does not exist online.

a good time was had by all. or, at least, by me.

Feb 18, 2013

design vs styling



It seems to me that there was no need for American Airlines to undertake such a change, but many people do not understand the difference between Design and Styling, and believe in change for the sake of change. Design cannot cover the mistakes of bad management, but styling can.
vignelli is not infallible, but he is worth thinking about. design is an inextricable part of good management, whether it is the design of an organization or the organization's visual identity. and crucially, styling can cover the mistakes of bad management but not when it is poor styling.

Feb 17, 2013

bits, pieces

this is important.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.
annie dillard, the writing life.

It is a somewhat shattering moment when we realize that our lives are made up of the particulars of what we do every day.
jim harrison, "cooking your life" in the raw and the cooked.
more dillard here; more harrison here and here.

Feb 16, 2013

an unexpected briefing



like virgin america's launch inflight safety video and melbourne metro's dumb ways to die, almost every moment of this air new zealand safety video by weta workshop is worth watching.

Feb 10, 2013

mind over mirrors

this is jaime fennelly:


howdy pardner and the hard truths, my easy-listening aloha-shirt country music band, will henceforth be known as smoke and matter.

it's coffee time



i cannot vouch for the quality of this establishment's coffee, though its mascot leaves nothing to be desired.

Feb 9, 2013

snow



if on a winter's night a traveler, this morning he would be a little bump in the white and smooth expanse. the mayor of new york city says BLIZZARD2013 is a good opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep. for some others of us, it has been a time to stretch out, guilt-free, with a good book and a hot beverage. in connection with this state of affairs, it should not go unremarked that rex stout's very first nero wolfe book, fer-de-lance, contains thrillingly specific uses of the words "myrmidon" and "excelsior." love of language is always a pleasure.

Feb 2, 2013

the rain room



the line for this was inconveniently long.