A Metro Revolution

An interesting NPR interview with Bruce Katz, vice president of the Brookings Institution, about the upcoming urban revolution.

wallpaper*- graduate directory 2012

The wallpaper graduate directory for 2012 is out and there are some neat projects / drawings to get inspired by....

1 > Emma Emmerson Royal College of Art 2 > Vidhya Pushpanathan Architectural Association, UK  

Things to (not) worry about

This post of a letter written by F. Scott Fitzgerald to his 11 year old daughter away at camp was spot on beautiful. It is the kind of work that will keep you circling in your mind for days... just what an 11year old is longing for.

Here is a wonderful excerpt borrowed from here and ultimately here.

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about Cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship
Worry about. . .

Things not to worry about:

Don't worry about popular opinion
Don't worry about dolls
Don't worry about the past
Don't worry about the future
Don't worry about growing up
Don't worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don't worry about triumph
Don't worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don't worry about mosquitoes
Don't worry about flies
Don't worry about insects in general
Don't worry about parents
Don't worry about boys
Don't worry about disappointments
Don't worry about pleasures
Don't worry about satisfactions

Spring is here!

The markets were in full bloom this Saturday... loads of blooms at home to celebrate. Windows OPEN

oldies

I love all the vintage cars, motorcycles, scooters and bikes around europe. Kinda makes me wanna get an old beauty when i get back state-side... i LOVE this handom fella

Steinbeck

East of Eden is one of my favorite books of all time. Steinbeck is a genius in both his writing and advice giving... case in point. This letter written from Steinbeck to his son  is sailing around the blog world, but I loved it so much I just had to share....

New York
November 10, 1958


Dear Thom:


We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.


First—if you are in love—that’s a good thing—that’s about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don’t let anyone make it small or light to you.


Second—There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you—of kindness and consideration and respect—not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.


You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply—of course it isn’t puppy love.


But I don’t think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it—and that I can tell you.


Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.


The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.


If you love someone—there is no possible harm in saying so—only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.


Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.


It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another—but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.


Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I’m glad you have it.


We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.


And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens—The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.


Love,


Fa

from this book

learned about via this and this blog

photo via the NYPL

Literary Organism

This movie about information graphic designer Stefanie Posavec is super interesting. To check out more about Miss Posavec go to her website here.

thanks for the heads up feltron.

a lovely breakfast

Those chairs! Those floors! I would love to have breakfast here everyday. oh Paris....

moment of silence

via Convoy

topoART

Jorinde Voigt via gmunk

Joseph Dirand

I watched this great interview with Joseph Dirand via the awesome online magazine freunde von freunden.

Joseph Dirand is pretty bad ass. His designs are super dramatic and sculptural. Its about creation of spaces that are elegant and meditatively sleek. Seriously sophisticated work. His monochromatic tendancies remind me of my past post on minimalist design.

The way he talks about his practice is inspiring. I wish everyone had the same ideology regarding work, life and architecture. I would give anything to practice with his firm. amazing.

Check out that tilework behind the front desk. I wish I could see that up close and touch it.

Behnisch Architekten - Hamburg

This weekend we're headed to Hamburg with a friend. I am hoping to sneak into and take some photos of these two amazing buildings from Behnisch Architekten: Unilever Haus and the Chamber of Commerce.

2012 Pritzker Prize

Wang Shu of Amateur Architect Studio in Hangzhou China won this years Pritzker Prize. I enjoyed the following quotes from a NYT article about his theory for design:

“Everywhere you can see, they don’t care about the materials,” Mr. Wang said in an interview. “They just want new buildings, they just want new things. I think the material is not just about materials. Inside it has the people’s experience, memory — many things inside. So I think it’s for an architect to do something about it.”       

“My work is more thoughtful than simply ‘built,’ ” he said, adding that the “handicraft aspect” of his work was important to him, as a contrast to what he considers much of the “professionalized, soulless architecture, as practiced today.”       

Photos from flickr

212

I saw this music video link on The Senses Five the other day and immediately downloaded the song on itunes. Azealia Banks is a Harlem born rapper who blends awesome rhymes with a new creative structure which keeps things interesting.

(FYI: not kid friendly lyrics)

Sacré Coeur, Paris

I was never one of those girls who swooned over Paris. Yes, I was sure it was beautiful, but no more than any other city. Right?

That was until we went there last April and I fell in love with it all. The geist of the city was so perfectly composed, elegantly styled, and beautifully staged.  A truly romantic metropolitain city... I am dying to go back.

These pictures taken from Sacré Coeur remind me of the magic.

Shopping in Germany

This NYtimes article helps to explain some of the frustrations I addressed in an earlier post... and why everything is closed by 2pm on Saturday and all day on Sunday. harumph.

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

This picture, from the top of Mount Pilatus, makes me smile....

 

fresh flowers

I never was one to splurge on flowers at the store before I moved to Europe. Perhaps it's the omnipresence of florists on every corner or their 2 euro price tag, but I've been in the habit of bringing home fresh flowers lately and I love it.  No ornate decorations necessary, just throw them into an old jam jar and enjoy their subtle happiness.

There doesn't have to be a particular reason to bring home flowers from the market, or perhaps a cold, dark winter is reason enough, but watching bulbs or buds grow and evolve is truly pleasurable. These beautiful tulips I picked up just after Valentine's day... and these hyacinth bulbs I planted in a few old salsa jars this weekend... bring a lot of happiness to our little apartment life.

Karneval in Dusseldorf

Carnival was a lot of fun this weekend. We trained into Dusseldorf and had a few drinks at our friends' apartment before going out. Instead of taking a taxi - we decided to borrow a few bikes and peddle the 15 minutes into the old town. Oh boy was that fun!  Although we were on a slip road, not the actual autobahn, I raced like a mad man down the two lane road. I was beyond nervous to be on the same street as speeding cars so late at night.... but an exhilarating rush for certain! We arrived at a bar a few blocks north of the alt stadt with hearts pumping and mouths frozen in smile. 

We bar hopped through the alt stadt and 'old punk area' just north of it.  I expected it to be more outside - crowding into the streets - but perhaps because it was Sunday night before Rosenmontag it was all contained inside. We drank alt beers and danced to awesome old (Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson, etc.) music until 3am! When things began to shut down, we biked home and took the train back to Essen.

The next day we watched people gather for the parade in Essen, but were less than thrilled with the showing: A few off key singers and slow moving bands.  From what I understand, Dusseldorf's parade was much better.

Interesting tid-bit: Carnival is really only popular in the western region of Germany (in cities as north as Dusseldorf and as south as Mainz with Cologne being an epi-center of revelry). Our friend explained the celebration is most popular in the cities in which Napoleon's troops occupied, because locals would dress up in French military garb to mock the ruling authorities. Today, there is an undercurrent of political jesting associated with many of the parades that seems reminiscent of this tradition... plus a lot of flamboyant costumes.

Karneval!

It's that time of year again! We're heading into Düsseldorf  for  Karneval tonight. I got a crazy fun sequence dress from H&M and a bright pink wig. Last year I was a mustachioed mouse, but decided to let my inner Tina Turner show this year. Should be a good time. The celebrations are most active in the Rhineland: Düsseldorf, Koln (Cologne) and Mainz being the big party hubs. Pictures of the festivities in old town of Düsseldorf tonight and the parades tomorrow in Essen will be up! Stay tuned!