on the case

Timely: Domino Magazine's gallery on bookshelves.

My three favorites:

A friend tipped me off to the fan-freaking-tastic news that Helvetica: the film is on Google Video in its full-length typographic glory.

A thousand thanks - I know how I'm relaxing this weekend!

P.S. Is it hopelessly nerdy that I really want this mug?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been observing one of the security guards slowly but surely (and at a faster pace than I had) making his way through that behemoth of a novel, Infinite Jest.

Somehow I find this profoundly heartwarming. Like I'm not alone --there are goofy, read-everything people out there in the world. Some of the security guards bring in little TVs or just the daily newspaper - no, this guy went all out, with a book was only slightly less difficult for me to get through than my old nemesis Gravity's Rainbow.

I'm bringing in my battered copy of A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again for him tomorrow.

FYI

In case you were wondering, it turns out that you do not need to bring your own needlenose pliers to your MRI appointment - shoulder imaging now does not require removal of that ancient navel ring that seemed like such a good idea close to a decade ago.

(So why keep it? The ring > the leftover scar.)

kopi luwak

One more foodie adventure crossed off the list...

I mentioned it before - kopi luwak, the world's most expensive coffee. And this Sunday, I had the opportunity (courtesy of Zeke's) to try it. An inner gauntlet was thrown - I couldn't resist.

The Baltimore Sun covered the event and their article is here. I spoke with the Sun reporter but declined to give details, as I somehow prefer to not have my name associated with cat poop coffee forevermore. But the "smooth" and "earthy" descriptions were mine.

december 2007 - finale of the year of books

A partial illustration of the books I read this year. (Not all are included.) Several books have been given away to friends. (Both my copies of A Suitable Boy, Suite Francaise, Stiff, Never Let Me Go, etc) Many others, especially from the first half of the year, were simply donated in lieu of my summertime move. I could carry only so many books.

December books:

*Intuition, A. Goodman
*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, J-D. Bauby
*What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, R. Carver
*The Island of Lost Maps, M. Harvey
*Old School, T. Wolff
*Birds of America, L. Moore
*Offshore, P. Fitzgerald
*Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's Humor Category, D. Eggers et al (ed.)
*Moon Tiger, P. Lively
*Special Topics in Calamity Physics, M. Pessl
*We Don't Live Here Anymore, A. Dubus
*The History of Love, N. Krauss

I read (approximately - possibly more) 97 books total for this project in 2007.
*58 I classified as fiction
*20 I classified as short story, essay or novella collections
*15 were biographical or autobiographical
*14 were science-related
*6 were set in Baltimore
*6 were Booker prize winners (Offshore, Hotel du Lac, Moon Tiger, Possession, Amsterdam, The Blind Assassin)

This year of reading project was due to my ability, thanks to living in Baltimore, of getting books for free. The only books that I paid for were my Penguin Great Ideas - Darwin book, my textbooks for classes, and the books from McSweeney's. A few others I was lucky enough to receive as gifts, but mostly this is the benefit of my (obviously) favorite nonprofit.

Here's to reading.

Songs of the year

There's been a lot of good music released this year. I don't think I've even gotten through most of it yet. So, instead of a top ten, here's my favorite two songs of 2007.


Prefuse 73 w. School of Seven Bells - The Class of 73 Bells


Battles - Tonto

Runners up: "Someone Great", LCD Soundsystem; ("You Got Yr) Cherry Bomb", Spoon; "Paper Planes", MIA.

I can't wait to read this.

Each year for our lab holiday party, I am politely asked ordered to bring in what has come to be my signature dish -

Low fat chocolate truffles with apricot and cayenne pepper.

The night before, then, is a sticky melty mess of various baking chocolates, apricot goo and cayenne pepper going up my nose.

But the results are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

the small stakes

I've seen examples of this artist's work before, here and there. (And always thought, "damn, that is a fine example of a well-executed gig poster.") His posters were always standouts, striking in their simplicity.

It's nice to see them all in one place. That would be here - the small stakes.

the drudgery of the take home final

I have music to keep me going...


And a copy of the Daft Punk Alive album - workouts or neurobio, it's motivating.


And not a half-bad book to work from...


There's even some Futura font in here....


But all I really want...

...is to get another fur hat.



Unfortunately it's on backorder. It feels like my life is on backorder.

I'll be up for air and a return to the real world on Thursday.

Does this article on Buffalo remind you at all of any other cities you know?

November 2007 - the books.

The Satanic Verses, S. Rushdie*
Middlesex, J. Eugenides*
The Emperor's Children, C. Messud*
Amsterdam, I. McEwan
The Great Man, K. Christensen*
Emperor of the Air, E. Canin
On Beauty, Z. Smith*
Sputnik Sweetheart, H. Murakami*
Hotel du Lac, A. Brookner
The Moviegoer, W. Percy
French Lessons, A. Kaplan

Favorites are starred.

This month was my best month for reading yet.

You'll have to scroll down to get past all the new 2007 gift guides (that time of year again!), but there's a neat little Baltimore guide at Design*Sponge.

Covers a lot of ground and lots of neighborhoods. I would like to check off the few things on their list that I haven't seen, like Home Anthology, Housewerks and Second Chance.

Happy turkey day. Even if you don't eat turkey.

the heart of the matter

Sundays remind me of my best girl D, who fixes hearts for a living.


B Jewelry
The arrow helps to temper the classic heart shape, and I already own something by this jeweler - I'm sure the hammered silver will feel light as air on the skin.

Me & Ro
The sword makes it a little tough, but the petite size would make it wearable, almost delicate.

Analogous Jewelry
The most abstract of the three - and my favorite, I think.

Any thoughts?

Good design doesn't have to be expensive. A couple of examples from across the pond:

I maintain a soft spot for this WWII poster. I hope it has greater longevity than say, antlers - look at that beautiful font.


Picture courtesy of Apartment Therapy.


My stainless steel Parker Jotter pencil is my constant companion. And I'm not alone in this - it's been a best seller since 1954.



Ok, so stainless steel isn't the most ergonomic material to make a pen or pencil out of, but the heft and classic good looks more than make up for it. A better import than say, those evil and delectable Jaffa cakes.

Two mashup vids that have brought me a lot of happiness:


1960's Fosse dance meets "Walk it Out"


Love the Charleston...surprisingly difficult, but a great dance for including a leg kick or two or three or more...

October 2007 - the books.

Perfume, P. Süskind
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, M. Roach
The City of Falling Angels, J. Berendt *
An Unquiet Mind, K. R. Jamison
What the Dead Know, L. Lippman
Suite Francaise, I. Nemirovsky *
House of Leaves, M. Danielewski *

I am finishing The Satanic Verses as I type. This is a book that refuses to be merely skimmed.

I gave up on one book this month - The Poe Shadow. Pearl has an interesting theory, (especially to me) but it's such a slog through his book to get there. This Observer article can save you the trouble.

expensive taste

Do I ever have it.

Behold a few of my pretties:


The Bianchi 'Milano' bike, in the wonderfully retro Celeste color.


Crane's/Kate Spade letterpress calling cards in Futura, my favorite font.


DWR's take on the Murano glass chandelier. In smoked glass - but of course.