Jul 25 2010
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Light-transmitting concrete. Rad new material! Infused with optical fibers yet strong as ever.
Jul 19 2010
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I am a very happy person. I feel fortunate and competent, and it’s a great combination. I have landed myself in a vibrant community of creative, intelligent, loving people, and the exchange is heart-warming and mind-expanding! (Yah, I’m a bit of a hippy, aren’t I? Need I remind you I grew up in San Francisco?)
So yes, I’m very much enjoying myself in my new home of Berlin. I’ve found my cheap bike (not stolen; thanks Craigslist!) and my longer-term apartment in the hip neighborhood of Kreuzberg, complete with sane roommate who’s also a professional in the music industry — and likes cats! I don’t make that move until September, but in the meantime I’ll be sharing a sublet for a month with a great friend from San Francisco, also in Kreuzberg. For several reasons, I’m very happy to be making the move a bit further south in the city, although I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to explore Prenzlauer Berg some. And nothing is that far in Berlin by bike, so I’ll be back up here to continue exploring, perhaps on Sunday to trip through the flea market. The design nerd in me is super looking forward to developing my new nest!
I’ve started learning German, taking classes five days a week. A friend whom I know through Gray Area is here for a few months, so we’re learning together, and it’s a very interesting experience being in a class of adults. I like it! It is a bit exhausting integrating another language structure and vocabulary already, and it’s true that you are able to speak English most places here, but I am determined to learn the local language. I’ve also been using my Spanish and French loads here, which is great as I will be able to not only retain/practice them but develop the complementary skill of switching between the languages I know. Neat!
It’s been outrageously hot here, like close to/over 100°F/38°C. That’s slowed everyone down a bit, and the photo above was taken in my current neighborhood last weekend. The local firehouse brought the hoses out and delighted the people to a healthy drenching. I loved watching the kids and families and tourists and bikers passing by all laugh and dance in the water. Joy!
Jul 16 2010
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Milton Glaser's "Ten Things I Have Learned"
I believe my favorite here is “Some people are toxic. Avoid them.” That alone is going to steer your life in a more beautiful direction.
This came to me courtesy a lovely person and artist, Dean Grenier.
Jul 13 2010
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Snippet of an interview with Jim Morrison from 1970, in which he pretty much predicts the kind of music I make now. ”One person… using machines.” Shouts to Mark E Quark & Monty Luke, two fellow music nerds whom I greatly respect, through which this found its way to me.
This is a nice time to plug Mark’s awesome store on discogs (here), a digger’s delight, vinyl treasure trove!
Jul 10 2010
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Heat! Forthcoming Greenmoney on Fool’s Gold. Can’t wait to drop this! It’s called “Bashment ‘Ouse.” Indeed.
Jul 09 2010
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Curtain created with many magnets in, so you can fold it upon itself to open up the space or relax it to display the curtain fully. Way into this.
P.S. These ASCII curtains are pretty neat, too.
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“For me,” she says, “transformation is inevitable. That’s what I find really fascinating about life, and I have since I was really very small. And I’m always interested when people fantasize that they can deny that it exists, or that they can have any control over it, or that change might be a choice. Change is the only thing we have, it seems to me, and it’s with us all the time.”
- Tilda Swinton (via splitend)
Jul 06 2010
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The Ocean's Load
I wonder if the Garbage Patch Kids will become a reality… I’ve posted before about the massive amount of plastic in our oceans. This link leads to a proposed livable island based on the debris, but be sure to check the video at the end of the article. Things aren’t so easy to set straight. We’ve got to become conscious of our use of this material and quit disposing of it in such a thoughtless way! Despite this, I like to see that we’re thinking of ways to repurpose the waste, even if this idea’s implausible.
Actually, here’s a link to a proposed sustainable city in the desert.
