September 2011
43 posts
Downtown is For People →
longformorg:
On the then new phenomenon of dead downtowns:
It is not only for amenity but for economics that choice is so vital. Without a mixture on the streets, our downtowns would be superficially standardized, and functionally standardized as well. New construction is necessary, but it is not an unmixed blessing: its inexorable economy is fatal to hundreds of enterprises able to make out...
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Unnecessary Journalism Phrases: 22. On Steroids -... →
unnecessaryjournalismphrases:
This phrase is often used when considering something has been enhanced; as noted by Vivan Schiller’s Tweet from ONA11 (and h/t to Cynthia Collins):
The expression “on steroids” should be banned. Immediately. (Unless of course the reference is to actual steroids)
D-Crit students: Don’t you think we should start our own Tumblr of unnecessary design...
Lazy Self-Indulgent Book Reviews: Cowboys and... →
lazybookreviews:
I’m just tired of shitty two-hour-plus movies. It’s unnecessary. It’s gratuitous, it’s indulgent. “Casablanca” was 102 minutes long. Ask yourself: is this movie better than “Casablanca”? No? Then we’re cutting the offensive Apache sequence. Or the outlaws. Or Olivia Wilde’s costume changes.
This sentiment could be applied to many other artforms. “I’m just tired of...
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“When instant cake mixes were introduced in the 1950s as part of a broader trend...”
– Seminal study tests “the IKEA effect” – our tendency to love things we’ve built ourselves and value them more than store-bought versions of the same things (via)
I’ve heard this story about the egg many times, many contexts, which makes me wonder if it’s apocryphal. It’s also...
“Heavenly Father!” “I love you all!” “I love... →
longformorg:
The stories of two dozen strangers who survived the Joplin, Mo., tornado by hiding in a walk-in beer cooler.
Luke Dittrich | Esquire | Sep 2011
This is pretty amazing.
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Dear Los Angeles Architects
magnificentruin:
I’ve spent the last two hours looking for a firm to work on a project in Beverly Hills and haven’t found a single website that offers a navigational experience coherent enough to evaluate their work. If anyone can point me to a small-to-medium sized LA office with a warm minimalist sensibility and a clear website, please reply here or contact me above. Thanks.
Any takers?
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“Make it creative rather than dutiful.”
– Writer Alexandra Lange has six pieces of advice for Bill Moggridge, the newish director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Smart thinking for anyone looking to refresh a somewhat fusty brand, including her thinking (above) in relation to creating a digital strategy. (via...
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“I worry (as someone who was an adult in the 1960s) that young people will see...”
– Nora Ephron, in this week’s Newsweek, on the premiere of NBC’s The Playboy Club. (via newsweek)
I read Gloria Steinem’s “I Was A Playboy Bunny…” when I was in high school and was completely knocked out. PDF here.
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Apple Juice is Safe to Drink →
shortformblog:
usagov:
The Food and Drug Administration says there are not dangerous levels of arsenic in apple juice. Learn more about why apple juice is safe to drink.
Take that, Dr. Oz.
But you know (as my pediatrician just told me) it is PURE SUGAR.
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The Casual Optimist: Something for the Weekend →
casualoptimist:
Not My Type — Paul Shaw really doesn’t like Just My Type by Simon Garfield:
This is the second time I have tried to write a review of Just My Type. It is a frustrating book—warm and friendly on the surface but obnoxious underneath. The first time, I methodically tore it to pieces in…
I think we have the same taste: I also recommend Paul Shaw’s review (the cheesy,...
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Vintage Cookware enthusiasts?
via Mrs. Easton
I already Tweeted this, but I am looking for people who collect and use vintage cookware: Dansk, Copco, Descoware, and many, many rainbow-colored additional options. If you are one of those people and would like to talk about it for a Gourmet piece, leave a comment or message me @LangeAlexandra.
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Thinking in Tumblr
Because it would be strange not to post it here…
I recently found myself discussing with a designer why I thought his industrial design client should not publish a commemorative book, but should start a commemorative Tumblr. (I couldn’t believe it when those words came out of my mouth.) Considering this history project, my mind reassembled its pieces as a blog, asynchronic,...
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Elegant Solution
All houses have a story. This house has a saga. Call it the Three Ages of Architecture: modern, postmodern, and contemporary. The end result is a 4,600-square-foot house with six bedrooms, a home office, and a playroom, its upper story cantilevered over a picturesque Westchester County ravine. In the summer, from the road, the house seems to float in the trees—unlike its hulking neighbors....
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“More than any other innovation, the modern shipping container — by turns...”
– Touching and insightful NYT obituary for Keith Tantlinger, the designer of the modern shipping container. (via thoughtyoushouldseethis)
“Sportswriters rarely take the time to describe what actually happens on the...”
– FreeDarko Says Goodbye (via viafrank)
Applies equally well to architecture criticism. The discipline of describing what you see creates a far deeper critique than just referring people to the photograph — which carries its own separate interpretation.
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Pride and Prejudice: The Board Game!
iheartclassics:
Yes, there was actually a board game based on Austen’s novel. It was made in 2002 by a company called The Ash Grove Press. So, who would you want to play as? Click here for more info about the game.
Christmas present!
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GPS and the End of the Road →
longformorg:
On the transformation of travel:
[I]t is astounding how quickly these technologies have changed one of the most basic aspects of our existence: the way we move through the world. When driving down the highway, you can now expect to see, in a sizable portion of the cars around you, GPS screens glowing on dashboards and windshields. What these devices promise, like the opening of...
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