Jakubowski (2.0)

2012-01-28T09:45:00.001-08:00

Carsten Höller

2012-01-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

Moustache Cologne Rochas: developed post WWII France by same team that created Dior Eau Sauvage... Same Citrus overall scent, but with a much more complexity... My favorite, and its a bargain, I presume the lack of advertisement keeps price low???

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

F Scott Fitzgerald to his daughter...

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

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

2012-01-17T06:24:00.001-08:00

2012-01-11T17:10:00.000-08:00

My messy desk.

2012-01-08T08:21:00.001-08:00

The Pensacola Parking Syndrome is a term of the trade used to describe a city that tears down its old buildings to create parking spaces to entice more people downtown, until people no longer want to go there because it has become an empty lot.

2012-01-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Andy Warhol’s great quote about Coke:

What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.

You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.

All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

2011-12-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

"The banquet is in the first bite.”

Economists call this the law of diminishing marginal utility. When you realize the real pleasure in food comes in the first couple bites, and it diminishes thereafter, that’s a kind of reminder to focus on the experience, enjoy those first bites, and as you get into the 20th bite, you’re talking calories and not pleasure.

From: Michael Pollan “Food Rules”

2011-12-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Jersey Devil

A legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. The Jersey Devil has worked its way into the pop culture of the area, even lending its name to New Jersey's team in the National Hockey League. Among other sitings: Joseph Bonaparte, eldest brother of Emperor Napoleon, is also said to have witnessed the Jersey Devil while hunting on his Bordentown estate around 1820.

2011-12-17T11:31:00.001-08:00

New rug!

2011-12-16T07:08:00.001-08:00

Sprezzatura

(Italian pronunciation: [sprettsaˈtura]) is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as:

“a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.”

2011-12-15T15:07:00.001-08:00

"Men come together in cities in order to live: they remain together in order to live the good life" - Aristotle.

2011-12-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

The apple has been grown for thousands of years. It was well known to the Ancient China and Egypt. Apples were also known to the Greeks and Romans and they were popular through all the centuries to the present day.

Apricots originally came from China. In ancient times they spread across Persia to the Mediterranean region and the Romans knew them. Later the Arabs grew apricots. Apricots were grown in England from the 16th century.

Blackberries grew in Europe, Asia and North and South America. For thousands of years people ate blackberries and since ancient times they were used as a medicine.

In the Middle Ages and for centuries afterwards blackcurrants were used as a medicine. During World War II the government encouraged people to grow them as they were a rich source of vitamin C. Most were made into cordial and blackcurrant drinks have remained popular in Britain since then.

Blueberries are native to North America. They were eaten by Native Americans (sometimes with meat). They were also used as a medicine. Europeans learned how to grow blueberries and from the late 19th century they were canned.

Cherries are native to Asia. They were eaten by the Chinese, the Greeks and the Romans. However in Northern Europe cherries only really became popular in the late Middle Ages. In the 17th century colonists took cherries to North America.

Figs have been grown in the Middle East since prehistoric times. They were mentioned in Sumer (Iraq) as early as 2,500 BC. They were a staple food in Egypt and were later grown by the Greeks and Romans. Figs were probably introduced to China in the 8th century AD. Figs were taken by Spaniards to the Americas in the 16th century. Figs were also introduced to England in the 16th century.

Grapes are native to Asia and they were grown before 4,000 BC. Grapes were, obviously, used to make wine but they were also eaten as a fruit and they were popular with the Greeks and Romans and have been ever since.

Lemons originally came from Southern Asia. They later reached the Middle East and they were known to the Romans although they were rare in the Roman Empire. Later the Arabs introduced lemons to Spain and Sicily. In the 15th century lemons became popular in northern Europe.

Limes are native to Southern Asia. The Arabs took them to the Mediterranean area and later the Crusaders took them to Europe. Columbus took limes to the West Indies. From 1795 British sailors were given rations of lime juice to prevent scurvy.

Loganberries are hybrids of blackberries and raspberries. They were first grown in 1880 or 1881 by John H. Logan.

Oranges are native to China and they were grown in that country as early as 2,500 BC. The Romans imported oranges but after the fall of Rome they were forgotten in Western Europe. When the Arabs conquered Spain in the 8th century they introduced oranges. Later they were introduced into Italy. In the 16th century Spaniards took oranges to the Americas. In the 17th century rich Englishmen began growing oranges.

The pawpaw is native to North America. The Spanish discovered the pawpaw in 1541. However pawpaws did not become popular in Europe until the end of the 20th century.

Peaches came from China where they were grown by 800 BC. Later the Persians grew them and the Romans ate them. Peaches were brought to the Americas in the 16th century. They were grown in England by the 17th century but they were rare and expensive until the 20th century.

Pears are native to Europe and North Asia. Pears were grown by the Greeks and by the Romans. Pears were grown in England in the Middle Ages and many new varieties were grown in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. As well as being eaten pears were used to make perry.

Plums are an ancient fruit. They grew wild in Europe, Asia and North America. Plums were grown by the Ancient Chinese and the Romans and later by the Arabs. The Crusaders brought damsons back from the Middle East to Europe. Today plums are one of the worlds most popular fruits.

Pomegranates were native to Iran and they have been grown for thousands of years. They were eaten by the Egyptians and also by the Ancient Chinese, the Greeks and the Romans. Pomegranates were known in Europe in the Middle Ages and they were mentioned by Shakespeare. Pomegranates were introduced into the New World in the 16th century. Pomegranate is believed to be a corruption of the old French words pome garnete, which meant seed apple.

Raspberries are native to Asia. The Romans grew them and they were also grown in England from the Middle Ages onwards. Raspberries were used as a medicine as well as a food.

Rhubarb is native to China and for thousands of years people believed it was a medicine. Rhubarb was grown in Europe in the 17th century and by the 18th century it was used as a food as well as medicine. In the 19th century rhubarb became a popular food in North America.

Strawberries grew wild in Europe and eastern North America. They were grown by the Romans and were a popular fruit in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 19th century strawberries became widely cultivated in the USA. Nobody knows why they are called strawberries. They may once have been called strewn berries because the berries are strewn on the plant. Or the name may come from the old word strew, which meant to spread because runners spread from the plant.

Tangerines are native to Southeast Asia. They were introduced into Europe in the early 19th century and they were named Tangerines because they came from the port of Tangier in North Africa. Tangerines were introduced into the USA in the mid-19th century.

2011-12-11T19:59:00.001-08:00

Nina Simone

2011-12-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

Full moon coming up on Friday night, perfect night for a holiday party?

2011-12-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

"flapper" in french: garçonne, (not to be confused with word for boy: garçon)

2011-11-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

twitter

@Mariobatali What is the best French restaurant in Paris?”

I like chez Dennis for raucous
And
Gagnaire for provocative

2011-11-29T15:56:00.001-08:00

“Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are.”

- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

2011-11-28T14:06:00.001-08:00

U.S. tour dates announced for Justice 2012 Tour!

Jus†ice, Stress from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

2011-11-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

just returned from Canada, ate Poutine:

Poutine is a Canadian dish of French fries and fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy or sauce. Sometimes additional ingredients are added.

Poutine is a fast food dish that originated in Quebec and can now be found across Canada. It is sold by national and international fast food chains, in small "greasy spoon" type diners (commonly known as "cantines" or "casse-croûtes" in Quebec) and pubs, as well as by roadside chip wagons (commonly known as "cabanes à patates", literally meaning "potato shacks").

International chains like McDonald's, A&W, KFC and Burger King also sell mass-produced poutine in Canada. Poutine may also contain other ingredients such as beef, pulled pork or lamb. Atypically, the dish may also include additional ingredients such as lobster meat, rabbit or duck confit, caviar, and truffles.

2011-11-26T18:17:00.001-08:00

want to see, is it still only playing at MOMA????

2011-11-20T14:25:00.001-08:00

louche

Adjective:
Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way.

2011-11-17T08:07:00.001-08:00

Like this song more every time I hear it...

2011-11-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Far from the Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy explores the proper basis for a happy marriage. Bathsheba's physical attraction to the broadsword-wielding Troy leads to a disastrous marriage that might have ended in financial ruin. A marriage to the strait-laced Boldwood, to whom she is bound only by feelings of guilt and obligation, would have meant emotional suffocation. Gabriel Oak is her colleague, friend, and advocate. He offers her true comradeship and sound farming skills; and, although she initially spurns him, telling him she doesn't love him, he turns out to be the right man to make her happy.

Shepards, rural life in 19th Century England... (and a great title)

2011-11-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

Pepper Pot

A thick stew of beef tripe, vegetables, pepper and other seasonings.

The origins of the stew are steeped in legend, with one story attributing the dish to Christopher Ludwick, baker general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. According to this story, the winter of 1777–1778 in Valley Forge was exceptionally harsh. Farmers in the area sold their food to the British for pounds rather than the weak continental currency offered by George Washington's soldiers. The Continental Army was running low on food, and survived on a stew made of tripe, vegetables, and whatever else they could find to stay alive.

2011-11-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Nostalgic photos of me in Highschool

2011-11-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

beer based cocktails:

Michelada: made with beer, lime juice, and hot sauce, served in a salt-rimmed glass over ice.

Shandy: equal parts beer with either ginger ale, ginger beer, or carbonated lemonade.

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

added to wish list:

Nice pyjamas to wear on evenings strolls ala the Chinese.

2011-10-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Journey Is the Reward

-Steve Jobs

(well said, Steve.)

2011-10-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

From 1958, a piece from Fortune magazine written by Jane Jacobs called Downtown is for People.

There are, certainly, ample reasons for redoing downtown--

falling retail sales, tax bases in jeopardy, stagnant real-estate values, impossible traffic and parking conditions, failing mass transit, encirclement by slums.

But with no intent to minimize these serious matters,
it is more to the point to consider what makes a city center magnetic,

what can inject the gaiety, the wonder, the cheerful hurly-burly that make people want to come into the city and to linger there. For magnetism is the crux of the problem. All downtown's values are its byproducts.

To create in it an atmosphere of urbanity and exuberance is not a frivolous aim.

(read on Kottke.org)

2011-10-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

My Grandmother's cousin.

2011-10-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Apple and Olive Oil Cake With Maple Icing (recipe origin: Ottolenghi, London)

Ingredients for cake:

◦280g plain flour
◦1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
◦1/4 tsp salt
◦1/2 tsp salt
◦1/2 tsp baking powder
◦1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
◦120ml olive oil
◦160g caster sugar
◦2tsp vanilla extract
◦2 eggs
◦3 Bramley apples, peeled cored and chopped into 1cm dice
◦grated zest of 1 lemon
◦2 egg whites
Ingredients for icing

◦100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
◦100g light muscavado sugar
◦85ml maple syrup (or golden syrup)
◦220g cream cheese, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 170C. Sift the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the olive oil, vanilla and sugar (preferably with an electric whisk) together until voluminous and smooth. Next whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the apples and lemon zest and then the flour. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold carefully into the cake batter. Grease and line two sandwich tins and bake for 45 mins until a cake batter comes out clean. Once cooked, allow the cakes to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, beat together the butter and maple syrup and sugar until light and airy. Next add in the cream cheese and beat until it’s totally smooth (preferably with the whisk attachment). Use half of the icing to the sandwich the cakes together, and smooth the remaining frosting up on top.

2011-10-20T04:03:00.001-07:00

William Blake had this to say about morning and evening routines: “Think in the morning, act in the noon, read in the evening, and sleep at night.”

2011-10-18T16:28:00.001-07:00

The thrill of the new?

2011-10-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Pandora songs:

This Guy's In Love
by Burt Bacharach

A Letter From Home
by Ulrich Schnauss

Manhattan
by Blossom Dearie

Moonlight In Vermont
by Sarah Vaughan

Stars Fell On Alabama
by Dinah Shore

Love Is The Sweetest Thing
by Gogi Grant

I Fall In Love Too Easily
by Chet Baker

Burial
by Miike Snow

Burning
by The Whitest Boy Alive

2011-10-17T07:29:00.001-07:00

A "meme" is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."

2011-10-14T14:03:00.001-07:00

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

Gil Scott-Heron

2011-10-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Wabi-sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.

The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

2011-10-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Prohibition Era Dive Bar: Blind Pig

Other slang terms for an establishment similar to a speakeasy are blind pig and gin joint.

The difference between a speakeasy and a blind pig is that a speakeasy was usually a higher class establishment, whereas a blind pig was a lower class dive.

2011-10-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Mercer Museum, Doylestown, PA (completed in 1916.)

Mercer collected pre-industrial hand tools and other implements of the past. He believed that the story of human progress and accomplishments was told by the tools and objects that people used and saw these time-honored crafts slowly disappearing from memory.

Mercer personally designed plans for a museum to house his collection, six stories tall and cast of poured-in-place concrete.

In addition to tools, it displays furnishings of early America, carriages, stove plates, a gallows, antique fire engines, a whaleboat, and the Lenape Stone.

Male form of mademoiselle...

2011-10-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Mondemoiseau is an archaic term historically used for a gentleman that had not yet reached the status of chevalier,

was used in a similar fashion as the modern mademoiselle;

The term has not been in common use since the 17th century, but it can be found in works of classic French literature, such as Molière's L'avare.

2011-09-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

Knickerbocker, is a surname that dates back to the early Dutch colonists in New York. The name translates as "marble baker" from the Dutch "knikker".

In 1809, Washington Irving published his satirical A History of New York under the pseudonym "Diedrich Knickerbocker", and since that time "Knickerbocker" has been used in various contexts as a name emblematic of New York City.

2011-09-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
-Francois de La Rochefoucauld

2011-09-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act. - by Capote, Truman.

2011-09-19T07:30:00.002-07:00

Fish House Punch

The spread of the drink had been made possible by the 1862 publication of "How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant's Companion," written by the celebrated New York bartender Jerry Thomas. This first true bartender's manual included a recipe for "Philadelphia Fish House Punch" -- a third of a pint of lemon juice, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, 2½ pints of water, half a pint of Cognac, and a quarter pint each of rum and peach-flavored brandy. There would be reason to be dubious that Thomas had the recipe right -- after all, how would a bartender whose résumé included stints in New York, California and St. Louis come to know the secret recipe of a rarefied private club in Philadelphia? But Fish House Punch is one of the only recipes in "How to Mix Drinks" that is specifically credited to a source other than Thomas himself. It came from F.S. Cozzens, a New York wine merchant who moonlighted as an author of comic stories. A member of New York's Century Association, he ran in social circles that may well have provided him access to the Fish House's secrets.

Fish House Punch
2 parts dark Jamaica rum
1 part cognac
½ part peach-flavored brandy
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 to 1½ part (to taste) simple syrup
2 parts (more or less, to taste) water
Stir with ice and serve in a punch cup. If you make it in bulk, do so in a sizable punchbowl with a large block of ice. You may decorate the punch with thin slices of lemon.

2011-09-19T07:30:00.001-07:00

plea

2011-09-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Do Laundresses Still Exist?
Didn’t there used to be a job called “laundress”? Wasn’t it a job for a person who specialized in taking care of your clothes – washing, laundering, keeping them in order? Does it still exist?

I’ve been googling to try and find out, but no luck. I mean, to me it sounds like an obvious opportunity in this economy. Taking care of the clothes you have is better than just going out and picking up new items every season, and not wearing a good piece because it hasn’t been updated or is in slight disrepair. I think a lot of times, as Americans, we tend to just pitch things. That, or they sit in our closets for years, unworn.

Anyone have a lead for me? I’d love to find out if the job still exists in New York, or anywhere.

my new desk chair

2011-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

A FRENCH RESTAURATION PERIOD,C.1825. FAUTEUIL DE BUREAU IN MAHOGANY.

Full Moons

2011-09-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

September 12th Full Harvest Moon 5:27 am
October 11th Full Hunter’s Moon 10:06 pm
November 10th Full Beaver Moon 3:16 pm
December 10th Full Cold Moon 9:36 am
January 9th Full Wolf Moon 2:30 am
February 7th Full Snow Moon 4:54 pm
March 8th Full Worm Moon 4:40 am
April 6th Full Pink Moon 3:19 pm
May 5th Full Flower Moon 11:35 pm
June 4th Full Strawberry Moon 7:12 am
July 3rd Full Thunder Moon 2:52 pm
August 1st Full Sturgeon Moon 11:28 pm
August 31st Full Blue Moon 9:58 am
September 29th Full Harvest Moon 11:19 pm
October 29th Full Hunter’s Moon 3:50 pm
November 28th Full Beaver Moon 9:46 am
December 28th Full Cold Moon 5:21 am

Memento mori

2011-09-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality. The phrase has a tradition in art that dates back to antiquity.

Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche

2011-09-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche is considered the narrowest street in Paris. It is only 1.80m wide for the whole of its 29m length.

Built in 1540, it then ended on the bank of the river Seine.

reminder...

2011-08-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

Too much television may shorten your life.
Six hours of TV a day can cut life expectancy by nearly five years, research shows.

Exquisite corpse

2011-08-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

Exquisite corpse, also known as exquisite cadaver (from the original French term cadavre exquis) or rotating corpse is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled.

Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. "The adjective noun adverb verb the adjective noun") or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed.

History:
The technique was invented by Surrealists and is similar to an old parlour game called Consequences in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal part of the writing, and then pass it to the next player for a further contribution.

Surrealism principal founder André Breton reported that it started in fun, but became playful and eventually enriching.

2011-08-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

"Roshambo"

French for Rock-paper-scissors, also spelled "Ro-sham-bo".

2011-07-25T14:36:00.001-07:00

Asbury Park, various eras...

2011-07-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack to July 2011: Dusty Springfield, Dusty in Memphis.

2011-07-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

Visit to Mercer Museum.

Henry Chapman Mercer (b. June 24, 1856, Doylestown, Pennsylvania – d. March 2, 1930, was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home, the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the Mercer Museum.

2011-06-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Metronomy, English Riviera: 2011 sophomore release from this Electronic outfit, the brainchild of Joseph Mount. While the blend of modern Electronica and a slight '70s Prog Rock feel may linger from their debut, The English Riviera is a huge leap forwards, taking in breezy West Coast vibes while remaining distinctly British. (Amazon's review)

favorite new CD, would have posted a video: but while the music is great, I am not a big fan of thier videos...

2011-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Tom, Dick or Harry Origin:

The origin of the phrase is unknown although it is very old, the oldest known citation is from the 17th-century English theologian John Owen who used the words in 1657.

Owen told a governing body at Oxford University that "our critical situation and our common interests were discussed out of journals and newspapers by every Tom, Dick and Harry."

Pairs of common male names, particularly Jack and Tom, Dick and Tom, or Tom and Tib, were often used generically in Elizabethan times.

For example a variation of the phrase can be found in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 (1597): "I am sworn brother to a leash of Drawers, and can call them by their names, as Tom, Dicke, and Francis."

2011-06-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

art galleries, record stores (the few still left standing), used bookstores -

2011-06-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hodge: a typical name for a farm labourer; rustic (old british slang for redneck)

2011-05-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on the left side (viewed facing down the track away from the quarry) were much deeper than those on the right side. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location, since carts would exit the quarry heavily loaded, and enter it empty.

2011-05-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

dégueulasse: disgusting

The Radnor Hunt

2011-05-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Italian Market Festival, Philadelphia

2011-05-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Eve's photos night before...

2011-04-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

easter, walk in the park

2011-04-24T17:42:00.001-07:00

2011-04-24T10:45:00.001-07:00

Jolie Laide: translated from the French as "ugly beautiful"

2011-04-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Le Charlot: French name of Charlie Chaplin's character "the little tramp".

2011-04-17T15:53:00.001-07:00

“The murals in restaurants are on a par with the food in museums.” ~ Peter de Vries, 1977

Bob's your uncle

2011-04-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

Bob's your uncle (sometimes elaborately Robert's your mother's brother) is a commonly used expression mainly in Britain and Commonwealth nations. Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions to mean, "and there you have it," or "you're all set." For example, "To make a ham sandwich, just put a piece of ham between two slices of buttered bread, and Bob's your uncle."

2011-04-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

(Albert Einstein)

Dublin: May 2009

2011-04-13T16:47:00.001-07:00

wax and wane

2011-04-11T10:45:00.001-07:00

wax and wane: Increase and decrease, as in size, number, strength, or intensity, as in Enrollments in these programs wax and wane from year to year . This expression alludes to the phases of the moon, with its periodic changes in size.

NYC Boroughs and their corresponding counties

2011-04-07T06:30:00.001-07:00

Manhattan: New York County
The Bronx: Bronx County
Brooklyn: Kings County
Queens: Queens County
Staten Island: Richmond County

Amís

2011-04-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

yelp review of my new favorite restaurant:

Amis is a beautiful, dimly lit restaurant that will probably get you laid if your date likes Italian food. It will probably also get you laid if your date does not like Italian food. It has great lighting and an interesting ambiance that is simultaneously chill and exciting.

Amís
Categories: Italian, Wine Bars
412 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Neighborhood: Washington Square West
(215) 732-2647
www.amisphilly.com

Café Society

2011-04-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

Café society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, London, Vienna, or Istanbul, beginning in the late 19th century.

Although members of café society were not necessarily members of The Establishment or other ruling class groups, they were people who attended each other's private dinners and balls, took holidays in exotic locations or at elegant resorts, and whose children tended to marry the children of other café society members.

In the United States, café society came to the fore with the end of Prohibition in December 1933 and the rise of photo journalism, to describe the set of people who tended to do their entertaining semi-publicly, in restaurants and night clubs and who would include among them movie stars and sports celebrities. Some of the American night clubs and New York City restaurants frequented by the denizens of café society included El Morocco, the Stork Club, and the 21 Club.

In the late 1950s the term "Jet Set" began to take the place of "café society", but "café society" may still be used informally in some countries to describe people who habitually visit coffeehouses and give their parties in restaurants rather than at home

2011-04-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

I come home and listen to the new Radiohead every night lately.

2011-03-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

2011-03-31T19:19:00.001-07:00

Favorite Pandora station: "Dinah Shore"

polaroid vs polaroid ap

2011-03-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Must Read:

2011-03-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Family of Man

Amazon Product Description

Hailed as the most successful exhibition of photography ever assembled, The Family of Man opened at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in January 1955.

This book, the permanent embodiment of Edward Steichen's monumental exhibition, reproduces all of the 503 images that Steichen described as "a mirror of the essential oneness of mankind throughout the world. Photographs made in all parts of the world, of the gamut of life from birth to death."

A classic and inspiring work, The Family of Man has been in print for more than forty years. The New York Times once wrote that it "symbolizes the universality of human emotions."

First produced by a magazine publisher and sold by the hundreds of thousands on newsstands and in airport shops, The Family of Man has been in more recent years published by the Museum. It has been continuously in print since 1955; the present Thirtieth Anniversary Edition was prepared from original photographs with all new duotone plates in 1986.

2011-03-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
don’t swim in the same slough.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself
and
stay out of the clutches of mediocrity.

invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
change your tone and shape so often that they can
never
categorize you.

Charles Bukowski - Pleasure of the Damned

2011-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

cafe
Salon de Thé
bistro
brasserie
wine bar
Restaurant

Essential Listening

2011-03-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

FLAMING LIPS
SOFT BULLETIN
1999

Butterfly Effect

2011-03-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

The butterfly effect is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely, a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Although this may appear to be an esoteric and unusual behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position. The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with "what if" cases where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.

wikipedia

2011-03-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

2011-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Iron
Wednesday: Sewing
Thursday: Marketing
Friday: House cleaning
Saturday: Bake
Sunday: Day of Rest

2011-03-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Wanderlust

A strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.

2011-03-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

Every dog has his day.

It means that all of us,
no matter how humble,
will have a time of prosperity, success, or glory at some time in our lives.

The first known use in English is in 1545 (in the form "A dogge hath a day") in a translation of a collection of "adages" or proverbs by the great Dutch humanist philosopher Erasmus that had been published in Latin in 1508. Erasmus didn't necessarily invent it himself; it may have been a traditional Dutch proverb. It obviously caught on - Erasmus was greatly admired and his books were much read at the time - because the future Queen Elizabeth I used it in exactly that form in a letter around 1550. About 50 years later Shakespeare used it in "Hamlet" in this form: "Let Hercules himself do what he may, The cat will mew and dog will have his day."

2011-03-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

Abelard and Heloise (12th Century France)

The story of Heloise and Abelard remains one of the world's most celebrated and tragic love affairs.

Abelard was a well-respected, 12th-century Parisian scholar and teacher, and Heloise was his talented young student.

The two relate their story through a set of letters to one another and intimate acquaintances. Their ardor is unmistakable; as Abelard writes to his love, "So intense were the fires of lust which bound me to you that I set those wretched, obscene pleasures, which we blush even to name, above God as above myself..."

This forbidden lust resulted in a pregnancy and secret marriage, and when their union could no longer withstand the challenges in its path, each lover sought refuge in the church-

Abelard became a monk and Heloise an abbess. Their correspondence continued as both achieved success in their new careers but continued to struggle with their feelings for one another; the set of letters powerfully articulates the wide range of emotions they experienced. So timeless is their love story that--after eight centuries--their passion, their devotion, and their struggle still resonate with readers.In his writings, Abélard tells the story of his seduction of Héloïse and their subsequent illicit relationship, which they continued until Héloïse bore him a son, whom Héloïse named Astrolabius (Astrolabe). Abélard secretly married Héloïse, but both of them tried to conceal this fact in order not to damage Abélard's career. Fulbert's ensuing violence against Heloïse caused Abélard to place her in the convent of Argenteuil.

The accepted view is that Fulbert believed Abélard, (Fulbert was her guardian) abandoned Héloïse, and, in his anger, wreaked vengeance upon Abélard by having him attacked while asleep and castrated. An alternative view is that Fulbert divulged the secret of the marriage and her family sought vengeance, ordering the castration of Abélard. After castration, Abélard became a monk.

At the convent in Argenteuil, Héloïse took the habit and eventually became prioress. She and the other nuns were turned out when the convent was taken over by the abbey at which Abélard had first taken his monastic vows. At this point Abélard arranged for them to enter the Oratory of the Paraclete, an abbey he had established, where Héloïse became abbess.

2011-03-09T10:46:00.001-08:00

essential listening:

Odessey and Oracle
The Zombies
released in 1968

Odessey and Oracle is a psychedelic pop, baroque pop album by The Zombies released in 1968.

2011-03-07T16:24:00.001-08:00

"Live every week like its shark week"

30 Rock quote

2011-03-07T16:21:00.001-08:00

One houres sleepe before midnight is worth three after.[1640 G. Herbert Outlandish Proverbs no. 882]

2011-03-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

‎"when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"— Samuel Johnson

2011-03-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Must read:

On Photography
Susan Sontag (Author)

Amazon description: One of the most highly regarded books of its kind, On Photography first appeared in 1977 and is described by its author as “a progress of essays about the meaning and career of photographs.” It begins with the famous “In Plato’s Cave”essay, then offers five other prose meditations on this topic, and concludes with a fascinating and far-reaching “Brief Anthology of Quotations.”

Amazon customer review: Sontag's essays are complex and thought provoking, eliciting a flow of ideas that one needs to think about deeply: what is a photograph and how does it convey its message? How much truth does a photograph contain, if any? The answer to that last question is much more difficult with the advent of digital photography and the wonderous (or evil, depending on your viewpoint) manipulations that can be done in the digital darkroom.

2011-03-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Must read:

How Proust Can Change Your Life
Alain De Botton (Author)
Publisher: Vintage (April 28, 1998)

Amazon review:
This is a genius-level piece of writing that manages to blend literary biography with self-help and tongue-in-cheek with the profound. The quirky, early 1900s French author Marcel Proust acts as the vessel for surprisingly impressive nuggets of wisdom on down-to-earth topics such as why you should never sleep with someone on the first date, how to protect yourself against lower back pain, and how to cope with obnoxious neighbors.

2011-03-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

Marina Abramovic / Franco

2011-03-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

Salad days:

an idiomatic expression, referring to a youthful time, accompanied by the inexperience, enthusiasm, idealism, innocence, or indiscretion that one associates with a young person. More modern use, especially in the United States, refers to a person's heyday when somebody was at the peak of his/her abilities—not necessarily in that person's youth.

The phrase was coined in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in 1606. In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says:
"...My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood..."

2011-03-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

Wabi-sabi

(侘寂?) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.

The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent and incomplete."

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.