cellar door, cont'd

By the time I came back and started writing again, I realized my last post (around 13 years ago) may have been around when Blogger stopped actively tending to the platform as much. I had all intentions of cozily staying in this familiar place, picking back up as if I'd never left, but I noticed the little paper cuts – strange UX where I'd get lost on my own blog; float-based wrapping leading to walls of emptiness when I'd try to fix it with my rusty CSS – started getting in the way of the writing, which was kind of it for me. 

For now, at least. I still hope I'll summon the time and energy to come back at some point and customize the heck out of it until it's frictionless again (is it possible? we'll see). 

Until then, you can find me at the very nice Pika; they seem good! I'll rifle through the cellar door 1.0 archives every now and then and rework some of my old favorites over there, but for the most part the stream will continue.

cellar door, cont'd

Hacking the block lamp

I got one of these Design House Stockholm block lamps four years ago; for three of those years, it sat in pieces in a corner. Once the bulb burned out (or I knocked the filament loose, oops), I could not for the life of me find a replacement – the website suggested a 25W candelabra, but none that I could find would either a) fit into the glass encasement, or b) fit into the strangely small barrel of the cord. It befuddled associates across a few hardware stores.

Finally, we got fed up and decided to scrap the original cord entirely and build a new one.

We made this with a 7W candelabra bulb, seven feet of lamp wire, a two prong male plug, and a bulb barrel socket screw thingie. I also picked up a pack of vinyl bumpers (replacing the originals that had fallen off over time), to keep the glass from sliding around and chipping.

We're not quite done yet; right now you can only turn it on by plugging it into the wall. We bought one of those wheel click switch things to add, but further decisions will wait for another weekend. For now…

…let there be light.

Project 366: December + reflections.

Project 366. This was technically my biggest photography project ever, though the stress was much lower than some other ones I've done - it was just prolonged over a very long time. For anyone who doesn't know, it's usually called Project 365, and involves taking one picture a day for a year (2012 was a leap year).

I won't get too involved in reflections, because they're similar to those of most people who do one of these. It's not for the faint of heart, but can be easy if you are the type to take pictures all the time anyway, and always have your camera on hand. I myself used my iPhone exclusively for this, sometimes subbing in Instagram pictures or Picframe-created ones when I lost the original copies before uploading. I've been thinking of turning the photos into a book and giving it to my parents, since we don't live in the same place and it might be nice for them to read about the smaller things I notice and think about.

Ok, let's see what December looked like!

My favorite:

344/366: laundry helper

9 December 2012

Slightly blurry. Most pictures I try to take quickly so people don't notice and things don't get awkward turn out blurry.

This was really cute to see during my least favorite thing to do in the world: laundry. For non New Yorkers: Having a washer/dryer in your apartment is a rare luxury. It is at the top of my list for my next apartment hunt, since I hate traveling to do it so much that weeks go by between laundromat visits, making the 10 block trek each way that much heavier and more terrible.

Other December highlights: Saw The Faint in concert, which was my favorite show of the year. Bought another ring from The Great Frog. Started building a portable iPhone charger. Saw a flock of sheep on Bond Street. Saw a bunch of decorated Christmas houses. Spent a good long time with family for the holidays.

Anyway, there you have it! Here are all of my favorite photos of each month, together, to take the place of my usual "year in pictures" -

Feel free to peruse the Flickr set of the project, or read about each month here.

Oh, and happy 2013. If you're feeling adventurous, do one of these! You still have 12 hours to start, if you're on the East Coast.

Project 366: November

Well, it's after Christmas and I'm only getting around to this. Good one. ANYWAY. We only have one more month to go after this. Holy crap. Here's November --

Here's my favorite shot:

314/366: balloons.

9 November 2012

Saw a group of four friends strolling down the street this today, each carrying a different color balloon.

I was happy with that picture because the scene of a group of very cool looking people holding balloons made me smile, and I was basically crossing busy streets while taking pictures and trying to be discreet. And it came out, with happy sun rays in the corner and nobody being hit by a car.

Some other highlights: Began the month in Stockholm. Voted. Shattered my phone's display. Bought tiger slippers. Sent some snail mail. Went to Los Angeles again. Had a lovely family Thanksgiving. Went to Chicago. Got a case so my iPhone wouldn't shatter even more.

Not that eventful, other than the 4 flights I took ;)

MintyBoost, part 1

I am building someone a portable iPhone charger for Christmas. It's called a MintyBoost, and you can buy the kit on Adafruit here. (It's a really good electronics project for beginners).

Here's where I am so far:

I had to stop halfway through, because 1) I had to run into a meeting, and 2) I screwed up. I've had this problem my whole life - getting into a zone and jumping ahead of myself before reading all of the directions thoroughly, or skipping a step/overdoing it as a result. I soldered the diode (that black barrel toward the bottom-right) in upside down. Now I have to go out and buy desoldering braid to fix the thing.

Aside: Desoldering braid is hypnotizing. You put it over your screwup, put a soldering iron on it, and the braid sucks up the solder, essentially ungluing metal. So cool.

Hopefully the next time you hear from me on this, I'll have a working (AA battery powered, how cool is that?!) USB charger. To be continued…

EDIT: A request from Bud to see my soldering job --

(I'm usually a messy solderer; this is a new iron so it may just be a good one!)

EFIT: 17 November

Julie and I hadn't done an EFIT in two years, so she pinged me about a weekend one. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it. Here are mine:

10:01 - I woke up to my alarm (a custom Lullatone ringtone), and found Kazu hanging out with me.

11:37 - I was very flustered at this point, because an MTA worker led me astray and I ended up waiting 20 minutes for a train that never came. I zoomed out of the station and, panting, hailed a cab to take me to my (now late) meetup with Laura.

12:20 - Coffee and lots of talking with Laura to start the day.

13:16 - Member previews at the MoMA for the new avant garde Tokyo exhibit. My favorite pieces were by Nakanishai Natauyuki, and Akasegawa Genpei. I may write about them later. We were both terrified by an alien egg larvae type thing in a baby carriage installation. Complete with flickering lights.

14:11 - A postcard in the MoMA store that showed a horse galloping as you moved it from side to side. Boy did I want that thing.

15:42 - Laura had a violent and inexplicable tomato craving, so we took a train downtown to have bloody Marys and split a burger with ketchup. Delicious.

16:42 - We wandered around a little afterward, and came upon a window display at the New Museum - a popup tattoo studio.

17:42 - I spent the next few hours putting together a care package for a friend; this hour involved pretending I knew how to sew.

18:18 - More work on the package, this time moving onto envelopes and washi tape.

19:18 - I stitched together a bunch of songs into a single-track playlist falling under a theme that I can only describe as iceland-pony.

20:30 - I never drink water; I can't stand the stuff. I keep making myself drink glasses of it, though. This was while getting ready to go out.

21:51 - My good friend Jack had a small gathering at one of my favorite bars in Brooklyn for his birthday. This filter came out pretty amazing, which is a good thing because this photo (and the next) were originally pitch black.

22:39 - Birthday shots, I think they were Jameson. Oh boy. At least it wasn't as cold outside (at least, to me) by the time I left.

One thing I screwed up on was: I was so frazzled during the 11AM and 12PM slots that I completely forgot to take photos. I was horrified, and went back to the scene of each hour, and staged exactly what I was doing at those times. So I drank two lattes that day, and chased two taxis.

It was interesting to do this along with Project 366, and to think about whether there were going to be photo overlaps. Answer: no. Here is my Project 366 picture from the day:

There was a huge numbered wall with little descriptions on it, and an adjacent wall with numbered photos to match them, outside of the TOKYO exhibit. That one was my favorite.

I did an EFIT a few days later for Laura, so expect a post on that soon!

Project 366: October

Ok guys, here it is! Again, looking at this one as a whole isn't very inspiring, but each individual picture has a mega story behind it.

Here's my pick for the month --

294/366: pink dot jar

20 October 2012

Went to Kiosk in search of a baby shower card with Gilles. Fell in love with this little pink polka-dotted ball. The top comes off to reveal a secret hiding place.

Not sure why I didn't write more - I go into Kiosk very rarely (for whatever reason), and whenever I do, I am entranced. It's such a curious arrangement of objects, and the collection changes quite frequently. There was a little makeshift phone booth in there this time, with instructions on how to call people to get them to vote for Obama. Each X amount of calls you made got you some little token or prize from the store. It felt like a Deitch Projects exhibit. Then this little dot jar: It looked like a lovely little ornament for a bookshelf, but the little description next to it made it even better. And the entire top half comes off to reveal that it's actually a little storage box. Still thinking about it - might take the (yikes) plunge and get the thing.

Other highlights from October: Ate clams, oysters and mussels straight from the water for the first time. Had some more work published in NY_____. Cheered Marc on in a reality show competition in which he was a master pumpkin carver (PS his team won the entire thing!). Had my final electronics class, which featured an oscilloscope. Went to Los Angeles for 24 hours and was faced with a brilliant double decker electric organ. Went to a bunch of physical therapy. Replaced the pads on my favorite headphones. Had delightful tea with Nicole in the name of research. Saw some pretty spectacular sunsets. Went to Delaware for the first time. Took a road trip to Virginia to see a close friend get married. Stumbled through a pitch-dark building after Hurricane Sandy passed. Stood in a near-empty Newark airport for one of the only flights that took off that day.

See? Eventful but strangely uneventful-looking, at least to me. Two months to go, eek!

Project 366: September

Fall is my very favorite season, and it's here! That means it's time to reflect on September. It looked like this --

I saw much more art than usual, which I owe to proactive parents and Laura. When left to my own devices - even though one of my greatest loves is art, and I am a member of the MoMA - I forget. Shame on me. My favorite picture from this month, incidentally --

259/366: balloons over brunch

15 September 2012

Laura and I met for brunch at Untitled., which is downstairs in the Whitney Museum (I had no idea the place was actually in the museum when I found it on 4sq). We ate under Kusama polka dotted balloons. I had a delicious burger and coffee. And Laura paid because of my recent birthday!

That was really an awesome day. The food was good, we talked about all sorts of things (as usual), and when we were ready to stand up and get in line for Fireflies, we saw our friend Justin waiting as well. We missed the cutoff, so wandered around the Yayoi Kusama retrospective together. The best word I can think for the her exhibit is prolific.

Other highlights: I saw Ghosts in the Machine at the New Museum - a wondrous, eclectic assortment of technology-related installations. Found my old Florent matchbooks and put them on my wall. My parents came up to visit for my 30th birthday (!). Walked through Chinatown on a bubble tea quest. Had a picnic in Greenpoint's new Transmitter Park. Bought the washi tape I'd been eyeing for 2 years. Went on a crazy interactive, heist scavenger hunt. Played pinball for the first time in quite a while (and had forgotten how much I love it). Saw Metric (with Lou Reed coming out to surprise us for the encore). Had an x-ray taken of my foot. Flew to Pensacola for Brandi and Robby's wedding. Flew to Richmond and took a road trip with Mr. T to a remote island off of North Carolina and saw a paper moon.

This was another one of those months where the photos all together don't say much to me, but a ton actually happened in September. Still not sure how that happens? All in all, a great month - thank you to everyone who played a part.

Project 366: August

All right guys, happy September! This is what August looked like --

My favorite picture was taken in Coney Island --

239/366: Paul?

26 August 2012

Mr T had never been to Coney Island, and I hadn't been for a few years, so we trekked out after brunch. We walked around a lot, had fried clam strips with beer, sat on the beach and talked and read, played games, and went to Nathan's. We finished everything off with a Chinese dinner and drinks at a tucked away bar. And then I lost my Metrocard that I had just put $50 on that morning :| other than that, though, the day was a huge success!

Coney Island felt less like a creepy run down boardwalk that nobody wanted and more like a vibrant destination again. Things were freshly painted, there were more rides, and more people, yet the charm of its Americana, Kodak-Brownie past were all still there too. The history and present were integrated really nicely. What a dream.

Otherwise: I caught up with my old boss, Paul, who brought me to New York. I had a two-day migraine. I learned the basics of Arduino and got to spend time in 3rd Ward for the first (and not the last) time. I ate a bunch of octopus. I went back to Cleveland. I gazed at the skyline from a penthouse/roof party in Williamsburg. I went to the beach for the first time in two years – a brushy, duneish beach that reminds me of what I imagined the beach in a middle school summer reading book, The Jellyfish Season, to look like.

See you guys next month!

Project 366: July

Hello again. Here's July in pictures - much more energy, visually, this time!

Here's the highlight photo; timing worked out really well here (I say timing because I was in a moving car, flying down the FDR) --

191/366: Welcome home.

9 July 2012

Our drive back from Montreal took less time than the one up; we stopped at some small town in upstate NY for pulled pork sandwiches halfway through. Driving down the FDR, I saw the Empire State Building peeking out from behind another, next to the sunset. Definitely bittersweet.

I had only intended to shoot the Empire State Building, but If you read the comments, you'll see that it was very close to Manhattanhenge (July 12th). A fortunate accident – the sun looked even more on fire than it usually is.

Here are two others I really liked from the month; coincidentally both from Instagram --

I just found out yesterday that this year is GShock's 30th birthday. Which, as Hodinkee says, is "the only digital watch that matters."

My favorite fashion blogger, Ivania, first brought this vinyl iPad case to my attention (inspired by furoshiki, or Japanese cloth wrapping) as a clutch (post here). Couldn't resist ;)

Ok, phew I'm caught up. Here are some July highlights: I saw 4th of July fireworks from a sick rooftop in Williamsburg. I went to Montreal for a long weekend. Had imported Czech absinthe, prepared the proper way. Met my pen pal, Julie, for the first time. (I should stop calling her my pen pal and just refer to her as my friend from now on. It feels more official somehow, now that we've met). Saw Patricia Field in front of her store on the Bowery. Flew to Cleveland again. Had a delicious sour Belgian beer. Flew to San Jose again. Had phenomenal fish tacos and Thai food while there. Celebrated two years with Mister Cellar Door at a whiskey bar. Saw Mice Parade in a very small (venue and crowd) environment. Cooked a meal for maybe the 2nd time since I've lived in this apartment ;)

That's all for now. See you sooner than next month; I have a bunch swimming around in my mind and don't want to lose it!

Project 366: June

Good grief, I have done it again. I had to go back eight pages in my Flickr account to start putting this one together. Time flies when you're having fun? Here's June --

Things definitely happened – so continued my summer of traveling – but looking at these, I didn't get a swooping sweep of nostalgia like I sometimes do with the Project 366 mosaics. In any case, here's my favorite of the month:

157/366: New York.

5 June 2012

It's chilly in June, and there are puddles everywhere from the rains we had yesterday. I looked down while waiting for the light to cross the street, and saw a coffee cup lid and cigarette floating. It seemed perfect.

When I looked at the picture later on in the day, I noticed that the building across the street (my destination) turned up in the puddle's reflection as well. There is almost always a puddle in this exact spot, and I find myself looking at it frequently now, to see the rest of the neighborhood around me reflected in it. Looking up while looking down.

Some other things that happened in June: I started a Soviet 24-hour mechanical watch collection (I can say this because now I have two and intend to purchase more). I found a quiet, secret cavernous room in which to eat breakfast. I went to the New York City Ballet for the first time and was blown away by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Was gifted a Peter Sellers biography. Found a lip balm I'd been hunting all over drug stores for. Saw an icon I helped design clung to a window in Cleveland. Met a cute little dog named Spider. Saw Laura and Hobe sing dirty children's music with toy instruments. Started a weekly breakfast ritual with Leila. Went to San Jose again and did work by a swimming pool. Had In-N-Out again! Saw a friend's first solo photo show. Spent time with an old friend as he ran sound for a band.

See? Lots of stuff but somehow I blame my pictures for not capturing the energy well enough. See you very soon for July's recap!

Project 366: May

The year is nearly halfway over already, yikes! While the city continues to make up its mind on what season it is, here is what my May looked like:

It looks like not much went on in May, yet when I go through each photo, a lot happened. I'm not sure what it is about the photos I chose to take that make a productive month look a bit sleepy.

My favorite shot from the month… I just love everything about this moment:

23 May 2012

Spotted this on a midday coffee run with Lucy, Alex, Matt and Jena. Reminds me of Nightcall though, and makes me want to leave work entirely to watch Drive.

We don't do coffee runs very often these days; there used to be one every single day at around 4PM in 2009. There is something about the small group of close friends who all decide to take a break from thinking so hard all day and saunter to the coffee shop talking about anything and everything. And everyone stands around outside one by one, until all of the orders are ready and we can saunter back. I was idly standing around and thinking about nothing in particular, and saw that little scribble on a rusty fence post, and it was the perfect shot. Since starting Project 366, that deliberate, "This will be my picture for today" feeling has eased in to dilution; so when it does happen, I get more excited about the project than usual.

Some May highlights: My Kazu turned nine. I tiptoed through a shared workspace building that looked like a very huge, lofted junk closet, to find myself standing right in front of a beautiful baby blue old piano with an open front – strings and action exposed. I saw Chairlift. I celebrated Gautam's birthday at a small pizza place in Brooklyn. I went to Redbank, New Jersey for a day and walked around without thinking about Real Life. I learned a little more about physical computing. I celebrated Leila's 30th with all of the old school Naked crew during a four-hour lunch that blew an entire afternoon. I saw Battle Royale on the big screen. I flew to San Francisco and back in 24 hours. I had my second In-N-Out of my life (and treasured every moment).

See? A lot happened.

Till next month! (Hopefully sooner).

Project 366: January

I knew I wanted to do some kind of year-long creative project in 2012, but was hitting a wall whenever I tried to brainstorm about it. I finally half-meekly decided to try a Project 365, encouraged by a Photojojo newsletter on photography project ideas for the new year. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to do it, so I kept very quiet about it until, well, now. I love it, and one perk of doing this in 2012 is that I get to take one extra picture since it's a leap year.

I thought it would be very stressful (sometimes I find myself sprinting to markets at the witching hour before a Dietribes has to go out), but it's actually so much fun and not at all taxing on my sanity. It makes the time not fly by as quickly, and it forces me to look at things more, consider things more, and make definite decisions every day. One of the things I told myself I wouldn't do is pick my favorite photo out of several taken each day, and use it as that day's – each day, I say to myself, "This will be today's picture," and I take and use it.

Anyway, here is what January looked like --

Some highlights: Soup dumplings. Piping hot coffee on a below-freezing day. Pretty street lighting in another city. The ghost of a subway line. A flu of some sort (notice the string of pictures of my ceiling, my wall, my cat on my bed, and "feel good" food). Snow. A beautiful cream cheese case with blueish display lighting. A birthday dinner. Candy from my childhood.

I'll be doing one of these every month this year in lieu of "[Month] in Pictures," so keep your eyes peeled.

EFIT for April 2nd

I was overjoyed to get a message from my friend Julie on Thursday afternoon with the subject "Last minute EFIT?" We did our 5th long-distance one the next day (Friday, April 2nd).

For those who don't know – and there's surprisingly little on the Internet about it – EFIT stands for Ett foto i timmen, which is Swedish for (loosely) one photo an hour. I think typically it's a one-person project, but we like to do them together and share how we each see the world on an average day. I've never done one during a work day because I always feared the pictures would end up boring, but it was actually really fun.

10.23


11.53


12.45p


1.10p


2.42p


3.22p


4.35p


5.25p


6.32p


7.38p


8.09p


9.56p


10.26p


In the past, I've posted some of Julie's photos as well, but I always feel weird about uploading pictures other people have taken onto any web space of my own. Like I'm not supposed to or something. Trust me: they were great.