Happy New Year!

Christmas 2008
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

Love you guys!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

We had our first fire in our new fireplace this week. It has been so cold and our ancient heaters do not work. I've recently learned, however, that wood smoke is a major air polluter, so I'll have to look into some alternative fuels (ha!), like the corrugated cardboard logs I saw at Target last weekend.

Happy Holidays & safe travels!

Follow Up on The Story of Stuff

Consumer Influence...
http://www.wimp.com/niceidea/
(bear with the cheesy parts)

lol

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is extremely insightful (not to mention it's relevancy to a gifting holiday). Please watch & share!

Sandra Kelch, Printmaker

My former design instructor & creative director on the Generation We book, Sandra Kelch, also happens to be a very talented printmaker. I love the colors and dreaming up where the shapes come from and what they might relate to in nature and the human-made world. We are very lucky to have a gorgeous one warming our new home!

Thank You Jesus

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Dia de los Muertos

Before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 1, we had a Dia de los Muertos dinner party. It is one of my favorite holidays. I appreciate the open perspective on death and so much of the arts & crafts surrounding the event are so beautiful! There is a great little store in the Mission that sells all the traditional goodies from sugar skulls to paper marigolds, papel picado, etc., that I really have to decide on a budget before I go in, or it's easy to get carried away!

A classmate from Brazil once told me a story about him not discovering he had a brother until he and his mother met his father's mistress at his father's grave one Dia de los Muertos. Looking at the little boy with her was apparently like looking in a mirror!

We made posole stew and shrimp empanadas from the Pasqual's cookbook (a Santa Fe restaurant), and managed to cram 6 guests into our little place.

Prospect 1

On my flight down to New Orleans on Friday, I just happened to read this review in the New Yorker about Prospect 1, a Biennial Exhibition in New Orleans. (Here's another great review.) My mom's friend who would be with her when she picked me up at the airport wanted to go down to the Ninth Ward anyway, so I convinced them to check out some of the new Prospect 1 installations while we were in the neighborhood. At the Hefler Warehouse (CBD), we picked up our admission cards and saw a few exhibits there:

Angel Delgado, "Water Up the Neck" (Con el agua al cuello)

Takashi Horisaki's casting of a Ninth Ward house, "Social Dress New Orleans":

Check out this Times-Picayune article for a little background on his project.

Then we headed to the Lower Ninth. Here are some installations there: Battle Ground Baptist Church, site of the "Diamond Gym" by Nari Ward.


The Arc by Mark Bradford:
"Mrs. Sarah's House" by Wangechi Mutu:

Me with Keith Calhoun, resident Ninth Ward photographer.

Keith and his wife Chandra have documented Ninth Ward and New Orleans life for decades. Their display had one side of the shotgun duplex with images ruined by Katrina, the other side had images that had survived. Check out their website here. Keith has a special interest in turning young kids on to art, and he wanted me to come down to talk about prison life (and how to avoid it). They had some amazing shots (and access) at Angola (not to mention all the rest), which I would have loved to purchase. But with patrons like Brad & Angelina, they weren't exactly in my budget!

M Belle, if you make it down to NOLA before January 18th, you will want to check this out!!

Angela Russell, violin

Angela Russell, violin
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

I went to a baroque music concert in St. Mark's tonight and was pleasantly surprised to find that Angela Russell was one of the violinists in the Baroque Artists of Shreveport group! Turns out she also recently moved back to The Shreve! The concert was super lovely; the un-amplified sound in the cathedral was just what the doctor ordered.

One of the things I love about my job...

On the road...
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

is the traveling through the rural areas of Louisiana and Arkansas. Today I drove to Farmersville, Louisiana which is about a half hour north of Ruston. Right before I hit the town the thick forrest opened to a large, open lake dotted with afternoon fishermen. A mile down the road on the right there was a huge orchard on a slight hill which gave me a full view of the rows of picked over trees. Lovely! The rough little town was jammed with farm stands. Their hand-painted signs gave me an idea of what the recent crops are: pecans! sweet potatoes! Only a few people still have purple hull peas but the reals jewels of this season are the Louisiana satsuma oranges. There's also lots of venison around if you know the right people (it's illegal to sell hunted venison). Louisiana produces!

Grateful & Proud

Grateful

Proud

Exhilarated

Moved

Hopeful

Warm

Elated...

for the moment that remains, even after yesterday's fake tattoo fades:-)

Yes We Can

Yes We Can
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

elated, excited, relieved, giddy, hopeful, free
How are y'all feeling?

Ya Vote!

Three Cups of Tea

I recently finished this remarkable non-fiction book about Greg Mortenson, who after getting lost on a mountain climbing expedition in Afghanistan, is taken in by a local village and nursed back to health. After waiting out the winter, regaining his strength and learning the local ways of life, he commits himself to returning one day to build a much-desired school for the village's children. It is an amazing and inspiring real-life example of human beings making their own realities and finding their own paths to living a life of service. In addition to the inspiration the story offers, I really enjoyed the pictures painted about Afghani culture and Mortenson's travel adventures—a pleasant escape of sorts, but also a brush with reality of a very serious and relevant nature.

Gen We Video

I picked up a copy of Generation We, the book, yesterday at Barnes & Noble! It is exciting to see the fruits of our (Designpool's) labor in print at a major bookstore. (You'll find me in the Acknowledgements) Here is the video promoting the book and it's message. I can't seem to figure out who made it, but I think they did a nice job.

Where my bees at?

This is hilarious, I LOVE watching the dancers, they are so talented! Interesting how far removed it is from the advertiser, Haagen Dazs, huh? You don't even know it's a product advertisement unless you go to the website. 

Is this tricky or clever? I find I'm willing to overlook any perceived trickiness because it makes me laugh, I appreciate the creativity and I like the overt message about bees. It was produced by Goodbye, Silverstein & Partners which is responsible for the "Got Milk?" ad campaign & which is right in my hood!

What do you think?

When you have left over cream cheese...

David Lebowitz's Cheesecake Brownies
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

make cheesecake brownies! These turned out so well; rich and gooey! Recipe on David Lebovitz's blog:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/10/cheesecake_brownies.html

World Changing

This book is amazing! I came across it at work today and could have spent all day delving in. There are so many topics of interest that I've been wanting/needing more info on, from how to travel more responsibly to what types of green materials are available for home renovations to innovative urban planning techniques in practice now in North America. The design is gorgeous and was done by Sagmeister, Inc., in NYC—definitely a who's who in contemporary graphic design, for obvious reasons.

Three Things

I just have three things to say:

1-I love my new neighborhood! Or neighborhoodS I should say. My post office is in Chinatown, my bank in the Financial District, my petfood store in North Beach, our videostore in Russian Hill, our Friday night Indian restaurant in the Tenderloin, and our doorstep in Nob Hill—all within walking distance, I love it!

2-French press coffee rules. We are new to the FP, but definitely converts. We tried it with Peet's beans, but have had most success so far, taste-wise, with Illy's Espresso Cofee, Fine Grind, Medium Roast. Some say not to use the Fine Grind but it works & tastes great. We may branch out and try Blue Bottle since it is local & delicious and would cut down on transportation resources (but it is def. more expensive).

3-Lastly, but importantly, at our new building, the recycling only gets picked up like 1x/month. We are used to weekly pick up so we have started a collection in our living room since not all our waste will fit in the bins! I feel like one of those collectors who has to pave a path through their garbage to make it to the bathroom—yuk! Point being, it has forced, literally, P Beau & I to examine our waste and consider ways we could cut down. Even though it is going to recycling, it takes a lot of resources to make all that packaging and we just buy it and toss it out. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

Camouflage & Dayglow

These pictures are amazing. I love each morsel of discovery. This one is especially astute, a wardrobe of camouflage & fluorescence!

Break On Through to the Other Side

Following our own posts about our hometown, I wanted to share the discussion percolating at the Shreveport Times regarding Shreveport's new slogan. The first piece written by a member of the editorial board, and the response by none other than my Papa Beau!

Generation We

Now available for free online download & pre-purchase ($19.95) from Amazon and B&N is Generation We, by Eric Greenberg & Karl Weber. This is the book I've been helping with the design & production of for the last couple of months under Creative Director Sandra Kelch at Designpool. It has been such an honor and pleasure to be a part of getting this important message out. I hope you'll find it inspiring!

Shake It Up!

P Beau & I went to the small, yet rich, Museum of Craft & Folk Art today for a show about Shaker Arts & Crafts. The furniture is beautiful, I love the simplicity, integrity of the materials, and the perfectionist craftsmanship. I was surprised to see examples of graphic design, including food product labels used to market foods to communities outside their own. I also appreciated hearing more about Shaker religious beliefs, including their "avant garde" philosophies regarding civil liberties. There are only 8 Shakers left today, and they live in Maine. We can't wait to rent the Ken Burns PBS documentary to learn more. Hopefully Netflix has it....
ps—above is a pic of Shaker molded oval boxes, they def. remind me of the type of containers my mom stores her arts & craft goodies in!

Who is Sarah Palin?

Abc News has some footage on Sarah Palin I found very interesting. What do you think??

Toast to QM

Happy Birthday to my little brother! My parents gave me the greatest gift 28 years ago when he was born and every year since: a playmate, a wrestling partner, a Dirty Dog club co-founder, a best friend, a stuffed animal wedding collaborator, an inspiration, a shoulder to cry on, a constant, a protector, a music educator, a rebel spirit, a best man, my confidant. His talent and commitment to his creativity and willingness to share it with the world will always amaze me. I remember the days when he (physically) looked up to his tall big sister, but now I'm the one doing all the looking up - on so many levels. Cheers to a wonderful life!

Imminent Georgia Execution of Likely Innocent Man

I haven't posted much, if any, about the work that I do, but I thought I would share this blog post written by my colleague, Chris Hill. Georgia is set to execute Troy Davis, a likely innocent man, in less than 2 weeks, short of a commutation or pardon from the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. If you are so inclined, I would encourage you to sign this petition, also linked from the blog. Campaigns like this - especially with such national attention - are often successful.

Troy is not our client, but his case highlights some of the major problems pervasive in the criminal justice system, which are even more problematic when society imposes the ultimate, irreversible punishment. Among them are the fact that onerous procedural hurdles prevent defendants from presenting new evidence of innocence on appeal. If it wasn't preserved in the trial, it's defaulted (of course, it's more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea). Also, the fact that the criminal justice system can allow a sentence of death when there is NO physical evidence against someone, and almost all of the witnesses have recanted represents a gross injustice. People think all of the innocence cases are old; now that we have DNA evidence, and CSI-style forensic techniques, innocent people aren't convicted like they used to be. The fact is that DNA is still a rarity in murder cases, and sometimes crimes just don't present satisfactory physical evidence. Jurors, especially in the face of a heinous crime, feel that someone ought to pay the price. They're comfortable convicting someone who was "up to no good" anyway, even if he didn't actually do it. Never mind that "reasonable doubt" thing. Sadly, Troy's case does remind me of other cases we have in our office.

Also, while I'm at it, here is an article about one of our cases that resulted in our client's freedom after over 14 years of incarceration, shortly after I began working here.

Wanderlust

So, I've been working a lot, and well, with that seems to come fantasies of traveling and regaining the global perspective that comes with it. Don't get me wrong, I love being employed, finally doing work that I feel connected to, and I'm quite excited about the project I'm lucky to be a part of, but when the stress of deadlines hits, it is easy to get so myopic and forget the big picture...remember there's a whole big world out there...

Which is why I'm glad I visited the website of a bookstore that is in my new neighborhood and which is dedicated to books about revolution, whether it be art, politics or thought. It's called Babylon Falling and I was excited to see them blogging about a Good Magazine post that maps the travels of great explorers from Magellan to Kerouac. It's a great example of information design as well feeding my hunger for tales of other lands.

NASA says...

New Houseplant
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

house plants clean indoor air. Since only two of the thirteen windows in our current apartment open to let in fresh air I've been feeling the need for some freshness in the rooms. I think houseplants are going to help. But beware, not all plants are safe for animals. You guys have heard that poinsettias are poisonous for cats, right? Airplane plants are safe I think this chicken gizzard in the pic is too. Do you guys have plants inside?

P.S. I didn't spend a lot of money on this...bought a one dollar plant at the farmers market and got plant clippings that would self-propagate from family and collected pots from here and there.

Happy Birthday, H Belle!!!

Wishing you the best of birthdays, dear friend!

From the Plains to the Hills

Still working on the move...most boxes are unpacked, but I wanted to share a few of our favorite new things. I apologize for the image quality, I have yet to master correcting for a major backlight when taking a picture, and I take many of them with my cell. That being said, how cool that we have a major backlight!! It's our view of downtown and the Bay! Pics above of our kitchen floor, the thermostat outside our bedroom and a view of a steep grade on a block in our neighborhood!

Silly Video Time

Check this video my sister composed on Jump Cut with photos my mom took a couple of years ago. Mom kept the camera snapping while sis and I acted silly.

Wow! North Louisiana Blueberries at Phenomenal!

Wow! North Louisiana Blueberries at Phenomenal!
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

Guys, really, am I going overboard on the Louisiana talk here? We picked up these locally-grown blueberries from the farmer's market this morning and I thought we'd eat a few fresh and perhaps I'd also bake some into a cake.

Then I tasted one.

OMG! I've never tasted a blueberry with such a tender, thin skin and with such subtle sweetness. Louisiana blueberries rock!

What local foods do you guys love in your areas? H Belle, you live in the fresh, local food Mecca. Do you guys read Heidi Swanson's blog, www.101cookbooks.com? She's SanFran based and I think you would both appreciate her healthful approach to cooking and the way she uses the foods from her farmers market.

What we're eating...

What we're eating...
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

I usually like grits with butter and a bit of sugar for breakfast but today for lunch I fixed them with cheese, green onions and spices.
When we're not experiencing a heat wave I'll turn on the oven for baked grits.

Greening Our Home

Last Roll; Greening Our Home
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

This was the last roll! No more paper towels for us. My sister inspired me to conserve by not using paper towels. She has a stack of soft wash cloths that she uses throughout the week and washes on the weekend.

On the topic of conserving our paper products. A Belle once told me about someone she roomed with who only used one square of toilet paper per visit to the w.c. I'm not there yet but we are using recycled tp now.

Go West, er, South, Young Man!

Just as we're talking about what Shreveport has to offer, this article comes out! The description of our hometown on page 2 is really pathetic. Come on, now...

Queen Rania of Jordan

An inspiring article from BBC News led me to Queen Rania's YouTube page this morning where she has shared a series of videos, encouraging dialogue with viewers, in an attempt to increase awareness of Arab culture and dispel stereotypes. She is an amazingly accomplished and beautiful woman and I feel certain her efforts have and will make an impact. The videos are pretty short, so check them out if you have a chance.

Durham Love Yourself

I thought I would respond to M Belle's post with my own post instead of a lengthy comment, as I've often pondered about some of the slogans Durham - hands down the red-headed step child of the Triangle - has tossed around. A lot of folks our age are sporting hip t-shirts and bumper stickers that say "Durham Love Yourself." While I appreciate their wanting folks to rally around the city, I can't get over the fact that it assumes Durham doesn't love itself already! To me, it feeds into the stereotype that we are an inferior town and takes it a step further: even our own residents need a reminder to appreciate it! (To illustrate how profound these stereotypes are in this area, C Beau's classmates, most hailing from nearby Raleigh, upon learning he lives in Durham, have been known to say, "Scary!" or "I'm sorry!")

A more official slogan that Durham uses from time to time to focus on its revitalization and development is "Light Up Durham." Only a city with tobacco inextricably tied to its history like Durham could get away with a phrase like that in this health-crazed era! (I think the tobacco company sponsors really mean, "Light Up, Durham!")

As for Shreveport's campaign, I actually don't mind the "Other Side" slogan and don't automatically assume it means it's inferior. I mean, clearly it is not the most well-known area of Louisiana. Were I unfamiliar with Louisiana, I might think, "Hmm... I didn't realize there was an-other side? What do they have to offer?" Kind of like "the other white meat" - it draws attention to the fact that you may be overlooking a really incredible thing. (Not that I like pork or chicken either, ha!)

I am totally with you on the cultural description - I don't see it fiting Shreveport at all. So what does Shreveport have to offer? I think a tourist would be hard pressed to identify the Cajun heritage in Shreveport (for that, I'd go to the OTHER, other side: Lafayette!). And since when does anyone ever want to be associated with East Texas? I think Shreveport would be much better off keeping its distance! I do think the cowboy spirit can evoke very positive things - the American entrepreneur, outlaw, rebellious spirit. Just leave "East Texas" out of it!!! Shreveport to me means lots of different things that won't resonate with tourists, but for tourism purposes, a beautiful, classic Southern city, a "sportsman's paradise," casinos, a "family friendly" Mardi Gras, and now the film industry all come to mind.

One of our summer interns - a girl who has no connections to the South - just told me today that she and her fiance are considering Shreveport as a place to start their careers and lives together after graduation. Her fiance is interested in TV production. I found myself telling her all about the wonderful things Shreveport has to offer, many of which I've learned through M Belle's recent posts. Just the fact that someone like her would consider Shreveport as a destination shows that something is working!

The Red-Headed Step-Child

What image does "Louisiana's Other Side" conjure for you guys? It's the theme of an active marketing campaign promoting our native area right now.
Louisianasotherside.com explains the title this way: " Louisiana’s other side is a term we use to describe our location in the state and our unique combination of Louisiana Cajun culture and East Texas cowboy heritage." The location part, I get, but the cultural aspect, I feel the term doesn't offer that at all. For me, the "other side" of something refers to a lesser half or the inferior area. Is that just my negative thinking creeping in? Okay, guilty, I don't have a better suggestion. Maybe it could be based on our glittery LA hayride days when Elvis and Johnny Cash and many others performed live here. Or maybe it could be based on our wealth of museums and universities. I'm not sure what would attract tourists to Northern Louisiana. Beautiful gardens? What is North Louisiana culture all about? It's kind of three parts East Texas and one part Southern LA, or even less of the latter.

Icebox: Pie & Compost

A customer brought Pat a huge case of fresh strawberries last week. They smelled like absolute heaven and despite a hectic schedule, I HAD to do something delicious with them. In hopes of recreating Strawn's amazing strawberry pie, I found a recipe online for it & gave it a try. I used a shortbread crust. It wasn't exactly Strawn's incarnate but it was still tasty...

I'm lucky to live in a city with curbside compost pick-up, so recently, I converted my bottom fridge drawer into my own little compost collection. If your city doesn't pick it up and you have a garden, it makes amazing fertilizer (people buy it!). It's great—Since it stays cold, it doesn't get smelly and I just empty it 1x/week! Between it and our recycling, I'd guess that at least 60% of our waste avoids the landfill. 

Things you might not know can be composted:

any soiled paper products like used coffee cups, napkins and pizza boxes

any food waste like banana peels, egg shells

paper milk cartons (the wax covering is ok!)

Shreveport Recycles! ('bout time)

Shreveport Recycles!
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

The City of Shreveport is instituting a curb-side, single-stream recycling program . We've received our toter but pick-up will not begin until August. Our's is almost full already and that doesn't include cardboard! Single-stream recycling means that you don't separate materials but put them into the toter all together for sorting to happen at the facility. justcurbit.us/main.htm

MBelle circa 1940

Line Drying
Originally uploaded by Madeline & Ryosuke

A Belle's post on Earth Day encouraged us to share our eco-friendly practices and since Ry took a pic of our laundry yesterday I thought that I would share how we love drying our clothes outside on the line. We started doing it in Ohio because my aunt showed me how it makes your sheets feel freshly ironed and your clothes smell great (we use unscented laundry soaps). Now we exclusively dry outside. If it's raining, we don't do laundry. There's also something old fashioned and romantic about it that puts me into my grandmother's shoes when she was our age.

I just read an awesome book on childbirth! No, I'm not pregnant yet but I am currently very curious about childbirth...maybe getting mentally ready for what may happen in a couple of years. I'm also very interested in the alternatives to the epidural/elective cesarean type of hospital childbirth. Ina May Gaskin is an internationally known midwife and author who has helped more than 2,200 mothers and babies through the birth process at her birthing center at The Farm commune in rural Tennessee. I just read one of her books, "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" which I found in the library. It has completely changed my attitude (and scared mentality) about bringing a baby into this world. If you're interested, I suggest the read.

The Visitor

Pat & I grabbed a bubble tea & walked down to the 4-Star theater on Clement St last weekend and saw The Visitor. It was such a rich adventure to watch! I highly recommend it. It reminded me to enrich my life in whatever ways I can seize, how moving images can inspire greatness (vs. the majority of awfulness on tv & some popular movies), and it is a nice non-stereotypical portrait of immigrant lives in the US. I'd almost discourage watching the trailer so you can go on the same surprising journey I did with no expectations. 

M Belle, since it deals with immigration, it got me wondering how difficult it must have been for you & R Beau to deal with all that legal work, especially post 9/11?

Because Barber Shops Are Closed On Mondays

Frustration reached a pinnacle yesterday, and my regrets to Locks of Love, I couldn't wait. Maybe it was the day of cleaning out and repeatedly facing decisions about whether or not to hold on to things of the past, and the desire to shed unneeded stuff that prepped me to take the dive and chop off my ponytail. Either way it feels great and I left enough for a tiny slick back ponytail...perfect.

Shreveport Bikes

These great "Share the Road" signs are going up all over the neighborhood and I see more and more people biking around. We left our bikes in Ohio but are soon to find some here. A popular Shreveport Times journalists and blogger, Alexandyr Kent, is documenting his 2 week experiment of only biking and no car using. I like that he's making a statement but after seeing other experiments like that in the media I've learned that the experimenter rarely makes it sustainable. Like, they save their big Sam's Club run for after the 2 weeks. Or they stocked up big time right before the experiment began. But I guess it's inspiring still.
HBelle and ABelle are bikists! Tell me how you integrate your bike into your life.

Short Hair

I just researched short hairdos and found this picture—isn't it fabulous? There are pages of them here. I have to wait a few more months before I can cut my hair. I'm so close to 10 inches that I think I should wait until my ponytail will be donate-able to Locks of Love.

Why so drastic a cut? I have this new theory (would love some input on it!) that long hair only has one purpose and it is to attract a mate. Sort of like a peacock's feathers or a sports car—a message to potential mates that we're healthy enough to grow long shiny hair. And then there's the theory that cavemen found it useful for dragging his woman back to the cave. In my reality, it is a pain to maintain and annoying to sleep with. 

However, I love being able to tie it back tight out of my face and give serious, astute looking faces from behind the monitor or out the top of my sunglasses. (think robert palmer video) Maybe I can compromise to ensure a good tight tie back is still possible while still eliminating the fuss!

little ROXiE

has a good prognosis! our new little pup is hanging in there after a scary battle with parvo! she should be coming home from the doggie hospital tomorrow.

California On Fire

There is a yellow-gray haze that smells of burning wood blanketing SF today. It was more faint yesterday than today, and according to the Chronicle, tomorrow is supposed to be even worse. The Google map above really offers a gloomy perspective of the state on fire.