William Forsythe

William Forsythe, along with Merce Cunningham and Noemie Lafrance, is one of the people who initiated my interest in the relationship between site-specific work and the built environment. A native New Yorker, he is currently the resident choreographer of the Frankfurt Ballet. The amazing thing is that his dancing style is not classical ballet -- it is deconstructed ballet. For instance, he will start with a movement, like a plié, and rearrange it so that the move is still considered ballet, but is refreshed and reworked. It's like taking pancake batter and pouring it into a waffle iron -- it's still the same food, it just looks and feels different. He is known for his dance notation technique and for using architectural elements, like a table in his pieces. I recently visited his website and saw that he has a piece at Ohio State University. I was prepared to find a way there, to see a legendary performance, but the piece is actually an interactive web project, Synchronous Objects. Check it out.

Happy Cycling

Some Philly cyclists/filmmakers made a video to the Boards of Canada tune, "Happy Cycling". It's nostalgic for me, because it's one of my favorite rides in Philly -- a real destination in itself. The Ben Franklin Bridge connects historic Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. As you may remember from history class, this is where Washington crossed the Delaware River. As of four years ago, when I lived in Philadelphia, Camden was not a safe place for a woman out biking alone. Why? Because it has been ranked "America's Most Dangerous City" more than once. As tough as I think I am, I always rode to the end of the bridge and then turned right back around, just before I got to the Riverfront State Prison. Nothing says Welcome to New Jersey quite like a prison. Sometimes I would ride into Camden with a group of fellow cyclists. Even then, there wasn't much to see in Camden, unfortunately. The City of Camden thinks the way to revitalize itself is with "its four main attractions, the USS New Jersey; the Susquehanna Bank Center; Campbell's Field; and the Adventure Aquarium", rather than creating amenities that Camden residents can afford. According to census data from 2000, the median income for Camden residents was $9,815.

Lonely Lonely

Wow. I just found a video that Charles Bae made for Feist's Lonely, Lonely. It depicts my biggest fear: being trapped in suburbia.

Chicago: Style Destination?

Imagine my surprise and delight to see today, in the nytimes.com style section, that Chicago is, in fact, a fashionable city. The article, "IN CHICAGO, WHERE A NEWFOUND VITALITY IS FUELING A BOOMLET IN STYLE AND DESIGN, THE FUTURE IS NOW. BY GIOIA DILIBERTO" explains that Michelle Obama gave us the reputation of "stylish yet sensible girl-next-door". I'll take that. The images that accompany the article, by Raymond Meier, are of an angular blonde woman in geometric, architecture-inspired ensembles, posing on, against, and adjacent to Chicago icons like the el, Lake Michigan, and the Franklin-Orleans Bridge. I think this is an invitation to be inspired by our architecture and to get out and experience the gorgeous urbanscape.

David Byrne

David Byrne, captured by photographer Karen Kuehn

My new favorite blog, Bakfiets en Meer, lists that David Byrne not only has a blog (who doesn't these days, really?), but he is a bike activist! I spent many days singing Talking Heads lyrics to "Nothing But Flowers":

Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
You got it, you got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
You got it, you got it

...or lyrics to "Don't Worry about the Government"

It's over there, it's over there
My building has every convenience
It's gonna make life easy for me
It's gonna be easy to get things done
I will relax along with my loved ones

Loved ones, loved ones visit the building
Take the highway, park and come up and see me
I'll be working, working but if you come visit
I'll put down what I'm doing, my friends are important

I adore his deliciously sarcastic commentary about contemporary life. His blog sounds like something a friend would have written. It's straightforward, honest, and concerned about, well everything. I think that anyone who rides a bicycle or walks in dense urban areas has a heightened sensual awareness with which it is near impossible to ignore the goings-on: the beautiful, ugly, and everything in between.

David Byrne has been a fashion inspiration to me: I attribute my life-long obsessions blazers to him and long, one day, to have a Big Suit.

Check out his blog: it is definitely worth a read.

Mark Borthwick

Photographer Mark Borthwick's trademark saturated colors emphasize the raw, un-airbrushed subjects. To me, his photos look like memories, when the sun is in your face, and you can only partially see what's going on around you, but can totally feel the energy. Click here for an interview with him on um...Fecal Face.

Bakfiets and Nature

What could be better than bakfiets full of adorable kids and bags of groceries from the farmer's market? Possibly bakfiets filled with "nature". Leave it to the Dutch to integrate cycling with land issues and celebrities. Read the story on the blog: Bakfiets en Meer.