Building Update: 4/30/08

A few more floors are gone. You can now see the roof of the building next door. Check out the shadow of the Empire State Building going towards the West.

Original post is here, to show you the difference.

A Milestone Reached

Today, April 30th, 2008, we have reached a milestone. Lilah has discovered her nostrils and has commenced the art of "picking her nose." It's a gross habit that ALL kids do, but I've never thought that there was a first time. But there is. For Lilah, it's today. Gross.

Starbucks Logo

Have you seen the new Starbucks seal on around recently? They are promoting the new Pike's Place blend. Trying to get back to a real coffee company, they've used the original mermaid from when they first opened.



I don't like it. Looks like something out of Clash of the Titans. But if you see the progression from the original to the current, it makes sense. Click here for a much better view of all the logos. I can't get the formatting right ahere and can't be bothered to fix it.

Still, consumers never see this gradual shift. I found the "original" mermaid to be uglay and jarring. It sure as hell didn't say coffee to me.If Starbucks really wants to be a real coffee company, then stop futzing with movies and make me the Cookies & Cream Frappcino I've been wanting for years! That flavor is mine, I have dibs.

The Walls Come Tumbling

Here's the view from desk at work. It looks northward over 34th Street. They're tearing a building down, presumably to merge with the empty lot next to it and make way for a new, large hihi-rise. Hopefully they'll put a Guitar Center there, or a Barnes & Noble. I'd love a Whole Foods, but it's likely. Anne Taylor? Does anybody shop there anymore?

Anyway, they're tearing this building down a floor at a time. You can't demolish it and you can't use a crane. They've been working on it for months, always pulling walls down and un-welding steel. (Note: un-welding is not a real word) It's just gotten to the point you can start to see a difference.

So this is what it looked like on 4/24/08. I'll try and post more pix to show you how its progressing. Know what would have been great? If I had taken a picture a few weeks ago and we could see what it first looked like. Yeah, that would have been great. My ideas are so awesome, even I can't keep up.

Walking Buddies

Harley's working evenings recently. And it's been so nice out, that as soon as I get home I take Lilah out for an evening walk. It's nice to be together, and it tires her out to make betime easier. A few observations:

- For the first 10 minutes, she's very good and holds my hand while we walk. After that, it's time to run, and Daddy better keep up.
- "Please pick me up. OK, I want to get down. Put me right now! OK, pick me up. Now put me down." The kid is almost as indecisive as her father.
- Dogs are very exciting. We love to point at them and say hi. But don't get too close, or Lilah will need to go behind the protective shield of Daddy's leg
- Lilah insists that we literally stop and smell the roses, or any other flower we see.
- Calling the seat in the shopping cart the "big girl seat" was genius. Pure, f*cking genius.
- When you give her something to hold in the supermarket, make sure it's not a $4 pear that she'll drop just after you pay for it.
- Lemons are pretty but get boring after you taste them.
- Letting a child walk around in Duane Reade is NOT a good idea.
- The microwave has become my most utilized cooking tool.
- An hour walk is more than enough for me, but Lilah is never happy to get home. The era of temper tantrums has begun.

Reading Again

My school reading has stopped for the semester. I have a huge paper due 5/6 and very little time to actually work on it. I have 1 more class left and will not do the reading (just like the last 2 week). Since I won't be graded on it and am sweating the paper severely, I feel more than justified in this decision.

I've started on my list of "books I will read when I get the chance." This list is forever changing, but I've started with John, by Cynthia Lennon. I wouldn't usually read this, since who cares about John's ex-wife? But I saw it at the supermarket and bought it with some stuff for work, so I knew I'd get reimbursed.

The books starts about Cynthia, and her family. It was boring at first (I mean, who really cares about John's ex-wife??), but I was hooked after the first 3 pages. It's a rare look at the world the Beatles came from. It shows post-war England and Liverpool, with rationing and mandatory state service, and the lack of opportunity for the working class youth.

I just got to the part where John and Cynthia got together. He was a hooligan and was told to sit behind her in drawing class. He always borrowed pencils and brushes from her, and the 2 were an unlikely pair. She said he didn't seem afraid of anyone, which to me seems immensely cool. He also had a terrible temper, breaking into a yelling tantrum when he wasn't happy. He made her choose him over everything else (including school and her own family).

The most moving excerpt so far (I'm on page 12) was in the into by Julian Lennon. He said he always wanted to be a part of his father's life but was always cut out. When he did see his dad, he felt rejected and intimidated. "Intimidated" seems like such a terrible way to make your kid feel.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on that... or not. Next on my list is Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You." After that, I want a DVD to teach me gypsy jazz guitar so I can play more like Django Reinhardt, my 2nd favorite guitar player ever.

Presidential Fonts

Interesting article about John McCain's campaign typeface. It's Optima, which is the same font used on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The article has some design 'experts' giving their perspectives on his choice, what it means and what is says.

For the uninitiated, typography is a huge deal in the design world. Fonts are revered, reviled, debated, and respected as the purest type of design. Each letterform has meaning and an indescribable essence. Anyone who has designed their wedding invitation knows what I mean.

Check out this website for a quick sampling of amazing styles. This is one of my favorites, guess the movie series: