Category Archives: Uncategorized

Three Round or Roundish Things You Shouldn’t Miss

IMAGE: From the Devour series by Christopher Jonassen. 1. Over at GOOD, my former colleague Peter Smith notes that, when shot against a black background, a worn-out frying pan looks more like a celestial object than a cooking utensil. Christopher Jonassen’s gorgeous series of photographs, Devour, documents each unique battle scar incurred by our humble [...]
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Dead Gum, Continued

One of the downsides of writing about the urban gumscape is that the particular pattern of irregular black dots decorating the pavement at my feet is now almost the only thing I see while walking around the city. One of the upsides is that readers have pointed me toward more fantastic examples of gumscape enhancement, [...]
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The Angeleno Bananascape

IMAGE: This iteration of the Foodprint Project logo was designed, as always, by the fantastic Nikki Hiatt. This autumn, Sarah Rich and I will be bringing our Foodprint Project event series to Los Angeles. But first, we decided to try a little crowd-sourcing experiment, which, I’m excited to say, we’re launching today! Inspired by a [...]
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Some Approaches to the Question of Chewing Gum Litter

Despite persistent urban myths to the contrary, chewing gum is, technically speaking, edible. However, doctors do agree that it is not usually wise to swallow it, due to the risk of “gum-based gastrointestinal blockages.” Given that in 2005, Americans chewed, on average, 160-180 pieces or about 1.8 lbs of gum per person, per year, with [...]
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Distilling Colorado

The appurtenances of American statehood extend far beyond the political basics — a flag, seal, and a couple of senators — into an entire menagerie of official animals, flowers, gemstones, and insects. Colorado, for example, proudly lays claim to the Stegosaurus as its state fossil, and the Western Painted Turtle as its state reptile, in [...]
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The Unsung Heroes of Biscuit Embossing

Over at The New York Times Magazine’s enjoyable 6th Floor blog, Hilary Greenbaum asks “Who made that Oreo emboss?” IMAGE: Oreo manhole cover, by Andrew Lewicki, an LA-based artist whose work also includes crates of Southern California concrete oranges and a combination ashtray/juicer, for the perfect Parisian breakfast. Interestingly, when the Oreo was first introduced [...]
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Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes

In case any of you missed it, last Thursday, British intelligence proudly announced that they were behind “Operation Cupcake,” a cyberattack on the first issue of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Inspire magazine. IMAGE: My strangely appropriate birthday card, from the “Keep Calm” card series by bluebell 33. Thanks, Mum and Dad! Launched last June as a quarterly [...]
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Rental by the Meal

IMAGE: Drawing by Will Prince for the New City Reader Food Issue; data supplied by Marion Emmanuelle of award-winning restaurant designers AvroKo. Stuck in a rut, and with his thirtieth birthday imminent, Paul Carr, the son of hoteliers, escaped it all by spending a year living in hotels. Somewhat predictably, his experiences led to a [...]
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The Culinary Underground

If you’re in San Francisco on Tuesday night, don’t miss this conversation about “the emerging underground food movement in San Francisco and around the country,” taking place at 7:00pm at the Studio for Urban Projects. Moderated by the lovely Rosie Branson Gill, of 18 Reasons, and featuring Sandor Katz (author of The Revolution will not [...]
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The Evolution of Lids

The disposable coffee cup lid falls squarely in the category of random, everyday objects that you might assume are overlooked, but are actually quite the opposite. In fact, they have been collected, dissected, and put on display by a handful of notable design critics and curators.
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