Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Pull a shot
Ristretto | We Are the 5 Percent
"If you want to order the most unconventional, unexpected drink at an espresso bar, ask for an espresso."
"Not many do. Americans might drink espresso drinks, but we rarely drink straight espresso — usually that 1.5-ounce shot of coffee is just the ballast that anchors the 4, or 7, or 18 ounces of steamed milk that tops up the rest of the cup. In an anecdotal survey of the owners of a dozen of my favorite coffee spots in New York, shops with gifted baristas and finely tuned machines, most report that straight espresso accounts for maybe 5 percent of the coffees they sell."
"And today there’s more variety throughout the city. Part of the sport of drinking espresso is appreciating the different interpretations you find at coffee shops worth the detour."
"Sometimes, the composition of an espresso changes with the season. It’s by design, the shifting flavors one of the defining characteristics of what you’ll find at Café Grumpy, Joe and Ninth Street Espresso (which recently developed an entirely new espresso)."
"...He’s in command of his craft, and can make an espresso sit, stay, beg and roll over."
"He began with a shot of the Konga Yirgacheffe that tasted like roasted almonds, then made a second that was like flowers and cocoa, and a third that was like Mast Brothers Chocolate. Next coffee: Fisticuffs, which he described with admiration as “aggressive.” He made the Fisticuffs taste like lemon rind, then like lemon and honey, then he said he wanted it “softer,” and made it taste like caramel pushed to its darkest limit and doused with cream. It was a good show, a parade of flavors and textures that could convert some of those in the 95 percent."
"If you want to order the most unconventional, unexpected drink at an espresso bar, ask for an espresso."
"Not many do. Americans might drink espresso drinks, but we rarely drink straight espresso — usually that 1.5-ounce shot of coffee is just the ballast that anchors the 4, or 7, or 18 ounces of steamed milk that tops up the rest of the cup. In an anecdotal survey of the owners of a dozen of my favorite coffee spots in New York, shops with gifted baristas and finely tuned machines, most report that straight espresso accounts for maybe 5 percent of the coffees they sell."
"And today there’s more variety throughout the city. Part of the sport of drinking espresso is appreciating the different interpretations you find at coffee shops worth the detour."
"Sometimes, the composition of an espresso changes with the season. It’s by design, the shifting flavors one of the defining characteristics of what you’ll find at Café Grumpy, Joe and Ninth Street Espresso (which recently developed an entirely new espresso)."
"...He’s in command of his craft, and can make an espresso sit, stay, beg and roll over."
"He began with a shot of the Konga Yirgacheffe that tasted like roasted almonds, then made a second that was like flowers and cocoa, and a third that was like Mast Brothers Chocolate. Next coffee: Fisticuffs, which he described with admiration as “aggressive.” He made the Fisticuffs taste like lemon rind, then like lemon and honey, then he said he wanted it “softer,” and made it taste like caramel pushed to its darkest limit and doused with cream. It was a good show, a parade of flavors and textures that could convert some of those in the 95 percent."
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Luxe
Can luxury and modernism mix?
" By contrast, traditional serifs had their feet well under the table of the luxury houses of Europe. And serif logos are often accompanied by an additional “established in” dateline. It’s not only a stamp of approval and a mark of success, but also a barrier against change. Most fields of manufacturing, be it automobiles, computing or architecture have pursued the modern – clean, pale and new motifs. But if you’re old, authentic and producing wares to sell at the highest prices then you’re likely be camped in the elegant, decorative serif world."
"...The conclusion – if you want your brand to feel rich and established, accept no substitute. Serif, every time."
" By contrast, traditional serifs had their feet well under the table of the luxury houses of Europe. And serif logos are often accompanied by an additional “established in” dateline. It’s not only a stamp of approval and a mark of success, but also a barrier against change. Most fields of manufacturing, be it automobiles, computing or architecture have pursued the modern – clean, pale and new motifs. But if you’re old, authentic and producing wares to sell at the highest prices then you’re likely be camped in the elegant, decorative serif world."
"...The conclusion – if you want your brand to feel rich and established, accept no substitute. Serif, every time."
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Shatter
Petr Novotńy, a glass master's POV; Ajeto glassmaking factory (Monocle, March 2012):
"...If executed perfectly, the glass becomes an example of what Novotńy calls 'living glass' - capturing a moment in time and giving a sensation of fluid movement"
"...If executed perfectly, the glass becomes an example of what Novotńy calls 'living glass' - capturing a moment in time and giving a sensation of fluid movement"
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Big guy
Humprey Bogart
Humphrey was the oldest of three children; he had two younger sisters, Frances and Catherine Elizabeth (Kay). His parents were very formal, busy in their careers, and frequently fought—resulting in little emotion directed at the children, "I was brought up very unsentimentally but very straightforwardly. A kiss, in our family, was an event. Our mother and father didn’t glug over my two sisters and me."
As a boy, Bogart was teased for his curls, his tidiness, the "cute" pictures his mother had him pose for, the Little Lord Fauntleroy clothes she dressed him in—and the name "Humphrey." From his father, Bogart inherited a tendency for needling people, a fondness for fishing, a life-long love of boating, and an attraction to strong-willed women.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Quote unquote
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
"Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night."
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Point B
Happiness is not a Destination
An idea is not a design,
but it is an invitation to a journey.
A design is not a prototype,
but it is a plan for moving forward.
A prototype is not a program,
but it is a test for your assumptions.
A program is not a product,
but it is a milestone towards progress.
A product is not a business,
but it is the first fruit of an idea.
A business is not profits,
but it is a team behind your back.
Profits is not an exit,
but it is validation of your work.
And an exit is not happiness,
but happiness is not a destination.
Happiness is a journey.
An idea is not a design,
but it is an invitation to a journey.
A design is not a prototype,
but it is a plan for moving forward.
A prototype is not a program,
but it is a test for your assumptions.
A program is not a product,
but it is a milestone towards progress.
A product is not a business,
but it is the first fruit of an idea.
A business is not profits,
but it is a team behind your back.
Profits is not an exit,
but it is validation of your work.
And an exit is not happiness,
but happiness is not a destination.
Happiness is a journey.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Do the robot
"As adults, what keeps us from being creative—from painting, cooking, scrapbooking, doodling, knitting, rebuilding an engine or writing—is what I call the comparison gremlin (a close cousin of the shame gremlin). People say, "I'm not good enough," or "Why am I the only one with dangling modifiers?" or "I'm not a real sculptor...I'm a total poser." In other words, we shame ourselves into stopping. While we may have all started creative, between ages 8 and 14, at least 60 percent of the participants remember learning that they were not creative. They began to compare their creations, they started getting graded for their art, and many heard from a teacher or a parent that "art wasn't their thing." So we don't have to teach people to find joy in creating; we have to make sure not to teach them that there's only one acceptable way to be creative."
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Bash
Ingredients:
2-3 lemon quarters
3 sprigs of fresh mint
1 oz. simple syrup
Directions:
1. Muddle two of the lemon pieces, four or five mint leaves and the syrup in a shaker.
2. Add the whiskey and some ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a rocks glass with ice.
3. Garnish with more mint and a lemon wedge.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Slice of pie
“Yes, I was infatuated with you: I am, still. No one has ever heightened such a keen capacity of physical sensation in me. I cut you out because I couldn’t stand being a passing fancy. Before I give my body, I must give my thoughts, my mind, my dreams. And you weren’t having any of those.”
—Sylvia Plath
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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