HISTORY OF THE TITLE SEQUENCE

Spectacularly beautiful video that I couldn't help but share. I wish I could think of (or execute) something this elegant. Sigh, perhaps in another life!


Made by Dutch creative designer Jurjen Versteeg, you can learn more about the work on Vimeo.


Thanks to Uppercase for the tip.

REFLECTING THE STARS

How cool is this?! Created to bring awareness about the ways in which light pollution is obscuring the beauty of the night sky, 'Reflecting the Stars' is a light installation off of Pier 49 in the Hudson River.  Some more information:

Reflecting the Stars uses wirelessly controlled solar-powered LED lamps to recreate our night sky on the decaying posts of Pier 49 in the Hudson River at Bank Street in Manhattan. The project is free to the public and will be a featured highlight of NYC climate week September 19 – 26.
Nightly, a set of 201 lights twinkle in various patterns as the tides conceal and reveal the lights. Visitors on shore can press buttons which highlight constellations within the lights that are no longer seen in urban centers because of air and light pollution.  

Reflecting the Stars was created by Jon Morris, who grew up in a small town in Kentucky star-gazing on Lake Cumberland. 

“We hope to not only give the viewer a sublime moment of reflection but also raise their awareness about our disappearing night sky,” said Morris, founder and artistic director of The Windmill Factory art collective. “This combination will motivate people to turn off lights at home, ask their offices to put lights on timers, and perhaps even help influence public lighting policy.”  

Steel pipe caps were chosen for the casing of the lights, which rust within days of installation to match the natural decay of the once-bustling transportation pier. The contrast of new technology encased in a rusting shell mirrors our species’ race for advancement that is changing the climate, melting our glaciers, and leaving us at a global crossroads. The installation will be a site of celebrations, protests, and other convergences.

The work was created by The Windmill Factory; you can learn more about it on their website here.

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND GRATITUDE

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night. 
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze, 
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows, 
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened, 
Then Baxter and Calabro, 
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place 
As droplets fell through the dark. 
Names printed on the ceiling of the night. 
Names slipping around a watery bend. 
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream. 
In the morning, I walked out barefoot 
Among thousands of flowers 
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears, 
And each had a name -- 
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal 
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins. 
Names written in the air 
And stitched into the cloth of the day. 
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox. 
Monogram on a torn shirt, 
I see you spelled out on storefront windows 
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city. 
I say the syllables as I turn a corner -- 
Kelly and Lee, 
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor. 
When I peer into the woods, 
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden 
As in a puzzle concocted for children. 
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash, 
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton, 
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple. 
Names written in the pale sky. 
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings. 
Names silent in stone 
Or cried out behind a door. 
Names blown over the earth and out to sea. 
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows. 
A boy on a lake lifts his oars. 
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle, 
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds -- 
Vanacore and Wallace, 
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound) 
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z. 
Names etched on the head of a pin. 
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel. 
A blue name needled into the skin. 
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers, 
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son. 
Alphabet of names in a green field. 
Names in the small tracks of birds. 
Names lifted from a hat 
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue. 
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory. 
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart. 
—Billy Collins, The Names (2002)


Ten years and one day ago, the United States suffered one of its greatest tragedies in history. Living in New York City for these past three years has made me all the more grateful for those who sacrificed so much that day and those who continue to sacrifice to protect our freedoms. Yesterday was a solemn, heartening day of remembrance here in New York. I hope you had a chance to reflect and give thanks. I could think of no better way than to do that than to share the beautiful photographs above from the New York Times, Billy Collins' commemorative poem, and this stunningly touching video about a true hero in every sense of the word (don't forget your tissues for that one!).

BLUE & GREEN, PATTERN & PLAY

Thank goodness it is Friday! I don't know about you, but I am ready for a nice restful, relaxing weekend. So here are few of my current Etsy favorites in cool blue and kelly green—to keep things light and fresh and fun. Wouldn't it be nice to have these beautiful clean patterns around to keep you on an even keel all the time?


Mint Green Paper Garland, inkwhimsy, $9


Vintage Bottles Print, madebyanna, $30


Cloudbirds Cushion Cover, skinnylaminx, $32.20


Flatware Tablerunner in Wasabi, skinnylaminx, $45.50


Happy weekend all!

FROM THE ARCHIVES: RISE & SHINE

I don't know about you, but I am having a super busy (and tiring!) week.  Phew.  Here's hoping these images, which I took this summer in Branford, CT, will go far in encouraging me to rise and shine, stand and deliver . . . whatever you want to call it.  Just get things done!


See more of my photography here.

SIMPLE GEOMETRIES

Lynne Woods Turner makes some beautiful abstract paintings. I especially love that top octagonal work and know it would look just lovely over my couch . . .


Check out more of her work here.




(thanks to seesaw for the tip)

GET IT POPPIN

 





Have you heard of the new store Poppin?  They sell these amazingly bright and colorful office supplies—all well made and well priced.  They literally sell rulers and pens and notebooks in every color of the rainbow.  Basically my ideal setup, right?


After much deliberation, I decided to pick up this, this and this for my desk at work.  And imagine my delight when my goodies arrived this weekend in the best packaging EVER: a turquoise box with fun quotes on it and zesty orange padded mailers that greet you when you open the box.  Awesome, right?


Do yourself a favor and go check out this company that has it all figured out.