My thoughts exactly.

I’m out of town this week designing for a theatre in Rhode Island, (Yes they have theatre in Rhose Island. I was shocked too frankly.) Yesterday I headed out for Penn Station to start my trek out of the city only to find that Amtrak was completely sold out for the entire day. This has never happened to me before. Was there some mass exodus yesterday that I am unaware of? I panicked briefly trying to figure out what other methods I could use to get to RI… car rental? taxi? What is there? Then I remembered that I was living in one of the best cities in the world for transit. Just a few blocks away was a whole different train system that could possibly help me end-run Amtrak. After a phone call to Amtrak and a quick check of a time table I knew I could do it, so I ran (almost literally) over to Grand Central where I picked up Metro North to a town halfway up the Amtrak line, beating the Amtrak train to the station, and switched over. Having made a few stops, my originally desired train was now emptier and could afford me a seat. I also did this for nearly $20 less than I would have paid if I had been on Amtrak from the start. Where else in the world could I have managed this?

There is discussion that proposed “congestion pricing” will exclude disabled people, i.e. PWDs (persons with disabilities) will be exempt.

So let’s look at how this could backfire. Now PWDs would have a “privilege” which would be greatly coveted by all. So, judging by the number of able-bodied drivers who so brazenly park in handicapped parking spots, I see potential for abuse here too. I am disabled, and use the “Access-a-Ride” paratransit, which has its problems. However, I had to give up driving, so I don’t have a choice. But I see a tremendous industry springing up– mior disabilities being inflated, patients falsely being deemed disabled, and even bootleg handicap placards. And, of course, the able-bodied “borrowing” the credentials of their disabled friends or relatives. I think it is a good thing to exempt disabled drivers, but I hope there will be measures in place to curb any abuse.

What happens when you

combine dozens of “celebrity sous chefs”, including Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar, Abigail Kirsch and Alison Awerbuch,
add Gourmet Magazine Editor Ruth Reichl; actresses Kathleen Chalfant, Tandy Cronyn, Marsha Mason, Martha Byrne, Carole Shelley, Haviland Stillwell, Jenn Gambatese, Robin Mattson, and Lisa Kron; radio hosts Valerie Smaldone and Claudia Marshall; authors Leslie Bennetts, Carol Higgins Clark, Marisa Acocella Marchetto, Marie Brenner, and Karen Page; comedian Judy Gold; New York Post Writer Linda Stasi; New York Times Writer Joyce Wadler; TV personality Wendy Kaufman; and Channel 9 news anchor Brenda Blackmon,
and invite hundreds of rich people who want to spend money for breast cancer?

Well, you get last Monday’s 4th annual SHARE Second Helping of Life auction!

The auction, which yours truly helped organize, grows and grows every year. Get a helping while it’s still avaliable, because in a few years it will be one of the hottest tickets in the city!

News this morning includes a plan by the MTA to wire all underground subway stations with cell phone and WiFi coverage. Six stations will be wired first for a two-year pilot program, and if approved, it will be expanded to all the other 271 stations over the following four years. The full station, including platforms, mezzanines, and transfer hallways will be wired, allowing for seamless communications between the subway and the street. The company installing the communication equipment, Transit Wireless, will in turn sell access to the system to mobile phone providers, which means that if yours doesn’t sign up with them, you’ll be left in the dark (so to speak).

Having access to all four of the major providers, I have gotten cell signal on some station platforms, but that really depends on the line, how deep the station is, etc. I can say that I am often surprised when my cell phone rings while I’m waiting for a train, and I’ve felt a little self conscious about having a conversation while on the platform. Some people are going to be against this sort of thing, where the subway is just about the only safe-haven from cell phone conversations, but if someone is talking too loud on the platform, you could always just walk away. It’s not like New Yorkers wouldn’t shush someone who’s talking too loud, would they?

These days, I’ve found that most people who have cell phone conversations are a little more polite in enclosed public spaces, so I don’t think this is really going to bother me. How does everyone else feel about this?

Riding in Central Park at night is a welcome escape from the hustle of the city. The trek uptown 54 blocks to 72nd street is the usual roller coaster of traffic dodging artistry. A quick cut west into the park and the blaring horns and choking exhaust cease. Cars are not allowed in the park at night. Hundreds of cyclists, runners, and in-line skaters rule the road. It is a place to relax, think, and leave some pressurized air. Tonight I got a flat after the second lap around the loop. Generally my artistic friend Andy (who races for Sid’s Bikes) and I head out of the park down through Times Square. It’s a dramatic turn from the comfort of the park. They are two parts of New York City that I love – a calm, cool oasis and a cathedral to consumerism. Cycling in this city is a dangerous and beautiful sport that I love with a passion.

Finishing the night riding through the bright lights of Times Square with Andy.
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A few months ago, I painted my entire apartment. It’s pretty large by NYC standards – 1200 sf, but more importantly, giant 17′ high ceilings. This, as you can imagine, required a lot of paint. (And by “I painted” I mean I hired my painter friend to do it.) Anyway, after one week, a few ruined shirts, an incident involving a large, open can of paint and the cat living up to her name of Lucky, and what seemed like endless trips to various local hardware stores, we were left with a lovely-looking apartment and a bunch of empty cans of paint.

Knowing that paint is considered hazardous waste, I didn’t really know where to start with disposal. Fortunately, along with the big sign next to our trash chute that says “OMFG DON’T PUT PAINT OR ANYTHING FLAMMABLE IN HERE IT WILL GO BOOM KTHXBAI” was a phone number for the management company, which handily takes care of disposing that sort of thing for you. But I wondered what one might do if one did not have such an accommodating management company, so I checked it out.

Turns out the city has a handy waste disposal program. Each household can visit their borough’s designated waste drop-off site up to six times a year, to dispose of such diverse items as paint, batteries (both car and household), motor oil, and tires, among other things. The city’s page lists the locations in each borough, the hours, and requirements (you have to show a valid NYS driver’s license and some proof of NYC residency, like vehicle registration or utility bill).

I’m sure all cities have programs like this, but I never needed to know about them until now. It’s good to know that pretty much everything I ever wanted to know about city services can be found on the city’s website.

Helvetica celebrates the 50th anniversary of this most ubiquitous typeface. From urban spaces to emails, Helvetica presides over our everyday and cultural landscapes, and still elicits strong reactions from designers. According to the Sept. 12 New York Times, “The film’s provocative, lively interviews with graphic designers and theorists . . . assess Helvetica’s impact on human life and thought.. . . you’re guaranteed to spend the next few days scanning the world for Helvetica like a child on a cross-country car trip playing I Spy.”

A free screening of the new documentary film, Helvetica, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Memorial Hall on Pratt’s Brooklyn campus, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Director Gary Hustwit will introduce and take questions after the film.

Date:Tuesday, Sept. 25

Venue: Memorial Hall, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn

Time: 6:00 -8:00 p.m.

The 80-minute film features interviews with, among others, Massimo Vignelli, Matthew Carter, Erik Spiekermann, Hermann Zapf, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, Paula Scher, Jonathan Barnbrook, David Carson, Leslie Savan, David Carson, Rick Poynor, and Jonathan Hoefler.

We went out to a barbecue spot called Virgil’s Real Barbecue for a friend’s birthday this weekend. Located in Midtown, Virgil’s appears to attract a mix of local barbecue-lovers, family groups, and tourists. As a vegetarian, I had prepared myself for the distinct possibility of there being no dishes for me there. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find there were several options involving grilled vegetables, more than any barbecue place I can recall. In addition, for seafood eaters, there’s plenty of crab, shrimp, and fish to fill your appetite. That and the hush puppies make for a tasty, if not exactly healthy, meal.