Being young

Yes yes yes, there it was. Youth must go, ah yes. But youth is only being in a way like it might be an animal. No, it is not just like being an animal so much as being like one of these malenky toys you viddy being sold in the streets, like little chellovecks made out of tin and with a spring inside and then a winding handle on the outside and you wind it up grrr grrr grrr and off it itties, like walking, O my brothers. But it itties in a straight line and bangs straight into things bang bang and it cannot help what it is doing. Being young is like being like one of those malenky machines.

—Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange, page 140

DeSoto before and after

I love painting. It's not only because I like to paint and I have spent my whole life doing it, but I recommend it for everyone. When you are painting you forget all of your troubles. Your brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time, and when you are concentrating on that painting, your forget everything else! That's good therapy!

—Raphael DeSoto

Raphael DeSoto (1904-1992)

one of the greatest pulp artists of all time

Balance

French artist Daniel Firman's installation of a balancing elephant has traveled the world.

In his kiss

The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville, 1950

The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville is perhaps the most romantic photograph ever taken, and Robert Doisneau's most famous image. It has been reproduced for decades as a poster and postcard, iconic as an emblem for both idealized love and Paris as a dreamscape for couples. 

In 1993, the woman in the photo sued Doisneau for a share of its royalties. The case was dismissed, but as a result, the photographer so famous for capturing serendipitous moments of street life revealed the photograph had been staged. 

Doisneau had given the model a signed copy of the photograph in 1950, which she sold at auction (after his death) for $242,000. She told reporters, "The photo is posed but the kiss was real."

French kiss

Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé.

—George Sand

Lovers captured by Robert Doisneau

By train

The first time I visited Machu Picchu, it was so beautiful I swore I'd return. The second time I visited, I was especially glad I did, spending a week in the Sacred Valley which was in a word, magical. 

On both occasions, I took the 4-hour long train to Aguas Calientes, followed by a rumbly bus ride up through the brutal switchbacks that lead to the amazing ruins. 

The government of Peru announced plans for a new airport, closer to Machu Picchu, noting that its remoteness, and the long train ride are so inconvenient that only 3000 people visit a day. 

The journey is the destination. Hear, hear!

(I'd go back in a heartbeat)

Hand lettering

The appealing hand lettering of Lisa Congdon

How not to wear your lipstick

Guts

Spoiler alert?

(Click on image to enlarge)

Written on the stairs

Cabinet photo op

Artist Alex Gross reinvents studio cabinet card photos. Get the book here.

AIGA/NY 30TH Anniversary

Maira Kalman

Debbie Millman

Paula Scher

SpotCo

Matteo Bologna

Thirty snappy posters by 30 NYC designers honoring 30 years of AIGA/NY. 

Available here.

Above board

A map headboard...love it!

A welcoming, friendly approach

Yesterday marked Julia Child's 100th birthday.

 Julia Child, with a little help from unseen hands

Spitballing titles to Knopf
(Text below)

Dear Mrs. Jones:

TITLES: I don't think the title should scare people, or that the sub-title should sound too puffy. I think a welcoming, friendly approach (with professional overtones) would be right. And I can see that something like "French Cooking" is not good as people might come into a bookstore and ask for "that book on French cooking", and that would not necessarily mean us. However, it might be said in French:

             LA BONNE CUISINE FRANCAISE

As a matter of fact, I quite like that.

Subtitle:    "The fundamental book on French cooking for everyone whose hobby is cooking, and who wants to master the authentic French techniques.
      American ingredients. American measurements.
                 American technology "

Other title Suggestions:

IN LOVE WITH FRENCH COOKING        COOKING IS MY HOBBY

LOVE AND FRENCH COOKING              THE HOBBY OF FRENCH COOKING

THE LOVE OF FRENCH COOKING         FRENCH COOKING AS A HOBBY

COOKING FOR LOVE                             SCHOOL FOR FRENCH COOKS

THE FRENCH COOKING MASTER          SCHOOL FOR FRENCH COOKERY

COOKING MASTERY                              A COURSE ON FRENCH COOKING

MASTERY OF FRENCH COOKING          THE PASSIONATE COOK

THE FRENCH KITCHEN                           THE PASSIONATE FRENCH COOK

FOOD FROM FRANCE                              FRENCH COOKING FOR FUN
 
FRANCE'S FOOD                                      FRENCH COOKING FOR LOVE

THE NOBLE ART OF FRENCH COOKING  FRENCH COOKING FOR EVERYONE

THE MASTER FRENCH COOKBOOK       COOK FOR YOURSELF A LA FRANCAISE

GREAT FRENCH COOKING

THE COMPULSIVE COOK

A cool place

Heart pounding...pulse racing...green-eyed monster rearing...SMEG you will be mine!