Stranger 150

Stranger 149

Helvetica at MoMA!

Wait, how did I not know that the MoMA is running a year-long exhibit on Helvetica in honor of its 50th anniversary?! Amazing. I'm going as soon as I get back to the city.

(In related news, Slate has an interview with various writers discussing their favorite fonts. I never knew courier was so popular!)

Ridgemont Typologies

While unremarkable photographically, Mark Luthringer's "Ridgemont Typologies" are each an interesting study in a sort of bland conformity that emerges in many prefabricated, manufactured American buildings and products. As Luthringer puts it in his Artist's Statement, "The typological array’s inherent ability to depict prevalence and repetition make it the perfect technique for examining the excess, redundancy, and meaningless freedom of our current age of consumption."

Sure, why not.

Don't Fear Columbia

From a David Dinkins column in the NYTimes yesterday:

Columbia University’s proposal to develop the old Manhattanville manufacturing zone of West Harlem over the next two decades is the perfect example of a change that will generate growth and benefit all.

[...]

Of course, town-gown partnerships are not without their stresses and strains, and the relationship between Harlem residents and Columbia has not always been the best. Indeed, I was one of those picketing Columbia back in the 1960s, so I know the history and appreciate the concerns that some Harlem residents may have about the university’s plans.

But we should give each other credit where credit is due, and not lose sight of the ways in which the partnership has benefited both groups and provided hundreds of public health and human service programs, educational and cultural exchanges, and workplace experiences and opportunities.

Sigh. I'm pleased that Dinkins bothered to write up a column under the school of "hey guys, I've had my share of hating Columbia too, but..." but he's still failing to address the thousands of residents who are going to be abruptly displaced once Manhattanville construction begins. I fully agree that there are plenty of long-term benefits, but I'm pretty sure the residents of 3333 Broadway care less about "cultural exchanges" and more about having to find new apartments, new schools for their children, and new transportation routes to work...

(Thanks, Gothamist.)

Stranger 148

Eating Out: The Slanted Door

1 Ferry Building #3
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.861.8032

For anyone who lives in the bay area, The Slanted Door is quite possibly the best Vietnamese restaurant I've been to in America -- which is saying a lot, considering how frequently I go out of my way to find authentic Viet cuisine. The food is subtle and exquisite, the atmosphere (located right on the Embarcadero with a splendid view of the Bay Bridge) and architecture are elegant and surprisingly trendy, and the waiters are -- dare I say it? -- actually warm and friendly ... a rare occurrence in Asian restauranting. Try the green papaya salad and the oven roasted Alaskan halibut (above); you won't be sorry.

(After two years, I'm still searching for a good Vietnamese restaurant in the greater New York City area -- if anyone has suggestions, I'm getting desperate.)

Stranger 147

"This Ad Is Not Exactly Kosher"

My favorite ad agency of all time -- Saatchi & Saatchi, creator of brilliant campaigns like 30% Off Everything -- might have put a bit of a dent in their sterling reputation.

Fact Magazine recently ran a series of Doc Martens ads designed by S&S and featuring four punk icons wearing nothing more toga-esque sheets and combat boots. The problem? None of the families/estates of the four deceased musicians -- Kurt Cobain, Joey Ramone, Joe Strummer, and Sid Vicious -- were actually asked for permission before the images (from major stock house Corbis) were used. Once news of the ads reached America, Courteney Love and Mickey Leigh (Joey Ramone's brother) raised a big stink and Doc Martens immediately canceled their contract with Saatchi before issuing a public statement of apology. Said Leigh in his own statement, "And, not that my brother was terribly religious, but the fact that he was Jewish, and this ad is not exactly kosher, makes it that much more inappropriate, inconsiderate and contemptible."

Stranger 146