Birthday Blog

I'm not one to self promote, but it is in fact my birthday today. I feel older for sure, a bit wiser maybe and sadly I think I'll have to finally accept that I've probably stopped growing.

I suppose with every passing year you care less and less about birthdays, parties and gifts. Really all I ever want anymore is for mine or anyone elses birthdays to be a convenient reason to call or see someone that you haven't seen in a long time. Like maybe for a year. Or more in some cases. That to me is the best.

Thanks to my close friends for your birthday wishes, calls and emails. My hair is growing greyer but my heart is growing fuller.

iReturn

This almost feels like an entry into the diary of a man who's been stranded on an island for several months. Like Tom Hanks kind of in CastAway (actually, I've always loved that subtle play on words in the way they wrote the title). I have been on an island I guess, Long Island (which if you read more below you'll see just how fond of it I am). I have been stranded too amidst loads of meetings, proposals and genuinely time consuming nonsense (but not the good kind).

I was flying back from Boston the other night and in my delirium of changing flights, delays due to weather and lack of sleep, I was both antsy and bored. I must say, I do love my ipod to get me through pretty much any mind-numbing occasion, and this being one of them, I thought I'd spend some time going through all the layers of the menu. I dont think I'd ever done that before.

Well, one of the options happens to be language choice. Hmmm, I thought to myself. I wonder if they have Greek? I scrolled down and there it was, ellivika (I dont have greek on this keyboard). Curiosity got the better of me and I selected Greek as my new default interface language. Magically all the menus, options and details are translated and written in Greek. How cool! Greek is my first language, so naturally I am comfortable looking at things this way. But after a while of reading the annoying translations (you've got to realize that Greek being thousands of years old, doesn't have actual Greek words for like "playlist")I wanted to go back to good ole English....

I cant seem to be able to figure out how to do that.

Ocean

I recently returned from a brief trip to our office in New York. It's actually on Long Island, which albeit close in proximity to New York, couldn't be more different than the real New York nor a real island.

I'll spare you the boring details about Long Island. It's long, it's an island, and it is bisected by a long expressway called interestingly enough, the Long Island Expressway. On the west end of the island you have Brooklyn on the south of the expressway and Queens on the north. As you break from the tractor beam of culture and prosperity, you are then subjected to mile after mile of suburban housing developments, shopping centers and office parks. Our office is situated in one of these, about 50 miles east of Manhattan in a small suite within a small office park not far from the freeway and the municipal airport.

50 miles may sound a bit far to some, and near to others. In a normal part of this country, 50 miles may take 40 minutes or so by car. Here it takes about one and a half hours of frenetic stop and go traffic that leaves one stressed for the next several hours once you've arrived. I couldn't imagine doing this commute daily. I've been coming to this office every few months for about 3 years and every time I wish I had just one more day so that I could make it into the City. The distance of 50 miles is just off-putting enough that I never bother to go in.

When I think of an island, I think of an untethered, serene land mass surrounded by millions of gallons of blue ocean. I think of fires on the beach, the warm Mediterranean sun and a slower pace. I imagine that save for Cuba, most island nation peoples are pretty happy folk too. There is a calming quality to living by the sea. My guess is that the fact that islanders are separated from mainlanders by ocean, there is a certain freedom in that autonomy and isolation. After spending time on Long Island, I find it sadly ironic that although technically an island, it's neither serene, nor isolated.

NYC

I was flying back from NY last week and while I was at the airport, I picked up a copy of my favorite men's fashion magazine, GQ Style. Now, this isn't the usual GQ, it's a British quarterly version that is heavily fashion focused, and not just pretty pictures, but tons of great reading. The one they put out last fall was all about the concept of luxury and it was extremely well written. These issues tend to have not only great contributing writing, but also some poignant historical quotes that seem contemporary and applicable today.

The issue I just picked up is entitled The London Look. Not very clever title, but again, very well done, great writing, interviews and pictorials. Not the best fashion spreads either, but you cant have everything I guess. One of the things I really like is how cleverly the editors seamlessly marry current interviews and stories with quotes, exerpts and commentaries that are 100+ years old. I've often thought I would like to be one of these guest design editors or something. Maybe not as cool as it sounds.

Anyway, the articles within this 300 page tome were all preaching the virtues ole London-town. Well, morelike current London. In the last few years London has experienced a boom that has increased the population to over 15 million people. There has been a rebirth of the design, arts and overall cultural scene. The pound and the overall economy is strong as ever. Moreover, with the resurgence of the British fashion scene, London is poised to take over the world as THE city. The capitol of the world. Well, as much as I love London (actually, it's more of a love/hate relationship), I have a hard time handing the reins over that easily.

Paris is the fashion capitol of the world (and my favorite city), with Milan a close second. London's got some great restaurants, endless shopping and obviously they've got the financial thing pretty well covered. But, if I had to pick one place to crown king of the world, it would undoubtedly be New York City. Many more posts to come about New York and all my reasons why.

The Landau

Not sure how this one popped up in conversation today, but when Tanner and I digress, you never know what sewer you'll end up in. At least this is postable.

I got to thinking about cars and specifically cars from the early 80s, even more specifically American makes. Cars that even though shitty, were bejeweled or embellished with details considered luxurious. It's the manifestations of this type of luxury that I find hilarious.

The concept of luxury as applied to cars began years before with all the chrome found on Deusenbergs, Packards and Cadillacs, then migrated through the 50s with Buicks, Mercurys and Fords. The 60s and 70s led to less chrome and more minimalistic design. Ok, sure, there were some pretty iconic Muscle cars during those years, but most cars were pretty basic. Politics seemed to play more of a role in automotive design back then and it's pretty apparent. The 60s and 70s saw the US battling a failing war, economy and fuel crisis, and gave way to the Reagan years of prosperity and the wildly popular theory of trickle down economics. That and the whole preppy, country club, frat boy, Thurston Howell display of wealth. Let's not forget, the 80s were when Trump began to make his real mark and he's still an icon of classless wealth.

This cultural mindset is what paved the way for such design triumphs like "boot buckles" and the famed Landau top. A prime example was a Cadillac Seville from 1983 that had a hideous sloping trunk and was often adorned with a pseudo spare tire, and if you could swing it, gold belts that were made to invoke a nostalgic homage to the autos of yesteryear, or the desire to be Captain Hook. See exhibit A.



Next was the Landau top. Now, most people are familiar with the cabriolet concept, and like it or not, it is at least fucntional. During the 80s it became en vogue to upholster the rooves of cars to give the impression that they too were cabriolets, but were in reality not. Just hard top cars with canvas rooves. 'What do you mean Simon? Are you telling me that that 1982 Lincoln Town Car isn't a convertible?!?' Puzzling, I know. The one that really gets me though was the Landau. What the hell is that? It's bascically a portion of a vinyl top that covers only the rear portion of the roof. Why? Well, a little research tells us this...

"Usually found on luxury cars, a landau roof enhances the outside appearance by adding an element of formality to a car's roofline. Instead of a full covering of the roof area, a landau roof usually covers the rear section."

Exhibit B



So, it seems the term Landau was actually a historical reference back to coach-building and referred to an open carriage coach, which had a retractble roof, the distinguishing characteristic being the the elegant S shape made by the bars locking in place when closed. Personally, I think it would take a hell of alot more than a Landau to make an '81 Buick Regal look classy, but who am I to judge.

In conclusion, just because there might be history or meaning behind something, that doesn't necessarily make it good. And these cars are oftentimes so hideous, I just cant look away. Plus I love how you can see where this image of regality has worked it's way into current popular culture and the mouths of rappers.

Math

If math is considered the universal language, then I would have to say that I am illiterate. I spent 6 hours yesterday at an adult remedial mathematics class in preparation for taking the graduate entrance exam for entering an MBA program. I'm not used to not being good at things. Even just comprehending concepts at times seems like a victory when it comes to science (I am a designer afterall). This class though, while starting out decent, covering the fundamental refreshers of algebra and geometry, but naturally as the class progressed, it became far more complex. By the end of the class we were working on some sort of deductive mathematics that apparently I just couldn't compute. Sadly I didn't even need to, all I had to do was decide if there was enough information provided for it to be theoretically solved. I missed 13 out of 13.

I realize that this was the first time I've had to use that part of my brain in 20+ years, but I cant help but feel discouraged. What on earth have I gotten my self into!

Wings

I got my first passport when I was a baby. Must have been just barely over a year old. Actually now that makes me wonder, at that age, how long is a passport good for? Anyway, I would guess that I've flown someplace every year of my life and it's only increased in amount over the years due to my insatiable wanderlust. I'm sort of an addict if you will. I'm hooked on cultures and constantly jonesing for a fix.

When I was a child, I'd fly with my parents and brother, which if you've read any of my other posts you can imagine the luxurious travels of 2 grad students and their kids. Needless to say we sat in the back of low budget airlines, keeping watch over the goats and chickens. I still get a kick at how normal it was to allow smoking on a plane, and how by the end of an 8 hour flight you'd hardly be able to see the exits or the lavatories. Comforts aside, my favorite part of the flying experience was chatting up the cute stewardesses (that's what they were called back then) with my boyish charm and getting not only to vist the pilots in the cockpit, but would undoubtedly return to my seat with those fabulous wings pins.

I realize that many people consider travel a luxury and when I'd say 'yeah, I'll be in Greece all summer', that would earn the 'oooooohhhh, that sounds amazing!' response. In my eyes it was just normal. I was going back to Greece to spend the summer with my family. Ironically, I was jealous of the kids that got to go spend a week at some crappy summer camp, rowing around a muddy pond and fishing or whatever. I guess I took the trips for granted. What I also took for granted was the exposure to different cultures, art, languages, food and lifestyles, that remain foreign to many. Being raised by grad student parents, we always had people of all ethnicities coming through our student housing, so again, this all seemed normal to me.

Now that I am older and I hear people say things like 'passport, what do I need that for?' or 'oh, we're waiting to travel once the kids are grown up', I just cringe. The impressions that this type of immersive exposure can create or do to shape not only you but your child and their impression of you, is just priceless. I emplore everyone I know to get a passport, get on a plane and just go. The eye-opening that happens is unquantifiable and the transormation that occurs to your psyche is irreplacable.

I still have that collection of wings that I amassed as a kid and I was truly heartbroken when the airlines got so tight that they stopped handing them out anymore. I thought about starting a collection of barf bags at that point, but it just didn't have the same feel.

At 35, I've hit 4 of the 7 continents, so in my opinion, I've still not seen much. With that said, just getting out of your "world" and seeing just one place that makes you feel like you're the stranger, is like no high you'll ever have. At that point, leaving the place you are becomes irrelevant. You've given your soul wings.