Four Years In

Happy Birthday to The Cool House. Forty years old and four years with its new owners. I hope it liked its birthday gift - a brand new water heater. It hadn't occurred to me with all the drama that it was exactly four years before that we'd exchanged contracts, but there it was. The house obviously decided it needed something expensive to celebrate the 40 and the 4.
Normally at the end of June I'd go through the whole list of what we've achieved and what is left to do but this year I'm opting for denial. Everything is perfect, the house is in great shape, the garden is lovely. And here are the photos to prove it:

Awe inspiring

The star of the exhibition “Gustav Klimt: The Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky Collections” at the Neue Galerie in Manhattan, Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). The painting was acquired back in 2006 for a record-breaking $135 million. I caught the exhibition at it's last weekend and the colors in the image don't do justice to the fabulous golden lustre of the original.
The exhibition also featured drawings for Hope and Fulfilment that are part of the dining room frieze of the Palais Stoclet in Brussels and for the Beethoven Frieze, a full size reproduction of which is currently on view at The Tate Gallery, Liverpool, UK. In tandem with the Klimt collections there was an exhibition of Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry, including Arts and Crafts brooches and necklaces by Joseph Hoffman, Koloman Moser, Carl Otto Czeschka and Dagobert Peche. Beautiful pieces exquisitely designed.
The Neue Galerie is housed in a Beaux-Arts style mansion at the corner of 5th Ave and 86th Street. It's worth visiting just for its beautiful staircase and the Viennese pastries in the Cafe Sabarsky.

Modernism in Peril

When I wrote this post about the connection between Lord & Taylor and The Cool House I didn't know I'd be visiting the commercial legacy of Andrew Geller again a mere two weeks later.


Between 1959 and 1969, while at Raymond Loewy and Associates, architect Andrew Geller designed stores for Lord & Taylor, including the one pictured above at Stamford, Connecticut. This building, important not only in architectural terms but representative of the growth of suburban shopping centers and as such an important part of the cultural heritage, is threatened by redevelopment. To preserve the integrity of the building there is a movement to nominate the Connecticut store to the State Register of Historic Places.

Modernism is an important part of American architecture, the significance of which we are only starting to appreciate. Preserving buildings of the recent past, particularly commercial buildings, can be a daunting task but once they are destroyed we are left only with regret and recriminations. To allow a prime example of mid-century commercial architecture by one of the foremost design firms of the time to fall victim to the wrecking ball is to do a disservice to future generations. Globally, The World Monument Fund has launched Modernism at Risk, a program dedicated to raising awareness and preserving modern architecture. In Connecticut there is the opportunity to work at the local and state levels to declare the Lord & Taylor store an architectural landmark.


For an overview on why we should preserve modern architecture read Why must we save places of the Modernist movement and the recent past? an article by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and visit The Recent Past Preservation Network.

Support the Lord & Taylor store preservation effort by sending letters to:
Stacey Vairo
Ct. Commission on Culture and Tourism
One Constitution Plaza
Second Floor
Hartford, CT 06103
Fax: 860-256-2763

It'll be a selling point

Don't you just love those unexpected roadblocks life throws you? Especially when they are accompanied by 50 gallons of hot water cascading over the basement floor? And your boiler guy is upstate in a cellphone dead zone?
It all happened a couple of days ago when I went retrieve the dogs leashes from behind the basement door and I was met by a wave of humid air (luckily it wasn't a wave of hot water!) and a groaning noise. This isn't the first time that it had happened but last time it was only the relief valve that failed. This time we weren't so lucky. I could see the water pouring out of the bottom of the tank and as I bent down to turn off the heater I could see rust, too. Never a good sign, rust! As I couldn't shift the shut-off cold water valve I had to turn off the water at the mains and wait for The Guy to work his WD40 magic when he got home. Then we began the wait for the oil burner guy to get back on the Island. The short version of the story is we have had no hot water for 48 hours, which means in addition to not so happy humans, the dishes aren't getting very clean either.
Still, as I type, a new water heater is being installed and, looking on the bright side, should we have to sell the house any time in the near future, we can point out our brand spanking new tank to prospective buyers.

A Blessing for Your Beloved's Feet

I can't believe I missed this one. As you know, I love the bling and the glitz, so what could make me happier than Swarovski Crystal flooring and 24 carat gold cork mosaic? These luxury floors were featured in the Designers Corner at the DOMOTEX 2008 show in Dubai at the end of May.
As I'm still speechless I give you Elite Choice's breathtaking review:

Colors indicate one’s mood and add to this the touch of bling to witness a beguiling upshot. The case in point is well exemplified by the latest offering of Swarovski-Crystal carpeting and 24k gold cork mosaic at DOMOTEX Middle East 2008 in the ‘Designers Corner.’ This seems to be the come-back of reigning days of Moghuls and Emperors, who can’t compromise but to have a filthy-rich lifestyle. Installing this gold-bathed flooring would enlighten your sense and bring warmth to your abode. I strongly believe that this opulent offering is not everyone’s cake as would tune well with the manors feeding guests with gold or silver spoon. Feel free to give your wild imagination a shape that maintains the durability of this flooring. It would surely be a blessing for your beloved’s feet.

Bucking a trend

Meanwhile back in crazy town.........
Yesterday I reported that the Case-Shiller index was tracking falling home prices across the country.
Today I open my in box to discover this house is on the market at $1,650,000. That's surprising because only five days ago it went on the market for $1,575,000. You can still see the old price on zillow.
This is a phenomenon I noted earlier in the month and I'd really like to know is it just confined to the Incorporated Village of Bizarro or does it happen elsewhere across the nation? If it's the latter how does it affect the Case-Shiller index? Are we bucking a trend or starting a new one?

Back were we started?

Four years of gains in home prices wiped out wasn't what I wanted to read just as we are planning to celebrate our 48th month in The Cool House. My first thought when I read the headline was an earthy Anglo-Saxon epithet, but when I thought about it in greater depth I have to say it could be a lot worse. We bought this house because we loved it, not to be our personal piggy bank. We could have taken the realtor's advice and ripped out the dusty vinyl vertical blinds and put it back on the market and made some easy money, most of which would have gone in her pocket in commission. We could have sold it at the height of the market in late 2005 when everything was selling at hugely inflated prices, but we didn't buy the house to flip it.
We were lucky to buy in 2004. If we'd bought a year later we might not have been able to afford this great house, or we might be sitting on negative equity. We didn't put the house on the market two years ago, take it off again and re-list it earlier this month at $200,000 less as one of our neighbors has done. Neither did we do such a huge amount of work that we can't afford to drop the price (the situation for another neighbor).
This is a wonderful house and we love it and with luck we'll still be here when the market picks up again, by which time we may even have finished all the work that remains to make it truly fabulous again.

Bookiness

Another way to slack off at work but with the added advantage that you LOOK AS IF YOU ARE GAINFULLY EMPLOYED!
Read at Work is a really clever website brought to you by the NZ Book Council. The genius is that at a glance it looks like MS Windows. The selection - at presented it's fairly limited - includes short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tolstoy and I Bring an Unaccustomed Wine by Emily Dickinson in the form of a medical-based power point presentation. It's extremely clever but I was more interested in the format than the literature. Then again, I don't think I was the demographic they were aiming for.

Wordiness

My new, new favourite obsession Wordle. Generate art in the form of "word clouds" and share them with the internets. Literary artistic geekiness. So moi!

Jo Co @ The Highline

Fantastic start to summmer. Jonathan Coulton at The Highline Ballroom with Paul & Storm. Geeks and nerds abounded. We got to play pirates and zombies, laugh at Mandelbrot jokes



and sing along to Code Monkey

Monkey phone home

For some reason the Monkey got to hang out at our table. Maybe because there was plenty of beer. Or maybe he just liked girls from Huntington.


Bonus: The food at The Highline is unbelievably good. So are the Chelsea Martinis. That sure kicks the butt of Madison Square Gardens where overpriced nachos and warm beer are the culinary high points and tickets cost a whole bunch more! The Highline is my new favourite NY concert venue. I wonder if I can persuade The Guy to go to Tragedy! the tri-state area's #1 metal tribute to the Bee Gees?

Dog dishing

Hey Sadie, how come we aren't allowed to run on the beach today?


Well, Polly there's a ton of slimey, green seaweed on the beach and you know it makes modernemama mad when we track it into the house. And when you smear it on the sofas.


So I guess we have to walk on leash. Just one question: How come the cats never have to wear a leash?

Antique shopping online

If I had unlimited funds I'd spend a good chunk of it on unique vintage furniture. As I don't, I spend an obscene amount of time window-shopping online.
One of my favourite resources, 1stdibs, the antiques portal and source of much design insporn has a slick new website with bloggy articles about dealers, designers, and furniture. As usual it abounds with interesting objets. Enjoy!

Kicking Off Summer

We're off to the City tomorrow night to celebrate the start of summer with a Jonathan Coulton concert. As recent events and other expenses are taking their toll on our wallets, we'll be taking a home-ation this year. That doesn't mean we'll be sitting in the dark like sad cases, though. There's a bunch of must-see events going on in NY, including the Buckminster Fuller retrospective at The Whitney and The New York City Waterfalls, and I still haven't seen Jeff Koons on the Met roof. Oh, and next Saturday evening there'll be more of this going on.

The Breathing Sculpture

I posted this over here but I think it is something that bears repeating. The British Broadcasting Company commissioned artist Jaume Plensa to design a sculpture that pays tribute to all those killed while reporting the news. A beacon of light shines from it every night while the shape evokes an ear trumpet to hear the voices of people throughout the world.
The glass sculpture is entitled Breathing, it is a fitting memorial and a thing of beauty.

Before and After: The Habitat for Humanity Project

Fred and Ethan at One Project Closer are taking their popular Before and After segment and using it to help raise awareness (and hopefully some funds too) for Habitat for Humanity. They are asking you to share your Before and After makeover story from this spring or summer with intereaders. They will pick the best and post them each Sunday from June 22 until September 21, 2008.
Bonus: the best project wins a $50 home improvement gift.
Even if you're not undertaking any projects this season go check out One Project Closer, it's full of useful tips and info. Want to know how to save yourself big plumber bucks when your copper pipe springs a leak? The answer's here.

Speaking of Raymond Loewy

In one of those serendipitous moments, details of this original Raymond Loewy Associates 1951 "Look" Kitchen appeared on my desktop. The metal mid-century modern kitchen in good condition and is available from Little Paris Antiques in Los Angles, CA for $7800.


The "Look" kitchen is so iconic it's featured in the Library of Congress. How cool is that? Almost as cool as being responsible for this car or working for NASA.

Defining a Brand

At last a house post, well house-related anyway.

Some of you will know that Andrew Geller the architect of The Cool House, was responsible for quite a few iconic designs for things other than unique summer homes. Geller worked for many years as the head of the Retail Store/Shopping Center Planning and Design departments for Raymond Loewy Associates in New York, where he designed buildings for department stores including this one at Garden City, NY for Lord & Taylor.

As Geller tells the story, in his early years with the firm there was a meeting with people from Lord & Taylor where they realized they did not have a design for the logo. Geller took a sheet of paper and wrote the name Lord & Taylor upside down and a legendary logo was born. If you look at the logo and compare it with Geller's signature on this sketch and you can see the similarity.


As part of the brand definition Lord & Taylor used a red rose as their symbol but it was phased out in the 90s. Now they are attempting the mother of all makeovers and the rose is making a comeback. Artists, photographers and graphic designers have submitted their entries and now they want YOU to help choose the design. Be aware that it's a little overwhelming, lots of designs to choose from. Too many I think, kind of like the dress selection in the Manhattan store. Still, it's a positive sign when business lets the consumer get involved in the process. As long as they don't mess with the logo itself!

Just like dial-up

I think I got the answer to what would happen when Mozilla attempted to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours: You can't get near their site. I've been trying for 33 minutes now, since the Official Start at 1 PM ET. It's just like the old days of dial-up and the internet, way back in the mid-90s.
While I'm waiting to get onto the download page for Firefox 3 I thought I'd post a photo. It must be all the orange in their logo that got me inspired. Enjoy!

Firefox 3 Download Day

If you're a Firefox user today, June 17 2008, is the day to upgrade to the shiny new Firefox 3. And if you are stuck with boring old IE you might want to make a change and try to set a record into the bargain. Haven't you always wanted to set a World Record?
The folks at Mozilla want to celebrate their 10th anniversary in style - by setting the Guinness World Record for the number of downloads in one day. Total pledges as I type? 1,383,867. Why don't YOU make it one more?
They want you to download to help spread Firefox. I want you to take part because I want to see what will happen. Will the internets grind to a halt? Will chunks of software be flung into cyberspace? Will my iMac explode? We'll know soon enough.

Cilantro: Harmless Herb or Instrument of Death?*

I had no idea that so many people disliked the fragrant green herb Coriandrum sativum until I stumbled upon I Hate Cilantro, a website dedicated to supporting the fight against the "most offensive food known to man": Cilantro.
Now, I love coriander, as it is known in Europe; I use it to flavour curries and Thai soups, and once I discovered it was known as cilantro in America, in ceviche and salsas. Hell, I've been known to sprinkle it over Boston (Bibb) lettuce before now.
To some people, though, it tastes like metal, soap, or rotting corpses (I hope that last person is imagining what a putrefying carcass tastes like and isn't writing from experience). I thought the two people I know who dislike it were just being dramatic when they told me it makes them vomit but I may have judged them too harshly. It may be strange, but I react the same way to tea!
Two thousand people are anti-cilantro enough to have joined the fight and several share their stories with the internets. They hate it so much they put it on a T-shirt and proclaim it proudly to the world. I feel only pity for them, cilantro is almost impossible to avoid and to them I say: Look away.
For those who love it as much as I do a quick salsa recipe:

Fresh Cilantro Salsa
1 bunch cilantro
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, more to taste, very thinly sliced, seeded if desired
2 limes, freshly squeezed
Salt, Freshly ground black pepper and a little sugar to taste

Finely chop cilantro and mix in a bowl with tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno and lime juice. Stir to combine. Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Serve with fish, chicken, tacos, or alongside guacamole.

*For John in NJ and Fliss in BXL and cilantro/coriander haters everywhere.