@kir

laughingsquid: Workers Install Spire Atop One World Trade...

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:28:30 -0400

laughingsquid:

Workers Install Spire Atop One World Trade Center in New York City

Hotel Bars Are an Institution From Cairo to Japan to New York: BA Daily

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:42:00 -0400

Hotel Bars Are an Institution From Cairo to Japan to New York: BA Daily:

When Adam Sachs is away from home (which is pretty much always), there’s no place like the hotel bar

This, exactly. #travel

Just added El Celler de Can Roca to the to-must do...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:39:44 -0400

Just added El Celler de Can Roca to the to-must do list.

engagelive:

roadsandkingdoms:

White asparagus and black truffle ice cream, an earth-shattering plate from El Celler de Can Roca, last night named the best restaurant in the world.

The real genius behind the world’s best restaurant

Because an extraordinary culinary experience is worth traveling a great distance for.

The Longest Week: “Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear:...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:58:02 -0400

The Longest Week: “Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear:...:

joshsternberg:

“Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the…

rollingstone: “People looked to Kurt Cobain because his songs...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:44:46 -0400

rollingstone:

“People looked to Kurt Cobain because his songs captured what they felt before they knew they felt it. Even his struggles – with fame, with drugs, with his identity – caught the generational drama of our time. […] Cobain’s life and music – his passion, his charm, his vision – can be understood and appreciated. His death leaves a far more savage legacy, one that will take many years to untangle.”

Kurt Cobain died 19 years ago today.

Nick Cave interviewed by Larry “Ratso” Sloman at...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:36:06 -0400

Nick Cave interviewed by Larry “Ratso” Sloman at SXSW. Cave is a fascinating individual, a creative force that has moved from leading “the most violent band ever to tour” to an artist on par with Leonard Cohen.

Wandered into a Whole Foods today in London, and found this....

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:01:22 -0500

Wandered into a Whole Foods today in London, and found this. Coconut water + espresso. Heavenly.

Perfect for a snowy winter day. bbook: Listen to the New Nick...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:32:38 -0500

Perfect for a snowy winter day.

bbook:

Listen to the New Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Album Streaming in Full

This invitation arrived in my Inbox this morning. I hope...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:49:04 -0500

This invitation arrived in my Inbox this morning. I hope there’s another me living in LA who can enjoy this event while I endure fashion week and snowstorms in New York.

engagethinking: Pick a weekend and stay at a hotel in your home...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:17:22 -0500

engagethinking:

Pick a weekend and stay at a hotel in your home city or home state.

Why? Experience your hometown in an entirely new way.

I recently did this in NYC due to a long unused credit at a hotel. The experience completely surprised me. I saw things I never knew existed, like the beaux arts building in the photo above. Looking out over the city, I was reminded that New York City looks very different through the lens of a traveler.

We received recommendations to local restaurants, and hotel staff kindly offered suggestions for things to do as they obviously assumed we were from somewhere else.

A good exercise in learning how your hometown does customer service and an easy, effective way to change your perspective.

(the building in the photo is the former NYC police headquarters, now a co-op. I first saw it from my hotel room window on Saturday when we checked in, then ironically found one of the duplexes listed in NY Times real estate section on Sunday.)

From the weekend. We stayed at Mondrian Soho, which is a completely dreamy, beautifully designed hotel.

cmacowski: ermahgerd…

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:26:45 -0500

cmacowski:

ermahgerd…

After this last trip, I like Detroit even more than I did the...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:18:29 -0500

After this last trip, I like Detroit even more than I did the last time around. And, it was winter. #goodthings

engagethinking:

Fly: Detroit Metro

Stay: Westin Book Cadillac

Dine: Slows BBQ, after a cocktail at The Sugar House next door. Both in Corktown. Cedarland, for excellent middle eastern food. In the words of Ibrahim, “Food is SLAMMING. The meat is melt off the bone and in your mouth fabulous.”

Do: Rent a car (preferably Ford, GM, or Chrysler). Observe the city as it slowly but steadily reinvents itself. Talk to residents, it will revive your spirit (and faith in humanity)

See: Michigan Central Train Station. The Heidelberg Project. Detroit Institute of the Arts. The Motown Museum. The Eastern Market, the Detroit Artists Market, and all the places where innovation is happening.

On a recent trip to Paris, I bought a candle at Cire Trudon and...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:26:52 -0500

On a recent trip to Paris, I bought a candle at Cire Trudon and burned it throughout my stay. It’s now at home and each time I light it, I am reminded of the fantastic apartment we rented on Ile de la Cite (and all the memories that come with it).

The post below was written for work, but the idea works for all journeys. Find a scent from the trip, place, or experience and bring it home with you. Helps with the memories.

engagethinking:

In his book, À la recherche du temps perdu, Marcel Proust wrote about the smell that brought him sharply back to the tea-soaked madeleines his aunt gave to him as a child. The passage sparked a discussion about the importance of scent on our ability to remember - that scent memory is perhaps the strongest and longest-lasting emotional memory trigger.

Hotels have recognized this and are using it as a way to drive customer loyalty. Sicilian Fig, a candle with the signature scent of W Hotels, is for sale in hotel retail shops and online. Hotel Costes took it one step further and created a perfume out of the lavender-coriander-juniper-musk fragrance that fills the hotel hallways and guest rooms.

Evoke positive memories from your next gathering with your own signature scent. Find a fragrance that enlivens the meeting spaces you’ll be using throughout the event, and give your attendees their own travel-size version to take home.

KC, Jersey City/NYC

*The candle in the photo is Ebenus (Ebonywood) from Carriere Freres Industrie, bought & burned in Paris, now evoking memories in Jersey City.

Jealous of my co-workers in RVA while totally excited about the...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:12:46 -0500

Jealous of my co-workers in RVA while totally excited about the coffee they’re creating…

engagethinking:

A few of us spent the morning waking up at local roaster Blanchard’s Coffee Co.’s warehouse. Learning about coffee beans, watching some roasting, and developing a Frontier Blend. More to come on that, soon….

AC in RVA

engagethinking: We clocked a lot of miles in 2012, visiting...

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:14:17 -0500

Dodge City, KS

Abbotsford, WI

Great Bend, KS

Accommodations in Nebraska

Penn Yann, NY

National Finals Rodeo, Las Vegas

Urban garden, Detroit

engagethinking:

We clocked a lot of miles in 2012, visiting clients and their customers all over the country. As it happens, we have found ourselves in unexpected situations more often than not. Feels good to push ourselves (and our clients) in new directions, change perspective, allow ideas to spark.

It’s been an intense, fascinating journey that’s far from over. In early 2013, we’ll be in Paris, DC, Detroit, Los Angeles, London, Austin… where else should we go?

KC, New York

[^^ why I love my job]

Sunrise on the mountain. Which, I think, it is at the end of the...

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 08:16:40 -0500

Sunrise on the mountain. Which, I think, it is at the end of the earth.

costaliving: Snow! (at Costa Compound) Hunkered down in the...

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:32:35 -0500

costaliving:

Snow! (at Costa Compound)

Hunkered down in the cabin for a few days, and happy to see snow. (Though I will likely have cabin fever in about 45 minutes.) We’ll attempt to make a break for Boston tomorrow. #holidayweekend

A most beautiful avalanche

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:00:53 -0500

lookatluca:

The NYT design of this online feature story is spellbinding. Beautiful work.

While I’m looking forward to the holiday this week, I am...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:55:13 -0500

While I’m looking forward to the holiday this week, I am ~~more~~ truly excited about my trip to New Orleans at the end of the month. Work, though full and good, has drained me of all creativity and inspiration. I am getting desperate. I will be crawling towards New Orleans for replenishment.

Power has returned to our section of Jersey City. It’s...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:40:00 -0400

A car dying underwater, in the street below our apt.

The morning after.

Cooking in the dark

Back on the grid, our apt becomes a co-working space...

Power has returned to our section of Jersey City. It’s been an interesting few days without water or power. Not surprisingly, we realized how ridiculously dependent we are upon our devices. Without them, we had to do other things - like sit around and talk to each other. For hours! We picked up books to read. We got things done in the apartment that we’ve been meaning to get to for months. We conserved our resources, like water and energy. We went to bed shortly after dark and woke up when it was light out.

I wouldn’t live completely off the grid (those of you who know me personally know that is a completely ridiculous concept). But, it might not be such a bad idea to check out every now and then. Take a remote vacation somewhere where mobile phones and laptops aren’t allowed at all, and the only light source after dark is candlelight. (as long as there’s plenty of wine)

It’s like hitting a reset button.