Keri Hilson – Knock You Down

sent:

reasoning:

the scenes of keri hilson in her underwear rolling around in a lush white bed are more than a bit gratuitous… but i can’t stop listening to this song. it may not be deep, poetic or metaphorical, and its message may be cheesy and borderline gloria gaynor ”i will survive’, but its reassuring to know relationships do sometimes go through breakups and they can painful. it seems like common sense, duh, or as REM said “everybody hurts… sometimes”. but its funny how alone and hurt breaking up can make you feel, when really its something that everyone goes/has gone through.

ork city neighborhood posters

sent:

reasoning:

love these screenprinted city neighborhood posters – they come in pretty colors and other sites including Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Great Lakes, Los Angeles, Manhattan, NYC, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto (soon to come!), and adorably, The Heart. most posters are $22 and will ship via USPS in 1-3 business days.

The United States of McDonald’s

sent:

reasoning:

driving down a seemingly barren highway suddenly interrupted by big box stores, Stephen Von Worley felt inspired to ‘gauge the creep of cookie-cutter commercialism‘. mapping out McDonalds locations across the United States with the nifty data tool, Aggdata.com, he came up with this. notice how the McDonalds hug the coasts and borders of the US to form essentially what is a map of the US. the United States of America? or the United States of McDonalds? Hmm…  The farthest isolated spot in the 48 states from a McD’s is between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley: 107 miles away, 145 miles by car. I wonder what mapping the McDonalds across the globe would turn out.

MA Hyatt boycott

sent:

Boston Globe’s Governor Threatens a Hyatt Boycott

reasoning:

for people who think the labor movement is dead, or unions are no longer necessary – blatant workplace violations like this are still happening.  3 Hyatt hotels in the Boston area laid off their entire housekeeping staff, citing challenging economic conditions, and replaced them with workers from an out-of-state firm they would pay much less and provide no benefits for. Originally, the staff trained the new workers under the pretense the new staff were only there to fill in on vacations and holidays. But after the morning shift on August 31, the workers were told not to come back to work the next day. it seems government officials rarely get involved in labor disputes, unless the industry affected directly relates to the operation of the country (ex: Reagan laid off the air-traffic controllers), the fight usually remains between the workers, the union and the company. But Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has stepped in, strongly denouncing the layoffs and threatening a boycott of the Hyatt Hotels by Massachusetts employees.

the Back & Forth

“I understand first-hand how difficult it is to manage through the current economic challenges without compounding the disruptions the times have caused,’’ Patrick wrote. “But surely there is some way to retain the jobs for your housekeeping staffs, as other hotels have done, and to work with them to help the company meet its current challenges, rather than tossing them out unceremoniously to fend for themselves while the people they trained take their jobs at barely livable wages.’’ – Governor Deval Patrick

The action “directly threatens the 600 associates who work in Hyatt properties and who live and work in Massachusetts at a time when businesses and individuals are cutting back on travel during the worst economic period we have seen in decades. We do not understand why the governor is putting more Massachusetts jobs at risk instead of working with us to find jobs for employees affected by the realities of these unprecedented economic challenges.’’ – Phil Stamm, general manager of Hyatt Regency Boston

The fight is still going-  last update I could find, lists the boycott growing with support from taxicab drivers, politicians, businesses leaders, and organizations, like the National Employment Lawyers Associations originally set to hold a conference at a Hyatt, canceling reservations.

stretch shelf by Pete Oyler

sent:

reasoning:

The design blogs (Lost in a Supermarket, Minimalismi, Curated + many more) were all over this Stretch Shelf, even Urban Outfitters. I like it b/c it’s functional, has an element of DIY, and totally fits into the “why didn’t i think of that?!??” category. made of cast rubber and machined aluminum, the shelf is essentially like having a giant rubber band that sturdy enough to hold and fit oddly shaped items on the wall in a connect-the-dots type of fashion. living in a cramped rowhouse, i’m begining to realize how useful storing upwards on the wall is, this would be perfect for spaces in the hallway or my room. one blog posed the question of what happens when the rubber dries out and it cracks, I’m hoping the shelving kit comes with some sort of sealing solution to prevent this. design schools are supposed to teach design, but also practicality and sustainability, right?

Oyler is a RISD graduate, you can check out more of his work here.

Amy On Traveling

Amy T. is one of my longest, closest friends. I’ve known her for more than 10 years, starting with our younger days at Princeton Chinese Language School teaching Chinese Knotting and trying to learn Chinese. She’s been one of the busiest people I’ve known, always off doing amazing things – getting involved in this program, applying to this school, making plans with friends to visit this place, etc.  She just finished this great roadtrip across the country where she and her friend Pin recorded their scavenger hunt as they drove from NJ to CA to drop Amy off at Stanford where she is starting an engineering Ph.D. yep, she’s incredibly smart, well-traveled, laid-back, totally fun, and i get to call her ‘friend’.

considering my incessant wanderlust, i was inspired by this recent NYTimes article Q&A With Beth Whitman, a Woman’s Perspective on Solo Travel to ask amy about her traveling experiences. this is the first in a new series i’m starting of interviewing friends on a topic they have expertise on or at least a lot of experience in. I’m still working on finding an appropriate program to record skype conversations, somehow the one i was using didn’t fully record, and also deleted itself after the trial 30 days was over. so, against all journalistic integrity, parts of this are paraphrased. BUT without further ado: Amy on Traveling.

Why did you choose this type of program for your next travels? [Amy's headed to Romania for a Habitat for Humanity trip]

I’ve wanted to go to Eastern Europe for awhile. Plus my friend, Nancy, brought up the idea of a service trip. I’ve heard Romania is beautiful, this just seemed like a great opportunity.

Is it better to be a tourist, a student, or a worker?

I prefer a combination of all three. i like having some structure, and it’s safer to travel as a group.  I liked being a student abroad because it made everyday things like late-night food runs, or figuring out a library system seem like new.

Any advice for travelers, especially women traveling alone?

I really don’t like traveling alone. Even if it’s 2 girls, it doesn’t feel safe. its better in a group, guys will look out for you. it’s sad but that helps a lot.

Why do you keep traveling? Any life or world lessons learned?

Ease into traveling, its much easier to travel somewhere where you know the language. So if that’s English, seriously, go with England first. Without sounding corny, I keep traveling because you really can learn so much from new and different people and cultures.

What other places are next on your list?

I’m trying to see more of the US, I think we forget there are some great places right in our own country. I’ve also wanted to go to Italy for a long time. I love Italian food, great art and architecture.

B2 reunion in Colorado

just came back from a long weekend in Winter Park, Colorado.

Jen and I went to visit our rockstar culinary Shana who’s cooking in kitchens and snowboarding every chance she gets. [photos by JH]

we went for her 23rd birthday

along the way, we fought off nature,

warmed ourselves by a bonfire,

attempted to bake,

and french-braid,

but mostly caught up on sleep.Indy, the cutest dog ever, joined us one ridiculously lazy afternoon

but quickly resume drinking.

one great thing about winter park, CO: $1 shots

there are perhaps too many pictures of these, i claim the right one, jen has the left

it was a good time had by all.

Colorado was beautiful, it was nice to go someplace where everyone knew everybody, food was delicious (homemae bagels, which you can’t even get in DC!), drinks were cheap and people just hung out to chill and have a good time. it was a most relaxing, gluttonous and fun reunion. i really like how much we’ve stayed in touch, and made an effort to see each other after graduation, despite all of us living in different places of the country and the world. these are the girls i’m hoping to open the B2 bakery/bar with – Shana in the kitchen, Jen having designed the space, and me being the bar, of course.

why women’s colleges are still relevant

sent:

Forbes Why Women’s Colleges are Still Relevant

reasoning:

i feel like i may spend the rest of my life explaining why i went to a women’s college, Smith College, or whether i’m a crazy radical lesbian [some of those may apply depending on the day]. the relevance of women’s colleges has been something i’ve definitely grappled with, but ultimately i always come to the conclusion that they are still needed and important today. certainly my college experience would have been different if it were co-ed, but now that i’m out in the ‘co-ed’ world, i can’t say i feel like i missed out on a lot. there were periods when i wish i went somewhere else, but that had more to do with the intensity and ‘bubble’ of Smith, less with its single-gender demographic. being in an all-women environment doesn’t freak me out but i’m rather comfortable in it. i learned to really speak up for myself at Smith, and so much of my personality and interests have started and evolved from my time there, so i can’t say that I regret having gone there. now if only the alumnae network could kick in to get me a job, i’d be singing the ultimate praises of the school from every high place in DC. but in all seriousness, i’m glad i went.

the magisso cake server by Maria Kivijärvi

sent:

The Magisso Cake Server

“With the new innovative Magisso Cake Server cutting and serving a piece of cake is easier and more stylish than ever. Magisso Cake Server is a perfect centerpiece for every party, wedding and graduation setting. The beautifully designed and functional Cake Server is an ideal gift with the space for inscriptions and engravings. Magisso Cake Server is made of mirrored high quality stainless steel and it is suitable for every kind of cake. Magisso Cake Server is developed and designed in Finland.”

reasoning:

this is one of those “why didn’t i think of that??!” design inventions that’s simple, clean and pretty.  i love the lines and the stainless steel. the Magisso website has some great products and also a video of the Cake Server in action.

women take over job market

sent:

USAToday: Women gain as Men Lose Jobs

reasoning:

Recent numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that for the first time more women are currently employed than men. women entered the workforce in expansive numbers during the wars of I and II b/c men were off fighting, and while we’re in a war situation now, this increase is attributed more to the recession. The industries hit hardest by the current crisis are those in construction and manufacturing, still heavily male-dominated sectors. While the few industries that seem to still be growing are healthcare, education and government, two of which are heavily female-dominated. so while there’s been a tipping of labor scales by gender, the industries affected are still one gender dominated and very much the same. “The change reflects the growing importance of women as wage earners, but it doesn’t show full equality”, says Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, wage-wise-> women are still earning less than men. and men still hold most of the high-level executive jobs. this news isn’t to mark a turning point or new ear in the American payrolls, but simply to note that more women are working now than men, by sheer numbers, not by more jobs or increased wages across the job board.