Over the weekend T Magazine had a little ode to one of my favorite items and this site’s namesake.
Of course, these gorgeous examples aren’t the ones wasting energy in the lamp on my nightstand. But I’m still going to be sad the day I say goodbye to those opaque little numbers.
Last night my nightly dishwashing duties were accompanied by the Pop Music episode of Radiolab. It arrived via podcast this week and it’s great—more Jad and co. playing around and letting you poke around inside their curious and busy brains.
But what really got me this time was the least science-y story. A tale by producer Gregory Warner that involves an Afghan pop star, a man doing intense crunches, and the song above played on an accordion. There are certainly more vivid ways to describe the story and pretty stunning YouTube video I’m tempted to post, but doing that would ruin all the narrative surprise. Just go listen.
Me and Gregory worked in the same building for a little more than a month before his itinerant lifestyle and a fellowship sent him off to Afghanistan. I thought he was still there a couple months ago when I felt someone’s presence behind me at work and turned around to see Gregory all clean-shaven and western looking in a sportcoat. And then, 20 minutes later he was on a bus out of town. That dude is like Indiana Jones. Except replace all the snarky asides with curiosity and good story telling skills.
There’s an installation at Steppenwolf where you can hear these pieces, or you can visit the Third Coast site. My wife Hillary Frank wrote and produced the one called “Weird Little Plan.” Listen and find out why I’m a radio producer and not an actor.
And, when I interviewed Band of Outsiders designer Scott Sternberg for Studio 360, I found myself leaving a lot of interesting stuff on the cutting room floor. Or at least, stuff that’s interesting if you’re a design and style nerd like me. There’s a nearly complete version of the interview I did with Scott Sternberg below.
