Flirting with Capitalism: Shopping at Trader Joes
I’m pretty sure I was just flirting at Trader Joe’s. It happened in the dried fruit and nut section. I was on my tip toes trying to see if they’d stocked more medjool dates. They hadn’t. Never again would I assume that because I loved something, Trader Joe’s would have it. My disappointment was immeasurable. … Continue reading
The City, a State of Mind?
“The city is a state of mind,” writes Robert Park in 1915. If this is true, can we assume the city is no longer confined to geography, and thus able to exist in any location? The city isn’t the only state of mind. According to rapper Clyde Carson, California is also state of mind. Although … Continue reading
Creativity Can Solve Anything (according to local advertisers)
Or so claims the tag line of the new documentary, Art and Copy. The film is at worst a creative ad for the advertising agency and at best an example of the slippery subject of consumerism. Representing both the everyday and the exotic, advertisements are simultaneously oppressive and liberating. My argument is nothing new, this … Continue reading
Aesthetic Selection
“There’s something soothing about seeing an even expanse of green grass that just seems to lower our blood-pressure a bit.” -American Lawns A weed is not the same thing as an invasive species. In 1999, former president Clinton signed Executive Order 13112 officiating the definition as “an alien species whose introduction does or is likely … Continue reading
Mall Cultural
When thinking of mall culture, the absurdity of David Byrne and John Goodman in Texas immediately comes to mind. Since moving to New York however, events such as Bang on a Can and River to River Festival at the World Financial Center challenge my perception regarding malls and culture. Owned by Brookfield Properties Corporation, the … Continue reading
Bad Architecture
High rise development over by Port Authority. Not only is it dizzying to look at it, surely we’ve learned that glass high-rise architecture looks cheap when mass produced and is expensive and inefficient to maintain.
Utopiography 