A week off last week, as I was in Madeira. What a pretty place! The notorious airport runway was everything I hoped for and feared (sea fog in my case, rather than high winds).
On artisanal food at scale: La Boulangerie in SF, Ladurée’s macarons.
Jerry Saltz on how to be an artist, and his tour of NY paintings.
Obituary of Stephen Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob Squarepants.
Another book about the edgelands of Essex. I’m half way through, and it goes at quite a pelt, but that’s because Essex has 350 miles of coast to cover. Well researched and referenced, and thankfully not too Brexit-y so far. It talks about several other initiatives, such as Radical Essex, that are doing a great job of telling an often looked-over history of a far away place so close to capital. There’s new Government money for the Great Thames Park, which seems to just be a passing bon mot in an Arup masterplan. Let’s hope it doesn’t bulldozer the wildness and the weirdness. Meades’ Joy Of Essex is on iPlayer again for a limited time.
A regular reminder of how great libraries are. Many now offer magazines through apps on your phone – no need for a New Yorker, Economist or Atlantic subscription. Sure, the apps are a bit clunky (and of course every council uses a different app) but it’s such a benefit to have for free.
Japanese industrial night scenery tourism, kojo yakei.
The Gavlë goat is back!
Terry Farrell’s pomo doll house
Tweets of the week:
Service design elephants-in-the-room
