Design Notes + Photos

"Quick," starts Bill Moyers, "recall the last time you heard a celebrity journalist... grill a politician on what campaign contributors get for their generosity." So starts Bill Moyers's foreword of Amy Goodman's new book, Breaking the Sound Barrier, a distinct set of essays on government transparency (and the willingness to stand up for truth), the transformation of corporate media (and the challenges facing "nonprofit journalism"), and a discussion of our "Organizer in Chief" (and how our actions as groups can provoke change).

I'm pleased to see that Amy will be stopping by a true community space tomorrow to discuss her book. She will be at Busboys and Poets (14th & V St. NW) starting at 7 p.m.

To quote Bill Moyers once again:

Amy knows the critical question for journalists is how close they are to the truth, not how close they are to power.

To me, this is what distinguishes Amy from other book-touring figures right now. Amy has "gone rogue" for the right reasons: for truth, not power, and she's been at it for a while. Come see her tomorrow!

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Follow Amy Melrose! She's got a great blog about all things free (and close to free) in DC.

An arts, culture and consciousness resource blog dedicated to all the cool, free, and super cheap things to do in Washington, DC... proving that you needn't go broke to enjoy what this city has to offer... and it's a lot! Get the scoop from a DC insider who knows how to get around without a car and is plugged in to the local scene!

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First installed at Curator's Office in the summer of 2007, Alberto Gaitan's Remembrancer left a lot of excitement in DC for web geeks and art lovers. We've read reviews by Jessica Dawson (The Post), Kristron Capps (The City Paper) and Sarah Tanguy [PDF Link] (Sculpture Mazine). Some of us read the tech blogs. We've also heard from Curator's Office Andrea Pollan and the artist himself.

Which is why I am super excited to see Remembrancer, version 2.0, open this Saturday at Taubman Art Museum's MediaLab in Roanoke, VA. See Taubman's website for exhibition info and directions. In the photo: Curator Andrea Pollan with Alberto Gaitan at the opening reception of Remembrancer in May 2007.

Machines are freaks, like us. They are a reflection of our infallible memory and perception. Gaitan's setup takes cues from the world we see, yes. But it also takes cues from something deeper and magical: the "black boxes" that control our mediation with the world.

We like to see perfection in machines. Remembrancer is a chilling reminder that we are losing something large and important in that reliance.

Consider MIT social sciences professor Sherry Turkle's book "Simulation and Its Discontents" (2009). Turkle, like Gaitan, notice the impact of technology in traditional fields of architecture, engineering and design. The worry is this: Every day, we play with exciting creators of models and designs. These tools render our ideas so perfectly that they look finished. Yet they are opaque, because we do not truly understand what goes on inside these "black boxes" we call tools (maybe the students of 1980s MIT did, but we don't). In the process, we've become too reliant on seemingly perfect memory banks. We quickly forget, then, that these banks, while necessarily precise, are not necessarily correct.

Howard Ramsen talks about "the authority of the printout," for instance--and here I am reminded of Gaitan's "old media" output of new media input. Ramsen is intimidated by the preciseness of the printout; the authority of the machine-made model. Why? Because things can go wrong when we rely too heavily; when we forget. He tells, for instance, about a design project gone wrong: "everything looked so finished," he comments, that he does not bother to check for input error. When things go wrong, we draw a blank.

Check out Curator's Office for more information about the show. Enjoy--I still am.

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Sent from my iPhone

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I'm a big fan of Philippa Hughes's Weekly Arty Picks. She never fails to make me think, laugh, or consider a new DC space. Her non-profit--The Pink Line Project--constantly finds creative ways to bridge interdisciplinary themes and personalities in the area, centered around art events and design happenings.

The Pink Line's website redesign is one of the best examples of an interactive calendar I've seen for art-related events, from a design and technology standpoint.

The Design

Content first: the best way to get to an idea. The overall look/feel: clean, playful, professional, flexible. Plenty of white space lets the event content and images take center stage.

Philippa's web team definitely took time to think about what we may want from an arts calendar. You can browse events by date, neighborhood and event type. This is great! I've always wanted a way to filter events by neighborhood, for instance--something conventional blog posts cannot do easily.

You will notice that there is hardly any pink on the site, an intentional design choice that I applaud. The subtle, crisp color palette serves a valuable purpose: to showcase photos and art without the clashing of colors, the overuse of widgets, and other busyness the eye doesn't need.

The Technology

The new site is built using one of the best open-source Content Management Systems on the web: Drupal. The CMS will allow Philippa and her staff to easily add content to the calendar and blog sections. We are also able to browse through events without having to wait for page reloads. The website follows current best practices in web development: it degrades super nicely (as a Drupal site should), and the AJAX scripting motivates user interaction while remaining unobtrusive.

Sharing

The Pink Line gets social with sharing features: send an event to a friend, or share via social networks like Facebook and StumbleUpon. Being able to tweet about an event from the event details pane would be a nice addition for a future release.

Pink Line Recommends

While the site focuses on highlighting DC art events and creative venues, it never loses its identity as a key player in the community. From upcoming Pink Line projects, to recommended Pink Line picks, we will not feel out of the loop. 

What You Should Do Next

You can still keep up with Philippa's personal blog, but definitely add The Pink Line's website to your bookmarks for the ultimate fix. Sign up to receive her e-mails. Submit an upcoming art event. Smile at the fact that you no longer have to look very far to see what's hot in the DC art and creative worlds.

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The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free For All is a much-loved Washington tradition, offering free performances of a Shakespearean classic to the general public. This year the Free For All moves to STC's new state-of-the-art theatre Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW; Metro Stop: Gallery Place-Chinatown).

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For a long time I have dreamed of opening a cafe and gallery that would be home to good food and showcase modern art trends.
- JL Grillo

                   

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(Photo by Aaron Landry)

My birthday celebration is an experiment, friends, because I'm writing at 12:50 a.m. to invite you to a dinner that I would like to have today, at 6:30 p.m. Embarrassed to send such last minute details! Initially, I was going to push to Saturday for a Marvin happy hour, because my girlfriend is at school this evening. Now, I'm thinking that I don't want to spend my birthday by myself (not that there's anything wrong with that!). If just one of you shows up to have a bite & drink with me I will probably remember you forever... the impact you'll be making on this little guy! :)

Details! My friend Jeff first suggested Matchbox DC, in Chinatown, and I quickly fell in love with the place via pictures. The food looks delicious! Gentlemen and glenteladies, the place is also environmentally responsible ;) --  see their green initiatives.

Your company is cordially requested for
Vincenzo's 25th Birthday Dinner
Matchbox DC Chinatown
Thursday, July 23, 2009
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

713 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
(between N 7th St & N 8th St)

Please RSVP by twitter or text message (see profile for phone #).

If I miss you tomorrow, I still want to keep up with you, and want to see you soon.

(Photo by Aaron Landry)

(photo by cstein96)

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Added July 28: View the photo recap for this event.

Join us for a fun evening to mark the beginning of an exciting new online initiative, Africa Rural Connect.

ARC will bring together Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, technology innovators, Africa Scholars, development workers, and anyone else with an interest in Sub-Saharan Africa to create the best ideas to improve the lives of rural farmers.

This event also marks the launch of Wegora, a site platform made especially for online collaboration.

We hope that you'll stop by to converse with friends, meet new people, and learn more about these projects!!

Feel free to extend the invitation to others. Look for us and the drink specials upstairs.

Africa Rural Connect: http://www.AfricaRuralConnect.org

Here is the Facebook Invite. I thank my buddy @Whitmoyer, for the invitation. Nick has done an incredible job designing ARC's new web presence and campaign media tools.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
6:00pm - 9:00pm

Local 16
1602 U Street, NW
Washington, DC

View Larger Map

(Invitation image courtesy of nickwhitmoyer)

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I find the theme to this exhibition quite enticing: "finding beauty in a broken world -- in the spirit of Frida Kahlo."  The last Kahlo-inspired show I attended was at Encantada Gallery in SF (see photos I took of their opening here). That was quite a while ago, so, with fresh eyes, I was pleased to see the carefully executed interpretations of Kahlo's complex work and life via the eyes of wonderfully selected artists.

Here is my friend Joan Belmar, whose cheerful and loving personality always makes for wonderful connections-- here he introduces me to two wonderful artists: Katya Romero and Constance Bergfors.

I am also honored to meet Lenny Campello in person for the first time. Lenny juried the show. He is an insightful art critic and artist, and I love keeping up with his thoughts on his influential blog, "Daily Campello Art News." 

I am also excited to meet Laura Anca Pallone, an artist from Boston, MA, who displays two works as part of this exhibition. I highly recommend that you check out her work.

A little taste of the exhibition opening

See the entire photo gallery here >.

The show is up until August 29, 2009. Click here for more information and directions to the gallery.

                                                       

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My friend Eve Hennessa will be doing live painting at XinDC tomorrow (here's the Facebook invite). Located at the EFN Lounge (bar + performance space), X is a fun multimedia event for creatives. The show will highlight DJs, designers, photographers, performance artists, and more. Wear funky glasses for a free drink! Hope to see you there.

X at EFN Lounge (map) - July 18th 7-11 p.m.

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