Bye Bye Cookie…

Is it me? This is the second magazine in a row with which I have been regularly affiliated that has gone under. Still do not know what is happening with the website, but my guess is that it will go the way of dominomag.com and so many others. Run do not walk to the site to stockpile the great recipes, decorating ideas and fun products (even if many are way too $$ to ever consider for your 2 year old) And check out the home decor stories for some inspiration– the more recent ones I wrote can be found here (for now!)

While I will not miss the $300 cashmere sweaters for toddlers, I will miss the photography, the style and the whole attitude of Cookie-world. It is never a bad thing to help to remind us that new motherhood does not equal a life sentence of wearing spit-up covered sweats.

You will be missed.

Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor

I have spent the vast majority of my summers in a house on the same street as one of the significant locales in Colson Whitehead’s latest novel, Sag Harbor. In fact, we played tag together as little kids and I’m sure he must have scooped me up dozens of ice cream cones from behind the counter during his summer gig at Big Olaf’s in town. So I was more than a little curious to see what this semi-autobiographical novel was all about. And thankfully it does not disappoint. Because there is nothing worse than struggling through your friend’s unreadable novel (or unbearable play or unlistenable concert) and then trying to figure out how to respond when he (or she) asks you how you liked it. We’ve all been there.

Whitehead (also author of The Intuitionist, John Henry Days and Apex Hides the Hurt, to name the major titles) is a beautiful writer, whose prose in this novel alternately takes your breath away or cracks you up. Which is particularly fitting for a boy-coming-of-age-in-the-80′s story. His descriptions of the people and places that populated his adolescence are so true to the version of Sag Harbor that I remember as to almost confuse me into thinking that this story is the gospel truth, rather than a fictionalized version of one semi-imaginary kid’s journey.

Not that there aren’t quite a few real life events and people thrown in, providing lots of conversation fodder at the beach in recent weeks. But that is neither here nor there. At the end of the day, the novel is a pleasure to read and offers a great deal of insight into the confusing and contradictory world of a young and priviledged African American male growing up in the 1980′s and trying to make sense of his various worlds. Having inhabited a somewhat parallel universe, I appreciate such a sensitive and complex portrayal being out there for people to check out.

Which I highly recommend that you do.

is this my next bike?

So to begin with, there is a compass and a live webcam. Which rocks. Next throw in the 13 speaker sound system, the laptop, the EQ panel and the radio receiver and I’m basically sold. But what makes this thing truly dope is the classic seat combined with the gold plated hubs, wheels and pedals. I mean, what is the point of all this technology without equal attention to style?

This is why Howard Goldkrand and Beth Coleman, aka soundlab cultural alchemy, are so brilliant. All of their work, both physical and sonic, is transcendent and well worth checking out. They pay loving attention to every last detail in all of the pieces that they build—it is truly inspiring. And their site is just the tip of the iceberg.