I’ve been slammed with work lately. The opening of The National WWII Museum expansion is just a few weeks away and it’s ridiculously busy here. Here’s a laundry list of what I’ve been doing and thinking about for the past few weeks and months, when I’ve actually found any time for a life outside of work:
Baby preparations! My lovely wife and I are expecting our first child in April. Each week brings a new interesting development. I love my expanding family so much.
The 2009 New Orleans Saints, who are playing the best football in franchise history. I hope this lasts all the way to the Superbowl.DEPT of CHANGES, a new project I’m working on with Erik Kiesewetter.
Sara Roahen, whose excellent treatise on Red Beans & Rice “Rising to the Occasion” has inspired a rebirth in my obsession with cooking that storied dish. If you’re a friend of mine you should get in touch to come over for dinner one Monday night. I’m making the best beans of my life right now.
Broadcast and The Focus Group - #1 : Witch Cults, a collaboration between the British graphic designer Julian House and the band Broadcast. The EP that this video is tied to has been on heavy rotation in my life throughout this season of the witch.
Fellini Satyricon: I revisited this film a few weeks ago and it absolutely blew me away. Roman decadence through the modernist lens of Fellini’s ego at its height.
Each time I listen to Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion it gets better. This is my favorite album of the year and one of the decade’s best.
Momofuku. I’m still obsessing over David Chang’s approach to cooking, nine months after my consecutive trips to Momofuku Ssam Bar. His Momofuku cookbook is released today.
I’ve been on a Thelonius Monk kick lately. His dissonant jazz serenades are among the finest recorded material of the 20th century.
My mom gave me the Times-Picayune recipe collection Cooking Up a Storm for Christmas last year and I’m just now getting to it. It contains a wide variety of great recipes for New Orleans classics. My favorite recipe is for McKenzie's Oyster Patties. I'm going to try them for Thanksgiving. As a side-note my stepfather gets a great acknowledgement, he worked with the authors to retrieve files from Katrina damaged hard-drives.
The last of my work with Annunciation Interactive went live over the past few weeks:
- The Annunciation site 3 years in the making finally launched a few weeks ago. Initial concept and design by yours truly. Flash, design expansion, copy & WordPress by Benjamin Seyna and Peter Rigney.
- Lakeside Camera redesign. I designed the central concepts, layout, and interface for this very large project. Front-end code by Alan Kukral, Expression Engine integration by Jon Willoth.
- The Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, Tulane University. I designed this site based off of branding by Trumpet. Front-end code by Alan Kukral, WordPress integration by Benjamin Seyna.
Finally, a note of congratulations to my friend Stephen G. Rhodes, who recently had openings at Vilma Gold London, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi Berlin, Metro Pictures New York and the Frieze Art Fair. That’s on top of earlier shows this year at the New Museum and Misako & Rosen Tokyo. I’m looking forward to watching some Tigers / Saints football with him when he comes home in a few weeks.
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