The Vision Thing

Sometimes David Brooks makes me mad. Other times, I think he's absolutely brilliant. Like other columnists I read, he makes me think. Can't ask for much more than that. And not too long ago he wrote about America's economic future. I liked what he had to say and so I'm sharing it here. His column, "The Crossroads Nation," appeared in the NYT this November. And he lays out an optimistic vision for what kind of nation we could be. I suggest you read the whole column. But here's an excerpt:

"... economic power in the 21st century is not going to look like economic power in the 20th century. The crucial fact about the new epoch is that creativity needs hubs. Information networks need junction points. The nation that can make itself the crossroads to the world will have tremendous economic and political power."

Too often we get so caught up with the issue of the day we lose sight of the big picture. Where are we going and how are we going to get there? I think we'd all like our leaders to spend a little more time developing "that vision thing." Because, without a road map for where we want to go, we're more likely to stumble around in the wilderness...

The High Line - Why I Love New York 2

We walked the High Line a few weeks ago. It's like the boardwalk with the city playing the part of ocean. All around was the bustle of urban life ebbing and flowing 50 feet below. Yet above the fray we could relax, ponder, sit, observe, chat, view, read, photograph, admireand exclaim in the company of hundreds of fellow city surfers. All of this taking place from an aerial vantage point hovering above the flow. Surrounded by plantings and such elegance of design. Design that incorporates the remnants of its original mission: providing rail freight to the West Side's meat packing and industrial enterprises. And taking fanciful flight, with an amphitheater complete with viewing window of the street, benches that rise right out of the walkway like waves, wooden lounge seats that roll on tracks, and a plentitude of artifacts, all preserved in homage to its rail yard past. And an instant creator of community. Amazing outcome for a project slated for demolition.

These photos may give you a little of the flavor.Good Magazine's first issue featured a video about the High Line's history that is a great background piece. Andthe New York Times has a whole section on it in their archives, including slide shows, multimedia and a piece on the people who perform for the high line strollers.

The Underbelly Project - Why I love New York Pt 1

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound? If over 100 street artists create intriguing, original work that no one can see, is it there? How about work created in a secret underground location known only to the artists and a select few. A never finished subway station, long abandoned, then rediscovered and tagged with intriguing images, then abandoned to the stuff of urban legend. This is The Underbelly Project. And it models a vision right out of the work of William Gibson where part of the plot of the second book in his latest trilogy focuses on virtual art only visible to a select few.

In The Underbelly Project, an abandoned subway station in the bowels of New York City serves as the exhibit site. And an excellent article in the New York Times describes the event and how it came about. The exhibit celebrates the punk sensibility of street art. In another era, it would be the surrealist or the dada sensibility. You could say the process of making the art makes its own statement - it's Art for Art's sake.

So why am I writing about this? I like the sheer audacity that they did it. I like that two street artist/curators saw the opportunity and went for it. And that 100 artists saw the elegant irony of their vision and went for it, too. That they did it for the fun and exuberance of it. And then to be thrust instantly into the mists of urban legend. And the best work, as you'll see in the slide show and video that accompanies the article, conjures the mystery of the unseen and unknown. And in an almost perverse way, it celebrates the vibrancy of America's greatest city. A city where anything seems possible.

The New New York Times

Perhaps no other newspaper is as forward thinking about the Internet and "new media" as the New York Times. They've been running a lot of video on their website, much of which I've celebrated on this blog. But where is it all heading?

According to a WSJ article, they have been giving advertisers tours of the living room of the future. Here's how the WSJ described it:

"a small room with a brown couch, a large flat-screen TV and four smaller screens on another wall. The set-up is designed to mimic how a reader will be able to receive Times content. In a demonstration, a staffer receives a Twitter message from a friend recommending a video from Times food writer Mark Bittman. Mr. Zimbalist (VP of R&D) touched the recommendation on one screen and dragged it to the flat-screen TV, which plays the video. A recipe associated with the video then appeared on Mr. Zimbalist's iPhone with an ad for a nearby Whole Foods store."

Hard to tell where the content ends and the advertising begins. But newspapers are in dire straights and they have to find new ways of making money. That's also why they're considering charging readers for access to their online content. If they continue to improve and add to their online content it very well may work. I find there's always something interesting that catches my eye. And I'm planning to write about another NYT Chang Lee video next week.