The Thought Kitchen is our effort at collective inquiry and its power to affect change. Have you ever noticed how the party is always in the kitchen? There are more walls to lean on and people are energized by the proximity to food and drink. Well, welcome to our kitchen, where we hope to tap into everything we love about that feeling—community, vivacious exchange, food for thought.
A conceptual design from 1999, Non-Stop Shoes (NSS), by Spanish designer Emil Padòs, is a collaboration with Camper that asks the question: What would happen if you could harness the energy you create through walking? Padòs imagines a world where the calories you exert through everyday activity can be stored and used later to power small lights, mp3 players, fans or other appliances. This invention seems so obvious that I’m really surprised it hasn’t become commonplace in footwear. A quick search on Google reveals that a US patent was awarded for “footwear with energy storing sole construction” in 2001, but I’ve yet to see anything utilizing this technology on the market. Can you imagine the benefit of self-sufficient energy for activities like trekking? Or better yet, what if all the runners in a marathon were given this footwear, and the collective energy harvested could be used for some form of positive change?
Seasoned action sports photographer Scott Starr has made it his mission to collect vintage surf, skate, bike, and snowboard video clips and archive them on Youtube. Shut down once already for complaints regarding copyright, his channel includes amazing vintage commercials and television segments, including the above Wham-o Wheelie Bar ad, Mr. Ed the surfing horse, and a 1969 Coke commercial featuring Jay Adams. Cruising through his 140 videos is an experience that’ll have you saying “rad” again and again, and really meaning it.
In this digital age, when email has replaced letter writing, megapixels have become film, and Wacom tablets are more convenient than canvasses and paintbrushes, it’s refreshing to get back to the simple, sensual act of laying down an expressive line in jet-black ink.
I was just given this hand-crafted Tim’s Pen from Portland’s Timothy Leigh Company a few days ago and love everything about it. The pen’s shaft is made from found and repurposed Birdseye Maple, long-aged and finished with oil and fine wax; the nib holder is brass pipe; the nib itself is hammered and foiled from a recycled metal can. Even the caps on the box are beautiful, carved from incense cedar.
The tool itself is handsome enough to be called art, but to hold it in your hand, dip it in ink, and actually use it—that is really special. The variation of the line that can be achieved by simply changing angles and pressure can shift from fat and powerful to delicate and fragile in one stroke.
Attempting to channel Picasso’s Don Quixote, I immediately scratched out a drawing of a surfer, thrilled at how rich the 15-minute process was: the scratch of the nib on paper, the volatile pools of dripping ebony.
Handmade, sustainable, one-of-a-kind, and designed to last a lifetime, this is perhaps the gift I’ll covet most and longest after the holiday season.
Tim Pen’s start at $35, depending on the wood used. The only way to get one is to contact Tim directly: tim at leighcompany dot com. (If you do, ask him how he started this inspiring endeavor.)
On a trip to New York City last summer, I made the requisite stop at the MoMA to check out a Richard Serra retrospective. Surprisingly, I spent more time studying the large on-site sketches by Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi that graced the walls of the museum’s atrium. Called Project 85, the collection of cartoonish line drawings delivered sharp political and social commentary in a way that was layered with humor and playfulness, despite Perjovschi’s sparse—almost childish—drawing style. (I wish I could draw like that.)
The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is currently presenting a mid-career retrospective of Dan’s and his wife Lia Perjovschi’s work called States of Mind, that would be worth checking out, if you’re in the area before the exhibit ends January 8.
Next week, the Greenbuild Expo will be in Chicago, making the city the site for a multinational event celebrating years of research, development, and innovation in sustainable architecture and construction. It is said to be the biggest Greenbuild yet, with approximately 18,000 attendees—the first conference only five years ago drew 4,200. No less than Former President Bill Clinton will be on hand to kick off the show. Needless to say, this will be an epic reference point for the future of the eco-conscious design and building community… and for those of us who live and work in buildings.
On the evening of Wednesday, November 7th, after a full day of keynotes by internationally-renowned leaders and innovators, over 850 exhibit booths demonstrating the newest products and technologies, and dozens of educational sessions, we will be winding down (or just starting to kick it to the sun) at the PDX Lounge for Film & Fashion Night. Located at the Chicago Illuminating Company, PDX Lounge is a home away from home during Greenbuild for Oregon businesses with an interest in sustainability. Film & Fashion Night will feature continuous screenings of independent environmental short films, sustainable outdoor clothing by Nau and footwear from the fine cobblers at Keen, performances of Pilates, Flatland BMX and Parkour by The Tribe, and beats from a seasoned DJ collective—not to mention cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Film & Fashion Night will be an event that can only be defined by its audience, so, download a ticket, print it out on sustainable goods, and come enjoy the unique flavor brought to us by a Portland communal in Chicago, the best No Coast City with one of the greenest futures.
The Details:
WHO: Hosted by Nau, Keen, Tonkon Torp, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and Sustainable Industries Magazine.
WHERE: Chicago Illuminating Company, 19 East 21st St. (Less than 3 blocks from Greenbuild.)
WHEN: Wednesday, November 7th, 9pm-Midnight
No admittance without a ticket, which you can download here.
First drink is free with ticket.
Imagine a building that is built to operate as elegantly and efficiently as a flower. Imagine a building that is informed by the eco-region’s characteristics and that generates all of its own energy with renewable resources; one that captures and treats all of its water on site, using resources efficiently and for maximum beauty.
The Cascadia Region Green Building Council (Cascadia) is issuing a challenge to all building owners, architects, engineers and design professionals to build in a way that will provide us, and our children, with a sustainable future.
I learned about the Living Building Challenge from a Cascadia member at a recent party. During our conversation, she remarked that 50 projects are already competing to become the first “living building.” Through this chance meeting, I discovered an organization truly committed to pushing the envelope of sustainability.
Since getting teased off the playground in grade school for not knowing who Slash was, I’ve never been much of a music aficionado. So if you had asked me yesterday if I’d ever heard of the Amen break, a six second drum solo from the b-side of a 1969 album released by The Winstons, I would have said “no” without hesitation. But I would have been wrong. In fact, we’ve all heard the Amen break many times, though I wouldn’t have known it but for this short film that provides the background for a cultural touchstone so ubiquitous it’s faded into the soundscape of everyday life.
Though a tad on the long side—I get the sense the narrator slowed his voice down for anonymity—this video provides a fascinating history of the Amen break’s transformation from B-side drum break to foundation sample of 80’s hip-hop to jungle dance beat to its modern incarnation as the background music in SUV commercials. Along the way, it demonstrates the power of data-sharing to create new genres of music, foster cultural movements and even contribute to the development of new economies. In doing so, it intersects many of the ideas of the open-source movement, such as those espoused by Copyleft, as well as the principle behind Nau’s decision not to license its fabric technologies, thereby making them available to competitors (through the individual fabric vendors) royalty-free. Read on »
I happened to catch “Manufactured Landscapes” during its brief stint here in Portland and it brought my busy mind to a screeching halt. It’s a documentary about nature transformed by industry in rural and urban China through the lens of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. It won several “Best Documentary” and “Best Canadian Film” awards since it was released earlier this year. I can say with absolute certainty that I will never look at the “Made in China” stamp again without thinking about the images in this movie and my personal contribution to their existence.
This poster caught my eye, as we walked down a street in one of Vienna’s younger, hipper districts, which had only really flourished from funky to cool in the last five years or so. I couldn’t figure our what it was about, so I asked my hosts, Sigrid and Astrid (Austrian women really do have great names). Turns out the place offers a free service where you can bring your drugs to have them checked out and tested. Tested for what, you ask? Well, to see if they are what you think are of course. Yup, if you’re not sure about that ecstasy your cousin hooked you up with last week in Amsterdam, you can bring it in for free analysis, in the hopes that people knowing what they’re taking will prevent overdoses, or worse.
Red results mean you’ve got rat poison in your cocaine. Yellow means it’s OK, but you didn’t get the good stuff. And white means you’re all clear.
Controversial? In our county, sure. It’s right up there with needle exchange programs for a topic that people are bound to feel strongly about. But Europe has always been more open about the fact that people will take drugs whether they’re legal or not, and about endorsing an approach that tries to keep more people safe, however possible. I’m not saying this is the best way to go, but topics like this remind me a little of that saying “If you can’t change your mind, are you sure you still have one?” By the way, how’s our war on drugs going? I haven’t been paying attention, what with all the other wars we’re fighting.
Next week, the 
Imagine a building that is built to operate as elegantly and efficiently as a flower. Imagine a building that is informed by the eco-region’s characteristics and that generates all of its own energy with renewable resources; one that captures and treats all of its water on site, using resources efficiently and for maximum beauty.
