Magazine Shorts

The Organic Progression, Stemming From the Counter
Scott Ballum | October 30, 2009

I first encountered Counter, the East Village organic vegetarian bar and bistro, while tracing back my food habits and options during my year of consuming conciously.  One of my favorite vendors at the Union Square Greenmarket, serving up the wraps and turnovers I'd been lunching on for months (and exclusively once the project started) pointed me towards the kitchen in which his goods were prepared—and I dropped in to follow the chain back.

Notes on Productivity, a.k.a. The 80/20 Rule, a.k.a. Don't Be Superman
Emily Warren | October 28, 2009

My world of hyper-tasking is out of control: daily I read 6 websites at once while chatting online with 4 people, all while replying to emails and people's questions shouted out across the office. Total brain overload, something that afflicts so many of us in the age of the Internet. *Sigh*.

Sustainably Scandinavian: Edgy and Ethical Fashion
Kate Bryant | October 26, 2009

If designers like Titania Inglis are any indication, ethical fashion is finally hitting its stride. Her recently launched line breaks tradition from the drab hippy sacks of yore, hewing more closely to the Scandinavian idea of "a very pared-down, architectural" and "androgynous" aesthetic (Titania herself hails from Ithaca, NY). But what really sets it apart is a whole-hearted dedication to establishing a sustainable model that considers practice as well as product.

Taliah's Fixed Gear, A Business Painting Bikes
Scott Ballum | October 22, 2009

To a certain subsect of its residence, Taliah Lempert's bicycle paintings and prints are as close to a symbol of Brooklyn as there is. Bold, handcrafted, and diverse, with a slightly imperfect charm, her bicycle portraits are as unique as their riders and ubiquitous as their subjects careening along bike paths and through intersections across the borough.

Outpost: Bringing Bartering Back
Maggie Feuchter | October 19, 2009

Last week, I participated in the New York Thursday night activity of gallery hopping. This time, though, I wasn't solely tempted by the prospect of free booze mixed with incredible people watching and taking in a well-known artist's new work. Instead, I faced an unseasonably blustery and bitter October night to witness, and even participate in, good old fashioned bartering.

The Bigger Picture: Festival of Interdependence
Scott Ballum | October 14, 2009

Our friends across the Atlantic are staging a free interactive, living exhibition dedicated to bringing together artists, thinkers, and activists for a day of learning, making, celebrating and debating, about how we can start the Great Transition to a new economy:

There is a way the economy can work for people and planet. A way to create greater social justice and well-being and still protect the environment. But creating this new economy will require a huge shift in ideas and institutions.