Corbu's Colors

Who doesn't love a fan deck of colors? Paint samples, Pantone swatches - you name it, I love them all. But I think this one just might take the cake. The architect and designer Le Corbusier created custom paints to compliment his modernist interior spaces. Generally speaking, mention of a modernist interior evokes images of white, black, stainless steel, clear glass and an overall minimalistic sleekness. But it turns out that Corbu, in fact, used lots of well-placed splashes of color that were designed around the materials specified for a given space. The paints are mineral-based which gives them a rich quality missing in most mass-produced paints of the present day and also makes them very eco-friendly. Sometimes is easy (and sheek) being green. The paints are distributed in the US through Aronson's in NYC. I am thinking a nice Yves Klein ultramarine blue would look great in the living room.

Thanks to the NYTimes for the cool find.

BK Pizza Burger Weighs in at a Whopping 2,500 Calories

And here I thought the Double Down was bad... Burger King has announced the new New York Pizza Burger to be sold exclusively at its Times Square Whopper Bar starting this September. The "burger" consists of four patties covered in pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and pesto mayonnaise all piled on a nine inch bun and adorably sliced like a traditional pizza pie. Thank you, BK, for giving overstuffed American tourists in NYC one more reason to eat at a national fast food chain while on vacation instead of enjoying one of the many other culinary options available (a good slice of NY pizza or a piled-high deli sandwich might not save a ton of calories, but at least they are authentic New York).

My New Favorite - My Scratch Map

AMAZING. It is like a lottery ticket for past and future travels - without the payoff, but still. Use a penny to expose places you have been or hope to go. I might need two, one for each. Already have one? Share your map - what color is Russia? Serbia? Italy? Bangladesh? Thanks Gizmodo - though I must admit I am not sure I share your sentiments about the sniff option... Crepes in Paris, yes. The Nile in a drought, not so much.

The World's Coolest Sport?

Ever been freediving? This video of Guillaume Nery's freedive in the Bahamas open my eyes to what might be the world's coolest sport. It combines my love of water and my desire for adventure. The video itself is a work of art. It reminds me of Julian Schnabel's film adaptation of "The Diving Bell & The Butterfly" - magical, haunting, inspiring.

Cupcake Madness Gets Creative

Ever since the women of Sex and the City touted the deliciousness of the the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery (I, personally, am a fan of the banana cream pie), a cupcake craze has swept the nation. DC is proving no exception. From Georgetown Cupcake (rumored to be the subject of a new reality show...) to Hello Cupcake, Red Velvet and others, small cupcakes shops have been popping up all over our Nation's capital for several years now. It was high time they made a good competition - and a whole lot of fun - of the tasty treats. And so I present to you Hello Cupcake's "Design Your DC" Contest, courtesy of the Huffington Post.

UPDATED: Its official. Georgetown Cupcake has it's own reality TV show on TLC!

My New Heaven

My relationship with jello has not always been stellar. My mother went through an ill-advised jello phase in the mid-nineties the brought the likes of jello eggs, jello USAs, jello Christmas trees and various other sundries to our home. Wretch. I now, however, have a new reason (beyond Millie & Al's $1 favorites) to love this strange substance and it is all thanks to My Jello Americans. I really can't find a favorite. Each time I think I do, I discover something else. The Bacon & Eggs ranks high on the list, as do the watermelon slices, and who can say no to a strawberry rhubarb margarita?! So I bid you, explore! It's really a magical place.

Gehry's Green Gripes: A Good Trend Gone Wrong

City Center in Las Vegas - LEED Gold?

You will not often find me praising Frank Gehry, save perhaps in an occasional acknowledgment of his brilliance in the siting of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, but his recent, much-criticized commentary on the state of green building and the US industry's narrow focus on LEED has given me cause. Designing and building for a sustainable future require so much more than a checklist. In an open letter in defense of Gehry, Fred Bernstein, using the monstrous City Center development as a prime example, argues Gehry's point supremely well - "...the question is political. If there were robust public debate, Americans might decide that projects like City Center pose environmental costs that far outweigh their benefits. Zoning regulations, taxes, and other tools of government could then be used to stop such projects. LEED, by contrast, cannot stop wasteful projects from being built, nor does it attempt to." I hope Gehry's "Starchitect" status can help keep this very important issue fresh and encourage a continued and open debate on responsible, sustainable development.