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09 February 2011

a wasted opportunity (wherein we rant about football & architecture)

since the superbowl, los angeles has been inundated with press about the possibility of a new stadium to house a new NFL team, to which m21 responds *YAWN*.

let me preface by first stating m21 could care less about football (a shocking confession, right?) honestly, we would prefer to watch paint dry then to watch a football game- the rules are arcane, there are two brief seconds of action, followed by a whole lot of waiting around and boring commentary; the halftime shows are always lame and dated; and finally- and perhaps most importantly, what's the point of watching hot young guys in great physical shape if they are completely obscured by tons of padding and helmets? ;-)

still, we are adult enough to understand that just because we don't get it, there are millions of people who live for it, and we don't begrudge them their enjoyment, so if LA needs a team, by all means, bring one here. we are a world class city, after all, and thus should have the things that world class cities need to maintain their status as such: 1st class museums, cultural institutions like the symphony and opera, and i guess, major sports franchises, too.

so that brings us to the point of today's post- if we a are to get a new NFL team, let's ensure that stadium being built for it is as world class as the city it's being built in.  it simply goes with out saying that it should be architecturally stunning, and of immediate landmark status- along the lines of our disney hall and getty center museum, and since we are in the 21st century, it should also lead in technology- perhaps being the greenest stadium ever built. instead, what has been proposed is bland and ordinary, and would be more suited to des moines or milwalkee, than to the city that has, for better or worse, come to epitomize american culture to the world (no offense to the residents of either of those assuredly lovely cities, btw).

beijing built this:

montreal built this:

munich built this:

and we are proposed this:
best of the bunch, but two swoops and a gaint LED sign, do not a masterpiece make. it's still an ugly box wearing a church lady hat.

or this:
boring and ordinary.  maybe it would have been impressive in 1978, but we expect more in the 21st century,

or this:
we can't even speak of how dreadful this ugly box of a design is. it looks like a 2nd rate convention center in a 3rd rate town.

what a wasted opportunity. these banal examples need to be sent back to the drawing board, and we need to start all over again to give the city of angels the world class landmark it deserves, and something even us football-phobics can love.  we live here too, ya know, and hundreds of thousands of citizens of los angeles, whether football fans or no, will be forced to drive by these ugly, boring boxes every day- so please AEG, corporate backers of the stadium, as well as mayor villaraigosa, give us a view that inspires, beautifies and makes us proud of our city.

read more in the breathless press release sent to promote this crap as something significant here.

oy.

05 February 2011

everybody needs some buddy, sometimes... (can you help a fella out?)

ok, we've said it before- this is NOT a pet adoption website- petfinder.com does its job far too well for us to compete, but it seems that m21's friends are just a bunch of wonderful, caring, people, so when they do good deeds like rescuing a dog from the mean streets of los angeles, it seems a small thing to make the occasional lil announcement on this (rather limited) public forum in an effort to help...
today's orphan is "buddy", a handsome and sweet 2-3 year old shepherd (?)/pit mix found in elysian park, los angeles, on january 17th- no tags, no chip and a looking a bit thin. buddy followed a facebook friend of ours and his 3 small dogs to their home, desperately looking for somewhere to belong. our friend, being a good samaritan (and father to 3 rescues already) took him in, got him to a vet where he was neutered, given shots, and a good bill of health. buddy is housetrained, so he was undoubtedly someone's pet at one time, and other then being a bit shy of people, buddy seems pretty well adjusted for somebody who was dumped in a park and left to fend for himself (just typing that breaks my heart). buddy needs some training, as you can imagine, but his foster describes him as "very sweet, quite the kisser, and not much of a barker"). because buddy's current foster's dogs are smaller and older, buddy is being kept separate, so he really needs to find a loving, forever home ASAP (though he seems to get along with the other dogs just fine, btw). buddy weighs weighs about 46 pounds and is 18 inches tall at the shoulder and 34 inches from nose to butt, so will be a great companion for someone who wants a dog as a hiking and active sport companion (that rules us out ;-).


if you live in southern california, and think you could could give buddy the love, exercise, and training he deserves, please contact me, and i'll put you in touch with his current foster; and PLEASE forward this post to anyone you think might be able to help find this handsome, sweet boy a home, as well as please post to your FB pages, blogs, twitter etc.- the more people exposed to this lover, the better the odds in our search to find him a forever home!

04 February 2011

me and my arrow


there is a resemblance, dontchathink?



happy weekend!

03 February 2011

mad beauty from boca do lobo

"diamond" sideboard by boca do lobo, available on the west coast through phyllis morris
when m21 first saw this sideboard several months ago while doing a search for credenzas on 1stdibs, we immediately bookmarked it and returned over and over again to marvel at its mad beauty.  of course, something else shiny soon caught our eye, and we forgot about it until we opened the pages of luxe magazine and spied it afresh. still love it, still think it's completely over the top, and still seriously would love to use it in a dream project one day- maybe in a gallery-like home for an international billionaire art collector/spy- it would definitely take a special place and special client to showcase something like "diamond" by boca do lobo!

here's more beautious boca do lobo limited editions from their website:





01 February 2011

poster child prints

while looking for some cool graphic art to use for a gallery wall in a current project, we stumbled across poster child prints, a site dedicated to selling "high-quality prints at modest prices so that art is within reach to all."  cool stuff.

the first thing to catch our eye was this set of 4 brightly colored prints in a signed edition of 85 by artist "jrf" for the bargain price of 60 bucks! our gallery wall is halfway finished, but our budget is just fine...
graphic and colorful, this 22" x 28" print by curtis kulig is available in a series of four variations which would look terrific hanging as  group, but we're just going to propose this one vivid red print for our wall.
this black and white print entitled "I Hate Everyone But You #2" by tim biskup, is again part of a series of 3 prints, and at 29" x 38" might be too big for our wall, but is so cool, we might find a place for it elsewhere!

last, this print "happy farmers" by artist duo, friendswithyou, is way too big for our gallery wall at 38" x 52", but is on file for the next child's bedroom we work on- it's too cute, and a bargain for such a large work at $250.00.

be sure to check at all the other great prints at the poster child prints website!