Hasta La Ideas

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pFlyNY invites you to design and donate an original, handmade kite for the strong2nd Annual NYC international kite design competition/strong. Upload your design ideas to a href=”http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/flyny/3848/”Architizer.com/a and present your kite on strongAugust 21st/strong at a public kite flying showcase on Pier I in Riverside Park. FlyNY will short-list approximately 40 kites for participation in a special pre-launch event and auction on August 18th. At the pre-launch event, a distinguished jury will review your kite and curate a live panel discussion. Encourage your friends and colleagues to review your designs on Architizer, as FlyNY will consider community favorites!/p

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pemFor all the details please click!/em/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/events/high_as_a_kite_flyny_design_competition_16976.asp”(more…)/a
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From artisan flatbreads to heart-shaped Lahvosh, four fresh ways to liven up a cheese plate

For snacking or adding to our frequent afternoon cheese plate, we’ve found a few new crackers.

Aunt Berta’s Whole Grain Crackers

Made entirely of natural seeds and whole grains, Aunt Berta’s Whole Grain Crackers are as delicious as they are nutritious. Available in Whole Wheat, Rye and the tasty herbed Zatar, these unusual looking crackers from Israel are free of sugar, oils, flour, food coloring and flavor additives. With a natural and hearty taste, they’re full of fiber and heart-healthy Omega 3s. Aunt Berta’s products will soon be available on their website.

Valley Lahvosh Crackerbread Hearts, Rounds and Stars

While Valley Lahvosh‘s 15-inch crackerbread rounds are a favorite but not the best looking on a cheese plate when broken up. Their new Hearts, Rounds and Stars offer the same great cracker in a more manageable and attractive shape that pairs well with toppings, cheese or dips of choice. Pick them up online or from your local grocer for around $4 a box.

Little Ragghi’s Crackers

Dubbed “the world’s most addictive cracker,” Little Ragghi’s Crackers are an artisan flatbread baked with olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Still handmade by Native American Indian Raggatha Calentine, the distinctive taste is attributed to the love that she bakes into each batch. A portion of profits from each purchase, including the popular $7 satchel, is donated to the Native American Family Camp, keeping Little Ragghi’s vision alive.

Natural Nectar Cracklesnax

Huntington, NY-based brand Natural Nectar recently released a new line of chip-like crackers delicious enough for snacking without help from dips or cheese—though they do pair particularly well. Cracklesnax are made from natural ingredients like potato, tomato, parsley and spinach, and each square is a healthy crispy puff that contains less than 40% of the fat of a regular potato chip. Currently unavailable online, Cracklesnax fans can find them at most local health food stores.

Speaking of profiles of modern architects, if you read one thing today (besides everything we post on UnBeige, of course), make sure it’s Robert Sharoff‘s excellent piece for Chicago on Harry Weese, the architect who played a central role in making Chicago the epicenter of modernism during the mid-60s to ’70s, as well as a number of important rehabilitation and restoration endeavors throughout the city, and was responsible for projects like Washington D.C.’s beautiful Metro system. It’s a who’s who of modernism, as Weese pals around with Mies van der Rohe, the Eames, I.M. Pei and Eero Saarinen, among many others, as well as the sad story of a rise to greatness followed swiftly by a series of difficult falls until his death in the late-90s as Weese plunged further into alcoholism, womanizing, financial troubles, and eventually dying in relative obscurity in a veterans hospital he called home for the last decade of his life. It’s a great, if sad read, and a nice, early companion to Robert Bruegmann‘s upcoming book The Architecture of Harry Weese, which is set to be published in September and will hopefully help to revive the legacy of this once-great architect. Here’s a interesting bit from at the height of his career:

In 1968, Esquire published a feature article on the problems of half a dozen American cities and invited Weese to outline his ideas for improving Chicago. Among other things, he suggested raising Lake Shore Drive seven feet, to the level of Buckingham Fountain, and creating a new waterfront commercial district underneath the resulting viaducts. More ideas would follow: building a third airport three miles offshore on an island in Lake Michigan; glassing over Wabash Avenue for a retail arcade; creating a world’s fair to rival Burnham’s 1893 Columbian Exposition.

“He used to send Mayor Daley a sketch of something Chicago should be doing every two weeks or so,” says [former colleague Jack Hartray].

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

pI wear earbud-style headphones, the kind that you shove into your ear for that hermetically-sealed, underwater sensation, and one of the most unpleasant sensations in the world is when one of them accidentally gets yanked out because the cord got caught on something. I guess I’m kind of a klutz because it happens to me at least once a week, and each time I turn to the camera and say “There’s got to be a better way” like I’m in an infomercial./p

pThis might be the “better way:” Danish firm Kilo Design’s A HREF=”http://www.kilodesign.dk/index_subsubpage.asp?subsubpageIDX=35subpageIDX=6mainpageIDX=9″ Swirl headphones/A, which have a Secret-Service-Agent-like spiral in the cord, meant to be worn behind your ear with the bud coming over the top. /p

pimg alt=”0kdswirl.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0kdswirl.jpg” width=”468″ height=”1050″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pThey’re A HREF=”http://www.amazon.com/AIAIAI-Swirl-2-0-Earphones-Transparent/dp/B003EBE0IU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1279501404sr=8-3-spell” available on Amazon/A and I’d order ’em right away, but I don’t see any freaking phone mic! Come on, guys! Secret Service guys always have a little thingy they talk into, even if it’s in their cufflinks./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/kilo_designs_earbuds_that_hopefully_wont_get_violently_yanked_out_of_your_ear_canal_16970.asp”(more…)/a
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It’s easy to back out of an obligation if technically it’s not yet an obligation. When someone asks for your help on a project, you can thank him for considering you, explain that you are not the best person for the job, and recommend an alternative person or method for getting the help he needs. However, we don’t always say “no” when we should and sometimes it’s not until we’re involved in a project that we realize it’s the wrong project for us.

For those times when you’re carrying more obligations or the wrong obligations, you need a management (and possibly an exit) strategy to regain control of your time.

• Ask for help. This could mean going to the project organizer and requesting that he assist you in prioritizing and scheduling your work, or it could mean picking up the phone and asking someone to step in and lend a hand. Know what resources are available to you, and don’t be reluctant to take advantage of them.
• Identify the problem. Is it the time commitment that is driving you bonkers or that you were misled about what you would be doing? Maybe the problem is that you were once interested in the project, but you’re ready now to move on to something else? Knowing exactly why you want to change your relationship with a project can help you find the solution.
• Change your mindset. Often times, just deciding to feel differently about an obligation can improve the situation. Instead of believing you have to do something, you change your thoughts to acknowledging you get to do it and the stress goes away.
• Manage expectations. If you think you’re going to miss an upcoming deadline, tell those who are depending on you about it as early as possible. “We spent all last night in the ER after my kid wiped out on his bicycle. My work today likely won’t be as productive as it normally is. Just giving you a head’s up that this might alter the deadline.” Keeping your team members in the loop has the benefit of reducing your stress levels. Don’t whine or exaggerate or act defensively, just communicate the facts. People understand that life happens.
• Know exactly what needs to get done. The stress of an obligation is sometimes greater than the actual obligation. Identify exactly what action items you need to take, and maybe your stress levels will reduce.
• Create a detailed exit strategy. Similar to planning any project, you’ll need a roadmap for where you’re going that is complete with action items and milestones. Want to get off a committee at your daughter’s school? Your plan for how that will happen might look like: 1. Complete all current work assigned to you, 2. Find a replacement committee member or alternative method for getting the work done in the future, 3. Craft your resignation note, 4. Buck up and resign, but be gracious (a small gift of appreciation for the committee chair might be in order).
• Know your priorities. There are times when the obligation is a good one, it’s just not good right now. I’ve recently been asked to serve on a curriculum committee for an organization that I value. I’m honored they considered me, and would love being on the committee, but can’t do the work right now. I told the organization this and also said that once my son starts pre-school in a couple years that I hope to be able to participate then if they still want/need my help. Spending my free time with my son is more important to me right now than serving on this committee.

No matter what route you take to getting out from under the stress of being over-committed, be respectful of the people who will pick up the work that you are no longer responsible for completing. Even though you might want to burn some bridges, it’s never a good idea to just abandon your obligations. You wouldn’t want someone to do it to you.

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