Here's to lookin' at you, Kidd.

have had a youthful, i love new york-get-me-the-t-shirt feeling overcome me the last few days. no work on monday meant sleeping in and being woken with sun shining into my window from the courtyard, which i thought was physically impossible (as i was waking, i was thinking about oceans 12, when they elevated the pilots because it WAS physically impossible...proving i can be oceans obsessive even in the a.m.).

i took a stroll through central park, since it was 60 degree weather, with my coat flopped over my shoulder, welcoming the warmth. i couldn't help but smile with bikers racing past and moms chatting with their stroller-bound. went to the museum of the city of new york, which never fails to have a good photography exhibit with a good dosage of ny and theater history. photos by rudy burckhardt were the highlight, especially the walker evans-esque 50s photos taken on the subway, and flatiron shadow shots. there was a "manhattan at noon" photog exhibit that was one artists attempt to utilize their lunch break, taking a shot or two every day as they went out for noon break. he was inspired by frank o'hara, who would walk the streets of ny on his lunch break, stop in the typewriter shops, and "test" the machines, writing a short poem every day (published now as a collection in the book, "Lunch Poems." i of course loved this idea, as you can imagine. i do not seek to be published, but I am inspired and obsessed. i like to eat lunch, so i am doing a short sketch every evening before bed. and now i want a typewriter, an Olivetti if you find one. there is something about that pinging noise, the manual punch of the keys that makes my heart pitter a bit.

then went to the neue gallerie, a german and austrian collection of sabarsky. you could feel your back straighten a bit just walking in the door. there was a great gustav klimt exhibit, complete with a full studio recreation, and his furniture made custom by josef hoffman. i have never been in a more strict museum. they would not let me wear my coat over my arm, or loosely untoggled. i was "spoken to" twice! i wish i would've worn my von trapp skirt, and then i could've been ordered by whistle.

went to astor place to go book browsing, and then to a Chip Kidd reading and book signing. you may recognize him as the author of The Cheese Monkeys, or as a renown book jacket designer. He is an amazing storyteller. I loved it so much that i caved and bought his new book, The Learners. It is a witty novel about a graphic designer who just graduated and is trying to establish himself. Fitting. Met some School of Visual Arts students, which was sweet.

i love john mayer, but starbucks needs to lay off him for awhile. ah!

today was a lovely day, of chinese text, magnificent jewels, and timeline comps. and Stefan Sagmeister, a graphic designer who has some pretty awesome installation art and some smart graphic solutions, too. Went to an AIGA lecture of his at FIT. He was entertaining, and pretty inspiring. He was introduced by Paula Scher, another successful graphic designer, to say the least. at lunch we discussed pets, Swiffers, and laundry. that is what you get working with a bunch of women. but there were periods of intense laughter. that is satisfaction enough.