8.4.08 | A cool breeze on a hot day in Manhattan is enough to generate a passing moment of gratitude in even the most jaded New Yorker. That was the refreshing welcome that greeted me as I passed through the elegant doors of the A&D Building on East 58^th Street.

7.28.08 | When I received the recent press information on the 2008 Applied Brilliance Conference, I immediately thought of the Knoll Cranbrook series led by Carl Magnusson in the late 1990s. These presented an array of outstanding individuals, practices and ideas ranging from teenage composers to students of genetic algorithms to noted architects and designers. This, to me, was the stimulant equivalent that others find in disco lights, outlandish customs and hairdos and thumping, screeching sounds.

7.21.08 | The weather was in the reasonable 80s for the 4^th annual First LOOK event at the New York Design Center, not like last year when the heavy morning rain was followed by an exploded steam pipe nearly in front of 200 Lexington Ave., or the year before when temperatures reach a scalding (for NYC) 107 degrees. So, we left the green, heavily wooded areas of Connecticut and, well, Queens, to venture into Manhattan to get our own first looks.

7.21.08 | Over 900 local architects and interior designers hit Chicago's Oak Street beach for the 26^th Annual Brenda Faist Associates Battle of the Design Stars beach volleyball tournament sponsored by Sedia Systems.