house: garden lift-off

Here are the three reactor cores with the dilithium crystals that regulate the matter-antimatter conversion set to max.


No, it's a water fountain, see the lower-left corner.


Rene, Alma Hecht of Second Nature Design, and Louis of Louis Devereux Landscapes working hard just a few days earlier. (Two weeks ago there was nothing here at all.)

fashion: Jhane Barnes in person

A store opened up in Walnut Creek in Northern California carrying a treasure trove of Jhane Barnes menswear designs, and Jhane was there in person!

Jhane with the "Infrastructure" shirt I bought, which she signed.

She was gracious and obviously a huge enthusiast of the textile processes and craftspeople that bring her designs to life; she spent a lot of time talking about design and weaving and tailoring with everyone. She wears her artistry lightly, it's running a business with a global supply chain that's a struggle.


That Bartlett Baron store has so many items, it's an art gallery where you can and should touch and examine the artworks, often while worn by other customers ("Mind if I feel your shirt?"). Even with interactive pan and zoom, viewing the clothing on a web site doesn't come close to their physical manifestation. Despite all the on-screen software (PhotoShop and custom pattern software and loom programming) in their creation, they're tailored surfaces with a 3D structure.

I keep saying, her art is so cheap it's a steal, and you can wear it; I should forget about closets and just hang everything on the wall. The gentlemen below own something like 3,000 pieces between them.

The asymmetry of fame

It's a strange feeling to be a fan and meet your idol/heroine. You follow him or her from afar, you acquire their artistic output, maybe you write about them, and one day you're there up close and personal. It's the high point of your year, but for them it's another interaction on a grueling tour.

I've met William Gibson at book signings, Thomas Dolby after a concert, Adrian Legg at a ridiculously sparsely attended gig, and now Jhane Barnes. William Gibson knew about my bibliography/mediagraphy, and registering the domain JhaneBarnesIsGod.com does get you noticed, but c'mon, I'm standing next to one of the preëminent artists of our time. The only thing to do is drop to your knees and prostrate yourself, “We're not worthy” Wayne's World style.