Insufficient Postage

A Park with Personality

New York's newest attraction, a garden built on the remains of an elevated rail line that once carried meat and produce through the industrial neighborhoods of western Manhattan, has officially opened. (Readers unfamiliar with the project are referred to this 2-minute overview here on Youtube.)

Art and architecture critics enthuse about its design features. For me, as someone raised in the city during the 1970's, when the train was still in operation, what's even more exciting is that the High Line is a park with personality, reminiscent of a pre-Giuliani past when New York life was a bit more colorful and a little less predictable. I was pleased, therefore, to happen upon this art show in the back of a U-Haul by one of the High Line entrances on a recent afternoon:

Although centered around a physical space, the experience is more than just that. Only a few weeks old, the High Line has already produced enough stories to fill an O'Henry volume. An accordionist who plays tunes from classic video games. A young couple's engagement. A cabaret singer who performs from her fire escape:

It's also interesting to see how online media, which helped galvanize supporters around the idea of the park in the first place, is being used to enrich the experience. The Friends of the Highline publishes a wonderful blog and Flickr photo pool, both worthy of a visit unto themselves. Want to find out more about the fire-escape cabaret? Simply join the artist's Facebook group or see her here and here on Youtube. It's our tactile, industrial past meets our hyper-social, digital future, and the results are rather thrilling.

Brought to you by the letters “T” and “V”

A new video is making the rounds on YouTube proclaiming the death of Madison Avenue to the tune of Don McLean’s “American Pie” (sample lyric: “If you splurged on a TV spot,/ your brand could really gain a lot”). The thesis is that "mass" media like television are dead; the future is all about low-budget, viral messages expressed in 140 characters or less.

At the same time, Newsweek’s Lisa Guernsey writes of the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street, which may be TV’s most enduring series ever. As described in Michael Davis’ “Street Gang” (reviewed for The New York Times by my friend James Panero, who can tell you how to get to Sesame Street because, at age 6, he was there) Sesame Street’s impact has been profound.

The show’s producers borrowed audience research and creative techniques from the "Mad Men" era of television advertising, to great effect. Their success is a vivid reminder of the power of television to catalyze, or at least accelerate, the flow of ideas across a culture. Academic studies have shown Sesame Street improved a generation’s test scores and moved the bar for what children at the pre-school age were thought capable of learning. The series forged emotional bonds with its audience (who of a certain age doesn't remember Mr. Hooper’s passing?). And, the show’s openness to people of all colors, creeds and sexual orientations set the groundwork President Obama and gay marriage almost exactly a generation later.

Critics can point to Sesame Street’s recent ratings trajectory -- it now ranks 15th in the category -- as evidence of its obsolescence. Then again, there have been public television budget cuts over the years, which have forced the show to cut back on staff and production of new episodes significantly. 

In fact, Oscar, Cookie Monster and the gang still matter. At least they do for my friend's two-year-old, Christopher, who has figured out how to navigate YouTube to find them.

Fizz Lit

In case you didn't get enough of the bubbly on New Year's Eve, two new books discuss the provenance of fizzy drinks and the colorful characters behind them.

One is a biography of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, better known as the Widow Clicquot, or La Grande Dame, who in 1805, at age 27, assumed control of a modest vineyard in the Champagne region of France  and proceeded to turn it into one of the world's first major, international mega-brands.

The other is Steven Johnson's "The Invention of Air", which tells the story of Joseph Priestely, a prolific 18th century scientist and theologian, whose own "happiest" discovery was the invention of soda water.

Is fizz the new black? Could be.

Organics will appreciate the healing qualities associated with bubbly drinks. And, in today's environment, economics may also play in fizz's favor. During the Great Depression, soda water was known as "two cents plain" -- the cheapest drink available at the soda fountain. In recent months, champagne consumption has held flat, while prosecco sales have been growing by double-digit percentages, reports the New York Times.

Even Paris Hilton is into it...

Department of Guilty Pleasures: Holiday Edition

In search of music for a family holiday party, your correspondent stumbled upon a discussion thread on Gawker featuring dozens of delicious performances from Christmases past, ranging from Muppets to Peanuts, and from Run DMC to Sonny & Cher. There are a lot of guilty pleasures here, even for this season of (over)indulgence. This one is particularly rich:

Busy Day at the Beach

Scenes from Sagg Main beach, Sagaponack, Long Island:

Department of Guilty Pleasures: Duets

Confession time. Your correspondent recently spent the better part of a Saturday morning relishing in the 25 Greatest Duets of All Time.

You can't watch just one of them, but here is a teaser, if you would like to try:

Car Trouble

Another reason not to drive in London.

Ticket to Slide

Your correspodent went for a slide down the Tate Modern the other day during his lunch hour as part of an exhibit called "Test Site", by Carsten Höller. It's a great way to break up the work day, but leaves you with a curious longing for milk, cookies and a little nap.

Carsten Höller
Test Site 2006

Photo Credit: Tate Photography