Insufficient Postage

Album: July 4th

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 long-form, “mass reach” media like television are dead; the future is all about low-budget, viral messages expressed in 140 characters or less. [Editor's note: it's actually a very insightful parody, though clearly over-stated]

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.

Borrowing the techniques of Madison Avenue, the show’s producers combined rigorous audience research with break-through creative thinking to great effect. The show's success demonstrates the power of an "old", linear media like TV, under the right circumstances, to catalyze -- or at least accelerate -- the flow of ideas.

• 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 -- I still remember vividly Mr. Hooper’s death (which prepared me for the first death in my real-life family only a few months after); and,
• Though hard to prove empirically, many claim the show’s openness to people of all colors, creeds and sexual orientations reshaped the culture at large, paving the way for President Obama and gay marriage several decades later.

Critics might point to Sesame Street’s recent ratings trajectory -- it now ranks 15th in the category -- as evidence of its obsolescence. But, in my mind, the ratings have more to do with budget cuts -- which have forced the show to cut back on staff and production of new episodes -- than media consumption habits. I know of at least one two-year-old who, if asked how he gets to Sesame Street, will point you to his favorite clips on YouTube.

Related Link: 10 Awesome Moments from Sesame Street

The question we really should be asking is not "are episodic series (and the long-form advertisements that accompany them) irrelevant?" but how can we make them even more relevant and impact-ful than ever?

Beer Can Chicken

In the summer months, two things men love are grilling and drinking beer. Put them together and you have beer can chicken, aka chicken on the throne (which begs the question, which came first, the chicken or the throne?).

Why beer? About.com explains: "First of all, you are adding a source of moisture to the chicken that keeps it from drying out. Second,...the yeast and malt found in beer reacts with the chicken, particularly the skin, making it thin and crispy while the meat remains juicy."

Those concerned about the chickens tipping over can purchase a device such as Williams-Sonoma's Vertical Chicken Roaster or Captain Steve's Beer Can Roaster, although purists prefer a half-drunk can of Bud.

Photo taken at Cool Acres Ranch, Orchard, Texas

'Tis better to have blogged and stopped than never to have blogged at all

The New York Times reports that 95 percent of blogs have been abandoned by their creators.

A bit depressing until you think about how many great ideas have been scribbled on Post-It notes, or bar napkins, and lost entirely.

Speaking of Post-It notes, here are some novel uses:

Kinnernet USA

Apropos the title of this blog, Insufficient Postage spent the weekend at the Bolger Conference Center in Potomac, Maryland, an 83-acre govenrment training facility named after a former Postmaster General. 

 

In this particular instance, however, it was home to Kinnernet USA, a camp for Internet and technology types hosted by Yossi Vardi and Jeff Pulver. 

Kinnernet is an "un-conference" in the mode of Tim O'Reilly's foo camp ("the wiki of conferences"). There are no pre-programmed activities, leaving the agenda entirely up to the participants. Everyone is encouraged to lead a discussion, share a talent or hobby and cook their favorite dishes.

Recession Proof

Hot dogs and ice cream on a glorious spring day.

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A Carnivore's Delight

"The New York State steak dinner, or 'beefsteak,' is a form of gluttony as stylized and regional as the riverbank fish fry, the hot-rock clambake, or the Texas barbeque," wrote Joseph Mitchell in his now-classic New Yorker article (ca. 1939).

 

Until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote, these dinners were strictly male affairs, usually thrown by or in association with political clubs. Like the German-influenced barbeque still found in areas of Texas today (see Insufficient's earlier posting here), the old New York beefsteak would have foregone amenities like knives, forks, napkins and tablecloths. 

 "The life of the party at a beefsteak used to be the man who let out the most ecstatic grunts, drank the most beer, ate the most steak, and got the most grease on his ears," wrote Mitchell.

All of this changed in 1920 when the beefsteaks went co-ed and, in Mitchell's telling, "degenerated into polite banquets" with the forced addition of such things as "Manhattan cocktails, fruit cups, and fancy salads to the traditional menu of slices of ripened steaks, double lamb chops, kidneys, and beer by the pitcher."

 

Old Business, New Model

A new report shows that venture capital investment has fallen to its lowest level since 1997. 

But entrepreneurialism is still alive and well, at least according to this New Yorker cartoon.

A Loo With a View

The New York Times reports on the trend toward exposed bathrooms in luxury hotel suites. Designers say they like it because it's open and transparent, fresh and unfamiliar, voyeuristic and exhibitionist  - "not the old Ritz Carlton" way.

Londoners wishing to save a few bob need look no further than the Oxford Street Loo Hire.

Album: Lower East Side

Despite all that's happened over the past few months, life in and around the New York financial district could be much worse. If in doubt, just pay a visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. This is no Disney-fied history (although, on a recent visit, Disney did happen to be filming "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" just around the corner). Aside from making you grateful you don't live there, the museum also does a fine job at celebrating the lives of the immigrant families who did. 

A Shoe Shines

Think "old media" is irrelevant? See here what happened after a 70-year-old shoe brand, Bass Weejuns, received an endorsement from a leading men's fashion magazine.

 

The problem is that -- in what some marketers have started to call the fallacy of "last click attribution" -- all the credit typically goes to search, when in fact it was print media that led consumers to the search bar and determined what they actually typed into it.

As for sales impact, well, let's just say Zappo's has run out of my size.

 

Mr Brightsides

In irrationally exuberant times, we forget history, believing only in the "new paradigms" of the future. Conversely, in times of distress, we cling gratefully to the past for a modicum of comfort and stability, like the lapbar on a rollercoaster.

I was reminded of this the other day while listening to a Wall Street earnings call where the CEO, a Brit, commented that, as bad as the current situation is, it's not as bad as in the 1970's when the UK had to impose a 3-day work week. 

The English can always be counted on to look on the bright side of a recession. See also this Economist article comparing P/E ratios over time . The conclusion: stocks are trading around "fair value" if you take the long view on valuations.

It's not just the business community that's taken a renewed interest in history. According to Google Trends, there's been a major uptick in searches for "Charles Ponzi". Any guesses why that might be?

And, while we're on the subject of putting things into perspective -- although he's not English -- this rant by Louis CK, which originally aired on Conan O'Brien, is worth a look.

Album: Ski & Apres Ski

The Bull Market is Back (At Least Temporarily)

Coincidence? Who cares. Yee-haw!

Snowed in at Sundance

 

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.

One appeal is the healing qualities thought to be associated with bubbly drinks. Economics also plays to fizz's favor. During the Great Depression, soda water was known as "two cents plain" - the cheapest drink available at the soda fountain. Indeed, today while Champagne consumption is relatively flat, 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:

Sag Harbor Offseason

Photo credit: My Mom

Holy Smokes, Texas Style

The home of the best barbecue in the United States is a debate of biblical proportion, but it is generally accepted that the German-influenced meat markets in and around central Texas are of an exceptional quality and character, whatever denomination you subscribe to.

Many of the top-rated smokehouses in Texas Monthly's quinquennial review of the fifty best barbecue joints in Texas are within an hour's drive of Austin and San Antonio, making it theoretically possible to visit several of them in a single day's tour, as your correspondent did recently while passing through Austin and the Hill Country area:

The last time your correspondent had “real” barbecue was at Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous in Memphis (see earlier post here). This meal consisted of chopped pork topped with coleslaw, served up on a bun by a waiter in a white apron.

The central Texas barbecue was an experience of a considerably different sort.

Sunday in the Park with a Camera

 
 

Special Delivery

Food delivery is, for many New Yorkers, as much a regular routine as opening the refrigerator. It may make economic sense, given the high cost of real estate, which makes having a stocked kitchen pantry a luxury for most of us. At least we rationalize it that way.

Photo courtesy of newsriffs's flickr photostream

There have been other attempts to explain this ritual. These have ranged from the sociological (the prevalence of two-job families), to the cultural (the hatred of cooking by yuppies), to the geological (the city is relatively flat, hence good for bicycle delivery men). See, for examples, this article from the archives of the New Yorker.

Eureeka!

Photo courtesy of N. Gama's flickr photostream

Some men hit it big by striking gold. In 1948, while cleaning the basement beneath his Memphis diner, Charlie Vergos hit it big by striking coal - or, to be more precise, a coal chute. The rest, as they say, is history.

He expanded from ham-and-cheese sandwiches to ribs, for which the establishment (now run by Charlie's kids) is well known. They also make a mean pork shoulder sandwich, as your correspondent can attest from his recent visit.

The staff, with names like Big Jack, Stinson, Robert Senior and Robert Junior, are nearly as legendary as the food. You can read their bio's and order a few slabs of their world-famous ribs (for delivery via Fedex, another Memphis hometown favorite) on their web site - www.hogsfly.com. It's worth a visit.

Just when you thought Central Park was safe at night

Photo courtesy of mycraze's flickr photostream

Has anyone else noticed an increase in the number of raccoons living in Central Park? Go for a jog around the reservoir after dusk and you're almost guaranteed to trip over one.

The city estimates there are "hundreds" of these furry creatures in Central Park, according to this recent New York Times article. At least they keep the rats at bay, and possibly the muggers too.

Weekend in "Michigin"

The town of Leland, Michigan sits on the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, just north of Traverse City, the "cherry capital of the world."

It is a picturesque little village located on a sliver of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau, on the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula. Everything is in within walking distance of Leland's historical district, known as Fishtown:

On a recent August weekend, it was the perfect spot for a traditional summer wedding, filled with lemonade, cherries and lots and lots of corn:

Here are some visitors playing a game of "cornhole", a popular Midwestern pastime (see here for rules and regulations, courtesy of the American Cornhole Association):

And another favorite pastime, roasting 'smores on the shore of Lake Michigan:

Busy Day at the Beach

Scenes from Sagg Main beach, Sagaponack, Long Island:

A Week in the Hamptons

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