I ran across this wonderful video of Tom Waits: A Day In Vienna on YouTube while looking for an entirely different video set in Vienna. But since I’m leaving Vienna today I thought I’d share. The 30 minute documentary was shot in 1979 for Austrian TV by filmmakers Rudi Dolenzal and Hannes Rossacher.
Marcus Kirby’s London-based cartography firm The Future Mapping Company is developing an international reputation among map geeks and travelers for exceptional maps based on bold color palettes and cutting edge design. This all makes us eagerly await the release next week of Kirby’s new map of New York City’s five boroughs. Not inexpensive at $57, the lithographic purity and silk coated Italian printed paper makes these maps cartographic works of art.
Since nearly all of the movie footage that we see from the first half of the 20th century was shot in black and white, we miss out on the rich texture of those bye-gone years. So, this amazing film of 1927 London by cinematographer Claude Frisse-Green offers a rare glimpse of a journey around the city’s famous landmarks and neighborhoods in living color.
Back in January, the historic,Baltic port city of Gdansk, Poland launched an admirable campaign to promote literacy among the citizenry by stocking thirty-five new local trams with a rolling library of 5,000 new books. Unfortunately, the campaign provide to be too popular and by April every last book had disappeared. Not deterred by the light-fingered tram riders, the Regional Library Director Pawel Braun had the trams outfitted with virtual bookshelves where riders can scan QR codes from posters and download books to their mobile devices.
New York City-based cinematographer Ryan Nethery has put together a disturbing little Tumblr that shows some dreadful rooms for rent in Brooklyn and Manhattan—and they’re not cheap. Called The Worst Room, the blog is a product of Nethery’s personal, painful search for an affordable place to live in New York City.
These marvelous maps are by Japanese illustrator Takayo Akiyama and were commissioned by the British firm Alfred Dunhill. She has somehow managed to combine contemporary whimsy with a decidedly Victorian sensibility. You can see more of her wonderful illustrations right here.
When it opens in 2015 the new 53rd street branch of the New York Public Library will occupy the three lower floors of a condo-hotel being developed by the Starwood Group and Baccarat Crystal co.. The $20 library is being designed by TEN Arquitectos.
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