Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

All the trailers for the fall blockbusters are starting to come out. This week is the latest in the Harry Potter series. Watch the trailer in High Def here. Below are a few snaps from the set with director David Yates.

Thousand Islands 2008

In Bruges

A film that is well worth the price of a rental, In Bruges tells the tale of two British hitmen hiding out in a small town in Belgium. There is a lot of comedy, violence and emotion. Not to mention cameos by Amsterdam skinheads and an American midget (or is he a dwarf).
The film reminded me of the best Handmade Films from the 1980's.
InBruges stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Check it out.

Read an interview with director Martin McDonagh here

Weekend Dog

We packed up Seven this past weekend and headed down to the dog beach @ Longbeach....south of Los Angeles. These photos here are from our early morning walk through the grounds of nearby Occidental College.

Neutra VDL

We spent part of last saturday touring the newly reopened Neutra resdidence in Silverlake. Given to the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design by the architect's wife in 1990, docents now give saturday afternoon tours to eager patrons, students and fellow designers. Learn more here.

Miami Shooting

A few photos taken from our set wardrobe expert from our recent stint in Miami and Leesburg, FL.

Suck UK

Phosphorescent light bulbs, vases shaped like handguns, villain lounges, just
some of the great products from British based Suck UK.

Hopelessly Un-Neurotic

Diana Rigg turns 70 soon and the Telegraph has the interview.

"Today, Rigg seems to be regarded by audience and critics alike as the most daring, intelligent and inspired tragedienne on the London (and New York) stage. But it wasn't until she was in her fifties that she hit her stride, playing three award-winning leads in succession: Medea (1992-94); Mother Courage (1995) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1996). Rigg's performance as Medea was a career peak. She won a London Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award for Best Actress. In it she played a vengeful wife who kills her estranged husband's children. Coincidental though the timing was, she had just separated from her husband. "

"She is a big Barack Obama fan and thinks John McCain is too old for the job. 'I know I should be saying the opposite because I'm the same age as him, but I do think his age will make a difference. At 70, you aren't as physically robust as you were. I don't think your mental capacities are as good as they were. The President should be a younger man with older advisers.'"

"When the drink arrives, she asks for another slice of lemon and says, 'I don't normally drink at lunchtime. I'm not saying that defensively, I just don't. And in the evening I never drink before six, an old habit acquired from my father.' She makes up for it after that, though, believing in 'red before bed'. A £3.99 bottle of Chilean merlot gives you the best night's sleep in the world, she reckons. It's like being hit over the head. She wakes up 10 hours later, feeling like a spring lamb. "

Dollar Off 41%

How bad has Bush been for America?

"The dollar's 41 percent drop against the euro during Bush's term writes the economic epitaph of an administration that set out to restore American preeminence. Instead, Bush heads to Japan next week for his final international summit with diminished leverage as Russian and Chinese influence grows."

"Bush represents the worst-performing economy in the G-8 after Italy"

"America's dependence on imported capital to finance a $9.5 trillion debt -- up from $5.7 trillion when Bush took office -- has driven down the currency. The decline was accelerated by the subprime crisis that plunged the U.S. into an economic tailspin."

"Speaking at the White House yesterday, Bush tried to give the markets a nudge: ``We're strong dollar people in this administration and have always been for the strong dollar.''" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

Read the full story from Bloomberg here

Dumbo Walk

I took a walk down by the waterfront yesterday to check out the new grafitti by the tobacco warehouse. The old walls across from Jacques Torres always has some interesting stuff.... including some original art on british newsprint, a pugilistic view of George Washington and a chic but dilapidated model. Meanwhile over at fave record store Halcyon, there are some rather angry dolls in the window casting their ire on previously happy passerbys.

NYC Waterfalls

I walked down to the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday to look at our new waterfalls. For the next 4 months, man made waterfalls will be cascading water @ 5 locations. I was able to see the one up the river from the Manhattan Bridge as well. For those of you visiting the City soon, a neighbor told me the best way to view the waterfalls is from the free Ikea ferry leaving from Pier 11 in the South St. Seaport. Check it out.