Peril at End House (1932)

From the Harper Collins website:

"Nick Buckley was an unusual name for a pretty young woman. But then she had led an unusual life. First, on a treacherous Cornish hillside, the brakes on her car failed. Then on a coastal path, a falling boulder missed her by inches. Later, an oil painting fell and almost crushed her in bed."

The Times Literary Supplement says "the actual solution is quite unusually ingenious." SPOILER ALERT! And they are right! The murderer is Nick herself, the very same person Poiret is trying to protect! And, naturally, she isn't trying to kill herself but someone with her same name in order to gain their inheritance.

I guessed it ... well in advance and believe Agatha Christie wants us to arrive at the solution long before it becomes officially known, making the conclusion that much more satisfying to her readers.

How does she do it? In this novel, it was an over-exaggeration of drama. Nick reacted just a little too much over the top and I said to myself, that doesn't sit right. Place that along side Christie's references to plays and theatre, and it's the only solution. Nick must be acting a part ... and so she was.

Great fun to read. You can also view the made-for-TV version in seven parts on youtube. Visually very satisfying.

To find on amazon: Peril at End House: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

Art Nouveau Building Front

I found a new blog yesterday and through it this photo. Beautifully creative, IMO.

What do you think? Do you like it?

Design Is A Job (2012)

Hello .... and how are ya? I just finished reading "Design is a Job" by Mike Monteiro, #7 in a series called "A Book Apart." If I had to sum it up in just a few words, I'd say the book is about a few basic truths, all centered around the idea of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, including perhaps a side message about the value of lunch. So, here goes ...

1. Respect your clients. You need them. Without them, you don't have work. Help your client communicate their needs and do not mock them ... but if you do - mock them - make sure you are out the door, down the hall, in your car, and over the bridge before you do. Makes sense.

2. Respect yourself, your time, and your process. Stick with it. Go with your gut. If someone isn't going to be a good fit for you or your company, refer them to someone else. Determine who's making the decisions and include them in the conversation at the beginning. Get comfortable talking about money. Make sure it's there. Know how it's controlled. Invoice often and at concrete milestones. Have a good lawyer who will stand behind your well-written contract and pull you out of the fire if necessary.

3. Respect other designers. Swallow your pride if you are an in-house designer and an outside source is brought in to do your work. OK, this coming from the perspective of the author who is big enough, well-known enough, and respected enough to have his book's foreword written by Erik Spiekermann, but it's a good point. Who understands what you do better than someone else doing the same thing? and why not help your brother succeed? We should all act like bus drivers and protect our own (read the book if you want to understand that reference).

In addition, Mike respects his lawyer, his kid, probably Aretha Franklin, everyone in accounts payable, his business partner, and his baby mama, who probably isn't his love partner, but apparently not vice presidents. Go figure.

Mike's got a smart-ass style of writing. It took me a good 25 pages to warm up to him but when I did, I found myself laughing out loud. "Design is a Job" is applicable to anyone in business and, bottom line, when you finish the book you feel good about about yourself.

To find on amazon: Design Is a Job

Orange Line: Court House (Farmers Market)

An orange line treat: the Arlington Farmers Market. I've been going every Saturday morning since early February and this is the first new-to-me crop: Brussels sprouts!

This afternoon, I'll reference the Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook and will let you know how they turn out. And later on today, I've roped Eric into watching Ingredients, a documentary about the slow food movement in America.

My idea of a good weekend.

High Fashion!

It's been a while since I've posted an inspiration photo. What's so special about this one? The orange and blue, of course. The light coming in through the door and making the room glow and shine and gloss on the floor ... but what's especially important about this photo is the wrecked upholstery on the divan. Cat owners will understand. Let's make their destruction our high fashion! Much easier than replacing all of our furniture every third year of so.

Resolution #3: Santiago de Compostela

This isn't a resolution as much as it's an online commitment, and it's definitely a commitment that will not happen this year.

But, next year, in 2013, I want to walk el camino to Santiago de Compostela and I will probably take the French route since it seems to be the most travelled and best marked.

For some reason, this pilgrimage appealed to me back in grade school and the possibility of following a 1,000-year tradition keeps coming back to me, time and time again.

When I was in Spain years back, I noticed the huge jubilee poster right outside my window (here) and I mentioned my desire to take the trip (here) in one of those tag meme things we do online. I downloaded "Spain ... On the Road Again" with Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali, and there they are in Galicia talking about the walk. I red-boxed (new verb) "The Way" and it was this great hippie thing with good music and personality. I found a Facebook page and a forum. It's got to happen to me. I've reached that age when time doesn't feel open ended and good health can't be taken for granted. One month, northern Spain, with a backpack, a scallop shell, and a destination. 2013. God willing.

The Simons

These are the Simons: my great-grandfather Harry with his wife, Rebecca and their two children, Abe and Bernice (my grandmother).

Harry was born in Minsk and emigrated to the United States in 1904. He owned a variety of businesses in New York City's lower east side, a grocery store, a restaurant on Hudson Street and a junk store over at 84 New Chamber Street.

I've been told Rebecca was intelligent, favored the vote, and died during the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918. Harry married twice more, but I have to think - looking at this photo - that he must have loved his first wife best.

Abe became an electrician, joined the union, and moved from Manhattan to the Bronx. His sister, Bernice, married young, travelled the world, and is profiled here.

The photographer's mark is that of L. Boressoff, an American photographer who advertised in The New York Call, a socialist newspaper that was in operation from 1908 to 1923. His studio, located at 355 Grand Street, was not that far from some of the places I visited here. I am due another trip to the big city. And thanks go to my friend Kevin who restored the photo and brought small tears to my eyes. I love this photo.