Fascinating combo of old and new

The image is in the elevator of the W Hotel in San Francisco. This linticular mural thrusts an ancient Japanese print into a pool of modernity with color and technology giving it new intrigue and depth. Forget my room – I just wanted to hang out in the elevator. The hotel managed to create a soothing memorable moment.

The fastest growing group on Facebook…

Is not what you think.  According to a Morgan Stanley Research Report, women aged 55+ have increased 175 percent since September of 2008.  18-24 year olds account for less than 25 percent of total users!!!!!  Finally, over 70 percent of Facebook users live outside of the US.  Hey, I thought we were a super power!

What Year Is It?

At the FUSE conference April 14-16, I stayed at the Marriott on N Michigan Ave in Chicago…big Marriott and it’s stuck in 1998. Decor, service…and internet connections. ETHERNET…still!!!! If you can get the ethernet to function (often the “wires” in the room don’t work…as was the case with me after having guys come up to switch them out and an hour on the phone with tech support). Seriously have not dealt with stuff like this for 12 years. I will never stay at a Marriott again as a result. They need to get into this century!

New Money

The U.S. government has updated the look of money, this time the 100 dollar bill. There is something idiosyncratic and counter-aesthetic going on, something that appeals to me slightly, at least compared with other U.S. currency redesigns. It’s as though the old bill is in process of morphing into a new bill, a true bill, a properly designed bill. But we’re still way, way at the back of the pack compared to other world currency design. Here are some examples, if you’re interested.

MoMA acquires @ symbol

According to Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design, “the acquisition relies on the assumption that physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary, and therefore it sets curators free to tag the world and acknowledge things that ‘cannot be had’ — because they are too big (buildings, Boeing 747’s, satellites), or because they are in the air and belong to everybody and to no one, like the @.”