An excerpt from David Vestal’s finity / 24:

“A recent issue of Science News told of attempts to restore parts of western prairies that used to be called “the Great American Dessert” to their condition as first seen by Europeans. It can’t be done: the buffalo aren’t there to graze, and alien trees and grasses have irremovably invaded. We also can’t remove another insignificant but carefully-not-mentioned invading species - ourselves: humans who came uninvited from other continents. The ghost dance religion tried to solve this problem in 1890, but the magic shirts weren’t bulletproof.”

His presence is close to invisible online (it took almost 10 minutes to find a gallery with his photographs), but David Vestal has left a deep imprint in photography circles as a venerable photographer (his work is at the MoMA, the Met, and Whitney, to name and few), critic and teacher (at the New School, SVA, and Pratt).

About once a month, our mailbox is graced with an envelope containing his thoughts, critiques and quietly-moving black and white pictures. 

finity, 10 issues for $30: David Vestal, PO Box 309, Bethlehem, CT 06751-0309

Judy tells me that whenever we have potatoes, she thinks of the old farmer who sells us vegetables at the farmer’s market. The old farmer once told her that he likes the rounder, thin-skinned golden potatoes, and his wife used to like the darker, longer ones with thick skin.

My potatoes came out like rocks.

I don’t think I need to explain this.

Between the two of us, that’s still a lot of postcards to write.

Uno the beagle won best in the show and Shawn’s gotten me interested in reading What I Learned today (some fascinating stuff there!). I need a new book to read. Any suggestions?

Hot off the press (well, the screen), the latest issue of Australian design magazine Blanket is well worth the time it takes (a few minutes) to upload the entire issue onto your computer. I’m thrilled to get to share a bit of the limelight (an interview and journal-making tutorial, and my first foray into cut paper illustration) alongside a brilliant lineup of illustrators, photographers and designers. To see why I’m gushing about this magazine, have a look for yourself here.

Hello all! It’s mid-winter, and we thought your mailboxes might be getting a bit lonely, with no more holiday cards dropping in. So, we’d like to do something to bring the fun back into picking up your mail. Wanna join us?

Here’s what happens:

In a week or two, those of you who signed up and made it within our 400 person limit (see update below) will find a postcard from us in your mailbox, with a fun little task to do. When you’re done (and this is all we ask of you), take a photo of your completed activity and e-mail it back to us so we can post it online (anonymously if you wish).

What do we hope you’ll get from this? A cool postcard, a laugh when you see the task we thought up for you, and the act of doing a not-so-ordinary task that gets your mind thinking in a different way. And we will (hopefully) get to see what you’ve come up with. Sound good? Then let’s get started!

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UPDATE, February 5:

Sign-ups for this round of “the postcard says” are closed. We have reached our 400 person/postcard limit. Thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of you who wrote in to be a part of this!

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400 of you will be receiving your postcard around the end of next week (int’l addresses may take a bit longer). Follow what “the postcard says”, and we look forward to seeing what you do!

If you signed up but don’t receive a postcard, it means we ran out of postcards and couldn’t send one to you (or, you signed up but didn’t provide all the correct info, or we did send you a postcard but it’s one of the few that don’t make it to its destination). Boohoo! But, you can still take part ~ in a few weeks, we will announce some of the postcard tasks online, and it’d be super cool if you could send in your responses. Details later.
 
More, the good stuff ~ your responses to the postcards, to follow shortly, so stay tuned! For now, we’re rolling up our sleeves and getting ready to write 400 postcards.

Some interesting things I’ve come across lately:

The Geography of Bliss,

how the higher price of wine makes drinking it more pleasurable (I don’t drink wine, but I wonder if it’d work if they tested with chocolates instead),

simply gorgeous bags by moop,

and because I love looking at what other people draw in their journals, this slideshow by missouri graphic designer/instructor douglas wilson who gave each of his students in his advanced typography class a field notes booklet (via Poppytalk).

Traffic along the BQE, on the way to a meeting with Rachel and Tessa of the Brooklyn Collective. Afterwards, we picked up a few delicious Aussie DUB pies that I’m eating for lunch this week.

I am the hugest fan of chocolate chip cookies, especially the ones from Smooch and Little Piggy Market. But I’ve given them up since one of my new year resolutions is to eat healthier (fewer non-nutritious sweets!). To satisfy my chocolate chip cookie cravings, I think I’ll try making my own version.

Does anyone have a good recipe for chewy, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies?!