This week's episode of PBS' History Detectives has a fun segment on the history behind the board game Monopoly. Although official company history only mentions Charles Darrow as the inventor, Monopoly was based on earlier games, most notably The Landlord's Game invented by Lizzie J. Magie, a Virginia woman who received a patent for the game in 1904. The earliest Monopoly boards list both her patent and Darrow's. Magie's game was meant to teach the economic philosophy of Henry George, proponent of the "single tax." It evolved as it spread, ending up markedly different in its goals. Parker Brothers bought the rights to Lizzie Magie's patent for $500.
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Archie McPhee has opened up its new "More Archie McPhee" store with room for furniture, not-your-usual party rentals, life-sized figurines, and other quirky decorative items. They're leasing the space, hoping one day to combine everything into one large building. The additional 6,500 square feet of novelties opens on Friday.
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Monday, June 28, 2004

Ikea's history, philosophy, and opaque ownership structure are but a few of the topics covered in The Guardian's two detailed articles on the flatpack furniture empire. Both throwaway trivia and critical facts are revealed. You may think that Ikea makes money on sheer volume alone, but 17%-18% of an item price is pure profit. The practically forced walkthrough of the entire Ikea showroom increases the chance for impulse purchases, particularly of those items that just seem too cheap to pass up even though you never imagined you would need one. I stare at our many Billy shelves and wonder how many books in the 31 Ikea countries are stored in this best seller. It all began in the farming town of Älmhult, Sweden.
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The U.S. now boasts three museums with retired Concorde aircraft. In addition to the already landed supersonics at the National Air and Space Museum and the Seattle Museum of Flight, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in Manhattan has acquired British Airways' Alpha Delta, holder of the trans-Atlantic commercial speed record between Heathrow and JFK.
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Friday, June 25, 2004

The Lizzie Borden house in Fall River, MA has new owners. It's currently a bed and breakfast in addition, of course, to being a notorious tourist attraction. The new management is exploring the possibility of opening up a Starbucks at the rear of the house. Lizzie Borden historians aren't expressing much enthusiasm for the plan. The curator of the Fall River Historical Society notes that the city does lack a Starbucks.
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A cartoonish moose against a mountain range is the winning design for the 2004 Canada Day Coin. Designed by an eleven-year old the coin will be given to new citizens sworn in next week during Celebrate Canada Week. (via snarkout)
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On a moose farm in Sweden they've been milking the cows and making moose cheese. It's hard not to say the enterprise is a success when they're able to sell the results for $500 a pound. The "Mouse House" farmers make about 660 pounds of cheese a year.
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Thursday, June 24, 2004

New York Magazine has reviewed Thomas Keller's Per Se with the expected exhalting phrases, however it is capped off with the statement "I couldn’t help wondering whether it would have tasted even better sitting a world away, in sunny Yountville, on a bright California afternoon."
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Whole Foods is opening up in Bellevue, WA next week. We've been periodically, but not often, driving over and up to the one in Seattle, since I enjoy the magnificent browsing experience at Whole Foods (but not the prices). Having a store close by will be convenient, and they've really done this one up. 27 cash registers (though no word on how many cashiers) and features I haven't seen at Whole Foods before: a gelato bar, crepe counter, 4-foot-long chocolate case (?!!). I'll just be happy with a mint chocolate cookie -- oh but what if they have mint chocolate gelato?
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Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Micro-sundae anyone? This tiny ice cream treat at Toscanini's (the place to get flavorful ice cream in Cambridge, MA) was invented by MIT engineering graduate student Kevin Brown. After earning ice cream for life from Tosci's by installing a sound system, Brown wisely limited his intake by consuming small portions. It took over five years for his mini creation to reach the menu, and only after Brown convinced owner Gus Rancatore that Toscanini's yummy hot fudge sauce deserved a wider audience. Rancantore decided that kids would be well-served with a tinier sundae. Of course it turns out that adults are the big consumers of this cute cup of ice cream, topping, whipped cream, nuts, and sprinkles. Brown is now president of a sound engineering firm.
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New York Times reporter Daniel J. Wakin started playing the clarinet at age 11. He recently became the third nonprofessional musician to play with the New York Philharmonic, in a nice little PR coup that fulfilled a personal dream. Wakin's detailed write-up of his experience preparing and playing for a Philharmonic performance is a wonderful read for anyone who wants an inkling of what it's like to play with the greats. With careful coaching from a veteran principal clarinetist, who advises him not to faint, Wakin admirably survives a professional symphony performance at Avery Fisher Hall under the baton of Lorin Maazel.
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Dr. David Huffman (of the Huffman Codes, for all you C.S. geeks) pursued a fascinating sideline in computational origami. His daughter showed his amazing curved paper structures to the New York Times. The folded forms look impossible to create in the typically straight-edge world of traditional origami. Huffman, who died in 1999, published only one paper on his folding work, though he pursued it from the 1970s and studied the underlying mathematical models. OrigamiUSA is holding a convention in New York City this weekend.
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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia continues to cope with the aftermath of its founder's legal troubles. Although they were able to sell repeats of "Martha Stewart Living" to In Style television, they are suspending production of new television shows after this season. "Living" magazine will carry on with reducing its Martha-ness. "Everyday Food" is increasing circulation numbers, which could be some positive news. Martha Stewart is scheduled for sentencing on July 8th and is awaiting a response on her request for a new trial. It's likely her company will have to wait and see what pieces of her shrinking empire can be picked up after her expected 10-16 months in jail.
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Monday, June 21, 2004

We visited the new Seattle Public Library this weeekend. It is much bigger and taller inside than I expected. My fear of heights got in the way the higher I went up, but I'd get accustomed to the environment after time. Neat details that stood out: 1st floor maple floor "featuring 12 languages that are predominant in the Library's collections. The letters are backward in reference to typeface and the way books are printed. The backward letters recreate the experience of learning to read, where abstract symbols become meaningful." The automated bookdrop with its visible conveyor belt system. Bamboo flooring in certain areas. The book spiral isn't really a curving spiral as I'd imagined; it's squared. "Nerf" foam furniture that already is looking a little dirty. And Dewey Decimal numbers on the LED displays in the elevators.
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I've let the weeds get out of control around our "botanical alcove" (the real estate brochure term used for our front garden) and we gave up mowing our little backyard strip because there wasn't as much grass there as weeds. You Grow Girl has a few articles that I may have to read and re-read until I do something about the jungle growing outside: Garden of Weedin' and Getting Your Goat which is about hiring goats to control a rowdy yard.
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Friday, June 18, 2004

Back in the college dorm, over ten years ago now, we signed up every year for phone service for our rooms. It was the same as getting residential phone service. We'd pick a plan, typically a flat fee for unlimited local calling (used primarily for calling your friends one floor up to see if they were ready to eat) and a long distance provider. Every year we paid the phone company an annoyingly large setup fee, even though they did little to reconnect service (which was made all too clear by the fact that a room kept the same phone number year after year). Soon after I graduated, the college installed its own campus phone service, the same kind of system that companies purchase. It came with voicemail and students could forward calls to other rooms, conference call, all those fun things people do with their office phone if they can remember the key combinations.

Nowadays I assume many college students get cell phones and don't bother with land lines no matter who supplies them. But then there's Darthmouth, always on the cutting edge of campus networking. They merged their data and phone networks and rolled out phone service over campus-networked and wireless computers using voice over IP. Long distance calls are free. Traditional phones remain in the dorms, for now, and its likely that many students will prefer their cell phones as their primary phone. But as cellphones and wireless computers merge, who will own the line in the future?
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I always thought male classical soloists had a rather handy advantage in being able to just put on a tuxedo night after night and not worry about the latest fashions. The women have to purchase expensive gowns and matching accessories to keep up with expectations. Well, some of the men actually prefer to break out of the penguin suit mold and dress in their own signature style for performances. Some play it safe in the black and white color ranges, doing away with white tie and black tails, opting instead for vests or flowing shirts. Others go for a color splash and don bright shirts. Meanwhile in the matching regiments of the symphony orchestra, some groups have taken the bold step of adding color to their repertoire with colored cummerbunds for the men and a colored fabric in different styles for the women. If the bright palette orchestra trend catches on, I can imagine the pendulum swinging back in a few years to basic black as the refreshing alternative.
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Thursday, June 17, 2004

I love correspondence cards, but they are often expensive and of course I do most of my corresponding on the computer. However, I really prefer those nicely heavy cards instead of folded note cards. They are very handy to have around for expressing thanks after a dinner party, jotting a thoughtful message to a friend when email just won't do, tucking in a note when you package up a gift, and reviving the dead practice of the hand-written RSVP. Crane's, the king of stationery, is having a semi-annual clearance sale with a nice selection of correspondence cards (and other items) for up to 50% off. (via Pop Culture Junkmail)
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Fresh apricots are invariably disappointing unless I take pains to seek out the Blenheim variety. Alas their season is short, and double alas, the SF Chronicle says the growers are vanishing. Blenheims have lost ground to better looking and less fragile apricot varieties. The special care needed to ship and sell ripe Blenheims doesn't make for a profitable crop. Growers depend on farmer's market sales, and buyers still need to be educated that the better looking apricot isn't necessarily the best tasting.
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Tuesday, June 15, 2004

The Seattle P.I. ponders the personalities of the Puget Sound Mycological Society as they hunt for boletes and morels in the spring gathering season. They relate stories of the big ones (specimens and seasons) of years past, share or covet their favorite spots, and respect legendary members with remarkable talent for spotting fungi.
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To create the most expensive fashion item of its class (and bask in the accompanying publicity), just borrow a bunch of diamonds and slap 'em on. Victoria's Secret regularly dresses up their undergarments with stones. Stuart Weitzman made diamond shoes, worn by Alison Krauss to the Oscars. And in the news this week there was "the most expensive hat ever made", valued at $2,700,000 and designed by Louis Mariette. Also making the news, but taking a step back, singer Charlotte Church was planning to wear a Scott Henshall dress woven with diamonds, "the most expensive dress ever made," to a movie premiere, but then decided against it.
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Monday, June 14, 2004

Did the Chinese use compound machines as early as 552 BC? Spirals on jade rings could have been carved by a machine that used motion conversion. The rings were assumed to have been hand carved, but a Harvard graduate student determined that the uniform Archimedes' spirals on the rings may provide evidence of early use of compound machines.
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Picked up at Costco this weekend: 2-DVD sets of "The Best of The Muppet Show" for $12.99. They don't have all of them, but it's a great price if you want to pick up a few. Time-Life does currently have the entire collection at sale prices online.
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In a sure sign of an impending cultural apocalypse, Perrier is now available in a plastic bottle.
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Friday, June 11, 2004

The two men involved in originating the bugle call Taps had different remembrances of its genesis. Their recollections and a well-researched theory of the call's creation has been put together by bugle historian Jari Villanueva. Bugler Oliver W. Norton and General Daniel Butterfield created Taps in 1862, revising a portion of an existing Tatoo into the now familiar "lights out" melody. There is also an untrue, but romantic, story of how Taps came to be.
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Yes, there really is no postal service today. But you want a Reagan stamp, dontcha? According to the guidelines for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, "Commemorative stamps or postal stationery items honoring individuals usually will be issued on or in conjunction with significant anniversaries of their birth, but no postal item will be issued sooner than ten years after the individual's death. The only exception to the ten-year rule is the issuance of stamps honoring deceased U.S. presidents. They may be honored with a memorial stamp on the first birth anniversary following death." Seems a safe bet that we'll be getting a new stamp on February 6, 2005.
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Thursday, June 10, 2004

The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York has rolled out a 1.5 liter "Smooth Serve" bottle. It's touted as being easier to handle than the 2 liter bottles, because of its shape, and the reduced amount of soda is supposed to entice consumers to try and buy other soda flavors and also reduce the amount of flat soda sitting in the fridge. Observant customers will realize that although they pay less for the 1.5 liter bottles than the 2, they are paying more per ounce of soda. Unfortunately you may not have to be very observant to notice that the 1.5 liters are supplanting the 2 liters in shelf space, making this introduction work more like the common industry trick of reducing the size of a candy bar without changing the price. Will "Smooth Serve" eventually take over the rest of the U.S.?
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Forget puny carats, the Millenium Sapphire weighs a hefty 28 pounds. It was discovered in Madagascar in 1995 and its group of owners decided to have it carved into a work of art. The gem now sports 134 carvings of various human achievements, artists, composers, scientists, leaders. Princess Cruises is naming its 116,000 ton Sapphire Princess in Seattle today, and displaying the Millenium Sapphire as part of the celebrations. It'll be the first cruise ship to be christened in Seattle.
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Tuesday, June 08, 2004

The music folks at the Pulitzers are seeking more entries from the worlds of jazz, musical theater and movies, declaring a "strong desire to consider and honor the full range of distinguished American musical compositions." Boiled down, the Pulitzer Prize Board wants to widen the field from just classical compositions. The actual change in wording runs thus:

Old: "For distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American that has had its first performance in the United States during the year."

New: "For a distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year."

The removal of "significant dimension" is meant to broaden the field of entries. A score is no longer necessary for entry, though it is encouraged. That change allows for improvisational work. And the jury pool has been altered to include more roles from the music world.
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"The author will make every effort to attend the funerals of her words." Progess on Shelley Jackson's publication of a 2,095 word short story is continuing (this topic made the weblog rounds late last year). The Seattle Times published an article about the work on Sunday. Each word of the story is to be tatooed on a willing volunteer's skin, in an appropriate book font. The story is never to be published elsewhere and only the participants will be told the complete tale. About 400 words remain to be assigned, but Jackson has more than 3,500 candidates to choose from.
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Monday, June 07, 2004

The funny Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney (aka "Kathy and Mo") have a new production opening in New York this week. The N.Y. Times has an excerpt of a funny new scene that conjures up a support group for mothers of Disney characters. They're mostly dead, of course. Dumbo's mom, Bambi's mom, Nemo's mom, Snow White's mom, they all meet to commiserate over their terrible fate and how poorly Disney treated their children.
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After two years of closure as a result of construction, Caltrain has reinaugurated its weekend train service with two weekends of free rides between San Jose and San Francisco. As the purpose of the construction was to enable its new "Baby Bullet" trains, the express service is debuting today with five runs each, morning and evening, stopping at six stations. Advertised time between SJ and SF is 57 minutes, 39 minutes faster. The track upgrades allow for a top speed of 79 miles an hour and added passing tracks for express routes.
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