Thanks to my speed-loving toddler I’ve gone down more slides in the past few months than in the rest of my life (have I mentioned that I’m scared of heights?). He would surely want to visit the Tate Modern’s astounding slide installation by Carsten Höller. Unfortunately he’s too short to go on most of them. There are five slides installed in spacious Turbine Hall which previously held the generators of the power station that was renovated into the museum. The biggest slide is about 182 feet long and the sliders, using canvas sacks, reach speeds of 30mph. Höller is Belgian and has a doctorate in biology. All his works have a touch of whimsy.

What’s the trick to outdoor Dutch Oven cooking? “If you can’t smell it, it’s not done. If you can smell it, give it five minutes.” That’s the advice of Gary Butterfield, director of the Puget Sound chapter of the International Dutch Oven Society. Members of the chapter have Dutch oven gatherings, aka “DOGS,” where they cook (of course) and taste the results. There’s some nostalgia and history involved with this hobby with memories of family camping trips and the Boy Scouts.

I enjoy visiting new playgrounds almost as much as our toddler. Two fancy play structures that caught my eye recently: the Infinity Climber from Little Tikes Commercial, a twisty climbing strip, and the Kompan Supernova, a slanted spinning ring. (a short Supernova video)

In a warehouse 20 miles south of L.A., New York Times automobile reporter Jerry Garrett found that the $50 Porsche is an urban legend and bargains at higher price tags are just as rare. But the fun of people-watching at the “U.S. Department of the Treasury Auction — Seized Exotic, Luxury and Classic Vehicles” makes up for the lack of deals. Hiding behind sunglasses and trying to avoid photographers, “the shadier elements in the crowd were soon melting out the door.” One buyer who did agree to be interviewed didn’t want his last name published in case the previous owner wanted his Lamborghini back. Credit cards are accepted up to $99,999.99 and bundles of cash are fine too, after all “it’s just the Treasury getting back what it prints.”

The Chicago Sinfonietta‘s Monday premiere of David N. Baker’s “Concertino for Cell Phones and Orchestra” took audience participation to new heights as cell phone owners were instructed to literally chime in with rings when directed. For a review of this unique event let’s go to the Siskel & Ebert counterparts in the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. In the Sun-Times, Marta Tonegutti seems neutral about the symphony, placing its motifs in the context of 20th century compositions. She appears to be neither delighted nor disappointed, so let’s call that a “thumbs sideways” vote. John von Rhein of the Tribune sits firmly in the “thumbs down” camp. The piece “turned out to be less than the sum of its silly, noisy, sometimes funny gimmicks” and he calls attention to the audience phones that rang out of turn. But audience participation is always a crowd pleaser and the volunteer cell phone musicians gave their “thumbs up” with thunderous applause at the conclusion.

October advertises the impending arrival of Halloween by bringing us the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. I’d have to rate the 2006 edition as rather boring. Oh sure you can book a trip to space with Virgin Galactic, bid on a batch of six pro sports events (All-Star games, SuperBowl XLI and the US Open Women’s final), or buy a sculpture made out of precision-sharpened No. 2 pencils. But what about rarities like vintage one-of-a-kind jewelry, custom-made attire, and personalized rare-jewel manicures? And what’s with the Hello Kitty watches, gloves, and doggie sweater? What dog is going to agree to wear a sweater with a cat on it? OK, the backyard water park is cool. But the only truly notably unique item this year is the archives of the couturier Jacques Fath. Fath was a contemporary of Dior, dressing celebrities and costuming movies such as The Red Shoes, but he developed leukemia and died young. The archive includes 26 volumes of his sketchbooks and three of his couture dresses.

Movie sequel I can live without: War Games 2
Movie sequel I can live without but will watch anyway: The Power of the Dark Crystal

The ultimate Duran Duran collection (“more than 1,500 posters, nearly 10,000 magazine articles and pinup photos, 150 books and thousands of other memorabilia”) sits in a 10×20 foot storage unit in Bellevue, WA (probably just a few miles from my house). Collector Andy Golub (aka “Durandy”) also sends balloons and pizza to a local radio station on band members’ birthdays. My little David Bowie shrine looks even tinier now.

Whatever Happened to the Overture? asks the NY Times of the modern musical. Their “unscientific survey of 30 recent, current or forthcoming Broadway musicals” turns up only seven true overtures. Partially a result of pop music’s hold on Broadway, partially a factor of shorter attention spans and expectations set by MTV for visual accompaniment, the endangered overture may not be missed by the new generation of show-goers. Smaller orchestras are also blamed. Synthesizer replacements can’t produce the same build-up to a climactic show-stopper when unadorned by belting vocals. As a practical matter the overture allows a buffer for tardy arrivals and a transition into the scenes to come. But the article fails to mention the best part of the overture for the musicians: it’s your only chance to be center stage and show off the power of the music itself.

An acquaintance once mentioned that she had started taking blacksmithing classes because when (not if, when) civilization fell the skill of ironworking would be critical for rebuilding. As she described how the first task in becoming a blacksmith is to make all your own tools, I decided I’d better learn how to start a fire without matches as my own meager preparation for if (when) civilization fell. I then promptly forgot about the conversation. It came back to me as I read this profile of blacksmith Eric Clausen. He practices “the master of all trades” in Oakland, California, turning out decorative commissions to local landmarks and homes. Calla lilies, rosettes, pomegranates, figs, grapes and ginkgo leaves decorate the railings, gates and other architectural pieces he creates. Clausen’s great-grandfather was also a blacksmith, perhaps with commissions of the more traditional tool and equipment sort.