While this elephant may be rather large, it's still a baby. And I've still got baby-fever. :) How insanely cute and amazing are these photos?!
Tomorrow I'm heading out with Manasseh for my birthday (a little belated, I know :)), and these photos reminded me of our evening out last year... Can't believe how much has happened since then!! Dubai, a pregnancy, a move, a job, a project, a birth... phew! :)
"The Torah is the foundational text for Jewish law, but the Haggadah is our book of living memory. It doesn't merely tell a story, it demands a radical act of empathy -- I would argue the most profound demand made by any book of any kind." - Jonathan Safran Foer
I am totally stoked to get my hands on a copy of The New American Haggadah! When I first heard that one of my very favorite authors, Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Eating Animals) was writing a Haggadah I thought it would be somewhat a quirky side-line commentary on the classic... turns out I was supremely in the wrong. Word on the street was that Foer had actually thought to create a classic through the classic - a tool to accompany a common-folk seder.
"I didn’t know what I was originally imagining, something that felt more like an anthology, more like a reference tool than a primary Haggadah. But the more I worked on it, the more I became afraid of that. … What the world does not need is a Haggadah that pats itself on the back. It needs a Haggadah that gets out of the way, that starts a conversation and gets out of the way.” - Jonathan Safran Foer
My curiosity about this new-aged Seder companion turned into sheer excitement when I heard that the famed Israeli typographer, Oded Ezer, would be doing the art!! I think the most amazing thing about this particular Haggadah is that the only art inside of it is typography - just the (far from simple!) hebrew letters from the ancient text itself!
“Jews have been designing Haggadahs for more than one hundred generations, deliberately, or not, these designs have inevitably reflected the time in which they were made. The notion behind the design of this book was to merge, visually, the history of the Jewish nation with the traditional text of the Haggadah. Toward that end, the letterforms on each page reflect those used in the period reflected in the timeline at the top of the page. In this way, the book is a graphic record of Jewish history.” - Oded Ezer
Just for fun, I thought I'd share some more of Oded's awesomeness:
(I totally want this Helvetica print for above my desk!)
Also, his strips of black letters always make me think of Teffilin straps...
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/1070309]
You can read more about The New American Haggadah here.
P.S. I'm very much looking forward to getting a dose of commentary from Lemony Snicket! :)
I'm just blown away by the simplistic genius of Lego's new ad campaign!! Crazy how marketing effects us so well that we don't even need any details to spot these familiar characters...
(Though there's an interesting controversy going on about the idea being ripped-off a lego fan's internet photo!)
By now we all know about the many dangers of toxins lurking in our household cleaning supplies, and for the most part - it's as easy a problem to fix as a trip to the health food store. But what about when it comes to something you just don't want to part with and can't seem to find a substancial and satisfying replacement?? For me, this was dryer sheets and the way they make my laundry soft, static-free, and subtly scented. Don't get me wrong, I haven't exactly been using bounce sheets since the day I read the news about them being choc-full of cancer causing synthetics, but I have been on the market for a greener variety since then and have only now come up satisfied! Method Baby Squeaky Clean Dryer Cloths are amazing!! They're softening, static-reducing, fresh-scent inducing, and most importantly - they're safe. I'm obsessed with the "rice milk + mallow" scent and have been freakishly inhaling fresh loads of laundry since birthing baby Hudi. It smells just like a newborn baby should - of sweet sweet milk and earthy florals - I swear, you'll be hooked! Plus, it's all just extra goodness on the scale - the real important thing here is to lessen your household toxins - start with the worst of the bad guys; your laundry methods.
P.S. I'm loving these star swaddle wraps I got from aden + anais! I know they're not super-girly, but I've been on a serious star-stint and haven't been able to turn down anything 5-pointed! Some other star-themed goodies I'm currently coveting? These totally rad superstar tights, hollywood glam hair via this headband, star-struck by kids in scarfs (I was recently inspired by my little buddy Sima B. and her fashionable neck accessory! :)), and this really retro elbow-patched sweater!
If you're reading this, you'd likely know about my infatuation with the mid-century era, particularly the modernism - Nelson, Miller, Saarinen, Knoll, Noguchi... but nothing blows my mind quite like Eames. Charles & Ray Eames are now officially "American Masters", and while I've missed the airing on PBS network, I'm very much looking forward to snuggling up tonight post-dinner with my lover and a bowl of popcorn to stream the new documentary, Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter. You can join me in my lesson in modern American history here.
P.S. Check out how a nearly-lost art form is revived as the iconic Fiberglass Shell Chairs are recreated!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v6CL8CeNpw]
