>> schnabel house

Yesterday I was one of the few who have ever ventured inside The Schnabel House in Brentwood Park, a residential home designed by Frank Gehry for Rockwell and Marna Schnabel in the mid 1980s. I don't want to give too much away because this will be appearing in print soon, but it is an incredible property, and I mean literally incredible, as in, hard to believe. The above photo on the right is just one of the several freestanding structures on the property; Marna Schnabel wanted a dome on the property to mimic one of her favorite L.A. landmarks, the Griffith Park Observatory, and Gehry made it so. Photo on the left is Gehry jumping on one of his cardboard desks in 1972. Now back to the transcribing...

>> hirstute history

Omfg. My head just exploded.

>> dapper john

I've never really thought of John Lennon as "dapper" until I saw this photo. Yeow.

>> der neue zollhof

I've been doing a ton of Frank Gehry research recently for a story I'm working on and randomly just came across this photo I snapped five years ago in Düsseldorf. It's the Der Neue Zollhof, a group of Gehry designed buildings situated at the Eastern edge of the Rhine River harbor. I remember arriving in Düsseldorf and expecting it to be the German equivalent of Delaware—and then seeing these beauts and rethinking the 'Dorf completely. Next on my Gehry list would definitely be The Guggenheim in Bilbao. Anyone have any other favorite FOG buildings?

P.S. Hilarious side note: Frank Gehry's first cousin introduced my in-laws. We were all talking last night and I realized I was the only one in the room who hadn't met The Starchitect.

>> wknd

Hey guys, light posting because my right arm got in between two dog's mouths this week. My right wrist is a little out of commission, and therefore I am forced into a left-handed hunt and peck on the keyboard like my Mom; I really don't know how people can live life like this. I'm sure I'll be back to 9,000,000 wpm on Monday. Have a great weekend!

>> the naked and the famous

My friend Josh turned me onto these guys a few days ago. Like!

>> david hockney's 850 CSi

Of all the BMW Art Cars, a program that commissions artists to paint BWM's, my favorite is David Hockney's 850 CSi. Art Cars started in 1975 with Alexander Calder painting a BMW 3.0 CSL and most recently, this year, Jeff Koons painted a M3 GT2.

>> wknd

Love this photo by Peter Stackpole of flight attendants putting on makeup pre-flight. Amazing! Have a great weekend!!

>> who wore it best?

I.M. Pei or Philip Johnson?

>> take ivy

It took me about .3 seconds to become fully obsessed with Take Ivy ($15), a photo book full of candid photographs shot on Ivy League campuses in the mid-60s by Japanese photographer Teruyoshi Hayashida. It was originally published in Japan in 1965, setting off an explosion of American-influenced “Ivy Style” fashion among students in Tokyo, which is still lingering today. Required reading.

What I saw in more than a few stores in Tokyo's Daikanyama neighborhood in November of 2008.

>> zographos side chair

My friend recently scored a set of four chrome-plated tubular chairs with buttery worn leather laced up in the back a tag sale for a price that would make anyone want to jump off a building for not buying the set themselves (yes, that good). The chairs were designed in 1966 by American furniture designer Nicos Zographos. So good.

>> back to school

I kind of always loved the Fall and the beginning of school.

Republic Aristotle CRMO bike ($459); Needlepoint monogrammed flask ($100); Blucher Mocs ($69); Kent State frisbee ($12); Waxed canvas four-piece zip bag set ($145 for 15" laptop case, medium bag, cigarette bag and small); No. 2 pencils by Field Notes ($5 for six pack); Emeco Navy swivel chair ($875); Barbour women's Emily jacket ($299).

>> current obsession: leather egg chair

One of my pet peeves is people reading over my shoulder, so it is natural that I'd enjoy the semi-private feel of Arne Jacobsen's iconic Egg Chair ($5,934), which I'm especially fond of in a blond leather upholstery. Jacobsen designed the chair in 1958 for the lobby of the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen for exactly that reason—to allow a bit of privacy in a highly public space. Now I just need to find one at a garage sale.

>> cowpokes

I hope you enjoy the long weekend and the last official days of summer. I can't believe how fast it's flown by this year. Matt and I are headed to Wyoming for some fishing and wildernessing on Friday. Check out the above photo of Jackson, WY taken in 1948. Incredible!