Vancouver, BC
Leo Obstbaum, the creative mastermind behind the designs of the Vancouver Olympic Games, died suddenly in his home of natural causes in the early hours of Friday, 21 August 2009. Leo was just 40 years old, and left behind his beautiful wife Monice and young daughter Dakota. Leo was admired and respected by everyone who knew him, as was demonstrated by the hundreds who attended his funeral and remembrance celebration.
Mark Busse has written a moving and beautifully illustrated tribute to Leo here, and the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) has awarded Leo with posthumous professional membership (MGDC). A poignant description of Leo comes from one of his colleagues at VANOC, designer Ben Hulse:
“The brightest of eyes. The biggest of smiles. The warmest handshake. The proudest father. The cool hunter. The king of design. The king of the party. But most of all a dreamer. He helped each of us realize a dream, and how fortunate that the biggest dreamer realized so many of his. He remains an unstoppable inspiration to all of us. Leo, you are an icon. You will be missed dearly, but through us your dreams live on.”
View a beautiful video tribute put together by his colleagues here. Read a nice article in Shift here.
Rest in peace, Leo… forever young!
Be present. I would encourage you with all my heart—just to be present. Be present and open to the moment that is unfolding before you. Because, ultimately, your life is made of moments. So don’t miss them by being lost in the past or anticipating the future.
Don’t be absent from your own life. You will find that life is not governed by will or intention. It is ultimately the collection of these sense memories stored in our nerves, built up in our cells. Simple things: a certain slant of light coming through a window on a winter’s afternoon. The sound of spring peepers at twilight. The taste of a strawberry still warm from the sun. Your child’s laughter. Your mother’s voice.
—Jessica Lange’s 2008 commencement address to the graduates of Sarah Lawrence College
(photo: Ernest Hemingway kicks a can…)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Hera is half of the talented street-art duo Herakut… cautiously optimistic (Can you glow in a dystopian genre?), silently provocative, and street-smart proletarian in execution—(s)pray without ceasing.
(this one’s for you, Jennifer)
London, UK
A beautiful set of stamps from—you guessed it, the Royal Mail.
Kabul, Afghanistan
It’s eight years ago today(!) that the United States, backed by coerced “coalition partners,” launched its war in/on the hapless nation of Afghanistan under the moniker Operation Enduring Freedom. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost, and tens of thousands more have been seriously injured. There are no clear indications of what it would take to actually “win” this particular war (which suits the hawks and those who continue to profit from ongoing conflicts such as this manufactured, never-ending “war on terror”)—in fact it’s unclear such a misadventure even can be “won” or how one would measure such a victory. The majority of the world (including most U.S. citizens, of late) is firmly opposed to the ongoing military operations and occupation of Afghanistan. It’s time to finally end this senseless conflict!
(I know my expressing a pacifist stance here, on my blog, is “safe” and does not involve a lot of effort or courage—yet it is at least something that I can do. I hope that many of the two-hundred or so of you who visit this blog each day will, if you agree, also take action and lend your voice in opposition to this inane war—and I welcome you to let me know what you are doing in this regard… please do contact me. While a solitary voice here and there may seem quiet and weak, many voices joined together can have the powerful and moving influence of a mighty choir).
“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.”
—Jeannette Rankin
San Diego, California
California is talking about high speed transit systems—and governor Arnold Schwartzenegger is passionate about the estimated 133,000 new jobs that implementation could stimulate.
The Design Innovation Institute (aka Dii, of which I am an Advisory Board member) is hosting the TRANSITions | High Speed Transit Forum event (which will look at innovative, alternative transit modalities) on 12 November. Arnold is expected to speak, along with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Dii Founder and Board Chairman Calvin Woo, and a blue-chip panel of architects, urban planners, professors, and transportation industry leaders.
You can find more information here.
Whenever you’re tempted to put up another sign, just remember—
the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
