Fridays with John: From the Basement

From the Basement is a live music video series filmed in London by Nigel Godrich, a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and producer. It started with internet-only podcasts in December 2006 and has just recently been picked up by some HD TV stations in the UK and US.

The program has been recognized for its excellent quality and production. Unlike most live-music shows, there is no audience. The performer's emotion, energy, and talent are the sole focus. Where screaming fans, a host's intro and awkward post-song handshaking have become the norm, it's nice to see artists presented in this stripped-down form.

The first episode of From the Basement featured Thom Yorke who performed 3 songs from the (then forthcoming) Radiohead album In Rainbows, and one from his solo album, The Eraser. Here he plays Videotape from In Rainbows, which he recently described as "the best thing we ever created."

Tiny McSmall and artist Tamar Mogendorff

I was recently looking around the web for some cute children's gifts and came across Tiny McSmall - a beautiful site full of even more beautiful goodies. These vintage bird houses by Tamar Mogendorff are just amazing. And even though they are shown as baby gifts, I'd happily welcome a few of these treasures into my home. See more of Tamar's work here - you will not be disappointed!

Lessons Learned

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I wouldn't say I'm a die hard Ray LaMontagne fan, but the instrumental part (wouldn't say I'm a huge instrumental fan either) of Lessons Learned is to die for! I started listening to more of his songs recently, and cannot get enough of this one. I listen to the beginning of it over and over.

Saddened By News

I'm feeling some serious pangs over the death of actor Heath Ledger. I first fell in the love with the actor's good looks when he played a bad boy turned good guy in 10 Things I Hate About You. (You know you loved that movie, too.) And then really fell for his serious talent in Brokeback Mountain - a movie that had me crying long after leaving the movie theatre. Then - we became neighbors (dream come true!) when he and Michelle Williams moved into a townhouse about 5 blocks from here. While I never saw him, I have seen Michelle and their daughter Matilda a few times. It just breaks my heart to think of his family who's without him now. So so very sad.

Julia Rothman on Paper

Julia's illustrations impress me like no other. And also make me really jealous of her crazy talent. It's no surprise then that her line for Hello Lucky is above and beyond gorgeous. I chatted briefly to her the other night about this line - and she told me how much she loved seeing her designs in letterpress - especially because of how detailed the impressions are. No kidding! They're amazing. Congrats to Julia on her exquisite line - and to Hello Lucky for recognizing such a fiercely talented lady!

Fridays with John: We're ski racers?

Liz and I have just decided to do a 25 km cross country ski race in Lake Placid, NY this February. That's right. We're going to be entering the classic race of the 2008 Lake Placid Loppett. My brother and my niece have both done this race for the past several years and over Christmas they encouraged us to "give it a shot--it's really easy and fun." If their words weren't convincing, their ages may have been: he's 45 and she's 15. With much more experience, technique and practice under their belts, there's no question that they will both beat us.

With no snow in Brooklyn we're also going to be approaching this pretty "cold." Here's where I really respect Liz, though. While no expert, I've cross country skied a few times a year since I was 5 and telemark skied for the past 4 years. Liz, well, she's cross country skied TWICE. The truth is she decided to do the race before I did. So why am I doing this? I do think it will be fun. I've done a handful of running and cycling races and they've been great, and I'm guessing this will have the same effect. But mostly, they're 3 people out there (one older, one younger, one the same age) who will all make me look bad (or worse, lazy) if I don't. Not the most noble motivation in the book, I know, but motivation nonetheless. I'll keep you posted on our preparation.

Have a great weekend.

Stone Cold Love

Last night, when Lizzy told me that Oprah had heads of companies on her show the other day, I ran home and watched by DVR'd show. (Don't judge, I DVR Oprah every day.) I'm kind of obsessed with hearing how people start their businesses, so I was really excited to hear about the people who started Stone Cold Creamery, Williams-Sonoma and The Container Store.

Susan and Donald Sutherland started Stone Cold Creamery in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona. For the first 16 months, they say that they were just a regular old mom and pop shop, sometimes doing $6 a day. I am always amazed and inspired by people who start their own businesses and keep up the faith when things aren't moving as quickly as they might have hoped. Plus, I have a special place in my heart for any business that satisfies my sweet-tooth. Today, CSC is a 500 million dollar business. Clearly, they weren't the only ones who thought they had the best tasting ice-cream. My favorite? Cake batter mixed with anything peanut-buttery.

Check out the other heads of businesses featured of Oprah here.

[photos courtesy of Oprah.com]