Articles from December 2012

Ever thought it might be possible to emerge from the holiday season with less stuff but better-loved stuff? Yes, it is possible, at least according to Eric Alan and Rhonda Voo, guests on this DnA, who talk about their quest to rid their home of everything but “meaningful objects” (and live up to the beauty of a remodel done for them by architect Neil Denari, shown, …

One of the delights of KCRW is its people, many of whom have multiple talents, like Jason Groman. Jason’s day job at the station is mailman but he also composes (theme songs for DnA and The Business); plus he is an ardent architectural preservationist as well as a certified man of style. It was Jason I turned to for tips when planning the segment …

Eric Alan and Rhonda Voo decided to purge their home of everything except “meaningful objects.” But what is a meaningful object? In the season of gift-giving, we will find out, with Eric Alan, Rhonda Voo, Jeremy Levine, Joel Chen, Lorca Cohen, Simon Doonan, Jonathan Adler, Oliver Furth, Lee Kaplan, Brent Gordon and Cory Lashever.
Banner image: Sophia, Mirabelle, Lily, and mother Rhonda Voo. Photo by Ethan Pines

Purging a …

Change a logo at your peril!!!
Following an on online revolt against its new blue and gold stylized “UC” (discussed on this KCRW segment), university officials announced Friday that they are suspending further use of the offending logo, designed by an in-house team. “While I believe the design element in question would win wide acceptance over time, it also is important that we listen to and …

By the Good4Nothing Connoisseur, aka Bennett Stein
To paraphrase Serge Gainsbourg sampling some swingin’ ’60s Audrey Hepburn movie, “You are a very stylish girl.” Last night this refrain whipped through my skull on a loop as sundry sultry but stern-faced models took chic, cut on the bias, leather- and “paper effect” cotton-constructed MOE dresses for a spin atop two circus box platforms beside a giant …

“Brazil lost today one of its geniuses.” Those were the words of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, at the passing yesterday of one of the most important architects of the 20th century: Oscar Niemeyer. Born December 15, 1907, still working towards the end of his 104 years, married for a second time in 2006, the endlessly energetic Niemeyer gave the world extraordinary, and hugely influential, …