Happy tenth birthday, Jaiden!

Today, Jaiden (most fantastic kid; daughter of most wonderful couple, Dani and Stefano; keeper of most beautiful flower shop, Jaiden's Petals; and owner of most loyal dog, Abbie) turns 10! Jaiden's funny, talented, intelligent, impossibly creative, and absolutely unique. She's also much cooler than I can ever hope to be: she's been wearing skulls since I met her, started a comic book club at 8, joined a band at 9. I don't know what she could possibly cram into the next ten years, but it can only be amazing.

I started working on a little print for Jaiden's birthday. Here are my thumbnail and a rough of the illustration. I'll finish up, print this and pop it in the mail ASAP!

Kickball at McCarren Park

I love illustration and I'm a bit of a magpie for interesting paper bits - letterhead, menus, discarded notes, business cards, envelopes, invitations, sugar packets, etc - so when I met someone who works in an archive that would be full of of the stuff, I asked if I could drop by for a visit. It was like some sort of flea market dream! I didn't get to rifle through so much as ask my friend to carefully show me this and that while I sat on my hands trying not to be grabby.

Sorry these're fuzzy. I didn't use a flash, and the room was a little dim. But just imagine boxes and boxes full of 80 years' worth of beautifully illustrated and designed print material. I wanted to slip something in my pocket when my host wasn't looking. I refrained from thievery, but it was hard.

The other night I went to the New York premiere of 'Tiny Furniture', a fantastic film by 23-year-old director Lena Dunham. It was her second feature film (what am I doing with my time?). It also happened to be part of IFC's Rooftop Films series, my new favourite thing. Bring a friend and a blanket.

'The Infinite Library'

Daniel Gustav Cramer and Haris Epaminonda

I learned in one weekend that summer in Brooklyn is mostly spent on the roof. Picnics, movies. Weddings, even.

On Saturday, my friends J & M were married on their apartment rooftop in Fort Greene. J's family came from all over America. His old dog, Cosmo, ambled up between the couple as they said their vows. M's family had flown in from Japan. Her parents wore kimonos, and her father sang a traditional Japanese wedding song. It was an amazing moment.

A friend tried to teach me a breakdancing move a little while ago. You're supposed to sort of twist your whole body over in a smooth motion. I think it must look pretty neat when it's done well. This is about as far as I got.

My chair collection is growing. I rescued this grey Eames from a trash pile behind an apartment block I pass on my way to the subway. It took weeks of staking out - I peeked to make sure it was still there literally every morning for two months - and a fortuitous meeting with the Super on an already lucky day.