Always an NYC holiday highlight - Bergdorf Goodman window displays (by David Hoey and Linda Fargo).

In the Shembe village in Durban there’s this big ’80s photo of two white people rafting in North America. For 20 rand ($1.95) you can get a picture taken of yourself in front of this granola scene. I asked the photographer why he chose this backdrop - a demand for fake visits to the US? He said no, these are the pictures he somehow ended up with, and he also had a South African flag for more local flavor. Made me think of the ways we can pretend we’re in places that we’re not. Kind of like…

EPCOT in Florida, where a Norwegian church and fortress sit next to a Chinese temple. Not only can you mug in front of a pagoda and the Eiffel Tower in one day, but you can learn about origami and buy a funny beret! Inauthenticity gets boo’d on a lot, but is this just good fun? Maybe it just means that a photograph is no longer sure-shot proof of your whereabouts. Especially the photos that come out of here…

A photo booth in Japan, where you can choose backdrops from rainbows to haunted houses, take snapshots in front of a green screen, and then digitally drag cartoon mushrooms, cakes, and aliens all over your face. That’s right, I was there!

I’ve got a bag of proposals that may never see the light of day, but they can live on here for funzies and future inspiration. One of these is Data Walk: Bringing Demographics to the People. According to data from the 2000 Census, a particular block east of Allen Street is 50 percent more Asian than the block directly west of it. And a block north of Rivington Street has 40 percent more divorced couples than the block directly south. If you walk down these New York City streets, however, these numbers don’t add up. What does it mean when spatial data is defined by arbitrary boundaries? How does the U.S. Census compare to its original people and places? Data Walk will bring demographics to the people by mapping Census data directly onto the landscape. The boundaries of Census blocks and tracts will be drawn on the sidewalks with a continuous chalk line and paired with select statistics to make this information more accessible and bring awareness to its strengths and inaccuracies. See more here…

In exactly one month I’ll be moving to Helsinki, Finland! I’ve accepted a job at Nokia and will be working as a “Design Specialist” with an inspirational group of international designers and thinkers. I’m really excited and look forward to good times improving communication tools and wearing mittens.

But before that, I’m on a mission to hang out with friends and do all the New York-y things I’ve put off for the last seven years. Watch Broadway shows! Eat at landmark restaurants! Visit every museum! Ice-skate in Central Park! My Mom always says, “I enjoyed making a new memory with you today,” which is both sweetly FOB-y and acutely aware of what current moments will remain meaningful in five years. I’ve never felt such a conscious rush to make some memories… Chop chop!

One of my favorite short stories is “My Father’s Brain” by Jonathan Franzen (in his book How to Be Alone). He talks about his father with alzheimer’s while dropping knowledge on the science of memory. Each time we remember something, the synapse connection becomes a little stronger and the memory becomes a little more ingrained in our brain. Over the course of one year I now have 9,726 photos in my iPhoto. Will my own memory become better (more images to spark long-lost synapse connections) or worse (less effort remembering at the scene)? And how many memories will I not be making while I sit at home organizing these old ones…

I’m a big believer in Global Studio, an international program I’ve been involved with for the past 3 years. Initiated by the UN Millennium Development Goals, Global Studio is a place-based action research program where interdisciplinary students, academics, and professionals from around the world come together to collaborate with residents, community groups, and local government to learn from each other and facilitate needs in disadvantaged communities. It’s a pretty ambitious feat - participatory planning in action, theory and practice united, learning from all ends, and projects ranging in scale (3-week design-build projects to 5-year riverfront plans) and design (physical sewer drains to stronger networks of people and resources). The collaboration between people from different disciplines AND different countries leads to inspiring results. I recently worked with cofounder and convener Anna Rubbo to design 14 panels for a Global Studio exhibition currently on display at Customs House in Sydney, Australia…

Download a pdf of the panels and learn a little about the program that has involved over 30 countries, 50 universities, and 10 disciplines - and is the reason I have so many Facebook friends…

When I pass by people in Chinatown wearing face masks I always wonder if the air quality is really that gnarly. Someday the answer will be as easy as opening a mobile phone app! I worked with Spatial Information Design Lab co-director Sarah Williams and Columbia University Computer Science PhD candidate Sean White on visualizing air quality data for mobile devices. After recording and geocoding carbon monoxide levels around Manhattanville in New York City, the group is exploring ways this information can be made accessible on mobile devices, including cell phones as well as augmented reality devices that combine live video with 3D graphics. Check out some visualizations of map and street views and imagine a health-conscious layer for your Google maps on the go…