OMG, OMG!

Yes, I know that screamed "little girl seeing her first pony and hoping she'll get one for Christmas," but I just couldn't contain my excitement when I saw these. Basically, there's a series of 11 track bikes (Bianchi Pistas) that have...get this, frames and wheels inspired by 80's era BMX and freestyle bikes. How crazy is that?

I'm a bike fanatic and always have been, at least until Metro "stole" my '87 Trek roadie from the Metro. Of course, this was after someone else had liberated the rear wheel beforehand. Single speeds, or "fixies" as the bike messengers call them have the most wonderous frame geometry, and they look flippin' smooth cruisin' down 14th Street. Now I've come to rely on a '72 Raleigh Hercules, which used to be a 3-speed but the nasty rust bug got to it and now it's a single, stuck in hardest gear of course. Hey, the bright side is big Lance Armstrong calves come summer.

Back to these beauties...modern renditions of Skyway, GT, Dyno, Hutch, P.K. Ripper. Awesomely rad. Makes me wanna jump a ramp made of plywood and a broken cinder block. See 'em all at Razor Apple.

Purposeful Repurposing-Bagel Carrier

Inadvertent design or the work of a genius? Rodrigo Piwonka has devised what just might be the most clever solution to the problem of cream cheese leakage from your whole wheat bagel. He took a used cd spindle, washed it, and put a bagel inside. Then this young Einstein snapped a picture and posted on flickr, to the benefit of all the world. Brilliant. I tried to find another photo, but this one pretty much sums it up.

And to think, I was worrying myself over what to do with the spindle that fell behind my desk. Now I have a reason to fish it out, maybe even put a bagel in it.

:Via Core77 Design

The Corcoran Goes Modernist

Washington is warming up. Or at least it was until today. Those budding cherries and dogwoods lost a few flowers with the precipitation this morning, but spring still marches onward. With a weekend forecast for cold and rain, there are few better ways to spend time than in a museum. One that's high on my list is the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Their newest exhibition explores the rise of the 'modern' movement in Modernism:
Designing a New World 1914—1939, through July 29, 2007.

Across the American landscape, and indeed that of the entire world, there has been a recent resurgence in architecture, design, and even health & nature as viewed through the eyes of a more design-savvy public. We've come to expect aesthetic pleasure in everything from toilet brushes to the bowls they clean, the interiors of our cars to the layout of the buildings we park them in. See where it all began in what promises to be a fascinating trip through the history of modern design culture. Visit the online exhibit, then plan a trip to the museum itself. While in the District, be sure to check out another great rainy day escape- The National Building Museum. Due to popular demand, their well-executed exhibit The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design has been extended until June 24, 2007.