Having used the Festival of New Ideas as an excuse for two easy days of content, I figured I should pass on this interesting critique of the event. (yes, I guess this does make 3 days of easy/lazy content from one event)
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2011/05/ideas-for-new-city.html
So far, the city of tomorrow looks a lot like college life in the Pacific Northwest. It also looks a lot like hipster and brownstone Brooklyn. ...
A popsicle artisan was shaving a big block of ice to make icees flavored with Bartlett pear and other syrups. Passersby marveled aloud at what they seemed to think was a rare and antiquated craft. Of course, on any warm day on the Lower East Side, plenty of local men and women push their carts through the streets, loaded with syrup bottles and big blocks of ice they shave by hand. They don't display antique ice hooks, though, and none of their flavors include basil.
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It is funny what people see
It is funny what people see and what they don't. A few years ago Brownstoner announced with great delight that Williamsburg had its first florist. Ever.
At the time I could think of at least two flower shops in Williamsburg specializing in red roses flown straight from Central America someplace and arranged with sprigs of babys breath. mylar balloon optional. So they weren't florists that suited my aesthetic either, but that's not quite the same as there being no florists.