I was asked to write an article for this month’s issue of .net magazine, the UK’s biggest online magazine. I’m very honoured - thanks to Oliver the deputy editor for giving me the opportunity. Also a big thanks to my buddy Diana Levine for the photo. Pick up a copy if you can!

Liberty State Park is HUGE. The walk from the train station alone was almost half an hour. This is no mean feat, but in 85ºF heat it definitely leaves you feeling a little parched and irritable. Upon reaching the entrance, there was a ridiculous line which seemed totally unnecessary. Unfortunately this would be the first of many.

Simply put, the event organizers hadn’t allowed for the sheer numbers of people in this place.

Beer - this was a joke. To get a beer you had to queue up for 30 minutes to show ID and get a wristband. Once you had your wristband and purple cross marked on your hand, you then had to join another crowd, almost like cattle, to be let through a gate into the ‘beer pen’ - this was the only place you were allowed to drink alcohol, it was cramped and ridiculous. Another queue then lead you to the bar, where you were only allowed to purchase two beers and a total of FIVE for the whole event…

I understand keeping alcohol abuse at a minimum creates a safe event for all, but come on! Surely if you limit the number of beers people can have, you at least can give them easy access to it?

On the plus side - the location was stunning. It was the most amazing place I have ever seen live music. As night descended, Manhattan’s lights illuminated a majestic backdrop of stars, a half-moon, and Lady Liberty. Very impressive. Radiohead’s set was incredible, the trippy visuals seemed to compete with the glow from Manhattan. They played most of their new album IN RAINBOWS, and a selection of classics. Thankfully this awe-inspiring performance combined with the amazing scenery helped to alleviate the bad feelings from the day of queuing. My message to the organizers: double your amenities and widen the entrance, or reduce the number of peaceful music lovers substantially.

On Thursday night we were very honored to receive a Stevie Award for the Nikon USA redesign, in the category of Web Site: Product Information.

Myself and fellow Molecular representatives Raph Chun, Josh Manton, Adam McIntyre and Thomas Becker were at the ceremony in Times Square, NY to celebrate the win.

Congratulations to all the Molecular peeps involved in making this project extremely successful, and also a big thanks to our Nikon client Joe Ventura, for giving us the opportunity to work on such a cool brand.

Find out more information on the The American Business Awards (Stevies).

Diana is an extremeley talented friend of mine who once worked as the designer for Boston Magazine, but has now decided to go solo and concentrate on her amazing photography work. You will probably bump into her at one of the many parties in Boston. Her photography portfolio is excellent, and definitely worth a look:

http://www.dianalevine.com

The graphic design and visual language of signs in the US have a very unique feel to them. I have started a personal project to photograph and record the names and locations of the many signs I encounter as I continue to explore this vast country.

Here is an old sign from the outside dining areas at the Green Mesquite BBQ in Austin, Texas. A great place, incredible food and very good value. The yard had a bunch of old rusty beer signs nailed to the walls. A lot of modern places try to imitate that with reclaimed signage. This place was authentic.

I will post more as the collection grows.

The concept is to leave disposable cameras around London for people to find and record their personal journey. Once they have used the camera they are expected to send it back for developing. Each camera has a unique code and will be displayed on the site Matt has built.

It is a great idea, and I suggested to him I could leave some cameras around Boston and New York. God only knows what kind of photos he will get back. It will be interesting to see which areas in London etc. will yield the best results. I think if the bags were left in the more creative districts of cities there would be more chance of collaboration, otherwise people may just ignore them.

What a great show. Amp Fiddler was in town, playing for a small although very enthusiastic crowd of soul fans at the Middle East, Mass Ave. Cambridge. He sounded so much better live, much more energy, and the backing singers supporting him had incredible voices.

For those of you who don’t know him - he is Detroit born soul/funk/electronica artist best known for playing in George Clinton’s Parliament and Funkadelic groups back in the 70’s and 80’s.

I felt sorry for them to play such a small and sparsely populated venue, but in a selfish way it was good for me because I was able to get very close to the stage, and the intimate space definitely provided a greater atmosphere.

A couple of interesting facts I learnt from Michael about the process at Apple:

Ok so that was weird. I was sat in TGI Friday’s having a beer (it was raining and it was joined to my hotel) - and all of a sudden Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters came over and sat at the adjacent table. A couple of people buzzed around, including a photographer. She proceeded to take some snaps with me kind of sitting in the whole scene. I got talking to the publicist (or whatever) and she was really cool. I was able to go and sit with the man himself and get a photo, and we chatted a little bit about his music etc. Really nice guy. He told me to come and say hello when he is playing in Boston in summer. Ok, you got it Mr. Thornton.