the sartorialist's dilemma

As I mentioned Monday, this Gathering String thing is a work in progress, and I've already moved it. And renamed it. It's now called the Sartorialist's Dilemma, and it resides here: (click). I would love your comments as I embark on this project, combining two inspirations, The Sartorialist (click) and Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma (click) in an effort to figure out: What to wear?

Many of you, dear friends and family, have been collaborating with me on this for years. As you well know, this is no new dilemma for me.

Help me figure it out: click. I really would love your comments in regards to the project!

gathering string

Well, good morning! I'm presenting a whole new project to you today. For the moment it's called gathering string and resides here: click. I've made three entries already, and the one that may best outline my intentions thus far is this one: click. In essence, it's one Jaybird's attempt to figure out what to wear. Remember the first day of school? click.

gathering string's URL (that's web address, luddites) is catchy, I know, but for the time being, we're sort of in beta. Which is to say, that you, dear Jaybird readers, are my test kitchen.

It's very much a work in progress (what isn't?) and I'd love to know your thoughts on it. By all means, leave comments or send me emails. More to come...

harlow honeys

more on dossier...(click).

theobroma cacao: sensual sustainable seratonins

Single-origin chocolate should have been starring at last weekend's New York Chocolate Show.
Jill Santopietro wrote and blogged about it for The New York Times. It's been the high point of my kitchen cupboard since August, when I visited Fazenda Monte Alegre, Diego Badaró's cacao farm in Bahia, Brazil.
So I bundled up Sunday evening to catch the end of the show, ripe for cacao-buzzed inspiration.

Instead I found chocolate records inscribed with holiday messages, mannequins wearing chocolate dresses and a "Divalicious!" chocolate fountain for marshmallow-dipping. I don't mean to sound like a scrooge, but it seems silly to go to such great lengths to create a novelty out of what is such a magical material to begin with. But, alas...


Diego, he of Cacao Badaró in Brazil, an alchemist in the truest sense, came to New York for the occasion. Tuesday night he shared his wares with a few friends: some special chocolate-makers, farmers and importers of exotic fruits. In an apartment in the West Village, a red wine and dark chocolate-fueled jam session brought us all back to Bahia, the origin of Cacao Badaró chocolate. Magic is restored.

Below is a little taste I recorded that night:

The farmers and chocolateirs on their instruments in the background, Diego telling about cacao farming and my photos: beginning in New York, then taking you back to the origin in Bahia.

cruising the Amazon: a week in pictures

The old line goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. I took over fifteen hundred shots over five days on the River Arapiuns last week, so you do the math. Here are a selected few. I'm not giving out the stories behind them for free--hopefully one day you can buy the book. In the meantime, just buy me a drink and I'll tell you a tale or two.
Enjoy.