I'm a San Francisco native who loves rain, bad TV shows, The Guinness Book of World Records, having garage sales, hosting brunches, and daydreaming about Antarctica. More than anything else, however, I love playing with my insanely adorable 4-year-old niece. Seriously, she is freakishly, mind-bogglingly cute.
My non-design pursuits include cooking (I wrote a cookbook that came out in May 2011) and being thoroughly fascinated by science (I founded San Francisco's Ask a Scientist lecture series in 2003). Perhaps to test the extreme outer limits of my multi-tasking skills, in 2010 I co-produced a live speakers' series featuring comedy legends like Carol Channing, Rich Little, and Shelley Berman. Read below for details, if you're so inclined.
The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy (with coauthor Robin Donovan; Viva Editions, 2011) is a fun, practical, and sympathetic guide for the novice cook that conquers the misguided belief that preparing an elegant meal requires spending hours—or days—in the kitchen, sweating over elaborate and cumbersome recipes. Find out more about the book on our blog, Two Lazy Gourmets. The site includes press and reviews, a calendar of upcoming events, and tons of great recipes, stories, and cooking tips.
Ask a Scientist is a casual science lecture series that takes place in San Francisco cafés and other informal venues. Each monthly event features a speaker on a scientific topic, a short presentation, and the opportunity to ask all those burning questions that keep you up at night. Visit the Ask a Scientist website to find out about upcoming events, peruse our press, and read about the incredible topics we've covered over the years.
Comedy Talks: Conversations with the Legends of Comedy launched its inaugural season in San Francisco in August 2010. Our first three live shows featured host Robert Strong in conversation with nine celebrity panelists: actor George Segal, director Paul Mazursky, comic Ronnie Schell, master impersonator Rich Little, stage and screen star Carol Channing, comic Steve Rossi, Mad Men's Robert Morse, legendary comedian Shelley Berman, and political satirist Will Durst. Watch a short highlight video here.
The niece! She's actually quite good at taking pictures. I may be putting her to work soon.
A dog that looks exactly like my neighbor's maltese, Fifi, whom I stalk. I try to coincide my morning run with Fifi's bathroom outing. This is a very excellent and adorable way to avoid running.