The Daily Blagica

In case you haven't heard, Apple is building store in the North/Clybourn area of Chicago.  This same area is the home of the red line North/Clybourn stop.

The folks at Apple and the folks at the CTA are in discussions for Apple to have multiple naming and advertising rights to the station to have 'station domination' (ie. upgrades to station and advertising rights) - making it an uber destination shop for both Apple and design lovers. Naming rights could put as much as $4 million in the hands of the cash-strapped CTA.

I predict a CTA station that will have glass ceilings, enabling train goers to see activity happening in the Apple store above them.

Update: Thanks to my friends at Gapers Block for reminding me of the 'naming rights vs upgrades to the station', but I still see this play as a big naming/ad buy for Apple.

I decided to get both the flu and H1N1 vaccines. The amount of debate this caused in my hometown household alone could fill a 30 minute news segment.

Do you vaccinate? Why/why not?

Adding to the customization features they are known for, BMW is working on creating their own application store. Customers can download these apps from their computers or straight from their BMWs.

What I like about this:
-Could the Facebook app diagnose your car's tire pressure?
-Could the Twitter app mesh with Seesmic and bring video chats to your dashboard?
-Could the Yelp app 'read' you live consumer reviews as you drive around a new city looking for dinner?

Does this make you want to buy a BMW?

image c/o PSFK

I noticed a tweet from 37 Signal's Jason Fried.  His firm launched a new service yesterday, Haystack.

Simply put, freelancers can list their work for free.
Clients can find a designer for free.
Freelancers that would like more 'oomph' to their listing can pay $99 for a six month Pro listing.

This move is standard issue 37 Signals thinking: offer a part of your service for free and add a premium service (similar to the job board they also launched). 

The layout of the interface is clean and easy to navigate. Potential clients can surf through designers, land on their profile page and contact them directly.  No fees, no middle man, just a phone call/email.

I don't know what other features the 37 Signals gang will be adding on, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they are.

In addition to making my life efficient with technology, I'm into optimizing space. My brief stint living in France, coupled with stories of how my parents grew up in Macedonia and their first years in Detroit, made me determined to make my life as clutter-free as possible.  As my husband and I prepare for our first child, I've been an organizing fiend. Closet system, desk installed into a wall and putting things in nicely labeled boxes. Yesterday's Oprah show was dedicated to how women live in other parts of the world.

One of the segments highlighted the people of Denmark.I was pleasantly surprised to see Oprah's face when she saw how efficiently one Danish family lived. Clean lines, built-in closet space a cozy kitchen, etc. The focus of the family wasn't how much they 'had', but what function each thing needed to deliver.  This brief video offers some highlights.

Living in the U.S. and being surrounded by mass, it's often difficult for me to get back to my old mindset of 'little is good'.

If you have tips for how you design your space, I'd love to see them!

image c/o Oprah.com

My celeb following girlfriend just passed on this news to me.
First, it was the college sports. Next was the NBA. Most recently, it was the NFL.

Add Hollywood to the list of groups that are imposing social media bans on their actors. With famous personalities breaking stories via their Twitter streams, Hollywood producers are asking celebs to sign contracts banning use of social media tools in multiple capacities.. Of note is this clause from Disney:

"includes a new clause forbidding confidentiality breaches via "interactive media such as Facebook, Twitter, or any other interactive social network or personal blog."

It'll be interesting to see how many upcoming productions will include this clause. Think about all of the award shows, sitcom pilots, entertainment shows, reality TV, etc.

image c/o Telegraph UK