I was in New York for a minute – or rather 36 hours to attend a friend’s 50th birthday and was reminded why I like San Francisco summers – they are colder than some winters and you don’t have to sweat like a crazy person all the time. I don’t like the hot and humid weather, though I like how colorful and beautiful the city and its residents look. I mean even the New York Black takes on a new meaning. On this trip, thanks to the party’s location, I saw the original painting of George Washington’s image that graces the one dollar bill. How is that for kicking off the July 4th weekend in the right spirit.
What was even fun was meeting a lot of interesting people including designer Nicole Miller, whose work I have admired for a long time. Ms. Miller sat next to me at dinner and talked to me about Instagram, technology and techno-fabrics, which to me are the real wearables. Whether it is lab grown leather or fabrics made out of recycled materials, I find that we have barely scratched the surface and aren’t thinking about wearables in the right manner.
Nevertheless, it was very clear that in talking with others at dinner – technology and its impact is on everyone’s mind: from politicians to creatives to old money and traditional power brokers. It is subtle realization that the world is changing – faster in many ways than most realize. Technology’s impact on society is still not something the laws of yesterday quite grok. People think of Uber in isolation, but don’t see it as a symptom of new work culture.
Anyway, I am glad we are starting to talk about it, five years after I first started to write about it on a consistent basis. The work around policy and politics and new tech-infused society needs to be done with careful deliberations and be calibrated to factor in the needs of haves and the rest of society’s members.
But the best part of New York is a handful of quiet moments with friends, grabbing a coffee at Happy Bones. Now back in San Francisco, I am excited to go an pick up my nephew from the airport — and hanging out with him for a week. Best way to spend my summer.
July 2, 2016, San Francisco