Modern Ice press week, day one

Tuesday, January 8, 2007

From my window I can see the tops of two skyscrapers rise into the clouds. And while it’s not exactly a ‘view’ of the lake, there are visible corridors of water beyond the buildings.



We moved rooms. James Dannecker, Night Manager at Hard Rock, gave us the penthouse, a complete apartment, weirdly without a kitchen, but a stunning city view on three sides. Here’s James in our Van Morrison suite. (A perfectly good suite! There was a noise, Gord couldn't sleep).



We’re up high, on David Bowie’s floor, along with other like buildings and I can see a man on his phone in a corner office, his hand on his waist, locked in conversation. It’s dusk, after a full day, and most people have gone home. It was midnight by the time our stuff was transferred to the new suite. We stood at the huge windows, the night city at our feet, watching lightning storm through the heavens, and rain fall in millions of drops down, down, down to the sidewalk below.



Up way too early. Three hours today at The Fulton Cold Storage with two television crews: one from the City of Chicago, a show called “Chicago Works” with Katie Kijowski. (She’s an excellent listener with very good questions).



Here she is with her cameraman. (she later thanked me for recommending they do their interview in the warm room). After their interview, another crew, this time from Fox News had arrived in the cold room.



So then that interview ensued with Amy Frieze. By the time they had each gotten extra footage where the crew was making pallets and working with colorful shards,



by the time we wound our way through the maze of rooms at The Fulton, dodging swerving fork lifts, down the famous red staircase, it was already 3:15.



Here’s Amy Frieze and Gord in the warm room, and by contrast Brooke and Amy surrounded by Paintings Below Zero in the you-can-see-your-breath room.



J.C. and Erik Olson are due tomorrow, but Gord calls me at the club to say that Erik’s already arrived. Erik's been with us since the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, when Gord represented Canada at the Cultural Olympiad with Paintings Below Zero.



Erik, Jaz’s buddy from Emily Carr College of Art and Design, where they both went to art school. Erik, who baptized Gord as “The Don”. World traveler, artist in his own right, a wicked sense of humor, easygoing. I cut my workout short, glad to see this young man, who has become our friend over the years we’ve been working together.



Wednesday morning at Intelligentsia, the reunion.

Today, J.C. should be here. He was our Main Man last year, (also shared our adventure in Italy) and we're looking forward to his super competent work with the plate set up -- is it already time for the plates? They go out on Friday.