October 2005

Day No. 1: And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?” “I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.” “You should design a restaurant,” added Allah. Day No. 2: “Today,” the Lord God said, “let’s do land.” And lo, there was land. “Well, it’s really not just land,” noted Vishnu. “You’ve got mountains and valleys and-is that lava?” “It’s not a single statement,” said the Lord God. “I want it to say, ‘Yes, this is land, but it’s not afraid to ooze.’ ” “It’s really a backdrop, a sort of blank canvas,” put in Apollo. “It’s, like, minimalism, only with scale.” “But-brown?” Buddha asked. “Brown with infinite variations,” said the Lord God. “Taupe, ochre, burnt umber-they’re called earth tones.” “I wasn’t criticizing,” said Buddha. “I was just noticing.” Day No. 3: “Just to make everyone happy,” said the Lord God, “today I’m thinking oceans, for contrast.” “It’s wet, it’s deep, yet it’s frothy; it’s design without dogma,” said Buddha, approvingly. “Now, there’s movement,” agreed Allah. “It’s not just ‘Hi, I’m a planet-no splashing.'” “But are those ice caps?” inquired Thor. “Is this a coherent vision, or a highball?” “I can do ice caps if I want to,” sniffed the Lord God. “It’s about a mood,” said the Angel Moroni, supportively. “Thank you,” said the Lord God. Day No. 4: “One word,” said the Lord God. “Landscaping. But I want it to look natural, as if it all somehow just happened.” “Do rain forests,” suggested a tribal god, who was known only as a clicking noise. “Rain forests here,” decreed the Lord God. “And deserts there. For a […]