Brian Kritzman and myself will be presenting current projects, talking about design theory and the mechanics of operating a modular, decentralized design firm at the next Core77 Offsite in October. There will also be site specific multimedia installations and music provided by Magda. Oh, and free drinks! Exact date and location to be announced soon. This Offsite is part of an ongoing education series and exploration of experience design presented by ENGRAM.

Before Time Out lets the rest of the world know next week, get down to Brooklyn's best new bar: Buttermilk at 5th Avenue and 16th Street in South Slope. Buttertmilk is owned by Burnlab editor and Detroit expat Tony Saracino, along with the fine folks who brought us the hip Brooklyn watering holes Great Lakes, Roxy and Boat. Already gaining a loyal following, Buttermilk sported a line around the corner after a Yo La Tengo show at Prospect Park last week, inspiring the comment "What is this... an indie-rock trash compactor?" True there is no shortage of shaggy kids in glasses and Vans, but the superb jukebox features enough post-punk and electro gems to keep me more than happy. Look for a new Burnlab mix CD in the near future with many of the Mute artists mentioned here the past few days.

Submitted for perusal: music and sound design by Cypher Audio from Toronto.

Speaking of sound and design, I had the great pleasure of visiting EAR Studio last week. Ben Rubin is a frequent collaborator with the likes of Diller+Scofidio, Mark Hansen and Laurie Anderson. It's a damn shame the budget for Blur at the Swiss National Expo was cut by a staggering US$10 million. D+S's beautiful cloud was built, but the "Brain Coats" and Ben's other multimedia installations remain on the shelf for now. More info about Blur here and the upcoming D+S book here.