Today I stumbled on the blog of the software engineer who makes the Audio Damage plugins, and he posted about an origami polyhedron that he made out of 60 identical units. I was immediately fascinated by this. I've heard of mathematically based origami before, but this variety, apparently known as modular or unit origami, seems especially elegant. The individual units don't look like they'd be hard to make at all, though assembling them into the whole might be another matter.

The authority on this type of origami is Tomoko Fuse; she has many books of patterns. I wanted so badly to try this out that I thought about where I could get one of the books today. The best shot seemed to be Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore in Rockefeller Center. I went over there after work and they were having a closeout sale, with all books 50% off, in preparation for a move to a new space across from Bryant Park. Sadly, it was pretty much the dregs remaining. There were a couple of books in Japanese that looked like Fuse's, but I have enough trouble following origami instructions in English. It will have to be Amazon. I look forward to seeing the new Kinokuniya.