only two more days, make it last.

reuse [reduce?]

some time this past fall i fell for straight lines and simplicity - of course with one's personal vibrant touch - and then i met the whole refurb shipping container thing, some have called it cargotecurte [ok, mainly HyBrid in seattle], and everything really started to come together. ISO shipping containers line the shores of the U.S. as goods are shipped to the U.S. from all over the world but with little exporting going on state side there's not much to fill those bad boys up and ship them out again. so some very creative people have begun making due with what they've got - and they've done it rather nicely. Here are 15 of the hundreds of shipping container projects from 2010 - there are so many more and some architectural firms are really doing beautiful work. These are some works from 2006... my my my, we've come a long way

the xx [never not good]

the cure :: close to me

shall we sail?

it is not for them but for you [please understand].

"She liked the rare occasions when She met Roark at some gathering where heller or enright had brought Him. She liked the polite, impersonal 'miss francon' pronounced by His voice. She enjoyed the nervous concern of the hostess and her efforts not to let them come together. She knew that people around them expected some explosion, some shocking sign of hostility which never came. She did not seek Roark out and She did not avoid Him. They spoke to each other if They happened to be included in the same group, as They would have spoken to anyone else. it required no effort; it was real and right; it made everything right, even this gathering. She found a deep sense of fitness in the fact that here, among people, They should be strangers; strangers and enemies. She thought, these people can think of many things He and I are to each other -except for what We are. it made the moments She remembered greater, the moments not touched by the sight of others, by the words of others, not even by their knowledge. She thought, it has no existence here, except in Me and in Him. She felt a sense of possession, such as She could feel nowhere else. She could never own Him as She owned Him in a room among strangers when She seldom looked in His direction." a.r. the fountain head p.294-95

5 days to ego... here.

what's a girl to do with this abundance of free time? 5 days in the woods followed by days of lounging and indulging is the finest written words. ahh freedom.

i shall never escape my first studio at pratt

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/12/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-parking.php

free parking isn't free. nothing ever really is. think about this you BQE parkers... although after a discussion with my professor i'm re-considering the role said amenities play in the a world where the poor are given nothing and everything is taken.  it's holding onto the small things in order to feel some control when you have very little. it's a form of self-destruction that allows one to maintain the feeling of existing. how long can one exist in this manner, under such disparity?

today i started 'the fountainhead' this song seems fitting for now

gauntlet hair :: i was thinking

james blake :: CMYK

framing energy for a moment

as told by l magazine: laps trinity horoscope 

*sagittarius ::11.22'12.21 :: we all lie. we do. and if we think we aren't lying then we deceive ourselves. are you deceiving yourself [said astrological sign]? and would you even know if you were? i reckon you probably are - but that's ok[ay]. just don't make a habit of it, please.

*leo :: 7.23'8.22 :: somewhere right now, in some suburb, a train is passing in the distance, blowing its whstle. and some kid in that suburb is hearing that whistle, and is hearing that whistle, and is imagining the great big world out there, far from the ugliness of the milk-sour cafeteria, the grim mall. and that kid feel a little better [said astrological sign]. (are there still trains?)

*aquarius :: 1.20'2.18 ::  who you gonna call when the shit really goes down, [said astrological sign]? you need to think about this. everyone's your friend when it's all cocaine and lollipops - but what about when it's nothing but dry bundt cake and lint, hrmm?

but more importantly....

*cancer  :: 6.21'7.22 :: you seem a little [feral] in the eyes, cancer, like you haven't slept in a while. look, when's the last time you had a square meal and a clean pillow? come on, man, come inside and i'll crack some beers, make some soup, and everything'll be alright. i promise, pal, you'll see.

The Man Who Planted Trees

my favorite short film. have 30 minutes? take a seat and enjoy the 4 short parts of the whole story that is the man who planted trees; a french story written by jean giono in 1953 and then in 1987 made into a short animated film by canadian film director frédéric back. it's an absolutely beautiful [quiet, soft] story of one man living in nature [the wild, the under-known landscape] and his large impact on the land. on a silly relate, it's think globally, act locally at its finest, one person can make a difference, let's never forget that. ENJOY!


part 1 of 4
part 2 of 4
part three of 4
part four of four

the xx :: heart skipped a beat

people love stormwater runoff

yet another amazing way to manage runoff
creative way to make function out of art

from pomo to studio real quick

sketch by me ::
restructuring of the BQE stormwater runoff system.

collection. detention. release. retention. filtration.

just add open space

"in orthodox city planning, neighborhood open spaces are venerated in an amazingly uncritical fashion, much as savages venerate magical fetishes"*
      *e.g. "Mr. Moses conceded that some new housing might be 'ugly, regimented, institutional, identical, conformed, faceless.' but he suggested that such housing could be surrounded with parks" [NYT, jan. 1961] :: jane jacob's the death and life of great american cities

i dunno

"we know nothing of vast multiplicity - we cannot come to grips with it - not as architects, planners, or anybody else." - aldo van eyck quoted in splintering urbanism

just my luck

for those who can't read this, it says: TDBank, America's Most Convenient Bank... TD Bank's Online Banking is temporarily unavailable.

 Sweet Deal.

oh it's coming together real nice

"postmodernism, from this point of view, has its roots in American democratic egalitarianism and is not a joke artists, writers, and architects are playing on everyone else, as elitists might suggest. The stylistic eclecticism found in postmodern architecture, then, is a reflection of a democratic society that wants buildings to work for many different kinds of people and does not reflect a loss of identity and a lack of center in people" a.a. berger the portable postmodernist

pollock's no.1

thinking about philosophy.. hmm? yes?

"gradually, it has become clear to me what every great philosophy has so far been: namely, the personal confession of its author and a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir..." Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche has influenced the philosophical thoughts of:
 
existentialism :: the focus of philosophical thought should be to deal with the conditions of existence of the individual person and his or her emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts

and postmodernism :: dealing with ego collectively, accepting what exists [modern] and embracing histories and hyper-geography. understanding connectivity.

architecture in helsinki's HEART IT RACES via Dr. Dog

emo time

it's been awhile since i've followed this 'so-low' path i refer to as emo [tional] but i really like jay brannan [click that, technical difficulties, per usual] and he's playing music in the city for a living so i'll go down this path for a while

in over my head

hooked

just another thing for repeat listening

what i find beautiful

artist:: SIT, amsterdam.

http://www.sitnie.com/#724300/NOIR

gettin' easier to be a localvore

NYC gets LOCAL
 Eating local isn't easy and it's a major step in becoming sustainable [whatever that actually means these days]. NYC is the second largest buyer of food in the country, behind only the military - and with wild open lands in upstate, VT and PENN. it's surprising that the city isn't booming with local goodies.  LOCAL, depending on who ya talk to, is a 100-300 mile radius, which might not seem local enough if you're used to county livin' but in these globalized times, it's more local than that banana you're eating. NYC is stepping up it's game and is looking to take advantage of underutilized lands within the city to get some urban AGR going - which is awesome considering the amount of food deserts that exist throughout the boroughs. my studio work-group for the semester has branched off into varying focuses, 1 being the food supply for neighborhoods around the BQE, especially to the north and eastern areas of CH. There are dozens of community gardens in these parts, and even some farmer's markets - but some areas are seriously excluded and it's time to bridge the various sectors of the community. Food brings people together and local food puts money back into the local economy, win-win if you ask me.  Of course you have to be cautious with AGR, especially with regard to STORMWATER runoff [my love for the last few months] and contaminated soils - but since the city is looking to green up its Storm.Water.Infrastructure.Management. [also the name of an awesome np started by a fellow PRATTer] and brownfield recovery, there are some major possibilities for the city to embrace sustainable practices and implement strategies that link up together.

i just wait an hour for the g train

i'd like to get you high

mo... pomo.

"philosophy has for too long claimed a privileged position in the search for such truths as a basis for deciding what we should or should not believe. we do not need such a world in order to decide what or what not to believe. instead, we decide to believe not because it corresponds to the reality of the world, but because they make sense to use and help us act. we change our beliefs not because we have been given a new or privileged view of the world, but because new beliefs make more sense of it or resolve inconsistencies. what does vary and where we should focus our attention is the language we use to describe experiences" :: p. allmendinger, planning in postmodern times.

now from f. jameson's postmodernism or, the cultural logic of late capitalism :: "if modernization is something that happens to the base, and modernism the form the superstructure takes in reaction to the ambivalent development, then perhaps modernity characterizes the attempt to make something coherent out of their relationship. modernity would then in that case describe the way 'modern' people feel about themselves; the world would seem to have something to do not with products but with the producers and the consumers, and how they feel either producing the products or living with them"

yahda yahda yahda, postmodernism & planning

this theory paper on postmodernism and something  is a process like no other, but i'm thoroughly enjoying it. the paper itself shall remain off this, but these are the after-thoughts, most of which will never make the final cut but nonetheless they are thoughts that sprung from the paper and the many books i've commandeered from the library [and yes that's the most fitting verb ever for my feeling on all of this radical thinking]


:: From here discuss: fragmentation of the process: in planning (community development, plurality, inclusionary planning, increased transparency) and in the production process (globalization, increased dependencies on others, loss of transparency)  the various branches of planning and social theory from 1960 through now. Postmodernism and city planning difficulties finding themselves.  What is postmodernism: it is not something new, it’s a play on the old, a pastiche, it’s exploration at its finest as it is taking what is already there and making it meaningful to the self.  City planning, how can it be defined? It is a process of applying social thought, ideals, ideas, and theory to the ‘open’ landscape and hoping that almost everyone agrees with the physical design and accepts the externalities. City planners are the glue that holds everything together, for better or worse. Planners should know the ins and outs of politics and everyday life in order to think on their feet and be what society asks them to be, absolute leaders with a conscience. Planners have to be vaguely all knowing yet know when to step aside, they must be able to know when to say no to desires in favor of needs. This is not an easy path to wander down, planning for everyone means a sacrifice of  ego but there must be an attempt to find the balance of values, those underlying heart-grabbing beliefs, and of communal happiness. There are no definite wrongs or rights, not in planning and most certainly not in postmodernist theory. It’s [life, planning, etc.?]  a process, it’s ever lasting, history has not ended, it is continuous and the need to shift and shape accordingly may be necessary, but hold onto the bits that matter the most and carry them high and tight, whether it be for demanding total acceptance of all or progressive design theory in geographies, it’s important to know ego but to know that ego is a part of a larger process is even sexier.  

MAP

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/11/what-if-a-countrys-population-determined-its-size.php

coooool representation of population and spatial relationship

mas remix

 Stars :: Sleep Tonight [Junior Boys Remix]

what i live by; then, now and forever

"i'm going to paraphrase [Henry David] Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth." :: into the wild

i'd give it all away to experience
just a moment
of something untouched,
something visceral, something real.

"the deep"

a favorite, per usual

 kate nash:: nicest thing

absolute beauty

this image does no justice. see live @ MET.

anselm kiefer :: bohemia lies by the city
and 
ingeborg bachmann :: böhmen liegt am meer [inspiration for said painting {title}]

If houses here are green, I’ll step inside a house.
If bridges here are sound, I’ll walk on solid ground.
If love’s labour’s lost in every age, I’ll gladly lose it here.

If it’s not me, it’s one who is as good as me.

If a word here borders on me, I’ll let it border.
If Bohemia still lies by the sea, I’ll believe in the sea again.
And believing in the sea, thus I can hope for land.

If it’s me, then it’s anyone, for he’s as worthy as me.
I want nothing more for myself. I want to go under.

Under – that means the sea, there I’ll find Bohemia again.
From my grave, I wake in peace.
From deep down I know now, and I’m not lost.

Come here, all you Bohemians, seafarers, dock whores, and ships
unanchored. Don’t you want to be Bohemians, all you Illyrians,
Veronese and Venetians. Play the comedies that make us laugh

until we cry. And err a hundred times,
as I erred and never withstood the trials,
though I did withstand them time after time.

As Bohemia withstood them and one fine day
was released to the sea and now lies by water.

I still border on a word and on another land,
I border, like little else, on everything more and more,

a Bohemian, a wandering minstrel, who has nothing, who is held by nothing,
gifted only at seeing, by a doubtful sea, the land of my choice.

i'll take you here, 1982

eddy grant::electric avenue

my love for the 90's will never die

 counting crows::hanginaround

i'm just as surprised as you are

primitive radio gods::standing outside a broken phone booth... with money in my hand

the bittersweet

 el ten eleven::sorry about your irony
never has sound so clearly conveyed such a phenomenon

i do want this more than life

 whitley::more than life
reevaluating.. and i'm establishing that beyond what i know i don't want, i beginning to grasp what i do want

anything for distraction

crystal castles::magic spells

opening sentences grab attention

"urban planning is a
'conscious effort to direct social processes to attain goals'...
planning then is a social project"
- michael frisch's planning as a heterosexual project

others' take on self's ego

"...other persons never see the world from my perspective, and in witnessing the other's objective grasp of my body, actions and words, i am always face with an experience of myself different from that one i have... i do not always know what i mean, need, want, desire, because meanings, needs, and desires do not arise from an origin in some transparent ego. often i express my desire in gesture or tone of voice, without meaning to do so. consciousness, speech, expressiveness, are possible only if the subject always surpasses itself, and is thus necessarily unable to comprehend itself. subjects all have multiple desires that do not cohere, they attach layers of meanings to objects without always being aware of each layer or the connections between them. consequently, any individual subject is a play of difference that cannot be completely comprehended." - iris marion young's city life and difference

just some recycling

Recycled materials make art in Germany - european refrigerators make an igloo

i wasn't gonna blog today but then...

UVM rules, this is not an exaggeration either. the university of vermont really is the best place. sometime around my enrollment there 5 years ago they started using biodegradable everything - including cutlery. however the makers of such disposable goods are actually selling a bit of a lie - there are plastics in their so-called biodegradable tableware, which ain't sittin too well with the university. but no worries little hippies, you've got options, like real silverware or reusing sturdy plastic ones. but read the story, it's really interesting how much green-washing is going on.

this is old mill, where i spent more time than hhn.. no joke.

transportation nation

AWESOME! talk about solving some transit issues! This is a straddling bus that literally straddles over cars that pass freely below it on the same road. Trucks would have to be restricted to certain lanes, but that already occurs on plenty of roads. It's so futuristic.

the new apartment

last night while eating out in brooklyn with some future planner i over-heard the table next to us talking about this very cool living space made from shipping containers. they seem to be rather spacious and from what i gather there are thousands of these along both coast just sitting empty. i love this, recycling to a T!

just another day

grand national::drink to moving on

it's what you make it

"In the new postmodern, post-industrial economic order, the 'members of the Creative Class do not own and control any significant property in the physical sense. Their property - which stems from their creative capacity - is an intangible because it is literally in their heads'" - the creative class, richard florida

because i wrote a note and then put it away.

landon pigg::falling in love at a coffee shop 
does this mean i should spend more time at coffee shops? [thinking....] nope. 

this may be the best at this time

la roux::in for the kill [skream's 'let's get ravey' remix]
406 never felt so good so late

RUNAWAY ::i'd like to::

kanye west's runaway
question posed by natasha :: insanity? or genius?

photos.. that are not mine.

excellent series of photos.. everything is beautiful

stats.

this isn't as clear as i'd hoped for but none the less, these are the stats for the day.. very pumped about 'em. thanks for viewing, keep doing it and i'll keep trying to be as interesting as possible.

yes we can... get high

wiki info prob. 19
reminder: prob. 32 will overturn AB 23 which is california's climate bill to reduce emissions down to 1990 levels, so vote no because voting yes means you're stalling.. peak oil has already arrived and it's a probably important that we start seriously considering other forms of energy. now... prob 19 is the official legalization of marijuana in the state of california. cannabis would be regulated just like alcohol, i.e. taxes.. and i know how people feel about taxes [they don't like 'em] but taxes mean revenue for the state, and california really needs some money [like most states]. read up more on the topic if you'd like, i'm a bit tired to go into length about this, or anything for that matter. but it's something that will be voted on in 2 weeks... so if you know anyone in california or you're lucky enough to live the direct democracy state vote accordingly.

more on the Ecological Economics discussions around the world

futrure job? U.K. needs a green economic minister.. i could do that. i mean my grasp on economics is spotty but i think i get the basics.. plus look at the current economic system, no body knows what's going on.

Interview with Joshua Farley Give it a listen, his man knows what's going on, and this is a nice run down on the legs of this paradigm shift.

i'm just so impressed!

this here is my group's PPT, {amazing works} on existing conditions of our site area [i hope they don't mind me showing the world]. i just think the PPT slide show looks so awesome... i'm just so happy about it. a lot [that's an understatement, especially for our GIS map maker!] of work went into it all and we're only half way done. bravo environmental group!

Girl... I LOVE YOU!

Sara Bareilles::King Of Anything

writings...it's natural - at last.

pull the plug the waste of energy has been undone
the stroll through this all will most definitely continue
the quest for knowledge is not over
what you have seen is unfair
to expose is to show, to show what has forever been unknown
to be learned is a process, a process most rather not know
going along with head in clouds is pleasing
but i'd rather be on the ground.

epiphanies of october.. thus far

1. everything is a form of mapping - this blog title maps are sexy may seem misleading but it's not. yeah the site lacks quantitative maps but the main map is the map of my life. cartographers have an interesting job, they produce something that people take completely at face value and determine that it must be total truth. well it's not, maps are the truths that 1 person wants you to see/feel/believe. attempting to map everything is completely impossible, life is ever changing and the amount of time and detail would overwhelm even the finest mappers. this blog, while a map of myself, is only a map of what i feel like expressing/sharing. i have omitted certain aspects of myself from this site and have overindulged on other areas. this map is at the largest scale i'm willing to show [note: when mapping large scale means small focus area 1 in : 25 ft, whereas small scale means large focus area, i.e. the world 1 in : 250,000 ft.].

2. everything is a form of beauty - the word ugly should be omitted from thy vocabulary. beauty isn't just surface level, it's far deeper. maybe the end result is 'not beautiful' but ooooh the process was! this isn't to say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no that is too simple, this is to say that everything is beautiful. this is so because the effort, the talent, the emotion that went into the end result is the most beautiful thing, it's thought.  thinking is sexy. two-toned brick walls in williamsburg are beautiful simply because they are different from other bricks that have been laid out to form other walls. sidewalks are beautiful because the sporadic formulation of concrete makes every square different from the next. what i'm saying is different is beautiful, having a thought that is unlike anyone's is the most amazing aspect of this thing we're already going through at this very moment, life. life is beautiful. everything we do is fascinating because we're ever evolving and the change is beautiful. death itself is beautiful because it is the transferring of energy from one form to another, the process. the process is beautiful.

3. the census is disgusting - demographics produce some very sexy maps, let me tell you. but that is just surface level, the heart of the census is cold and cruel and very misleading. the information gathered is often very private, defining one's race and income level may seem significant to understand an area but really how is that understanding anything? race is a made up term, it is not real, we the people give it power but it has no science behind it, it's a coloring of pigment and that is it. income is insignificant because money is a form of ousting others, an attempt to showcase that one person is higher than another. and we put the value on money through speculation, but we can always make more money, it might not grow on trees but it sure is made out of them. now putting those two things together makes for a terrifying end result. race [something made up] goes hand-in-hand with income [something made up]. the census is used to 'understand' and then 'provide' for demographics, knowing an area is poor means that we should filter more money in that direction but what if [prepare for radical thought] this information wasn't used to better neighborhoods but to actually worsen them? knowing that a neighborhood is poor means you know they are also probably too busy working long hours at low wage jobs and won't be able to attend city council meetings on whether or not to build a toxic waste site in their neighborhood. knowing that an area is poor and mapping that for everyone to see... how is that okay? maybe i'm wrong and the census truly is a god-send and feel free to fight me on this but just think please, don't take anything at face value.


::all thoughts were produced under the influence::

i'm just trying to make you smile

 favorite song of all time ::spin doctors' two princes::

the ultimate remix

Sia's Day Too Soon - mock & tooth remix

my thoughts exactly

"now i want to say a few words about escalators and elevators: given their very real pleasures in Portman, particularly these last, which the artist has termed 'gigantic kinetic sculptures' and which certainly account for much of the spectacle and the excitment of the hotel interior, particularly in the Hyatts, where like great Japanese lanterns or gondolas they ceaselessly rise and fall - given such a deliberate making and foregrounding in their own right, I believe one has to see such 'people moves' [Portman's own term, adapted from Disney] as something more than mere function and engineering components. We know in any case that recent architectural theory has begun to borrow from narrative analysis in other fields, and to attempt to see our physical trajectories through such buildings as virtual narratives or stories, as dynamic paths and narrative paradigms which we as visitors are asked to fulfill and to complete with our own bodies and movements. In the Bonaventure, however, we find a dialectical heightening of this process: it seems to me that the escalator and elevators here henceforth replace movement but also above all designate themselves as new reflexive signs and emblems of movement proper.... Here the narrative stroll has been underscored, symbolized, refined and replaced by transportation machines which becomes the allegorical signifier of that older promenade we are no longer allowed to conduct on our own: and this is a dialectical intensification of the autoreferentiality of all modern culture, which tends to turn upon itself and designate its own cultural production as its content. - Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism & Consumer Society {pg. 201} in Film Theory: Concepts in media and cultural studies, vol. 4

YES!

passion?

radiohead::talkshowhost
star-crossed lovers

this supports my theory a bit

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/plants-clean-up-more-air-pollution-than-previously-thought.php
well getting works to support my wild theory topic might not be as difficult as i thought [word]. this also goes well with my studio project which is to attempt to make use of 'dead' space under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Clinton Hill between exit 29&30; my subgroup being the environmental focus. while i'm working on stormwater & noise pollution, a teammate is working on trees, or lack thereof, and we worked for HOURS on a friday evening making sense of all our work.. and we talked about trees and how great they are and how they are the answer to many of the environmental enigmas we're facing at this present moment. so yay for trees per usual.

ecological economics at its finest

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/india-norway-will-publish-natural-wealth-accounts-data.php

GDP can only measure so much and never enough. read the article, it's not just about consuming, it's about the process of things, the cycles that keep us going so we can consume.. hmmm.

::theory::

tomorrow [later this morning] i'll begin research for my theory term paper. i haven't written in over a year, sentence structure all-around is lacking and putting thought to paper has never been more challenging. but i've decided to be bold with my topic and it's just a matter of making what i have work for me. The Impact of Ego & Post-Modernism on Air Quality - there it is, the title.  How has the individual and the desire to be original and 'free' impacted air and therefore our health?  Postmodernism isn't something i've ever given much thought to, maybe because in a way modernism never went away and postmodernism is just a sub of it or possibly because it does not depend on science as a means of solving. science is the only thing that makes sense, even when it's beyond me, it still makes sense [get it?]. but of course there is a need for ego, I is very important, you cannot do good without first taking care of yourself. just think of the demonstration every time you're on a plane, oxygen mask on yourself first then you help others. but what happens when you take care of yourself too much and the oxygen you and everyone else is breathing has become compromised? removing trees to build mcmansions [which requires both open-space {roads, property} and material {structure, furnishings}] or to make a quick buck [yes i'm talking to you brazil] results in reduced air quality; the inter-connectivity of ego and environmental deterioration cannot be overlooked. it's not just about being über environmental and unplugging shit when you're not using it, it's about the space [acreage] we consume... poor design [circulation] leads to poor air quality, and that poor design is due to the demands of EGO. I wants space, its own space with space between self and neighbor and work and locations where I consumes. postmodernism might not be linked directly with white flight but it is linked with late capitalism which is basically a nice way of saying suburbanization, greed, and only-child syndrome [or the free rider effect] have taken over. i hope i can write this paper more eloquently than i'm writing this post, i think i can? we shall see. but it's making me think about my thesis.. or more my life plan to work as a ::passive city layout planner::, i.e. i want to plan cities where it doesn't matter what kind of energy we use because we won't be using much of it all because we'll actually plan for the movement of HUMANS. i don't always love the human race, in fact sometimes i only want to be with ego but i cannot survive alone and therefore i need to work with them, for them, help them help themselves. keep things simple, for the average, or below average.. this doesn't mean weak this means natural.

on repeat.. non-stop.. for days now

every direction is north::el ten eleven

i cannot for the life of me get the embedded video to this blog space... so you'll have to click on the link above, go to the website site and click EMBED [it'll show up as you scroll over the video]. it might be just me but if you try and watch the regular video it's skippy/jumpy and ruins everything. regardless, this song is amazing. i love el ten eleven more and more every time i listen to it.

always good

 Lux Æterna :: clint mansell

is this lady for real?

senate candidate christine o'donnell, sweet.

how to make a roof GREEN

http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/downloads/pdf/report_water_quality.pdf

 

mind-manifesting

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/warning-these-drugs-may-be-therapeutic.php
drugs as an experience... not just an excuse to put something harmful into your body to up-your-fun at some overcrowded house party. -- this article is slightly my thing. i believe there are lots of goods that come from experimenting, especially when it's about a process, a journey, the end result being a paradigm shift from what you thought before and how you feel after. regardless of how you feel about "illegal" drugs, the article is a good read
...and so it this one http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004887,00.html

and so is this whole website http://norml.org/

happy thursday.. :)

monopolies are never good... right?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/100-million-class-action-against-leed.php

http://www.pratt.edu/academics/architecture/grad_center_planning_environment/faculty_and_staff/bio/?id=hgifford

the treehugger article is about this class action lawsuit against LEED [leadership in energy and environmental design] - the main point being that: LEED isn't all it's cracked up to be. the whole point of leed is to get people to design/build something using sustainable knowledge and products: 'energy star' appliances, south facing large windows, hardwood floors, low flow toilets, natural materials, etc etc etc. and the end result being a healthy space that isn't as bad for the environment as conventional building practices. now this lawsuit is basically debunking this whole leed certification process [it's a point systems that evaluates each element in a building, the sum being the leed-level that is award, i.e. silver, gold] and saying ::actually leed buildings use more energy, some 20% more and the whole thing is a form of 'green-washing' and it's monopolizing the entire environmental design sector::
now i'm a big fan of whatever the hell is good for the environment, honestly i'm a bit radical and although sometimes i do things that mother nature would frown upon for the most part i'm trying to do my part. so leed is one of those things i've always thought was so cool [not as cool as passive buildings or zero-carbon buildings, but hey, still cool] - and for the most part the designs coming out of the green architecture movement are beyond beautiful - with that said, i'm gonna give Henry Gifford [the man behind the lawsuit] some major love for a moment. 

STORY TIME!
During my undergrad my university decided our campus was in need of a student center, despite the fact that we had a nice small student center that was WARM and had comfy chairs and was quiet and made for nice naps during LONG days. so they torn down our bookstore, knocked down some historic buildings, relocated an entire building and then built the Davis Center - and it looks just like it sounds... an f'ing convention center. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/UVM_Dudley_H._Davis_Center_PA100005.JPG

the building is the size of a wal-mart [and this is not an exaggeration, it is actually the size of the average wal-mart found in the state of vermont, i've written about this subject for a piece back in my younger years] and the building is leed certified. i've always been a sceptic about the whole 'it cost more to restore than it does to knock it down and start over', that's a bit too much le corbusier for me. however there are definitely situations where it might be more expensive [and less environmentally sound] to restore but i'd like to see the good old cost-benefit analysis done out just to make sure. so back to the davis center.. it's the first green student center in the country and let me tell you, it sucks. it was terrible being in that place [save for the small all-vermont store that is tucked away in some dead-end corner that no one knows about], it was open but lacked proper function, it was big but with nothing in it... and for a student center there wasn't much for students to actually do. the building had 6 computers total.. and yeah UVM is a school of just over 11k [ungrad/grad/fac/profs.] but 6 computers ain't gonna do shit when everyone's cramming at once. what i'm trying to get at [TRYING] is that this building was pushed onto the students because it was green and sustainable and LEED certified... yet it sucked and lacked any creative originality.. and it took away from the natural beauty of the entire campus. multiple buildings were removed from the landscape in order to put everything into one mega center. uvm's got it going on with their composting, kick ass trash recovery programs, owning a farm down the road from my old dorm.. honestly it's amazing but i feel like it too was wearing emerald-tinted glasses.
Building a new or remodeling via LEED still means CONSUMING and especially with remodeling it means taking seemingly less energy efficient appliances out of buildings and replacing them with 'energy star' goodies.. but what happens to the old stuff? is it recycled? if so, where? how did those energy star ones get to their final destination? where were they made? is that factory itself a 'green' factory? there's a lot more that goes into building something than just the final product. what happens after the fact, how much time/energy is spent building a leed building? this isn't to say that building conventionally is less time/energy consuming but really it just makes me think [as if i don't do that enough] and makes me question what is being sold to consumers. just putting the stamp of LEED [or organic] on something doesn't mean that it necessarily the best. people have to question things, weigh the options, truly do a cost-benefit analysis [and no, not the one that i'm doing in urban econ. but your own, what makes sense FOR YOU!]. i want to save the world but it's hard work when there's no way of knowing who is truly on my side and who's just looking to make a quick buck.

one other thing... this guy Henry Gifford is a professor at my grad school... yeah my life just got that good.

attention dying grad students...

a special thank you to a great professor.. who shall remain nameless... for now. this piece is why i am leaving HHN for the night.. and it's only 830. everyone needs a break and i'm taking mine.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1i3Qh6ytKlwT4Q5P1t94x6Zhsj_wuKLz3h-HAFTiPmVoKpzQou_vIn4MAHxF7&hl=en&authkey=CPvyx8QP

don't tempt me with a good time...

 Gui Boratto::Like You [SuperMayer Mix]

Phoenix::North

 this reminds me of where the wild things are... i'd like to go there.

so we could totally do this at the BQE in CH::BK

http://inhabitat.com/2010/10/18/feeder-an-elevated-highway-farm-to-feed-chicago/feeder-bridge-chicago-6-2/?extend=1

G.A. all ovah the place.

http://inhabitat.com/2010/10/19/urban-forest-cultural-center-unveiled-for-korea/culture-forest-2/?extend=1

This building is out-of-this-world.... and it's powered by the SUN. very heady.

when animals attack...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/squirrels-blamed-for-a-string-of-car-vandalisms.php
Squirrels get hungry...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/mountain-goat-kills-hiker-hazing-park-ranger.php
Goat gets pissed...

We do a lot of terrible things to animals and now they want revenge. just staying watch your back on your walk home tonight.

so this is where my best friend is...

this is Van Vieng in Cambodia where Berg is located at the moment. she is super amazing and has been back-packing around the world for over a year now - and most recently she has started her adventure in southeast asia. her e-mails are out of this world, and extremely inspirational - any time i feel low i re-read her letters and just feel good through her positive vibes. she was suppose to be my partner in crime in BK but i think she made a VERY wise decision to go exploring. i miss her every day but god she's fucking awesome and i want her to keep doin' what she's doing forever because if i can't be doing it at least my girl is!

this could be my favorite song.. but that could also be a lie

 at least i really love it a whole bunch grizzly bear::two weeks

oooh hell yeah

this is what i'm talking about -- karate::kennedy

stars... the real kind.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/the-stars-dont-come-out-any-more.php

 

i dunno if it's my amazing eye sight or something but i can see stars in brooklyn, and sometimes a lot of them. granted i have to be in specific locations but i can still SEE them. however nothing beats hinesburg, vt. or any place outside of burlington, vt for that matter for some wicked fabulous star gazing.

my faith in humans is really growing.

 

http://inhabitat.com/2010/10/15/ford-developing-biofuel-from-algae-for-use-in-vehicles/#more-174137

fueling cars with alternative energies is really sweet... but will those fuels fuel your factories? it's not just about driving those personal autos around, it's also about making them and moving them around the world.. just sayin'. but still be cool and better than electricity

are you really surprised?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/2010-still-hottest-year-satellite-record-so-far-nasa.php

 

of course 2010 was the hottest year. this past summer bonnie baguettes, DR, and myself put our shower on cold and chilled in the bathroom, we slept with bags of ice, regularly got our clothes freezing cold and chilled around the house. we went to the movies to seek cool refuge, we went out to eat and road the subway, a lot. and then in late july we got an a.c.

maybe i'll work in new york after all....

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/10/01/nyc-mayor-bloomberg-announces-green-roof-initiative/

wasted... how i miss you.

 Digitalism's ::pogo::

get me some intimacy

Bloc Party ::signs::

well well well

http://twitpic.com/2woim6/full 
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/the-true-size-and-importance-of-africa-map.php?campaign=TH_rotator

Everyone's catching on! SIZE MATTERS my friends. so happy i've already posted about this, but this map is AWESOME!

this was my jam in august fo sho

 now the same, just different takenbytrees::myboys::

story of my life

 Animal Collective::mygirls::

so today i'm into mouse music?

cool canadian DeadMau5 :: so there i was... he does good work all the time, this just happens to be amongst my favorite things to get lost to.

feel good.

 Modest Mouse :: Paper Thin Walls

map lovers, you are here.

http://www.ediblegeography.com/you-are-here/
my school + my passion = you are here: mapping the pyschogeography of nyc at pratt's manhattan campus. based off of her book, you are here  Katharine Harmon brings together some wonderful artist to map emotions, one of my favorite things to map of all time. Her book you are here was the main text for ::REESE HERSEY::'s map & legend course which was one of the very best courses I have ever had the privilege of taking, and sitting in on multiple times after the fact. for full details go here ---> http://www.pratt.edu/about_pratt/visiting_pratt/exhibitions/pratt_manhattan_gallery/

remember maps can be many things and mean even more to each person. what you map should be an expression of yourself and how you feel. this exhibition will be just that. maps are sexy, especially when they're about the mind.

My favorite book... my favorite author.

I love this book because I love the history of why things are.. especially in NYC and especially when they're coming from Arthur Nersesian ::The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx:: (5 books of moses 2of5)

http://www.akashicbooks.com/sacrificialcircumcision.htm

i could live here.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/gorgeous-leed-platinum-townhouses-san-francisco.php

on repeat.

radiohead ::letdown::

umm.. amazing? yah.

http://gizmodo.com/5660618/this-is-the-simpsons-title-scene-secretly-created-by-banksy

The Winner Is ....

 not me.. at least not today.

Chemical Brothers - One Too Many Mornings

speechless.

more remixing for your pleasure

Sia - Breathe Me ::Mylo Remix::
also mock & tooth's sia remix of day too soon is epic. when I'm not about to jump out of HHN's highest window, maybe I'll post it.  

LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean

 Present company.. hmm.

FOR BERG!

::The Mountaineers:: Apart From This
For you Berg, I miss your face, enjoy this in the jungle.

Ginkgo Biloba!

my favorite tree...  one of the oldest tree species, it means Living Dinosaur 

yo amo cut copy

happy saturday! (well almost...)

my horoscope wants to make me fat.. i'm in

http://www.7dvt.com/2010free-will-astrology-37

And on a positive note....

 snow patrol just say yes... never not good.

top 5 best songs

the truth of falling for someone. the end result is always the same. Levy's Rotten Love about his former girlfriend Regina Spektor who chose The Strokes over her own man.

The ever amazing Carla

http://www.carlotas.com.br/

Carla is the very best.. check out her site. She's one of the most talented people I have ever met. I'm cool simply because I know her.

Work place? Please, I'd live here.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/eco-workpod-sustainsia.php

More from the Sweds... at least their museum

http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2010/10/swedish-museums-stunning-architectural-homage-to-wood.php?page=10

FUN FACT!

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/green_infrastructure/cso_outfalls_map.pdf

CLICK ABOVE! I couldn't copy the map, ahh the limits of blogging. But nonetheless the map is a representation of:
Areas where UNTREATED overflowing stormwater AND wastewater are released into waterways around NYC.. the red dots are areas that have the highest amount of literal shit flowing freely into the waters. Infrastructure updating is needed, and the city is aware of this.. and plans are in the works to make 90% of waterways around NYC clean for recreation by 2030. That's sweet, but for now, don't go in the water.. don't even look at it.

simplicity... and the beauty

ever evolving... changing shape.. giving back. the process of it all.

Why you should love Montreal

 

Piknic Electronik of course http://piknicelectronik.com/fr/news the site can be in english, but really french is fun, even when you have NO clue what the fuck it says. May-September on St. Helen's Island. Beautiful music, beautiful sights, BEAUTIFUL Québécois every weekend. There is also a winter version but summer is where it's at.

Today I miss Vermont

Some people love the town they grew up in, I love the town where I just grew. Burlington, I wouldn't be who I am today without you. My wacky thoughts, beliefs, dreams, hopes and disappointments are never understood without explaining how and where I was educated. Burlington really is magical. (I still love you NY, but you're bringing me down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JkBiP7rPt0)

There are few things that make me THIS HAPPY!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/white-house-will-install-solar-panels.php

SOLAR PANELS ON THE WHITE HOUSE! = DREAM COME TRUE.
America, you surprise me more and more everyday, whether that's a good thing or not, I don't know. But today it's amazing.

Literally, a brighter future

CLEARLY CANADIAN!

Clearly Canadian is my favorite drink of all time. It is so delicious and so very 90's.  For a while they switched from their beautiful glass bottles to plastic, which was of course to compete in the market place with the ever expanding bottled water market. But the glass is back my friends! Which means it's high time for me to go out and find this treat that I've been avoiding for a few years. I dunno if NYC loves Canada but this drink is so yummy that really everyone should be on board.
http://www.clearly.ca/

Say no to recycling? now what am I suppose to bitch about?

Well I am the biggest activist for recycling so this is kind of a slap in the face - but it also makes me look at the whole "who's responsible for our current environmental condition" in a slightly different light. So here's treehugger's take on the situation: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/graph-of-the-day-recycling-bull.php Of course I'm torn between the whole thing - since it is demand that fuels production and consumption.. but then again companies are always finding new ways to make people feel like the need to consume.. commercials, subway ads, ads are all over the place, so really who is to blame? And this gets back to the April Gulf oil spill... back when it first happened and everyone was debating over who should have to pay for it.. I said it should be spread out among the company and those who fueled the exploitation of the natural resource, i.e. the consumers. Some people actually agreed with this wild view, most, especially my parents, told me I was crazy and they shouldn't have to pay for a company's greed. This is of course totally true. The company was yes: meeting demands and meeting those demands were fueled by greed... BUT really if the company wanted to make a killing they'd limit the amount they were pumping out of the ocean and fake scarcity. Also it is up the consumer to make the responsible decision when purchasing.. but then this also assumes that the neoclassical market keeps everyone equally and completely informed, which of course is bullshit. So really I have no idea how I feel and that's always great.

2010's anthem

Yeasayer = the best. the end.

Now back to my Swedish obsession

 
This is Miike Snow, myself and Bonnie Baguettes shall be seeing them @ terminal 5 this week. little bit of music, little bit of uplift... should be a most wondrous time

in honor of my FABULOUS sister

Beyoncé hands down is the best. Sexy, sassy, and so very talented. plus this song is the only thing to get me outta this funk. ENJOY!

sex.. the goods and the bads.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/health/research/02infect.html?src=me&ref=health

It's rather interesting what the U.S. will spend money on and what it won't. Infecting non-Americans with diseases, check. Doing a study on American sexual behavior, pass. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/health/04sex.html?src=me&ref=health As usual my country has no idea where its priorities should be, where its money should be spent, and how its actions will play out... nor does it seem to care. And on that positive note, have a fun week my friends.

As if Brett Lorenzo Favre didn't give you enough of a reason to love Minnesota

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/duluth-mn-installs-solar-powered-trash-compactors.php
Ahh technology, you're cool (sometimes). Solar powered trash (AND RECYCLING!!) compactors all over Duluth, Minnesota... which is just great. NYC is doing some of this on Roosevelt Island, however if anyone went to, or has heard about, Electric Zoo on R.I. this past September then you know that the island is not well maintained and honestly is not utilized nearly enough. Just so I can shit on NYC's lack of environmental concern per usual, I obviously don't think putting anything on Roosevelt Island is worth time or money. Why not Time Square where MILLIONS of people are every single day? And it would be in people's faces forcing them THINK about anything at all.. geez I'd hate for that. Please New York City step it up a bit, you have the opportunity to be the best all over again, why are you letting yourself fall down the ladder? I'm here for ya city let's do it together, whadaya say?