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12.09.2005

Behind The Falling Curtain

Hey everyone! Just finished the final, which means it’s the end of the semester… Me and the reflective kinda guy that I am, would like to take a moment to look back on the semester that just passed, can’t really know where I’m going unless I know where I've been. Many things have changed since the beginning of this semester. Made a lot of decisions, some I didn’t want to make… many I needed to make… and most I made confidently (partly because of the coin flip… shhh). Man… this is starting to sound like the end… if you’re thinking this, you’d be mistaken… this is only the beginning. I will post from my parents house as often as I develop my thoughts and ideas. If you’re still taking this as a close then let it be a closing statement to the fall semester of 2005, that should satisfy what I’m feeling right now. I hope all of you have learned something this semester, either through me personally or through this blog and the conversations that you have with others. I hope you all will tune in for the next episode. You know I’ll be here!

Hey, I know everyone doesn’t run on the semester and I don’t either… this break… hopefully Imma lay the grounds for another font. Finalize a few things on the old one, so I can get that posted up and ready to be published. I know there are many things I wanna change. Trying to be so universal and direct is difficult because there are so many different types of people in the world. It’s hard to design something that applies to all and still have something that’s uniform. It’s like I have to find something that all unique people have in common, which is sorta not possible because if they are all unique then how do they have something in common. But it’s been done, so I won’t stop until I do find something that can be related on all sides and still apply to unique individuals.

More and more I see myself as a contradiction. The more I speak, the more I contradict myself. Why is it every time that I pull from the world and apply it in a singular fashion, it becomes a contradiction? How come when I say it, it’s a contradiction; but when God does it, it’s not? I have been playing with something in my mind. [This kinda branches from that whole speaking without having to use language or saying any words] Because God is God, God can contradict without having to say any words and whatever was said by God wouldn’t be a contradiction… Maybe if God spoke God would contradict the words that are spoken? I say the world is full of separate entities and very complex, and very simple. This is a contradiction, when God does it, it’s not a contradiction. See what I’m saying? I ask the question can God make a rock that God cannot lift. If God makes it, it’s not truly a rock God cannot lift because God can do anything God wills. If God can’t make it, then that has to be incorrect because God can do anything God wills. God must be defined without limitations. It’s wrong for God to be limited, its wrong by definition of God. Just by asking the question I have presented a contradiction. I think all great philosophers that have spoken have created their own contradictions, when philosophers speak on how they have designed the world… there’s contradictions. God has created the world, and there are contradictions when we talk about the world… but the world exists. And because the world exists it’s not a contradiction. Hehheh… whirling you around in a circle yet? When the globe in your brain slows down just a little bit… tell me what you think. Imma pack up and ship myself back to my parent’s house.

At the end...

Hey everyone, how's everyone out there doing? Good... I hope... Kinda outta my element today, y'all shouldn't worry, just tired a guess. It snowed today, that made me smile. It stopped now... that's kinda disappointing. I wanna witness a full fledged Winter Wonderland... drifting to sleep just thinking about it. I got one more final tomorrow... then it's Home? Maybe... I'll try to post when I'm at my parents house (dat computer is kinda slow... gets annoying, but you know if I think of something y'all hear it). I was reading my own post today, talking about it with a few people... getting impressions of how it comes off to the rest of the world. That's one experience I won't have... discovering this blog. As a writer, I can't experience what it's like to see it from your side. I don't know how it comes off... Feedback is golden (*hint hint*). It's all gravy... I know everyone is busy, got stuff on their minds and what now... it's cool... I understand. Alright I gotta get a little bit of studying done, probably get some sleep before someone else yells at me about it.

As promised, here are more final pictures. Enjoy!

12.04.2005

Speechless

Ha! I’m back again… yup still haven’t done any studying… I know... I know... I’ll get to it. Me, not hit a deadline, that’s not possible… it’s like not in my coding. Anyway, I’m cuttin’ straight to the point this time. I was looking at my sketchbook and there’s this page from the end of my sketchbook from last year that I wanted to share with all of you. [As everyone runs just a little closer to take a peek] It’s not like it’s a floor plan or anything like that… basically it’s why I have like 4 sketchbooks now. I need to separate all my many thoughts and have things in order. Anyway, onto the page.

Probably, from what you all have read so far, y’all hopefully figured out I like having pre-thought answer to questions that I haven’t been asked. This post specifically pertains to the question of “If I could have anything in this world what would it be?” or “If you could have any wish, what it would be?” and variations of this. No one has actually ever asked me this question, but I have an answer. Something I thought of myself, me and my ever-thinking mind. So the question is “If you could have anything, what would you take?” And so, I responded with “I would ask for the ability to gain an individuals thoughts without the individual having to communicate any words; with that I would gain their experiences and understand why they cry tears of sadness and why they cry tears of happiness.” Basically, I find a fault in speaking words… If someone wants me to know something or experience something, they just send it to me. And it’s not like I’m stealing thoughts, it’s only what is given. I strongly believe experience is the greatest teacher and if I could experience what others experience in just a moment, the amount of knowledge that I would have would be unbelievable. If y’all haven’t noticed, I have a hunger for knowledge. Because it is true, I will never experience everything there is in this world. I will never know what it feels like to… [Insert something you’ll never get a chance to experience (to make it apply better from your stand point)]… although my ambitions are high, it’s not possible that I will experience everything. If I could just simply be given someone else’s experience and keep my own and just acquire experience over time, I dunno… I’d make it so my art reaches everyone. I’m allowed to speak to everyone, because I would truly understand everyone. Basically, I’d be a universal individual. Now there wouldn’t stop me from living my own experiences, because “what good is it for a man to gain the world… yet lose his own soul, in the process?” [DMX – Angel, this quote applies to me in many different ways… well all my quotes do, but you already figured that out already didn’t you.] There’s no point in that, plus I technically wouldn’t gain everyone’s experience I’d be missing my own. I would dip into the past, I’d ask for Albert Einstein to convey to me everything he knew from experience, then I’d hop on over and see what Malcolm X was thinking. There are so many different people I’d want to hit up. I’d need to find a School of Athens [Raphael – the painter, not the turtle] and just chill there all day, and be a “sponge of knowledge and wisdom” [50 Cent – God Gave Me Style]. How great would that be… maybe not so exciting to all of you… but that’s what I would want.

Now, what if I could transmit the same way? If I could just transmit what is in my mind to someone else… they’d get what I was saying without me saying anything. Some of you probably already caught the comic book root, Prof. Xavier, that whole telepathic thing; talking to his X-Men in their heads… yeah I’d want the power of telepathy but there’s so many to choose from… don’t quote me on that. [Watch this bridge being built] When you step into a room, the walls speak to you. They say something about the space about something in the world, they say something. This can be seen in churches, temples, homes, hotels, restaurants… everything and anything. There’s a message being conveyed in the walls of the space, a message that was sent by the architect to be received by the person that just stepped into the room. Places like the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem, there’s a message in the walls [that’s figuratively and literally, did you guys like that?] This is part of the reason why I can’t stand for Architecture that has some arbitrary reason like… “For the sake of being random” or “because it looks nice” or “because I wanted to clash with what was already there”… to those kinds of people that design those things, I say this “there’s nothing you want to say to the rest of the world, that’s all you got? Because seriously, that’s just some lame-ass reason and you really shouldn’t be in this profession.” Anyway, back to the message at hand [Ha! Did you guys like that one? No? ... It’s been a tough crowd today]. Works like Cloud’s Gate at Millennium Park, in Chicago, the artist is trying to say something… like paintings that hang in museums the artist is trying to convey a message to the audience (and the rest of the world) [I’m leaving it up to you to read those messages, what’s great is that they are different for everyone and they change over time… isn’t that just poetic]. These artists (sculptures, painters, and yes architects… there’s others too, but I’m on a roll here) are all speaking without words. They convey these messages to their audience without speaking a single word (unless they choose to). Because I want to transmit my message to the masses and speak without saying any words, I’m in this profession; this is why I've chosen this career. “Don’t fuck with my art.” [50 Cent – The Good Die Young].

I think there are times that I have a difficulty with words (and there are times where I truly shine), usually when I’m trying to explain something to someone and it’s the first time I’m speaking about it (or the first time it came in my head, spontaneous thinking kinda thing) that’s when I trip up a little [part of the reason why I need responses from all of you]. This is why I listen to so much music and love musicians. Musicians have found a way to manipulate the words that we use everyday and convey a message that can be related to someone or another within 3-5 minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less). Come on! How awesome is that? Obviously they are helped along with the beat or instruments; still the lyrics continue straight to the heart when there’s a song that really means something to someone. “Do you fools listen to music, or do you just skim through it?” [Jay-Z, Eminem – Renegade, its Jay-Z b-day today… I hope he’s enjoying his evening with Beyonce, cuz I am enjoying my evening with all of you (funny how this evening is continuously going on, as long as someone is reading it)]. This is why I listen to so much music, I pretty much love wordplay (now doesn’t that explain a lot about me… the blog, the music, the architecture, many things… we won’t spend time thinking about it). With that, Imma bump my music on outta here… maybe I really do have to do some work for finals…

For Better Business

Hey all… just wanted to check in… I’m just sitting here, not taking my finals as seriously as I should… listening to music (as always). I had a couple of different things running in my head the last few days… you’re prolly thinking, what’s else is new… but hey, that’s how I work. Anyways, lemme air out a few thoughts… maybe I could get some feedback *hint hint, wink wink* hmmm… where to begin…. Ha! I got it.

Has anyone ever made a decision on a coin flip? (Anyone else smiling? No? Maybe I’m trying too hard) I have… I've done it quite often… doing that whole Two-Face thing (ya know… Batman…?) Now it’s not always a decision of good vs. evil. I use that whole coin flip decision thing on a situation where I can see both the positives and negatives of a situation or choice. Kinda like letting the coin pick the less of the two evils, because it’s indiscriminate and not influenced by the human difficulties that I possess. Usually when I’m going to make a decision by the coin… I decide what side is going to be what option, flip the coin, catch it, and flip it over on my other hand. (If I don’t catch it or it slips or some other difficulty the options have to be reset and I have to flip again) After the coin tells me what to do, I forget about the other option… the other option doesn’t matter anymore. And whatever the coin has chosen, I have to do that. That’s the discipline.

I think a part of this is attributed to the fact that I don’t believe in coincidence. Since nothing is truly random, it’s kinda like my way of speaking to God? Or God guiding me? It’s like that whole Fate and Destiny argument I was talking about before, when I come to a fork in the road and I have to make a choice, and because I’m human, I can’t make the choice without regretting or wanting the other option or possibly just not seeing clearly, the coin would show me the way to leads me to the “better” route. So I guess the coin helps me choose the best possible route, if there is such a thing. And with this thinking, whatever the coin chooses, it’s like Fate or Destiny or God has said this is what is to happen. And how am I to argue with that?

Now, this was way of decision making was in my life before, but I started becoming vividly aware of this when I heard that some businesses run on this system. Seriously, there was an article about a business that wanted to buy out another one… and the business that was taking bids decided on a coin flip. Ain’t that some shiet? There are web pages up on Google’s search engine if you don’t believe me. (That’s one of those… ::reaches in pocket and pulls out a fact sheet::)

Now, I was talking to my Father about this… I can’t remember what it came from but he said there was another way of doing this… kinda a spin-off I suppose. He explained the whole procedure and now I present it to you. Take a sheet of paper, write yes on one side and write no on the other side. Then kinda eye where the middle is, DON’T MEASURE, and tear. This can be interchanged with the options being put on the ends and whatnot you get the point. This basically runs on the same thinking as the coin flip. Because nothing happens without reason, the side that has more is the option you take. Ha! Who thought “the side that has more” was funny… get it… more paper or more benefit. No? Ahhh y’all aren’t very fun. [That’s the problem with blogs… I don’t get initial reactions… hell I don’t’ get reactions, cuz no one responds.] Yeah, so if you don’t have a coin around and you do have a piece of paper and pen and willing to kill a sheet of paper to make a decision you could use this. I just keep a quarter [quarters because they’re bigger, easier to flip and catch… dimes are the worst]. Flip a Coin… there’s suppose to be something about businesses playing rock, paper, scissors, I just think the rules are difficult to set up between businesses and there’s took much human influence. Like you could kinda take a guess at what a person would choose and then obviously the other person is doing the same thing. And basically it’s an intangible war, until the counts comes. Hehheh… I’m calling the Better Business Bureau.

Yeah, for the installation project that was just completed… we did coin flips for the locations that many groups wanted. Made me happy, and I must say… I think everything that was decided on the coin flip went rather well… Maybe some members of the other groups would like to argue [*hint hint* I know some of you are reading…] But honestly, my group was involved in one coin flip and we lost that one… went other group… I could’ve had a huge influence on, but didn’t. Then we won the second one and I was satisfied with my newly acquired canvas. Honestly, I liked all the site locations; I believe I could’ve worked with any of them. And they all had they’re down sides to each of them. So, it was pretty ideal situations to use the coin flip. The coin flip… its great! Alright, I gotta waste a few more hours before I have to seriously study. I’ll talk to y’all laterz… possibly later tonight.

12.01.2005

Room to breathe... ?

Hey everyone! What up! Hehheh... had the review for the installation project today. It was sweet. The Jurors were super awesome this time, they were like high quality. Not that nonsense stuff we've been exposed to, truly high quality. They all made very valid points, it was truly good. I just wish they came earlier, if we could've gotten the high caliber from the beginning it would've been grand. I'd be so much more further long... ahhh well... better late than never. Anyway... I think my review went rather well. They had a few comments against it, things I didn't consider which is what makes them awesome jurors... I love it when someone can point something out to me that I didn't even consider. Cuz... well... it's kinda hard... y'all know me... I'm over analytical and it was awesome and the jurors would point that out to me... I mean I guess I did consider it, but I didn't think it would matter... and that's what was key... is that it did matter and they made sure I was aware that it did matter. On a much higher note, they loved the other half of my project, which is even more fantastic. Yeah... yeah... I'm postin' up pictures... hold on...



[Which one do y'all think is better? Ahhh... obviously the doorway divider in the middle is the separation between left and right? Excuse the tape that was before the actual presentation... (safety measure) it holds without the tape... pictures of that later... along with Demolition!!! Hehheh... I don't think I ever fully explained the concept... well it goes something like this... the concept for the installation was to create a space that would invoke discussion and attract attention, from the Architecture Students that mindlessly walk past this area everyday. The panels are created with a 12" X 18" rectangle in mind (ex: on the right side the rectangles are 12" X 18" for one sheet each time, the change in dimensions on the left side is for pinning bigger sheets of paper;
middle section is 36" X 18" for pinning up 3 11" X 17" Vellum sheets on top of one another; also on the left side there's a 36" X 9" for pinning up 3 8.5" X 11" sheets vertically and there's a space for a 12" X 12" side of the right side for pinning up the same side. The shelves on the right side are for putting 3 dimensional objects (ie: models) the "bench" was not fully completed but handles models with ease... just not so much people... that's all because it wasn't fully completed... ran out of materials... anyways back to the concept. Yeah, I think that's pretty much it... hehheh... oh yeah, the concept was meant to remain within the boundaries of the pre-existing walls, the site receives a heavy amount of traffic, so I wanted to stay within it's borders. The jurors like the left side... from that side view it does really does grab your attention... the right side... not so much... that's what their feeling was. The dynamic shelving on top is kinda too dark and too far away... I can see where they were coming from. The point was make that from the staircase that that one close to the floor shot... yeah you don't really get grabbed into the piece at that point... and that's what they didn't like about it. I think all areas got it though.]

But yeah, that project is knocked out. Bring on the next semester! Man... I wish the rest of these other classes in this semester were over... back to work. Here are some before pictures as I'm leaving...