mercoledì 8 dicembre 2010
Per favore, leggete il libro e guardate il film (in quest'ordine magari)
"Ce la caveremo, vero, papà?
Ieri sera...
martedì 7 dicembre 2010
101 Things I Didn't Learn in Architecture School
1] Even if your boss is your friend he may have to axe you to save his business.
2] Read the book, On Bullshit, by Harry G. Frankfurt. Carry it with you. It’s pocket-sized.
3] Do not drink at work and especially do not get toasted around your colleagues under any circumstances.
4] No matter how highly you may think of yourself you may still be a minion in the eyes of others who hold more power than you.
5] Once you leave architecture school not everybody cares about architecture or wants to talk about it.
6] All eating habits and diets acquired during school should be jettisoned.
7] The hygiene habits you kept in architecture school are inappropriate for real life; bathe regularly and change your underwear.
8] The rush and exhilaration you experience in studio may be inversely proportional to how much you will enjoy working for a firm.
9] It’s architecture, not medicine. You can take a break and no one will die.
10] Significant others are more important than architecture; they are the ones who will pull you through in the end. See 49.
Keep reading after the break.
11] Being smart and having advanced degrees can make you a better designer.
12] The industry underpays. Push for what you are worth.
13] Mind your internet traffic at work unless you are certain your office does not have someone monitoring. Of course you should be working every minute, so this goes without saying.
14] Go home to your family.
15] Call your loved one’s frequently.
16] If you are working overtime, the firm buys dinner.*
*Contingent on office policies, of course.
17] Don’t keep a mayline screwed to your desk. They are not cool and they date you. The same goes for colored pencils.
18] Get the biggest monitor you can.
19] Do not, however, ask for two monitors. Even though it makes you look like a bad-ass you will be expected to do twice the amount of work.
20] Make sure team roles are clearly defined.
21] Know what your role is.
22] Be careful with emails. If in doubt, don’t send.
23] At times respect and civility seem to be scarce commodities in architecture.
24] Be cautious of “opportunities” that do not pay.
25] Sometimes the most critical person on your jury might actually be right.
26] Understand how your office is run as a business and how they go after projects.
27] It is best to keep your outside activities quiet.
28] Your boss reads your blog.
29] Pyromania, car soccer, and other antics you made up to amuse yourself at 3 am are not actually normal. See 49.
30] There are no architectural emergencies that should make you completely give up your life on the outside. That may have been the ethos in studio, but don’t carry it into the office.
31] Be suspicious if your firm expects you to work long hours of overtime for no compensation. Be doubly suspicious if they justify it by saying things like, “It’s just part of the learning curve” or “We had to go through this, too.”
32] If a police officer pulls you over on the freeway for doing 90 mph on a Sunday morning while heading into the office, it’s time to re-evaluate your priorities.
33] Know who the decision-makers are.
34] Don’t dress like an intern. See 72.
35] Read Dana Cuff’s Architecture: The Story of Practice.
36] Expect to be regarded with suspicion if your undergraduate degree is not in architecture.
37] Don’t be seduced by mere appearances.
38] If your firm is outsourcing work to save money, be concerned.
39] Architecture firms can have multiple glass ceilings. Be aware of them all.
40] If a principal of a firm sees making coffee or moving boxes as beneath him/her, consider looking for another office.
41] If a principal doesn’t say good morning when you say good morning to him/her, consider looking for another office.
42] When firms advertise themselves as think tanks or research labs, ask them specifically what it is that they do. And most importantly, make sure they pay. Well.
43] If you are invited to be on a jury, don’t trash the student just to make yourself look good or to contradict a rival on the jury. Be constructive and try to help the student. This is the point.
44] Subvert the signature of the software, unless you consciously want the architecture to convey this signature.
45] Architects are in a service industry. They provide services to clients.
46] In proportion to their pay, architects require the most education, most training, and the most exams to become licensed professionals.
47] Don’t be a Typhoid Mary. When sick, stay home.
48] Embrace the business-side of architecture.
49] If you are an architect you should automatically qualify for psychotherapy and medication.
50] Most architects believe they were destined to become architects because of their early childhood experiences. They showed signs of architectural greatness at a very young age. This is a myth that reinforces an unhealthy hero complex. See 49.
51] Architecture in the academy is completely removed from the profession. Likewise, the values within the academy are radically different from the values within a firm.
52] Be cautious about applying theory to space.
53] Do not take design strategies or operations learned in studio too seriously.
54] Know the difference between architectural celebrity and actual worth.
55] Read books with words, not just pictures.
56] All firms are different. Shop.
57] To save time, assume your wife is right.
58] Do not date an architect unless you are certain he/she is able to maintain a healthy life outside of architecture. See 49.
59] Architects should not intermarry. Inbreeding is not good for the gene pool. See 49.
60] If you are married when you go to architecture school, studio ends at 7:00.
61] Do not buy into the fashion of the moment and simply dismiss certain architects without examining them for yourself.
62] Architects who do not build things also have important things to say and should be listened to.
63] If your studio instructor is a recent graduate, be alarmed.
64] Do not obsess about sustainability to the exclusion of other factors.
65] Renderings done in China are so last year.
66] If you start a think tank make sure you have some thoughts to put in it.
67] Read Rem Koolhaas, but do not obsess and fantasize about being him. Delirious New York is still relevant.
68] Archi-babble does not make you sound cool.
69] Keep in touch with everyone you know, especially if they aren’t in architecture.
70] In fact, make friends who are not architects.
71] Do not wear the same shoes every day, They will start to smell.
72] Make sure your jeans are up-to-date. No acid-wash. No baggy.
73] The economically distressed urban zones you can afford while in school are not gentrified just because you and your friends have moved in.
74] If you must read Italo Calvino, read more than just Invisible Cities.
75] Expect a period of post-traumatic stress disorder after you graduate. Do not make any important decisions during this time.
76] Don’t get a dog just because you are lonely.
77] Architecture is fueled by fetishes—rectilinear designer eyewear, for instance.
78] When trying to decide if a theory book is good, check the bibliography first.
79] Listen to your elders. They are wise.
80] FAIA can mean different things to different people.
81] If you already have a B.Arch, consider further education in a different field. Your M.Arch. can’t make a real contribution to the field if you’re just showing off software skills.
82] Always back up your hard drive.
83] Embrace social media, but don’t be its bitch. Only tweet/post when you have something important to say.
84] Architecture firms should consider forming economic alliances similar to OPEC.
85] Even if you don’t like the look of someone’s architecture they may have something valuable to teach you.
86] Great architecture, like great art, tends to arise from deep psychological issues. See 49.
87] The eighties and postmodernism were not all bad.
88] Being avant-garde is a choice that should be evaluated.
89] Architect’s web pages are often out of control and take too long to load.
90] In one’s life there are a finite number of all-nighters one can pull. You probably used them all up in school.
91] Understand the contexts from which modernism arose.
92] When the economy is good architects can rely on experience to run firms, but when the economy is bad they need advanced business skills they may not possess.
93] Architecture is dependent on boom and bust cycles.
94] Good design is not necessarily the most important factor in running a successful architecture firm.
95] Branding is important.
96] In a corporate firm, those at the top are not necessarily the best but they may have been there the longest.
97] Being good at software does not make you a good architect.
98] Architecture is cliquish.
99] Many architects do not live in houses designed by themselves or other architects.
100] Architecture office parking lots communicate success. There should be at least a couple high-end luxury cars. If there are a lot of beaters, be wary. If all cars are beaters, don’t go in.
101] Be concerned when you are too idle at work.
sabato 27 novembre 2010
venerdì 26 novembre 2010
giovedì 25 novembre 2010
Master of war...
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.
You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly.
Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain.
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion'
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.
You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins.
How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul.
And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand over your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead.
martedì 9 novembre 2010
E la vita sembra cambia ma poi mica tanto
che come sentivo i rumori della pulizia della strada in via panicale, allo stesso modo qui, in via borgo san lorenzo, tutta la notte, di continuo.
mercoledì 3 novembre 2010
London Calling
Non esiste l'insomma.
Ma esistono calzini bianchi nel tube, a profusione.
"London is drowning / And I live by the river"
domenica 31 ottobre 2010
Le vent nous portera
Ce parfum de nos années mortes
Ce qui peut frapper à ta porte
Infinité de destins
On en pose un et qu'est-ce qu'on en retient?
Le vent l'emportera
(...)
Lolita - incipit
Lolita, luce della mia vita, fuoco dei miei lombi. Mio
peccato, anima mia. Lo-li-ta: la punta della lingua
compie un breve viaggio di tre passi sul palato per andare
a bussare, tre volte, contro i denti. Lo. Li. Ta.
Era Lo, null'altro che Lo al mattino, dritta nella sua
statura di un metro e cinquantotto, con un calzino soltanto.
Era Lola in pantaloni. Era Dolly a scuola. Era Dolores
sulla linea punteggiata dei documenti.
Ma nelle mie braccia fu sempre Lolita.
giovedì 28 ottobre 2010
mercoledì 27 ottobre 2010
Advice to Young Men from an Old Man
2. Don't hate women. It's a waste of time
3. Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.
4. Get in a fistfight, even if you are going to lose.
5. As a former Marine, take it from me. Don't join the military, unless you want to risk getting your balls blown off to secure other people's economic or political interests.
6. If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent's intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bullshit they try to feed you.
7. Don't be a Republican. They are self-dealing crooks with no sense of honor or patriotism to their fellow citizens. If you must be a Republican, don't be a "conservative." They are whining, bitching, complaining, simple-minded self-righteous idiots who think they're perpetual victims. Listen to talk radio for a while, you'll see what I mean.
8. Don't take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90% of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97%, but I don't want to come off as cynical.
9. You'll spend your entire life listening to people tell you how much you owe them. You don't owe the vast majority of people shit.
10. Don't undermine your fellow young men. Mentor the young men that come after you. Society recognizes that you have the potential to be the most power force in society. It scares them. Society does not find young men sympathetic. They are afraid of you, both individually and collectively. Law enforcement's primary purpose is to suppress you.
11. As a young man, you're on your own. Society divides and conquers. Unlike women who have advocates looking out for them (NOW, Women's Study Departments, government, non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups) almost no one is looking out for you.
12. Young men provide the genius and muscle by which our society thrives. Look at the Silicone Valley. By in large, it was not
old men or women that created the revolution we live. Realize that society steals your contributions, secures it with our intellectual property laws, and then takes credit and the rewards where none is due.
13. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side. Everybody else worries about themselves.
14. Don't be afraid to tell people to "Fuck off" when need be. It is an important skill to acquire. As they say, speak your piece, even if your voice shakes.
15. Acquire empathy, good interpersonal skills, and confidence. Learn to read body language and non-verbal communication. Don't just concentrate on your vocational or technical skills, or you'll find your wife fucking somebody else.
16. Keep fit.
17. Don't speak ill of your wife/girlfriend. Back her up against the world, even if she's wrong. She should know that you have her back. When she needs your help, give it. She should know that you'll take her part.
18. Don't cheat on your wife/girlfriend. If you must cheat, don't humiliate her. Don't risk having your transgressions come back to her or her friends. Don't do it where you live. Don't do it with people in your social circle. Don't shit in your own back yard.
19. If your girlfriend doesn't make you feel good about yourself and bring joy to your life, fire her. That's what girlfriends are for.
20. Don't bother with "emotional affairs." They are just a vehicle for women to flirt and have someone make them feel good about themselves. That's the part of a relationship they want. For you it is a lot of work and investment in time. If they are having an emotional affair with you, they're probably fucking someone else.
21. Becoming a woman's friend and confidant is not going to get you into an intimate relationship. If you haven't gotten the girl within a reasonably short period of time, chances are you won't ever get her. She'll end up confiding to you about the sexual adventures she's having with someone else.
22. Have and nurture friendships with women.
23. Realize that love is a numbers game. Guys fall in love easily. You're going to see some girl and feel like you'll die if you don't get her. If she rejects you, move on to the next one. It's her loss.
24. Don't be an internet troll. Got out and live life. There is not a cadre of beautiful women advertising on Craigslist to have NSA sex with you. Beautiful women don't need to advertise. The websites that advertise with attractive women's photos and claims of loneliness are baloney. All they want is your money and your personal information so that they can market to you. The posts on Craigslist by young "women" seeking NSA sex, and asking for a picture are just a bunch of gay troll pic collectors. This is especially true if the post uses common gay lexicon like "hole" as in "fuck my hole" or seeks "masculine" men, or uses the word cock (except in the context of "Don't send a cock shot.") There are women on Craigslist. They are easily recognizable by their 2-5 paragraph postings. Most are in their 30's or older.
25. When you become a man in full, know that people will get in your way. People who are attracted to you will somehow manage to step in your path. Gay guys will give you "the look." Old people will somehow stumble in front of you at the worst time. Don't get frustrated. Just step aside and go about your business. Know that these are passive aggressive methods to get you to acknowledge their existence.
26. Don't gay bash. Don't mentally or physically abuse people because of who they are, or how they present themselves. It's none of your business to try to intimidate people into conformity.
27. If your gay, admit it to yourself, your parents, your friends and society at large. Be prepared to get harassed. See rule 14. If someone threatens you or assaults you, call the cops. Have them arrested. You have no obligation to self sacrifice because of who you are. As a gay person, you'll have more social freedom than straight men. Use it to protect yourself. Be prepared to get out of Dodge if your orientation makes your life unbearable. Move to San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, or New Orleans. You'll find a welcoming community there.
28. Don't be a poser. Avoid being one of those dudes who puts a surfboard on top of their car, but never surfs, or a dude with a powder coated fixed gear bike and a messenger bag, but was never a messenger. Live the life. Earn your bona fides.
29. Don't believe the crap about the patriarchy. More women are accepted and attend college. More degrees are awarded to women than men. Women outlive men. More men commit suicide. Men are twice as likely to be victims of violence, including murder. If you consider sexual assaults in prisons, twice as many men are raped as women (society thinks prison rape is funny). The streets are littered with homeless men, sprinkled with a few homeless women. Statically, women are happier than men. The myth that girls are being cheated by are educational system is belied by the fact that schools are bastions of femininity, mostly run by and taught by women. Girls outperform boys in school. It is the boys in school getting fucked over, and prescribed ritalin for being boys. Real wages for men are falling, while real wages for women are rising. Just because someone says something enough times, doesn't make it true. You have nothing to feel guilty about.
30. Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.
domenica 24 ottobre 2010
Questo lo ha detto Virginia Woolf
nessuna serratura,
nessun bullone che potete regolare
sulla libertà della mia mente.
sabato 23 ottobre 2010
e non fa nulla che il cielo oggi non è azzurro
"...mi sforzai di non pensare a lei e per questo non pensavo ad altro che a lei."
e lo so che non dovrei che l'esperienza insegna e tutte queste stronzate così. ma alla fine conto solo io e quello che so fare e, più praticamente, quello che sono. vestire il vestito migliore e non essere un sinnerman. far finta che siamo nel settembre del millenovecentonovantanove. far finta di non pensare a lei. alla sua figura un pò così e a tutte le volte che l'ho vista e non ho avuto il coraggio di fermarla. a tutte le volte che l'ho aspettata e sicuramente non sarà lei. ma oggi non importa che il cielo non è azzurro. cercare i modi garbati e le parole giuste. cercare di prolungare la cosa e non sapere quello che si vuole. o forse saperlo e fare finta che non è importante. avere giusto un paio di ore. il tempo non esiste. alla fine è solo una convenzione. come tutto, del resto. chiedermi perchè il mio cuore batte forte e dispiacermi per la finta pizza da asporto ordinata ieri solo per riuscire a rubare un piccolo appuntamento con lei. una scusa come un'altra solo per riuscire a parlarci qualche minuto e vedere come va. sentirmi me stesso con tutto quello che ne consegue. fare la cosa giusta, prosaicamente parlando. non pensare. cosa impossibile. le cose impossibili non esistono, dice qualcuno. ed io sono talmente stupido da crederci.
sabato 9 ottobre 2010
A Warrior
Warrior Noxah Palomo
venerdì 1 ottobre 2010
venerdì 17 settembre 2010
lunedì 30 agosto 2010
giovedì 26 agosto 2010
Una frase
Il corpo faccia quello che vuole. Io non sono il corpo: io sono la mente.
Rita Levi Montalcini
mercoledì 25 agosto 2010
Una storia
Tutti gli amici del contadino andarono a casa sua a dirgli:
-Che peccato che il tuo cavallo bellissimo è scappato, ci dispiace molto per questa cosa che è successa.
Il contadino rispose:
-Grazie amici ma non è detto che il cavallo fuggito sia una cosa cattiva.
Dopo un pò di tempo il cavallo ritornò e insieme a lui c'erano altri dieci cavalli che lo avevano seguito.
Tutti gli amici del contadino andarono a casa sua a dirgli:
-Che bello che il tuo cavallo bellissimo è tornato insieme ad altri dieci cavalli, siamo molto contenti per te per questa cosa che ti è successa.
Il contadino rispose:
-Grazie amici ma non è detto che il cavallo ritornato con dieci cavalli giovani è una cosa buona.
Dopo un pò di tempo il filgio del contadino, con tutti questi cavalli, imparò ad andare a cavallo e, cadendo mentre cavalcava, si ruppe una gamba.
Tutti gli amici del contadino andarono a casa sua a dirgli:
-Ci dispiace che tuo figlio è caduto e si è rotta una gamba, ci dispiace molto per questa cosa che è successa.
Il contadino rispose:
-Grazie amici ma non è detto che mio figlio che si rompe una gamba è una cosa cattiva.
Dopo un pò di tempo scoppiò una guerra e tutti i giovani del villaggio dovettero andare in guerra e morirono mentre
il figlio del contadino grazie alla gamba rotta non andò in guerra e si salvò...
Alla fine non possiamo mai sapere quale strada Dio ha per noi...
venerdì 20 agosto 2010
lunedì 16 agosto 2010
domenica 15 agosto 2010
Bad actor
è estate e fa caldo e forse avrei bisogno di qualche scossa per svegliarmi. non dovrei confondere le carezze con le onde. non dovrei fare le pornofoto. non dovrei ed invece lo faccio. poi ci rimango male e a questa età è più difficile capire, paradossalmente. perchè a maggio non si va a praga. chi vuole capire capisca.
un sacco di gente pensa ancora che questo sito si chiami nettezza urbana. giuro. vabbuò...
esco sennò vado in depression. bye bye.
