July 31, 2006
Slated for Condos
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One of the last remaining industrial tenants on my street vacated a few months ago; now the impending destruction and condos are in store for this dirty, yet beautiful, building.
A New Le Corbusier Church?
photo by Ed Alcock for The New York Times
A Church in France Is Almost a Triumph for Le Corbusier:
MORE than 40 years after he drowned off a remote beach in the south of France, Le Corbusier remains a transcendent force. Even if some blame him for the modern city’s greatest sins, from the steamrolling of historical neighborhoods to a stultifying emphasis on function, he is indisputably the most influential architect of the past century.
...
Completed by that protégé, José Oubrerie, who has tinkered with many elements of the original sketches, the Church of St. Pierre has stirred debate among Parisian academics about the ethics of finishing a work left behind by a legendary architect.But the core of Le Corbusier’s concept remains intact: a sanctuary that distills the history of architecture from the primitive cave through Modernism. At the same time its warped planes anticipate the fluid architectural forms of today, though with a restraint that shows how so much recent work has been diluted by cheap effects.
Very nice, check out the slideshow, and all photos on Flickr.
July 30, 2006
The "Snakes on a Plane" Problem
interesting points, but cultural elitism is such a nice thing, no?
The Sandhog Project: photos of the workers of Local 147 at the New York City Water Tunnel No. 3 (via)
Recycling Spam email: Spam Architecture and Spam Plants (via)
interesting, using random data as inputs has been done before, but using spam is quite clever
July 29, 2006
Hours of fun: Photos tagged with Comic Con
som quick favorites: Klingon resting on a Rascal, Stormtrooper Elvis, Slave Leias, Cantina Band, Kang (could have been better), Row of Stormtroopers (seen at every Con with more than 4 Stormtrooper present) - there are so many, just check out the tag or check out these 1000 photos from a Leia Cos-Player or this one if you don't have the time
July 28, 2006
The 12 Differences Between Super Mario Bros. 2 and Doki Doki Panic (via)
The 100 Top Brands 2006 compiled by BusinessWeek
July 26, 2006
photos of purports to be the biggest hole in the world Later - looks like the site is now spam heavy, and installs spyware when you use IE, sorry! Use Firefox!
525m deep is pretty deep
July 25, 2006
City Income Doughnut - testing the idea that a city will create concentric rings of wealth and poverty
July 24, 2006
Boats
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Man... I wish I had a button down striped shirt and could buy a boat! Then you would have to fucking look at it! That shirt would mean one thing!
(see inside joke)
MotherLoad (via - damn you kottke!)
War on Foolishness: You could be in a government database for taking photos on in-flight airplanes
crap - I always have my camera out when I fly, and take tons of photos; it would be nice if the 5th estate would get someone on record about this
Martin Dugard sums up his Tour de France experince by running down the Champs Elysees and his final wrap-up
July 23, 2006
Bravo! American, Floyd Landis wins first Tour de France
Dean Karnazes is training to run 50 consecutive Marathons - and he has a blog
the insanity of this is chilling - another blogging running-crazies is Ben Hammerslry, who competes in ultra-marathons
July 22, 2006
Dave Zabriskie interviews Floyd Landis
these guys crack me up
July 21, 2006
Louis'
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If you are in NEw Haven, you have to eat at Louis Lunch.
-
my friends pug does the same thing - we never thought to get bowling pins, though
July 20, 2006
"Digging Deep into the Suitcase of Courage" and other Liggettisms
Climbing the L'Alpe d'Huez on the Étape du Tour: The Tour de France almost killed me. Quote:
And I realize that I've made a terrible mistake. The race needed to end right there.
Sen. Mike Dewine (R-OH) runs doctored 9/11 photo of the Towers
Sen. Mike Dewine (R-OH) runs doctored 9/11 photo of the Towers, take a look:
One problem, idiot took still a photo and photoshopped "smoke" only on the South Tower; which is impossible since the North Tower was hit (from the north) first and there was a strong wind from the west which sent the resulting smoke over the harbor and into Brooklyn (see photo). Compare, if you will, Senator DeWine's fake photo (above, left) with an actual photo (above, right) taken from around the same area.
You make the call.
Ass.
Here's U.S. News' expert explaining how diabolically wrong this image is:
"This particular image is impossible," says W. Gene Corley, a stuctural engineer who led FEMA's building performance study on the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks. Corley reviewed the ad at www.brownvotes.com for U.S. News. "The north tower was hit first [so] the south tower could not be burning without the North Tower burning." Corley also says, "the smoke is all wrong." The day of the attacks, the plumes of ash were drifting to the southeast. "The smoke on 9/11 was never in a halo like that," Corley says.
Best part? AP reports the ad was created by Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm, the same slime which brought us the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth lies ads in 2004.
July 19, 2006
The Big Lebowski - Fucking Short Version
July 18, 2006
Metropolis Magazine vs Shake Shack: What’s Wrong with the Shake Shack?
inspired: Stop-Motion Human Space Invaders
July 17, 2006
Cool photo project: The Brooklynites - be sure to check out all the photos
Good rundown on what is happening in the Middle East: Hizbullah aims to shift power balance (via)
July 16, 2006
Video: Stanford Prison Experiment
scary and fascinating, read more about the experiment
July 14, 2006
Stabbed in the Back! - the history of the Republican myth
Terminal 5
Recently I had the fortune to fly out of Terminal 6 at JFK on business. I had to wake up really (really) early to make the flight, but I had some time in the morning to study Eero Saarinen's Terminal 5, and I can honestly say it is still one of the most impressive urban doors of the last 50 years (check out my photos). Terminal 5 is as grand as entering the city though Grand Central, Dulles International, or I can imagine Penn Station was. I flew through TWA in the later 1990's, and while the finishes were slightly worn, the building was even then a delight to pass through.
While it appears that I'm late to the party on looking over what JetBlue and Gensler are doing to Terminal 5, let's take a look anyway.
Built for the now-defunct TransWorld Airlines (TWA), Terminal 5 has been empty since 2001, only opening to the public for a short-lived art exhibition which was cut short by the graffiti and destruction of hipsters at the opening party; thus ruining it for everyone, punks.
The fate of Terminal 5 hung in the balance for what seemed like an eternity, while future tenant JetBlue (an excellent airline, by the way) worked with the local historical agencies, the Port Authority and their architect to design their way out of a bag and history. The architects are Gensler and Associates (project website) and David Rockwell, working on the exterior and interior respectively. Construction began in 2004 (here's the news release from Gensler and from the Port Authority) and as of a few days ago, it appeared that around 50% of the structural steel has been erected for the new terminal.
Luckily, JetBlue has decided to retain Saarinen's main terminal while building a new 26-gate, 635,000 sf terminal situated between the tarmac and the historical Terminal 5. Please see the following aerials, the first is what was existing showing the original Terminal 5 and original Flight Wing Tube #1, and the newer Flight Wing Tube #2 by Roche & Dinkeloo to handle 747 airplanes.
The next aerial is what was demolished for the new terminal:
Finally, this last aerial is a Gensler rendering overlaid onto a google maps aerial:
Now, onto the new terminal renderings, again by Gensler:
It is very admirable that JetBlue is retaining the historically protected terminal. However, the two terminals will be bisected by what appears to be a very wide (at least 4 lanes) car drive, thus turning the historic terminal into an island among blacktop. What actual program will inhabit the historical building is apparently up in the air - which is a shame since the lack of purpose will invariably place Terminal 5 at the whims of change. I only hope that, if one wishes, upon arrival or departure fliers can embark or disembark through the historical hall.
Now would be a good time to discuss how uninspiring the new terminal is, judging by all the renderings.
While David Rockwell's interior renderings are quite evocative I still can't shake the feeling of being in a mall. Please see below, from David Rockwell:
Obviously competing with a masterpiece such as Terminal 5 is a fool's errand, but Gensler's solution is all function, and no spirit. It is one matter to design and execute a nice background building, it is another matter entirely to let scope and budget take over. To be fair, I'm still reserving passing total judgement on the new terminal until it is completes. But it is safe to say that the monumental (but not in scale) airline passenger terminal is still dead.
See all of my Terminal 5 photos and stay tuned, I have more to say about this (soon).
How to Steal a Bike in NYC
Using an angle grinder was my favorite method.
Happy Bastille Day!
1 2 3 KICK!, originally uploaded by ChrisB in SEA
As has been my want over the years, I will be celebrating Bastille Day. This year, a Frenchman didn't win today's Tour de France stage like last year, but the celebration will carry on.
Viva L'indépendance!
Check out today's Flickr photos with the tag, Bastille Day, and read my other musings on Bastille Day.
July 13, 2006
The Maximilian's Schell just won an AIA LA Design Award
I've noticed this too: The Summer Uniform: Short, Sweet and Cool, not that I'm complaining
July 12, 2006
TWA
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I remember taking a flight to Europe on TWA over 10 years ago - Terminal 5 impressed me very much then, and to this day.
July 11, 2006
Exhaust
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An exhaust tower over a very large highway can sometimes be beautiful.
What's inside your laptop? Engineer finds keylogger inside his almost new Dell 600m laptop and DHS won't tell him why it's there
A group of National Design Award finalists and winners recently declined to be honored at the White House breakfast in their honor
Strange Spam
SPAMera®, originally uploaded by [ CK ]
Just received this in my inbox:
don't know whether it's just lying there or slowly killing you. Or you could whipping over them all.
shine next to them, why the cover was casting that shadow. Buzzard Burbridge remember?"
Of all the spam I get, this was one the the stranger ones.
Also, the photo above is for a Spam Pinhole Camera - check out the photos it produces.
July 10, 2006
3x Arno
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Just goes to show you shouldn't borrow my camera.
Self Portrait by Arno, editing and selection by me.
Adam Carolla hangs up on Ann Coulter
she was 1 1/2 hours late calling in, remarked she was
tight on time
, so Adam hung up on her (awesome!) later: Adam's "apologizes" (not really)On Floyd Landis: What He's Been Pedaling - I thought this guy had cajones, but this is insane:
Landis is slow. He walks with a limp. He sits as often as possible and cannot cross his right leg over his left. He takes elevators instead of stairs, valet-parks at the shopping mall and sometimes has difficulty sleeping. Running is out of the question.
More on the Zidane Headbutt
U1163P427T6D104945F172DT20060710102409, originally uploaded by keso
Via Kottke, there are reports surfacing about what exactly Marco Materazzi said to Zinedine Zidane to provoke the Headbutt heard 'round the world. By using lip-readers and translating from Italian, the The Daily Mail and the Times, report that Materazzi said this to Zidane:
Hold on, wait, that one's not for a nigger like you.
We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore.
So just fuck off.
I also think that if this is true, then Zidane beoongs in the tragic-hero column who, avenging his race, religion and heritage, wronged a right, but in a dishonorable way. It's complicated. But I half agree with the following from That's How It Happened:
his willingness to headbutt Materazzi makes him more of a hero, not less. Admittedly, since France went on to lose, he's something of a tragic hero, but a hero none-the-less. If someone insulted my race, or my religion (if I had one), I wish I'd be as ready to attack them, no matter what the circumstances. Zidane's action highlights for the world the fact that the racial unity of France is more important than winning the World Cup.
I guess we will know next week when Zidane will talk publicly about the matter.
Zidane
Zidane, originally uploaded by Kaptain Kobold
More on the Headbutt which changed the game.
July 9, 2006
Death trap: how we are losing Afghanistan to the Taliban
Italy Wins World Cup
Italia!, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs
I can't believe two things:
First, I can't believe that Italy Beat France (1-1 5-3 pk's) in penalty kicks - Italy played about 20 minutes of football and then just hung out in their box.
Second, I can't believe Zenedine Zidane's actions at the close of the game: head butting an Italian player Materazzi, then being ejected from the game was insane.
No amount of screaming Allez les bleus! can overcome that.
Check out photos coming into Flickr with the tags World Cup and Italia.
Later: Here's video of the headbutt which shows the whole exchange between Zidane and Materazzi. (via)
July 8, 2006
Guy successfully trades paperclip for house
freakin' awesome!
July 7, 2006
In-depth look at the layout of books: Making Castoff (via)
Excellent advocacy commercial: Permission
July 6, 2006
Jeff after the Fireworks
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Two things which make everyone smile: fireworks and puppies.
But never mix the two.
Seriously.
On the NYPD's Aviation Unit: Instead of Walking a Beat, Flying One (via)
Advocates push for simpler 'spelling' (via)
this is, by far, the most idiotic idea (ever), I'm glad that other, more pressing, problems are dealt with already
July 5, 2006
The Evolution of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" including mp3's of source material and alternate takes of "Crazy" - am I the last person to know that they dressed up in Star Wars costumes @ the MTV Movie Awards? (via)
July 4, 2006
Not to be ZeFrankFilter on you, Ze Frank of The Show is currently playing Fabuloso Chess, pitting himself versus the combined intellect of his viewers.
His viewers vote on the best countermove, and the one with the most votes becomes the Fabuloso's chess move, Ze Frank in his next episode of The Show, broadcasts his move. If Ze Frank loses, he has to give a 10 minute The Show: Unplugged signing performance
July 3, 2006
July 2, 2006
July 1, 2006
Why "The Big Lebowski" is about our empty modern world (via)
FoxNews versus Phelps crazy Church
This is the perfect storm of crazy vs. insane!