Paz

More Nonsense...maybe... is it really us against them or are there are more them than us? Seasons Greetings.

99%

I appreciate contrast. Its about time.

Guns

Libya, New York Times Photo

If you go into the hills here in Washington and ran across folk trying out their firearms, I'd wagger it would not look much different than this view in Libya. There is the fellow in the back taking some photos and of course, exchange the huka with a Marlboro.

Empowerment vs. Participation

Washington Redistricting Options

One of the most pressing concerns involving the organization of communities has alway been boundaries or the lack there of. Property for the most part is treated as an indicator of economic activity in this country. Unfortunately, economies of scale, along with antiquated zoning decisions, incentivize the consolidation of tracts of property.

Political consolidation is surprisingly similar in fashion as the power brokers parley the high stakes game of redistricting. If one were to equate political redistricting to the manner in which we legislate community development we might have a landscape as the one shown below, but would it be fair?

Re-dundant

Using a word heard frequently this week in the unveiling of Windows 8, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer laid out a "re-imagined" Microsoft. If the contrarian had a penny for each time he heard "re-something or other"...

A dilemma because society finds itself adverse to comprehending change or progress by any measure, by "re-ining", we assuage that we are mostly only molifying existing situations. Redundancy trumps innovation. "Imagine" Microsoft?

Choices

Private studio c. 1978

I've admired Philip Johnson's work and had the chance to visit New Canaan. The piece above has been a favorite of mine, but I was unaware until I arrived that Johnson and his partner David Whitney had a change of mind later on and repainted it a more muted brown. Not to pass judgement on these two aestheticians but I find myself partial to the original design intent. Interesting too, the guide discussed that Johnson never had the desire to modernize or modify any of the buildings he created on his property over all those years. Case in point, the sculpture house has become a beautiful decaying relic. We were told the private studio was one of his most used structures in the compound and I wonder what brought on the change of heart? So be it.

Private studio today

Annus Duos

After two years the pace of blogging has mellowed a bit, well maybe a bit more. Part of this is the energy required to produce content, and one can not blog all day. One needs a day job as well. Since the contrarian is not a social networker we still plan to waste our time on the blog as a means to explore our existence... So onto year three.

Tunisia

I read a lot and still find it difficult to fathom what is going on in other parts of the world. This story of what has happened in Tunisia as many flee Qaddafi, is that rare bit of sanity which also seems hard to fathom.

mmmmm....

A few people in the news after their passing struck a chord with the Contrarian. Max Mathews was considered the father of computer music. In 1957 he wrote a program for a computer to play a 17-second composition, proving that sound could be digitally stored and retrieved. Have we traveled a bit since then, or have we? Commenting recently, Mr. Mathews discussed the vagrancies of music, "What we have to learn is what the human brain and ear think is beautiful. What do we love about music? What about the acoustic sounds, rythms and harmony do we love? When we find that out it will be easy to make music with a computer." And therein lies the rub, what our brains and ears hear are by no means constant.

In another passing, Arthur Lessac, the famous Hollywood voice coach and educator discussing language once said, "if only one knows what to listen for. With their sustained, purring timbre, the consonants "m" and "n" are stringed instruments. Luxuriant "w" and "zh" are woodwinds, raucous "r" a trombone. "L" is a mellow saxophone; "ch" a clash of cymbals; and the small explosions "p", "b" and "t" are percussion." A wonderful explanation of the music in words.

I bring these wonderful morsels of thought because in my profession some consider architecture to be frozen music. And its difficult to understand what our eyes view as beautiful without knowing what to listen for.

For Sure...

"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."

From the father of the interstate highway, Dwight Eisenhower, a prescient quote conveying the current condition of Seattle politics battling the replacement of the Highway 99 viaduct with a new tunnel.