Month: March 2018

Movie Thursday

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There’s this “March Madness” style tournament bracket voting deal going around on Twitter, so I figured I’d jump on the train and work it out for myself.  Some of the choices were very easy.  Others, not so much!

Some thoughts:

In my special version of the brackets, Mulan jumps up to the bracket above it* so that it doesn’t get eliminated in the first round against such a strong contender…

If we were talking only the first 10 minutes of UP, it would clean up the first few brackets handily, that is some of the most powerful storytelling ever put to film. (The rest isn’t bad per se, just not nearly as strong.)

Forcing a choice between Ratatouille and Wall-E, erg… they’re two of my favourite films of all times. Both very strong. I gave it to Ratatouille by a whisker.  I’ll probably switch choice if you ask me again.  (And then switch once more…)

As for the final result, well, probably no surprise to anyone here!

What would your bracket look like?

 

* This is the one movie I am interested in the upcoming live remake.  The animated version had some issues with knowing what it was going for (both tone and storywise), and the promise and premise never gelled.  A re-working with a solid vision could turn out well!

Philosophy Tuesday

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“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”

–Fred (aka Mr) Rogers

 

(I love this quote, for it reminds that everyone has as rich an internal life and story and dialogue as I do.  It reminds that despite all rationalities, sometimes we pilfer in actions and things that are weird or rash or poor.  It reminds that there are foibles, and then there is authenticity.  It reminds that even when face to face with someone of seemingly intractable unworkability, or unproductiveness, or even where there’s just plain disagreement, that there is a core to speak to.  It reminds vilification isn’t necessary.  It reminds that communication is massive.  It reminds that we can say I love to you – not the actions, whether “good” or “bad”, but to you.)

(And it reminds that Mr Rogers was a remarkable human being who saw deep into the heart of possibility.)

Architecture Monday

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“Hey, we have this old, unused, industrial crane.  Can we do anything with it?”

“Oh we can….”

Yeah, there’s no way I can’t love this project.   Projecting from a pier in Copenhagen, this does indeed start with a giant dock crane, towering over both land and sea.  Repainted in a rich black, the design team inserted four architectural moments:  A conversation room, a meeting room, a hotel room, and a spa.

Wait, what?  Is this getting crazier by the minute?

Sure is, and in a good way.  Using all of that height, all of that size, and all of that structural capacity, this eclectic mix of uses is open and available to anyone who wants to book them.

Throughout, the various spaces maintain a richly appointed and restrained pallet that lets the views out onto the water and the city be the impressive backdrop. At midlevel, the glass box meeting room is quite self-explanatory, and climbing upwards, both the spa and the one-room hotel are delightful places to unwind.

My favourite for sure is the small meeting/conversation room, perched out beneath the crane’s boom, reaching towards the water and with an angled window that lets you lean out and surround yourself with an ever-changing tableau.  Using the existing bones of the old workhorse, its evolved into a meditative space of serenity.

Yeah, I dig this project a lot.  Gotta check it out when I’m over that way… and even book a stay.

The Krane by Arcgency

Philosophy Tuesday

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Many of the lessons we learn early in life are of the quite black and white variety – hard fast rules that never vary.  Touching that hot stove is always going to cause a burn. Leaning too far over will always cause you to fall.  Even the social lessons we tend to learn are quite fixed, for those around us to observe and to learn from are quite limited, and hence present a rather unchanging universe.

So it comes as no surprise that, very quickly, we get the sense that the world consists, solely, of things that only ever operate one way.  There are TRUTHS and RULES, that are KNOWABLE and USABLE.  This gets reinforced even more as we begin school, and we’re literally graded and judged by how well we learn these inviolable FACTS.

And there is, indeed, many things that do operate within rather strict rules: physics*, math, chemistry, and that harsh mistress of gravity (that, natch, is also part of physics…).

Yet there is a whole lot more that does not even come close to being fixed or knowable, chiefly, 7 billion more things, and all the ways that these 7 billion things interact with each other.  People, of course, and our societies, norms, manners, systems, cultures, memes, ethos, nations, traditions, customs…

All not bound by any strict and inherent rules of the universe.

And never mind the 7 billion, this also affects the one.  So quickly, when we meet someone, can we, so eager to continue that notion that things are governed by TRUTHS that we can KNOW and they NEVER CHANGE, decide so much about that person and never give them a chance to be any other way.  Our first thought becomes (our) reality.  We limit them, grant them scant space to transform or broaden or to even have a bad day.

Nor ourselves.  For if things are fixed and knowable, then so must be I.  And with that background, we can anoint ourselves with all manner of unproductive TRUTHS, and any growth faces the extra hurdle of overcoming the impossible: changing the fundamental nature of the universe.

When we can be with that there exists both fixed RULES of the universe, and that there equally exists “rules” and “laws” made from our collective minds, we gain exceptional freedom.  In that space, we become an active weaver of our lives and of our societies, engaging in the work to craft a wonderful quilt of life.

 

* And even our traditional view of physics and similar laws tend to break down and not be so absolute at the various extremes…

 

Architecture Monday

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A double spiral.  One is a garden.  The other is house.  Together they intertwine to create living spaces that are never more than a step away from greenery.

From the living room (which overlooks even more greenery along with a pond/pool in the generous rear yard) through the kitchen to the office to the bedroom, the continuous meadow-like greenery follows the rise of the house, leading up towards a bonus garden on the roof.  As could be expected, the house is filled with light from this spiraling courtyard.  The materials within are kept simple and clean, to better highlight the lushness of the foliage nearby – in a way like a gallery, the windows taking the place of frames, and the garden the painting.

I like this a lot.  I can imagine the design brief:  we want as much of our lot to be garden as possible, and we want it to be as visible from the house as possible.  Lifting the garden/ground plane up and wrapping the two together is a great solution, leading not only to the ample garden views, but some very interesting ceilings and room geometries.  As a bonus, the combination of the green roof, integrated with water collection ponds at the edges of the roof, plus all the natural light and the solar panels make for a very sustainable house.

Gorgeous greenery, fun rooms, lovely spaces, and a house that gives back to the environment.  That’s one very sweet combination.

MeMO house by BAM! Arquitectura

Philosophy Tuesday

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“Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement.

In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success.

You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.

To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.”

— Bill Watterson (emphasis mine)