i don't profess to know anything, really.

adulthood, i think, means you floss every night. mouthwash is assumed be part of the evening routine as well.

pop music.

"... the guitars are big, bright, and unusually unfucked-with." _ marc hogan.

deerhunter

little kids
nothing ever happened
vox celeste

probably innapropriate.

the following is an excerpt from an email i sent to my parents and brother. clearly, i got entirely too worked up, i spent way too much time composing it, and i'm wasting billable hours with my analysis. beyond that, there's nothing profound about any of this. feel free to criticize.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“We believe that the best America is in the small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call real America. Being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, very pro-American areas of this country.”

Sarah Palin said this recently on the campaign trail, and I can’t help but feel troubled by her logic. WE all live in big cities. Does that make us anti-American?

Now, perhaps I’m looking too much into this, but what is she going to do if she gets elected and has to work in Washington DC? What if she’s invited to throw a pitch at Yankee Stadium? Hell, what if she’s invited to the American Royal in KC? Is she really implying that small town = bigger American pride? Shouldn’t that catch the attention of every urban-dweller in the country?

“This is where we find the kindness and goodness and the courage of everyday Americans, those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us, those who are protecting us in uniform, those who are protecting our freedom.”

The biggest problem is that her statements are, ironically, anti-American. It’s un-inclusive, it’s divisive, and it’s excusatory. More to the point, it’s what Colin Powell described as “narrow.” Beyond that, our entire family is an amalgamate of foreigners who came here because it was the land of opportunity. People don’t immigrate because they prefer to be marginalized.

Putting a flag in your front yard or singing the national anthem or wearing a flag pin or serving in the military, while all noble gestures, are not the extent of true patriotism. For some it is manifested in different expressions – both concrete and abstract. Maybe patriotism is paying taxes. Maybe patriotism is donating to political campaigns. Maybe you love your country by simply working your ass off every day and taking care of your family. Maybe patriotism is volunteering at public schools. Maybe patriotism is recycling, saving energy and taking general pride in the appearance and health of your country.

While I know this is lengthy and the appropriate location for the requisite “my apologies for the length of this email” phrase, I simply refuse to apologize for illuminating a few relevant issues.

my puberty in buffalo was drab.

appropriate on many levels.

miles benjamin anthony robinson
the debtor
written over

define fear.

"mccain's personality." - george will.

simply stated, when the race is about personality {peripheral} mccain does better. conversely, when the race is about real, fundamental issues {important, relevant} obama does better. nothing prophetic, of course. a fundamental truth, perhaps?

in other words, when you distract individuals from their personal grief and perpetual instability with mtv/gossip blog-style fanaticism, you have a chance of winning. i really hope obama pulls this off.

study break.

"Where there is nothing, everything is possible. Where there is architecture, nothing {else} is possible." - Rem Koolhaas

Koolhaas' obsession with contemporary culture would be the logical place to start with a statement so seemingly vague.

Our contemporary culture is fundamentally kinetic and free to move and think. Taken literally, architecture is the end of freedom. It contains, weighs, restricts, is static. In a sense, architecture is conceivably antithesis of freedom. As an architect who pursues a meaningful and everlasting relationship and understanding of the culture we belong to, this is presents a challenge.

A bridge must then be constructed between the freedom of movement that characterizes contemporary culture and the fundamentally restrictive notion of architecture. Architecture must become everything it isn't. Buildings can successfully shed their inherent restrictions and symbolize the contemporary ideas they fundamentally contradict. The logical solution is nonarchitecture. Stated differently, if everything is possible where there is nothing, then that is exactly what buildings should be.

What this model presumably accomplishes is an architecture that can conceivable resist any all classification. It embraces all that is novel, dynamic and non-binding. It's conventionally unconventional, and does so with simultaneous pride & humility.

What a fantastic notion. An architecture of immediate context. The anti-intellectual approach that what we build must not represent veiled cynicism and inherited superiority. It must inspire, not condescend. It must represent, not dictate. It represents inspiration and therefore is.

the complex notion of a flawed smile.

this morning i had major dental surgery, providing me the opportunity to pursue the following guilt-free activities until i return to work on monday.

> read the day's news for more than twenty minutes.
> legally ingest carefully prescribed painkillers.
> watch 'the west wing' so much i enter a state of hypnosis wherein i believe the day-to-day theater within the white house is a magically choreographed utopia written by aaron sorkin.
> shop craigslist for cycling gear, persian rugs, and danish furniture.
> begrudgingly study for the LEED exam**

i also recommend the following links >>

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/business/media/10adco.html?8au&emc=au

http://www.slate.com/id/2199720/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090801910.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.bahaindex.com/news/a-campaign-of-persecution-against-a-faith-of-tolerance.html

the last article was sent to me by my dad. It should be noted that john keech is a loyal conservative, a remarkably honest professional, a devout mizzou fan, and as always, in favor of sticking it to iran and continually looking for more reasons to do so. I understand where he’s coming from, and I’m beginning to see why so many people are fearful of countries that are ostensibly, pardon the pun, loose cannons.

All that said, the fundamental issue here is small-mindedness. I would argue that intolerance is as omnipresent in this country as it is in places like Iran. Case in point - how many people are going to vote against Obama simply because he’s black? How many black people voted against Hillary because she wasn’t black? How many people are going to vote agains McCain because his running mate can bear children?

This obviously doesn’t include my father – he’ll vote for a republican just like he’s always done, but his reasons are far more nobile, well-thought and based upon facts and data. On the other hand, I just can’t see how people can honestly and willingly dismiss the opportunity to show the rest of the planet we’re ready to distinguish ourselves by moving past these superfluous and shallow issues, vote for Obama, and set a new example. It’s not that I think our country is stupid, it’s just that I think we’re losing the will to think critically.

In the end, all the political discourse has made me wish I had a vote in a more relevant state.

**i do not, in any conceivable way, take pleasure in this activity.

I'M GOING TO BE PERFECT FROM NOW ON.

i swear i have some thoughts on the election, failed william mcdonough projects, moral superiority through minimalism, self-empowerment through frugality, cycling, and even college football. however, i'm at work. long-windedness and public displays of frustration will have to wait until next time.

that being said, here's some built to spill.

made-up dreams
randy described eternity

I AM THE FUN BLAME MUSIC DISTRIBUTOR.

SHEARWATER, from their new album 'Rook.'

on the death of our waters.

century eyes.

just another burden.

"There is no such thing as architecture, what exists is the spirit of architecture."

- Louis Kahn.

it turns out flipping through a book of tom kundig's work at 12.15 on a sunday night only makes one more restless.