& ON A WALL 2

OSLO OPERA HOUSE = SKATEPARK

Photo: Jiri Havran via Wired

When I saw that Wired Magazine recently (Nov 08) did an article on the skate-ability of the new Oslo Opera House I got a little excited, stood up, and maybe...just maybe did a little dance.  In High School I did too much skating and snow surfing to actually become an Architect, but I always knew that my board was helping me develop  a very intimate relationship with our proverbial concrete jungle. My Senior year I won a Scholastic Gold Key for my photos of a skatepark that focused on the architectural merits of the shapes present and my post below about Mark Gonzales is pretty specific about being hopeful for a more integrated public space and the interaction between skating and architecture.  

The article in Wired is short, but sweet and can be found here. 

"Snøhetta used different finishes of marble to guide skaters looking for rideable surfaces. Acoustically sensitive parts, like above the auditorium, got rough marble that's unpleasant to wheel over. But other areas silently beckon skaters. Surfaces rise up all over the place to become ledges, curbs, and benches—like the jagged facets of a glacier (or skate park). One particularly tempting spot is a 3-foot-wide railing of smooth stone. Snøhetta architect Peter Dang is, ahem, absolutely sure it's skatable. 'Just make sure to fall toward the inside,' he advises."

Another, even more informative and theoretically focused, article called "A Skateboarders Guide to Architecture, or an Architect's Guide to Skateboarding" can be found here.

$495

This is so funny.

STARFUCKER

This post is not to promote another indie band. I am posting it mostly because I wish more shows like this one from Portland Oregon happened. It is much more fun than going to any stadium or large concert hall. Just hanging out with some friends outside dancing to music. Perfect.

ALWAYS USE PROTECTION

FINGER CONDOMS
For your handy needs.

I work at The Brodsky Center with the papermaking studio which involves constantly getting soaked (we wear rainboots and floor-length vinyl aprons when we work). I was burning paper edges today and my clumsy hands got burnt on a Dremel burner tool (seriously hot shit), NOT something you ever want to do. But I had to keep working for the next few hours, and Lisa at the center introduced me to the amazing FINGER COTS (or finger condoms, more appropriately). You can find them at drugstores. I never like to advertise products, but this is seriously brilliant for dealing with burns/cuts on your fingers if you need to keep doing something involving lots of water and still want to be able to have a good amount of control with your hands (papermaking, photo darkroom, screenprinting, dishes, shower, rowboatin', canoin', kayakin', water balloon fight, rainstorm thumb wars...).

THE GRID

I just stumbled upon the DVDbeaver review of Koyaanisqatsi and thought I'd share a still. They have some really nice screenshots up, which are hard to find with just a basic Google image search. It definitely is a significant influence on my work, plus it brings back a lot of good memories.

SCAN UR SOUL

The real me.

WATCH THIS LOUD

HELLO TIWWI

My good friend Sam Molleur is creating a little collective out in Los Angeles. It's called, "This Is What We Imagine" or TIWWI. They've since created a few short films, and this is one of my favorites. I thought I'd share it and give some support!

by Sam Molleur
featuring Claire Bergkamp and Joe Yaeger
production design and narration recording by Hillary Gurtler
music supervision by Tina Dhingra
copyright tiwwi 2009

NEW BEST MOVIE EVER FOR REAL

TIME INDEFINITE (1993) - ROSS MCELWEE

CARTS OF DARKNESS

You may have seen the teaser for this awhile ago, but here it is - the full movie in all its hobo bottle collecting shopping cart hill-bombing glory.