the weekend of [trite]

this weekend was a chance for the [populace] of manhattan, to forget who they were for a night, and [masquerade] as someone else for a while. while noticing the costumes, and [conversing] about how the same outfits are seen over and over every year, one of my friends stated at how [trite] they all were. this comment stayed with me the rest of the night, because i felt it was a great use of a word that i don't normally hear. my friend could have easily said that the outfits were boring or dull, but instead she called them [trite], which is defined as "boring from much use, not fresh or original". a perfect fit.

lately i've had feelings that seem to run deeper then what most words i use, define. some words to define my life, [dubious][hampered][despondent][adrift]. i'm sure that these words have defined a point in everyone's life before. but as an architecture student in my last year, with changes taking place, dreams fading, and the future looking more intimidating everyday. they seem to be the perfect fit right now.

happy birthday mom

diana_senior_year

today is my mother's birthday. i'm not sure if she will be thrilled or not that i posted this photo, but oh well, i think it's great. i love looking at senior pictures. nothing else captures what life was like when you were in high school more then your senior picture. this photo won't give away the exact year of my mother's graduation, so you can only make assumptions as to her age, however all you need to know is that she doesn't look a day older then when this picture was taken.

the first signs of fall

willard_hall

today i found out that the class I usually have at seven o'clock was canceled. this ended up being a blessing for two reasons. first of all, it meant that i would not have to rush through the readings in the hour before class to make it look like i knew what i was talking about, it also gave me a chance to walk around campus as the sun was going down. being an architecture student, it's often easy to think that seaton is the only building on campus, since most of our lives take place with in these limestone walls. however it is great to leave studio behind and walk around a bit. i sometimes long for the days before switching to architecture when most all of my classes were taught in different buildings forcing you to experience campus.
this autumn, i believe, will stand out in my mind above most for several reasons. first of all it's my last fall on campus, which is the best season to be here. it's like walking around in a rockwell painting, complete with colorful leaves, limestone, and squirrels. all you have to do is replace the typewriters, and transitor radios with laptops and ipods. secondly, after spending seven months in san diego, and then returning to kansas for the last part of summer, i'm ready to finally experience a change in season. i've been wearing short sleeves too long, it's time to bust out some sweaters. Lastly, and most importantly, fall is a yearly reminder from mother nature, that nothing gold can stay, no matter how badly you want it to. there is always an end.

while walking on the fallen foliage today i had memories of brighter and sunnier times.

leaves_on_ the_sidewalk

looking_into_the_stacks_of_hale

twenty[one] years later

my newborn sister, 1984
today is my little sister's birthday. i never could have imagined holding her in the hospital back then that twenty one years later, we'd be in college together, and, for that matter, almost havingher beat me through. my sister and i joke about our "worlds colliding", a term from the sitcom seinfeld meant to define what happens when different parts of you life merge that usually remain separated, such as family, and college. i am however glad that i could be here to celebrate her birthday with her and make sure she didn't get too "tanked" happy birthday sis.


maria at my favorite bar on her 21st birthday

eric's music 101

usually i reserve this form of communication for any activity i deem "blogworthy", a term for anything that i think anyone that reads this blog will find slighty interesting and or amusing. i'm also not a fan of putting anything too personal on here, for reasons relating back to the movie i saw when i was just a lad called "the net" starring sandra bullock. that might of been before she became real famous.... anyway, nothing i've done in awhile has reached "blogworthy"status, and my personal life is way too complicated, sad and....well......personal, to put in this bog. so i though i'd drop some music information on you. most of my life is spent in studio connected to my computer. thank god for itunes. so as i work and think and work and think, a sort of soundtrack starts to develop. i find that depending on what mood i'm in, certain bands will emerge from the masses to be played more often. a band that i've gotten into recently is [interpol]. i found out about this band a little later then i would have wanted, but i'm enjoying their music none the less. a great song of their's is "c'mere". i, myself wasn't blessed with the ability of poetry, let alone the ability to put it to music, so i'm alway impressed when i come across something like this song. here's a small sample of the lyrics that seem to fit perfectly these days:

It's way too late to be this locked inside ourselves
The trouble is that you're in love with someone else
It should be me. Oh, it should be me
Your sacred parts, your getaways
You come along on summer days
Tenderly, tastefully

And so may, we make time
Try to find somebody else
This place is mine

You said today, you know exactly how I feel
I had my doubts little girl
I'm in love with something real
It could be me, that's changing

If you're not familiar with them, check them out. Here's another list of artists that have been making it to the top of my itune's play-list lately:

The Decemberists
My Morning Jacket
The Sea and Cake
The Shins
Spoon
Death Cab for Cutie
Wilco
Van Morrison
The Smiths
Kings of Leon
Sam Prekop

Check them out if you haven't' heard of all of them, there's something for everyone.

googie in the news

i had a friend e-mail me this link, so i thought i'd share it.


www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/arts/design/02scho.html


It's a shame how many great examples of "googie" have already seen the wrath of the wrecking ball.

signs of googie

vista_hamburgers

well today in manhattan it was very cloudy and misty. one of those days perfect for reading a book, or watching college football. i however finally took on a small adventure i had been wanting to take for a long time. today was my day. i am a huge fan of "googie architecture". now this isn't the most sophisticated form of architecture, such as renaissance or baroque, but one that i enjoy immensely. most of it consists of bowling alley's, liquor stores, and motel signs. for a short history lesson, this is because this style developed in the fifties and sixties when american's were having dreams of outer space. during this time americans were also in love with their cars. this style put those together and you end up with very large and flashy space like shapes to draw in the drivers attention. this style is closely linked to more serious style of modern architecture such as the designs of John Lautner. For anyone interested, you can get more information here.
back on track, there were a few signs in the manhattan area that fall under this category, that i had not captured on film yet. so i packed up my camera and headed out. first was the dreamland motel outside junction city. i've driven past this sign for years and never stopped. the sign is great. one interesting aspect of this sign that i enjoy is the use of kansas's own natural limestone. that element seems to find it's way into every style of architecture in kansas. next it was back to manhattan, to photograph vista hamburgers. another great sign. i'm not sure of the history of this restaurant, but i know that most college students in the past 35 years have eaten here at least once. i'm glad i got the pictures, i'll have to head back on a sunny day, or possible at night to show off the neon.

dreamland_motel

vista_neon