Weekend 175.2

“Decaying and dilapidated architecture resonates as loss, as evidence of the irreversible passage of time, yet architectural ruins emanate past grandeur.”
— Daniel Worden, On Modernism’s Ruins: The Architecture of “Building Stories” and Lost Buildings

Related
Roman military frontiers and fortifications

Weekend 175.1

A photograph to complement my last post. And how about some complementary lyrics?

“They made a statue of us
And it put it on a mountain top
Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs have fun, have fun.”

Related
(a) Gorgeous bike pron
(b) Critical mass

Weekend 175.0

“One realizes oneself only one piece at a time.”
— Marcel Proust, The Fugitive

(1) Christo Without Jeanne-Claude – Where monuments pretend to endure, their work suggests the fleeting nature of our grandest gestures. A romantic might say that each piece evokes the way even the most dedicated passion will be undone by time.

The sudden realization that time is a material in which our lives are, mysteriously, contained—or, you might even say, the material in which we are wrapped, for the time being, at least.

(2) When in Helvetica: A Swiss typeface + 2 Italian designers = New York City

(3) “The Infinite” by Giacomo Leopardi

But sitting and gazing, unending
Spaces beyond what’s here, and
superhuman
Silences, and depthless calm,
I fashion in my mind…

(4) The Magical Mystery Show of Consciousness

…being enchanted by the magic of experience provides a reason to live. Rather than being an aid to survival, consciousness provides an essential incentive to survive. Enchantment is itself “the biological advantage of being awestruck.” Or, as the poet and Pooh creator A.A. Milne put it, “It’s awful fun to be born at all.”

The above is related to this.

(5) Maybe you can buy a bit of happiness

Dan Ariely, a professor of Behavioral Psychology at Duke, notes that studies show that any satisfaction rush we received from a new pair of shoes or jacket is often fleeting. Psychologists call this consumer buying the “hedonistic treadmill,” which leads to nowhere.

However, Ariely believes that how you spend your money can enhance your happiness. For example, you might get as much enjoyment from buying a smaller item than a luxury one, such as a dinner that you share with a friend as opposed to a flat-screen TV. Buying for others can also enhance your happiness level.

Ariely recommends that you buy things that “dust can’t land on” — memories and connections — that are more likely to make you happier.

(6) “Charles Jencks, the author of The Iconic Building, describes architectural icons as delicate balancing acts between memorable forms and the images they conjure up. He emphasizes that in an increasingly heterogeneous world, multiple and sometimes even enigmatic meanings are precisely what turn buildings into popular icons.”

(6a) “Preserving history when it is possible and reinforcing the past are important. A further advantage of adjustment and preservation is that they help create a rich distinctive sense of place.”

(6b) “Design is critical, too, since the project must quickly establish that elusive quality, a sense of place.”
— Witold Rybczynski, Makeshift Metropolis

Weekend 174.0

I was finally able to ride this morning. It was blue and crispy and the five boroughs approach. I also have a new route this season which takes me away from the beach BUT it’s a little more challenging.

I have three to-day from the Wall Street Journal and one fabulous quote (and one a forlorn monk can truly appreciate).

(1) What a Good Coach Does (WSJ)

(2) The Gift of Self-Forgetfulness (WSJ)

(3) A True Adventure at Sea and on Shore (WSJ)

“Just when I think, I’m free as a dove / Old devil moon, deep in your eyes, blinds me with love.” – E.Y. Harburg

My brother broke the solemnity with a counter-quote: “Stop living in the shadows. You have a life to live.” In case you are wondering- it’s from an ad for Low T. What would I do without him?

(4) Petite Bibliothèque de Curiosités – Amedeo Tosetti and his Nogai pedallers and cycling Tartars!

“Brought up in Petersburg, the prince, unlike his companions, had the advantage of a university education and became enthralled by the mysteries of mechanics, especially by those of a new invention, that seemed to over innumerable possibilities: the bicycle / The prince, heartbroken, married a rich Armenian who had been captured in Odessa, and founded in Bucharest the first factory of Rumanian bicycles.”

Source: The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi

(4a) François Rabelais

Weekend 173.0

(1) In My Home Office: Maira Kalman (WSJ) – My workspace is defined by books, ephemera, quiet and light.

(2) Microchips Are Old Hat. Can Tweets Be Far Behind? (WSJ)

Related
(2a) The Pencil (YouTube)

(3) White Tulip

Thomas Friedman was devastated…

China’s High-Speed Rail, Highly Suspect

Related
High Speed Rail To Nowhere…Winning The Future A Wasted Billion At A Time