Grounding

Tree Pits

2011-08-01T22:35:00.001-04:00

Possibly the early makings of a more comprehensive project...

Revival

2011-07-18T22:11:00.004-04:00

After a two-year hiatus, I have decided to dust this blog off and put it back to good use. The summer months ought to prove fruitful, but we will have to wait and see if blogging can be sustained through the thick of architecture school come September.

New bicycle racks are beginning to pop up in Brooklyn...

The racks are nothing special at first glance, but it turns out that since 2009 they have been replacing the now defunct parking meters along the blocks where DOT's relatively new Muni Meter system in place. While it is refreshing to see obsolete infrastructure reincarnated, it begs the question, why haven't parking meters simply doubled as bicycle racks all along?

To be fair, they practically have, albeit unintentionally. Cyclists inevitably latch onto just about any meter, tree, fence, or sign post that accommodates a lock. This can largely be attributed to a shortage of actual bicycle racks. Had these fixtures initially been designed as both meters AND racks, they could have been left alone, free from the burdens of the conversion process in the post-parking meter era. Also, a configuration like that would alleviate the cluttered streetscape by providing an adequate number of properly functioning racks for cyclists who, in all likelihood, would prefer to use proper bike racks.

Furthermore, several other re-purposed/dual-purposed streetscape accommodations come to mind, some existing, some not. Imagine locking your bicycle to a meter-rack, having a seat on a flood-proof subway grate bench, pulling out your laptop, and picking up on a WiFi signal emitting from the router installed in the old payphone kiosk down the block. That's just one scenario.

Brooklyn Bridge Park, Under Construction (and Nathan Moves to Philadelphia)

2009-06-30T21:57:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by kyledoconnor13

DO THE D.A.N.C.E.

2009-06-28T09:25:00.004-04:00

do the dance
Originally uploaded by kyledoconnor13

it's still manhattan

2009-06-01T22:47:00.003-04:00

High Line, Under Construction

2009-03-28T23:11:00.000-04:00

how botanical

2009-03-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

bon voyage, bon hiver

2009-03-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

no metal chopsticks

2009-02-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Corona

2009-02-25T20:24:00.000-05:00

build it

2009-02-12T23:49:00.000-05:00

PLANTS!

2008-10-19T12:30:00.001-04:00

autumnal equinox

2008-10-13T17:57:00.000-04:00

MTA

2008-10-09T17:08:00.000-04:00

it rained on us

2008-09-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

new york city, you know, art and shit

2008-08-26T19:29:00.000-04:00

international dance party

2008-07-06T17:21:00.000-04:00

International Dance Party! The full length video of this crazy and funny party machine! from Niklas Roy on Vimeo.

los angeles to new york to los angeles to chicago to new york to chicago to new york

2008-07-03T17:26:00.000-04:00

the highline

326 19

2008-07-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

there are birds in the colorado blue

2008-06-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

OIL, LABOR, TUNNELS, YELLOW

2008-03-30T23:58:00.001-04:00

irvine? really?

2008-02-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

sometimes riding your bicycle up a hill on accident is ok, especially when you encounter the chaparral of southern california

2008-02-02T01:48:00.001-05:00

the desert

2008-01-26T18:28:00.001-05:00

pt. II

2008-01-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

every day crepes for breakfast, pt. I

2008-01-07T00:40:00.000-05:00

launder'd

2007-12-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

ow

2007-10-29T23:45:00.000-04:00

server down, EDAW

2007-10-22T22:06:00.000-04:00

the north island [portion] of california, continued

2007-10-15T00:29:00.000-04:00

a few moments from san francisco, many more to come

2007-10-11T01:52:00.000-04:00

For all, but notably for Dylan Dan Foregger Fogerty: a minor Project Peer Pressure Production Piece PPPPP

2007-09-28T01:57:00.000-04:00

illinois

2007-09-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

Kings Canyon National Park, California

2007-09-12T01:03:00.000-04:00

special thanks and credit to Chris Reynolds for the first 5 images below...

oh, hey ken smith

2007-08-26T14:49:00.000-04:00

not unlike the Eutelsat Balloon
of Parc André Citroën, Paris...

more irvine nights - apologies if these are starting to seem redundant

2007-08-22T23:38:00.001-04:00

some hiking, some sunset, some sneak!

2007-08-22T00:05:00.000-04:00

hiking is a dirty game.

sneak.

San Vicente Peak, Santa Monica Mountains, elevation 599 m, former NIKE missile base, with a few handstands, of course

2007-08-11T00:56:00.000-04:00

after hours infrastructure

2007-07-07T13:02:00.000-04:00

mon appartement

2007-07-07T12:57:00.000-04:00

"A documentary about suburban sprawl," "a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture," and Burtynsky

2007-07-06T01:46:00.000-04:00

Radiant City

Helvetica

Manufactured Landscapes

you and i must see these films.

Downtown Los Angeles, as experienced from the Hollywood Freeway

2007-07-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

This final image is actually an Orange County sunset, unrelated to the downtown LA sequence.

i'll be on the right

2007-06-29T02:45:00.000-04:00

have a seat

2007-06-27T00:45:00.000-04:00

interesting event at work today... we are informed that they are giving away some various old furniture that the office no longer uses. they put a bowl on each piece being given away, and interested individuals were to put their business card in the bowls from which the winners would be drawn. i won! i won a twin set of these obnoxious tennis ball-colored plastic chairs. i just happened to be wearing the matching shirt today too. destiny. one is going out on my balcony for sure, the other may also go out there, or maybe hang out in the apartment with me. we'll see.

and yes, that is my place. again, i will put up more pictures soon.

misguided by the 405, because it led me to an alcoholic summer

2007-06-24T23:53:00.000-04:00

this post will seem rather unorthodox for this blog...i've been compelled to use words alongside the images that i post.

i have finally managed to find a place to live in irvine, so i am beginning to settle. tonight i went on a fairly long exploratory bike ride, because orange county has an extensive network of bicycle trails that i plan to take full advantage of. i also plan to ride my bike to work every day, so i wanted to get a feel for that trip...its only about a 15 min ride.

irvine and orange county in general have been expectedly disappointing. irvine is really the antithesis of my own personal living environment preference, so the next year is going to be an interesting experience (or maybe just lame). it is a "successful" exemplar of a planned city, meaning the entire layout and placement of infrastructure, zones, and services were very intentional right from the start. romanticized suburban american culture in its full, realized form. corporate. sterile. faux sense of community. safest city in america (this was actually declared in the press, although it may simply be that they are the best at underreporting their crime statistics). cars cars cars. disgusting.

despite my feelings on this wasteland, i managed to find a few noteworthy moments on my bike ride...

the santa ana mountains to the northeast are impressive. that thick haze is more than simple atmospheric perspective...it is smog city out here. i think smog gets knocked more than it deserves. it is a literal lingering record of our lack of stewardship to the earth. for all the bashing it takes, there sure are a lot of SUVs out on the 405.

of course i did more handstands (i like to call this rigid, vertical version "The Nathan Lee Hemming"). my bike was a nice companion while taking these images.

nathan, this image is especially for you. i randomly stumbled upon this trail that was lined on either side by chain-link fences. it went from a city street at one end and, oddly, terminated after maybe 200 meters on a freeway. i could have rolled right out onto the freeway with my bike. anyway, this plant and several others have taken advantage of the path's derelict state and actually grown up THROUGH the asphalt (i know its hard to tell given the lighting situation, but it was paved with asphalt). plants can be so miraculous. how's that for New Nature?

to celebrate, i felt the need to leap over it.

this sign is so freaking loaded that i don't even know where to start. no tresspassing because it will disrupt the ecological research? right there? it could be fine, except this is presumably the re-creation of "nature." right next to that major city road. right in the middle of the suburbanite's utopia. this is not nature. and it is being disturbed. right now. i sure as hell hope that the mad scientists involved in this project are accounting for that.

i feel like a big thick line could be drawn diagonally across this image. what a stark contrast between the pastoral setting on top and its necessary, yet hidden drainage ditch. i don't think it was "supposed" to be viewed from this angle.

no real thesis to this image...i just know you want to see as many pictures of me as possible because, ya know, i'm one bitchin' narcissistic dude.

i will soon be updating with images of the new apartment. id like to get it in a decent state of order before i take those pictures.

it's harder to sleep on the right side when it's a twin-sized mattress

eckbo, dean, austin, and williams dance studio

2007-06-21T00:44:00.000-04:00

go on, git

2007-06-17T14:49:00.000-04:00

turns out night cycling is illegal in bradley

2007-05-30T00:59:00.000-04:00

Sitting as a Form of Empowerment - Performing Space Studio

2007-05-24T12:48:00.000-04:00

the grass danse

2007-05-22T14:44:00.000-04:00

i swear this basement is straight out of a horror movie

2007-05-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

danse macabre

2007-04-20T14:46:00.000-04:00

cranes are dancers too

2007-04-03T18:35:00.000-04:00

en mars

2007-03-27T17:21:00.000-04:00

the nodding-shaking heads sequence/other items

2007-03-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

argyle lake, funks grove

2007-02-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

Respond.

2006-12-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

i have burning floors...

2006-11-13T00:50:00.000-05:00

...i mean a burnt kitchen.

i suppose you would like to hear the story. saturday night there was a party here. we hosted a birthday party for Liz, so it wasn't really our party, but it was at our house. anyway, the party action began to simmer around 12:30 am or so, and we cleared the group out and proceeded to go to murphy's. after murphy's closed, nathan and myself rode the bus home. as we approached the front door of our apartment, we heard a smoke dectector going off, which seemed rather suspicious. we ran in to find a smoke-filled apartment, and a damaged kitchen. luckily there was no actual fire when we arrived. it is mind-boggling that our entire building did not go up in flames. we had left several items on top of the stove including bottles, cans, and a plastic cutting board with a cake on top of it, all of which were melted. one of the burners for the stove was turned half way on, so we know that there had been gas coming out, and suspect that the pilot light may have ignited it. our entire apartment had a layer of soot on it, mostly in the kitchen, but some had even spread to our bedrooms. it was a completely honest mistake...we have no idea how the burner was turned on. it is also odd to note that the burner which was on also melted...how the fuck does a BURNER ON A FUCKING STOVE MELT? its entire purpose of existence is to accommodate and sustain FIRE. the stove is pretty much brand new, but clearly a piece of shit. and now a charred piece of shit.

needless to say, we did a lot of cleaning today. Liz and Amy kindly came over and assisted us, which was not necessary, but we are very grateful. it really does not seem like a huge deal anymore...mostly a burned stove, melted plastic wall tile, and soot-covered kitchen walls. i am , however, worried about the reaction of our landlord. i do not believe we can take the potential financial hit that this scenario presents.

aside from hell's kitchen, this weekend was wonderful. Ellen's birthday party in indianapolis on friday night was a blast...it completely lived up to its expectations. it was also wonderful to see some of those people, for it had been quite some time.

this week i am happily anticipating a visit from my mother on monday. other than that, not much to speak of other than this is the final week before a much-needed thanksgiving break.

yours,

KYLE

you should give me some feedback...

2006-11-01T01:28:00.000-05:00

Edge Circumstances:

A critical exploration of the built environment’s peripheries

2007 Edward L. Ryerson and George and Dorothy Fiel Traveling Fellowships

Kyle O’Connor

As I began to develop my thoughts on writing this proposal, I felt it would be best to begin by simply considering my own feelings on travel. At this point in my life, I am not so sure that there could be anything better than an opportunity to see the world. There are far too many places of which I have yet to experience. Voyaging to far away places provides unrivaled opportunities to broaden one’s knowledge and understanding of not only those distant locations, but of one’s own self as well. While my own take on travel entails learning and experience by means of exploration, I feel that far too many others deprive themselves of those opportunities. As John Stilgoe put it, “Not surprisingly, many landscapes now please simply because they resemble advertising landscapes seen so many times that viewers unwittingly accept them as ideal.”[1] For me, this statement conjures thoughts of an American consumer-culture traversing the globe in search of the perfect “Kodak Moment.” Signs and footpaths direct one toward picturesque views and famous landmarks to be visually consumed. As an avid photographer and future landscape architect, I can fully appreciate an attractive photograph or an awe-inspiring view across a captivating landscape. However, I do have issues with the marginalization of landscapes into packaged objects and destinations to simply be seen and photographed. Landscape is the very mechanism by which and on which our lives and cultures are carried out.[2]

My proposal is rooted in the idea of exploring landscapes, or places within landscapes, which normally go unexplored, unseen, and are unknown or disregarded by most. A great many sites, especially tourist destinations, possess some sort of landmark or focus, which provides the incentive to visit the place. While many of these places are indeed wonderful, I find myself lacking interest in a site that I have already seen and experienced through indirect sources of media. Now, there is the argument that one’s physical presence in a place is far more compelling, and therefore, should justify a desire to visit the location. I do agree that a direct experience is more compelling. Those places have become well known and sought after for a reason. Visiting them provides an opportunity to be able to say, “I did that, I was there.” Despite this, I do not share the desires possessed by others regarding visits to those landmark points. Nearly every experience of well-known places that I have winds up being passive, predictable, and banal. I find it much more fulfilling to explore, to notice details, and to be caught off guard by places and events that stir up the way I feel in a given landscape. Paths and nodes of interest limit the landscape to having a rather linear form that shapes experiences, while the greater landscape is indeed planar. When one’s experience of a landscape is that mediated, a plethora of other experiences and delights are missed out on, for “exploration encourages creativity, serendipity, invention.”[3]

I suppose this all begs the question, “so, what?” I believe that a critical exploration of the outer margins of a select few sites, namely public parks and plazas, focusing on, but not limited to those of The Museum of Modern Art’s 2005 Exhibition, Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape, would result in a purposeful, enlightening voyage. Public open space design is often carried out with intentions of altering and improving the neighborhoods and districts which are directly adjacent to the spaces themselves. The term “improving” may refer to a number of issues regarding everyday urban life. Peter Reed of the Museum of Modern Art mentions that “because of the role public space plays as a catalyst for urban development and in the quality of civic life, how these palliative spaces are treated is ultimately a reflection of our culture.”[4] I propose to investigate and record not the contents of these landmark public spaces, but rather their outer boundaries in an effort to further understand the ways in which public space influences the greater landscape. Records would be taken in the form of sketches, photographs, and ultimately a set of maps. The maps would be realized as a critical visual analysis of the conditions and occurrences of the spaces surrounding the visited sites. This exploration could be extraordinarily relevant to the field of design, in that when a site is realized, it becomes so much more than what is going on within its own physical limits. Entire regions can be shaped and manipulated as a result of a single built landscape. If it can be better understood how and why certain things are happening as a result of our design decisions, then our landscapes can be greatly improved as a response to that understanding.

Notes

[1] John R. Stilgoe, Landscape and Image (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005), 3

[2] See James Corner, Taking Measures Across the American Landscape (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1996), 21

[3] Stilgoe, Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places (New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 1998), 19

[4] Peter Reed, Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2005), 16

Possible Sites to Analyze:

Ryerson

Exchange Square, Manchester, England

Duisburg-Nord, Duisburg, Germany

Invalidenpark, Berlin, Germany

Parc André Citroën, Paris, France

Parc de la Cour du Maroc, Paris, France

Parc de la Villette, Paris, France

Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, England

Schouwburgplein, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Fiel

Crissy Field, San Francisco

Freeway Park, Seattle

Fresh Kills Landfill site, New York

Gasworks Park, Seattle

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle

Pershing Square, Los Angeles

Prospect Park, New York

Tanner Springs Park, Portland

601

2006-10-20T04:10:00.000-04:00

don't you wish the orange stayed forever?

2006-10-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

well buddy, life's alright at the moment.

school is still pretty slow.

my book/article intake has picked up.

i finally finished Mat's gift (which i may post on here later, but not before he gets it).

it is looking like i will be home this weekend, where some logistics of a certain trip to Manhattan Island will be discussed.

the leaves are coming down, and i will argue that, come autumn, my Urbana neighborhood is one of the best places you can be living.

and i currently do not have the time to write anything of great length, for i must be heading to my studio.

just wanted to update.

to say a little "hi."

touch my leg and pull on my hand

2006-09-27T22:31:00.000-04:00

school has been a bit of a pussy thus far.

while i am well aware that i have made it through my most difficult semesters, i didn't expect the work load to be this light nearly halfway through the semester.

my personal concerns and priorities have shifted a bit from studio work to my ryerson/fiel fellowship proposals, and soon enough, my portfolio and *swallows hard* job searching.

i want to win one of those fellowships more than anything.

as far as the job search goes...i am less enthused than i probably should be.

i MUST get a job, simply for the sake of paying off my loans.

however, professional practice in the realm of landscape architecture scares the fucking shit out of me.

firms that actually do good work are few and far between, and i greatly frown upon the idea of myself working for an office that designs crap.

that being said, i would also say that it is... refreshing ...to be uncertain about where i will be in less than a year.

maybe ben and i will move out west and smoke our pipes every day.

and last weekend...pygmalion music fest...good and bad.

of montreal bad, the city on film good.

hitler bad, vandals good.

...let's get this party started.

the fireplace does not work

2006-08-23T22:40:00.000-04:00

seriously you guys.

2006-07-27T11:34:00.000-04:00

on tuesday, my boss randomly asks me if i've ever heard of the format. another person in the office burned a copy of interventions and lullabies for her and we listened to it here at work. then today, she tells me that she got a few other new CDs...transatlanticism and plans by deathcab, and give up by the postal service. Go work for having good music.

hartford the whale has it's second game tonight at HF. hopefully its not another thrashing.

the swimming pool is in and functioning. the patio around it is still under construction, but that is not stopping my cell phone and i from swimming.

like mother effin DJ, i also am down to my final 2 weeks of this internship. the final 2 weeks could potentially be quite good as well. tomorrow there is a quarterly staff meeting in a highrise on michigan avenue that overlooks the lake. i will also be working in the chicago office rather than the naperville office tomorrow, for the sake of an easier commute. and on that note, cara has kindly invited me to stay with her in her new apartment when she moves in next week. this will allow me to 1. take the train to work 2. live in chicago for about 2 weeks 3. get out of my house for a while and 4. have good times with a good friend while boozin and smoggin hoogah. all bonuses.
the lease on the new apartment in urban begins on aug 18, and i plan to move in that day if all goes well. i forsee this final year of college as being top notch. 9 months left of next to no real responsibility and actions on par with those of an alcoholic. not to mention only one christmas and spring break left. i've been going to school since i was 5 years old. i'll soon be 22, and it will all be finished. 17 freakin years of school, and it has come down to this final 9 months. sure, i plan on going back to get a master's, but that will be after a few years of working and reading like a machine. not to mention grad school is nothing like the undergrad years. i'm honestly very anxious to graduate and begin the next part of my life, but at the same time, it is now really starting to sink in that this is it for school. this is the first time in a long time that, despite being excited for the next step, i am quite content with the present. for as long as i can remember, i have been looking forward to whatever was next, or longing for past times. rarely did i ever live in the now. i think that made sense too. when you are in school, there is constantly something new coming up...going into a new grade, the next sports season, christmas break, etc. once school ends, those new events stop showing up so frequently. with a few exceptions, everything pretty much stabilizes. the real thesis to this post is that i am becoming more and more aware of the changes that are about to take place in my life, and it is making realize that i have to savor what is happening around me now before it is gone. think about it.

to my avid readers, whom have sustained such great patience

2006-07-20T16:10:00.000-04:00

normally i like to have images available to accompany my posts, however seeing as i am currently at work, i have none at my disposal to post. they'll come at a later date, not long from now. although i'm not so sure i have a great deal to put up...maybe the chronological construction progress of the swimming pool. speaking of which, we had it installed on tuesday, and it was filled as of this morning when i left for work. despite this good news, there is much work to be done...backfilling of earth, laying of retaining walls, forming and pouring of concrete patio, recruiting of hardbodies to come swim heh heh, continuing to be a creepshow, etc.
tis been a good day. woke up to a T-STORM which has been occuring on and off all day. also got to step out of the office for a couple of hours to get a short tour of a portion of the Morton Arboretum. and get paid for it. also, Hartford the Whale has its first game tonight at HF if you're gonna be in the area.

in light of not having any images of my own to post, i will put up a few from http://www.marriedtothesea.com for your enjoyment. i tip my hat to lauren messina for the introduction to this website...

this last one here with the goat got me laughing to the point where i had to step outside so i didn't look crazy laughing out loud in a quiet office.

hell on earth

2006-06-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

here's a short photo update from this summer....sorry about the lack of organization, i am short on time. again, click on a photo to see it full-size.

we cut down a 40-year old, 60-70 ft. tall Acer saccharinum (look it up) to make room for a

swimming pool in our backyard...i'm rather upset over losing the tree...

obviously the puppy isnt happy about losing it either.

and i took this timed exposure tonight...alongside with the skidsteer thats digging the hole for the pool.

what did you do it all for?

2006-06-29T09:24:00.000-04:00

my supervisor at work is currently listening to "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit.

automatic sliding doors

2006-06-22T22:19:00.000-04:00

it is beautiful outside. why then, might you ask, am i sitting on the computer in the basement instead of enjoying the glorious atmospheric conditions? well today i happened to run into several short songs written/recorded by Bob Nanna who happens to be quite good, and altough i have yet to listen to the songs, i am currently burning them onto a CD. and while i am here, i have a little something to say which would probably fit in quite nicely with the PHC... so tonight, i make a trip to target. as i arrive something happens that really makes me think about how grotesquely dependent our culture can be on technology. now, i hate to bash technology, for there are plenty of aspects of it which i have grown to appreciate. however, there are certain inventions and innovations, one of which i will talk about in my little story, that to me, do not seem necessary and only make us extra lazy. back to target...i'm walking in, at the same time a woman and her daughter are walking out. the two of them are heading for the manual, aka non-automatic doors and the mom almost runs into it thinking it was an automatic door. she proceeds to look dumbfounded at the fact that the door did not open by itself. now what happens next was the absolute worst to me. instead of opening the door with her hands, she looks at it like its broken or like she's never seen something so primitave in all her life and then walks back around the security device and goes out the automatic doors. ummm...use your fucking hands.

i hate people.
and love run-on sentences.

in other news, work has been good to me. the commute is still brutal and will continue to be forever, but the job is good, so that makes up for it. i'm not a fan of any of the firm's actual projects, but i'm only a summer intern that won't be working for them ever again after this summer, so whatever.

festival this weekend, aka beer garden, aka staying at adams, aka walking distance.

weasles.

2006-06-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

let's start with some overdue images from the florida road trip with Dan Jegg (you should be able to click the images for a larger version if you so please)...

who drives with hands?

obviously a total hardass.

only in the south.

you need to grow straight the fuck up.

this wreck was on national news.

we didn't drink 24 oz. beers out of plastic bags in truck stop parking lots.

we didn't.

so that's that.

news to report...the new job is going quite well. i'm enjoying the work that they have me up to, and i'm finally generating some revenue for myself, so i don't feel like a piece sitting around at home all day. and i can wear my asics with dress clothes there. unless i happen to feel like going for the penny loafers.

last night went well...myself and 3 other clowns enjoyed a grad party with a surplus of alcohol and a tent to sleep in...or if you were like me, there wasnt much sleeping...mostly "i could hear some dogs barking in the backyards" (name that lyric). but seriously there were dogs and birds chatting all night, so between that, a certain someone, aka Adam, spewing in the shrubs, another certain someone, aka Ellen, next to me moving and flailing about all night (jk about that one), and all the weasling going on in the tent, i didnt sleep too much. in spite of the lack of sleep, it was still a fun night, capped off in the morning by melt-in-your-mouth pancakes. compliments of michelle. boy, did you miss out Ellen...sucka.

jk about that sucka thing.

LATER

KYKY

the ad had a border of $

2006-06-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

well, the summertime gods have been good to me. great weather...hot days, warm days, rainy days, stormy days...i have no complaints about the atmospheric variety.

the past 2 weeks were rather relaxing, for i had not yet found a job. however, last wednesday i managed to score an intern position with Hitchcock Design Group up in naperville, so starting tomorrow (monday) i will be working full time with them.

other than that, not much else to report. i can rarely complain at this time of year.

i have been taunted into a new update.

2006-05-24T12:55:00.000-04:00

what's goin on there, summer break? i thought i had my job hunting finished out. the plan is to work extremely part-time for Living Habitats, a landscape architecture firm out of Chicago...and then also take on a few small residential design projects on my own. while these 2 will still take place, today i came across yet another intern help wanted listing. this would be with Hitchcock Design Group in Naperville/Chicago. hopefully i get hired with that guy also. Alfred.

anyway, i recently completed a trip to florida with Danny McJeckerson. The fella is taking on a job with Disney, and living in orlando until august, so i somehow ended up with the shitsplat job of escorting him down there to assist with the moving in. just kiddin about the shitsplat thing, i actually enjoyed it. we did it all. crossed the mighty ohio river. threw a football from kentucky to tennessee, and back into kentucky and then back into tennessee. passed through nashville and hotlanta. passed by a wreck that was bad enough to require helicopter assistance. did not make it to a jack daniel's distillery on time. drank a beer in every state that we visited in the most dirtfuck ways that we could conjure...kentucky, tennessee, georgia, and florida (not while driving, get real). nearly collapsed while eating a 6 am breakfast at an IHOP in orlando after driving for roughly 20 or so straight hours. got sucked into the epcot center entrance and barely made an escape. then we moved dan into his place. then i drove around orlando while dan had a meeting. then we went to cocoa beach because we had several hours to kill. visited the ol' holiday inn from trips there in high school. it was good to feel the ocean. so then, post-cocoa beach, it was time for my departure. dan-animal dropped me off at the orlando international airport, and i was BAM gone. fell asleep on my entire flight to the ATL where i had a short layover. then fell asleep on the whole flight from HOTlanta to CHI. 40+ hours with no sleep makes it easy to doze off on a flight. so i get back to midway and mr. simmons's'ssss'sss smiling face is there to pick me up. smiling faces can't drive cars though, so we had to wait until the rest of adam's body arrived. it eventually did, and i was taken back to bourbonneigh where i collapsed in my bed and slept for a week, aka only 10 hours.
the end.

don't you love it when the northern hemisphere tilts toward the sun?

2006-05-07T20:52:00.000-04:00

this was the year's final project.

i can explain if you care to know more.

so it is my last week of school. friday i will be free. the goals for this summer are as follows:

lots of sketching, bike riding, running, frisbee, and time outside in general.
a trip to the FL to see the DJ.
purchase a bottle of absinthe.
throw a party with it...maybe in FL.
throw a party or 2 at the apt in champaign.
invade my parents backyard with some gardening of my own.
intern in chicago.
design work on a couple of patron's yards.

the list could potentially expand. i'm open to suggestions.

see ya later, BALL!!!

2006-04-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

welp, its study time at 7 am, so that calls for some procrastination in the form of posting on the blog. i recently returned from a trip to Louisville, KY, and Cincinnati, OH. it was a weekend packed with site visits to cemeteries, arboretums, botanical gardens, an nurseries. we really did see some magnificent places, but at the same time it gets repetitive when you're only there to look at trees, i don't care how much you love woodies (grow up). so here is a photo highlight or two for you...

this is a wicked ginkgo biloba that i'm beginning to with i had climbed.

good news for all of you suburbia fans...you can now continue to live there as a corpse!

Yakavetta: I'm having a shitty day. I'm depressed. Tell me a funny joke.

Rocco: Uh, OK. There's these three guys walking on the beach, a sp*c, a white guy, and a black guy.

Yakavetta: Ni**er.

Rocco: Yeah, right. So they find this pot, rub it, and a genie comes out. The genie says you can wish for whatever you want. So he asks the Mexican what he wants, and he says "I want all my people in America to be happy and free, and in Mexico." So the genie goes poof. It's done. Then he says to the black guy...

Vincenzo Lipazzi: Ni**er.

Rocco: Yeah, that's what I said, he says to the ni**er "What do you want?" And the ni**er says "I want all my ni**er brothers to be back in Africa, and happy and free and everything." So the genie goes poof. And they're all back in Africa. So... I'm not funny today, really, this joke sucks, I know...

Yakavetta: Continue the joke.

Rocco: Uh, so he says to the white guy, "What's your one wish?" And the white guy says, "You mean to tell me that all the sp*cs and ni**ers are out of America?" The genie goes yeah, and the white guy says, "Uh, I'll have a Coke, then."

and sonofabitch, i can't seem to get the other images to load at the moment...the blog decided to eff the eff up. i'll try later.

omg ttyl bff lol!

2006-04-13T00:57:00.000-04:00

there is nothing like studying trees for the entirety of the night. that being said, i am taking a break by writing this post. i just returned from a long weekend trip to naples, florida. it was a nice little getaway with the family...got in some kayaking, boating, beach time, swimming, and alligator chasing.

this is my dad's crazy friend who enjoyed grabbing that guy's tail while he got pissed off and hissed. you wouldn't believe all the gators that were just hanging out in this area. i probably saw more than 50 of them within a half a mile stretch of the stream.

despite this warning, we did approach them as you saw in the previous image. also to this sign's dismay, we found out that alligators enjoy marshmallows and goldfish crackers.

this is jake the snake enjoying the company of his own kind.

a beached sea turtle corpse.

and no particular significance to this picture other than i like the way that it turned out.

so besides the sinus infection that i acquired, the trip was great overall. if the family manages to purchase some real estate down there, you will be joining me in a south florida binge drinking fiesta this summer. now if you'll excuse me, i have to get back to my woodies.

grow up!

to answer your question Adam, come and steal them.

2006-03-31T11:03:00.000-05:00

after my project sat in the studio for 2 weeks, I was finally forced to remove it from the building at the request of the custodians. what is one to do with 8 concrete blocks? since I have nowhere to put them in my apartment, I arranged them around a pine tree outside of my building where they will stay until removed by the JSM apartment staff, or maybe stolen/broken by a drunken asshole. while I was installing them, a few passerbyers gave me the wtf look. I hit each of them in the face with one of the blocks. its the one with blood and fragments of teeth on it.

relevant form tabletop manifesto

2006-03-30T23:32:00.000-05:00

My tabletop manifesto called for the realization of my written manifesto in a physical form on the top of a table. My written manifesto addresses the overused paradigms of pastoral and picturesque designs within the discipline of landscape architecture that have greatly slowed its progress and potential. I started by focusing on a concrete edger block that I bought from the garden center at Lowe's. Using a bag of Quikrete, I began to manipulate the shapes of the blocks with the intention of creating new, unusual forms in an effort to challenge their existing repetitive and mundayne qualities. I also did not want them to be something that would be desirable by the average mindless consumer, whom I feel plays a large role in the creation and sustaining of landscape architecture's problems. Much to my delight, as I created these new forms they were shaping up to be quite interesting, and I began to feel that I was humiliating the blocks, making the project a success.

first post

2006-03-30T01:57:00.000-05:00

http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/alluvial_hires.jpg

having difficultly sleeping at 1 am has led me to the creation of this blog. if all goes well, i will be filling it with thoughts, pictures, news, etc., on various topics. new posts coming soon.