Today was a good day.  I celebrated with a Stella in front of the bookcase.  I’ll be in my early-mid 30’s in a couple of weeks.

City living comes with frustration.  This morning I woke up to move my car as to not get another parking ticket on street cleaning day (I know it’s a holiday, but you can never be too safe).  I had to park a few blocks away on a little side street, though a busy too narrow side street.  Too narrow to be a two-way street.  Someone had driven too close to my car and ripped off my drivers side rear view mirror.  No note, of course.  Just another $300 morning.  This isn’t farm life.

Other than that, all is good.  The photograph above is from my trip to Texas (not processed the way I would like, the horse is a little dark, but I’m busy.  See below.).  A different world.  Horses & haystacks.  I think I am having a Green Acres moment.

My life is full.  I am taking several GE classes that I put off until my final semester, along with my degree project.  My project is an LAX expansion / Butterfly Reserve.  I’ll be uploading data / images / research / design as it is generated.

The class I am teaching begins soon.  I am finishing the syllabus and course outline today.  It’s Rhino / Digital Fabrication / Architecture.  Email me if you are interested in taking it and I will give you details to enroll.

I graduate in 4 months.  Decisions to make…

Darling I love you but give me Park Avenue. 

Los Angeles wins Wallpaper* Magazine’s “Best City” award.

Hooray.

My beautiful mother and me.  Or is it “I”?  I think it is.  My mother and beautiful I.  Just kidding.

It’s so nice to spend time with my family.  It’s hard being a billion kilometers (or so, not v. good at metrics) away all the time.

The World Won’t Listen. Phil Collins. Dallas Museum of Art.

I heard about this a few months ago. Phil Collins (not that one) filmed people in Indonesia, Turkey and Colombia doing karaoke to Smiths songs from the compilation album The World Won’t Listen. Being a gigantic Smiths fan, my first thought was “hmm”. Then “Why?” Then “why in Dallas?” I was skeptical and contemplated its artistic value. It seemed like maybe Collins was just trying to do something “cool”. The Smiths were a cult phenomenon; adored by their fans to this day. I remember first hearing them in rural Texas as a 12 year old in 1986. I haven’t stopped listening to them since. I never imagined an Indonesian youth having the same experience. This is perhaps where the merit of this project lies. It’s not so much about the Smiths as it is global cultural phenomenon. The Smiths were never on mainstream television, or heavily featured in mainstream magazine, but there were people in the world who found their music and the phenomenon spread; eventually to places you wouldn’t imagine. It is happening in a similiar fashion today, with loads of Latinos listening to Morrissey today. One only need to YouTube his performance in Mexico last year and watch Morrissey performing in a Mexican soccer jersey in front of a sold out crowd for verification.

Opening an exhibit like this in London, New York or Los Angeles where the subculture isn’t as divided from the mainstream as elsewhere would contrast the idea of the exhibit. To open a show like this in Dallas is perhaps showing the average museum goer something they don’t know. I suppose. This is all speculation as I haven’t gone to the exhibit yet. I’m going to Tuesday, but thought it might be interesting to write my expectations before I actually see and analyze the exhibit with my own eyes.

I’m back.  I was camping for  few days and apparently the credit card that pays the bill to my webhost was maxed out.  The holidays / being a broke student will do that to me.  But I’m back.  Let’s resolute.

2008 Resolutions:

• Graduate, Graduate, Graduate.
• Master Rhinoscript.
• Have more money than I did in 2007.
• Live abroad for >3 Months.
• Take advantage of living in LA:  restaurants, concerts etc..
• Get a decent portion of my IDP out of the way.
• Apply to graduate school; UCLA and Columbia.
• Quit Smoking / Get in Shape.  Take 12.
• Get a new tattoo.

I’ll start with those.

Happy New Year everyone.  Smell the flowers and whatever.