Outgrowing Madness: septembre 2009

mardi, septembre 22, 2009

L'autumn 2009

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Here I am in the B. & A. Spitzer School working on a Wikipedia article entitled Housing theories. This is my first attempt at writing/editing Wikipedia. So far it is simply a list of related subjects taken from the syllabus of Professor Hermanuz's Housing Theory class. The page has been targeted for deletion. If anyone knows how to make this not happen please advise.

Last night I went to a book talk at the CWE (Center for Worker Education, just west of the Bull)given by John T. Matteson, then went home, made soup and watched a very sweet and beautiful dvd entitled Jellyfish

team10online

Alison_and_Peter_Smithson

heaven on earth

mercredi, septembre 09, 2009

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Strange Days

Greg Williams, the President of CCNY resigned today.

Sunday I was standing in a NewsStand Near Bryant Park. The manager, Michael was showing me how to do the accounting and run the lottery ticket machine as I was considering working there. There was a pause in the conversation and I found myself staring out the window as someone held a wooden stick, like a mop or axe handle in front of me for a few seconds, long enough for me to think, "Wooden stick" and start to wonder "Who is holding this stick?" and "Should we duck?"--literally, a few seconds. By the time I turned my head to look at Michael, he had already been struck in the face with this stick . I turned my head back to the stick in time to see it disappear quickly. I stuck my head out but not in time to see the perp. Michael was holding his right cheek and a bright stream of blood was running out from between his fingers. He looked very shocked. I handed him a cloth to catch the blood. He handed me the phone and told me to call 911. The mop handle or whatever it was had gone completely through this cheek. There was a hole in his cheek the size of a Kennedy silver dollar. Michael told the police that he knew the guy. They wanted him to go looking for the guy with a Kennedy silver dollar sized hole in his cheek.

Now I am about to go to talk about housing theories with fifteen or twenty Future Homemakers of America. We are meant to have read Martin Heidegger's Poetry, Language, Thought and Some Comments on a Significant Detour by Aldo Van Eyck as well as Something by Le Corbusier.

I keep wondering who would do that to Michael and why.

mardi, septembre 08, 2009

Housing Theories

mardi, septembre 01, 2009

Gardens of China

what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this what is this Browsing the shelves in the Architecture Library on a TUesday afternoon:

Landscape Design for the Middle East, Tropical TImbers of the World, SEELYE-DESIGN, Environmental Design: Research and Practice, Engineering Weather Data, Handbook of Noise control, Surfaces, Paints and Coatings, Encyclopedia of Wood, Architectural Metals, Wind in Architectural and Environmental Design, Design of Wood Structures, The Masonry Glossary, Concrete Construction Handbook, Streetscape Equipment Sourcebook, Water Supply and Waste Disposal, Building of Roman Aquaducts, The Subway, By the El, Under the Sidwalks of New York, Notre Metro, Six Bridges, An Illustrated dictionary of building, Les Materiaux de Construction, HIstory of Chicago Building, Building in England, Japan's Construction, Understanding Buildings, VNR Metric Handbook, Field Guide to Trees, Growth and Form, Design for Assisted Living, Soil Survey of Suffolk County NY, Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening

WSTM (Women's Shelter: The Musical)

The past year has been unusually strange. have been staying with friends and in DHS shelters. Trying to salvage my possessions and live without an apartment or paycheck.I have met so many people. I have a hard time remembering people's names. Everyone looks like someone I have met or seen in film or on television. The gym has become my home. I spend a lot more time on trains and out of doors, in coffee shops, parks and movie theaters. Recently, I started volunteering at Theater for the New City People at All Souls and Coalition for the Homeless and the YMCA have been very helpful. The shelter I am staying at now is much better than the previous shelter, which was much better than the one before that. I am now able to sleep at night and not worried about people stealing my things or assulting me. It is much safer, cleaner, and calmer. Now I hope continue putting my life in order.