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| From revampire |
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
La Tourette 1 of 2
Imagine.
You are traveling all day on a tour bus with your 48 architecture classmates through France.
but you have a destination.
You know you must be heading in a south east direction, 9 or 10 hours ago you started the trip.
You have been told you will be spending the night in a monestary of the Dominican Order, corbu... architecture.... something so tired of this bus ride
The bus stops and night is falling.... out you get
You are kind of in the middle of nowhere. You are told that you will have to carry your things as the bus isn't going to make the journey up the hill.
Night is really upon you now,
you and your clasmates are isolated
like the monks who used to live here right... do they still? ...no they cant.
Suddenly keys are being distributed, the group is split.
This famous building which you have all seen pictures of and studied is now to you about having the same effect as a Halloween Hayride. And there it is.
a cool breeze falls through the trees as you enter the vast concrete megalith
More Next time....
You are traveling all day on a tour bus with your 48 architecture classmates through France.
but you have a destination.
You know you must be heading in a south east direction, 9 or 10 hours ago you started the trip.
You have been told you will be spending the night in a monestary of the Dominican Order, corbu... architecture.... something so tired of this bus ride
The bus stops and night is falling.... out you get
You are kind of in the middle of nowhere. You are told that you will have to carry your things as the bus isn't going to make the journey up the hill.
Night is really upon you now,
you and your clasmates are isolated
like the monks who used to live here right... do they still? ...no they cant.
Suddenly keys are being distributed, the group is split.
This famous building which you have all seen pictures of and studied is now to you about having the same effect as a Halloween Hayride. And there it is.
a cool breeze falls through the trees as you enter the vast concrete megalith
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| From revampire |
More Next time....
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Things we Love Why itunes Isnt one of them
Do you feel that you often only like things because you are thinking about them, and you only are thinking about them because they are around you? YUCK seems a pretty boring lifestyle to me. Its sounds like a pretty solid formula for a routine.
So we shake it up. We shuffle our ipods we take the long way home we do all these things for an alternative view, a new vista. and that's that shuffle CHECK, new view DONE.
But don't we want this to be more meaningful? What can we take away from our experiences?
This issue embodies one of my gripes with I tunes and many other media players. When I hear a song I like and I am on random, I would like to be able to have it play again after several songs, so that the memory I associate with the old song becomes more than just a quick memory, but maybe part of something new. Maybe the song can have a small meaning in this part of my life as well.
So this is why I liked Foobar Media Player, and Winamp Media Player. These program allowed me to shuffle my play list of 100+ songs so that they went in a predefined order of a playlist but not playing one artist at a time. If I tunes could do this, and then, play Flacs and Oggs, Id use it.
So we shake it up. We shuffle our ipods we take the long way home we do all these things for an alternative view, a new vista. and that's that shuffle CHECK, new view DONE.
But don't we want this to be more meaningful? What can we take away from our experiences?
This issue embodies one of my gripes with I tunes and many other media players. When I hear a song I like and I am on random, I would like to be able to have it play again after several songs, so that the memory I associate with the old song becomes more than just a quick memory, but maybe part of something new. Maybe the song can have a small meaning in this part of my life as well.
So this is why I liked Foobar Media Player, and Winamp Media Player. These program allowed me to shuffle my play list of 100+ songs so that they went in a predefined order of a playlist but not playing one artist at a time. If I tunes could do this, and then, play Flacs and Oggs, Id use it.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Perks of Versailles, IDF
I've had a lot of what you might consider great opportunities lately being in Versailles. Two weeks ago I went to the Paris sewer museum, and last week I stayed in the Small town of Bayeux in the Normandy region of France. BUT IF I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS ID JUST LINK A WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE. INSTEAD ILL TELL YOU WHAT LIVING IN VERSAILLES IS REALLY ABOUT.
While I am technically a member of the Versailles study abroad program, and I do technically go to school in Versailles, I don't actually live there. I live in what has been called the "off brand" Versailles, in the town of Buc, across a major highway, a major rail line, past a cemetery, past a prosthetic dental lab, up in the mountains and through a forest. One of the advantages of this "opportunity" is that i get to see some of the perks of Versailles, and the whole IDF Region for that matter.
One of the things about living in Buc, is the "shortcut though the woods" Not really a shortcut this path goes through the woods and could potentially save 5 minutes from the 40ish minute walk to school, although there is a daytime, weekday bus. Strangely, these woods contain a number of these apparent temporary lodgings, although I have never seen people in them, and cant fathom a reason why there ever would be. My best guess is some type of highschool survival program.
Then there are these awesome water towers. Looking from a distance there is nothing special about them, so I will discuss them in brief. In some ways these water towers embody many of the biggest differences between American and French Culture. These things could have maybe cost a million dollars to design and construct, they are made entirely from completely non prefab mortar and placed stones. These stones have been chipped and filed to have a uniform edge. There is even a french style window on the side of the base, and the tanks are fitted to stylishly transition from stone to metal. Note also all this work and consider that these tanks are hidden in the woods and shrouded by trees. The community has clearly done everything in its power to minimize the visual effect of these towers. Now think of American water towers. Maybe Americans are insensitive, maybe the French are too judgmental, in any case here is a Perk of Versailles.
Here is Another
For whatever reason there are Tons and Tons of homeless people in Versailles. Hanging out in train station coverings, telephone booths, and outside grocery stores where people buy them things. Often times they are even social with one another. and form friendships with one another.
While I am technically a member of the Versailles study abroad program, and I do technically go to school in Versailles, I don't actually live there. I live in what has been called the "off brand" Versailles, in the town of Buc, across a major highway, a major rail line, past a cemetery, past a prosthetic dental lab, up in the mountains and through a forest. One of the advantages of this "opportunity" is that i get to see some of the perks of Versailles, and the whole IDF Region for that matter.
One of the things about living in Buc, is the "shortcut though the woods" Not really a shortcut this path goes through the woods and could potentially save 5 minutes from the 40ish minute walk to school, although there is a daytime, weekday bus. Strangely, these woods contain a number of these apparent temporary lodgings, although I have never seen people in them, and cant fathom a reason why there ever would be. My best guess is some type of highschool survival program.
 |
 |
Then there are these awesome water towers. Looking from a distance there is nothing special about them, so I will discuss them in brief. In some ways these water towers embody many of the biggest differences between American and French Culture. These things could have maybe cost a million dollars to design and construct, they are made entirely from completely non prefab mortar and placed stones. These stones have been chipped and filed to have a uniform edge. There is even a french style window on the side of the base, and the tanks are fitted to stylishly transition from stone to metal. Note also all this work and consider that these tanks are hidden in the woods and shrouded by trees. The community has clearly done everything in its power to minimize the visual effect of these towers. Now think of American water towers. Maybe Americans are insensitive, maybe the French are too judgmental, in any case here is a Perk of Versailles.
Here is Another
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For whatever reason there are Tons and Tons of homeless people in Versailles. Hanging out in train station coverings, telephone booths, and outside grocery stores where people buy them things. Often times they are even social with one another. and form friendships with one another.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Traveling Philosophy- A New Outlook on Traveling
Today I would like to approach a question which arises often in my mind. - Why do we travel?
I think the best way to answer the second question is to first answer the first.
I think there are a surprising number of different viewpoints on why people travel and I will suggest a few
The Party Traveler
The party traveler is the type of person who sees their trip as a time to unwind and live in complete gluttony. Similar to the wanderer, these travelers make few plans and mostly just let their traveling randomly lead them. An important aspect of the party traveling style is to have very few budget restrictions and almost no site seeing agenda. Their primary aim is just to have fun.
The Site see-er
The site seeer has a powerful and uncompromising agenda. These travelers are obsessively occupied with trying to squeeze as much in as possible and often miss some of the cultural nuances of their trip. However, these types do manage to get a lot "done" or "knocked out" when they travel.
The Wanderer
These travelers may have certain things which they want to do, but often plan very little prior to their trip. Instead they try to catch small nuances when they travel. When asked what did you DO when you traveled these types may struggle a bit in their response. The wanderer is similar to the site see-er in that he wants to have an experience to remember, but wants the experience to be a genuine one.
The academic/business traveler
These travelers are motivated by some type of necessity which their job or the school demands. Their reasons for traveling are predetermined.
Especially when traveling in a group, It is good to think of which type of trip you want to take. Before you get bogged down in travel expenses, or encumbered by travel guides, first ask yourself why you are traveling. If you don't do this, you may find yourself with some unpleasant surprises. IE feeling rushed, unsatisfied, over exerted, or broke.
I think the best way to answer the second question is to first answer the first.
I think there are a surprising number of different viewpoints on why people travel and I will suggest a few
The Party Traveler
The party traveler is the type of person who sees their trip as a time to unwind and live in complete gluttony. Similar to the wanderer, these travelers make few plans and mostly just let their traveling randomly lead them. An important aspect of the party traveling style is to have very few budget restrictions and almost no site seeing agenda. Their primary aim is just to have fun.
The Site see-er
The site seeer has a powerful and uncompromising agenda. These travelers are obsessively occupied with trying to squeeze as much in as possible and often miss some of the cultural nuances of their trip. However, these types do manage to get a lot "done" or "knocked out" when they travel.
The Wanderer
These travelers may have certain things which they want to do, but often plan very little prior to their trip. Instead they try to catch small nuances when they travel. When asked what did you DO when you traveled these types may struggle a bit in their response. The wanderer is similar to the site see-er in that he wants to have an experience to remember, but wants the experience to be a genuine one.
The academic/business traveler
These travelers are motivated by some type of necessity which their job or the school demands. Their reasons for traveling are predetermined.
Especially when traveling in a group, It is good to think of which type of trip you want to take. Before you get bogged down in travel expenses, or encumbered by travel guides, first ask yourself why you are traveling. If you don't do this, you may find yourself with some unpleasant surprises. IE feeling rushed, unsatisfied, over exerted, or broke.
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