From Russia With Love

After receiving my first blog inquiry ever, I decided to be nice and do as requested (even though being extremely busy and borderline stressed). I know that the person asking is a geek when it comes to wooden stuctures and Japanese joints, and inspiration was needed. Easy solution: google wooden architecture. This Funky Shit goes out to all the wood(en) geeks out there. Don`t know much about this architecture, except that the building is Russian. But as we all know, Russia is rather huge. Rather. I guess the brief is ghosts, Ms. E.

18 GigaPixels

Geek News: 18-Gigapixel Panorama Offers Breathtaking View of Prague. This image is the largest spherical panorama in the world as of Dec. 2009. To you from the GadgetLab section in Wired. Hohoho, Merry Christmas.

So Called Life

Don`t you just Love (with capital L) AutoCAD? Graphics from above. I`m spending my days in school, together with; some members of Making Real, my computer, a steal ruler, the book "Small Images" by Ishigami san (this man is obsessed with plants. Great), card, glue, several portions of "yum-yum" and my Ipod. The cardboard glasses are part of my procrastination program, and the purpose of production is: Focus. Framing. And Fun. If you see me wearing these within the radius of 100 cm. from my computer, don`t ask for my attention. It`s business.

Dubaii

4th of January 2010, the Burj Dubai will be spick and span and ready for visitors. Or so they say. The evidence of clever engineering and smooth craftsmanship has reached the summit, at 818 m. above sea level. Well done. Good news: For those who would like to take a little trip down there and see all the Dubai wonders with their own eyes and cameras; the whole emirate is pretty much on 25% discount these hardcore financial days. Tickets.

M:I 5 - Hunting Creativity

Once there was a wise man, this wise man once said: Every creative process will sooner or later hit a dry spot. I`ve hit a dry spot, no juice as far as the eye can see. But I came across a webpage that gives you advice on how to proceed when the horizon is looking dark and cloudy. For free! Here.

For some reason, the advice: Take a break, came up 3 out of 6 times. Yes, I couldn`t settle for only one.

Post Script: It doesn`t always work (in your favour).

Flashback

Skagen was visited earlier this semester. We rented a car, on the basis of speed abilities it was probably a scooter in disguise, and set off to the very north of Denmark where two oceans meet. The day was/is one to remember. And all the blue sky you could ask for. Go or not to go, that is not the question. Go.

New(s)

President Barack Obama is left handed. Didn`t know. Now I do. He`s carrying all his accessorize on one hand only; his watch, his ring and his pen. Asymmetric indeed.

Make A Wish

Every year I wish for a sail boat (or a helicopter) for Christmas. After approximately 14 years of wishing, the boat criteria is slowly decreasing. It started out as: Sail boat. Nowadays the claim has dropped to: Small sail boat, not too fancy. But slightly cooler than a "VG-jolle" (Hybrid between rowing boat and a really small sail boat). Cross fingers.

Sail boats are pure magic. And the fact that you can control the "vehicle" from one small area on the boat, transforms it into a tool-of-techtonics, rather than just a floating hang-out. If you`re ever in London, visit an old man`s store. He got all the sail boat equipment you can imagine and more. It`s located on 194 Shaftebury Avenue, called: Arthur Beale LTD. Heaven on earth. I`m telling you.

By Night

Yo, NA to the SA is down with light at night. This picture is a mapping of all that`s bright, on a permanent basis. Cities, roads, coasts and transportation routes creates an alternative world map of glow.

Soon To Be

Christmas is not far away, only 20 days to be precise. This is a Christmas Tree made of car tracks in the snow. 2 in 1 as they like to say. I was kind of hoping a car would come in the opposite direction, to supply the tree with a star. But, didn`t happened, google-image-reality sucks sometimes.

Paranoia Result

Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester (WWW!) was a rather eccentric woman. When her husband died, she became convinced that the house was haunted by all the people being killed by a Winchester rifle. Probably not a minor number. But she decided not to give up without a proper fight, and the process of building construction began. It lasted for 38 years, non stop. Around the clock, until the day she died. The reason for all the work was to build a maze of corridors, rooms and stairs, so that the ghosts would get lost and/or not find her. There are many examples of stairs ending in walls/open air, doors leading to nothing, rooms without windows, etc. The mansion was/is well known for its size and lack of master plan. Mrs. Winchester was a wealthy madam, so the effect of construction work on her wallet is not worth mentioning. In the end there were about 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms and two ballrooms, one completed and one under construction. The house also had 47 fireplaces, 10,000 window panes, 17 chimneys and three elevators. Painting the house was a work-to-eternity-machine, finally finished with all the sections, they had to repaint again. Today the house is a museum. 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, California.

Imagine To The Rescue

Friday today, but since I`m working through the weekend it`s basically Wednesday. I`m planning to have fun, real project fun. That means; Imaginary Worlds Creation Deluxe. Just like when I made this drawing. It`s a plant-and-cleanse-water-production-world hanging on one of the water pipes on school ground. To the left, all the different kinds of greenery are grown. Everything from Lotus flowers to moss. To the right, the system of cleaning water for industrial purposes are produced. Bottom left is living facilities, bottom right: distribution and shipping. As already mentioned, it`s my imagination talking. Not much sense going on in that department.

La Musica

Todays soundtrack: David Bowie: "Heroes" and blue grass christmas carols, here represented by Bob Couchenour:
"GodRestYeMerryGentlemen". Splendid combination.

Mystery Solved

Bought a book (yes..yet another one. I`m addicted. At least it`s more healthy and enlightening than other types of drugs) the other day. The 21st issue of Volume, called "The Block". This book deals with the topic (among others); Microrayon, transformation of the Soviet City under Capitalism. A Microrayon is a little "city" of its own, featuring everything you need to survive everyday life. Your home in a block, school, kindergarden, a store etc. The idea was to localise people, and prevent the need for private or public transportation. But after the fall of communism, people changed their pattern of living, and the system broke down. People moved away from the apartments/areas they had been allocated. They bought cars to get to work. And they built temporary garages, like these. On every vacant plot. This explains where the 3 million excess cars hang out.

Moscow Way

In Moscow there are many cars (currently 4 millions, and the number is rapidly increasing) and not enough land for them to occupy. This leads to creative solutions, like this one, a floating car park in the Moscow River.

Today the city is equipped with one million parking lots, where the 3 millions excess cars hang out, is a mystery.

Fantastic Fram

During my daily session of heavy procrastination, I did a little researching on the topic: Fram. I must say, I`m a fan. I just never realized it before. While reading about the ship, you obviously read about Mr. Nansen as well. What a man! Many slightly crazy people would come up with the idea to freeze a ship into the Arctic ice, but not many slightly crazy people would do it. Mr. Nansen did, he collected a team, build a boat and set off on a voyage that turned out to last for three years. Stuck in solid massive cold ice. The purpose of the journey was to prove that the Arctic was not land, but a huge piece of thick ice, that moved with currents in the ocean. The documented route shows a trip of unexpected turns, lets just say, it`s not a straight line.

About two years into the expedition, Mr. Nansen got tired of the monotonous life on board. He decided to go for a walk, a walk to the north pole. 600 km away. He and the fortunate Mr. Johansen, 27 dogs and 3 sleighs went off. They soon realized that the Arctic summer was too short. The decision to continue or turn back, ended with an unanimous vote in turn backs favour. But the 180 degrees action was carried out late, and the two gentlemen had only one option. To "hibernate" in a selfmade shelter, somewhere on the endless blanket of white. They spent the entire winter together in a 3,4 x 2 m. "room", surviving on walrus blubber, polar bear meat and whale oil. Jolly times. When spring and light returned, the two of them continued the walk towards south, it turned out to be an adventurous journey. One time the selfmade kayaks drifted off shore during a short rest on an ice flake, Mr. Nansen took off his watch, performed a graceful dive and swam to the rescue in the far from warm water. Another event, was an attack by a polar bear. The fortunate Mr. Johansen ended up in the embracement of this rather violent animal, and Mr. Nansen didn`t have his rifle close. (Amateur). But in the end they both survived and made it back to Norway, with the helping hands of a British, Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Nansen was not only an outdoor man, he also showed great commitment in politics and victims of war after WW1, he got the World Peace Prize in 1922, and the list of other first-class honours is long.

Park Car

This is how it`s done. Four easy steps to make a perfect P in any cityscape across the world. 1. Find an unoccupied parking lot, slow down. 2 a) Stop parallel to the car in "front" of the lot, b) gear: reverse, c) begin the backing, d) when you as a person are on the same line as the rear wheel of the car in "front", turn the steering wheel. A lot. In this case: clockwise, e) when the front of your car have reached the back of the other car, turn the steering wheel in the other direction. 3. Stop the car before hitting the one behind you. We don`t want scratches. 4. To finalise the procedure and straighten the car, turn the wheel a little (clockwise) and close up on the car in front. Done! Congratulations!

Los Mundos

Breaking news: If you zoom really far out in GoogleMaps, the world multiplies, and you`ll find yourself in the situation where you can choose which one to zoom in on. You can also use the little hand to scroll horisontally, and new worlds appear. The Endless World Buffét. Oh my.

LjåbuStan

This is the holiday hangout place of my childhood. Also known as "Ljåbu". It`s a collection of three professional cabins (old photos) and approximately 2,5 made by non-professionals aka. my siblings and me. Not that they don`t have certain architectural qualities, they`re just not made for living. Especially during winter season. The cabin to the left is the main building, as you can see it`s huge, almost 50 sq.m., the other one is the guesthouse, "Buret" (the Cage). Not so big, only 16 sq.m. but you`re more than welcome. None of them have installed water, in the summer that`s not such a big deal. Winter is more hardcore, then you (my Dad) actually have to walk to the creek, smash a hole in the ice, use a "liter measure" to fill a 25 l. can. You (Dad) carry the can back to the cabin. On skis. Down hill. Rule nr. 1: Don`t fall.

This water is precious, and only for drinking. The remaining necessity for a 18th century household like Ljåbu, is covered by melted snow. Melting snow takes a while. Getting water from the creek takes a while. So all in all, winter holidays are all about water. Can`t live without it. (If you for some reason want to wash your hair, the effort and energy of collecting and melting enough snow - water, adds up to 5 hours-ish. Bonus info).

I posted this to say: What a view. Jotunheimen for you.

C For Africa

Number 3 in the line of "hooked-on-Illustrator-mapping-of-Africa". C.

CloudScape

This could be Antarctica, but since I`ve never been there, it`s not. It`s just clouds seen from Flight 998 to London. The good thing when travelling on rainy days, is that you get scenery like this at 30 000 feet. I like how the ultra thin cloud in the back there, cast a shadow and sort of frames the cloudscape...OK, enough photo analysis for today. Not my cup of tea.

Echo One

This is an edition from N.A.S.A.`s Echo satellites. They were the first passive communications satellite experiment, carried out in the 1960`s. The way they work is simple, signals from the Earth bounce off this structure from one point to another. Just like playing one-man-Tennis against a wall.

The "ball" was 30,5 m. in diameter and made of 0.127 mm thick metalized Mylar polyester film (whatever that is). The simple concept actually worked, redirecting telephone, radio and TV signals. Both transcontinental and intercontinental.

"As its shiny surface was also reflective in the range of visible light, Echo 1 was visible to the unaided eye over most of the Earth. Brighter than most stars, it was probably seen by more people than any other man-made object in space"....Wikipedia poetry.

Ka Ra O Ke

For no particular reason, karaoke came up during lunchtime conversation. And first of all, let me just state that, karaoke is totally different from home entertainment "games" like Singstar. It`s so different really, you can`t even compare it. Not that I ever tested Singstar. Details.

Karaoke is not a game, it`s hardcore business/workout. And all you need is: A ticket to Japan, yen, a karaoke establishment, a room in the suitable size for you (and your company, many people do karaoke alone), two microphones, a tired TV screen, bad sound system, some beer and a phone connected to reception desk to order more beer (room service deluxe). With these ingredients present, it can`t go wrong.

As an extra bonus to the experience, most Karaoke places decorate with eyes closed. I guess. This often creates psychedelic interior design with astonishing solutions regarding furnishing, patterns and color combinations. Basically one of those moments where the phrase "words can`t describe it" actually describes it.

Color Joy

Short film (to be played before feature), "Hotel Chevalier" by Wes Anderson. Is just pure joy to the eye, the surreal conversation is an example to follow in the pursuit of unlogic everyday life and the music makes you want to go to Paris.

PartOne and PartTwo

Iced Typhoon

In the mid 90s, a topic of bizarre interest in La Casa AursandIversen was nuclear stuff. My sister wrote a comprehensive school assignment on Russian Typhoon Submarines, while I decided to concentrate on the pleasant sequence of events concerning the Tsjernobyl disaster in Ukraine. What my brother set his mind to in the mid 90s, was probably football. 1 healthy kid, out of 3 is not so bad.

Typhoons is the largest class of submarines ever to be built, with the displacement of 33.800 tons divided on 175 m. It`s even room for decent living facilities for the crew, something I find natural since they stay constantly submerged for months and months. They were deployed in Russia in the 80s, running on nuclear energy and carrying ballistic missiles. Typhoons were produced to attack North America, to do that they needed to come up close from behind. Logic way to go, was under the arctic ice. As an extra submarine feature, these ones are capable of breaking through moderate ice thicknesses, launch one of their dead friendly missiles and dive into safety again. Max depth is 400 m. Which is seriously a lot. A lot. Not only do they dive deep, they also run fast: Submerged, 50 km/hour. Surface, 41 km/hour.

Last but not unimpressive, the Typoons are the most quiet of all submarines and probably ships as well, in the world. This means that, during submerged "huntings" with other submarines, the Typhoon can "hide" right next to you, without being noticed. `Cause that`s what they do down there, they listen for enemies. And before you know it, the Russian hugeness has eaten you alive. The End.

G To The Hetto

These identical twins, are carrying a device from the long gone 80s each. Also known as ghettoblasters. A development from "no-bad-boy-would-be-seen-with-the-not-so-powerful-or-cool" tape recorder. The ghettoblaster is capable of playing radio and recorded music at relatively high volume, in stereo. They are designed for transportation and the effect may be enjoyed outside as well as inside. For extreme portability; use batteries. If in proximity of power outlet, cord is recommended.

"Bills rise higher every day//We receive much lower pay//I'd rather stay young, go out and play//It's like that, and that's the way it is//Huh!"

Run-D.M.C, that is.

Milk All Way S

This "looking-good-picture" is the Milky Way seen from Earth. It`s the result of 22 months of work and more than 3000 photos shot from different locations on the planet. The only star not being represented in this family photo, is of course the one we`re on.

The Milky Way is 100.000 light years wide, and contains of 300 billion stars. If you want to go from one "end" to another it will take you 4 billion years, if you travel approximately at the speed of 28.000 km/hour. Bon voyage!

|_ |) |\| |\/| /\ |>

To the left: Map of the underground system in London, as something close to what it really looks like down there. Telling you about distances and directions, very different from the guy to the right: Giving you false impressions and makes you come up with great ideas like; I guess we can walk. It`s only one stop.

S For Africa

Number 2 in the line of "hooked-on-Illustrator-mapping-of-Africa". S.

Circus Smithfield

Last week was spent in entertaining London. Been there several times, both business and/or pleasure, this time was an "and" but with a twist. Ms. T and I went over there (with tormenting Ryanair) to find a site, well Ms.T was looking for a site, I was looking for a system/singularity. Found Smithfield Meat Market, close to Farringdon Station. This establishment is more than 800 years old, and has always functioned as a meat market. In the early days, the meat was alive. Transported on hoof from surrounding farms. Some gentlemen actually sold their wives as well, since the concept of "divorce" was not yet invented. Etiquette. Anyway, later when London grew bigger, the meat arrived with railway in underground tunnels. Today, they use trucks. The trucks arrive 00.00 in the night, transforming the area into a world of men in bloody white clothes, precisely choreographed truck and forklift dances, look-a-like cafè activity and smelly boxes patterns. This continues throughout to the morning hours. The first costumers are the restaurant owners, buying huge amonts of meat, sheep and/or chicken. Later, private people show their sleepy faces in "the halls of meat". The clock is now 02.30, at least. The business continues to 07.00, then the bloody white men walk down to the basement of the Poultry section, where you`ll find "The Cock Tavern". Here they order a Guiness and a portion of "The Butcher`s Breakfast": Black pudding, rump steak, cumberland sausage, bacon, pan fried liver and Carmen`s famous recipe kidneys. And relax after work with work on plates. I can inform the people that the tables are sticky in this tavern. Ms. T and I couldn`t cope with the idea of the butcher`s breaky and went for an old English one and a pint, at 09.00...tipsy before lunch on a weekday was a new experience for me.

PS: By the way, in the end Ms. T and I managed to smuggle 3 kg overweight through the Ryanair system. We had to perform some "property-juggling" no less than 3 times, but we made it. Eat that, Ryan-suckers-air!

10 Years 100 Photos

The newsagency Reuters have searched through their archive and collected 100 important photos from the last decade. The selection ranges from tragedies to peaceful beauty. You can see them all here: ReutersPictures.

|\/| () /\ |-| /\ |-| /\


New kind of alphabet:
= I, ( = C, () = O, ) = D, _ = L, \ = N, \/ = M, \/\/ = W, \/ = V, /\ = A, < = K, > = P, _ = U, _ = J, (/) = Ø, - = H

I + C + O + D + L + N + M + W + V + A + K + P + U + J + Ø + H. Lot`s of opportunities for complicated writing.

1. - /\ _ _ (), \/ /\ \ ! _ _ \/ >! \ () \/\/, \/\/ /\ ( < ().
Hallo, man! Jump! Now, wacko.

2. \/ _ \/ + ) /\ )
Mum + Dad

3. \/\/ () \/\/ ()
Woi Woi

4. > _ - /\ () -
Puha oh

5. - /\ - /\ - /\! - () - () - () ! \/\/ () \/\/!
Hahaha! Hohoho! Wow!

6. - \/ \/...
Hmm...

7. - /\ > >
Happi

To give a few examples.
Damn it, didn`t work! Supposed to be vertical lines almost everywhere, as in the "Moahaha" title. Why blogspot? Why? Shit.

Tokyo Sky Tree

Did you know that they`re building the second tallest building in the world in Tokyo?! Just beaten by the crazy guys in Dubai...and I mean, they are in a totally different league anyway. Indoor skiing centers in the desert, the world as islands, a palm. I`m surprised that next on the menu is a simple building around 800 m. Come on, juice it up a little.

Back to Tokyo. Sky Tree will (if they stick to the present plans) reach the height of 634 m. The view will be spectacular. Kampai!

More: SkyTree

1: Cuba Man

Ms. E just came tiptoing over to my desk with her little white Mac, showing me a clip on YouTube called "The Perfect Human, Cuba" taken from Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth`s 5 Obstructions. A challenging task was given to Mr. Leth by von Trier. He wanted Leth to "remake" the film (von Triers favourite film) "The Perfect Human" from 1967, 5 times. Each time with a different obstruction dictated by von Trier. Wikipedia:

The 5 Obstructions:
1. Leth must remake the film in Cuba (but with no set) with no shot longer than 12 frames, and he must answer the questions posed in the original film; Leth successfully completes this task.

2. Leth must remake the film in the worst place in the world but not show that place onscreen; additionally, Leth must play the role of "the man". The meal must be included but the woman is not to be included. Leth remakes the film in the red light district of Bombay, only partially hiding it behind a translucent screen.

3. Because Leth failed to complete task 2 perfectly, Von Trier punishes him, telling him to either remake the film in any way he chooses, or redo obstruction 2 in Bombay again. Leth chooses the first option and remakes it in Brussels using split-screen effects.

4. Leth must remake the film as an animation. He does so with the aid of Bob Sabiston, a specialist in rotoscoping, who creates animated versions of shots from the previous films.

5. The fifth obstruction is that Von Trier has already made the fifth version, but it must be credited as Leth's, and Leth must read a voice-over narration ostensibly from his own perspective but in fact written by Von Trier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQxYKishmH0 1:43 min. - 2.13ish.

Weird But Wired

Have a slightly embarrassing announcement to make. I`ve been a fan of Wired since 2006 when I was first introduced to the magazine, but it didn`t hit me until a couple of days ago that they might have a website. They do. Of course. Here: Wired.

The picture is taken from the article: Huge Holes in the Earth: Open-Pit Mines Seen From Space. And there are many more. Splendid!

Return Tokyo

Yesterday I took a short trip to Tokyo, with a helping hand from my good friend Google . He let me walk in the narrow streets of my neighbourhood, "buy" a coca cola from my local vending machine and he also accompanied me to work. Thank you, Google!

This beautiful pink building was my home for 4 months, I lived on the top floor (penthouse baby), room B402R. I had the best view of my life, bright green curtains, thinnest walls ever, a bed, a desk+chair and approximately 6 sq.m. Joy! I shared two showers and a filthy kitchen with 11 others. The washbasins were in the hallway. Days of luxury. Some day, I`m going back.

By the way, I don`t think the red car is a car. I think it`s a fake. Never saw it "out of position" once.

1 - 10

This is the starting point of my 8th semester, fall 2008. It`s mapping of people crossing a road in Århus. I filmed the sequence from the first floor in McDonalds, asking a mom and two kids to move so that I could shoot this very important piece for an "art project". Rude as always. A funny thing about people in Denmark, is that they never cross the road if the light is red, even if you can`t see a car for miles. Absurd, but true. Therefore, a (huge) crowd accumulates on each side during red, and the second it turns green (or blue, as they say in Japan) everyone starts walking. The picture is 10 seconds, from red, until a pedestrian blend. Line = distance per second. Dot = standing still during a second.

Diagram Of War

"Map representing the losses over time of French army troops during the Russian campaign, 1812-1813. Constructed by Charles Joseph Minard, Inspector General of Public Works retired. Paris, 20 November 1869.

The number of men present at any given time is represented by the width of the grey line; one mm, indicates ten thousand men. Figures are also written besides the lines. Grey designates men moving into Russia ; black, for those leaving. Sources for the data are the works of messrs. Thiers, Segur, Fezensac, Chambray and the unpublished diary of Jacob, who became an Army Pharmacist on 28 October. In order to visualize the army`s losses more clearly, Charles has drawn this as if the units under prince Jerome and Marshall Davoust (temporarily seperated from the main body to go to Minsk and Mikilow, which then joined up with the main army again), had stayed with the army throughout."

I can`t remember why I googled Napoleon, and this beauty came up. But it could be to find out how tall he was. And if you`re wondering, the answer is: 168 cm. That`s actually 4 cm taller than the average Swedish soldier at that time (if i remember correct). Must say, tiny people.

Foodtish

Imagine if it was possible to "beam" food from different parts of the world, like the characters in Star Trek do in space. As an online service. You just select your food of preference from an international internet menu, and push: Order. Voila! Two seconds later a plate with todays dinner appear in front of you. Perfect solution if the target group is people like me; wannabe-chefs-without-success, anti grocery store shopping and spends too much time in school..(without actually doing anything).

PS: Had to go black`n`white, the food just looked so disgusting in color, even though being Japanese and tasting like heaven.

Sky The Limit

Believe it or not, this is Århus in September/October, from my window. I`m planning a photo in progress, this can`t be it. Bring it on, Sky.

Peace `n` Prize

As many others, my initial thought when I heard that President Barack Obama, was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize 2009, was: Really? The Man has been President for less than a year, and with all due respect, what kind of peace activity has he performed? But then, I read an interview with Michael Moore. At first Moore was a loud critic of the Nobel committee`s decision, but then he went home and had a little chat with his wife (you know, behind every smart man, there`s an even smarter woman) and he totally changed his position on the subject. Reason (Google translated from Norwegian):

“Never before has the election of one person, made people of all nations also felt they won. When you manage that, the Peace Prize, is the least you deserve” Moore

When reading the article and listening to “As long as you follow” – Fleetwood Mac, I have to say, the tears of sentimentality was knocking on my door. Maybe it`s naïve, but what the hell, that`s me.

Architecture + Elephant

The elephant is the largest animal on dry land, the biggest one ever recorded, was a male specimen in Angola. He had sholders at 4,2 m. (average 3 m.) and a 12 tons body. The females have to carry their child for as long as 22 months, and they deliver huge babies. Elephants are famous for their memory and intelligence, very much unlike my annual brief encounter with the bottled versions. No memory nor intelligence in sight.

E Co. Font

It`s time to save the world. There are many different ways to do that; you can do efficient showers (even if you really don`t want to), wash your clothes at 30 degrees, shut tap while brushing teeth, turn off light when leaving room, bike instead of car, recycle paper/glass/metal, eat local food, etc. All this is very good, keep it up, but now you can even write eco friendly! With the fantastic Ecofont. You may download it at the following webpage. I haven`t succeeded yet, but I guess that says alot about my downloading skills.

More: http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html

Future Future

Check out the webpage: Information.dk. On the top, there`s a link (or what you call it) saying Informations fremtidsavis, click on that and you will now read "fictional" news about the world in the future. (If you know how to read danish, of course.) There are two versions; to the left the world have managed to find a way to cooperate on climate changes, to the right the cooperation didn`t work out so well.

More: http://www.information.dk/2059

B For Africa


About a year ago, I got hooked on Illustrator. And since my all time favourite occupation is studying maps and/or Atlas (to be honest, I like Atlas more, that`s why I always spell it with capital letter), I combined the two obsessions.

Party Time

If you`re planning a party, call North Korea, they know how to organize parties with capital P. All you need is approximately 70.000 well trained and disciplined kids between the age of 6 to 10, let them skip school for 6 months to practice flipping boards in different colors on certain moments during a 3 hour long performance in a football stadium. They call it the opening of the Arirang festival. I call it loco, but impressive. The festival celebrates Kim Il-sung and his day of birth, April 15th. It last for 2 month, and it`s the only occasion where foreigners get to visit the country as “legal tourists”.

Configure Your Body

Again, rereading a Wired magazine. And listening to Elton. Shit. I see a pattern. Rediscover an article about the former owner of the Oakley sunglasses, Jim Jannard, he sold this company for lots and lots of money to start a new one. Red Digital Cinema. Probably his long time dream and passion. (At the picture he looks like the hospital chief in that hospital series from the 90s...something Chicago. Really). The fantastic thing about the Red One, is that even though being a digital camera, it`s able to control the "depth of field" in the picture, in other words, you can focus on spesifics. HD cameras force everything into focus, foreground and background, making a flat image. The two first prototypes are named; Boris and Natasha. The camera is quite cheap compared to other professional movie making cameras, at 17500$. And then it`s already digital.

On his door into the workspace, there`s a sign saying:
1. Please knock
2. Take two steps back
3. Kneel

Classic.

(Thought Jim inspired me to buy the brilliant book "Archipelago", but guess not. Not mentioned in text. For the record, Brilliant. Great. Huge. Go shopping round.)

More info: http://www.red.com/

Float On

I have always wondered how this is possible. What happens if someone cut the line and give this guy a gentle push to the left? Will he drift away into space, living his last days as space waste, orbiting the earth? What`s the suit made of? And what if he really have to go to the toilet? Questions.

Now answers...well, to different questions actually. Ops. The reason why the suit (called EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit) is white, is because white reflects light and heat better than other colors, and also the fact that you can easily see the floating crew. All in all, it weighs 140 kg. But that doesn`t really matter up there. Underneath the 17 layers of some sort of white fabric, the guy wears a kind of underwear with water tubes in it, to regulate body temperature. Outside environment differs from +100 to -100 degrees C, depending on were astronaute is located, sun or shadow. In this high-tech outfit they breath 100% oxygen (on earth 20% oxygen/80% nitrogen), from what I know this doesn`t affect their voices, like helium. (That would have been a suitable EMU bonus though, imagine the radio communication). The "backpack" contains the already mentioned oxygen, emergency system, battery, watercooling device, ventilation fen and radio communication. As an extra feature, it`s possible to attach gas dispensers (called SAFER: Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue), used to navigate during emergencies...IF the line should somehow "disappear" or be cut. The helmet protects against radiation and light. Helmet bonus: video camera.

I have no idea how long it takes to get this thing on, but when on, they wear it for 6-8 hours...this leads me back to the toilet question. Googled it. Conclusion: americans...crazy people.

The Fountainhead

Every second Tuesday, some guys+girls at school arrange movie nights in the auditorium. They call themselves DAFF: De Arkitektstuderendes Film Forening? Great initiative. The last movie was "The Fountainhead" with Gary Cooper and an actress with grand body language, Patricia Neal (actually married to the Roald Dahl). Cooper plays Howard Roark, a struggling fresh architect with great visions. But of course, life ain`t easy for young Mr. Roark, nobody understands his point of view nor architecture. He faces many years of hard work, he even gets a job in a quarry to make ends meet. There, the beginning of a very strange and complicated love with our heroine, Dominique takes place, and last out through the movie in rather "unexpected" ways. (While watching acting by Ms. Neal, I think to self: Drama, so underrated! Why do no one gaze out in eternity during conversations or fall with great gestures or gallop in anger (to slap a man in the face with a whip (not recommended))? I`m already practicing different neck positions and head+eyebrow moves). Well, movie. You should see it. It`ll teach you a lesson about future and expectations, but most of all...about belief, hope and weird love.

Vegetable Sport

Squash; sounds like a walk in the park. But believe me, it`s hardcore workout. Never ever been so exhausted as when finishing off an hour of this activity. After a short session of googling "squash fashion" I can announce that it`s no such thing as "squash fashion", ergo you may wear whatever you like. Me, I decided to go old school and reintroduce a popular "sportdevice" from the 80s: Sweatband.

1. Front wall, 2. Side wall, 3. Upper outline, 4. Service line (originally called the cut line), 5. Service box, 6. Quarter court. 7. The "tin" acting as net, used to be sheeted with metal, to make sound when hit.

Going Strong

Couple of days ago, my water bottle decided to have a party in my purse, everyone were welcome. To my surprise my hip hop-phone survived alright, I hadn`t guessed him to be a party brake. It turned out that my veteran camera was the one with most impressive drinking skills. He could only inform me that his memory card was out of business, and that all the pictures had been transformed into “failure files”. First thought: damn. Second thought: new camera…nice. But then someone told me to let the whole thing dry, and then turn it on. It worked. All pictures back as “functional files”, and veteran back in business. Since 2004, this piece of equipment has documented many places:

Sicily, NYC, Porto, Tokyo, Beijing, Namsos, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Toulouse, Boston, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Yokohama, Gibraltar, Mallorca, Istanbul, Heidal, Århus, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Helsinki, Skagen.

Golden moments, man.

Whip It

This man is legend. He controls his environment like I`ve never seen man do before. His name is Mr. Lim, and he just had a workshop at school. Give this man a physical whip and he will be president in 4 years, now he only got an imaginary one. To be honest, imaginary works as well. I don`t think the students in Institute 1 have ever worked so long hours for a “fun” workshop. And the most impressive, was the fact that Mr. Lim had table discussions at 0130 am. He`s like a Duracell rabbit on speed, he survives on Pringles, water and grapes (“I only eat carbs once a week”). When he`s not travelling around the globe doing workshops, he`s bossing Studio 8 in London, teach students at the Bartlett or heading off to China where they have some projects running (“Yes, I travel a lot. I don`t like airplanes, it`s a constant circulation of germs because of the air-condition”). This little man coordinates his surroundings as a puppeteer choreographs his puppets, even with matching moves, clapping and pointing his small Malaysian hands. He tells you when to speak, and when not to speak. He basically made 13 projects in 5 days, thinking as 100 different minds, and in the end, he gives you his honest opinion on the result. “When something is black, I say it`s black. When something is white, I say it`s black..I mean white”. Put your hands together for CJ. I`m a fan. My teacher took notes, while smiling to self. It`s going to be a tough semester. Quotes:

(Saturday night 10 pm) Clap,clap,clap…everybody, everybody…I have great news! You have 9 extra hours! We managed to postpone the crits on Monday, from 9 am to 6 pm! Great news, people.

No, no, no. You stop speak. Boy in red shirt speak.

Eat faster, you can eat slow on Tuesday!

Oh, you genius! You`re like famous Danish architect…Arne Jacobsen, I call you Arne from now on.

No! (us: but…) No! No! No! Bad idea.

Go Basic

If in doubt, a house needs: a chimney, a roof, floors and, if I read this drawing correct, one facade. Basic elements from the book: Pamphlet Architecture No. 9, also a catch from yesterdays discount heaven. Trying to do some actual work, but so far, no success.