Dammit beta!!! Why did you have to post those books now? I've gotta take the damn LEED exam before I do anything else and I'm easily distracted by lots of paper and ink bound together. ARGH!!!
libertybelle, i was thinking the same exact thing today -- that i wanted to book either a massage or a pedi for this weekend. it will have to be on the recession special though. when you are moving to my town, anyway?! lots of good spas up here...
Ok, todays the day. Wish me luck, and that I dont put my foot in my mouth...and that I can think of names when needed, and say all the right things...and don't get lost on the way!
hah hah Nam she did changed the theme. Funny because I normally follow up via rss (as I do most of the the other archinecteurs blogs) and she had a note redirecting her feed readers to go take a look - courteous of her.
I'm at work. Writing more reports - too much missing information. I'm going to head on the road to prep for the arrival of my contractor mate (same guy who's doing my house in Monty). He's going to be working on my folks place as well as my sisters apartment. I want to give my sister a partially renovated kitchen for her new townhouse, new cabinet doors, backsplash and countertop - but I'm not sure I can afford it all. Anyone have any ideas for a cheap yet stylish countertop? Bare concrete is out of the question, unless I do it as terrazzo
hmmm now there's a design challenge if I ever heard one. Just came in from lunch and tile shopping, I've found some inexpensive backsplash options but couldn't find any terrazzo tiles - I suspect I'll have to sit on the horn for a few hours to find a local manufacturer.
and it seems like I've broken the back of this awful head cold - it was driving me in sane having started work the same week
i think the letter is an appropriate critique of the bs american architects must sift through. i mean, do european architects put up with this same level of inane coddling? ;]
Please don’t devote limited publishing space to letters like those criticizing the lack of a handrail in the home on the cover of the January 2009 Design Vanguard issue. The letter writers’ comments are on the “my kid could paint that” level of architectural criticism, and the topic is tired. architectural record is a magazine written by architects, for architects. We all know the code and life-safety issues. Homeowners are free to choose the level of risk acceptable for their home. For a house featured in a magazine devoted to design, and an issue specifically devoted to pushing our expectations, please focus criticism on how the (obviously intentional) choice to leave out a railing interplays with the overall intent of the work. (My rebuttal is a tired comment, too, but my son safely learned to walk in a house that centered on a stair with no railing; a child’s safety depends more on parents than on design.)
LB, did you really sign the letter Liberty Bell? Its awesome if you did. Makes it an official pen name.
Ok, heres the update of the things Techno asked about. I dropped my resume off at the one firm last week, however, they REFUSED to allow me to hand it to the man in person. They sent out his secretery, and she said he was in a meeting. I said I could wait, and hse told me that wasn't an option. And took my resume. BAH.
The Job fair was packed, and only 4 firms, 2 placement companies, the DISD and City of Dallas. I can become a teacher, but propbably not get anything in my field. One firm I had already interviewed with said he almost called me, but at least he remembered me. Another firm said they needed someone with CA experience, another said that I needed a degree or years experience in preservation architecture, and another asked if I'd be willing to relocate (I said yes, but I'm really not - is that wrong?) So all in all, the fair was a bust. 3.5 hours of standing. I did get the word out about Archinect to a few people. I'm exhausted.
Congrats to the people who need Congrats, hi Steven, Take a deep breath, ElleBelle.
thats funny lb. i hope you did sign it liberty belle. that would be awesome indeed.
personally i figger if an architect can't make a house beautiful WITH railings they aren't doing their job. when concept trumps functional safety architecture becomes art, and that's just boring. somehow even koolhaas can push the boundaries without ever having to leave out a staircase railing.
i would not bother to write to the editor about that mind you.
keep on at it sarah. hopefully something will come up.
Liberty you amaze me! When I grow up I want to be half the woman you are...or a man whichever comes first. Okay that sounded weird but you know what I mean. I get frustrated about silliness like that as well - people focussing on the things that really don't matter. Focus people.
Okay I'm in bed and all I can hear is the popping sound caused by burning bamboo. The raging fire is about 5 miles away (as close as the volcano used to be) and I can hear the fire trucks and ambulances scrambling up the hills. Interesting to say the least.
I DID just change the theme of my blog! Also I Wordled the blog. Super fun times. What do you think of the change? I wanted simpler...
nam that's funny too because I was just looking at your blog the other day and trying to figure out how you did it (I'm trying to become a CSS master)...
Sarah, good effort on the job fair.
liberty bell, love that letter!
Also I'm so tired of the "that's the way it is" mentality, if you couldn't tell. If you want to suffer for your work, and you are actually enjoying yourself, then be my guest but don't endanger your life or others for it. People need to grow some balls. BTW, do we have a union? If not, why not? Architects are allowed to unionize aren't we? Or are we afraid to do that too, in addition to sticking up for ourselves in regards to being paid like professionals? I'm riled up today too I guess....
I knew I was forgetting something! To whoever mentioned the Daily Show above, yes, last night's show was simply GENIUS. If you've got 20 minutes just watch it. Excellent...
Yes it was lars. Weren't there actually a couple Archinectors mentioned/quoted in that article? Archinectors, in general, are a great bunch o' people that seem to be movin' and shakin' in the world. Keep up the good/hard work peeps.
Atechno - I too, want to be like Elle Belle when I grow up :o)
Yes, that was lars in AR2, and threshold too. I find it funny and actually a little questionable that AR called these people because they read them here on Archinect. I suppose it's common practice though - even news programs feature comments various people make on blogs. Journalism is in a weird, difficult place right now.
jump, I agree that a floor opening with no railing is just being lazy. AR published TWO letters last month complaining about the lack of a railing, and that is why I was criticizing AR. Unless they only get two letters every month, why devote publishing space to such a trite criticism? Better to not publish any letters at all.
Coincidentally, I sent almost the same letter to Dwell the month before, as they published exactly the same complaint from someone concerned about how we architects are soooo unconcerned for public welfare. I can cut Dwell a little slack, as they are NOT a magazine for architects, and the letter was from a physical therapist. But Record? They edited one sentence: I wrote that architects "by definition" are knowledgeable of the codes, because this is true: you can't get registered if you don't know about railing requirements.
(Actually I imagine Record does only get two letters a month, as this month was mine plus one from a colleague here in Naptown. They just publish whatever they get!)
Sarah, sorry the job prospects are so bad. Can you just get by on husband's salary for a year or so? If so, I'd say enjoy the time off, spend time with Abe, and study for exams, and etc.
techno, stay safe! I worried about your throat and lungs!
How many of you still read Architectural Record, the magazine? How many of you read it online? It gets sent to my old account and I never updated it so I don't keep up with it too much. Can somebody post the link to the article about lars?
i read record for the same reason as steven, but i wish the AIA would allow us to donate our subscription to a local high school. i usually hang on to it for a couple of months, tear out the good projects/articles and then take the rest to the YWCA.
haven't looked at arch record in ages. i'm really much more of an architectural digest person anyway. believe it or not, but they probably do get much more than just two letters per issue so it's not as easy to get those published as you might think.
Arch Record always annoyed me with how slanted it was toward big, corporate firms & big projects; I can't stand magazines that do a "who's moving & shaking" column every week that has pictures of which old white men have been promoted to senior principal of Mediocre & Profitable, Inc. I have zero tolerance for that kind of thing. If you want to laud someone for a job well done, laud their work for being beautiful, thoughtful, helpful to people, advancing the art of architecture, super-green, or whatever. I don't care that some random mid-level architect put in his 30 years designing big box retail stores and now gets to move on up and gets his picture in the magazines. It's a national architecture review, not the society pages!
Our local AIA chapter does the same thing, and it still annoys me, but at least it makes sense on a local level, & for a club monthly; I can see who the major players in the local scene are, even if they all exist in a seperate universe of coorporate mediocrity and I'll never choose to run into them myself.
I'm also kind of annoyed with these things because there's only ever one token older woman and never any minorities. But probably no one else cares about this kind of thing...
that sounds like a completely different arch record than the one i've been reading lately, manta. sure you're not projecting what you think it is instead of what it's become these days?
So did you go by your pseudonym, LB? steven is probably right, more people know you by that one than your "real" name. think in the future the historians will write about you as liberty bell(e) the way they write about Charles-Edouard Jeanneret?
the fact that archinect is a source for news and views is kinda funny. wow. is archinect the next CIAM? only more cheerful?
well my best friend is really bummed as he had to put his great dog Maggie to sleep. I'm bummed too. I spent hours throwin' tennis balls into Lake Michigan with that pooch.
I too read Record because it shows up at my door. And, I admit, I get CEUs through their little quizzes.
How about this: let's all write a letter to them about something in this month's issue...flood them with smart, incisive, thoughtful letters from the smart, incisive, thoughtful people we all are!
Good morning. I found an amazing lumberyard yesterday that has super inexpensive stuff, much of it salvaged or closeouts from real lumberyards. I wandered through rooms of beautiful wood and glass doors in this old catacomb like masonry warehouse. I bought some lumber to make raised beds in my garden I'm going to plant chives, leeks, lettuce, spinach, 4 kinds of onions, and radishes. I also got a membership to the botanical gardens. Welcome spring!
Sarah, i took my wedding ring off last Friday when I was hottubbing after getting laid off. Not sure if I really needed to take it off to hottub. I'm so scared to lose it. Luckily the girlfriends saw me consuming glass after glass of wine and put my ring up so it was safe. But it's still there, I just have to go get it. I know what you mean about walking around without a ring - it feels funny, and do people wonder why I'm hanging out with this married man, spanking his behind as he pumps gas?
By the way, since being laid off, people are coming out the woodwork! Friends and family are calling, stopping by, taking me out for lunch, etc with their support and encouragement. It helps that several people i know are also laid off and we have our little excursions club. Fun how much LIFE you miss when you have responsibilities for a (scatterbrained) employer. This world is so beautiful! I know I had been ignoring a lot of people in my life, time to stop and build some networks.
Thread Central
Dammit beta!!! Why did you have to post those books now? I've gotta take the damn LEED exam before I do anything else and I'm easily distracted by lots of paper and ink bound together. ARGH!!!
I will take trades too...like tech gadgets, porn vids - j/k, or other generally objet d'art...
The ad I just saw here freaked me out - for some reason I'm not comfortable avatars kiss while horizontal.
Does Archinect make money every time we click on a banner ad?
Melt,
Love the double post.
I am finally drinking again.
Se: earlier "own-Guardian" again. Just visited with a friend who finished his last and second "contract" with the Army. Including, two tours in Iraq.
Hows, everyone doing tonight?
wait, nam, are you a vet?
I'm lost.
libertybelle, i was thinking the same exact thing today -- that i wanted to book either a massage or a pedi for this weekend. it will have to be on the recession special though. when you are moving to my town, anyway?! lots of good spas up here...
Manta,
No my friend is though.
I was just granted a Pro Se motion.
Anybody watch Jon Stewart last night? Holy shit!
LiG, that was genius.
Hey DubK,
I just checked out your wondersphere blog...
Did you change the theme recently?
Just want to make sure i ain't imagining it...
Ok, todays the day. Wish me luck, and that I dont put my foot in my mouth...and that I can think of names when needed, and say all the right things...and don't get lost on the way!
hah hah Nam she did changed the theme. Funny because I normally follow up via rss (as I do most of the the other archinecteurs blogs) and she had a note redirecting her feed readers to go take a look - courteous of her.
I'm at work. Writing more reports - too much missing information. I'm going to head on the road to prep for the arrival of my contractor mate (same guy who's doing my house in Monty). He's going to be working on my folks place as well as my sisters apartment. I want to give my sister a partially renovated kitchen for her new townhouse, new cabinet doors, backsplash and countertop - but I'm not sure I can afford it all. Anyone have any ideas for a cheap yet stylish countertop? Bare concrete is out of the question, unless I do it as terrazzo
Sarah what are you going to do? Is today that expo? Or are you going to barge in at the office to drop off your resume? Good luck either way
Good luck SH...
BTW, good luck today, Sarah!
whassamatta, lb? trolls in your ductwork?!
must be Elves in the casework...
keep up, tk. she likes elves!
I have a scheduling problem. As in, too full a one.
Also now I'm annoyed at subtle sexism in academia.
Oh, and: I had a letter published in Record this month. A prickly, cranky letter.
I'm turning into a "You kids get thehelloffa my lawn" grumpy old woman!! I need a pedicure. In a vat of bourbon.
hmmm now there's a design challenge if I ever heard one. Just came in from lunch and tile shopping, I've found some inexpensive backsplash options but couldn't find any terrazzo tiles - I suspect I'll have to sit on the horn for a few hours to find a local manufacturer.
and it seems like I've broken the back of this awful head cold - it was driving me in sane having started work the same week
well, looks like Lib(elle) is asking me to do what I do best:
*Serves up Tub of Bourbon*
...Anyone have some pumice?
i think the letter is an appropriate critique of the bs american architects must sift through. i mean, do european architects put up with this same level of inane coddling? ;]
Anyone got a copy of the letter?
with LB's permission:
Quit the railingPlease don’t devote limited publishing space to letters like those criticizing the lack of a handrail in the home on the cover of the January 2009 Design Vanguard issue. The letter writers’ comments are on the “my kid could paint that” level of architectural criticism, and the topic is tired. architectural record is a magazine written by architects, for architects. We all know the code and life-safety issues. Homeowners are free to choose the level of risk acceptable for their home. For a house featured in a magazine devoted to design, and an issue specifically devoted to pushing our expectations, please focus criticism on how the (obviously intentional) choice to leave out a railing interplays with the overall intent of the work. (My rebuttal is a tired comment, too, but my son safely learned to walk in a house that centered on a stair with no railing; a child’s safety depends more on parents than on design.)
Liberty Bell AIA
Indianapolis
from arch record
i concur that we've become a cocooned from risk society, the old dystopic attitude of freedom from fear/risk, which isn't freedom.
LB, did you really sign the letter Liberty Bell? Its awesome if you did. Makes it an official pen name.
Ok, heres the update of the things Techno asked about. I dropped my resume off at the one firm last week, however, they REFUSED to allow me to hand it to the man in person. They sent out his secretery, and she said he was in a meeting. I said I could wait, and hse told me that wasn't an option. And took my resume. BAH.
The Job fair was packed, and only 4 firms, 2 placement companies, the DISD and City of Dallas. I can become a teacher, but propbably not get anything in my field. One firm I had already interviewed with said he almost called me, but at least he remembered me. Another firm said they needed someone with CA experience, another said that I needed a degree or years experience in preservation architecture, and another asked if I'd be willing to relocate (I said yes, but I'm really not - is that wrong?) So all in all, the fair was a bust. 3.5 hours of standing. I did get the word out about Archinect to a few people. I'm exhausted.
Congrats to the people who need Congrats, hi Steven, Take a deep breath, ElleBelle.
thats funny lb. i hope you did sign it liberty belle. that would be awesome indeed.
personally i figger if an architect can't make a house beautiful WITH railings they aren't doing their job. when concept trumps functional safety architecture becomes art, and that's just boring. somehow even koolhaas can push the boundaries without ever having to leave out a staircase railing.
i would not bother to write to the editor about that mind you.
keep on at it sarah. hopefully something will come up.
Liberty you amaze me! When I grow up I want to be half the woman you are...or a man whichever comes first. Okay that sounded weird but you know what I mean. I get frustrated about silliness like that as well - people focussing on the things that really don't matter. Focus people.
Okay I'm in bed and all I can hear is the popping sound caused by burning bamboo. The raging fire is about 5 miles away (as close as the volcano used to be) and I can hear the fire trucks and ambulances scrambling up the hills. Interesting to say the least.
I DID just change the theme of my blog! Also I Wordled the blog. Super fun times. What do you think of the change? I wanted simpler...
nam that's funny too because I was just looking at your blog the other day and trying to figure out how you did it (I'm trying to become a CSS master)...
Sarah, good effort on the job fair.
liberty bell, love that letter!
Also I'm so tired of the "that's the way it is" mentality, if you couldn't tell. If you want to suffer for your work, and you are actually enjoying yourself, then be my guest but don't endanger your life or others for it. People need to grow some balls. BTW, do we have a union? If not, why not? Architects are allowed to unionize aren't we? Or are we afraid to do that too, in addition to sticking up for ourselves in regards to being paid like professionals? I'm riled up today too I guess....
techno, stay safe and try not to breath too much, LOL.
PS. Scotch sounds great right now....
Hey peeps, don't forget to give lars, I thinks its lars, Erik props for his AR2 write up. Congrats!
I knew I was forgetting something! To whoever mentioned the Daily Show above, yes, last night's show was simply GENIUS. If you've got 20 minutes just watch it. Excellent...
yea, I thought that was larslarson in Record. There was even a picture of one of his portraits. Cool!
if liberty bell had signed the letter 'liberty bell', it's possible that more people would know her than will know her by her real name.
Yes it was lars. Weren't there actually a couple Archinectors mentioned/quoted in that article? Archinectors, in general, are a great bunch o' people that seem to be movin' and shakin' in the world. Keep up the good/hard work peeps.
Atechno - I too, want to be like Elle Belle when I grow up :o)
Yes, that was lars in AR2, and threshold too. I find it funny and actually a little questionable that AR called these people because they read them here on Archinect. I suppose it's common practice though - even news programs feature comments various people make on blogs. Journalism is in a weird, difficult place right now.
jump, I agree that a floor opening with no railing is just being lazy. AR published TWO letters last month complaining about the lack of a railing, and that is why I was criticizing AR. Unless they only get two letters every month, why devote publishing space to such a trite criticism? Better to not publish any letters at all.
Coincidentally, I sent almost the same letter to Dwell the month before, as they published exactly the same complaint from someone concerned about how we architects are soooo unconcerned for public welfare. I can cut Dwell a little slack, as they are NOT a magazine for architects, and the letter was from a physical therapist. But Record? They edited one sentence: I wrote that architects "by definition" are knowledgeable of the codes, because this is true: you can't get registered if you don't know about railing requirements.
(Actually I imagine Record does only get two letters a month, as this month was mine plus one from a colleague here in Naptown. They just publish whatever they get!)
Sarah, sorry the job prospects are so bad. Can you just get by on husband's salary for a year or so? If so, I'd say enjoy the time off, spend time with Abe, and study for exams, and etc.
techno, stay safe! I worried about your throat and lungs!
How many of you still read Architectural Record, the magazine? How many of you read it online? It gets sent to my old account and I never updated it so I don't keep up with it too much. Can somebody post the link to the article about lars?
i still read archrecord because i'm aia and it just comes automatically!
i read record for the same reason as steven, but i wish the AIA would allow us to donate our subscription to a local high school. i usually hang on to it for a couple of months, tear out the good projects/articles and then take the rest to the YWCA.
month 3 + day 6 = year 09?...whatever
still alive.
haven't looked at arch record in ages. i'm really much more of an architectural digest person anyway. believe it or not, but they probably do get much more than just two letters per issue so it's not as easy to get those published as you might think.
Arch Record always annoyed me with how slanted it was toward big, corporate firms & big projects; I can't stand magazines that do a "who's moving & shaking" column every week that has pictures of which old white men have been promoted to senior principal of Mediocre & Profitable, Inc. I have zero tolerance for that kind of thing. If you want to laud someone for a job well done, laud their work for being beautiful, thoughtful, helpful to people, advancing the art of architecture, super-green, or whatever. I don't care that some random mid-level architect put in his 30 years designing big box retail stores and now gets to move on up and gets his picture in the magazines. It's a national architecture review, not the society pages!
Our local AIA chapter does the same thing, and it still annoys me, but at least it makes sense on a local level, & for a club monthly; I can see who the major players in the local scene are, even if they all exist in a seperate universe of coorporate mediocrity and I'll never choose to run into them myself.
I'm also kind of annoyed with these things because there's only ever one token older woman and never any minorities. But probably no one else cares about this kind of thing...
that sounds like a completely different arch record than the one i've been reading lately, manta. sure you're not projecting what you think it is instead of what it's become these days?
Mantan I care. This profession IS too white AND too male.
DubK, et al -
Here it is. In case someone hasn't sent you the article already.
Mantarray - are you perhaps thinking of "Architect?"
Atechno - Please stay safe. Wild fires worry/scare me.
So did you go by your pseudonym, LB? steven is probably right, more people know you by that one than your "real" name. think in the future the historians will write about you as liberty bell(e) the way they write about Charles-Edouard Jeanneret?
the fact that archinect is a source for news and views is kinda funny. wow. is archinect the next CIAM? only more cheerful?
rumor has it that we're not getting paid this week. ^&*!&&*!!!! Looks like I might be stuck in the tundra unless a miracle happens.
oh, I put in LB as the signatory to her letter, not that she is trying to hide her identity.
well my best friend is really bummed as he had to put his great dog Maggie to sleep. I'm bummed too. I spent hours throwin' tennis balls into Lake Michigan with that pooch.
I too read Record because it shows up at my door. And, I admit, I get CEUs through their little quizzes.
How about this: let's all write a letter to them about something in this month's issue...flood them with smart, incisive, thoughtful letters from the smart, incisive, thoughtful people we all are!
Good morning. I found an amazing lumberyard yesterday that has super inexpensive stuff, much of it salvaged or closeouts from real lumberyards. I wandered through rooms of beautiful wood and glass doors in this old catacomb like masonry warehouse. I bought some lumber to make raised beds in my garden I'm going to plant chives, leeks, lettuce, spinach, 4 kinds of onions, and radishes. I also got a membership to the botanical gardens. Welcome spring!
Sarah, i took my wedding ring off last Friday when I was hottubbing after getting laid off. Not sure if I really needed to take it off to hottub. I'm so scared to lose it. Luckily the girlfriends saw me consuming glass after glass of wine and put my ring up so it was safe. But it's still there, I just have to go get it. I know what you mean about walking around without a ring - it feels funny, and do people wonder why I'm hanging out with this married man, spanking his behind as he pumps gas?
By the way, since being laid off, people are coming out the woodwork! Friends and family are calling, stopping by, taking me out for lunch, etc with their support and encouragement. It helps that several people i know are also laid off and we have our little excursions club. Fun how much LIFE you miss when you have responsibilities for a (scatterbrained) employer. This world is so beautiful! I know I had been ignoring a lot of people in my life, time to stop and build some networks.
Aw, Ms. Beary, your post made me smile big!
Great post Strawbeary..
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