Veritas et Venustas

mta

The World Turns

Pitchers & Catchers Report Today (many are already there) Hal-le-lujah!

Words to live by, from Woody Allen

"The only thing standing between greatness and me is me," Woody Allen

From the PBS American Masters series, Woody Allen: A Documentary Part 2. There's more at the end of the documentary:

When I look back on my life I've been very lucky that I've lived out all these childhood dreams. I wanted to be a movie actor and I became one. I wanted to be a movie director, and a comedian, and I became one. I wanted to play jazz in New Orleans and I played in street parades and joints in New Orleans and played in opera houses concerts all over the world. There was nothing in my life that I aspired toward that hasn't come through for me. But despite all these lucky breaks, why do I still feel like I got screwed somehow?

Occupy Mansions & Beautiful Houses

AT THE OTHER END OF THE SCALE from Liberty Plaza, were the houses in a recent dinner discussion with Classical architects. "Pick three houses," one said, "A city house, a country house and a beach house." All three picked New York City houses I didn't know, until I said, "Why not the Frick?" which started a different level of discussion. I went on to pick the Otto Kahn house instead, and then it turned out my other two picks were also the consensus winners:

• Otto Kahn House
• Monticello
• Vizcaya

I realized I would need something in New England:

• Hamilton House
• Sargent / Mission House
• Hollister House

I chose Hollister House for its gardens, and that brought up gardens and Europe:

• Sissinghurst

• Palazzo Farnese
• Blenheim
• Villa Kerylos

And then there are the weekend houses (where Modernism finally came in):

• Fallingwater
• Maison de Verre
• Chiswick House
• La Rocca Pisana

Quote of the Day

Western rational thought is not an innate human characteristic; it is learned and is the great achievement of Western civilization. In the villages of India, they never learned it. They learned something else, which is in some ways just as valuable but in other ways is not. That’s the power of intuition and experiential wisdom. - Steve Jobs

Coming back to America was, for me, much more of a cultural shock than going to India. The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do, they use their intuition instead, and their intuition is far more developed than in the rest of the world. Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work.

Western rational thought is not an innate human characteristic; it is learned and is the great achievement of Western civilization. In the villages of India, they never learned it. They learned something else, which is in some ways just as valuable but in other ways is not. That’s the power of intuition and experiential wisdom.

Coming back after seven months in Indian villages, I saw the craziness of the Western world as well as its capacity for rational thought. If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things—that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It’s a discipline; you have to practice it. (Quoted in Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs)

@jmassengale tweets

Here are the most recent, there are 500+ more here.

RTing myself: Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% bit.ly/vvrichredux #OWS

@MASNYC But when NYC has too many rich (like now) it consumes more culture than it creates RT People think culture something ... #summitnyc

I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one #OWS wethepeople Corporations have the rights We the People grant them

The 99% are We the People trying to be heard #ows #occupy #wethepeople

Mayor Mike visited Zuccotti Park, now Chase CEO Jamie Dimon should invite #OWS to Occupy Chase Plaza - and help with tents, hot food etc.

"I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love." Steve Jobs

So rage against elected government is patriotic, but rage against multi-national corporations anti-American #DailyShow #occupywallstreet

Bought 2 arch guides in Amsterdam. More than 30% of bldngs on both lists since 1940. Have they been to Amsterdam? #ArchitectsAreIdeologues

From Amsterdam on a perfect day: When the Dutch ride Vespas, the noise is a pleasant summer drone. Italians? A raucous cacophany!

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Warren Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Part 2: Politically, New York urbanists & New Urbanists have a great deal in common #urbandesignweek ps1.org/calendar/view/…

Strikes me @ ps1.org/calendar/view/… that many New York urbanists have an ideological rejection of New Urbanists based solely on style (Pt 1)

@ MoMA PS1 for Urban Design Week listening to Shaun Donovan, Barry Bergdoll & Lizz Plater-Zyberk ps1.org/calendar/view/… #urbandesignweek

Yo! The 20th century is over—we don't have to be "Modern" anymore

Duchamp's urinal was "created" 94 years ago. Must we still pay the consequences today? #bringbackthebeautiful

Beautiful architecture speaks to the senses Lot of contemporary architecture speaks to intellect Without common sense the intellect is dumb

I've lost what little patience I had for new architecture that supports alienation, anomie, depression, misanthropy, nihilism ... and ego.

BGlab for #urbandesignweek kickoff - great to see so many interested in NY urbanism & a great young crowd

Caveat Emptor Priceline Edition #priceline #priceline.com bit.ly/pricelinescks - and I used to really like them

New Urbanist-leanings of Guggenheim Lab paint democratic vision of a civic ideal. What is your civic vision?: bit.ly/pU99ii RT@NewUrbanism

We figured out Gov. Palin wasn't a career politician when she quit #sowhatelseisnew #blowhard

Paul Newman talks about urbanism - and gets it all right bitly.com/vvpnew

Andrew Sullivan asks if we need more roads (hint: "no) bit.ly/2manyrds

@NAHBhome: old days of selling sububan houses like hotcakes are over. In new world, we have too much sprawl and too little walkable urbanism

RT @Lock Best Yankees move in YEARS. Parm to open in Yankee Stadium Tomorrow eater.cc/oJVoRU //Lukes Lobster far behind?

Curbed shows Starchitects' houses but skips all the Starchitects who live in traditional buildings like Rem & Zaha http://bit.ly/starchi

"Interesting" is the most overused word in Modern architecture. "Beauty" most frequently the missing word. #architecture #modernism

more here

R.I.P. Grosse Berthe (Carless in New York)

JUST as I was thinking it was so convenient that Bimmers Only was located between Great Barrington and Manhattan, so that I could drop the car off for service and take the train into New York (much better than driving in and having to park), Graham from Bimmers Only called up and said that an electrical short in the passenger seat had totaled my car. Minutes before he called they had gone out to move the car, and smoke poured out when they opened the door.

They had gone out to move the car into the garage for the night, where they would have left the windows open and the garage might have burned down if the timing had been a little different. Since the car windows had been closed, the fire just smoldered instead of igniting the interior.

Chubb Insurance took possession of the car last week. We originally picked her up in Munich in January 2002 on our honeymoon, before we knew what we know now about climate change and peak oil. As an environmentalist, urbanist and Manhattanite, I'm pretty sure I will never buy a big V8 performance car again. Zipcar here we come. RIP Große Berthe.