It's Park[ing] Day Today!
Tons of people in major urban cities around the world are taking back what belongs to them! Parking spots are being converted into mini parks if only for a day to take advantage of some of the most wasted space in cities.
Enjoy the video, which does a much better job at explaining than I did. And picnic out next to a meter!
9.17.2010
9.11.2010
OMA, Oh La La!
So, in case it hasn't been noticeable enough, let me proclaim my love for anything digital/graphic/animation/design related! I love the arts and architecture off course, and when two of my biggest interests come together, I just get a happy and fuzzy feeling inside!
This time, OMA [Office for Metropolitan Architecture] has taken care of my morning excitement by making me look forward to my career in this ever-growing industry of design!
They are recently implementing this new technique of using videos to present their proposals and competition entries. The idea is not only innovative and fascinating for professionals in our field, but a brilliant way to bring professionals from other industries into a common denominator, ARCHITECTURE.
Another advantage is that videos are a very friendly way to explain architecture concepts to those who don't necessarily take interest in reading long articles or looking at plans and sections which are sometimes hard to understand. This way, the essence of the project is is presented in a way that can not only be seen in all dimensions, but can also implement cultural factors that are sometimes hard to communicate on paper or 2D graphics [such as street interviews, music, etc.]
Take a look for yourself. This is Oma's [Rem Koolhaas] Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District master plan proposal.
"This is the way to inspire creativity, with creativity, we can generate the power to propel culture into a new dimension" and OMA is certainly taking things into a new dimension.
Go OMA and Go Rem! [you look great in 2D btw]
PS. Here's another one I found by BIG: a proposal for the Audi Urban Future Award, which unfortunately didn't win, but the proposal is quite innovative and technological. It incorporates an idea of "[Driver]less is more" which proposes a driverless city and smart street design. The idea would implement pixel light into the streets like so:
Which is quite exciting!!
Here's the animation:
Enjoy!
Books on Rem Koolhaas / OMA
This time, OMA [Office for Metropolitan Architecture] has taken care of my morning excitement by making me look forward to my career in this ever-growing industry of design!
They are recently implementing this new technique of using videos to present their proposals and competition entries. The idea is not only innovative and fascinating for professionals in our field, but a brilliant way to bring professionals from other industries into a common denominator, ARCHITECTURE.
Another advantage is that videos are a very friendly way to explain architecture concepts to those who don't necessarily take interest in reading long articles or looking at plans and sections which are sometimes hard to understand. This way, the essence of the project is is presented in a way that can not only be seen in all dimensions, but can also implement cultural factors that are sometimes hard to communicate on paper or 2D graphics [such as street interviews, music, etc.]
Take a look for yourself. This is Oma's [Rem Koolhaas] Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District master plan proposal.
"This is the way to inspire creativity, with creativity, we can generate the power to propel culture into a new dimension" and OMA is certainly taking things into a new dimension.
Go OMA and Go Rem! [you look great in 2D btw]
PS. Here's another one I found by BIG: a proposal for the Audi Urban Future Award, which unfortunately didn't win, but the proposal is quite innovative and technological. It incorporates an idea of "[Driver]less is more" which proposes a driverless city and smart street design. The idea would implement pixel light into the streets like so:
Which is quite exciting!!
Here's the animation:
Enjoy!
Books on Rem Koolhaas / OMA
9.05.2010
'The coiled sexual power of a jungle cat!'
Oh, Woody... You make me shiver!
He really knows 'all the angles... Corny, too conny for my taste...'
Wait for me Manhattan, when I make it there, I'll make it.
And just for comparison and graphic fun, here's Woody's modern/graphic doppelganger :)
Enjoy!
He really knows 'all the angles... Corny, too conny for my taste...'
Wait for me Manhattan, when I make it there, I'll make it.
And just for comparison and graphic fun, here's Woody's modern/graphic doppelganger :)
Enjoy!
8.25.2010
An Arrangement of Electronic Phonemes!
I've got it! The value of a word as a picture is an electronic phoneme!
Phonemes are the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language. They form a group of slightly different sounds, which are all perceived to have the same function by speakers of the language or dialect in question. Each of these sounds has a correspondent character; they are somewhat like the phonetic pronunciation written in the dictionary. Now, electronic phonemes take into account the physics of turning sound into electrical impulses, like the sound spectrograph, which turns speech into pictures, (aha!) breaking speech into pitch and loudness and providing the possibility to create artificial speech through a picture! Amazing, huh? Confusing? Yes...
Please allow me to explain further. During my Internet quests, I tend to look for material that although not targeted to exercise my ability to critically think, bring me to a process of diagrammatic thinking on some popular aspect of life. First, I was brought to the quote that currently heads my ongoing poll, (this reminds me to tell you that none of the answers are correct) which has lingered on my head for quite some time. Then, I found a few pieces that inspired me to write about language and the ability of human beings to communicate. Later, I thought that through the analysis of a picture and the resulting generation of an animation my question had been solved, but now everything has finally come together, and the answer lied in a 1959 educational movie.
'Telephoneme' is the most recent animation short by MK12, a design firm from Kansas City, Missouri. These geniuses have taken parts and pieces from the educational film from 1959 'The Alphabet Conspiracy', which is based on the story of a little girl named Judy, who falls into a deep dream after being frustrated with her grammar homework. She dreams of conspiring to destroy the alphabet and free herself from grammar homework, partnered by the Mad Hatter and Jabberwocky, who come out of the Alice in Wonderland book that lies in a magic giant library. They are also determined to free themselves from living in a book. Although the animation from MK12 takes the story to a fictional and much darker mood, it was through this animation that I started to analyze and realize how underrated language and speech are in current society.
Just watching this perfectly put together work of audiovisual art made my brain feel the need to explore. I found what inspired it and how it was created. The terrific audio mix, which was partially borrowed from the original film, and the editing techniques, such as the spliting of elements into their pragmatic color channels, succesfully gives this short the feel of a 1950's top secret footage from outer space! Maybe it is taken a bit far, suggesting that language is out to get us, but is all in the good fun of science fiction. [more info at http://telephoneme.tv/ ]
Anyhow, I hope this spectacular piece of art gets your brain as excited as it did mine. I have also found the original 1959. Although it is 50 minutes long, it is so entertaining and easy to watch. It does a much better job at explaining electronic phonemes than I did and it definitely teaches you a thing or two about dialects, languages, and the importance of grammar and the alphabet...
Perhaps if children today were still being educated with such high quality content television as the baby boomers were taught back i the day, our society would be a much more aware and educated one today. Although if it hadn’t been for the pioneers of the 50’s, I wouldn’t be questing on the Internet and writing about physics today.
Enjoy!
Search Amazon.com for The Alphabet Conspiracy
Phonemes are the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language. They form a group of slightly different sounds, which are all perceived to have the same function by speakers of the language or dialect in question. Each of these sounds has a correspondent character; they are somewhat like the phonetic pronunciation written in the dictionary. Now, electronic phonemes take into account the physics of turning sound into electrical impulses, like the sound spectrograph, which turns speech into pictures, (aha!) breaking speech into pitch and loudness and providing the possibility to create artificial speech through a picture! Amazing, huh? Confusing? Yes...
Please allow me to explain further. During my Internet quests, I tend to look for material that although not targeted to exercise my ability to critically think, bring me to a process of diagrammatic thinking on some popular aspect of life. First, I was brought to the quote that currently heads my ongoing poll, (this reminds me to tell you that none of the answers are correct) which has lingered on my head for quite some time. Then, I found a few pieces that inspired me to write about language and the ability of human beings to communicate. Later, I thought that through the analysis of a picture and the resulting generation of an animation my question had been solved, but now everything has finally come together, and the answer lied in a 1959 educational movie.
'Telephoneme' is the most recent animation short by MK12, a design firm from Kansas City, Missouri. These geniuses have taken parts and pieces from the educational film from 1959 'The Alphabet Conspiracy', which is based on the story of a little girl named Judy, who falls into a deep dream after being frustrated with her grammar homework. She dreams of conspiring to destroy the alphabet and free herself from grammar homework, partnered by the Mad Hatter and Jabberwocky, who come out of the Alice in Wonderland book that lies in a magic giant library. They are also determined to free themselves from living in a book. Although the animation from MK12 takes the story to a fictional and much darker mood, it was through this animation that I started to analyze and realize how underrated language and speech are in current society.
Just watching this perfectly put together work of audiovisual art made my brain feel the need to explore. I found what inspired it and how it was created. The terrific audio mix, which was partially borrowed from the original film, and the editing techniques, such as the spliting of elements into their pragmatic color channels, succesfully gives this short the feel of a 1950's top secret footage from outer space! Maybe it is taken a bit far, suggesting that language is out to get us, but is all in the good fun of science fiction. [more info at http://telephoneme.tv/ ]
Anyhow, I hope this spectacular piece of art gets your brain as excited as it did mine. I have also found the original 1959. Although it is 50 minutes long, it is so entertaining and easy to watch. It does a much better job at explaining electronic phonemes than I did and it definitely teaches you a thing or two about dialects, languages, and the importance of grammar and the alphabet...
Perhaps if children today were still being educated with such high quality content television as the baby boomers were taught back i the day, our society would be a much more aware and educated one today. Although if it hadn’t been for the pioneers of the 50’s, I wouldn’t be questing on the Internet and writing about physics today.
Enjoy!
Search Amazon.com for The Alphabet Conspiracy
8.19.2010
"The Value Of The Word As A Picture"
Since I've lingered around this idea of the value of the word as a picture, I saw it fit to share a couple of shorts I came across on Vimeo, which I thought were kind of relevant to this playful idea. Canon is been holding a contest called "The Story Beyond The Still" where photographers are asked to interpret a story behind an image given to them and compose a short fiction movie in HD following a constant storyline. The contest is composed of mini contests, and one episode is added every month or so. At the en of every episode, a still is left as inspiration for the following episode and so on. So far, 6 amazing shorts have been created and I've been hooked since. I'll post the first 6 in order and will keep updating you on any added episodes.
Enjoy,
Here they are:
Chapter 1: The Cabbie
Chapter 2: Job Security
Chapter 3: The Beach
Chapter 4: Allison
Chapter 5: Miracle
Chapter Six: Fool Circle
So far, I can't wait for the next one!!
Enjoy,
Here they are:
Chapter 1: The Cabbie
Chapter 2: Job Security
Chapter 3: The Beach
Chapter 4: Allison
Chapter 5: Miracle
Chapter Six: Fool Circle
So far, I can't wait for the next one!!
8.01.2010
Architecture Grand Finale!
I finally received the piece of paper that certifies by the governor, the dean and all of those people with the pretty signatures that I, in fact, have a Bachelor's degree in Design with a Major in Architecture! [phew! and woohoo!]
Four years of model building and nonstop drafting, endless 3-D modeling and rendering hours, over 380 gallons of coffee and tons of sleepless night finally got me a piece of paper with funky looking, curly font! What a relief!
Sarcasm aside, I thought I'd celebrate [3 months after graduation] with a little architecture knowledge and throw in a couple of interesting projects I've seen lately. I also thought, 'why not dedicate every end/start of the month to ARCHITECTURE!' After all, I did spend forever learning about it, I might as well share a bit of what I know best and love most... But don't worry, I won't drown you in Architecture; I'll keep up with the other things as well.
And in talking about curly font and people with pretty signatures, I was reminded of Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech.
Yes, most widely know as Salvador Dalí, though that was also his father's and brother's name. This eccentric surrealist Catalanian, known for his twisted and highly symbolic art [not to mention extremely hard to understand, and appealing mostly to adolecents of the time] is having his collection moved to... Of all places and very close to home... The beautiful but somewhat uninteresting St. Petersburg, Florida! Lucky us Floridians!
The collection's new house obviously has to be worth of Dalí's twisted personality and work, which is where professionals in my field come in, to build fantasy with concrete! Ah.. Architecture!
This time it was the architecture firm HOK, with Yann Weymouth in the lead, who took charge in designing a space as fantastic and surreal a Dalí' and his art.
The building is deeply inspired by Dalí's collection, combining realistic and classical elements with the fantasy of the contemporary. Dalí would be pretty proud.
The building has already recieved several critics, but if you ask me, although I don't love the tumor looking glass or the chunky cube, the building is very appropiate for what this madman woulld have liked.
The space is very reminicent of Dalí's work, having a touch of his dripy folding clocks on to a cube, which also fascinated the man. The architecs say that the contrast between the "treasure box" which referes to the concrete orthagonal structure, and the "enigma," refering to the triangulated glass, is seen as a “contrast between the rational world of the conscious and the more intuitive, surprising natural world,” which is an element often present in Dalí's Art.
As for the inside, 66,000 square feet and 3 floors of huracaine 5 resistance structures, but the real eye catcher here is the staircase, which really takes Dalí's advice and pushes it to the extreme, defying structure and even gravity a bit. The staircase runs along all 3 floors of the space and takes the shape of a DNA molecule, another fetish of the man. To me, it looks like it was inspired on his funky mustache.
The Salvador Dalí Museum will open it's doors on January 2011 and it will house Dalí's largest collection of work, which is currently right outside of Spain, but the current building is in really bad shape, such bad shape that stormy, hurricane-prompt St. Pete made a better home.
I haven't been in site to see it with my own eyes, but from the pictures and even the critics, the building seems to be a really good fit to Dalí's taste and work. I am just glad that it is close to home and I won't have to travel all the way to Spain to go see the collection.
So with that, cheers to Dalí, cheers to HOK [and hopefully they read this and offer me a job] and cheers to 4 years of school. Let's hope they start paying off [the loans] soon enough.
Four years of model building and nonstop drafting, endless 3-D modeling and rendering hours, over 380 gallons of coffee and tons of sleepless night finally got me a piece of paper with funky looking, curly font! What a relief!
Sarcasm aside, I thought I'd celebrate [3 months after graduation] with a little architecture knowledge and throw in a couple of interesting projects I've seen lately. I also thought, 'why not dedicate every end/start of the month to ARCHITECTURE!' After all, I did spend forever learning about it, I might as well share a bit of what I know best and love most... But don't worry, I won't drown you in Architecture; I'll keep up with the other things as well.
And in talking about curly font and people with pretty signatures, I was reminded of Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech.
 |
| Might as well throw in curly mustaches! |
Yes, most widely know as Salvador Dalí, though that was also his father's and brother's name. This eccentric surrealist Catalanian, known for his twisted and highly symbolic art [not to mention extremely hard to understand, and appealing mostly to adolecents of the time] is having his collection moved to... Of all places and very close to home... The beautiful but somewhat uninteresting St. Petersburg, Florida! Lucky us Floridians!
The collection's new house obviously has to be worth of Dalí's twisted personality and work, which is where professionals in my field come in, to build fantasy with concrete! Ah.. Architecture!
This time it was the architecture firm HOK, with Yann Weymouth in the lead, who took charge in designing a space as fantastic and surreal a Dalí' and his art.
The building is deeply inspired by Dalí's collection, combining realistic and classical elements with the fantasy of the contemporary. Dalí would be pretty proud.
 | |
| A combination of his fascination with the hypercube and folding? |
The building has already recieved several critics, but if you ask me, although I don't love the tumor looking glass or the chunky cube, the building is very appropiate for what this madman woulld have liked.
The space is very reminicent of Dalí's work, having a touch of his dripy folding clocks on to a cube, which also fascinated the man. The architecs say that the contrast between the "treasure box" which referes to the concrete orthagonal structure, and the "enigma," refering to the triangulated glass, is seen as a “contrast between the rational world of the conscious and the more intuitive, surprising natural world,” which is an element often present in Dalí's Art.
 |
| spiraling staircase |
As for the inside, 66,000 square feet and 3 floors of huracaine 5 resistance structures, but the real eye catcher here is the staircase, which really takes Dalí's advice and pushes it to the extreme, defying structure and even gravity a bit. The staircase runs along all 3 floors of the space and takes the shape of a DNA molecule, another fetish of the man. To me, it looks like it was inspired on his funky mustache.
The Salvador Dalí Museum will open it's doors on January 2011 and it will house Dalí's largest collection of work, which is currently right outside of Spain, but the current building is in really bad shape, such bad shape that stormy, hurricane-prompt St. Pete made a better home.
I haven't been in site to see it with my own eyes, but from the pictures and even the critics, the building seems to be a really good fit to Dalí's taste and work. I am just glad that it is close to home and I won't have to travel all the way to Spain to go see the collection.
So with that, cheers to Dalí, cheers to HOK [and hopefully they read this and offer me a job] and cheers to 4 years of school. Let's hope they start paying off [the loans] soon enough.
7.28.2010
35 movies: 1 minute [35mm]
[Simple vs. Simplistic]
Most people think these two words are synonyms of each other, but they are actually quite different. First, I must say that I love 'simple', but I strongly dislike 'simplistic'. Simple is the beauty of something created with the minimum possible amount of components to make it just right, without going too far to become simplistic. Simplistic becomes almost 'stupid' in a way, since it takes something complex and simplifies it so much, to the point where it lacks its original meaning and substance.
To explain this further, I've found a beautiful and simple piece of work by a couple of animators led by Pascal Monaco. They have taken 35 well known movies and simplified them into a 1 minute animation of beautiful and SIMPLE components, that still make it possible to abstractly recognize the given movie with just a few but key details about it.
It takes a few times to recognize all of them, but it is wisely composed and beautifully executed. Take a few shots at guessing and post your answers in a comment if you would like. I will post the answers in the near future.
6.22.2010
Everything is NOT all "wacka wacka yeh yeh" in South Africa.
The first Google suggestion when browsing for South Africa related subjects is ‘South Africa World Cup 2010’ and this comes as no surprise since the Sports Industry has made South Africa the most popular country this month thanks to the World Cup. The $70+ billion industry seems to turn anything it touches into gold and that has been the case with South Africa’s tourism and popularity today, but as the popular saying goes: “not everything that shines is gold.”
The World Cup might be increasing South Africa’s tourism and popularity, but it might also be covering up some more important and critical issues that are not as recent and/or as happy and positive as the World Cup.
This is not the first time Sports has popularized a country with its magical touch. Take for example Greece. The Sports Industry bought the Olympic Games back to its homeland in 2004 during the Athens Olympics. As a result, major construction took place in Greece right before the Games: Metro lines were added and opened, the main Olympic Stadium and the Velodrome were designed and constructed [by Architect Santiago Calatrava :D], the tram lines were upgraded, etc. The games were a huge success despite the tight scheduling concerns and the opposition and criticism from other European Union countries such as Germany. The Games became an opportunity for Greece to show off their culture, their hospitality, and to break through their reputation of living in the past. Athens came across as a fantastic city with some of the most modern sporting facilities in the World and Greece became more popular than probably ever before. That was then, when Greece was in the headlines for the pretty, happy, and positive stories in the newspapers, but what about today?
Six years later, Greece is not as talked about as in 2004, and if it is, it’s surely not for pretty and positive reasons. The Athens games along with many other factors, off course, has left Greece in a colossal economic crisis, and sadly, the public is not as aware of the negative headlines as it is of the positive ones. I can assure that more people know of the 2004 Athens games than of the 2010 economic crisis in Greece. I was in Greece in April of this year and while I had a wonderful time with the lovely culture and in the remarkable archeological sites, I was robbed for the first and only time in my life; this left me thinking of the magnitude of the problem which is affecting even tourism, a major source of Greece’s income.
Six years later, Greece is not as talked about as in 2004, and if it is, it’s surely not for pretty and positive reasons. The Athens games along with many other factors, off course, has left Greece in a colossal economic crisis, and sadly, the public is not as aware of the negative headlines as it is of the positive ones. I can assure that more people know of the 2004 Athens games than of the 2010 economic crisis in Greece. I was in Greece in April of this year and while I had a wonderful time with the lovely culture and in the remarkable archeological sites, I was robbed for the first and only time in my life; this left me thinking of the magnitude of the problem which is affecting even tourism, a major source of Greece’s income.
Greece is suffering from daily riots, strikes and violent protests over unemployment, tax hikes and spending cuts among a million other issues. So while mother Sports industry made child Greece popular and happy during the Olympic games in 2004, it is completely unaware and neglectful of its child now that it’s crying (since mother Sports Industry is completely booked in attention time with child South Africa/World cup now.) Don’t get me wrong, I don’t propose that the Sports Industry has to save Greece from its major economic crisis, but my point is that it’s a little opportunistic to seem to care and be aware of a country only while it provides us joy and amusement.
In South Africa, everything IS ‘wacka wacka yeh yeh’ today. Everyone is enjoying the World Cup and having a grand time, but what about the critical social and economical issues in the country? The major electric crisis, the growing rape and murder rate and the massive racial problem in South Africa won’t wait until the World Cup ends to continue to aggravate. These things are going on today despite the few people that are conscious of them. Although South Africa’s new democracy, recently introduces in 1994, replaced the apartheid, It is moving very slowly towards resolving deep-rooted issues of inequality in income, land ownership, and hundreds of years of racial oppression. It will take at least one full generation to resolve all of these current problems. So while Sports serve as a way to unite together from all corners of the World into one country, one culture, one flag, and a sentiment of sportsmanship and peace, it also acts as a giant cloud that covers up all of the current social and economic issues going on within the host country and/or around the World. It is true that we should once in a while forget about the problems for a minute and try to have a good time while possible, but there is a difference between forgetting for a minute and completely neglecting forever. As we dance and sing the “Wacka Wacka”, the world economic crisis dances and not so much sings around a ring of fire.
The most important questions to ask here are: What will happen to South Africa after the World Cup? Will it follow Greece's destiny? Will it make the positive headlines again? and will we forget about them as we did about Greece?
The most important questions to ask here are: What will happen to South Africa after the World Cup? Will it follow Greece's destiny? Will it make the positive headlines again? and will we forget about them as we did about Greece?
Thus, for those of you reading, my call is that of awareness. The main headlines are not the only headlines in the news. There are numerous other issues that deserve more attention than those bought by the most dominant and wealthy Industries. So, lets be aware, lets get informed, and
Let’s go South Africa!
Let’s go South Africa!
Ps: I do love the Wacka Wacka…
6.20.2010
Father Ties
What is the best Father's Day gift?
Today, the day when The Man of the House becomes King for a day, it's hard to find the perfect gift to show him what he really means to us. I have resolved that today the best gift for Dad is:
A Tie.
Since the early 1900s, Fathers have been opening gift boxes and ripping tissue paper to find their traditional neckties and hallmark cards, the two most popular gifts for Dads. In reality, a 'tie' is in fact the best gift for Dad; the gift he really needs! I'm not referring to a necktie, but about a 'tie' that makes the Man of the House what he is today, a Father. I know the Father-to-Son/Family tie already exists, but today is the day to show Dad it is still as strong and full of love as ever!
Every year, my dad gets something from his daughters like breakfast in bed, a new pair of tennis shoes and cologne, (plus or minus a few daily arguments.) It seems like we wrap gifts every Father's Day knowing that he can probably guess what is inside, and even though he expects it, he will still love it. Anything we get Dad today will be well received and off course greatly appreciated, or easily exchanged for something else the next day with the gift receipt... Sure, an engraved key chain is always nice, and that #1 Dad mug comes in handy for hot cocoa or coffee every now and then, not to mention Dad probably has a million neckties from every Father's Day he's had, and every pair of underwear he owns was probably bought on Father's Day, but we do that every year, Sons and Daughters of the world!
My point is that nothing would make Dad happier that just spending a whole day with their sons and/or daughters.... How about doing something you know Dad will love even though you probably hate. Something like a back-rub, or dying his gray-hairs, mowing the lawn, or watching a full boxing match while rubbing his feet? Ok maybe I'm going a bit far, but I just want to get the point across...
So, give it a go today, out of every Father's day. I know I will be perfectly happy today, watching the FIFA World Cup games of the day and waiting to find the results for the Colombian elections with my Dad, cause that's what he likes to do. There will be arguing just like any other day, there will probably be a pair of tennis shoes, a cologne, and a gift receipt, (plus or minus some exchanging for a bigger size, or a different style,) but I will make sure he remembers the importance of today, since what makes him celebrated today ironically, is a gift to me. A gift he gave me on October 15, 1987.
Happy Father's Day Fathers!
Te amo Papi, y te debo el regalo, pero te agradezco hoy por mi regalo. Gracias por darme la vida, gracias por tu amor incondicional, gracias por tus regaños y tus rabietas, pero sobre todo, gracias por hacerme la mujer que soy hoy...
Te amo, te amo, te amo!
Today, the day when The Man of the House becomes King for a day, it's hard to find the perfect gift to show him what he really means to us. I have resolved that today the best gift for Dad is:
A Tie.
Since the early 1900s, Fathers have been opening gift boxes and ripping tissue paper to find their traditional neckties and hallmark cards, the two most popular gifts for Dads. In reality, a 'tie' is in fact the best gift for Dad; the gift he really needs! I'm not referring to a necktie, but about a 'tie' that makes the Man of the House what he is today, a Father. I know the Father-to-Son/Family tie already exists, but today is the day to show Dad it is still as strong and full of love as ever!
Every year, my dad gets something from his daughters like breakfast in bed, a new pair of tennis shoes and cologne, (plus or minus a few daily arguments.) It seems like we wrap gifts every Father's Day knowing that he can probably guess what is inside, and even though he expects it, he will still love it. Anything we get Dad today will be well received and off course greatly appreciated, or easily exchanged for something else the next day with the gift receipt... Sure, an engraved key chain is always nice, and that #1 Dad mug comes in handy for hot cocoa or coffee every now and then, not to mention Dad probably has a million neckties from every Father's Day he's had, and every pair of underwear he owns was probably bought on Father's Day, but we do that every year, Sons and Daughters of the world!
My point is that nothing would make Dad happier that just spending a whole day with their sons and/or daughters.... How about doing something you know Dad will love even though you probably hate. Something like a back-rub, or dying his gray-hairs, mowing the lawn, or watching a full boxing match while rubbing his feet? Ok maybe I'm going a bit far, but I just want to get the point across...
So, give it a go today, out of every Father's day. I know I will be perfectly happy today, watching the FIFA World Cup games of the day and waiting to find the results for the Colombian elections with my Dad, cause that's what he likes to do. There will be arguing just like any other day, there will probably be a pair of tennis shoes, a cologne, and a gift receipt, (plus or minus some exchanging for a bigger size, or a different style,) but I will make sure he remembers the importance of today, since what makes him celebrated today ironically, is a gift to me. A gift he gave me on October 15, 1987.
Happy Father's Day Fathers!
Te amo Papi, y te debo el regalo, pero te agradezco hoy por mi regalo. Gracias por darme la vida, gracias por tu amor incondicional, gracias por tus regaños y tus rabietas, pero sobre todo, gracias por hacerme la mujer que soy hoy...
Te amo, te amo, te amo!
6.18.2010
El lenguaje Universal.
Definitivamente cuando los seres humanos (a los cuales me referiré de ahora en adelante como terrestres) necesitamos el uno del otro es cuando mas es evidente que poco o nada nos importamos los unos a los otros. Es increíble pensar que todos estamos atrapados en este globo giratorio, respirando el mismo aire, pisando la misma tierra, prácticamente como viviendo en la misma casa, y aun así, nos tratamos como completos extraños; ojala solo extraños, pero a veces nos tratamos como si fuéramos enemigos. Me encontré con este video, el cual me recordó de una anécdota que viví en un aeropuerto de Alemania, cuando perdí un vuelo.
Desafortunadamente, mi experiencia no fue tan agradable como la de esta linda pareja. En esta ocasión, tomaba un paseo por diferentes países , conociendo diferentes culturas, y dándome cuenta de las maravillas y fiascos que trae la sociedad. Muchos terrestres fueron amables, otros me robaron, y otros se lucraron gracias a mi tardanza. Pase todo el dia en un aeropuerto de un país extraño, sin crédito en el celular para llamar a nadie, y después de haber tenido una desagradable riña con dos pésimas aerolíneas, ya que había perdido mi vuelo por un par de segundos. Aunque admito que estaba en retraso, hubiera tenido el suficiente tiempo para abordar si no hubiera sido por la poco amable señorita que me atendió. Aquí fue cuando empecé a reflexionar en lo poco que los terrestres dueños de las aerolíneas y sus insensibles empleados les importan los pasajeros. Por ellos fuera, que todos pierdan su vuelo, pues para ellos esto es simplemente significa una comida congelada mas y un muy costoso tiquete vendido a ultima hora. En momentos como este, los terrestres tendemos a mostrar debilidad por la desesperacion que nos causa sentirnos solos. Algunos lloramos, otros gritamos, e irónicamente, la reacción de la parte contraria a esta muestra de debilidad es de completa indiferencia en la mayoría de los casos, o al menos cuando se trata de las grandes corporaciones como las aerolíneas. Yo creo que cuando los Hermanos Wright inventaron el avión, nunca por sus mentes paso el diabólico concepto de las lucrativas aerolíneas…
Desafortunadamente, mi experiencia no fue tan agradable como la de esta linda pareja. En esta ocasión, tomaba un paseo por diferentes países , conociendo diferentes culturas, y dándome cuenta de las maravillas y fiascos que trae la sociedad. Muchos terrestres fueron amables, otros me robaron, y otros se lucraron gracias a mi tardanza. Pase todo el dia en un aeropuerto de un país extraño, sin crédito en el celular para llamar a nadie, y después de haber tenido una desagradable riña con dos pésimas aerolíneas, ya que había perdido mi vuelo por un par de segundos. Aunque admito que estaba en retraso, hubiera tenido el suficiente tiempo para abordar si no hubiera sido por la poco amable señorita que me atendió. Aquí fue cuando empecé a reflexionar en lo poco que los terrestres dueños de las aerolíneas y sus insensibles empleados les importan los pasajeros. Por ellos fuera, que todos pierdan su vuelo, pues para ellos esto es simplemente significa una comida congelada mas y un muy costoso tiquete vendido a ultima hora. En momentos como este, los terrestres tendemos a mostrar debilidad por la desesperacion que nos causa sentirnos solos. Algunos lloramos, otros gritamos, e irónicamente, la reacción de la parte contraria a esta muestra de debilidad es de completa indiferencia en la mayoría de los casos, o al menos cuando se trata de las grandes corporaciones como las aerolíneas. Yo creo que cuando los Hermanos Wright inventaron el avión, nunca por sus mentes paso el diabólico concepto de las lucrativas aerolíneas…
Al viajar por el mundo, raramente se cae en la cuenta de que todos los terrestres, a pesar de que hablemos diferentes lenguas, tengamos diferentes culturas y crianzas, somos iguales. Todos necesitamos los unos de los otros. Tal vez lo que me hizo relacionar este cortometraje con lo que escribo hoy, es su naturaleza tan minima, tan simplemente hermosa desde la técnica hasta la historia… A pesar de la falta de palabras, estos dos extraños terrestres se enamoraron y se entendieron a la perfección en menos de 24 horas, (esto sin mencionar la técnica de usar solo fotografías para generar esta hermosa animación.) Con solo unas cuantas palabras escritas, miradas, y sonrisas, se genero una relación tan profunda, donde los dos entendieron que se necesitaban el uno al otro. Cuando se piensa en este concepto tan simple, se genera de nosotros terrestres mas amable y mas caritativos, aunque infortunadamente no todos pensamos en este concepto.
Pensemos que tiene que haber una razón por la cual estamos todos encerrados en la tierra viviendo juntos dia a dia, y no debe ser para crear un gigante campo de batalla. Los lenguajes y el exceso de palabras son necesarias mas que todo cuando conflictamos y debemos expresarnos mas allá de lo sencillo, pero cuando simplemente reímos, no hay necesidad de mas. Unas cuantas palabras en cualquier lenguaje se convierten en un extenso diccionario… Tal vez, la risa sea el único lenguaje Universal.
6.17.2010
L[Oh!]VE
I wrote this about 4 years ago and found it among my things. I was reminded of it as I watched this:
Enjoy!
I believe many of us, at certain point in our lives, if not many, have asked ourselves what love really is. What is that crazy feeling that we, not necessarily look for, but when we finally feel it, we don’t want to let it go. Is that irresistible desire of being irresistibly desired, for which we can never really be entirely happy. We get into it, knowing that love is like a candle with a very small wick. It burns quickly, but we are still willing to burn it while it lasts.
We fall in love, knowing that we are probably too young, too busy, or simply too immature to really control it and know how to handle it, and despite the fact that we are conscious of this, we still do it! We still fall for it entirely, genuinely, innocently, and completely vulnerably…!! Why do we do this? Is it Masochism? Do human beings like to hurt? Or is it that Love is just so amazingly beautiful and satisfying that we are willing to go through the trouble and hurt… Just to get a glimpse of that astounding feeling…??
Love is completely imperceptible and frustrating… There is always one “a” who loves, and “b” who lets himself or herself be loved… And don’t get me wrong, “b” also loves, but just not as deeply and blindly as “a” does. Sometimes we are lucky to let ourselves be loved, we are “b”, but there are those times when we love… and love… and love…
Well… frustrating yeah, but completely irrelevant… Given that the important thing when it comes to love is TO LOVE, rather than to be loved… To enjoy those moments that are never long enough, but are always so intense and profound. To feel and understand that something other than ourselves is real! In fact, what else is love but rejoicing in the fact that another person acts, lives, and experiences otherwise than we do…? By loving and taking the risk, we are giving ourselves the gift of LOVE; the gift of that self enlarging experience… In fact, when we love deeply in one direction we make ourselves more loving in all others… This takes courage… To love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return, to just give... That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt, do we...? Yet… We do…
So this analysis of love comes to what? Nothing… Since love is such a pure, genuine, and indisputable concept that the only analysis we can give it is the one we understand when we are living under that second person’s skin… When ‘a’ and ‘b’ decide to become ‘c’… When the fusion of those two beings concludes… Then… Love can be, rather than analyzed or understood, it can be felt…
Love is everything it's cracked up to be… It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for, and for those of you who have no idea of what I’m talking about, the only thing I can really say without sounding like ‘the wiz of love’ is that you can only learn to love by loving… So give it a try… What can you lose but some pounds and a couple of tears…
Al[one]
There are over 6 billion individuals in the word. This enormous number makes a few 'unhappy ones' ask themselves "why am I so alone?" The reason might be precisely that which generates the question itself. While individuals are concerned with finding a few among those 6 billion people to love them, most forget that the most important love is that which one gives to oneself.
Time and Again is a short animated film by Jacques Khouri. It shows the life of one of the 'unhappy ones' and its repetitive and very boring nature.
What I love about this [among many other aspect of it] is that it loops both visually and conceptually, emphasizing the cycle human beings are constantly into.
Happy or unhappy, everyone is into a constant life cycle. It is also fair to say that everyone is one of those 'unhappy ones' at some point in life. The important thing to consider is that the cycle you are into can be as enjoyable as you make it for yourself. How different would the world be if all 6 billion people in the world didn't feel alone? If 6 billion decided to speak to Marie, or if 6 billion loved their jobs and took the long way to work to enjoy a different scenery? If all 6 billion realized that the word alone really means All+One and that '+One' is the most important of All. Maybe then, The word alone would be redefined to mean what it should mean, or even taken out of the dictionary, along with lonely, and all those unnecessary words...
"I am so alone" no. I am All in One.
Time and Again is a short animated film by Jacques Khouri. It shows the life of one of the 'unhappy ones' and its repetitive and very boring nature.
What I love about this [among many other aspect of it] is that it loops both visually and conceptually, emphasizing the cycle human beings are constantly into.
Happy or unhappy, everyone is into a constant life cycle. It is also fair to say that everyone is one of those 'unhappy ones' at some point in life. The important thing to consider is that the cycle you are into can be as enjoyable as you make it for yourself. How different would the world be if all 6 billion people in the world didn't feel alone? If 6 billion decided to speak to Marie, or if 6 billion loved their jobs and took the long way to work to enjoy a different scenery? If all 6 billion realized that the word alone really means All+One and that '+One' is the most important of All. Maybe then, The word alone would be redefined to mean what it should mean, or even taken out of the dictionary, along with lonely, and all those unnecessary words...
"I am so alone" no. I am All in One.
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