Peter’s Top 2

My top 2 this year isn’t really one piece. It’s the booklet I made for my final Form Study evaluation. With proper English text and Dutch Translation which isn’t 100% correct, but which I had checked (by a Dutch person), so it coudln’t have been that bad. By the way, It’s a pdf.

PS: Anyone spot a not so well done hommage to someone?

Click there>>> formbook

Peter S

More, More, More, More, More, More, More!!!

Fourth week of trying to do urbanism. Not much changed, and I’m still kind of the boss in our little group of 3 (mainly because I drew up the whole plan by myself). Still, despite the hiccups and faults I’m still proud to be the CREATOR of the plan. Oh, I do quite enjoy the megalomania.

So here is the 1:1000 accurate model, of the new part in its setting. There’s a lot of pictures, so be warned. This ain’t the last time you’ll be seeing this baby. It’s alive. IT’S ALIVE!!! Muahahahaha!!!

Peter S.

PS: Sorry about the title. Better luck next time.

East Side

No, nothing to do with Eastern Europe, The Far East or the East Coast. Simply put, this week , we finished the east side of the 1:1000 model fo Delft. I hope that this coming week, we’ll finish it off, but you never know. So here are a few snapshots. One of the teachers was really pleased with it, although he liked it because of its imperfections. That’s really strange, but then most architects are.

Incredible Stupidity In The Head 2: The Venezuelan Connection

There we go again. This type of stupidy is almost as incredible as the first one, and it makes a good sequel. This is like those loose movie (often) trilogies: same idea, different characters.

This time I find it necessary to talk about Venezuela, Iran, and their unlikely friendship. First of all, I need to make it clear that I have nothing against Venezuelans or Iranians. I knew a girl from Venezuela some years ago. She was very smart, but strayed from the ‘right path’, into the world of drugs, sex and rock and roll (but mainly drugs). I also knew some Iranians, the three of them were very different, one was intelligent and normal, another one was crazy and the third one was indoctrinated by propaganda. But I have nothing but good memories of these individuals.

Now, I’m not talking that the Venezuelan girl would whore herself out to the three Iranian boys, what concerns me is the obvious flirting between Mr Chavez and Mr Ahmadinejad. Now, if we take a quick look, their mutual attraction seems to have an obvious source. Both leaders are in their fifties, both hate the USA (for being the devid, the im perialist, the Jew, the baby seal-killer, etc), they both have quite some oil and natural gas which they use to gain the upper hand. I suppose two things Mr Chavez lacks is a nuclear program and the ability to be taken seriously. Not that Mr Ahmadinejad is so perfect. Mr Chavez belongs to a large group of neo-communists/socialist/liars of South America which are less likely to seriously upset the rest of the world powers than Iran.

So, really, these two man are the ideal partners on the International political scene. I suppose there is one thing that prevents their “marriage”, which is the trivial matter of religion. Mr Ahmadinejad is obviously a muslim, while Mr Chavez, if he were to adhere to his communist ideals, should be an atheist, because, as Marx said: ‘faith is the opiate of masses’ (so is Mr Chavez populism, Marx didn’t see that one coming though).

Why do two leaders, one from a theocracy and one from a neo-communist country co-operate together so closely? I suppose we’ve talked about their similarities, but these are on a superficial level. On the most basic level, one of the Mr Chavez suggests that bringing material wealth to the masses (disregarding the methods) will improve the quality of life, when Mr Ahmadinejad strives keep the masses spiritually rich in order to avoid materialism.  These two philosophies, are in my eyes, rather incompatable. Therefore, I believe their friendship is based on the superficial connections, rather than deeper shared values. I mean, I would not become friends with somone who dresses like me, has a similar upbringing and methods of working, if that person shares differebt values. We could argue with the cliched phrase ‘oppsoites attract’, but the International political scene cannot be compared to emotional life of deranged teenagers.

And building a friendship on superficial similarities, with deeper incompatibilities underneath is stupid. Incredibly so.

Peter

Incredible Stupidity in the Head

“Would all the neo-nazis who are willing to die for their country do so ASAP”

- Someone really funny

One thing that upsets me more than anything is incredible stupidity in the head of some people, especially non-German neo-Nazis. Yes, I wrote stupidity and you can quote me on that.

I guess any form of neo-nazism is to be condemned as evil, but the non-German neo-nazis are evil AND stupid. I won’t be trying to excuse them by saying: ‘most of them are young, they don’t know what they’re doing’, and that sort of crap, because I frankly don’t think that’s a good excuse. When you are young and really don’t know what to do, you become a hippie, NOT a nazi. You do drugs and have unprotected sex, you don’t go dreaming about white-power world domination.

You might ask: “stupid? How so?”

Nothing, just the simple fact that Hitler wanted to get rid of almost all the peoples, but the Germans, which he believed were some sort of uber-people. That means that all those Eastern European Slavs that are neo-Nazis, wouldn’t even be alive if Hitler won the war, or, in the best case scenario, would be slaves to some German fraulein. Slavs would be slaves (ha-ha, geddit?), if not exterminated.

So why do all these stupid people (the correct, yet vulgar term begins with ‘f’) all become neo-Nazis. Or is it like the neo-styles in Architecture, which are almost always a watered down, gone bad version of the real thing? I don’t even want to know, because that would be making excuses for them, which I is something nobody should do. Again, hippie past can be forgiven, if not forgotten (’cause it’s really funny). Being a neo-Nazi shouldn’t.

As a society, we should send these people to jail, and then back to school, although that might not be too much of a help, since schools nowadays don’t teach people to think (at least in Eastern Europe).

Peter

October Files: X

‘Slowly, Tsukazaki unbuttoned his shirt, then slipped easily out of his clothes. … his body looked younger and more solid than any landman’s: it might have been cast in the matrix of the sea. Then… ripping up through the thick hair below the belly, the lustrous tower soared triumphantly erect’

Yukio Mishima – The Sailor Who Fell From The Grace Of The Sea

‘… just the sight of those breasts made Reginald’s penis very hard. His penis was of considerable size and now beads of sweat ran slowly down his penis, making it glisten like a strong swimmer fresh from out of the pool… What a grand, grand penis’

Herbert Garrison – In The Valley of The Penises (South Park, Episode 406)

No, I did not suddenly develop an obsession for men’s private parts, nor have I decided to read erotica. The first quote is from a English Lit book that my brother’s class has to read. The second quote is from South Park, in an episode, where amongst other things, Mr Garrison tries to write a great romance novel, only to pen down the “greatest homoerotic novel since Huckleberry Finn”.

What I find really amusing is that although the literary value of the two works is very different, they both describe one thing; sex. Although I am a little bit of a prude when it comes to sex, I believe it is something natural, but shouldn’t be done lightly. I could say that children should read books like these because it talks about completely natural things, or I could go on about how such literature pollutes the minds of innocent children, but seriously?

How do you expect to discuss passages like these in a class full of 16 year olds? I remember reading the Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, and I remember that the book did endeed contain what I would call “kinky sex”, but the passages were by no means so detailed and remained somewhat secondary to the main plot, even though these experiences formed the different characters.

Anyway, I would think that these kids don’t need more sex than they’re exposed to in the other media (hail MTV), but I mean, come on… How can my former appeaser high school, where people are not allowed to make physical contact, even ALLOW the English Department to buy such books? The school policy is unclear on that one, it seems (but no physical contact is permitted).

What exactly did I want to accomplish. Nothing much, just show you the strange paradoxes that run the world, I guess.

Peter

October Files: Peter Peter Attention Seeker

Attention seekers. We usually laugh them off and think they’re pathetic, even if we all perfectly know that most people in tabloids are have most severe case of attentionseeker-itis.Nevertheless, this is quite irrelevant to the story that I’m about to tell you.

It was a long time ago, when the credit crunch was unheard-of, and just before the great Steve Jobs gave us the iPod mini. This long forgotten history would be otherwise forgiven, have I not been the main perpetrator in that shameful event. It was in these dark times, sometime in autumn, I would think, when I felt rather unloved by people at school. I mean, it wasn’t that people disliked me, it was the fact that I was largely ignored by the student body, which felt a little frustrating. Little did I know that all these things were my fault for being myself.

Anyway, It was raining rather hard, and I felt like I needed to go out there. So I did. Without an umbrella, carrying my usual oversized backpack, I walked into the rain. It felt strange. I was more alone than ever, because no one was outside and everyone was in the canteen, which had an excellent view on the school yard. I walked for a minute, I walked long enough to feel the rain, but short enough not to get completely soaked. It was almost like some sort of rebirth ritual, although there was no rebirth, not in the metaphorical sense, end definitely not in the literal sense.

Then I walked back into the school, telling myself that this was the best spent quality time with myself in a long time. However, two of my friends (or more, I don’t remember) approached me and asked if there was something wrong with me. “Of course not, I’m fine” I said, although I was shocked by their concern. I did not consciously seek their attention, and although I was glad they were concerned, I felt sickened by me. I don’t know why, but my down-to-earth side probably told me: stop feeling sorry for yourself, you’re not going to be a victim, this is ridiculous (that was before the word emo was introduced into popular culture).

I don’t want to be an attention seeker ever again. That one occasion made me feel really bad (there just isn’t another word for it), and if I ever should get attention, it shouldn’t be because I did something stupid, but because I did some admirable.

Peter

Peter Top 3 2007/2008

I have never written an entry like this before or since. This is an entry from 22 September 2007 and just didn’t make it WordPress, which I believe came a week or two after this entry. Only one person knows what this entry is actually about, and I hope they’re not telling. What do you think it means. Within the year I dropped my hobbit attitude and am currently a cynic, but still a lovable one.

22 September 2007

The Secret Lives of My Cats/ Rather Cryptic Tale of a Sad Little Hobbit

Imagine if I were writing this about 15 hours before. What do you think I would write? Something cheerful and light-hearted would be a perfect way to describe it. But things change…

I  am a hypocrite. Always seeking truth, trying to reveal it. This time, I have let her down. I hope she forgives me. But I hope you wouldn’t understand it.  Therefore, instead of seeking clarity, I hope to obscure the meaning, yet still reveal it partially, because I want to let you know the truth, I just can’t do it in your face. Let’s go.

So last night, while biking home, I saw a cat, only about a minute from where I live. It looked a bit like my cat, but I did see it properly, because my bike lights don’t work. When I arrived, I found my cats at home. Thank God. But this brief encounter with an unidentified feline got me thinking.

I don’t even know what my cats like to do when I’m not there. What if they bully other cats? What if they go and mate with other cats (which won’t do them much good, since they’re both neutered) ? What if they kill baby birds?  What  if they  excrete on peoples’ doormats? There’s so much I don’t know. There’s so much I don’t want to know. Of course, I tend to assume the best, rather than the worst. That’s one of my weaknesses.

So, if I saw my cats doing any of the above mentioned things, how would I feel? Angry at the cats? Probably for a while. Disillusioned?  Definitely. Disgusted? Possibly, but not for very long. Deceived? Maybe a tiny bit. But most of all, I would feel like a fool. The biggest fool in the world. A fool that expects all the best, not only from himself, but also from others. All the other feelings will fade with time. I can’t judge my cats. Perhaps they are victims of circumstances, or it’s perfectly natural, and I’m the only one who doesn’t realize it. I’ll be disappointed with myself, I will need to change. To put in the words of Melanie C, “things will never be the same again”.

My need to idolize everything and everyone I admire will bring me a lifetime of being a fool. I need to be realistic, less optimistic. But I need to be thankful for one thing. My cats, at the very least, seem to be just as I always imagined. And I, the sad little hobbit have at least two allies in my fight for a better place. For now. But, who knows? Things might change again…

I really hope You didn’t read between the lines.

Peter

P.S.: If you know what it all means, I’m sorry, I had to.

Plan 1

Being a complete noob at urbanism, but having completed Formstudy in my first year, I had a shot at my first urban design model. I made it out of loose LEGO blocks (thanks Sam!) and the basic idea is to make sure that all the buildings/dwellings get as much sun as possible. That’s why the main axis is not parallel to the main road (gray). Hopefully, the spacial tension created by the different angles of the plan and the original elements (the little harbour and square) should create a dynamic space that can be experienced from different viewpoints.

So, without any further ado, here it is.

In real life, the colours of the LEGO blocks were really vivid and rich, but ufortunately, my camera seems to distort the colours. Because in reality, It looked so much cooler!