Monday, July 31, 2006
Approval? Me?
We all look for appraisal, don't we? What use is working for all we have, striving to get to that next milestone, if not to tell someone else and gain their approval? It is not true that we can do something for ourselves and ourselves only. Isn't it true that everything in life is done for the pleasing of someone else?
jOhn thought at 2:48 AM
Friday, July 28, 2006
Ghost.
I look at a picture.
heartfelt in conception,
abstract in composition.
one aspiring two..
black tears a stain,
on a plateau of dreams,
detached,
immobile an obstacle,
pierced with cruel light,
what was an attraction lacked waiver,
now in frozen chamber,
sealed for eternity.
and a short life to live.
jOhn thought at 11:30 AM
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
A Day In The Life.
Wake up. Microstation (120 mins). Brush teeth, cup of cold milk (3 mins). Microstation (240 mins). Rest on bed (15 mins). Microstation (240 mins). Dinner (30 mins). Microstation (300 min). Sleep (240 mins). Rinse, repeat.
FYI, Microstation, like AutoCAD, is a computer drawing program used to churn out my architectural drawings.
Anyone still wanna be a draughtsman? =))
jOhn thought at 12:13 PM
Monday, July 17, 2006
Truth.
Every facet of reasoning, every aura of confidence, pride, and self-assuredness, will be destroyed the moment one experiences Jesus Christ... It's like, imagine a large battleship. No matter how strong it's made, all it needs is that big bomb to come and rip it apart, and all that pride and dignity and 'look at me I'm a big strong battleship'-ness will be cut down in one instant, to a quivering mass of pride humbled. And even fishing boats stand stronger than that destroyed battleship.
The only reason why battleships are still proud, tall and able to do damage is because they have not met that big enough bomb yet.
Are you that battleship?
jOhn thought at 2:34 AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Hatred. Its a powerful thing.
...and my fury will burn against you like hellfire, your skin will drip from your flesh, your bones will turn to dust, because you crossed the lines i drew, and as long as I live, my every breath will curse you with unceasing hatred, soul seared with the inferno of spurned passion.
You dared, because you could. But I would crawl through a field of needles, hail and storm, sirens and metal; no insurance engaged will harbour safely your soul against me inevitable. I'd come to you, to your door, redemption cluctched firmly in my cold palm, and when you're lying shattered on the floor before me, naked in weakness and bare of that steely facade, eyes pleading for mercy and compassion alien to me, its barrel would align itself dead between your eyes, and it will lodge fifteen dear bullets deep into the recesses of your corrupted mind, your name neatly etched on each. You probably caught a glimspse of it, did you?
And I'll admire and photograph your limp body, your head in full bloom, just for old time's sake, because you never looked more beautiful in the time I've known you. And I'll smile. Oh yes I'd smile happily. One chapter ends, and yet another begins.Because I could, too.Hmm. Interesting excerpt.
jOhn thought at 12:40 PM
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
SPR
The most insulting thing you can do to a movie based on an actual war is to pass judgement over it.
jOhn thought at 3:33 PM
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Faculties of Architecture
The human faculties that an architect absolutely cannot do without:
Hands - The most important. Needed to sketch his ideas, then translate them to working drawings. What used to be pencil, pen and paper is now keyboard, mouse and screen.
Vision - Both in terms of thinking and eyesight. Eyes to perceive a space, to interpret already built works, and the thought to imagine and conceive new spaces, as well as materials.
Touch - To experience texture, as this is the most immediate and physical realisation of a built work. To compare raw concrete and smooth marble, to know the different levels of tactility between materials.
Memory - To remember mistakes, to remember what others did wrong, what can be improved. Life can't move forward if one does not possess knowledge of the past.
The Peripheral Senses - useful but not crucial to the realisation of buildings.Smell - Hardly used in the enjoyment of a built space. Maybe the oxygen of greenery can be enjoyed. But most often, greenery is appreciated for its visually pleasing qualities and ability to 'soften' a building. And other times, if you can smell a building, it'll most probably be toxic.
Hearing - Perhaps to hear how noise penetrates a building, how a concert hall absorbs unwanted echoes, etc...
Taste - No one's going to lick a building.
Warning: whiney cliched words ahead.Hai. How time flies. Just a year back, I was a freshman in a school completely different from what I have been used to. No more uniforms, hardly the same rules. The choice so far has been without regret. Instead of only studying the achievements of others, I've learnt to produce works of my own, because that's what design is all about. There's no way around this fact: once you have something which is a direct product of you, you automatically become attached to it, work hard on it, and would rise to defend it, just like the way a mother would protect her child in an inferno.
True, these years only yield a diploma, and I wish so much it were a degree. The journey's far from over, as my interest and passion for the true realisation of habitats for humanity grows. I'd chase down this dream, no matter how far away from me it may run. The only things concrete about my life so far are plans for the future, and surely some religious folks would have something to say about this sentence.
I'd fly away, to somewhere I've never been, plant a seed and let the roots grow. The world's a big place, but it's becoming smaller every day. What's the use of staying on an island? There's already enough people here to take care of it. Build for the world, I say, from the rich to the poor, build for them, put a roof over their heads, give them the framework on which they can splash the colour of life across. Don't be shoddy in deed, no matter what. A line in a drawing is as thin as a sheet paper, mechanically useless, two dimensional, almost purely decorative. But once you take the time to accompany it with another line, it becomes a wall, one that can shield from rain, hail, snow, sunlight, or bullets. And when that wall is joined with another, and another, and another, it becomes a room, one that can hold a family for decades.
So build for the world. Use what God gave you. Create.
An SP Archi graduate dedicated to classmates on national radio, "Build on, my friends."
And that's what life means to me.
jOhn thought at 10:30 PM