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A small MOC I made based on this illustration of WWII Soviet spy and assassin Nikolai Kuznetsov: pp.userapi.com/c841228/v841228347/8d2e/K0EdhtOI77o.jpg
I've previous made a post about Kuznetsov, which you can find here: www.flickr.com/photos/brickhistorian/49201938651/
God bless!
-BH
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other”
~ Walter Elliot
After 31 kilometres, Kenya's Irene Jerotich Kosgei and Canadian Terry Gehl fight through exhaustion and the build-up of lactic acid that often hits like a brick wall at this point of the marathon. Raw determination and perseverance carried her through the remaining 11 kms to a third place finish in 2:34:26.
View the full set of 2009 Ottawa Marathon photos
**Although the thought is appreciated, please no graphic awards or invites**
I took this shot while driving through my favorite park. The time was right before sunset, and the woods was thin with amazing color coming through it. I may never be able to get this capture again but I like that what I captured here mimicked the season and the mood I felt that day.
Compared to previous years this has been a strange and limited year for me geographically.
To begin with the immediately concrete, I’ve hardly gone outside in the past week and a half, thanks to an extended episode of my right foot being stiff and swollen from gout. This time it struck without warning or provocation, unlike the previous time earlier this year, which you can see foreshadowed on the map as a day of biking around exploring West Oakland and then to Berkeley. The next day I could barely walk, and I haven’t dared to ride a bike in months.
My daily routine has been dominated all year by getting between home and MacArthur or Rockridge BART stations and between Civic Center BART and the Mapbox office on 9th Street. There are also many short walks from 16th Street BART for the Friday morning ritual of geobreakfast, and some longer ones taking advantage of some extra time in the morning to walk between 16th Street and Castro or Church stations instead of going straight to work. Another couple of early mornings I went to Glen Park and Noe Valley just to count pedestrians.
The long straight lines in the Oakland Hills are GPS tracks from airplanes. The rules changed and now you can use a GPS receiver during takeoff and landing, but it’s still hard to get a good signal. The trips were to Boston, to speak at the OpenVis conference (and then from there to Maryland to visit Steph’s family), and to Minneapolis, to speak at Eyeo Festival. Not visible on the map are two trips to visit my parents in southern California.
Locally, I talked at the Macro City conference at the Brava Theater, at Swissnex on Montgomery, at the National Association of City Transportation Officials at SPUR, and to a cartography class at San Francisco State, gave lunch talks at SFMTA and Gehl Architects, and was in SPUR’s Urban Cartography exhibit.
One Saturday I took the F Market around the Embarcadero to go to the library book sale at Fort Mason and came away with seven bound volumes of the Armed Forces Song Folio, monthly compilations of popular sheet music issued by the military in the 1940s and 50s. By systematically working through them, I’ve finally become a competent “fake book” pianist, able to play songs I’ve never heard before from the written melody and chords, although playing full standard piano arrangements is still beyond me.
I think the only new infrastructure reflected here is trying out BART’s Oakland Airport Connector on its opening day.
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In general, black is walking, red is bicycling, blue is cars or buses, and green is above-ground rapid transit or freeways. (Color is from speed, not from an actual record of transportation mode.) Not shown: tunnels and subways. How big is your world?
Other people doing similar things: Nicole Aptekar.
This was taken near the southwest corner of the park...
Note: this photo was published in an undated (Oct 2009) blog titled "Amish says ... sit in park." It was also published in a Jun 23, 2010 blog titled "Workers of the World Unite! Take Back Your Lunch!" It was also published in a Sep 16, 2010 blog titled "Cities for People: A Q&A With Architect Jan Gehl," at www-dot-fastcompany-dot-com-slash-1689519/cities-for-people-a-qa-with-architect-jan-gehl . And it was published in a Sep 24, 2010 blog titled "Friday 5: Urban Miscellany from Sept 18th-24th.
Moving into 2011, the photo was published (for reasons I simply don't understand at all) in a blog titled "Find a Dentist in Birmingham." And it was published in an undated (early Oct 2011) blog titled " Az öregedés jelei ."
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Feb 13, 2012 Atlantic blog titled "Why So Many Romantic Comedies Are Set in Cities." And it was published in a May 1, 2012 blog titled "ブログでは書かないメルマガ相談所（工事中)."
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Mar 21, 2013 blog titled For "Thriving Public Spaces, Just Add Seating."
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I had a lunchtime dentist appointment in midtown Manhattan the other day, and when it was over, I decided to walk a couple blocks over to Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library. It was a sunny day, and I thought I might see some gorgeous babes sunbathing on the park lawn in their bikinis (even being an amateur photographer is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it). If not, I thought perhaps I'd find some photogenic tourists or oddball New Yorkers that I could photograph.
As it turns out, almost all of the central lawn was being covered over with some kind of wooden platform -- presumably for an upcoming concert performance of some kind -- so nobody was sunbathing out on the grass. But since that area was unavailable, and since it was still the lunchtime period, the periphery around the central lawn was chock-a-block with people. There's now a cafe immediately behind (i.e., to the west) of the library itself, and it was doing a land-office business. And all along the north and south sides of the park, as well as the broader western side, there were tables and chairs and benches where people could enjoy their lunch with whatever food or entertainment they had brought along.
I was already aware of the pentanque court on the western side of the park, and knew that I'd find one or two good pictures there. But I didn't realize that the Parks Department had set up two ping-pong tables, as well as several tables for chess-players. In addition, there were a few card games underway, and there was also a section set aside for people who wanted to borrow local newspapers to read.
As for the people: I had to remind myself that because Bryant Park is smack in the middle of mid-town Manhattan (a block away from Times Square, filling the square block between 41st/42nd street, and 5th/6th Avenue), most of the people enjoying their lunch were office workers. So the men typically wore slacks and dress shirts, and a surprising number of them were also wearing suits and ties. The women wore dresses and skirts, and generally looked quite fashionable and presentable. Of course, there were also tourists and students and miscellaneous others; but overall, it was a much more "upscale" bunch of people than I'm accustomed to seeing in my own residential area on the Upper West Side.
I was surprised by how many people were sitting alone -- eating alone, reading alone, listening to music alone, dozing alone, or just staring into space alone. You'll see some of them in this album, though I didn't want to over-emphasize their presence; equally important, many of the loners just weren't all that interesting from a photogenic perspective. So you'll also see lots of couples, some children, a couple of families, and occasionally larger groups of people who were eating and chatting and enjoying the warm summer day.
Three activities dominated the scene, all of which were fairly predictable, under the circumstances: eating, reading, and talking on cellphones. You would expect people to be eating at lunch-time, of course; and you wouldn't be surprised at the notion of people reading a book as they sat behind the New York Public Library on a warm, sunny day. But the pervasiveness of the cellphones was quite astonishing ... oh, yeah, there were a few laptops, too, but fewer than I might have imagined.
I've photographed Bryant Park several times over the past 40 years, going back to some photos of 1969 Vietnam War protest marches that you can see in this album. I was here in the summer of 2008 to take these photos; I came back in January 2009 to take these photos of the winter scene; and I returned again for these pictures in March 2009 and these these pictures in the late spring of 2009; all of these have been collected into a Flickr "collection" of albums that you can find here. But if you want to see what New York City's midtown office workers are doing at lunch, take a look at what's in this album.
I looked-up the Avant-Garde website on 6 November 2015. [Original links no longer work.]
The website then stated that Avant-Garde tower was originally a development by Genesis, a London-based social housing group. But that in November 2015 was:
"... a striking state-of-the-art-25-storey glass tower [which] will dominate the skyline at Avant-Garde."
"When it comes to accessing central London, Avant-garde is perfectly placed for a walk to work in The City, Bishopsgate, Aldgate, Finsbury Circus and Moorgate in the City of London. The famous Square Mile, a global financial powerhouse."
Blue Hour CGI
The Avant-garde website included a CGI (computer generated image) of an imagined view from Sclater Street on the south side of the Avant-Garde tower. View location with Google Maps
In the online CGI illustrations I found the colouring interesting. It appeared to show early evening, at a time photographers call the "blue hour" when cityscapes are often at their most beautiful. Sky colours are a gradient with deeper blues higher up. And overall, appear more saturated than in bright daylight. Both these features appear In the CGI image of the Avant-garde tower.
It has another feature, which can lend glamour to a photo. Many of the lights in the building are on; and figures of people are silhouetted in the windows of flats. At street level, store windows and the entrance hall cast pools of light on the pavement.
Also at street level, the CGI artist has generated bands of gold and red. As if from headlights and rear lights of unseen speeding vehicles.
There was another "blue hour" image on the Avant-Garde website. A window view from inside the Penthouse.
What's missing in the CGI they're programming
The sales material I've mentioned on this and other pages about Avant-garde Tower show the picture marketed to potential buyers and residents.
But equally interesting was a CGI animation loop showing a view of the tower panned vertically from top to street level. In this publicity material some things seemed to be missing. Everything was pristine clean. Even in the public street there was no litter, no rubbish, no graffiti. The figures walking into or in front of Avant-Garde building appeared be trim and well dressed. There was nobody obviously elderly. And no kids: on foot, or carried, or pushed in buggies.
Looking at the sales material of the interiors these flats I got an impression of living spaces - not homes. And spaces where the architects and designers expect clients who want a homestyle chosen for them and as ready-to-wear as their designer clothes. Will messy muddly families live there with dishes in the sink or a child's book or toy left on a chair?
In the sales pitch about "boutiques", "fashion houses", "designer names" and the "world famous cityscape", I didn't come across mention of schools, the local community, and even the amazing human history of the area nearby.
I wondered if the potential buyers of these flats would visit and compare the imaginary people in the sales publicity with a random selection of passers-by in the photo above - a few minutes away on Bethnal Green Road
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§ 'The more deprived and edgy, the better’: the two sides of London’s property boom. Article by Zed Nelson in the Guardian, 30 May 2015.
"The estate is valuable because we are just two or three minutes from the City of London. They can generate a lot of income from building private homes with social housing on the side.
EastendHomes argue that the buildings here are structurally unsound and uneconomical to refurbish, which we totally disagree with. It’s very frustrating. You hear the phrase “social cleansing” being used – and that’s exactly what this is." -Interview with a Tower Hamlets Council leaseholder included in the article.
§ The Danish architect and urbanist Jan Gehl has commented on the CGI images used to sell an architect's or developer's vision.
“But these guys – all these people in the planning, architect and landscape, whatever, profession – they are very very interested in people. And you can see that whenever they make any project whatsoever. It is crawling with happy people who are walking in all directions, seemingly aimlessly. We call it ‘unspecified public life’. And it doesn’t depend on if it’s on the north side or the south side; or is on Greenland, or it’s in Arabic countries. It’s the same story all over. That all the projects are full of happy people. Showing that the purpose of doing all this is to make people happy at ground level.”
— Source: Jan Gehl in a talk on "Cities for People". Video by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
§ "Architects pretend a lot. . . . The sun is always shining on the pinmen and women in our drawings and models". — Irena Bauman quoted by Martin Wainwright in "The Happy Architect"
§ "All air will be their air.
"The city that privatised itself to death". Article by Ian Martin in The Guardian 24 February 2015 with a bitter/funny over-the-top critique of development in London. Here's a sample.
"Oh, man, and just look at London’s privatised skyline.
It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so cartoonishly tragic.
This one looks like a Nespresso machine. And that one,
a cigar, is it? Potato? Full nappy? The utter capitulation
of London’s planning system in the face of serious
money is detectable right there in that infantile, random
collection of improbable sex toys poking gormlessly into
the privatised air. Public access? Yeah, we’ll definitely
put a public park at the top (by appointment only). Oh,
absolutely, we are ALL about community engagement:
members of the public are welcome to visit our viewing
gallery in the sky, that’ll be 30 quid, madam."
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IMPORTANT
Brief quotations above are for illustration & review.
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Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V from 1670 to 1673, dug by Swedish prisoners of war from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King's Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermens' catch. It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn for some 18 years.
The first bridge across Nyhavn opened on 6 February 1875. It was a temporary wooden footbridge It was replaced by the current bridge in 1912
As ocean-going ships grew larger, Nyhavn was taken over by internal Danish small vessel freight traffic. After World War II land transport took over this role and small vessel traffic disappeared from the Port of Copenhagen, leaving Nyhavn largely deserted of ships.
In the mid-1960s, the Nyhavn Society (Danish: Nyhavnsforeningen) was founded with the aim of revitalising the area. In 1977, Nyhavn was inaugurated as a veteran ship and museum harbour by Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor Egon Weidekamp. In 1980 Nyhavn quay was pedestrianised; it had been used as a parking area in the previous years which had coincided with a dwindling of harbour activities. Since then it has become a popular spot for tourists and locals alike, serving the function of a square according to architects Jan Gehl and Lars Gemzøe
George St, Sydney, c1965 #sydney #history #australia (if anybody has a time machine, email me. I'm in). fat.ly/gehL
Every year on New Year's Eve, I pause and wonder where I'll be the same time next year. Endless possibilities swim through my head but, usually, I have no goal or direction; no New Year's resolutions, no major goals, no objectives. It is the possibilities and the prospect of undiscovered adventures that excite me. From the outside, it may seem like I have my life planned out but that is probably far from the truth. All I have are vague ideas that slowly coalesce into (more) solid ideas as the year progresses and life happens around me. I guess I am a reactive planner. Is that an oxymoron?
January 1, 2015 started with a bike ride to Lake Merritt and a visit to Alameda's German Bar, Speisekammer, where we were treated to Glühwein. It was my first time having mulled wine and, looking back, foreshadowed the first of many new experiences the next 364 days would bring.
In January, I went to my first baby shower, had my first alambre chempanos, rode in a Porsche for the first time, and went to Mexico Lindo for the first (and last) time.
In February, I watched the Super Bowl at a bar for the first time, took my first cast off, climbed at the Great Western Power Company for the first time, launched my first real website and celebrated at Santana Row, volunteered for Gehl for the first time, and ate my first Kouign-Amann.
In March, we found out Scolaris had a second Alameda Base location and ate there for the first time, climbed my first V4, had my first Indonesian chicken & waffles, painted a part of our house for the first time, shared good vibes at Above & Beyond with an extended circle of friends for the first time, took our first family trip to Portland, and went climbing with my brother for the first time.
In April, I experienced my first Coachella, had the first outdoor CDC meeting after Red Bull Gate, went back to my first Picnic Day after graduating, and started training my for my first half-marathon.
In May, we were first exposed to the greatness that is the Mystery Creature, went to Julie's Garden for the first time, and went to my first professional soccer game.
In June, I explored the murals in Mission for the first time, watched the Warriors win their first championship in many years, and went camping in Humbolt for the first time.
In July, I played my first game of Egyptian War, went to Dish Dash in Sunnyvale for the first time, had the first blue hour, and partied in the Oakland Hills for the first time.
In August, I won and lost my first shuffleboard game at a bar, watched the sun set while sitting in the rain for the first time, said aloha to Liho Liho for the first time, hiked Tennessee Valley for the first time, saw shooting stars in the Perseid Meteor shower for the first time, swam in Costa Brava for the first time in a long time, saw Meru in the Shattuck Theater for the first time, and spontaneously went to my first weekday concert at Shoreline.
In September, I made my first international planning friends, went to TBD Fest for the first time, shared my first Blood Supermoon, and went to Little Luca in Burlingame for the first time.
In October, I played in my first alumni water polo game, had amazing homemade smoked salmon for the first time, saw the blue angels take off for the first time, had McDonalds with my family as a meal for the first time in over 10 years, went to my first SJSU football game, showed international friends around SF for the first time, went to Haven for the first time, and dressed up and partied during Halloween for the first time after college.
In November, I discovered the greatness of Bob Ross for the first time, ran my first half-marathon (2:28) in Monterey, submitted my first grad school app, had my first true LA experience, had our first company Thanksgiving, returned to The Spot for the first time after The Awesome Race, and played Chess with my brother for the first time.
In December, I completed my first post-graduate Certificate in Community Design and Development, had my first partner at the Holiday Party, had my first lively political discussion at a family lunch, played my first 9-hole in San Leandro, went to Taiwan for the first time, played arcade games with my brother for the first time since we were kids, heard some of Grandma's old stories for the first time, and hosted a party at my house for the first time.
There was no way I could have imagined that I would be celebrating the end of 2015 surrounded by my closest friends in my own house. 2015 was truly a memorable year and I am so, so happy that I chose this year to take on this project. Interstellar taught us that time is relative, and taking the time to appreciate each and every day certainly slowed down time. I found new friends at work, reconnected with old ones, and improved the 2014 version of me.
Who knows what 2016 will bring, or where I'll be and who I'll be with on December 31, 2016. Maybe, as they say, it is already written. Onwards.