Monday, February 22, 2010

RAPE ME, AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN

American idealism, and the founding principles of this nation fail to exist within the borders of the United States. There are a few select cities (New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, etc) that seem to struggle to hold onto what I believe are the true American values, but for the most part all of the towns across America have ironically been consumed by communism through capitalism. I am viewing this from a design and architectural standpoint since th0se are the areas in which I am passionate and relatively well versed in my opinion.
Allow me to explain: a capitalist system encourages creation at the lowest cost possible. By spending the least amount of money on design, large corporations have effectively prefabricated structures in order to save MONEY (the root of a capitalist society). However by doing this, present day America has more communist architecture than a "communist" country like China. In essence, the best way to perpetuate a business in a capitalistic society is to enforce mass production and duplication upon the design world in order to save money. This is a ridiculous and absurd paradox in itself that defies the freedom and individuality of America, yet because of MONEY, from a design perspective we live in a communist society. Drive through any town and all McDonald's, Barnes & Nobles, Borders, Walmarts, K-marts etc look and operate in the exact same manner in every locale. From a design perspective it is almost impossible to differentiate one American town from the next, and in this sense the majority of American Design is Communist design. I'm sure I have made comments similar to this before and hope to dedicate my life to change American design but at this time I feel it is extremely important to point out. Think about it as you drive down the streets of your town, and ask yourself "how exactly is my town architecturally distinctive from any other place in our nation?"

Monday, February 1, 2010

And the Devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car

I am feeling quite NOLA nostalgic right now. With the impending Superbowl (for the first time in my life I actually give a flying fuck about the NFL), Mardi Gras, and my 21st birthday I am greatly saddened by not being able to currently be in NOLA . It is true that the city is in complete decay and disarray, and that since Katrina not a single person has been involved in responsible rebuilding on a large scale (and at the current rate the city will experience another Katrina situation within the next 15 years). However, NOLA is and always will be my home and in the infamous words of the wise man of verse, Wayne Carter, "If I had one guess then I guess I'm just New Orleans." It feels incredibly bizarre to be missing out on Mardi Gras which is generally the most important event of the year in my mind; if I had a religion Mardi Gras would be my Hajj, Christmas, Trip to Israel, etc. New Orleans is indeed a holy land, a land that holds an undefinable spirit of celebration, freedom, expression, and acceptance that has been torn apart by corruption, a failing economy, lack of cultural evolution, and natural disaster.
However, I realize that in order to actually achieve my idealistic and ultimate dream of rebuilding the city in the right fashion requires that I must continue with my day to day monotony of school, work, and applications. If there is one thing that is truly amazing about the people of New Orleans it's that they do not judge and respect everyone's right to do what they want to do; in other words we mind our own fuckin' business and celebrate it. I greatly miss this,; even though living in NOLA often made me feel like I was stuck in a downward spiral of death, I at least had the power to exercise my sacred first amendment rights in their fullest without question or judgment.
Living in the heartland of America has it's benefits (primarily security and stability), but I see myself fitting in much better in European-American cities like New Orleans, New York, etc that allow anything and everything to happen and instead of biting people's heads off for rebellion rather embrace the glorious outcomes of insanity.