active echo

At this moment there is pressure to become actively invisible, an echo. A dead and angry repeat of sound. Is it possible that absence is then necessary to create space for articulation, to withdraw for a moment from the cheering crowd and to listen closely for the faint sound of hearts, beating.

fog

because I am a ________ does not mean I have authority

authority is made up of minuscule fog droplets
in temporary formation

"in all but thunder clouds, the droplets make up less than a millionth of the volume"

meaningful boundaries

ARTICLE Field Guide to Fences via Next City

a typology of fences phrased in the problem-solution framework - though, it'd be nice to see the other side of it (ha-ha!?) and include the merits of those awful fences from the perspective of people who want and love them - we'd have an argument to work with - and go on to construct some meaningful boundaries - walls - fences - screens - posts - doors - gates - or naught.

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LA - Literally Glows

INTERVIEW Mike Davis in Conversation with Jennifer Wolch and Dana Cuff via Boom California

Davis: "Gee, you shouldn’t be disheartened by my books on LA. They’re just impassioned polemics on the necessity of the urban left. And my third LA book, Magical Urbanism, literally glows with optimism about the grassroots renaissance going on in our immigrant neighborhoods."

Questions on  -

negotiating developer and public agendas by tactic of design 
(in reference to Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall)

a free spirit in the space of the city
(in reference to the city's capacity to support safely roaming children)

toolkits as alternative to master plans
(in reference to the agency of disciplines)

elite fear of common people
(in reference to the revitalization of downtowns)

dry skin in the winter time

skin, dry, eyes, hardened, eyes, closed, heart, beat

Observations at the airport

Hands holding rectangles
Thumbs silently slide against glass
Heads pitched down
Eyes absorbing
Ears are covered with foam circles held together by a plastic headband
Tap tap on glass
Look up look down
Tap tap tap

Caffe Med is Closed

It's hard to hear that Caffe Med is closed. It was a place in Berkeley I could go alone and feel comfortable. Nothing about it was polished or clean, which was the relief I got from it. Every surface of every thing and person there was etched and scratched and stained so that there was texture. The floors had a faint smell of being always dirty, like an olfactory history for the subconscious side. And so a person never felt judged there and could just write or sit or talk without needing to examine their self worth. Any unwanted person could enter and stay. The cookies were a dollar. And a pancake was a dollar in the year 2016. Caffe Med was where I wrote most my academic work, and so I'm glad I got to be there and benefit from its magic, have it in memory.