Bologna

Just a Thought_2

In football, or sport for that matter, is the manager/coach only as good as himself?

As in, would he know how to beat his own team, if he were to play against himself?

...This is clearly born out of the fact that Liverpool are playing terribly this season; too beatable.

Just a thought_1

The German word for camera lens is Objectiv...relates nicely to the phrase the camera never lies...


Once they get into our hands though, should they be called Subjectivs?!

A Building? Take a closer look; its a bench.

Madrid

 

  

  

 

 

Hauptverwaltung der EVS (EnBw)

by Lederer Ragnarsdottir-Oei

I love the solid and monotone look of this Energy building in the Centre of Stuttgart.

It doesn't need to say anything or be spectacular; its quite modest, but not mundane.

I didn't get to see inside as it is private, and the building isn't opened up on ground level except at one point; it shuts itself off, which I find ironic, as this is what attracted me to it.

The white joints between the bricks are only done horizontally, a nice detail that brings the whole thing together as a whole.

Five Minute Flight

Five Minute Flight
Originally uploaded by funkymonk2000

A play about a short lived flight for 5 business men brought up the metaphor of the Bee and its short lived life as a busy worker.

Here, we see a swarm of planes, destined to fall into purgatory and the bold colours of the bee used to grab attention.

For a new theatre company in Dublin, 'No Tears Productions'. Show is on in March!

Speed-The-Plow -A Poster

Some day...!

Last week I sorted this out:

Not many trips of late, so more Office work.

Someday I would like to have an assistant to organise my 2000+ worldwide publications!!! :D

King Lear - Poster

A broken and fractured shadow of his former self, Lear stands in the spotlight, with his three daughters (represented here by the royal coloured lights) having affected him so badly.

HONK!

A musical adaptation of the Ugly Duckling by Stuttgart Theatre Centre (based in the US Army barracks!)

5 from 2009

Theres been a lot of good stuff this year, so much so that its hard to narrow it down to just 5 great songs; but i'll give it a go!

5. The View - Temptation Dice

Don't let em tell you that you don't matter,

life's more than a chip-shop wrapper

So they may be terrible live (let's just call it rough) but the scottish band kicked of 2009 with a new album, and some tracks to rival that of the first. This is probably the best. Tenner bet you can't figure out what he's saying.

4. Humanzi- Neu Tune

Let's Get Together

What a bass line, and what another anthem from Ireland's best. Finally managed to see these guys at PschoFest in the Twisted Pepper back in June. Can't wait for the next opportunity...or the second album early next year.

3. The Maccabees - Can You Give It?

One last pull to tight the slack
Of before
Slow rolling bolder, rock, stone, pebble
Grit, sand, dust, grain, speck of it all

 

These lads are on their second album now, and kickin ass! Not yet recieved the fame they deserve, but the south-london/brighton group have kept it creative and true to their style. They've mixed it up this time with a new drummer, who brought some braver, some times hip-hop, beats to the table.

I was lucky enough to see them again this year, twice more, and meet them after the show in Stuttgart; sound lads, really bang on. 

2. Julian Casablancas - Left and Right in the Dark

When I met you, I was running wild

Trying to follow other solos projects from your bandmates with your own is alwyas going to be hard. And anticipated.

It seems the strokes solo albums finish on a high (unless Nick does something amazing, or something at all!), with a delightfully 80s, retro-futuristic (artwork by Warren Fu) and all round good tunes release from the front man of a generation. This one is addictive.

Two drummers allow for alternate and simultaneous beats and cymbal crashes, as well as showing that what sounds like fiddling around with a drum machine in studio can be taken on the road. Keyboards are turned to 11 and Julian keeps up his lyrical genius with some killer lines and themes explored.

How about another round of solo projects...THEN get back together!?

1. Bipolar Empire - Feel That You Own It

Hope's my only friend,

yeh he's always around

If ever there was a song to get you through 3rd year architecture and overcome any other challenges, this was it. Ok, this song has been around for a couple of years now, always a highlight at houseparties, but the local lads from Tallaght spent the start of the year recording in LA, giving the record pop-polished quality.

Stunning vocal ranges and harmonies, melodic bass lines and solid, yet creative, drumming (not to mention its sheer ability to motivate and keep you going) make this my song of the year. Cannot wait to hear the rest of the album.

Go see the guys live in dublin, they're on nearly every week somewhere!

5 That Just missed out:

The Brothers Movement - Standing Still

The Whigs - Hundred/Million

Class of 1984 - Runaway Boy

House of Dolls - Gimme Some Glory

Codes - This is goodbye

LFA Bank in Munich, by Auer and Weber

Life in Stuttgart

I've been here over a month now; that's plenty of time to pick up on a few things...

Stuttgart itself is located in the south west if Germany, its Dialect is Schwabisch...not that I notice; anyone who talks in a foreign language talks funny anyway.

It is surrounded by hills (where there's lots of vineyards!) and on one end these hills dip, and that's where the main station sits. It feels like a giant donut (and my flatmate's girlfriend described it as a 'cauldron'), but with the station plugging a hole in one end...please don't rain!

For the first 10 days I stayed in the living room of the WG (flatshare), which was grand. Got to watch de odd film, such as Ich bin Legend, starring Will Schmidt! 

I'm at the stage now where I'm begining to think through german. Which is a bit mad. If I make a mistake or drop something , I will actually murmur nein or schieße!

Still starting the odd conversation / saying random words in Irish though.

It just comes out, can't help it.

The buses and trains are always on time. I knew this from Berlin before, but now as an inhabitant you see how it affects you. You can never be late for work and say the bus was late, cause your boss will say "no it wasn't, the bus comes at 08.47".

I'm now looking the right way crossing the street, which can only be helpful.

...What is it your doing again?!

Too many times has the above phrase followed "fair play" or "good luck" etc...so i thougt I'd write about what I'm up to at the minute!

Here in Stuttgart, I'm Assistant to Roland Halbe, an Architectural Photographer.

The job has 2 sides; the actual assisting, and then the follow up work in the back-office.

While assisting, I get to travel with Roland to shoot different projects. So far I've only been to Munich and Rome. The tasks here are carrying around a suitcase full of equipment, changing lenses, noting and numbering images taken, moving things out of the way, commenting and advising (on different angles etc), and sometimes you get to be in the photos (I was in the New York Times last week!). Sometimes you're up real early to get dawn shots, but the days are shorter now than in summer. Its fascinating seeing the assembling of an image and how he composes certain elements with the experienced knowledge of all things camera (aperture, lenses, exposure etc).

In the office, theres a team of photoshopers who clean up/stitch images, then they come to the assistants (2 of us, so while one is traveling, the other can work in the office..then swap).

We are essentially the publicists for the buildings, sending previews to publishers around the world, who get back to us, and we keep track of which images are published. Also here, we clean the equipment, update memory cards, charge batteries; basically stay on top things.

Overall, everything is very very organised and efficient...I like!

It was tough at first. I think every job is in the beginning, but throw in a wickedly organised computer system and all this through German, and things are a bit harder!

I'm getting the hang of it now...I'm on me way!

MAXXI Museum, Roma, Zaha Hadid

Was in Rome last week helping photograph Zaha Hadid's new Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome.

The museum will be the first national museum of contemporary art and the first national museum of architecture in Italy.

Zaha Hadid (and her Office!) have kept one or two of the original buildings of this former baracks, located in the north of the city near Piano's Music City, The national Stadium and Nervi's Palazzetto dello Sport, her creation is 'a confluence of geometries'; fluid and flowing.

This is a brave building. It has taken many years, political parties, and expanded budget to get to the stage where it is ready to open next year, with the press preview this week.

Its concrete walls are unclad, unlike typical italian construction which is clad in terrazzo or at least painted a warm tone. It certainly is representative of a museum for modern art. But then, isn't Rome the motherland of Concrete innovation?...ie the aformentioned Palazzetto dello Sport?...The Pantheon?

This is what I love about this building; it stirs up conversation, brings out opinions; just like the art it will exhibit. You can imagine the heated conversations in local cafes as the natives discuss its arrival.

The biggest fault, in my mind, has to do with the light. The roof in this building is the 5th faccade as it compensates for the ope-less walls; but is it trying to emulate Sverre Fehn's Nordic Pavilion in Venice? If it is, it certainly doesn't compare! The rooflights in Rome appear to be concrete, but are in fact steel trusses clad in concrete...it just doesn't fo hand in hand with the apparent honesty of the rest of the complex. Furthermore, the rooflights are aided by artificial strip lights; what a let-down.

Nonetheless, the structual system (which took 6 years to work out...puts our 4 months of struggles in College into persepctive eh?!) and the finish of the concrete is sublime.

Its a new monument to slot into Rome's timeline...but not to rival greats of the past.

5 of a kind

These new queens of music are living up to the standards set by their godmothers (aka, Blondie, Madonna, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey...).

The new Divas:


Santogold



Little Boots



Imelda May



Wallis Bird



Feist



Not to mention: Florence + The Machine, Lykke Li, M.I.A and groups fronted with epitomisations of girl power: The Go! Team, CSS and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

Went to visit the Neue Staatsgaleie here in Stuttgart last week, a building designed by James Stirling ('ein Englischer') in the early 80s. Plating with its sandstone cladding, it also has a bit of fun with its oversized handrails, and colourful entrance. The central courtyard acts as a pinwheel to the rest of the building, with views across it from certain points within.

I knew there'd be a bit of Picasso inside, but what I found was a wealth of paintings by kick-ass artists:  Feininger, Moholy-Nagy, Baumeister, Kandinsky, Lichtenstein, Mondrian, Miro, Dali,  Leger, Kirchner, and Albers

And it was free in! Lovely!

NO JUNK MAIL!...please

This is one of these things I get fixated upon and think about too much but anyway, here it goes...!

Last summer I worked in the direct sales business; door to door. An experience in itself and something that i took a lot out of; more positives than one would think.

I estimate that I knocked on around 8000 doors over a few months...enough time for my mind to wander.

I noticed nearly every street had at least one house with a no junk mail sign, or something o that nature. Now, I'm not saying I like 'junk' mail, but I was interested in the way people use their front door or porch as a way of saying 'no'. Is it a polite no? Is the threshold at the front of their home for welcoming, or for shutting out? Do they actually take the time to make a sign? Is it typed? Which font? Hand-drawn? Did the kids draw up some negativity? How is it fixed? What promoted it? Are they just trying to be economic and save on waste (recyclable)? Where do they put it? Beside the polished letter box? Beside the pruned flowers in the hanging basket? Is it bought? Did they spend money in order to save on further hassle?

The above is a collage I made in response to this diversity of questions.

I feel this fixation isn't over...maybe its all just junk thoughts anyway...

Too late for Halloween...?

Halloween away from home; Halloween uncelebrated!?

Some alternative Halloween Songs: Guess the links!

M83 - Graveyard Girl

Apteka - The Sheet

(poor quality on this one; try their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/apteka)

The Smiths - Cemetry Gates

Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches

Nirvana - Drain You