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(and various tangents as they come to me, ending with the rebellion against a robotic clone take over of society)
First coffin I'd like to ask your help with:
Blockbuster Video. I recently was a helpless bystander, watching, like most other people out there who live in towns or areas built prior to the mid 90s, my local video store go out of business. The story is the same, a new shopping center is built or redone and this current American chain staple is guaranteed a home in your community. It didn't take more than a few months and Waimea Video store, where we went every weekend growing up and knew the owners and everyone working there had to close shop. We tried to keep supporting them but we apparently couldn't do enough. That was a good 2-3 years ago and the space it occupied still remains empty. It looks run down and really great.
But the trade off was worth it, right? Sure! We can all go to Blockbuster now and pay $6.00 (or is it more now?) for one movie for one night, deal with disinterested high school dropout workers, and dish out money to some unseen franchise owner who may or may not live in the area. And for some reason, despite their huge selection, it is often harder to find anything to watch.
Solution? Netflix. Plans start at $5 for 2 movies a month, and you can keep them as long as you want. We have the 2 at a time unlimited per month plan, it's $14. We watch up to about 8 movies a month, and we can watch an additional unlimited amount on our computer. It is far, far cheaper than Blockbuster and you don't even have to spend money on gas to drive anywhere. We are giving money to a ghost, sure, but at least not encouraging bad architecture and a sterile and monotonous landscape.
*note: Blockbuster Video also offers movies via mail similar to Netflix, but do not be fooled. Blockbuster is still again more expensive, and also, think of all the bad architecture. Also, I know Blockbuster is struggling lately as a result of their being so lame, so just participate in the coffin nailing!
Future Coffin I'd love to nail down:
Starbucks. See previous post for details on this annoying and trend defining phenomena. I'd say more, but I don't drink coffee so don't really care about it other than, again, looking at predictably generic architecture and equally predictable patrons.
Solution? Make your own. Or at least sacrifice that recognizable white and green cup and go someplace where lattes aren't $10.
Other future coffins I have seen in dreams:
Borders, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy. I would love to see these chains go down mostly for their participation in the demise of a place close to my heart: the music store. No more local music stores to hang out at, get recommendations at, to special order CDs you can't find, or to buy tickets to local shows. Even old school chain stores like Tower Records (which, though a chain, was pretty sweet and usually pretty localized) couldn't survive in the new landscape of Big Box economies of scale and convenience. I recognize the digital revolution has completely changed the music business more than anything else, but am still bitter with my terrible choices when I want to go on Tuesday and buy the new CD I was waiting for. Want a CD today? You have to go to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy or maybe Walmart. The sad thing is unless your taste in music completely sucks, then more than likely you won't find what you're looking for. The selection is frustrating and prices: high. It's sad to see smaller, local music stores with more diversity in music being utterly wiped out by gigantic boxes of sameness with identical music selections no matter which part of the country you're in.
Solution? Boycott and shop online. Amazon.com has a decent selection of music, used and new, for a range of prices. Online shops are able to provide whatever you are looking for. I have used Amazon for the past few years, as I'm old school and still like a tangible CD from time to time, and love it. Prices are great and it's shipped quickly to your door.
In summary:
The landscape has drastically changed with the global economy and increased trade, outsourcing and the internet. While this has brought us goods for lower prices and many other wonderful benefits, I believe in many ways our choices are becoming more limited as ultra-efficient and morbidly obese companies like those mentioned above put every one else out of business. I know that people make choices, and thus are to blame for going to these big box, generic chains and leaving the others to go under. Two thoughts: One, people are like robots. Two, the physical landscape has changed in so much of America that people no longer have access to local businesses without a car, they are no longer blended into communities like they were in the past. We have built an automobile dependent environment where everything in life is separated by vast amounts of roadway and parking lot. Naturally, this has created a niche for these mega chains as people now go to one particular zone to buy goods and need everything they seek in that one zone. The birth of the mega chain big box. A one stop shop for everyone, so you better be seeking the same goods as everyone. This neatly separated and planned out environment connected by roads begins altering the way we live and interact. To function in an overly planned, inorganic system, the human must also become inorganic and simply participate in the system. Robots on a conveyor belt, going from zone to zone.
But I don't want to give up and watch the natural world of the past be taken over. And not all places have been fully converted to this new system of living. And I think a growing number are becoming dissatisfied with this artificial way of life (Just visit real communities of real people and see the influx of those fighting their robotic transformation moving from elsewhere, seeking a real life among humans). My hope is for change towards more variety (not one or two big box chain stores full of products everyone must shop at), freer movement (on foot, by car, bicycle, horse, piggyback, your choice!) and a more naturally functioning system of living without conveyor belts.
In closing, I again ask all humans for help. I believe there will always be a need for video stores, music stores, book stores, coffee shops, and so on. I do not believe the one size must fit all dominance of huge chain stores is healthy for communities of members of a variety of sizes. By not giving these chains money, but by finding what we can on the internet, or of course at the few surviving local businesses in your area, humans can resist the robotic clone take over threatening to eclipse our entire society. Everything is cyclical: I believe the Walmart era isn't eternal, but humans will turn back towards a world of human scale and interaction as it is the most natural and sustainable. As humans begin to get a handle on things and are able to fight off the evil robot forces, human scale businesses run by fellow humans of various sizes may again proliferate throughout the land, enriching the character of communities and fulfilling all of our wildest dreams.
It is interesting to see Obama changing right before our eyes as a result of the increasing insights into his personal life and beliefs. Until now he always said race wasn't an issue, he was an American running for office. If anyone else brought it up they were painted as racist or someone stuck in the past. When Geraldine Ferraro said she didn't think Obama would be in his position if he were white (a comment most reasonable people agree with...and Hillary wouldn't be where she is...but does anyone care?), he immediately said that was out of line and she shouldn't be allowed to continue working for Hillary. He actually tried to compare that with what Rev. Wright was spewing over the pulpit?
Race is not a factor with Obama- that is what he's worked so hard to get into everyone's minds for the past year. As people begin questioning what really is inside the man due to what many he associates with carry inside themselves, Obama has completely changed his message. It turns out that race is everything after all.
In his race speech, Obama again says he disagrees with his mentor Rev. Wright, but then tries to trivialize it by saying we all have gone to church and disagreed with church leaders before. I personally think my being told that I shouldn't put off having children until I'm wealthy isn't quite on the same level as, say, the fighting and killing between fellow white people needs to stop and we should instead turn against the real enemy: black people- As Wright suggests, but of course reversed, in one of his uplifting sermons.
As Obama's halo fades and people see two regular human democratic candidates with nothing much separating them politically, Obama turns to the tried and true. No longer can he stand back and let everyone else argue about whether or not race is an issue, pretending to be above it all. He sees his momentum slowing... His speech, I think, can be summed up in a few phrases: Racism exists in America. I am black. Nothing will ever change until we the people do something about it.
and the ONLY way to do anything about it is: Elect ME! hint hint....
Apparently the only way we can get past racism is if we vote for Barack Obama, so I guess I have to. To me, that is a sad and desperate attempt to win back the love and affection of the country.
I just wish Obama was a regular old black guy who was actually experienced enough. No racist church membership, no questionable acquaintances, no seemingly disgusted with America spouse- but just a solid, experienced, honest person. There wouldn't be all this ammunition and ridiculous stuff to be made into gigantic issues like they have unless something wasn't right. What is not right is I think Obama has been counting on his race to get him the presidency. And now it is becoming more apparent than I'm sure he would have liked.
I don't know much about Colin Powell or Condi Rice, but I know they are pretty high up there and I can't image such a huge deal being made about their being black. I don't know whether its the democratic party and their obsession with being PC, the fact that Obama is a mythical creature we don't really know, or whether he's more of a celebrity rock star than legitimate candidate that has caused this circus. I do know I'm getting bored with it.
Some thoughts on Barack H. Obama and what I've been seeing and hearing regarding the presidential race.
It seems the country has fallen- and fallen hard- for this charming and inspirational speaker. People write songs about him, praise him as the savior of the world, and faint when they are in his presence. When most people are asked why they are voting for him, it's because he's a good speaker, young and exciting, or just that he represents change. I'm hoping the infatuation is coming to a close and people will awake from their love drunkenness and look at who this is that may become our President.
* I should note that I am not completely anti-Obama, I don't know much about him, but I think he has become a national obsession and most people jumping on the bandwagon don't know any more than I do. I don't think that is a good thing.
I think Obama was smart enough to know that running for president would cause people to talk about a variety of issues, namely religion due to his name, and race. I think he was also smart enough to know, by looking at the current climate in America, that people are so afraid to say anything about his religion and his race in particular, he could reach an almost untouchable status without doing much more than showing up and mentioning 'hope' a few times. He has come at just the right time and said just the right things to utilize this opportunity, no one can disagree his campaign has been near perfect.
Any time a doubt in his experience is raised, a question of his ability to protect us in the face of foreign threats is asked or how he will change and unite the world as one happy family, the person in doubt or seeking information is immediately called out as a racist or some kind of fool for doubting the Great One. Obama can keep himself above most of it and not even address any questions asked, others surrounding him shoot those questioning down, they will nurture America's fear of being called a racist or discriminatory and shield Obama from any kind of meaningful and healthy scrutiny. And I'm sure he foresaw this landscape and is now basking in it.
At first I thought that it would be fine if he were elected. I wouldn't go out and vote for him, but I also think it could actually be a historic step for the country and maybe he could do some good. But when I take some of the little things and add them up, I begin to wonder whether he really would be the positive force for change he makes himself out to be. I recognize that I do not know everything about him that I could if I researched more, but for now, with what I have, here are some observations:
- Wearing a flag pin is a small and fairly generic thing, but stating that you won't because you're above the need to because of your patriotic living coupled with not acknowledging the flag when the American anthem is sung while standing next to others who do acknowledge it seems a bit odd.
- Telling parts of the country that an element of the great change you will bring may require adjustments in NAFTA, and if Canada and Mexico don't want to work with your new plans you will get the U.S. out of it, is a great plan to gain the vote of people who may have lost their job. Learning soon after that some top aids had contacted officials in Canada and explained this was all campaign rhetoric and not to worry about anything sounds a little sketchy.
- When your wife says things that make people question whether you love and respect the country you're running to be president of and then the leader of the church you attend for 20 years, who married you and your wife, baptized your kids and who you call your mentor and is like a father, is found to be preaching things that sound completely racist, hateful and in many ways anti-American- it makes me wonder what YOU really are thinking inside.
- It seems Obama is slowly learning that people won't give him a free pass anymore, too much has caused need for explanation. But he continues to give vague and generalized answers to avoid any trouble. When Obama said he had never heard such things while sitting in the pews as Reverend Wright has been heard saying I couldn't believe how blinded by his greatness he must think people are. To hear a person preaching with such passion and conviction, it doesn't take an expert to hypothesize that these are things the speaker deeply believes, and thus, must make mention from time to time over the years. For people to believe that Obama heard these outrageous things for the first time after he began his campaign and just completely rejected it all is gullible to say the least. I love the quote by Obama that he doesn't think his church is all that controversial. AIDS was created by the government and the white man as some type of tool to destroy black people- that seems pretty reasonable to me too, Barack.
Obama, it seems, has taken the human form of a movement, and people will say anything they want about him, and it becomes so. A mythical creature no one can fully understand because fact is so blending together with fiction. And, for the most part, I think Obama has believed the myth himself, making grand statements like 'We can change the world!' with himself as president. Is it just me or is that a bit lofty?
Rev. Wright explains in one of his fiery sermons that Obama essentially knows what it's like to be raised by a black parent in the ghetto, knows what it's like to grow up with racism, and be called a n_ _ _a. But wasn't Obama raised by his white grandparents in the multi-racial state of Hawaii where he attending one of the most prestigious private schools in the state?? Later, he went on to Columbia and then Harvard and became a successful lawyer. I don't claim to know Obama's life experiences, but it seems Obama has enjoyed many great opportunities and successes. For his preacher friend to whip up the congregation into a frenzy, saying Obama knows the hard life and struggles of all minorities in this country, it seems like layers are being added to the mythical hero's story. As people begin to look into who Obama really is, hopefully the layers may be peeled back, showing the man without all the fluff, legends and lofty speech. Then, as a mere human, we can see him against the opponents, and decide between the candidates.
Getting people young and old excited to participate in our democracy is a great thing, but I hope that people will not join in the celebrity worship for superficial reasons like appearance or inspirational oratory. To me, integrity, honesty and what a person stands for and plans to do in actuality (and 'changing the world' doesn't count) are most important to me.
(and other random thoughts of an architect)
One of the deadly plagues sweeping the land is one that is man-made, fostered and passed on by knowing and anxiously volunteering victims. I'm not sure exactly when it shifted. What were once simple and common tendencies we all shared, little indulgences here and there, these two seemingly interconnected concepts have mutated into the defining elements of people's lives, completely taking over many people's every conscious thought.
A few steps I think may have helped along this destruction of culture include, but are not limited to:
- Suburban sprawl and the homogenization of peoples and their entire worlds and the altering of public interaction within these worlds. This is a thesis in itself, not to be outlined here....
- Growing obsession with people on television and in movies as 'normal life' became
more monotonous. Celebrities are now built up into gods, torn down as the worst losers, and always maintain a constant and complete influence on people in environments increasingly void of character and meaning.
- Naturally, as an environment becomes lacking in an area a person seeks to fill it with something else. Things. Material things not only offer an appearance of character and fill the holes in a damaged way of life, they are also used as a way to define success. To some, a way of showing they're like everyone else, or at least the others of the 'up with the trend' crowd. To other people, things are used to try to separate themselves from others- for those sharing the material mindset, having something another lacks makes them superior.
- Even most actors have been become mere shells of people, participating in the obsessive acquirement of things to impress and fill holes. Not that actors indulging themselves in worldly ways is a recent thing, but the fact that they are also increasingly lacking in character, depth, individuality and often times talent has become apparent. Our obsessions demand their lives are held under ever-present microscopes and shared with all in magazines, reality shows and everywhere else you look. As the public builds them up, celebrities essentially become model robots*. We must gain as much information about them as possible so that we may successfully mimic, fulfilling the purpose of life as a robot.
*see post on Robotics.
- The utter saturation of celebrity life into our own through the above means has created a situation now, where people strive to not keep up with the Jones family next door, but with the celebrity on the screen in front of them. Many see themselves as a celebrity, or at least a person deserving of an audience as they attempt to look and live like those they made rich by subsiding the giant microscopes. Such examples include the small purse-size dog, the velour jumpsuit, or the big shiny SUV.
- This morphing of our culture has caused a greater number of people to dedicate their lives to the acquirement of money and material things and eroded the overall character and individuality of all participating. Shows like American Idol and virtually all reality shows clearly illustrate the average person's overwhelming desire to become rich and famous, even if it means exposing themselves in every way possible and sacrificing all sense of decency or dignity.
- While blaming bad architecture and design may seem like a stretch, when visiting places of older, traditional neighborhoods and communities and then more recent sprawl environments, examples of this change of thinking and living are far more evident.
People are like robots. More than content with their placing in the rat race, they often celebrate their participation in it. Here are some examples of this:- Over sized SUVs like the Hummer. Often 'customized' to void their off road capabilities with small/ thin tires and bling-ing rims, flat-screen TVs, and other necessities in the quest to gain the attention and to impress the other trend following robots. Wouldn't a big sign that says "look at me PLEASE" be less expensive? But atlas, until big signs are deemed the new 'must have item' of the robot in crowd, the $50,000 variety is the clear choice.- Starbucks coffee. Ever watched someone carrying their piping hot little friend on their way to work? The robot resemblance is there, sure, but what makes me smile is the way they all hold them: out, extended away from their body and raised up slightly, like a trophy they've just been awarded for something- Almost like the coffee is the one leading the half asleep, caffeine craving zombie to its destination.
* note: If you're of the typical 'current trend' robot variety, it must be Starbucks. Some people ahead of the curve may be seen with other less known, or 'underground'/ local coffees in hand. These cutting edge counterparts seek to separate themselves from the other robots, but for all other intents and purposes are still robots- just robots from a few months in the future.
