Sunday Suspense

I remember in June of 1994, in the prime of my youth and appreciation for athletics I was so excited one night that I ran around the block clanging pots and pans as if ringing in the New Year. The Knick's had beaten the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the eastern conference finals and were on their way to the NBA Finals. At that point, my concept of excitement was pretty naive due to youth, but it along with my nerves reached a new peak.

This time around the nerves are more dominant, but I can't say its less intense, there's just a bit more maturity when the excitement is processed. But IT REALLY FEELS GOOD, insanely good beating the Patriots. It's like that best piece of steak you have ever tasted.
The Jets are New York. A talented team with great camaraderie and big mouths. Just like Oak and Mas' back in the day defending MSG. I can't wait till Sunday. Rex is my man, Sanchez is well... lets just say 'learning' and I couldn't agree more with Cromartie; Brady is an Asswhole.

GO JETS! (And screw everyone else, cause we don't like you either)

I can't decide which is the most awesome picture what do you guys think.




________




I think this one takes the cake, cause it makes me smile and feel warm inside.

Goodbye Lover

Dearest Henry, Doggy, Lover, Snuggle-Pup,

I look forward to our mornings when you gnaw at my door and spend my waking hour on my bed, although your customs may be weird I don't mind petting you under the collar in exchange for you licking my hand. And Ive enjoyed our days as businessman, trading couches for cheese and game shows for stuffed toys and squeaky bones.

I'm not sure what rumors you've heard or if you've noticed the over population of books and clothes in my (our) bedroom these past couple days, but I just wanted to tell you the truth myself. Yes, it is true I am leaving you. I'm leaving you for a bitch, her name is Architecture School. It's in a place far away, too many a barfing in the backseat of a car. A place called SLo MO which, believe me buddy, moves painstakingly slower than your mornings and afternoons spent on the couch.

Although as bad as I feel about myself, I know you have been cheating on me with those nasty dirty dishes before they go through the dishwasher, licking them so glutinously. So that takes a bit of my guilt away. But, how could you do that?!?! Did you not just see me put the dishes there?

I do still love you Henry. Just do me a favor and try to remember me when I come back years (dog years) from now.

Sincerely,
Guy with beard who stays home all week

Good Riddance 2010

Is anyone happy that this year has finally come to an end? I sure am. Pick your poison 2010 had it all.
Besides two exceptional bashes in the family (though I have come to boastingly believe that my family is an exception when it comes to almost anything) 2010 was one of the less rewarding experiences for me. There is not much I'll cherish nor much of a source for nostalgia.

The holiday monsoon-turned-blizzard which stranded many while doing equal damage across the country last week was a fitting end. Although it wouldn't even raise an eyebrow when you look at the year as a whole. 2010 hosted some of the worst natural disasters.
Earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Floods in Pakistan, The BP Oil spill (human error gets a bogey on that one) and many others. I sure hope 2011 goes a bit easier on us.

Politically 2010 wasn't smooth sailing either. Things can't be good when Jon Stewart (who is coming to be the most reliant news source) is forced to hold a 'Rally to Restore Sanity.' The media likes to think that as a country we are completely polarized (because its good for ratings.) Obama's liberal base began to lose hope. And on the other side the most popular character is a grizzly wrestlin' woman who everyday sounds more and more like Stephen Colbert with the one difference being critical; she's serious he isn't.
Say what you want about the lame duck session, but I bet most American's would choose to describe their government in 2010 as "extremely frustrating."

All I want is a high speed rail line on the east coast that doesn't cost 150$ each way. So I don't have to sit on a smelly bus in traffic on the ugly ass New Jersey Turnpike while going from Penn Station to Union Station. Is that really hard people? Come on.



Also for 2011 I'd like for everyone to get along better and really try to think and more importantly put into action ways to make the world a better place.

I plan on finishing my Masters Degree in Architecture so some think that's good for the world. But if there's anything Ive learned, its that the hypothetical can only be valued as a possibility and holds no water when compared to the gratification and understanding accrued from physically making or doing something.

I plan to drink and get merry and wash away 2010 on NYE with some good friends. I'm looking forward to it, and more so 2011. I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday. See you in 2011, lets do it.

KIIPIS!

I'm really happy for all my friends who just finished up their degree project thesis this past weekend. I wish I was there to celebrate with them, we've been through a lot together and have traveled great distances.

I was supposed to be on the same schedule and time-line but due to my self disciplined TO from school, I'll have to wait till Spring to join them in there rank as Master.
I wish them all luck in their diversity of paths, and look forward to keeping in touch.

Enjoy some Partner photo's from their future firms.

Don't VOTE! (For him)

As opposed to my previously patriotic contribution this one's less rosy. Although I have to say that my supposed beverage of choice 'Hater'-ade (as noted by some friends) doesn't come unwarranted. Its usually brewed from a high-dose of frustration that's pretty common.

This Saturday all college footballs big personalities and previous winners of the sports ultimate prize will crown a new Heisman Trophy winner here in New York. This season has some incredible student athletes vying for the individual achievement, and some not so incredible.



In case you haven't heard anything about the front runner, either on or off the field, here is a little bit about Cam Newton, or as my brother has coined more appropriately Scam Newton:

"Newton again violated the university's honor code by putting his name on another student's paper and turning it in. Newton was caught after the instructor asked the real author of the paper why he had not turned in his work. Newton turned in a second paper to the instructor, but that paper was later found to have been purchased off the Internet."

0 for 2 buddy. But before the University of Florida had the chance to academically discipline Newton, he had already withdrawn and skipped town enrolling at a junior college in Texas. Which served as the negotiating table for his 'pay for play' options to re-enter a major conference. His pops said just a scholarship wasn't gonna do it, try 6 figures, and then he got convicted for shopping his son. But due to the NCAA's stone age legal process they can't think of how son Cam had anything to do with it. BS.
It's inevitable that he'll get caught, so why vote for him now when there are other more incredible candidates out there? Here are the letters I just mailed out.

Dear Sam Bradford, Archie Griffin, OJ Simpson, Roger Staubach and all Heisman Winners,

Don't vote for Cam Newton. A vote for him would compromise the quality of the amazing piece of history which you worked so hard for and deserved. Voting for Scam sends a terrible message to student athletes and promotes misconduct.

Sincerley, James and the World


Soon ESPN will start airing promo's with the jolly tune "Its the most wonderful time of the year" in reference to Bowl season of course, while showing highlights and upcoming matches making all us pigskin cravers warm and jiggly inside like holiday egg nog. But as much I love it, it get's me drunk off Haterade how corrupt of a system the NCAA has gifted its national championship to.
The BCS is terrible. Football is the only sport where the NCAA does not crown its champion, and CEO's of the BCS bowls rack up yearly salaries of 500,000$ (for operating one game) while nickeling and diming the schools participating. There has been many a written why the BCS is terrible so I wont indulge, lets just hope it changes.

GO DUCKS!

Vote for Andrew Luck. He is the best QB in the country and is an ARCHITECTURE MAJOR! (Told you architects are smart)

Although we'll see how far he gets with that degree considering he's only a sophomore but is expected to be tops in the draft.

Infra[Fail]ure

The Oak beam's at Oxford's New College Dining Hall were replaced in 1860, using trees 500 years old. The trees were from an Oak grove on campus which was planted when the College was first developed.

When a local tri-stater thinks of the George Washington Bridge they don't appreciate it, they dread it. The fear of making a 10 mile trip on the Cross Bronx Expressway and over the Hudson in 40 minutes, has caused us to render the structure as awful. (I do agree in some part, because going to Jersey is nothing to be excited about.)

But wait a minute, heaven forbid we even have that bridge.

That dread we have is a result of NOT DOING, of not building and not enhancing our infrastructure to adapt to our GROWING population. When the GWB was built in 1930 the population of the metropolitan area was 8.6 Million. In 1960 when the bridge expanded to two levels (which luckily the engineer had accounted for when initially designing) the Metro Population was 14.4 Million. Today it's nearly 20 Million.

This past month the LIRR temporarily cut service drastically in order to make way for its self proclaimed "Modernization" campaign. While I am happy to see investments in our physical infrastructure its dumbfounding to hear that the main "modern" adjustments made were to replace a switching system that was 100 years old.
100 YEARS OLD? It takes us THIS LONG to invest in our infrastructure? And I truly doubt the new system will last half of 100 years.

Things that are infrastructure are what people blindly take advantage of.

We have become so accustomed to the bold initiatives of past governments and society, that instead of seeing them as great marks of our country and economic strength, they are instead a burden for taxpayers to maintain.
We are so close-sighted that the future (when it actually does get some attention) looks glum and lagging. Why are we the only advanced country without high speed rail? Why is our energy technology so outdated? Why is it now that we are just starting to TALK about this?

Recently New Jersey's Governor Christie pulled state funding from a rail tunnel between NJ and Manhattan, killing 6000 jobs and the largest U.S. public works project under construction. I'm sorry to tell you this Mr. Christie, but the demand for transit infrastructure and the population of your state isn't shrinking.

We need our infrastructure to parallel the innovative minds of our country.

VOTE!

I don't like to write about politics because unfortunately it divides us more than unites us. Which is an oxymoron considering we elect people to work together to advance our country, but instead they just end up in Washington bickering like stubborn teenagers. Uhh yeah so with that said... Just disregard that and don't let this discourage you, cause today is Election day! So get out and Vote!

Look at all these passionate Americans and voters who went to the Rally to Restore Sanity this past weekend. All are passionate about how great our country is, and want to make it even greater by working together with others no matter what walk of life they come from.



We need ideas that will advance us
(duh... Architects in the US would have it way easier w/Metric)

But we should never exploit our fear.

While we might take offense from others' beliefs...

We have to focus on what unites us.


Aww Hell Yeah. LI represent!


So go out and Vote! All you sane peoples' voice must be heard. (Atleast I think everyone who reads this is sane.) And as Jon Stewart says:
"We live in hard times, not end times. We can have animus without being enemies."