insights, ironies and idiosyncrasies in communication and design

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Monday 16 May 2011

Speechless.



I usually steer away from talking about music, only because it’s said that talking about music is like dancing about architecture, though on witnessing the pure magnetizing, religious experience of Japanese band Mono live – the shift from quiet to quiet to loud and from dark to light, at once lush and terrifying, the silence in between the notes (as an apparent tip of the hat to John Cage), the narrative quality of subtle light colour changes, the sitting, the stirring, the counting of notes and the majestic splendour of it all – I’m forced to try and put it into words and I’m still left wanting.


I’ll shut up now.


Images via Stereotypingmusic and Eyeball.fm.

Sunday 15 May 2011

Firmly planted.


After unsuccessfully fencing the area off and bringing the heavies in to no avail, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, guardian of footpaths all over the city, have turned to a rather self-defeating measure to keep away the über-popular throng of post-9pm Siam street vendors along the Rama 1 roadside from continuing to flog their fashions.


Not only hasn’t welding a 200-metre molehill-like plant bed slap bang in the middle of the sidewalk deterred vendors from selling their wears – shirts, bags and the like are hung nightly in, on and around the monstrosity – it of course severely impedes the pedestrian thoroughfare at all times of day.


In short: both sides are planted firmly; neither side will budge.