Subscribe via RSSRe-Envisioning South Willamette
In the Spring Term, my studio was about redesigning (or re-envisioning, if you will) South Willamette Street here in Eugene. The city is already involved in this process as they gear up for their next 30-year plan (an Oregon state requirement) and a possible expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary. South Willamette Street, despite having [...]
The Best Model Shot
It’s Spring Break! Thank God! I’ve been working to update my portfolio so I can start the hunt for a summer job. So I’ve been going through a bunch of photos of models I took over the last two terms, thinking about including them. This is, by far, my favorite: a close-up of the laser [...]
The Zen of Spam
You wouldn’t know it, but this site gets a ton of spam. Thank God WordPress has a fantastic spam filter. Every now and then I like to wade into the spam bin and go through to make sure it’s not actually catching something legit. I think that’s only happened once. But the other reason I [...]
ARCH 610: Digital Media
I’m going to start doing something a little differently here, at least until March. Right now I’m taking a class called Intro to Digital Media. As part of the class, we need to create a web journal to post our assignments. I figure, why create an entirely new site when I’ve got a perfectly good [...]
More Martos
I really just wanted to post something about where I am and what I’m doing these days, which will hopefully explain the randomness of updates. But how could I leave you without photos? Since I’m feeling a little nostalgic, I’ve decided to include a few parting shots of Martos as well. I left Spain in [...]
Brussels: The Capital of Europe
This will be the last post relating to my Christmas adventures. Promise. When I last left you, I was in Bruges. But it was Brussels, the so-called “Capital of Europe,” that I got to first and where I ended my trip to the Low Countries. Like Bruges, the city is charming, but it’s a much [...]
Bruges, Belgium
Here’s some more from the Christmas-New Year’s Holiday trip. Leaving Holland, I worked my way south to Belgium. I started in Brussels, but took a side trip to see the town of Bruges – a much cooler city, in my opinion. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t inspired by a certain movie to [...]
In the News!
There haven’t been a lot of updates here, because I have been both incredibly busy (deciding where to study for the next three years, preparing a presentation for the kids on Canada, etc.) and incredibly lazy. Yes, it is possible to be both. But there was one thing that I wanted to share: I was [...]
Happy Easter!
Just got back from a week-long road trip across the north of Spain with Dietrich, from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela. Good times! We got back to Martos just in time to see the Easter procession. Plenty more photos where that came from… on my computer desktop. (Gimme a break, I’m relaxing today!) This song [...]
Holidays in Holland
After Ronda, the next stop on my travels was the Netherlands. I landed in Eindhoven and was there for three days over Christmas (overall, a miserable place). Then I spent a day in the unpronounceable city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, home to medieval painter Heironymous Bosch. The highlight, however, was a week spent visiting friends in Utrecht, [...]
The Grass is Always Greener
Woke up this morning thinking this to myself, and with the urge to mess around a bit in photoshop. Here’s what I came up with. Just a little reminder to be happy wherever you are. The background photo is Drew__’s “Grass in A Minor.” This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 [...]
Los Hermanos Carvajales
I hope you like stories. Specifically, I hope that you like legends. I’m kind of a sucker for tall tales. They tell you a lot about a place. Spain is absolutely full of them, once you start looking. I guess it comes from being such an old country with an already romantic history. A lot [...]
Spanish Commercials: Football, Monsters, Musicals, and the Battle of the Sexes
It may seem like a tontería to be posting about Spanish TV ads, but you know what, not everyone gets to see them. Particularly most of the people who are reading this blog… because you don’t live in Spain. So, want a taste of what we see in between shows on TV – that is, [...]
An Upgrade and an Update
You may notice a few changes around here. I just finished a much-needed overhaul of the website to streamline everything. Edit one: The site looks a lot better (I think, I hope) because I didn’t design this template. Edit two: It works in Internet Explorer. Welcome, people stuck in the past! Edit three: The blog [...]
Ronda
The first stop on my 20-day journey after my friends left me in Málaga was the town of Ronda, in the same province but about 100 km (62 mi) northwest. This ancient town is built on either side of a deep gorge named “El Tajo.” On one side lies the ancient Arab portion of the [...]
Quick Notes
A few housekeeping notes that will be of interest to you: My old laptop (that is, my 8-year-old Dell), the only computer I had here, has been officially declared dead. I’ve ordered a new one which should be here sometime near the start of March. Thankfully, it was only a power issue, so I didn’t [...]
Spanish Music
El Guitarrista. Image by Landahlauts. Last night Dan and I were treated to a live Sonic Youth concert on La 2. I doubt I will ever get to see them live, so it was pretty cool. I miss being able to go to shows and take photos…. Damn you economy! Anyhow, I realized that while [...]
MLK Day: Letter From Birmingham Jail
Today is Martin Luther King Day. They don’t celebrate it here; in fact, many of them don’t know that it’s an actual holiday. I’ve prepared a few activities in English for the kids that are tangentially related, but only because they are preparing to celebrate their version of the holiday, Día de la Paz, on [...]
Up La Peña
I had hoped to be posting some pictures of my holiday trip right about now, but, well, read my last post… Instead, I will bring you some photos of Martos I had waiting to be posted. It’s an apt subject, actually, because I’m tired of traveling and it’s nice to be home. (Ok, maybe it’s [...]
News… Then Bad News
First of all… Gelukkig Niuewjaar, everyone! (That’s Happy New Year in Dutch.) I am done traveling and back home in snowy/rainy Martos. It’s nice to get back to something normal after being away for so long, no matter how awesome that vacation was. Much more to come on that, but it will take me quite [...]
Merry Christmas from Eindhoven!
So, here I am on Day 5 of Holiday Break 2009. I’m in a hotel in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It’s Christmas Day. This is the 2nd time in my life I’ve ever spent Christmas away from my family, and the only time I’ve ever spent it by myself. Ironically, it’s also the only White Christmas [...]
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas one and all! For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, [...]
Los Tres Reyes
Hello from Málaga! I know I just posted a day or so ago, but I completely forgot to share about the Christmas tradition here in Spain.
A Couple of Holidays
It’s been a while since I put up a real post. So I’m going to do that now, right before I start vacation and you don’t hear from me again until January. Let’s make this one about holidays, and we’ll start with Thanksgiving…
