Junto

Italy Summer '09

2009-07-11T15:39:00.013-04:00

Civita de Bagnoregio

Robin and I had a great time with my family in Italy. Italians have the right attitude and lifestyle, not to mention a beautiful language that i managed to butcher everyday. Here are some highlights from the trip. And thanks to all our pet sitters.

Derrida and the Colloseum

Break dancers at Piazza Novona

San Carlo - Boromini

View from our terrace in Praiano

Baths in Pompei

Path of the Gods hike - my first vertigo experience

Road to Amalfi

St. Francis of Assisi

Gardens of Ravello

View from the farm house in Tuscany

San Genarro, Praiano

Paul Hawken - University of Portland Commencement Speech

2009-06-06T08:57:00.003-04:00

May 3, 2009
“Class of 2009: you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Kind of a mind-boggling situation... but not one peer-reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement. Basically, civilization needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades…And here's the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don't be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done… If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth… and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse...What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world… Nature beckons you to be on her side. You couldn't ask for a better boss. The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer. Hope only makes sense when it doesn't make sense to be hopeful. This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it.”

The Power of Scotch

2009-01-30T16:13:00.003-05:00

Rothes consortium of whisky and scotch distillers announced a deal that will build a power plant fueled entirely by whisky by-products. Holy crap, this is the confluence of my two favorite things in life!

Inhabitat Whisky Power Article

Celo Cabin

2008-12-31T10:34:00.006-05:00

This 1500 square foot cabin I designed with Samsel Architects features several green building features including an energy efficient envelope, high efficiency equipment, certified cedar shingles, a rain water collection cistern and dual flush toilets.

The house is located on an organic farm and sited along a wooded edge of a pasture. Care was taken to limit the visual impact the house had on the surrounding neighbors.

Concrete counter tops were made with recycled content and pebbles reclaimed from the dredging of a local river.

A cypress ceiling and maple cabinets, trim and floors lend warmth to the interior.

River stones from the site were used for the stone walls.

Graffiti Artist

2008-12-17T22:29:00.004-05:00

Audacious, controversial, and secretive. British graffiti artist Banksy has created some of the most striking commentary on politics and society through his use of stencils.

Recent works include artwork in New Orleans after Katrina

Banksy Website

Winter Formal '08

2008-12-07T12:25:00.011-05:00

Thanks to everyone for coming out to our 2nd annual Winter Formal party. The crowns were passed on to King Lauren and Queen Michelle. Hugh Hefner and Rudolph would be proud.

Chuck and Aimee looked fly

The running rabbits represent

Glamorous Marc and Stacy

Ahhhh, Eeeee, Ooooo?

The Brezny effect: upping the formal ante

Keith and Beth would have won best couple - however, such an award did not exist.

Special thanks to the 2007 Queen Sumaya and King Aaron for fulfilling their righteous duty of passing on the crowns to our 2008 winners.

Catskills, NY & ATP Fest

2008-10-05T19:19:00.018-04:00

Here are some images from our trip to the Catskills in September. 3 nights rocking out at the ATP Music Fest in Monticello and then 2 nights chilling out at the Inn at Lake Joseph.

The music fest was held at Kutshers, a 50's era country club that was like stepping back in time.

the venue served perfectly as a slightly beat up play ground for about 3,000 "alt rock dorks"

Meat Puppets rocking out

Fuck Buttons, fucking with buttons

Les Savy Fav's lead singer being carried on a ladder through the crowd

The Inn was a beautiful turn of the century building by a 250 acre private lake. Amenities included a pool table, ping pong, badminton, hiking trails, and kayaks.

There was a disturbing amount of bear poop on this trail

totally relaxed

The Mowercycle

2008-07-16T19:19:00.002-04:00

just awesome

Inhabitat Article

Ashevillage Building Convergence

2008-06-20T16:12:00.002-04:00

The Ashevillage Building Convergence is a 3 day conference happening right now in town. Check out the projects web page below for 14 active events going on this weekend where you can learn about sustainable building and living while lending a hand with a project that will better our community. Projects include rainwater harvesting, a green roof installation, the Arts to people mural project, and many others.

Ashevillage Projects

Special thanks to our friends Janell, Jenna, Aaron and others for their hard work on this event.

Summer Soiree

2008-06-01T13:52:00.008-04:00

We had a good throw down for Jon and Christina's going away party and annual burning of the christmas tree. Note the hose laying nearby, safety first.

The Samsel Crew

Kas & Jay's Wedding

2008-05-26T18:46:00.005-04:00

It was a beautiful weekend in Wilmington for Kassy and Jay's wedding at Orten Plantation.

Craggy Gardens

2008-05-17T15:15:00.007-04:00

Robin, Kava and I took a nice hike today to see the mountains slowly turn green.

Nader Khalili Dies at Age 72

2008-03-31T18:26:00.003-04:00

One of the forefathers of the modern humanitarian design movement passed away on March 5th. Nader Khalili, an Iranian born architect, was the founder of the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture. Khalili invented the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire Building System and the Superadobe construction technique and revolutionize adobe building around the world. He won the Aga Khan Award in 2004. Part architect, part poet his great optimism embodied what it truly means to design for others.

Architecture for Humanity, Khalili Article

Giant Vat of Cow Crap to Provide Power

2008-03-17T22:05:00.003-04:00

The CA Poo Power project in Riverdale, CA will turn the effluent of 5000 cows into enough methane gas to power approximately 1,200 house per day. The vats are effectively 33 feet deep X 5 football fields in size.

Inhabitat Article

Worlds First Positive Energy Building

2008-03-15T13:22:00.004-04:00

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill’s Masdar Headquarters are setting new design standards for green building, with their scheme that generates more energy than it consumes. The Masdar Headquarters building outside of Abu Dhabi is also the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, using a solar roof pier that will be built first to power the rest of the construction.

Inhabitat Article

World Clock

2007-11-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting and sobering website that measures various world statistics such as births, deaths, oil consumption, military expenditures, and much more. You can look at the stats on a yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily basis.
World Clock

Micro Mobile Home Design

2007-11-07T12:59:00.001-05:00

This is what I'm saving my 401K for. Too freakin' cool. Check out the link below for an animation of all the amazing things the Verdier can do.

Volkswagon Westfalia Verdier

Mills River

2007-11-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

There was still some fantastic leaf color this weekend for a quick camping trip on North Mills River. We had a great spot by a trout filled creek.

Halloween 2007

2007-10-28T13:02:00.000-04:00

Northern California

2007-10-13T14:41:00.000-04:00

Here are some images from our trip to California in September. A big shout to Denis for his unending hospitality. We hit the city for 3 days including the Treasure Island Music Fest, and then drove north up Route 1 for about 120 miles. Over the next week or so, I'll be posting many more photos on my flickr site, so check out the full load there:
My Flickr Page

view from denis' apartment

The festival included my new fav built to spill as well as spoon, clap your hands..., m ward, and modest mouse. A very cool scene just across the bay from downtown.

muir woods

the pacific

robin and our free ride on route 1

a wild chapel in sea ranch

robin inside the chapel

View of redwoods from our cabin at St Orres Inn.
This Inn and Restaurant was built by the owners in a Russian style, which relates to the region's history. The main buildings are timber framed and hand crafted throughout with incredible attention to detail. The cabins varied in size and shape with some having elaborate copper domes and stained glass.

St. Orres Inn

Gable detail on a new out building

a bedroom at one of the cabins

one of the original barns at the sea ranch

View from Route 1

We are ready to go back...

Berryville 2007

2007-09-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

The annual Berryville party was big fun as always. Thanks to Micki and Will for being such gracious hosts. We also went to the demolition derby at the Clarke County Fair (my first).

A nice hike on the farm - jon, will, robin and amelia

Anna and I working the chalk art

Sunset on the farm Saturday night

Riverview Arson

2007-08-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, a neighbor friend and myself made yard signs and a banner protesting a steep slope development on Riverview Drive in West Asheville. The 15 house development clear cut over 3 acres on a steep hillside with approx. 40%+ slope. We talked to various neighbors about the development and asked if we could put a sign in their yard.

All the neighbors we spoke with were angered and frustrated with the development and sympathetic to our cause. Some offered to pay for the signs and some offered to help put them up. Folks driving by thanked us and gave us thumbs up. The sense of community was an incredibly rewarding experience.

As previously posted, an arsonist set fire to one of the houses last weekend. While I am not surprised by the fire and not very sympathetic to the developer, I by no means endorse the intentional destruction of private property. Arson is not a constructive means of protest and only serves to deteriorate a community and waste resources. The person responsible should be punished.

Mountain Xpress Article
The only positive I can see from this is more press and attention being paid to how we develop our land. Hills need trees.

Eco-terrorism?

2007-08-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

A house burnt to the ground the other night across the street from my property. The house was part of an unpopular development of 15 identical homes built on steel stilts. The developer had clear cut the land, some of which is over 40% slope, which raised protest from the neighborhood in the form of yard signs and banners. Arson is a probably cause and potentially associated with "eco-terrorism".

Asheville Citizen Times Article

2007-08-01T19:16:00.001-04:00

Don Mueck is a London-based photo-realist artist. Born in Melbourne,Australia, to parents who were toy makers, he labored on children's television shows for 15 years before working in special effects for such films as Labyrinth, a 1986 fantasy epic starring David Bowie.

American Green TV

2007-07-13T19:38:00.001-04:00

AMERICANGREEN.TV is a brand new organization based here in Asheville. I was interviewed by Kurt Mann during a green building tour, but that clip hasn't been produced yet, so i'm not famous yet.

Welcome

2007-07-06T16:32:00.000-04:00

On a recent hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway, I thought about the importance I hold in having something to show for my life. Documenting the events of our temporary lives for others to see and learn from is at the center of our cultural evolution. So far, I have been profoundly bad at documenting my experiences and thus, I've joined the 21 century and started a blog in hopes of having some posterity to speak of. Its ironic that bits of data spinning though intangible cyber space has become the mode of choice for said posterity, however, the ability to instaneously share oneself with the world is a powerful tool.

Check back often