Chip Tsao is Cheap

I was watching TV Patrol a while ago and I got frustrated about this Chip Tsao who wrote an article slamming out Filipinos. This 'utak-kulugo' writer coming from China said in his article that Philippines was a 'Bansa ng mga Alipin' and many other things that clearly signify racial discrimination.

The government said he should give a public apology, but I think that wouldn't be enough.

Well, to Mr. Tsao, your ideas really sell, in fact it was 'sold out', because they are cheap-just like your name and you, yourself! You caught our attention by writing that kind of article. And about the Filipina who's working for you, you better find a much better employer for her- you dead meat!!!

I find this blog (below) really funny. He stated his theories why Chip Tsao wrote that nonsense article. Please follow this link:

http://ruffybiazon.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/why-mr-chip-tsao-wrote-that-article/

*Mas maganda kung sibakin ka ng HK Magazine as a writer kasi nung bata ka siguro uminom ka ng gatas na may melamine kaya wala ka sa hustong pag-iisip. Palibhasa utak-kulugo.

"Anoop Dog's" in the House

Anoop Desai is a good singer but not that great, I must admit. I don't think he's boasting or bragging his ability. Well, even if he does, I probably won't care. I don't know what his reaction about the judges' comments about his performance last week that made others think that he's boasting, anyway, I don't give a damn.

Anoop has a voice of a balladeer but I think his style is not what the judges are looking for. I don't think he's got what it takes to be the 'American Idol' this season but I still love him and will be supporting him 'til the end of his performance.

Goodbye to Micheal Sarver

The American Idol contestant Micheal Sarver got the lowest votes for today's elimination round. He's definitely a good singer but, unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it through. This week's bottom three include Scott MacIntyre and Matt Giraud.

Well, I say sorry for Krizzia although she knew from the start that Micheal Sarver hasn't got what it takes to be an American Idol. She furthermore told me that she had a feeling that Adam Lambert and Lil would make it to the finals of A.I. Season 8. Uhmm, we'll see.

And one more thing, I have a feeling that Paula Abdul is quite insecured of Kara DioGardi. I love Kara and I hate Paula, especially when she delivers her comments with 'pause-and-pause' sound.

Code Red

I'm in LSS with a 90's song, What Good is a Heart, for the last two months-certainly a very long time. I knew the song years ago and I was glad I heard it on Home Radio, truly the best FM station.

I love the song's message although their voices are not that good. Here's the band- Code Red. They're a British boy band. When you watch the music video, their dance step in song's chorus is corny(and 'baduy').

CODE RED

Below are the lyrics.

What Good is a Heart

I told you how I felt,

I told you what it meant,

But I still havent changed your mind,

I know that you're afraid,

You're frightened of the pain,

But you can let down your guard...

Cause when we run, when we hide,

We deny what's inside...

Chorus

What good is a heart if youre not gonna use it,

What good is a love if youre too scared to choose it,

If youre heart is beating, then its for a reason, girl,

If youre not willing to start, what good is a heart?

Don't make the same mistake that people often make,

And miss out on a chance for love,

You've got to make your move,

youve got to make it soon,

Cause youre dying inside...

Yes, I'm a man, but I cry,I have fears, I won't lie...

(Chorus)

Come on, babe, you know it, girl,

Anyone who looks can see that Im right,T

heres a chance here, we could take it,Or regret it for the rest of our lives...

(Chorus)

(*sorry if there's no spaces between stanzas, actually I'm trying to edit it but something's wrong-it won't save)

Eero Saarinen's Works

Eero Saarinen is one of my favorite architects so it's my pleasure to introduce him to people who don't know him yet. Here's the summary of his biography.

-Born in August 20, 1910
-Finnish-American architect
-Son of Eliel SaarinenTook sculpture and furniture design in Académie de la Grande Chaumière then went to study architecture in Yale University

-Recruited by his friend, who’s also an architect, to join military services in the Office of Strategic services (OSS)
-He was assigned to draw illustrations for bomb disassembly manuals and to provide designs for the Situation Room in the White House
-Founded his own firm, ‘Eero Saarinen and Associates, after his father’s death in 1950

-Joined chair design competition, "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" in 1940 with Charles Eames, for which they received first prize
-he took first prize in the 1948 competition for the design of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis
-Served as a jury for the Sidney Opera House

-Was elected as a Fellow in American Institute of Architects in 1952
-Winner of AIA Gold Medal
-Said to have pluralism of styles

Here's some of his works.

Kresge Auditorium

-Kresge Auditorium is a building auditorium for Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-The auditorium is defined by an elegant thin-shell structure, one-eighth of a sphere rising to a height of 50 feet, and sliced away by sheer glass walls

St. Louis Gateway Arch

-Gateway Arch, a.k.a. Gateway to the West, is an integral part of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
-The tallest monument in US
-Made of stainless steel skin covering the reinforced concrete from ground level to 300 ft(91 m)
-From 300 ft to the peak, the arch is made of carbon steel and rebar


General Motors Technical Center

-First major work was the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan

-In the 1950s he began to receive more commissions from American universities for campus designs and individual buildings; these include the Noyes dormitory at Vassar, as well as an ice rink, Morse College, and Ezra Stiles College at Yale University.


Dulles International Airport

-Dulles International Airport is a public airport west of Washington, D.C.
-It was named after John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State under Dwight Eisenhower


The TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport

-It was completed in 1962 and became the most famous landmark of the airport
-The interior had wide glass windows that opened onto parked TWA jets

David S. Ingalls Rink

-David S. Ingalls Rink, a.k.a. Yale Whale serves as home to the men’s and women’s hockey teams.
-The curved roof, which resembles the back of a whale, is one of the most defining features of the arena

Spirit FM- The Worst!

This morning, I was trying to tune in to Home Radio but I wasn't able to do that because this nation's worst FM station- Spirit FM- 'ate the signal.' Spirit FM, fyi, is Batangas official radio station.
Our radio was an 'old school', you know, manual tuning. And what's even worse is I definitely hate the DJs there because they don't have any originality (actually, girl DJs are far much better than the guy ones). In fact, there was a time when a DJ, in the name of DJ Joseph (who I hate the most), mimics WRR's DJ Martin D.'s famous line. Moreover, DJ Joseph appeals to me as a 'plastic' one when he delivers his corny lines and jokes or when he talks to a listener on the other line. 'Plastic', I mean, is something that don't seem to be real. It's like he's reading a certain line and he finds it difficult to deliver it with the right emotion or feeling. Well, if the said DJ or his fans(if any), is reading this, if this may seem offensive, I don't care. To be straight with him, he doesn't fit to his job-he should stay away from it.

Architecture Student's Life

The life of an architecture is never easy and will never be easy. We've got to do floor plans and keep up with the ever-changing mood of our professor in our major subject.
I made a lot of revisions of my floor plan for Kindergarten and I'm quite unsatisfied with my final design, realizing that it should showcase the nursery, prep and kinder students. And the third classification of students have a diferrent furniture layout from the other two. It was told by a friend after her 30-minute defense of her final plate and I was,"Okay.", knowing that I can't change my floor plan anymore because it' already in ink.
But what's really annoying is that I went early here in the library's drafting room completing the concept board, going to Beato Angelico Bldg. three hours ahead of my scheduled defense, only to find that it was postponed for tomorrow. And I keep asking our class president why gave a sudden change in schedule but her only answer was, "He likes to."
But the good thing here is that I was able to have a sound sleep. I started as early as last Sunday because I'm not the kind of person who 'loves to cram' so it doesn't really seem so unfair. Actually, it's the thing that I hate the most because I easily get upset and crazy when it happens.
Well, everything happens for a reason. I think I need to prepare for my 'speech'. Haha.

Keywords

I was reading the keywords in my Google Analyitcs- Traffic Sources and I was glad that there are few people who were interested in an architecture student's life. The keyword was 'buhay arki'-there's only one visit but his average time on my site was 28 minutes and 24 seconds viewing 6 pages. I was really happy that someone is interested on that particular subject. Well, a perosn in such situation can fully describe and understand how it feels to be there.

Today is our final examinations and tomorrow will be the day of my defense. Since last year, every third major plate of the second semester will be our final exam on Design but we are obliged to defend it in front of our professor in such subject. Our third major plate this 2nd sem is about Kindergarten School and right now, I'm not yet through with architectural bay section (a section, usually drawn in a bigger scale, of one column to another showing the details of the 'most complicated' part of the building) and concept board.

Eero Saarinen: TWA Flight Center

'...a building in which the architecture itself would express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel... a place of movement and transition... The shapes were deliberately chosen in order to emphasize an upward-soaring quality of line. We wanted an uplift.'
Eero Saarinen

In 1962, the Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York City's John F. Kennedy (former Idlewild) Airport opened. It was designed by a Finnish-born architect Eero Saarinen, son of Eliel Saarinen who was also an architect.
The terminal was designed as a symbol of flight- abstract and does not literally represent a landing eagle as it has often been described. The terminal has been described as a "lyrical expression of the unified sculptural forms that could be created in reinforced concrete before the age of computer-aided design."
But who would ever think that his concept would be a grapefruit? Others think that a bird or a plane as a concept would best fit for an airport design but, according to him, he arrived at the building's evocative form one morning during breakfast, after flipping over a hollowed-out grapefruit rind and pressing down in the middle.

The TWA management approached Saarinen for the following requirements:

• To upgrade Idlewild (now John F. Kennedy) Airport into a modern facility capable of handling the ever-increasing traffic into and out of New York.
• To create a 'centralized plan' for the airport.
• To create a strong corporate identities that would help capture the massive boom in air travel

His primary objectives for the design of the terminal were:

• To create a "distinctive and memorable" signature building for TWA
• To "express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel"

"Saarinen's desire to create a shopwpiece for TWA became important in the context of Idlewild's competitive architectural environment. He intuitively grasped the importance of the paired values and immersion. He took full advantage of the terminal's prominent and dramatic site, centering the arresting terminal on the apex of the airports looping access road. Saarinen gave a vibrant red interior wherein the travelers seem to be enveloped in a magnificant volume of limpid, free-flowing space and form."

"The building and all its spaces and elements, make up a total environment where every detail belongs to the same family of forms. It is one instance of Saarinen's idea of the necessity of extending architecture to the total of physical surroundings and to design every object taking into account the way it relates to its neighbouring objects, small and large."

*sources:

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/twa/

http://www.helos.fi/saarinen/

Lamster, Mark. The TWA Terminal by Ezra Stroller. Introduction, pages 1,2,3

Who Am I

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith... not by works, so that no one can boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9

I suddenly remembered a very inspiring song of Casting Crowns- Who Am I. Few minutes ago, I was watching the video of that song and I found myself teary-eyed. Every word, every phrase and every line signifies something that's very important and inspiring. The message is basic but we sometimes (or most of the time) tend to forget it.
If you want to recollect, this is the perfect song to do that. Even if you're in the noisiest and busiest place and you happen to hear and interpret this song, you'll find yourself asking if you've done something essential to God during the course of your life; you'll find yourself talking to you, asking lots of question. Then you'll get yourself cornered to a place wherein sometimes you don't want to go to that place for some reasons. Funny/Absurd but it is true.
One needs to talk to Him sometimes.

Here's the lyrics:

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Refrain:
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Refrain
Chorus


Refrain
Chorus

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

Supposedly...

I was supposed to do our project in Theory of Architecture2 (TOA2) but I won't be able to do that now because I'm so busy with our report in Social Teachings of the Church, that is, about graft and corruption and how it is to be related to the encyclical 'Deus Caritas Est' written by Pope Benedict XVI. (Here's the link, by the way, to that encyclical: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)

I spent my whole time seeking for the books that would serve as reference for my TOA2 project but, unfortunately, I wasn't able to find them. God, what kind of library is this? On the online catalog, it says that the two books are available here in Humanities Section, but it's not!

I got myself dizzy trying my best to find those books and here I am, ending up with just talking to myself and to my blog, sharing what's happening to me right now and telling how unlucky I am this very moment. And the said encyclical is so long, I don't even want to try to look at the whole web page! Anyway, I somewhat know how to relate our report to that encyclical. By the way, I want to share this excerpt from 'Deus Caritas Est'.

“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16).
"We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."

The message is great but, right now, I'm disturbed on how I will be able to finish all the projects, namely TOA2, History of Architecture2 AND SCL3, before Saturday. Lord, please help me!

Korean Celeb Crushes

I have lots of celebrity crushes, but here I'm giving my top 3 korean celeb crushes.



Jae Joong. He's a Korean performer/ singer. For me, he's the hottest guy in his group DBSK/ TVXQ. He's the ultimate bishounen I've ever seen. He has a 'look-alike' in the College of Architecture but not in an exact manner. The framing is looks the same.



Kim Hee chul of Super Junior (aka SuJu). He's very funny. He doesn't know how to dance and doesn't know how to sing well but he definitely knows how to shout, esp. in the 'Don't Don'.



When we speak of talent in singing, Junsu of DBSK/TVXQ is on my list. He's got the best vocals and belongs to the best of singers in Korea. When you hear a DBSK song, he's the guy that 'bumibirit' (sorry, I don't know the english term for it).

Buhay Arki

There are so many things that a college student especially an archi student. Well, as usual, kasama na dyan ang floor plans and mga kabarkada nito. But the thing na nakakainis sa buhay ng isang arki student ay yung mga minor subjects namin. Dahil sa mga minor subjects na yun, we arrived in this formula.

minor subjects= major problems

Uhmm, I'm not the one who invented that formula. Actually, naalala ko lang yan. Nakita ko yan sa dingding. Sa Beato Abgelico Building, hindi nakakapagtaka na may mga kung anu-anong nakasulat sa dingding, table, armchair, wall ng cubicle sa rest rooms at maging sa elevator. Ang nakaisip ng formula na yan is my former classmate na nasa Canada na ngayon.

He's definitely right when he said that kasi, to tell you, ang life sa College of Architecture ay napaka-easy lang kung hindi pumapapel ang mga minor subjects, esp. Filipino subject. Thank God, wala na kaming subject na Filipino ngayon.

Our major subject would be very easy if wala ang mga yan.

Fine!

Okay!
I'm not talking merely about the design project. I'm refering tothe whole time when we're together. But it's not gonna happen again. I'm giving this petty argument the chance to stay out of the limelight.
I want to tell you the poem "What Poetry Does not Say". I mean, there are things that a writer doesn't want to put in his writing; he leaves the deeper meaning of what he wrote unto the reader's interpretation. And what I did is the same thing (in 'Just So You Know" specifically).
Look (you know that I'm talking to you), the greatest lessons in life have more impact on a person if he learned it by himself and if he was able to go deep inside the innermost recesses of a soul. And I'm telling you, if one will be able to do that, he'll never forget it for it'll always stay in his heart. And... you weren't able to do those two things I just mentioned. It's obvious in your violent reactions on my Chat Box and the things you said when we talked about it. You know- if I have to say this a million times, I will- I hate giving explanation to things that has a deep sense. It's kind of absurd.

And I hope, this will end up this nonsense argument! (Ang isang statement ay hindi magiging part ng argument kung hindi mali ang interpretation. Remember that.)

And please, if you have comments regarding my blog posts, don't put it in my CBox! Post it in the 'comment box.' Please!

Just So You Know

Just so you know... I'm starting to like that phrase.

Anyway, since this is my blog, I'm free to post anything I want. This is one of my best outlets of all the stresses sa buhay and all the things na pinaniniwalaan ko (haba ng word na yun, ah).

To cut the long introduction, I just want to say something. This is regarding the special people around me. Ah, actually, I want to confront her and say this but I can't.
Last last week, meron ako nakasabay kumain ng lunch. We're alone nun and di ko maalala kung bakit. So, there, we were eating our lunch and sa dinami-dami ng pinag-usapan namin, bigla 'kong naitanong sa kanya, 'Naging close ba tayo?'. But the girl na kausap ko, she said,'Ewan ko sa 'yo'. Well, it wasn't a big deal naman eh. Nagjo-joke pa nga 'ko that time, eh. Pero few days after I asked her that, memories keep flashing back and I suddenly realized na hindi pala. What I mean is, we never got to the point na very 'intimate' ang friendship namin. I realized na naging close kami for the sake na may makasama lang sya. I don't want to hurt her but that's what I think. You may say I'm kind of ma-drama. Yes, I may be like that, I may be a sensitive person, eh.., but what else can I say?

And nowadays, meron syang bagong ka-close; and again I'm telling you, it isn't a big deal. Now, the girl na ka-close nya ngayon is a staightforward-type of person; and more often than not, sinasadya nya yung ganong attitude. Ako, at times, ganon. Depende pa rin yun sa mood ko. The girl na kinukwento ko senyo, she confronted me matagal na. She said na bawas-bawasan ko daw yung pagiging ganun ko, esp. sa kanya daw. Ako naman, naisip ko nun na baka there are times na hindi nya ma-gets yung point ko. And baka nai-interpret nya in a different way.

Now, this is what I want to tell you. Yung girl na ka-close nya ngayon, malimit na straightforward na most of the time eh obvious na nagiging tactless na sya. Si girl naman na kinukwento ko senyo is always trying to understand her. I always hear her say 'Si ______ kasi yan'. Ako naman, minsan ko lang gawin yun (maging straightforward) to avoid hurting someone else, tapos pag nagawa ko(which at certain times nagiging ganun na pala ako, eh di ko pa alam), parang naiinis pa sya sa kin. What I mean is, yung friend nya na madalas gawin yun, iniintndi nya, ako na minsan na lang gawin yun, di pa nya ko maintindihan, or should I say, di nya ako iniintindi.

It isn't fair!

Buhay Arki: Ipinagpapatuloy...

Hindi masasabing Buhay Arki ang buhay ng isang college student kung wala nito: floor plans, elevation, section, perspectives, theories on architecture, history of architecture, etc.

Ang mga bida sa puso't isipan ng mga arki students (kahit ayaw naming sila ang maging bida) ay mga floor plan. Pero bago kasi kami maka-arrive sa floor plan, nakakailang revise kami ng schematic plan. Para sa kaalaman ng mga people na hindi part ng arki family, ang schematic plan is a preliminary plan na walang wall thickness, walang furnitures and fixtures and the windows are indicated only by lines.

And the reason kung bakit kailangan pa ng scheme is to present it to your professor para ma-criticize nya yung ginawa mo para ma-achieve mo ang 'great design'. So to other people out there who say na madali gumawa ng floor plan at maka-arrive sa isang great design, f*** up!

*To be continued...

Annyong Haseyo!

Few minutes ago, I'm viewing the reports on my google analytics. I noticed that some of my visitors were directed to my blog because of my blog title. So to give them a little consideration, I'd like to explain my blog title (as well as my past blog titles). I forgot the first title, anyway, it isn't important anymore. However, I'd like to explain the second and the current titles (because I'm going to change it again).
The second tilte was "Uhmm...Urghh..."
It's quite weird because it somewhat came out of randomness. Yeah, it seems like (and sounds like) it's random but it is not. Just so my visitors know, it came from a certain joke which I and my friend used to laugh at. I don't like to go with the finest details but that title came from our professor who, when you see him talk, seems like exercising his lips as well as his cheek muscles, which we think is funny.
Honestly, we made fun of him but my 'good conscience' got in the way so I stopped doing it.
The 'uhmm' sound, to tell you, really came from my professor when he was criticizing my floor plan. The 'urghh' on the other hand is made out of randomness.

The current title (which I will change in the next few minutes) is a product of rush. I was with my friend the time I decided to change my blog title because it isn't pleasing to the ears. Then I asked her what's the good title then she gave me the 'Annyong Haseyo' right away. I, then, asked her what it means. She told me it's 'I love you' in Korean words. So, I said okay. Anyway, it's just a temporary title.

And that's the story behind. You know, everything happens for a reason.

Funny Name, Great Design

Our last major plate in Design4 is Kindergarten. The site is in Quezon City accessible via Commonwealth Avenue and Tandang Sora Avenue. The lot dimensions are 34.5 m by 40 m. At first, I thought it would be easy but I was mistaken because there a lot of space requirements in such a small lot. However, I was able to see an amazing and innovative design of Kindergarten in Maihara located in Shiga, Japan. Take a look at 'Bubbletecture M' designed by Shuhei Endo (a Japanese architect) !

The above pictures are the exterior perspectives, both aerial and man's eye view. If you notice, the roofing is unique. Actually, it's the frist time I've seen such roofing. If you will see Shuhei Endo's other works, you'll see the same roofing.

Below are pictures of the interior. Notice the finishes. Everything you see inside is wood.

The next pics are the building's structure, sections and floor plan respectively.

* Sorry if the floor plan image is not clear. The original isn't like that.

Money versus Love

The Soul Siren Nina revealed on 'Showbiz News Ngayon' last Februrary 17 that she and her mom are filing an estafa case against her ex-boyfriend Nyoy Bolante and his mom becuase he still owes her P 1.4 million.

"His mom needed the money daw, pero siyempre hindi ko na inalam talaga kung saan gagamitin," Nina recalled. Nyoy allegedly borrowed money worth of P 600 000 from Nina and promised pay her a week after.

Nyoy borrowed again on some occassions until it reached over a million.

In 2007, Nina received a postdated check from Nyoy but when she brought it to the bank, it bounced. Then in 2008, Nyoy's camp signed an agreement stating that they will pay the amount they still owe in installment, that is, P 50 000 monthly. Nyoy managed to give Nina P 200 000 in cash as the first payment but the check (second payment) amounting P 20 000 bounced once again. Nina was kind of shocked because of that, knowing that the bounced check (for the second time around) would mean estafa.

This afternoon, I watched 'The Buzz'. Boy Abunda advised people in such relationships that they should, as much as possible, avoid financial dealings. Kris Aquino laughingly added, 'Ang sa 'kin naman Boy, 'wag na lang silang mangutang, humingi na lang sila. Ruffa Gutierrez and Boy laughed at what she said but Kris somehow managed to convince her two co-hosts and the people in the studio that she's got a point.

Back in SNN, when Nina was asked about the lesson she learned, she said,"Huwag magpautang and to love myself more than I love the person."