Rambling snippets

Do not read the following expecting it to make any sense.
Thoughts whizzing too fast to write coherently
should resort to bullets and bubbles
coherence denied
half thoughts full thoughts missing
unifinished paragraphs and sentences
missing all the webpages and other things i was doing
distraction results in unfinished thoughts
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I came home tonight, intending to blog about the escape weekends provide, and how I'm reminded again and again about the good things in life when I'm doing something pleasant, and that life is more important and satisfying than architecture...

and then I started reading a few new architecture blogs, and became completely consumed and wrapped up in it again that I, inevitably, will blog about it.

Before I get lost in an architectural ramble, I'd like to say that:
1. I had a really lovely evening with Mike and Elora, wandering down to St. Paul's cathedral to catch the end of the Evensong and then fish+chips at a pub for dinner
2. I wore white socks with black shoes today

Now on to the several snippets of archi-babble that have been floating around my head today:
I've been seeing a lot of discourse lately about architects doing non-architect-y things. Some call it "expanding the profession" while others call it "tinkering." Nearly half of the students in architecture school do not intend to pursue architecture as a career. Whether this is a result of schools accepting too many students who really just want to be artists but have to look successful for their families, or that the recession is making 1/4 of us 'redundant' and we need to find new things to do, or that professional practice is just, in fact, plain boring... is all up for debate. I'm not here to say either is bad; I mean... if someone will actually pay you to be a pseudo-philosopher, pseudo-artist, self-professed "Knower of All Great Things" then why wouldn't one pursue such an attractive career?

However, I find these conceptualists similar to the crusaders. While the militia went out with cries of "In the name of God!" to cleanse their land of the unsuitable, so do architects go forth "In the Name of Architecture" banish banal buildings and unsuitable experiences. So many unrealistic, unbuildable, and quite absurd projects are done "In the name of Architecture!" as if Architecture needed saving and you were the only one with enough sense to see it.
[although, in much conversation it is safe to assume that the architect present is more apt to agree with architect:god over architecture:religion ]

As intelligent as we would like everyone to belive, we actually have no clue. "Architects know nothing about a lot. Engineers know a lot about nothing." We fancy ourselves as great philosophers, poets, and artists; we pride ourselves on our conceptual rigor, attention to detail, understanding of human and space; Aaaaaand yet... we are mostly good at [trying to] convince people we have actually researched, actually learned, actually thought... when really. It went there because I felt like it. Because it was pretty. And no, I didn't think about anyone who might live there; and no, i don't particularly care if it's more convenient to put the cabinet there if it wrecks my design!!!
We are an extraordinarily selfish, stubborn people, who enjoy giant puzzles and spent too much time as children with play figures or imaginary friends.

"those ungrateful wretches graffitied my wall?"


which is all funny (and relevant) because i've had the feeling lately that while architecture is assumed to be about drawing, it is largely about writing and communication. And yet, being the art-but-not-art-but-better-because-its-real artistic type of people Architects generally are, we assume that we can get away with being total crap at writing [Or speaking.] because it's "not what we do."
Waving your hand and grunting in a vaguely European way will get you through any tough situation in America [as long as you're not talking to contractors or engineers].