Sticks and Stones

Gary Vaynerchuk asked us all to make today Good People Day, which is a wonderful idea. It’s not naive to decide to think about what we appreciate in others, and it isn’t unfair to turn our eyes away from the mainstream media’s flow of death and destruction. Sometimes we should talk about good news, sometimes we should publicly celebrate the people we consider good.

My contribution is to share a story with you - specifically how I got to know the wonderful people at CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast. It was mid-2005, the show was pretty new and a few people were beginning to develop what would become a vibrant community. We were in the hundreds, and at the CNET forums learnt about each other, discussed all sorts of issues, and so on. It was a great community and the hosts dropped in often. The forum was one of the places I had to visit everyday; the conversations there were as important to me as my ‘real-life’ conversations.

Late 2006 turned out to be a tough time in my life and the people I had known, but never met, rallied around to provide moral support. These people strewn across the planet came to share kind words with me and show that I mattered to them. That forum has always meant a lot to me, because I have met some amazing people there, people I later met in real life, and others spread all over the world with whom I have started online projects!

What was equally remarkable about the listeners’ community was how much we interacted with the hosts. They didn’t live one step withdrawn, watching from afar at what we said about their opinions and analysis. They participated, which made the whole atmosphere far more conducive to lively conversations, not just responses. Tom, Molly, and Veronica were always in the forum talking to their listeners. It was never a ploy to suggest they cared about the audience, it was real interest in the listeners. Even as the show has grown to the tens, likely hundreds of thousands of listeners it has today, you’ll still see Tom, Molly, and Jason joining in.

There are several thousands of miles east and west from me, here in London, separating us in the Buzz Out Loud community but I know that through my many years of interactions with the Good People involved with the show, I have gained real friends and am better for having known them.

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Jean Nouvel, the bold French architect known for his innovative works such as the Torre Agbar tower in Barcelona, a precursor to London’s very similar 30 St. Mary’s Axe, has received architecture’s top honour, the Pritzker Prize. Informally known as the ‘Nobel prize for architecture’, a jury chosen by the Hyatt Foundation awarded the $100,000 grant and bronze medallion today. Previous winners include Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Zaha Hadid and the first winner in 1979, Philip Johnson.

Critical and commercial success in architecture is increasingly coming from architects who do not have a ‘house-style’ and Jean Nouvel is no exception. Like David Chipperfield, the British architect who won the RIBA Sterling Prize 2007 for his Museum of Modern Literature in Germany, Nouvel believes the surrounding environment essentially dictates the design of a building. “The story, the climate, the culture of the place,” he said. “The references of the buildings around, what the people in the city love. The wind, the colour of the sky, the trees around - the building is not done only to be the most beautiful,” he said. “It’s done to give advantage to the surroundings. It’s a dialogue.” However, he does not design buildings simply to echo their surroundings. “Generally, when you say context, people think you want to copy the buildings around, but often context is contrast,” he said.

Nouvel’s projects are diverse; from designing luxury homes for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to building the Concert Hall Lucerne in Switzerland, his work has challenged the way in which architects approach architecture. He claims anything from the monumental and the civic, to the residential and vernacular can be realised successfully by an architect with an appreciation of the surrounding environment. The jury said of Nouvel’s industrial Guthrie Theater, which has a cantilevered bridge overlooking the Mississippi River, “the theatre both merges and contrasts with its surroundings.” It added, “It is responsive to the city and the nearby Mississippi River, and yet, it is also an expression of theatricality and the magical world of performance.”

I recently visited Madrid and stayed at Hotel Puerta America, a conceptual hotel where each floor is designed by a high profile designer. Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield, Arota Ishozaki and Jean Nouvel are just a few who have experimented with hotel design as the operators, Silken, claimed the project ‘had no budget’. Nouvel’s floor, the top one, is perhaps the most impressive. It is wildly romantic; stunning Japanese influences and a heady sense of artistic involvement, the design is a world away from the environment, a dusty residential area of a metropolitan Madrid. Forgiving the experimental nature of the project, it seems Nouvel has stuck to the ‘context is contrast’ mantra very strictly. Where other designers who have a ‘house style’ merely put their signature curves and deconstructive lines (in the case of Zaha Hadid) on their floor, architects such as Foster and Chipperfield, who are driven wholly by an environmental and social sensitivity to architecture, and no house style, chose to echo their surroundings. In the case of Foster, the palette of Spanish artist and friend Chilleda was employed; the dusty sienna brown worktops working symbiotically with the yellow ochre leather of the furnishings. It seems both Nouvel and Foster have gained success differently by echoing and contrasting the environment to provide feelings of excitement and familiarity respectively.

This year’s Pritzker Prize winner is yet another example of a successful architect who is very different to his contemporaries. Not restricted by an ‘ism’, not a disciple of a school, just a servant to society and its needs. I feel excited and privileged to be living in a time where architecture really is becoming all about social concern.

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My mother and father snuck me into Lost In Translation in 2003. It was a wet London evening, I had come home from school and was not very excited about seeing the film. I had homework to do, and I fretted about missing something on TV that night. But at 8 PM we went to the Odeon in Swiss Cottage, and sat down waiting for the room to darken. What followed changed my life.

Over the new hour and a half I sat silently, totally captivated by what was unfolding in front of me. Every scene was rich with colour and sound. Time was artfully divided between the sensuous (Charlotte at the Buddhist temple) and the practical (Bill on the phone in the jacuzzi). Space was divided between the crowds of Tokyo and the peace of the Park Hyatt. It was these decision by Ms. Coppola that ensured the film was so tightly knit and so well balanced.

Lance Accord’s cinematography accurately conveyed the required meaning of each scene. The warm lighting in the Hyatt tells you that the two are awake, but the dark lighting in the Hyatt tells you they are struggling to remain awake. The harsh sunlight outdoors signals the bewildering affront Tokyo’s rapid culture hurls at the sleepy Americans. The throbbing red lights atop buildings refer to the time-bound nature of their timeless connection.

The music direction by Brian Reitzell and Kevin Shields, puts you in place, and ensures you know how to feel about each scene. But by not forcing it down your throat, you have room to interpret the scene as you wish. And by introducing just the right mood at the right time (instrumental music while Charlotte travels in a bullet train) you’re saved from misinterpreting the scene. It guides you to understand what Ms. Coppola and Mr. Katz want you to see, while leaving you free to see something new each time.

These separate elements of the movie are difficult to extract from the movie because it works so well as an entity. Just as slicing life up into themes is unsatisfactory, slicing this movie into chunks does not make sense. These elements melt into the movie and affect each other such that taking them apart is only useful when presenting individual members of the crew with awards.

Their real achievement was not in excellent lighting or well-timed music, but in creating a movie that becomes a series of emotions. Their success is in creating all that was necessary to turn Lost In Translation from 105 minutes of film into a real week, in which real things happened to real people.

A parting anecdote: Ms. Coppola says she hounded after Bill Murray, and after leaving hundreds of voicemail messages got a verbal agreement. On the first day of shooting the crew wasn’t even sure he would show up. He did, and today calls Lost In Translation his favourite film. So do I.

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It’s a weird graphic. A pyramid, an eye, the number thirteen. The iconography looks like it could originate from all sorts of places. It certainly doesn’t fit in with the pomp and glamour of other American insignia. In fact it looks fairly creepy. That eye is daunting, the pyramid is unfinished and yet already has weeds growing under it, and then the number thirteen which we all know to have many historical and sinister connotations.

Other American emblems are full of the grandeur expected of the world’s dominant power, and of an incredibly idealistic (in the very best sense of the word) young nation. The soaring eagle, strong bold colours, stars and stripes all indicate the vigour and idealism which epitomise the American way of life. On the other hand, there is the Great Seal which looks ancient, secretive, and malevolent.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Seal’s 66th and current custodian, on Tuesday inaugurated a new exhibition to commemorate its 225th birthday and trace the history and evolution of the symbolism.

“This exhibit honoring the Great Seal affirms our continued belief in the values of our founding,” she said. “The Great Seal symbolizes the unity, strength and independence of a new nation, the United States of America.”

Debunking some of the conspiracy theories:

1. Masons (including Washington and Franklin) did not design the seal.
2. It’s design can be summarised as such: it uses elements of traditional heraldry, such as the unfinished pyramid to symbolize a work in progress, arrows for war and an olive branch for peace.
3. The 13 does not refer to Judas, but to the 13 colonies. Like the 13 stripes in the flag.
4. The two latin phrases “Novus Ordo Seculorum” and “Annuit Coeptis” are not as sinister as ‘New World Order’ and ‘Chosen ones’ but ‘A New Order for the Ages’ and ‘Providence favours’ suggesting democracy and peoples’ sovereignty overcoming tyranny.

Whether you believe these explanations is up to you.

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Some of the earliest civilisations grew up in Mesopotamia, between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, which run through Iraq. Neighbouring Iran has its fair share of ancient history; Persepolis - the great city of the Persians is in south central Iran and is dramatically different to the image President Bush portrays of the country.

Modern Iran is caricatured as an evil state, menacingly stockpiling nuclear weapons to assault Israel and Europe. While the Iranian government should be seen this way, the Iranian people should not.

Like many populations ruled by despotic governments, the people of Iran should not have their name sullied by the actions a government imposed upon them.

James Vlahos of National Geographic took advantage of a new Iranian initiative to welcome tourists - even Americans - to learn about the real Iran. It’s a brilliant way to counter the propaganda from the US.

He visited Persepolis and Esfahan, the latter being an extraordinarily beautiful city. More Casablanca than Syriana. In Esfahan he chatted with locals, explored beautiful and ancient Mosques, and witnessed the real change happening in Iran today: his guide Maziar Rahimi spoke to him of “The young women wearing their scarves far back and more makeup. Change is coming.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains a serious threat to global security. His nuclear weapons program is not only real but must be halted immediately. However, that does not mean blowing up the parts of Iran James Vlahos visited. We already know of Humvees rampaging through ancient Iraqi towns and the rampant looting in Baghdad. This is what we must avoid. These countries are led by evil men, but they themselves are not evil. An hour speaking with Vahid Mousavifard, an ordinary citizen, an example of the real Iran, would make this plainly clear to all who deign to find out.

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