tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42683217038088608662012-02-16T05:40:15.831-05:00Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-29774667016823697582011-12-01T17:45:00.001-05:002011-12-01T17:53:25.409-05:00

Yo dudes. I started that new blog I was telling you about. It's called Plastic Futures and you can find it here.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-44575060370847890572011-08-11T23:19:00.000-04:002011-08-11T23:19:47.615-04:00

I think this blog is pretty much dead. It was originally a way for me to share my experience in architecture school with my family as well as an outlet for some of my personal creative convictions and expressions, but quickly I realized I suck at hastily wording my own thoughts as they happen. I hope this deficiency improves in time, especially since I have a very strong appreciation for the

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-6438574295885060442011-05-16T02:13:00.002-04:002011-05-17T00:50:50.977-04:00

An awesome video for what has so far been my favorite song of 2011. The bonus is that it was made by a fellow Kent State student. Check it out! Lofticries with trembling eyes.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-65423101736530134322011-05-16T01:34:00.001-04:002011-05-17T16:24:26.129-04:00

I need to find some inspiration to continue to post to this blog, even if blogging (from what I'm told) is already dead. But a quick update, I graduated last weekend from KSU with my Bachelors of Science degree in Architecture. That was a rough four years. Glad it's over, but like many things I'm left with the question of whether I did enough with my time at Kent. Immediately I can't help

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-3246028494096096802011-03-02T15:14:00.002-05:002011-03-02T15:14:52.613-05:00

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-27870308209164759262010-08-21T20:01:00.002-04:002010-08-21T20:32:13.047-04:00

Tokyo! has been saved in my instant queue for months now, undeservedly alone and neglected, but yesterday I finally got around to watching it. And it blew my fucking mind...away. Tokyo! is really three short films comprising one unique (bizarre) look at Japan's largest metropolis. And although each story uncovers and probes different aspects of human experience and emotion in unrelated

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-44475527764733202172010-07-27T20:12:00.002-04:002010-08-13T15:41:19.066-04:00

Around the end of this past semester a giant inflatable torus was brought to life on the Kent State campus, a product of the Operative Detailing seminar led by Jason Turnidge. Since I was in Italy, I couldn't be there at that time, however much to my delight, the big plastic fun house was re-inflated this summer here in Cleveland within the courtyard of the Sculpture Center. Named

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-83863079453315070502010-06-03T00:06:00.003-04:002010-06-03T00:24:27.345-04:00

I just turned 21 two minutes ago. And by the way, I made it back to the states safely, however reluctantly. More to come soon: semester wrap-up, final presentation, summer plans. I'm in Kent now for the summer. Hitmeup, friends.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-49126595214610819852010-05-14T04:58:00.001-04:002010-05-14T05:09:01.401-04:00

Final reviews were two days ago. In two days I will be on a plane back to The States. Europe, I will definitely miss you. Don't make me leave.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-23730077613155716502010-05-11T10:24:00.003-04:002010-05-11T14:01:01.626-04:00

[the mountain dwellings by big.][the mountain rising over the neighborhood seen from martin's house, taken in winter, obviously.][the new city from the top of the mountain.][at the 'career cannon' concert, but don't remember what happened here.] [all photos courtesy martin, my host, seen here in the black t-shirt, his gorgeous family behind him and his friends/roomates beside me.] For me,

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-65168729389952369392010-04-23T18:09:00.002-04:002011-05-17T13:28:58.126-04:00

[photo credit: john yurchyk, santa catarina market / barcelona] Spring break is a few weeks in the past, but its effect on me is still fresh in my mind. Really, I can't think of any other experience in my life that has so obviously effected me as that trip. I suppose the words of H. C. Andersen are common, "To travel is to live", but never had I understood them as I do now. I always thought

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-62169803391324720692010-04-20T14:09:00.001-04:002010-04-20T14:13:51.076-04:00

Just saw this on the Archinect salary poll. 62 / Male from Phoenix, Arizona $64,000 salary Type of work: Fulltime Type of workplace: Corporate B. Architecture B.S. Botany I year grad school Registered Architect, Az, Ca. and Registered Landscape Architect, Az, Ca. 38 years experience 40 hrs vacation Health and dental insurance No retirement program Took 20% paycut in 09 40-60 hr weeks+

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-80461833047045705792010-04-19T18:59:00.003-04:002010-04-19T13:36:04.802-04:00

In between jet setting across Europe, I've been devoting (some) time to my studio's proposed project for Florence, a new Mediatheque located within the walls of the Fortezza da Basso. From the syllabus, under the guidance of Alberto Francini. // "The new mediatheque will have to become an asset to the city at large.  Both in terms of image and functionality, it will have to become a major forum

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-21311659106772895572010-04-08T20:55:00.001-04:002010-04-08T20:56:12.673-04:00

Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too much has been happening for me to be diligent in my blog posts.  My apologies.  I'll try to catch up soon.  To come: mid-term reviews, second trip to Venice, spring break in Portugal and Spain, and much more. Tomorrow I leave for Paris.  I'm a serious weekend warrior and I mean business.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-86605110527050068852010-03-20T07:40:00.002-04:002010-03-21T06:53:59.081-04:00

This semester has been a strong test of my general approval of architecture, and more specifically, my place within it. Of course, I'm not talking physical architecture here, but rather the industry, practice, and teaching of architecture. To sum it up neatly, I've realized for myself, like so many before me, that architecture is a sham and a general waste of time. I don't know when my

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-71564221253855803262010-03-15T14:33:00.000-04:002010-03-15T14:33:49.152-04:00

I'm currently taking a sketching and drawing course here in Florence.  Freehand sketching and drawing...no straight-edge permitted.  I believe I came into this course okay at sketching, but having never devoted much time to it, I've never developed a drawing language, a style, of my own.  This course, if worth anything, is at least worth that, and I think I'm finally coming into one....or at

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-75209959951951385892010-02-25T18:52:00.001-05:002010-02-25T18:53:17.676-05:00

We came to Berlin with a mission:  To discover cool again.  Florence was getting old.  The slowly disintegrating renaissance relics were weighing ever more heavily on our eyes and the stuffy streets full of fashionably stuffy people and asian tourists were increasingly becoming a joke and a pity. The simple solution became clear.  A little r & r somewhere, fittingly, the opposite of what we

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-68186474304938263742010-02-24T17:37:00.002-05:002010-02-24T20:54:13.668-05:00

Yesterday, I smelled the smell of spring. Today, I ruined a drawing in my sketchbook because of stupid bleeding prismacolors.  It isn't the first time I've been so absent minded. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-4801162199302102602010-02-22T12:46:00.003-05:002010-02-22T18:11:20.917-05:00

I'm not sure that I believe in the concept of precedent studies, regardless, I was asked by my studio professor(s) to compile a study of previous architectural projects to present in class tomorrow.  Around five or so buildings would suffice. So, here are images of my precedents.  None of them buildings.  Some more architectural than others.   There is a common

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-78293599083538170712010-02-10T16:19:00.005-05:002010-02-10T16:40:06.775-05:00

Today I was interviewed by a reporter for Luna Negra, a student-produced magazine for writing and poetry.  This semester's theme is "The art around us".  The journalist was interviewing architecture majors for a story on how they view design and how it relates to the theme.  Not sure if this is allowed, but here is the unedited interview because I liked some points that were brought up. 

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-28829952154267719062010-02-09T17:41:00.002-05:002010-02-22T18:35:40.839-05:00

My first impression of Florence:  make-believe city where everything revolves around the past.  Essentially, stuck in a rut.  First impressions of Venice:  make-believe city due to the belief that places like this don't really exist.  I mean, floating cities, waterbuses, grand canals, numerous pedestrian bridges.  If Atlantis exists, this is it.  It hasn't been lost to the sea, yet. I don't

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-19605474446443260062010-02-08T20:57:00.002-05:002010-02-08T21:08:22.238-05:00

Chocolate festival in Florence this past weekend.  The best thing to happen in the city yet.  Hands down. Mom, this is for you.  But, unless you come in March, you'll have to wait until May to find out its identity.  It was a chocolate lover's paradise.  A tent in Santa Croce went up and was soon filled with booths from all over Italy representing different cioccolaterias.  Here's the 

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-49528685907050299192010-01-29T21:26:00.003-05:002010-01-29T23:04:11.469-05:00

 I thought of Paca when taking this photograph. It was the first time I thought I was seeing a picturesque image of the Tuscan countryside.  But don't be fooled, this isn't the countryside.  It's the outskirts of Florence and the surrounding area wasn't entirely beautiful; or at least not my stereotyped image of Italy.  Don't get me wrong though, the neighborhood has it's charm.   There is an

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-48401450858933182452010-01-24T13:50:00.002-05:002010-01-24T14:03:42.951-05:00

Friday we went to Pisa, just a short train ride west of Florence. This is what happened.

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-90109879509569069472010-01-22T01:26:00.002-05:002010-01-23T18:29:55.799-05:00

Today concludes the first full week of classes here at the Palazzo de Cerchi in Florence. To allow for travel on the weekends, classes end on Thursday creating a three day weekend. My schedule is both jam-packed and quite open, since I have one lecture on Monday, a crazy day on Tuesday and Thursday, and no classes on Wednesday. BUT, most importantly, I find all of my classes to be at least

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-68630976901275921772010-01-16T18:10:00.002-05:002010-01-23T18:29:00.382-05:00

Classes start Monday. There is a lot I have yet to do here in Florence, but classes starting will help me fill my time. Plus, I'm excited to start learning and doing intellectual 'stuff' again and have, hopefully, a turn-around successful semester. In other news, we can't get our washing machine to work. My clothes have been sitting there all day in hopes that the thing will just start

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-6605025027765279432010-01-15T09:32:00.001-05:002010-01-18T05:40:06.372-05:00

The last place I want to hear Rihanna squealing her lastest single is while contemplating the fenestration on the Duomo, but in Florence American music is the sound of the city. The prevalence of American pop music is astounding. This was something I wasn't expecting in the least. As an example we were entertained by Shania Twain, The Bee Gees, and I think Busta Rhymes while eating in a

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-36943603715715092102010-01-12T22:29:00.000-05:002010-01-14T16:56:58.725-05:00

For someone who has never been abroad (okay, I've visited Canada but we can all agree that hardly counts), studying in Italy this semester is a big change. And being transplanted from cow-town Ohio, maybe even more so. Orientation week started yesterday. This is meant to help us in our transition to Italian life, and also to complete necessary tasks and documents associated with our extended

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-45863509070982905822010-01-11T15:15:00.003-05:002010-01-14T15:20:21.814-05:00

The taxi cab from the airport dropped me off right at the door of my new home.The first sights of Italy and Florence were....I don't really know how to describe it...not exactly mind-blowing or impressive but just existing. There it was and here I was looking through glass at it all. I immediately felt as if the city wasn't a reality but a lie meticulously constructed to fool and deceive; much

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-55021778726731021532010-01-10T11:31:00.004-05:002010-01-14T14:25:44.792-05:00

So, in order for this to work, as in provide somewhat regular updates, I've realized I need to operate in a more stream-of-consciousness manner with regards to posting, despite how unintelligent I think I sound. Which I gather is the point and heart of blogging anyway, but I've always had trouble with giving up control.Living and traveling throughout Europe will likely help me change that.So on

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-38180126248188228292009-08-20T01:20:00.004-04:002010-04-25T10:35:55.802-04:00

Good news, taking Structural Systems 1 over the summer paid off. I got an 'A' bringing my overall grade point average up .04 units. Will not taking the course this coming fall allow me to focus on my other classes like studio and ET 1? Let's hope so... Anyway, third year is only 10 days away. I have Strand, who I took second semester of first year, and I couldn't be more excited. Should be

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-48436905960755136352009-05-20T21:47:00.020-04:002010-04-25T10:35:35.158-04:00

The dust has settled on another year of architecture school and in the new-found clarity, I realize that I am now a third year and only one semester away from the Italy semester abroad. To begin to summarize the latest project, I'll start at the end; my jury review. It was by far the strangest yet for many reasons but for one I don't think I received any actual critique. Instead, the jurors

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-40045974594412624462009-05-03T02:50:00.003-04:002010-04-25T10:35:11.578-04:00

Okay. So I didn't post the process of the current project like I said I would earlier. Some things don't happen when you're so busy you don't have time to do or complete anything. I'm sitting in the computer lab, letting my Rhino model simmer, thought I would post something. Basically, I already forsee not finishing this project.....nothing out of the ordinary basically, but I'm contemplating

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-55564299385323253612009-04-17T02:18:00.003-04:002010-04-25T10:45:23.069-04:00

It had always troubled me when I was younger how the prevalence of contemporary architecture [or designed solutions in general] seemed to simply not exist in the area I grew up in. It was annoying to not see good design around but even more troubling than not seeing was feeling as though no one around me understood or had even been exposed to such modes of thought [it was another shock when it

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-73947822842915072622009-04-02T02:35:00.006-04:002010-04-25T10:40:03.813-04:00

Preliminary investigations for our final project of second year studio have commenced. After the last project, it's nice to have a new start. But, as all of us in studio understand, the project's success will heavily influence our final grades for the semester, making this project incredibly important. At this point, I think I have a lot to make up for after the last two projects; if not for

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-91009502627346721212009-03-26T02:20:00.007-04:002010-04-25T10:13:49.841-04:00

Our second project in Design Studio 2 has finally come to a close. We had an informal jury directly following the turn-in at 1:10p. Needless to say, I was pretty tired and had only slept 16 hours in the span of 5 days in hopes that I would finish with a final project I could be proud of. To my amazement, my work once again came up short of my expectations. I didn't finish a section, plan, and

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-29373824293898030062009-03-04T20:27:00.007-05:002010-04-25T10:38:07.927-04:00

To start things off here's an article I wrote for t r a c e, the student zine that I co-edit at Kent State University. >> In a time where our reality constantly feels as though it’s turning into a video game, it may be normal for one to question what constitutes their existence in the 21st century. With this in mind, insinuating that in the digital age many of us reside in a form of virtual

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268321703808860866.post-15640187991467258742009-03-01T06:47:00.003-05:002010-04-25T10:43:32.154-04:00

In the cold and dark corners of cyberspace I have staked out this portion for myself, to write and reflect, and possibly find something interesting in my own thoughts that others may also find worth reading. In this blog I intend to talk of my architectural studies mostly so that the mysteriousness of the allusive 'studio' may subside to those unknowing of what I do with the vast majority of

Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01937274478066694971noreply@blogger.com0