that reminds me

bus bunching reminded me of this bullshit the MTA produced in order to condescend to us about their shortcomings.

i don't want to hear your excuses, MTA. just FYIX IT.

important sensitivity update

BRIC has been listening to and learning from the online discussion about our planned June 26 screening of Paris is...

Posted by Celebrate Brooklyn! on Wednesday, May 13, 2015

see everyone there!

gabby giffords speaks at congressional hearing on gun control

"be bold. be courageous. americans are counting on you." (via)

the new eric berry.

look at this dumb idea I bet going up hill is a real pain...

the strongly worded email i just sent to Southwest Airlines

This was my second travel experience with Southwest Airlines, and I am certain it will be my last.

I left straight from work on Thursday to make it to the airport for my flight at 8:20PM. I had previously scheduled a car service to take me to that airport (at a cost of $38). I had received a text message that said my flight was delayed until 9PM, but because I had already scheduled the car, I decided to go ahead and be early for boarding. When I got to the airport I checked the departures board and as expected it indicated a delayed flight. I checked in and left my checked bag with security and over the course of the next 2 hours I received 3 additional text messages alerting me that my flight was now delayed until 9:50PM, the 9:30PM, then 11:50PM. Finally I received a text message that said that my flight was cancelled.

My complaint is that after waiting in line until 11PM to speak to an agent about rescheduling my flight I was told that the first available flight to Chicago was not until Sunday. The wedding I was supposed to attend was on Saturday, so the option presented was not acceptable. I asked if Southwest would provide me with a seat on a competitor's flight, and was told no. The only offer for recompensation made was to provide hotel vouchers until I could be put on a flight. Clearly as a New York resident, I don't need to wait in a hotel for a new flight.

My weekend was already ruined, and after all was said and done, I had spend more than $90 on transportation to and from the airport and on dinner (that I would not have otherwise needed). My expectation was that Southwest would provide me a way to honor the ticket that I had purchased and get me to Chicago. Failing this, due to weather or mechanical problems (there was never an excuse given for the cancellation) it would be my expectation that Southwest would recompensate me for my expenses and I would have been delighted if a future travel credit had been offered to make up for my lost time, and for ruining my weekend.

Basically Southwest failed to honor the ticket I had purchased, and then left me stranded at the airport. That is the story I am left with and unless something changes, that will be the last story I have to tell people about my experience. Southwest claims that the service they provide is "not like the other guys," and as far as I can tell that is true, because with the "other guys" I would have made it to Chicago without too much trouble.

more like peeps-and-poops station

earlier this week, i rounded a corner in penn station and immediately had to dodge a large yellow puddle on the floor. as i passed, my eyes followed the puddle back across the floor to its source. a person, laying on the floor against the wall completely unconscious, possibly dying, probably already dead. then the smell hit me. i didn't have the measure of insensitivity necessary to snap a photo, but here's a sample from the internet.

one of the greatest injustices in the world, architecturally speaking (rob just 'my dad has cancer'd me) is the fact that there are black and white photos of what penn station used to be, lining the walls of what penn station is now. i am one of the forsaken 600,000 people that have to pass through this place every day, and i hate it with every fiber of my being.

the new york times has a piece today that explores some possible solutions:

Nearly a half-century has passed since the destruction of the great 1910 station designed by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White, a “monumental act of vandalism,” as an editorial in The New York Times called the demolition in 1963. A vast steel, travertine and granite railway palace of the people, the old Pennsylvania Station had declined by the end into a symbol of bygone Gilded Age opulence. It was replaced by Penn Plaza and Madison Square Garden, Modernist mediocrities, erected to serve real estate interests, with a new subterranean Penn Station entombed below.

Some 600,000 commuters, riding Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit, now suffer Penn Station every day. That makes it probably the busiest transit hub in the Western world, busier than Heathrow Airport in London, busier than Newark, La Guardia and Kennedy airports combined.

To pass through Grand Central Terminal, one of New York’s exalted public spaces, is an ennobling experience, a gift. To commute via the bowels of Penn Station, just a few blocks away, is a humiliation.

What is the value of architecture? It can be measured, culturally, humanely and historically, in the gulf between these two places. (via)

good thinking, dummies.

The Susan G. Komen foundation has reversed its position on Planned Parenthood, and will continue funding the organization after all, issuing a statement that apologizes "for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives." The move comes after a week of online protest over the news that Komen would end a grant to Planned Parenthood to provide mammograms. It was not a move that Komen took lightly. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg unearthed memos from December that show how the Komen foundation instructed its employees to "obfuscate the issues when confronted with questions about why Komen cut off funding to Planned Parenthood." The letters outline "updated eligibility requirements" that include changes in tax-exemption status and loss of federal funding, among other things. (via)

going rogue.

the blog turned italic, and i don't know why.

nErD aLeRt!

In fact, more than half of architecture school graduates don’t enter the profession. Fewer still get licensed, which means that the majority of the best and brightest are held in professional limbo or exit the profession entirely. This has been the status quo for decades, and it’s time for a change. We, the public, need architecture and dignifying spaces now more than ever.

Lest you think this title stuff is just semantics, think again. The profession and the public are measurably worse off because of this issue. While diversity in architecture schools is comparable to law and other fields, architecture remains one of the most elite and homogenous professions, clinging to institutional barriers that have thwarted gender parity and diversity efforts. Massive resources are spent on bureaucracy instead of nurturing a more representative profession to serve our diverse society, and supporting architects to create better, more vibrant public spaces. (via)

good readin'.

ugly pony taken in by self-righteous little girl.

this little girl fell in love with this ugly pony, and saved his life.

"Diego is my best friend and I don't care what he looks like, to me his face makes him special. He's so lovely. We have a lot of fun playing games and he likes to chase me around the field. I love him lots and he gives me kisses and cuddles. People shouldn't say he should be put down because of what he looks like, it doesn't matter to me." (via)

and she's also doing some fundraising to save his face.

thx g!

get it together, BP!!

today, it's been announced via press conference that that oil is leaking 5 times faster than originally estimated. they have discovered 2 new leaks. and it could touch louisiana (and its wildlife) as soon as tomorrow night!!

somebody needs to get down there and FEEYAUX IT!!