Back on Track

It has been crazy busy at work. I realize that we are in a recession and at times, (thanks to the media pouring its daily ration of gasoline on to the wide reaching and fear causing fire), it seems like we may be on the verge of something much, much worse. However, like my grandfather used to say, "You do the best that you can, and if that isn't good enough, the heck with it." -In other words, if we are on the verge of something worse, then, one, we aren't going to be able to control most of that and, two, the company I work for hasn't seemed to notice at the day to day, nose to the grindstone, sort of level. That's a good thing. (Count your blessings large or small.)


Today, this week (since Friday the 6th of February anyway) I have felt like the old G: Back on the road, celebrating architecture and life, hopefully promoting our company's products to an eventful and profitable outcome, and thinking... for the first time in a long time. What's that you ask, "You've been on autopilot, G?" Yeah, sort of. You know how it is. You get so busy that you stop thinking and just react. I call it the "Fire Dance," because all you are doing is putting out fires instead of putting in the time on the long term, more critical issues -like doing the right things business-wise in order to generate even more business when the Big Recession reverses and life is the Big Easy once again. (Please allow the cross reference to NO, LA. Thanks.)

I have also been thinking about some of my first loves: the art and architecture around the world, travel and the richly woven blanket of diversity that not only separates us into individual fibers and strands, but also brings us together, and you. Yeah, you. I imagine some of you quite clearly because you are my friends and family. Others I imagine as the merely curious and bored. At any rate, I have been thinking about what this blog was intended for and what you may like to know about what I have been up to, where to stay, good places to eat, etc. So, back on track. Here we go...


Friday I and a coworker drove up to Washington, DC for the AIA Gala presented by the AIA and the AAF. This annual pilgrimage comes courtesy of the fact that the leadership in our company has had the kind of long term vision to make us Cornerstone Partners with the AIA -the American Institute of Architects. Along with that partnership comes two tickets every year to this event. My understanding is that they do not bestow the AIA Gold medal every year, but they have at the last few I have attended. This year the Gold (AIA's highest honor) went to a plucky Australian by the name of Glen Murcutt. I wish you could have been there to witness this.





















Forget all the jokes about an Aussie getting an American Institute of Architects award. Ignore all the snarky comments coming from half drunk women falling out of their evening gowns at the nearby table. (The same women and their companions who would only shut their mouths long enough to swallow the food or wine that they were cramming into it.) Don't dwell on the fact that last year the table you were assigned to was ten feet from the podium and this year the assigned table was in the nether regions of the hall next to drunk women, falling out of their tops, making snarky comments about Tom Kundig or Glen Murcutt. And please try not to dwell on the fact that last year's event, at the table ten feet from the podium that, for a moment, that podium was occupied by none other than Renzo Piano, while someone you know, like and call a friend, was getting hammered and making snarky comments to the lovely head of marketing for a local DC firm. (No, not I.) Forget all of that. Why relive it or be bitter or even slightly amused? This year's event, like the one before it, was about passion. Not the, "Hey-look!-Half-drunk-women-in-evening-wear-falling-out-of-their-dresses-and-making-snarky-comments" type of passion. (That would be lust.) No, the type of passion that makes a difference in any field where it can be witnessed, felt and, above all, thought about.
















Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen received the AIA firm of the year award. It's easy to see why. Some of their work approaches the sublime. Take Chicken Point cabin for example: http://www.oskaarchitects.com/Projects/101/Chicken-Point-Cabin Unreal! Well executed and well thought out design. If you are impressed, there is a really nice book out about their work. It is not an inexpensive book. It is inspirational, though. http://www.amazon.com/Olson-Sundberg-Kundig-Allen-Architects/dp/1580930824/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234102621&sr=8-2 If you do not want to shell out that kind of quid for a book, then check out Tom Kundig's book instead. http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Kundig-Houses-Dung-Ngo/dp/156898605X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234102621&sr=8-1


When you see work like this, you know that the practioner is passionate and fully engaged in their work. "IT" goes beyond work to almost this, dare I say it, Zen-like quality of caring deeply about the outcome while maintaining a focus that is so laser like focused that the rest of the world fades away. In a word; Passion. I realize that this is a quality that can be found in any field of endeavor. When it is found, it is breathtaking.

Then there was and is the Aussie himself. Here is a guy who is so passionate about the ecology of architecture that when he was asked by Architectural Record's Bob Ivy about the work, (photo above of the two sitting beneath the big screen), he slipped into overdrive and started getting down to the minutia of what he does, why he does and it, and even how he does it. "I unbolted the whole thing... and moved it..." All of which is predicate upon a passion that was noticable -even in the back of the room. If you thought that OSKAs book was expensive, wait until you take a gander at some of the Murcutt books. Go to Amazon and do a search on Glen Murcutt. The about.com site has some nice stuff about Glen, albeit a little outdated. http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/murcutt.htm


I remember seeing a book about his work floating around the library at North Dakota State University. Even then people were talking about this guy and his ecologically sensitive work. He was green before there was a green. Interesting side note: He mentioned in his talk at the Gala that "greenwashing" by various industries and interests would eventually destroy the Green movement. I am not one hundred percent convinced that he is right, but I think that he may be close to the mark. None-the-less...


Both firms... Passion. Look for it, find it, and above all embody it.


Speaking of Passion... I am in Portland, Oregon today. Talk about a passionate place. This town is jam packed with creative types. I love this town. I almost have grown to hate it (more on that another time) but, at the end of the day, I still love this town.

When I was a younger man, I moved to Portland. Think Prodigal Son meeting a severe case of wanderlust. I had spent some time at the aforementioned NDSU and found, at the end of three years, that I had absolutely no inclination to study or sit in a classroom. Long story short, I left my heart in North Dakota (sorry San Francisco) and went, like all young men in the cliche, West.

I lived in Portland and surrounding suburbs for a little over three years. Prior to this, I had lived for a summer in Boston, spent a summer North of the Windy City with my good friend, the Navy, and had spent a summer North of Los Angeles in the coastal community of Oxnard. I like all those towns, but I flipped over Portland. I moved during November (the rainy season) and drove my little Datsun 280Z through the night into the Rose City. Some people hate the rain, but I am not one of them. I stayed at the Lakeshore Inn in Lake Oswego -on the lake... and dare not go back in the event that reality ruins one of my favorite moments in time and one of my favorite memories. The more it storms and rains, the more I like it. Portland's mild tempatures and constant gray was like a warm blanket to me and my twisted little mind. The greeness of the city amazed me. I fell asleep in the middle of my first rainy day with the sliding door open to the lake (it was a warm 45 degrees -warm for November to a kid from North Dakota) and knew that I had made a good decision.


When spring arrived I was blown away by the color and livlihood of the city. I was even more amazed by the budding scene in the industrial section and Northwest area of Portland's downtown. This was long before the Pearl district became the Pearl. At that time, people were just starting to convert warehouses into lofts. Oh that 20-20 hindsight, thing. But that's another story. Art was, and still is, rampant. I met architects who would go on to become famous in their own ways... like the guy who has his work splashed across the cover of this month's (Feb) Architectural Record magazine. People partied through the night when they weren't working through it. And I, well I was just too dumb -too null and void -to realize how young and energetic I was. At any rate...


This morning finds me in The Monaco Hotel ( a Kimpton property: http://www.kimptonhotels.com/) in downtown Portland. I came in early due to the crazy AIA gig on Friday and a heavy week of travel this week. (San Fran and LA to follow.) If you like things that are a little bit off the beaten path, the kind of places that are a little quirky, than some of the Kimpton propertis are for you. If you time it right, it will cost you about the same amount of money as a Hilton second tier hotel like the Hilton Garden Inn. Be careful though, it can be quite expensive if you are not getting a deal. In the case of The Monaco, you may take the light rail (MAX) from the airport to Pioneer Court House Square. Walk two blocks to the North and Voila! You have arrived. This is awesome. I have stayed at the HGI in or near Lake Oswego. Albeit nice, and a fan of Hilton chains, I did have to rent a car. The car rental was $300 or so for three days once I put fuel into it, etc. Not the case at the Monaco. Even in light of the recently dropped rates (based on occupancy) by the Hilton chains, the Monaco in PDX is a better deal. You can end up saving money by making your desicions based on mass tranisit. IF you are a pet person, dogs, I believe are welcome. I am not a dog person. I have not noticed any pet smells in my room. Also, the Kimpton reward program (In Touch) is nice. Like the Hilton chains, there will be a letter waiting in your room with a bottle of water and a snack. Smart.





The two drawbacks to the Kimpton properties are that there is a preponderance of buy this and buy that. Want a candybar out of the snack tray? $3.50. Like the stuffed animal on the bed? How much cash do you have? They even sell socks, and, get this, unmentionables. This gets a little cheesy and not my cup of tea at all. However, I did buy the $10 toothbrush and Toms of Maine toothpaste... somethings I forget when I am packing. My bad. At 11:00 PM, I am willing to spend that kind of money... no Target, Duane Reeds or CVS in sight. More importantly, after walking the three blocks from the light rail, I was in no mood to go looking for something to brush my teeth with. This is drawback number one: the "everything is for sale" thingy. Drawback number two is not a drawback in my mind, but it may be in yours: All of these hotels are different. If you are a McDonalds person -you want it the same way everytime, this isn't going to be your gig. I, however, dig this. Be warned that some of there other properties are too expensive -even without a rental car. But join their rewards program, look for deals, and you too can bask in the Kimpton sunshine. Kimpton, by the way, was just listed on Fortune's 2009 list of best companies to work for. I like staying someplace that treats their people right.


A quick note... if you are a Relais and Chateau person, the Kimpton properties may be beneath your standards. Especially considering the first problem outlined above. However, the Kimpton properties DO have some of that same charm without that R and C price point. (What other chain offers you a $50,000 Gift Card -32,000 + Euros? http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/gift-shop/newyork/5/gift-certificates-50,000-usd/18/)And, there isn't a R and C nearby that I am aware of... I may be wrong. http://www.relaischateaux.com/.

Last time I was here, I stayed at the Kimpton sister property: The Hotel Vintage Plaza. It was also nice and a little bit quirky. If you are headed to Portland, or PDX as I call it (based on the luggage tag at the airport), check it out. I like the Monaco a little bit more. Both are nice and I believe that the Hotel Vintage Plaza is a little bit closer to Powells- The bricks and mortar Amazon of the Pacific Northwest. Ah, to wax rhapsodic about long, long afternoons years ago wandering the seemingly endless aisles of Powells. "Holy crap! They have more than The Ginger Man by good old J.P.D. And look, a real row or two of architecture books instead of the four foot wide by 9 foot tall section you see in some national chains." Love Powells. (http://www.powells.com/) Definitely worth the drive from the wine country near Newberg -where I last lived, and even more so, the walk from either the Hotel Vintage Plaza or The Monaco.


This has been a very long post... and, daylight is burning. I will continue this tale in the next post... until then, race fans..

Take care and travel safe,

-G

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Personal view here, however, this is a personal site...

The problem with spoon feeding people is that at the end of the day all they know is the contour of the spoon. Giving government bail out money in the form of directly produced government jobs (like roads and bridges) is not a terrible idea, however it makes me reflect back to the idea of simultaneously preparing for and preventing war. More on this later.

The Gulliver Economic Stimulus Plan would forego giving money to those who have proven by past performance that they not only are adept at mismanaging those funds, but are also completely inept in the fine art of learning a lesson. If my kid is given a nice grand (ten bens, as it were) and he blows it on candy and Star Wars trading cards, I am surely not going to give him another grand to blow. And yet, this is exactly what our government has done with the automakers. Have you ever looked at a Pontiac Aztek? In addition, we are talking about people who do not want to make wage concessions or cut their hours –in reference to the original discussions with the unions. Instead, they would rather suck on the hind teat of John Q. Public. Well, enough. My nipples are sore.

From another viewpoint, isn’t it time we stop and ask “Who” exactly is handing out the bailouts? Yeah, very good. You’re right. It is the same miscreants who deregulated banking –opening the sub-prime door, the people who actually lived through the late ‘80s banking mess and learned nothing, the fools that comprise the largest group of working stiffs that have never held a real job, and the people who are now getting ready to lay down another trillion or so bucks on the debt ridden back of the public. Ladies and Gentlemen I give to you your ELECTED OFFICIALS. Shouldn’t we hold them to a similar standard like the one that we hold up for ourselves? Can you ignore your checkbook balance for oh, say a year of five and then ask for a “bailout?” Perhaps if the elected people of this nation were receiving the same retirement that the rest of us will receive from social insecurity, they may be a little more down with getting this crap right.

So, what is the Gulliver Economic Stimulus Plan? Or GESP or, if you prefer, G –ESP? Simple.

Give a tax moratorium for three years to small businesses… say under 10 million in revenues. Continue to tax the larger corporations and use the tax year BEFORE the stimulus tax break as the benchmark. In other words, don’t let people come in and say, “Hey! I’m a company under ten million dollars in revenue, too. Even though, granted, I was brining in 22 mil in revenue per year as of a week ago. You see, I restructured my business into three smaller businesses…” Sound familiar Mr. or Mrs. Banker? (The Bank of G announcements will follow this rant.)

Give a tax moratorium to the working and middle class for three years. I don’t necessarily need a new pretty bridge. I would like to keep more of what I earn, though. I promise, with all these flippin’ kids running around the Gulliver ranch and hacienda (five at last count), I will be spending that extra money. Enough said.

Keep the personal taxes on the wealthy and the “better-off” where they are at. Afterall, Mr. and Mrs. No Real Job Elected Official, these are the people that create jobs and WHOA!, pay the majority of the taxes. They are not going to be creating jobs when you tax the ever loving living piss out of them. They can go to Canada if they want that kind of a gig. They are going to be buying gold with whatever money they have left and hedging their bets against you driving this country deeper into bankruptcy, though. I promise you that. (Can I deposit bullion in a foreign safety deposit box?) Again, how much is the currently debated economic stimulus plan worth? Are we taking in a trillion dollars a year in taxes?

After three years gently start to phase in the tax structure and lift the moratoriums. Not a new, higher, brighter, tax structure, but the old one or, even better, a lower one. And, pay attention, tell people up front at Moratorium time that this is coming, what the phase in will be, how long, etc. Nothing pisses people off more than being lied to. I realize that elected officials get elected by living the complete antithesis of this premise, but I think that they can try really, really hard and get it right just once.

How do we pay for it all? Cut the fat.

When I was in the Navy Reserve, the US Government sent me and fifteen of my good buddies by DELTA FRICKIN’ AIRLINES to Japan for two weeks. I dug Japan, but come on, $1500 bucks a pop back then to fly commercial? WTH? When we got there, I was astounded to find a whole battalion of US Navy Seabees (Construction Battalions) on base sitting on, of all things, their thumbs. Yep, that’s right. They had their thumbs up their rectums and had nothing to do. We, my friends and I, spent two weeks making a nice new parking lot on base, cleaning up an old storage building, and touring Japan. (Ground zero at Nagasaki humbled me like nothing else.) We did not like the seating arrangements on base and opted in lieu of the rectal thumb thermometer for some work and sightseeing. The point being, I could have saved the public tax payers twenty-two grand and change in two weeks on airfare alone. And, I wouldn’t have had to try too hard at all on that one. I am going to go way out on a limb here and guess that this isn’t an isolated incident AND things have not changed since the early ‘90’s. I would guess that these types of incidents happen every day and are exponential. Let’s just guess a thousand times per day on the old Navy Seabee scale. That would be $22,500,000 dollars per day.

At any rate or scale, there are millions and billions in waste, corruption and graft going out the windows of various buildings all around Washington, D.C. –not to mention this once great country of ours. I would bet your social security check on it.

Please write, call or email your elected official and ask them to apply both the brakes and their brains. Ask them if they have ever heard of G-ESP. Urge them to spend less time with their conceited egos and more time with their dried and withered minds. After all, the problem with Washington, I think, comes back to the spoon and that old, well worn and very familiar contour. It's time to stop the feeding.

Disclosure: The Bank of G would like a bailout for the funds that I (er, I mean, we) have yet to receive. Thank you.