December 16, 2003

Eyesores

Posted by Kieran

Architects like to think of their work as social theory made real. Conversely, paging through the examples in James Howard Kunstler’s Eyesore of the Month is like reading a stack of freshman essays on Smith and Marx written by students who didn’t do any reading and were too drunk to come to lectures.

Incidentally, I had no idea that the Dark Tower of Barad-Dur — eye of Sauron and all — is now located in Nashville.

Posted on December 16, 2003 09:14 PM UTC
Comments

Thank you.

Posted by T. Gracchus · December 17, 2003 12:08 AM

Barad-Dur is priceless…but…aren’t you afraid Sauron is watching this blog?

Posted by Cliff Styles · December 17, 2003 01:43 AM

“I had no idea that the Dark Tower of Barad-Dur — eye of Sauron and all — is now located in Nashville.”

Well, duh. That’s where Al Gore and his minions are plotting to undermine democracy as we speak. Did you fall off our email list or something?

Kuntsler is a very angry person, isn’t he? (Not without reason, I am as anti parking lot nation as they come. I’m from Long Island so seeing the rest of the country start to look the same way makes me feel very Cassandrish.)

Posted by Katherine · December 17, 2003 02:03 AM

Christ, that was depressing. I went back to early 2000.

He’s mostly right, but I can’t imagine seeing the world through those eyes constantly. I’d have to shoot myself.

I need a drink.

Posted by Keith M Ellis · December 17, 2003 03:52 AM

Jim Kunstler is correct about the awful state of suburban development of course. But he has a bit of a tendency to see the dark side. For example, he expects us to “run out of oil” — and off a cliff, rather than merely down a slope.

To look on the bright side, a great many of those horrible suburban malls represent tremendous opportunities. For example, when I see a huge parking lot I see the opportunity to redevelop it into lots and blocks.

The built world is not fixed and static but is very plastic and malleable.

Posted by David Sucher · December 17, 2003 04:03 AM

It isn’t just “the rest of the country,” Katherine. Bangkok (“The Venice of the East” in old travelbooks) is now well on its way to becoming The Indianapolis of the East.

Posted by Jeffrey Kramer · December 17, 2003 09:21 AM

Oy.

What’s up with this line from November:
This exercise in hyper-entropic avant garde faggotry is so cutting edge that it is already out of date.
Posted by praktike · December 17, 2003 06:05 PM
Followups

→ "I'm not one of the last hopes of Middle Earth, but I play one on TV!".
Excerpt: Okay, can I pre-emptively call a halt to the inevitable use of the new Lord of the Rings movie to prove points about the Iraq war? Andrew Sullivan's post--which you have to scroll down a bit to get to fromRead more at Obsidian Wings

This discussion has been closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.