Kyle Kessler : weblog

My parents we be here in the morning, and by this time tomorrow we’ll be nestled in our hotel beds in Munich. And by the same time the following night we’ll have visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads which will be lying on Austrian pillows in the little old town of Salzburg. You’ll remember Salzburg as the setting for the musical The Sound of Music.

It wasn’t until I got to the U.K. last year that I discovered the 1965 film version is such a Christmas-time favorite. (A ‘favorite thing’ enough to have an “international smash hit” Sing-a-long-a version, believe it or not!) I guess we Americans are too busy watching It’s a Wonderful Life and college football bowl games to be bothered with much other seasonal programming - especially karaoke-esque, participatory programming.

And in case I don’t sit down to type another weblog entry till sometime in January, Merry Christmas everybody, and Happy New Year!

Posted by Kyle at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It turns out Christmas shopping in Paris can be much, much more difficult than one would be led to believe. Take, for instance, my notion that most people for whom I’m buying gifts will be happy with just about anything quintessentially French. So I find the perfect gift, am about to go stand in a really long line to pay for it, when I notice a message on the bottom reading, “Made in Pakistan!!!” (NOTE: I added the exclamation marks.) Granted I was never a stickler for “Made in USA” products while living back home, but it seems so anti-whatever to purchase made-half-the-other-way-around-the-world presents here in France! I remember last year in Scotland being so proud to find a scarf with an attached label stating, “100% Wool, Woven in Scotland.” But looking back on it, the wool could easily have come from sheep in New Zealand!

This isn’t meant to be an anti-globalization rant, but I guess there’s at least a tinge of it in here. I mean, sure it was a godsend to be able to drink Coca-Cola in a remote African village a couple summers ago, but I’m a little irked to be mailing Hallmark greeting cards (albeit in French) back to the States this Christmas.

Where’s a good compromise? I don’t know… at least not yet.

Posted by Kyle at 11:47 PM | Permalink

If there’s one place in the world that’s made for window shopping, that place is Paris! I had every intention in the world today of doing actual shopping, but walking down quaint Parisian streets looking in one window, and then the next, then the next… all decked out with their Christmas finest, was ever-so-much more tempting! Maybe it has to do with letting your imagination run wild as an imaginary shopper - thinking of gifts perfect for people you don’t even know, pricing items that are well beyond your budget, being a connoisseur about a product you know nothing about, etc. But, alas, tomorrow I must do some real Christmas shopping.

Glaswegian, sweet Glaswegian!

When I was out doing my “shopping,” I happened to walk past a movie theatre showing Ken Loach’s new film, Sweet Sixteen. The film is set in Greenock, just down the River Clyde from Glasgow. It won a best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, and reportedly had to have English subtitles for the judges. (I had the aid of French subtitles, and yes, often they were a lot easier to follow than the thick Glaswegian!) It is the occasionally funny but ultimately tragic tale of a 15-year old boy trying to better his own life and that of his mother, who is soon to be released from prison. The film’s title is ironic in that the boy’s life ends, not physically but certainly to all intents and purposes, on his 16th birthday.

I definitely recommend the film, but if you’re not from the greater Glasgow metropolitan area, see it with English subtitles!

Posted by Kyle at 09:54 PM | Permalink

Yesterday morning, a few of the world’s most renowned architects displayed their proposals for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. These were the second set of proposals, after the first set from the firm of Beyer Blinder Belle were resoundingly rejected over the summer. These seven new proposals came from from Studio Daniel Libeskind; Foster & Partners; Richard Meier & Partners Architects, Eisenman Architects, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, Steven Holl Architects; THINK Team; United Architects; Peterson Littenberg Architecture; and Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

After seeing each of the proposals only briefly, my gut reaction was to favor the proposal by Foster & Partners. There’s something very poetic about his twinned towers “that kiss and touch and become one.” But then I harken back to my days in the U.K. when every architect and his/her mother liked nothing better than to criticize Lord Foster with his ‘wobbly’ Millennium Bridge.

The second proposal to catch my eye was from United Architects. I admit it; I’m a sucker for a powerful image.

The rest were of some interest but nothing too engaging. Then I went to bed, woke up and had a fresh look at the coverage from the NY Times, CNN, and the LMDC this morning.

Today’s appraisal: there’s some element I like from almost every proposal, but in none of the proposals do I like everything. I like Daniel Libeskind’s ‘wedges of light’ and sunken bedrock memorial, but it all appears a little too chaotic (even for New York). Foster’s visitors memorial and family memorial are also rather nice. But then again, in spite of the overall awkward tic-tac-toe appearance, Meier’s ‘memorial shadows’ are very nice idea.

I’d still like to see more of each of the proposals. Maybe one of the many architecture magazines will print a large collection of the work. This is definitely a project where it’s very easy to go wrong and very hard to be successful. But what more could an architect ask for, a good challenge…

Posted by Kyle at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just in time for my last-minute Christmas shopping, I received my monthly bank statement today notifying me that I’ve started to receive my housing benefit payment from the Caisse d’Allocation Familiale. (Todd, if you’re reading you might presume the same.) Because I’m a poor student without any financial assistance from French parents or gainful employment last year, I am entitled to a monthly payment to help pay for this expensive apartment in which I live. It doesn’t hurt that we’ve only got three people living in this four-person apartment either.

And to update from yesterday, I think I’ve got most of the cinks worked out of this website now. If any of y’all do come across anything fishy, please don’t hesitate to email me! Thanks!

Posted by Kyle at 01:39 PM | Permalink

There is a problem with this weblog now. I am trying to fix it!

Posted by Kyle at 02:26 PM | Permalink

Last Christmas Eve I made a special trip from Glasgow to Cambridge for the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service at King’s College Chapel. I took an overnight bus down, stood in line (literally in the freezing cold) for a few hours in order to gain admission, and took another overnight bus back. But every bit of the hassle was well worth it!

So tonight I was pleasantly surprised to happen upon another Lessons and Carols service, this one at the Eglise du Saint Esprit. The church I’ve been attending — St. Michael’s — conducted the service, but since I was at the soccer game last Sunday I had no idea!

Until the start of the service the extent of me singing Christmas songs in a foreign language basically consisted of belting out the chorus of “Feliz Navidad”. By the end of the service I had sung various verses of both traditional and modern songs in English (the British variety), French, and German. Sure, I had heard “Stille Nacht” before, but I’d always sung it in English. The same with “Il est né le divin enfant” - heard it but never sung it.

And it just so happened that the British Ambassador to France, Sir John Holmes KBE CMG CVO, was in attendance. Not too shabby.

Posted by Kyle at 10:46 PM | Permalink

In the course of yesterday afternoon, Brian and I walked up to the Panthéon, visited the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, watched the ice skaters in front of the H?tel de Ville, saw most of the 14th-16th century French and Dutch paintings at the Louvre, and walked the entire length of the Avenue des Champs Elysées from the Arc de Triomphe back to the Place de la Concorde.

I’ve been inside Notre Dame a few times before, but not since it’s been decorated for Christmas. They’re still constructing the nativity set, but there were plenty of banners and other decorations already in place. We also climbed the towers (think hundreds of steps up narrow medieval spiral staircases) to catch a great view of the city.

In front of the H�tel de Ville, they’ve installed a temporary ice skating rink (bigger than the one last year in Glasgow’s George Square) along the lines of the traditional Rockefeller Center rink. To complete the “winter wonderland” theme they’ve disguised the street lamps as snow-covered trees - complete with real tree bark trunks! (A little odd, I think… but hey, this is France!)

So you’ve probably heard the Louvre is huge. Double the size of what you’re thinking… maybe even triple it! We were there for about three hours and saw less than one whole floor on just one wing. I, personally, was glad to discover the work of Charles Le Brun - the street on which I live is named after him. His works have their own room at the museum, and they definitely need it. Hanging on the walls were a series of four paintings each probably larger in size than the total floor area of my apartment! (something like 24’ × 15’)

The Champs Elysées is decorated for Christmas, and I’m not talking about the red and green traffic lights. Each of the trees lining the grand boulevard is lit up and most of the stores along its length are also adorned for the occasion.

And one of the best things about the day was that none of it cost me a cent! That’s right, architecture students in France have pretty much free access to all of the country’s artistic treasures - museums, churches, châteaus, essentially all the national monuments . Viva la France for making a wise investment in their cultural future!

Posted by Kyle at 11:50 AM | Permalink

As of this afternoon, I’m a semester away from graduating from Georgia Tech! I was up all last night and finally finished our Flash presentation this afternoon with about an hour to spare. The jurors at our presentation seemed to really like our research, ideas, and general level of work so hopefully that bodes well for my grades this semester. (I won’t complain too much if Santa brings me my 4.0!!!)

Brian, one of the student missionaries on my team in Senegal a couple years back, arrived this morning to spend the next few days here in Paris with me. He’s on his way back to the U.S. after a week-long stay in Senegal planning for a trip he’ll lead there this summer. He brought greetings from everyone back in Ndiaganiao - however many hundred of people that is. It’s been good so far just to catch up on how things are in Africa and what Brian’s been up to.

Tomorrow we’re thinking about seeing some of the sites around town. I’m looking forward to finally getting out and doing some of those quintessential touristy things that anyone who’s lived in Paris this long should already have done by now! (I figured I’d wait till I had visitors before hitting the highlights.) Just to note, I haven’t been in the Louvre, or up the Eiffel Tower, or cruising along the Seine yet. But now, let the fun begin!

Posted by Kyle at 11:09 PM | Permalink

The Flash presentation is coming along… slowly, but progress is still being made and everything should still be on track for a fantastic presentation on Tuesday. But this evening I was able to find two means of distraction.

First, our visual arts instructor, Damien Valero, had an exhibition at his studio. (This is the same studio where we had our class all semester.) I’ve seen scattered examples of his work since I arrived (one of his etchings hangs in the hall in our apartment) but this was the first chance to see a larger, more complete collection. As of seven o’clock or so when I was there, he had already sold 30-40 prints, ranging in price from 120€ to 2,500€. Here’s hoping he gives student discounts!

And to finish off the evening, a few of us went to see Paris Saint-Germain take on F.C. Nantes at Parc des Princes stadium. Nantes jumped to a 2-0 lead but Paris came back to even things up just after the second half began. The game remained very exciting until Nantes scored to make it 3-2 and Paris essentially gave up. Highlights from the game included encounters with the riot police before and after the match; trying to decipher, translate, and participate in the soccer chants; watching fans light road flares in the name of ‘team spirit’; and fighting through the crowds to make it back home on the Metro.

C’est la vie!

Posted by Kyle at 01:17 AM | Permalink

I don’t know whether or not to be more disappointed in my fellow architecture students or French grocery stores. My trackball (like an upside-down mouse where you roll the ball with your thumb rather than moving it along your mousepad) has gotten dirty and I need a Phillips head screwdriver to take it apart for cleaning. And not a single student nor the local grocery stores had one… what a sad world in which we live.

Actually, it’s probably sadder that I’ve now bothered taking the time to type such nearly pointless information. But maybe it’s saddest that you’ve taken the time to read it all. My apologies…

Posted by Kyle at 09:50 PM | Permalink

On occasion I get the urge to investigate how people make their way to this site. In this relatively young month of December, one particular netizen has come across this fair piece of cyberspace as the result of a search for “alien spacecraft photos.” I guess, much to their dismay, they only discovered my photo of the Blur Building at the Swiss Expo. And once again architecture spoils the day for science fiction fun…

FYI, I’m teaching myself Macromedia Flash this weekend with help from Flash to the Core by Joshua Davis. You’re probably thinking after having read yesterday’s entry that I don’t have time to waste learning yet another software program… and you’re right! But my group’s going to try to have our presentation on Tuesday in Flash. So pardon me as I get back to the book.

Posted by Kyle at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

These are the last days of semester number one here in Paris. This afternoon we finish making our Paris Program newsletter and thus conclude its class. Tomorrow morning I’ll take the final exam (written and oral) in our French language class. On Friday I’ll have my sketchbook/portfolio for our visual communications class completed. And next Tuesday we’ll give our final group presentations for studio.

Busy? Yes! Stressful? Not really… nothing like what Dead Week and Finals Week were like back in Atlanta.

Posted by Kyle at 11:06 AM | Permalink