Monday, January 28, 2008

Zeerust - a pictorial definition


"Zeerust: the particular kind of datedness which afflicts things that were originally designed to look futuristic."
The Meaning of Liff
Douglas Adams and John Lloyd

And here's a nice example - kind of. Located on the decidedly un-futurist light industrial Thames Road area of Barking, East London, here's Edwards Recycling. I just love the way that perspex dome looks so scuzzified by the massive level of grime caked within it. Yet still appears oddly optimistic with a weedy morning sun trying to poke through.

The architect's blurb would have stressed the sense of light and space offered by having such a dome. Not so great when it is covered in shit though.

I really like this structure.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Idiot car drivers

I'm back, and just as narky as ever.

As anyone who knows me will tell, I'm not a great fan of cars, regarding them nothing more than things which are dangerously in my way. While I agree that cars are not the root of evil in the world, they would, in my idea world, fail to exist as I believe their existence brings out the individualist worst in many. Obviously, to have a car free world, alternative transport has to be there, affordable and fairly universal before this could ever happen - not that I can see EVER happening within my lifetime without there being quite a lot of bloodshed over the availability of oil and other energy resources first - but its a nice dream. If the alleged ticking timebomb of environmental catastrophe isn't merely a pile of pulsating bollocks talked about by those who don't have any real concerns, such as availability of the next lump of food, for example, and a real thing that'll really mean your days won't be as comfortable as they were as a complacent baby boomer brat

What I really dislike about cars is the way they turn what I'd consider to be nice, ordinary people with few bad bones, in to complete wankers when it comes to the placement of their lumps of metal. These guys were papped in my street, but they are far from being alone. Apart from looking ugly being where are parked, then in the way, and just say the pedestriian "fuck you jack - there's only king in this town, and it isn't you. Parking on the pavement is fairly new to our street. I've been here for seven years and have only noticed this kind of thing for the last six months, and as anyone who knows me will tell, I'm pissed off about so many things that I could not have not noticed this before.

Anyway. Here's arsehole number 1.

And arsehole number 2

And finally, this clown things this is a great place to park. Hope your suspension becomes unbalanced, matey.

Ahhh, its good to be back...and on a high note.