tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88440995327298941602024-03-13T05:55:56.438+07:00psychocartography SOUNDS AND SPACE / LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE / MADNESS AND HOPEJoeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-91069201022559958392019-09-17T10:28:00.005+07:002019-09-17T10:28:47.954+07:00A CITY OF GHOSTS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
What follows is the first half of a post from my gaming blog, <a href="https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alone in the Labyrinth.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan79rqxVcjgTthonAGZkwpsWLT_36jVpeTFm8sfHubDbS3-6lXeJmkV49kaXb3mTMgS8-RXUbhDANN_N9en3v8mwns5f-KOw6JuCJpfbp_WjphdPz3H5-5daLpCgAskRVqbTMPBIi47U/s1600/SpectralCity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1200" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhan79rqxVcjgTthonAGZkwpsWLT_36jVpeTFm8sfHubDbS3-6lXeJmkV49kaXb3mTMgS8-RXUbhDANN_N9en3v8mwns5f-KOw6JuCJpfbp_WjphdPz3H5-5daLpCgAskRVqbTMPBIi47U/s640/SpectralCity.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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First it comes for those on watch, whose eyes become uncontrollably heavy. They will close them - only for a second - but that is long enough. When they open them again, they see that the desert is quite different from how they remember it.</div>
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<b>THE FIRST NIGHT</b></div>
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The Spectral City appears atop a shimmering sea where once there was sand. The tide laps gently at the travellers' feet, but they are quite distracted by the sight of the city itself: slender towers lit by white and purple light, dancing to a music of such uncommon beauty the spectator finds themselves hopelessly transfixed. They know that it probably isn't real, and that if it is, it is of a nature beyond their understanding, but they do not feel fear. They feel nothing but joy.</div>
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The sound of ghostly music awakens their companions: startled, they beseech the watchers for an explanation. None is forthcoming, and soon they too are hypnotised. Somehow, though the city seems far away, they can see the beautiful, diaphanous-skinned couples in pale luminous garments walking arm in arm along its splendid boulevards. They watch a carnival of barges, piled with silken cushions, encircle the cities walls, helmed by ghostly young men and women blowing horns of delicate sound.</div>
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And it will all be too much for one of them to bear any longer. At first hypnotised by the spectacle, they will snap from their reverie and, overcome by a desire to join in, will either call out to the occupants of the barge, or wade out into the water. As soon as this happens, the music stops, and the citizens of the Spectral City will affix the interloper with expressions of such disappointment that the individual will show no reaction other than hanging their head in profound shame.</div>
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Presently, the city fades from view and the ocean evaporates into the cold night, leaving behind nothing but a sea of sand and the incredulous expression of the weary travellers. They do not speak,; neither do they return to sleep. Instead they sit in silence, contemplating the void the city has left in the desert and also in their hearts.</div>
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As dawn breaks, they may crawl back to the shade of some palm, or whatever cover they have already erected; they may drink a little of their water, if they have any left; such will be the full extent of their actions. Their only desire now is to wait for the city's return.</div>
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<b>THE SECOND NIGHT:</b></div>
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Long after dusk is their wish granted, though later recollecting the precise moment proves impossible. The same gleaming spires and beautiful ghosts materialise before them, but this time it is as thought their revelry has been amplified: a true spectacle of the carnivalesque unfolds before their very eyes. Fireworks of wonderful intricacy bloom in the sky: laces, nets, starbursts of red and green and blue and silver. The promenades throng with gay processions of outrageously costumed ghosts, dancing and marching to the unearthly music of the Spectral City.</div>
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Again, overcome by the sheer jubilance of the sight, one of the travellers is unable to resist temptation, and edges forward into the water. This time the carnival does not grind to a halt: the revellers are oblivious. Buoyed by this, the traveller will edge forward a little, wading into the ghostly waters, but something holds them back: they do not belong there. Glancing to their left and right they will see that their comrades have joined them, standing knee-deep in this illusory ocean, captivated by a carnival city of ghosts.</div>
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Here they remain, until the city and its seas fade with the rising sun.</div>
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Once again, the party are overwhelmed by torpor, and retire to positions around their camp where they might better await the coming night. But for one of them, there is a memory of another purpose, another journey they are supposed to be making. They remind their comrades of this fact, but are unable to rouse them. They pace the length of the imaginary shoreline, and the brief moment of clarity experienced begins to fade, as they contemplate a large sand dune that might afford them an evening grander view of the Spectral City come nightfall.</div>
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Here is the moment of truth. All hope for the travellers rests upon this one soul: this is their last chance for salvation. In exploring the site, even only absentmindedly, the traveller increases their chance of happening upon the desiccated remains of their predecessors. The mere sight of a mummified corpse sticking out of the desert sand will be enough to break the spell totally, and it will only take a few strong words for them to likewise rescue their colleagues.</div>
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Yet two days have already passed, two days in which the sun has shone and no food has been eaten and no-one has slept: there will be members of their party too weak to leave of their own volition, and decisions will have to be made. Do they try to carry the invalided with them, or leave them to their fate? They will receive no encouragement from those so incapacitated, whose dry lips intone that they will only slow the party down.</div>
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All to often this is the case: the party leaves at least one of their number as a sacrifice to this wicked vision, and continues their journey across the desert in bitter silence. It is a silence born not only of guilt, but also of envy: part of them wishes they could see the city too, just one last time.</div>
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<b>THE THIRD NIGHT</b></div>
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Her eyes closed, just for a second, and when they opened it was just as she expected and more. An enormous silver moon bathed all in its luminescence: the towering spires of the Spectral City; its beautiful, ghostly inhabitants; its grand barges, like floating palaces. Unlike before, now she finds herself almost completely submerged, and she begins to tread water in the cool sea around her. Gondalas drift by, its passengers urging her to swim towards the city. Atop its walls the beautiful ghosts are calling to her to join them and, in time she will.</div>
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She feels a joy like no other when she is lifted up by one hundred hands, and held aloft to watch a sky erupt into a chaotic ballet of iridescent fireworks, but is brief. Her exertions have bettered her, and within she descends into oblivion.</div>
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<b>LATER...</b></div>
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Perhaps her former colleagues will come by this way again. They will not have forgotten the Spectral City, even if they have forgotten their companion. In spite of knowing the dangers it poses, part of them will yearn to see it again. Perhaps they will.</div>
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If they do, they will notice amongst the throng a familiar figure: she will be more youthful and more alive in appearance than they ever remember her being, in spite of her non-corporeality. They will want to join her (foolish) or try to rescue her (even more so), bu tit is not her. It is the ghost of her final moments, a trace of her animating spirit that knew such glee in its final moments. Her soul, that which was truly her, was utterly annihilated long ago.</div>
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<i>Inspired by </i>The Pilgrims<i> in Jack Vance's </i>Eyes of the Overworld<i>.</i></div>
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<i>Contains paraphrased passages and quotes from that work, not cited. Fair use etc.</i></div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-52064054057710797132019-03-25T00:10:00.002+07:002021-09-19T14:35:23.611+07:00PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY AND THE OSR - D&DERIVE?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
You're not going to read this, are you?</div>
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<b>TL/DR</b></div>
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This is a derive in writing. Sights/sites we will be taking in along the way include psychogeography, the zone in the Tarkovsky's movie Stalker/ the Strugatskys' novel Roadside Picnic, and the OSR (old-school renaissance) in tabletop rpgs (role-playing games).</div>
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After this brief introductory tour, readers are invited to consider four site investigation strategies inspired by the old-school style of tabletop role-playing.</div>
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Strap in... and don't forget your flask of weak lemon drink.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFEBxmnlilShghJLJ_Nj5MKTbC2uXa5YryJI2Red-erMdZjIgG7J3YCR87rxVKNjNv4RomoGMOnxxA6u4LwxrOdIz2giHh6Ep436dz5tmpxkdtkDaC0p0YBWV_0onGS1h7quwOSKPYaI/s1600/hue.osr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1220" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFEBxmnlilShghJLJ_Nj5MKTbC2uXa5YryJI2Red-erMdZjIgG7J3YCR87rxVKNjNv4RomoGMOnxxA6u4LwxrOdIz2giHh6Ep436dz5tmpxkdtkDaC0p0YBWV_0onGS1h7quwOSKPYaI/s640/hue.osr.jpg" width="488" /></a></div>
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<b style="text-align: justify;">RIGHT, ARE YOU READY FOR THE ZONE? </b><br />
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<b>FROM HERE ON IN IT’S PURE TARKOVSKY</b></div>
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Iain Sinclair returns to the 1970s Russian science fiction movie <i>Stalker </i>throughout his writing. Indeed, references to "the zone" infect his social interactions, as the above warning was issued by him to Robert Macfarlane, as they boldly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/08/photography" target="_blank">circumnavigated the perimeter of London's (at that time) prospective Olympic Park</a>. There are multiple reasons for Sinclair doing this, but perhaps the most obvious reason is the parallels Sinclair sees between his own praxis and the movie's eponymous protagonist.</div>
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The 1979 movie was an adaptation of an earlier sci-fi novel, <i>Roadside Picnic</i> by the Strugatsky brothers, and follows the expedition of the mysterious stalker and his two clients - a writer and a scientist - into an area known as "the zone". The zone is "an area in which the normal laws of reality do not apply and remnants of seemingly extraterrestrial activity lie undisturbed amongst its ruins" (according to wikipedia). Only the stalker as able to perceive the true dangers of the zone, most of which are invisible. He alone is able to navigate a path safely through the landscape. His clients have hired him for this precise purpose: to lead them "the room", wherein their innermost desires will be rendered true.</div>
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<b>HORRIFIED ANIMALS AFTER THE PICNIC</b></div>
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In <i>Roadside Picnic</i>, the novel upon which <i>Stalker </i>was based, six of the aforementioned zones are described, though the events of the novel all take place within the environs of one zone in particular, in the fictional Canadian town of Harmont. The six zones were each the site of an earlier extraterrestrial event known as <i>The Visitation</i>, having been "visited" by unseen extraterrestrials over a two day period, and are now subject to dangerous, reality-bending phenomena. Furthermore, mysterious artifacts of extra-terrestrial origin have also been left behind, artifacts that appear to have supernatural properties. In an effort to contain the threat to global stability posed by the zones and their artifacts, governments have restricted access to these sites. </div>
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The novel follows eight years in the life of Redrick Schuhart, who at the beginning of the novel is a <i>stalker</i> illegally entering the zone to retrieve alien artifacts and sell them for profit.</div>
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The title of the novel is taken from a passage in the novel's introduction, an interview with the fictional Dr. Pilman. Pilman compares the <i>The Visitation</i> to a brief stop-off as part of a much larger journey; humanity are as baffled and insignificant as the wildlife observing but not comprehending said picnic:</div>
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<i>A picnic. Picture a forest, a country road, a meadow. Cars drive off the country road into the meadow, a group of young people get out carrying bottles, baskets of food, transistor radios, and cameras. They light fires, pitch tents, turn on the music. In the morning they leave. The animals, birds, and insects that watched in horror through the long night creep out from their hiding places. And what do they see? Old spark plugs and old filters strewn around... Rags, burnt-out bulbs, and a monkey wrench left behind... And of course, the usual mess—apple cores, candy wrappers, charred remains of the campfire, cans, bottles, somebody’s handkerchief, somebody’s penknife, torn newspapers, coins, faded flowers picked in another meadow</i>.</blockquote>
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<b>THE OLD SCHOOL RENAISSANCE</b><br />
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...and now for something completely different... or maybe not as different as people might at first expect.</div>
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Since Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson introduced the world to Dungeons & Dragons back in the 1970s, tabletop role-playing games have grown from the obscure pursuit of hobbyists into an international industry. In addition to more than five editions of the original game, rival rulesets and campaign worlds have been created, covering multiple genres of fiction beyond the sword & sorcery that inspired the original game. It is possible to purchase games enabling you and your friends to take in the a huge range of roles - from investigators into Lovecraftian horror in 1920s New Salem to a group of magical ponies in the land of Equestria... if that's your thing, of course, and no judgement is being passed.</div>
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While a potted history of RPGs is beyond the remit of this post, it is worth noting that the expanse of the hobby and its evolution into a form of collaborative storytelling led to a backlash against modern iterations (particularly the 3rd and 4th editions of D&D). Around a decade or so ago groups of rpg enthusiasts began to take advantage of the open game licence and began issuing their own content inspired by earlier versions of Dungeons and Dragons. The goal was to return to the roots of the game: namely, increasing player agency. This movement became known as OSR (itself an homage to the company which originally marketed D&D, TSR), or the Old School revival/Renaissance.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vRujWmTkjJi5_6bg97u0RkKUh9dMD3WRFLtfJfAOzyTQzpkKMAkPioM6XzXzUBHCuL8Tchnli49vro1_rQ_O2XeT-Lm9O8lOM-RpZ-gGYGeGd5dFcBCgP7wCGPsogELAYM_kkS08JcE/s1600/osr+logo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="600" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vRujWmTkjJi5_6bg97u0RkKUh9dMD3WRFLtfJfAOzyTQzpkKMAkPioM6XzXzUBHCuL8Tchnli49vro1_rQ_O2XeT-Lm9O8lOM-RpZ-gGYGeGd5dFcBCgP7wCGPsogELAYM_kkS08JcE/s400/osr+logo.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright Stuart Robertson, used under creative commons.</td></tr>
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If you are unfamiliar with the traditional model of D&D it goes something like this: a group of players take on the role of adventurers exploring an underground complex. One player assumes the role of Dungeon Master (DM) and describes what the player's characters are experiencing, as they in turn explain what they want their characters to do. The DM will keep a collection of secret notes and maps detailing the obstacles they are likely to encounter. However, they may also have to improvise as the players have their characters perform actions for which the DM is not prepared. Dice are used to generate random numbers and to decide the outcome of actions, the results being modified by a pre-agreed set of values relating to the character's abilities and talents.</div>
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In an old school rpg a party of four adventurers will venture into a dungeon, overcome various traps and obstacles (including rival adventurers, wandering monsters, supernatural forces and well-placed puzzles and traps), and emerge (probably having suffered at least some minor wounds) laden with treasure and a little tougher and wiser than before. Just as the players become more experienced at problem solving with each "adventure", so too do their characters improve in toughness and talent as they become more "experienced". </div>
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<b>THE ZONE AS A DUNGEON</b></div>
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If the parallels between the actions of a D&D adventure party and those of a <i>stalker</i> of the <i>zone</i> are not immediately obvious, perhaps the following quote from reddit user <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/vilecultofshapes" target="_blank">u/vilecultofshapes</a> will prove illuminating:</div>
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This book [<i>Roadside Picnic</i>] is definitely and purely OSR style gaming at its finest. Deadbeat outcasts hunting for fantastic treasures in a lethal and physics-defying hellhole full of traps. </blockquote>
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Like the D&D adventurer, the Stalker is crossing the boundary between the ordinary world and the other, in the hope of retrieving treasure. Sometimes that treasure is physical, other times it is more abstract. Both these characters have to rely on their wits and trust their intuition as they negotiate labyrinths of mysterious danger. </div>
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Both the stalker and the dungeoneer are urban explorers, and all three have much to teach the psychogeographer.</div>
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<b>FOUR STRATEGIES</b></div>
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Sinclair once said something about psychogeography being walking without knowing the destination, but still possessing intent. Without getting too mired in debate about what psychogeography is or isn't (and no-one wants to read <i>that</i> Debord quote again, I'm sure), it can be agreed that it any derive requires a <i>strategy. </i>Classic psychogeographic strategies involve superimposition: a walker attempts to navigate Berlin with a map of London; another attempts to negotiate the streets of Hanoi by following the dark ring of coffee staining their street map. Likewise, one can superimpose the strategies of another practice to achieve psychogeographical "effects".</div>
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Four strategies have been proposed, and since the classic D&D party consisted of four adventurers, I've matched each strategy to a corresponding classic character "class" (class and race are referred to constantly in D&D, and have radically different meanings to those used in social theory).</div>
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Of the four strategies, the first two are the most performative and yet conversely the least inspired by the OSR.</div>
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<b>STRATEGY #1: THE PARODIST (Cleric)</b></div>
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<b>Keywords: believe, commit, have faith, FISHER KING.</b></div>
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If you employ this strategy you will need to visit the chosen site in full performance mode. You, as practitioner, must assume the role of an archetypal fantasy character embarking on a quest, with a defined set of criteria that will determine how and when the quest will be concluded. The goal might be to slay a dragon, save a prince/ princess, or recover a lost artifact. The meta-goal is to stay in character for as long as possible while being confronted by the disdain, incredulity an/or indifference of the general populace one encounters. The practitioner attempts to parody fantasy tropes by juxtaposing them against mundane reality.</div>
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The performance may or may not be recorded audio-visually. You may or may not garner the attention of a fascinated audience.</div>
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<b>STRATEGY #2: THE LARPER (Fighter)</b></div>
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<b>Keywords: It's only a game, it's good to be laughed at, fight to WIN</b></div>
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LARP stands for live action role play. Unlike tabletop rpgs, LARPs involve players physically performing their characters actions in real time. As a strategy, this approach is superficially similar to the above parody, but differs in multiple ways.</div>
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You must first assemble a group of at least three collaborators. For an agreed period of time, the group undertakes to represent members of rival factions, playing out some conflict of interest across the site. In addition to an underlying plot, practitioners must agree upon rules concerning conflict resolution. PLEASE NOTE: do not attempt to resolve imaginary conflicts with real violence whilst employing this strategy. In fact, try to avoid using real violence wherever possible.</div>
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To reap the best rewards from this strategy, practitioners truly have to look upon the urban landscape with a fresh set of eyes: multistorey car parks might be castles, or wizard's towers... or even multistorey car parks. Beware of monsters.</div>
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<b><b>STRATEGY #3: THE URB[an]EX[plorer] (Thief)</b></b></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">Keywords: cartography, exploration, BE PREPARED and BE CAREFUL</span></div>
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So you've packed your ten-foot pole and your fifty feet of hempen rope. Did you bring the flasks of oil? Okay, it doesn't matter: just don't forget your thieves' tools, you'll need them to pick the lock. Sneak past the guards, hiding in shadows when necessary, jump the chain link fence and scale the cranes. Only then will you be able to retrieve the Macguffin.</div>
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This strategy seeks to employ the approach of the typical OD&D adventuring party: caution, preparation, and the ability to solve most problems with a ten-foot pole. You should map everywhere you go on graph paper (use 5mm but scale it to 10 feet per square), travelling no faster than 120' every ten minutes (unless you are in an encounter, in which case 40' per round is permitted).</div>
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When you reach your goal, don't post a picture of the stunning view to Instagram, take a picture of your crappy map instead. Ask yourself if it really happened if there was no photographic evidence of it ever happening...</div>
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<b>STRATEGY #4: THE AUTHOR OF MODULES (Magic User) </b></div>
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<b>Keywords: You will Eat Yourself, Artistic Licence, Wandering Monster Tables</b></div>
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With the skills of an ancient wizard, your mission is to bend reality back on its self not once but twice. First, you will need to follow the URBEX strategy outlined above, but you will need to do a little bit more than the cartography. You will be reverse engineering your adventure back into a module, similar to the one pictured at the beginning of this post.</div>
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A module is a document containing all (or most of) the information required by a DM to run an adventure. A module will contain one or more plot hooks to incite the interest of your players, several maps of important locations, and details of anticipated encounters and/or NPCs. Sometimes this will also include tools to randomise such encounters.</div>
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Based upon your previous adventure, catalogue and rationalise your experience into a coherent narrative. Consider also the paths that you did not follow, and where they may have led had you done so. Think about the encounters you had. How many were random? Populate some wandering monster charts. Scan your maps and tidy them up using image editing software, but don't lose that handmade effect. Type up all your notes in Korinna bold, staple them together, and bind them in glossy paper of at least 180g per square metre in weight.</div>
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For added ouroboros, get a group of friends together and play your adventure as a game of D&D and see what happens. For added added ouroboros, replay <i>that</i> adventure as a LARP, using the strategies outlined above...</div>
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<b>POLITICS</b></div>
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A final note: like every fucking corner of the internet, the OSR is a battleground in this ongoing "culture war" that the idiots are determined to force us all into, regardless of its futility. Boorish blowhards antagonise left-leaning liberals, who in turn overreact to the obvious trolling, prompting another round of bear-baiting provocation. Phrases like "nazi", "social justice warrior", "alt-right apologist", "stalinist", "feminazi" etc. are chucked around with gay abandon. </div>
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The OSR appealed to many on the left because of its rejection of corporate homogeneity, its embrace of the punk/DIY aesthetic, and the general gonzo <i>weirdness</i> of a lot of the material being produced. Likewise, this also appealed to many people whose sympathies leaned more to the libertarian right. For the most part, however, people just wanted to play games, and while nothing is apolitical, following the letters OSR does not automatically place anyone in a particular camp. <br /><br />EDIT:<br /><br />Just want to add that the OSR also attracts centrist liberals, small "c" conservatives and actual fascists. </div>
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<b>EXTERNAL LINKS</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.bucketofsquids.com/post/anomalous_sector_crawl_anomalies/">http://www.bucketofsquids.com/post/anomalous_sector_crawl_anomalies/</a></div>
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<a href="http://pid.bungie.org/Roadside_Picnic_Artifacts.html">http://pid.bungie.org/Roadside_Picnic_Artifacts.html</a></div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-12747602713072382552019-03-20T21:28:00.000+07:002019-03-20T21:38:28.711+07:00...AND WE'RE BACK<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xjn515_FzV-53h8SLoxUkEFuaEkOClkRD1lg5ak_5aUlkJqwOBa7_L0hpK6xBNT3cPfbvYHeTVjIGOe8QUOL3eHmqwXLBr4EB5So57oDlHbIpmjX9VSMGZnzAfqULGE0Xk2BAk_4mEw/s1600/Ideologues.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1050" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xjn515_FzV-53h8SLoxUkEFuaEkOClkRD1lg5ak_5aUlkJqwOBa7_L0hpK6xBNT3cPfbvYHeTVjIGOe8QUOL3eHmqwXLBr4EB5So57oDlHbIpmjX9VSMGZnzAfqULGE0Xk2BAk_4mEw/s640/Ideologues.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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More than one year ago, <a href="https://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/12/hiatus.html" target="_blank">this was posted</a>, promising the end of another great silence. It was, of course, a lie, as the ensuing year of nothing has testified. While it would be easy to say that life got in the way of this ongoing project (a project whose ambitions have always exceeded its capacity to deliver), in truth its authors (or, more honestly, its author) has been paralysed by equivocation. So: while major life changes such as the birth of a child, shifting geographies, and career tangents have all played their part, in the main the site author simply hasn't known what to do.</div>
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The previous post closed with a call to action: "readers, what is psychocartography to you?"</div>
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No one replied and so the question remains unanswered.</div>
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In the meantime, some minor synchronicity:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecharnelhouse/posts/2532227283457538?__xts__[0]=68.ARCkVZhcf4nUvGW0dVhf2XJg7aHKlOhynG7wCA006teZX86JmQHyy-ArBSVtn568z64JsU8Uk9-SoFWFqtuE2vSyFoD8Faoxi3nul9cgZpvW4gqx5CWG30XxcYesTgen3NkHqOFBtHsxynaLXt4lgTreD_GaLnRAa1CcD0LqdWnL8ciHY766rFOQ0FV4T4bae9nyBBAra-T8RWzQK7Sp-Dy1grVn4XZR7W1YHRpS6o22_5wCdzMh-gkr_mkZiZ_HCYPb8oyZLdfa1OgL7E6lu-HX_6VY0ygDhFAFj0kZLVnx8Ow1r0iK_55-XDgn29u-Vo1tC4R0wXd5IWVOmyNJfFOcvQ&__tn__=-R" target="_blank">Post-soviet suburban sandbox game</a></div>
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vs.</div>
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Reddit thread: adapting <i>The Roadside Picnic</i> as a tabletop RPG.</div>
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<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/b289ar/roadside_picnic_by_boris_strugatsky/">https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/b289ar/roadside_picnic_by_boris_strugatsky/</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/FYourEggs/" target="_blank">Fuck your eggs.</a></div>
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<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-68140878944432830342017-12-06T22:28:00.000+07:002017-12-06T22:28:06.762+07:00HIATUSAfter what had been one of the most productive years so far, we accidentally forgot what we were supposed to be doing and neglected to post anything in the latter half of 2017.<br />
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That is UNTIL NOW.<br />
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Sadly, all we have to offer is this sorry excuse for an explanation and the promise that next year WE WILL BE BACK...<br />
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...with greater focus...<br />
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(or a broader-angled lens, decisions are yet to be made).<br />
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In the meantime, what does PSYCHOCARTOGRAPHY mean to you?<br />
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Really, we're actually doing it... we're inviting you to... COMMENT BELOW:<br /><br />(see you in 2018)Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-69295316221803060222017-07-26T14:07:00.000+07:002017-07-26T14:07:01.127+07:00ADVERTISEMENTS FOR LANDSCAPE #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Another homage to Tschumi:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rX4Et0lnMlOCTiseUQf-rXcJYPe5lPPhwxXgwZenh_d8QHu-9hviz7sNhSHxESQjfjRWsbeiXDFLZyKITG4rWn2b1gFqYlthshceJX5xCbbEfEcIK79O-e81gpno4l3vqRBz5r-Ncn4/s1600/ADVERT+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1113" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rX4Et0lnMlOCTiseUQf-rXcJYPe5lPPhwxXgwZenh_d8QHu-9hviz7sNhSHxESQjfjRWsbeiXDFLZyKITG4rWn2b1gFqYlthshceJX5xCbbEfEcIK79O-e81gpno4l3vqRBz5r-Ncn4/s640/ADVERT+2.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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Russian anarchist Michael Bakunin once claimed that “the urge to destroy is also a creative urge”. </div>
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His great political rival, Marx, identified the concept of creative destruction as the process by which capitalism clears the ground (be it through war or economic crisis), to pave the way for new innovation. </div>
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The organism sweeps across the landscape, consuming all.</div>
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#advertisementsforlandscape</div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-12656825924150556272017-07-24T13:39:00.000+07:002017-07-24T13:39:00.164+07:00MAP OF THE WEEK #4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This week's <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/map%20of%20the%20week" target="_blank">map of the week</a> arrives courtesy of artist <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emmamcnally/">Emma McNally</a>. Like the previous two featured artists (<a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/07/map-of-week-3.html" target="_blank">Emily Garfield</a> and <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/07/map-of-week-2.html" target="_blank">Derek Lerner</a>) Emma McNally's work is inspired by a vast range of phenomena, from cities to organic structures, all of which seem to relate to one another in that curious, fractal manner underpinning the machinery of the universe. In her own words: </div>
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<i>"I mine all sorts of ways of thinking visually about space and time: the spiral paths of particles in bubble chambers, which are infinitely fast and small; images of cellular mitochondria; the Hubble Deep Field images that probe deep time, where all time is held in the surface of the image but can’t be reached. I like looking at images that show fleeting events and images of aerial views of cities at night—all the emergent formations at a macro scale that look like deep-sea organisms in the dark water. I also love aerial images of airports, both in use and obsolete, as well as the Nazca Lines."</i></div>
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<a href="https://www.artforum.com/words/id=49602" target="_blank">-Emma McNally, interviewed by Art Forum</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgephTpbKy4LidbIHi7GXFC0MSLsNkuY_J0nw4PIsgXwgab7sJZYJShcS_xK8a7340IrGmDtwcUfOzaNgn3qmhg5HhNDOwOkRJtcW3ZQD8pAxtFVdMFdwRmt7R6v6-jL0eOnmkpvufOVp0/s1600/emma-mcnally-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="691" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgephTpbKy4LidbIHi7GXFC0MSLsNkuY_J0nw4PIsgXwgab7sJZYJShcS_xK8a7340IrGmDtwcUfOzaNgn3qmhg5HhNDOwOkRJtcW3ZQD8pAxtFVdMFdwRmt7R6v6-jL0eOnmkpvufOVp0/s640/emma-mcnally-05.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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The map above gives the impression of being a nautical navigational chart, or maybe a weather map, but ultimately the viewer lacks the key or legend to unlock the meaning of its symbols and lines. Without this, the map becomes appreciable only in terms of its own aesthetic, granting it a tantalising mystique. We are invited to peek into another world, one which may or may not exist beyond the limits of our own realm, but we cannot visit. This might be true for most of the maps featured here, but Emma McNally's work has a strong orthographic quality that makes it more... authoritative.</div>
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Have a look at her Flickr account, it's stunning:</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emmamcnally/">Emma McNally</a> </div>
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-82448030968455268452017-07-17T11:50:00.000+07:002017-07-17T11:50:11.223+07:00MAP OF THE WEEK #3This week's <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/map%20of%20the%20week" style="text-align: justify;">map of the week</a> is taken from the sketchbook of artist Emily Garfield.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbftuPCCNa1OMffw4ZcabC-7POCmsquH6QZFXN1Mp3wRkBfS6qDv1las1XCuaQkpT51us48O5E72H7JYUivepM-63e0lVJ9NqU9cY_-35sbOnOnKMfgwfGzUSbseTqrtmNGZRtA-Kt55s/s1600/map006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1163" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbftuPCCNa1OMffw4ZcabC-7POCmsquH6QZFXN1Mp3wRkBfS6qDv1las1XCuaQkpT51us48O5E72H7JYUivepM-63e0lVJ9NqU9cY_-35sbOnOnKMfgwfGzUSbseTqrtmNGZRtA-Kt55s/s640/map006.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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Emily Garfield creates maps from her imagination, explorations of cartography and urbanism in pen and ink. Much of her work is for sale at her site <a href="https://www.emilygarfield.com/">https://www.emilygarfield.com/</a>.</div>
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The particular image is taken from her sketchbook, produced as part of a process of self examination, more of which can be read about on her <a href="https://www.emilygarfield.com/2014/map-sketches/">blog</a>.</div>
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-38014046578525455072017-07-13T12:48:00.000+07:002017-07-17T11:43:21.928+07:00 24 HISTORIC STYLES DÉTOURNED: PART II of XXIVAn <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/24%20Styles">occasional series</a> playing with historic garden plans taken from <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">Turner's </span><i style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">24 Historic Styles of Garden Design</i><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">, published by </span><a href="http://www.gardenvisit.com/" style="color: #9f90bd; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Gardenvisit.com</a><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ssv4C1QEN7QPN4f7_P1Y35a-1ymSTlXnrDT0b3iXXfrj9GJyC6txtgEvk0abUvl4bvWnd6aeBZWuKL-hxXf1Nuxd2LZ0GtZ2ErUKx-ln9yNElC5QSqgtWaLbajuqM6mDsoK4z4BZyhU/s1600/GAREDN+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="453" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ssv4C1QEN7QPN4f7_P1Y35a-1ymSTlXnrDT0b3iXXfrj9GJyC6txtgEvk0abUvl4bvWnd6aeBZWuKL-hxXf1Nuxd2LZ0GtZ2ErUKx-ln9yNElC5QSqgtWaLbajuqM6mDsoK4z4BZyhU/s640/GAREDN+II.jpg" width="402" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">What we might be looking at:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">Bam. Circles, lines and a grid. This is clearly a constructivist painting! Except it isn't, it's a garden plan. So we have a wild outer edge- we can assume it's vegetation, but there's something spiky about the scheme which suggests that they could just as well be stalagmites.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">The combination of spikes and the garden geometry conjures images of a violent sport, something like<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyX4BPU-Bao"> <i>Speedball 2</i></a> or <i>Salute of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6qckMHp7wU">Jugger</a>. </i>Actually, it's far more likely that the giant circle in the centre inspired that particular interpretation. It's now getting harder and harder to imagine how a game might be played here. Where's the goal? Where would the teams muster?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">That said, there's something of a bowling green to the central rectangle. If this were a postmodern garden plan (which it is) then an ironic anachronism would be entirely in-keeping with that particular school of design. But by now I've revealed that I'm already familiar with the plan. This clearly references Tschumi's famous <i><a href="https://www.academia.edu/8951226/Deconstructing_Villette">Parc de la Villette</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">What we are actually looking at:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;">Yes, this is a postmodern garden. Turner has a lot to say about postmodernism in <i>City as Landscape, </i>but in <i>24 Styles...</i> he is more generous, noting the inventive use of geometry and materials that characterise postmodernism in landscape design:</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>"Geometrically, postmodernism is associated with a layered and deconstructive geometry. Rectangles clash with circles and are interscected by hapazard diagonals, as in a Russian constructivist painting. Steel and concrete structures are painted in bright col ours. Glass and other reflective surfaces help create illusions and startling visual effects."</i></span></span></div>
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<i style="color: #444444; font-family: Inconsolata; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: right;"><br /></i></div>
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<i style="color: #444444; font-family: Inconsolata; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: right;">-</i><i style="color: #444444; font-family: Inconsolata; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: right;">Twenty Four Historic Styles of Garden Design</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "inconsolata"; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: right;"> , page 71</span></div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-9563468548379768832017-07-10T09:30:00.000+07:002017-07-10T09:32:03.727+07:00MAP OF THE WEEK #2This week's <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/map%20of%20the%20week" style="text-align: justify;">map of the week</a> is brought to you by New York based artist <a href="http://www.derek-lerner.com/">Derek Lerner</a>, <i>ASVIRUS 39</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-aE1KT8FQH4QUHoroqtSieY-VYysU6dwZnVtcdj6shn1Nx8BZOp8FDJ4v_xC6erU-svpUsMpaM3IjvT5EFC2k_t2r1wqOE05340RPuBDicJYv6RHd7IYk4PeFTi7TicvVMSMsUCgNuI/s1600/Asvirus39DerelLerner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-aE1KT8FQH4QUHoroqtSieY-VYysU6dwZnVtcdj6shn1Nx8BZOp8FDJ4v_xC6erU-svpUsMpaM3IjvT5EFC2k_t2r1wqOE05340RPuBDicJYv6RHd7IYk4PeFTi7TicvVMSMsUCgNuI/s640/Asvirus39DerelLerner.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Taken from a series of paintings (ASVirus##), the hand-drawn image very closely resembles a city plan, albeit one that is fragmenting or being reconfigured. Lerner states on his website that he has an interest in systems, urbanism, and disease, amongst many other things, and this is reflected in the cyborg aesthetic that he is somehow able to convey through these monochromatic plans.</div>
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In a statement for the <i>Conveniant Gratification</i> exhibition at which this work was exhibited, Lerner said that all these pictures are produced using a simple rollerball pen. No drafting or planning is carried out, with the drawings growing organically as ink is applied to paper.</div>
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To enjoy more of his work, please have a look at the thumbnails page of his website <a href="http://dereklerner.com/Art/Thumbnails">http://dereklerner.com/Art/Thumbnails</a>.</div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-54112384071428922372017-07-07T18:00:00.000+07:002017-07-25T10:05:58.333+07:00ADVERTISEMENTS FOR LANDSCAPE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A homage to Tschumi:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu3Oq1sdxDljHDtxGLiCYhq3ZiOfO-h9_B0U-pvLu43qxZum5tzDaEpVF-ISL-1xsISclMilL600XpNbdNPX1dnBMJizlYip_fbIW6QRfE-f4ecjvKnIqTY3nqKuUg9degAsPuxNfUZU/s1600/Advertisements+for+Landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1112" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYu3Oq1sdxDljHDtxGLiCYhq3ZiOfO-h9_B0U-pvLu43qxZum5tzDaEpVF-ISL-1xsISclMilL600XpNbdNPX1dnBMJizlYip_fbIW6QRfE-f4ecjvKnIqTY3nqKuUg9degAsPuxNfUZU/s640/Advertisements+for+Landscape.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-1619003172530123322017-07-06T12:50:00.000+07:002017-07-06T12:50:54.256+07:00THE REALM OF HUNGRY GHOSTS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYEG8KPy-1OaD2dpY6ea3PWnbe0MTGRJsPIB4HT1hRFr23SzHd0A2XIc1o010V7u7dCYDtjp2l7M6QtMRSg6X_L-92jgPXfXlSSEN3gaaICUT7IIjonWjpgkNUuTcOfjiRBaIEDJslyY/s1600/No_Face_Hungry_Ghost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYEG8KPy-1OaD2dpY6ea3PWnbe0MTGRJsPIB4HT1hRFr23SzHd0A2XIc1o010V7u7dCYDtjp2l7M6QtMRSg6X_L-92jgPXfXlSSEN3gaaICUT7IIjonWjpgkNUuTcOfjiRBaIEDJslyY/s640/No_Face_Hungry_Ghost.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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"Finish your bowl!" she said, as though admonishing a naughty child.</div>
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The small bowl was <i>nearly</i> finished... it had been his third, after all, and he was sated. He had made the mistake of pushing it away from himself, indicating he was done, and was immediately shamed. Generations brought up in times of scarcity rear a generation of scolds, but these in turn tend to begat profligate sons and daughters. He laughed, nervously, and with guilt, as he finished the remaining grains.</div>
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"Good. I wouldn't want you to become a hungry ghost when you die."</div>
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Hungry Ghost- what a collocation. It seems so apposite: the disembodied spirit refuses to let go of some shred of life from hunger, from lack. And above, pictured, No-Face (or even Noh-Face): spurred by his desire to befriend a sympathetic girl, he ate his way through a bathhouse of rogues and fiends, shitting gold.<br />
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Noh-face was but one of many characters in the movie <i>Spirited Away</i>, and by no means central to the story, which was principally concerned with a little girl from the "normal" world negotaiting the complex and bizarre world of ghosts in order to rescue her parents. The standard reading of <i>Spirited Away</i> is that it is a kind of coming-of-age story, albeit one in which the protagonist transitions from infant to juvenile rather than adolescent to adult. Ultimately, Chihiro/Sen leaves the magical world for the mundane, as we all most do (apparently) as part of growing up.<br />
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The universe according to the child is undoubtedly a more terrifying yet magical place, and in many respects parents are agents in the creation of this landscape. Figures from folklore, myth and religion are used to manipulate children into conforming. Sometimes, this is a performance that the child realises (eventually), is intended purely for the aforementioned effect; at other times, this practice is an embedded cultural artefact as real to the parents as the children uttering it. Warnings that bad behaviour will result in a eternal damnation, perpetual immolation in the flames of hell are, right now being issued to Muslim and Christian children all across the globe, even as you read this. Many will carry a subtle fear of that fate to their grave.<br />
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The creative intellect of the child is quick to populate their immediate universe with invisible spirits. It is a facet of our psyche that is evolutionarily advantageous: establish agency, be wary of revealed agents, fear those agents that cannot be seen or understood. On top of this multifarious cosmologies have been constructed, but on top of this layer children build their own folklore, spending, as they do, a great deal of time in the realm of the imagination.<br />
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The six realms of Buddhism (Animal, Human, Jealous Gods, Hungry Ghosts, Gods, Hell) were "depending on what one read... mystical states, psychological states or actual physical places", according to Roy Bayfield in <i style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.triarchypress.net/desire-paths.html">Desire Paths</a>. </i><span style="text-align: start;">Bayfield had been exploring Buddhism in the aftermath of major surgery, and seeking to engage more directly with the subject (and, one suspects, to give himself an excuse to do some walking), took it upon himself to explore the six realms in person. Superimposing a simple mandala-as-map over the United Kingdom, the six realms converged at the traditional centre of England, somewhere near Coventry. Over a period of two days, Bayfield utilised the "Finding" approach (discussed briefly <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/02/huebeckton-strategic-vs-tactical.html">here</a>), "externalising my mediation practice into physical territory.." The Six Realms were psychological and mystical states <i>and</i> actual, physical places, because he said they were!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">The idea of alternate realms of ghosts and spirits operating on a parallel plane to our own is common to the mythology of many European and Asian folk traditions: the <i>Sidhe</i> of Celtic legend, the world of t</span><span style="text-align: start;">he </span><i style="text-align: start;">Kami</i><span style="text-align: start;"> in Shinto, the elemental planes of the western mystery tradition. Likewise, the Hungry Ghosts of Buddhism seem to occupy two worlds simultaneously, that of the living and the dead... or, rather, their world exists within our own, but is invisible most of the time.</span><br />
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Re-constructing the mythology of the hungry ghost in Vietnamese culture is complex, not least due to the cultural layering that seems to take place in Vietnamese and other Asian cultures. Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Communism have all impacted the folk practices of the Vietnamese to lesser or greater extents, with no doctrine completely able to oust the other one. This might explain why ostensibly Catholic families still maintain ancestral shrines and whilst otherwise secular families might make an offering to the ancestral spirit of Ho Chi Minh. Perhaps this is no more remarkable than the appropriation of pagan festivals by the Christian calendar, but it is hard to draw objective conclusions when one sat in the midst of the subject.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZk6AobDEilKbfjY9cYS8z0yX7_09M5mVsEvixhluaBuMs7jPqk4KjH39W2OyoBfTagCvp_ckGdShVTrVdSV_1RDPaRMDOjEBGz-IkUcYvU9Ud7lyR2My5nU7Dlhi8DFSlqUBWXmKrvw/s1600/HungryGhost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="620" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZk6AobDEilKbfjY9cYS8z0yX7_09M5mVsEvixhluaBuMs7jPqk4KjH39W2OyoBfTagCvp_ckGdShVTrVdSV_1RDPaRMDOjEBGz-IkUcYvU9Ud7lyR2My5nU7Dlhi8DFSlqUBWXmKrvw/s640/HungryGhost.jpg" width="566" /></a></div>
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So, whilst the threat of becoming a hungry ghost might be familiar to Hue's children, in parts of China the phrase <i>hungry ghost </i> is synonymous with ancestor worship. This may or may not tie into Buddhist tradition, wherein those who have committed the least evil spend a period in the realm of Hungry Ghosts prior to rebirth, a kind of purgatory. Whilst there it is confusing for the layman outsider to negotiate the nomenclature and the architecture of indigenous belief systems, there are some obvious takeaways to be had, not least that to the majority of Vietnamese people ghosts are a real and important part of life, and their intentions are not always benign.<br />
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Dr. Gabor Maté is a physician who has worked with "hardcore drug addicts" (his words) for most of his career. Drawing upon his experiences working with these people he has concluded that addiction stems principally from childhood trauma, rather than genetics or the psychoactive properties of the substances themselves. When his experiences were published he chose the title <i>In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction</i>. The title is evocative, and speaks sympathetically to those among us who have encountered addiction in our own lives or those close to us. Dr. Maté offers this explanation for his choice of title:<br />
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<i>"Now, the hungry ghost realm, the creatures in it are depicted as people with large empty bellies, small mouths and scrawny thin necks. They can never get enough satisfaction. They can never fill their bellies. They’re always hungry, always empty, always seeking it from the outside. </i></div>
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<i>"That speaks to a part of us that I have and everybody in our society has, where we want satisfaction from the outside, where we’re empty, where we want to be soothed by something in the short term, but we can never feel that or fulfill that insatiety from the outside. The addicts are in that realm all the time. Most of us are in that realm some of the time. And my point really is, is that there’s no clear distinction between the identified addict and the rest of us. There’s just a continuum in which we all may be found. They’re on it, because they’ve suffered a lot more than most of us. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TFWXTn0c07UBJTEoUjUJ0KpUOK8Zqu7XjY-K7wrBvJ2g7j9kqydHqf6s3dRKS_lMscQ6lKnIwItdIw_mMQo8xuJ5owyYY1NxF5jpHZRe1RI7hsw5XpKFfOGmx6dkVdzNJoRl1J7BGjs/s1600/HungryGhostCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="327" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2TFWXTn0c07UBJTEoUjUJ0KpUOK8Zqu7XjY-K7wrBvJ2g7j9kqydHqf6s3dRKS_lMscQ6lKnIwItdIw_mMQo8xuJ5owyYY1NxF5jpHZRe1RI7hsw5XpKFfOGmx6dkVdzNJoRl1J7BGjs/s640/HungryGhostCover.jpg" width="418" /></a></div>
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In other words, to Maté we are all Hungry ghosts, to a lesser or greater extent, and that extent is defined by the degree to which we have suffered in childhood. Whether one can be led into permanent exile in the realm of hungry ghosts merely by being traumatised with threats of being turned into a hungry ghost is open to debate....<br />
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Back in Blighty, Roy Bayfield ventured to Coventry in his quest to externalise his understanding of the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, "a place of endless, unsatisfied consumption and continuous, grasping poverty" (the Realm, not Coventry), and did not initially find hat he was looking for. However, it soon occurred to him that his feelings of discomfort and dissatisfaction was entirely in keeping with the feelings that a hungry ghost would encounter, thus "job done", he took a train to the next stop in the six realms, that of the Realm of Jealous Gods.<br />
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In the Human Realm the man finished his bowl of rice, and asked his wife if she really believed in Hungry Ghosts.<br />
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"Don't be ridiculous." she said, and finished her rice porridge.</div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-20297452932098111412017-07-03T17:20:00.000+07:002017-07-03T22:52:41.333+07:00MAP OF THE WEEK #1<div style="text-align: justify;">
This blog is named psychocartography. What the means is still very much up for grabs, and I suggest there are <i>psychocartographies</i> as much as there are <i>psychogeographies</i>, but within my own praxis I'm still nowhere near arriving at a satisfactory definition.</div>
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It should- I suggest- have something to do with maps. Seems appropriate that from time to time an especially interesting map should be shared. Welcome, then, to <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/">Psychocartography's</a> inaugural map of the week, courtesy o<span style="font-family: inherit;">f </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anthony Boguszewski.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYicMWlAhSRBR4lYnOURFJ9xdTaqwWdVR8ziTT0S8x5w8MY6okTfFFnCvwhU_TIXxnEXOL5lEICeMc_CZNqSSGGCzSwpIAdvHX34gOY9ZH0SZNLuN73zctynu41FFkieQXNPUnx2Z9Eho/s1600/02+-+Uncharted+Cartography+-+Anthony+Boguszewski+-+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="395" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYicMWlAhSRBR4lYnOURFJ9xdTaqwWdVR8ziTT0S8x5w8MY6okTfFFnCvwhU_TIXxnEXOL5lEICeMc_CZNqSSGGCzSwpIAdvHX34gOY9ZH0SZNLuN73zctynu41FFkieQXNPUnx2Z9Eho/s640/02+-+Uncharted+Cartography+-+Anthony+Boguszewski+-+blog.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The map above is taken from the following blog </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #444444;"><a href="http://edouardcabayatelier.blogspot.fr/2012/09/anthony-boguszewski.html">http://edouardcabayatelier.blogspot.fr/2012/09/anthony-boguszewski.html</a>, and traces the movement of chairs in the <i>Jardin de Luxembourg </i>park in Paris. When this was first published, </span>Anthony Boguszewski was a student of Edoard Cabay<span style="background-color: transparent;"> at<i> L'Ecole Speciale d'Architecture </i>(ESA). Cabay's atelier, <i>Re-</i>, developed "a process-focused approach to design which is based on the creation of cartographical catalogues of the physical context revealing emergent patterns creating opportunities for design."<br /><br />Of the interesting piece of cartography his study produced, </span>Boguszewski remarked: "<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chairs do not migrate anywhere but closer to the other chairs."<br /><br />This may or may not continue into a series labelled <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/map%20of%20the%20week">map of the week</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-60868679670890585182017-06-12T10:34:00.002+07:002017-06-12T10:35:10.157+07:00THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE<div style="text-align: justify;">
All maps are political. Right now, there's only one political map that counts for UK citizens, and after Thursday, that map looks something like this:</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV10MDGBoMSSFVvr9boP5oLJhlPKrIKnjOgGqoqmgUE_q8daCQuIlciK7EDRNQTbjI8Ve4-UPwuloh2-wiMoBb_St0Zg7FKhOVMCSQ38PJdTiZm6BazdfogdlnER8oNR8IkbDCKUnVDdM/s1600/UKMAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="634" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV10MDGBoMSSFVvr9boP5oLJhlPKrIKnjOgGqoqmgUE_q8daCQuIlciK7EDRNQTbjI8Ve4-UPwuloh2-wiMoBb_St0Zg7FKhOVMCSQ38PJdTiZm6BazdfogdlnER8oNR8IkbDCKUnVDdM/s640/UKMAP.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Map courtesy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2017/jun/08/live-uk-election-results-in-full-2017">Guardian UK</a></td></tr>
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The map above was created by the Guardian and typifies that newspaper's high standards of graphical communication. At a glance, and following a brief explanation of the UK political system, the uninitiated are able to assess the political geography of the United Kingdom. The blue team are stronger in the South and rural areas; the red team in the North, Wales and metropolitan areas. Both teams are struggling to make in roads in Scotland, where the yellows hold sway... and Northern Ireland does its own thing.</div>
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Such was the case when one of my Vietnamese colleagues took an interest in the colourful map upon my screen, making those precise observations above. What the map does not display is how it has changed. The story of this most recent election is not told in one image, it is a series of images, a series of maps of as many elections as one would wish. </div>
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So whilst there is so much to talk about- the decimation of moderate parties in Northern Ireland; the declining fortunes of capital "L" Liberalism; the growth of regional nationalism- this is not really the place for such things, but an opportunity to reflect on the limitations of the map. </div>
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No graphic is capable of displaying data equivocally. The politics is in the selection of which data to display. But beyond that, maps are limited by the constraints of their dimensions. A 2D image may be able to display 3D data, but that fourth dimension is trickier to pin down. Thus maps show us only a snapshot of history, a moment frozen in time, devoid of any context apart from geography. </div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-74086230143174343602017-06-01T14:33:00.004+07:002023-07-21T20:28:31.710+07:00THE GREAT SILENCE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBSymTNKk43z57c_mglne4_IfG8NXbTMsHisJwUasT-70P743nz77UNl4J6vKUC6hYh4tcDU-P5Zu0zMYZ8ESzo7ARlob4T4fkvAzxKQpoMsl5rPdIvVwM1r19Om02X1mxKEOxFPqk-k/s1600/File_000.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBSymTNKk43z57c_mglne4_IfG8NXbTMsHisJwUasT-70P743nz77UNl4J6vKUC6hYh4tcDU-P5Zu0zMYZ8ESzo7ARlob4T4fkvAzxKQpoMsl5rPdIvVwM1r19Om02X1mxKEOxFPqk-k/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Recently, I have
been listening to a lot of podcast</span><span lang="VI">s</span><span lang="EN-GB">. Most recently, an episode of <i>This American Life</i> grappled with the
issue of loneliness, starting at a cosmic level. Given that I listen to
podcasts principally out of a kind of loneliness (living and working in a
non-English speak environment), it was amusingly apposite. In a very short
time, however, my amusement gave way to a feeling of existential dread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The programme
bore the title “Fermi’s Paradox”, and used the conundrum of cosmic loneliness
to springboard into the more general topic of loneliness. For the uninitiated,
Fermi’s paradox is the contradiction presented by the apparent likelihood of
intelligent life existing in our Galaxy and the complete lack of visible
evidence that this is the case. In Fermi’s words, “Where are they?” (“they”
being technologically advanced aliens).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">For the show’s
producer, David Kestenbaum, the possibility that humans are alone in the
visible universe made him feel profoundly sad. I do not share this feeling:
perhaps when there are fewer things to feel sad about within human civilisation
I will start to grow melancholy at the silent universe. I did allow myself to
consider Fermi’s paradox yet again, however, and this led me to a darker place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The predominant
hypothesis concerning the apparent absence of intelligent life is quite simple:
there are no aliens. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis">Rare Earth Hypothesis</a>
states that the conditions necessary to create life, even in its most simple
form, are exceptional. Technologically sophisticated, culturally complex
civilisations such as humanity are therefore beyond an oddity: the evolutionary
coincidences that have led to our development amount to probabilities of
trillions-to-one, we are alone in the Universe. This was what rendered
Kestenbaum so upset. The universe, within which our tiny planet is barely a
pinprick, is teeming with death: it is a cold, desolate, empty expanse, which
will ultimately consume all human endeavour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The show was a
journey of reconciliation- allowing Kestenbaum to come to terms with his
feelings of cosmic isolation. Part of this process seemed to focus on gently
mocking his sensitivity, and allowing him to recognise that there are far more
pressing things to worry about in the world. Additionally, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox#Hypothetical_explanations_for_the_paradox">other
reasons for the Great Silence</a> were touched upon, suggesting that Fermi’s
Paradox need not preclude the existence of alien life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">One of the
reasons explored was the so-called “Zoo Hypothesis”: the existence of alien
civilisations is being deliberately kept from us so that our cultural and
biological evolution can follow its own course, without external influence,
presumably for similar reasons to those of conservationists preserving
endangered species in their natural habitat. It was a thought I’d had before,
but had not pondered for some time… least not since the <i><a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/elon-musk-simulated-universe-hypothesis">Simulation
Hypothesis <span style="font-style: normal;">had been re-popularised by Elon Musk</span></a></i>.
It was putting these two ideas together that sent me into my own existential
tailspin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">An extension of
the Zoo Hypothesis posits that in their efforts to conceal the rest of the
universe from us humans, the advanced alien civilisation(s) have somehow
isolated our world and its immediate astral environs, surrounding them with an
incredibly sophisticated simulation of the rest of the universe, which has been
created bereft of other sentient beings. For me, Fermi’s paradox naturally
dovetails into the Simulation Hypothesis: our entire reality is a digital
simulation that has been created to observe how a human civilisation might
develop in a universe lacking any other sentient beings.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Imagine those
early pioneers of agriculture, trading the uncertainty of the foraging
lifestyle for the relative security of sedentary life. These men and women ultimately
set in motion an unprecedented revolution in culture and technology,
culminating after tens of thousands of years in the exploration of space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Along the way
they have created hierarchy, religion and war. To facilitate their industrious
exploitation of their planet’s resources, they have poisoned their own
environment against them. Whilst they have made progress in reversing the inequality
that has sprung up over the centuries of cultural evolution, it is unclear as
to whether this progress is sustainable given the scale of the environmental problems
and capacity to annihilate themselves over political disagreements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Cue intervention
by an interstellar civilisation. Detecting the emergence of a technologically
advanced civilisation within range of their spacecraft, said civilisation
decide to introduce themselves. They are dismayed to find that Homo sapiens has
been unable to resolve its social differences in spite of its huge leaps forward
technologically. They issue dire warnings to the terrified denizens of earth,
having witnessed this behaviour in previous civilisations. Almost universally,
world leaders surrender to the superior beings and follow their recommendations,
in order to steer humanity from its path to destruction. Not all of earth’s
citizens are so eager to comply, resulting in a bloody war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Reluctantly, the
aliens assist earth’s leaders in the suppression of the global insurrection,
but in doing so they reinforce support for the rebel forces. The whole planet
is in the throes of a bitter, bloody civil war. The aliens have failed utterly,
and after much discussion, decide that their only option is to intercede
directly: follow our road map to peace and prosperity, or face annihilation-
annihilation at their hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The threat is enough
to at least get the leaders of the significant parties to agree to meet. The
dividing line is clear and stark. On the one hand, the establishment opinion
holds that humanity will be destroyed unless the aliens’ instructions are
followed. On the other hand, insurrectionists argue that it was the aliens who
created this situation in the first place, are now threatening the earth
directly, and better to die fighting for freedom than to continue living with
no control over their fate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The divisions
and arguments are predictable, but the alien civilisation is able to steer a
way through the debate with their trump card: simulated realities. They have
the power to create incredibly accurate hologrammatic simulations, and are
capable of demonstrating the outcome of actions on a galactic scale by tweaking
the simulation’s parameters. Hundreds of these simulations are run, each
demonstrating that if humanity was simply left to their own devices, the only
possible outcome is increased misery and suffering and ultimately, the
extermination of all biological life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Naturally, the
insurrectionists suggest that these computer models are weighted in favour of
the extra-terrestrials preferred outcome. As a measure of good faith, the
aliens induct the top computer scientists and programmers from the
insurrectionist side into the inner workings of simulation construction. Across
earth, an uneasy truce reigns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">After several
years, the insurrectionists are convinced by the civilisations validity, but
this does not put an end to the conflict. The debate turns to the age-old issue
of individual agency and the greater good, the Platonic/Aristotelian dialectic
that has plagued public discourse since the dawn of civilisation. However,
faced with annihilation, the wider populace overwhelmingly choose life as well-fed slaves than hungry free men. A new world government begins to institute the
aliens’ original programme for cultural and environmental recovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Naturally,
pockets of resistance still exist across all continents. Though they can no
longer count on the same levels of popular support as before, they are still
able to interrupt the recovery programme and cause misery, pain and suffering. For
some, this is the price of progress, and anticipate the remaining
insurrectionists slowly dying out. For others, it is unnecessary and hideous,
and are dismayed by the establishment’s inability to stamp it out completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Once again, the
aliens manage to steer a path through the fog. Human leaders are urged to reach
out to the remaining extremists and offer amnesty: not in return for ceasing their actions, but for the opportunity to negotiate and discuss once again. The
aliens are desperate to understand the desires and motives of these men and
women, and to do what they can to end what they see as unnecessary suffering.
Amongst the myriad demands and aspirations lurked something curious: it wasn’t
that the insurrectionists wanted the aliens to just go away, they wanted them
never to have arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So: in order to
demonstrate at least some degree of compliance, the aliens agreed to run a
simulation in which they never came to earth. In fact, they agreed to run a
simulation of the universe entirely devoid of other sentient life forms. They
hoped this would demonstrate the hopelessness of the remaining insurrectionists’
cause. I cannot speculate on the outcome, because I believe that this is the simulation
in which we now live.<br />
<br />
I snapped out of my reverie in a manner similar to Dhasa in the Glass Bead
Game: I found myself back in the present, doing something completely mundane,
having lived through not just one life time but tens of thousands of years of
parallel history. Like Dhasa I was by water, pouring from a shower head not a
gently babbling forest stream. My heart rate felt higher than usual and I was
aware of a great deal of chatter in my head. I resolved to practice some
mindfulness, in an effort to return myself to normality.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Inhale, exhale: <i>as long as you are breathing, there’s more
right with you than wrong with you</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I felt the cold,
wet torrent immerse my head and body.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I looked at the
soap bubbles forming between my fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I observed the
complexity of the iridescence on the surface of each bubble, each one,
containing within it its own universe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">What kind of
technology would simulate this? Even at a level observable by the human senses,
what power would be required to simulate something so complex, so convincingly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It looks so
real. It feels so real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">But then again,
it’s all we’ve ever known. How do we know that this is what wetness feels like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Embrace the
matrix. There is no way out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">You can listen
to the podcast that inspired my melancholy <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/617/fermis-paradox">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-91975772228411565242017-05-27T18:28:00.003+07:002017-07-06T21:45:44.596+07:00A SPIRAL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Round like a circle in a spiral like a wheel within a wheel...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKA1bDpA-zVpLCedb9fGhekxY1lzpAKKP3imI62Yd-ik7hItenOHpmkbeh4BbF1dbPJZsy9bHQCZ6xo-IgX4FsCwe0FsZWQ4WvJSf-CDt3wVAKTViEywDdH6Iin6RA9XK2k_U6p7KDJeY/s1600/Aeonium_tabuliforme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKA1bDpA-zVpLCedb9fGhekxY1lzpAKKP3imI62Yd-ik7hItenOHpmkbeh4BbF1dbPJZsy9bHQCZ6xo-IgX4FsCwe0FsZWQ4WvJSf-CDt3wVAKTViEywDdH6Iin6RA9XK2k_U6p7KDJeY/s640/Aeonium_tabuliforme.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Aeonium tabuliforme courtesy wikimedia commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Above, a detail of the succulent <i>Aeonium tubuliforme</i>, one of many examples of the golden ratio/ Fibonacci sequence found in nature. Recently, I've been considering the potential for the revival of scared geometry in landscape and urban design (in truth, in an effort to make my own designs more interesting), remembering a project that my friend <a href="https://ferguschannon.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Fergus Channon</a> was involved with some years ago, at Manchester University Hospital.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the many projects in which Fergus was involved was the courtyard at the Eye Hospital. Working alongside friend and long time collaborative artist artist <a href="https://channondickinson.carbonmade.com/" target="_blank">Richard (Rick) Dickinson</a>, the pair created a number of life-sized deer sculptures, consisting of copper-mesh hide stretched over a skeletal frame of tubular copper. The astonishingly lifelike, yet somehow alien animals, sit amid a landscape designed in collaboration with landscape architect <a href="http://www.loc-manchester.co.uk/c/Jane+Parker+Landscape+Architect+4754" target="_blank">Jane Parker</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSCr8BuRW1SEf6chSVujtZx5fjxZhRCA0dwdE-x-FJlJJv-N9kPpBi-HRW3bJffpaLFHl3khi3kMCZrV7PbKk2a8RLoBOhFI7TqqY-Ky23hm1Vetr0SvhwLTJaCYrVJ83ff4yPAO_CC0/s1600/CHANNON_DICKINSON_DEER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSCr8BuRW1SEf6chSVujtZx5fjxZhRCA0dwdE-x-FJlJJv-N9kPpBi-HRW3bJffpaLFHl3khi3kMCZrV7PbKk2a8RLoBOhFI7TqqY-Ky23hm1Vetr0SvhwLTJaCYrVJ83ff4yPAO_CC0/s640/CHANNON_DICKINSON_DEER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Picture courtesy </span><a href="https://ferguschannon.wordpress.com/" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: right;">https://ferguschannon.wordpress.com/</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So what does this have to do with sacred geometry? It's all part of the plan...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although I had no involvement in the design process of this scheme, I was fortunate to watch as it unfurled, like the fronds of a sacred fern, from germination to full realisation. In the beginning, Jane Parker and Fergus Channon were exchanging ideas online, and Fergus kinda got sucked into a Fibonacci rabbit hole (or vortex, which would be more appropriate I suppose). He showed me an incredible site, one which I have sadly been unable to find, connecting cyclones and ammonite shells to why propellers appear to go the wrong way when they caught on film.<br />
<br />
In the end, the site plan consisted a central glass pool, with several arms spiralling out from the centre: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z585T28hb8VN5n4sLi-wH4Y5nNM8lKfW3JWVzbIDBBuE60oQiYjWy7ftK1sKuB3DsNpf9T_ResGJKoMT2T-Sqy_2tBiVqgE_h6F8wLWjgqEdk25x5_rN-fw1gsmogFmdFHkdbjJYYUU/s1600/Eye+Hospital+Couryard+manchester+Deer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Z585T28hb8VN5n4sLi-wH4Y5nNM8lKfW3JWVzbIDBBuE60oQiYjWy7ftK1sKuB3DsNpf9T_ResGJKoMT2T-Sqy_2tBiVqgE_h6F8wLWjgqEdk25x5_rN-fw1gsmogFmdFHkdbjJYYUU/s640/Eye+Hospital+Couryard+manchester+Deer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Picture courtesy <a href="https://ferguschannon.wordpress.com/">https://ferguschannon.wordpress.com/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So it's been my mind much of late, and in an attempt to see where it might lead, I thought I might draw myself a spiral. You start with squares, of course.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2E-4b7WulfQmgSml6WlSY1FqS5T21v7OzUS0IKtnw-LOobxBkFz6MeBSeUGv9QqMEH-7M3qjBMYkJummJWErjUzgxfNpFVPpZcgW-6SDHWiwKIVcwpycdSvKXuq4yI1sMK80Cy1oYglE/s1600/SnailMatisseTate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1494" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2E-4b7WulfQmgSml6WlSY1FqS5T21v7OzUS0IKtnw-LOobxBkFz6MeBSeUGv9QqMEH-7M3qjBMYkJummJWErjUzgxfNpFVPpZcgW-6SDHWiwKIVcwpycdSvKXuq4yI1sMK80Cy1oYglE/s640/SnailMatisseTate.jpg" width="622" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i>The Snail</i>, Henri Matisse, Courtesy Tate <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T00/T00540_10.jpg">http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T00/T00540_10.jpg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not like that, though... more like this:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSEYOoLXDfbjl7i368jP1qO-eB8DBUulXl408fSL0Yx3XrpKf7ZW4m_dXlofFuIKfpB3NKDD0mDAqqtXpdIu9QLsTXoz4P-svKWixyCxShkkypcYS4EsA932MUwHqMlQjM1Ub-yRMphw/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSEYOoLXDfbjl7i368jP1qO-eB8DBUulXl408fSL0Yx3XrpKf7ZW4m_dXlofFuIKfpB3NKDD0mDAqqtXpdIu9QLsTXoz4P-svKWixyCxShkkypcYS4EsA932MUwHqMlQjM1Ub-yRMphw/s640/a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Using some arbitary unists, this square measures one by one. Then you add one the same size above it:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXfH5EzsTCEhAOsTKFHRob7gtRwM9Qb7AcAPs9gBKmrcz3ItGWokytiJQ1KnH32ZyIxbPdTmNpaSB8scJ47yzUK-mvhOLNQulJyAsdsd8sJAAoYdKuOeCwaW-MvT-0c2VHpUic5qYNpA/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXfH5EzsTCEhAOsTKFHRob7gtRwM9Qb7AcAPs9gBKmrcz3ItGWokytiJQ1KnH32ZyIxbPdTmNpaSB8scJ47yzUK-mvhOLNQulJyAsdsd8sJAAoYdKuOeCwaW-MvT-0c2VHpUic5qYNpA/s640/b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
So, two squares each measuring one by one, followed by another square measuring 2 x 2:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJK9KlSuifcLt1AFH1A9rCBgQH3qGlGeNWtiYoDgRzWDjr6NRXbozO_CfDXfe1lON2qrmZN3yVDRJ4xVPNxoy7904kDtVVn5hKEwdDh9SK3Y9lC5zYSGtdaeZJOkmrxiQEZejSbktNCU/s1600/C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJK9KlSuifcLt1AFH1A9rCBgQH3qGlGeNWtiYoDgRzWDjr6NRXbozO_CfDXfe1lON2qrmZN3yVDRJ4xVPNxoy7904kDtVVn5hKEwdDh9SK3Y9lC5zYSGtdaeZJOkmrxiQEZejSbktNCU/s640/C.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Following the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2 .... then 3...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvzK8utz18TqdMneVDrEL-4L6GtShPCCKwYXpe7ZegfgdgctRw4lAYu6XiEYR9nr1Ss4kxKcoiPaY3Q88uHpiO4OPUV2vcqNUQdp6Z0IhyphenhyphenpTZXHf5ha5LK9wfXa9rvXALiHXhGIdwPww/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvzK8utz18TqdMneVDrEL-4L6GtShPCCKwYXpe7ZegfgdgctRw4lAYu6XiEYR9nr1Ss4kxKcoiPaY3Q88uHpiO4OPUV2vcqNUQdp6Z0IhyphenhyphenpTZXHf5ha5LK9wfXa9rvXALiHXhGIdwPww/s640/d.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Each time, the square's edge is equal in length to the sum of the preceding two squares, following the Fibonacci sequence but also fitting snugly alongside the preceding squares with no overlap. Of course, this means the next numbers in the sequence are 5, 8 and 13:<br />
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Finally, two further squares are drawn, measuring 21 x 21 and 34 x 34:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTy3a3OKXhcPjtQTGfv6HrAbPsQNwxI4v7Z8tHGsKpvWn344JgDRlaQ6tgW8UmIXLEHgcrSbB9i-R2bhhpQ1odNDwcR9F-kObJLtOnX41DgeSauCJL2C0sAgm4ORTwtCQ5A748Mn5Mvc/s1600/H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTy3a3OKXhcPjtQTGfv6HrAbPsQNwxI4v7Z8tHGsKpvWn344JgDRlaQ6tgW8UmIXLEHgcrSbB9i-R2bhhpQ1odNDwcR9F-kObJLtOnX41DgeSauCJL2C0sAgm4ORTwtCQ5A748Mn5Mvc/s640/H.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Fibonacci spiral is then constructed by drawing a series of quarter-circle arcs, beginning in the bottom right of the first square, using the top right of the same square as its centre. Each new arc begins where the previous one left off, but with a centre point on the perimeter of the new square.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGOWItq4JrdR5584crG7XLtSw_u88v48Z1Mp1UyihzSFlTrg2OE-JZiWDNJclJtG8jXc8Yg-SxujuSWstQvRhIQLYjky_bwzZ92D_bcUWJIsstTXFTQMHYbgZMz0Kw9LiGSaHAOkptgk/s1600/J.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGOWItq4JrdR5584crG7XLtSw_u88v48Z1Mp1UyihzSFlTrg2OE-JZiWDNJclJtG8jXc8Yg-SxujuSWstQvRhIQLYjky_bwzZ92D_bcUWJIsstTXFTQMHYbgZMz0Kw9LiGSaHAOkptgk/s640/J.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HMA2ZdXyE0w-9egEKs2-BzBIirGXLunqNqKX_zXkomzfTbxAC3YRRVnDTg3uVgUcAhqncsY6E1MjBHmnsejGpU2hImCpA4CT79Yz3YfQK713MkUjG2ExKPtEOWFsAB-u-e_OTHdo2zI/s1600/K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HMA2ZdXyE0w-9egEKs2-BzBIirGXLunqNqKX_zXkomzfTbxAC3YRRVnDTg3uVgUcAhqncsY6E1MjBHmnsejGpU2hImCpA4CT79Yz3YfQK713MkUjG2ExKPtEOWFsAB-u-e_OTHdo2zI/s640/K.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzfD5mhdjlHUdv1hc_4RFIZ_7jXI5EZj_I7i3rifiRjaGVPoyljd3W3MgUyq4Eb5wIKki3WUlEuAX0SfrcSmKzazXLVue7sw0PkfeTFPSlf5HVvWCN_E74NcHwtcljBqq_JJTVs0lvIo/s1600/L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzfD5mhdjlHUdv1hc_4RFIZ_7jXI5EZj_I7i3rifiRjaGVPoyljd3W3MgUyq4Eb5wIKki3WUlEuAX0SfrcSmKzazXLVue7sw0PkfeTFPSlf5HVvWCN_E74NcHwtcljBqq_JJTVs0lvIo/s640/L.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFhgFW7Ty892pRSGLc6kmurpjKqalUTpWcfRkWe41WgCf4j6XKNe55Frsk-EtnPSXMn0-wjokpWYXgH1fzz7pdRkaoRKIPAAUvrHES9r7VlGqUqjpPBNltgzbWQQsUg6-sHmVXpsj3nc/s1600/M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFhgFW7Ty892pRSGLc6kmurpjKqalUTpWcfRkWe41WgCf4j6XKNe55Frsk-EtnPSXMn0-wjokpWYXgH1fzz7pdRkaoRKIPAAUvrHES9r7VlGqUqjpPBNltgzbWQQsUg6-sHmVXpsj3nc/s640/M.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-40TFn-RN7MDWfDxO4MqaM5Qp4rXS7xqmO4DG4FETP08ArOjsyfej2GnCWLcHor-WdBstVMeX1Lb99DWTsNXMi41y2KM3bygkHSDXzL-i1PmReoiDPcpyL5J9zalkrdsaw66ckGCPuQ/s1600/N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-40TFn-RN7MDWfDxO4MqaM5Qp4rXS7xqmO4DG4FETP08ArOjsyfej2GnCWLcHor-WdBstVMeX1Lb99DWTsNXMi41y2KM3bygkHSDXzL-i1PmReoiDPcpyL5J9zalkrdsaw66ckGCPuQ/s640/N.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEMJguFk1TNtYBIgYJV7uYuzsawLZizkes7-8ZAKLnY8OFqkRAleHmk8OrleduPH98vtdt5S71elP5suYyH6ynQQcxOTFJJ80SLhQPaKP0MmdSUtCNoBxee7KeIucmsbjDT42iG6ygfE/s1600/O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEMJguFk1TNtYBIgYJV7uYuzsawLZizkes7-8ZAKLnY8OFqkRAleHmk8OrleduPH98vtdt5S71elP5suYyH6ynQQcxOTFJJ80SLhQPaKP0MmdSUtCNoBxee7KeIucmsbjDT42iG6ygfE/s640/O.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5bSh27BOZgUARjkWA13G_7YOmMHVeF5_zh2T-5Hi7Nw0-a01S3xW4Zg5E8fgAlDFJVhiMUTRv0Hx5IFTSfcnnR9m9HreafdO5JbeFe_Oods-t1BxpHU2LlK8fvjRUJ8u10I9skOE01U/s1600/R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5bSh27BOZgUARjkWA13G_7YOmMHVeF5_zh2T-5Hi7Nw0-a01S3xW4Zg5E8fgAlDFJVhiMUTRv0Hx5IFTSfcnnR9m9HreafdO5JbeFe_Oods-t1BxpHU2LlK8fvjRUJ8u10I9skOE01U/s640/R.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
So there you have it, a Fibonacci spiral. What value this represents is anyone's guess, but I've been lazy of late and needed to break my duck. So here you are, some spirals.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9kPwzWan0UIgWz1SG81CvYgHq4laQfdIl13-NGn3f2vXIbq9bKWtM4tZMsF45JhoNYMApHw3G6RQwpNQqQdXCOCt0ZZ5e7quGc7e6RrIS5EjX4OKpk4l1hgh3MHZICbZqMpCGaUl2Zc/s1600/Spiral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9kPwzWan0UIgWz1SG81CvYgHq4laQfdIl13-NGn3f2vXIbq9bKWtM4tZMsF45JhoNYMApHw3G6RQwpNQqQdXCOCt0ZZ5e7quGc7e6RrIS5EjX4OKpk4l1hgh3MHZICbZqMpCGaUl2Zc/s640/Spiral.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-74730615538408185982017-02-09T19:35:00.000+07:002017-07-06T21:46:56.801+07:00HUE/BECKTON - STRATEGIC VS> TACTICAL [PSYCHO]CARTOGRAPHY (PART THREE)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "inconsolata"; font-size: 13.2px;">FINAL PART IN A SERIES OF THREE. READ PART ONE </span><a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/01/huebeckton-strategic-vs-tactical.html" style="color: #9f90bd; font-family: Inconsolata; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">HERE</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWnt9R_75Hj8G2UTmdf3g5u51L2dwnH4uCqSf1rK29sai6XMzh7WfLepWCLCUjjUwTfPinjvu0RJ6RiFjodwJnQiBRJ8SXLQ7ytY2FVIc0lrGcLzj5o2ekY2tyY1Ztj4pLrFoJ3IEqrE/s1600/File_000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="1089" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWnt9R_75Hj8G2UTmdf3g5u51L2dwnH4uCqSf1rK29sai6XMzh7WfLepWCLCUjjUwTfPinjvu0RJ6RiFjodwJnQiBRJ8SXLQ7ytY2FVIc0lrGcLzj5o2ekY2tyY1Ztj4pLrFoJ3IEqrE/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the event, i hit a wall. A ten metre fucking thick wall of brick and earth. Then I walked beneath the arch instead of through the wall, which was a more sensible option. Then I hit another wall (pictured). This time there was no massive arch, but an entry fee and tickets and electric vehicles and i wasn't in the mood for any of that.</div>
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It was a cool, overcast, February day in Hue, city of walls, and I was at the citadel, the citadel not even noted in Full Metal Jacket, where the rebel army had holed themselves up for several weeks until they were ultimately bombarded out of hiding by American air power. There's not a lot of that in the local histories, nor about the initial atrocities they insurrectionists committed, nor the vicious reprisals they and their sympathisers likewise endured. Instead, the story is focused on Vietnam's Imperial past, the colonial protectorate of the Nguyen Dynasty, the anachronistic monarchy and life at court. I was not in the mood for all of that.</div>
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What I was in the mood for, I knew not. Somehow the disparate threads at which I'd been tugging had remained just that- disparate. For once, sticking a map on top of another one didn't really achieve anything other than make a nice picture. It wasn't even my picture- it was <a href="http://struanbrown.blogspot.com/2013/12/beckton-gas-works.html" target="_blank">Struan Brown's</a>. The ingredients were there but it wasn't working: the military origins of psychogeography and cartography, the horrors of war aped, in children's play and cinema, but I felt disinclined to pull the pieces together, and I was not quite sure why.</div>
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I made a circuit of the inner wall, which amounted to a stroll of just under 2.5 km. This is not long for a walk, but it is long for a wall. As I patrolled the perimeter I tried to put my self in the shoes of one who would have made such a journey before: a guard, most likely, or maybe a penitent. Perhaps a bored concubine looking to sneak back in after attempting to escape palace life, but later having a change of heart. The shoes of the soldier felt small on me, not because soldiers have small feet, but because I'd pretended to wear them as a young boy, under similar circumstances, circumambulating Hadleigh Castle. That magnificent wreck is slowly crumbling into the Estuary after more than seven centuries. Hue's citadel has been around for a much shorter period of time, but it's historical significance is arguably greater.</div>
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In <a href="https://walkinghometo50.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Roy Bayfield's</a> book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desire-Paths-Walks-Nonreal-Places/dp/191119304X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495890212&sr=8-1&keywords=desire+paths" target="_blank">Desire Paths</a>, the author describes: </div>
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"..the finding approach described by Duncan Barford in his blog post 'Inside the Entrances to Hell': <decide and="" as="" beforehand="" experiences="" in="" journey="" look="" of="" outcome.="" outcome="" provision="" that="" the="" then="" to="">"<br /><br />Perhaps this is what I should have done, instead I wandered around, eyes flitting at materials, looking for something that would make everything fall into place. I didn't find that. Instead I found this:</decide></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejN15nGM57UgLKZ5skWn_XCXe6zCAEBZZmuG-Od_uGhaz0cyOSgi3BVBoIc3Cr0gwzqzImIQhqmX0LxsLvd4P3W76zgw93HH8m12Ycx7quHqCm1cT9k_1BOTtfP6uzGf7LSHmWC8IFag/s1600/File_000+%25283%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="1273" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejN15nGM57UgLKZ5skWn_XCXe6zCAEBZZmuG-Od_uGhaz0cyOSgi3BVBoIc3Cr0gwzqzImIQhqmX0LxsLvd4P3W76zgw93HH8m12Ycx7quHqCm1cT9k_1BOTtfP6uzGf7LSHmWC8IFag/s640/File_000+%25283%2529.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-59872559509403175262017-01-27T18:38:00.000+07:002017-07-06T21:47:51.129+07:00HUE/BECKTON - STRATEGIC VS> TACTICAL [PSYCHO]CARTOGRAPHY (PART TWO)PART TWO IN A SERIES OF THREE. READ PART ONE <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/01/huebeckton-strategic-vs-tactical.html" target="_blank">HERE</a><br />
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">-Charlie Chaplin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOB0eeZzWD7QHpBtTiXcp8fo3qX96xfHolCXuFlBI3URxkUp4cSSzz8UXrm0ttX_frG8N1BuoywaDzTxv95X2TFuJ1n8Rs4W1tdreimFT9YNuZNOkr6KbOAQee-LyEcwR3yFGruARw65E/s1600/Huepsychocart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOB0eeZzWD7QHpBtTiXcp8fo3qX96xfHolCXuFlBI3URxkUp4cSSzz8UXrm0ttX_frG8N1BuoywaDzTxv95X2TFuJ1n8Rs4W1tdreimFT9YNuZNOkr6KbOAQee-LyEcwR3yFGruARw65E/s640/Huepsychocart2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Looking back at the Hue
psychocarte from 2014, experiencing disappointment: a pretty picture, but
practically useless. A fraction of a battle map, spliced out and blown up, the
details blurred and indistinct, all before the overlay… The plan had been to
trace a random path through the citadel using the overlay, the route of a d</span><span lang="VI">é</span><span lang="EN-GB">rive, but the streets were barely
visible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"All space is occupied by the enemy. We are
living under a permanent curfew. Not just the cops — the geometry" </span></span></i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: right;">-Raoul Vaneigem, </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: right;">The Unitary Urbanism Manifesto</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="VI">The ro</span><span lang="EN-GB">ot</span><span lang="VI">s of the dérive</span><span lang="EN-GB"> (as opposed to its
routes) are supposedly in urban warfare: the “aimless drift” was used as a
means of reconnaissance. DeBord and the Situationists were engaged in cultural
warfare, and via d</span><span lang="VI">é</span><span lang="EN-GB">tournement
(cultural re-appropriation and re-purposing) these tactics </span></span><span lang="VI"><span style="font-family: inherit;">were being turned back against
the state. Like war, psychogeography was a political act. But like the actors
portraying Joker and his comrades in <i>Full
Metal Jacket</i>, there was also an element of play.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="VI"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="VI">The closing chapter of Full Metal
Jacket occurs in </span><span lang="EN-GB">1968/86 in Hue/Beckton. A crazed General, Kubrick, has ordered a platoon
to wander through the remnants of a gasworks in search of a Vietnamese woman,
whom they are to kill. She is the third and final woman, and the only one not
to be presented by Kubrick as a sex object, though is equally disposable. The
only enemy whose face is seen in close up- feminine, because the enemy must be
emasculated. In the end, after a hard day’s play, the lads wander across the burning
landscape, singing a song Mickey Mouse. In spite of yourself, you may just feel
an incongruous warm glow inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="VI">
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Not only was 1968 a big
year for Hue (just as 1986 was a big year for Beckton, although it would be
made aware of that until long after the event), it was a big year for the
Situationists. Increased militancy amongst industrial workers and students,
culminating in a series of occupations, protests and a general strike nearly
brought the French establishment to its knees. Though there were numerous
socio-economic causes for this period of civil unrest, the Situationist
International can take credit for providing some degree of leadership, and its
writings strongly influenced the political graffiti of the time, which have
provided some of the most enduring images of the period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64v63ILJOQRdoZEsmjTvLA7nfOle8T0Jtf1JC618qD9KfnaokAP6KvzmQ7Yy-hCgbx3duuP8At67_QzdbJYOHIpswM-cltOVd6vYk0tsR6YU3ApO5FSXyh3Ky3jxkA76XGEEHUTgYlS8/s1600/tumblr_o48rmdNsXM1uk5x82o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64v63ILJOQRdoZEsmjTvLA7nfOle8T0Jtf1JC618qD9KfnaokAP6KvzmQ7Yy-hCgbx3duuP8At67_QzdbJYOHIpswM-cltOVd6vYk0tsR6YU3ApO5FSXyh3Ky3jxkA76XGEEHUTgYlS8/s640/tumblr_o48rmdNsXM1uk5x82o1_500.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Via </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://radicalgraff.tumblr.com/post/143899675528/be-realistic-demand-the-impossible-may-196">http://radicalgraff.tumblr.com/post/143899675528/be-realistic-demand-the-impossible-may-1968</a></span></span></div>
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</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, the status
quo prevailed, state power managed to suppress the protestors, and returned stronger
and more resilient. Likewise, in Vietnam, the Tet offensive was ultimately crushed
by the combined ARVN and US forces, and the rebel forces were expelled from all
the major urban centres they had assaulted. In Europe and the USA, 1968 is
often remembered as the last gasp of the counter-culture, a glorious failure.
In Vietnam, the Tet offensive was a dress rehearsal for 1975, and victory for
the revolutionaries (who, predictably, went on to impose their own repressive regime
of state power). </span>Ho Chi Minh’s forces
succeeded, perhaps, because there was a coherent strategy in play, one which
would outlive its progenitor.<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLmXyMOGNJ33ohaEgkiCCGVyHTk5svcU7DAaI6P9fkSXssW4jnnXW6BohOhTnQ-5ex3YPRMJqGSKcrZazIiDRofQbodTttXhUW1lX7qVl-37aWGvCc2Bq6TNUcLPSOZ-TyDpLkqeIeNw/s1600/Beckton-Albert-Dock-Blitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1600" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLmXyMOGNJ33ohaEgkiCCGVyHTk5svcU7DAaI6P9fkSXssW4jnnXW6BohOhTnQ-5ex3YPRMJqGSKcrZazIiDRofQbodTttXhUW1lX7qVl-37aWGvCc2Bq6TNUcLPSOZ-TyDpLkqeIeNw/s640/Beckton-Albert-Dock-Blitz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Fire at the Albert DockVia<a href="http://www.invisibleworks.co.uk/ghosts-london-blitz-aerial-maps/" target="_blank"> http://www.invisibleworks.co.uk/ghosts-london-blitz-aerial-maps/</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Tet is rapidly
approaching, 49 lunar years having passed since the infamous offensive, and the
Battle for Hue. 31 years have likewise elapsed since the Battle of Hue was
recreated at Beckton gasworks. Both of these are prime numbers. The 49<sup>th</sup>
Boulevard was also the previous name given to Pham Van Dong Street in Hue. The
time (and the cosmic numbers) is right for some kind of intervention. Yet w</span><span lang="VI">ithout a coherent strategy- in
this case, my psychocarte- there can be no opportunity for a successful
operation. From the outset, the superimposition of a Hue map atop a map of
Beckton </span><span lang="EN-GB">(</span><span lang="VI">or perhaps the other way
around</span><span lang="EN-GB">)
seemed like the best place to begin.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Sadly, it's been done before: here is Struan Brown's interpretation of Beckton overlaid on Hue. One cannot be startled by the fact that this has been done prior to it being imagined by me, but what is perhaps surprising is that Struan was actually a class mate of mine at the University of Greenwich. We studied together on the Landscape Architecture masters programme in 2014 (both of us had also been Greenwich students in 2013, but during different semesters). I have no memory of seeing this before, but was suddenly beset by a strange fear that I was experiencing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia" target="_blank">cryptomnesia</a>, the phenomenon of experiencing a memory as an original thought. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt5dyHZuW5onn_zK64KrPjJzVcTERXVk9qqmqrRIh1O6lxQF9XeS61VRgqvJdH87WezT1NWYxF3nOY-Uc8JrFayIQV1oHg-ldtrs8gK5t1aBYbhPqVzKOpLpi-uHWuwoYscwHE69bIA0/s1600/Colour+Burn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitt5dyHZuW5onn_zK64KrPjJzVcTERXVk9qqmqrRIh1O6lxQF9XeS61VRgqvJdH87WezT1NWYxF3nOY-Uc8JrFayIQV1oHg-ldtrs8gK5t1aBYbhPqVzKOpLpi-uHWuwoYscwHE69bIA0/s640/Colour+Burn.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Image by Struan Brown via <a href="http://struanbrown.blogspot.com/2013/12/beckton-gas-works.html" style="font-size: 12.8px;">http://struanbrown.blogspot.com/2013/12/beckton-gas-works.html</a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
Perhaps of greater concern was the possibility that, having previously seen this image, the map of Hue had been buried in my subconscious, and that its presence there had subtly compelled me to find its origins. My journey to Hue, less than one year later, was not only on a whim but also somewhat serendipitous. Originally, I had obtained a job (via an agency) as an English teacher in Hanoi. Whilst booking the flights, I discovered it would be much cheaper to fly to HCMC and travel up to Hanoi independently than fly directly. On informing my agency, however, it transpired that this would not be acceptable to my prospective employer (I would have missed some "essential" part of the induction process whilst travelling from HCMC to Hanoi), and a new course of action was decided. Instead of teaching in Hanoi, I was told to meet up with a group of newly-qualified TEFL teachers in HCMC and travel with them to Hue, a city I believed I had never heard of.</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB">It's hard to recall what was influencing my decision making processes at that time, the whole period prior to my departure is a miasmic blur. My memories of this period are a series of weird vignettes, mostly of one-on-one conversations with people who's lives are going to be somehow disrupted by my departure. There's no truth in them, really,: I've spliced and edited them back together too many times, there were filters on the lenses, and they're remakes anyway. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB">PART 3 TO FOLLOW</span></div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-61496804552730526372017-01-26T14:58:00.000+07:002017-07-04T12:03:47.933+07:0024 HISTORIC STYLES DÉTOURNED: PART I of XXIV<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recently downloaded a copy of Tom Turner's <i>24 Historic Styles of Garden Design</i>, published by <a href="http://www.gardenvisit.com/" target="_blank">Gardenvisit.com</a>. Tom Turner was one of my teachers at Greenwich, on both the BA and MA programmes. In this book, Tom aims to provide "a short illustrated history of western garden design from 2000 BC to 2000 AD". "Western", in this context, includes Egypt, the middle east and northern India. If, like me, this subject is of particular interest to you then I recommend it: the text may be brief (and there are one or two typographic errors) but the accompanying illustrations- especially the style diagrams- are incredibly useful. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gardenvisit.com/uploads/image/image/114/114056/large_24_historic_styles_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gardenvisit.com/uploads/image/image/114/114056/large_24_historic_styles_cover.jpg" height="640" width="453" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Cover of <i>Twenty Four Historic Styles... </i>via <a href="http://www.gardenvisit.com/">www.gardenvisit.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The style diagrams (illustrated on the cover, above) are part of a larger series that Tom Turner has been developing over many years. Clearly delineating how the elements of buildings, paving, vegetation and water are organised within each historic garden, they also imply, with a little bit of imagination, how these gardens may have been used. It occurred to me that they were also ripe for a bit of détournement- all in the best possible taste, of course.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So: every so often, I will select one of the twenty four diagrams at random, re-arrange it a little, then attempt to ascribe it to a time period or cultural movement.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
GARDEN ONE:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfTZ4dPBXQUT_aI95sUxZyOfQnbY5v_CgW72oS3zrCvPspCglwLONTBddC1jb9zk22AGzip8v4f-dYhfWG57Bs_mS8BuAmDs9HYnukpJmV6O5FZcWJGycmk1EwmWI54M6TKajtZNwyc4/s1600/Classical+Villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="453" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfTZ4dPBXQUT_aI95sUxZyOfQnbY5v_CgW72oS3zrCvPspCglwLONTBddC1jb9zk22AGzip8v4f-dYhfWG57Bs_mS8BuAmDs9HYnukpJmV6O5FZcWJGycmk1EwmWI54M6TKajtZNwyc4/s640/Classical+Villa.jpg" width="402" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
What we might be looking at:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
An irregular shape in light green, surrounded by a lighter colour. There is a suggestion of a perimeter wall. the irregular shape may be a consequence of landform- perhaps it is erected on top of a hill. Small dark green circles, most likely trees, are scattered across the plan.They seem able to cross the barrier between the light green and yellow areas- perhaps there is no wall at all, just a loosely defined fence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A circular water feature sits at the centre of the plan, with other structures radiating out from this point. Closest to the fountain or poo are three small buildings, the largest of which is orientated on a north-south axis, adjacent to a wide avenue. This avenue connects two large, walled gardens: one running west-east, the other at slightly tilted to the north-west from the main axis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The east-west walled garden contains a pool, and terminates in the east at a larger building, also facing east. No trees stand in front of this structure, perhaps giving it a commanding view from the top of the hill. This is most likely the main house.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The designer of this plan wants to invite the wild in from the outside, allowing it to run across the site (the trees), but is also keen to demarcate formal areas and keep them enclosed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What we are actually looking at:</div>
<br />
A classical villa, c100 AD. In the words of Tom Turner:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"Buildings and gardens were grouped together within a bounded enclosure. The spaces adjoining individual buildings were axially planned but, by the standards of renais sance villas, the lack of an axial relationship between buildings is surprising. Structures were scattered like parcels on a table. Either there was no overall plan or it was asymmetrical."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>-</i><i>Twenty Four Historic Styles of Garden Design</i> , page 14</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<br />
<i>Twenty Four Historic Styles of Garden Design</i> by Tom Turner can be downloaded at <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Tom_Turner_24_Historic_Styles_of_Garden_Design?id=xt15CAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">Google Play Books</a><br />
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-64956515553160348292017-01-20T17:07:00.003+07:002017-06-05T12:26:54.064+07:00HUE/BECKTON - STRATEGIC VS> TACTICAL [PSYCHO]CARTOGRAPHY (PART ONE)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Scale has a strong relationship with design intent...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57eohus8144LJVRTz7meDYHqkaJMl6Qev3qGnqTia2Iweg0BIEuoQNxpTT3NOOm-l-KqzQv1sKQu3u1oi_D_P3W1btwbJS4GE2nwZAgdCj1xNGPSTp39zbv6lJJweJ4pIq39-E7tT1Rs/s1600/London-Blitz-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="940" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57eohus8144LJVRTz7meDYHqkaJMl6Qev3qGnqTia2Iweg0BIEuoQNxpTT3NOOm-l-KqzQv1sKQu3u1oi_D_P3W1btwbJS4GE2nwZAgdCj1xNGPSTp39zbv6lJJweJ4pIq39-E7tT1Rs/s640/London-Blitz-007.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Image courtesy Getty Images</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">High up above the city, peeking out
from under clouds, the Luftwaffe coordinate their strategic bombing methods.
There, the West Ham stadium (not the Boleyn ground, nor latterly the Olympic
Stadium, instead the home of Greyhound racing) a waymarker far below. To the
pilots and crew this view is a tactical map, the individual targets part of the
broader strategy, the scale distorted by greater considerations of space and
time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-giwNJZlp6-X_FzQ7qmVa4pP65W6C-xRQW7cec4O1mNqn0InYub-zZ5ZmoonskedbuaKY_dr4aAWLWmyqFubP0xC3MzMJZDYYHY-w6Q5wI2j2lbZQmKYVWPF1I2qyDO0SSmhr8kL5Bg/s1600/Beckton_gas_works_%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-giwNJZlp6-X_FzQ7qmVa4pP65W6C-xRQW7cec4O1mNqn0InYub-zZ5ZmoonskedbuaKY_dr4aAWLWmyqFubP0xC3MzMJZDYYHY-w6Q5wI2j2lbZQmKYVWPF1I2qyDO0SSmhr8kL5Bg/s640/Beckton_gas_works_%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Wikimedia commons</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not too far below, but nearly fifty
years later, a film crew coordinate the vision of another 20th Century icon.
Beckton's gasworks, abandoned since 1970, have been an established location for
feature film shoots, as well as pop videos (The Smith's Derek Jarman-directed
promo for</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Queen is Dead)</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.
Previously, television and film directors had used the mounds of toxic waste
(The famous "Beckton Alps") as a stand-in for real mountains, but on
this occasion the crew have a far more difficult transformative task ahead of
them: the derelict gasworks must be dressed in the accoutrements of a southeast
Asian city, which none of them have ever seen.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHVFKfWzeTx-B_Qt5OCVIiogGJxPhjCXanqIleuqg3i1YaC3kBncgWdyqFoDTCuz9tOR4xS83zX4dZMno6SfAfvdE3jtX67kDQvJDVz0_R4ubcQgkdHTgidkLyECNhKpb1_olC6ZQhvs/s1600/20160409104854-anh-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHVFKfWzeTx-B_Qt5OCVIiogGJxPhjCXanqIleuqg3i1YaC3kBncgWdyqFoDTCuz9tOR4xS83zX4dZMno6SfAfvdE3jtX67kDQvJDVz0_R4ubcQgkdHTgidkLyECNhKpb1_olC6ZQhvs/s640/20160409104854-anh-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">1980s Vietnam, taken by Michel Blanchard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At that precise moment,
but more than six thousand miles away (and though he may not have known how
fast he was going, Heisenberg knew precisely where he was), the enactment of
the Đổi mới economic reforms has initiated a transformation in the fortunes
of Vietnam's urban residents, but it's full effects are yet to be realised in
the country's former Imperial capital. The Party's plans for a socialist state
have been postponed, with the objective now being modernisation and economic
development. The strategic aim remains the same: the tactics, however, have
been significantly modified. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stay with us. Try to
keep the big picture in view as we flit and jump-cut through time and space.
It's just basic fucking physics, this "Big Bang" for the Vietnamese
economy: cause and effect. It is not happening in a vacuum, there are bigger
bangs blowing up all over the place. Just a few months earlier, Thatcher's
instigation of the "Big Bang" in London’s financial markets was
sending waves around the world, although it could be argued that forty years
would pass before the world would feel its full effects. Beckton would feel
something soon: watching towers of glass rise above its immediate horizon,
later a dry ski-slope upon the mounds of toxic sludge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">For now, the towers are
of iron and concrete, and attempts are being made “Vietnamese-ise” them</span><span lang="VI">, to turn Beckton, London
formerly Essex</span><span lang="EN-GB">) into Hue, Vietnam. It’s all in the name of someone’s grand vision, of
course, that someone being Stanley Kubrick. His cast will spend but a few days
here, re-enacting the 1968 Battle of Hue (following the Tet offensive) from the
point of view of a squad of US Marines. </span><span lang="VI">It is a strange thing, grown men playing at soldiers in
return for money.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All around the world, in
cities separated by time and space, children play at war, play out their deaths
over and over again. Perhaps some of them will make a career of it in the
future. Regardless, children make treasure maps, skip down deserted alleyways,
invent or re-invent urban mythologies, name slag-heaps after mountain ranges
and dodge snipers in high towers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some even do it for real. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-38294410422076129672017-01-03T13:33:00.004+07:002017-01-04T10:18:42.291+07:00A NEW YEAR'S DAY DRIFT<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a prolonged absence, I encourage myself to engage in some urban walking, with some automated assistance.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jV9oTYSqjBKlEQi0RovrIitOCnDmTbvKBsSHzTlRleDk8xW-4pT84amhMXlN4iQ5kmRk5WW2mXXJ15VCFxSbE02zJo_43VZutZZoX2QQ0-fIwXxBus9uzk1g_giUWpmq18HRSABG9T4/s1600/drift-640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jV9oTYSqjBKlEQi0RovrIitOCnDmTbvKBsSHzTlRleDk8xW-4pT84amhMXlN4iQ5kmRk5WW2mXXJ15VCFxSbE02zJo_43VZutZZoX2QQ0-fIwXxBus9uzk1g_giUWpmq18HRSABG9T4/s640/drift-640.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">DRIFT- available from <a href="http://www.brokencitylab.org/drift/" target="_blank">I-Store now!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Prior to the chiming of the bells, the banging of gongs and the curious absence of a fireworks display (the government of HCMC are apparently using the money saved to assist flood victims), I had already resolved to engage more vigorously in psychogeographical practice in 2017, and to grant some additional motivation, I thought I would download some psychogeographic apps. Sadly, I have had no joy with one of those (Derive- though I can get it to play some colliery brass band music), but DRIFT (already mentioned in my post concerning <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2017/01/nguyen-thi-minh-kai.html" target="_blank">Minh Khai</a>) was a little more successful.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The premise is simple: to encourage urban wandering by providing the user with a sequence of ten commands, each involving wandering in a particular direction for a specified number of blocks, or until some other criterion is met, culminating with the user recording an image using the camera app on the phone. The images are then uploaded to the app's site (though I have so far been unable to locate this site), as well as being stored on the user's phone. The ten steps are saved as an individual "Drift", and the user is able to then initiate another drift, containing a completely new set of commands.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the first time in many years I was joined on my drift by a companion, who for the reasons which may or may not be connected to some shocking revelations concerning Ho Chi Minh has opted to remain anonymous.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The app is available for I-OS and Android, and you can find out a little more about the ethos behind the product at the site of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1742776024"></span>Broken City Labs<span id="goog_1742776025"></span></a>.<br />
<br />
STEP I:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk north for a block and try to find something out of the ordinary given the economic spatial cues of the area and document it.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_PGTwEFz7M/WGpze7P5DWI/AAAAAAAAPEw/yME2jfz3sJwHxzyuhxhuDYpYpWqJYZW5wCPcB/s1600/File_000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_PGTwEFz7M/WGpze7P5DWI/AAAAAAAAPEw/yME2jfz3sJwHxzyuhxhuDYpYpWqJYZW5wCPcB/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
From our starting point, it was impossible to travel north, and by meeting this stumbling block we encountered one of the glaring issues with the app. By relying on the cardinal points to navigate, the app restricts the available options. A relative system might have a greater flexibility, and hence variation.<br />
<br />
Instead, we negotiated our way around until were able to follow a Phạm Ngọc Thạch northwards. This is Saigon's most architecturally refined district, and thus the giant plastic flowers struck us as somewhat out of the ordianry, althought they were decorations in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
STEP II:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Walk east until you find a trace of history and take a picture of it.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNJASDNKX3o/WGpTFGamZ_I/AAAAAAAAPEQ/w-fHY4q3WugCyUriEjBh-KiiWL79XHmrQCPcB/s1600/File_007.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNJASDNKX3o/WGpTFGamZ_I/AAAAAAAAPEQ/w-fHY4q3WugCyUriEjBh-KiiWL79XHmrQCPcB/s640/File_007.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Our earliest opportunity to travel east presented itself at <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/nguyen-thi-minh-kai.html" target="_blank">Nguyen Thi Minh Khai</a>, and the story of what we found there is recounted <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/nguyen-thi-minh-kai.html" target="_blank">at this post</a>.<br />
<br />
STEP III:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk north and look for a faucet or tap on the exterior of a building and take a close-up picture of it.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XneVqkYBkcA/WGpzfsIwv0I/AAAAAAAAPE0/XMlQLA9Pi9ANZloneLYYIPbTfXkbnbxYQCPcB/s1600/File_001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XneVqkYBkcA/WGpzfsIwv0I/AAAAAAAAPE0/XMlQLA9Pi9ANZloneLYYIPbTfXkbnbxYQCPcB/s640/File_001.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
STEP IV:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Find the nearest reflection to you and take a picture of it.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1WZfFSOXFX8/WGpzes9ejpI/AAAAAAAAPEs/u01OXDH0DzQBJx6webnMq-13DtnW1zvyQCPcB/s1600/File_002.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1WZfFSOXFX8/WGpzes9ejpI/AAAAAAAAPEs/u01OXDH0DzQBJx6webnMq-13DtnW1zvyQCPcB/s640/File_002.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
STEP V:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk north until you see an unmarked path and take a picture of wherever it leads.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5jEOaxOedto/WGpTEp7FqGI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/KHFuqJakrCAd_OWvnfM6KcU42fiR-qv4ACPcB/s1600/File_003.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5jEOaxOedto/WGpTEp7FqGI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/KHFuqJakrCAd_OWvnfM6KcU42fiR-qv4ACPcB/s640/File_003.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
STEP VI:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Walk north until you find something wonderful and take a picture of it.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-wXxXzvbcQ/WGpTG4vVeLI/AAAAAAAAPEU/NtcDTbJkAKEnHF39zhsqzBYtxPrNSRLPwCPcB/s1600/File_002.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l-wXxXzvbcQ/WGpTG4vVeLI/AAAAAAAAPEU/NtcDTbJkAKEnHF39zhsqzBYtxPrNSRLPwCPcB/s640/File_002.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Perhaps this does not strike you as particularly wonderful, but this was a beautiful street.<br />
<br />
STEP VII:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk south for a couple of blocks and empty your pockets on the nearest surface and take a picture of everything spread out on that surface.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1f7ymV9VtP0/WGpTCNbxQrI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/uYBZ61VCJjQuiGWFjOJCoQgTBJ3s0hjYACPcB/s1600/File_004.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1f7ymV9VtP0/WGpTCNbxQrI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/uYBZ61VCJjQuiGWFjOJCoQgTBJ3s0hjYACPcB/s640/File_004.jpeg" width="480" /></a><br />
<br />
This step puzzled me at first, but I quite liked it for two reasons. Firstly, it encourages examination of the immediate surface. Secondly, it turns the walker into a performer. The action is not rational and, sonsequently, draws attention from other street users. It's a nice moment of inversion, with the observer (briefly) becoming the observed.<br />
<br />
Note: due some uncharacteristically windy conditions I was reluctant to spread the content of my pockets all over the pavement... and yes, that is a cotton bud.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
STEP X:</div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<i>Walk south for one block, look for an example of an appeal and take a picture of it.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kl59nt5-FgY/WGpTENnfWXI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/IjYPsJeJh4sGqU2aKZZzUD6V4M-J1AzSgCPcB/s1600/File_001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kl59nt5-FgY/WGpTENnfWXI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/IjYPsJeJh4sGqU2aKZZzUD6V4M-J1AzSgCPcB/s640/File_001.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br />
Yes, we did skip a step- or re-arrange the sequence of steps. You may have noted that heading northward would have meant tediously re-tracing our steps, and would not really be in the spirit of gettting lost, which is at the heart of "DRIFT".<br />
<br />
Instead, we decided to jump to step ten and trace the remaining steps in reverse order. After walking south for one block, this sign was the closest thing we could find to an appeal. It is a recruitment notice for security staff.</div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
STEP IX:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk in the same direction of the shadows you can see for two blocks and then take a picture of the nearest outdoor light source.</i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFUD-7spaMM/WGpTCTndTCI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/NPJ0O1ycYaA4bxI1MKGMuNMJAQWml-sQQCPcB/s1600/File_000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFUD-7spaMM/WGpTCTndTCI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/NPJ0O1ycYaA4bxI1MKGMuNMJAQWml-sQQCPcB/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div>
</div>
<br />
STEP VIII:<br />
<br />
<i>Walk north until you can find an example of a game and take a picture of it.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sakYk9z41oI/WGpTHEdva3I/AAAAAAAAPEU/ztuh0T5G1pEF3vZuA0CgWuoqkuxJHNbtwCPcB/s1600/File_009.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sakYk9z41oI/WGpTHEdva3I/AAAAAAAAPEU/ztuh0T5G1pEF3vZuA0CgWuoqkuxJHNbtwCPcB/s640/File_009.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
A note: play equipment, amusement park rides, jigsaw puzzles, any distraction at all are all described as "games" in the Vietnamese language. To my companion, this piece of playground equipment in the grounds of an exclusive primary school exemplified the concept of "game" absolutely. I was at first disinclined to agree: whilst it was easy to imagine the games that could be played upon it, it was bereft of human children making full use of the facility. In that state it was no more a "game" than any other piece of obscure sculpture or street furniture.</div>
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I thought about the distinction for a moment, of how in most cultures it is not acceptable for children to climb over public artwork (unless, of course, that was the artists' inital intent). Probably more to do with litigation than propriety, I would imagine. Unlike a public sculpture, this bit of play equipment was designed exclusively for children to clamber over, investigate and explore. It was therefore a game wating to be played.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh-R0uOudCA/WGp5c6RWkjI/AAAAAAAAPFE/Zdn4PfTcZQAu1dS9F5sp25l1jXmVlFHYwCPcB/s1600/DRIFT%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh-R0uOudCA/WGp5c6RWkjI/AAAAAAAAPFE/Zdn4PfTcZQAu1dS9F5sp25l1jXmVlFHYwCPcB/s640/DRIFT%25231.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Having completed ten steps, no prize was awarded, though my companion compared the Drift to a game, albeit one with an invisible reward system. <i>Homo ludens </i>adrift in Saigon, investigating and exploring, and occasionally clambering over obstacles.<br />
<br />
<i>Drift </i> was a good way back into praxis, and an interesting introduction to psychogeography for my companion. Indeed, the simple format (and arbitrary instruction) makes it quite suitable for use in pairs or groups, as an introdution to the derive. It is a pity, however, that there is no online collection of the drifts of others, or at least not one that I have been able to locate. I have emailed the game's developer(s), and will post their response as soon as it is received.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, if you wish to download the app it is available on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drift/id524083174?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS only</a>. If you have used this software previously, it would be wonderful if you could provide a link to a description of your own experiences in the comments section, because that's what we're supposed to do nowadays.<br />
<br />
You can also find slightly different edits of the images at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/driftpchcmc1/" target="_blank">this instagram hashtag (#driftPCHCMC1)</a><br />
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-70329265617491794822017-01-02T20:13:00.000+07:002017-01-02T23:11:37.388+07:00NGUYEN THI MINH KHAI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Vietnamese Revolutionary and prominent member of the Indochinese Communist Party.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYI8WUUfnwfho8atuPoIWfXNVBYm3eFzfYstdoQQoHhqC0dlJ_Gf3FZpICjurJujJyQ6iof4Y-aqcWZ-gNE2WisjvodMQ6C95ZnT6xLFa8P7FKYrmPdDebdKKubpJp1OhEyKL-Ib42KA/s1600/Nguyen_Thi_Minh_Khai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYI8WUUfnwfho8atuPoIWfXNVBYm3eFzfYstdoQQoHhqC0dlJ_Gf3FZpICjurJujJyQ6iof4Y-aqcWZ-gNE2WisjvodMQ6C95ZnT6xLFa8P7FKYrmPdDebdKKubpJp1OhEyKL-Ib42KA/s640/Nguyen_Thi_Minh_Khai.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whilst engaged in a automatically generated DRIFT in HCMC's district one, my companion and I found ourselves searching for a piece of history. Walking is not a popular Vietnamese activity, and my companion was eager to complete the task as soon as possible, suggesting that we merely record the name of the street, seeing as that corresponded to thee name of a historical figure.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Suddenly the memory of last year's <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/street-names-of-hue.html" target="_blank">street name project</a> came flooding back, closely followed by a wave of guilt- guilt at having fallen so far behind with the project I had actually moved 1000 km south of the city of its origin. That is a substantial dérive.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a brief moment of reverie and self-admonition, I was brought back to the matter at hand, which was to engage in an automatically generated drift through HCMC. The dérive was generated by an app called DRIFT, and is subject to a parallel blog post. Essentially, the app provides a series of simple instrcutios which encourage users to explore their city, with each instruction generally concluding with the recording of a piece of photographic evidence. In our case, the instruction to "walk east until you find a trace of history" had been going on for much longer than might ordinarily be expected in a city as rich in heritage as Saigon, leading to my companion's suggestion of a cop-out.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I asked what was historically significant about Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai. My companion's memory was sketchy, but was sure that she had been involved in revolutionary activities in the last century, rather than a more ancient figure. My co-drifter's town of origin is Huế, and related that Huế also has a Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai street, intersected by Lê Hồng Phong Street. Hồng Phong had been her husband, and my companion recollected that they had both been executed by either "the French or Americans".</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With each street in Saigon (and nearly every street in Vietnam) bearing the name of a Vietnamese historical figure, we instead continued to walk, until we came across a colonial rooftop rupturing the polyvinyl shell in which that trace of history had been hidden, and that was documented in Minh Khai's stead.</div>
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Later, we checked the English language entry for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Th%E1%BB%8B_Minh_Khai" target="_blank">Minh Khai on wikipedia</a> (from whence was procured the image above), and discovered that she had in fact been executed by the French in 1941, two years after her husband. The couple had travelled to Moscow in 1934 as the ICP's delegates to the 7th Comintern. What was most intriguing, however, was the article's claim that she had been a lover of (or perhaps even married to) Uncle Ho. As the article notes, and as my companion reminded me, the official party line in vietnam is that Uncle Ho had no romantic attachments throughout his entire life. It should be noted that the only reference to this fact is contained in William J Duiker's biography of Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh- A Life), and the Vietnamese people I have discussed this with so far have been incredulous about this particular story.<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>This is part of an ongoing series of articles concerned with the origins of Vietnamese street names, and the myths and legends attached to them. You can find the story of how this project came to pass at <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/street-names-of-hue.html" style="color: #9f90bd; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Huế Street Names</a>.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Alternatively, you can look up all articles labelled <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/street%20names" style="color: #d662a7;" target="_blank">street names</a></i></span></span></span></div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-52506720032920671272016-04-01T09:30:00.000+07:002017-01-04T10:15:15.733+07:00PHẠM NGŨ LÃO<div style="text-align: justify;">
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In Italo Calvino's <i>Invisible Cities</i>, Marco Polo describes a series of imaginary cities to the busy Emperor Kublai Khan. Yes, Kublai Khan was very busy indeed, ruling an empire that covered approximately 20% of the world's inhabited area. Yet his incursions into southeast Asia were largely unsuccessful. Three times his armies were sent to invade Vietnam, and three times they were repelled. During two of those campaigns Phạm Ngũ Lão, a military commander in the Trần dynasty Royal Guard, was instrumental in defending Đại Việt against the foreign aggressor.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Phạm Ngũ Lão caught mid-bow, presumably not in front of Kublai Khan</td></tr>
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One interpretation of <i>Invisible Cities </i>is that each city Marco Polo describes is in fact Venice. This could be a nod to the revisionist interpretation of Polo not as great explorer but armchair fantasist, or it could be presenting the idea that in every city exists an infinite number of possible cities, and that these theoretical cities can exist in a multitude of different geographic locales simultaneously. These are intereting ideas to explore in Vietnam: as has <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/street-names-of-hue.html" target="_blank">been mentioned in a previous post</a>, Vietnamese streets in nearly all her cities conform to a naming convention of national heroes. Perhaps it is possible to walk down Hùng Vương street in HCMC and Đà Nẵng simultaneously.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Marco Polo's family receiving a helping hand from Kublai Khan... or is it?</td></tr>
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I have spent a great deal of time on two streets in Vietnam named for the hero Phạm Ngũ Lão: one in Saigon and one in my present home, Huế. The hypothesis that all cities are one of the same might be born out by the superficial resemblances between PNL Saigon and PNL Huế. Both are considered to be the centre of their city's backpacker/western district, though the former eclipses the latter in terms of size and scope for debauchery. It has been noted by many (including a blogger over at <a href="http://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/1761-street-cred-ph-m-ngu-lao" target="_blank">The Saigoneer</a>) that it is ironic that a man renowned for repelling foreign invaders now gives his name to two streets full of...well, foreign invaders.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My occasional perambulations about the city of Huế rarely take me down the street of Phạm Ngũ Lão: it is a good place to get a western meal, a passable cocktail and a late(ish) drink on other occasions, though not somewhere one feels the <i>soul</i> of the city is on display. This casual disdain for the apparently inauthentic is, of course, delusory: whatever one's misgivings about neocolonialism, it is ignorant to reject the importance of this street to the tourist industry and consequently the whole of Huế. Nonetheless, on one early evening, when I was still accompanied on my walks by my (missing, presumed consumed) dog, Huệ, I did happen to wander down the street of the great Trần Dynasty general.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Hello teacher! came a cry from the outside the restaurant opposite. The source of the exclamation was not, as might have been inferred, one of my students, but a member of the waiting staff. I crossed the street to say hello, recognising him as someone I had played football with once or twice, before the rainy season ended the soccer season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"How are you? I was wondering if you could teach me something."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I asked him what he wanted to know. He was already smirking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"How to get a girlfriend."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was halfway through my protest that this was something with which I would be unable to help him when I realised he was, of course, being ironic. In Vietnam an umarried thirty-five-year old teacher is not someone one would ordinarily approach for relationship advice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I'm JOKING! I need help with my English. What does..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Muscle memory kicked in and I adopted an expression of sincere concern, listening carefully and expecting to be asked a straightforward question about uncountable nouns, though I prayed that I would not be interrogated about a complex grammatical point. Again, however, he surprised me;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"...what does 'life is a tale, told by an idiot' mean?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now it was my turn to smirk. I'd never studied Macbeth at school, but was familiar enough with the full quote to respond:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">That struts and frets his hour upon the stage</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then is heard no more: it is a tale</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Signifying nothing."</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">...and I went on for a little bit, talking about absurdity outside the context of Macbeth itself, but to reassure him that I knew of the quote's provenance:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"...and of course, it's from..."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"Macbeth," he said, completing my sentence, "I know what it means too- I was testing you!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">He smiled and petted Huệ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"You have passed the test! Well done!" </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Someone called him back to work, he said goodbye. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">A tale told by an idiot. Maybe. The three act structure might not apply to anything offstage, and the narrative thread is want to meander, but where it leads us... wherever it leads us, humans will impose patterns and structure and character arcs. So it came to pass that my dog and I were spellbound for a moment or two, trying to tie the threads of Macbeth and Phạm Ngũ Lão together. Both men were famous generals who had successfully resisted conquering forces, both men were close to their king. Phạm Ngũ Lão was loyal, however, and his reward was a bride of noble status (well, the adopted daughter of Prince Trần Quốc Tuấn) and a lifetime of war ending in a peaceful death at the age of sixty six...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">...and possibly thousands of streets across his homeland named in his honour.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>This is part of an ongoing series of articles concerned with the origins of Vietnamese street names, and the myths and legends attached to them. You can find the story of how this project came to pass at <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/street-names-of-hue.html" target="_blank">Huế Street Names</a>.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Alternatively, you can look up all articles labelled <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/street%20names" target="_blank">street names</a></i></span></span></span><br />
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0Phạm Ngũ Lão, Phú Hội, tp. Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam16.4695379 107.5942918000000616.467634399999998 107.59177030000006 16.4714414 107.59681330000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-50419063276996621052016-03-30T17:50:00.000+07:002017-07-25T11:31:41.059+07:00STREET NAMES OF HUẾ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
If the streets of a city tell its stories, in Vietnam the name of those streets tell the tale of a nation. One side, of course- it's glorious triumphs and heroic failures- but each hero or heroine is connected, no matter how haphazardly their names have been superimposed upon the city plan.</div>
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Beneath is a 1968 American ordnance survey, made around the time of the Tet Offensive. I used it as a base for <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-map-and-territory-again.html" target="_blank">earlier explorations of Hue</a>. I've recently been working on a stylised, monochrome map of the city and used this as a base, comparing this fifty-year-old map to the current map of the city available on google. Many of the streets have changed their name, in keeping with the change of regime. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYTmpCdatpX_GFT8n90ebyIFwWfyAO3v6NQf13AnU9rIG8WN-9So3qZ-TxIDQheOucCcK_RfNkqeZ-3Jdz8-zfitTX42C2DZjEXEWeElvFE5_uTdMUkLFzAOIIhfoq0eyyHo7VLBet8Q/s1600/Hue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYTmpCdatpX_GFT8n90ebyIFwWfyAO3v6NQf13AnU9rIG8WN-9So3qZ-TxIDQheOucCcK_RfNkqeZ-3Jdz8-zfitTX42C2DZjEXEWeElvFE5_uTdMUkLFzAOIIhfoq0eyyHo7VLBet8Q/s640/Hue2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below is an incomplete list of some of Huế's streets, alongside the name the same street has on the earlier, American military map when Huế was part of the former Republic of [South] Vietnam. The plan is to get an entry up for every street, which will attempt to reference the character/ geographic feature that gives the name to each street, and to use this post as a hub for those related posts. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A female warrior in 3rd Century Vietnam who resisted the Chinese occupation. Said to be nine feet tall with 3 foot breasts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A River that flows through HCMC.</span></div>
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</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Đong Đa</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Site of the battle between against Chinese occupation in 1788, one of Vietnam's greatest military victories</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hai Bà Trưng</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Trưng Trắc)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sisters who resisted Emperor Wu and the Han Chinese around 40 AD.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hàm Nghi</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not visible</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emperor of Vietnam for one year, 1884-5, before being deposed by the French. Attempted to lead insurrection from Laos, betrayed and exiled to Algeria. There is a Hàm Nghi school but it is on TQT street.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hùng Vương</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Duy Tân)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title of the ancient kings who ruled Vietnam in antiquity (c.2-3000BC)</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Duấn</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Thịnh Minh Thế)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party and its first post reunification leader</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Lai</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Lai</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of Lê Lơi's generals</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Lợi</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Lợi</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15th Century rebel against Chinese rule and founder of the Lê dynasty</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lê Quý Đôn</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Phan Thanh Giản)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18th Century savant and encyclopediast</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lý Thường Kiệt</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lý Thường Kiệt</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">General of the Lý dynasty during the 11th C. Penned Vietnams' first declaration of independence. There is a Lý Thường Kiệt school though not on this street, it is on Nguyễn Tri Phương, though there is also a campus on Bà Triêu.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ngô Quyền</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ngô Quyền</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10th Century Vietnamese general, decisively defeated Han dynasty and founded the Ngô dynasty</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyên Huệ</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyên Huệ</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leader of the Tây Sơn rebellion against Lê dynasty and Nguyễn lords</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn Sinh Cung</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(just 551)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Birth name of Hồ Chí Minh, father of Communist Vietnam.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn Thái Học</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn Thái Học</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vietnamese Nationalist executed by the French in 1930</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn Tri Phương</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn Tri Phương</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19th Century Military commander who fought against the French.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/nguyen-thi-minh-kai.html" target="_blank">Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai</a></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revolutionary and member of the Indochinese Communist Party. Executed by French in 1941.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/04/pham-ngu-lao.html" target="_blank">Phạm Ngũ Lão</a></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/04/pham-ngu-lao.html" target="_blank">Phạm Ngũ Lão</a></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Military commander during the second and third Mongol invasions, 1279 and 1287. Married the adoptive daughter of Trần Quốc Toản.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phạm Văn Đồng</span></div>
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<a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/derive-49.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(just 49)</span></a></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of Uncle Ho's closest lieutenants, Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1955 and, following reunification, the whole of Vietnam until 1987. Died 2000.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tố Hữu</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(no street)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revolutionary poet and Politburo member, died 2002.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trân Cao Vân</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trân Cao Vân</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19th Century Mandarin who attempted to orchestrate resistance against colonial rule by France. Executed.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trần Quang Khai</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Trần Văn Nhung)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Third son of the first Trần emperor, military leader during Mongol invasion during 13th Century and inventor of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dance of Flowers</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trần Quốc Toản</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not visible</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A noble lord and member of the Trần dynasty, assembled an army at the age of 16 to fight the second Mongol invasion. There is a school named after him, though it is on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuy Lý Vương</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No street</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19TH Century poet</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Võ Thị Sáu</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nguyễn</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Schoolgirl guerilla and nationalist martyr executed by the French at the age of 19.</span></div>
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There's also the possibility of the narratives attached to each character connecting to one another, just as the streets are linked. For example, one can follow the street named after Vietnam's first kings and find oneself upon the street of the 19th Century Imperial general who fought the French ... before eventually meeting a school girl guerilla, by way of a river that flows far away in the south.</div>
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It also serves as a possible table of correspondences to randomly generate the addresses required for a <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/49-waltzes-for-five-boroughs.html" target="_blank">graphic score for Huế</a>.</div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tp. Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam16.4498 107.562350116.3279725 107.4009886 16.571627499999998 107.7237116tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-13281255860583745272016-03-28T23:47:00.000+07:002017-01-24T11:54:41.472+07:0049 WALTZES FOR THE FIVE BOROUGHS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMelY1KzpZDTi9CPPBpVitDOTu-MxuqCMcYBzDKWjQp2HMFK5N8ovG34ZIEjsEuj4L-OXtEeTGWUb_HWdrqjAS9EfYgQCYPveSC3BloXj5YjNFExyQl3zHS1jIKWg5Z-Ltwtvns5Kw1s/s1600/RollingStone_JCageWaltzes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMelY1KzpZDTi9CPPBpVitDOTu-MxuqCMcYBzDKWjQp2HMFK5N8ovG34ZIEjsEuj4L-OXtEeTGWUb_HWdrqjAS9EfYgQCYPveSC3BloXj5YjNFExyQl3zHS1jIKWg5Z-Ltwtvns5Kw1s/s640/RollingStone_JCageWaltzes.jpg" width="502" /></a></div>
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There must be something magical about the number forty nine. Barely with the digital ink dry on the previous post- <i><a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/derive-49.html" target="_blank">Dérive 49</a> </i>- when this beautiful image appeared on one of the feeds to which I subscribe. The original impression of this image, pinned from <a href="http://cosmopolis49waltzesfortheworld.com/">cosmopolis49waltzesfortheworld.com</a>, was a little small, but was annotated with this explanation:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>John Cage's Graphic Score The innovative and influential American composer John Cage created a graphic score called “49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs” as a tribute to the ever- changing city of New York. He superimposed 49 triangles on a map of New York City, using chance means to determine the locations of each angle. The listener or recorder was invited go to the apex of each angle and listen to or record the sounds of the city in that place. *Rolling Stone Magazine, 1977.</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-B_IMvEZr2n6gQqi90-xezx9FcILaqz9JKANq8RUb9Z5uTpkwHHvaSekSZMjfO0TvpiUocPGy2SArJlAp6fMdjQUkxdQaVWdsz1xb3XXK59FiqpQAz73w5z3jeuNI4oQP9IshLBHrW3I/s1600/49%252BWaltzes%252B008%252Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-B_IMvEZr2n6gQqi90-xezx9FcILaqz9JKANq8RUb9Z5uTpkwHHvaSekSZMjfO0TvpiUocPGy2SArJlAp6fMdjQUkxdQaVWdsz1xb3XXK59FiqpQAz73w5z3jeuNI4oQP9IshLBHrW3I/s640/49%252BWaltzes%252B008%252Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There have been many iterations and interpretations of this score since its inception in the 1970s, and it presents an inspiring approach to urban exploration as both a productive and receptive exercise. The website <a href="http://49waltzes.com/">http://49waltzes.com/</a> features an archive of geo-referenced waltzes as uploaded audio/video footage.</div>
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Presumably, the use of triangles corresponds to the time signature of the waltz, 3/4. It's strange though, that the pieces are not combined, that they can only be listened to sequentially. Surely the pieces should bounce around one another, perhaps an excerpt from each on every beat?</div>
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I was also remound (I know, I know, reminded, but this is a pet grammar project of a former mentor, Madamoiselle X) of the wonderful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Vihart" target="_blank">Vi Hart</a> who has produced (amongst other things) a fantastic video about twelve tone composition. I've provided a link to the video which begins at the most relevant point, though if you have time I recommend enjoying the full thirty minutes <a href="https://youtu.be/4niz8TfY794?t=24m46s">https://youtu.be/4niz8TfY794?t=24m46s</a></div>
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Apparently Cage's vision was of other performers, listeners or or record makers to make transcriptions for other cities, simply by as"assembling through chance operations a list of 147 addresses and then, also through chance arranging these in 49 groups of three". It seems auspicious that this piece came to my attention as I begn to explore Huế's forty-ninth borough.</div>
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Some final words:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">"Wherever we are,</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">what we hear is</span></i></span></div>
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<i></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">mostly noise.</span></i></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;"></span></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;"><i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">When we ignore it,</span></i></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">it disturbs us.</span></i></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">When we listen to it,</span></i></div>
</span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;"><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start;">we find it fascinating."</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , "new york" , "trebuchet" , "serifl"; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; line-height: 15.36px;">-John Cage, </span><i style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'New York', Trebuchet, serifl; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 15.36px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">The Future Of Music: Credo </i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , "new york" , "trebuchet" , "serifl"; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; line-height: 15.36px;">(1937)</span></span></div>
</span></i></span>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844099532729894160.post-69706332139146629222016-03-27T02:45:00.001+07:002017-07-06T21:51:25.446+07:00DÉRIVE 49<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "inconsolata"; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;"><i>The lessons progress. Whilst slowly I learn history and folklore, superstition and language, my explorations need to continue using what I do know, to analyse what I think I can see... and these explorations need to be mapped.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "inconsolata"; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;">Where am I?</span></div>
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I live on the fringes of Huế, Vietnam's former capital. As the rest of the country expands and develops, Huế's outer boundaries encroach on the outlying settlements but gently, in keeping with the unhurried pace that pervades the ancient city. Where its northeastern edge rubs up against the southwestern outskirts of Phú Vang district is Vỹ Dạ, the ward within which I am housed, otherwise known as Bốn Chín.<br />
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Bốn Chín is Vietnamese for 49, referring not to an arbitrary numbering system for the ward, but rather detournement by the locals of the previous (arbitrary) name of the ward's main street. A pity that it was not Boulevard 41, since <i>bốn một </i>would make me smile.<br />
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The narrow street widens abruptly, after the lights. Big buildings- flophouse hotels and builders yards, in the main- set back from the road by ten metres or more. There's not a lot of soul, the people are detached from the promenade, the eyes of the empty international clinic stare impassively at passing backpackers on motorbikes.<br />
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd9AjrkQFe8gGI1rQN7K25C9LBX3xWV0_GrnoOccmcjTcGYCo4wGo6v_vjI1H7TTXl9evFOsO40n8d15sw7bbMrZok2TCEOnyJmWkcMRk2knT7gc6WAUci7gMwrLcTRJt-7TO0X0suOc/s640/File_003.jpeg" style="text-align: center;" width="640" /><br />
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Towards the bridge, another bottleneck. The wide street narrows as it approaches câu Vỹ Dạ, crossing this little tributary of the Perfume River. Across the bridge, the city's western district, but to the right, steps invite a brief dérive, a step out of time. Another narrow lane, low buildings serve as cafés, an old woman selling sand and cement. before again collapsing to show an expanse of sky, and the causeway separating the other side of Vỹ Dạ from the "western" district.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EchEX3F3reLULye-fe3yquv44d2DLSC9D_5E41G8KJjwxWb4p0zNi3AWIceLX89IOHFbLl773ffjltbbwJ8CUpKh1m3supj4k0SbbzaCOxo6Osg4msMMQvWjvnom6TbsZhvh8vUNaZY/s1600/D%25E1%25BA%25BBivePVD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EchEX3F3reLULye-fe3yquv44d2DLSC9D_5E41G8KJjwxWb4p0zNi3AWIceLX89IOHFbLl773ffjltbbwJ8CUpKh1m3supj4k0SbbzaCOxo6Osg4msMMQvWjvnom6TbsZhvh8vUNaZY/s640/D%25E1%25BA%25BBivePVD.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Atop the water, aquatic "ferns", perfect for hogfeed, imprison a vessel intended for the next world, a ghost boat for an ancestor to sail the rivers of hell.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8r_8X5HUTtnAQScO-_H1NRLe7pOKHC_0mM5gEbb5MUe2i1N3ZZHpeakwnLJTCAhizSQFqvTVds941bty229uLENSyVRgX1dVAx03Qcp3BFB9AU37u9Wg3zNJwiCXwI41sJtVEGxNYBA/s1600/File_000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8r_8X5HUTtnAQScO-_H1NRLe7pOKHC_0mM5gEbb5MUe2i1N3ZZHpeakwnLJTCAhizSQFqvTVds941bty229uLENSyVRgX1dVAx03Qcp3BFB9AU37u9Wg3zNJwiCXwI41sJtVEGxNYBA/s640/File_000.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This white man walking gets a lot of attention, principally from <i>xe om</i> motorcycle taxi drivers. It's a novel experience, after so many months of being another road user, not sticking out like a sore thumb. I only cross via the causeway at night, when the unilluminated left side affords a glimpse of oblivion, distant flickering neon of the far north bank suggesting something beyond. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpl3fzkPWdcBGzol3jrg0VnPRK-pFmfT_nuPBzn5i8X7QReybVBO6U9NTlo75AT_iAJ2_T2WCtH-pI9uhu8pMDMdJ0fbNAihLfJLs-EhwZwvDsVMmej7wTB3G6qI9mxA_7Hp9xgW7Q_s/s1600/CAUSEWAY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpl3fzkPWdcBGzol3jrg0VnPRK-pFmfT_nuPBzn5i8X7QReybVBO6U9NTlo75AT_iAJ2_T2WCtH-pI9uhu8pMDMdJ0fbNAihLfJLs-EhwZwvDsVMmej7wTB3G6qI9mxA_7Hp9xgW7Q_s/s640/CAUSEWAY.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Drinking coffee with condensed milk, thinking about where this leads. I didn't even know the name of this corner of the city, the corner in which I live, until a casual conversation about the whereabouts of <i>Côn Hen</i> (Mussell Island) revealed that I'd been sitting in Vỹ Dạ for the past four months. But this gave me an idea. I have to approach the psychogeographical analysis of this city from as a curator-cartographer: I will make maps from the testimony of its residents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8jebmmT3nrWDddcsAv4MESxKZsMrzy6MVAaSv0RarG5dLiPRpu79lLsI5mgmGFnsoQit1hfFEEMyQ-x8cRRgc48k4owgZ0WryXD9r4bV6TtGvVNqMetUatQwInKDCwkZUCD3VMhUt3A/s1600/%25C6%25AFaterpuppets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8jebmmT3nrWDddcsAv4MESxKZsMrzy6MVAaSv0RarG5dLiPRpu79lLsI5mgmGFnsoQit1hfFEEMyQ-x8cRRgc48k4owgZ0WryXD9r4bV6TtGvVNqMetUatQwInKDCwkZUCD3VMhUt3A/s640/%25C6%25AFaterpuppets.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Wandering back across the causeway, the theatre of water puppetry still looked grim, in spite of the intense noon sun. Looking at the above photograph now, the theatre would not look out of place amongst the ruins of <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/ho-thuy-tien-abandoned-water-park.html" target="_blank">Hô Thủy Thiên</a>, yet it is apparently open. I did catch a performance of this baffling though highly entertaining traditional art form in Saigon, and endeavour to visit this place soon.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzjmyqjzNtwrnGhR9aChk3R6ifvx_A7zaWHE014gJ43Q6aPDnH0SgsFXeBaM5L9vt1UXXF4pCTUsxP-b-MZRl91086rQe82GkewBhS_OIis2U6HdfXcJTQeK-wBjjFPya9F22dZjY20I/s1600/File_001.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzjmyqjzNtwrnGhR9aChk3R6ifvx_A7zaWHE014gJ43Q6aPDnH0SgsFXeBaM5L9vt1UXXF4pCTUsxP-b-MZRl91086rQe82GkewBhS_OIis2U6HdfXcJTQeK-wBjjFPya9F22dZjY20I/s640/File_001.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Across the causeway and onto Nguyễn Sinh Cung made for a far more interesting stroll than the walk along PVD. Running parallel to Phạm Văn Đòng, NSC is narrower, and with greater levels of human traffic. Like the best (and worst) of Huế's streets, the shopfronts spill onto the pavement, an there is a great conflation of public and private space, guarded over by ancient treees, many of which house ad hoc roadside shrines. There's also an attractive, colourful pagoda (pictured) and a pretty decent market, as well as the best fried rice in the city. I made a note of the turning to the bridge to <i>Côn Hen</i>, with a view to later mapping my route.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJRXPDl2RjiY3SMUrHGQSOtDwpeJMbDR-cOad2mvJtWciGVxfq0P2G0gCMibkUGD0Mz6rCituIlyEJoTuXmgb7ggfONdcv6BWleO0sFf8qu6u-_VZXMlNqK-7DP1FLNzwkT_ha6kbtTg/s1600/D%25E1%25BA%25BBrive+psychocart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJRXPDl2RjiY3SMUrHGQSOtDwpeJMbDR-cOad2mvJtWciGVxfq0P2G0gCMibkUGD0Mz6rCituIlyEJoTuXmgb7ggfONdcv6BWleO0sFf8qu6u-_VZXMlNqK-7DP1FLNzwkT_ha6kbtTg/s640/D%25E1%25BA%25BBrive+psychocart.jpg" width="447" /></a></div>
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After the market I hung a left onto Tùng Thiện Vương and followed a very narrow concrete lane lined with small coffee shops, barbers and bakeries before turning once more, this time towards the canal. A small lane led alongside it, bereft of businesses, and some construction work was in progress to reinforce the concrete embankment. No-one stopped to offer me a lift, or indeed paid me any attention. Eventually arriving home, I began to make a map with a red biro.</div>
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Note I have named the area between PVD, NSC and the two tributaries of the Perfume River<i> The Estates of the Minor Plutocrats</i>. This is based upon my own previous reconaissance and some anecdotal evidence provided by local friends. The area is comprised of wide, quiet streets flanked by large, detached and recently built residences, clearly of considerable worth. Additionally, there are a few schools (including the respected Phạm Văn Đòng secondary school), a local tax office and several sports fields. Though I imagined the residents to be amongst Huế's elite, I have been informed that the <i>real</i> movers and shakers occupy estates on higher ground, beyond the reach of the river's rising waters. Hence, the plutocrats I designate to the minor category, pending further investigation. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUYIGkQtv3_pTjxk7-9iRwBSMPcgkg8uAeD81OMw9OWEq-8muCfZ9MBbPn6hYqI6SOo-fx02bNIhimzvfW_QcwELAFc5Nb0IRKaS18tappCboFSgS-khx8Wgv7Nn-A4FW0IUZduca3cc/s1600/Inverted+rubbing+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUYIGkQtv3_pTjxk7-9iRwBSMPcgkg8uAeD81OMw9OWEq-8muCfZ9MBbPn6hYqI6SOo-fx02bNIhimzvfW_QcwELAFc5Nb0IRKaS18tappCboFSgS-khx8Wgv7Nn-A4FW0IUZduca3cc/s640/Inverted+rubbing+map.jpg" width="462" /></a></div>
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Scracthing away on the brown paper of my notebook with a dry biro required some exceptionally heavy-handed penmanship, even by my own Lenny-esque standards, and I was pleased enough with the resultant image on the obverse to photograph and flip it. Admittedly, rubbing the image with wax crayon did not have quite as dramatic an effect as was hoped, though it's not entirely shit.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqiIZFof38UwLKdJO9lXVDpj98t7MPKw0nJRE3ImfGftoCSCA1EJjiE6F-7AHA3uvedpbuxWyxAmfbUYWNTcqflXvfs_gPLHsewnj52IoDRTk9SvhhcVjpzvJQymDMf0bwILZ5sNIdLk/s1600/Rubbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqiIZFof38UwLKdJO9lXVDpj98t7MPKw0nJRE3ImfGftoCSCA1EJjiE6F-7AHA3uvedpbuxWyxAmfbUYWNTcqflXvfs_gPLHsewnj52IoDRTk9SvhhcVjpzvJQymDMf0bwILZ5sNIdLk/s640/Rubbing.jpg" width="458" /></a></div>
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The map does not accomplish much, and is not pleasing to look at, but it was a tentative step in the right direction. The city holds many mysteries, and its surface has barely been scratched: and scratching is what I must do. Any city with history is a palimpsest, and the layers must be teased away. All that scratching does, of course, create further images on the flipside, adding as it subtracts, building as it deconstructs. The work continues.<br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">-</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>This is connected to an ongoing series of articles concerned with the origins of Vietnamese street names, and the myths and legends attached to them. You can find the story of how this project came to pass at <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/2016/03/street-names-of-hue.html" target="_blank">Huế Street Names</a>.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>Alternatively, you can look up all articles labelled <a href="http://psychocartography.blogspot.com/search/label/street%20names" target="_blank">street names</a></i></span></span></div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685436746460917538noreply@blogger.com0Phạm Văn Đồng, tp. Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam16.4786483 107.601652516.4634218 107.5814825 16.4938748 107.6218225