Commemorating Matt: La Tigra

Monument Proposal #2

Hello My Name Is Simon.......

And I like To Make Buildings.....
Come and make buildings with me....
Come and make buildings with me.

familiar faces

http://archinect.com/schoolblog/index.php

Think.

IF IT WORKS,
IT’S
OBSOLETE

Marshall McLuhanisms

The story of modern America begins With the discovery of the white man by
The Indians.

Only puny secrets need protection. Big discoveries are protected by public
incredulity.

Whereas convictions depend on speed-ups, justice requires delay.

The nature of people demands that most of them be engaged in the most
frivolous possible activities—like making money.

With telephone and TV it is not so much the message as the sender that is
“sent.”

Money is the poor man’s credit card.

We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into
the future.

Spaceship earth is still operated by railway conductors, just as NASA is
managed by men with Newtonian goals.

Invention is the mother of necessities.

You mean my whole fallacy’s wrong?

Mud sometimes gives the illusion of depth.

The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.

Why is it so easy to acquire the solutions of past problems and so difficult to solve current ones?

The trouble with a cheap, specialized education is that you never stop paying for it.

People don’t actually read newspapers. They step into them every morning like a hot bath.

The road is our major architectural form.

Today each of us lives several hundred years in a decade.

Today the business of business is becoming the constant invention of new business.

The price of eternal vigilance is indifference.

News, far more than art, is artifact.

When you are on the phone or on the air, you have no body.

Tomorrow is our permanent address.

All advertising advertises advertising.

The answers are always inside the problem, not outside.

“Camp” is popular because it gives people a sense of reality to see a replay of their lives.

This information is top security. When you have read it, destroy yourself.

The specialist is one who never makes small mistakes while moving toward the grand fallacy.

One of the nicest things about being big is the luxury of thinking little.

Politics offers yesterday’s answers to today’s questions.

The missing link created far more interest than all the chains and explanations of being.

In big industry new ideas are invited to rear their heads so they can be clobbered at once. The idea department of a big firm is a sort of lab for isolating dangerous viruses.

When a thing is current, it creates currency.

Food for the mind is like food for the body: the inputs are never the same as the outputs.

Men on frontiers, whether of time or space, abandon their previous identities. Neighborhood gives identity. Frontiers snatch it away.

The future of the book is the blurb.

The ignorance of how to use new knowledge stockpiles exponentially.

A road is a flattened-out wheel, rolled up in the belly of an airplane.

At the speed of light, policies and political parties yield place to charismatic images.

“I may be wrong, but I’m never in doubt.”

The Beard That Would be King

Ivan o as Errol Flynn.
Buckling Swashes Everywhere.

y = 693.8597 - 68.7672 COSH(0.0100333 x) feet for x between or equal to -299.2239 and 299.2239

so... by random chance I have stumbled upon this site that has an pretty in-depth look into the math behind the Arch. As you will discover, it is accompanied by terrible and annoying music, so I advise you to mute the volume for sanity's sake...

http://jug.net/wt/arch.htm

Ho Ho Ho -- Jolly green....

Monument Proposal #1 for East. St Louis site.

On Our Site?

The Duel that Could Have Changed the Nation

A few words of satire from one of our nation’s most famous Presidents very nearly changed history as we know it.

In the early morning hours of September 22, 1842, a young Abraham Lincoln crossed the Mississippi River at Alton, IL on his way to a small island where he would engage in mortal combat with a political adversary.

With hundreds of onlookers present and ready for a good fight; Lincoln, who was known for being levelheaded and gentle, prepared to kill or be killed. How did it come this?

Abraham Lincoln had been elected to the Illinois state legislature as a Whig in 1834. During this time, Illinois had enormous debt problems. These financial issues kept the politicians in the state’s legislature busy, and the Whigs and Democrats were continually at odds with each other over what to do.

James Shields was another politician in the state’s legislature who had been elected in 1836 as a Democrat, Lincoln’s opposing party. While their two parties were arguing over the situation, Lincoln and James were able to constitute a compromise that would save state’s banks and help the state rebound from its financial woes. Even though the two were in opposing parties, they saw eye to eye on many of the issues and were able to work together for the greater good.

The Beginnings of Animosity

This feeling of mutual understanding and compromise would change over the years, though, when Shields became the State Auditor of Illinois. During this time, Shields was repeatedly scorned for many of the foolish decisions he was making. Shields had issued a proclamation that ordered county tax collectors to accept only gold and silver, rather than its own state-issued paper money, for payment of taxes and school debts. This particular proclamation brought him criticism from all quarters.

Lincoln was one of those who thoroughly disagreed with Shields decisions and proclamations and began writing a series of letters to the editor of the Sangamo Journal under several assumed names, including Jeff and Rebecca.

Putting his renowned sarcastic wit and talent for satire to the task, Lincoln, through his assumed identities, lampooned Shields poor policies and mismanagement of his duties. Throughout this series of letters, Lincoln’s friends Mary Todd and Julia Jayne also began sending letters of their own. The two got carried away and their letters became increasingly more vicious attacking the character and personality of Shields, in which they stated that he was “overly pompous, a hypocrite, and a liar”.

The satire also began to take on a life of its own in the social scene as letters were written from assumed identities recalling fictitious events at parties and social clubs that painted a poor picture of Shields, as well as stating Shields apparent inadequacies with the ladies.

Because of Shields vain and overly pompous personality, he became a natural target for satire. Word spread quickly of these “letters” in the newspaper and Shields was outraged. He was determined to discover who had begun this criticism. Shields pressured the editor of the paper to reveal the sources of these letters. The editor gave Shields only Lincoln’s name, as Lincoln himself had instructed him too. Even though Lincoln was not the only one taking part in this letter writing campaign, he had decided to take the blame for it if things got out of control. He especially wanted to protect Mary Todd, the friend who would soon become his wife.

Shields Presents the Challenge

Shields was hurt and appalled to find out Lincoln’s involvement and demanded, by way of a hand delivered letter, an immediate retraction. The aggressive tone of the letter led Lincoln to refuse until he received a more “gentlemanly” letter. Shields responded by challenging Lincoln to a duel.

Dueling was illegal in Illinois. Lincoln could not believe that Shields was refusing to settle the matter with anything else but an old fashioned duel. Lincoln felt the entire situation was ludicrous and completely silly. However, the public was very fond of duels and felt that they were a true indication of courage. Politicians knew that to refuse a duel would lead to lack of public support and would most likely cost you your office. Word had spread very quickly and it seemed that in no time at all, everyone in the entire state knew of the challenge. Lincoln knew that refusing to accept the duel was out of the question. Many also believed that the driving force behind Lincoln accepting the duel was to impress Mary Todd, who he was courting at the time.

Lincoln Sets the Parameters of the Duel

Due to the fact that Lincoln was the one who had been challenged to the duel, tradition gave him the privilege of choosing the time and location of the duel, as well as the weapons that were to be used. Being a man of humor and wit, and having no desire to kill Shields, or allow himself to be killed; Lincoln put together the most ridiculous set of circumstances that he could think of regarding the logistics of the upcoming duel.

Lincoln stated that the duel would be held on an island in the river near the city of Alton, IL. Some historians believe that it was Sunflower Island, while others believe it was Bloody Island. Bloody Island had long been a popular dueling spot because it was in the middle of the river and was claimed by Missouri where dueling was still legal. Either island would have allowed them to escape any legal implications.

Lincoln stated that the weapons he wished to use would be “Cavalry Broadswords of the largest size”. He figured that he could easily disarm Shields using the swords, whereas pistols would most likely lead to one of their deaths, if not both. He also added that he wanted the duel to be carried out in a pit 10 feet wide by 12 feet deep with a large wooden plank dividing the square in which no man was allowed to step foot over.

These “conditions” were designed not only to be ridiculous; but also to give Lincoln, who at 6’ 4” had longer legs and arms and towered over the much smaller Shields, a decided advantage. Lincoln hoped that these unorthodox conditions that gave him an almost unbeatable advantage would persuade Shields to withdraw the challenge and settle things in a more gentlemanly fashion.

Shields, however, was extremely stubborn and refused to yield despite the conditions that Lincoln had requested. He agreed to Lincoln’s conditions and no other negotiations were made. Much to Lincoln’s dismay, the two headed to the appointed island early in the morning on September 22 and prepared to do battle in their “Saber Duel”.

It All Comes to a Head

While their respective parties set up the dueling area, their “seconds” (friends of the duelers who handled negotiations and ensured that all of the conditions for the duel were met in accordance with the agreed upon terms) tried desperately to resolve the issue peacefully. Their pleas for a peaceful settlement began to sway the stubborn Shields as he began to realize that there was no way to win this duel against Lincoln if it was carried out.

At the last minute, Lincoln demonstrated his obvious physical advantage by hacking away at some of the branches of a nearby Willow tree. The branches were high off the ground and Shields could not hope to reach them; while Lincoln, with his long arms holding a long broadsword, could reach them with ease. This final display was enough to drive home the precarious situation that he was now in, and Shields agreed to settle their differences in a more peaceful way.

Their seconds began discussions and finally agreed that a note in which Lincoln admitted authorship of the letter and asserted that he “had no intention of injuring your (Shields) personal or private character or standing as a man or gentleman” would satisfy the honor of both them. The two headed back to Alton with their entourage where a crowd of anxious people awaited on the banks of the river to find out what had happened. Several people screamed and one woman fainted when they spotted a corpse in one of the boats. The “corpse” turned out to be a large log with a red shirt draped over it. Someone had set up the deception just to get a reaction out of the awaiting audience. This led both Lincoln and Shields to laugh hysterically at the “corpse” as well as at just how absurd the events of this day had been.

The Effects of the Duel on Lincoln and our Nation

After the duel, both groups had the appropriate after parties and reflected on the fact they both could have met their ends because of a few sarcastic comments and hurt feelings. The two were civil with each other after this unfortunate incident and remained friends and political allies for the rest of their careers.

Lincoln was extremely embarrassed about the whole incident and refused to talk about it very often. Lincoln began to be more careful about what he wrote in letters and other papers, even those he wrote to his closest and most intimate friends. Never again did he so harshly use another person to try to further his political career, which would some day take him to the highest office in the land. In many ways, the duel prepared Lincoln for success as president. During his term, the country became engaged in the Civil War. Throughout that stressful time, Lincoln showed the same iron will and certainty of purpose that was evident during the duel.

It’s interesting to ponder what might have happened if the events of the duel had gone a bit differently. Shields went on to become a brigadier general of the Union army (nominated by Lincoln himself), and of course Lincoln became the President of the United States. If Lincoln had been killed in this duel, the entire course of the nation’s future may have been radically different. Scholars argue over Lincoln’s contributions and impact on our nation’s history all of the time, but most agree that Lincoln made a difference in the way our nation grew leading up to the Civil War, as well as throughout the Civil War until his death. Who knows what would be different today if Abraham Lincoln had died that fateful night on the island.

Further Reading:

- Civil War Times Magazine (February 2002 Issue)
- Haunted Alton by Troy Taylor (Available at Amazon.com)
- Lincoln’s Last Letters to Alton
- Lincoln’s Forgotten Duel at Illinois Periodicals Online

Bloody Hell.

Bloody Island was a sand bar in the Mississippi River, opposite St. Louis, Missouri, which became densely wooded and a rendezvous for duelists because it was considered "neutral" and not under Missouri or Illinois control.

Appearing first above water in 1798 its continuous growth menaced the harbor of Saint Louis. In 1837 Capt. Robert E. Lee, of U.S.A. Engineers, devised and established a system of dikes and dams that washed out the western channel and ultimately joined the island to the Illinois shore.

The south end of the island is now under the Poplar Street Bridge and is a train yard. Samuel Wiggins bought 800 acres around the island in the early 1800s and operated a ferry between East St. Louis and St. Louis (at one point using an 8-horse team on the ferry to provide the propulsion). The Wiggins Ferry Service would develop the train yards which in the 1870s carted train cars across the river one at a time until the Eads Bridge opened in 1879. The train yard is now owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis.

Among the duels:

• Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Lucas (twice) in 1817 - Benton had challenged Lucas to a duel after Lucas accused him of not having a right to vote because he had not paid his property tax. Lucas was shot in the throat and Benton was grazed in the knee in a duel at 30 feet. They repeated after Lucas healed at 10 feet. Lucas missed and Benton killed him.
• Joshua Barton and Thomas C. Rector - June 30, 1823 - Barton was the first Missouri Secretary of State and a St. Louis federal district attorney and brother of Senator David Barton. The Senator was critical of reappointing Rector's brother William Rector to the surveyor general position in regards to the survey of the Louisiana Purchase territory. Joshua published the charges in the St. Louis Republican and was challenged by Thomas. Barton was killed and Rector escaped unhurt. Thomas would die two years later in a knife fight. President James Madison would not reappoint William Rector.^[1] Barton had been Lucas' second in his two duels with Senator Benton.

• Thomas Biddle and Spencer Darwin Pettis on August 26, 1831. Biddle challenged Pettis because of Pettis's complaints against Biddle's brother Nicholas Biddle who was president of the United States Bank. They fired at five feet and both were killed.
• Benjamin Gratz Brown and Thomas C. Reynolds on August 26, 1856. Brown at the time was editor of the St. Louis Democrat and Reynolds was district attorney. Brown favored emancipation and Reynolds opposed it. Reynolds challenged Brown. Brown was shot in the leg and limped for the rest of his life. Reynolds was not hurt. The duel was called the "Duel of the Governors" because Reynolds would become the state's Confederate Governor and Brown would be elected Governor after the war.

[edit] Sources

• Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
• Missouri of State history of the duels
• Details on the formation and elimination of Bloody Island from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

IVAN O

Help Us Mr. Knight.

Crime

East St. Louis has one of the highest crime rates in the United States. According to FBI's data of 2006, its murder rate hit 83.8 per population of 100,000, surpassing that of cities such as Compton, California (40.4 per pop. 100,000), Gary, Indiana (48.3 per pop. 100,000), New Orleans, Louisiana (37.6 per pop. 100,000), Richmond, Virginia (38.8), Baltimore, Maryland (43.3), Camden, New Jersey (40.0), Detroit, Michigan (47.3), and Washington, D.C. (29.1), as well as that of its neighbor St. Louis (37.2). FBI data also shows East St. Louis' high rate of rape, which exceeded 250 per population of 100,000.

East Saint Louis and Opa Locka, Florida have the highest crime rates in the United States (Opa Locka had the absolute highest crime rate in 2003 and 2004 for cities of any population.)

The following table shows East St. Louis' crime rate in 6 crimes that Morgan Quitno uses for their calculation for "America's most dangerous cities" ranking, in comparison to the national average:^[8] Year: 2006 number of crimes per 100,000.

Crime	East Saint Louis	National Average
Murder	83.8	6.9
Rape	251.3	32.2
Robbery	1,347.0	195.4
Assault	5,847.3	340.1
Burglary	2,442.8	814.5
Automobile Theft	2,067.5	526.5

East St. Louis

One of the highlights of the city's waterfront is the Gateway Geyser, the tallest fountain in the United States. Designed to complement the Gateway Arch across the river in St. Louis, it raises water to a height of 630 feet, the same height as the arch. It is part of the redevelopment of the waterfront.

Before Gordon Bush was elected mayor in 1991, the state imposed a financial advisory board to manage the city in exchange for a financial bailout. State legislative approval in 1990 of riverboat gambling and the installation of the Casino Queen riverboat casino provided the first new source of income for the city in nearly 30 years.

The city, now small in terms of population, is still one of the prime examples of drastic urban blight in the country. Sections of "urban prairie" can be found where vacant buildings were torn down and whole blocks became overgrown with vegetation. Additionally, white people have massively moved away from the city, a phenomenon known as White Flight that has affected the whole of Greater St. Louis, including St. Louis proper and Metro-East, among other big cities of the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_St._Louis

Ivan o

Um... Maybe interesting?

Well, they are planning to revitalize that Arch grounds within the next year.

Here's the link:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTokzO0QGNTTP_MMKCvoJAdk-bagD93VMQ800

Tom has made it, he has his own doll!!! With underpants. And Utility Belt.

British Install.

Just finished my cast in place Final Project in the sunny South of England. Check It. It may be too Crafty.

With all this Laz - Cutting and Digital Modelling we may have to employ this geezer to help us build our Model. Nice Tools.

base info

I put together a diagram of the bases so we can use the materials in the most efficient way. I taped the diagram to the whiteboard in studio but I may make a digital one and amend this post with it later.

Basically it says this:

-The entire model will be divided into 4 smaller models that represent a quadrant.

-Quadrant=60"x56". Half (east and west)=60"x112"

-Chipboard=28"x44"
--We will need to crop all 16 base sheets that cover the foamcore to 30"x28" so as to have 4 equal pieces within each quadrant.

-Foam core=20"x30"
--We will need to crop only 8 sheets of foam core to 16"x30".

As a side note, the chipboard cropping will leave us with 16-14"x28" sheets (of one-ply, i think). just a heads up in case we can use those to print other stuff on.

Tonight I am going to print out the model on tabloid to use as a guide for laying down the blocks.

cool thanks,
maya

More Websites-Photos of Northside St. Louis and East St. Louis

Here are some other websites:

The first is of the northside of St. Louis
http://www.flickr.com/photos/repowers/sets/72157605041101638/show/

East St. Louis
http://www.builtstlouis.net/eaststlouis/intro.html

Links for the City of St. Louis

Here are some links that provide history for the city of St. Louis.

http://stlouis.missouri.org/about/history.html

http://stlouis.missouri.org/heritage/History69/index.html

http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/heritage/index.htm

More to follow....hopefully....I have a pretty bad case of nurbs right now so outlook is not optimal...

Unfolding Plugin and Tutorial

http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2007/08/plugin-unfoldrb.html

pan-o-rama

check out this view of the skyline from our site
also, the Saarinen arch casts a huge shadow over the east coast of the Missouri

Hello Dave.

Check Out The Land Usage to the North East of the Site. Crazy.

A bit of inspiration:

St. Loius Official

Incorporated November 9, 1809