the garage a world of wonder

I never thought about looking at garages until reading this chapter. I found it so interesting that now thinking back to homes i've been to how many of them either have a garage that looks as though it is another room on their house versus my other friends homes whose garage is behind the house with a small strip of driveway leading to a free standing structure. Its interesting to look at the change of the garage from its original practical use for car storage and how it like a stable was away from the home and hidden in the back landscape of the home. However then the garages were added as a piece of the home structure. What I find interesting now is that garages more than just car storage structures but as Jackson touched on a place for many other things. Some garages are totally for storage. I know that my garage is solely for the storage of my dads motorcycle, lawnmower, snowblower, bicycles and many other assorted tools and orange out door extension cords. Also the Garage is a place to party, I can't tell you how many summer parties I've been too in which the garage was similar to the basement or the living room. It can hold a decent amount of people as well as its dirty proof being such a cement structure. It also is a man's space to work on his many mechanic like things. So many of my male friends at home have their sanctuaries in the garage. Its a common image, "where's dad?" "working in the garage" it is the place were men can be men with their power tools and head poked under the hood of their fast 69 mustang while ignoring every single word you say to them. Lastly the garage has become the entrance way to so many homes. When you are formally going into a home yes the front door is still the main way to enter a home however if you are driving over to you boyfriends home and are no longer really a guest it is common to go through the garage door. The garage entrance use is a symbolic way to tell you that you are no longer a formal guest in that home but rather a "regular" in that specific home. I know that my good friends mother gets really pissy if i use the front door and will actually yell at me if i don't come through the garage and always jokes "your no longer a special guest in this home come through the garage with the rest of the family" in some ways being allowed to go through the garage is like being inducted into a new family. Also random anecdote as a child the garage to me was a place to explore at my grandmothers there was always really great things to look through and play with even if we weren't suppose to. Not to mention a pretty large task when climbing through the mounds and mounds of junk just to get your bike out as you pull it through the garbage cans, six other bikes belonging to the other six grandchildren, and two scooters and being scared to death to look at the deer head in the eye in the back corner of the garage. The garage is a really interesting space with a rather very unique smell.

Suburbs

Suburbia is a promised land. A Land in which one can have their own space, home, community. The ideal of suburbia was never the actual out come. When looking at suburban communities it makes me laugh to read of the promises it was meant to give. Suburbia is a surreal attempt at creating a sense of environment. Yes some of us in suburbia have a yard but our yard is cut into a small square with bushes that are not natural but trimmed to frame the beautiful house that is built on the property. Is that really a natural setting of course not it is an attempt of man's triumph over nature. Ray and Shirley Tinkham’s idea of their new home is much different than today's Suburbanite experience. Yes it was a change from the farming ways of the old and the functionality of the home as well as a push to what we know about suburban living today. However there was still somewhat of a sense of the natural where as today suburbia is a gridded square piece of perfectly cut grass and perfectly hedged plant life with a boxed home looking similar usually to all the other homes on the block. I have a friend that lives in a development in the richer part of my home town and I always laugh when I drive in to her complex because if it was dark I would most likely pull into someone else's driveway because it looks as thought someone took a stamp of one type of home and just punched it over and over again into the landscape. There is no sense of individuality except maybe for a few coats of a different color shutter paint or maybe a rather creative landscaping job in the front yard. But in general there very few homes that are strikingly unlike the others were I am from.

Spring Break

Over Spring Break I was stuck in lovely Brockport for the American College Dance Festival. It is an annual event that brings school from all over the country to compete at a college level as well as a week long intensive to train from teachers from all over the world. Long Story short it was a rather intense Spring Break and UB is still ranked among the top Dance Programs in the Country! The most interesting part though about my trip even thought the dancing and class were incredible was how through Landscape I was able to learn more about my parents. Strange statement I know but Brockport is where my parents met the first day of freshman year. One of the days during my stay my parents came to visit me and show me around their college town. I spent the day looking at every house, restaurant, and shop that meant something to my parents. The craziest part is they all still exist. I was even brought into a store that my dad bought my mom's first piece of jewelry from and the owner is still the same lady who went to school with them that owned it when they shopped there. I know have a great ring from there. What was so great about this experience was that I realized landscape is not just important to historical concepts but it all defines so much of personal history. Its incredible how much what we know and remember is made up by the landscape around us.

Sight seeing in Two very different settings

It interesting to look at the different perspectives of traveling in the U.S versus traveling in Europe. The similarity as I would guess you could find whenever your are traveling is the importance of touring areas of great importance. If you were traveling to the U.S depending on what section ( since we don't have the convenience of the train system like Europe) you would be going to visit places like New York City, Washington D.C, Maybe Florida/Disney world, Niagara falls, Vegas, places in California, The grand canyon and so on and so fourth. In Europe as well your going to want to visit the basics, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam , Venice, London etc. because all of those places hold a great deal of historical importance as well as almost a packaged deal of each specific culture. They are cultural focal points to visit. However, the difference in between American Vacations and European vacations are that when looking at the packages for Europe there are greater instances of small village feel tours where you get a some what real idea of the old world culture. The ability to visit places that aren't as monumental like the cities named above is a lot more prevalent then in the United States. No one from Europe really is interested in visiting a small little southern town to get a feel for the American South or Visiting a small mountain top town in Colorado. However an American in lets say Italy would be very inclined to visit a small village outside of Venice to get a deeper cultural feel. This may have a lot to do with the American Culture and how diverse it is on the whole as the say we are a melting pot there fore it would take forever to get a feel for all sorts of American ideals. However in Europe there are still pieces of the old world that hold true. Over all places in Europe tend to be breath taking to American where as if you stumble across certain cities/ towns in America I have a feeling the vacationer would not be so happy with paying for what they were seeing.

Hopefully I will be able to experience Europe soon enough :-)

Seeing Buffalo in a New Light

A friend of mine/ a native buffalonian took me around buffalo to see some of the places we talked about in class Sadly I forgot to bring my camera. There is such a beauty in the old run down ways of the city of buffalo. It gives an erring feeling of greatness lost and its hidden powers that once existed. Seeing the places we talked about in person gave me a new insight into looking at them it was an incredible experience. I love to drive around and explore places that are new to me (even though I have been living in Buffalo for 4 years now) there is so much I am excluded from for being solely and University Student but this drive last night allowed me to feel closer to buffalo and it makes me feel deeply connected to it. There is a feeling buffalo gives me that I never can get from when I am in Rochester. I also was able to venture to the outskirts of Hamburg and found myself on a winterized beach over looking the city skyline. From afar the beauty of the city was breath taking the view made me gasp a little or maybe it was the frigid cold. However standing looking out across lake Erie under a night sky surrounded by snow covered dunes allowed me to connect with a Landscape that has now become home to me.


Pictures soon to follow......

Greco-Roman Architecture

When thinking about Greco-Roman architectures in America I think of two things. Greek Restaurants and the Jefferson Monument. However looking deeper that is a great deal of the Greek and the Roman among us. Looking at UB their are the broken columns at Baird Point. Do the serve a purpose other than a fun place to dance and eat a nice lunch in the spring. No not really but it gives the campus an ideal of learning in the classical way of the Greeks and romans. Also many important building give a sense of Greek and Roman architecture to show a sense of justice and idea of the purest republic. City hall in buffalo's entrance way is the front of the Parthenon without question. The use of Greek and Roman architectural designs just gives the sense that as Americans were hold a sense of the ideal Roman and Greek values and education. To show importance, Justice and educational excellence important buildings are built to look like important buildings of the classic world. Also its interesting to look at certain homes that are built with a classic world feel . I found a home in Saratoga (last picture) that has the classic Greco- roman feel which also made me realized that so many homes are like this but yet it seems to American and normal when in reality it makes me laugh to think people live in mini temples.

Road Trip

I was in Pittsburgh this weekend for an audition and during the car ride a bunch of us were discussing the landscape of Pittsburgh and its outskirts. Its funny that the three things you will find there are bridges, hills and car dealerships. A friend of mine had made that joke before leaving on this little road trip but in fact thats what surrounds the outskirts. Its also interesting to take a look on how the homes are just stuck into the landscape as if inserted into the side of large hills. I was looking out of the window during the drive into actual Pittsburgh specifically Point Park University and the homes looked as though they were cascading down the large hills that made up the landscape. Its not the kind of driving for the easily car sick the roads are up and down and a rather steep up and down. Also in the car ride we got into a discussion about tunnels because one of the girls in the car had never driven in a tunnel before. It got me thinking about how many things we drive through or on that I never think of but are different in other parts of the U.S. Then it made me think to go or leave from Webster I drive on a bridge over water every single day. How many people never drive on bridges except when outside of their living areas on trips and such. Its so strange what we never really think about when it comes to the landscape we are used to until we are placed into another unfamiliar place. ps. Sheets = the best gas station ever thank you Pennsylvania.