To prepare this talk, I opened the Petit Robert, and I read, at the entry “aesthetic” and the beginning of the following definition: “science of beauty …” I immediately stopped my reading, because only in these three words make clear enough the imposture of Aesthetics, which I believe, for my part, as the false science of a false object.
False object, because what we call “beauty” is absolutely scientifically unsuitable: we speaks of a beautiful poem, a beautiful car, a nice gesture, a beautiful sunset, etc. This does not mean at all that there is no reflection on what is beautiful, but today I reject the consideration of this issue to speak only of the aesthetics as false science. Why a false science? Simply because aesthetics explains nothing just as arts. We immediately returned to the question: what is it to explain? And it is this question that I will start by answering.
You may know that there are two main explanatory perspectives: to explain it always returns to a phenomenon in principle, but principle -be careful here- is to be understood as a logically model and a chronologically contemporary antecedent phenomenon observed, either as an origin, a principle logically similar to the observed phenomenon, but chronologically earlier than him. I will immediately give you an example. Consider a bird perched on a branch. Suddenly, hop! He is gone. Well, the explanation is twofold. First explanation: why this bird has flown away? Because he heard the sound of a gunshot. Why has he heard a gunshot? Because Mr. Smith went out hunting. Why Mr. Smith has he gone hunting? Because he was fed up of his wife’s complains. (And you realize that we may well go back to the original domestic scene -this is the case to say! –the one of Adam and Eve). Second explanation why the bird has flown away? Because he is capable of flight. Why is he capable of flight? Because he has wings. Why does he have wings? Because he must ensure sustenance in the air. Why should he sustain them in the air? Because, given the gravity and density of the air…etc… So, first, the explanation has a chronological priority from the origin explanation which is by the logical antecedent model.
However, I will, first speak about art, the explanation by it origin. In a second time, I will talk about, in the same area of course, the explanation of model. And I will conclude by offering some thoughts. So, first, the explanation by it origin.
What has given this explanation by origin in our faculties of letters? History of art. What that means, except that it only adds obscurity to another? Indeed, the history of art explains nothing, for two reasons. The first is that this discipline has been unable to distinguish art (singular) and styles (plural), as when we say: “Roman style”, “Gothic style,” “Baroque style” etc. The second reason is that without having a proper theory of history that would clarify it, for example, concepts such as interaction, interference, influence, loan…it turns to the chronological catalog. You see that everything can be blamed for the History of Art, because it defines neither art nor history. This must be done! Knowing that it does not define anything, we understand that it is doomed to a totally useless encyclopedia.
Similarly, if you open a “History of Literature,” as large as it is, you will learn nothing about what some call the “literariness” No more than if you open a “History of Religions…” Look, I have a very good friend (she may be here tonight), who wants to read from beginning to end an enormous work of Mircea Eliade entitled History of beliefs and religious ideas. Obviously, she reached an age where these questions start to work on her! But then there! The book covers in two or three thousand pages, the whole world (I mean the whole world), since the “Stone Age” to today. This is an erudite work: this guy knows everything! Absolutely everything! So I told her: “But my poor dear, before you finish reading that thing, you are no longer of this world! Rather read one or two letters of Mother Teresa that have been translated into English”. Nothing to do. She objected me: “I am learning”. And that is what I want! I bet my bottom dollar that she will never know what a belief or an idea is (religious or not, it does not matter here.)
Let us return to our business. What is, however, interesting in the schools of letters, is the training received by the “art” students (that is relatively new). What does the expression, that the schools of letters have finally admitted that “All the same, in art, there is a little technical, a little manipulation, it should not be forgotten,” etc.? Under these conditions, you see that the existence of “art” is a sign of repentance so that clears a few teachers of Art History and Aesthetics of teachers to neglect the art. And then they have to take into account at least a little of “manipulations” to train those in my time we called drawing teachers. It is nevertheless true that training in art remains a poor relation, because as you all know, what matters in France at least, it is the bullshit.
More you spiel, the more you climb of steps on Jacob’s ladder of grades and treatments! While down there (we almost forget!) there are the Artists. They are not very troubles because they do not know cause any. And it is true: the experience taught me. When I was a young adult, Aimé Maeght had some interest in me because I made a few scribbles, and he presented me in his gallery, I met Giacometti, Miro, and Braque (and so on). Well, you can not imagine the intellectual idiocy of these people! Sad, but quite normal: cause of their art is not their thing. They do, and that, believe me, it is a sacred ball game (and then not given to everyone). What I just wanted to tell you is that there are people, like artists, with who do far exceeds the ability to explain what they do, and they do it very well. In other words, this is not because someone is not able to explain what he does (he will be a very bad teacher!) He can not show you how he does it. That is why, in my time, when speaking to an artist, they said, “Master.” It was not at all flattery: he was called “Master” as in corporatism; they spoke of “master craftsman.” Well, what did this master do? He showed in silence to his companions, what he knew to do, and they gradually “learner,” I mean they “took” from the master their practice.
So, the more bullshit, the higher we go up. Artists are down (Oh, if we could do without it!). At the level just above artists, you have the plastics, causing still a little. But as they work, so they tend to talk about what they do, too. A level above, there are the historians of art, who do nothing but talk, and the climax is what I would call the “Transcendental Aesthetic” in Malraux. Here we are in full nirvana is the mystical delirium, that is to say that completely derailed. And that, in general, for philosophers, who are the virtuous of this kind of sport.
And now for the explanation of “literary” by its origin. I turn now to the model of explanation. Here, I would be much shorter. Why? Because no thinker, never modeled, if only a small field of art… Except one! Believe me, I have read a lot about art (too much, indeed!). Well, the only book of Aesthetics that really made a difference to me, is the work of Pierre Schaeffer, a Polytechnic student (not a chance!), who has devoted his entire life trying to model; I mean to propose a scientific theory of music. He died like ten years ago, and his book, the first edition, in Seoul in 1966, entitled Treatise on musical objects. Well, what is needed here is to arrive to talk about a painting, for example, in terms as precise and technical than those used by Schaeffer to talk about music. Everything, absolutely everything, is to do! It should even begin to acquire or build, imagine a totally new vocabulary to talk scientifically not only about music, but also painting, dance, sculpture, etc. We are facing an absolutely colossal task, and may raise generations and generations of researchers! I used the phrase “scientifically speaking” to mean what? Simply what is known in science as the “nature” of theory. What is a theory? To see clearly, neither more nor less. You may know that the word “theory” comes from a Greek word theamai that means “see” and that given in English, the word “theater” (theatron in Greek).
That said, I come to the third part of my presentation, namely the one I will suggest some ways forward. I leave a note on the fundamentally abstract art. Usually, they speak of abstraction in terms of cognition (logos.) But what we must understand is that abstraction is not a matter of logic: it is a matter of technique. There would be no art if we did not have the technical ability of abstraction, and that is why all art is abstract. The “concrete art” does not exist, so there is no more “concrete music” than there is “concrete dance” and “concrete painting”, etc. Plato, Kant and Hegel had indeed found that art is abstract: they bound to the intelligible, and they were absolutely right. But the trouble is that, for them, the intelligible was the logos, that is to say the word, language, or the trial. Automatically, this reduction due to the logos has gone astray because they do not understand that there is in man a technical rationality. So it is not worth to read them!
To explore the abstract nature of art, it is better to study the drawings of children in a kinder garden class. But for that one that is interested in this child’s drawing, it took the venting process of painting done by the Surrealists to say this time of the modern art when art was no longer subservient to the resemblance. This has freed everyone. But what should grasp is why the kid’s drawing is necessarily and immediately, spontaneously, abstract. But as it does not give the ability to ignore the child, refuses to believe that it is rational and verbally and technically. Personally, I think we should consider the child’s drawing to study from life, technique abstraction. But for that it must make its production an object of study and not an object of admiration. We all tend, insofar as they are our little darlings who do this to save the museum. Even in schools, the masterpieces can be visited. It is the “gallery!” And I compare readily the child’s drawing of the cartoon. It said: “The cartoon? Minor art!. Absolutely not! The caricature drawing as a child, means a hell of analysis! Analysis of what? Everything that is there, and there are theories to the issue. But you quite realize the abstraction of caricature. A caricature is almost as abstract as a painting the Mona Lisa, which is perhaps in any Western painting, the height of abstraction!
Of course, we must go much further. When, for example, a mathematician sees an apple what attract his attention? The geometry of the sphere. But it is also what interests Cézanne! I mean that abstraction is exactly the same. The mathematician and the artist do not address the sphere of the same way, of course, but they are also abstract. Another example, take the high fashion. When you see a parade of models, you say: “It is not possible! No women will wear that! This is not done! It means that the eye of big fashion -Christian Lacroix, for example -is a geometric look exactly like the eye of the artist. What he captures in there, this is not the woman he could not care. A Dress Made by an artist in high fashion is not meant to be worn, as well as Cézanne’s apples are not made to be eaten. What interests Christian Lacroix is a geometric body, just as in architecture, we have a geometric habitat. Besides, is it a coincidence that “habit” and “habitat” are two words very related? (There is certainly no coincidence that the Latin word habitus, meaning “way of being,”) In short, the dress in “haute couture” and the Parthenon, is strictly the same thing! With Gagnepain, called “figure” almost geometric sense, these two types of art.
But this art abstraction is evident not only in technical rationality terms but also in rationality verbal terms . Thus, just as Cézanne’s apples are not made to be eaten, and the dress by Christian Lacroix, as it is an art, not made to be worn, so the message report called the poem is not to say something (example: “Honey, can you pass me the bread?.”) The poem is, basically talking without saying anything, since the message is taking he to be, just as in the figure, the path (or, if you want the gesture) is taken him to be. That is what showed in my opinion and definitely a great linguist, I am referring to Roman Jacobson. In his famous tests of general linguistics, published, also in 1966, analyzing the various “functions” of language, Jacobson makes room to participate in the “poetic function” as it defines how the message has “return to the message:” “The sight (Einstellung) of the message as such, the focus on the message for its own account, is what characterizes the “poetic function.” What does this mean? Jacobson takes an illustration the political slogan: I like Ike (Ike is the nickname of Eisenhower, presidential candidate of his country). You see clearly that the “poetic function” of Jacobson defines the method of producing a message that is also a quote to him, the concepts of rhyme and rhythm. In other words, a poem, phonologically (in the guise of sound) or semi logically (under the aspect of meaning) is a refrain and a cover. And this revival is the fact that the poem has to say, poetically, that is to say as it is Art, is nothing other than what it is. The poem gives us its own law. If I tell you:
“In Paris
On a gray horse
In Nevers
On a horse…?
…Green, of course! You have no more choice than Max Jacob had. That is what we call “inspiration.” You see it is quite simple: “In Paris …”
In short, you can say now that a poem is the linguistic structure is itself the object. This makes the importance of prosody (metrical verse, melody, rhythm, etc.) There is no question of talking to eye on the “final without end,” the “useful or pleasant,” the purging of the passions and the devil and all his train. You tell me that it is formal art. Of course it is a technicality, since the language is taking him to be not said! And just for music. I will tell you a true story from the life of Bach. One evening, Bach was playing a sonata in the living room of a German baroness as there are many. When he had finished interpreting his composition: “Ah! Master! It is wonderful!… But what did you wanted to say? Then Bach moved again to the keyboard, and replays his sonata. And when he had finished: “That, dear Baroness, which is what I meant.” It is, nonetheless, pretty darn interesting! This means simply that music, like poetry, works in closed circuit, and thus nothing can be “translated” as they say, nothing can “mirror” itself. His motto is: “My end is my beginning.” That is, if you want the snake biting its tail. Basically, the art factory that manufactures a point, that’s all.
So the figure in terms of technical rationality, is the equivalent of poem, in terms of verbal rationality. But this does not stop there, it also applies in terms of social rationality, as usual, is taking himself to be, its ceremonial, as also, finally, in terms of rational ethics, which behavior, is taking itself to be, its feat. It is here, complete what I told you some time ago about the “set” (as defined Gagnepain, this time) of the cultural dialectic, the tendency of any reinvestment of abstraction in favor, antagonistically or pole (structural) of abstraction, is the natural hub, what is still called “concrete.” Well, we must add a third referred Poem…, figure, ceremony and match achievement (in rhetoric, industry, politics and morality) in a performance endocentric (word coined from the Greek prefix endo-, meaning “in” and used to form the “endogenous” “endocardium,” “endoscopy,” etc.) that is to say, in a performance in which rationality is involved not in the outside world (it would be referred to something exocentric,) but inside (endo-) itself. You see, from the inability to avoid neologisms: new object to, new language. As I said, the snake biting its tail. But this is no way to be empty, because every time the process takes himself to be the poem is not empty: the message is full of itself, the figure is not empty, the book is full of itself, the ceremony is not empty, that use is full of itself, and finally the exploit is not empty, it is full of moral behavior in itself. In all these cases, the important thing is to understand that the aesthetic is, on every level, partly as other targeted, performance, but it characterizes the performance as it is still once endocentric.
And I would add that, of course, this is referred endocentric absolutely incompatible with the other two mentioned that they are exocentric: the poem is a poem in that it refrains (referred endocentric), it did not stop to say something (referred exocentric). It may be technically columns (referred exocentric), then these columns do young women called caryatids (referred endocentric) as the Greeks have done in this monument is located on the Acropolis of Athens and the called the Erechtéïon. Laying the foundation stone of a building can be a ceremony (referred endocentric) and be at the same time, a conspiratorial act done for the monument in question would collapse not (referred exocentric). Finally, you can do, without even suspecting it, the feat of beating the record of France’s one hundred meters (referred endocentric) just to catch your bus!
However, to remain in the kingdom of art, if you give this concept is a scope large enough (figure in the art of dance or figure skating, but also in the gymnastics ground, compulsory figures or figures free, etc.) you will see that this definition of art as the product of self-reference of a dialectical process of technical abstraction (I weigh each of my words), applies to all arts! I say absolutely everyone, from dance to the culinary arts, from architecture, sculpture, caricature, etc. I’m absolutely serious: take the time to think about giving you, yourself, some examples, you will see! It works! And if “it works” is that our hypothetical-deductive method is corroborated by the comings and goings between the observation of concrete and the theoretical hypothesis. Thus our theoretical position receives, not (yet) its clinical audit, but its validation. We have no access to proper scientific truth, however precarious and provisional as it is, but a proposal generally used in an explanatory model that is not built for the needs of a particular cause, but still operating in any similar occasion (if it was not the case, it would change the model, no more, no less).
In these conditions what would it be a true Science of Art? It is about analyzing the technical analysis implicitly made by the artist. In other words, here again what we have to do is to analyze an analysis “in double” in the mathematical sense, somehow. This complicates things! We analyze the analyzer! Do you realize the enormous complexity of the case? You can imagine that we will take centuries and centuries to achieve something!
And that’s not all! To be truly a science, it is necessary an experimental verification of the model that I just outlined.
And the rest is literature!… I mean, the imposture of an imposture that is suitable, before any unmasking of the strongest, if we want to progress.
www.theory-mediation.com
Jean-Luc LAMOTTE, Anthropologist and essayist
Disciple of Jean Gagnepain, he published an Introduction in the Theory of the Mediation in the publishing De Boeck (2001), and contributes, at present, to spread the thought of the Master.
Teacher who has passed aggregation by classical literature, he taught at first the linguistics to the College of the Letters of Beirut (University of Lyon), then professed during ten years in preparatory classes in the entrance examinations of the superior teachers? training colleges (in Montpelier, then in Versailles).
His career led him, on the other hand, to put itself in the service of the distribution of our language and our culture abroad (Means-0rient, Morocco, the United Kingdom). He also had the honor to collaborate in the works of the service of the publications of the Acad
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at
2:20 am
Structural engineering is a field of civil engineering that involves the study of building safe and stable structures. The property of a structure being stable and secure is analyzed by structural civil engineers. Structural designing is a creative and complicated field that takes much proficiency and expertise to do site investigations and build structures on them.
It needs much of planning and strategic approach to build structures that are resistant to loads and external forces. A good building structure will always ensure integrity of building materials used and potential safety against sudden natural calamities. Every building structure has to go through the feasibility study of its suitability to build a structure on it. A civil engineer is responsible for this sensitive job of providing a feasible solution by doing site investigations and structural surveys to ensure the maximum stability of structure being made, they are also responsible for determining how energy, heat, and moisture will interact within the building and its materials.
While constructing a building many aspects are taken into consideration like load capacity, designing of columns, beams, floors, roofs, sewer drains and highways etc. Planning a design for all this is a complex job to do. Thus hiring an expert structural designer is a good decision. A civil structural engineer with experience, knowledge, and expertise will ease off your efforts to plan the design of the structure you want to build getting a feasible solution in terms of maximum stability, security and other factors that influence the strength of a building.
A structural engineer decides which construction technique should be used to provide an optimal design that is easy to implement and economic. Keeping in mind the safety measures of construction industry a good structural design engineer will save much of your efforts, money and ample of time. After the building is complete it is the job of a civil engineer to do the building survey and prepare subsidence and settlement reports if subjected to any cracks and construction faults.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
10:40 pm
Shopping around for a pool is unlike a routine buying experience. It’s contract work, so there are a ton of variables you will need to account for. Understanding that you are probably not in the capacity to do this yourself, I expect that swimming pool contractors will need to be contacted.
That being said, before you contact them, you might want to check out all of the local ones that are in your area, and see if you can dig into some research about them. Often, there are sites online that have reviews, or submitted comments about their work or a specific job.
Questions to Prepare for Your Swimming Pool Contractor
Before you hire, or even call your contractor up, try thinking like a construction worker yourself. Read up on how to build a pool. Take into account what kind of pool you have, and the local building codes in your area.
Look to your city’s web site to see what parameters you need to stay within or try looking around your neighborhood for neighbors you can ask who have a pool. Get to know their story and any obstacles they encountered and add those to the list of questions you can ask the swimming pool contractors you check through.
Some example questions to have ready are:
- What is the time table for completion (conservatively, think weather delays)
- Will other specialists be needed for landscaping or otherwise
- If subcontractors are being used, will they be as dependable
- Will cleanup be included after it’s done
In addition, figure out what kind of pool you intend to build. Some elaborate-style pools may not be in the repertoire of the contractor. So ask them if they have any specialty in specific pool style building.
Types of Pools to Ponder
The following are some of the most popular pool types. With the types of pools in mind, it’s good to paint a mental image of what you want and to visualize the pool in your yard and ask yourself if it would be feasible.
The regular “traditional” pool type is the Geometric Pool. This type of pool usually takes on shapes with straight lines that are a pretty even distance from centerline. The Lap Pool on the other hand is quite narrow and long, meant for exercise. The third type, a Diving Pool, is unique in that it has a significant deep end, around eight and a half feet deep or more.
The Play Pool is basically the opposite of the diving pool, where the whole pool is pretty even, not going any deeper than five and a half feet.
Some of the more unusual pools are Negative-edge pools and the Perimeter Overflow Pool. These last two play with horizon and water edge. They use optical illusion to make the perimeter of the pool or part of the pool edge look as it extends further by bringing the water level up to the edge covering the perimeter concrete. Check out some of these names via search engine online to get a rough idea and talk more with your swimming pool contractors.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
7:21 pm
It would be hard to envision that while standing on a cobbled patio on some plush hotel, Scottsdale 100 years ago would have been not much more than a few farmers’ orchards doted among the desert scrub, where the lizards and coyotes scampered about. Today the city has some of the most developed tracks of land that are commanding some of the highest land prices in the southwest. This article will go over how this, in a nutshell, came to be and the state of its current condition.
Early Development Highlights
For a city whose name originates from a retired U.S. Army Chaplain over 100 years ago, Winfried Scott, the town didn’t actually become a city until 1951. Water was key to vitalize the land as demonstrated by the native peoples. The old Chaplain took what irrigation genius the Hohokam natives had masterminded a few thousand years before and build his own irrigation design over it so the cotton and barley could take sprout in the ruddy soil.
Barley, cotton and oranges were about all there was for the first 50 years. No bronzed white haired golfing retirees were to be seen for some time. The land was uninviting as the Sonoran desert is to most man or animal, four-legged or otherwise, with it’s searing summer daytime temps. Irrigation was beginning to make it more hospitable for the farming community and soon after World War II the town became somewhat renowned for its heritage of old west. The Parada del Sol (walk in the sun) parade created a national buzz for being the longest horse drawn carriage parade worldwide. It developed into a bit of an artist’s township too. The famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright built one of his trademark nature-fused houses and the “Desert Camp” compound with flowing sand-dune inspired lines.
Of Water, Floods and Golf Course Links
So around the late fifties the place started booming. Life magazine even posted an article as Scottsdale being one of the most “desirable” communities in the west. The population took off and practically doubled within a decade.
Unfortunately a swollen river during flood times completely disrupted Scottsdale residents. It wasn’t much of a river for the most part, but more of a remnant of an ancient runoff that most believed happened only every 99 years. Residents at the time didn’t think much of it, even though the dry river bed cut the town in two sections. When the floods came uncharacteristically frequent during the 60s the city was crippled. The Army Corps of Engineers stepped in to build bridges as a means to restore arterial travel for residents. The city deliberated on what to do to route the flood waters and started with instead of a concrete trench like LA has, but by the planting of grass in the form of golf courses and parks in the lower part of the wash. It’s considered quite innovative to this day.
What city planners kind of stumbled on to was that, in the advent of this solution, it created a park and golf system that cut through the middle of the town, just as the dry river bed once had. This system of greenery made it more alluring to vacationers who only had a small jaunt from downtown to a golf course from their hotel. Scottsdale city caught a windfall of tax money from all the development and success from tourism and population jump. From there it has only grown larger and larger to the beautiful monstrosity it is today.
Scottsdale Luxury Suites (http://www.luxurysuites.com) provides easy arrangement to stay and vacation in Scottsdale. The Hotel Scottsdale is one such offering that puts you close to all of the action and sights in downtown Scottsdale. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
2:43 pm
Although elevators and ramps are sometimes used to connect different levels in homes, stadiums and theaters, stairs are the most common means of connecting one floor to another. And, although they can be useful and beautiful, staircases can also be dangerous; especially for elderly individuals.
A bad fall on flat surfaces can do its fair share of damage, but staircase falls are even more dangerous because you fall further and your body can bang into each step on the way down. Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed by stair accidents. If you have crowds, older family members or small children moving up and down your stairs, here are a few “steps” you can take to make their journey a little safer.
Non Slip Stair Treads
One way to decrease the number of slips on your stairs is to install non slip stair treads. Whether your stairs are made of concrete, wood, metal, marble or other smooth materials, non slip stair treads can increase the friction between the stair and the rubber soles and socks that your family wears. In addition to increasing your family’s safety, non slip stair treads will also protect the staircase itself and help it last longer. There are many different kinds of stair treads to choose from too which makes it easy to select treads with the right thickness, width, abrasive surfaces and color to best meet your needs.
Sturdy Handrails
Handrails are another great way to increase staircase safety. Make sure they are small enough to be gripped easily and that they are available on at least one (preferable) two sides of the staircase. Handrails provide added support that makes it easier to climb stairs. With handrails, both your arms and your legs share the work of getting to the top. In case of a fall, handrails also provide a great way to stop yourself.
Good Lighting
Lighting is important because it is easier to miss a step or trip over clutter when you can’t see where your feet are going. Lighting should be strong and available all along the stairs and there should be switches at both ends of the staircase. After all, it won’t be very useful to have lights all along the stairs if you can’t even turn them on until you’ve already gotten to the other end of the staircase.
If you must have carpet on your stairs instead of non slip stair treads, be sure that it is a tight woven brand because fluffy and thick rugs contribute to slipping and tripping. Make sure that the carpet is well-secured to the staircase as well. Otherwise, you’ll be taking a flying carpet ride with a very hard landing.
If you are looking for stair treads though, Amstep (http://www.amstep.com) is one of the leading stair tread providers in the U.S. Their non slip stair treads are so durable and reliable that they have been installed on U.S. aircraft carriers. The author, Art Gibb, is a freelance writer.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
10:21 am
It is true that Oklahoma has a long history of being pummeled year after year by volatile tornadoes, usually in the late spring or early summer, causing millions of dollars in damage to vehicles, aircraft, and Oklahoma real estate. The cost in casualties and injuries, however, is typically much lower than might be expected.
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but if you live in Oklahoma, April showers may bring tornadoes. Between 1950 and 1995 Oklahoma recorded 2,379 tornadoes of varying severity averaging fifty two tornadoes a year. The average cost in tornado damage to property and Oklahoma real estate a year is $23,221,264.
Tornadoes are one of nature’s most violent storms, and although tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, they occur most frequently in the central plains areas of the United States. A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction to everything unfortunate enough to by in their path including Oklahoma real estate, with wind speeds of 250 mph or more. Damage paths can be more than one mile wide and fifty miles long. Once a tornado in Broken Bow Oklahoma carried a motel sign thirty miles and dropped it in Arkansas!
On May 3, 1999 sixty six tornadoes broke out in Oklahoma and Kansas. The most significant tornado first touched down southwest of Chickasha Oklahoma and became an F5 (defined by winds 261-318 mph and damage including strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-enforced concrete structures badly damaged) before dissipating.
The tornado tore through Bridge Creek, Oklahoma and Moore, Oklahoma, causing $1.1 billion in damage to Oklahoma real estate. The F5 tornado was the deadliest (36 killed), costliest ($1 billion in damage), and most violent (first and only F5) tornado on record in Oklahoma. This tornado was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history.
However, despite all the frightening statistics and horror stories of loss and damage to Oklahoma real estate, scientists estimate that there is roughly only three chances in 1,000,000 of having your home flattened by the F4-F5 winds in a violent tornado. So if worries of tornadoes crushing your Oklahoma real estate investments keep you up at night, you can sleep easy.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
6:26 am
Learning to read is a large and difficult task, but children can learn the skill quicker when properly guided by caring teachers and parents. There are several components of guided reading. It is usually taught in a small group of three to six students and the teacher provides an introduction to the material, reading strategies and assistance when the children need it. After everyone has read through the material, the teacher also tries to elicit a response from the students by asking questions about the text or starting a discussion.
In addition to providing the one-on-one attention that students need as they learn to read, guided reading creates a comfortable team environment for learning and teaching. The whole process also teaches children how to approach an unfamiliar text, get through difficult sections and review the material at the end. This is a valuable skill in and of itself because they will need to learn how to select reading material and draw lessons out of what they read in the future.
Praise is an important part of guided reading because it balances out the correction and feedback that students receive. Being recognized and praised for their achievements also builds confidence and makes reading an enjoyable experience.
Before guided reading even begins, teachers, parents and students need to find good books at the appropriate reading level. After all, when the story is too difficult for children to read, it is easy for them to get confused and frustrated. They will also lose sight of the plot which makes reading more boring for beginners.
Guided reading is primarily used by teachers, but there are ways that parents can encourage children to develop their reading skills at home as well. For example, taking the time to read bedtime stories or and a couple small books during the day can make books more attractive to your child. Obviously, building a family library will make it easier for your children to access those books. If you can’t afford to stock a couple book shelves, libraries are still a great place to find the books your children love. It might not be as fast as finding literature online, but children appreciate holding concrete objects and looking at the colorful pictures in lower-level books.
Reading is a skill that children will use for the rest of their lives. It will impact their education, their opportunities and the enjoyment they find in literature. That is why the learning process is worth all the time and resources teachers and parents can afford to provide.
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at
2:18 am
If you live in Houston, Texas and are looking to change the surface look of a certain living area in your home, it is easy to redefine the look of your boring deck or outdoor space by adding the look of a fiberglass grating foundation. Fiberglass gratings can create variation in your overall outdoor design elements.
Fiberglass grating foundations can be used for a variety of purposes such as a welcoming addition to your deck or patio or even foundations for your child’s playground equipment.
Creating a combination of fiberglass grating foundations with wooden rails and trim is a great way to contrast your overall design look and feeling of your outdoor living area.
The climate of Houston, Texas is a combination of rain and humidity and it can definitely have its fair share of wear and tear on your outdoor deck and patio area. Hurricanes can also pass through Houston but typically do not take a direct hit. Pollution also takes the toll on outdoor wood items and furniture. With the implementation of fiberglass grating foundations in some or all of your outdoor living furniture and decks, you will create a surface area that will stand the test of time.
Fiberglass gratings are built to last especially in climate areas such as Houston Texas. They are the best choice in building foundations and structures that will last for years and will most likely live out their original owners.
Fiberglass gratings are also a great way to add flair to your deck and walkways in your home. Fiberglass foundations are laid down so that rain and water can easily flow in and out from between the grooves and holes in the fiberglass.
When you implement fiberglass gratings to your backyard living area, not only do you create an attractive area to entertain friends, family and guests you also make a space that is easy to clean up and easy to take care of. Aa simple wipe down is usually all this is required to keep your space clean and tidy, especially in areas of the country such as Houston, Texas.
Creating a playground platform with fiberglass gratings is a great way to have an area for children that is both functional and safe at the same time. The gratings provide a slight cushion as opposed to wood or concrete which could cause injury if a child was to fall.
Finding the right combination and look for your outdoor living area or play ground in Houston, Texas is easy when you combine your favorite decorative touch with the aid of fiberglass gratings.
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at
10:17 pm
House plans outline the design you need for building a home before construction even begins. They are useful for planning your space, setting a budget and scheduling construction. Most contemporary house designers use web resources in streamlining complex and attractive processes to make their house plans today. This offers a smart alternative to designing a house plan from scratch. Most plans show complete resources for a home building project. The services offered by house plan designers include customized home plans, land purchase, financing and exclusive architectural plans.
Contemporary architectural plans include a wide array of designs ranging from exaggerated or subtle historical plans to a stereotypical glass, steel and concrete looks. If one does not want to go for an ultra-modern house, there are various modern-inspired plans, which are not extreme in their look. One can also obtain a desired house plan from various websites on the internet displaying house plans for various types of houses. Searching through house plan websites can be an efficient and quick way of refining ideas for what one seeks for in a modern house plan.
The most imperative part of a house plan is outlining the house’s structure. When outlining, figure out how many rooms a house will have or if a basement is needed. Considerations for a pool, garage, or any other element have to be mapped on the outline. Subsequently, it is vital to map boundaries for every room indicating the square footage of the house. Label each room to show what it is, like kitchen or bedroom and depict major items such as bathroom tub, sinks by mapping them on the plan. Any features requiring additional work such as the fireplace should be contained in the plan. A house plan should clearly illustrate what a homeowner expects a finished house to look like. Additionally, it gives the building crew an idea on how to build a house.
House plans are a vital part of building houses. When making a house plan, consider the location, lifestyle, family size, environment and budget as well as space maximization, building materials, aesthetics and government laws. Though the plans may differ, they all have some basic elements in common that every homeowner should be familiar with in order to choose the best housing plans for the perfect home. The basic house plan elements should comprise of the main elements that a homeowner would like to see in their home. Little details can be added later when finalizing the house plan. Get a professional architect equipped with knowledge and expertise to outline the best house plan that meets your requirements.
One of the best resources you can use to view ready made house plans is The Plan Collection. Speed up the process of building by viewing their plans at http://www.theplancollection.com/. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.
