Mediocrity

From McDonalds to dreadful cardboard homes, why are we so fond of mediocrity? Why do we all watch Hollywood films when there are more thoughtful and beautiful (not to mention original) films available to watch? Are we just too bloody lazy? Why do people buy grey box PC’s when there are gorgeously designed Mac computers waiting to be cherished (slight bias admitted)?
A UK survey a couple of years ago by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) showed that what the average UK resident wished to live in was a bungalow with a bit of garden all around it. Not only is this impractical for a country as overcrowded as the UK, where city living is becoming increasingly popular, but it is incredibly mediocre. There is wonderful architecture in the domestic domain, of all styles, so why don’t people demand more? Are we really so dreadfully umambitious? The answer can only be yes. The average UK resident is so tired after working longer hours than anyone else in Europe, so mind numbed after watching hours of junk TV, that they simply lack the mental capacity to wish for more, let alone demand it.
Good design enhances our lives in all ways. It not only makes life easier on the eye, it makes life easier. Remember that what you are getting is houses designed for nowhere, built everywhere. Can that really be any good? Demand more.

Cosmic

New Zealand is a wonderful place to watch the night sky. The air is unfeasibly clean and the background light pollution levels are so low that even in a town, the stars can be seen clearly all the way down to the horizon.
We all know that the light from the stars has travelled for thousands of years before reaching our eyes. The current state of the night sky will inevietably be different from that which we see, as the universe continues to expand and some stars die whilst others are born. So what happens when the expansion reaches it’s limit and according to some theories begins to contract? Some would have us believe that time will begin to run backwards at this point. Will we all get to live our lives again, but in reverse? When all the matter has gathered again, will it reach a critical mass and “big bang” again? Should this be the case, will everything happen all over again, exactly the same, or will chaos theory throw a flapping butterfly in the works?
Anyway, what is outside the universe? If it is nothingness, how does it differ from the nothingness within the universe? How are the boundaries of the universe defined? I know enough physics to know my quantum theory from my Newtonian, but not enough for string theory (well, only the basic premise). But cosmologically speaking, I know nothing. Why isn’t everyone in New Zealand a cosmologist? The questions are there, bright as, every clear night. Ask more.