Burn Baby Burn - Delft University Architecture Building in Ashes

(photo:geenstijl)

"La vie est une tragédie pour celui qui sent, et une comédie pour celui qui pense"
-Horace Walpole, Jean de La Bruyère or ?

Conflicting reports on the cause of a fire today that burned down the Architectural Studies Building at the Technical University in Delft.

Some say it was due to a leaking water pipe (?do they mean non-functioning sprinklers?) or a short circuit in a coffee pot. The irony of the architectural studies building burning due to a construction flaw is not lost on commentators like GeenStijl.

"Class, we're going to have a new assignment for this semester, starting today..."

Apparently there was also asbestos released when the building burned and partially collapsed. Asbestos: cancer-causing, but apparently ineffective when put to the test.

I might add that the building didn't exactly appear to be an innovative structure itself. I'm thinking that it might have come from what Bill Bryson termed the "fuck you school of architecture" _ but that's irrelevant.

On the tragic side, there are also reports that the building housed (one of) Europe's largest architectural libraries, not to mention furnishings designed by Gerrit Rietveld.
(creative commons, from wikipedia)

NOS had some pretty sad images of a woman who apparently lost her life's work sobbing outside the building.

De Telegraaf has footage of the building burning, for those who like to watch things burn.


I used to joke with a co-worker that "Grote Brand" is one of the most ridiculous headlines imaginable. All fires look big when you're up close, and the fact that a the fire itself is being reported, not the body count, tells you that it's probably a non-story.

But a fire always makes for good pictures.

In fact there was another "Grote Brand" today in the Eastern city of Enschede (on the anniversary of a fireworks disaster that killed 22 people on May 13, 2000 _ a weird coincidence).

(gs)

"I call architecture frozen music"
-Goethe

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't Zandt pyromaniac / We didn't start the fire

(philippe bunge)

I'm usually not a big one for media criticism, because _ well, because of the famous relationship between glass houses & stones.

But today I wanted to make an exception. Here are three headlines from the Dutch news about the arrest of a suspect in 18 arsons in a podunk town up north called "'t Zandt." Nobody has been hurt, by the way, but the hunt for the culprit has been a top ten story in Dutch press for a month now.

Dutchies: Spot the hidden assumption....

105 Teletekst wo 19 dec
***************************************
Pyromaan van 't Zandt aangehouden

***************************************
=Pyromaniac from 't Zandt arrested

RTL Nieuws
't Zandt opgelucht na arrestatie pyromaan
='t Zandt relieved after arrest of pyromaniac

And just in case you thought I was a completely uncritical fan of GeenStijl, I have to say I object to their approach:

Is dit de pyromaan uit het 't Zandt?
=Is this the pyromaniac from 't Zandt?

Now, while I am all for naming suspects when they can be identified (and not just using their initials as per Dutch media rules) I am firmly opposed to convicting suspects in the headline!
Maybe this guy will turn out to be guilty _ but it's a little early, folks.

The GeenStijl tack is especially weak because they're trying to dodge responsibility for calling him a 'pyromaniac' by merely phrasing it as a question _ and then then they link to a broadcast in which the suspect is shown, with his full name printed.

I mean, either I.D. him or don't. This is not the bold GeenStijl we know and love.

(ben morson)



For balance, an English language story that I saw on Google's most popular that made my toenails flip backwards.

(CNN) -- Parents are struggling with what to tell their children after finding out that Britney Spears' younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, is pregnant.

Attn: CNN: on behalf of at least some parents, and I'm pretty sure most parents, I'd like to say:

"Wij ons niet herkennen in dit verhal"

That means, this doesn't really apply, since neither me or my kids knew of the existence of someone called Jamie Lynn Spears, nor her pregnancy, until seeing this story.
Now that I know, I'm not really struggling with how to tell my children. I'm perfectly content not to tell them. I suppose that on the off chance they asked me about it, I'd say: Jamie Lynn Spears had sex, and didn't use birth control, or didn't use it correctly.

Any other questions, kids?


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LAAF - Liberation Army Against Freedom (and safe fireworks)

(photo:lush.i.ous)

**UPDATE** if you want more of the backstory on these vids, check The Guardian's Christmas Eve story.
They were created by Amsterdam ad firm Selmore.



This is part of the Dutch government's safety campaign for fireworks this year. I must be in some kind of politically correct mode after all the Zwarte Piet stuff because my first reaction was that it's offensive.

On second thought, I realized that it's hilarious. Who does it actually insult? Al-Qaida? Ah, let 'em talk.

The Arabic (apparently) contains safety reminders, including that all fireworks are explosives.

The final gag is the guy starts shooting off his gun in excitement and the other guy tells him, 'yo, man, relax!'

Amen say I to that fair prayer.



The Dutch have a long tradition with fireworks disasters, and a long tradition with surprising safety advertisements.

The one that shocked me most was the year that they did a countdown with people who had lost varying numbers of fingers in fireworks explosions, holding up their maimed hands.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1!

Gruesome, but riveting.

Funny:



Gruesome, 1994 Ad (not for the faint of heart):



The slogan "je bent een rund, als je met vuurwerk stunt," became a classic. How to translate?

"Only dicks try firework tricks."

This ad from 1999 has an unexpected punchline:



"Gentlemen, never carry fireworks in your pocket."

The ads all target young men, who are the ones most frequently hurt by fireworks.

What is it with "Young Men And Fire."? (The title of a stunning book by Norman Maclean, by the way).

My son is not even two years old, and he's fascinated by candles. Worse, he already got into a pack of matches and lit one. Monkey see, monkey do.

(photo:dazed81)
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