arkitrave :: log

My wife and I are leaving for a vacation with my parents and two sisters, so I will be offline for an entire week. Since my mom’s response when I mentioned perhaps taking the family to the south of France was… “I don’t understand why anyone would want to go to Europe,” (we are very different, my mother and I), we are going to do what all self-respecting American families do. Or at least that’s what the TV ads say. We’re going to Disneyworld! We were there once before, when I was, oh, about 10. So, it’s been awhile, and it will be good to spend time with them and get out of Buffalo for a little while. Kate just graduated from the University of Iowa, and I’m wrapping up grad school in (hopefully) 6 months, so it seemed like a good time to get the whole family together again.

I hope the comment spam doesn’t get too carried away while I’m off enjoying the rampant commercialism and fake European cities. EPCOT isn’t quite how Walt initially imagined it. (For another take on the circular city, check out Bucky Fuller’s scheme. Probably predated Disney’s idea.)

Now it’s just a different kind of escapist utopia. In fact, EPCOT as it is now kinda looks back at the original idea and laughs. What we really want in America is just to visit utopia. And all the “higher social good” hoo-ha of the Modernists isn’t really necessary; that takes too much effort to implement in everyday life. Better to castrate the original idea and make it palatable to the masses.

All that said, I am looking forward to the trip; I will try to not take anything too seriously and to enjoy myself and time with my family. And I’ll post a picture of Mickey for ya when I get back.