Freelance Senior Web Developer & Technical Architect
My backup strategy for my machines at home can be effectively described as “scatty, but thorough“. Or at least until I actually have a major crash and need to recover that important file that was outside of my normal documents, code repositories, and archived folders. »
Last week, I went to the Google Technology User Group in London, which was all on the subject of Google Wave. Lars and Steph, of Google Wave video, and Google Maps fame gave an excellent talk on Wave, how it was doing, where it was going, and the challenges they’re still facing in getting Wave ready for prime time and a public release. »
Today was the finale of Die Riesen Kommen, which saw them both waking up from the Brandenburg Gate. Obviously they did what I wished I had and had a sunday lie-in, so didn’t wake up until 90 minutes after the alarm clock was supposed to go off. It did mean I got a spot right down the front for the first part of the show and to join in chants with hundreds of Germans of which I *hope* was something along the lines of “why are we waiting?”, rather than “The French are almost as lazy as the Brits”. »
Field of Stelae
At first I thought it was a crazy art exhibit which got horribly out of control. As though the artist kept laying down more pieces, and just kept going because nobody told him to stop. It reminded me of the Anthony Gormley exhibit I saw back when he had the exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, and filled a room with person sized blocks which you could walk between and around.
Just south of the Brandenburg gate is the Field of Stelae, an almost 20,000m² field of 2,711 concrete blocks each with a pathway in between to find your own way through the memorial. Thousands of concrete blocks might seem like something out of a 60s nightmare, but the effect is stunning.
Walking from one side to another is a feat the will very likely find you meeting suited businessmen carrying coffee, tourists (such as myself) hunting for a clear stretch to take photos, young children tumbling and giggling as they twist and turn around aimless unknown corners, teenagers racing down the 1 metre wide passageways oblivious to pushchair dangers lurking behind the block, parents shouting names of lost young children still tumbling and giggling, and the best location in the whole world for a game marco polo.
The whole piece was designed by Peter Eisenman and you might be quick to suggest meaning behind the concrete blocks, the pathways and the shadows cast. The information leaflet I picked up is quick to disperse those ideas, and claims the memorial is unique in that it uses no symbolism. One of the FAQs at the back: “Why are there 2,711 stelae” is answered quite frankly that it is the result of “measurements chosen by the architect for the location”. Well, duh. It goes on to say that it bears no relation to the number of victims, or hold any symbolic significance. It is, just because it is. This is one of the most refreshing displays of both remembrance, and art that I’ve ever seen, and I love it.
