The New North

We just survived elections for each district's politicians as well as the mayor of Taipei County's areas surrounding Taipei that have been organized into Xinbei City (New North City). I say survived because there's been some stiff competition for each spot, resulting in endless campaigning. In Taiwan, this amounts to (extra) trucks driving around with loudspeakers waking you up in the morning soliciting (citizens') votes and just before election day, more and more parade-type processions of the candidate with retinue, snare drums, fireworks, ... even a car done up like a tank driving around campaigning for someone. I do hope it wasn't a real one.

What's more, the city and county was literally plastered with flags and posters. Here is an example:

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My friend's colleague, having freshly arrived from UK for business, apparently nearly got into an accident crossing the road because in his own words: "I couldn't see anything because of all the flags!"

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Finally, there really was a bit of an unexpected incident when the night before the elections someone shot at a politician and killed a bystander. Given that it was the son of a former vice-president who apparently faked his own death in a previous publicity stunt, I'm not sure what to think...

Anyway, it's all behind us now. The flags are gone. There are still cheerful photos -- of candidates -- gracing buses, but the loudspeaker trucks are back down in frequency to the couple of self-enterprising repairmen and possibly a collection scheme for paper. Anyway, I've gotten used to the one truck's nice little jingle and the other one's fairly-annoyed-sounding recording soliciting for ... whatever it is he's soliciting for. I still haven't deciphered much of it besides: "Do you or do you not have/need...?"

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Super Creative Electricity Transmission Line Towers

this is so cool! (reposted from Super Creative Electricity Transmission Line Towers and not my writing in any way shape or form. for example, I don't think "awe" is a verb)

Every once in a while we awe at something that is so cool that we wish it existed in the real world that we occupy. This is one of those things. One look at the image and you get it. Immediately.

Visualized by American design firm Choi + Shine Architects, these massive structures look almost reassuring, like some gods that stand united watching over the lands. [Kind of reminds us of the The Gates of Argonath from the Lord of the Rings. ]

The structure won the 2010 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture Award and we bet it wouldn’t be the last accolade that it wins.

From the architect’s site:

This design transforms mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape by making only small alterations to existing pylon design. Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.

The pylon-figures can also be arranged to create a sense of place through deliberate expression. Subtle alterations in the hands and head combined with repositioning of the main body parts in the x, y and z-axis, allow for a rich variety of expressions. The pylon-figures can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction or opposite directions, glancing at each other as they pass by or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town.

They even managed to bring out gender differences in them!

*Huge respect to the minds behind these*