Claudia Chalfa

Ok, but that article doesn’t define “government spending”. For example, would it factor in money spent on the Iraq war?

Also, think about this aspect of spending: it doesn’t just affect the workers who are out there re-sodding the mall. That sod has to be purchased from a grower, who employs people. The irrigation manufacturer benefits, too. The tools needed for the job, every aspect of that seemingly unnecessary job has a knock-on effect somewhere else. that is…[Read more]

What about Gustafson Porter in London? They designed the Princess Diana garden, whose merit has been debated; but they also designed the forgiveness garden for Beirut, Lebanon, which I thought was a beautiful and thought-provoking design. Unfortunately this garden is incomplete right now because of recent trouble in the region, but I would really…[Read more]

The former CEO of General Electric was on CNN today saying that what we really need to be paying attention to is the TARP situation and how we handle the bank bailouts. His view is that the only way to fix this is to get the banks to start lending again, immediately. As he put it, this is a patient in ICU and the blood that we need to get flowing…[Read more]

Hmmm…well, if you are trying to convince me to “go negative”, it won’t work. But I guess I can grudgingly admit that scaring people into action may be effective at times.

I’m ready when you are. I love a good charge now and then.

The government is attempting to “jump start” the economy with their stimulus package. They don’t know if it will work, it’s an experiment. Republicans say cut taxes, Democrats say spend on infrastructure to create jobs. Truth is I think both are important, and this is why our government system works so well – it’s balanced. Ok, right now it’s…[Read more]

We actually have several professors at Clemson who came from Berkeley, by the way. From what I understand, Clemson is a reasonably priced education in comparison to many Universities.

Well, I’m 37, and there are a couple of people older than me in the program, so no I don’t think you would feel out of place. My art background included high school and some college at NC school of the Arts, and many years of doing art on my own after that. Because of my art background I was able to exempt part of the “Boot camp” summer program…[Read more]

well, that is the Republican argument, David…that cutting taxes will fix the problem.

The problem is, it doesn’t do any good to cut your taxes if you don’t have a job. I’m pretty moderate; I think that the economic stimulus should include both tax cuts and spending, and I am glad to see they are trimming some of the pork out of the bill. But…[Read more]

According to some estimates, the war in Iraq could end up costing us 3 trillion dollars when all is said and done.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030702846.html

We are debating less than a third of that cost right now, in the senate, to save America from financial ruin and a complete depression…and many…[Read more]

I know, Gil…I am thinking about doing volunteering to keep my portfolio fresh, too. It just seems like there has to be a way to fix this situation. Landscape architects are creative thinkers, generally good at teamwork and unique problem-solving strategies. I started this thread because I thought maybe we do a little group-self-analysis and come…[Read more]

Berkeley is good. Harvard is the best program, from what I hear…UVA is also excellent. I am graduating with my MLA from Clemson this spring, and I have enjoyed my time here; Clemson’s program is very new, I am part of only the second graduating class. However, our undergraduate program is ranked 11th in the US. I think once the MLA program at…[Read more]

Good observations and comments, Gil.

As many people have stated, the location of such a wall is likely critical to its success. I think the perfect venue for trying out temporary “graffiti” walls is in close proximity to, for example, skate parks or recreation centers that have such activities as laser tag and gaming. Does anyone think my…[Read more]

Maybe if I can’t find a “real job” after I graduate, I’ll become a guerilla artist and go around ‘improving’ bad public art. All of a sudden, I am feeling inspired!

Ok is this any better?

When I was that age, we used to hang out at the Putt-Putt, or the mall, or maybe the roller skating rink. It is a sad statement of suburbia that these were our only options for socialization. And we all had to be driven to those places by our parents, or by inexperienced drivers (our friends) until we became inexperienced drivers ourselves. This…[Read more]

Nicholas, do you have kids? Because I am fairly certain that my own (darling, wonderful, brilliant…) children are aliens that I have been entrusted with teaching how to be humans. 😛

Thanks Gil, I agree with you. I like your point about giving kids a chance to fine-tune their skills, too.

Hi Ahmed, thanks for posting that. I am always glad to see people reacting to war and violence in positive ways: you may be interested in reading “Defiant Gardens: making gardens in wartime” by Kenneth Helphand, as well. If you are in Iraq or know anyone who is, please ask them to document some of these images because as the article mentions, they…[Read more]