gregorydowell.com- Beavers and Ducks


Pre-Vacation Ramblings 05.20.2008 7:12PM - It's a Greg, Greg, Greg, Gregg World: For most of my life I've usually been the only Greg(ory). There was a Greg a grade ahead of me in grade school and a handful of other Gregs in high school, but I wasn't friends with any of them. Then in the dorms there was a Greg that lived right next to me. But for the most part, its only been me. That's all changed this summer as I am 1 of 4 Gregs at work. To this point most of the work I have done is either for Greg or Greg. The third Gregg (two Gs, well actually three Gs and that doesn't matter when Greg is verbalized) works with finances and budgets so I don't really have to work with him. But that doesn't mean we all haven't ended up in the same area of the office and had somebody call for Greg. Being the new guy I've realized I'm generally not the Greg thats wanted. However, its still hard not to react when you hear your name. This seems like a good a time as any to bring back "Jesus". Hell we did it in the dorms with just one other Greg, and as you may have noticed, the hair is back too. - .857: I was brought on my brother's softball team as an extra to be used when the regulars couldn't show up. Well there's been three games and I've played in all three. I made it known from the start that I was better with my glove than the bat, and yet somehow I ended up as designated hitter. Figure that one out. Well maybe someone knows more than I do. After popping out in my only at bat in the first game, I've reached base on six consecutive at bats. I went 4 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs in the second game, before reaching on an error and singling last night. That brings my on base percentage to a staggering .857 (6 of 7). Sure its still early but my swing and hits were practically made for softball. Let's just say I'm doing my part, so I bare little responsibility for the team's 1-2 start. It's like the glory days of softball at Illinois. - Football is for the...weekday?: I was back in Muncie over the weekend getting what remained in my apartment and caught a glimpse of the BSU football schedule billboard. I noticed a Thursday game, so when I was back home I looked at the rest of the schedule. One would think a single nontraditional weekday game would be enough for one team. Wrong. The Cardinals have 6 home games in the fall and 4 of them happen during the week. This is both weird and awesome. Mainly because I'll get to attend the BSU games (which are free for students) and still catch REAL college football on the traditional Saturday. The season kicks off on Thursday, which is fine because its during the first week of school and what better way to get reacquainted with school? The following week the game is on Friday. I'm not a huge fan of Fridays at college so this makes it really easy. Later there is a Wednesday game on November 5th. This one is probably going to suck. Not only is it the middle of the week, but its going to be chilly, if not downright cold. And then the season ends with a Tuesday game on November 25th. This won't be a problem because its during Thanksgiving week and there are no classes the next day. The only Saturday games had to be Saturday games by default, Homecoming and Family Weekend. Oddly enough because of the weekday games, I will see more night games in my one season of BSU football (I was on internship in Chicago last season) than in my time at Illinois. Rainy Days 05.15.2008 7:07PM - This is the wettest winter/spring I can recall. And its not only that it snowed/rained a lot of days but its the amount of precipitation that falls when it does rain. I'm so tired of water. And seriously why every time it rains does every one drive as though they've never driven in rain before? Fuck me. - Thanks to all who participated in the cornhole design vote. One person, Matt, selected the two boards I anticipate I'll put together. Those would be boards #1 (white w/ Chief) and #5 (blue w/ Illinois). Originally I was planning on two blue boards but I like how the "theoretical" white design with Chief looks. I would have taken a lot to convince me to go with either of the orange boards. - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuts one week from today. This will be one of the few times in my life that I will see a movie on the day it opens. I'm happy to know that the crew looked to mimic the style of the early movies and and keep with the feel that made Indiana Jones a classic. - These might not be of interest to you, but both are interesting reads about where architecture is today. The first by Wall Street Journal architecture critic Ada Huxtable looks at architecture and its role as art. I don't particularly agree with Huxtable as she has great love for the "starchitects" whom I believe are doing a lot of bad for the field. And then there is this one from "starchitect" and world class dick, Peter Eisenman, on his six point plan for architecture. Surprisingly I agree with most of his points. However points #2 and #3 sound like "Back in my day, the glory days of architecture..." I think #4 is linked directly with #5 and is most obvious even to those outside of architecture. "Starchitects" are partially to blame, which Eisenman, himself, is so it should be interesting to see how Eisenman abides by his own six point plan. - And finally there's a new and very entertaining post at CadaverBlender so check it out now! Illinois Cornhole 05.08.2008 11:36PM With the amazing technology that is the laser cutter (thanks BSU) I am going to be able to create some sweet Illinois cornhole boards sometime this summer. So I thought I'd put up for the vote the various board layouts and colors I'm thinking about. Things to keep in mind: - White boards get pretty dirty. - I'm not a huge fan of the color orange. - Disregard the above points and pick your favorite combination. - The vote is NOT binding and I reserve the right to choose whatever combination I want. Use the designated numbers and list the combination you vote for in the comments. Make sure the combination includes a "Chief" board and an "Illinois" board. Get voting! Back to Normal 05.06.2008 8:20PM The last time you heard from me was a little over two weeks ago when I informed you that I had in fact survived the Wabash Valley earthquake. That was nine days before my studio project was due and I have once again survived what could have been a disaster. Life will now return to normal, or as normal as it ever is. I start work at a Louisville area architecture firm on Monday. But let me catch you up on the interim. I not only made it through studio, but also all my other graduate classes and now I'm two semesters away from having my Master of Architecture. Along the way I was able to get a jump start on an idea for my thesis, and wrote a short paper on those ideas which I will expand, specify, and focus next school year. You can read that paper here. It is truly an interesting topic that spans various fields (architecture, history, archaeology to mention a few) and is far from being completely understood and researched. After four years of planning (read: I always had a final on Derby) a group of my friends was finally able to visit and head to the Kentucky Derby. Things went off without a hitch (minus maybe the sunburn) and we're looking to make it an annual tradition. Everybody had a blast which included making our booze sandwiches for sneaking our alcohol into the infield. Check out the process for making booze sandwiches here. Awesome pictures included. There's the quick update on what's been going on for the past two weeks. With things settled down Beavers and Ducks will be updated on a regular basis. I have a pretty exciting summer ahead with a handful of concerts and a vacation to the beach, so there will be plenty to talk about. That talk includes the surprising Oakland A's who are in a pack of teams with the 2nd best record in baseball. Check out Last Month 05.01.2008 2:25PM Check out last month at Beavers and Ducks, while you wait for a new post for May. April 2008	Gregory 'Jesus' Dowell Muncie, IN - I'm a 2007 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. Currently pursuing my graduate degree in Architecture at Ball State University. I just finished a 7 month internship with RRJ. The internship has taken me from coast (Bethany Beach, DE) to coast (San Diego, CA), while showing me the ropes. Resume Portfolio Greg's Calendar May 12- Work begins May 22- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 24-31 Pawley's Island, SC June 6- R.E.M. Concert in Chicago June 17- Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends July 18- The Dark Knight Important Wii Release Dates - Always playing Guitar Hero III, Mario Galaxy and now Super Smash Brothers Brawl Now Out- Mario Kart Wii May 19 Wii Fit July 2008 NCAA Football 09 Other Wii Games To Watch For June 29 Guitar Hero III: Aerosmith June 22 Rock Band TBA 2008 Wii Music TBA 2008 de Blob TBA 2008 James Bond 007 The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks April 2008 Links CadaverBlender Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site