if possible_attend this . . .

fractal (frktl)

A complex geometric pattern exhibiting self-similarity in that small details of its structure viewed at any scale repeat elements of the overall pattern. See more at chaos.

A Closer Look
Fractals are often associated with recursive operations on shapes or sets of numbers, in which the result of the operation is used as the input to the same operation, repeating the process indefinitely. The operations themselves are usually very simple, but the resulting shapes or sets are often dramatic and complex, with interesting properties. For example, a fractal set called a Cantor dust can be constructed beginning with a line segment by removing its middle third and repeating the process on the remaining line segments. If this process is repeated indefinitely, only a "dust" of points remains. This set of points has zero length, even though there is an infinite number of points in the set. The Sierpinski triangle (or Sierpinski gasket) is another example of such a recursive construction procedure involving triangles (see the illustration). Both of these sets have subparts that are exactly the same shape as the entire set, a property known as self-similarity.Under certain definitions of dimension, fractals are considered to have non-integer dimension: for example, the dimension of the Sierpinski triangle is generally taken to be around 1.585, higher than a one-dimensional line, but lower than a two-dimensional surface. Perhaps the most famous fractal is the Mandelbrot set, which is the set of complex numbers C for which a certain very simple function, Z²+ C, iterated on its own output (starting with zero), eventually converges on one or more constant values. Fractals arise in connection with nonlinear and chaotic systems, and are widely used in computer modeling of regular and irregular patterns and structures in nature, such as the growth of plants and the statistical patterns of seasonal weather.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fractal 

architecture + urban design in music

frank ocean_the city - fantastic cover page.  very apt lyrics + imagery.  excellent use of colour plus the black and white motif.  perhaps a background track would enhance the mood and granted another layer, but after seeing the entire project, perhaps the silence was more powerful that sound. it became very loud, in a pleasurable way.  overall a fantastic project and a well-articulated rendition.  well done.  project portrayed love and it was done with love and beauty.  and with the streets all dark, the buildings look lost. 

hometown glory - excellent intro.  the countdown was simply fantastic. powerful images. excellent interpretation of the lyrics and vocals.  adele's voice seals it.  what a powerful yet soft project.  very beautiful indeed.  the use of text and the voice over is strong and drives the point home.  the train and staff rider is a great metaphor and brings us back to joburg.  a project which demands to be viewed over and over and over and over again as one walks in the same way as one did . . . 

turn a blind eye…..looking but not seeing - great cover but then the following pages do not work because they are too busy.  the background graphic takes something away from the text and image.  it would be more successful if the images and text were one.  the barbie + freeway images are very strong.  project is too personal and rather profound that it borders on the uncomfortable and the song was difficult to engage with on a personal and abstract level.  the project felt a bit righteous and mildly self-referential, but one cannot deny its strong sense of passion, zest and vigor. the song left these lines answered . . . but don't you find it interesting, how most of the time, your self-interpreting seems to coincide, with what's deep inside, your heart's desires, seems rather convenient, doesn't it? yet more questions.

ghetto - johannesburg is a tree bit is an interesting cover, but the lack of thematic continuity or any connection with johannesburg being a ghetto track, was perplexing.  and what does it mean that joburg is a ghetto?  project came across as static and very power pointy like, and resorted to the conventional method of presenting, which is ok, but then the presentation better be tight and crisp.  this was not.  it remained on a humdrum level as a presentation, with mild a peppering of academic blah which has massive potential.  powerpoint simply lacked proper structure.  you have to push yourself and not rely to banality.  the oral [voiceover] was very good, clear + concise.  in future mix all there into one.  the last image is amazing, yet there was nothing personal about this project except the muffinz: ‘ghetto’. 

crossing the river jordan - the journey from alex to sandton.  the oral intro was very beautiful and visceral.  images are very strong supported by a powerful oral narrative and fitting text.  the story of mama is insightful employing potent metaphorical allegory.  the mahlasela track seals it.  strong stuff which instils a profound sense of hope which makes one less timid to cross the river jordan with the most positive courage.

rebels with a cause - powerful imagery supported by a strong oral recital of the lyrics.  the black and white thing in the project is saturated with colour making the project very rich and aesthetically strong.  keep kicking and pushing and then coast . . . the banished to the park image with the masses crossing the street is poetic.  is that bree?  the 'no skating here' part 2 slide is very sad with the police taking away people's livelihood.  strong imagery showing the pain of jozi yet mitigating the pain and helping navigate through the mire as we kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, kick, push to finally coast . . .

saturday in the park - an informative presentation which was also abit power pointy, but well executed.  visually strong, slightly marred by the green band on top of each slide.  the central, bryant park, public space theme is very strong and should be emphasised from now till the end if semester.  but why the obsession with america, is it because of the song by chicago?  the film is a pleasure to watch and has that happy feels good thing about as the man sells ice-cream whilst singing italian songs.

architecture in film

love through the elizabethan architecture – competent paper marred somewhat by numerous spelling errors, grammatical inconsistencies and poor graphics.  the paper is well written and the narrative flows from the streets of london, to the shakespearean theatre to the castle.  the structure is sound and captivating but a pity that the graphic and text were not married into a single entity.  in future, if you are going to introduce something, make sure there is an outro for enhanced continuity and spend a bit of time on a visual cover.  lovely work.

déjà vu – a competent paper compromised by layout issues.  in future give this attention to enhance your story bot visually + textually.  images are difficult to access and the french quarter map of new orleans deserves more space to emphasise where the plot unfolds.  the unpacking of the themes is well executed and the last paragraph is a gem: the film carries out a theme of destiny and divine intervention which also holds on to the theme of god.  a looming question hangs in the mind of the viewer that perhaps by attempting or successfully altering what may have been the future, we are acting out the plan of destiny.  why is the reference page a larger font size?  you must work in a systematic and structured way.  the poetic ideas are there but may be lost in the mire.  confusing cover page, as in what is the significance of the rambling text?  this would have made sense if the words déjà vu were found somewhere among the letters.  keep writing.

reservoir dogs – a well structure paper containing an intro, body + conclusion.  in future spend some time ironing out the layout of the project for maximum access and impact.  great cover and body marred by terrible print margin layout.  always format your work so that there is enough of a border around the material.  rather have a larger print margin that a smaller one.  take cognisant when using the stapler for better presentation.  image layout if appreciated and enhances the text but suffers from inconsistent layout.  spend time learning how to format images for clarity so that they are not stretched or squeezed and use captions for richer access.

12 years a slave: the first 20 – a very well written and absorbing paper containing the correct dose of an emotive layer to spur on to something else.  as much as it can be said regarding the text, the images are inaccessible and the layout is poor.  one cannot write this well then illustrate it so poorly.  it makes the project feels rushed or last minute.  paper suffers from a proper use of imagery since the story is so visceral and aesthetically captivating.  spend time marrying words and images for complete work submission.  cover is so so.  push yourself graphically as there is latent capacity.

gladiator – a very competent submission which is well written and visually arresting.  graphically the black n’ white theme grows on one.  fantastic cover which eloquently summarises what follows in the body of the paper.  the combination of text and images work well in articulating the narrative and maximus’s journey.  that being said, the images are a bit dark and in future make sure that if you are going to print in black and white, that the document is formatted to allow the colour to come thru and be noticeable.  project contains very good referencing and the sub themes of maximus, the gladiator, the journey back home, death, vengeance and freedom are well illustrated in the paper.  overall an excellent submission and i implore you to keep working in this manner.

new york, i love you – very good work containing a perfect and apt cover, contents and page numbers, a great quote by jean baudrillard, well written movie review with intro, main argument plus conclusion and finally a reference page.  use of appropriate images enhances the visual aesthetic of the paper and grant a more textured and intimate feels to new york. the document is well presented in a bound format.  excellent work.

inumber number – very competent work which is well written and visually narrated.  cover is confusing as it does not contain anything to help frame what the paper is about except what is reproduced from the handout.  paper structure is very sound with a proper intro, prologue, gist + conclusion.  the use of images is very well done, providing what is necessary to render the text into colour and space.  it’s a pity that there were not more of them to drive the point home making the paper a visual banquet.  in future use more and make them larger and keep the energy levels.  they are appreciated.

unity in the diversity

70% water     18% carbon     5% nitrogen   2% carbon