Sunday
Jul142013
Week Nineteen: Traveled!
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Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:00AM in Week 19
Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:00AM in Week 19 Post 'em if you got 'em!
Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:00AM in Week 19 Post 'em if you got 'em!
Reader Comments (2)
Hey, Do I post here? OK--this is it.
{Mindbender}
“That’s Julius Tanzor!”
I heard the whispered gasp coming from the near left of the audience in Wu-Tang Hall. It wasn’t the usual response to my taking the podium at these symposiums. As a speaker on the subject of bio-synthetic architecture I was used to hearing sniggers and guffaws of laughter from the real scientists at MIT who saw my visionary ideas as nothing more than fiction. However, these open seminars did give me a chance to present my work, meet potential collaborators and mingle with those whose minds were as bent as my own. Otherwise, I spent my time, alone, in the lab with Maggie––my six year old marmalade cat.
“Thank you. I would be happy to take questions now?”
A few hands raised. One tentative green Swatch. Another, a conservative Timex, leather band and a third, an assertive sleek metal I didn’t recognize. I nodded toward the Swatch.
“Umm...you seem to have a confident attitude about the evolution of our cities into biological organisms and assertive predictions for the success of sustainable architecture. What makes you think your solutions are the best scenario?”
Fair enough. Hey, who am I, anyway? Algae bioreactors aren’t the only way to light a building. With trepidation, I took on the Timex.
“Mis-ter Tanzor. You forecast a dire situation for the future of our cities and pose ideas that, frankly, bear no resemblance to the scientific approach of problem solving.”
Yes, well I guess you could say I think outside the box. But I was used to this kind of reaction to my concepts. It takes a vision to sustain a village. The brushed metal cuff was eagerly swaying above matching spectacles that shaded his eyes. I dipped my chin in his direction.
“Amazing! Your proposed design schemes are ingenious!”
“Thank you, but it’s just a concept right now––testing in the lab is an arduous task.”
“You are the brainchild of your generation! And to think it all hinged on a carton of pro-biotic yogurt.”
Yogurt? What was this sleek metallic guy talking about?
“Bacteria, Molds––the implications are mind bending.”
“Yes...well, thank you for your enthusiasm.”
I walked away from the symposium mystified, relieved and hungry. Perhaps it was the subliminal notions swirling in my brain that aroused me to pick up a couple cartons of yogurt on the way back to the lab.
Heh. Nice punch at the end there. Thanks for sharing!