tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21767801623910459912016-03-19T19:17:58.012-07:00Aimless flâneur, perpetual loafer, and insistent architourist.Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.comBlogger985125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-79143173115574972382016-01-28T12:15:00.003-08:002016-01-28T12:15:47.749-08:00

I've seen two extreme poles of people lately. Those that are constructive, and those that are destructive. I would say that the average person is making decisions that are both constructive and destructive, and as shown in the graph in a previous post, are following trends more towards one than the other. I think it distracts from personal reflection to name individuals at either pole, but there

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-129503785070504892016-01-22T23:45:00.003-08:002016-01-22T23:45:31.485-08:00

I've always had really high goals and standards for myself. I have only accomplished a few of those goals though. I think they're actually meaningless goals. They are goals like getting a PhD, working at such and such place, being published by this journal, etc. These are things irrespective of my growth as a person, whether I'm becoming a man of greater integrity, kindness, love, conviction, or

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-45116773436118874922015-12-23T22:43:00.002-08:002015-12-23T22:46:09.576-08:00

The world lived eons before your birth. The Word established, persecution, and sovereignty reached. Iberian influence communicated in utopian schemes, To bring about a city hidden deep in California’s threading. Though close to the womb quickly your heart does age, A life that’s been lived, unique despite time, despite entropy. You’re a sanctuary to the mighty, and also the weak, A

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-25395911659107312732015-12-12T23:19:00.002-08:002015-12-12T23:19:39.115-08:00

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-15253163228843209812015-11-01T20:47:00.000-08:002015-11-01T20:47:15.008-08:00

It dawned on me that if you believe humankind is perfectible, you can then make the argument that others are at a lesser state of natural development based upon whatever criteria is reached. If you believe however that the basic nature of humankind is consistent, then you identify things that enhance or detract from an individual's, or collective experience. With this reasoning, progressives

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-60699384802544143242015-10-22T17:27:00.001-07:002015-12-03T10:58:55.575-08:00

It strikes me that each individual is constantly making yellow and blue decisions. While a person will be making correct choices that result in a win, they also engage in blue decisions, are given another chance, and then choose wrong decisions again. Ideally the magnitude of blue decreases as the magnitude of the yellow increases. It's only when the magnitude of yellow decreases, and blue

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-89446901283718533032015-10-06T15:19:00.001-07:002015-10-07T19:27:26.047-07:00

I have found a new love. I went over to Cycle Werks on El Camino Real, in San Clemente, and got myself a bike pump to get the sweet bike in my garage into working order. The guy that helped me was from Manchester, UK, and not only being a cool guy, he was a real Brit. I pumped up the tires, and once out, didn't want to stop. From the Reserve I crossed Vista Hermosa on down to Seaside Summit. I

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-91890315990646784472015-09-15T19:47:00.001-07:002015-10-08T22:54:28.407-07:00

Current events in my life have made me ask a question I'm sure many Mormon members ask: "It's clear that the Lord expects me to be tough, but how can I be appropriately thick skinned while having a broken heart and a contrite spirit?" Aren't these two antithetical? I don't have a complete answer here, it's an extraordinarily complex question, but the following passages from prof. Richard

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-48674510371403961232015-07-08T16:39:00.003-07:002015-07-08T16:39:41.400-07:00

Three of my favorite things: Latin American history, exploring Catholic chapels, and spending time with my mom.

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-3172883765149955242015-06-11T20:25:00.000-07:002015-06-11T20:25:06.265-07:00

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-32078688121320124482015-06-03T11:38:00.002-07:002015-06-03T11:38:26.311-07:00

I've been doing a lot of drawing these days, especially architectural, and wanted to show them off a little :)

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-24829808673059659262015-05-30T22:42:00.000-07:002015-05-30T22:43:26.780-07:00

I took a nice walk this afternoon with my pops from the Sea Summit Trails down to Upper Trestles. We've been enjoying the seaside pathways from North Beach to Califia, and wanted to go just a bit further to see if we could see President Nixon's house on the point. We got there and decided to continue around the point to past Upper Trestles. What a beautiful route. I saw lots of beach I'd never

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-72376981690359588572015-05-15T15:55:00.000-07:002015-05-15T15:55:24.636-07:00

I've added a couple of books to my Latin American library. Generalissimo el Busho is not technically a Latin American book, but relating W to an Ibero-American caudillo in this left-slanted satirical book warranted a comical inclusion to my library. I'm getting into the other one, The Aztec Treasure House, in a similar adventurer vein to Amazonian explorer books I've read, and Cradle of Gold,

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-50808148325527689952015-05-12T15:54:00.003-07:002015-05-12T15:59:28.687-07:00

Across the bridge from where I live a huge development project is underway. Shopping outlets are going up, a walking path has already been opened with conservation areas and parks, and residential buildings will shortly fill in the development. I've been curious about this development because of its fascinating architectural design.  Interesting usage of stilted

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-66535376512396197052015-05-11T14:45:00.002-07:002015-05-11T14:46:21.002-07:00

San Clemente has lots of styles of architecture. Throughout this project I want to capture the huge diversity of eras, functionalities, and styles throughout the city. One thing that interests me is the blend of not just styles, but cultures, and socioeconomic groups. These are representative of different histories, lifestyles, and ultimately expectations placed on the building.

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-26805002552790602552015-05-11T14:34:00.001-07:002015-05-12T13:04:05.264-07:00

I've been fascinated by many of the things I've seen while living in San Clemente. I've seen several things that I wanted to snap pictures of, and being a minimalist with the model of my phone, never did. Cutting the procrastination, I've decided to start a new project, and see where I can take it. The project is to take pictures and research this oceanside city I live in. The following is my

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-47842638509334859962015-03-24T10:54:00.000-07:002015-03-25T00:52:45.042-07:00

(photo: Sean R. Watson) Gentrification has destabilized and upended many communities across the world, creating conflict with preexisting populations, and raising land values and costs of living. Longtime residents find it difficult to remain in their beloved neighborhoods, and as neighborhoods morph, they are faced with the decision of whether to stay or leave. These residents may harbor

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-63927910209641419322015-03-08T13:08:00.000-07:002015-03-08T14:53:10.507-07:00

I think it is fun to suppose the technologies that will  transform the cities we live in. Within a short span of time tools from science fiction works have become realities, and cities have reached unprecedented densities. I thought it would be curious to revisit the visionary cities of the past to see what we think of our progress. These visionary images depict tall and interconnected

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-23475103906300263902015-03-01T00:12:00.002-08:002015-03-01T00:14:40.723-08:00

In an ideal educational model the student to teacher ratio would be as close to 1:1 as possible. Ancient universities like Cambridge and Oxford still use a one-to-one tutorial system to develop student criticality, and many parents similarly hire tutors to help their children excel in advanced classes. In an imperfect model, tutoring can be used to account for the model’s shortcomings. With

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-36025039873833181552015-02-27T22:46:00.000-08:002015-02-27T23:28:13.945-08:00

For  thousands of years strategies have been used to achieve defined aims. Whilst Sun Tzu applied strategy to military operations in sixth century BC, Machiavelli detailed political strategies at the heart of the Italian Renaissance. These are probably the most widely recognized strategists in history, but each individual can count themselves strategists also as they apply their resources and

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-88093039045936205332015-02-24T09:27:00.003-08:002015-02-24T09:28:53.431-08:00

Google For Education has tweeted several interesting things the past few days. They tweeted a PDF this morning I thought important as I encourage my students to use the internet for educational purposes. After they finish our program, they receive a tablet. These tips provide great guidelines to aid their online habits.

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-54951385254694204332015-02-19T18:36:00.000-08:002015-02-19T18:36:18.380-08:00

In response to events in Ferguson, Missouri, Cornel West detailed the class war and racial war against black and brown youth in the United States (Mr News Center 2014). Whilst these racial groups have lower average annual incomes (Perlberg 2013), and at times undoubtedly encounter racial profiling and prejudice, they also experience the greatest capability for democratic participation, and are

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-37748343661850129442015-02-14T23:13:00.001-08:002015-02-22T19:56:56.354-08:00

Clayton Christensen's book, Disrupting Class, is eye-opening. In this book, Christensen identifies the reason why technology has not made more of an impact upon education despite massive funding. He states that the lack of competition, being a public service, is part of it, and that a mother and child much of the time will have performed the same assignments, switching out a typewriter for a word

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-29498182223900123092015-02-08T15:54:00.000-08:002015-02-08T17:58:24.250-08:00

It dawned on me as I watched a clip of Cornel West speaking about gaining equality between marginalized groups that there is a similar process occurring in the United States as one I saw in Latin America, specifically Brazil. In colonial Brazil, the Portuguese divided territories longitudinally and somewhat proportionally. These became the country's states. Each state had separate demographic and

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2176780162391045991.post-22627019241698514502015-02-05T15:13:00.000-08:002015-02-14T14:28:37.725-08:00

Economics are very different, and much more complex than the 18th century Scotland Adam Smith observed. This was addressed in my previous post. Smith observed the foundation for the industrial revolution being set, which would complicate what he observed further with an explosion of mechanization. The inequality between those that benefited and lost out in this revolution is stark, and is due to

Sean Watsonhttps://plus.google.com/107553190589032288629noreply@blogger.com0