CSI-Skokie Newsletter

June 2013 Vol. II

In this edition:

Pet Adoption

Pg. 5

Benefits of

Avocados

Pg. 9

Should you

Collect Coins?

Pg. 12

Where is the

Safest Place to

Live in the US?

Pg. 15

Postmodern

Architecture

Pg. 21

Why we should exercise regularly?

Why should people exercise regularly? Our bodies are designed to

move quite vigorously, and without a regular movement nothing

works properly. Exercise is really anything that makes the moving

parts of our bodies move. It can be very simple and doesn’t have to

take a lot of time. When you make a fist, you’re exercising the mus-

cles of your hand. There are very few excuses for not exercising, espe-

cially when good stretching is included. We all need it. At least 30

minutes of moderate exercise is required to raise your heart rate. But

the whole of your body needs to move, so while a stroll in the sun is

great (you’ll get your vitamin D), you’ll need to add something for

your upper body too.

The purpose of exercise is not complicated. We think exercise is all

about looking and feeling good. While that is certainly one result it’s

not the main purpose at all. Exercise is what makes our bodies work

efficiently with many of the important systems each relying on move-

ment. Exercise used to be an everyday part of life: chasing down din-

ner, digging for vegetables, or climbing trees for fruit gave us plenty

of activity and used most of our muscles. Driving to work, sitting at a

computer all day, and pushing the button on the microwave just

doesn’t give us the same effects. So we need to add some variety to

our movement.

Besides maintaining our body systems, exercise also promotes

many good health benefits. Exercise controls weight, combats health

conditions and diseases, improves mood, and boosts energy.

By Somruedee Kasempornkun

esl.csinow.edu

Should we go organic? Why?

What’s happening today in the world is alarming. Nowadays, the technology to grow food is more

about being profitable then healthy and safe. Because of this, our food is so genetically modified that

its effects on humanity is not known. The research is either too little or none at all. As Monsanto likes

to say, there is no need for more research, because the food doesn’t look to do any harm.

But in one recent study, researchers have shown that our bodies don’t only use the nutrients and vita-

mins from food, but also the DNA. What this means is that all that genetically modified food is feeding

our bodies with a DNA that was changed to fight the enemies of a particular food (insects, fungi, etc.).

Those DNAs are made especially to produce defensive means against each food enemy and once our

body takes in those DNAs it will transform us into producing the same defensive means even though

we don’t have the same food enemies. For example, corn’s DNA is modified so it produces a poison

that kills corn predators. After we eat that corn or any product made from that corn our bodies will

assimilate the DNA so that our bodies will try to produce the same poisons. With this being said, con-

siderably more research should be done on this matter before anyone should believe that this food

doesn’t present any danger.

Until that time, I believe it’s better to go organic. Organic is a way to make sure that our bodies don’t

get transformed and mutilated by what the big corporations think is safe.

One of the biggest challenges is that a lot of people will say that they can’t afford organic food and

that it’s too expensive. But there are ways to overcome that challenge too. On average, an American

person will throw away 20lbs of food each month or 40% of their total food. By paying more attention,

we could use the savings to buy more organic food. The difference in cost will be very little. By Vasile

Lintean

What do we need to know to trade on Wall Street?

Wall Street is a financial district in New York. Over time Wall Street has become a major part of the Unit-

ed States markets. Everyone can invest on the stock market, from small individual investors to large hedge fund

traders, who can be based anywhere in the world. The investor’s orders usually end up with a professional at

the stock exchange, who executes the order of buying or selling. Trading on Wall Street is not very difficult. You

just have to know simple definitions like: share, option, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, etc.

Shares represent a part of ownership in a business. A business may declare different types of shares,

each having distinctive ownership rules, privileges, or share values. Ownership of shares may be documented by

having of a stock certificate. A stock certificate is a legal document that specifies the amount of shares owned

by the shareholder.

You can also invest in options. They are not so risky, but usually you make less money. Options can pro-

vide investors with a great way to multiply profit while reducing risk in some situations. As the name implies this

allows the investor the option to sell at any time. Options are not so risky because there is always a set mini-

mum and maximum price.

Before you start trading on the stock market you need to know what technical and fundamental analysis

is. Technical analysis focuses on a company's financial condition. Basically technical analysis focuses on price

action. It analyzes 52-week averages and then looks for trends to help you try to predict if the stock will rise or

fall. If you really know how to read such diagrams, you can become a very good investor. Fundamental analysis,

on the other hand, looks at the company more specifically: profit margins, management, place in the industry/

sector, growth potential, balance sheet, business model, political situation, etc. I think that before investing you

should utilize both forms of analysis in order to make a quality decision.

Being a good investor in the stock market can make you a rich person. Remember, before you invest you

need think about how much risk you can take and how long you can wait for results. By Renata Morzy

The inside world…

We are two, two different personalities, if we decide to separate the soul from the body. I would name

this estrangement the inside and the outside world. Some of us might say that this estrangement doesn’t ex-

ist. I don’t think so. I wish it could be identical but it’s actually not. The inside world is composed out of feel-

ings; the body or the outside world sometimes just won’t consider the feelings as a right way to express the

thoughts and ideas that you come up with. This way, you just automatically react differently than you feel

inside. The only way you may act the same is when you are in love, and truly in love. You show your feelings

and your body on an equal level. And there are only a few people who can do that. There are many situations

when you act like you feel but not totally the same. I hate feelings and at the same time I like them.

What would the world be like without them? I am sure most of you would think that life would be non-

sense without feelings, and that is true. You cry when you feel like you want to cry. You laugh when you feel

like you want to laugh. You are sad when something didn’t work out as you planned. And there are a million

similar situations. If our body and our soul would act the same and would be shown the same then I wouldn’t

consider it as a right way to live. There will be no interest in knowing people around you. There will be no

joy, no love and happiness, no disappointments and feelings that hurt and that is something really im-

portant, because we need those to build a stronger personality. We grow step by step, learning from mistakes

and feelings that have failed at one point. We act different than we feel. Sometimes just because we are afraid

of what could happen in the future and sometimes just because we have so many feelings inside ourselves.

We are just not sure which one we should express so that everybody could understand the message we want

to transmit.

Nobody’s perfect, we all know that. What is a personality?! Who am I?! Rhetorical questions are always

the best to find the right answer and I am saying that because I have felt that on my own. Anyway, the an-

swers will be different. I consider that each of us should be pleased with who we are. It doesn’t matter wheth-

er you are a manager, housekeeper, president, student, or you don’t even know what your place in the society

is. Sometimes you might feel like you don’t qualify for a certain position, job, relationship, etc. Sometimes

you feel like a loser and you get so much pleasure from showing that to the world around you. When you feel

like a winner you also do that. We just all share related feelings and that gives us the definition of being Hu-

man.

The inside world is so diverse, even more than the outside one. It’s just because we have so many feel-

ings that we still don’t know about. We can understand our position after we have acted somehow, and that

reaction gives us further results. Up to that moment you wouldn’t even realize you can feel that way. That’s

why life makes us so different. That’s why it is always interesting and exciting knowing each other and find-

ing new personalities. That’s why fighting for something better or for more than we can get would always

make us grow stronger and more self-confident. The body, or the outside world as I call it, may be nice and

perfect. Nobody can say that about someone’s soul or inside world, because it is just so different and you can

never see it. You can never be sure what the soul hides deep inside and you never know if it will be revealed

and shown as your body is. Never judge yourself and be thankful for who you are.

We are all different and I love that…

Ally P.

Pet adoption.

Very little is known about that time when people started to keep other animals as

pets. According to historians dogs were one of the first animals domesticated by hu-

mans and have been domesticated for some 10,000 years. Egyptian law mentions that

taking the life of a greyhound warranted the same punishment as killing a man. As early

as 3500 B.C., Egyptians were domesticating wildcats from Africa. The cats in Egypt

were considered to be gods that ranked them above hu-

mans.

There is evidence that the ancient Romans kept dogs,

birds, cats, and horses. In the Middle Ages, pets were lim-

ited for the upper classes who could afford to feed an extra

mouth.

Nowadays exotic pets have become popular, and peo-

ple are willing to pay more to get the most exotic ones

while somewhere a dog or cat suffers on the street cold,

afraid and hungry, searching for his owner. The animals

that were standing next to humans, in good or bad times,

who never betrayed their owners, ware betrayed by them.

Some of the animals suffer from their owners every day but still coming back and cheer-

ing them up. The owner for the pet is everything while not every owner understands

that.

Recently people started to think about those in need, creating shelters - facilities

that house and care for homeless, lost, or abandoned animals. Some pet lovers donate

money and even volunteer to keep our “wordless” friends happy and healthy.

The aim of the shelter is to provide a safe, loving, and caring environment until

the abandoned animal is either reclaimed by its owner, placed in a new home, or

placed with another organization for adoption.

It was understandable that many people were careful with the animals from the

shelters, and even some considered not taking any for themselves or their kids because

they didn’t know the conditions where the animal had been spending time before com-

ing to the shelter. But now this is not a problem anymore and you shouldn’t be afraid

of taking one for yourself, because many shelters test animals for their temperament

before they are put up for adoption and, if so, what the appropriate home environment

should be. Nowadays you can even take the shelter puppy for a “trial.” This is a new

term, created by the shelter workers, which means that you can take one animal home

for a limited period of time to see for yourself how he/she would adjust to the new en-

vironment.

The teams of people that work in shelters will be more than happy to help you

find the right pet! Most of the sheltered animals have their own profile where you can

find a furry friend for your-

self.

So, adopt a pet- save

a life today!

By Natalia Peshkova

BMW E30 – The Bavarian icon

As every car enthusiast ought to know, BMW’s original M3 was based on the E30. It was made from 1986 to 1992,

and it won the Nurburgring 24 Hours race for four consecutive years. It also won the one-off World Touring Car

Championship in 1987, plus every major national Touring Car Championship of any account around the world, some-

times several times.

This car has drawn an enormous cult following that has endured down the years and there’s nothing mysterious about

why this has happened. It wasn’t just because BMW was very fast, which it was in its day, and it wasn’t anything to

do with trivial concerns about the BMW’s image. Reliability and a fair price perhaps had their influence but this was

not a cheap car, so neither of those points answers the question of exactly why it achieved such a high reputation. On

the other hand, its box fenders (the result of widening the front and rear track) and the shape of the C-pillar or Hof-

maister kink (adjusted for aerodynamic purposes) are the functional pieces that turned the car into the icon that has

guided its successors and competition. Another key factor, quite simply, was to be found in the sublime handling. This

was the most amazing drivers’ car; it was such fun to drive and the word spread like wildfire: the original M3 really

did offer automotive pleasure in its purest form. It's a car that couldn't exist in today's market, and not just because of

the nuance its assembly would require. No, it was because BMW produced them for racing homologation. That it was

a sales success was fortunate.

Like any good “racehorse”, pedigree is everything, so it’s important to understand where the E30 got its roots. In 1962

BMW launched the Neue Klasse, a line of compact sedans and coupes, starting with the BMW 1500. Powered by the

celebrated M10 4-cylindar engine, the 1500 became popular with both amateur racers and people seeking a 4-door

sports car, something that wasn’t widely available at the time. The car was so popular, in fact, the manufacturing fa-

cilities couldn’t keep up with demand. That popularity led to the development of the 1800 model, the 1600, the 2000,

and ultimately the venerable 2002. It was also during this time that Hofmeister kink (the C-pillar) became a thing

(thank you Wilhelm).

As the 2002s model neared the end of its production, BMW was faced with the tough task of putting together a suc-

cessful follow up act to a highly popular car as well as creating a new compact car that moved upscale in line with

their new 5-series. The resulting 3-series (chassis code E21, 1975–1983) did just that and introduced the world to

BMW’s newest sports sedan. The E21 helped attract a new segment of buyers to BMW and was wildly successful;

despite the commercial success, the press reviews were somewhat mixed. By the time the E30 was introduced in 1984,

the E21 had established a loyal fan base.

For many, the generation of BMW 3-series built from 1986 until 1992, identified by enthusiasts with the car’s chassis

code, E30—represents the ultimate “Ultimate Driving Machine.” Crisp handling coupled with driver-oriented ergo-

nomics and timeless looks make even the economy-minded “ETA” model a joy to drive. There’s something about the

car that is appealing to a broad range of people, even today, something that makes it a modern classic.

By Petko Markov

Five Beauty Benefits of Avocados

Avocados are a natural way to nurture and replenish your body without any chemicals. The oil

from avocados has been used in many beauty products such as cleansing creams, hair conditioners,

facial masks, bath oils, and massage lotions. Those products are from nature, and they are suitable for

people who have sensitive skin. Avocados are rich with essential nutrients that soothe and moisturize

your skin. Here are five beauty benefits that people will receive from avocados.

First, avocados are rich with vitamin A which helps to remove dead skin cells from your body.

Therefore, you will have clean skin. They also contain an amino acid known as glutamine, which

cleans and protects your skin from environmental damage. Second, avocado oil is great because it can

help you have soft skin. It is able to enter deep into the layers of the skin to clean and restore nutri-

ents. It helps to stimulate the growth of new skin cells, and improves the blood circulation in the skin.

The oil in the avocado is also a great moisturizer which helps to soften dry skin.

Third, avocados can help reduce wrinkles and get rid of the toxins that promote premature ag-

ing and wrinkling of the skin. A lot of the toxins on your face are the residue of make-up or other cos-

metics. Next, avocados can help restore a natural shine to your hair, and the healthy oils in the avo-

cado help to moisturize and soften dry and brittle hair. Lastly, avocado oil can be used as a natural

sunscreen to protect your skin as well as your hair from UVB and UVA rays. The oil is also great to

help alleviate the pain of sunburns. Avocados can be used topically for a quick fix but adding them to

your diet will also help you to obtain these beauty benefits as they help to replenish your body from

the inside out.

Wannipa Khaengkit

Riding or running?

As the spring is coming and the weather warms up, more and more people are concerned with how they look.

Inevitably, many of us have put some weight on during the long winter. The question for many is: Which one

is better for me cycling or running?

The truth is that they both have pros and cons. Let’s look at them.

Probably, the most important factor in choosing between cycling and running is the physical condition of

the person. Running is a weight-bearing, high impact activity which means it puts a lot of stress on the joints

and bones. That makes it a second option for people who are overweight or are not in good shape. This is the

biggest disadvantage of running. Contrary, bicycling is less stressful to the body hence it is a preferable choice

for an activity to get in shape.

How many calories do running and riding burn? According to the scientists, a person will burn at least two

times more calories while running compared to riding. This comes from the fact that when one is running he is

bearing his whole body weight. It is important to take into consideration that people are able to ride a bike for

much longer than running.

Which one is safer? There are no doubts here. Running on your feet is much safer than rolling on a bike. Now-

adays, bike helmets, elbow and knee protectors, etc. are available but that still does not change the situation.

But which one is more FUN? Biking is the undisputed winner here. Bikers know what FUN is. Whether you

climb up mountains, roll down hills, or cruise roads fun goes along with this sport. By Vladimir Petrov

Everybody knows that today is not a good time for economy. We never know what it is going to happen tomorrow. Therefore coin collecting is a great way to enlarge our funds for the future. I would like to present a couple of basic steps about how to start a coin collection. The first step is to find what group of coins we want to collect. We have many possibilities and can pick between gold, silver, or rare coins from specific country. The limits are just in our pockets. After we pick our specific group we should find a place where to buy the coins. The most popular place is the Internet. We can find many good deals to buy cheap coins, but they can be a damaged. The second place is the coin dealer. In the store we can find a better option and sometimes cheaper deals. We can look at the coins and make sure about their condition. A very important thing is to learn how to grade the coins. Grading means the condition of the coins. We usually give a number for each coin, if the number is

bigger than the coin is in better condition and of course has bigger value. For grading we use a number from one to 70. 70 means that the coin is in perfect condition, has never been circulated, and has the

highest value. Today we do not have to be a specialist to know how to grade coins because on the market we have many companies which can help. For a small price they can grade the coins. The most popular companies are NGC, PGCS, and ANACS.

When our collection starts to get bigger we have to find a good place to keep our coins. Of course we have many possibilities. We can keep them in the bank or at home. If we decide to keep them at home we have to be careful because coins react to cold or hot temperatures. Humidity is the worst enemy for them. We should not keep them in paper but in an acid-free wood box or cardboard creased in

the middle with a cutout so we can see the coin. The most important thing is WE SHOULD HAVE NEVER CLEAN THE COINS, even if they get dusty or start rusting, because this will lower their value. Making our dream collection will take a lot of time and money but after your collection grows your satisfaction will grow. These are the basic steps to starting a coin collection. By Marek Dominiak

COIN COLLECTING

The power of positive thinking

Just imagine that you are on the beautiful island of Maui. The sun is shining, you are relaxing,

sipping a cocktail of exotic fruits, having fun with your friends, smiling and laughing. Now ask yourself

how did this image make you feel? Certainly, it brought a happy emotion to you, right? Even though you

are not really on the island right now, just the thought of it makes you feel happy and brought a smile.

“In order to carry positive actions we must develop here positive vision,” says the Dalai Lama.

Such quotes we have heard or read many times. However most of us do not pay attention to the power of

the thoughts. Indeed, everybody knows that before doing something we think first then take action. For

example, before going to school you make a mental glimpse of your day. However, we have to think

carefully here. Our thoughts can be either positive (oh, I am going to rock this exam today!) or negative

When you imagined yourself relaxing on the beautiful island of Maui, you had positive thoughts

and it made you feel happy. Now let’s imagine negative thoughts. You spill your coffee on your favorite

new jeans. Did you see it in your mind? How did it make you feel? You probably said “damn my new

jeans” and became depressed. These kinds of negative thoughts make us feel anxious and worried, which

Scientists have proved that thoughts affect the mind and the physical body of a person in the same way

as reality. Marathon runners were hooked up to electrical pads and were told to see themselves running

in a marathon. Surprisingly, when the runners thought of this, the computer showed how their muscles

were firing at the same speed as if they were really running. So, when you thought of yourself relaxing

on Maui, your body actually did relax. We can see how thoughts first affect our body, then emotions,

and last our actions. The mind is incredibly powerful and it has the capacity to do anything. Guide your

thoughts and you feel happy . By Guldasta Kozhobekova

Where to Live to Avoid Natural Disaster

I’m thinking about moving to another state maybe California. Then I found out that there are a lot of earth-

quakes. It made me think about finding the safest city in the US with a population of more than 150,000.

So what is a natural disaster? The most common disasters are tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

Tornadoes

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with

both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. Tornadoes

are more common in the United States than in any other country. Most

tornadoes in the United States occur east of the Rocky Mountains.

Tornado Alley is a colloquial term for the area where tornadoes are

most frequent. It stretches from Colorado to Canada with its core in

Oklahoma, Kansas, and northern Texas.

Hurricanes

A hurricane is a wind equal to or exceeding 74 mph. Hurricanes are

most common in the Gulf States and along the Atlantic sea board,

while tornadoes most likely occur in the central part of the United

States in Tornado Alley. On average, two major hurricanes strike every

three years. Usually, September is the busiest month in the US for ma-

jor hurricane hits; 36 of the 64 major hurricanes hit in September. The

next busiest month is the August, with only 15.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are vibrations, shaking, or tremors of the ground. Earth-

quakes are most common in Alaska, Hawaii, and along the west coast.

That is a part of the Ring of Fire. This Ring of Fire is the outline of the

Pacific Ocean. If one earthquake happens it affects the whole Ring of

Fire.

So the safest cities are located in the northwest and central parts of the US. And the most

safest cities are:

1. Corvallis, OR 2. Mt. Vernon, WA 3. Bellingham, WA 4. Wenatchee, WA 5. Grand Junction, CO 6. Spokane, WA 7. Salem, OR 8. Seattle, WA By Vadim Yagodin

Study in the United States

Education in the United States is great. The United States of America is considered to be one of the top countries in the world in this field. There are a lot of reasons to study in the United States. The biggest reason for choosing to study in the US is the quality of ac-ademic programs. The United States has one of the world’s finest university systems. Another reason to study in the USA is flexibility. It is possible to start a major in one dis-cipline and move into another field by the end of the first two years of education. Third, universities in the U.S. pride themselves on being at the front of cutting-edge technology, research, and techniques in making the best possible equipment and resources availa-ble to their students. Fourth, you will find a variety of options and educational opportuni-ties if you are looking for a place to study a particular field, and you can usually find sev-eral schools to choose from. Another thing is campus experience. Living on campus is an important feature of the US educational system. This experience teaches one to be independent and encourages one to learn how to co-exist in harmony.

A lot of international students come every year to the USA to complete their degrees.

The number of international students attending school in the United States has steady

risen over the past five years and now totals 720,000 students. The largest number of

international students come from Asia. You will see a lot of students from different coun-

tries with different cultures. By Khaldoon Abu Atiyeh

New Species by Byambadash Our blue planet is full of new surprises. Each year scientists discover many new species. I want to

introduce some four of them, which are very interesting.

The first one is the emperor blue scorpion. It has an eight-inch-

long body; this is one of the largest scorpions in the world. It feeds

primarily on termites and other small invertebrates, even though it

is so big. Its venom is not particularly harmful to humans. This spe-

cies contains compounds that are being tested as potential drugs to

control heart disease. The blue fluorescent that cover its body is be-

ing studied in order to understand degeneration of proteins in hu-

man eye lenses, which lead to cataract blindness.

The second species is a special dragonfly. It has a unique combination of colors which differentiates

it from other species; specifically the yellow tipped abdomen and the red and white tibiae. The spe-

cies was found on three clear sandy streams within three miles

of the Congo River. Two of the streams were in dense forest

and largely shaded, while the other ran along an oil palm planta-

tion and was largely sunny. The species may be easily local-

ized. It is absent from the sub- stantial collections from surround-

ing areas. Dragonflies are good indicators of water quality

since they need clean water. The aquatic nymphs feed on other

insects and aquatic organisms. The adults are also predatory and thus help to regulate insect popula-

tions including mosquitoes. Many dragonfly larvae are voracious predators on mosquito larvae and

have been used in human-health programs to control disease-carrying mosquitos

The next animal on the list is the “Strumigenys tigris” ant, who

lives in the leaf litter of rainforests of Papua New Guinea. This ti-

ny ant, about 1/3 of an inch long, walks around with its mandibles.

It held its mandibles wide open so that it can capture small inver-

tebrates with a lightning fast snap. Its color pattern may help it

blend into the rotting sticks in which it lives. These ants help to

keep populations of small organisms in balance.

The fourth species is the “Uroplatus phantasticus” gecko. It is the smallest

of twelve species of bizarre looking leaf-tailed geckos. It is nocturnal with

extremely cryptic camouflage. They are only found in undisturbed forests,

so their populations are very sensitive to habitat destruction. Large uropla-

tus species have more teeth than any other living terrestrial vertebrate spe-

cies. In 2004, the World Wildlife Foundation listed all of the uroplatus spe-

cies on their 'top ten most wanted species list' of animals. They are threat-

ened by illegal wildlife trade, being captured and sold at alarming rates for

the international pet trade.

How to choose a restaurant?

Each of us, at least once in our life, was in a restaurant. Our visit to the

restaurant can be successful or not. But what can we do to choose a place to

eat that will satisfy our requirements? You can start to look for one from

your home. You can call to the restaurant and ask questions over the phone.

For example:

Does a restaurant have parking or valet parking? Before you can eat,

you have to get there. Make sure that there are parking spaces for your car

close by. If necessary, call the restaurant and ask where you can park and

whether they validate parking. You may also want to know if they have valet

parking.

Do you need a reservation? Don't forget to make a reservation if re-

quired. Call ahead to find out, especially if you are planning to dine out dur-

ing a holiday or over a weekend when the restaurants are more crowded.

What kind of food does the restaurant serve? If you go with other peo-

ple, the menu should offer a variety of dishes to satisfy the taste of all the

guests.

What is the price range? Good food should not break the bank. You

should enjoy the food without having to regret the expense.

Does the restaurant take special requests? Is the restaurant staff re-

sponsive to special requests? Find out if you can order gluten-free or low-

salt dishes, vegetarian, etc. This is important if you or one of your friends

has allergies or special dietary needs.

If you don’t want to make a call you can visit the website and find the

answers to your questions there. But not every restaurant, even the good

ones, has a good website. This means that you have to poke around on the

website for a very long time. My experience in choosing a restaurant says

that it’s better to make a call or use a recommendation.

Another important thing is “How clean is the restaurant?” To find out

this information, restaurant critics advise checking the restaurant restrooms

before being seated: if the restroom is clean and smells good there is a good

chance that the kitchen will be clean too.

The popularity of the restaurant may make your visit more successful.

Usually a popular restaurant means that the food will be good, although

that is not a certainty. Some places are crowded just because of the location

- mainly in big cities near tourist areas. Some restaurants are busy because

they have cheap prices, or beautiful waitresses. This is one of the least reli-

able ways of choosing a restaurant: McDonalds are always crowded, but

they’re not serving good food.

Ask locals – they know what restaurant in the area is the best.

Don’t use YELP as an advisor! They filter lots of good comments if the

restaurant doesn’t advertise with them. Thousands of restaurant owners are

against YELP!

When you find a restaurant you like, have a sit and be friendly with the

waiters and waitresses. Treat them warmly as you would treat your own

friends and you will find that you will get great service again and again. Be

helpful. Sometimes, they are so busy and you demand a hundred things.

When you see them carrying many things to your table, arrange your table

to give them space to put things down. These may be little things but when

they see you helping them, they will go out of their way next time to come

to make sure you are served properly.

Enjoy your dinner!

Dmitry Pavlov

RISKS OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING (FRACKING) EugenG.

The main risks that may result from the application of technology by hydraulic fracturing are: re-

moving the circuit land (the average density of drilling wells on six square miles and the network of

pipelines for transport), the risk of contamination of land, the noise of drilling equipment and

transport, the use of millions of gallons of water for each drilling location at the expense of agricul-

ture or other uses.

Precedents from the US and other countries show that the groundwater and drinking water

sources are in danger of contamination. There is a seismic risk associated. And the chemicals used

in the process include radioactive substances, methane, and other chemicals that become green-

house gases.

Such substances with problematic properties require special attention because of the potential

effects that they may have on animals and the environment. Seventeen substances are classified

as toxic to aquatic organisms. Thirty-eight are categorized as being acutely toxic to humans. Eight

substances are classified as carcinogens such as benzene and acryl amide, ethylene oxide, and

various petroleum-based solvents. Six are classified as suspected carcinogens such as hydroxyla-

mine hydrochloride. Seven are classified as mutagens, such as benzene and ethylene oxide. Five

are classified as having an effect on reproductive functions.

Peter Eisenman’s Postmodern Architecture By Ruth Arunin

This article is about Peter Eisenman, an architect whose work helps mark the beginning of postmodernism (1). This article is aimed at discussing a fraction of postmodernism. Studying Eisen-

man’s early work is justifiable for this purpose because many scholars, such as Kenneth Framton and others, claim that postmodernism began in architecture. Additionally, Eisenman’s early work is under-stood in his field to be a version of postmodern architecture.

Since the term post-modernism suggests a chronological relation to modernism, the question

remains: What differentiates it from its predecessor, and what makes this distinction relevant? Mod-ernist thinking relies entirely on truths and reasons as justifiable grounds for its production (which characterize it as center-oriented or truth-oriented thinking). Centerlessness, on the other hand,

which undermines reasons, as Eisenman shows to be possible in architecture, is one of the constitut-ing characteristics of postmodernism. Eisenman’s attempt to achieve the notion of centerlessness can

be categorized into three chronological orders: early house work, later house work, and a series of projects called the Artificial Excavation.

1. Postmodernism is any of a number of trends or movements in the arts and literature developing in the 1970s

in reaction to or rejection of the dogma, principles, or practices of established modernism, especially the move-

ment in architecture and the decorative arts running counter to the practice and influence of the International

Style and encouraging the use of elements from historical vernacular styles and often playful illusion, decoration,

and complexity.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s S.R. Crown, designed to signify simplicity and functionality, is exemplary of modern architecture.

In the first category, Eisenman removes meaning as we know it from his architecture. He as-

serts that architecture since Renaissance, including modern architecture, is designed to manifest a

meaning—the practice, as Eisenman claims, exterior to what architecture really is. Since one cannot

stop spectators from reading a form, to remove meaning from it is not to purge meaning of it. Eisen-

man does this removing by shifting the emphasis of how it is read from the semantic to syntactic as-

pect (or from its meaning to the way it is constructed.) To do this, he exclusively creates the form via

a logical operation. Because the final form is derived from propositions, the architect cannot perceive

the form from the beginning. This is different from modern architecture since it is designed to depict

some specific content such as technology, universal beauty, and functionality, and thus the end pic-

ture must be preconceived beforehand. The product of Eisenman’s method thus shifts the emphasis to

its mode of production.

This diagram demonstrates how Eisenman resorts to a logical operation to design a house in his early design method.

Moving forward from his early architecture to his later houses, Eisenman removes human com-

prehensibility from his architectural form by hindering the architect and the spectators from being

able to read the logic behind how the form is created. Eisenman achieves this by creating one form

from two logical operations that are contradictory by nature. Since its mode of production is logical,

the form seems to manifest the history of how it comes into being. However, because of its contra-

dictory logic, if one tries to unfold this history, one will eventually find a dead-end in every logical

move. Eisenman explains that all objects already exist in hypothetical space, but man only tends to

use his reason to transform them into objects. This reason manifests our ability to reconstruct the

objects’ history in the logical sense. By creating form in this way even the creator—the architect—

cannot logically reconstruct how the form is produced. Eisenman’s work in this period is postmodern

because it is a critique of the modernist tendency for logic.

House X’s form is a product of two contradictory logical operations. From this angle, the house is designed to resemble an

axonometric representation. These facts are testimonies of the conviction to eradicate human comprehensibility from the

design.

In the Artificial Excavation, instead of preventing human meaning from entering his design by

shifting the emphasis to its mode of production, Eisenman uses meaningful objects only to purge

meaning off of them. Abandoning the logical operation as his architecture’s mode of production may

sound strange since confining his architecture’s reading to its mode of production as in his early de-

sign method helps Eisenman exclude the anthropocentric aspect such as human reasons from pre-

senting in his work. By abandoning this method, Esenman seems prone to steer his design toward a

preconceived content, which he considers to be center-oriented thinking in modernism. Eisenman,

nonetheless, looks at this so-called content differently. He resorts to the notion that a statement that

can neither be judged as true nor false is not a logical statement. Eisenman uses objects that have

predetermined meaning but hollows their meaning by distorting their geometrical properties. For ex-

ample, in his Cannaregio project, Eisenman superimposes the grid of le Corbusier’s unrealized hospi-

tal design on an adjacent site with models of his own unrealized house design. Then, he distorts them

by scaling and rotating them. He explains that this is equivalent to poetizing architecture. This is be-

cause poetry, unlike a scientific statement, never tells a truth, so it is always detached from reality as

such. His architecture in this period analogously tells stories that never exist in the material world.

The voids on the ground are aligned with the grid of Corbusier’s project. The red blocks are large models of Eisenman’s unre-

alized house design. They are scaled differently so that they are not interpreted as a house. This is a theoretical project—it

has not been built.

Eisenman’s architecture in these three periods represents an early postmodern force. This is

due to the fact that a major difference between modernism and postmodernism is that while the for-

mer emphasizes human reasons, the latter repudiates them as they are too dogmatic, thus restricting

art and architecture to an obsolete practice. Eisenman does this by: first, shifting his architectural de-

sign to its mode of production; second, eliminating the anthropocentric aspect from this mode; and

finally, poetizing it.

This newsletter is created by ESL Academy students. The views expressed in it are not necessarily those of CSI or its

staff, nor does CSI necessarily endorse or recommend any information contained in this newsletter.