Thursday, June 18, 2015

Hit that Jive Jack

I've been obsessed with this song this week. It's jive-y-cool with a bit of electronic.

Monday, June 8, 2015

How to have a good Memory


              I am currently doing my exam finals, and, if you went to University or had to study for some type of exam, you know the struggle. The struggle to remember what you read.

There are many different methods that work for different kinds of people. In fact, I recently read a Lifehacker article that suggested the reason as to why you have a 'bad memory' is that you're not 'using' it right. You can find the article here: Strengthen Your Memory by Noticing When It Does Things Right.

In the article, it urges to reader to notice what things you remember and how. So, as you do when you have nothing to lose, I tested it out.


            First,  I analysed what things I remember most. In general, my memory is good, and I can remember things quite easily - if I'm paying attention. So there is:

One - be sure you give your full attention. 

            Next, I noticed that I remember things most when I see a picture or what I read/hear makes me imagine things in my head. To this day, I can recall outfits that my friends wore on nights out five years ago, because I have them pictured in my head from all the photos I took back then. I also remember what our design Tutor was telling my friend in tutorials a couple months ago because I visualized what he said, even though it did not concern my work at all. And yet, when tried to study, I couldn't remember a sentence I had read only a moment earlier. In the other two successful occasions, I noticed, there was visualization.

Two - Visualize

These two points I tried my best to incorporate in my studying, of which I had an exam today, might I say. I remembered things MUCH better than usual, even more so considering the time frame.


The method I employed was the following:

             I had a program of 12 Lectures with around 3 Architectural manifestos each, almost all by different Architects. As I moved from manifesto to manifesto, I pictured in my head a building/plot for each manifesto, with the architect/s who wrote it by the entrance. As I read along, I pictured things that corresponded to what I was reading. The weirder and more memorable it is, the better.

At the end, I drew a map of what became a couple of roads with all the manifesto buildings within it. I remembered each and every manifesto, and could recall most of what I read, especially those I had time to go over in depth for a second time. The key in my case was strong visual connections.

So if you want a good memory, think about it, what makes you remember?


Friday, June 5, 2015

Amsterdam Street Snaps



We took a couple of days off last February as a post-exams treat. Amsterdam is a beautiful city; actually underrated in my opinion. It is full of art, picturesque streets (De Negen Straatjes!) with a great selection of little (or not so little) boutiques, shops and cafe's. We honestly didn't have time to see and do all we initially set out to do (nerds).

Here is a couple of snaps :) 
The entire collection will be later uploaded to my flickr.









Thursday, April 2, 2015

Laid-back work night with ODESZA

In the honour of  a chilled, late night drink with work and research, I give you this song. The songs by ODESZA have this laid-back quality to them that appeals to me right now, and maybe will to you too.


Friday, March 20, 2015

Weekly Optimisms

A small list of happy things from this past week :)



  • I finished quite a long book this week: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I think it's a good book, and I do want to check out 'A Secret History' by the same author.
  • I also started reading The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.
  • People telling me that they like my handwriting - which they're definitely definitely only saying because they never had to decipher it - but still!
  • Getting work done at a cafe' with a sunny window on one side and a good Americano on the other.
  • St. Patrick's on Tuesday with a lovely bunch of people! (As well as a delicious burger I shouldn't have had but do not regret having).
  • Late Supper with the girls at Jubilee in Valletta, really good Chicken Rucola soup and really nice live music!
  • Fixing up my portfolio and adding new works.
  • Posting two posts on my other blog this week, and writing/scheduling another for Monday.
  • Reading up on Daniel Libeskind and listening to his TED talks. I am writing a short research paper on him and his approaches to architecture. He is very abstract and the fact that he also did poetry and music is really evident in the way he describes the process of the analytical assessment that leads to his designs. It is very interesting.
  • Having had quite the productive week :)

By any chance there is someone reading this - hope you had a good week too! :)

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